Heaven’s Blood Bank

—“Heaven’s Blood Bank”
by S. H. Carnahan, Message, January, 1943

ur bodies record every experience, every pain, every attack. Owing to the social, environmental, and political determinants of health, eventually, the effects of biological weathering take hold and lead to poorer health and premature death for millions of people. Whatever the immediate cause of death–heart disease, cancer, or COVID-19, we know the true cause is that they struggled throughout their lives to attain health protective and sustaining resources.

Despite the U.S. spending more on health care than any other country and consuming more than half of the world’s health care resources, this keeps happening. We have seen increasing mortality and falling life expectancy in the U.S. even for people ages 25 to 64, who should be in the prime of their lives (Achenbach, 2019; Zalla, Mulholland, Filiatreau, Edwards, 2022). And the effects are not equally experienced or distributed. When broken down by race, ethnicity, geography, and other demographic variables, the inequalities in health status and health care are quite striking.

By donna green goodman

f you ever wondered, the original diet for man came from the Creator Himself, out of the Garden of Eden, in Africa.

“And, God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.” Genesis 1:26

After sin, He added vegetables. “And, thou shalt eat the herb of the field.” Genesis 3:18.

I always use this as a guide when making food choices or deciding what to choose from amind changing scientific research and discovery. The Bible’s recommendation is best: fruits, nuts, grains and vegetables.

BY JOHN AND APRIL NIXON

n our line of work, we probably get a variation of one question more often than any other —“What is the key to a lasting relationship?”

People might assume our answer would be a simple, “love” and nothing more. Indeed, love is a critical component for any healthy relationship, but that would not be our answer. It turns out love needs one more component to take it to the next level, another ingredient, if you will. That secret ingredient is friendship and it’s probably the most underrated ingredient in relationships that thrive.

If love is the most foundational ingredient for relational success then friendship is the most influential, and can often forecast romantic enjoyment. Research shows that “Friendship is at the core of any strong relationship, and… is an important predictor of both romantic and physical satisfaction.” Some research has gone so far as to find “that friendship in a marriage is five times more important than physical intimacy.” That seems to elevate the subject of being friends with your spouse, doesn’t it?

Medical professionals suggest an annual physical examination to ensure we are in good health and to test or monitor for hypertension, diabetes, cholesterol, cancer and other diseases. Financially, do you consult your adviser, coach or professional annually?

Financial health is best described as the personal condition of one’s monetary state of affairs. Here are some factors which may help you measure your health.

or two years, LaDarius Price sounded the alarm concerning the health disparities plaguing his Chattanooga, Tennessee, community. In addition to personal observations, anecdotal information and national statistics, he finally had the local numbers to prove it.

One year into Price’s campaign for healthier living within the African American community, Hamilton County released a 2019 community health profile revealing the magnitude of the racial divide. According to the report titled “Picture of Our Health,” compared to the white population, black residents were…

am a descendant of slaves from the African diaspora, who survived the deadly and evil Trans-Atlantic slave trade and offloaded on the Caribbean Island of St. Lucia. As a child and through migration to the United States I frequently sought to answer the following…

“What part of Africa were my ancestors stolen from?”

“In my lifetime would I ever plant my feet on the soil of Africa, the ‘Motherland’?”

Little did I know that God would answer this immigrant girl’s prayers in December 2022, 31 years after I left my island home and the only connection to my ancestral roots and culture. This 14-day trip to Botswana changed me and gave me a deeper thirst to find my roots and simultaneously, a deeper hatred against the evils of slavery and sin in general.