The Black Regiment

The War of Independence, also known as the American Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies from Massachusettes to Georgia.  On July 4th, 1776, a new nation was formed:  The United States of America.

During the War of Independence there was a group of heroic men referred to as the "Black Regiment."  The very named enraged the King of England and the entire British armies.  The courage and leadership of these men would change the world.  Many historians believe that there would be no United States of America if it wasn't for these men.  Unfortunately, for whatever reason, the vast majority of Americans have never even heard of the Black Regiment.  It is very peculiar how they have been left out of history books. 

So, what was the Black Regiment?  They were the preachers.  Congregationalists, Presbyterians, Baptists, Lutherans, German Reformed and others.  Their weapon was the Bible and the battlefield was the pulpit.  They were called the Black Regiment because they wore black robes when they preached.  If you had been there to hear their Sunday sermons you would have seen and heard inspiring, passionate, educated, and incredibly motivating speeches that gave the colonists heart and hope.  They would battle the finest military in the world at that time, having very poor equipment and sometimes not even uniforms to wear.  If they had canons it was only because they captured the British canons.  These preachers had two basic messages they preached:  (1) The King of England is a tyrant and was against God's will by his oppression of the people; and (2) The way to freedom was to appeal to God.

Regardless of how some people in America try to rewrite history books, some facts cannot be easily destroyed from human awareness.  Before Congress met, it would always open each session with a prayer asking God to guide them in this great adventure and to protect the colonies fighting for freedom.  The great general that would lead them was George Washington.  He believed that prayer was absolutely essential and required Christian behavior and morality from his troops.

The Black Regiment laid a foundation for American to be a free nation under God.  A foundation based on repentance and humility.  They preached to the colonists that if God's people would only humble themselves and seek God's guidance that God would bless America.  They referred to II Chronicles 7:14:  "If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.  

  As we go forth this holiday weekend and observe the 4th of July, may God continue to bless America.  

The Battered Woman

As hard as it is to imagine, not much has helped in the past 40 years in regard to helping women who suffer from domestic violence.  Not only has domestic violence gone up, it is pandemic.

The United States Office on Violence against Women (OVW) claim that a woman is assaulted or beaten every nine seconds.  It is the leading cause of injury to women in America.  Three women die at the hands of an abuser every day.  

I began working with battered women in1973 at the request of the medical director of the clinic I worked for as a young staff psychologist.  I discovered very quickly there was very little research on battered women during this time period.  Thus, the only thing to do was to begin exploring these issues first hand by beginning a battered women's group.  The first group was composed of eight young women with obvious physical injuries.  What was not so obvious were the psychological injuries.  When asked why they stayed in a relationship with a man who had injured them they all professed to love him.  That answer was not compatible with common sense.  Thus began a journey into the psyche of the battered woman in search of the answer to the question, "why?"

Many theories have been proposed, ranging from the earliest psychoanalytic theory by Anna Freud involving "identification with the aggressor - out of fear and not love" to social and reality focused issues such as economics, religious issues, and fear of retaliation.  All of these theories and social issues are real and true;  however, I still found them to fall short of answering the critical question of "why?"  It affected women from every range of life.  

I discovered, in studying prisoner of war research, a method of brain washing that proved to be very enlightening.  Upon further exploration, I isolated five variables to accomplish the objective of brainwashing American prisoners of war.  (1)  fear, (2) isolation, (3) poverty, (4) interrogation, and (5) propaganda.  No human being can be brainwashed without the first variable - fear.  This was easily accomplished by any type of physical punishment.  The second variable was also easily accomplished by isolating the soldier, as camaraderie would provide ego enhancing opportunities and reality checks.  The third variable was accomplished by withholding any monetary goods as this represented a form of power; e.g., cigarettes could be exchanged for favors which represented at least an illusion of having some control.  The fourth variable involved interrogation which destroyed confidence, and never communication which would enhance self-esteem.  The fifth variable involved propaganda designed to enhance the captor's point of view and humiliate the captive.

It became increasingly clear to me that the batterer, although not familiar with this type of research, was using the same psychological warfare.  He developed fear in the woman, generally by hitting her; isolated her by trying to convince her that her friends were bad for her; kept a strong reign on the money; interrogated her as to her whereabouts; and humiliated her by trying to convince her she was not worthy and he was so much better.  The woman eventually becomes brainwashed.  Cycles of violence continue with the hope that he will change; however, despite desperate pleas from loved ones, the woman seems even more trapped.  I believed this answered the "why?" question.  

The type of man who does this would fill another column but suffice it say the typical abuser has sociopathic and strong narcissistic features.  His love is possessive as he lacks the capacity to give and receive love.  

Every woman needs to ask herself this question, "Does my partner raise my self-esteem or does he lower my self-esteem?"  Good men who have the capacity for love, never lower a woman's self-esteem through power and control tactics.  They seek to raise and affirm their partner's confidence through mutual respect.  

Seeking the services of an experienced therapist to explore whether or not one is a battered woman, should not be considered a weakness, but rather an opportunity for self-growth and inner freedom.  

      

The Detective

Have you ever wanted to be a detective?  Are you curious?  Do you like to get to the bottom of things.  If you do, let's see if you can figure out what happened to me yesterday.

 My wife, Reva, developed an infection Saturday morning and spent the night in Mercy Hospital.  When I visited her Sunday afternoon several mysterious things happened.  I, unfortunately, missed 5 consecutive clues until I finally got the 6th and last clue correct.

Clue #1.  She spent 7 hours in the emergency room as they treated her and waited to find a room ready for admission.

Clue #2.  When I came to the hospital Sunday afternoon to visit her I was given instructions to see her on the 5th floor in room 5167.  I took the elevator to the fifth floor.  Went to the end of the hall where I saw a sign saying "Rooms 5100 - 5165."  Well, I could see that I would not be able to get into it here because the room I wanted was 5167 - the volunteer lady at the main desk had written it down for me.  I went the other way down the hall but could not see any rooms pointing towards 5167.  Hmmm.  So, I went back to the end of the hall where the sign read, "Rooms 5100 - 5165." 

Clue #3.  Two men were sitting behind windows.  I told them I could not find room 5167 and wanted to know how to get there.  One of them told me to disregard the numbers and just go through the door next to them.  I was going to do that but they stopped me and said I could not go through that door.  I was then told to show an ID and so I did.  I gave them my drivers license.  They took a picture of it.  They then made me look into a camera and they took my picture.  I told them that was a bit strange but they didn't say anything.  They then asked me who I was going to see.  I told them I was going to see my wife.  They looked surprised but didn't say anything.  They gave me the visitor badge and I went through the door.  

Clue #4.  I was only paying attention to finding the room and I was having trouble finding it.  Finally, I located it.  There it was.  Room 5167.  I went in and kissed my wife.  She was doing ok and they were going to keep her another night.  We were concerned about her eyes and decided to ask the nurse who would be the best doctor, here in Springfield, to treat her eyes.  Reva believed that the nurses would know who the best doctors were.  Later, the nurse came in and we asked her.  Her name was Monica and she told us she did not know any of the eye doctors; however, if we wanted to know who the best gynecologist/obstetrician was she would be able to tell us.

Clue #5.  (Have you figured it out yet?)  Now I began to get really puzzled about what was going on.  Why all this security to visit my wife?  Why did the two guys behind the windows look at me so surprised?  Why am I in a room in which the room number was not on the sign?  And why would a nurse make such a strange statement as only being able to recommend a gynecologist?  

Clue #6.  I then looked down on the visitor badge they gave me.  Yes.  There was my picture on the badge.  There was the room number - 5167.  And then I saw it and it explained everything.  It had the Wing information also:  Wing 5BGYN.

I couldn't believe I had not put everything together until now.  We were in the maternity wing of the hospital.  The only room they could get for her.  Now I knew why so long in the ER.  The nurse only able to give a reference for a gynecologist.  Why room 5167 was not on the sign.  Why the men took my picture and asked for my identification and why they looked so surprised when I said I was here to visit my wife.  They must have thought my wife was a lot younger than me to be having a baby.  My wife and I both laughed when we figured it out.  

When I left the room I looked to the left and there was a sign that said, "Labor and Delivery."

When I opened the door and looked at the two men, I didn't do it, but I wanted to say, "Yeah! I'm the man!  Yeah, the man!  

How did you do?  Did you figure it out before I did?  

(My first and perhaps last personal post on my blog.)  

You can get smarter

The human brain has 100 billion neurons.  On each neuron are dendritic spines where the memory is and each one has over 55,000 connections.  So, what we have here is this:  the average brain has between 500 to 1,000 trillion connections.  If you were to look at the stars in the universe you'd get an idea of all the connections your brain has.  

We have a lot to work with and we can always get better.  It has always been a myth that we only use "10% of our brain."  Not true.  We always use 100% but many people do not use it wisely.  

For decades it was thought that if you lose neurons they could not be replaced, e.g, if you went out and got drunk it would cost you approximately 400,000 neurons the alcohol would destroy and they would be gone forever.  Not true.  In the past decade neurogenesis has been proved to be true.  Neurogenesis literally means the beginning of new neurons.  You can grow neurons, and especially in some memory sites such as the hippocampus.  In a recent study from a leading university, it was discovered that if an alcoholic were to stop drinking that within two weeks neurons were growing in certain memory centers of the brain.  

 In order to increase dendrites in the brain and make more connections and thus get smarter, here are some of the things you would need to do.

♥  Get as much education as you can.  

♥  Socialize as much as you can.

♥  Read your Bible and as much stimulating things you can.

♥  Get at least 7 hours of sleep a night and 8 would be better.

♥  Eat properly.

♥  Reduce stress as much as possible.  Simplify life.  Pray.

♥  Treat depression if you have it.

♥  Stop smoking.

♥  Avoid strokes, diabetes and heart disease.

♥  If you have to drink, do so in moderation.

♥  Stay lean.  Every 10 pounds over weight = 70 pounds of 

     pressure on each knee, e.g., 100 pounds over = 700 pounds 

     of pressure on each knee.  Too much strain on whole body.

♥  Exercise.  Get doctors OK that you are healthy enough to.

     The goal is 2 1/2 hours a week.  30 minutes a day for 5 days.  

     Why?  It increases blood flow to the brain = more oxygen.  

     It increases new synaptic connections in the brain.  Produces

     more endorphins.  Most important:  those who exercise 

     regularly are less likely to get Alzheimer's Disease.  Only one

     half the risk.  

Is It Alzheimer's

Last week, your husband misplaced his keys for the hundredth time.  Unfortunately, this time he doesn’t know what they’re for.  Grandmother got lost again, but this time the police have brought her home.  When grandpa couldn’t remember Bobby’s name, you thought it was just forgetfulness, but last week he forgot your name.  He also thinks someone is stealing things from his home.

Memory loss, disorientation, confusion and suspiciousness described in these examples are common symptoms that something is wrong.  These symptoms are typically signs of dementia, especially degenerative dementia of the Alzheimer’s type.  

In 1907, Dr. Alois Alzheimer described what he called a “peculiar disease of the cerebral cortex” in a 51 year old woman suffering from a progressive dementia.  In recognition of his findings, the term Alzheimer’s disease was coined.

The annual cost of the disease in America is more than $200 billion.  It is projected that by the year 2050 it will be $1.2 trillion.  Today, over 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease.  By 2050, up to 16 million will have the disease.  In America, 1 in 9 people over the age of 65 have it and 1 in 3 people aged 85 and older have the disease.  

Caregivers are getting burned out.  According to the 2013 Alzheimer’s Association fact sheet, “In 2012, 15.4 million family and friends provided 17.5 billion hours of unpaid care to those with Alzheimer’s and other dementias - care valued at $216.4 billion dollars.”

The symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease are seen in the development of memory impairment, especially recent and delayed memory, as well as one or more of the following disturbances:

·Aphasia, in which the person has difficulty with language, such as word-finding difficulties in which the person can describe what an object is used for, but has forgotten what it is called.

·Apraxia, in which the person has forgotten how to operate something, such as how to use the car keys.

·Agnosia, in which the individual has difficulty perceiving things correctly, such as inability to recognize his or her child.

·Difficulties in judgment.

Alzheimer’s accounts for 70% of all dementias.  Vascular dementias account for 17% and other dementias account for 13%.  The first line of action is to have the individual examined by the family physician.  The family physician can then administer medical tests to determine what the problem is and can refer to other specialists, such as a neurologist or a neuropsychologist to assist in the diagnosis.  If it turns out to be Alzheimer’s, medication and other treatment recommendations, although not able to cure, can add quality months and even years to a person’s life if diagnosed early.

Is it Alzheimer’s?  If in doubt, make an appointment with the family physician.  

The public is invited to a community workshop about Alzheimer's Disease from 10:00 to 12:00, Saturday morning, on June 15th, at the Branson Community Center.  The workshop is sponsored by Branson Christian Church and Ozark Mountain Christian Church and is free.  For additional information, please call 334-3453.  

Patience

Miss Johnson, a first grade teacher, was having a very difficult day.  It was the last week of the semester and she was behind in her work.  It had rained all day and the children couldn’t go out for recess.  The entire class grew more restless and hyperactive as the school day wore on.  She could hardly wait for the bell to finally ring at 3:00.  About 2:45, Miss Johnson looked out the window and saw it was still raining, so she decided to get the kids ready to leave.  She sorted out everyone’s boots and raincoats and began getting them on.  Finally, it looked like everyone was ready to go and this day was about to end.  Except for one little boy whose boots were just too small for his feet.  The boots had no straps or zippers and it took almost all of her strength to get them on.  When she finally got them on she straightened up with a sigh of relief.  That’s when the little boy looked down at his feet and said, “These are not my boots!”  Miss Johnson didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but being the good teacher she was, she smiled and started to take them off.  They were harder to take off than they were to put on.  She yanked and tugged until they finally came off.  The little boy then looked up at her with a smile and said, “They’re not my boots, but they’re my sister’s, and I got to wear them!”

Patience.  The Apostle Paul says that as Christians, we are to clothe ourselves with patience. Would you consider yourself a patient person?  If you do, would you consider getting a second opinion?  If you are married, your partner will probably be more than happy to fulfill this request.     

Would you agree that the world would be a much happier and safer place to live if we all could cultivate an atmosphere of patience?  The Greek word for patience in the New Testament means “long tempered.”  This would be the opposite of “short tempered.”  We’ve all met people who are short tempered, have a short fuse and blow up with anger rather easily.  To be patient means being long tempered to deal with people, situations, and things that are annoying without exploding in anger.  Patience describes someone who has the power to exercise revenge but instead exercises restraint.  Which one describes you?  

Patience is considered a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) in contrast to works, and as such, the Holy Spirit produces patience more so than our own efforts.  I would like to challenge you to pray that the Lord will bless you with the virtue of patience.  May God bless you and your family.