Jim Whitman sings 'There's a Tree in the Meadow'

Here's a great song sung by Jim Whitman, one of my favourite Country Music artists.

'We All Need Our Heroes' : New song from Sheer Joy Music

Everyone grows up with heroes to help them to learn and become the people that they are destined to be. 'We All Need Our Heroes' pays tribute to the faceless heroes of our youth, and is a touch of real Country Music from the songwriting duo of Colin Gordon-Farleigh & Greg Scheer.

Anyone interested in recording this song should email the request to music@sheerjoymusic.com

Hayley Oliver & The Hayley Oliver Band at the British Country Music Awards, 2011

Here's another first-class performance by the talented Hayley Oliver.

The Hayley Oliver Band Radio Interview 16 Ton Studios Nashville 2010

Regular readers to this Blog will know by now that I am a great fan of the UK Queen of Country Music, Hayley Oliver who, together with the award-winning Hayley Oliver Band, make some of the greatest Country sounds on the UK music scene. Not only are they great Country Music folk but they are also very nice people too. Give yourselves a treat as you look at this video of their interview by Robert Reynolds on the 'Maverick on Music Row Radio Show' in Nashville.

The Problem of Afghan Paedophilia

http://www.examiner.com/law-enforcement-in-national/afghan-pedophilia-a-way-of-life-say-u-s-soldiers-and-journalists?CID=examiner_alerts_article
Afghan Paedophilia: A way of life, say U.S. soldiers and journalists
Jim Kouri
Law Enforcement Examiner 

Apologists say that Bacha Bazi or 'Boy Play' is a very old cultural practice in Afghanistan and part of that nation's mainstream.
     Citing the Afghanistan strategy review, Vice President Joe Biden reported "great progress" in the counter-terrorism effort that has significantly degraded al-Qaeda and the Taliban, particularly their leadership. Lagging behind, he said, is progress on the counterinsurgency front – eliminating terrorist safe havens in Pakistan and building a stable Afghan government.
     However, not once did Biden – nor Defense Secretary Leon Panetta -- mention Afghanistan's dirty secret – a large number of pedophiles and pederasts among the Afghan male population.
     Paedophilia is a widely-accepted practice in southern Afghanistan, where "boys are given to older men for the sexual gratification of the elder and the sexual education of the child," say many returning U.S. troops.
     Afghans say pedophilia is most prevalent among Pashtun men in the south who comprise Afghanistan's most important tribe.
      Apologists say that Bacha Bazi or 'Boy Play' is a very old cultural practice in Afghanistan and part of that nation's mainstream.
     When U.S. officials such as President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta discuss the war in Afghanistan and make claims of success in that fledgling democracy, one issue that's avoided is the widespread sexual intercourse between Afghan men and young boys. In non- diplomatic terms, Afghanistan is a haven for child rape, according to several American military officers just returning from the front lines of the Global War on Terrorism.
      In a country that is considered overly repressive due to its adherence to the precepts contained in the Muslim religion's Koran, it's difficult for American service members and diplomats to understand the fact that a large portion of the Afghan male population are paedophiles (adults who enjoy sexual contact with prepubescent children) or pederasts (adults who enjoy sexual relations with pubescent or post-pubescent children).
     While Muslims in Iraq have on several occasions stoned homosexuals for their sexual activities, not all Muslims believe pedophilia is a violation of Sharia law. Those who believe in the sacredness and infallibility of the Koran adhere to the teaching that women are sub-human and quasi-slaves, and therefore Muslim men will look for relationships -- even sexual relationships -- with others of their own gender.
     According to Reuters, there is a lot of homosexuality going on in Afghanistan, but those engaging in it don't think of themselves as gay, so that makes it okay since Islam officially disapproves of the gay and lesbian lifestyle.
     "They regard themselves as non-gay because they don’t “love” the sex object so Allah is happy. These are the men who avoid their wives as unclean. Apparently there is very little love of any kind in Afghanistan, which explains a lot," according to Reuters.
     “Having a boy has become a custom for us,” Ena Yatullah, a 42-year-old in Baghlan province, told a Reuters reporter. “Whoever wants to show off should have a boy.” [. . .]
      Sociologists and anthropologists say the problem results from a perverse interpretation of Islamic law. Women are simply unapproachable. Afghans cannot talk to an unrelated woman until after proposing marriage. Before then, they can't even look at a woman, except perhaps her feet. Otherwise she is covered, head to ankle, according to columnist Joel Brinkley, a professor of journalism at Stanford University, and a former Pulitzer Prize-winning foreign correspondent for the New York Times.
     In Kandahar, a city with a population of about 500,000, and other towns, dance parties are a popular -- often weekly -- pastime. Young boys dress up as females, wearing makeup and bells on their feet, and dance for a dozen or more leering middle-aged men who throw money at them and then take them home.
     A recent State Department report called “dancing boys” a “widespread, culturally sanctioned form of male rape.” If women dressed and behaved in such a way, they would surely be punished by Muslim men.
      Even after marriage, many men keep their boy-lovers, according to former U.S. military personnel who served in Afghanistan. That helps explain why women are compelled to wear clothing that hides their faces and bodies and if they "sin" they are stoned to death in accordance with Islamic law. That same law also forbids homosexuality, but the pedophiles explain that it's not homosexuality since they aren’t in love with their boys only fulfilling a bodily need.
     Paradoxically, the Taliban frown on sexual relations between men and boys and enforce Sharia law to the letter. Are the followers of Islam, who adopt a more "liberal" approach to practicing their religion, perhaps responsible for the widespread rape of male children in Afghanistan?
     So, why are American military forces fighting and dying to protect pedophiles and pederasts in a country considered by many to be the pedophilia capital of Asia?
      Why is there hesitation on the part of Obama, Clinton, Panetta and others to discuss the widespread sexual assault of male children in Afghanistan? Could it be that it is politically incorrect to discuss any immoral and unlawful behavior on the part of Muslims? It's quite evident that U.S. politicians may bash Christians without fear of adverse effects on their political careers. But these same leaders will behave as if they are walking on egg shells to avoid even the hint of criticizing Muslims.
     In addition, there is always a hesitation to discuss man-on-boy sexual relationship for fear of mentioning the obvious: such a relationship is homosexual in nature.

A Great Gift of Love for Valentine's Day

     It will soon be Valentine's Day once again. Here's a great gift suggestion for the love of your life. The title song alone makes this a truly special gift, but all of the tracks are great love songs, making this a really special gift for Valentine's Day.
     You can download either the album or individual tracks from CD Baby, iTunes, Amazon and all the major digital download sites. Alternatively, if you prefer to have the CD to give beautifully gift-wrapped with love by your own fair hand, why not buy it from the online shop at Sheer Joy Music.

Here's a little taste for you:

Still More Great Christian Quotes

"It is not the thing on which we spend most time that molds us, but the thing that exerts the greatest power. Five minutes with God and His word is worth more than all the rest of the day."
- Oswald Chambers

"One of these days some simple soul will pick up the book of God, read it, and believe it. Then the rest of us will be embarrassed."
- Leonard Ravenhill

"Deliverence from believing lies must by by believing truth."
- Jessie Penn-Lewis

"Never was a church-wide, heaven-sent revival needed than at this present time. It is the only answer to the spiritual warfare we face in every part of the world. Bombs, bullets and body bags will never stem the tide of terror and horror that threatens human existence. We must recognize that "the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:4,5)."
- Stephen Olford

"God is not looking for brilliant men, is not depending upon eloquent men, is not shut up to the use of talented men in sending His Gospel out in the world. God is looking for the broken men who have judged themselves in the light of the Cross of Christ. When He wants anything done, He takes up men who have come to the end of themselves, whose confidence is not in themselves, but in God."
- H.A. Ironside

"Though the cross of Christ has been beautified by the poet and the artist, the avid seeker after God is likely to find it the same savage implement of destruction it was in the days of old. The way of the cross is still the pain-wracked path to spiritual power and fruitfulness. So do not seek to hide from it. Do not accept an easy way. Do not allow yourself to be patted to sleep in a comfortable church, void of power and barren of fruit. Do not paint the cross nor deck it with flowers. Take it for what it is, as it is, and you will find it the rugged way to death and life. Let it slay you utterly."
- A.W. Tozer

"So much as one person with a contrary spirit to God is enough to affect all the meetings - that the revival fire did not flow until that person broke and confessed, or the Lord removed him."
- Jonathan Goforth

"I've seen more Christians destroyed by ambition than any other sin - discontent in the heart, always pushing and jockeying - moving for some new thing, some new position . . . It's not what we do, it's that we do what we're called to do and that in it we glorify God."
- Carter Conlon


"Every one who professes to be a born again, believing Christian has a ministry to carry out for the Lord. If the ministry that you are carrying out does not disturb the devil then you need to get on your knees, repent, and seek direction."
- Colin Gordon-Farleigh

Barnabus Launches the 'Proclaim Freedom' Campaign

Sign online Download PDF

31 January 2012

Barnabas launches Proclaim Freedom campaign; sign our petition

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners. Isaiah 61:1

If you believe in the cause of freedom, then proclaim it, live it and protect it, for humanity’s future depends on it. Henry M. “Scoop” Jackson (1912-1983), US Congressman and Senator

Barnabas Fund last week launched a petition as part of our 2012 Proclaim Freedom campaign, which seeks to put pressure on governments to take resolute action on behalf of persecuted Christians around the world.
Christians are one of the largest and most persecuted groups in the world, yet they are often neglected in Western governments’ foreign policy.
The Proclaim Freedom petition, which was launched at the Christian Resources Exhibition in Exeter, England, last Wednesday (25 January), calls on governments to pursue decisive policies aimed at putting pressure on states that persecute or condone the persecution of Christians, and assist other countries to improve conditions for all minority groups – especially Christians – within their borders.
Today, we are launching the online version. It can be signed online or downloaded and printed. Please promote this petition within your church and community. 
The Proclaim Freedom campaign will run various initiatives throughout 2012 to raise the profile of the persecuted Church around the world. It has two specific aims:

• to press governments to be active in promoting human rights in other countries for all minorities, but especially religious freedom for the roughly 200 million Christians living under the shadow of persecution, discrimination and disadvantage
• to press governments to work to ensure that other countries bring to justice citizens who either incite anti-Christian hatred or engage in anti-Christian violence

Western governments have significant potential influence with other countries through the direction of foreign aid, diplomatic relations, bilateral ties, security arrangements and agreed international commitments to human rights.
Dr Patrick Sookhdeo, International Director of Barnabas Fund, said:

It is time for Christians in the West to take a stand and speak out for our brothers and sisters around the world who are suffering for their faith. We can no longer allow the governments that represent us to turn a blind eye to the persecution of Christians in their dealings with countries where this is a widespread problem.

Please Pray

Thank God that the Proclaim Freedom petition generated a great deal of interest at the Christian Resources Exhibition last week and pray that it will attract significant further support over the coming months. Pray that Western governments will be moved to use their influence with other countries for the improvement of conditions for all minority groups, especially Christians who are persecuted for their faith.

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Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of all the information included on our website, we acknowledge that even our most reliable sources and careful interpretations can occasionally be wrong. We apologise for any errors of fact and will be grateful to receive corrections.

Misinformation and Flights of Fancy

     It is ironic that the author of the column below that recently appeared in the Washington Post is also the author of “Holy Ignorance.”
     How else to explain how someone can be so blind to what is happening in countries like Egypt? Has he not read the polls taken in Egypt over the past few years, showing strong support for sharia law?
     Does he really believe that the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafist political parties, which won over 2/3 of the seats in Egypt’s parliamentary elections, were elected simply because they promised a better economy?
     Does he really believe the Muslim Brotherhood would support the right of Muslims to convert to Christianity?
     There are those who see what they want to see, in spite of all evidence to the contrary. Many of them are in our government, in the media, in academia. We, too, would be delighted to see a reformed Muslim Brotherhood, one that, according to the author below, is “middle class bourgeois.” One that has given up its aspirations for worldwide Islamist rule.
     But we can’t afford to engage in such flights of fancy.

---

A new generation of political Islamists steps forward
By Olivier Roy, Published: January 20
Olivier Roy is a professor at the European University Institute in Florence and the author of “Holy Ignorance.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/muslim-brotherhood-other-islamists-have-changed-their-worldview/2012/01/10/gIQAZgjoEQ_story.html?wpisrc=nl_headlines
     Everywhere, the Muslim Brotherhood is benefiting from a democratization it did not trigger. There is a political vacuum because the liberal vanguard that initiated the Arab Spring did not try, and did not want, to take power. This was a revolution without revolutionaries. Yet the Muslim Brothers are the only organized political force. They are rooted in society, and decades of opposition against authoritarian regimes gave them experience, legitimacy and respect. Their conservative agenda fits a conservative society, which may welcome democracy but did not turn liberal.
     Under these circumstances, the ghost of a totalitarian Islamic state is raised, with the specter of imposing sharia and closing the short democratic parenthesis. But such an outcome is unlikely.
     The Islamists have, in fact, changed: They are more middle-class “bourgeois,” and they benefited from the liberalization of local economies during the last decades of the 20th century, especially in countries with no oil rent. The Islamists have also drawn lessons from the failure of ideological regimes and from the success of Turkey’s AKP party. They are no longer advocating jihad and understand geostrategic constraints, such as the need to maintain peace, even a cold one, with Israel. Realism is the starting point of political wisdom.
     The Islamists have been elected with a clear agenda: stability, good governance and a better economy. If they have been able to reach a larger constituency than the hard-core supporters of sharia, it is precisely because they can combine such a reformist agenda while talking about religion, values, identity and tradition. The Nahda party won the majority of the votes cast at the Tunisian consulate of San Francisco, although Tunisian expatriates in Silicon Valley are not known for their Islamic fundamentalism.
     This mix of technocratic modernism and conservative values is their brand, and to turn their back on multipartism and legalism would alienate a large portion of their constituency, at a time when they have no means to confiscate power. They have neither military forces nor oil wealth to bypass the people: They have to negotiate and deliver. Their electorate wants stability and peace, not revolution.
     They are stepping into a new political landscape: a democracy, although a fledgling and fragile one. The only way to maintain their legitimacy is through elections. Even if their pristine political culture is not democratic, they are formatted by the democratic landscape, much as the Roman Catholic Church ended up accepting democratic institutions. But it will take time.
     Another important change, if we refer to the “revolutionary” period of the 1970s and 1980s, is that the Muslim Brothers do not monopolize Islam in the public sphere. In fact, the religious revival that has engulfed Arab societies led to a diversification and an individualization of the religious field. Religious state institutions such as Al Azhar, so recently discredited, are regaining autonomy after so recently being discredited. Al Azhar’s dean, Sheikh Ahmed Al-Tayyeb, openly spoke in favor of democracy and of separating religious institutions from the state. A new phenomenon is the decision of the Salafis, an ultraconservative Sunni sect, to establish political parties. On the one hand they will push for a more Islamic agenda, trying to outbid the Muslim Brothers on Islam, but this will force the Brotherhood to clarify its own position and to find a way to distance itself from the call for sharia.
     To do that, the Muslim Brothers have to turn purely Islamic norms into more universal conservative values — such as limiting the sale and consumption of alcohol in a way that is closer to Utah’s rules than to Saudi laws and promoting “family values” instead of imposing sharia norms on women.
     In the coming months the hot issue in Egypt, beyond the status of women, will be religious freedom. Not in the sense that Coptic Christians will have less freedom to practice — there were a lot of limitations under the so-called secular dictatorship of Hosni Mubarak — but in defining religious freedom as not merely a minority right but an individual human right, implying the right to convert from Islam to Christianity.
     The issue is institutionalizing democracy, not promoting liberal policies. Democracy could take hold only if it is based in well-established values. Liberalism does not precede democracy; America’s Founding Fathers were not liberal. But once democracy is rooted in institutions and political culture, then the debate on freedom, censorship, social norms and individual rights could be managed through freedom of expression and changes of majorities in parliament. However, there will be no institutionalization of democracy without the Muslim Brothers.

Teaching Muslim Children to Hate; Stealing Their Innocence

Muslim Children in America are Being Taught to Hate

Dave Gaubatz January 18, 2012

http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.11242/pub_detail.asp
     In the last five years I have personally visited over 250 Islamic Centers, Mosques, and Islamic Schools throughout America. The goal of my research has been to determine what Islamic leaders are teaching the young and innocent Muslim children. The findings are abhorrent, sad, unbelievable, frightening, and most disturbing is the fact our government is keeping this dangerous fact from the American people. Muslim children attending mosques and Islamic schools are being taught to hate America, our government, our military personnel, and its non Muslim population. In this article I will identify three significant mosques in America that are leading the way in teaching Muslim children to hate and to influence them to commit violent acts inside our country. 
     In America we have been programmed by the media and political leaders to believe violent teachings of Islam are only being taught to children in Palestine. We have watched the Muslim Palestinian children spew their taught hatred of the Israelis. What Americans are not being shown (due to political correctness) are that Muslim children throughout the world and specifically inside America are being taught violence and hatred in mosques, Islamic schools and Islamic Centers.
     Children as young as 7 years old are being taught that to assimilate with America is to disrespect and dishonor Islam. They are being taught our military personnel are the enemies of Islam and it is justifiable to kill anyone who dishonors or oppresses the Islamic ideology.
     During my research I have identified numerous mosques that are teaching young Muslim children to hate America and are leading them to commit future violent acts against our country and innocent people. I would like to focus on three such mosques. They are:


1. Dar al Hijrah, Falls Church, VA

2. Al Farooq, Nashville, TN

3. At Taqwa, Brooklyn, NY

Anwar al-Awlaki was an imam at the Dar al Hijrah Mosque from January 2001 until 2002. Three of the 9/11 hijackers, Khalid al-Mihdhar, Nawaf al-Hazmi and Hani Hanjour, attended some of Awlaki’s sermons at this mosque.
     My researchers and I spent several weeks at the Dar Al Hijrah mosque in Falls Church, VA. Almost immediately we were informed to obtain our study material from the Halaco Bookstore which is located nearby the mosque. It was very apparent upon entering the store and reviewing the materials that the bookstore provides materials for the Sunni (Wahhabi) Muslim population across the U.S. and specifically for Dar Al Hijrah. I was able to spend many hours talking with store personnel and was invited to the home of one employee to discuss Islamic issues. There is a large section in the store dedicated to the education of the Muslim children. I discovered materials that are being sent to Islamic schools across America. Much of the material deals with Sharia and Jihad. One of the DVD’s and books I obtained was by an Islamic scholar Ahmad Sakr. Sakr travels the U.S. visiting Islamic schools and educates them in Sharia law. I have watched one of his videos in which he tells the young children our government is evil and not to follow the laws of our country and Americas government leaders will all go to hell.
     The material provided by Dar Al Hijrah and their selected Islamic bookstore also was filled with violent Jihad. There were manuals informing the readers how to destroy America and how to kill anyone who oppresses Islam. They are told how to obtain weapons to include weapons of mass destruction. Although all of the above is very disturbing and should (and actually is) against the law, the Muslim leaders of Falls Church, Val are allowed by our government to indoctrinate the Muslim children into future violence against our country. The next mosque (Al Farooq/Nashville, TN) is even more disturbing.
     My research team and I spent two weeks at the Al Farooq mosque in Nashville, TN. The mosque was Sunni and had the typical violent books and DVD’s/videos pertaining to the overthrow of any government system that oppresses Islam. They also had numerous teachings from current Islamic leaders operating in America who are teaching the Muslim population to hate our country and its people. Although this should frighten all concerned citizens, there was even sadder and disturbing intelligence collected at this mosque. Lately we have all read about the child brides and forced marriages in Afghanistan and in Saudi Arabia. What most Americans do not realize is that child marriages are occurring throughout our country and specifically in Nashville, TN.
     One young 7 year old Muslim girl at Al Farooq talked to our researcher about being beaten (MP3 file) by her Islamic leaders and being married (MP3 file) to a Muslim man. I reported the matter to the Nashville authorities but almost from the beginning they were reluctant to intercede because this was a religious institution and more importantly to them it was Islamic. Senior law enforcement authorities of the Nashville police department informed me they were afraid of being sued by Islamic organizations such as CAIR if they got involved and it would be a political nightmare to get anything done at the mosque. What bothered me most of all is the fact I contacted Islamic organizations to help this innocent Muslim child and they also balked. This reinforced to me that Islamic law (Sharia) is alive and very active inside our country, to include child marriages. The next mosque I am going to discuss is led by an Islamic leader I have previously described as the most dangerous man in America.
     At Taqwa mosque in Brooklyn, NY is led by an Islamic scholar who is not only a major fundraiser for CAIR (terrorist supporter) but travels throughout the U.S. teaching his violent ideology of Islam. He is Imam Siraj Wahhaj. For those who have never visited the Islamic district of Brooklyn it would come to a surprise to many that the area around At Taqwa is similar to the Wahhabi land of Saudi Arabia. I have previously described Wahhaj as the most dangerous man in America. I have reviewed hundreds of his Friday (Juma) mosque lectures.
     In this speech (MP3) he tells his followers that around the world Muslims will wake up and say:

“I don’t want to follow the way of the colonial masters any more. I want the Sharia. I want Islam. We want to be ruled by Islam. And all we have to do is go back to that golden generation.”

     He routinely called America an evil country and is a strong leader in developing Sharia law inside our country. His violent lectures are available to the adult and child Muslims throughout America. 
     "Those who struggle for Allah, it doesn't matter what kind of weapons, I'm telling you it doesn't matter! You don't need nuclear weapons or even guns! If you have faith in Allah and a knife!! If Allah wants you to win, you will win! Because Allah is the only one who fights. And when his hand is over your hand. whoever is at war against my friends, I declare war on them."

From a video by Sirah Wahhaj called "The Afghanistan Jihad," Toronto, Canada, of a sermon from Sept. 28, 1991.
	“If we go to war, brothers and sisters – and one day we will, believe me – that’s why you’re commanded [to fight in] jihad. When Allah demands us to fight, we’re not stopping and nobody’s stopping us."

Sermon by Siraj Wahhaj entitled “Stand Up to Justice,” delivered on May 8, 1992 and distributed as a video. Islamic teachings such as this are what led the Major Nidal Hasan, the Fort Hood Murderer, to commit his acts.
     Although I have only focused on three mosques that lead the way, introducing Muslim children to violence and hatred, there are hundreds scattered across the U.S. Few states are immune from this growing threat. The violence spewed by these Islamic leaders will ultimately lead to more violence in the name of Islam. I have witnessed firsthand the violence being taught. There are numerous such Islamic centers in NC, FL, VA, NY, and CA.
     Unless Muslim parents decry the violent teachings of Islam to their children, there will continue to be more and more Siraj Wahhaj type Islamic leaders in America. The ultimate result will be the suffering of our country as we now see in France, Britain, and Canada.

Joanne Lowe's Meditations: 'He is Still Alive'

HE IS STILL ALIVE

“For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that He was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”

I Corinthians 15:3,4 (King James Version)

     Pastor Philip Doddridge wrote a beautiful inspiring hymn about our Saviour “Yes, the Redeemer Rose”.  “Ye mortals catch the sound, redeemed by Him from hell; And send the echo round the globe on which you dwell: Transported, cry, “Jesus, who bled, Hath left the dead, no more to die.”

     Jesus defeated satan on the cross when He was crucified for our sins.  “When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost” (John 19:30).  Sometimes we act like Jesus is dead.  He is still alive.  He is our risen victorious Saviour.

     No matter how many crises and dark valleys we have in our life, Jesus doesn’t leave us and He still loves us.  He picks us up and carries us through all the dark valleys and sets us once again on the mountain top of happiness.  Not only does He save our soul, He also saves us from despair, discouragement and heartaches.

     “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last” (Revelation 22:13).  Jesus, You are the beginning and the end.  You are the end of fear, sorrow and heartache and You are the beginning of joy and happiness.  Thank You for filling my heart with joy and happiness.  I love You, dear Jesus.

     Heavenly Father, thank You for being a compassionate, loving and forgiving Father.  I love You, precious Father, with all of my heart and I appreciate all You have done for me.  Amen. 

Joanne Lowe

February 2, 2012

Sara Groves sings 'Miracle'

God's miracles can take many different shapes, forms and sizes, but one thing that can be seen in all of them is love. Love is a miracle. Enjoy this beautiful and profound music video for Miracle by Sara Groves from her latest album Invisible Empires.
Buy it by clicking here. 

Sheer Joy Music shop now also on Facebook

Good news! Now you can check out all of my music on the Sheer Joy music page on Facebook, listen to it and then buy it. That's really cool! Just follow this link.


Here are a few of the CDs that you can check out:

Obama Supports the Muslim Brotherhood-Muslim Brotherhood Sees Weakness

The following comes to me from Act for America, an organisation dedicated to expose the Islamic radicalisation of the West:
     "How we wish it weren’t so, but the facts are clear. Numerous articles and columns, including the one by Barry Rubin (below), document how the Obama administration is sidling up to the Muslim Brotherhood.
     This is not only affecting our foreign policy vis a vis countries like Egypt. It’s also affecting our domestic national security apparatus. “Troubling” does not adequately define what is happening."

Obama Supports the Muslim Brotherhood-Muslim Brotherhood Sees Weakness
By Barry Rubin
     Not only is the Obama Administration, as I’ve written for the last year, favoring radical Islamist forces–despite the fact that these are anti-Western, pro-terrorism, building dictatorships, and openly anti-Semitic and anti-Christian–but now even the establishment media is admitting it.
     A friend of mine said, “Oh, they are probably saying that the Brotherhood is sounding radical publicly but privately reassuring U.S. officials that they are moderate.”
     “No,” I replied. “That’s the old way of doing things when it was important to be, or at least to pretend to be, somewhat balanced. Now they say that the Brotherhood sounds moderate both publicly–ignoring all evidence to the contrary–and privately. Those who disagree are merely Republicans trying to defeat Obama in the election, and so should be ignored. The mass media today in such matters is worse than our worst nightmares of a decade ago.”
     And so for the first time in U.S. history an American government, to the applause of the vast majority of the mass media, is backing an anti-American authoritarian movement. Here’s how the New York Times explains it:
     “The Obama administration has begun to reverse decades of mistrust and hostility as it seeks to forge closer ties with an organization [the Muslim Brotherhood] once viewed as irreconcilably opposed to United States interests.”
     Any serious foreign policy analyst should see three red flags in this paragraph:
    First, of course the U.S. government must deal with Egypt’s government but that doesn’t mean it should publicly proclaim that the Brotherhood is a nice group and give what amounts to an unconditional endorsement of it.
      Indeed, the Obama Administration and media are using a cheap trick. They confuse the proper, responsible policy of dealing with those in power while doing something quite beyond that: a self-destructive policy of rushing to insist that sworn enemies of freedom and the United States are really nice guys and there’s no problem with having them in power.
     As I’ve written before, it’s possible to elect a dictatorship. The Egyptian people have a right to do so but that doesn’t mean the West should like it.
     Doesn’t anyone remember that the Obama Administration has been apologizing for all the bad regimes America supported in the past? Now Obama is using the exact same argument: claiming that we must be nice to them because they are in power. What’s the difference between that and the historic relationship to the Mubarak regime? At least Mubarak supported U.S. interests. These people don’t. They have openly supported murdering Americans, especially in Iraq!
     In 1979 an Islamist revolution occurred in Iran. The United States quickly recognized that new regime and tried to be buddies with it. We all know how that worked out.
     Second, why should the burden of reversing “decades of mistrust and hostility” be exclusively on the United States. Doesn’t the Brotherhood, which benefits from U.S. engagement, need to do that also or even beforehand? Why is there no conditionality here, no hint that the Obama Administration or New York Times understands how hostile the Brotherhood has been and continues to be? If the U.S. president won’t demand a quid pro quo (something in exchange for his concessions) who is going to look after U.S. interests?
     Third, by saying the Brotherhood was “once viewed as irreconcilably opposed to United States interests” the author suggests this is no longer true. We know that the Obama Administration thinks the Brotherhood has changed. Yet there is no evidence in terms of deeds, ideology, or statement made in Arabic that the Brotherhood has done so.
     Thus, Obama has given away all U.S. leverage and assets beforehand, just as he did by announcing a year ago, during the revolution’s opening days, that he would be happy to accept a Muslim Brotherhood government.
     So the Brotherhood’s moderation is assumed. The science is settled; the debate is over.
     “The reversal also reflects the administration’s growing acceptance of the Brotherhood’s repeated assurances that its lawmakers want to build a modern democracy that will respect individual freedoms, free markets and international commitments, including Egypt’s treaty with Israel.”
     Wow, yes that’s it. The Obama Administration believes what the Brotherhood says and not what has been said by Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and others including many moderate Egyptians. No one has bothered to look at the actual radical record of Brotherhood lawmakers in the last parliament! Obama has chosen his friends and he’s on the wrong side.

(Continue reading article HERE) 

Divine Music: the amazing 'Choir of the Crickets'

The angelic chorus you hear accompanying the sound of the crickets is NOT a synthesizer or a chorus singing. It's the crickets themselves (slowed down) creating the effect. Really an amazing thing they've accomplished here.

This recording is an extended digitally remixed and mastered version taken from the original1992 recording entitled "Ballad of the Twisted Hair" from the album "Medicine Songs" by David Carson and Little Wolf Band produced by Jim Wilson and released on Raven Records. 


This is just so beautiful that I wanted to share it with you today.

Latest edtion of The Voice Christian News & Views' is now available online

The latest edition of The Voice Christian News & Views magazine is now available to read on-line by following this link. Find articles, cartoons, humour, stories and much more in this great magazine.