Monday, October 31, 2011
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Learning to Let it Go
The Louisburg Baptist Temple will hosy The Fruit of Forgiveness Conference this coming Saturday, October 28th 2011. Keynote speakers will be Peter Loth & Rosie Hill.
Below is an article from last Wednesday's Herald.
Holocaust survivor to speak
Louisburg Baptist Temple to host conference
Peter Loth has seen the most atrocious crimes committed by humans.
And he witnessed them all as a child.
Loth was born in a concentration camp during World War II in Germany, which is now part of Poland. Even after the war ended, he was beaten, abused and had to scrounge for food on a daily basis.
Loth will present his story Oct. 29 for the “Fruit of Forgiveness” conference at Louisburg Baptist Temple, which will also feature an array of speakers celebrating and focusing on forgiveness.
At times, Loth’s story of forgiveness is hard to stomach, but his lesson is undeniable.
Loth was born Sept. 2, 1943, in Stutthof, the first Nazi concentration camp built outside of German borders. The camp was completed in 1939, and when Loth’s mother was arrested by the Gestapo, she was three months pregnant with him.
“Stutthof was known as the camp where children were killed,” Loth said. “Many children were used for experiments, and they would check on my mother often to see if she’d had me yet. Typically, when the babies were born they would be killed or burned.”
But Loth was spared, and his mother, Helen, also survived to tell him the tale of how he was born. Confusion occurred after prisoners were made to board a train headed for Auschwitz, while others went on a death march to the Baltic Sea. Loth said he and his mother were on a train and, when the track was blown, the women fled. Being half Polish and half German, Loth was by all intents and purposes Jewish, so without German identification papers, his mother did the only thing she could.
“There was a Polish woman at the train station, and she went to her and said, ‘Take this child and I’ll be back for him with his papers.’”
From there, Loth said, his mother fled to Berlin with the rest of the women from the camp.
Although the Soviets had liberated the concentration camp Loth was in, he said the war for him went on for several years.
At age 5 he was still living with his Polish mother, whom he affectionately calls “Matka,” which is Mama in Polish, when the KGB arrived asking for his papers. From there he was put in a prison and a children’s orphanage, and that’s when the abuse began.
When the orphanage was raided one day, all of the children were taken to a train station.
“The only thing you heard as you approached the station was pistol pops,” Loth said. “The Russians were executing orphans one by one by blowing their brains out by putting a pistol in their mouths.”
When it came time for Loth’s turn, a pistol was placed in his mouth, but his Matka stopped the shooting by offering herself to be raped. The ploy worked, and to this day Loth knows what his Matka had to put herself through in order to save his life.
WWII wasn’t the only war Loth had to fight in to stay alive. Several years later a U.S. Army base located his mother who had married an African American GI. By this time Loth was 15 and still had not been in school or learned English.
“It broke my heart,” he said, “meeting my mother for the first time, and you don’t know the language she speaks.”
It was 1959 when Loth arrived in Georgia in the U.S. with his family where they lived. Although he had survived the Holocaust, the Civil Rights movement was just beginning in the U.S. and it was an uncertain and terrifying time to be in the South living with a black family, he said.
“Racism was everywhere,” he said. “People would spit on me and my sisters, and we couldn’t go to school because we’d get beaten.”
It wasn’t until growing up and much reflection that Loth realized forgiveness was the key to a happy life.
“It’s not about me, it’s about you,” he said. “Who do you need to forgive? Every person has issues with forgiveness. Can you forgive yourself? We blame ourselves.”
Although it was hard, Loth has revisited the concentration camp he was born in several times, as well as other memorable places in Europe. In order to write his book “Peace by Piece,” he had to conduct years of research. The book was released in 2008, and he dedicated it to his Matka or his Polish mother, Julianna Szczepanska, as well as a little girl he met in the orphanage he knows as Star.
Now Loth travels the world telling thousands his heart-wrenching story and how he has learned to forgive.
“For many years I couldn’t speak about it because it was too emotional,” he said. “I’d start crying or just walk away.”
But having learned from his own past, Loth has become passionate about spreading the word of forgiveness to others.
“I hate to see people suffering and be bitter and angry and hateful,” he said. “You can see the life changes if people let themselvees be free. Forgive the ones who hurt you — the world would be a much better world if we knew how to do this.”
For more information about Loth and his book, visit http://www.forerunnerministries.org. For more information on the Louisburg Baptist Temple’s “Fruit of Forgiveness” conference, which begins at 9 a.m. Oct. 29, call (913) 837-2979. Louisburg Baptist Temple is located at 6961 W. 271st St.
www.fruitofforgiveness.org
Below is an article from last Wednesday's Herald.
Holocaust survivor to speak
Louisburg Baptist Temple to host conference
Peter Loth has seen the most atrocious crimes committed by humans.
And he witnessed them all as a child.
Loth was born in a concentration camp during World War II in Germany, which is now part of Poland. Even after the war ended, he was beaten, abused and had to scrounge for food on a daily basis.
Loth will present his story Oct. 29 for the “Fruit of Forgiveness” conference at Louisburg Baptist Temple, which will also feature an array of speakers celebrating and focusing on forgiveness.
At times, Loth’s story of forgiveness is hard to stomach, but his lesson is undeniable.
Loth was born Sept. 2, 1943, in Stutthof, the first Nazi concentration camp built outside of German borders. The camp was completed in 1939, and when Loth’s mother was arrested by the Gestapo, she was three months pregnant with him.
“Stutthof was known as the camp where children were killed,” Loth said. “Many children were used for experiments, and they would check on my mother often to see if she’d had me yet. Typically, when the babies were born they would be killed or burned.”
But Loth was spared, and his mother, Helen, also survived to tell him the tale of how he was born. Confusion occurred after prisoners were made to board a train headed for Auschwitz, while others went on a death march to the Baltic Sea. Loth said he and his mother were on a train and, when the track was blown, the women fled. Being half Polish and half German, Loth was by all intents and purposes Jewish, so without German identification papers, his mother did the only thing she could.
“There was a Polish woman at the train station, and she went to her and said, ‘Take this child and I’ll be back for him with his papers.’”
From there, Loth said, his mother fled to Berlin with the rest of the women from the camp.
Although the Soviets had liberated the concentration camp Loth was in, he said the war for him went on for several years.
At age 5 he was still living with his Polish mother, whom he affectionately calls “Matka,” which is Mama in Polish, when the KGB arrived asking for his papers. From there he was put in a prison and a children’s orphanage, and that’s when the abuse began.
When the orphanage was raided one day, all of the children were taken to a train station.
“The only thing you heard as you approached the station was pistol pops,” Loth said. “The Russians were executing orphans one by one by blowing their brains out by putting a pistol in their mouths.”
When it came time for Loth’s turn, a pistol was placed in his mouth, but his Matka stopped the shooting by offering herself to be raped. The ploy worked, and to this day Loth knows what his Matka had to put herself through in order to save his life.
WWII wasn’t the only war Loth had to fight in to stay alive. Several years later a U.S. Army base located his mother who had married an African American GI. By this time Loth was 15 and still had not been in school or learned English.
“It broke my heart,” he said, “meeting my mother for the first time, and you don’t know the language she speaks.”
It was 1959 when Loth arrived in Georgia in the U.S. with his family where they lived. Although he had survived the Holocaust, the Civil Rights movement was just beginning in the U.S. and it was an uncertain and terrifying time to be in the South living with a black family, he said.
“Racism was everywhere,” he said. “People would spit on me and my sisters, and we couldn’t go to school because we’d get beaten.”
It wasn’t until growing up and much reflection that Loth realized forgiveness was the key to a happy life.
“It’s not about me, it’s about you,” he said. “Who do you need to forgive? Every person has issues with forgiveness. Can you forgive yourself? We blame ourselves.”
Although it was hard, Loth has revisited the concentration camp he was born in several times, as well as other memorable places in Europe. In order to write his book “Peace by Piece,” he had to conduct years of research. The book was released in 2008, and he dedicated it to his Matka or his Polish mother, Julianna Szczepanska, as well as a little girl he met in the orphanage he knows as Star.
Now Loth travels the world telling thousands his heart-wrenching story and how he has learned to forgive.
“For many years I couldn’t speak about it because it was too emotional,” he said. “I’d start crying or just walk away.”
But having learned from his own past, Loth has become passionate about spreading the word of forgiveness to others.
“I hate to see people suffering and be bitter and angry and hateful,” he said. “You can see the life changes if people let themselvees be free. Forgive the ones who hurt you — the world would be a much better world if we knew how to do this.”
For more information about Loth and his book, visit http://www.forerunnerministries.org. For more information on the Louisburg Baptist Temple’s “Fruit of Forgiveness” conference, which begins at 9 a.m. Oct. 29, call (913) 837-2979. Louisburg Baptist Temple is located at 6961 W. 271st St.
www.fruitofforgiveness.org
Monday, October 17, 2011
How To Get Rid Of Your Pastor ;-)
Are you at odds with your pastor? Here are a few ways to help him out.
- Look him straight in the eye while he's preaching and say AMEN once and a while and he will preach himself to death in a few weeks.
- Build him up and encourage him on his good points and he will work himself to death by the end of the year.
- Dedicate your life to Christ and ask him to give you a job to do, preferable some lost person you could win to Christ and he will drop dead immediately of heart failure.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Oleaginousspoon
I don't know if this happen to you, but every time we want to try a new restaurant nothing comes to mind. I read reviews, seen adds, heard of interesting places on the radio, suggestions from friends........
Now it's Sunday, we're leaving church and the question is asked, "Where would you like to eat?" Something happens to mind when this question is asked. I think the synapse widens to such an extent that the ability to think ceases, so after several rounds of this, I heard, "Where is that soul food restaurant you mentioned last month"?
It's in the city, about 25-30 minute drive, and since we can't think of another place, we head for KC. I'm hoping that when we get there it's not packed and the food is picked over (It's a buffet) fortunately our timing was good.
There only a few patrons eating when we arrived.
It was our first time there and we didn't know what to expect, but we were not disappointed, It was wonderful. Lots of comfort food. If you like brisket, fried chicken, grilled fish, grilled chicken, corn, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, pork chops, green beans, mac & cheese, great salad, collard greens, cabbage, cheese cake, peach cobler......I may have missed a few things but you get the idea.
The Names of the restaurant is The Juke House and I think it's worth the drive.
Now it's Sunday, we're leaving church and the question is asked, "Where would you like to eat?" Something happens to mind when this question is asked. I think the synapse widens to such an extent that the ability to think ceases, so after several rounds of this, I heard, "Where is that soul food restaurant you mentioned last month"?
It's in the city, about 25-30 minute drive, and since we can't think of another place, we head for KC. I'm hoping that when we get there it's not packed and the food is picked over (It's a buffet) fortunately our timing was good.
There only a few patrons eating when we arrived.
It was our first time there and we didn't know what to expect, but we were not disappointed, It was wonderful. Lots of comfort food. If you like brisket, fried chicken, grilled fish, grilled chicken, corn, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, pork chops, green beans, mac & cheese, great salad, collard greens, cabbage, cheese cake, peach cobler......I may have missed a few things but you get the idea.
The Names of the restaurant is The Juke House and I think it's worth the drive.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Distracted
A few days ago in the early morning hours I heard a number of emergency vehicles go by. For some reason I assumed they were headed to a fire. I also remember thinking how well I can hear the sirens inside the house but when I'm in the car I can't hear a thing. Anyway, I left the house a couple of hours later and that's when I found out what all the commotion was about. It was a terrible accident just down the street from me and from the condition of the car, I'm certain there were injuries. The car appeared to have been broadsided buy a pick-up truck, which was being loaded onto a tow truck as I passed the scene. I spend a lot of time in the car and the one thing I notice more than ever before is: people are MWD (multitasking while driving). It seems that driving has taken a back seat to talking on the phone, texting, reading, eating, changing clothes, checking the GPS, taking videos..........
I don't know the cause of this accident but someone was distracted for some reason and the result was unnecessary injury and auto damage.
I don't know the cause of this accident but someone was distracted for some reason and the result was unnecessary injury and auto damage.
Friday, October 14, 2011
My Voice
America the Changed
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord . . . .
Psalm 33:12a
In an 1892 U.S. Supreme Court decision, the majority opinion cited numerous examples and proofs of America's Christian heritage. In 1954, California Governor Earl Warren, who went on to become the chief justice of the Supreme Court, said that America is "a Christian land governed by Christian perspectives." But in 1992, when Mississippi Governor Kirk Fordice referred to America as a Christian nation in a speech at a governors' conference, the media outrage was so strong he was forced to retract his statement and apologize a few days later.
Somewhere between 1892 and 1992, it stopped being acceptable to refer to America as a Christian nation. Yes, constitutionally America has no established religion. Nor is America a theocracy. Yet the Judeo-Christian principles of the Bible have characterized this nation since its founding--though it is considered politically incorrect to say so today. Jesus called the Church to be salt in the world to preserve goodness and create a thirst for God (Matthew 5:13).
If you are a Christian, do not be afraid, let your voice be heard in the public square lest it become illegal for it to be heard it at all.
A devotion of David Jeremiah.
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord . . . .
Psalm 33:12a
| Recommended Reading Acts 4:27-31 |
Somewhere between 1892 and 1992, it stopped being acceptable to refer to America as a Christian nation. Yes, constitutionally America has no established religion. Nor is America a theocracy. Yet the Judeo-Christian principles of the Bible have characterized this nation since its founding--though it is considered politically incorrect to say so today. Jesus called the Church to be salt in the world to preserve goodness and create a thirst for God (Matthew 5:13).
If you are a Christian, do not be afraid, let your voice be heard in the public square lest it become illegal for it to be heard it at all.
A devotion of David Jeremiah.
Monday, October 3, 2011
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