Soldiers and Patriots

Catchy phrases!  I love them.

So when my brother John described a slothful Christian we know as a summer soldier, sunshine patriot , right off the bat I swiped that phrase. 

Summer soldier.  Sunshine patriot.  

Kool.

Naturally I would bumble.  "Are you talking about the Seahawks and the Patriots????"  (That was when we were still thinking the Patriots were gonna lose for sure.)   

  "What???  This has nothing to do with sports."

So I looked it up on the internet before commenting further.

Thomas Paine opened "The American Crisis" with these words: "These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.   

 Paine also wrote "those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigues of supporting it"--they must be winter soldiers and snowfall patriots in order to attain freedom.

Winter soldiers and snowfall patriots!   

Now that's another catchy phrase!

At this Christian Season of Lent, as I have thought what to give up for Christ for 40 days, I am reluctant to give something to Him and then take it back, that is if I had anything to give Him.   I realize I have nothing to give, not really.

I own nothing, not really.                                                                                                                         I am nothing, not on my own.                                                                                                      My sins, missteps, stupidities, and flaws are covered.                                                                      My griefs are borne. 

Even when I go to partake at the open table, I go to be served by Him for He has invited me to the feast.  He has done it all.  I go as His guest to a place where I am welcome.  Even at the feast, I go, not to serve Him, but to be served by Him.

Perhaps I can practice for 40 days being a winter soldier and a snowfall patriot for Christ.
You know, dragging out of bed, showing up at church even on Daylight Savings Change Day.  

Winter soldier.  Snowfall patriot.

Kool.

This is the day which the Lord God has made.
Rejoice and be glad in it.

Loving your visit,

Riverwatch

Every Single Day

Every Single Day

Every single day is a rare occasion.

Hope you enjoy yours.


Thank you for your visit,

Riverwatch, RN

Why all the depression?

Is the food you eat killing you?

Globally, one person dies by suicide roughly every 40 seconds.

Around the world, over one million people commit suicide each year - an increase of 60 percent over the last four and a half decades.

Incredibly, farmers have one of the highest rates of self-inflicted death.

Although factors such as poor yield, financial stress, erratic weather and animal disease certainly contribute to a high suicide rate in farmers, 
researchers are beginning to suspect another cause: exposure to pesticides.

20-year study establishes a connection between

 depression   and conventional farming chemicals

Researchers at the National Institute of Health completed a historic study earlier this fall which confirmed that seven pesticides -- some of which are widely used -- contribute to clinical depression in farmers. Over the last two decades, the team interviewed almost 84,000 farmers and their spouses.

The findings were startling. Dr. Freya Kamel, lead researcher for the study, said that two specific types of pesticide were responsible for the massive uptick in depression -- organochlorine insecticides and fumigants. Each increases the risk of depression by an astounding 90 and 80 percent, respectively

. One of the more common varieties is called malathion and is used by approximately 67 percent of the farmers surveyed. 

It also just happens to be banned in Europe.

This isn't the only study that links pesticides to depression.

"A group of researchers published studies on the neurological effects of pesticide exposure in 2002 and 2008. Lorrann Stallones, one of those researchers and a psychology professor at Colorado State University, says she and her colleagues found that farmers who had significant contact with pesticides developed physical symptoms like fatigue, numbness, headaches and blurred vision, as well as psychological symptoms like anxiety, irritability, difficulty concentrating and depression. Those maladies are known to be caused by pesticides interfering with an enzyme that breaks down the neurotransmitter that affects mood and stress responses."

In the end, both studies beg the question: If farmers who utilize conventional pesticides as part of their profession are experiencing the damaging consequences of the chemicals, what is the effect on the general public who ingest the substances through their food?

http://thewatchers.adorraeli.com/2015/02/06/landmark-study-links-pesticides-to-high-depression-rates/




Thanks for your attention,
I appreciate you,
Riverwatch

Longing

Longing

If you want people to build a ship, teach them to long for 

the endless immensity of the sea.

Antoine de Saint Exupery

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                            Where two oceans meet 


Longing,
and grateful for your visit,
Riverwatch