#TS are built to be obedient and useful

[ivyfox-illustration]

Gallery Wrapped canvas watercolor Bloodhound, Rainbow, scent hound, hounds, hunting dogs, bloodhound art, realistic, unique bloodhound gifts Your favourite breed art print - head or body conformation - groomer gift - Other Breeds Available - dog breeder gift - regional specialty or national specialty prize gift idea Artwork by Ivy Fox Illustration Follow Ivy Fox Illustration on social media https://m.facebook.com/IvyFox.illustration/ https://www.instagram.com/ivyfox.illustration/ Find your dog breed: Personalized Pet Portraits: https://ivyfoxillustrates.etsy.com/ My website: https://ivyfoxillustration.com/ Art Prints Merch Original PaintingsUplift any room's decor with art that's printed on top-quality canvas gallery wraps. Each wrap is made with finely textured, artist-grade cotton substrate which helps reproduce your image in outstanding clarity and detail. Available in multiple sizes, these closed back canvases are built with a patented, solid support face and are excellent for indoor use. .: 100% cotton fabric (400gsm) .: Horizontal, vertical and square options available .: Closed cardboard backing .: Built with a patented solid support face .: High image quality and detail .: NB! For indoor use onlyContact Email: IvyFoxIllustration@ gmail(dot)com ———— Tags and other miscellaneous info: ———— Ivy Fox Illustration Ivy Fox dog art Museum of the Dog American Kennel Club Showsight - Where Champions Are Celebrated American Dog Fancier InfoDog Best In Show The Canine Chronicle AKC Gazette best pet portrait artist watercolor fine art unique art Akc meet the breeds Westminster kennel club dog show national dog show crufts grooming intergroom superzoo petquest groom expo dog sports well bred dogs purebred preservation breeders ethical breeders breeder of merit akc grand champion Ch – Champion of Record – earned by gaining 15 points in conformation wins. Points awarded is determined by the number of other entries the winning dog defeats. A dog must win at least two majors (by winning at two different shows under two different judges where there are enough entries defeated to equal 3-5 points by the AKC point system. OTCh – Obedience Trial Champion To earn an obedience title, the dog must have a passing score of 50% of possible points or better, and an overall passing score at three different competitions under three different judges. CD – Companion Dog (First Level Obedience Competition, basic obedience exercises) CDX – Companion Dog Excellent (Intermediate Level Obedience Competition, more advanced obedience work) UD – Utility Dog (Advanced Level Obedience Competition, difficult obedience work, including hand signals) UDX – The highest obedience degree AKC presently awards TRACKING TD – Tracking Dog TDX – Tracking Dog Excellent VST – Variable Surface Tracking HERDING HIC – Herding Instinct Certificate HT – Herding Tested PT – PreTrial Tested HS – Herding Started HI – Herding Intermediate HX – Herding Excellent HCh – Herding Champion AGILITY NA – Novice Agility OA – Open Agility AX – Agility Excellent MX – Master Agility Excellent NAJ – Novice Agility Jumper OAJ – Open Agility Jumper EAJ – Excellent Agility Jumper AKC Unofficial Titles CGC – Canine Good Citizen ROM – Register of Merit – A dog or bitch must earn a number of points specified by the DPCA rules, and also meet the numbers of champion and major pointed progeny required by DPCA. The requirements for bitches are less than the requirements for the dogs because males have the opportunity to produce a far larger number of offspring. ROMC – Canadian ROM ROM/C – designates that the dog has earned an American and a Canadian ROM. TT – Temperament Tested TC – Temperament Certified AOE – Award of Excellence-A dog must meet qualifications in conformation, obedience, and also be OFA´d to earn this award. New competitions are being added and rules for competitions change, for the most up to date rules and regulations, check with the AKC and the DPCA. Miscellaneous American titles often seen on pedigrees and in advertising. BIS – Best in Show at an All-Breed Show in conformation. BISS – Best in Show Specialty (where only dogs of the same breed are competing in conformation) BOB – Best of Breed BOS – Best Opposite Sex BOW – Best of Winners (best between Winners Dog and Winners Bitch in breed conformation class competition) WD – Winners Dog – the winning dog overall of the regular classes of his sex. WB – Winners Bitch – the winning bitch overall of the regular classes of her sex. RWD/RWB – Runner up to the winners dog and bitch, if the winner becomes ineligible for the award then the runner up will receive the points awarded from that show. Special – A dog that is already a Champion that is competing for Best of Breed only. A Champion cannot compete in the classes where points are earned (because a Champion has already earned them!) RTD – Registered Therapy Dog TD I- Dog has passed Therapy Dog International´s testing HEALTH CERTIFICATIONS OVC – Ontario Veterinary College OVC Hip Certification – A dog may be preliminary screened at a younger age, but will not receive a certification unless the dog is at least 18 months old. It was told to me by a tech in the radiology department of OVC that they consider hips to either be bad, in which case they are rated on a scale from 0 – 4, with 4 being the worse, or they are “good” in which case the animal will receive a certification number (if 18 months or older. Therefore they do not follow the U.S. rating system which includes “FAIR”, Good, Excellent”. Their exact words were “the hips are either GOOD or they are NOT. OFA – Orthopedic Foundation for Animals OFA Hip Certifications – dogs within a specified range of normal hip x-rays are certified OFA-Excellent, Good, or Fair OFA – Elbow Certification – Certified by OFA for normal elbows on x-ray, only one grade recognized as normal. Check with OFA for proper procedures and positioning for hip and elbow x-rays. A dog may be preliminary screened at a younger age, but will not receive a certification unless the dog is at least 24 months old. OFA is also now doing certifications for other canine health concerns such as normal thyroid levels, check with OFA for accurate data and rules concerning these. CERF – Canine Eye Registry Foundation-dog is certified to have normal eyes. Re-certification must be done annually. vWD – Von Willebrands Disease free-meaning the dog has been tested and found free of vWD, a bleeding disorder, vWD free ratings also are often given with a percentage listed. For the best information on Von Willebrand´s Disease, contact Dr Jean Dodds, who is the leading research specialist in blood disorders. Dog show prize idea

[doctordiscord123]

My Way or the Highway -- Whumptober 2020

Illinois stumbles upon something big but quickly learns to regret it.

Commission Info | Buy me a ko-fi

@whumptober2020

Tags: @demon-dark-666 @devon-rever-860 @smash-ash26 @bender-of-life @verse2wo @vociferous-chaos @itsjustkyss @takethepainawaybae @the-pan-anon @ts-famderartist @rottingmolars @revolutionbastard @toothfairy2298 @sororia04s @sirkawaiipotato @darkest-shade-of-light @bitchbyebibye @posts-random-art @xoskeletonkid @lulu-chaos-incarnation @regalrain02 @parental-tendencies @tried-my-best @mirrored-calamity  If you want to be added to the list, just let me know!

 Warnings: Blood, Kidnapping  Pairings: None  Characters: Illinois  Word Count: 1511 words

Illinois panted, wiping the sweat from his brow as he hacked at the jungle foliage, constantly readjusting his grip on his machete with the heat and humidity making his hands sweaty. He’d been out here for a good few weeks now -- first scouring the foothills of the Andes in Colombia, before turning his attention to the Amazon. Sure, El Dorado most likely didn’t exist, but that didn’t mean Illinois wasn’t going to try. He’d done his research, learning from the mistakes of those before him. 

Besides, even if he didn’t find anything, it was still a Hell of an adventure.

Grinning despite himself, despite the unbearable heat and bugs and sweat, Illinois continued to push his way through the jungle, making sure to watch every step in fear of snakes or other creatures that could kill him easily. There was nothing quite as terrifying as being at the mercy of nature, and it was a fear Illinois knew well, and he’d learned to obey and use that fear to avoid winding up dead where no one will ever find his body. Not before the animals got to it. 

Hacking once more at the vines foliage blocking his path, he winced as his machete seemed to hit something thicker. Probably a tree. He pulled the vines aside to allow him through, and -- well he wasn’t really sure what it was. It -- didn’t look right to be a tree, so heavily covered in plant life that he couldn’t see the trunk. He couldn’t even see where his machete had hit it. Looking up wasn’t any better, since the the roof of branches and leaves all seemed interconnected anyway. Illinois squinted up at the jungle ceiling, before back to the suspicious probably-not-a-tree, and rubbed at his eyes. How long had he been walking now? He could probably afford a bit of a rest before trying to decipher what this was.

With a heavy sigh, Illinois dropped his machete and his backpack, and sat down on the forest floor, leaning against the maybe-not-a-tree.

And immediately, the area flooded with golden light.

Illinois’ eyes snapped open, and he tried to scramble to his feet, but he was so used to accounting for the weight of his backpack he just fell back down. And then he was frozen in awe, watching as rows of men, soldiers, packed into the jungle, seemingly from nowhere. He assumed they were soldiers, anyway, going by the face paint, shields, and spears. In fact, they looked -- like they were straight out of murals of Aztec warfare. Ancient soldiers, stuck in time.

Illinois swallowed nervously as he realized he might’ve stumbled upon what he was looking for.

...He didn’t account for it still being populated.

One of the men in front -- Illinois could tell he was important from the way his outfit was gaudier, bigger, and the way he carried himself -- slammed his spear into the ground, glaring down at Illinois. He said something in a language Illinois didn’t understand, raising an eyebrow. When Illinois didn’t reply, he repeated himself, definitely angrier, slamming the butt of his spear into the ground, glaring pointedly at Illinois.

Illinois swallowed again, moving slowly back to his feet. “I-I’m sorry, I don’t --”

The second he tried to move, the man in charge slammed his spear again, shouting something in that other language, and two other soldiers rushed forward. Illinois didn’t have time to even think about running before they were grabbing him roughly under his arms and hoisting him to his feet, dragging him along. Illinois cried out in protest, trying to dig his heels into the jungle floor, but the soldiers were strong, and it did little to slow them down. Still, Illinois’ struggled, trying to wrest himself free of the soldiers’ grasps. “Wait! Wait wait wait, hold on, I --”

Illinois cut his own words off with a sharp jolt of fear rushing down his spine as the tip of a very sharp spear suddenly found itself at his throat. The next soldier in the strict, military line glared him down, and Illinois obediently stopped moving, relaxing as much as he could force his body to, eyes locked on the shaft of that spear. Only the steady, trained beat of their march kept him from injury, but if they stopped short -- Illinois could only imagine what it would feel like to have that spear in his throat.

Illinois was dragged through what he now realized were gates, and into the commotion of the lost city. In nearly any other scenario, Illinois would take his time fawning over how well it was hidden, the city built around the forest itself, using the great canopy as cover. He would’ve admired the beautiful gold the building were accented with, the sun glinting of of the streets themselves and the buildings’ valuable designs. Now, he was only concerned with the public display he was becoming, people exiting their homes to watch him be paraded through the streets, Illinois’ pulse pounding in his ears in time with their footsteps, and that spear so fucking close to his throat.

The soldiers stopped dead, and Illinois could help his desperate cry and impulsive jerk to get free -- but the spear stayed at his throat, only nicking his skin a little. His heart was racing, he was hyperventilating, and he cried out again as he was spun around and shoved forcefully to his knees. Disoriented, he tried to lift his head, but then what definitely felt like a foot was being braced against the back of his neck, forcing him to bend completely, his forehead pressed to the golden street beneath him.

He heard the voice from earlier, the soldier in charge, and the foot moved away from his neck. Illinois didn’t move regardless, swallowing hard. But -- then there was a different voice, one that sounded like a woman, but Illinois didn’t have time to try and process it further before there was the sound of things being thrown down beside him, and he flinched, gasping a little. A quick glance out of the corner of his revealed it was his stuff being thrown down -- his backpack, hat and machete. The woman spoke again, and she sounded -- surprised? Confused? -- followed by the angry tone of who Illinois was going to dub a general.

There footsteps, slowly approaching.

Illinois lifted his head in a panic, opening his mouth to explain himself -- or at least try to --

Only for the foot to press back against his neck, and his head was slammed back into the ground with a force Illinois wasn’t expecting. His forehead cracked against the ground loudly, his nose smashing against the stone, and Illinois cried out sharply. Distantly he could feel his wrists being yanked behind him, rough rope being wound around them, but he was a bit more preoccupied with the increased pounding in his skull and the blood he could feel pooling beneath his face.

The footsteps halted, and Illinois felt something hooking beneath his chin, forcing his head back up. 

Blood and tears were smeared across his face, terror bright in his eyes. The woman only raised an eyebrow as she lorded above him, her foot the thing forcing his attention. Her black hair was cut short, to chin level, her dress golden, simple, but regal all the same. Golden bracelets decorated her arms, heavy hoops dangling from ears, necklaces draped around her, but perhaps the most elaborate and eye-catching thing she wore was her headdress: made of a leopard’s pelts, various bird feathers, with uncut jade decorating the brim.

If Illinois thought the general held power, this woman radiated it.

She hummed softly, eyebrow arching further, and she tilted her head to speak to one of the men standing on either side of her -- guards, Illinois assumed -- though she never broke eye contact. She said something in some sort of amused tone, and, judging by the way the guards and soldiers snickered, it was probably something at Illinois’ expense. He couldn’t find it in himself to care if he was being made fun of, not when she smirked, and lifted her foot a little more, forcing Illinois to tilt his head back further.

She said something else to her guards, her smirk growing a little.

And suddenly everything was moving again as Illinois was dragged away.

He tried to fight again, tried to wrestle free of the grip on his bound wrists, but that only earned him lost footing and being dragged across the stone ground, struggling to get his footing back as his knees scraped across the road. He was dragged off to what looked like a temple, elaborate and grand -- no doubt where that woman lived. He was dragged inside, dragged through what felt like endless hallways until --

He was tossed into an elaborate bedroom, forced to his knees once more, and his wrist bound to the wooden post of the bed.

The solider left.

The door was closed.

...And Illinois was left alone to wonder what the Hell his fate was going to be.

[cuddliestbear]

Tw:abuse,emotional manipulation, self harm mentioned

You know, over the past few years, I think I have learned a LOT about myself as a person. Leaving that toxic environment that was my father's house was a good decision, and ultimately better for me as a whole.

But since then, even with meds, with therapy, support from family and friends, I find I'm still on the road to recovery.

I've got anxiety and depression now, and low self esteem, and low expectations for any person in my life because it's easy for me to think 'this is better than before at least' and let shit slide. I can't keep thinking like that, I need to be better, not coasting. But, I'm working on it and trying so hard to give myself the self love I need after so many years of emotional and mental abuse hurled at me at such a young stage in my life.

I cry sometimes for the life I could have had had I not been conned into moving. I might still be friends with an old friend from my home who I barely talk to anymore. I might have ACTUALLY become a Marine Biologist. I might have done a lot of things, met a lot of people, different people than I know now.

Through the bs I went through, at least I have my friends, and my mom whenever I need them. I'm trying to take on the perspective of glass half full lately, because I have been such a pessimist since I was sixteen. It's not a matter of getting over it, there is no getting over it, it is being able to acknowledge the hurt that happened, and process it in a healthy way to better myself.

To people who will say 'how could you just abandon them like that?' It wasn't easy, whether they hurt me or not whether they were horrible to me or my mom or not, I still cared about them to some extent. That has always been my problem with things, when I care, I CARE, when I don't care, I REALLY don't. So, to try and leave people that had housed me and clothed me and fed me was hard. I didn't want to leave my sisters, I kinda didn't want to leave my dad behind because I am 90% positive he was just as miserable there as I was. But, also my dad created this problem for himself. He met this woman and decided he wanted to marry her, that was his decision, not mine. It was his decision to let her keep his balls in her purse so he wouldn't ever stick up for his own flesh and blood when his wife was being a cunt to them. So, yes, I 'abandoned' them, if that's what you want to call it. And, I shouldn't have to be sorry for that. And I am NOT sorry for that.

The only thing I am sorry for is having to leave my sisters behind. And I am sorry that they couldn't figure out that I am a whole human with whole human feelings and thoughts and ideas and own ways to be. No, what they wanted was a perfect little daughter who was obedient to a fault. They wanted a puppet who's life they could control and play with like a stupid fucking sims game.

And if I am swearing a lot in this it's because even after years of being away, I am STILL angry. So, so, so angry. All the time. Because I had been put through hell by adults that should have fucking known better. I solemnly swear that I will NEVER have children, because I barely know how to take care of myself, I have no right trying to take care of a mini human when I have so many issues that might complicate parenting.

They ripped my dreams and hopes to tatters and I was left with nothing of myself. I was a shell for so many years, I cried so often, but eventually I did that in secret because no one gave a shit. I used the razors in pencil sharpeners to open my wrists in PUNISHMENT to MYSELF because I was made to feel like I was the problem that everything was on me and I failed and kept failing and it built and I broke. I'm not proud of any lingering marks on my body, but it would be foolish of me to discount them. They are imprints of my own pain, and they remind me that I am stronger than I once was. Not by much but I am stronger.

The fucked up part isn't even that I hurt myself, the fucked up part is that I THOUGHT I deserved that pain. That I EVER deserved to be treated like such a stain on their life they would do anything to scrub out or paint over. There were always good days and bad days, but the overall experience was misery and lonliness.

I couldn't really hang out with friends outside of school and if I did, they wanted to know exactly what I was doing, and where I was going and who I was with. And they didn't approve of the vast majority of the answers to those questions. So, I just never went out. Never hung out on the weekends somewhere, I just stayed home in my room on my own as often as I could. My room was my only safe place and even then that was subject to be rifled through and examined always. I had no privacy, no life and I only went to school and came home, rinse and repeat. School was one of the only bright spots in my life because at least there my friends wanted me to be around and people seemed to like me.

That's also something I've struggled with, I have an incessant need to be liked by ABSOLUTELY everybody even though I know that isn't realistic. I do my best to be kind and compassionate to others and became that sort of mom friend who will listen to you air out your own problems while bottling my own.

But, I'm trying to fix that, trying to work on myself because I have so many deep seated issues that I don't talk about with anyone. I'm also so TIRED of being angry, it takes so much energy, and I am so so tired.

To anybody stuck in situations like that, first opportunity you get, get help, some support from somebody. If you're able to and not in danger, check out this website for domestic violence and domestic abuse support. https://www.thehotline.org/

Know that there are options, there is still hope and there is still light somewhere to guide you. Do what is right by you, and you will find that light. Even if doing right by you means leaving a relationship or household you've been in for years. It's hard but you can do it.

To quote Kingdom Hearts "May your heart be your guiding key." Use that key to free yourself and get help if you can!

Anyways, sorry for the heavy topic, I just had to get that all out there.

[pamphletstoinspire]

MARY THE CHURCH AT THE SOURCE - PART 8

WRITTEN BY: JOSEPH CARDINAL RATZINGER AND HANS URS VON BALTHASAR

________

III

CONCEIVED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT, BORN OF THE VIRGIN MARY

I

It is impolite to cut someone short. He rightly protests and says: “Let me finish!” It is just as impolite to cut the New Testament short, to click one’s stopwatch at some stage of its reflection on the phenomenon of Jesus Christ, to interrupt it in the middle of a single connected idea or sentence. A few exegetes are guilty of this impoliteness, and many people echo them without sufficient thought.

Everyone knows that the New Testament was conceived and written in the light of the Resurrection. The gift of certain faith in the Resurrection turned the world upside down. Without it, it would have been pointless to found a Christian community, write a Pauline letter, or compose a Gospel. The Resurrection casts its light backward on the enigmatic, peculiar existence of the man from Nazareth— above all on the failure of his career, the Crucifixion, which at the time seemed to have defeated all his expectations and promises. The light falls backward on this catastrophic event that had occurred only three days before, creating almost out of nothing, in a kind of primordial generative act, the nucleus of the Christian faith. This nucleus is summed up in the two words “for us”, already a firm conviction of the primitive Church when Paul arrived on the scene: “[He] was put to death for our trespasses and raised for our justification” (Rom 4:25).

Now, if someone wanted to freeze faith’s ongoing reflection once it had arrived at this insight, he would already be too late, for everything that comes later is already contained in this first germ. The light falls on what Jesus did the night before he suffered: “Eat the flesh that is broken for you, drink the blood that is spilled for you.” Indeed, the light falls even farther back on the inexplicable shape of his life, which could only create perplexity. On the one side, this terrible majesty, this superhuman claim in all that he did and said; on the other side, this equally terrible abasement and defenselessness, the feeling (of which he made no secret) that he was going to meet an ignominious death; and immediately afterward the renewed promise that he would come on the clouds of heaven to judge the world. Nothing in this existence seemed to round itself out; behind every final verdict one might try to reach there lurked a contradiction. “When they heard these words, some of the people said, ‘This is really the prophet.’ Others said, ‘This is the Christ.’ But some said, Ts the Christ to come from Galilee?’ So there was a division among the people over him” (Jn 7:40-41, 43). Even the elect disciples who knew him more intimately understood nothing, as they themselves confess. Nor could they have understood anything even if they had been much smarter than they actually were. You could explain the mysteries to them as much as you wanted—but what, in the end, was this kingdom of God they were always talking about and that had supposedly drawn near, no, had already completely come? The sick were healed; bread could be distributed to famished crowds; demons could even be expelled. Was this the kingdom of God? But whenever they thought they had found a clue to solving the puzzle, they would be rebuffed again: “Nevertheless do not rejoice in this” (Lk 10:20), Once only did he promise some of those standing by that they would see the kingdom of God coming in power before their death (Mk 9:1), but then we read that, because “they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately” (Lk 19:11), Jesus told them the parable of the man who went into a far country and told his servants to trade with his goods.

No, the puzzles were insoluble. The best one could do (so far as one did not, like bis relatives, think he was crazy) was to stick by him and hope that at some point he would resolve his own enigma. And he did resolve it—in the unity of defeat and victory, of Crucifixion and Resurrection. Now the unity of majesty and lowliness became clear: it was the unity of a mission from God and perfect obedience to the will of the Father. The unity of present and future, of the already now and the not yet, of restless activity and patient waiting for the Father’s hour, also became clear. The story of the disciples from Emmaus wonderfully illustrates how the sun of the Resurrection rises over the twilight landscape of Jesus’ life: “O foolish men. . . . Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?. . . Everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms must be fulfilled” (Lk 24:25-26; 44).

And Jesus expressly (Lk 24:46) includes the Resurrection, the surpassing fulfillment of all God’s promises that the covenant between his eternal life and man’s mortal life would one day be perfectly fulfilled and that mortal man would become a partaker in his eternal life.

Once this immense paschal light had risen to illuminate Jesus’ life, there was no more stopping. The question simply had to be asked: Who really was this man; where did he come from originally? We thus arrive at the question of his provenance, to which the line from the Creed we are going to consider is the answer: “Conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary”.

II

Now, running through Jesus’ life there was a very clear motif that, like Ariadne, gives us the guiding thread we need to venture forward into the mystery: Jesus’ unique, all-determining relationship to his heavenly Father. It is already the Synoptics, not John, who first give us the powerful words: “No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” It is with this Father, whom Jesus customarily called Abba, Papa (the early Church handed on this word forever in Aramaic), that he wrestled in his most difficult hour: “ ‘Abba [Papa], Father, all things are possible to you; remove this chalice from me; yet not what I will, but what you will’ ” (Mk 14:36).,

In view of texts like these, which stand for many others, let us go abruptly to the question: Could this man, who had such a unique relationship to the “Father in heaven”, to whom he owed his existence, entrusted himself, and unreservedly gave himself back—could he owe his existence to another father at the same time? Could he, putting it crudely, have two fathers? Did he have to acknowledge two fathers as the source of his existence? After all, he did not live in our supposedly “fatherless society”, in which the fourth commandment seems to have faded to the point of total disappearance, in which the parent-child relationship no longer rests upon a holistic, fully human relationship of care and reverent love, but is reduced to a chance sex act that does not oblige the child toward its parents in any essential way. No, this man was a Jew who was part of his people’s intergenerational continuity. And in this continuity—precisely because of messianic hope, but also because of descent from Abraham, the first father—the parent-child relationship was the sustaining ground of one’s whole existence. Would not Jesus’ exclusive relation to his heavenly Father have deeply offended Joseph the carpenter if Joseph had been his physical father? And could Jesus, who, after all, enjoined the observance of the Ten Commandments (Mk 10:19), have himself transgressed against one that was so vital to all ancient cultures? And supposing he owed his existence as much to the man Joseph as he did to his heavenly Father, and so had to keep the commandment, would not this double paternity have led to certain schizophrenia? The only way out of the dilemma would be to say that he owes his existence to his heavenly Father like any other man whose immortal soul comes from the Creator, who plants this soul in the new being at the moment of the parents’ procreative act. If this were the case, Jesus would be, to be sure, a pious man who honors his parents and in doing so also thinks of his Creator, but he would be in no respect better or worse than we are, and he would have been just as incapable as we are of saying “no one knows the Father but the Son.” Nor would he have any special ability to mediate bis fellow men into a completely new relationship to their heavenly Father. He could do only what Harnack says he can: make them see a bit more clearly what they already know and are. For this reason I must for once contradict a statement of Joseph Ratzinger that has been repeated eagerly everywhere: “The doctrine of Jesus’ divinity would not be affected if Jesus had been the product of a normal Christian marriage.”1 But the point is that the human parent-child relationship is more than a mere physiological event.

If this claim is mistaken—and Jesus’ entire life, especially when seen in the light of the Resurrection, proves that it is—then it makes sense to see Jesus as the high point of a trajectory beginning in the Old Testament, as the superabundant fulfillment of a promise, toward which the Old Testament had already built the ladder.

The history of faith began with Abraham. He first obtained an ordinary son, Ishmael, by the fruitful Hagar, but God promised him another son when he was a hundred years old. This was the son of the promise, Isaac, whom Abraham’s sterile wife, Sarah, would bear. The same sign is repeated with the birth of Samson and, once again, with the birth of Samuel from Hannah, who until that time had been sterile. It occurred one last time with Elizabeth, who, also sterile, conceived the Forerunner, John, by an express divine miracle. “ ‘And behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible’ ” (Lk 1:36-37). This motif, which spans the entire Old Testament, haunted Jewish thought. Reflection brought more and more clearly to light that it was God himself who played the principal role in these begettings and conceptions. God’s power quickened the dead seed and the barren womb. Paul says that Abraham fathered Isaac in faith in “the God . . . who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. . . . He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead because he was a hundred years old, or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb” (Rom 4:17, 19). Paul likewise says that Isaac was “born . . . through promise” (Gal 4:23), “born according to the Spirit” (Gal 4:29).

However, so long as we stay within the horizon of the Old Testament, the human father’s relation to his son continues to play a decisive role despite everything that God does. Not the Holy Spirit, but Abraham is, in an eminent way, Isaac’s father. When they journey together to Mount Moriah, “Isaac said to his father Abraham, ‘My Father!’ And he said, ‘Here am I, my son.’ He said, ‘Behold, the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?’ ” (Gen 22:7). Before Samson’s birth, the angel first appears to the woman, who remains anonymous, but the decisive negotiations take place with Manoah of Zorah, from the tribe of Dan (Judg 13:2-24). The story of the barren Hannah also begins with a detailed description of her husband, Elkanah, son of Jeroham, and so forth, from Ramathaim-zophim, who makes a pilgrimage with his wife to sacrifice in Shiloh. And upon Hannah’s entreaty that a son be granted, we read of the two that “they rose early in the morning and worshiped before the LORD; then they went back to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the LORDremembered her” (1 Sam 1:1-19; citation, 19), And how clearly the priest Zechariah, of the division of Abijah, predominates over his wife in the first chapter of Luke. It is he whom the angel meets at the hour of incense, he who receives the detailed promise about the son who, filled with the Holy Spirit, will prepare the ways of the Lord in the power of Elijah.

It is Zechariah who, after having been struck dumb on account of his unbelief, is asked what name his son shall be given and finally sings the Benedictus: “And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying, ‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel’ ” (Lk 1:67-68).

After these preliminaries, we would expect to learn a great deal about Joseph, the man descended from David on whom the whole promise depends. But the entire scene of the Annunciation, both in Matthew and in Luke, passes over him and concentrates entirely on Mary. Here for the first time the angel of the Lord addresses a woman, and it is she who transmits the Spirit whom she has received to another woman, her cousin Elizabeth, who only then is filled with the Holy Spirit and receives the sign of the child leaping in her womb. Mary alone sings the Magnificat. It is quite clear that something much more than “biological generation” is going on here, namely, the decisive appearance of God as the sole Father, an appearance that excludes a relation to another father to the same degree that Jesus’ spousal relation to his bride, the Church, rules out any other marital relation for him.

Abraham’s loins had been blessed by the Holy Spirit, who reawakened their life-giving powers. The old servant Eliezer had to touch them in order to seal his oath to provide Isaac with a bride. Surely Joseph’s life-giving powers would have received much more praise if they had finally brought forth the long-awaited scion of David.

But no. The whole process of bodily begetting, in fact, the whole question of whether a man or woman is fruitful or not, loses its importance in the New Covenant. Joseph crosses the threshold of the New Covenant by an act of renunciation. In this way he becomes the foster father of the one who himself will be a virgin and through a most radical renunciation will open a completely different source of life. His crucified body as a whole will be endowed with power to beget and, according to Paul, will produce his immaculate bride without spot or wrinkle, the Church.

The predominance of renunciation over human begetting places us before the very threshold of our Creed. To be sure, we have not yet crossed the threshold, for we must still make the step from the barren Elizabeth to the virginal Mary. But it surely bespeaks the biblical origin of the motif of the virginal birth that the angel of the Annunciation puts Mary’s hand in that of her cousin Elizabeth, thereby unequivocally deriving the motif from, and legitimating it in terms of, the Old Testament promise. Everything that Matthew and Luke say in their accounts of Jesus’ conception and birth can be understood, without exception, against the background of the Old Testament, whereas there is no trace in pagan mythology, in Egyptian or Hellenistic stories, of pharaohs or heroes being divinely begotten of a virgin. The very most one might concede here is that such distant parallels (but the differences are greater!) suggest a vague expectation that a great man could come directly from the divine world. But we must immediately introduce a correction here: According to the Jewish conception of God, there can be no question of a divine filiation in any physical sense.

On the one hand, Luke’s account directly cites the promise in Isaiah that the young woman (almah) will conceive and bear a son whom they will call Emmanuel (Is 7:14). The Hebrew word “young woman” is translated as parthenos in the Greek Bible. This term means “virgin”, and it thus builds a bridge to Nazareth. However, there was nothing particularly splendid about virginity in the Jewish world. On the contrary, all the light fell on the fruitful woman. For this reason, Mary’s allusion to the fact that God “has looked upon the lowliness of his handmaid” is another Old Testament echo.

Furthermore, the expression “Holy Spirit will come upon you, and power of the Most High will overshadow you” also refers, in its entirety, to the Old Testament. Nowhere in the Old Testament does God couple himself in a “sacred marriage” with a human being; rather, he always sends the power of his Spirit from his inaccessible height to enact his will. And yet here, too, we cross the threshold from the Old Covenant to the New—we are talking about the Virgin Birth, after all!—and we should not hesitate to see this “Holy Spirit” as divine power that Christian reflection on the events came to call the third Divine Person, or hypostasis. That fact that the word pneuma has no article here (as is often the case in the New Testament), whereas in other passages it does (“to pneuma”), is not a decisive argument against our claim the texts sometimes add or drop the article from one verse to another, for example at Jesus’ baptism: “He will baptize you with Holy Spirit. . . . Then [Jesus] saw the heavens open and the Spirit descending like a dove. . . . The Spirit immediately drove him into the wilderness” (Mt 1:8, 10, 12). What is much weightier is that it is precisely in the scene of the Annunciation that the angel’s threefold speech is the first explicit mention of the three hypostases of the Godhead: “The Lord is with you” (Yahweh, the God of Israel, whom Jesus will call his Father); “you will bear the Son of the Most High”; “Holy Spirit will overshadow you.” If the Father, as the Almighty, remains on high, if, on the other hand, the Son allows himself to be borne into the womb of the Virgin, thus allowing his Incarnation to occur, rather than actively carrying it out, it is, and always will be, the Holy Spirit, as the third divine hypostasis, who is the real agent in the Church’s prayers and sacraments and charisms.

III

And now just one point remains: the vessel that receives the power of the Most High, the Virgin. The text has told us that she is betrothed to a man named Joseph, which, according to Jewish law, means that she is already legally married to him but is not yet living with him. The Jews considered it a disgrace to consummate marriage during the time of betrothal. For this reason, Mary also asks the angel: “How can this be, since I [for the time being] have no husband?” However, Mary’s connection with Joseph is absolutely decisive for New Testament theology, because only Joseph was of the Davidic stock that bore the messianic promise, and it was the legal father who decided which lineage a child belonged to. If we reflect on this tapestry of subtly calibrated interconnections, we cannot help observing that Jesus’ divine sonship is a much better founded, much more essential fact than his messiahship, to which he actually attached little importance, at least in its then conventional meaning. When Peter proclaimed him as the Messiah, he directed attention instead to the Son of Man and the suffering servant who would have much to suffer; but a Messiah that really suffered like the servant of God was unimaginable to a Jew of the time.

The Virgin, harboring a mystery under her heart, remains in profound solitude. In a silence that almost causes the perplexed Joseph to despair. Incarnation of God means condescension, abasement, and, because we are sinners, humiliation. And he already draws his Mother into these humiliations. Where did she get this child? People must have talked at the time, and they probably never stopped. It must have been a sorry state of affairs if Joseph could find no better way out than to divorce his bride quietly. God’s humanism at once begins drastically. Those whose lives God enters, those who enter into his, are not protected. They have to go along into a suspicion and ambiguity they cannot talk their way out of. And the ambiguity will only get worse, until, at the Cross, the Mother will get to see what her Yes has caused and will have to hear the vitriolic ridicule to which the Son is forced to listen.

In Greek tragedy there is the chorus that comments on the events, and it can be either sad or celebratory. In the Christian drama of Christmas, the angels of the gloria are the chorus; they comment on the heavenly truth of this poor earthly scene in the manger. Glory is due God in heaven, but joy is given on earth to those men who delight in his good pleasure. In the first place, that means this new man, his Son. And then around the Son, those who are placed at his side: the Virgin who gave herself to be his Mother; the man who for the sake of God’s will renounced being his father; the shepherds watching at night who are granted the favor of being the first to see the sign of salvation. The Son will appoint his own shepherds and his own sheep. May these shepherds, too, pass the Christmas season watching over their flocks (Lk 2:8) and announcing to all those entrusted to them the sign that the God of grace has worked for us all.

________

1 Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Introduction to Christianity, trans. J. R. Foster (Communio Books; San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2004), 274-75.

[seekfirstme]

The following reflection is courtesy of Don Schwager © 2020. Don's website is located at Dailyscripture.net

Meditation: Do you know the favor of the Lord? After Jesus' birth, Mary fulfills the Jewish rite of purification after childbirth. Since she could not afford the customary offering of a lamb, she gives instead two pigeons as an offering of the poor. This rite, along with circumcision and the redemption of the first-born point to the fact that children are gifts from God. Jesus was born in an ordinary home where there were no luxuries. Like all godly parents, Mary and Joseph raised their son in the fear and wisdom of God. He, in turn, was obedient to them and grew in wisdom and grace. The Lord's favor is with those who listen to his word with trust and obedience. Do you know the joy of submission to God? And do you seek to pass on the faith and to help the young grow in wisdom and maturity?

The Holy Spirit reveals the presence of the Savior of the world

What is the significance of Simeon's encounter with the baby Jesus and his mother in the temple? Simeon was a just and devout man who was very much in tune with the Holy Spirit. He believed that the Lord would return to his temple and renew his chosen people. The Holy Spirit also revealed to him that the Messiah and King of Israel would also bring salvation to the Gentile nations. When Joseph and Mary presented the baby Jesus in the temple, Simeon immediately recognized this humble child of Bethlehem as the fulfillment of all the messianic prophecies, hopes, and prayers. Inspired by the Holy Spirit he prophesied that Jesus was to be "a revealing light to the Gentiles". The Holy Spirit reveals the presence of the Lord to those who are receptive and eager to receive him. Do you recognize the indwelling presence of the Lord with you?

The 'new temple' of God's presence in the world

Jesus is the new temple (John 1:14; 2:19-22). In the Old Testament God manifested his presence in the "pillar of cloud" by day and the "pillar of fire" by night as he led them through the wilderness. God's glory visibly came to dwell over the ark and the tabernacle (Exodus 40:34-38). When the first temple was built in Jerusalem God's glory came to rest there (1 Kings 8). After the first temple was destroyed, Ezekiel saw God's glory leave it (Ezekiel 10). But God promised one day to fill it with even greater glory (Haggai 2:1-9; Zechariah 8-9). That promise is fulfilled when the "King of Glory" himself comes to his temple (Psalm 24:7-10; Malachi 3:1). Through Jesus' coming in the flesh and through his saving death, resurrection, and ascension we are made living temples of his Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16-17). Ask the Lord to renew your faith in the indwelling presence of his Spirit within you. And give him thanks and praise for coming to make his home with you.

Mary receives both a crown of joy and a cross of sorrow

Simeon blessed Mary and Joseph and he prophesied to Mary about the destiny of this child and the suffering she would undergo for his sake. There is a certain paradox for those blessed by the Lord. Mary was given the blessedness of being the mother of the Son of God. That blessedness also would become a sword which pierced her heart as her Son died upon the cross. She received both a crown of joy and a cross of sorrow. But her joy was not diminished by her sorrow because it was fueled by her faith, hope, and trust in God and his promises. Jesus promised his disciples that "no one will take your joy from you" (John 16:22). The Lord gives us a supernatural joy which enables us to bear any sorrow or pain and which neither life nor death can take away. Do you know the peace and joy of a life surrendered to God with faith and trust?

Our hope is anchored in God's everlasting kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy

What do you hope for? The hope which God places in our heart is the desire for the kingdom of heaven and everlasting life and happiness with our heavenly Father. The Lord Jesus has won for us a kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17). The Holy Spirit gives hope to all who place their trust in the promises of God. God never fails because his promises are true and he is faithful. The hope which God places within us through the gift of the Spirit enables us to persevere with confident trust in God even in the face of trails, setbacks, and challenges that may come our way.

Is there anything holding you back from giving God your unqualified trust and submission to his will for your life? Allow the Lord Jesus to flood your heart with his peace, joy, and love. And offer to God everything you have and desire - your life, family, friends, health, honor, wealth, and future. If you seek his kingdom first he will give you everything you need to know, love, and serve him now and enjoy him forever.

"Lord Jesus, you are my hope and my life. May I never cease to place all my trust in you. Fill me with the joy and strength of the Holy Spirit that I may boldly point others to your saving presence and words of everlasting life."

The following reflection is from One Bread, One Body courtesy of Presentation Ministries © 2020.

HIS BIRTH AND OUR DEATHS

“Now, Master, You can dismiss Your servant in peace.” —Luke 2:29

Simeon told the Lord, His Master, that he was ready to die now that he had seen Jesus alive. This points out the connection between our deaths and Jesus’ birth. The Church emphasizes this connection by celebrating the deaths of St. Thomas Becket today, the Holy Innocents yesterday, and St. Stephen on the second day of Christmas.

Jesus’ birth and our deaths go together because Jesus has revealed to us that our deaths are births into the eternal life of heaven (see Rm 6:8). Death is not the end of life, but the end of earthly limitations on life. “Now we see indistinctly, as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. My knowledge is imperfect now; then I shall know even as I am known” (1 Cor 13:12).

Death in Jesus is the birth into perfect life — a life greater than we can ever see, hear, or conceptualize (1 Cor 2:9). Our earthly life is comparable to being in the womb. In the womb, we are truly human beings; we can experience God (see Lk 1:41); we can know love, be nourished, and grow. However, when we are born, a whole new world opens up for us. Death is the birth by which we are transferred from the womb of earthly life to the light of heavenly life. We know this because we know Life itself, Jesus Christ, the Baby born at Bethlehem.

Prayer:  Father, may I not abort myself by sin.

Promise:  “The darkness is over and the real light begins to shine.” —1 Jn 2:8

Praise:  St. Thomas studied law and became Chancellor of England. As Archbishop of Canterbury, he defended the Church against King Henry II’s unorthodox innovations. Shortly after, Henry ordered Thomas’ assassination.

Reference:  (For a related teaching on Am I Going to Heaven?, order, listen to, or download our CD 54-3 or DVD 54 on our website.)

Rescript:  "In accord with the Code of Canon Law, I hereby grant the Nihil Obstat for One Bread, One Body covering the period from December 1, 2020 through January 31, 2021. Most Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Auxiliary Bishop, Vicar General, Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio January 14, 2020"

The Nihil Obstat ("Permission to Publish") is a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be free of doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted the Nihil Obstat agree with the contents, opinions, or statements

[dfroza]

Paul wrote Letters to get his heart across

as he pointed to the True illumination of the Son. and he also wrote for instruction, and correction as well. which is what the Scriptures do. they reveal grace and they correct our behavior, when we are willing to change. to be open to choose so. to be humble. to choose patience, and kindness. to forgive. to love.

Today’s chapter of the New Testament is from the Letter of 2nd Corinthians with chapter 10

[Paul’s Defense of His Ministry]

Now, please listen, for I need to address an issue. I’m making this personal appeal to you by the gentleness and self-forgetfulness of Christ. I am the one who is “humble and timid” when face-to-face with you but “bold and outspoken” when a safe distance away. Now I plead with you that when I come, don’t force me to take a hard line with you (which I’m willing to do) by daring to confront those who mistakenly believe that we are living by the standards of the world, not by the Spirit’s wisdom and power. For although we live in the natural realm, we don’t wage a military campaign employing human weapons, using manipulation to achieve our aims. Instead, our spiritual weapons are energized with divine power to effectively dismantle the defenses behind which people hide. We can demolish every deceptive fantasy that opposes God and break through every arrogant attitude that is raised up in defiance of the true knowledge of God. We capture, like prisoners of war, every thought and insist that it bow in obedience to the Anointed One. Since we are armed with such dynamic weaponry, we stand ready to punish any trace of rebellion, as soon as you choose complete obedience.

[Paul Responds to Criticism]

You seem to always be looking at people by their outward appearances. If someone is confident that he belongs to Christ, he should remind himself of this: we belong to Christ no less than he does. I am not ashamed, even if I’ve come across as one who has overstated the authority given to us by the Lord. For it is the authority to help build you up, not tear you down. I don’t want to seem as though I’m trying to bully you with my letters. For I can imagine some of you saying, “His letters are authoritative and stern, but when he’s with us he’s not that impressive and he’s a poor speaker.” Such a person should realize that when we arrive, there will be no difference in the actions we take and the words we write.

Of course, we wouldn’t dare to put ourselves in the same class or compare ourselves with those who rate themselves so highly. They compare themselves to one another and make up their own standards to measure themselves by, and then they judge themselves by their own standards. What self-delusion! But we are those who choose to limit our boasting to only the measure of the work to which God has appointed us—a measure that, by the way, has reached as far as you. And since you are within our assigned limits, we didn’t overstep our boundaries of authority by being the first to announce to you the wonderful news of the Anointed One. We’re not trying to take credit for the ministry done by others, going beyond the limits God set for us. Instead, our hope soars as your faith continues to grow, causing a great expansion of our ministry among you. Then we can go and preach the good news in the regions beyond you without trespassing on the ministry sphere of other laborers and what they have already done. For:

The one who boasts must boast in the Lord.

So let’s be clear. To have the Lord’s approval and commendation is of greater value than bragging about oneself.

The Letter of 2nd Corinthians, Chapter 10 (The Passion Translation)

Today’s paired chapter of the Testaments is chapter 8 of First Kings that describes the dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem by King Solomon:

Bringing all this to a climax, King Solomon called in the leaders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes and the family patriarchs, to bring up the Chest of the Covenant of God from Zion, the City of David. And they came, all Israel before King Solomon in the month of Ethanim, the seventh month, for the great autumn festival.

With all Israel’s leaders present, the priests took up the Chest of God and carried up the Chest and the Tent of Meeting and all the holy vessels that went with the Tent. King Solomon and the entire congregation of Israel were there at the Chest worshiping and sacrificing huge numbers of sheep and cattle—so many that no one could keep track.

Then the priests brought the Chest of the Covenant of God to its place in the Inner Sanctuary, the Holy of Holies, under the wings of the cherubim. The outspread wings of the cherubim stretched over the Chest and its poles. The poles were so long that their ends could be seen from the entrance to the Inner Sanctuary, but were not noticeable farther out. They’re still there today. There was nothing in the Chest but the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Horeb where God made a covenant with Israel after bringing them up from Egypt.

[The Temple Finished, Dedicated, Filled]

When the priests left the Holy Place, a cloud filled The Temple of God. The priests couldn’t carry out their priestly duties because of the cloud—the glory of God filled The Temple of God!

Then Solomon spoke:

God has told us that he lives in the dark

where no one can see him;

I’ve built this splendid Temple, O God,

to mark your invisible presence forever.

The king then turned to face the congregation and blessed them:

“Blessed be God, the God of Israel, who spoke personally to my father David. Now he has kept the promise he made when he said, ‘From the day I brought my people Israel from Egypt, I haven’t set apart one city among the tribes of Israel to build a Temple to fix my Name there. But I did choose David to rule my people Israel.’

“My father David had it in his heart to build a Temple honoring the Name of God, the God of Israel. But God told him ‘It was good that you wanted to build a Temple in my honor—most commendable! But you are not the one to do it—your son will build it to honor my Name.’

“God has done what he said he would do: I have succeeded David my father and ruled over Israel just as God promised; and now I’ve built a Temple to honor God, the God of Israel, and I’ve secured a place for the Chest that holds the covenant of God, the covenant that he made with our ancestors when he brought them up from the land of Egypt.”

Before the entire congregation of Israel, Solomon took a position before the Altar, spread his hands out before heaven, and prayed,

O God, God of Israel, there is no God like you in the skies above or on the earth below who unswervingly keeps covenant with his servants and relentlessly loves them as they sincerely live in obedience to your way. You kept your word to David my father, your personal word. You did exactly what you promised—every detail. The proof is before us today!

Keep it up, God, O God of Israel! Continue to keep the promises you made to David my father when you said, “You’ll always have a descendant to represent my rule on Israel’s throne, on the condition that your sons are as careful to live obediently in my presence as you have.”

O God of Israel, let this all happen;

confirm and establish it!

Can it be that God will actually move into our neighborhood? Why, the cosmos itself isn’t large enough to give you breathing room, let alone this Temple I’ve built. Even so, I’m bold to ask: Pay attention to these my prayers, both intercessory and personal, O God, my God. Listen to my prayers, energetic and devout, that I’m setting before you right now. Keep your eyes open to this Temple night and day, this place of which you said, “My Name will be honored there,” and listen to the prayers that I pray at this place.

Listen from your home in heaven and when you hear, forgive.

When someone hurts a neighbor and promises to make things right, and then comes and repeats the promise before your Altar in this Temple, listen from heaven and act accordingly: Judge your servants, making the offender pay for his offense and setting the offended free of any charges.

When your people Israel are beaten by an enemy because they’ve sinned against you, but then turn to you and acknowledge your rule in prayers desperate and devout in this Temple,

Listen from your home in heaven, forgive the sin of your people Israel, return them to the land you gave their ancestors.

When the skies shrivel up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, but then they pray at this place, acknowledging your rule and quitting their sins because you have scourged them,

Listen from your home in heaven, forgive the sins of your servants, your people Israel.

Then start over with them: Train them to live right and well; send rain on the land you gave your people as an inheritance.

When disasters strike, famine or catastrophe, crop failure or disease, locust or beetle, or when an enemy attacks their defenses—calamity of any sort—any prayer that’s prayed from anyone at all among your people Israel, hearts penetrated by the disaster, hands and arms thrown out to this Temple for help,

Listen from your home in heaven.

Forgive and go to work on us. Give what each deserves, for you know each life from the inside (you’re the only one with such “inside knowledge”!) so that they’ll live before you in lifelong reverent and believing obedience on this land you gave our ancestors.

And don’t forget the foreigner who is not a member of your people Israel but has come from a far country because of your reputation. People are going to be attracted here by your great reputation, your wonder-working power, who come to pray at this Temple.

Listen from your home in heaven.

Honor the prayers of the foreigner so that people all over the world will know who you are and what you’re like and will live in reverent obedience before you, just as your own people Israel do; so they’ll know that you personally make this Temple that I’ve built what it is.

When your people go to war against their enemies at the time and place you send them and they pray to God toward the city you chose and this Temple I’ve built to honor your Name,

Listen from heaven to what they pray and ask for,

and do what’s right for them.

When they sin against you—and they certainly will; there’s no one without sin!—and in anger you turn them over to the enemy and they are taken captive to the enemy’s land, whether far or near, but repent in the country of their captivity and pray with changed hearts in their exile, “We’ve sinned; we’ve done wrong; we’ve been most wicked,” and turn back to you heart and soul in the land of the enemy who conquered them, and pray to you toward their homeland, the land you gave their ancestors, toward the city you chose, and this Temple I have built to the honor of your Name,

Listen from your home in heaven to their prayers desperate and devout and do what is best for them.

Forgive your people who have sinned against you; forgive their gross rebellions and move their captors to treat them with compassion. They are, after all, your people and your precious inheritance whom you rescued from the heart of that iron-smelting furnace, Egypt!

O be alert and attentive to the needy prayers of me, your servant, and your dear people Israel; listen every time they cry out to you! You handpicked them from all the peoples on earth to be your very own people, as you announced through your servant Moses when you, O God, in your masterful rule, delivered our ancestors from Egypt.

Having finished praying to God—all these bold and passionate prayers—Solomon stood up before God’s Altar where he had been kneeling all this time, his arms stretched upward to heaven. Standing, he blessed the whole congregation of Israel, blessing them at the top of his lungs:

“Blessed be God, who has given peace to his people Israel just as he said he’d do. Not one of all those good and wonderful words that he spoke through Moses has misfired. May God, our very own God, continue to be with us just as he was with our ancestors—may he never give up and walk out on us. May he keep us centered and devoted to him, following the life path he has cleared, watching the signposts, walking at the pace and rhythms he laid down for our ancestors.

“And let these words that I’ve prayed in the presence of God be always right there before him, day and night, so that he’ll do what is right for me, to guarantee justice for his people Israel day after day after day. Then all the people on earth will know God is the true God; there is no other God. And you, your lives must be totally obedient to God, our personal God, following the life path he has cleared, alert and attentive to everything he has made plain this day.”

The king and all Israel with him then worshiped, offering sacrifices to God. Solomon offered Peace-Offerings, sacrificing to God 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep. This is how the king and all Israel dedicated The Temple of God.

That same day, the king set apart the central area of the Courtyard in front of God’s Temple for sacred use and there sacrificed the Whole-Burnt-Offerings, Grain-Offerings, and fat from the Peace-Offerings—the bronze Altar was too small to handle all these offerings.

This is how Solomon kept the great autumn feast, and all Israel with him, people there all the way from the far northeast (the Entrance to Hamath) to the far southwest (the Brook of Egypt)—a huge congregation. They started out celebrating for seven days—and then did it another seven days! Two solid weeks of celebration! Then he dismissed them. They blessed the king and went home, exuberant with heartfelt gratitude for all the good God had done for his servant David and for his people Israel.

The Book of 1st Kings, Chapter 8 (The Message)

my personal reading of the Scriptures for Saturday, november 21 of 2020 with a paired chapter from each Testament of the Bible, along with Today’s Psalms and Proverbs

A post by John Parsons about this week’s reading from the Torah by Jews worldwide:

We often see what we want to see... From our Torah portion this week (i.e., parashat Toldot) we read: “And Jacob was simmering stew when Esau came in from the field, famished” (Gen. 25:29). The Midrash Rabbah comments that Esau saw the stew and asked why it was being cooked. He was told that it was a traditional mourner’s meal because his grandfather Abraham had just died. Upon hearing this, Esau quickly became offended that one so righteous as Abraham had died and exclaimed: “If that’s the case, there is no reward for one’s good deeds, and no repair from death...” In this way Esau’s offence over sorrow and suffering moved him to interpret reality as being inherently unjust, and by this logic he justified his godless lifestyle... Because bitterness took root within his heart, Esau despised his birthright and spurned the very significance of his life (Heb. 12:15-16).

Jewish post-Holocaust theology (i.e., "theology after Auschwitz") has wrestled with these sorts of harrowing and disturbing questions, though on a far larger and more traumatic scale. How could an all-loving, all-knowing, and all-powerful God allow (or permit) the horrors of the Shoah? For many Jews, the Holocaust marked the practical end of their faith, while for others it marked the start of a “theology of protest.” In either case, however, the horrific reality of the Holocaust requires an authentic response from all of us. Providing an intellectual theory about the “problem of evil” seems empty and even irreverent in the face of such unspeakable acts of cruelty. Beware of any theology that denies the reality and heartache of human suffering. Yeshua offered up “loud cries and tears” during the days of his flesh, and he wept over the pain others experienced (Heb. 5:7, John 11:35).

In Fyodor Dostoyevsky's novel The Brothers Karamazov (1880), Ivan Karamazov argued with his devout brother Alyosha regarding the nature of faith. Ivan intellectually accepted God's existence, His wisdom, and His heavenly goal to ultimately save an alienated world, but he nonetheless challenged the idea that any future good -- even if it should be “beyond all the heart’s imaginings” (1 Cor. 2:9) -- could ever “atone for” the present evil and manifold suffering found in this world. To make his point, Ivan needed to find just one case of entirely “gratuitous evil” - an irrefutable counterexample to the viewpoint that this is the “best of all possible worlds.” He therefore listed a number of cases of extreme and excessive cruelty in the world, but he finally focused on a heart-wrenching account of a five year old girl who was chained to an outhouse and left to die in the Russian winter. No matter what might be offered in the way of “defense” of God, no “future good” could possibly justify the suffering of this child. Despite the hopeful theory that God will one day “wipe away every tear,” Ivan stated that he could never accept the nature of this-worldly reality: "I refuse to accept this world of God's... Please understand, it is not God that I do not accept, but the world he has created. I do not accept God's world and I refuse to accept it."

Such is the essence of the “offense” (σκάνδαλον) held within the faithless and fearful heart, an offense that objects over the decrees of God and therefore over the nature of reality itself. It is a protest, a generalized objection, to the “drama” of the universe decreed by God to be a place of suffering and pain that ultimately leads to redemption.... Spiritually speaking, this offence is the deep despair called the “sickness unto death.” We are therefore warned by the Spirit of God: "See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no root of bitterness (שׁרֶשׁ פּרֶה) springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; that no one is immoral or profane like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it (the blessing) with tears" (Heb. 12:15-17; Gen. 27:38).

“The optimist believes that this is the best of all possible worlds; the pessimist believes the optimist is right...” The facts remain the same for both, but what is different is something within the heart, something that moves the will to no longer recoil from the world but rather to accept it. Faith is a type of courage, a willingness to take risks, even in the midst of ambiguity. It surrenders to God’s plan and will, even if that plan makes no sense at the moment. Of course it is intellectually “safer” to refrain from such trust and to yield to a “hermeneutic of suspicion.” It is woefully easy to play the skeptic, to toy with ultimate questions, to affect intellectual superiority -- but at what cost? Is the supposed “defense” against being mistaken more important the risk of commitment? Isn’t such an approach to life essentially a form of cowardice? Without risk, we would never marry, have children, or take hold of our dreams. Some people might dismiss the dream of God’s love as nonsense and futility, but the Scriptures make it clear that such hope represents the very substance (ὑπόστασις) of our faith (Heb 11:1). [Hebrew for Christians]

https://hebrew4christians.com/

11.20.20 • Facebook

Today’s message from the Institute for Creation Research

November 21, 2020

A Marvelous Thing

“The man answered and said unto them, Why herein is a marvelous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes.” (John 9:30)

A “marvelous thing” in the Bible is something that generates awe or wonder. Sometimes it refers to a miracle but more often to something very unexpected and remarkable.

But the most marvelous thing of all is that unbelievers still persist in their unbelief. In our text passage the Lord Jesus Christ had just performed one of His most amazing miracles of creation—making perfect eyes for a man blind from birth. As the man testified to the frustrated Pharisees: “Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind” (John 9:32). Yet, these religious intellectuals, so opinionated in their prejudices, refused to believe what they saw and heard. Similarly, “when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things [i.e., ‘marvelous things’] that he did...they were sore displeased” (Matthew 21:15).

There are none so blind as those who refuse to see. One of the saddest verses in the Bible is John 1:10: “He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.” And, “he came unto his own, and his own received him not” (v. 11). Even when He raised Lazarus from the dead, “the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death; Because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus” (John 12:10-11).

Modern “intellectuals” are still the same, rejecting the overwhelming testimony of the created complexity in the cosmos to the fact of a personal Creator in favor of an impossible scenario of chance origin. “Herein is a marvelous thing!” Such people “willingly are ignorant” and “without excuse” (2 Peter 3:5; Romans 1:20). HMM

[cmyknoise]

Dammek: Prospit - Blood. SIgn of the Cherished. This is interesting as you read on what these mean.

- “Bronze Signs have a warm and generous disposition, but you might not accuse them of it the first time you meet.” @ all yall who call him an horrible ‘evil’ asshole look. We just don’t know him yet. 

- “tendency toward being withdrawn and slow to open up with new people” SO yes, he is an��‘asshole’ (aren’t we all) but this may show that being stuck with Jude, we could see both sides.

- “come off as arrogant and cold” “think they are too good for everyone” “the reality couldn't be further from the truth” “they crave validation and companionship” “open-hearted, but if a Bronze Sign decides to dig their heels in, it can be like talking to a wall” this can give us some HEAVY personality hints on him, and this is true to our past loved troll, Tavros. But come on people, look, he just wants love. 

-”marked love of creature comforts. They crave stability and safety” Deercat. His over obsession of codes etc- saftey. He wants a stable life as much as he can have

-” As lovers they can be quite needy, wanting assurances that the affection they feel is reciprocated” [insert winky face here] stop drawing him as the ‘top’ in all your fan art- or at least stop making him like a badass okay- like he can do the ‘top’ thing. We need more him whining and begging for affection and love. 

-He’s a PROSPIT. “flexible optimism” “reactive and intuitive” “naturally exist in the present” “rely on gut instinct and whatever emotions they are experiencing at the moment.” “quick to act and reliable in a crisis, but it also can make them capricious” “trouble thinking things through” “solve problems with creativity rather than cold logic” “because they are so instinctual and flexible, they like having a defined set of rules-a safety net for their passionate lives” “Naturally trusting, they have trouble with deception or hiding their true selves, and will often worry about what others think of them. The self they project into the world is often not under their control.” Guys, he’s just a big self concious, nervous, high anxiety, deer boy, animal loving, over protective, needy, asshole of a bean. We haven’t even reached his aspect (this will be a long post) 

-He’s a Blood Player. (Who else was a blood player? Karkat. Who was an asshole that turned into a softy? Karkat) “draw their strength from bonds, from the trust and camaraderie that blooms among a group of people who all share a single vision” sound like the resistance anyone? He probably needs his bud, Xephros for moral support. You know yeah from what Xephros says he sounds like a huge dick, but true friendship, man do you constantly act like bitches and dicks to your best friend. AND THEY STILL LOVE YOU. That’s the point/

-” absolutely leaders, but they inhabit more of an inspirational role than a commanding one” cough cough

-”prophets, rather than generals, giving others the strength and motivation to keep fighting” remember? he looks up to Signless. 

-Also “Cherished.” guys. GUYS. THIS COULD BE A HINT

-There is A LOT more that gives a good idea on what this bean will be. More info >> http://hs.hiveswap.com/ezodiac/truesign.php?TS=Taurcer

NOW ON TO XEPHROS, OUR RUST BEAN

Xephros: Derse - Rage. “Sign of the Escapee”

-He is a rust blood. “Adventure motivates” “They crave new experiences, the wilder and farther-from-home, the better. They are confident and energetic, ready to face the unknown. This dynamism makes them great leaders, but it can also make them foolhardy. Often, they don't posses the level of caution they should for someone so willing to jump into new things.”

- “willingness to trust can get them into trouble, but they are also incredibly resilient” He can trust easy (Cough Joey)

-”heir ability to bounce back from trauma and injury leaves them as the toughest sign class on the spectrum” Anyone remember the end? The rock pile? He was ‘bleeding out’ for a long ass time.

- “make great friends and traveling companions, but they also can be selfish and quick to anger” Make great friends! Dammek and Joey! 

- “hey love the drama. They have incredibly high expectations for themselves and for romantic partners. If someone doesn't live up to these, they may deem them not worth their time.” Love for this bean may be hard. 

- “cycle of excitement, followed by crushed expectations, followed by a quick recovery and new flush of excitement. “

- He is a Derse Dreamer. “distinct and restless skepticism. Whatever their waking circumstances, chances are they will live in a state of dissatisfaction.” “Rebellion is in their blood, manifesting whether they are fighting back against a fascist dictatorship, or the most recent trend in casual footwear.” Uh the resistance, he’s like second in command. 

- “far better grasp on the landscape of their own minds than on the world around them, which they can find alienating and confusing” may make the constant maps a reason. He and dammek might constantly use them

- “ identity is built on control, they will do their utmost to hide any insecurities, often with false humility or self-deprecating humor” Hide insecurities....false humility...self-deprecating humor. We know little of his insecurities. He is very humble, could it be a lie? Has plenty of that humor

- “ inflexible and pessimistic, but they are also great problem solvers, facing conflicts head-on with shrewd, calculating minds “ guys. He isn’t this soft and smol bean you all think he is- like yes, he is, but he is tough. He can handle himself. He’s likely an equal to Dammek. 

- “see one true path among an infinite snarl of wrong ones” He could be a great help in the resistance guys like look at this shit. 

- “tend to be introverted, but if you win their trust Derse Dreamers are extremely powerful allies. However, they find sincere vulnerability difficult and will often keep people at arm's length. Letting go and living in the moment is hard for a Derse Dreamer; they constantly look toward the future and analyze the past.”  This could be a problem later, maybe some character and plot archs? 

-Finally, he is a rage player. (Like Gamzee....lets hope he doesn’t make his ability to bend spoons the ability to do worse) 

-” bringers of chaos “ uh oh

- “posses great contempt for lies or false ideas, including the stability that false ideas can impart. To them, the true is far more important than the good; they would tear down a system just to destabilize it if, by their reckoning, it is built on faulty premises” Doesn’t like lies. do not lie to him. 

- “refer anarchy to any of the alternate forms of civilization, which they believe to be riddled with lies and foolishness and obedient masses” i mean they don’t like the hierarchy, could they be striving for anarchy?

- “bringers of confusion and doubt, and they can be frustratingly difficult to convince otherwise when they have attached themselves to an idea”

-Guys, there is A LOT more >> http://hs.hiveswap.com/ezodiac/truesign.php?TS=Ariborn

Please don’t say that this stuff IS NOT AT ALL TRUE, because yes, it isn’t going to be 100%. But remember, this isnt just generalizing their colors or anything. This IS THEIR SIGNS. This IS THEIR PERSONALITY TYPES. 

For the aspects, this isn’t something that defines them, but rather should be a challenge.

Yes, aspects do have traits that you may share- ugh just

I am going to link a post that may help, they deserve credit !! http://hiccop.tumblr.com/post/168011316870/everyone-mad-their-aspect-doesnt-match-in (if you don’t want this here, i apologize, ask and i can take this down) 

That better explains it.

Guys PLEASE SPREAD. This is fun info that could help people when writing fanfic or even when drawing them, giving them personalities, situations, etc.

Plus its fun information! 

[kerahlekung]

Tak perlu ada PH++, PH dah cukup kuat...

Tak perlu ada PH++, PH dah cukup kuat....

Kronologi Mesyuarat Pakatan Harapan Plus...

Mengapa PH Perlu Tunduk Kepada Tun?

Sudah tiba masanya Mahathir yang harus berkorban...Tun elok bersara terus dan berehat. 1. Jika PH hanya mahu merampas kuasa untuk jangka masa pendek (supaya bekas Menteri2 PH yang gila kuasa dapat kembali berkuasa), mereka akan sokong Mahathir sebagai PM9 tetapi bukan demi negara ataupun PH. Namun, tiada jaminan bahawa PH akan diberi peluang untuk memerintah lagi, kerana Agong boleh membubarkan Dewan Rakyat dengan serta merta.

2. Apakah 'agenda' Mahathir yang beliau boleh buat dalam 6 bulan, tetapi gagal disempurnakan selama 22 bulan sebelum ini? (Pastikan Najib masuk penjara?) Jika ada, biar lah PM PH yang baru ambil alih, supaya 'agenda' tersebut akan dapat dikekalkan untuk jangka masa panjang, bukan untuk 6 bulan saja 3. Kalau PRU15 diadakan sebelum 2023, siapa lah yang akan menjadi calon PM untuk PH? Mahathir lagi, yang sudah berusia 95+ (dan sebab utama negara mengalami kemelut politik)?? PH pasti akan kalah kalau Mahathir yang jadi calon PM lagi, ia hanya membuktikan bahawa, langsung tiada pemimpin lain dalam PH yang layak menjadi PM. PH patut gulung tikar dengan serta merta.

4. Pengalihan kuasa daripada Mahathir kepada penggantinya (Anwar kah, orang lain kah) akan mencetuskan ketidakstabilan negara sekali lagi(kerana PM baru tidak semestinya mendapat sokongan penuh, seperti Mahathir). Oleh itu, mana2 kerajaan baru PH patut dipimpin oleh PM yang akan kekal sebagai PM sehingga tamat penggal. Ini juga dapat memberi masa yang mencukupi kepada PM baru untuk membuktikan bahawa beliau ada kemampuan untuk mentadbir negara, supaya PH boleh menghadapi PRU15 dipimpin oleh PM yang sudah terbukti. 5. Sepanjang Mahathir menjadi PM, PH semakin lemah. Mahathir tidak berniat untuk memperkuatkan kedudukan PH sebagai sebuah gabungan politik. Oleh sebab itu, PH tidak akan mampu bersaing dengan UMNO PAS selepas Mahathir meninggalkan PH (selepas memenuhi agenda peribadinya).

5 sekawan...

6. Jika Mahathir ikhlas ingin memastikan bahawa 'reformasi' kerajaan (kononnya...) dapat disempurnakan dan diperkasakan untuk jangka masa panjang, beliau sendirilah yang harus berkorban dan menyokong PM PH yang baru. Bersatu dah buang Tun dan 5 sekawan. Takkan PH masih nak berPMkan Tun lagi kot. Atas merit apa? Parti dia pun dah tak nak dia? 7. Last, but not least, janji2 Mahathir TIDAK boleh dipercayai lagi. Mahathirlah letak jawatan TANPA berunding dengan rakan2 terlebih dahulu, dan cuba membentuk 'kerajaan perpaduan' dengan yang bukan PH tanpa minta persetujuan rakan2 PH. Mahathirlah yang menyebabkan kerajaan PH tumbang, tetapi sehingga hari ini, beliau masih TIDAK pernah mohon maaf.

Kalau Mahathir mahu PH percaya pada beliau lagi, kenapa pula bukan beliau sendiri yang percaya pada PM PH yang baru (bahawa PM baru akan teruskan apa2 'agenda' yang Mahathir ingin melaksanakan sebagai PM9)? Kenapa kepercayaan ini hanya 'One Way street' saja? Maka sudah jelas bahawa Mahathir hanya mahu kembali sebagai PM untuk agenda PERIBADI dan balas dendam (terhadap UMNO khususnya?) beliau, BUKAN demi kebaikan negara ataupun PH. Jika Mahathir betul2 berwawasan, pandang jauh dan sanggup berkorban demi kebaikan negara, beliau harus undur diri dan sokong PM PH yang baru, bukan lagi minta orang lain 'berkorban' untuk dirinya lagi - Adiismail Adiismail

Jika hangpa bijak membaca statement di atas saja kita dah tau bahawa Atok ni bukan nak sangat jadi PM semula. Dia cuma nak kekalkan PN sahaja dengan cara mencalonkan diri sendiri menjadi PM PH supaya PH berpecah. Kalu Tun dan Shapie taknak sokong Anwar jadi PM, marilah kita sama2 jadi pembangkang saja...- f/bk

Persoalannya... 1. Apa keperluan PM interim ke-2? 2. Apa jadi pada PH plus selepas Tun turun dan bagi laluan pada Anwar?  3. Adakah orang2 Tun akan terus menyokong Anwar selepas Tun bersara? 4. Sia2 saja jika bentuk gomen yang sama rapuh seperti PN. 5. Halatuju gomen baru lebih penting dari menjatuhkan PN.  6. Hangpa nak maki aku, makilah tapi aku manyak happy... pikiaq2 mai - TS

Tolak Tun M dan kekal bersama PH. 

Jatuh bagun kita bersama...

Wow!!! 115 out of 21,587 Phd holders in Malaysia

Hebat betoi Din...

Regardless Of Anwar Ibrahim’s Decision, PKR, DAP and Amanah Must Stay United In Pakatan Harapan...

We had written the risk of allowing Mahathir Mohamad to again become a prime minister. In a nutshell, he cannot be trusted. Anwar Ibrahim should be made the new Prime Minister, not Mahathir. Exactly why must Anwar be unfairly mistreated after all his sacrifices while the evil Mahathir, who did not even spend a single day in prison, is given the job again for the third time? Yes, the ideal choice to the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition is for Anwar to be crowned as the 9th Prime Minister. Screw Mahathir! Long live Anwar! But that was “before” Sabah-based Warisan leader, Shafee Apdal, announced that his choice must be the 94-year-old Mahathir. So in reality, even with the entire PH’s 91 votes behind him, Anwar cannot become the next premier. The best scenario is for Anwar to become the PM and Mahathir’s son, Mukhriz, as deputy PM with the bonus of Mahathir as Mentor Minister thrown in. But such proposal failed to take off. Therefore, the next option is to work with the devil himself – Mahathir – in order to snatch back the government from backdoor Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who is doing all the UMNO dirty works. The Mahathir-Anwar combo is not the ideal solution, but unfortunately, it is the only realistic workaround on the table simply because Anwar could not convince either Sabah-based Warisan (9 MPs) or Sarawak-based GPS (18 MPs) to support him – pure and simple! Which part of this that Mahathir-haters or Anwar-supporters don’t understand? A perfect and ideal solution is unavailable. However, when DAP’s organising secretary, Anthony Loke Siew Fook, revealed that both DAP and Amanah are waiting for PKR president Anwar Ibrahim to decide on the tag-team combo, all hell breaks loose. Anwar’s aide, Perak PKR Chief Mohd Farhash Wafa Salvador Rizal Mubarak, has condemned DAP – “Is this how you repay Anwar for a friendship built over 20 years?” Seriously? Does the Anwar’s aide really want to go there? When Mahathir unleashed Zakir Naik to bark and insult the non-Malays, telling the Chinese to go back to China and the Hindus to go back to India, where was Anwar Ibrahim? Anwar obediently agreed with Mahathir not to extradite the hate preacher. Is that how Anwar repay non-Malays for a friendship built over 20 years?

Selangor PKR Youth secretary Ahmad Syukri Abd Razab has even suggested that Anwar quit the Pakatan Harapan coalition to teach DAP and Amanah a lesson. Why must PKR go ballistic when DAP was merely asking Anwar not to drag his feet and decide about the Mahathir-Anwar combo? If Anwar and his party do not agree, just say so. There’s no need to threaten. It’s the childish behaviour of PKR leaders like Mohd Farhash and Ahmad Syukri, as well as Anwar’s indecisiveness that had allowed Azmin Ali to easily manipulate and betray the party in the first place. Only now PKR leaders whined, moaned and bitched about how Mahathir ignored PKR’s recommendation for ministerships, and appointed Azmin as the Economic Affairs Minister. Had the PKR leaders courageously threatened to quit the coalition (the same way they are threatening DAP and Amanah now) when Mahathir defiantly appointed Azmin with the evil intention of splitting PKR back in 2018, the coup might not have happened. Anwar’s boys knew it 2 years ago, but talked as if Mahathir’s plan of using Azmin as a mole in the party just happened yesterday. Fine, Mahathir had caused the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan government. Can DAP and Amanah also naughtily suspect that there’s more to Anwar’s private meeting in April with Muhyiddin than meets the eye? How could Anwar meet so soon the same traitor who had conspired with Azmin and robbed his chance of becoming the 8th Prime Minister? After uproars over Anthony Loke’s so-called “pressure” on Anwar to speed up his response, PH secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said Anwar had travelled to Sarawak, presumably to win over the hearts of Sarawak party leaders. Another source claimed Anwar is even seeking an audience with some Malay Rulers in order to legitimise himself as the PM candidate. Has Anwar gotten any favourable replies from Sabah and Sarawak, let alone approvals to meet the monarchs? If not, that suggests a huge problem, is it not? Forget Sarawak, which is a harder nut to crack. Let’s talk about Sabah. Did Anwar at least manage to convince Chief Minister Shafee Apdal to support him as the 10th Prime Minister after Mahathir’s exit in 6 months?

Like it or not, the fact remains that Anwar Ibrahim, and Pakatan Harapan (formerly Pakatan Rakyat) for that matter, had tried for 20 years to unseat the mighty Barisan Nasional regime without any success – until the alliance with Mahathir. And now the same old man wanted to get rid of Perikatan Nasional regime, a common enemy, but PKR is getting very emotional instead of objective. Even if Mahathir has no intention of stepping down after 6 months as promised, one thing is pretty sure – he desperately wants to send UMNO crooks like Najib Razak, Zahid Hamidi, Tengku Adnan, Bung Moktar and Azeez Abdul Rahim to prison. If PKR thinks it’s not worthwhile to even see these spectacular fireworks, then reject Mahathir’s proposal. Just be decisive! But besides waiting for the next 15th General Election, which may not happen after all until 2023 because the backdoor government of Muhyiddin is no longer under threat thanks to the failure of Mahathir-Anwar combo, what else can PKR and PH do? Has anyone noticed the return of the old UMNO regime with government critics increasingly being charged with sedition? We’ve also published previously that there’s no right or wrong answer as to whether PH should work again with Mahathir. It depends on how desperate PH wants to take back its legitimate power – immediately or wait until the next general election, which is about 3 years away. At the end of the day, if Pakatan Harapan value principles more than politics, then continues as the Opposition. The most important part is for all the component parties – PKR, DAP and Amanah – to stay united. If PKR decides to let Muhyiddin rules and plunders until 2023, then DAP and Amanah should abandon the plan to work with Mahathir again and close ranks to prevent Pakatan Harapan from a total collapse. But get ready to accept that what is happening to Hannah Yeoh will continue for the next 3 years. - FT

cheers.

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[ivyfox-illustration]

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CD – Companion Dog (First Level Obedience Competition, basic obedience exercises) CDX – Companion Dog Excellent (Intermediate Level Obedience Competition, more advanced obedience work) UD – Utility Dog (Advanced Level Obedience Competition, difficult obedience work, including hand signals) UDX – The highest obedience degree AKC presently awards TRACKING TD – Tracking Dog TDX – Tracking Dog Excellent VST – Variable Surface Tracking HERDING HIC – Herding Instinct Certificate HT – Herding Tested PT – PreTrial Tested HS – Herding Started HI – Herding Intermediate HX – Herding Excellent HCh – Herding Champion AGILITY NA – Novice Agility OA – Open Agility AX – Agility Excellent MX – Master Agility Excellent NAJ – Novice Agility Jumper OAJ – Open Agility Jumper EAJ – Excellent Agility Jumper AKC Unofficial Titles CGC – Canine Good Citizen ROM – Register of Merit – A dog or bitch must earn a number of points specified by the DPCA rules, and also meet the numbers of champion and major pointed progeny required by DPCA. The requirements for bitches are less than the requirements for the dogs because males have the opportunity to produce a far larger number of offspring. ROMC – Canadian ROM ROM/C – designates that the dog has earned an American and a Canadian ROM. TT – Temperament Tested TC – Temperament Certified AOE – Award of Excellence-A dog must meet qualifications in conformation, obedience, and also be OFA´d to earn this award. New competitions are being added and rules for competitions change, for the most up to date rules and regulations, check with the AKC and the DPCA. Miscellaneous American titles often seen on pedigrees and in advertising. BIS – Best in Show at an All-Breed Show in conformation. BISS – Best in Show Specialty (where only dogs of the same breed are competing in conformation) BOB – Best of Breed BOS – Best Opposite Sex BOW – Best of Winners (best between Winners Dog and Winners Bitch in breed conformation class competition) WD – Winners Dog – the winning dog overall of the regular classes of his sex. WB – Winners Bitch – the winning bitch overall of the regular classes of her sex. RWD/RWB – Runner up to the winners dog and bitch, if the winner becomes ineligible for the award then the runner up will receive the points awarded from that show. Special – A dog that is already a Champion that is competing for Best of Breed only. A Champion cannot compete in the classes where points are earned (because a Champion has already earned them!) RTD – Registered Therapy Dog TD I- Dog has passed Therapy Dog International´s testing HEALTH CERTIFICATIONS OVC – Ontario Veterinary College OVC Hip Certification – A dog may be preliminary screened at a younger age, but will not receive a certification unless the dog is at least 18 months old. It was told to me by a tech in the radiology department of OVC that they consider hips to either be bad, in which case they are rated on a scale from 0 – 4, with 4 being the worse, or they are “good” in which case the animal will receive a certification number (if 18 months or older. Therefore they do not follow the U.S. rating system which includes “FAIR”, Good, Excellent”. Their exact words were “the hips are either GOOD or they are NOT. OFA – Orthopedic Foundation for Animals OFA Hip Certifications – dogs within a specified range of normal hip x-rays are certified OFA-Excellent, Good, or Fair OFA – Elbow Certification – Certified by OFA for normal elbows on x-ray, only one grade recognized as normal. Check with OFA for proper procedures and positioning for hip and elbow x-rays. A dog may be preliminary screened at a younger age, but will not receive a certification unless the dog is at least 24 months old. OFA is also now doing certifications for other canine health concerns such as normal thyroid levels, check with OFA for accurate data and rules concerning these. CERF – Canine Eye Registry Foundation-dog is certified to have normal eyes. Re-certification must be done annually. vWD – Von Willebrands Disease free-meaning the dog has been tested and found free of vWD, a bleeding disorder, vWD free ratings also are often given with a percentage listed. For the best information on Von Willebrand´s Disease, contact Dr Jean Dodds, who is the leading research specialist in blood disorders. Dog show prize idea

[ivyfox-illustration]

Gallery Wrapped canvas print Borzoi, watercolor, Sighthound, realistic russkaya psovaya borzaya, unique borzoi gifts Your favourite breed art print - head or body conformation - groomer gift - Other Breeds Available - dog breeder gift - regional specialty or national specialty prize gift idea Artwork by Ivy Fox Illustration Follow Ivy Fox Illustration on social media https://m.facebook.com/IvyFox.illustration/ https://www.instagram.com/ivyfox.illustration/ Find your dog breed: Personalized Pet Portraits: https://ivyfoxillustrates.etsy.com/ My website: https://ivyfoxillustration.com/ Art Prints Merch Original PaintingsUplift any room's decor with art that's printed on top-quality canvas gallery wraps. Each wrap is made with finely textured, artist-grade cotton substrate which helps reproduce your image in outstanding clarity and detail. Available in multiple sizes, these closed back canvases are built with a patented, solid support face and are excellent for indoor use. .: 100% cotton fabric (400gsm) .: Horizontal, vertical and square options available .: Closed cardboard backing .: Built with a patented solid support face .: High image quality and detail .: NB! For indoor use onlyContact Email: IvyFoxIllustration@ gmail(dot)com ———— Tags and other miscellaneous info: ———— Ivy Fox Illustration Ivy Fox dog art Museum of the Dog American Kennel Club Showsight - Where Champions Are Celebrated American Dog Fancier InfoDog Best In Show The Canine Chronicle AKC Gazette best pet portrait artist watercolor fine art unique art Akc meet the breeds Westminster kennel club dog show national dog show crufts grooming intergroom superzoo petquest groom expo dog sports well bred dogs purebred preservation breeders ethical breeders breeder of merit akc grand champion Ch – Champion of Record – earned by gaining 15 points in conformation wins. Points awarded is determined by the number of other entries the winning dog defeats. A dog must win at least two majors (by winning at two different shows under two different judges where there are enough entries defeated to equal 3-5 points by the AKC point system. OTCh – Obedience Trial Champion To earn an obedience title, the dog must have a passing score of 50% of possible points or better, and an overall passing score at three different competitions under three different judges. CD – Companion Dog (First Level Obedience Competition, basic obedience exercises) CDX – Companion Dog Excellent (Intermediate Level Obedience Competition, more advanced obedience work) UD – Utility Dog (Advanced Level Obedience Competition, difficult obedience work, including hand signals) UDX – The highest obedience degree AKC presently awards TRACKING TD – Tracking Dog TDX – Tracking Dog Excellent VST – Variable Surface Tracking HERDING HIC – Herding Instinct Certificate HT – Herding Tested PT – PreTrial Tested HS – Herding Started HI – Herding Intermediate HX – Herding Excellent HCh – Herding Champion AGILITY NA – Novice Agility OA – Open Agility AX – Agility Excellent MX – Master Agility Excellent NAJ – Novice Agility Jumper OAJ – Open Agility Jumper EAJ – Excellent Agility Jumper AKC Unofficial Titles CGC – Canine Good Citizen ROM – Register of Merit – A dog or bitch must earn a number of points specified by the DPCA rules, and also meet the numbers of champion and major pointed progeny required by DPCA. The requirements for bitches are less than the requirements for the dogs because males have the opportunity to produce a far larger number of offspring. ROMC – Canadian ROM ROM/C – designates that the dog has earned an American and a Canadian ROM. TT – Temperament Tested TC – Temperament Certified AOE – Award of Excellence-A dog must meet qualifications in conformation, obedience, and also be OFA´d to earn this award. New competitions are being added and rules for competitions change, for the most up to date rules and regulations, check with the AKC and the DPCA. Miscellaneous American titles often seen on pedigrees and in advertising. BIS – Best in Show at an All-Breed Show in conformation. BISS – Best in Show Specialty (where only dogs of the same breed are competing in conformation) BOB – Best of Breed BOS – Best Opposite Sex BOW – Best of Winners (best between Winners Dog and Winners Bitch in breed conformation class competition) WD – Winners Dog – the winning dog overall of the regular classes of his sex. WB – Winners Bitch – the winning bitch overall of the regular classes of her sex. RWD/RWB – Runner up to the winners dog and bitch, if the winner becomes ineligible for the award then the runner up will receive the points awarded from that show. Special – A dog that is already a Champion that is competing for Best of Breed only. A Champion cannot compete in the classes where points are earned (because a Champion has already earned them!) RTD – Registered Therapy Dog TD I- Dog has passed Therapy Dog International´s testing HEALTH CERTIFICATIONS OVC – Ontario Veterinary College OVC Hip Certification – A dog may be preliminary screened at a younger age, but will not receive a certification unless the dog is at least 18 months old. It was told to me by a tech in the radiology department of OVC that they consider hips to either be bad, in which case they are rated on a scale from 0 – 4, with 4 being the worse, or they are “good” in which case the animal will receive a certification number (if 18 months or older. Therefore they do not follow the U.S. rating system which includes “FAIR”, Good, Excellent”. Their exact words were “the hips are either GOOD or they are NOT. OFA – Orthopedic Foundation for Animals OFA Hip Certifications – dogs within a specified range of normal hip x-rays are certified OFA-Excellent, Good, or Fair OFA – Elbow Certification – Certified by OFA for normal elbows on x-ray, only one grade recognized as normal. Check with OFA for proper procedures and positioning for hip and elbow x-rays. A dog may be preliminary screened at a younger age, but will not receive a certification unless the dog is at least 24 months old. OFA is also now doing certifications for other canine health concerns such as normal thyroid levels, check with OFA for accurate data and rules concerning these. CERF – Canine Eye Registry Foundation-dog is certified to have normal eyes. Re-certification must be done annually. vWD – Von Willebrands Disease free-meaning the dog has been tested and found free of vWD, a bleeding disorder, vWD free ratings also are often given with a percentage listed. For the best information on Von Willebrand´s Disease, contact Dr Jean Dodds, who is the leading research specialist in blood disorders. Dog show prize idea

[ivyfox-illustration]

Gallery Wrapped canvas print Siberian Husky, watercolor, sunset, gray husky, spitz, huskies realistic, unique Husky gifts Your favourite breed art print - head or body conformation - groomer gift - Other Breeds Available - dog breeder gift - regional specialty or national specialty prize gift idea Artwork by Ivy Fox Illustration Follow Ivy Fox Illustration on social media https://m.facebook.com/IvyFox.illustration/ https://www.instagram.com/ivyfox.illustration/ Find your dog breed: Personalized Pet Portraits: https://ivyfoxillustrates.etsy.com/ My website: https://ivyfoxillustration.com/ Art Prints Merch Original PaintingsUplift any room's decor with art that's printed on top-quality canvas gallery wraps. Each wrap is made with finely textured, artist-grade cotton substrate which helps reproduce your image in outstanding clarity and detail. Available in multiple sizes, these closed back canvases are built with a patented, solid support face and are excellent for indoor use. .: 100% cotton fabric (400gsm) .: Horizontal, vertical and square options available .: Closed cardboard backing .: Built with a patented solid support face .: High image quality and detail .: NB! For indoor use onlyContact Email: IvyFoxIllustration@ gmail(dot)com ———— Tags and other miscellaneous info: ———— Ivy Fox Illustration Ivy Fox dog art Museum of the Dog American Kennel Club Showsight - Where Champions Are Celebrated American Dog Fancier InfoDog Best In Show The Canine Chronicle AKC Gazette best pet portrait artist watercolor fine art unique art Akc meet the breeds Westminster kennel club dog show national dog show crufts grooming intergroom superzoo petquest groom expo dog sports well bred dogs purebred preservation breeders ethical breeders breeder of merit akc grand champion Ch – Champion of Record – earned by gaining 15 points in conformation wins. Points awarded is determined by the number of other entries the winning dog defeats. A dog must win at least two majors (by winning at two different shows under two different judges where there are enough entries defeated to equal 3-5 points by the AKC point system. OTCh – Obedience Trial Champion To earn an obedience title, the dog must have a passing score of 50% of possible points or better, and an overall passing score at three different competitions under three different judges. CD – Companion Dog (First Level Obedience Competition, basic obedience exercises) CDX – Companion Dog Excellent (Intermediate Level Obedience Competition, more advanced obedience work) UD – Utility Dog (Advanced Level Obedience Competition, difficult obedience work, including hand signals) UDX – The highest obedience degree AKC presently awards TRACKING TD – Tracking Dog TDX – Tracking Dog Excellent VST – Variable Surface Tracking HERDING HIC – Herding Instinct Certificate HT – Herding Tested PT – PreTrial Tested HS – Herding Started HI – Herding Intermediate HX – Herding Excellent HCh – Herding Champion AGILITY NA – Novice Agility OA – Open Agility AX – Agility Excellent MX – Master Agility Excellent NAJ – Novice Agility Jumper OAJ – Open Agility Jumper EAJ – Excellent Agility Jumper AKC Unofficial Titles CGC – Canine Good Citizen ROM – Register of Merit – A dog or bitch must earn a number of points specified by the DPCA rules, and also meet the numbers of champion and major pointed progeny required by DPCA. The requirements for bitches are less than the requirements for the dogs because males have the opportunity to produce a far larger number of offspring. ROMC – Canadian ROM ROM/C – designates that the dog has earned an American and a Canadian ROM. TT – Temperament Tested TC – Temperament Certified AOE – Award of Excellence-A dog must meet qualifications in conformation, obedience, and also be OFA´d to earn this award. New competitions are being added and rules for competitions change, for the most up to date rules and regulations, check with the AKC and the DPCA. Miscellaneous American titles often seen on pedigrees and in advertising. BIS – Best in Show at an All-Breed Show in conformation. BISS – Best in Show Specialty (where only dogs of the same breed are competing in conformation) BOB – Best of Breed BOS – Best Opposite Sex BOW – Best of Winners (best between Winners Dog and Winners Bitch in breed conformation class competition) WD – Winners Dog – the winning dog overall of the regular classes of his sex. WB – Winners Bitch – the winning bitch overall of the regular classes of her sex. RWD/RWB – Runner up to the winners dog and bitch, if the winner becomes ineligible for the award then the runner up will receive the points awarded from that show. Special – A dog that is already a Champion that is competing for Best of Breed only. A Champion cannot compete in the classes where points are earned (because a Champion has already earned them!) RTD – Registered Therapy Dog TD I- Dog has passed Therapy Dog International´s testing HEALTH CERTIFICATIONS OVC – Ontario Veterinary College OVC Hip Certification – A dog may be preliminary screened at a younger age, but will not receive a certification unless the dog is at least 18 months old. It was told to me by a tech in the radiology department of OVC that they consider hips to either be bad, in which case they are rated on a scale from 0 – 4, with 4 being the worse, or they are “good” in which case the animal will receive a certification number (if 18 months or older. Therefore they do not follow the U.S. rating system which includes “FAIR”, Good, Excellent”. Their exact words were “the hips are either GOOD or they are NOT. OFA – Orthopedic Foundation for Animals OFA Hip Certifications – dogs within a specified range of normal hip x-rays are certified OFA-Excellent, Good, or Fair OFA – Elbow Certification – Certified by OFA for normal elbows on x-ray, only one grade recognized as normal. Check with OFA for proper procedures and positioning for hip and elbow x-rays. A dog may be preliminary screened at a younger age, but will not receive a certification unless the dog is at least 24 months old. OFA is also now doing certifications for other canine health concerns such as normal thyroid levels, check with OFA for accurate data and rules concerning these. CERF – Canine Eye Registry Foundation-dog is certified to have normal eyes. Re-certification must be done annually. vWD – Von Willebrands Disease free-meaning the dog has been tested and found free of vWD, a bleeding disorder, vWD free ratings also are often given with a percentage listed. For the best information on Von Willebrand´s Disease, contact Dr Jean Dodds, who is the leading research specialist in blood disorders. Dog show prize idea

[ivyfox-illustration]

Gallery Wrapped canvas print Afghan Hound, watercolor, sighthound, realistic, unique Afghan Hound gifts Your favourite breed art print - head or body conformation - groomer gift - Other Breeds Available - dog breeder gift - regional specialty or national specialty prize gift idea Artwork by Ivy Fox Illustration Follow Ivy Fox Illustration on social media https://m.facebook.com/IvyFox.illustration/ https://www.instagram.com/ivyfox.illustration/ Find your dog breed: Personalized Pet Portraits: https://ivyfoxillustrates.etsy.com/ My website: https://ivyfoxillustration.com/ Art Prints Merch Original PaintingsUplift any room's decor with art that's printed on top-quality canvas gallery wraps. Each wrap is made with finely textured, artist-grade cotton substrate which helps reproduce your image in outstanding clarity and detail. Available in multiple sizes, these closed back canvases are built with a patented, solid support face and are excellent for indoor use. .: 100% cotton fabric (400gsm) .: Horizontal, vertical and square options available .: Closed cardboard backing .: Built with a patented solid support face .: High image quality and detail .: NB! For indoor use onlyContact Email: IvyFoxIllustration@ gmail(dot)com ———— Tags and other miscellaneous info: ———— Ivy Fox Illustration Ivy Fox dog art Museum of the Dog American Kennel Club Showsight - Where Champions Are Celebrated American Dog Fancier InfoDog Best In Show The Canine Chronicle AKC Gazette best pet portrait artist watercolor fine art unique art Akc meet the breeds Westminster kennel club dog show national dog show crufts grooming intergroom superzoo petquest groom expo dog sports well bred dogs purebred preservation breeders ethical breeders breeder of merit akc grand champion Ch – Champion of Record – earned by gaining 15 points in conformation wins. Points awarded is determined by the number of other entries the winning dog defeats. A dog must win at least two majors (by winning at two different shows under two different judges where there are enough entries defeated to equal 3-5 points by the AKC point system. OTCh – Obedience Trial Champion To earn an obedience title, the dog must have a passing score of 50% of possible points or better, and an overall passing score at three different competitions under three different judges. CD – Companion Dog (First Level Obedience Competition, basic obedience exercises) CDX – Companion Dog Excellent (Intermediate Level Obedience Competition, more advanced obedience work) UD – Utility Dog (Advanced Level Obedience Competition, difficult obedience work, including hand signals) UDX – The highest obedience degree AKC presently awards TRACKING TD – Tracking Dog TDX – Tracking Dog Excellent VST – Variable Surface Tracking HERDING HIC – Herding Instinct Certificate HT – Herding Tested PT – PreTrial Tested HS – Herding Started HI – Herding Intermediate HX – Herding Excellent HCh – Herding Champion AGILITY NA – Novice Agility OA – Open Agility AX – Agility Excellent MX – Master Agility Excellent NAJ – Novice Agility Jumper OAJ – Open Agility Jumper EAJ – Excellent Agility Jumper AKC Unofficial Titles CGC – Canine Good Citizen ROM – Register of Merit – A dog or bitch must earn a number of points specified by the DPCA rules, and also meet the numbers of champion and major pointed progeny required by DPCA. The requirements for bitches are less than the requirements for the dogs because males have the opportunity to produce a far larger number of offspring. ROMC – Canadian ROM ROM/C – designates that the dog has earned an American and a Canadian ROM. TT – Temperament Tested TC – Temperament Certified AOE – Award of Excellence-A dog must meet qualifications in conformation, obedience, and also be OFA´d to earn this award. New competitions are being added and rules for competitions change, for the most up to date rules and regulations, check with the AKC and the DPCA. Miscellaneous American titles often seen on pedigrees and in advertising. BIS – Best in Show at an All-Breed Show in conformation. BISS – Best in Show Specialty (where only dogs of the same breed are competing in conformation) BOB – Best of Breed BOS – Best Opposite Sex BOW – Best of Winners (best between Winners Dog and Winners Bitch in breed conformation class competition) WD – Winners Dog – the winning dog overall of the regular classes of his sex. WB – Winners Bitch – the winning bitch overall of the regular classes of her sex. RWD/RWB – Runner up to the winners dog and bitch, if the winner becomes ineligible for the award then the runner up will receive the points awarded from that show. Special – A dog that is already a Champion that is competing for Best of Breed only. A Champion cannot compete in the classes where points are earned (because a Champion has already earned them!) RTD – Registered Therapy Dog TD I- Dog has passed Therapy Dog International´s testing HEALTH CERTIFICATIONS OVC – Ontario Veterinary College OVC Hip Certification – A dog may be preliminary screened at a younger age, but will not receive a certification unless the dog is at least 18 months old. It was told to me by a tech in the radiology department of OVC that they consider hips to either be bad, in which case they are rated on a scale from 0 – 4, with 4 being the worse, or they are “good” in which case the animal will receive a certification number (if 18 months or older. Therefore they do not follow the U.S. rating system which includes “FAIR”, Good, Excellent”. Their exact words were “the hips are either GOOD or they are NOT. OFA – Orthopedic Foundation for Animals OFA Hip Certifications – dogs within a specified range of normal hip x-rays are certified OFA-Excellent, Good, or Fair OFA – Elbow Certification – Certified by OFA for normal elbows on x-ray, only one grade recognized as normal. Check with OFA for proper procedures and positioning for hip and elbow x-rays. A dog may be preliminary screened at a younger age, but will not receive a certification unless the dog is at least 24 months old. OFA is also now doing certifications for other canine health concerns such as normal thyroid levels, check with OFA for accurate data and rules concerning these. CERF – Canine Eye Registry Foundation-dog is certified to have normal eyes. Re-certification must be done annually. vWD – Von Willebrands Disease free-meaning the dog has been tested and found free of vWD, a bleeding disorder, vWD free ratings also are often given with a percentage listed. For the best information on Von Willebrand´s Disease, contact Dr Jean Dodds, who is the leading research specialist in blood disorders. Dog show prize idea

[ivyfox-illustration]

Gallery Wrapped canvas print pomeranian, watercolor, pink, wolf sable, pom, spitz, kleinspitz realistic, unique Pomeranian gifts Your favourite breed art print - head or body conformation - groomer gift - Other Breeds Available - dog breeder gift - regional specialty or national specialty prize gift idea Artwork by Ivy Fox Illustration Follow Ivy Fox Illustration on social media https://m.facebook.com/IvyFox.illustration/ https://www.instagram.com/ivyfox.illustration/ Find your dog breed: Personalized Pet Portraits: https://ivyfoxillustrates.etsy.com/ My website: https://ivyfoxillustration.com/ Art Prints Merch Original PaintingsUplift any room's decor with art that's printed on top-quality canvas gallery wraps. Each wrap is made with finely textured, artist-grade cotton substrate which helps reproduce your image in outstanding clarity and detail. Available in multiple sizes, these closed back canvases are built with a patented, solid support face and are excellent for indoor use. .: 100% cotton fabric (400gsm) .: Horizontal, vertical and square options available .: Closed cardboard backing .: Built with a patented solid support face .: High image quality and detail .: NB! For indoor use onlyContact Email: IvyFoxIllustration@ gmail(dot)com ———— Tags and other miscellaneous info: ———— Ivy Fox Illustration Ivy Fox dog art Museum of the Dog American Kennel Club Showsight - Where Champions Are Celebrated American Dog Fancier InfoDog Best In Show The Canine Chronicle AKC Gazette best pet portrait artist watercolor fine art unique art Akc meet the breeds Westminster kennel club dog show national dog show crufts grooming intergroom superzoo petquest groom expo dog sports well bred dogs purebred preservation breeders ethical breeders breeder of merit akc grand champion Ch – Champion of Record – earned by gaining 15 points in conformation wins. Points awarded is determined by the number of other entries the winning dog defeats. A dog must win at least two majors (by winning at two different shows under two different judges where there are enough entries defeated to equal 3-5 points by the AKC point system. OTCh – Obedience Trial Champion To earn an obedience title, the dog must have a passing score of 50% of possible points or better, and an overall passing score at three different competitions under three different judges. CD – Companion Dog (First Level Obedience Competition, basic obedience exercises) CDX – Companion Dog Excellent (Intermediate Level Obedience Competition, more advanced obedience work) UD – Utility Dog (Advanced Level Obedience Competition, difficult obedience work, including hand signals) UDX – The highest obedience degree AKC presently awards TRACKING TD – Tracking Dog TDX – Tracking Dog Excellent VST – Variable Surface Tracking HERDING HIC – Herding Instinct Certificate HT – Herding Tested PT – PreTrial Tested HS – Herding Started HI – Herding Intermediate HX – Herding Excellent HCh – Herding Champion AGILITY NA – Novice Agility OA – Open Agility AX – Agility Excellent MX – Master Agility Excellent NAJ – Novice Agility Jumper OAJ – Open Agility Jumper EAJ – Excellent Agility Jumper AKC Unofficial Titles CGC – Canine Good Citizen ROM – Register of Merit – A dog or bitch must earn a number of points specified by the DPCA rules, and also meet the numbers of champion and major pointed progeny required by DPCA. The requirements for bitches are less than the requirements for the dogs because males have the opportunity to produce a far larger number of offspring. ROMC – Canadian ROM ROM/C – designates that the dog has earned an American and a Canadian ROM. TT – Temperament Tested TC – Temperament Certified AOE – Award of Excellence-A dog must meet qualifications in conformation, obedience, and also be OFA´d to earn this award. New competitions are being added and rules for competitions change, for the most up to date rules and regulations, check with the AKC and the DPCA. Miscellaneous American titles often seen on pedigrees and in advertising. BIS – Best in Show at an All-Breed Show in conformation. BISS – Best in Show Specialty (where only dogs of the same breed are competing in conformation) BOB – Best of Breed BOS – Best Opposite Sex BOW – Best of Winners (best between Winners Dog and Winners Bitch in breed conformation class competition) WD – Winners Dog – the winning dog overall of the regular classes of his sex. WB – Winners Bitch – the winning bitch overall of the regular classes of her sex. RWD/RWB – Runner up to the winners dog and bitch, if the winner becomes ineligible for the award then the runner up will receive the points awarded from that show. Special – A dog that is already a Champion that is competing for Best of Breed only. A Champion cannot compete in the classes where points are earned (because a Champion has already earned them!) RTD – Registered Therapy Dog TD I- Dog has passed Therapy Dog International´s testing HEALTH CERTIFICATIONS OVC – Ontario Veterinary College OVC Hip Certification – A dog may be preliminary screened at a younger age, but will not receive a certification unless the dog is at least 18 months old. It was told to me by a tech in the radiology department of OVC that they consider hips to either be bad, in which case they are rated on a scale from 0 – 4, with 4 being the worse, or they are “good” in which case the animal will receive a certification number (if 18 months or older. Therefore they do not follow the U.S. rating system which includes “FAIR”, Good, Excellent”. Their exact words were “the hips are either GOOD or they are NOT. OFA – Orthopedic Foundation for Animals OFA Hip Certifications – dogs within a specified range of normal hip x-rays are certified OFA-Excellent, Good, or Fair OFA – Elbow Certification – Certified by OFA for normal elbows on x-ray, only one grade recognized as normal. Check with OFA for proper procedures and positioning for hip and elbow x-rays. A dog may be preliminary screened at a younger age, but will not receive a certification unless the dog is at least 24 months old. OFA is also now doing certifications for other canine health concerns such as normal thyroid levels, check with OFA for accurate data and rules concerning these. CERF – Canine Eye Registry Foundation-dog is certified to have normal eyes. Re-certification must be done annually. vWD – Von Willebrands Disease free-meaning the dog has been tested and found free of vWD, a bleeding disorder, vWD free ratings also are often given with a percentage listed. For the best information on Von Willebrand´s Disease, contact Dr Jean Dodds, who is the leading research specialist in blood disorders. Dog show prize idea

[ivyfox-illustration]

Canvas print - Halloween gaiting Standard Poodle, modified Continental clip, dogs, black, poodle, movement, spoo, standard poodle gifts Your favourite breed art print - head or body conformation - groomer gift - Other Breeds Available - dog breeder gift - regional specialty or national specialty prize gift idea Artwork by Ivy Fox Illustration Follow Ivy Fox Illustration on social media https://m.facebook.com/IvyFox.illustration/ https://www.instagram.com/ivyfox.illustration/ Find your dog breed: Personalized Pet Portraits: https://ivyfoxillustrates.etsy.com/ My website: https://ivyfoxillustration.com/ Art Prints Merch Original PaintingsUplift any room's decor with art that's printed on top-quality canvas gallery wraps. Each wrap is made with finely textured, artist-grade cotton substrate which helps reproduce your image in outstanding clarity and detail. Available in multiple sizes, these closed back canvases are built with a patented, solid support face and are excellent for indoor use. .: 100% cotton fabric (400gsm) .: Horizontal, vertical and square options available .: Closed cardboard backing .: Built with a patented solid support face .: High image quality and detail .: NB! For indoor use onlyContact Email: IvyFoxIllustration@ gmail(dot)com ———— Tags and other miscellaneous info: ———— Ivy Fox Illustration Ivy Fox dog art Museum of the Dog American Kennel Club Showsight - Where Champions Are Celebrated American Dog Fancier InfoDog Best In Show The Canine Chronicle AKC Gazette best pet portrait artist watercolor fine art unique art Akc meet the breeds Westminster kennel club dog show national dog show crufts grooming intergroom superzoo petquest groom expo dog sports well bred dogs purebred preservation breeders ethical breeders breeder of merit akc grand champion Ch – Champion of Record – earned by gaining 15 points in conformation wins. Points awarded is determined by the number of other entries the winning dog defeats. A dog must win at least two majors (by winning at two different shows under two different judges where there are enough entries defeated to equal 3-5 points by the AKC point system. OTCh – Obedience Trial Champion To earn an obedience title, the dog must have a passing score of 50% of possible points or better, and an overall passing score at three different competitions under three different judges. CD – Companion Dog (First Level Obedience Competition, basic obedience exercises) CDX – Companion Dog Excellent (Intermediate Level Obedience Competition, more advanced obedience work) UD – Utility Dog (Advanced Level Obedience Competition, difficult obedience work, including hand signals) UDX – The highest obedience degree AKC presently awards TRACKING TD – Tracking Dog TDX – Tracking Dog Excellent VST – Variable Surface Tracking HERDING HIC – Herding Instinct Certificate HT – Herding Tested PT – PreTrial Tested HS – Herding Started HI – Herding Intermediate HX – Herding Excellent HCh – Herding Champion AGILITY NA – Novice Agility OA – Open Agility AX – Agility Excellent MX – Master Agility Excellent NAJ – Novice Agility Jumper OAJ – Open Agility Jumper EAJ – Excellent Agility Jumper AKC Unofficial Titles CGC – Canine Good Citizen ROM – Register of Merit – A dog or bitch must earn a number of points specified by the DPCA rules, and also meet the numbers of champion and major pointed progeny required by DPCA. The requirements for bitches are less than the requirements for the dogs because males have the opportunity to produce a far larger number of offspring. ROMC – Canadian ROM ROM/C – designates that the dog has earned an American and a Canadian ROM. TT – Temperament Tested TC – Temperament Certified AOE – Award of Excellence-A dog must meet qualifications in conformation, obedience, and also be OFA´d to earn this award. New competitions are being added and rules for competitions change, for the most up to date rules and regulations, check with the AKC and the DPCA. Miscellaneous American titles often seen on pedigrees and in advertising. BIS – Best in Show at an All-Breed Show in conformation. BISS – Best in Show Specialty (where only dogs of the same breed are competing in conformation) BOB – Best of Breed BOS – Best Opposite Sex BOW – Best of Winners (best between Winners Dog and Winners Bitch in breed conformation class competition) WD – Winners Dog – the winning dog overall of the regular classes of his sex. WB – Winners Bitch – the winning bitch overall of the regular classes of her sex. RWD/RWB – Runner up to the winners dog and bitch, if the winner becomes ineligible for the award then the runner up will receive the points awarded from that show. Special – A dog that is already a Champion that is competing for Best of Breed only. A Champion cannot compete in the classes where points are earned (because a Champion has already earned them!) RTD – Registered Therapy Dog TD I- Dog has passed Therapy Dog International´s testing HEALTH CERTIFICATIONS OVC – Ontario Veterinary College OVC Hip Certification – A dog may be preliminary screened at a younger age, but will not receive a certification unless the dog is at least 18 months old. It was told to me by a tech in the radiology department of OVC that they consider hips to either be bad, in which case they are rated on a scale from 0 – 4, with 4 being the worse, or they are “good” in which case the animal will receive a certification number (if 18 months or older. Therefore they do not follow the U.S. rating system which includes “FAIR”, Good, Excellent”. Their exact words were “the hips are either GOOD or they are NOT. OFA – Orthopedic Foundation for Animals OFA Hip Certifications – dogs within a specified range of normal hip x-rays are certified OFA-Excellent, Good, or Fair OFA – Elbow Certification – Certified by OFA for normal elbows on x-ray, only one grade recognized as normal. Check with OFA for proper procedures and positioning for hip and elbow x-rays. A dog may be preliminary screened at a younger age, but will not receive a certification unless the dog is at least 24 months old. OFA is also now doing certifications for other canine health concerns such as normal thyroid levels, check with OFA for accurate data and rules concerning these. CERF – Canine Eye Registry Foundation-dog is certified to have normal eyes. Re-certification must be done annually. vWD – Von Willebrands Disease free-meaning the dog has been tested and found free of vWD, a bleeding disorder, vWD free ratings also are often given with a percentage listed. For the best information on Von Willebrand´s Disease, contact Dr Jean Dodds, who is the leading research specialist in blood disorders. Dog show prize idea

[ivyfox-illustration]

Red Merle aussie canvas print - Australian Shepherd realistic watercolor- gallery wrapped canvas Your favourite breed art print - head or body conformation - groomer gift - Other Breeds Available - dog breeder gift - regional specialty or national specialty prize gift idea Artwork by Ivy Fox Illustration Follow Ivy Fox Illustration on social media https://m.facebook.com/IvyFox.illustration/ https://www.instagram.com/ivyfox.illustration/ Find your dog breed: Personalized Pet Portraits: https://ivyfoxillustrates.etsy.com/ My website: https://ivyfoxillustration.com/ Art Prints Merch Original PaintingsLet your personality be reflected on the artwork adorning your walls. This vertical gallery wrapped canvas print will always look as tight and flat as the day it was made. Every frame is built with a solid face to support the canvas and prevent deforming. Available in multiple sizes, comes in walnut and black frame options. .: 100% cotton fabric canvas .: Poplar wood frame with walnut or black finish .: High image quality and detail .: NB! For indoor use onlyContact Email: IvyFoxIllustration@ gmail(dot)com ———— Tags and other miscellaneous info: ———— Ivy Fox Illustration Ivy Fox dog art Museum of the Dog American Kennel Club Showsight - Where Champions Are Celebrated American Dog Fancier InfoDog Best In Show The Canine Chronicle AKC Gazette best pet portrait artist watercolor fine art unique art Akc meet the breeds Westminster kennel club dog show national dog show crufts grooming intergroom superzoo petquest groom expo dog sports well bred dogs purebred preservation breeders ethical breeders breeder of merit akc grand champion Ch – Champion of Record – earned by gaining 15 points in conformation wins. Points awarded is determined by the number of other entries the winning dog defeats. A dog must win at least two majors (by winning at two different shows under two different judges where there are enough entries defeated to equal 3-5 points by the AKC point system. OTCh – Obedience Trial Champion To earn an obedience title, the dog must have a passing score of 50% of possible points or better, and an overall passing score at three different competitions under three different judges. CD – Companion Dog (First Level Obedience Competition, basic obedience exercises) CDX – Companion Dog Excellent (Intermediate Level Obedience Competition, more advanced obedience work) UD – Utility Dog (Advanced Level Obedience Competition, difficult obedience work, including hand signals) UDX – The highest obedience degree AKC presently awards TRACKING TD – Tracking Dog TDX – Tracking Dog Excellent VST – Variable Surface Tracking HERDING HIC – Herding Instinct Certificate HT – Herding Tested PT – PreTrial Tested HS – Herding Started HI – Herding Intermediate HX – Herding Excellent HCh – Herding Champion AGILITY NA – Novice Agility OA – Open Agility AX – Agility Excellent MX – Master Agility Excellent NAJ – Novice Agility Jumper OAJ – Open Agility Jumper EAJ – Excellent Agility Jumper AKC Unofficial Titles CGC – Canine Good Citizen ROM – Register of Merit – A dog or bitch must earn a number of points specified by the DPCA rules, and also meet the numbers of champion and major pointed progeny required by DPCA. The requirements for bitches are less than the requirements for the dogs because males have the opportunity to produce a far larger number of offspring. ROMC – Canadian ROM ROM/C – designates that the dog has earned an American and a Canadian ROM. TT – Temperament Tested TC – Temperament Certified AOE – Award of Excellence-A dog must meet qualifications in conformation, obedience, and also be OFA´d to earn this award. New competitions are being added and rules for competitions change, for the most up to date rules and regulations, check with the AKC and the DPCA. Miscellaneous American titles often seen on pedigrees and in advertising. BIS – Best in Show at an All-Breed Show in conformation. BISS – Best in Show Specialty (where only dogs of the same breed are competing in conformation) BOB – Best of Breed BOS – Best Opposite Sex BOW – Best of Winners (best between Winners Dog and Winners Bitch in breed conformation class competition) WD – Winners Dog – the winning dog overall of the regular classes of his sex. WB – Winners Bitch – the winning bitch overall of the regular classes of her sex. RWD/RWB – Runner up to the winners dog and bitch, if the winner becomes ineligible for the award then the runner up will receive the points awarded from that show. Special – A dog that is already a Champion that is competing for Best of Breed only. A Champion cannot compete in the classes where points are earned (because a Champion has already earned them!) RTD – Registered Therapy Dog TD I- Dog has passed Therapy Dog International´s testing HEALTH CERTIFICATIONS OVC – Ontario Veterinary College OVC Hip Certification – A dog may be preliminary screened at a younger age, but will not receive a certification unless the dog is at least 18 months old. It was told to me by a tech in the radiology department of OVC that they consider hips to either be bad, in which case they are rated on a scale from 0 – 4, with 4 being the worse, or they are “good” in which case the animal will receive a certification number (if 18 months or older. Therefore they do not follow the U.S. rating system which includes “FAIR”, Good, Excellent”. Their exact words were “the hips are either GOOD or they are NOT. OFA – Orthopedic Foundation for Animals OFA Hip Certifications – dogs within a specified range of normal hip x-rays are certified OFA-Excellent, Good, or Fair OFA – Elbow Certification – Certified by OFA for normal elbows on x-ray, only one grade recognized as normal. Check with OFA for proper procedures and positioning for hip and elbow x-rays. A dog may be preliminary screened at a younger age, but will not receive a certification unless the dog is at least 24 months old. OFA is also now doing certifications for other canine health concerns such as normal thyroid levels, check with OFA for accurate data and rules concerning these. CERF – Canine Eye Registry Foundation-dog is certified to have normal eyes. Re-certification must be done annually. vWD – Von Willebrands Disease free-meaning the dog has been tested and found free of vWD, a bleeding disorder, vWD free ratings also are often given with a percentage listed. For the best information on Von Willebrand´s Disease, contact Dr Jean Dodds, who is the leading research specialist in blood disorders. Dog show prize idea

[ivyfox-illustration]

Gallery Wrapped canvas watercolor Bloodhound, scent hound, hounds, hunting dogs, bloodhound art, realistic, unique bloodhound gifts Your favourite breed art print - head or body conformation - groomer gift - Other Breeds Available - dog breeder gift - regional specialty or national specialty prize gift idea Artwork by Ivy Fox Illustration Follow Ivy Fox Illustration on social media https://m.facebook.com/IvyFox.illustration/ https://www.instagram.com/ivyfox.illustration/ Find your dog breed: Personalized Pet Portraits: https://ivyfoxillustrates.etsy.com/ My website: https://ivyfoxillustration.com/ Art Prints Merch Original PaintingsUplift any room's decor with art that's printed on top-quality canvas gallery wraps. Each wrap is made with finely textured, artist-grade cotton substrate which helps reproduce your image in outstanding clarity and detail. Available in multiple sizes, these closed back canvases are built with a patented, solid support face and are excellent for indoor use. .: 100% cotton fabric (400gsm) .: Horizontal, vertical and square options available .: Closed cardboard backing .: Built with a patented solid support face .: High image quality and detail .: NB! For indoor use onlyContact Email: IvyFoxIllustration@ gmail(dot)com ———— Tags and other miscellaneous info: ———— Ivy Fox Illustration Ivy Fox dog art Museum of the Dog American Kennel Club Showsight - Where Champions Are Celebrated American Dog Fancier InfoDog Best In Show The Canine Chronicle AKC Gazette best pet portrait artist watercolor fine art unique art Akc meet the breeds Westminster kennel club dog show national dog show crufts grooming intergroom superzoo petquest groom expo dog sports well bred dogs purebred preservation breeders ethical breeders breeder of merit akc grand champion Ch – Champion of Record – earned by gaining 15 points in conformation wins. Points awarded is determined by the number of other entries the winning dog defeats. A dog must win at least two majors (by winning at two different shows under two different judges where there are enough entries defeated to equal 3-5 points by the AKC point system. OTCh – Obedience Trial Champion To earn an obedience title, the dog must have a passing score of 50% of possible points or better, and an overall passing score at three different competitions under three different judges. CD – Companion Dog (First Level Obedience Competition, basic obedience exercises) CDX – Companion Dog Excellent (Intermediate Level Obedience Competition, more advanced obedience work) UD – Utility Dog (Advanced Level Obedience Competition, difficult obedience work, including hand signals) UDX – The highest obedience degree AKC presently awards TRACKING TD – Tracking Dog TDX – Tracking Dog Excellent VST – Variable Surface Tracking HERDING HIC – Herding Instinct Certificate HT – Herding Tested PT – PreTrial Tested HS – Herding Started HI – Herding Intermediate HX – Herding Excellent HCh – Herding Champion AGILITY NA – Novice Agility OA – Open Agility AX – Agility Excellent MX – Master Agility Excellent NAJ – Novice Agility Jumper OAJ – Open Agility Jumper EAJ – Excellent Agility Jumper AKC Unofficial Titles CGC – Canine Good Citizen ROM – Register of Merit – A dog or bitch must earn a number of points specified by the DPCA rules, and also meet the numbers of champion and major pointed progeny required by DPCA. The requirements for bitches are less than the requirements for the dogs because males have the opportunity to produce a far larger number of offspring. ROMC – Canadian ROM ROM/C – designates that the dog has earned an American and a Canadian ROM. TT – Temperament Tested TC – Temperament Certified AOE – Award of Excellence-A dog must meet qualifications in conformation, obedience, and also be OFA´d to earn this award. New competitions are being added and rules for competitions change, for the most up to date rules and regulations, check with the AKC and the DPCA. Miscellaneous American titles often seen on pedigrees and in advertising. BIS – Best in Show at an All-Breed Show in conformation. BISS – Best in Show Specialty (where only dogs of the same breed are competing in conformation) BOB – Best of Breed BOS – Best Opposite Sex BOW – Best of Winners (best between Winners Dog and Winners Bitch in breed conformation class competition) WD – Winners Dog – the winning dog overall of the regular classes of his sex. WB – Winners Bitch – the winning bitch overall of the regular classes of her sex. RWD/RWB – Runner up to the winners dog and bitch, if the winner becomes ineligible for the award then the runner up will receive the points awarded from that show. Special – A dog that is already a Champion that is competing for Best of Breed only. A Champion cannot compete in the classes where points are earned (because a Champion has already earned them!) RTD – Registered Therapy Dog TD I- Dog has passed Therapy Dog International´s testing HEALTH CERTIFICATIONS OVC – Ontario Veterinary College OVC Hip Certification – A dog may be preliminary screened at a younger age, but will not receive a certification unless the dog is at least 18 months old. It was told to me by a tech in the radiology department of OVC that they consider hips to either be bad, in which case they are rated on a scale from 0 – 4, with 4 being the worse, or they are “good” in which case the animal will receive a certification number (if 18 months or older. Therefore they do not follow the U.S. rating system which includes “FAIR”, Good, Excellent”. Their exact words were “the hips are either GOOD or they are NOT. OFA – Orthopedic Foundation for Animals OFA Hip Certifications – dogs within a specified range of normal hip x-rays are certified OFA-Excellent, Good, or Fair OFA – Elbow Certification – Certified by OFA for normal elbows on x-ray, only one grade recognized as normal. Check with OFA for proper procedures and positioning for hip and elbow x-rays. A dog may be preliminary screened at a younger age, but will not receive a certification unless the dog is at least 24 months old. OFA is also now doing certifications for other canine health concerns such as normal thyroid levels, check with OFA for accurate data and rules concerning these. CERF – Canine Eye Registry Foundation-dog is certified to have normal eyes. Re-certification must be done annually. vWD – Von Willebrands Disease free-meaning the dog has been tested and found free of vWD, a bleeding disorder, vWD free ratings also are often given with a percentage listed. For the best information on Von Willebrand´s Disease, contact Dr Jean Dodds, who is the leading research specialist in blood disorders. Dog show prize idea