Wine Reviews Ratings

posted by admin on Sep 7

Once upon a time, there was a wise king who had nine learned nobles. The king thought that after they die, their knowledge would get waste and not be available to the future generations. So he called his nobles and asked them to put all their knowledge in writing so that it can be passed of to the future generation.

“THERE IS NO FREE LUNCH.”

This indeed is the greatest wisdom of the world. You can never get anything in this world without paying a price for it. So better to pay is now when you are enjoying the lunch else you might have to pay it with interest at a later date.

Who are You?

Human being is extremely complex creatures. One can write many volumes to describe a single person. In fact, there are thousands of books written on the famous personalities like Gandhi or Hitler to describe and understand them. Even if no book is written for most of us, yet it would require many volumes of books to describe any one of us and explain who we are.

Is it possible to simply to describe us in just a single sentence or even by a single word? Can you describe a person in a single word?

Looks difficult?

Can you describe yourself in a single word?

May be.

Here is an opportunity for you. Please choose a single word from Type A or Type B that describes you most accurately.

Type A:

1. Good,

2. Loving,

3. Kind,

4. Forgiving,

5. Helpful ,

6. Fair,

7. Just

Type B:

1. Bad,

2. Cruel,

3. Unkind,

4. Unforgiving,

5. Treacherous,

6. Unfair,

7. Unjust

Though, you find it extremely difficult to describe yourself in a single word yet in all likelihood, you would have chosen one word which describe your essence from the “Type A” attributes.

Now, let me give you an option to choose upto 7 words instead of one which describe you most accurately.

Have you still chosen all 7 options from Type A only. Don’t you find any of the Type B attribute suitable to you?

The Kingdom of God lies within You

All Holy Scriptures say that God resides in us. Yet we never believed these things. “What is the proof” We say. Let us, therefore, proceed logically and rationally.

Have you noticed that all attributes given of Type A represents the nature of God which are frequently used to describe goodness while the words in the category of Type B represents Devil and use to represent evil.

This simple exercise demonstrates that the basic nature of all human beings is divine i.e. of God. It is for this reason that all scriptures say that the kingdom of God is in you. If all of us are really blessed with the nature of God, why the world has not become like heaven? Why there is so much pain and injustice in this world?

What We Have Become Devilish?

While we all believe to have the divine nature, yet when we are asked to describe another person, we would have no hesitation to use some of the characteristics of Type B to describe him or her. So we can also be sure that if other people are asked to describe us they would not be using all Type A words for us. What makes us lose divinity and become devilish?

The answer lies in the dichotomy of the creation of all living beings. This had been a mystery in science as well which was resolved by Albert Einstein in his Noble wining paper on photoelectric effect. He explained that every wave and every particle is in fact having the dual character of wave as well particle. This concept is known as wave-particle duality and the waves are called as “quanta” which gave birth to the Quantum Physics and started a new era in the physics.

The living beings too are simultaneously a “Body” as well as a “Soul”. As a Soul, all beings are an integral part of the Cosmic Soul, Universal Soul or God and follow the law of the Spirit and have the divine nature. However as a body, the beings are part of the world and follows the laws of the matter. Thus man is constantly experiencing the twin effect on his mind which can receive signal both from the body and the soul.

In any living person, body can not exist without soul and no soul can exist without body. Therefore, man is bound by the laws of this material world to sustain his body. He have to fulfill the material needs of the body like food, water, air, sex or shelter. The material needs can not be satisfied by spiritual way and everyone has to adopt the other path for the fulfillment of the material needs.

It is not always possible to be good, when the other people are doing evil against you. While the spiritual world is unlimited, all material goods are limited. Therefore, there is always competition amongst the human beings for the possession of the material things. Therefore, in the real world situation, one can not survive by practicing only divine nature. You have to be bad to people who are bad for you, unkind to them who are cruel to you and so on.

Does that mean that we can never be divine as we all have material requirement to live in this world?

Divinity is the Only True Nature of Man

It is a fact that we all have the nature of Type B as well. All of us at some point of time do practice the behaviour of Type B (Devil) which the world classifies as evil. Yet, one can easily see that being evil in not our true nature and we always want to come back to our divine nature. We may be bad, unjust, unkind, cruel for sometime, yet we are very uncomfortable when we are practicing Type B characteristics. We lose all our peace and happiness when we are doing evil. Thus every person desperately wants to come back to his natural state which is divine as only in this stage one can become human and live life happily.

It is therefore, certain that the true nature of all human beings is nothing but divine. It is only due to our need to fulfillment of the requirement of our physical self i.e. our body that we have to often engage in activity which is called devilish by the world. Yet this stage is temporary and everyone try to get out of it as soon as possible. However, our engagement with worldly needs has to be minimum i.e. only to sustain our body. Man does not live to eat but eats only to live. Jesus too said that man will not live for bread alone. Because, bread is needed only for his body while soul is the essence of human race. Man has no option but to live like Holy Spirit due to his divine nature that alone can bring peace and happiness in his life.

posted by admin on Aug 22

I recently wrote about cavemen sitting around the campfire and drafting the Bible’s books of Genesis and Revelation. In surfing around this evening, I came across this editorial concerning health care in America, on the Investor’s Business Daily website by David Ridenour, Vice President of the National Center for Public Policy Research.

I don’t normally read this kind of thing, yet oddly enough I read this one. What I discovered is that one of the most prescient minds in Washington D.C., and America in general was published just one week ago today saying something I have been saying to people for years! His basic take on this is an economic one, whereas I came by my own conclusions using good, ol’ fashioned common sense.

The premise of his editorial is that frivolous lawsuits drawing excessive damages are the primary factor in the rising cost and overall decline in quality of health care in America. Then he goes on to point out that in California and Texas, where laws have been established working to cap health-related lawsuit damages, the overall quality of health care is increasing, doctors are flocking to these states in droves, and insurance costs are going down.

Well, duh!

As long as I can remember, I have heard the all too frequent stories in the news about some individual or family being awarded some ridiculous amount of cash in a lawsuit against a hospital or a doctor who performed in some kind of negligent manner. As a country bumpkin, raised in the sticks of rural Florida, those numbers were simply outlandish… after all, all that money ain’t gonna’ bring ‘em back or make ‘em well! The only thing it does is drive up costs, and drive out doctors. As I’ve gotten older (not grown up), I’ve felt first-hand the sting of paying health-insurance premiums on a meager, blue-collar salary. It sucks!

The problem always seemed to me to be caused by people chasing numbers, instead of real things. Sure, it’s nice to have plenty of money (at least it seems that way from what I can tell). Even so, money only buys so much. When the focus of a person’s life is money, all they can ever see are those numbers… filling their thoughts, their dreams, and ultimately their destinies. They lose sight of the intangibles of life… like a happy household, haul-you-out-of-the-ditch friends, Sunday Supper, and connectedness with life, the universe, and everything. They forget that faith, spirituality, and love go a long way.

An evening on a dew-covered hill, drinking cheap wine out of a Dixie Cup, warming yourself by the campfire as you struggle to make out the tune playing out of your friend’s car doors over the chirping crickets… those kinds of moments are irreplaceable. And they having nothing at all to do with the dew, the wine, the campfire or the crickets – it’s the intangible factor.

As David pointed out, “Sadly, in real life, our well-being often resides outside of emergency rooms,” and went on to explain that it moves into a courtroom. I would do him one better and say that our wellbeing resides even further away than that… away from any kind of atmosphere governed by numbers.

posted by admin on Jul 10

“This morning, after you struggled to hear something to write today, you gradually began to sense My love. Yes, I do love you-more than you can realize. Why? One reason, but not the only, is that you are a sinner.

Yes, my full love is poured out on sinners, especially those who are keenly aware that they are undeserving. As I said, I gave My life in My son for sinners only.

Why do I favor sinners in such a priceless way? Because they are my saints-to-be. And they give Me a perpetual opportunity to express My love.

It is My firm will that all who read this understand! It is only by accepting both your unworthiness and My Love that I can turn you around. Both are required. My love is the strongest force that exists, but it is only by your full reception of this love that I can change you.

Instead of torturing yourself for your sins, embrace them. Get further acquainted with them. Do not run from them. Ponder them,admit them, confess them, but do not punish yourself. I command you not to punish yourself. By making yourself suffer you belittle the ultimate suffering I endured on the cross in My Son.

When you have firm hold of your guilt, and some of you do, surrender it to Me. I will take your sins upon myself, kill them, and forget them.

You cannot imagine, much less believe, that I can forget. Humans cannot willfully forget anything. But all things are within My power. I assure you that I can, and do, erase from My memory whatever I choose. And I always choose to cast dead sin out of My mind.

Remember that I forgive sinners, but I kill sin. (A preacher in Jacksonville put it that way, and he is correct.) What benefit is there to me in remembering something that is both dead and removed? I do not want to be reminded of sin that no longer exists.

As I have said, the sins of the past, present, and future have been paid for by the cross. That is the reason that partaking of Holy Communion is so vital for you. Although Christ gave Himself once, His sacrifice lives eternally in the memorial re-enactment through the bread and wine.

When this Holy ritual is performed by a real priest with adequate education, preparation, and understanding, the elements are mysteriously transformed into the actual body and blood of Christ. At this statement, most have recoiled, throughout the ages, and have said that this act is cannibalism!

No, here is the difference: You are consuming the glorified, transformed, body of God Himself. You are certainly not eating or drinking anything that is human.

The performance of this sacrifice of the Mass is the manner in which the perfect suffering of Christ continues throughout history and achieves the forgiveness of sin. My Son said that if you do not eat this bread nor drink this blood, you will not have life in you.

This proclamation, as scripture states, caused nearly all of my Son’s followers not just to leave Him, but to run! It was given only to Peter to understand and assert, ‘To whom shall we go, for You have the words of eternal life.’

He was speaking of the words just uttered by Christ, pertaining to Holy Communion. That is, the practice of what Christ was saying is life-giving.

These are heavenly concepts and principles that many will never understand, because the truth must be revealed to them as it was to Peter. He was open. He knew that the things of God are not the things of man. He was keenly aware of the difference.

You cannot understand these divine truths through your intellect or even by extensively searching the scriptures. Only I can bless you with a perception of these mysteries, and only when you become open.

Pray for understanding. And if you can believe nothing else, believe this: I love you, and I have proven so.”

This message is brought to you courtesy of St. James the Elder Theological Seminary online.

posted by admin on Jul 6

Branded on my heart forever is that fatal night of January 16, 1999.

The moon was full and the sky glittered with stars. As I stood gazing out the window I inhaled the breeze, mingled with the scent of Jasmine, that gently blew the lace curtains in my daughter’s kitchen.

My Mother and I had met for Christmas at my daughter’s house in Florida. It had been a glorious holiday, but the time had come for both to return to our perspective homes, she to Missouri, and I to Venezuela. Earlier that afternoon my daughter and I had said our teary goodbyes before she left to visit a friend in Savannah.

At ten p.m. Mother settled down to watch a movie. I poured a glass of red wine and was getting ready to call my son in Portland, Oregon when the telephone rang. The moment I heard a particular tone in my ex-husband’s voice, I knew something terrible had happened. “I have to tell you something that no parent should ever hear,” he said. “Our son committed suicide.”

In an instant my world scattered into a million pieces. The pain was so excruciating, I thought I would die. It was as if someone had plunged a knife into my heart, and ripped my body open all the way to my guts. My heart stopped, and the world, as I knew it, changed forever. I do not remember exactly what happened, but I think I threw the telephone across the room and began to scream. I ran from room to room, screaming. I could not make myself stop running. What happened next is not clear, but suddenly a friend appeared. Whether or not I called him, or he just stopped by, I do not remember, but he was there. He held me close and tried to calm me, but I could not stop screaming. The pain of loss, the anger and guilt, I felt was paralyzing. For the first time in my life, I was on my knees and I could not move.

The sun was rising when I got the second call, which informed me that my beautiful, twenty-seven year old son had put a 357 Magnum to the right side of his head and pulled the trigger. At that moment the best part of me died, the part that saw goodness in everyone, and believed that behind every cloud was a silver lining. Up until I received the horrible news, my spirit had been innocent, and childlike, even into my fifties. Afterward, I became a walking, talking, shadow that existed in the real world, which I found unbearable.

The next few days were a blur. Through the pain, the tears, the wake, and the funeral, there were the everlasting questions that followed. How could this have happened? What could have prevented this tragedy? Was it the divorce? Was it having to choose which parent to live with? Was it drugs, or alcohol, or both? Was his own pending divorce, and fear of losing his two-year-old son? Or, was it a combination of everything? Sadly, the questions are never answered.

Nights of walking the floor and crying until sunrise were a constant occurrence. Days of numbness and making believe that I was alive. Worst of all was pretending to care about anyone or anything in the world. When will the pain subside? Will I ever be able to eat and sleep normally? Who is that person in the mirror? Inundated by the hideous guilt that consumed me, and the nagging question of what I could have done to prevent this terrible tragedy occupied my every thought.

For the next two years a burning desire to follow my son drove me to despair. The fact that I had another child could not compensate for my loss. My ability to think straight was impaired by pain. Overwhelming, guilt and sadness drove me to the edge. Why wasn’t I there? Could I have made a difference? Of course I could. Maybe not, maybe yes. Why? Why? Why? These unanswered questions haunted every moment of my existence. “Please God, I need to find peace.”

Writing and manual labor were my only outlets. I wrote volumes about my son. I redecorated, and painted my daughter’s house, and driveway. I landscaped, and fenced her yard, spending hours digging in the dirt. Friends came from everywhere, and went, but I could not talk about my son. It was easier to talk to a rock. Was I losing my mind? Yes, for a while I did just that.

One afternoon an incident occurred that proved I was going insane. I was on my back from the supermarket and I stopped at a stoplight. Suddenly a song, “On Angels Wings,” came on the radio and I began to cry hysterically. A man in an eighteen wheeler pulled up behind me and honked his horn. When he honked a second time I jumped out of my car, and ran to his truck. Somehow I managed to jump upon the running board. Grabbing him by his shirt I shook him as I screamed. “My son died…My son died!” The poor man was in shock, but so was I.

Everyone kept telling me that I needed help until finally I relinquished and scheduled an appointment with a psychiatrist. The first comment out of her mouth was, “I love your suit. Who is the designer?”
I totally lost it. Screaming profanities, I ran out of her office and never looked back.
In retrospect I realize that perhaps the doctor was trying to break the ice with something trivial, but I did not give her a chance. Today I would listen and perhaps learn something, but at that point in my life I was not rational.

“Only time will heal.” If I heard that once I heard it a thousand times and it only angered me. How could time erase my loss? He was my baby. Of all the people I knew, my son and I shared a special spiritual connection. The truth is, time does not erase the loss of a loved one, however it does diminish the pain.

It has been eight years, and not a day has gone by that I do not think of him. The difference is today I visualize him and smile. I remember the baby in his light blue and white pajamas and the night of his sixteenth birthday when I surprised him with ticket to see Pavarotti. I remember the day he graduated from the University and told me he was going to the Culinary Institute in Portland. I can still recall the millions of hugs, and kisses, the funny things he used to do, and the laughter and tears we shared.

For those of you who are experiencing this horror, I can only repeat what others have said. “Time does heal.” The main thing I have learned through this tragedy is that life is precious and can end in a flash. Before my son’s death, I wanted it all; the big house, the best car, designer clothes, the latest technology, travel, and lots of money. My priorities have radically changed. Today I enjoy the simpler things in life: Time with my daughter and son-in-law, my grandchildren, my sisters, brothers-in-law, nieces, nephews, and my friends. I have gotten closer to God. I have gone back to nature, and to writing. Time is too precious to waste. I limit the negativity of outside influences, particularly television, to one hour in the evening. Today, I laugh more, I dance more, I read more, I write more, I walk and talk more, I play more tennis, and I love more deeply. I have eliminated most of the garbage I collected throughout my life. I even threw my cell phone away, and I have not missed it one bit.

The best advice I can give anyone who has experienced a terrible loss is do not attempt to block out your pain. Grief is different for everyone, but grieve you must, and then let go. Also, find a support group that has suffered the same horrible ordeal, and participate. It will never erase your loss, but simply talking helps to heal.

In closing this message, I will leave you with this quote from James Dean –
“Dream like you will live forever, and live like you will die tomorrow.”

posted by admin on Jul 5

It is an invitation which all wise men would be wise to accept in the fullest sense. I have been reading and studying the book of the prophet Isaiah and in Isaiah Chapter 55, we have this clear clarion call.

“Come, all you who are thirsty and come to the waters, and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come and buy wine and milk, without money and without cost.”

If anyone ever needed a relevant word from the Living God at this time as we enter 2011 is flows from these verses which flow from the Throne of almighty God through His prophetic servant Isaiah. This is a Word that satisfies and it is a Word you can receive now even if you have come with no money, and even if you have no money.

Here is God saying so clearly that He wants to bless your life, and no payment is required on your part, and he uses this leader called Isaiah who has such a breadth and depth of spiritual experience.

We can count our many blessings, but we cannot buy them.

God makes it so simple. God makes it so easy, and yet, man battles with this. People struggle with this.

Would some like it to be made harder, or more difficult, so that in one sense they could say that they deserved to receive these blessings of God?

Come, to where there is refreshing water. You don’t need money. You do not need to struggle. You don’t need to buy anything expensive, and, if you possessed all the money in the world, and owned all the gold in the world, you could still not buy what God wants to give you.

No man can buy what Jesus Christ, the Son of God, offers. If a man struggles over this he can sink in the very waters, which are given to save, bless and satisfy.

Know and remember, no matter what your circumstances might be, that this Lord Jesus Christ is risen and alive. He ascended back to God the Father’s right hand after He completed and accomplished the work which the Father sent Him to do.

Don’t sink. Just drink, and be satisfied.

Isaiah goes on to ask this question. Why spend money on what is not bread? Why work and never be satisfied? Why bother working and eating and drinking only to end up dissatisfied?

Do take time and make time to read the actual text because there is invariably a real and rich blessing for those who read and study the Word of God and who are open to all the truths which it imparts.

God has given the waters from which we are to drink. God has provided us with the Bread of Life. It is all there is Christ Jesus so there is no need to battle and struggle.

The invitation is to you, and what we do with the invitations which God gives is our responsibility.

Sandy Shaw