Super-centenarian credits God and the Bible!

116 years old and full of joy.

Super-centenarian, 116-year-old, Violet Mosses Brown has discovered the secret to living a long and happy life without many of the ills associated with old age.

 

Bible obedience equals longevity.
Violet Moses Brown reading her daily Bible devotional.

Deuteronomy 33:25b  “Your strength will equal your days”

This Bible verse certainly applies to Super-centenarian, Violet Mosses Brown. Born March 4th 1900, now at 116, Violet still enjoys reading her Daily Bread devotional flawlessly without the assistance of reading glasses. She is still so sharp, she is able to effortlessly recite a poem, The Vision of Belshazzar by Lord Byron, a poem she learned while attending elementary school a century ago. She can recite it without a hitch. For fun Violet listens to music, practices shorthand and typing.  So far, her strength is equal to her days.

Violet Brown is a resident in the western Jamaica town of Duanvale, Trelawny. A local news reporter commented, “Mrs. Brown exudes peace and contentment as she sits on her cool veranda, enjoying the comings and goings of the district. Beside her is her 96-year-old son, Harold Fairweather, incredibly youthful in appearance and believed to be the oldest person with a living parent.  Harold still lives with his mother as he approaches 100. People complain that their twenty-year-old children are still living at home. Get this; Violet has a 96 year old son still living with her and a 62 year old grandson to boot.

Her son did leave home and live in England for a number of years, but felt it was his duty to come home and take care of his mother. After she is gone, he can return to England to pick up were he left off. Just think of it, many 40 year olds think they are over the hill, with this family, they would barely be starting up the hill.

Often people tell me they don’t want to live to be over 100, much less be a super-centenarian. They feel the quality of life at that age would be so poor that it would be better not live at all. At the age of 110, Violet commented with a smile, “You know, sometimes I ask myself, “Am I really 110 years old?” Because I don’t feel like 110.” Though less active at 116, Brown boasts she is still able to make her own bed in the mornings.  Her 96 year old son says she has no major illness, though her hearing isn’t what it used to be.

116 years old and full of joy.
Violet, 116 and still full of joy.

A local official stated, “This is a woman who we can say contributes significantly to the community. She has been humorous in her discussions, possesses good health, a memory that is outstanding, and, of course, she was the record keeper for all deaths in Duanvale.”  Violet kept cemetery records so well that the local government used her record keeping procedures as the standard for all future employees.

This super-centenarian has also been a major help to her family and church community.  Her grandson, 62-year-old Vernon Davis described his grandmother as the unifying force in their family. “She was a person who keeps the family together. She has been hard-working,” said Davis, who has lived with his grandmother since his youth. Her family says even at her age she continues to counsels the residents of Duanvale. They enjoy the company of this positive lady, who shares many gems of faith and poetry with them.

Church make us healthier
Violet with her pastor.

Violets influence has gone beyond the borders of Jamaca!

Her influence in her family and community has also spread to other parts of the world as evidence by this story told by her oldest son.

Harold Fairweather, appears closer to 60, than the centenarian he will be in only four years. He spoke animatedly about his experience as a migrant in Sheffield, England. He had applied for a job and was told by the manager that they did not hire blacks.  I told the gentleman, ‘When your time comes for you to go to the City Road Cemetery, I don’t think color will matter there. I have a flower garden and I do not see only white flowers there. God made them of various colors. This is God’s world, and all of us are in His beautiful garden.” The gentleman seemed surprised and asked, “Where did you get that from?” (Obviously from his mother). He hired me that day. “I became the first person of color to be employed in that business, I opened the door for other people of color; and would you believe that this gentleman became like a second father to me in England”.

So what is this Super-centenarian’s secret to a very productive, very long, very physically healthy life?

Her son says that Violet is not given to gluttony, but enjoys small meals. He also says, “She likes fish and mutton and sometimes she will have cow foot, but she does not eat pork or chicken”. Her other preferences are sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, breadfruit, and fruit, especially oranges and mangoes. The Bible highly recommends eating mutton (red meat) and fish, it also vehemently commands us not to eat pork.[2][3][4] Violet is getting a lot of vitamin C from the fruit she eats.[5] She also says, “I don’t drink rum and dem tings.”

Breadfruit eaten by super-centenarian.
Young Jamaican with a ripe breadfruit.

In my study of super-centenarians, I have not found them to simply be lucky enough to win the genetic lottery, what I have found is that they all do a lot of the same things. And all of the things in common, that they do, are backed up by the word of God and science.

Exodus 23:21, 25-26                                                                                                                                                                

“Pay attention to him (the angel of the lord) and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him…Worship the Lord your God and his blessing will be on your food and water.  I will take away sickness from among you, and none will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will give you a full life span.”

Violet proudly testifies that her full lifespan has come from obeying God. “I live by the grace of God. At 13, Violet was received into the Baptist Church, where she was told to read Psalm 119, verse 133 — words that she has never forgotten. According to a local reporter, “She declared them to us:” “Order my steps in thy word and let no sin have any dominion over me.”

This super-centenarian declares her greatest joy is the church, “I love the Church,” Brown told reporters.

Worshiping God lengthens and strengthens life.
Violet Brown worshiping with church members.
Prayer and worship strengthen your days.
Violet praying with her church family.

The energetic super-centenarian also said she credited her long and fruitful life to her respect for family, life, and people in general, as well as a lot of hard work when she was younger. She believes that obeying the fifth commandment, “Honor your mother and father so your days may be long” Exodus 20:12, has worked for her. I believe that it is working for me and that it will work for you and your loved ones as well. 

Somebody’s going to live long and strong past 100 years, might as well by you!

5 Biblical principals followed by Violet Mosses Brown, that contributed to her long, healthy and productive life.

  1. Biblical eating habits.
  2. Biblical worship habits.
  3. Biblical relationships with God, family and neighbors.
  4. Avoidance of sin (missing the mark, things that displease God)
  5. Steady, hard work.

The Bible does not say that your genetics determine your health. The Bible says your actions determine your healthfulness.

I will admit that, “honoring your mother and father”, was a hard one for me. When I was growing up, my dad had always been a little overbearing, OK a lot overbearing,  and even though the Bible says that honoring him would lengthen my days, I struggled with it. After being away from home and returning to work for my dad again, he and I almost went to blows one day in the back room of the golf course we were running. Our church encouraged me to keep trying to honor him, and the more I tried the easier it got.  Before he passed away, he and I had some really good talks. A plethora of studies have shown the Bible to be true in this area. One study done by  Brummett and colleagues (2001) found that, among adults with coronary artery disease, the socially isolated had a risk of subsequent cardiac death 2.4 times greater than their more socially connected peers.[6] Check out this link for a ton of evidence that points to relationships being a major factor in physical health and longevity. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3150158/

Once again, our purpose for writing each week is to provide you with Biblical advice and examples of people who followed that advice for the care and feeding of their bodies.  We share this Biblical advice each week, because it is so rare. We also do it, because we see thousands of good Christians, whose lives have been cut short, simply because they were never taught what the Word of God and the Law of God had to say about health and wellness.

If you believe God knows best, join us and the Wellness Gospel team; register for our weekly newsletter, then spread the word by sharing this with your friends on social media and may God bless you richly.

If you want to keep improving your health, and enjoy this kind of biblical scientific information, then I would like to recommend three must-read books:

  1. “None of These Diseases” by S. I. McMillen, M.D. and David E. Stern, D                                                                                                                                    http://tinyurl.com/hh7ezs2
  2. “Let’s Play Doctor” by Dr. Joel Wallac                                                                                                                                                              http://tinyurl.com/j8ybt8r 
  3. “God’s Guide To Biblical Health and Healing” by Rev. Chris & Shary Schauermann                                                            http://tinyurl.com/zvkbfau

You can get all these books at Amazon.com or simply click on the URL under each book title.

 

References

  1. Violet Brown http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20100308/lead/lead6.html
  2. Mutton   http://wellnessgospel.net/index.php/2016/07/10/should-we-eat-red-meat/
  3. Fish  http://wellnessgospel.net/index.php/2016/11/19/fish-can-make-you-sick-or-healthy/
  4. Pork  http://wellnessgospel.net/?s=Pork
  5. Vitamin C  http://wellnessgospel.net/index.php/2016/10/10/vitamin-c-granddaddy-vitamins/
  6. Social/physical connections https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3150158/

 

 

 

Serious mood swings? Frequent illnesses? Eating pork could be the reason.

                 Are you sick a lot, or do you have serious mood swings?                 Eating pork could be the reason.
pork-1

What about pork and good health? To mention that pork might not be good to eat, is fighting words to many people.  So, I am asking you to extend to me a little Christian love and mercy as I attempt to make the case for avoiding pork products. I think you will live longer and have healthier lives if you avoid pork. Yes, I know it tastes great, but, human experience, science and God’s word, may prove it is not worth the risk. So let’s take a look at all three of these.

Human experience                                                                                     Most Christians, and most Americans, believe they can eat whatever they want. Jews believe it is not good to eat pork. In Israel, Jews and non Jews tend to avoid pork. Is there any proof that avoiding pork products, is a healthier practice than eating a lot of pork, like Americans? According to a report by Jerusalem’s Taub Center for Social Policy Studies, Israeli life expectancy at birth is 81 years compared to 78 years for Americans.1 That one fact, that non pork eating Jews, tend to live longer than pork eating Americans, may not be conclusive but if it is connected to some actual science then it may be a factor.

Science                                                                                                       When we share with people that eating pork is unhealthy, we are informed that we obviously aren’t up to date on the latest information about pork consumption. Evidently, everyone knows that with our modern technology in food processing and cooking, all ill effects of eating pork have been eliminated, or are they?

pork-2

In the January 2013 edition of Consumer Reports a different story was told. Consumer Reports stated:

“Our analysis of pork-chop and ground-pork samples from around the U.S. found that Yersinia enterocolitica, a bacterium that can cause fever, diarrhea, and abdominal pain, was widespread. Some samples harbored other potentially harmful bacteria, including salmonella. And there are more reasons to be concerned about “the other white meat”.

Some of the bacteria we found in 198 samples proved to be resistant to antibiotics commonly used to treat people. The frequent use of low-dose antibiotics in pork farming may be accelerating growth of drug-resistant “superbugs” that threaten human health.

About one-fifth of the 240 pork products we analyzed in a separate test harbored low levels of the drug ractopamine, which the U.S. approved in 1999 to promote growth and leanness in pigs.  It’s commonly used in pigs raised for food in the U.S. but is banned in the European Union, China and Taiwan.

Yersinia enterocolitica was found in 69% of the tested pork samples. It infects about 100,000 Americans a year, especially children. We found salmonella, staphylococcus aureus, or listeria monocytogenes, in 3 to 7 percent of samples.

Thirteen of the fourteen staphylococcus samples we isolated from pork were resistant to one or more antibiotics, so were six of eight salmonella samples, 12 of 19 enterococcus samples, and 121 of 132 yersinia samples. One sample was identified as MRSA, a drug-resistant and sometimes fatal staph.”2

Why are all those disease causing bacteria in pork products? Factory-farmers gobble up 80 percent of the antibiotics sold in the U.S. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has estimated that 67 percent of human diseases are of animal origin, and according to Robert Martin, director of food system policy at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, “there are a number of specific studies that have linked antibiotics in animals to drug-resistant human infections,”3

What about pork products from other countries? Food from other countries can carry even more health risks. Check out these two YouTube videos. One shows parasites in uncooked pork and the other shows cooked pork that was reheated in a microwave. Evidently these parasites are really tough.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqPERDo9kWg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFF6qiLwZMU

      Eating Pork can affect your moods and cause migraines.

pork-3

The processing aids used in the most popular cuts of pork—ham, sausage, bratwursts, and the like—cause depression. “Sugar, salt, and nitrate preservatives used in these products can trigger low moods, migraines, and even swollen ankles,” writes Drew Ramsey, MD, coauthor of  The Happiness Diet.3

According to Consumer Reports, Johns Hopkins and MD Drew Ramsey, Pork products, not only contain disease strains that are resistant to antibiotics, they also contain hormones, preservatives and sugar, that are making Americans sick and depressed, especially children.

God’s Word, what does it say about eating pork?

Leviticus 11:4-8                                                     Nevertheless these you shall not eat among those that chew the cud or those that have   cloven hooves: the camel, because it chews the cud but does not have cloven hooves, is unclean to you; the rock hyrax, because it chews the cud but does not have cloven hooves, is unclean to you; the rabbit, because it chews the cud but does not have cloven hooves, is unclean to you; and the pig, though it divides the hoof, having cloven hooves, yet does not chew the cud, is unclean to you.Their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall not touch. They are unclean to you.

                                            Isaiah 62:2,4b,5b                                                            All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people who walk in ways not goodWho eat the flesh of pigs and whose pots hold broth of unclean meat; Such people are smoke in my nostrils”

Leviticus 11:4-8 talks about white meat (pig, rabbit, horse, dog, cat, rat). God said these animals are not to be eaten. Can you eat them? Sure, you can eat anything you want. Paul said in…

                                          1 Corinthians 6:12 6:12                                                    “Everything is permissible but not everything is beneficial…but I will not be mastered by anything.  Food for the stomach and the stomach for food.”

Unclean food won’t spiritually defile you, it will just shorten your life. It’s not a sin to eat pork, it’s just not physically beneficial. Jesus said what comes out of our mouth, spiritually defiles us, not what goes in our mouths.

Many people think, that because old testament rules about food do not apply to us spiritually anymore, that they also don’t apply to us physically. Let’s just think about that for a second. The old testament says that seagulls are not good for you and that cats and dogs are not good food. Do we really believe that since Jesus died on the cross that all of a sudden those animals became healthy to eat? I live on the coast of Oregon and the thought of eating a seagull would make most of my friends sick to their stomachs.

I have been traveling to third world countries, two and three times a year for over twenty years. Many of my missionary friends ignore God’s advice concerning pork and other foods. They eat pork and shellfish and; they almost always get sick and I don’t. God did not make his laws just to see if we would be obedient, he made them to keep us out of harm’s way.

The animals in Leviticus 11:1-3 (red meat animals, those with a split hoof and chew the cud) have a four-stomach digestive system designed to convert vegetation into protein, calcium, etc. These animals are not as likely to carry diseases that affect humans. The animals that God said not to eat have a single stomach digestive system very similar to ours, which also makes them susceptible to almost all the parasites and diseases that we are plagued with.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), between November 2002 and July 2003, an outbreak of SARS in southern China caused 774 deaths reported in 37 countries. The epidemic has a 9.6% fatality rate. The epidemic was found to be related to the eating of cats, a white meat animal like pigs, the bible says not to eat. Obeying God’s advice concerning white meat would have spared these unfortunate people a lot of pain, suffering and lives cut short.

To say that modern science has eliminated the need to avoid pork products is to ignore the facts, and, put yourself and your family at risk. God’s advice is timeless and valuable. Before we had scientists who could look through powerful microscopes and see disease producing bacteria, God knew what food carried sickness and death and warned us not to eat it.

In our blog about red meat, we shared a study done in Colorado concerning people who lived to be over 100 years old.

+In that study they found only one thing that all centenarians had in common. They all ate red meat, the meat God said was good to eat, twice a day, not white meat, that God said not to eat. If you want to live out your full lifespan you will have to eat red meat like the Bible recommends and avoid white meat. Happy eating!!!

pork-4

GOD CREATED MAN. GOD CREATED FOOD.

GOD KNOWS WHAT FOOD HE CREATED FOR MAN TO ENJOY,

GOD KNOWS WHAT FOOD WAS NOT FOR MAN TO ENJOY, AND

HE HAS NEVER TRIED TO KEEP IT A SECRET. 

If you believe God knows best, join us and the Wellness Gospel team and spread the word, share this with your friends on social media and may God bless you richly.

If you want to keep improving your health and like this kind of biblical, scientific information, then I would like to recommend three must-read books.

  1. “None of These Diseases” by S. I. McMillen, M.D. and David E. Stern, M.D.
  2. “Let’s Play Doctor” by Dr. Joel Wallach
  3. “God’s Guide To Biblical Health and Healing” by Rev. Chris & Shary Schauermann

You can get all these books at Amazon.com   

  1. Israelis Have Longer Life Expectancy than Americans, Jewish News, www.worldjewishdaily.com/longevity.p
  1. January 2013 edition of Consumer Reports/pork consumption
  2. http://www.rodalesorganiclife.com/wellbeing/10-scary-reasons-why-you-should-never-buy-conventional-pork
  3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Severe_acute_respiratory_syndrome
  4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqPERDo9kWg
  5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFF6qiLwZMU