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	<title>Shopping ByClick</title>
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	<link>http://shoppingbyclick.com</link>
	<description>A Source For All Your Shopping Needs</description>
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		<title>3 Quick Ways To Increase Facebook Fan Page</title>
		<link>http://shoppingbyclick.com/2012/04/3-quick-ways-to-increase-facebook-fan-page/</link>
		<comments>http://shoppingbyclick.com/2012/04/3-quick-ways-to-increase-facebook-fan-page/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 18 Apr 2012 12:14:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>infowriter</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[facebook]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[facebook fan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[facebook fan page]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[facebook page fans]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marketing with facebook]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://shoppingbyclick.com/?p=1572</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The resources of social networks are quickly changing into a very renowned tool for businesses to utilize in order to succeed in a greater number of clients. The incredible popularity that&#8217;s related to Facebook has millions of people regularly participating in an setting of open communication and constant interaction. This can be very appealing to [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The resources of social networks are quickly changing into a very renowned tool for businesses to utilize in order to succeed in a greater number of clients. The incredible popularity that&#8217;s related to Facebook has millions of people regularly participating in an setting of open communication and constant interaction. This can be very appealing to the business since it can create its own profile so as to join this resource of interaction and expand upon providing info to customers so as to boost revenue. If you&#8217;ve created a social profile yet are struggling to find facebook fans, below mentioned are few ways to increase your <a href="http://facebookguy.org">Facebook fans</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://facebookguy.org"><img src="http://life101business.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/logo.png" alt="" width="302" height="128" class="alignright size-full wp-image-5034" /></a></p>
<p>Step One: Develop Relevant Branding</p>
<p>The primary step to take while making an attempt to boost the quantity of your Facebook page fans is to make sure you are following the resources of brand development. A brand represents a very important element for a corporation to require advantage of therefore it helps to create an image for consumers to relate to when considering making any investment. When your Facebook page matches the brand, colors, logos, company message, and other resources of your website, this will increase recognition which will improve the possibility of capturing new friends.</p>
<p>Step Two: Improve Communication</p>
<p>One among the biggest attractions to social profiles is that people are frequently updating information, posting comments, in addition to providing visual entertainment like photos or videos. Creating a profile through Facebook isn&#8217;t enough to capture a giant quantity of Facebook page fans. You need to additionally improve your communication efforts through the utilization of the social network. This includes answering any queries your consumers may have, frequently putting on new data to your website, as well as updating the resources of entertainment so your profile does not go stale.</p>
<p>Step Three: Invest in Facebook Marketing</p>
<p>The third step you can utilize in order to extend Facebook page fans are seen with investing in Facebook marketing. Facebook participants regularly post information like hobbies, job descriptions, and interests that Facebook then collects. When you&#8217;ll utilize this marketing it allows for a distinctive type of target selling where you&#8217;ll return in direct contact with customers who may be interested in your business. This can facilitate in drawing in new shopper attention and produce a low -value resolution for bringing fans to your Facebook profile.</p>
<p>By utilizing these 3 steps you may often find an improvement in gaining client attention that can help capturing new <a href="http://facebookguy.org">Facebook page fans</a>. Make sure you continuously update relevant information that can attract customers and keep them constantly interacting together with your social profile.</p>
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		<title>Restore Your Youthful Appearance Without Costly Plastic Surgery</title>
		<link>http://shoppingbyclick.com/2012/03/restore-your-youthful-appearance-without-costly-plastic-surgery/</link>
		<comments>http://shoppingbyclick.com/2012/03/restore-your-youthful-appearance-without-costly-plastic-surgery/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 26 Mar 2012 05:26:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>infowriter</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Beauty Tips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[botox treatments]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[laser hair removal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[permanent makeup]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pixel laser skin resurfacing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[skin rejuvenation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wrinkle removal]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://shoppingbyclick.com/?p=1570</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Image has an important role within the lives of each individual as they try to enhance their health as well as appearance. While there are many things a person can do to enhance their image on their own, there are also unique procedures which could be done to further increase possibilities. Examples of those unbelievable [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Image has an important role within the lives of each individual as they try to enhance their health as well as appearance. While there are many things a person can do to enhance their image on their own, there are also unique procedures which could be done to further increase possibilities. Examples of those unbelievable procedures could be found in the probabilities of <a href="http://www.prettyfacemedispa.com">Permanent Makeup</a>, Botox &amp; Facial Filler Quick Lift Treatments and Pixel Laser Skin Resurfacing.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.prettyfacemedispa.com"><img src="http://www.beauty-tip.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Pretty-Face1-300x64.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="64" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-530" vspace="10" /></a></p>
<p>Permanent Makeup</p>
<p>One of the biggest frustrations a woman has every day is associated with the task of using makeup. During your youth, it is an opportunity of independence, as an adult it starts to be a burden and as you become older the delicate demands of makeup application becomes more difficult to accomplish properly. By having permanent makeup applied by an accomplished permanent makeup artist may be a single solution to deal with all of the concerns you might have had with the daily demands and high cost of applying makeup every day.</p>
<p>The primary step taken is to speak with an accomplished <a href="http://www.prettyfacemedispa.com">permanent makeup</a> professional that could explain the entire process and discuss the areas you desire for application. These are usually the eyebrows, eyeliner (upper and lower) and also the lips. With this professional guidance you will find out the best colors, patterns, blends and numerous methods of application. The Soft Tap method of application allows for completely placed natural looking hairs and is the least intrusive concerning no needle application. </p>
<p>Botox Treatments</p>
<p>As someone gets older personal image starts to suffer as they expertise lot of the other signs of aging with wrinkles, crow’s feet, weak elasticity and puffiness. All of these elements play negatively against a person who is simply seeking to maintain their youthful look. Such elements impact someone so much that they usually pay thousands each year on numerous solutions so as to fight the major signs of aging. Of course none of those medications provide the amazing results found with Botox &amp; Facial Fillers which give an instant “quick lift” without invasive plastic surgery. </p>
<p>Various chemicals and serums yield slow results that never really meet the expectations of the investor. With the solutions of Botox &amp; Facial Filler treatments you will be able to discover a real opportunity to benefit from the money you have invested to achieve very efficient outcome. As opposed to the slow, delayed and often non-existent results received from over the counter products. With Botox &amp; Facial Fillers you get instant results which actually provide the natural looking, youthful restoration, appearance being sought. This sort of treatment restores ones trust, gives instant wrinkle removal benefits and genuinely assists to restore your youthful look thus you feel better about your investment and seem 10 years younger instantly. </p>
<p>Every of those procedures gives a distinctive opportunity that may not be achieved without the aid of a professional medical spa facility. While image plays an important role in your work life, social life, or personal life, look to these opportunities as an efficient solution to what’s truly being sought, looking younger and feeling better about yourself.</p>
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		<title>Make More Money Through Automated Futures Trading Software</title>
		<link>http://shoppingbyclick.com/2012/03/make-more-money-through-automated-futures-trading-software/</link>
		<comments>http://shoppingbyclick.com/2012/03/make-more-money-through-automated-futures-trading-software/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 24 Mar 2012 11:03:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>infowriter</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Automated Trading]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Elliott Wave Software]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fibonacci Trading]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Forex Trading Software]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Futures Trading Software]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Robot Trading System]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Stocks Trading Software]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://shoppingbyclick.com/?p=1567</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In the past when most individuals thought-about the options of trading on autopilot it involved the costly services of an investment broker. The online environment has helped to encourage a new trend of opportunity seen with accessing internet tools and platforms for investors to trade on their own behalf. Such a market has helped few [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>In the past when most individuals thought-about the options of trading on autopilot it involved the costly services of an investment broker. The online environment has helped to encourage a new trend of opportunity seen with accessing internet tools and platforms for investors to trade on their own behalf. Such a market has helped few but have left many with a financial loss, demanding for a new element of success to be introduced to the inexperienced trader. This solution has currently been introduced for people seeking to benefit from the many advantages created with Automated <a href="http://www.TrackNTrade.com">Futures Trading Software</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.TrackNTrade.com"><img src="http://life101business.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/TnT-Live-1.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" class="alignright size-full wp-image-4701" hspace="10" vspace="10" /></a></p>
<p>First Benefit: Accessing a Resource of Education</p>
<p>Somebody could understand the importance related to education and how it has helped several individuals do well in a number of different fields. The better your understanding of how a market works, the more likely you may be ready to make informed decisions which would profit you financially. By accessing the resources of education provided by Automated Futures Trading Software you can improve your prespective of the various factors that influence commodities, helping to produce bigger odds for investment success.</p>
<p>Second Benefit: Utilizing a Tool of Extensive Research</p>
<p>Research can usually mean the difference between finding a commodity that provides a real opportunity of profit and a commodity which could simply drain your economic savings. For the untrained individual the definition of research meant turning on the TV to see what a random guru suggests is the next hot investment to pursue.</p>
<p>The problem generated is if these people were so successful in predicting investments, they might be conducting such investments on their own instead of running a TV show. The options of Automated <a href="http://www.TrackNTrade.com">Futures Trading Software</a> enable a person to access a resource offering extensive analysis on investments that might benefit you. This saves money and time since they could access an immediate source of strong analysis.</p>
<p>Third Benefit: Finding a Real Solution of Automation</p>
<p>The final benefit could be found with the opportunities of automation which had previously existed with high cost investment brokers only. Through the tools of Automated Futures Trading Software you can benefit from a system designed to bring automation to your investment efforts. This would assist to make a constant presence in the market if you are actively trading, at work or spending quality time with your family.</p>
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		<title>How To Enhance Your Investment Efforts Through A Trading Magazine?</title>
		<link>http://shoppingbyclick.com/2012/03/how-to-enhance-your-investment-efforts-through-a-trading-magazine/</link>
		<comments>http://shoppingbyclick.com/2012/03/how-to-enhance-your-investment-efforts-through-a-trading-magazine/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 22 Mar 2012 07:15:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>infowriter</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Futures News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Trading Magazine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Trading News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://shoppingbyclick.com/?p=1564</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If you are a person just starting in the field of financial investing, one of the many tough markets you can begin with is seen with the opportunities surrounding the foreign exchange market. Several investors who initially pursue this market find themselves seeking options elsewhere due to the failures they expertise in the short period [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>If you are a person just starting in the field of financial investing, one of the many tough markets you can begin with is seen with the opportunities surrounding the foreign exchange market. Several investors who initially pursue this market find themselves seeking options elsewhere due to the failures they expertise in the short period of time. Such failures are usually a result of inexperience or poor analysis, that could be simply adjusted once you consider numerous possibilities like the use of assisted platforms, specialized software or the use of a <a href="http://www.PitNews.com">trading magazine</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.PitNews.com"><img src="http://life101business.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/4317.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="150" class="alignright size-full wp-image-4759" /></a></p>
<p>If you were to interview anyone currently seeking success within the Forex system most individuals could provide you with a simplistic explanation of how the market works. They understand that currencies vary in value and the opportunity for profit is generated while you can decide an improvement of a specific currencies value versus the other currency. The problem created is that this is often the limit of those individuals data, leaving a important gap for errors to occur. The utilization of a trading magazine that focuses on the Forex market could prove incredibly valuable as it helps to produce distinctive insights into a variety of currencies to improve your own knowledge.</p>
<p>One of the greatest mistakes investors make beyond not having a full understanding of how a market works is to believe they have no one to rely on other than themselves. While the investment into economic brokers is incredibly expensive, this is not the only resource a person could turn to so as to improve their investment potential. After you embrace options like a trading magazine it offers you with limitless access to professionals expressing their own opinions on numerous markets including foreign exchange. This provides you two advantages found in the chance to learn specific details on currencies and expand your own knowing of how to analyze a market efficiently.</p>
<p>Knowledge accumulation often represents the primary cause of success when it involves financial investment. Brokers can charge amazing amounts to their customers since they have the ability to produce real results due to their education and understanding of the market. Such lessons should transfer to you so that larger success may be achieved when you enhance your own knowledge. One of the most affordable ways to achieve this objective is to pursue the knowledge provided to you from a variety of trading magazine sources.</p>
<p>When looking into all of the possible <a href="http://www.PitNews.com">trading magazine</a> resources offered for you to choose from, ensure you decide on a source that provides you the most potential for advancing your economic efforts.</p>
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		<title>Prospering Through Traffic Ideas Which Makes You Popular</title>
		<link>http://shoppingbyclick.com/2012/03/prospering-through-traffic-ideas-which-makes-you-popular/</link>
		<comments>http://shoppingbyclick.com/2012/03/prospering-through-traffic-ideas-which-makes-you-popular/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 22 Mar 2012 06:02:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>infowriter</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[American Entrepreneur]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Entrepreneurs conference]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rebuilding our economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[US economy]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://shoppingbyclick.com/?p=1562</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Generating traffic is probably the most difficult things that people may experience, simply since they fail to know why they are not getting the people they expected coming into the website. They sit back and anticipate people to drop in from no-where and are disappointed when it doesn&#8217;t happen, and they wind up with no [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Generating traffic is probably the most difficult things that people may experience, simply since they fail to know why they are not getting the people they expected coming into the website. They sit back and anticipate people to drop in from no-where and are disappointed when it doesn&#8217;t happen, and they wind up with no traffic at all. Online business may be the one place where you are permitted to reach out and grab your client, pulling them into your storefront. This chance to reach clients displays the worth of opportunity that exists with enhancing traffic generation from concepts offered with the <a href="http://autointernetcash.com/f/mp.php">Entrepreneurs conference</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://autointernetcash.com/f/mp.php"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-1048" src="http://mitech-solutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/1waybacklinks.jpg" alt="" width="242" height="102" /></a></p>
<p>Rather than struggle conforming to traditional traffic ideas which were invented in an age before social media, you should rather think about new ways promoted from this conference. If you allow it to the old traffic ideas to bring you visitors, you can find that you just struggle to get adequate sales which is counterproductive to pursing ideas like rebuilding our economy from the use of small businesses. Rather than face that, you should instead try to use some new ways of making money, so as to confirm that you begin making a profit out of your website. </p>
<p>The primary concept of the Entrepreneurs conference you must consider accessing is with article-writing and submitting the content to traffic directories, currently referred to as content aggregators. These work more like the traditional EzineArticles, or any different promoting resource, however they have large amounts of traffic that can easily be channelled through to your site with careful positioning. If you do not have any real writing skills, then it may be worth paying someone to create the articles for you, even when it suggests that outlaying a good deal of money, since the traffic generated could pay for this minor cost. </p>
<p>Furthermore this, another tool towards <a href="http://autointernetcash.com/f/mp.php">rebuilding our economy</a> with your small business success is to consider writing a series of tutorials on your specific expertise (or having them written for you). Not only can you make money by selling these in bit-parts, but you can even collect some of the lessons together and turn them into an eBook. If you are associated to the online community in any way, for example through working in IT, graphic or website design, or marketing, then you have a ability set that you may sell to the overall public. Putting good offers for the tutorials from social media can bring lots of traffic to your website, and reading others tutorials could be a great supply of traffic ideas.</p>
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		<title>Building Brand Identity To Suit Client Needs</title>
		<link>http://shoppingbyclick.com/2012/03/building-brand-identity-to-suit-client-needs/</link>
		<comments>http://shoppingbyclick.com/2012/03/building-brand-identity-to-suit-client-needs/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 21 Mar 2012 05:50:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>infowriter</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brand building equity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brand building identity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brand building strategy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brand marketing strategy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brand repositioning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[branding consultants]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Experts Branding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marketing for websites]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[seo experts services]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[website marketing expert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[website marketing tips]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://shoppingbyclick.com/?p=1559</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[New commercial website owners often do the error of trying to brand their business without knowing what building brand identity actually takes. For most individuals, a brand is only the color or style of a product. Therefore when manufacturers complain over others &#8216;stealing a brand&#8217; or &#8216;copying a brand&#8217;, it&#8217;s the logo, slogan or color [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>New commercial website owners often do the error of trying to brand their business without knowing what building brand identity actually takes. For most individuals, a brand is only the color or style of a product. Therefore when manufacturers complain over others &#8216;stealing a brand&#8217; or &#8216;copying a brand&#8217;, it&#8217;s the logo, slogan or color theme that they are referring to. Therefore when people with no experience in promoting come to style a brand, they are likely to concentrate upon the images, symbols and common look of a product, rather than really concentrating on what a website is actually all about. </p>
<p><a href="http://expertsbranding.com/"><img src="http://successful-selling.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Experts-Branding-300x84.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="84" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-2553" hspace="10" vspace="10" /></a></p>
<p>Though consistently using the same design to the superficial appearance of your products is part of the brand and identity process, actually <a href="http://expertsbranding.com">branding your business</a> involves a lot more than just that. If you need to successfully apply a brand to your website and products, then you should have an over-all concept of yourself as the seller, the website you are using to sell from and also the products or services which you are selling there. Without this idea, your tries at branding your website could only ever be half-finished and customers would see that, turning to different suppliers for their purchases. </p>
<p>What you should understand about effectively branding identity for your business is that you need to make an idea around your merchandise which not merely looks at the superficial look but can be based upon the character of the product itself. This is the most difficult part of branding, but if you may get it right, then you will be providing yourself with a way into the emotional reaches of your customer&#8217;s being. This will cause them to come back many times to your website, hoping for the similar experience. </p>
<p>Such efforts of building brand identity seem sophisticated, however really what you need to do is look at how your product is served. Smart and economical service when clients are visiting your site is the backbone of any effort at branding your business since it helps to offer a way of connection between the product and also the purchaser. In addition, you also need to appear at the product itself. Create a personality about it, clearly working out what the product does and what it provides to the customer in order to generate bigger attraction. Building this idea of the brand from the merchandise out helps to make a sense of unity within the brand, which customers could recognize. </p>
<p>One example of this is if you planned to make a website which sold online plugins for blogs, then you could need to make a brand and identity which was knowledgeable over technology, efficient and secured against viruses. This brand gives the plugin client a way that they could purchase your merchandise and know that they will get a well-designed, totally functional device which is not malware or any unsafe downloads. Once you have created that part of your brand, it is relatively easy to figure out the colour scheme (bright) and the layout of your website (fun and engaging). From this base, you can then start to build on your brand in other areas of your website. </p>
<p>The efforts your business makes in <a href="http://expertsbranding.com">branding identity</a> could often create the difference between finding incredible online success and ultimately failing in your efforts as a marketable company.</p>
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		<title>Why I’m not a Hospital Chaplain</title>
		<link>http://shoppingbyclick.com/2012/03/why-i-am-not-a-hospital-chaplain/</link>
		<comments>http://shoppingbyclick.com/2012/03/why-i-am-not-a-hospital-chaplain/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 09 Mar 2012 12:10:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>infowriter</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[christian preaching]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[father dave]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jesus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Luke]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[secular]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://shoppingbyclick.com/?p=1556</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[My colleague, Father Elias, began his sermon on the Sunday I was in hospital by saying, “I think if it had appeared in the paper that a priest had threatened to beat up a fellow patient in a Sydney Hospital, the most common response would have been, ‘I didn’t know Dave was in hospital!’” I’ve [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>My colleague, Father Elias, began his sermon on the Sunday I was in hospital by saying, “I think if it had appeared in the paper that a priest had threatened to beat up a fellow patient in a Sydney Hospital, the most common response would have been, ‘I didn’t know Dave was in hospital!’”</p>
<p>I’ve never pictured myself as having any aptitude for hospital work.</p>
<p>I appreciate that hospitals are an ideal context in which to offer care and compassion to persons in need, but such relationships are always short-term, and hence seem somewhat artificial to me. Certainly I could never see myself as a hospital chaplain – managing a constant turnover of such intense, short-term relationships.</p>
<p>Even so, when I found myself in hospital, not through any deliberate planning on my part but through the unpleasant workings of providence, I figured I’d have to make the best of the situation and take whatever opportunities the Good Lord put in my path. I was sorta hoping though that He’d give me a bit of a break.</p>
<p>Maybe it was that desire for a break that led me to introduce myself to the other blokes in my ward as ‘Dave: fight trainer and former pro fighter’, rather than as ‘Father Dave: Parish Priest’. What was the difference anyway? I had ‘<a href="http://www.fatherdave.org/">Father Dave</a>’ written on the label above my bed in case anybody cared to look, and, in truth, the other blokes didn’t really seem to be overly interested in anybody else‘s business anyway (God bless them).</p>
<p>Most of the other blokes weren’t overly forthcoming about themselves either – a quiet but decent bunch. The exception was the guy in the bed immediately opposite me – a guy who increasingly showed himself to be neither quiet nor decent – a guy named ‘Homer’.</p>
<p>I won’t mention his surname, as I want to respect some confidentiality, but I will say that it wasn’t ‘Simpson’. In many ways though it should have been. As time wore on, Homer gave an increasingly clear impression that he was as rude, lazy, unintelligent and as all-round self-obsessed as his three-fingered counterpart but had few of his animated namesake‘s redeeming features.</p>
<p>Homer would start his whinging early in the morning, and it seemed that the less people listened to him, the louder he became. He would complain about the food, the service, the bedding, the medication, the heat, the cold, and the lack of meaningful viewing alternatives on the television.</p>
<p>For the most part I was happy enough to just let this wash over me, but it was when he started honing in his attacks on a particular member of the nursing staff that I really started to lose my patience.</p>
<p>It started at 4am one morning. All of us in the ward were woken from our slumber to hear Homer loudly scolding Nurse Lee because she wouldn’t give him more pain-killers.</p>
<p>“But I’m only allowed to give you 2 tablets every 6 hours” the nurse said.</p>
<p>“No!” Homer would reply. “The doctor told me that I was allowed to take them every two hours!”</p>
<p>“He couldn’t have possibly told you that, Mr Homer”, the nurse replied.</p>
<p>“I know what I heard”, Homer shouted in response.</p>
<p>And in such manner the stoush continued, with the unfortunate nurse holding her ground while Homer became increasingly obnoxious in his use of language. At one point he even suggested that the good nurse should go and re-read her Hippocratic oath – ‘that the customer is always right!’</p>
<p>Homer’s knowledge of Hippocrates pretty well summed up the wisdom of his position as I saw it. He neither understood manners, history, nor what was good for him. Even so, if it were possible to compensate for a lack of substance with an increase of volume, he was the guy to do it!</p>
<p>Eventually the supervising doctor was found and the moment of truth arrived. “You told me I could take these every two hours!” Homer exclaimed. “I most certainly did not. You can only take them every six hours!” replied the doctor. “Oh”, said Homer. “… I thought you said every two”</p>
<p>Now you would have thought that this would have spelt the end of the conflict. What other options were there at this point for the defeated Homer except to apologise to the doctor, the nursing staff and his entire hospital audience, and to walk away quietly with his tail between his legs.</p>
<p>If Leonidas, king of Sparta, had found himself in this position at Thermopylae he would have apologised to the rapacious King Xerxes, rounded up his troops and returned home. If <a href="http://www.fatherdave.org/">Luke</a> Skywalker and his mates had found themselves in this position at the Battle of Endor, they would have surrendered to the nearest storm-trooper and sworn loyalty to the Emperor. If the Devil himself … ok, you get the idea. My point is that Homer was no ordinary human being. He didn’t know the meaning of the word ‘defeat’ (or many other words for that matter), so instead of backing down and apologising he upped the attack.</p>
<p>Homer found new reasons to criticise the middle-aged Asian nurse who had done so well in putting up with his vitriolic assault. He focused on the multiple personality defects that he had detected in her. He attacked her lack of fluency in English. He even tried to report her to the supervising nurse for having shoes that he was sure didn’t meet Occupational Health and Safety standards!</p>
<p>Long after Nurse Lee’s shift had ended Homer’s tirade continued to be broadcast to anybody and everybody that would care to listen to him, and his comments became increasingly sleazy and racially orientated.</p>
<p>On reflection I’m not sure why it took me so long to make a meaningful response. My only defence is that I was rather ill – running a temperature, on high levels of medication and attached to a drip. Even so, I’m not proud of the fact that it took me half a day before my tolerance ran out.</p>
<p>I can’t remember now the specific Homerism that set me off, but I do remember calling over one of the nursing staff and asking her to pass on a message to Homer from me: “will you please tell Homer that if he makes one more sleazy or racist comment about Nurse Lee that I’m going to detach my drip and walk over there and break his nose?”</p>
<p>Happily the nurse was saved from the predicament of having to actually pass on the message as Homer overheard most of what I had said. He responded with some mild, low-volume swearing that indicated to me that he hadn’t really got the message. I repeated my plan more audibly and added: “It’s entirely your call, brother. Keep you mouth shut and you’ll be fine. One more sleazy or racist comment and you’ll find yourself in a pool of your own blood!” This colourful P.S. proved rather effective, and an ominous silence then descended on our room.</p>
<p>The silence was broken by the arrival of a mate of mine who had come to pay me a visit. As providence would have it this particular brother (who I’ll refer to simply as ‘Bugsy’) is an enormous bloke with a face that tells a story of a thousand pub brawls. He’s recently found God and is a big-hearted guy, but he’d still make a fantastic standover man. He’s the sort of guy that mob bosses love to have accompanying them when they go to collect debts – ‘rough him up a bit for me, Bugsy!’</p>
<p>Anyway, Bugsy had come to see how I was going and there was no avoiding explaining to him the tangible air of tension in the ward. Bugsy thought it was great fun, and he did consider walking over to Homer’s bed and just confirming with him that he’d got the message, but he hesitated on the grounds that he was still on parole, and I think that was a wise decision.</p>
<p>At any rate, I think the mere appearance of this Caucasian version of Mr T helped enormously to reinforce my message to Homer. I didn’t hear a squeak out of him from that moment on, right up until they moved me to another ward about an hour later. Moreover, I was told that the next morning he had bought a big box of chocolates for all the nurses!</p>
<p>And things only got better for me from that moment on. I was moved to a much quieter room and I was the darling of the nursing staff for the remainder of my hospital stay. Best of all, I received a visit from Nurse Lee at the conclusion of her next shift. She said to me in her lovely broken English, “You are my knight in shining armour”.</p>
<p>The whole experience has cast hospital work in a new light for me. I still can’t see myself as a chaplain, but maybe I could be on call for certain special cases that suit my particular style of ministry?</p>
<p>Back at home no one was surprised when they heard what had happened. Indeed, my colleague, Father Elias, began his sermon the following Sunday by saying, “I think if it had appeared in the paper that a priest had threatened to beat up a fellow patient in a Sydney Hospital, the most common response would have been, ‘I didn’t know Dave was in hospital!’”</p>
<p>I’m not entirely sure whether I should feel pleased or horrified by Elias’ analysis, but it did make me laugh.</p>
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		<title>Before I was a Muslim I was a Christian</title>
		<link>http://shoppingbyclick.com/2012/03/before-i-was-a-muslim-i-was-a-christian/</link>
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		<pubDate>Thu, 01 Mar 2012 07:43:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>infowriter</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[I had the privilege last Friday night of being back amongst my friends at the Imam Husain Islamic Centre where we met to grieve the death of the father of my dear friend, Sheikh Mansour Leghaei. And it was good to be back amongst those lovely people, and it was good to a part of [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I had the privilege last Friday night of being back amongst my friends at the Imam Husain Islamic Centre where we met to grieve the death of the father of my dear friend, Sheikh Mansour Leghaei.</p>
<p>And it was good to be back amongst those lovely people, and it was good to a part of the live Skype linkup with Mansour back in Esfahan (in Iran) and it was to once again enjoy the experience of being kissed by an enormous number of bearded men (an experience that [sadly] I just don’t get anywhere else).</p>
<p>And I was reminded very clearly, while I was there, of one particularly endearing thing that one of the members of that community had said to me on a previous visit. It wasn’t Sheikh Mansour who said it to me or any of his family members but one of the elders there – a retired professor from Newcastle University.</p>
<p>This man had been looking after me on one of the previous times that I’d been there and we had been talking very warmly and candidly, when said to me, “You know, before I was a Muslim, I was a Christian!”  And I was taken aback and said, “Really?”  He said, “Yes, and before I was a Christian, I was a Jew”.</p>
<p>Then I understood, of course, that he didn’t mean that he’d actually been a convert from Christianity, but that rather he was expressing our common spiritual heritage.</p>
<p>And of course I could not share his perspective – that Islam fulfils the Christian hope, just as we believe the New Testament Gospel fulfils all the hopes and dreams of the Old, but I appreciated that this elder in the Islamic community was basically just expressing his closeness to me, and I found that touching.</p>
<p>And I’ve thought of that man and his message to me often because I think the whole world needs to hear what he has to say!</p>
<p>I do sincerely believe that if we could somehow get rid of all the dirty politics, we’d find that the common heritage of the three Abrahamic religions is so great – at least in terms of basic ethics and values – that we really have no ideological basis for enmity, let alone for any ‘clash of civilisations’!</p>
<p>‘Before I was a Muslim I was a Christian, and before I was a Christian I was a Jew’ – it was an impressive thing to say, but it was also a statement that required a response, I felt – a response that I wasn’t able to give at the time, but I’ve thought of one since – a good response – and I got it from the story of Noah!</p>
<p>One thing that always comes to mind for me when I think of Noah and the Flood is an old Peanuts cartoon, featuring Linus and Lucy sitting at home, looking out of the window, and it’s raining!</p>
<p>Lucy says to Linus, “I can’t believe how long it’s been raining for!  Perhaps it will just keep raining until everything is flooded and we are all drowned?” Linus replies, “No, in Genesis chapter 9 God tells Noah that He will never again allow a flood to take over the whole earth”. Lucy says, “Wow! Thanks”. Linus pauses and says, “Good theology is a beautiful thing!”</p>
<p>Good theology is a beautiful thing, and it’s the theology of Genesis 9 and the flood story that has interested me, as I think it’s a story with a very important message.</p>
<p>The Noah story is a tale of pain and passion – the pain caused by humanity on the one hand, through their violent and reckless behaviour, and the passion of God, who is grieved by His creation and seems to be ready to throw up his hands!</p>
<p>If you’re familiar with this part of the Bible you know that the Noah story is a component part in a series of similar stories that span the first eleven chapters of Genesis – starting out with the very beginning of creation – where things just seem to go from bad to worse.</p>
<p>First there is Adam and Eve and the incident with the snake. Next thing, there’s a murder in Adam and Eve’s immediate family, and things just seem to degenerate from there until, by the time of Noah, we’re told that “every inclination of the human heart was only evil all the time”. (Genesis 6:5)</p>
<p>And I appreciate that that’s a very black and white way of looking at the world, but if you look at what’s going on in the world today, you could be forgiven, I think, for coming to exactly the same conclusion!</p>
<p>And it makes you angry!  I find myself getting angry about things all the time!  I’ve been getting angry this week about Syria, though not so much over what’s going on in the country itself, but over the way it’s being reported out here!</p>
<p>I’m convinced we’re being hoodwinked again by our media on this one, and I spent extensive time on Friday evening with a guy who had just returned from Syria, and he said exactly the same thing. He said that he and his friends would watch the foreign media coverage from Syria, where CNN or BBC would tell them what was going on in the area they were living in, and it was clearly entirely inaccurate!</p>
<p>And it makes you angry, and people do crazy things when they’re angry. They take up arms and they strap bombs to themselves and they commit acts of violence.</p>
<p>But God is not exactly depicted as getting angry here, but rather as grieving.</p>
<p>“The LORD saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. 6 The LORD regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled.” (Genesis 6:5-6)</p>
<p>And perhaps that depiction of God strikes you as sounding ‘all too human’, but perhaps that is the point!</p>
<p>The God we read of in these early chapters of the Bible is not one who sets the whole machine in motion and then steps back and lets it rip. On the contrary, this is a God who engages with his creation from the outset, and engages passionately!</p>
<p>And so this God gets frustrated, exasperated, and ultimately regrets ever having created the human race. And so the flood comes, not so much as an act of angry vengeance on God’s part, but more out of a desire for a fresh start.</p>
<p>Even so, the flood is a violent act, and there’s no getting around that. It’s exactly the sort of incident that leaves people shaking their heads and asking “why would God allow such a thing to happen?” to which we are generally respond by trying to excuse God from blame.</p>
<p>Here though God seems happy to take the blame, and yet the conclusion to the story is rather telling. God makes a covenant with Noah, and with all flesh through Noah, such that God will never allow another act of such universal cataclysmic violence to ever happen again.</p>
<p>And so God hangs up His bow as a sign to all flesh that such violence is never going to come from His hand again. Just as the modern-day farmer might lock away his rifle in the shed, or the master swordsman sheaths his sword, so the warrior-archer hangs up his bow!  And this is what God is does – hangs up His bow above the mantle-piece (so to speak) as a sign that He will never be using it again!</p>
<p>And it’s a covenant. It’s a promise.  And if you know your Bible at all you know that the concept of ‘covenant’ or ‘testament’ is a very key Biblical concept.</p>
<p>We divide our Bible into covenants (or ‘testaments’) – the Old Testament and the New Testament, which would suggest that there are only two covenants. In fact, Biblically speaking, I think there are five:</p>
<p>•#This one</p>
<p>•#The covenant with Abraham and his children forever (Genesis12)</p>
<p>•#The covenant with Moses and his people at Mount Sinai</p>
<p>•#The covenant with David – that one of his children will always reign as king</p>
<p>•#The ‘new covenant’ with Jesus</p>
<p>And in each case what we are dealing with fundamentally is a promise – a commitment on the part of God to His covenant partner.</p>
<p>And you can see that there’s a progressive narrowing of the focus of these covenants.  They begin with Noah, with a commitment to all flesh. After that there is a commitment to a particular race of people, then to those members of that race that make it to Mount Sinai, then to one particular family within that group (the line of David) and finally to one particular individual (Jesus).</p>
<p>And my dad used to say that it was like a funnel, with the promises of God becoming increasingly focused – from the children of Abraham to Moses, to the specific line of David, and finally to an individual – Jesus, through whom the Grace of God becomes available again to everybody!</p>
<p>And that’s a good way of looking at it, with the funnel ending with a universal shower of love, and it’s appropriate too because it all begins here with Noah with a universal and unconditional commitment to ‘all flesh’, and it is a commitment of mercy – a promise on the part of God that He will deal gently with His children – with ALL His children, and with animals too!</p>
<p>God has hung up His bow. The days of divine violence are over. No matter how bad things get, God is going to find another way of working things through.</p>
<p>It’s a bit of a strange parallel, but I don’t know if you’ve been following the story of Khader Adnan Muhammad Musa –the Palestinian hunger-striker?</p>
<p>I find that story really fantastic, because Khader Adnan is a leader of Islamic Jihad, which is an organisation committed to armed resistance against the Israeli Occupation of Palestine.  Islamic Jihad believes that dialogue and so-called passive resistance are useless. As I understand it, he’s openly encouraged people to strap on bombs and do whatever they have to in order to bring an end to the injustice.</p>
<p>And this guy has been arrested a lot of times, though it seems the Israeli authorities rarely have anything to charge him with. So this time when he was arrested, he insisted that he get a trial or be freed, and when they refused to do either he went on a hunger strike!</p>
<p>And he fasted for 66 days, which I believe is a world record (so long as you don’t count the famous Irish ‘terrorist’, Bobby Sands, who didn’t survive his hunger strike). Anyway, Khader Adnan was successful, and the Israeli authorities have said that they are going to let him go!  Islamic Jihad, it seems, have one a victory though, ironically, it has not been through armed resistance but through using a form of protest that Mahatma Ghandi made famous!</p>
<p>Yes, there are better ways of dealing with evil and injustice than the resort to violence, and God Himself, according to this ancient story, has committed Himself to finding other ways of dealing with evil and injustice. God will not punish without mercy. God will be gracious because God has made a commitment – a solemn promise of love – to us and to all flesh!</p>
<p> ‘Before I was a Muslim I was a Christian’, he said to me, ‘and before I was a Christian I was a Jew’. And my response is, ‘and before we were men of faith, we were men’ – brothers in the flesh (so to speak) and still, as brothers in the flesh, recipients of the promises of God and beneficiaries of His Grace!</p>
<p>For the Covenants begin here, with Noah, with a commitment from God to be merciful to all flesh.</p>
<p>And yes, we enjoy the Grace of God made ours through Christ, but let’s remember that the promises of God were extended to us first not as Christian people but simply as people – simply as creatures of flesh, for God has made a commitment of love to all creatures of flesh.</p>
<p>Good theology is a beautiful thing, isn’t it? And the story of Noah, while many elements of it may be difficult to come to terms with, is ultimately a beautiful story too, I think, for it affirms the fundamental equality of all flesh before God, and it proclaims the unconditional commitment of God to all flesh.</p>
<p>‘Before I was a Muslim I was a Christian and before I was a Christian I was a Jew’. And before I was a man of faith I was a man, and before being a man (in a sense) I am simply a human being – a creature of flesh. But that is nothing to be ashamed of. For on the contrary, it is creatures of flesh that God is committed to, and He has committed Himself to all of us!</p>
<p>Fighting Father&#8217; Dave &#8211; Parish Priest, Community Worker, Professional boxer, Martial Arts master, Father of three. Dave&#8217;s goal is to offer an alternative culture for young people, based on values of courage, integrity, self-discipline and teamwork. He is available to help work your corner as you fight the good fight. Visit <a href="http://www.fatherdave.org">http://www.fatherdave.org</a> for more information.</p>
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		<title>Need For Website Marketing Services</title>
		<link>http://shoppingbyclick.com/2012/02/need-for-website-marketing-services/</link>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 21 Feb 2012 07:33:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>infowriter</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[business]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[The online environment could be a very competitive marketplace for a business of any range to compete in so it is vital to always seek areas of opportunity where you can surpass your competition. The idea of surpassing your competition becomes a difficult job when several companies often provide a similar goods or services to [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The online environment could be a very competitive marketplace for a business of any range to compete in so it is vital to always seek areas of opportunity where you can surpass your competition. The idea of surpassing your competition becomes a difficult job when several companies often provide a similar goods or services to clients that lots of other companies provide. If looking to surpass your competition one area of opportunity is found within the solutions offered by website marketing services and the opportunity of improving communication resources along with your clients. Several corporations has sought to utilize these services to aid in the success for the reasons of brand recognition, expert insight and rich media.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.infoYOGIS.com"><img src="http://healthcareforbelievers.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/17-300x250.jpg" alt="" width="250" height="200" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-713" /></a></p>
<p>Reason One: Brand Recognition</p>
<p>Brand development represents an important part in any business plan whether you are trying to sell the name of your company or a specific product your business provides. The vast number of companies currently serving the online community creates and overwhelming atmosphere as consumers struggle to decide who to buy from. This atmosphere of overwhelming decisions has inspired some of the best stages of brand loyalty as consumers turn to merchandise they are familiar with rather than risking investment into an unknown brand or product. From the resources of search engine optimization consultants you may gain access to individuals who are brand recognition specialists and who can aid your business in building this recognition so as to encourage sales.</p>
<p>Reason Two: Expert Insight</p>
<p>Most business owners have experience competing in a selected physical region and knowing specifically who their rivals are. Through the internet a company is subjected to hundreds or thousands of direct rivals that makes it difficult to target your competition and excel above them. The worth of expertise is pretty vital when making an attempt to compete online and one of the best solutions to finding this is often with the aid of website marketing services. With such services you will be able to grasp a larger understanding of your competitors and how you can improve marketability so as to capture a larger percentage of the market.</p>
<p>Reason Three: Rich Media</p>
<p>The ultimate reason to turn to a solution like search engine optimization consultants is seen with gaining access to a abundant resource of media outlets. The internet offers dozens of possible options to choose from when it comes to reaching your consumers and knowing which solutions to settle on would save your business money and improve the likelihood of reaching your direct clientele. </p>
<p>These three reasons are only a few of the influential elements which have encouraged business owners to pursue the resources provided by <a href="http://www.infoyogis.com">website marketing services</a>. If your business is ready to get a jump on the competition through the resources of advertising, start by going to <a href="http://www.infoyogis.com">http://www.infoyogis.com</a></p>
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		<title>Another Miracle</title>
		<link>http://shoppingbyclick.com/2012/02/another-miracle/</link>
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		<pubDate>Wed, 08 Feb 2012 09:54:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>infowriter</dc:creator>
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		<description><![CDATA[After they left the synagogue, they went directly to the house of Simon and Andrew, along with James and John. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was lying in bed, sick with a fever, so they promptly told Jesus about her. He went up to her, took her by the hand, and helped her up. The fever left [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>After they left the synagogue, they went directly to the house of Simon and Andrew, along with James and John. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was lying in bed, sick with a fever, so they promptly told Jesus about her. He went up to her, took her by the hand, and helped her up. The fever left her, and she began serving them. When evening came, after the sun had set, people started bringing to him all those who were sick or possessed by demons. In fact, the whole city gathered at the door. He healed many who were sick with various diseases and drove out many demons. However, he wouldn’t allow the demons to speak because they knew who he was. In the morning, while it was still very dark, Jesus got up and went to a deserted place and prayed there. Simon and his companions searched diligently for him. When they found him, they told him, “Everyone’s looking for you.” He said to them, “Let’s go to the neighboring towns so that I can preach there, too. For that is why I came out here.” So he went throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.</p>
<p>Looking through the Gospel text this week I was reminded of the story of the priest who gets pulled over by a policeman after running a red light, and when the window is wound down, the officer is immediately confronted with the smell of alcohol emanating from the car!</p>
<p>“Have you been drinking, Father?” the policeman asks.  “Not a drop”, the priest replies.</p>
<p>“Well … would you mind telling me what you’ve got in that flask”, the policeman asks.  “Ah … that would be water”, says the priest.</p>
<p>The policeman picks up the flask, opens it and sniffs it. “I believe this is whiskey, Father”, says the policeman.</p>
<p>“Mother of God!” says the priest, “Another miracle!”</p>
<p>And as I read through the Gospel reading today I find myself making the same response: ‘Another miracle!’</p>
<p>We’re actually only in the first chapter of the Gospel according to St Mark, and yet already we have been confronted with a whole series of miracles!</p>
<p>No sooner had Jesus entered the synagogue to teach than he was confronted by a wild, crazy man, screaming out at him, and Jesus healed the man.</p>
<p>And within a day of that event, or so it seems, everybody who is sick or possessed is crowding around Jesus, and Jesus is healing them of their illnesses and driving out demons, and the activity becomes all-consuming, though the irony is that Jesus seems to be engaging in the whole process a little reluctantly!</p>
<p>We sense a degree of frustration, I think, with Jesus early on, as He tries to quieten the testimonies of the possessed – “You are the Holy One of God!” – lest the whole thing get out of hand.  And yet it does get out of hand, and Jesus seems frustrated by the hordes that press on him. It appears that He wants people to listen to what He has to say, and not just to get carried away with His miracles or His mysterious identity.</p>
<p>This is made quite explicit at the end of our reading today, where we see Jesus, having escaped from the crowds that were pursuing him to a ‘lonely place’ (vs.35), telling His disciples that it’s time to move on.</p>
<p>“Let’s go to the neighbouring towns so that I can preach there, too. For that is why I came out here.” (vs.38)</p>
<p>And it seems that Jesus, after having taken some time to think things through, realises that His priority has to be spreading His word of hope about the new world coming.  The great well of human need that He sees round about him is, it seems, a distraction that threatens to divert Him from His real work.</p>
<p>Surely there were any number of others who could take up the task of healing the sick.  Jesus must focus on spreading the word, “for that is why I came out”!</p>
<p>As I say, there is a fair degree of irony in this because despite Jesus’ words, He never actually acts in accordance with His own pronouncement!</p>
<p>Perhaps indeed the ordinary needs of ordinary human beings are a distraction from the greater work of spreading the Gospel, but if so, Jesus seemed to consistently allow Himself to be distracted!</p>
<p>So many people come to him, we are told, that there isn’t room at the door, and yet we don’t see Jesus standing up and saying, “Look! I want everybody to put their physical issues on hold for a moment. I have some things I’d like to say.”</p>
<p>No! There is a well of human misery surrounding Jesus as He begins His ministry, and Jesus wades right into it!</p>
<p>Jesus does not detach Himself. He allows Himself to be distracted. He reaches out. He heals. He liberates both the infirmed and the possessed, and He does so knowing full well that this is detracting from the work that He was sent to do, but He does it anyway!</p>
<p>Yes, at the end of the day he creates some distance for Himself and He decides that it’s time to focus on preaching, and yet the immediate follow-on from this pronouncement is that a person afflicted with leprosy finds Jesus and asks for help.</p>
<p>And Jesus doesn’t say, “Not now, buddy!  I’ve got other things I need to be doing. At least wait until the end of the sermon!” On the contrary, St Mark records that Jesus was ‘moved with compassion’ for the man (vs.41), and so He healed him.  And so the pattern of preaching AND healing (where there always seems to be a lot more healing than preaching) continues!</p>
<p>Now that story of the man with leprosy is in next week’s reading, I think, and I don’t want to snatch the thunder from next week’s sermon, so perhaps I should focus on the main healing that is dealt with in this week’s story – namely, the healing of Simon Peter’s mother-in-law – a healing that I must say has to be one of the least spectacular healing stories ever recorded in any of the four Gospels!</p>
<p>It is preceded by the healing of the crazy demoniac and proceeded by the story of the man with leprosy, and it seems like a rather innocuous example to focus on relative to those two!</p>
<p>We are told that Simon Peter’s mother-in-law had a fever, but there is no suggestion there that it was life-threatening. It may have been, of course, or she may have just had a slight touch of the flu!</p>
<p>It does make you wonder why the Gospel writer chose to include this particular incident when it does seem to detract from the action-packed nature of the adventure that’s unfolding.</p>
<p>Was it just that the Gospel writer and his first readers all knew Peter’s mother-in-law personally?  If so, it’s a bit of a surprise that she doesn’t receive a name in the story!</p>
<p>Some scholars suggest that there is a movement in the story of the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law that is archetypal for the process of discipleship.</p>
<p>As you read the narrative, you do feel that movement:</p>
<p>• Jesus goes to her</p>
<p>• He takes her by the hand</p>
<p>• He lifts her up</p>
<p>• She is healed!</p>
<p>And it’s almost like a dance that Jesus and the woman are sharing in together, where Jesus leads the dance but where, you will notice, the woman makes the final move, for we are told that no sooner has she been healed than she begins to ‘serve’ Jesus – literally, to ‘wait on Him’ but the implication being that she has now become a disciple, and so the dance of love and healing and service will continue!</p>
<p>I’m sure this story has deliberately been framed to encapsulate this movement, as a sort of template for discipleship.  Even so, there’s no reason the Gospel writer could not have overlaid that template on any number of other more spectacular healing stories too</p>
<p>My guess is that Mark deliberately included this story of the healing of Simon Peter’s mother-in-law, in all its ordinariness, simply because it is so ordinary, and hence so familiar!</p>
<p>We see healings like this all the time, don’t we? We are often involved in healings like this, are we not?</p>
<p>It may be that you, like me, have seen a handful of spectacular healings and/or exorcisms in your time, but for the most part it is these little miracles that we are familiar with, and perhaps part of the point of this passage is that little miracles are still miracles, and the fact that they are small and familiar does not mean that they are unimportant!</p>
<p>I think of all the little miracles I’ve been privileged to be the beneficiary of over the years – not normally directly from the hand of Jesus, but more often through the healing touch of one of Jesus’ people.</p>
<p>I think back to the time when I was struggling with depression, trying to survive my own family breakdown many years ago. And I remember all the little acts of healing that took place back then – the little miracle of a friend who would sit up with me and share a beer with me and let me talk until I was able to go to sleep.</p>
<p>We’ve been remembering the lives of dear old Margaret and Thelma today, and I remember well the small miracles that they would dispense – nothing spectacular, but a gentle word, a loving embrace – coming to me, taking me by the hand, lifting me up and giving me healing and strength.  Life’s little miracles!</p>
<p>“Let’s go to the neighbouring towns so that I can preach there, too. For that is why I came out here.” (vs.38)</p>
<p>As I say, there is a subtle irony in this pronouncement, in part because Jesus seems to be incapable of following His own advice!</p>
<p>If Jesus really was psyching up the team for a more focused ministry where words came first and acts of healing second, it was a program He never carried through with.  His compassion got the better of Him.</p>
<p>And yet there is another irony here too, and it’s found in the text of the Gospel itself!</p>
<p>Jesus’ priority, we are told, is preaching and teaching, and yet if you read through this extensive first chapter of the Gospel according to St Mark, there’s not a single word of Jesus’ teaching recorded! It actually not until we get to the latter part of Mark chapter 2 that we get any of the actual teachings of Jesus recorded!</p>
<p>I’m not suggesting that this makes the teachings of Jesus any less important – not at all – but I am suggesting that (at least so far as the Gospel-writer Mark was concerned) these were not the things Jesus was best remembered for!</p>
<p>And this is true to life!</p>
<p>As we are remembering today the lives of dear Thelma and Margaret, I must say that I remember them very well, but it’s not their wise words I remember, though I’m sure Thelma (in particular) had plenty for me. It was her compassionate touch, her loving looks, the affectionate kiss, the healing embrace …</p>
<p>St Francis of Assisi is said to have said, “Preach the Gospel at all times, and if necessary use words”. I don’t know if he really said it, but it makes sense.</p>
<p>Of course we don’t do anybody any favours by holding back the words of the Gospel, for indeed these words can be the source of life and hope.  And yet words by themselves can be very hollow.</p>
<p>When we die it will most likely not be our words that we are best remembered for.  Most likely it will be the little miracles that we were a part of.  And it may seem sometimes that our contribution is not that great (‘ah … another miracle’) and yet every miracle – great and small – is a part of that great dance that Christ is leading us in.</p>
<p>For Jesus is more than just a teacher, just as His teaching is more than mere words.  He is “the visible image of our invisible God”, says St Paul (Colossians 1:15).</p>
<p>Or in the words of Charles Wesley:</p>
<p>Jesu, Thou art all compassion.<br />
Pure, unbounded love Thou art.<br />
Visit us with Thy salvation.<br />
Enter every trembling hear!</p>
<p>&#8216;Fighting Father&#8217; Dave &#8211; Parish Priest, Community Worker, Professional boxer, Martial Arts master, Father of three. Dave&#8217;s goal is to offer an alternative culture for young people, based on values of courage, integrity, self-discipline and teamwork. He is available to help work your corner as you fight the good fight. Visit <a href="http://www.fatherdave.org">http://www.fatherdave.org</a> for more information.</p>
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