Eternal Life: Free Gift of God

                                     

A Guide to Salvation Made Simple

Salvation is the most wonderful thing presented to man — a promise from God to grant us eternal life through his son, Jesus Christ. So many people are constantly looking for a way to salvation, inquiring how to book their tickets to Heaven. Thankfully, the Bible gives straightforward teachings about how one can achieve salvation. Through grace, trust, and the atonement of Jesus, any person can obtain the promise in Heaven to be cleansed and to experience forever peace.

The Bad News: As Human Beings We Are Sinners (Romans 3:23)

The Bible says all humans are conceived in sin. It says in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” This Bible truth teaches, despite how good we try to be, righteousness by ourselves could never possibly put us in good standing in the sight of a holy God. Sin isolates humans from God and holds the heinous penalty over man’s head — punishment eternally in the lake of fire.

Romans 6:23 warns, “For the wages of sin are death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Man, in the Bible, would be eternally damned and sentenced to spiritual death if he did not come to salvation. God, in his great mercies, however, hath provided man the means to avoid this fate.

Sin is also the internal status of a person, and not just an external act. The Bible says in Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”

All the person’s acts, desires, and thoughts apart from the person in Christ are contaminated by the taint of sin. Other folks believe they are going to gain salvation by good acts, religion, and righteousness, but Isaiah 64:6 says, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as filthy rags.” Effort alone could not clean the taint of sin, only God’s grace.

The consequence, in any case, is physical, and spiritual death, and the ultimate result is alienation from God forever. Revelation 20:15 states, “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” This damnation comes to all who reject God’s salvation offer. However, God offers an escape, and the escape means are in his Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ.

The Good News: Our Saviour, Jesus Christ

The Lord’s salvation is the light, and is as a results God’s love to man. God did what he could to pay man’s wages of his sins by allowing his only begotten Son to die on the cross.

1 Corinthians 15:3–4 states, “Christ died because of our sins according to the scriptures; and he was buried, and he rose the third day according to the scriptures.”

This act established God’s love, grace, and intent to give salvation gratuitously. As stated in Romans 5:8, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Resurrection established the promise to give life eternally, testifying to God’s victory from sin and death eternally.

Unlike all other spiritual leaders, Jesus did not stay in the grave. The resurrection of Jesus is the evidence of His victory over death and sin. It could not be accomplished by any other person, because only Jesus did not sin. “Who did no sin, neither was found any guile in his mouth” (1 Peter 2:22). He was the immaculate sacrifice, and the burden of the punishment, which belonged to us, He carried.

His resurrection wins victory from the sting of death. “O death, where thy sting? O grave, thy victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:55).

The resurrection, the empty sepulchre, confirms the truth that only by the instrumentality of Jesus are humans assured salvation. He’s the Son of God, the Redeemer, and the Liberator.

The Means to Salvation through Faith in Christ.

Salvation is in absolutely no sense by good works, effort, or religion. It’s the undeserved, gratuitous grace only by having faith in the person and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

It’s simply stated in Acts 16:31, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”

Many people think if they just obey the religion and are good, they are going to Heaven. Yet God, in the Bible, in the book of Ephesians 2:8–9, states, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

To receive Christ’s salvation, one must:

Confess their sins — Confess your sins and the need to be redeemed.
Repent –Change your mind of unbelief and turn to the Lord for His Grace, Mercy and Forgiveness.
Believe in the person and finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

John 3:16 states, “For God so loved the world, he gave his only Son, that whosoever believe in him shall by no means perish, but shall gain everlasting life.”

Faith in Christ gives birth to spiritual transformation, birth, and rebirth to hope and to sanctification. According to Romans 4:5–6, “righteousness fails in me — only the righteousness of Christ saves.”

Repentance is necessary to salvation. It’s not to be sorry, to just turn around and face the other direction after you are born again by faith in Jesus Christ. The people who are in the real faith are going to desire to be holy and to be sanctified and to strive to obey the ways of the Lord.

Once a man believes in Christ, his salvation is forever. Based on what Jesus himself testified in John 6:47, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth in me hath everlasting life.” This promise gives security and peace to everyone who believes in Him.

The Assurance of Salvation: A Promise Not to Be Broken

Many wonder if they are going to lose salvation. You read in John 10:28–29, “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” It’s not how good we are going to hold God; it’s how good God’s going to hold us.

Salvation in the Bible is a lifelong promise and not a temporary condition. The people who believe in Christ are gifted the indwelling Holy Spirit, who teaches them to become holy and increase in the faith. Romans 8:38–39 ensures the people in the belief that God’s love could not be separated from them.

Those who are saved will bear the fruit of salvation. Good works are not the thing by means of which people are saved, but are the demonstration of a life having been transformed. James 2:17 states, “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.” The individuals who did in reality gain salvation will strive to conduct themselves in a manner worthy to God.

Conclusion: Accept God’s Gift of Salvation

The way to salvation is simple: believe in Saviour and the Lord, the Lord, Jesus Christ. You are saved, and by through God’s grace though faith in Jesus Christ. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8).

Do not hesitate to seize this offer from heaven. Trust and repent in God today, and you shall experience the long-sought, forever longed-for peace from having your sins cleansed. As the Psalmist penned, “The Lord is my light and salvation; whom shall I fear?” (Psalm 27:1). Through the life and the work of Christ, we are truly saved, delivered, and hopeful forever. Will you accept this great offer today? Do you already trust in the Lord Jesus, and are you willing to turn to Him in repentance and trust in Him. It’s available to you at no cost, and the choice lies in your hands. Don’t delay — your salvation hangs in the balance.

SHENITA ETWAROO © All rights reserved.

Click to Read

Animal Welfare and Christian Responsibility

 

Proverbs 12:10, “A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.”

I am a born-again believer and my relationship with my God and Saviour, Jesus Christ remains the most important aspect of my life. And though every day I fall so very short of what I can and should be as a child of God and a representative of Christ Jesus on Earth, my faith informs every aspect of my life. So much of my walk of faith has been shaped from my earliest memories by those closest to me, animals, dear ones who share my faith and my struggles, the challenges of living a Christ-like life in an un-Christ-like world.

My faith has carried over in important ways to my relationship with animals. I have held precious animals as they took their last breath. I simply love animals, especially my pets or animal companions.

As a Christian, I love all living things, including animals. In fact, for me, the love of animals is profoundly and inextricably bound up with my faith in Christ Jesus. Unfortunately, this fierce and enduring connection between faith and animal fellowship is not something many of my fellow Christians share.

I have known many deeply faithful Christians who refused to pray for a sick, injured, or lost animal because they believed that animals were not possessed of souls. For them, to pray for a soulless creature would be a form of disrespect — if not sacrilege. And that is the challenge that so many Christians face. It is the dichotomy between compassion and apathy which, as a Christian and an animal rescuer, fur-mom, activist, and advocate, chills me to the bone.

The soul is composed of 3 elements: a Mind to think, a Heart to feel emotions, and a Will to decide. Animals, just as humans, possess these characteristics. Animals can become sad, and depressed, if mistreated. Likewise, animals are happy and content when we respect them as creatures of God’s divine handiwork and omnipotence.

Many Christians base their relationship with animals on Genesis 1: 26: “And God said, let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth” (KJV).

It is this idea of “dominion” which so often drives Christian attitudes toward animal, all too often leading to negligence in the best cases and to brutality in the worst. The online edition of the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “dominion”, alternatively, as “supreme authority” and “absolute ownership.”

Far too often, though, Christians distort and abuse this idea of “absolute ownership” for their own selfish gains, for reasons that have nothing to do with adherence to God’s commandments. In the name of “dominion,” they may discard or kill an animal whose care has become too costly, asserting that this is the God-given right of the proprietor to dispose of his “belongings” as he sees fit. They may “punish” or “break” an animal who does not submit to human will — an animal who does not easily take to the yoke or the bridle, who does not perform adequately at aquatic parks or in circuses, an animal that dares to exhibit aggression against a human, no matter how grossly it has been treated. In the name of human “dominion”, animals are relegated to the backyards of our homes, spending their entire lives crushed and torn by the weights of heavy chains, left alone to languish in the heat of summer and to tremble in the agonies of winter, subsisting on dirty water and insect-infested food as the sounds of the family’s laughter and the scent of bounteous food wafts from the kitchen window.

In the name of “dominion” — and commerce — animals spend their lives in cramped cages, bearing litter after litter to of “high-end” purebreds and coveted “designer” mixes, even as their bones deform to the shape of their wire prisons, their skin crawls with vermin and flames with bites, their sight clouds from lifetimes spent in darkness, and their spirit erodes from a life that has never known kindness, never felt the touch of a gentle hand, never heard the soft voice of Christ-like compassion.

Around the world, every day, animals are either skinned alive, or boiled alive so that their fur can be harvested in the service of human vanity. They are cut, poisoned, tortured, and brutalized before their lives are finally taken to support so-called “research” that too often provides no tangible benefit to humanity whatsoever.

To meet humans’ insatiable gluttony, sows are confined for their entire lives in nursing pens with no room even to lie down or turn around; chickens are stuffed into cramped cages with thousands of other birds, suffering broken bones and suffocation in the crushing throng; cattle are stunned with electric prods and their throats slit before being hung from by their hind legs to bleed slowly to death. And these are horrors that are repeated countless times each day on a global scale.

In my life, I have seen terrible things: animals starved and beaten: Cats so traumatized by abuse they were scheduled for euthanasia because their fear of humans made them “unadoptable”; dogs burned, shot, beaten, and stabbed. America is a purportedly Christian nation where humanity is said to prevail…

In the name of some supposed God-given hierarchy, the welfare of non-human animals is deemed secondary, non-essential, an afterthought, or even a luxury that only the wealthy, the indulgently softhearted, or the foolish can afford. And this is all not only rationalized but presented as a divine right and duty, a commandment from God.

But I know another Jesus Christ. The Jesus I know is the Jesus of love. Of mercy. Of tenderness and of loving kindness. My Jesus is the Jesus whose eye is on the sparrow, the One who witnesses each sparrow’s fall. Note Luke 12: 6, “Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God?” (KJV) and Psalm 50: 10–11: “For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. / I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine” (KJV italics original).

We, as Christians, do not own these animals. WE do not hold supreme authority over them. They belong, always, and forever, to God, their Creator, and it is in Him that supreme authority rests. We are stewards. We are not proprietors. We are caretakers, not creators. So, when His eye is on the sparrow, know that it is also on the keeper of the sparrow. When He claims His cattle, His fowl, His beasts of the field, be certain that the stewards charged with their care will be called to account.

If we are to be Christians, then we must be Christ-like — and at the heart of this is love; it is compassion; it is wonder in and reverence for the works of divine creation, particularly those imbued with the sacred breath of life. Only when we learn to do this, to exercise the tender-loving care for all creatures that God has so abundantly and undeservedly heaped upon us that we will truly understand what it means to worship. Only then we will truly have the capacity to see and to reverence His works as we should. Only then will we truly be the representatives of Christ that we are called to be. Because the Bible says that the animals have much to teach us: “But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee: Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee. Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the Lord hath wrought this? / In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind” (Job 12: 7–10, KJV). How many more precious innocents must suffer and die before we finally learn?

“…speaking the truth in love…” — Ephesians 4:15

Shine the Light

 

It’s no secret that we all live in times of dire violence and destruction. One need only turn on the evening news to hear atrocious stories of people abusing animals, husbands murdering wives, children horrifically abused or neglected, riots in the streets of heavily urbanized areas, and other unfortunate tragedies. It is remarkably easy to allow ourselves to become desensitized to these violent acts; indeed, what seemed horrific ten years ago might seem so very quaint today. Where does all of this come from? How have we, as a people, become so cavalier, so devastatingly accepting of evil acts and deeds perpetrated by our fellow man? Where does all of this end?

When do we finally say, enough is enough?

We teach our children by our silence. Through our lack of outrage, our kids become passively indoctrinated to look the other way and simply be grateful that nothing has happened to them. We’ve turned our backs on one another, in large part, and our world is shrinking as we lose the ability to feel warmth and love and empathy for our neighbors. What about those other children, though? What about those children on the news that are so ‘politely’ tucked away into the corners of our minds? Are they not valuable human beings, too?

Unfortunately, because it is so terrifying and horrific, many are willing to turn a blind eye and deaf ear to the shocking issue of human trafficking, even when those humans are small, innocent children. Many have adopted the ‘better them than me’ attitude and ignore the sums and figures, but today, we’re dealing with facts, not fantasies. We’re dealing with the millions of individuals, children of all ages, sizes, genders, races, and backgrounds, sold into slavery, sometimes for labor, sometimes for sin, sometimes for other unspeakable practices, who are forgotten every single year. This is the real news, not the latest celebrity antics. The children and adults sold and trafficked every day are valuable for their status as living beings, period, not for the dollar sign attached to their torment.

Of course, we’re desperate to turn a blind eye to the suffering of our most faithful companions. This cognitive dissonance has led to the suffering of incalculable animals all across the globe, and the figure rises to frightening totals with each day that passes. We speak not only of the detestable practices of animal testing, vivisection, fur faming and the rampant crimes constantly excused in the meat industry, but the things happening in backyards everywhere — right now.

Look down at the foot of your bed or at the other end of your couch. Look at the windowsill, or anywhere else your beloved rabbit, cat or dog might be lazily snoozing or licking their paw. Could you imagine refusing them a pet or snuggle when they rub up against your leg or climb into your lap? Could you imagine not filling up the water bowl with fresh, clean water several times a day, or scooping out a heaping portion of food, or making sure your animal companion has a warm place to sleep at night? Probably not. Could you wrap your head around ever striking your animal? The answer, hopefully, is of course not. This is the sickening reality for an outrageous amount of rabbits, cats, dogs, and other animals. The injustice could bring the strongest to their knees in sorrow, for what could be more sad than bringing pain to a creature that only wants to love and be loved in return?

It is time that we all stop turning a blind eye to the issues of human trafficking and animal abuse and shine our lights. Part of the reason we have become so violent against one another is because we have institutionalized violence against the innocent and helpless. We are, if nothing else, stewards of the animals and guardians of the children, both relying on us, in their own way, for food, comfort, shelter, etc. When that role is perverted into something different, there is suffering, period. We can no longer stand idly by while the helpless are traded like currency. We can no longer simply ignore the silent cries of the innocent and go about our daily lives as though their pain and hunger do not exist. Quite the contrary, they do exist, and it is our responsibility to help.

We urge you now to take action like never before. The fate of millions rests in our collective hands, and we have the power to make significant change. The first step for many is to merely acknowledge. Acknowledge that girls go missing from their homes at night, kidnapped and transported across borders to serve as cheap labor. Acknowledge that it isn’t okay to ignore the sad animal abuse ads on television simply because they are sad, because that is the point of those advertisements. You shouldn’t simply change the channel to the latest sitcom and numb yourself to reality, and that isn’t something that responsible citizens of this world do. It’s there. It’s real. And it’s not going away just because cable offers numerous ways for you to occupy your mind otherwise.

It’s time to stop these injustices before they spread even further or are used to justify suffering of even more groups. Get concerned. Get active. Spread the word. Shine the Light!

SHENITA ETWAROO © All rights reserved.

Hand or Paws, Their Pain is Significant

 

We find it so easy to call others to action over what are really menial, inconsequential things. For instance, how many people take to Twitter to pour out their outcry over the cancellation of television programs on major cable networks? How many people will start an Internet petition to bring back a certain flavor or brand of soda? How many people out there frothed at the mouth and ‘literally could not even’ over the disbranding and discontinuation of Twinkies just a few years ago? Our passion as a people runs high, yes, but are we not focusing on entirely the wrong things? What about the suffering of God’s creatures?

Can we not find something that actually matters to be upset about, because, I assure you, there are almost no limits, sadly, to the awful things that actually matter, yet are widely ignored. Yes, we should be upset, but not about TV shows or cola.

How disconnected and divided as a world society do we need to be in order to focus on petty instances of our own differences and mundane, trivial matters like voting for a new flavor of potato chip? As disconnected and divided as it takes to ignore the facilitated violence against animals, women and children, everywhere one can look. This is not new information. We know that women and children are sold and trafficked. We know that children go hungry each night. We know that the elderly and mentally infirm are often abused and neglected. We know that animals are tortured for fun, literally, are beaten, are abandoned to the cold and elements. What does it say about us that we find time for frivolities such as those listed above (and more), but cannot seem to come together against abuse?

Partly, it says that we’ve lost some of our soul. We used to know what it was to stand up for the underdog and fight for those that could not fight for themselves, but part of that has fled away, anesthetized by the static and comforting sounds of our television screens and the voices of those who cleverly instruct us on how to think, feel, and act. Isn’t it time to empower others by empowering ourselves? Isn’t it about time that we refocus, reconnect, and once again become the people that give a damn? If we don’t, then who will? If we don’t, then what next, or, more likely who is next? When the world runs out of victims as it currently stands, who becomes the next victim? Is it you?

Hopefully, it will never come to that. Hopefully, we’ve now come far enough to reflect on what we have allowed ourselves to become and put our metaphorical foot down. Why should another young girl miss out on the happiness of youth just to be taken as a child bride far away from her home? Where is the outrage for that?

Some people excuse their apathy as defeatism, disguising their silence into learned passivity, because, according to them, it’s hopeless. According to some people, there’s nothing we can actually do to improve the station of those that suffer. If these international slavery rings exist, what can an individual do to stop them? If animals die every day at the hands of abusers and neglect, what can I do to ease their pain and suffering?

What individuals do, what they have always done, in times such as these, to respond to the call of action that each of us should inherently feel at the knowledge of suffering and injustice, is to collect. This is our time to come together, rather than split apart, or continue hiding behind our television screens and smart phones because it’s too hard to support causes that matter. We need to stop making excuses. The suffering of others is real, and, no matter which country the victim comes from, no matter what color their skin may be, no matter if they have hands or paws, their pain is significant. It matters.

The children sold by their own parents matter. The dog kept in a filthy kennel for its entire existence matters. The animals suffering in labs, factory farms and fur fams matters. What flavor of potato chip reins king in 2025 seems a little trite in the face of real suffering, does it not?

SHENITA ETWAROO © All rights reserved.

Help Needy Animals with Your Support Today!

 The world is full of animals in need, and far too often, their cries for help are left unanswered. Every so often, an advertisement seeking funding for needy animals will come on the television as I work on my articles and I’ll turn to my rabbit Neon and cat Pippa, resting in their nest of cozy toys and pastel pink blanket, and remark to them that I love them. Just recently, in fact, I was hit with this random, gut-wrenching feeling at the simple thought of my rabbit and cat feeling sad, or perhaps scared. There’s no doubt that I love my rabbit and cat, just like there’s no doubt that virtually all pet owners love their pets, but how often do we turn a blind eye to the sad commercials? How often do we walk past a stray cat on the street?

It’s easy to feel defeatist, especially in the current climate of animal rights. Which of our victories are real victories when vivisection is still a very real experience for some of our poor fellow earthlings? It’s important, however, to stop and think about how seemingly microscopic actions make an enormous difference to those that we’re helping.

About two years ago, a friend of mine went to go and teach English to schoolchildren in South Korea. There is a specific breed of dog there that is bred for the purposes of consumption, and my friend was well aware of this before she left. I asked her how she felt about this before she left at the time and she shook her shoulders.

“I don’t know. . .” she said. “Is it really all that different from thinking tea cup pigs are cute, and eating bacon?”

Fast forward several months. My friend has settled into her new life in a major South Korean city and uses public transportation to get to her different schools. She is happy, and posts about her adventures on social media. Late at night, however, she sends me a message. She revealed to me that her bus route takes her straight by one of the restaurants that serves cat and dog as a meal, and that earlier that day, she had seen a shipment of cats and dogs arrive.

“I couldn’t breathe,” she said to me, obviously still emotionally shaken. “It was everything I could do not to break down on the way to the kindergarten.”

Later on, my friend met an old man who kept one of those dogs as a puppy, and she would walk past him and the pup daily. She would exchange pleasantries and pet the dog, and one day, she asked what his name was. The man replied with a bright laugh and the Korean word for dinner, again shaking my friend deeply.

Days later, my friend returned to that old man and offered him payment in return for the puppy.

Now, a year later and back on US soil, my animal companions and my friend’s dog play together every now and then.

What my friend did did not halt the industry that so disturbed and hurt her on an emotional level. What she did, however, made a world of difference to one sweet little dog.

Think about this the next time you wonder what difference you, as an individual, can make. Please Help Needy Needy Animals Today!

SHENITA ETWAROO © All rights reserved.

Dear America: We Can Do Better

 

I envision an America that champions clean water for all. I see, in my mind, legislation passing that prohibits any dangerous substances from being near precious water supplies. Man, and beast alike have free access to clean, potable water as a right, not a privilege. Humans, with their dominion over the land, strive to make the environment healthy, and strive to make the habitats of their fellow beings safe, clean, and, above all, habitable. Plans to repair dying infrastructure that poisons the water our children drink would be put into place, and the rivers and oceans and seas would be purged of our toxic garbage. Littering the habitats of other creatures, introducing dangerous materials to their homes, would be a much bigger crime.

I envision an America that isn’t hell-bent on destroying everything but the almighty dollar. Shoes upon the feet of every child, no matter which neighborhood they grew up in, no segregation of education, a free meal with fresh vegetables guaranteed. Look at the world, then look at us. If they can do it, why can’t we?

I envision an America where stomping baby animals to death for videos isn’t defended as “free speech”. I dream of an America where YouTube videos of animals being tortured or hurt don’t get thousands upon thousands of views. I see fur farms, animal testing labs and kill shelters shut down, and every unwanted animal getting a loving family, because the United States of America I envision, places emphasis on adopting animals in need rather than supporting an industry of backyard breeders and puppy mills.

An animal is not a fashion statement. An animal is not a status symbol. An animal is meant to love, and to be loved.

These are my dreams, my hopes, my wishes for my home country, but really all I see are nightmares.

I can never remove the image of an animal being skinned alive for its fur from my mind. I see it, bloody and broken and blinking, conscious and aware, suffering needlessly. I think about whoever wound up purchasing that pelt, wearing its coat on their own body, and I wonder if this selfish individual ever stopped to think that some things are more important, more valuable, more precious than an ill-begotten clothing trend.

I can’t stop shaking whenever I read about new pipelines over sacred grounds, whole cultures dismissed with the simple pass of ink on paper. I imagine the oil spilling onto the soil and reaching, oozing its way to groundwater. Yet again, clean water is ruined in an age in which we constantly fear running out of clean water.

Try as you may, you cannot drink a dollar bill.

It’s hard to be a sensitive person living in this country anymore. America, my beloved, has rapidly become America, my painful heart. I look, as I’m supposed to, as we all should, for the people who try. I look for the people who help. When there’s a natural disaster, we pull together. Donations of food, money, clothing, medicine, and clean water are sent from all corners of the country to whatever ravaged area. Volunteers sift through the rubble to look for lost pets and children. Medical staff comes on-site for triage and immediate care, and doctors and nurses at the nearest hospitals pull double shifts.

My most shameful and pain-filled question for this land that I love and those who live here alongside me is, “Why does there need to be a disaster?”

Why does there need to be a disaster for there to be helpers? Why do whole towns have to be swallowed by earthquakes and tornadoes and hurricanes in order for us to care about each other? There are isolated communities across rural America desperate for easier access to food and medical care and depressed regions of our greatest and largest cities where the water is poison and children and animals alike go hungry. Where are their helpers?

How bad does it really have to get before our hearts are as open as our wallets when we purchase a new iPad or television set?

I’m an optimist by nature, if you can imagine it. I seek out the very best in the very worst of all of us. I channel my belief in the autonomy of all sentient life and feel so close to God and to nature that I gain strength I never knew that I had. I spread my smiles and what I have to give at shelters for animals and people in the hopes that they are touched by some bit of kindness in a world that is so very cruel. At the rabbit shelter, I gain the trust of frightened critters and help to socialize them, help them to feel loved and trustful of human beings that have previously failed them. I volunteer to provide basic care. I participate in rallies and demonstrations for the rights and fair treatment of all. I do my best to live by my virtues and beliefs, to stand by them steadfastly, and, in doing so, my spirit soars, and I feel whole.

I envision an America where the weakest of us are sheltered by the strongest of us. I envision an America in which poor little bunnies have never learned to fear human beings. I long for an America where there are no elderly homeless, or any homeless at all, where the dignities of cleanliness and being fed are not considered to be for a select few rather than all.

I envision an America of peace and bravery, kindness and selflessness, conscious effort and conscious living.

My people, my countrymen, it all begins with a kind heart. It all begins with loving one another and wishing well your fellow creatures. If they can do it, why not us?

SHENITA ETWAROO © All rights reserved.

Vegan Diet For Health, the Environment and Animals

 

With obesity still a widespread concern, many overweight individuals are feeling the heat when it comes to their own personal health.Many people look at their waistlines and read the scary headlines on the news and wonder how their lifestyle will affect their longevity, and how it will also affect their quality of life, and what sorts of activities they’ll be able to do with their loved ones.

One of the healthiest diets this world has ever seen is the low fat vegan diet. Many people have managed to go from morbidly obese to a healthy weight just from eliminating animal foods and animal byproducts from their diet.This alone takes care of much of the average American fat intake, but going a step further to limit fat intake from plant sources such as oils also contributes to an overall healthier lifestyle.

People who follow low fat vegan lifestyles not only are much less likely to be obese or overweight, but they are also much less likely to suffer from many conditions the average American dreads.For instance, people who follow a low fat vegan diet typically do not run the risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, are at a severely lower risk for diabetes, and lower their risk of heart and kidney diseases exponentially.

It can be quite an intimidating process to begin with, that much is almost for certain.Switching from hamburgers and processed cheesy foods to a wealth of fruits and vegetables does not to many people sound appealing.

Some may even face it initially as almost like a punishment!Those who follow through, however, often remark that they cannot believe the diet they used to keep, and cannot imagine living life a different way, now.

Low fat vegan diets are rich in leafy green vegetables, which are not only plentiful, but a wonderful source of minerals like iron and vital protein.Multiple fruits are not only flavorful, but provide much needed vitamins and carbohydrates.These diets should be based around plants, with vegan breads and other foods at a smaller focus, and oils and vegan sweet treats used sparingly, for special occasions.

With such a delicious and healthy lifestyle and adequate exercise, one can shed the pounds and reverse health problems one is already experiencing, as well as lower one’s chances of things like kidney disease or certain cancers, yet one can die from cancer and other illnesses because of abusive cheaters, deadly vaccines, or money-hungry and blood-thirsty people who only care about themselves.

Having a healthier, more active lifestyle not only shrinks the waistline and gets rid of the spare tire around the middle, but also gives our life better quality.Less weight on the joints means lessened joint pain, and the ability to chase after those baby loonies and grand-kids.A low fat vegan lifestyle can open doorways you never thought imaginable before.