Friday, December 25, 2009
Side effects of Conventional Cancer Treatment
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Authentic Holy Land Gifts
What's Holy about this Land?
Imagine a place where pain and sickness are none existent and the everlasting love of God flows, surrounds and consumes you with each passing day; a land gushing with milk and honey and where praises unto God last far into the nights. This description fits what the New City of Jerusalem will be like but what Jerusalem today?
Jerusalem was appointed the Holy Land early on in the Bible after Abraham's diligent works and unweaving faith in God. In Genesis 22:16-18 we see that God has commanded Abraham to slain his only son and use him as an offering unto the Lord. Abraham never doubted that God would provide a scapegoat for them. So as Abraham bound and laid his son down to be killed, he heard the word of the Lord telling him to stop and as Abraham looked he saw that there was a ram stuck in the bushes next to them. The ram was used for his offering and Abraham named the place Jehovah Jireh, which means: The Lord will provide. It was because of Abraham's faithfulness in God's word that he and the many nations that he would farther became blessed.
Nothing has changed since then and God's blessing still resides in that land where Abraham made his sacrifice to the Lord. Today, the Holy Land is one of the richest nations in the world and people come from near and far to witness and worship on the grounds that many Biblical icons once walked upon.
However, despite being God's chose people and living on blessed soil, Israel has found itself in constant war with its neighboring countries. The conflicts over land, religion and the people has left the great nation weary and exhausted of resources but in spite of all the surrounding problems that entangle Israel it still manages to stay on top and keep the its high favor with God. It's a constant remainder that even with our downfalls God is always there.
As the end times become ever present we can only take example from Abraham and trust in God's power and unfailing word to help us hold out until we reach the Holy Land.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
Johnny Chan - Living the American Poker Dream
He's always at the famous Bellagio's "Big Game", the world's highest-limit cash game, which can make or break millionaires overnight. Risky? Maybe so, but it's worked to his advantage. It's possible that Johnny Chan has brought home hundreds of millions of dollars from regular poker play. Now that's something to tell your wife when she starts complaining about how you should go out and get a "real" job.
Then again, Johnny Chan is no ordinary poker player. He's one of the best the game has seen, and was the last player to win back-to-back World Series Main Event Championships.
Johnny Chan is living out the American Dream. He was born in China, before his parents applied as American immigrants. While they first lived in Arizona, they eventually settled in Texas. Chan helped with the family restaurant business, though his real passion was poker. He would save his earnings and take trips to Vegas.
We all know that gambling is all about risks, and it came to the point that Johnny Chan had to take the biggest risk of all: quit a stable job and become a professional poker player. His family was upset. Nevertheless, he pursued his passion, going through many years of financial hardship. Sometimes he'd take odd jobs just to put food on the table, especially during those long losing streaks. And everyday, no matter how hard a hit he took the night before, he would practice, finding every way to improve his game. His skills grew sharper, his confidence grew. He developed that trademark discipline and self control- and won his first World Series of Poker bracelet in May of 1985.
Chan's perseverance paid off, literally. At his first WSOP Main Event Championship, he beat some of the toughest players in the business-Dan Harrington, Howard Lederer, Bob Ciaffone, Mickey Applebaum, and Jack Keller-eventually succeeding against Frank Henderson to bring home $625,000. At that time, it was the largest prize that anyone had ever received from a poker tournament. He had earned it.
The next year, Chan broke records again by winning a back to back victory, beating Erik Seidel, Humberto Brenes, T.J. Cloutier, and Jim Betchel. His prize was $700,000. Poker aficionados still talk about his final hand, flopping the nut straight and slow-playing it all the way to the river. In fact, it inspired the scene in the film Rounders. Chan came close to winning three world championships in a row, but was defeated by Phill Hellmuth. He won a fourth bracelet in 1994, a fifth in 1997. All in all, he's won 10 bracelets and cashed in 27 times at several WSOP events.
Chan inspires all poker players to continue to improve their game, to ride through the losing streaks and see each defeat as an opportunity to learn, and to never ever give up.
That's what dreams are about, after all.
About The Author
Paul Graham is a poker enthusiast, a writer, researcher, speaker, and consultant. You can visit his blog and sign up free to get blog updates by email, along with game winning tips, tested poker strategies, the latest poker news, free poker tools, additional resources, and a whole lot more! Go now to http://www.SmokePoker.com and you'll also receive a Free Poker Bot for streamlining and automating your poker play, as a thank you for visiting!
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