Philippine Islands – Discover the beauty of its 7,107 islands

TORMENTED MINDS

NICOLE has had bouts of dark moods since she was 14 years old. At age 16, however, she began to experience something new a curious state of euphoria and unusually high energy. Racing thoughts, fragmented speech, and a lack of sleep were accompanied by an unfounded suspicion that her friends were taking advantage of her. Next, Nicole claimed that she could change the color of objects at will. At this point Nicole’s mother realized that medical help was needed, so she took Nicole to the hospital. After closely monitoring Nicole’s shifting moods, doctors finally reached a diagnosis: Nicole was suffering from bipolar disorder.

Like Nicole, millions of people worldwide are afflicted with a mood disorder—either bipolar disorder or some form of clinical depression. The effects of these ailments can be devastating. “For many years I was in pain,” says a bipolar

WHILE AIDS is grabbing headlines, Lyme disease is barely making footnotes. Yet, Lyme disease is spreading rapidly. In fact, a few years ago, The New York Times Magazine called it “the fastest-growing infectious disease in the [United States] after AIDS.” Reports from other lands show that the disease is spreading in Asia, Europe, and South America as well.

What is Lyme disease? How is it spreading? Are you at risk?

Ticks, Deer, and You

Some 20 years ago, a mysterious increase in arthritis cases occurred in and around the town of Lyme, Connecticut, which is located in the northeastern part of the United States. The victims were mostly children. Their arthritis began with rashes, headaches, and pains in their joints. One resident noted that soon her “husband and two of the children were on crutches.” Before long, over 50 people in that area were affected, and within years, thousands were suffering the same

WHAT do you think? Is it wrong for married people to use contraception? Your answer may well depend on your religious convictions. The Catholic Church teaches that every action designed to impede procreation “is intrinsically evil.” Catholic dogma promotes the idea that each act of sexual intercourse between marriage mates must remain open to pregnancy. For the Catholic Church, then, contraception is “morally unacceptable.”

Many people find this point of view difficult to accept. A Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article on the subject noted that “more than three-quarters of Catholics in the United States say the church should allow the use of artificial birth control. . . . And millions ignore the ban every day.” One of them, Linda, a mother of three, freely admits to using contraceptives but says: “I don’t really believe in my conscience that I’m sinning.”

What does God’s Word have to say on this issue?

Life Is Precious

God

The Noachian Flood occurred more than 4,000 years ago. So there are no eyewitness survivors on earth to tell us about it. However, there is a written record of that catastrophe, which states that the floodwaters covered the tallest mountain of that time.

The historical document reads: “The deluge went on for forty days upon the earth . . . And the waters overwhelmed the earth so greatly that all the tall mountains that were under the whole heavens came to be covered. Up to fifteen cubits [about 22 feet] the waters overwhelmed them and the mountains became covered.”—Genesis 7:17-20.

Some may wonder if the story of the whole earth being covered with water is a myth or at least an exaggeration. Not at all! Indeed, to some extent the earth is still flooded. Seawater covers about 71 percent of the earth’s surface. So in reality the floodwaters are still here. And

When Food Is Your Enemy

Reflecting on her teen years, Jean vividly recalls being a target of teasing and ridicule. The reason? She was the tallest and largest girl in her class at school. But that was not all. “Even worse than being big, I was shy and socially awkward,” says Jean. “I was often lonely, wanting to fit in somewhere, but most of the time I felt like an outsider.”

Jean was convinced that her size was the cause of all her problems and that a lean, trim figure would fix everything. Not that Jean was obese. On the contrary, at six feet [183 cm] tall and 145 pounds [66 kg], she wasn’t overweight. Nevertheless, Jean felt fat, and at age 23 she decided to lose weight. ‘When I’m thin,’ she reasoned, ‘other people will want me around. At last, I will feel accepted and special.’

“That kind of foolish

The crew of the Space Shuttle Atlantis downlinked this image en-route to the Hubble Space Telescope. Saudi Arabia can be seen in the foreground while Egypt’s Nile River and its delta can be seen toward the hirizon.