AnnDoYouHaveaPlan

NO, FREEDOM ISN'T FREE....all of us are blessed to live in the good ole USA...hopefully everybody will remember to be thankful!

2011-06-29T21:11:00.001-05:00

I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO

THE FLAG, OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ,

AND TO THE REPUBLIC, FOR WHICH IT STANDS,

ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY

AND JUSTICE FOR ALL!

For all of our other military personnel, where ever they may be.
Please Support all of the troops defending our Country.

And God Bless our Military who are protecting our Country for our Freedom.
Thanks to them, and their sacrifices, we can celebrate the 4th of July.

We must never forget who gets the credit for the freedoms we have,
of which we should be eternally grateful.
I watched the flag pass by one day.
It fluttered in the breeze.

A young Marine saluted it,
And then he stood at ease.
I looked at him in uniform;
so young, so tall, so proud.
With hair cut square and eyes alert,
he'd stand out in any crowd.

I thought how many men like him
had fallen through the years.
How many died on foreign soil;
how many mothers' tears?

How many pilots' planes shot down?
How many died at sea?
How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?

NO, FREEDOM ISN'T FREE!

I heard the sound of Taps one night,
when everything was still.
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.

I wondered just how many times
That Taps had meant 'Amen.'
When a flag had draped a coffin
of a brother or a friend

I thought of all the children,
of the mothers and the wives,
of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.

I thought about a graveyard
At the bottom of the sea.
Of unmarked graves in Arlington .

NO FREEDOM ISN'T FREE!

Enjoy Your Freedom and God Bless Our Troops.

When you read this, please stop for a moment and say a prayer for our servicemen.

Of all the gifts you could give a U.S. Soldier, prayer is the very best one.

3 Bible Translations of PSALM 23

2011-06-29T09:50:00.000-05:00

Psalm 23 Contemporary English Version (CEV) A Psalm by David.

The Good Shepherd

1You, LORD, are my shepherd. I will never be in need.

2You let me rest in fields of green grass. You lead me to streams of peaceful water,

3and you refresh my life. You are true to your name, and you lead me along the right paths.

4I may walk through valleys as dark as death, but I won't be afraid. You are with me, and your shepherd's rod [a] makes me feel safe.

5You treat me to a feast, while my enemies watch. You honor me as your guest, and you fill my cup until it overflows.

6Your kindness and love will always be with me each day of my life, and I will live forever in your house, LORD

Footnotes: [a] Psalm 23:4 shepherd's rod: The Hebrew text mentions two objects carried by the shepherd: a club to defend against wild animals and a long pole to guide and control the sheep.

Psalm 23 The Message (MSG) A David Psalm

1-3 GOD, my shepherd! I don't need a thing.

You have bedded me down in lush meadows, you find me quiet pools to drink from.

True to your word, you let me catch my breath and send me in the right direction.

4 Even when the way goes through Death Valley, I'm not afraid when you walk at my side.

Your trusty shepherd's crook makes me feel secure.

5 You serve me a six-course dinner right in front of my enemies. You revive my drooping head; my cup brims with blessing.

6 Your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life. I'm back home in the house of GOD for the rest of my life.

Psalm 23 New American Standard Bible (NASB) A Psalm of David.

The LORD, the Psalmist’s Shepherd.

1 The LORD is my (A)shepherd, I [a]shall (B)not want.

2 He makes me lie down in (C)green pastures; He (D)leads me beside [b](E)quiet waters.

3 He (F)restores my soul; He (G)guides me in the [c](H)paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.

4 Even though I (I)walk through the [d]valley of the shadow of death, I (J)fear no [e]evil, for (K)You are with me; Your (L)rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

5 You (M)prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You [f]have (N)anointed my head with oil; My (O)cup overflows.

6 [g]Surely (P)goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will [h](Q)dwell in the house of the LORD [i]forever.

Footnotes:

a. Psalm 23:1 Or do

b. Psalm 23:2 Lit waters of rest

c. Psalm 23:3 Lit tracks

d. Psalm 23:4 Or valley of deep darkness

e. Psalm 23:4 Or harm

f. Psalm 23:5 Or anoint

g. Psalm 23:6 Or Only

h. Psalm 23:6 Another reading is return to

i. Psalm 23:6 Lit for length of days

Cross references:

A. Psalm 23:1 : Ps 78:52; 80:1; Is 40:11; Jer 31:10; Ezek 34:11-13; John 10:11; 1 Pet 2:25

B. Psalm 23:1 : Ps 34:9, 10; Phil 4:19

C. Psalm 23:2 : Ps 65:11-13; Ezek 34:14

D. Psalm 23:2 : Rev 7:17

E. Psalm 23:2 : Ps 36:8; 46:4

F. Psalm 23:3 : Ps 19:7

G. Psalm 23:3 : Ps 5:8; 31:3

H. Psalm 23:3 : Ps 85:13; Prov 4:11; 8:20

I. Psalm 23:4 : Job 10:21, 22; Ps 107:14

J. Psalm 23:4 : Ps 3:6; 27:1

K. Psalm 23:4 : Ps 16:8; Is 43:2

L. Psalm 23:4 : Mic 7:14

M. Psalm 23:5 : Ps 78:19

N. Psalm 23:5 : Ps 92:10; Luke 7:46

O. Psalm 23:5 : Ps 16:5

P. Psalm 23:6 : Ps 25:7, 10

Q. Psalm 23:6 : Ps 27:4-6

JAILS AND NURSING HOMES..........

2011-06-22T07:35:00.000-05:00

Personally, I think this is GREAT IDEA!!!!!....

Here's the way it should be:

Let's put the seniors in jail and the criminals in nursing homes.

This would correct two things in one motion:

Seniors would have access to showers, hobbies and walks.

They would receive unlimited free prescriptions, dental and medical treatment, wheel chairs, etc.

They would receive money instead of having to pay it out.

They would have constant video monitoring, so they would be helped instantly...if they fell or needed assistance.

Bedding would be washed twice a week and all clothing would be ironed and returned to them.

A guard would check on them every 20 minutes.

All meals and snacks would be brought to them.

They would have family visits in a suite built for that purpose. They would have access to a library, weight/fitness room, spiritual counseling, a pool and education...and free admission to in-house concerts by nationally recognized entertainment artists.

Simple clothing - i.e…shoes, slippers, PJ's - and legal aid would be free, upon request. There would be private, secure rooms provided for all with an outdoor exercise yard complete with gardens.

Each senior would have a P.C., T.V., phone and radio in their room at no cost.

They would receive daily phone calls.

There would be a board of directors to hear any complaints and the ACLU would fight for their rights and protection.

The guards would have a code of conduct to be strictly adhered to, with attorneys available, at no charge to protect the seniors and their families from abuse or neglect.

As for the criminals: They would receive cold food.

They would be left alone and unsupervised.

They would receive showers once a week.

They would live in tiny rooms, for which they would have to pay $5,000 per month.

They would have no hope of ever getting out.

"SOUNDS LIKE JUSTICE TO ME!"

2011-06-14T14:48:00.003-05:00

7 WORDS/SOUNDS that remind me of Keith…..

"ACAPPELLA"… he sang in a group named this when he attended Freed-Hardeman College in Henderson, Tennessee, also this was the manner in which the group sang. [Acappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound]

“DIP”…was his only cuss word!

I believe in the almost 22 years of our marriage that I can honestly say that I only heard him one time maybe twice say something other than “dip”, which I can’t say that about myself or most folks that I know or have known!

“FIREWORKS”…he was a fireworks wholesaler when we got married in January 1989…the boys and I helped him some at his Millbrook warehouse and watched numerous firework shows he put on for us privately!

“GNATVILLE”…a community located in Cherokee County, Alabama at latitude 33.995 and longitude -85.676 where Keith’s maternal grandparents grew up and lived their entire lives. He spent much time there as a small child. A place where his granddaddy and Uncle Arlen taught him how to drive a tractor, hunt and fish!

“PIEDMONT”… a “Mayberry”-his small hometown located in Calhoun County, Alabama, the northeast part of the state…a place me and my boys never visited until 1989 when I married Keith…instead of a Floyd, it had a “Mr. Curtis” who owned the corner barber shop where our 4 boys got their summer haircuts for several years! The Andy Griffith Show was one of his long-time old favorite television shows.

“WHIPPOORWILL”…he loved to hear this bird calling around our home at dusk during the spring and summer months…I’ve been hearing them every night for several weeks now as I sit out in my front porch rocker!

Overview -Whip-poor-will: Medium-sized nightjar with gray-brown-black mottled upper-parts and pale gray-black under-parts. Throat is black; eyebrows and neckband are white. Tail is long and rounded with large white corner patches. Brown legs and feet. Erratic moth-like flight, flies close to the ground at night.
Range and Habitat-Whip-poor-will: Breeds from Saskatchewan and Maritime Provinces south to Kansas, northern Louisiana, and northern Georgia, and in Arizona, New Mexico, and western Texas. Spends winters in Florida and along the Gulf Coast southward to Panama. Prefers open woodlands with well-spaced trees.

SONGS AND CALLS-"WHIP-poor- WEEA” www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXwoHqjO3lA

INTERESTING FACTS
• A group of whip-poor-wills are collectively known as an "invisibility" and a "seek" of whip-poor-wills.
• The record number of calls in a row by a single bird is 1,088, perhaps accounting for their species name, vociferous.
• The Whip-poor-will lays its eggs so they hatch about 10 days before a full moon. This allows the adults to forage the entire night, and so best provide the nestlings with insects.
• They fly around livestock at dusk to feed on insects swarming over the animals. It was once believed that they sucked milk from goats' udders and caused them to dry up; hence their family name, Caprimulgidae, from the Latin Capri and mulgus, meaning "goat-milker."
• Because of its nocturnal habits, the Whip-poor-will is infrequently seen. Its cryptic coloring keeps it hidden during the day, too. However, its loud calling at dusk makes it well known wherever it breeds.

“LAST BUT NOT LEAST”…..

“INTEGRITY”…his grave marker has the following engraved upon it:

J. Keith McAlister, Man of Integrity…

Keith left some very BIG shoes for his two sons to fill even though he only wore a size 9 shoe. I truly don’t believe they will ever understand what those 3 words actually mean that's written as their daddy's epithet but hopefully in time they will finally grow up and strive to acquire this quality like their daddy would have wanted them to do. Keith loved this word “integrity” and did maintain this quality the entire time I knew him...I know for a fact it's another goal he accomplished before he left this earth!

1. Integrity is the Possession of Firm Principles – the quality of possessing and steadfastly adhering to high moral principles or professional standards

2. Integrity is Completeness – the state of being complete or undivided

3. Integrity is Wholeness – the state of being sound or undamaged.

PHILLIPIANS 4:8

2011-06-08T07:46:00.000-05:00

...whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things.

Drue L. Rutherford Jr. Obituary: View Drue Rutherford's Obituary by Mobile Register

2011-06-03T10:09:00.000-05:00

Drue L. Rutherford Jr. Obituary: View Drue Rutherford's Obituary by Mobile Register

Crystal Shea Rutherford Paulk’s (my daughter-in-law) grandfather Drue L. Rutherford Jr.

RUTHERFORD, Drue L., Jr. - an 89 year-old native of Bolivar Co., MS, raised in Jackson, MS, and resident of Mobile for 50 years, passed away Wednesday, June 1, 2011. He retired from the City of Mobile after many years of service and also served as an engineer for local television station WALA and local radio station WUNI. Mr. Rutherford was a World War II veteran of the United States Army Air Corps during which he was stationed in Brazil as a staff sergeant with the 101st Army Airways Communication Systems Squadron. He was a longtime member of Orchard Baptist Church. He was preceded in death by his wife, Willetta Thompson Rutherford; parents, Drue L. Rutherford and Mary Wilson Rutherford; and sisters, Martha Jean Ellison and Sara Jane Hyatt. Mr. Rutherford is survived by his sons, Drue L. Rutherford, III (Lucretia) and James M. Rutherford (Marilyn); granddaughters, Crystal Rutherford Paulk (Bret) and Whitney E. Rutherford; step-grandsons, Dave Spurlock, Eddie Spurlock, and John Spurlock all of Mobile, and Lewis Dean Carlisle of Colorado Springs, CO; six great-grandchildren; other relatives and friends. Funeral services will be held from the chapel of Radney Funeral Home in Mobile on Saturday, June 4, 2011, at 10 a.m. The family will receive friends beginning at 9 a.m. Interment will be in Springhill Memorial Gardens. Condolences may be offered at www.radneyfuneralhome-mobile.com. Arrangements by:
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His Journey’s Just Begun

2011-05-25T13:16:00.000-05:00

Don’t think of him as gone away – his journey’s just begun, life holds so many facets – this earth is only one.

Just think of him as resting from the sorrows and the tears in a place of warmth and comfort where there are no days and years.

Think how he must be wishing that we could know today how nothing but our sadness can really pass away.

And think of him as living in the hearts of those he touched…for nothing loved is ever lost –and he (my Keith) was loved so much.

By: E. Brenneman

2011-05-17T15:42:00.000-05:00

Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Share with God's people who are in need.

Practice hospitality.

~Romans 12: 11-13

2011-05-13T15:07:00.000-05:00

"We keep in our hearts FOREVER

the memories of those

we have LOVED."

LIFE IS A JOURNEY

2011-05-12T07:54:00.000-05:00

Life is a journey
of sweetness and sorrow,
Of yesterday's memories
and hopes for tomorrow,
Of pathways we choose
and detours we face
With patience and humor,
courage and grace,
Of joys that we've shared
and of people we've met
Who have touched us in ways
we will never forget.

LONELINESS

2011-04-15T14:39:00.001-05:00

The most broadly accepted definition of loneliness is the distress that results from discrepancies between ideal and perceived social relationships. This so-called cognitive discrepancy perspective makes it clear that loneliness is not synonymous with being alone, nor does being with others guarantee protection from feelings of loneliness. Rather, loneliness is the distressing feeling that occurs when one’s social relationships are perceived as being less satisfying than what is desired. This entry describes how loneliness is conceived and measured; how loneliness is mentally represented; how loneliness influences thoughts, feelings, and behaviors; and consequences of loneliness for health and wellbeing.

Conceptualizations-Despite general agreement over its definition, loneliness is conceived in a number of ways. One theory of loneliness holds that deficiencies in specific provisions of social relationships contribute to specific types of lonely feelings. For instance, lack of engagement in a social network is associated with feelings of social loneliness such as aimlessness, boredom, and exclusion. On the other hand, absence of a reliable attachment figure (e.g., spouse) is associated with feelings of emotional loneliness such as anxiety, desolation, and insecurity. More recent studies have shown that these types of lonely feelings are not uniquely associated with certain relationships, however. Marriage, for example, serves a broad social integrative function that diminishes feelings of both social and emotional loneliness, especially for women. Another theory holds that loneliness arises from social skill deficits and personality traits that impair the formation and maintenance of social relationships. Social skills research has shown that loneliness is associated with more self-focus, poorer partner attention skills, a lack of self-disclosure to friends, especially among females, and less participation in organized groups, especially among males. Personality research has shown that loneliness is associated with shyness, neuroticism, and depressive symptoms, as well as low self-esteem, pessimism, low conscientiousness, and disagreeableness. Associations among these characteristics have sometimes led to conceptual confusion between loneliness and depressed affect, poor social support, introversion, and/or neuroticism. Research indicates, however, that loneliness, although related, is independent of these characteristics both conceptually and operationally (i.e., the measurement tools for each of these characteristics are relatively specific for the corresponding traits). Moreover, the effects of loneliness on physical health and physiology are generally not explained by the behavioral and personality characteristics with which loneliness is associated, indicating that loneliness may be a unique psychosocial risk factor whose effects are distinguishable from some combination of poor social support, depression, and personality traits. Loneliness is aversive, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. An evolutionary conceptualization of loneliness holds that the aversive feelings are adaptive because they motivate the repair or replacement of social connections. Human offspring are born to the longest period of utter dependency of any species. Simple reproduction, therefore, is not sufficient to ensure that one’s genes make it into the gene pool. For one’s genes to make it to the gene pool, these offspring must survive to reproduce. Social connections and the behaviors they engender (e.g., cooperation, altruism, alliances) enhance the survival of the parents and, consequently, their children are more likely to survive to reproduce.

In early human history, hunter-gatherers whose genetic predisposition encouraged social/family “togetherness” and the offering of food and protection to mother and child would have increased offspring survival odds, whereas hunter-gatherers who felt no compunction about ignoring social/family bonds would have reduced the survival odds of their offspring. The latter may have survived to have another family, however, suggesting that no single genetic predisposition is superior. The consequences of such an evolutionary scenario would be heritable individual differences in loneliness, and adoption and twin studies among children and adults support this view. Approximately 48% of the variability in loneliness levels can be explained by inherited tendencies to experience loneliness.

The genes underlying loneliness do not act alone. Interactions with the environment bring the expression of an individual’s genes to the fore. The genetic biases that account for people’s differing sensitivity to the social pain of isolation or rejection, and/or their differing propensity to extract social “nutrients” from the environment, help to determine whether a given social context will dampen or intensify a tendency to feel lonely.

Some social circumstances are fairly uniformly associated with an increased tendency toward loneliness. Marriage is associated with the lowest levels of loneliness; loneliness is greater among those who have experienced divorce and widowhood. Situational factors that influence the availability of social opportunities are also associated with loneliness (e.g., geographic relocation). Social relationship quality is a more potent predictor of loneliness than the existence or quantity of social contacts, however. Relationships that offer security, comfort, trust, and pleasure, even if interactions are relatively infrequent, are much more effective at preventing feelings of loneliness than are more friends or more frequent interactions that feel to meet these standards. Even in marriage, , the quality of the relationship determines the degree of protection against loneliness.

Measurement -Lonely feelings are typically measured using a variety of items that assess the degree to which respondents endorse thoughts and feelings characteristic of loneliness (e.g., “I feel alone,” “I lack companionship,” “I do not feel part of a group of friends”). The result is a continuum in which the intensity and/or frequency of lonely feelings can range from very low (i.e., equivalent to feelings of social connectedness) to very high. On average, lonely feelings are low to moderate in the general population with only a relatively small percentage of individuals experiencing intense lonely feelings at any given time. When asked simply whether or not they are currently feeling lonely, approximately twenty percent of the population will respond affirmatively.

Social cognition. Mental representations.- An axiom in the study of human relationships is that we are highly social animals.. A sense of social connectedness is as vital to our survival as food and drink, yet is so taken for granted that only the absence of that sense has been assigned a unique term. This suggests that “not lonely” is the normal or default state required to maintain a healthy and balanced life and that loneliness is the problematic state. Indeed, people’s mental representations of their sociality conform to the importance of social bonds at every level of human endeavor. Studies of loneliness have shown that mental representations of our connections with others are characterized by individual, relational, and collective dimensions. These dimensions correspond to individual, relational, and collective selves posited by theories of the self. At the individual level, feelings of isolation and low self-worth are precluded when people feel comfortable with themselves and their fit in a social world. At the relational level, feelings of interpersonal connectedness are fostered in close dyadic relationships. At the collective level, feelings of group identification and cohesion satisfy a need for belonging. This three dimensional representation of loneliness holds in young adults and across gender and racial/ethnic lines in middle age adults, suggesting a universality to this representational structure of the social self.

Mental processes and behaviors.-Loneliness can be experienced acutely, as a temporary state that resolves when life circumstances resolve (e.g., new friends are made in a new community), and chronically, as a trait-like characteristic that results from an interaction between life circumstances and a genetic bias to experience feelings of isolation. Once loneliness is triggered, it generates a defensive form of thinking—a “lonely” social cognition—that can make every social molehill look like a mountain. Lonely people tend to be more anxious, pessimistic, and fearful of negative evaluation than people who feel good about their social lives, and are therefore more likely to act and relate to others in ways that are anxious, negative, and self-protective, which leads paradoxically to self-defeating behaviors. For instance, lonely and non-lonely individuals were equally likely to cooperate with a stranger at the outset and during the early trials of a prisoner’s dilemma game in which the stranger was playing a tit-for-tat strategy (i.e., cooperation met with cooperation, betrayal with betrayal). This strategy resulted in an increase in cooperation across trials among non-lonely subjects but not among lonely subjects. Similarly, self-reports showed that, relative to non-lonely individuals, lonely individuals were less trusting of others and believed that they were less trusted by others. In essence, lonely individuals exercised self-protective behaviors that prevented them from enjoying the positive, cooperative interactions that were theirs to be had. Not only do the lonely contribute to their own negative reality, but others begin to view them more negatively and begin to act accordingly.

One study showed that individuals told that an opposite gender partner they were about to meet was lonely, subsequently rated that partner as being less sociable. The individuals primed to have these expectations also behaved toward their partners in a less sociable manner than they did toward partners whom they expected to be non-lonely. Once this negative feedback loop starts rolling, the cycle of defensive behavior and negative social results spins even further downhill. The lonely not only react more intensely to everyday hassles (e.g., misplacing or losing things), they experience less of an uplift from everyday perks (e.g., meeting one’s responsibilities) than the non-lonely. In essence, lonely individuals inhabit an inhospitable social orbit that repels others or elicits their negative responses. Even when they succeed in eliciting nurturing support from a friend or loved one, they tend to perceive the exchange as less than fulfilling. Social rejection is a potent cause of loneliness, and the lonely tend to have a heightened sensitivity to cues of social rejection and acceptance in their environment.. For instance, after being presented with autobiographical information (i.e., ostensible diary entries) about a number of individuals, lonely participants remembered a greater proportion of information related to interpersonal or collective social ties than did non-lonely participants. It made no difference whether the detail was emotionally positive or negative. In another study, participants asked to “relive” a rejection experience, a procedure that increases feelings of loneliness, showed greater attention to emotional vocal tone (i.e., a cue for social rejection or acceptance) in a subsequent task than did participants asked to relive more neutral experiences. Greater attention to social cues does not ensure greater social skills, however. Lonely individuals are less accurate than non-lonely people at decoding facial and postural expressions of emotion, for instance. A lack of correspondence between attention and accuracy in responses to social cues has also been demonstrated in a brain imaging study of lonely and non-lonely young adults. When presented with equally arousing positive and negative pictures of scenes and objects (nonsocial stimuli) and people (social stimuli), activation in a set of brain regions often associated with visual attention and perspective taking varied in response to negative social (in contrast to matched nonsocial) pictures. Relative to the non-lonely, lonely individuals showed greater visual cortical activation (consistent with greater attention to the negative social than nonsocial pictures) and less activation of the temporo-parietal junction (consistent with less attention devoted to the other person’s perspective). Another set of brain regions, associated with reward systems (i.e., ventral striatum), was found to be down-regulated in lonely, compared to non-lonely, individuals when viewing positive social (in contrast to matched nonsocial) pictures – results consistent with the idea that lonely individuals derive less pleasure than non-lonely individuals from viewing positive social circumstances. This latter result may bear on the finding that lonely individuals find positive social interactions during the course of a normal day less satisfying than non-lonely individuals.

So although people may become lonely because of a genetic disposition coupled with an unfortunate situation, they remain lonely because of the manner in which they and others think. One might expect that a lonely person, hungry to fulfill unmet social needs, would be very accepting of a new acquaintance. However, when confronted with an opportunity to form a social connection, studies show that the lonely are actually far less accepting of potential new friends than are the non-lonely. Similarly, in other studies, lonely students were less responsive to their classmates during class discussions, and provided less appropriate and less effective feedback than non-lonely students. Lonely undergraduates also held more negative perceptions of their roommates than did the non-lonely, and this perceptual divide widened as one moved from roommates to suitemates to floor mates to dorm mates.

Time also plays a role in constructing negative “realities.” Researchers asked participants to interact with a friend, and to rate the quality of the relationship and the communication immediately, after watching a videotape of the same social exchange, a few weeks later after being reminded of the interaction, and after again watching the videotape. At all four measurement points, lonely individuals rated relationship quality more negatively than did non-lonely individuals. Interestingly, the further in time they were removed from the social exchange, the more negatively they rated it. Thus, the more time that passed, the more the objective reality succumbed to the “reality” constructed by the lonely individual’s negative social cognition.

The loneliness continuum revisited - When loneliness is considered on a continuum that ranges from not at all to very, it is easy to assume that social cognitive and behavioral characteristics differ in degree commensurate with the degree of loneliness. However, individuals who experience few or no feelings of loneliness are characterized by a unique and adaptive profile that is not simply the opposite of the profile of highly lonely individuals. This was evident in a study of three groups of young adults selected from a sample of more than 2,500 undergraduate students to represent loneliness scores in the bottom 20% (low loneliness), middle 20% (average loneliness), and top 20% (high loneliness). Individuals low in loneliness differed from individuals average or high in loneliness on four of five personality dimensions (more outgoing, agreeable, conscientious, and non-neurotic), and scored higher in optimism, positive mood, social skills, self-esteem, and social support, and lower in anger, anxiety, shyness, fear of negative evaluation, and negativity. However, individuals average or high in loneliness were indistinguishable on these scales. These results do not mean that those who are low in loneliness possess characteristics that render them immune to ever feeling lonely. Rather, when individuals feel socially connected, they express a constellation of states and dispositions that enriches their lives not only quantitatively but also qualitatively relative to individuals who are average or high in loneliness. That is, there seems to be something special about being and feeling socially connected. This interpretation is supported by data from a hypnosis study in which young adults were made to feel lonely and then socially connected (or vice versa, in a counterbalanced order) by recalling a time when they felt rejected and like they didn’t belong, or accepted and like they belonged.

Measures of affect, social factors, and even personality traits mirrored and tracked the acute changes in loneliness induced by the hypnotic manipulation. Participants induced to feel socially connected, compared to lonely, reported significantly less negative mood, higher self-esteem and optimism, better social skills, social support, and sociability, greater extraversion and agreeableness, and less shyness, anxiety, anger, fear of negative evaluation, and neuroticism. This experimental study suggests that loneliness has features of a central trait—central in the sense that it influences how individuals construe themselves and others, and by extension, how others view and act toward these individuals. Thus, although objective social circumstances (e.g., bereavement, ostracism) can modify feelings of loneliness, subjective social factors operate to keep people in a lonely or socially connected state of being. Whereas lonely individuals think about and behave toward others in a way that tends to reinforce a isolated existence, socially connected individuals hold a more favorable view of others that in turn tends to reinforce their being perceived and treated positively.

Health consequences-As this profile reveals, when loneliness takes over someone’s life, they become trapped in a feedback loop of negative expectations, interpretations, and interactions. The challenge is reframing and redirecting social perceptions so that a sense of meaningful social connectedness can be established or recovered. Fortunately, the same feedback loop that allows individuals to construct a negative, subjective reality can be redirected to construct a better objective reality. This could be particularly important given the health consequences of loneliness. Loneliness has been associated with alterations in the functioning of the cardiovascular, endocrine, and immune systems. A recent theoretical model of the correlates and consequences of loneliness posits that age-related declines in physiological resilience are accelerated by chronic loneliness. Accordingly, in younger adults, loneliness has been associated with early markers of disease processes (e.g., subtle alterations in blood pressure control mechanisms), whereas in older adults, loneliness has been associated with frank disease (e.g., elevated blood pressure) and dysregulation across multiple physiological systems (e.g., impaired immune functioning and elevated levels of stress hormones). Clearly, the costs of loneliness are too great to ignore.

Louise C. Hawkley & John T. Cacioppo

Center for Cognitive & Social Neuroscience & the Department of Psychology

University of Chicago

See Also: Attachment theory, Need for belonging, Self-monitoring and relationships, Social isolation, Trust,

Further Readings

Boomsma, D. I., Willemsen, G., Dolan, C. V., Hawkley, L. C., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2005).

Genetic and environmental contributions to loneliness in adults: The Netherlands Twin

Register Study. Behavior Genetics, 35, 745-752.

Brewer, M.B., & Gardner, W. (1996). Who is this ‘‘we’’? Levels of collective identity and self

representations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 83–93.

Cacioppo, J. T., Hawkley, L. C., Ernst, J. M., Burleson, M. H., Berntson, G. G., Nouriani, B., &

Spiegel, D. (2006). Loneliness within a nomological net: An evolutionary perspective.

Journal of Research in Personality, 40, 1054-1085.

Dykstra, P. A., & Fokkema, T. (2007). Social and emotional loneliness among divorced and

married men and women: Comparing the deficit and cognitive perspectives. Basic and

Applied Social Psychology, 29, 1-12.

Epley, N., Waytz, A., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2007). On seeing human: A three-factor theory of

anthropomorphism. Psychological Bulletin, 114, 864-886.

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Moving DAY for the McAlisters...& Getting on with our Lives

2011-02-14T10:29:00.007-06:00

The moving van pulled into my driveway around 6:00 a.m. this morning to load up all of my in-laws belongings and they’ll be heading towards Northport, Alabama about noon today arriving at their new patio home that is located about 2 miles from their daughter/my sister-in-law by mid-afternoon.

I know it’s going to be an adjustment for all of us including my chocolate Lab Ginger but I know in my heart that it is what is best for the McAlisters, Kayron and me. They’ll do much better being closer to Kayron and her family.

The weather was so beautiful this weekend. I'm excited about it being the same the remainder of the week. I didn’t get to enjoy it on Saturday due to spending 6 hours at Reinhardt Toyota Motors having Keith’s 2000 Tundra truck serviced. For sentimental reasons, I want to keep his truck and with it only having 164,000 + miles on it I figure it will last another 164,000 + as long as I keep it serviced, which just didn’t get done the last 3 years. You can always use a truck when you’re trying to maintain 20 acres of land.

I attended worship service at Vaughn Park yesterday morning and ate lunch out with my brothers Mark, Milton and my sister-in-law Linda Slauson. All afternoon, Ginger and I stayed outside enjoying the spring-like gorgeous weather. I raked up the leaves out of Ginger’s large dog pen burning them and cleaned her dog house since I know she’ll be spending more time outside now since her grandmother and granddaddy have moved away to their new Northport home.

My next project is renovating the first floor of my home where the McAlisters lived for 4 years and 3 months, which will take awhile to do. But I love to decorate so I know I’m going to enjoy doing this. I want to turn this floor into a warm place for my family and friends to stay when they come to visit me. Keith and I built our home so we could entertain, which we did but with his illness the last 3 years we weren’t able to do as much as we hoped to do. He loved to have folks come up to visit our place. So my hope and intentions are to carry out our dreams. I just wish my Keith were still here to share in helping me make them come true! Happy Valentine's Day.

Love, Cheryl

"KEITH HAS BEEN GONE TWO MONTHS TODAY"

2011-02-04T10:38:00.003-06:00

It’s been 2 months since Keith’s death and I’ve missed him each and every waking moment of the last 60 days! I’ve had much to do to keep me busy during the daylight hours accomplishing many personal/business matters the last 30 days but when nighttime arrives especially so early this time of year that has been my worse time, when you’re totally by yourself. But I am so thankful for my “Ginger”, our chocolate Labrador who greets me each weekday afternoon as I arrive home from work. She’s adjusting too like all of us but I can say that she has been such good company to me even though she can’t talk I understand her and she understands me. She is so bright and with her keen sense of awareness of everything surrounding her and me she knows exactly when I’m upset and does an excellent job in her own way to try to comfort me. She makes me smile!

I remember back in September of 1985 when my mom died after her 4 year battle with colon cancer how my dad would tell me and my four brothers (Milton, Gary, Mark & Tim Slauson) how when nightfall came and all of your family who checks on you during the day is home with their own families after the sun goes down and you’re all by yourself in a big house it’s "TOUGH"! Now I know first-hand how he must have felt. Since then Daddy lost two more wives-Eleanor Jamieson Slauson died of cancer in March 1999; Helen Gilliland Slauson died of dementia in Feb 2010- both long-term illnesses.

Last weekend all of my boys came home for a visit, which I always love. Justin and Jared drove down from the Nashville arriving Friday night and Bret/Crystal left Mobile early Saturday arriving shortly after Jason who came up from Montgomery. For lunch we all ate a bowl of the White Chili (Chicken) that I put in the Crockpot early morning to cook. That’s one of their favorites to eat. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect with sunny/clear skies and 70 degree temperature it was gorgeous so we spent much of our time together outdoors. My black Lab grand pups, Huck and Miller who are Bret/Crystal and Jason’s baby dogs have doubled in size since I saw them last New Year’s Eve Day both now weighing over 16 pounds.

I’ve had several longtime girl friends and family members who have called me the last 30 days arranging lunch dates and dinners together, which I’ve enjoyed and appreciate so much. My church small group started back meeting at my house last Sunday and a couple of Keith’s colleagues drove up from Biloxi spending the night staying over Monday in Montgomery meeting with several of Keith’s clients for annual reviews at our office building.

My in-laws have made the decision to move out of our basement floor to Northport, Alabama so they can be closer to their daughter, my sister-in-law. They’ve already purchased a patio home about 2 miles from Kayron’s home. I knew that this would happen in time but a little bit sooner than I expected. I know it will be best for them and Kayron so she can see about their needs as they age. There is really nothing holding them in the Prattville area now that Keith is not here. I know they’ll miss living on our 20 beautiful wooded acres. Martha told me the other night as we talked about how when she and Damon moved here the day after Thanksgiving 2006 that they thought they had died and gone to heaven since they were raised in a rural area of Piedmont. They both have been so much help to Keith and I especially the last 4 years and three months and I appreciate everything that they’ve done for us. Ginger and I will miss them both but this is what Keith predicted and wanted for them upon his death. I do feel for them having to make such a life change at their ages while still grieving about the loss of their only son but know it will be best that they live closer to Kayron and her family. I’m sure in time they’ll learn to adjust and will be just fine. Kayron still has a 14 year old Mattie who is very active in playing soccer and basketball, so now they’ll be able to watch her play her sports the next several years, which will keep them busy. Also, Martha’s nephew Tim Davis and his family have recently moved from Albertville to the Northport area so they’ll be able to have contact with them. Tim and Keith grew up together and were like brothers, so Tim is like another son to the McAlister’s. Kayron is even looking forward to getting to know Tim better since as children she was 10 years younger than he and Keith. Tim is a very funny guy with his dry-sense of humor I can already seeing Martha laughing a lot whenever she gets to be around him!

Trying to just take one day at a time….even though I’m finding it’s easier to say it or tell others to do it than actually do it MYself!

Love, Cheryl

IF I HAD MY LIVE TO LIVE OVER - by Erma Bombeck

2010-02-17T08:24:00.000-06:00

(written after she found out she was dying from cancer)....sent to me from my friend Sandi...

I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day.

I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.

I would have talked less and listened more.

I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained, or the sofa faded.

I would have eaten the popcorn in the 'good' living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.

I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.

I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.

I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.
I would have sat on the lawn with my grass stains.

I would have cried and laughed less while watching television and more while watching life.

I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil, or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.

Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.

When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, 'Later. Now go get washed up for dinner.' There would have been more 'I love you's. More 'I'm sorry's.'

But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute ... look at it and really see it ... live it and never give it back. STOP SWEATING THE SMALL STUFF!!!

Don't worry about who doesn't like you, who has more, or who's doing what

Instead, let's cherish the relationships we have with those who do love us.

GOD'S CAKE

2010-01-26T13:25:00.000-06:00

I received this from my friend Dawn today and wanted to share it with you.

GOD'S CAKE

This is about the best thing I've ever read as an explanation. We all wonder many, many times over WHY?

Sometimes we wonder, "What did I do to deserve this?" or "Why did this happen to me?" Here is a wonderful explanation!

A daughter is telling her mother how everything is going wrong; she's failing algebra, her boyfriend broke up with her; and her best friend is moving away.

Meanwhile, her mother is baking a cake and asks her daughter if she would like a snack, and the daughter says, "Absolutely, Mom, I love your cake."

"Here, have some cooking oil," her mother offers.

"Yuck!" says her daughter.

"How about a couple raw eggs?"

"Gross, Mom!"

"Would you like some flour then? Or maybe baking soda?"

"Mom, those are all yucky!"

To which the mother replies: "Yes, all those things seem bad all by themselves. But when they are put together in the right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake!"

God works the same way. Many times we wonder why He would let us go through such bad and difficult times. But God knows that when He puts these things all in His order, they always work for good! We just have to trust Him and, eventually, they will all make something wonderful!

God is crazy about you. He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning. Whenever you want to talk, He'll listen. He can live anywhere in the universe, and He chose your heart.

THE AMAZING CUCUMBER

2010-01-04T14:17:00.000-06:00

(This information was in The New York Times several weeks ago as part of their "Spotlight on the Home" series that highlighted creative and fanciful ways to solve common problems.

1. Cucumbers contain most of the vitamins you need every day, just one cucumber contains Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B 3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Zinc.

2. Feeling tired in the afternoon, put down the caffeinated soda and pick up a cucumber. Cucumbers are a good source of B Vitamins and Carbohydrates that can provide that quick pick-me-up that can last for hours.

3. Tired of your bathroom mirror fogging up after a shower? Try rubbing a cucumber slice along the mirror, it will eliminate the fog and provide a soothing, spa-like fragrance.

4. Are grubs and slugs ruining your planting beds? Place a few slices in a small pie tin and your garden will be free of pests all season long. The chemicals in the cucumber react with the aluminum to give off a scent undetectable to humans but drive garden pests crazy and make them flee the area.

5. Looking for a fast and easy way to remove cellulite before going out or to the pool? Try rubbing a slice or two of cucumbers along your problem area for a few minutes, the phytochemicals in the cucumber cause the collagen in your skin to tighten, firming up the outer layer and reducing the visibility of cellulite. Works great on wrinkles too!!!

6. Want to avoid a hangover or terrible headache? Eat a few cucumber slices before going to bed and wake up refreshed and headache free. Cucumbers contain enough sugar, B vitamins and electrolytes to replenish essential nutrients the body lost, keeping everything in equilibrium, avoiding both a hangover and headache!! 7. Looking to fight off that afternoon or evening snacking binge? Cucumbers have been used for centuries and often used by European trappers, traders and explores for quick meals to thwart off starvation.

8. Have an important meeting or job interview and you realize that you don't have enough time to polish your shoes? Rub a freshly cut cucumber over the shoe, its chemicals will provide a quick and durable shine that not only looks great but also repels water.

9. Out of WD 40 and need to fix a squeaky hinge? Take a cucumber slice and rub it along the problematic hinge, and voila, the squeak is gone!

10. Stressed out and don't have time for a massage, facial or visit to the spa? Cut up an entire cucumber and place it in a boiling pot of water, the chemicals and nutrients from the cucumber with react with the boiling water and be released in the steam, creating a soothing, relaxing aroma that has been shown to reduce stress in new mothers and college students during final exams.

11. Just finish a business lunch and realize you don't have gum or mints? Take a slice of cucumber and press it to the roof of your mouth with your tongue for 30 seconds to eliminate bad breath, the phytochemcials will kill the bacteria in your mouth responsible for causing bad breath.

12. Looking for a 'green' way to clean your faucets, sinks or stainless steel? Take a slice of cucumber and rub it on the surface you want to clean, not only will it remove years of tarnish and bring back the shine, but it won't leave streaks and won't harm you fingers or fingernails while you clean.

13. Using a pen and made a mistake? Take the outside of the cucumber and slowly use it to erase the pen writing, also works great on crayons and markers that the kids have used to decorate the walls!!

Warning regarding BEST BUY'S Return Policy

2009-12-22T14:31:00.000-06:00

I received the following email from my friend Darlyne Rolph regarding her unpleasant experience on trying to return merchandise to BEST BUY......

From: "darlyne@ronnierolph.com" darlyne@ronnierolph.com
Sent: Tue, December 22, 2009 1:01:11 PM
Subject: Best Buy return policy

WARNING TO ALL---I DIDN'T KNOW THIS BUT I DO NOW

Wow - with Christmas coming up, you'll want to be sure you you know the return policies. The link at the end is true -crazy!

BEST BUY, MY FOOT

Best Buy has some bad policies....

Normally, I would not share this with others, however, since this could happen to you or your friends , I decided to share it. If you purchase something from, Wal-Mart, Sears etc. and you return the item with the receipt they will give you your money back if you paid cash, or credit your account if paid by plastic.

Well, I purchased a GPS for my car, a Tom Tom XL.S from 'Best Buy'. They have a policy that it must be returned within 14 days for a refund!

So after 4 days I returned it in the original box with all the items in the box, with paper work and cords all wrapped in the plastic. Just as I received it, including the receipt.
I explained to the lady at the return desk I did not like the way it could not find store names. The lady at the refund desk said, there is a 15% restock fee, for items returned. I said no one told me that. I said how much would that be. She said it goes by the price of the item. It will be $45.00 Dollars for you. I said, all your going to do is walk over and place it back on the shelf then charge me $45.00 of my money for restocking? She said that's the store policy. I said if more people were aware of it they would not buy anything here! If I bought a $2000.00 computer or TV and returned it I would be charged $300.00 dollars restock fee? She said yes, 15%.

I said OK, just give me my money minus the restock fee.

She said, since the item is o ver $200.00 dollars, she can't give me my money back!!!

Corporate has to and they will mail you a check in 7 to ten days.!! I said 'WHAT?!'

It's my money!! I paid in cash! I want to buy a different brand..Now I have to wait 7 to 10 days. She said well, our policy is on the back of your receipt.

I said, do you read the front or back of your receipt? She said well, the front! I said so do I, I want to talk to the Manager!

So the manager comes over, I explained everything to him, and he said, well, sir they should of told you about the policy when you got the item. I said, No one, has ever told me about the check refund or restock fee, whenever I bought items from computers to TVs from Best Buy. The only thing they ever discussed was the worthless extended warranty program. He said Well, I can give you corporate phone number.

I called corporate. The guy said, well, I'm not supposed to do this but I can give you a 45.00 dollar gift card and you can use it at Best Buy. I told him if I bought something and returned it, you would charge me a restock fee on the item and then send me a check for the remaining 3 dollars. You can keep your gift card, I'm never shopping in Best Buy ever again, and if I would of been smart, I would of charged the whole thing on my credit card! Then I would of canceled the transaction.

I would of gotten all my money back including your stupid fees! He didn't say a word!

I informed him that I was going to e-mail my friends and give them a heads up on this stores policy, as they don't tell you about all the little caveats.

So please pass this on. It may save your friends from having a bad experience of shopping at Best Buy.

It's true! read it for yourself!!

Best Buys return policy

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?type=page&contentId=1117177044087&id=cat12098

LETTER FROM JESUS ABOUT CHRISTMAS....

2009-12-21T07:14:00.000-06:00

I received the following as an email from a former co-worker, thought it was very good and wanted to share it with you.

It has come to my attention that many of you are upset that folks are taking My name out of the season.

How I personally feel about this celebration can probably be most easily understood by those of you who have been blessed with children of your own. I don't care what you call the day. If you want to celebrate My birth, just GET ALONG AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

Now, having said that let Me go on. If it bothers you that the town in which you live doesn't allow a scene depicting My birth, then just get rid of a couple of Santas and snowmen and put in a small Nativity scene on your own front lawn If all My followers did that there wouldn't be any need for such a scene on the town square because there would be many of them all around town.

Stop worrying about the fact that people are calling the tree a holiday tree, instead of a Christmas tree. It was I who made all trees. You can remember Me anytime you see any tree. Decorate a grape vine if you wish: I actually spoke of that one in a teaching, explaining who I am in relation to you and what each of our tasks were. If you have forgotten that one, look up John 15: 1 - 8.

If you want to give Me a present in remembrance of My birth here is my wish list. Choose something from it:

1. Instead of writing protest letters objecting to the way My birthday is being celebrated, write letters of love and hope to soldiers away from home. They are terribly afraid and lonely this time of year. I know, they tell Me all the time.

2. Visit someone in a nursing home. You don't have to know them personally. They just need to know that someone cares about them.

3. Instead of writing the President complaining about the wording on the cards his staff sent out this year, why don't you write and tell him that you'll be praying for him and his family this year. Then follow up... It will be nice hearing from you again.

4. Instead of giving your children a lot of gifts you can't afford and they don't need, spend time with them. Tell them the story of My birth, and why I came to live with you down here. Hold them in your arms and remind them that I love them.

5 Pick someone that has hurt you in the past and forgive him or her.

6. Did you know that someone in your town will attempt to take their own life this season because they feel so alone and hopeless? Since you don't know who that person is, try giving everyone you meet a warm smile; it could make the difference.

7. Instead of nit picking about what the retailer in your town calls the holiday, be patient with the people who work there. Give them a warm smile and a kind word. Even if they aren't allowed to wish you a "Merry Christmas" that doesn't keep you from wishing them one. Then stop shopping there on Sunday. If the store didn't make so much money on that day they'd close and let their employees spend the day at home with their families

8. If you really want to make a difference, support a missionary-- especially one who takes My love and Good News to those who have never heard My name.

9. Here's a good one. There are individuals and whole families in your town who not only will have no "Christmas" tree, but neither will they have any presents to give or receive. If you don't know them, buy some food and a few gifts and give them to the Salvation Army or some other charity which believes in Me and they will make the delivery for you.

10. Finally, if you want to make a statement about your belief in and loyalty to Me, then behave like a Christian. Don't do things in secret that you wouldn't do in My presence. Let people know by your actions that you are one of mine.

Don't forget; I am God and can take care of Myself. Just love Me and do what I have told you to do. I'll take care of all the rest. Check out the list above and get to work; time is short. I'll help you, but the ball is now in your court. And do have a most blessed Christmas with all those whom you love and remember :

I LOVE YOU, JESUS

A POEM ABOUT OUR GIRLFRIENDS...Motto for 2010

2009-12-17T07:34:00.000-06:00

Someone will always be prettier.

Someone will always be smarter.

Some of their houses will be bigger..

Some will drive a better car.

Their children will do better in school.

And their husband will fix more things around the house.

So let it go, and love you and your circumstances.

Think about it!

The prettiest woman in the world can have hell in her heart.

The most highly favored woman on your job may be unable to have children.

The richest woman you know, she's got the car, the house, the clothes~ might be lonely.

And the Word says, 'If I have not Love, I am nothing.' So, again, love you.

Love who you are.

Look in the mirror in the morning and smile and say,

'I am too Blessed to be Stressed and too Anointed, to be Disappointed!'

'Winners make things happen~~ Losers let things happen.'

Be 'Blessed' Ladies and pass this on to encourage another woman.

'To the world you might be one person, to me you are special!

WHY DID JESUS FOLD THE NAPKIN?

2009-12-01T15:44:00.000-06:00

This was emailed to me this afternoon from my husband's assistant Florence Eddy. I hated to bear the bad news early this morning as I was dropping Keith off by his office that we found out from Keith's oncologist yesterday afternoon (11/30/2009) that his CANCER IS ACTIVE AGAIN!

Why did Jesus fold the linen burial cloth after His resurrection?

I never noticed this....

The Gospel of John (20:7) tells us that the napkin, which was placed over the face of Jesus, was not just thrown aside like the grave clothes.

The Bible takes an entire verse to tell us that the napkin was neatly folded, and was placed separate from the grave clothes.

Early Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance.

She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, 'They have taken the Lord's body out of the tomb, and I don't know where they have put him!'

Peter and the other disciple ran to the tomb to see. The other disciple outran Peter and got there first. He stooped and looked in and saw the linen cloth lying there, but he didn't go in.

Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus' head was folded up and lying to the side.

Was that important? Absolutely!

Is it really significant? Yes!

In order to understand the significance of the folded napkin, you have to understand a little bit about Hebrew tradition of that day. The folded napkin had to do with the Master and Servant, and every Jewish boy knew this tradition.

When the servant set the dinner table for the master, he made sure that it was exactly the way the master wanted it…

The table was furnished perfectly, and then the servant would wait, just out of sight, until the master had finished eating, and the servant would not dare touch that table, until the master was finished.

Now if the master were done eating, he would rise from the table, wipe his fingers, his mouth, and clean his beard, and would wad up that napkin and toss it onto the table.

The servant would then know to clear the table. For in those days, the wadded napkin meant, 'I'm done'.

But if the master got up from the table, and folded his napkin, and laid it beside his plate, the servant would not dare touch the table, because..........

The folded napkin meant, 'I'm coming back!' He is Coming Back

FRIENDS...

2009-11-25T11:37:00.000-06:00

You all have probably read this before but it is a good story!!

One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school. His name was Kyle. It looked like he was carrying all of his books. I thought to myself, 'Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday? He must really be a nerd.'

I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on. As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him. They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt. His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him. He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes. My heart went out to him.. So I jogged over to him as he crawled around looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye.

As I handed him his glasses, I said, 'Those guys are jerks.' They really should get lives.' He looked at me and said, 'Hey thanks!' There was a big smile on his face. It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.
I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived.

As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before. He said he had gone to private school before now. I would have never hung out with a private school kid before. We talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books. He turned out to be a pretty cool kid. I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends. He said yes...We hung out all weekend and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him, and my friends thought the same of him. Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again. I stopped him and said, 'Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!' 'He just laughed and handed me half the books.

Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends...When we were seniors we began to think about college. Kyle decided on Georgetown and I was going to Duke. I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem.

He was going to be a doctor and I was going for business on a football scholarship...Kyle was valedictorian of our class. I teased him all the time about being a nerd...He had to prepare a speech for graduation. I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak.

Graduation day, I saw Kyle. He looked great. He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school. He filled out and actually looked good in glasses. He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him. Boy, sometimes I was jealous! Today was one of those days. I could see that he was nervous about his speech. So, I smacked him on the back and said, 'Hey, big guy, you'll be great!' He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled. 'Thanks,' he said.

As he started his speech, he cleared his throat and began 'Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years. Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends...I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them. I am going to tell you a story.'

I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the first day we met. He had planned to kill himself over the weekend. He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home. He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile. 'Thankfully, I was saved. My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable.'

I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment.
I saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile.

Not until that moment did I realize its depth. Never underestimate the power of your actions...With one small gesture you can change a person's life. For better or for worse. God puts us all in each other’s lives to impact one another in some way. Look for God in others.

KEEP DRIVING...

2009-11-25T11:08:00.003-06:00

I received this "Great Story " from my cousin Kathy Bozeman.....I thought of you Cheryl when I received this from a dear friend going through a bad time in his life. I admire your strength. Just something to think about when the things of this world seem too hard for us to bear.

One day a young lady was driving along with her father.. They came upon a storm. The young lady asked her father what should she do, he said "keep driving".

Cars began to pull over to the side, the storm was getting worse.
What should I do the young lady asked, "keep driving" her father replied.

On up a few feet she noticed eighteen wheelers were pulling over also.
She told her dad, I must pull over I can barely see ahead.
It is terrible out here everyone is pulling over.
Her father told her not to give up just keep driving.

Now the storm was terrible but she never stopped driving and soon she could see a little clearer. After a couple of miles she was on dry land and the sun was out...
Her father said now pull over and get out. She said "but why now?"
He said "get out look back, at all the people that gave up and are still in the storm".

You never gave up and now your storm is over.

I thought this was a testimony for anyone of you that is going through something.

Just because everyone else, even the ones that appear to be the largest and strongest gives up, you don't have to.

If you keep going on, up ahead your storm will soon be over and the sun will shine upon your face again.

I hope this touched someone because it did me. Pass it on if you are led by the Holy Spirit to do. Tell them to never give up, because GOD will never give up on them.

"WHAT GOOD DOES READING THE BIBLE DO?"

2009-11-17T09:49:00.000-06:00

The story is told of an old man who lived on a farm in the mountains of eastern Kentucky with his young grandson. Each morning, Grandpa was up early sitting at the kitchen table reading from his old worn-out Bible. His grandson who wanted to be just like him tried to imitate him in any way he could.

One day the grandson asked, 'Papa, I try to read the Bible just like you but I don't understand it, and what I do understand I forget as soon as I close the book.. What good does reading the Bible do?' The Grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and said, 'Take this old wicker coal basket down to the river and bring back a basket of water.'

The boy did as he was told, even though all the water leaked out before he could get back to the house. The grandfather laughed and said, 'You will have to move a little faster next time,' and sent him back to the river with the basket to try again. This time the boy ran faster, but again the old wicker basket was empty before he returned home. out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was 'impossible to carry water in a basket,' and he went to get a bucket instead. The old man said, 'I don't want a bucket of water; I want a basket of water. You can do this. You're just not trying hard enough,' and he went out the door to watch the boy try again.

At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to show his grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water would leak out before he got far at all. The boy scooped the water and ran hard, but when he reached his grandfather the basket was again empty.

Out of breath, he said, 'See Papa, it's useless!'

'So you think it is useless?' The old man said, 'Look at the basket.'

The boy looked at the basket and for the first time he realized that the basket looked different. Instead of a dirty old wicker coal basket, it was clean.

'Son, that's what happens when you read the Bible. You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, it will change you from the inside out.'

Moral of the wicker basket story: Take time to read a portion of God's word each day; it will affect you for good even if you don't retain a word.

Thought for Today: Gods Love is like the ocean, you can see its beginnings but not its end.

I really like this story because I don't retain things too well anymore....old age may have something to do with it but I just figure my brain just gets overloaded! God isn't concerned about your brain anyway, He's more concerned about your heart.

FIRST LADY REQUIRES MORE THAN TWENTY ATTENDANTS

2009-11-16T15:48:00.001-06:00

By Dr. Paul L. Williams Monday, July 6, 2009 ...... By the staff of thelastcrusade.org

Update: First Lady Now Requires 26 Servants

“The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it” —Albert Einstein

“In my own life, in my own small way, I have tried to give back to this country that has given me so much,” she said. “See, that’s why I left a job at a big law firm for a career in public service, “ Michelle Obama

No, Michele Obama does not get paid to serve as the First Lady and she doesn’t perform any official duties. But this hasn’t deterred her from hiring an unprecedented number of staffers to cater to her every whim and to satisfy her every request in the midst of the Great Recession. Just think Mary Lincoln was taken to task for purchasing china for the White House during the Civil War. And Mamie Eisenhower had to shell out the salary for her personal secretary.

Total Personal Staff members for other first ladies paid by taxpayers:

Mamie Eisenhower : 1 paid for personally out of President's salary
Jackie Kennedy: 1
Roseline Carter: 1
Barbara Bush: 1
Hilary Clinton: 3
Laura Bush: 1
Michele Obama: 22

How things have changed! If you’re one of the tens of millions of Americans facing certain destitution, earning less than subsistence wages stocking the shelves at Wal-Mart or serving up McDonald cheeseburgers, prepare to scream and then come to realize that the benefit package for these servants of Miz Michele are the same as members of the national security and defense departments and the bill for these assorted lackeys is paid by John Q. Public:

1. $172,2000 - Sher, Susan (CHIEF OF STAFF)

2. $140,000 - Frye, Jocelyn C. (DEPUTY ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND DIRECTOR OF POLICY AND PROJECTS FOR THE FIRST LADY)

3. $113,000 - Rogers, Desiree G. (SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND WHITE HOUSE SOCIAL SECRETARY)

4. $102,000 - Johnston, Camille Y. (SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS FOR THE FIRST LADY)

5. Winter, Melissa E. (SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF TO THE FIRST LADY)

6. $90,000 - Medina, David S. (DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF TO THE FIRST LADY)

7. $84,000 - Lelyveld, Catherine M. (DIRECTOR AND PRESS SECRETARY TO THE FIRST LADY)

8. $75,000 - Starkey, Frances M. (DIRECTOR OF SCHEDULING AND ADVANCE FOR THE FIRST LADY)

9. $70,000 - Sanders, Trooper (DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF POLICY AND PROJECTS FOR THE FIRST LADY)

10. $65,000 - Burnough, Erinn J. (DEPUTY DIRECTOR AND DEPUTY SOCIAL SECRETARY)

11. Reinstein, Joseph B. (DEPUTY DIRECTOR AND DEPUTY SOCIAL SECRETARY)

12. $62,000 - Goodman, Jennifer R. (DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF SCHEDULING AND EVENTS COORDINATOR FOR THE FIRST LADY)

13. $60,000 - Fitts, Alan O. (DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF ADVANCE AND TRIP DIRECTOR FOR THE FIRST LADY)

14. Lewis, Dana M. (SPECIAL ASSISTANT AND PERSONAL AIDE TO THE FIRST LADY)

15. $52,500 - Mustaphi, Semonti M. (ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR AND DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY TO THE FIRST LADY)

16. $50,000 - Jarvis, Kristen E. (SPECIAL ASSISTANT FOR SCHEDULING AND TRAVELING AIDE TO THE FIRST LADY)

17. $45,000 - Lechtenberg, Tyler A. (ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE FIRST LADY)

18. Tubman, Samantha (DEPUTY ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR,SOCIAL OFFICE)

19. $40,000 - Boswell, Joseph J. (EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT TO THE CHIEF OF STAFF TO THE FIRST LADY)

20. $36,000 - Armbruster, Sally M. (STAFF ASSISTANT TO THE SOCIAL SECRETARY)

21. Bookey, Natalie (STAFF ASSISTANT)

22. Jackson, Deilia A. (DEPUTY ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE FIRST LADY)

Dr. Paul L. Williams Most recent columns

Paul L. Williams, Ph.D., is the author of such best-selling books as The Day of Islam, The Al Qaeda Connection, Osama’s Revenge: The Next 9/11, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Crusades and The Vatican Exposed. An award-winning journalist, he is a frequent guest on such national news networks as ABC News, CBS News, Fox News, MSNBC, and NPR. Williams operates from his blog thelastcrusade.org

DADDY'S POEM...saluating our Veterans this week!

2009-11-13T07:04:00.000-06:00

Daddy's Poem sent to my by my niece Lisa Slauson Hudson....wonderful poem...it made me cry!!!

Her hair was up in a pony tail,
Her favorite dress tied with a bow.
Today was Daddy's Day at school,
And she couldn't wait to go.

But her mommy tried to tell her,
That she probably should stay home.
Why the kids might not understand,
If she went to school alone.

But she was not afraid;
She knew just what to say.
What to tell her classmates
Of why he wasn't there today.

But still her mother worried,
For her to face this day alone.
And that was why once again,
She tried to keep her daughter home.

But the little girl went to school
Eager to tell them all.
About the dad she never sees
A dad who never calls.

There were daddies along the wall in back,
For everyone to meet.
Children squirming impatiently,
Anxious in their seats

One by one the teacher called
A student from the class.
To introduce their daddy,
As seconds slowly passed.
At last the teacher called her name,

Every child turned to stare.
Each of them was searching,
For a man who wasn't there.

"Where's her daddy at?"
She heard a boy call out
"She probably doesn't have one,"
Another student dared to shout.
And from somewhere near the back,

She heard a daddy say,
"Looks like another deadbeat dad,
Too busy to waste his day."
The words did not offend her,
As she smiled up at her Mom.

And looked back at her teacher,
Who told her to go on
And with hands behind her back,
Slowly she began to speak.
And out from the mouth of a child,
Came words incredibly unique.

"My Daddy couldn't be here,
Because he lives so far away.
But I know he wishes he could be,
Since this is such a special day.

And though you cannot meet him,
I wanted you to know.
All about my daddy,
And how much he loves me so .

He loved to tell me stories
He taught me to ride my bike.
He surprised me with pink roses,
And taught me to fly a kite.

We used to share fudge sundaes,
And ice cream in a cone.
And though you cannot see him.
I'm not standing here alone.

"'Cause my daddy's always with me,
Even though we are apart
I know because he told me,
He'll forever be in my heart"

With that, her little hand reached up,
And lay across her chest.
Feeling her own heartbeat,

And from somewhere here in the crowd of dads,
Her mother stood in tears.
Proudly watching her daughter,
Who was wise beyond her years...

For she stood up for the love
Of a man not in her life.
Doing what was best for her,
Doing what was right.

And when she dropped her hand back down,
Staring straight into the crowd.
She finished with a voice so soft,
But its message clear and loud.

"I love my daddy very much,
he's my shining star.
And if he could, he'd be here,
But heaven's, just too far.

You see he is a Marine
And died just this past year
When a roadside bomb hit his convoy
And taught Americans to fear.

But sometimes when I close my eyes,
it 's like he never went away."
And then she closed her eyes,
And saw him there that day.

And to her mothers amazement,
She witnessed with surprise.
A room full of daddies and children,
All starting to close their eyes.

Who knows what they saw before them,
Who knows what they felt inside.
Perhaps for merely a second,
They saw him at her side.

"I know you're with me Daddy,"
To the silence she called out.
And what happened next made believers,

Of those once filled with doubt.
Not one in that room could explain it,
For each of their eyes had been closed.
But there on the desk beside her,

Was a fragrant long-stemmed pink rose.
And a child was blessed, if only for a moment,
By the love of her shining star.
And given the gift of believing,
That heaven is never too far.

They say it takes a minute to find a special
Person, an hour to appreciate them,
A day to love them, but then an entire
Life to forget them.

Send this to the people you'll never forget and
remember to send it also to the person that sent
it to you. It's a short message to let them know
that you'll never forget them.

If you don't send it to anyone, it means you're
in a hurry and that you've forgotten your friends..
Take the time...to live and love.

Until eternity. God bless!

ONE FLAW IN WOMEN

2009-10-28T07:39:00.000-05:00

Women have strengths that amaze men...

They bear hardships and they carry burdens,
but they hold happiness, love and joy.

They smile when they want to scream.
They sing when they want to cry.

They cry when they are happy
and laugh when they are nervous.

They fight for what they believe in...
They stand up to injustice.

They don't take "no" for an answer
when they believe there is a better solution.

They go without so their family can have.
They go to the doctor with a frightened friend.
They love unconditionally.

They cry when their children excel
and cheer when their friends get awards.

They are happy when they hear about
a birth or a wedding.

Their hearts break when a friend dies.

They grieve at the loss of a family member,
yet they are strong when they
think there is no strength left.

They know that a hug and a kiss
can heal a broken heart.

Women come in all shapes, sizes and colors.

They'll drive, fly, walk, run or e-mail you
to show how much they care about you.

The heart of a woman is what
makes the world keep turning.

They bring joy, hope and love.
They have compassion and ideas.

They give moral support to their
family and friends.

Women have vital things to say
and everything to give.

HOWEVER, IF THERE IS ONE FLAW IN WOMEN,

IT IS THAT THEY FORGET THEIR WORTH.

Please pass this along to all your women friends and relatives to remind them just how amazing they are.

92 Year Old Preacher

2009-10-19T07:53:00.000-05:00

While watching a little TV on Sunday instead of going to church, I watched a church in Atlanta honoring one of its senior pastors who had been retired many years. He was 92 at that time and I wondered why the church even bothered to ask the old gentleman to preach at that age.

After a warm welcome, introduction of this speaker, and as the applause quieted down, he rose from his high back chair and walked slowly, with great effort and a sliding gait to the podium. Without a note or written paper of any kind he placed both hands on the pulpit to steady himself and then quietly and slowly he began to speak....

"When I was asked to come here today and talk to you, your pastor asked me to tell you what was the greatest lesson ever learned in my 50-odd years of preaching. I thought about it for a few days and boiled it down to just one thing that made the most difference in my life and sustained me through all my trials.. The one thing that I could always rely on when tears and heartbreak and pain and fear and sorrow paralyzed me... The only thing that would comfort was this verse...... ......

"Jesus loves me this I know.

For the Bible tells me so.

Little ones to Him belong,

We are weak but He is strong.....

Yes, Jesus loves me....

The Bible tells me so."

When he finished, the church was quiet. You actually could hear his foot steps as he shuffled back to his chair. I don't believe I will ever forget it.

A pastor once stated, "I always noticed that it was the adults who chose the children's hymn 'Jesus Loves Me' (for the children of course) during a hymn sing, and it was the adults who sang the loudest because I could see they knew it the best."

Here is a new version just for us who have white hair or no hair at all.. For us over middle age (or even those almost there) and all you others, check out this newest version of Jesus Loves Me.

Senior version of "JESUS LOVES ME"

Jesus loves me, this I know,

Though my hair is white as snow

Though my sight is growing dim,

Still He bids me trust in Him.

(CHORUS)

YES, JESUS LOVES ME.. YES, JESUS LOVES ME..

YES, JESUS LOVES ME, FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO.

Though my steps are oh, so slow,

With my hand in His I'll go

On through life, let come what may,

He'll be there to lead the way.

(CHORUS)

When the nights are dark and long,

In my heart He puts a song..

Telling me in words so clear,

"Have no fear, for I am near."

(CHORUS)

When my work on earth is done,

And life's victories have been won.

He will take me home above,

Then I'll understand His love.

(CHORUS)

I love Jesus, does He know?

Have I ever told Him so?

Jesus loves to hear me say,

That I love Him every day.

(CHORUS)

If you think this is neat, please pass it on to your friends. If you do not pass it on, nothing bad will happen, but you will have missed an opportunity to "reach out and touch" a friend or a loved one.

God Bless Us All!!! So I had to pass it on as willingly!

"Little is much when God is in it."

45 Lessons Life Taught Me by 90 Year Old Regina Brett

2009-10-19T07:31:00.000-05:00

This is something we should all read at least once a week!
Written By: Regina Brett , 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio
"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written."

My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, and wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, and then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you..
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now..
36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come.
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

Its estimated 93% won't forward this. If you are one of the 7% who will, forward this with the title '7%'.
I'm in the 7%.
Friends are the family that we choose for ourselves.

National Girlfriends' Day

2009-10-14T09:37:00.000-05:00

Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the floor each morning the devil says~~ "Oh shucks, She's up!"
Sister
Life is too short to wake up with regrets.
So love the people who treat you right.
Love the ones who don't just because you can.
Believe everything happens for a reason.
If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands.
If it changes your life, let it.

Kiss slowly.
Forgive quickly.
God never said life would be easy.
He just promised it would be worth it.

Girlfriend and Sister's Week

I am only as strong as the chocolate I eat,
the hair spray I use and
the friends I have.
To the cool women that have
touched my life.. Here's to you!

National Girlfriends Day

What would most of us do without our sisters, confidants and shopping, lunching, and traveling girls?
Let's celebrate each other for each other's sake!
TO MY GIRLFRIENDS!

"I WISH YOU ENOUGH"

2009-10-13T10:56:00.000-05:00

Recently I overheard a Father and daughter in their last moments together at the airport. They had announced the departure.

Standing near the security gate, they hugged and the Father said, 'I love you, and I wish you enough.'

The daughter replied, 'Dad, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Dad..'

They kissed and the daughter left. The Father walked over to the window where I was seated. Standing there I could see he wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to intrude on his privacy, but he welcomed me in by asking, 'Did you ever say goodbye to someone knowing it would be forever?'

'Yes, I have,' I replied. 'Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever goodbye?'.

'I am old, and she lives so far away. I have challenges ahead and the reality is - the next trip back will be for my funeral,' he said.

'When you were saying goodbye, I heard you say, 'I wish you enough.' May I ask what that means?'

He began to smile. 'That's a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone..' He paused a moment and looked up as if trying to remember it in detail, and he smiled even more. 'When we said, 'I wish you enough,' we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them.' Then turning toward me, he shared the following as if he were reciting it from memory.

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.

I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.

I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.

I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.

I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.

I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final goodbye.

He then began to cry and walked away.

They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them; but then an entire life to forget them.

* Only if you wish send this to the people you will never forget. If you don't send it to anyone it may mean that you are in such a hurry that you have forgotten your friends.

TAKE TIME TO LIVE....

To all my friends and loved ones, I WISH YOU ENOUGH.

How to LOCK Your CAR and WHY...

2009-10-09T10:11:00.000-05:00

This following information was emailed to me by my cousin, Kathy Bozeman and thought it was important to share.....

I locked my car. As I walked away, I heard my car door unlock. I went back and locked my car again three times. Each time, as soon as I started to walk away, I would hear it unlock again!!

Naturally alarmed, I looked around and there were two guys sitting in a car in the fire lane next to the store. They were obviously watching me intently, and there was no doubt they were somehow involved in this very weird situation. I quickly chucked the errand I was on, jumped in my car and sped away. I went straight to the police station, told them what had happened, and found out I was part of a new, and very successful, scheme being used to gain entry into cars.

Two weeks later, my friend's son had a similar happening. While traveling, my friend's son stopped at a roadside rest to use the bathroom. When he came out to his car less than 4-5 minutes later, someone had gotten into his car and stolen his cell phone, laptop computer, GPS navigator, briefcase.....you name it. He called the police and since there were no signs of his car being broken into, the police told him he had been a victim of the latest robbery tactic. There is a device that robbers are using now to clone your security code when you lock your doors on your car using your key-chain locking device.

They sit a distance away and watch for their next victim. They know you are going inside of the store, restaurant, or bathroom and that they now have a few minutes to steal and run. The police officer said to manually lock your car door - by hitting the lock button inside the car. That way if there is someone sitting in a parking lot watching for their next victim, it will not be you.

When you hit the lock button on your car upon exiting, it does not send the security code, but if you walk away and use the door lock on your key chain, it sends the code through the airwaves where it can be instantly stolen.

This is very real.

Be wisely aware of what you just read and please pass this note on. Look how many times we all lock our doors with our remote just to be sure we remembered to lock them -- and bingo, someone has our code...and whatever was in our car.

Snopes Approved --.Please share with everyone you know!!

'What is it like to be a Christian?...It's like being a Pumpkin.'

2009-10-05T07:21:00.005-05:00

From one pumpkin to another!!!!!!!

A woman was asked by a coworker, 'What is it like to be a Christian?'

The coworker replied, 'It's like being a pumpkin.'

God picks you from the patch, brings you in,

and washes all the dirt off of you.

Then He cuts off the top and scoops out all the yucky stuff.

He removes the seeds of doubt, hate, and greed.

Then He carves you a new smiling face and puts

His light inside of you to shine for all the world to see.'

This was passed on to me by another pumpkin.

I liked this enough to send it to the pumpkins in my pumpkin patch

TAKE MY SON

2009-09-29T10:58:00.002-05:00

Take a moment to read it; the ending will surprise you.

Take My Son

A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael. They would often sit together and admire the great works of art.

When the Vietnam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was notified and grieved deeply for his only son.

About a month later, just before Christmas, there was a knock at the door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands.

He said, 'Sir, you don't know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly. He often talked about you, and your love for art.' The young man held out this package. 'I know this isn't much. I'm not really a great artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to have this..'

The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by the young man. He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the personality of his son in the painting. The father was so drawn to the eyes that his own eyes welled up with tears. He thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the picture. 'Oh, no sir, I could never repay what your son did for me. It's a gift.'

The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected.

The man died a few months later. There was to be a great auction of his paintings. Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing the great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for their collection.

On the platform sat the painting of the son. The auctioneer pounded his gavel. 'We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who will bid for this picture?'

There was silence.

Then a voice in the back of the room shouted, 'We want to see the famous paintings. Skip this one.'

But the auctioneer persisted. 'Will somebody bid for this painting? Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?'

Another voice angrily. 'We didn't come to see this painting. We came to see the Van Gogh's, the Rembrandts. Get on with the Real Bids!'

But still the auctioneer continued. 'The son! The son! Who'll take the son?'

Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was the long-time gardener of the man and his son. 'I'll give $10 for the painting..' Being a poor man, it was all he could afford.

'We have $10, who will bid $20?'

'Give it to him for $10. Let's see the masters.'

The crowd was becoming angry.. They didn't want the picture of the son.

They wanted the more worthy investments for their collections.

The auctioneer pounded the gavel. 'Going once, twice, SOLD for $10!'

A man sitting on the second row shouted, 'Now let's get on with the collection!'

The auctioneer laid down his gavel. 'I'm sorry, the auction is over.'

'What about the paintings?'

'I am sorry. When I was called to conduct this auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the will. I was not allowed to reveal that stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate, including the paintings.

The man who took the son gets everything!'

God gave His son 2,000 years ago to die on the cross. Much like the auctioneer, His message today is: 'The son, the son, who'll take the son?'

Because, you see, whoever takes the Son gets everything.

FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, WHO SO EVER BELIEVETH, SHALL HAVE ETERNAL LIFE...THAT'S LOVE

The Poem

I knelt to pray but not for long,

I had too much to do. I had to hurry and get to work

For bills would soon be due. So I knelt and said a hurried prayer,

And jumped up off my knees. My Christian duty was now done

My soul could rest at ease...... All day long I had no time

To spread a word of cheer No time to speak of Christ to friends,

They'd laugh at me I'd fear. No time, no time, too much to do,

That was my constant cry, No time to give to souls in need

But at last the time, the time to die I went before the Lord,

I came, I stood with downcast eyes. For in his hands God held a book;

It was the book of life..

God looked into his book and said 'Your name

I cannot find I once was going to write it down...

But never found the time' Now do you have the time to pass it on?

If you look at what you do not have in life, you don't have anything,

If you look at what you have in life, you have everything.

READ THE FIRST LINE CAREFULLY. ...

If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.

Happy moments, praise God.

Difficult moments, seek God.

Quiet moments, worship God.

Painful moments, trust God.

Every moment, thank God.

MAXINE ON HEALTH CARE

2009-09-24T09:07:00.007-05:00

I received this from my sister-in-law, Debbie Slauson this morning and thought it was TOO cute not to share but sadly MAXINE as usual...hit the nail on the head about this topic!

Let me get this straight....

We're going to pass a health care plan written by a committee whose chairman says he doesn't understand it,

passed by a Congress that hasn't read it but exempts themselves from it,

to be signed by a president that also hasn't read it and who smokes,

with funding administered by a treasury chief who didn't pay his taxes,

all to be overseen by a surgeon general who is obese,

and financed by a country that's nearly broke.

What could possibly go wrong?!?!

'WHEN THE MUSIC STOPPED'

2009-09-21T08:52:00.003-05:00

Aren't you proud of our MILITARY?!?!?!?!?!?

To understand this story, you need to know that, in military theaters,
the National Anthem is played before every movie.

This was written by Chaplain Jim Higgins, who is stationed in Iraq :

I recently attended a showing of "Superman 3" here at LSA
Anaconda (an American base camp north of Baghdad).
We have a large auditorium we use for movies, as well as
memorial services and other large gatherings. As is the custom
back in the States, we stood and snapped to attention when
the National Anthem began before the main feature.

All was going as planned until about three-quarters of the way through
The National Anthem, the music stopped.

Now, what would happen if this occurred with
1,000 18-22 year-olds back in the States?
I imagine there would be hoots, catcalls, laughter, a few rude
comments; and everyone would sit down and call for a movie.
Of course, that is, if they had stood for the National Anthem in the first place.

Here, the 1,000 Soldiers continued to stand at attention, eyes fixed forward.
The music started again. The Soldiers continued to quietly stand at attention.
And again, at the same point, the music stopped.
What would you expect to happen?
Even here I would imagine laughter,
as everyone finally sat down and expected the movie to start.

But here, you could have heard a pin drop.
Every Soldier continued to stand at attention.
Suddenly there was a lone voice, then a dozen, and
quickly the room was filled with the voices of a thousand soldiers,
finishing where the recording left off:

"And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that Star Spangled Banner yet wave,
o'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave."

It was the most inspiring moment I have had here in Iraq.
I wanted you to know what kind of Soldiers are serving you here.
Remember them as they fight for you!
Pass this along as a reminder to others to be ever in prayer
for all our soldiers serving us here at home and abroad
for many have already paid the ultimate price.

A FEEL GOOD STORY

2009-09-17T08:47:00.010-05:00

I thought these photos were precious and it proves to us that in tough times that even animals pull together….probably even more quickly than us humans do!

A Feel Good Story

Mon Sep 14, 2009

http://toledotalk.com/cgi-bin/tt.pl/article/43504/A_Feel_Good_Story

The Jesusita Fire in Santa Barbara, CA last week caused these two to take shelter together. The fawn is 3 days old and the bobcat about 3 weeks. The fawn came from somewhere in the fire and the bobcat from Carpentaria. They immediately bonded and snuggled together under a desk in the Santa Barbara County Dispatch Office for several hours.

Extremely alert reader Fiv3r is reporting that Animal Planet is reporting the bobcat kitten was rescued near Arnold Schwarzenegger’s ranch, where it was dehydrated and near death.

They rescued the fawn during last week’s wildfire. Although wild animals, especially of separate species, are never placed together due to regulations, in this emergency situation, they had no choice. During the mayhem of the fire, they were forced to put animals anywhere they could, since they had run out of crates large enough for the fawn. The kitten ran to the fawn, and it was instant bonding.

It's the Lord That Made Me, Me

2009-09-17T08:39:00.002-05:00

Long ago and far away, in a land that time forgot, Before the days of Dylan, or the dawn of Camelot. There lived a race of innocents, and they were you and me, For Ike was in the White House in that land where we were born, Where navels were for oranges, and Peyton Place was porn. We learned to gut a muffler, we washed our hair at dawn, We spread our crinolines to dry in circles on the lawn.

We longed for love and romance, and waited for our Prince, And Eddie Fisher married Liz, and no one's seen him since. We danced to 'Little Darlin,' and sang to 'Stagger Lee' And cried for Buddy Holly in the Land that Made Me, Me.

Only girls wore earrings then, and 3 was one too many, And only boys wore flat-top cuts, except for Jean McKinney

And only in our wildest dreams did we expect to see A boy named George with Lipstick, in this Land That Made Me, Me.

We fell for Frankie Avalon, Annette was oh so nice, And when they made a movie, they never made it twice.

We didn't have a Star Trek Five, or Psycho Two and Three, Or Rocky-Rambo Twenty in this Land That Made Me, Me. Miss Kitty had a heart of gold, and Chester had a limp, And Reagan was a Democrat whose co-star was a chimp..

We had a Mr. Wizard, but not a Mr. T, And Oprah couldn't talk yet, in this Land That Made Me, Me. We had our share of heroes, we never thought they'd go,
At least not Bobby Darin, or even Marilyn Monroe.

For youth was still eternal, and life was yet to be, And Elvis was forever in the Land That Made Me, Me.

We'd never seen a rock band that was Grateful to be Dead, And Airplanes weren't named Jefferson, and Zeppelins were not Led.

And Beatles lived in gardens then, and Monkees lived in trees, Madonna was Mary in the Land That Made Me, Me. We'd never heard of microwaves, or telephones in cars, And babies might be bottle-fed, but they weren't grown, in jars.

And pumping iron got wrinkles out, and 'gay' meant fancy-free, And dorms were never co-ed in the Land That Made Me, Me.

We hadn't seen enough of jets to talk about the lag, And microchips were what was left at the bottom of the bag.

And Hardware was a box of nails, and bytes came from a flea, And rocket ships were fiction in this Land That Made Me, Me.

Buicks came with portholes, and side shows came with freaks, And bathing suits came big enough to cover both your cheeks.

And Coke came just in bottles, and skirts below the knee, And Castro came to power near this Land That Made Me, Me.

We had no Crest with Fluoride; we had no Hill Street Blues,
We had no patterned pantyhose or Lipton herbal tea,
Or prime-time ads for those dysfunctions
In this Land That Made Me, Me.

There were no golden arches, o Perrier to chill, And fish were not called Wanda, and cats were not called Bill. And middle-aged was 35 and old was forty-three, And ancient were our parents in this Land That Made Me, Me. So now we face a brave new world in slightly larger jeans, And wonder why there is smaller print in all those magazines. And we tell our children's children of the way it used to be, Long ago and far away in this Land Our Lord took, to make me, me...

AND NOW: For those of you too young to remember Bob Hope, just ask your Grandparents!!! And thanks for the memories...........

Give me a sense of humor, Lord, Give me the grace to see, that You've been in my life all along, and it was You who made me, me.

PROFESSOR IS A GENIUS....He Fails Entire Class

2009-09-17T07:30:00.005-05:00

An economics professor at a local college made a statement that he had never failed a single student before, but had once failed an entire class.--------------------------------------------

That class had insisted that Obama's socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer.

The professor then said, "OK, we will have an experiment in this class on Obama's plan". All grades would be averaged and everyone would receive the same grade so no one would fail and no one would receive an A...

After the first test, the grades were averaged and everyone got a B. The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy.

As the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too so they studied little. The second test average was a D! No one was happy.

When the 3rd test rolled around, the average was an F.

The scores never increased as bickering, blame and name-calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else.

All failed, to their great surprise, and the professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great but when government takes all the reward away, no one will try or want to succeed.

Could not be any simpler than that..

GoD and DoG by WJ Francisco

2009-09-16T07:45:00.007-05:00

I received this from my friend Darlyne Rolph and thought it was so sweet...and especially since I love dogs I thought I would share it with all of you....Enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H17edn_RZoY

You go for it....Remember that while money talks, CHOCOLATE SINGS!

2009-09-15T08:37:00.001-05:00

One day I had a date with friends for lunch. Mae, a little old "blue hair" about 80 years old, came along with them---all in all, a pleasant bunch.

When the menus were presented, we ordered salads, sandwiches, and soups, except for Mae who said, "Ice Cream, please. Two scoops, chocolate."

I wasn't sure my ears heard right, and the others were aghast. "Along with heated apple pie," Mae added, completely unabashed.

We tried to act quite nonchalant, as if people did this all the time.

But when our orders were brought out, I didn't enjoy mine.

I couldn't take my eyes off Mae as her pie a-la-mode went down. The other ladies showed dismay. They ate their lunches silently and frowned.

The next time I went out to eat, I called and invited Mae. I lunched on white meat tuna She ordered a parfait.

I smiled. She asked if she amused me.

I answered, "Yes, you do, but also you confuse me.

How come you order rich desserts, while I feel I must be sensible?

She laughed and said, with wanton mirth, "I'm tasting all that is Possible.

I try to eat the food I need, and do the things I should. But life's so short, my friend, I hate missing out on something good.

This year I realized how old I was. (She grinned) I haven't been this old before."

"So, before I die, I've got to try those things that for years I had ignored.

I haven't smelled all the flowers yet. There are too many books I haven't read.
There's more fudge sundaes to wolf down and kites to be flown overhead.

There are many malls I haven't shopped. I've not laughed at all the jokes. I've missed a lot of Broadway hits and potato chips and cokes.

I want to wade again in water and feel ocean spray on my face. I want to sit in a country church once more and thank God for His grace.

I want peanut butter every day spread on my morning toast. I want un-timed long distance calls to the folks I love the most.

I haven't cried at all the movies yet, or walked in the morning rain.
I need to feel wind in my hair. I want to fall in love again.

So, if I choose to have dessert, instead of having dinner, then should I die before night fall, I'd say I died a winner, because I missed out on nothing. I filled my heart's desire. I had that final Chocolate Mousse before my life expired."

With that, I called the waitress over.. "I've changed my mind," I said.
"I want what she is having; only add some more whipped cream!"

This is my gift to you - We need an annual Friends Day.

Live well, love much & laugh often - Be happy.

Be mindful that happiness isn't based on possessions, power, or prestige, but on relationships with people we love and respect. Remember that while money talks, CHOCOLATE SINGS!

GOD'S 26 GUARDS

2009-09-01T13:17:00.008-05:00

Here's a message that will bring you chills.
Have you ever felt the urge to pray for someone and
Then just put it on a list and said, 'I'll pray for them later'?
Or has anyone ever called you and said, 'I need you to pray for me, I have this need?'
Read the following story that was sent to me and
May it change the way that you may think about prayer and also the way you pray.
You will be blessed by this.....

A missionary on furlough told this true story while

Visiting his home church in Michigan .

'While serving at a small field hospital in Africa,

Every two weeks I traveled by bicycle

Through the jungle to a nearby city for supplies.

This was a journey of two days and

Required camping overnight at the halfway point.

On one of these journeys, I arrived in the city

Where I planned to collect money from a bank,

Purchase medicine, and supplies, and then begin

My two-day journey back to the field hospital.

Upon arrival in the city, I observed two men fighting,

One of whom had been seriously injured.

I treated him for his injuries and at the same time

Talked to him about the Lord.

I then traveled two days, camping over night, and

Arrived home without incident....

Two weeks later I repeated my journey. Upon arriving in the city,

I was approached by the young man I had treated.

He told me that he had known I carried Money and medicines. He said,

'Some friends and I followed you in to the jungle,

Knowing you would camp overnight.

We planned to kill you and take your money and drugs.

But just as we were about to move into your camp,

We saw that you were surrounded by 26 armed guards.

At this, I laughed and said that I was

Certainly all alone in that jungle campsite...

The young man pressed the point, however, and said,

'No, sir, I was not the only person to see the guards,

My friends also saw them, and we all counted them.

It was because of those guards that

We were afraid and left you alone'

At this point in the sermon, One of the men in the congregation jumped to his feet and interrupted the missionary and asked if he could tell him the exact day this happened.

The missionary told the congregation the date, and

The man who interrupted told him this story:

'On the night of your incident in Africa ,

It was morning here and I was preparing to go play golf.

I was about to putt when I felt the urge to pray for you.

In fact, the urging of the Lord was so strong,

I called men in this church to meet with me here

In the sanctuary to pray for you.

Would all of those men who met with me on that day stand up?'

The men who had met together to pray that day stood up.

The missionary wasn't concerned with whom they were,

He was too busy counting how many men he saw.

There were 26.

This story is an incredible example of how the Spirit of the Lord moves in behalf of those who love Him. If you ever feel such prodding to pray, go along with it, you don't know what it can mean to that person.

Nothing is ever hurt by prayer except the gates of hell. I encourage you to forward this to as many people as you know. If we all take it to heart, We can turn this world toward God once again.

As the above true story clearly illustrates, 'With God all things are possible'.

More importantly, how God hears and
Answers the prayers of the faithful.
After you read this, please pass it on and
Give God thanks for the beautiful gift of your faith,
For the powerful gift of prayer, and for the many miracles
He works in your own daily life... And then pass it on.

Who says God does not move on the earth today?
I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for you today.
To guide you and protect you as you go along your way.
His love is always with you,

His promises are true, and when we give Him our cares you know
He will see us through. So when the road you're traveling on seems
Difficult at best, Just remember I'm here praying,
And God will do the rest.

Pass this on to those whom you want God to bless

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13

WSFA TV 12 News Exclusive: MRSA Survivor Speaks

2009-08-31T11:24:00.001-05:00

My sister-in-law, Glenda Slauson forwarded this story on to me and the longer I read….it reminded me of when my husband Keith had difficulty getting his Cellulitis to heal back last month.

June Ingram speaks to WSFA's Cody Holyoke during an exclusive interview.

June Ingram, 65, lives with her husband Richard in Montgomery. She knows MRSA, the drug-resistant strain of staph infection, all too well.

"I didn't care if I lived or died. I was so sick," she admitted.

After contracting the disease in July through a blister on her foot, Ingram spent months in the hospital, most of which she doesn't even remember.
The existing memories are hard to swallow.

"If it wasn't for my family giving me encouragement each day, I wouldn't have made it," Ingram said.

The Staphylococcus--or "Staph"-- bacteria is common...About 30 % of the population carries the germs at any given time.

With the recent deaths of a Virginia high school student and a young girl in Mississippi, the new drug-resistant strain has health experts concerned.

[cg :snipe two line\top story\Dr. Charles Woernle\Alabama department of public health]

"It used to be something that was primarily a hospital or long-term care facility problem. Now we have community acquired MRSA," said Dr. Charles Woernle of the Alabama Department of Public Health.

Ingram doesn't know where she got the infection, but according to her, that's not the issue.
It's the aftermath of the disease that proves difficult.

"It's really hard. It affects the whole body," she explained.

Health experts say the "MRSA" strain, while dangerous, shouldn't be a reason to panic.

"We need to continue to address it, but it's not an imminent hazard," Woernle said.

After weeks of rehabilitation, June Ingram is living proof that surviving such a deadly disease is possible.

"I'm very, very fortunate," she said.

MRSA in Athletics

ORLANDO, Fla. - The deadly bacteria always were contained to hospitals, feasting on people with weak immune systems, people already sick.

But the bacteria have left the hospitals - and they are stronger, tougher to treat. They are bringing down healthy people, young people. Athletes.

In the fall of 2000, 10 players on a Pennsylvania college football team got staph infections. Seven were hospitalized.

A few years ago, an intern in the athletic trainer’s office at the University of Central Florida got staph by scraping his leg against a table. He had to have half his calf removed.

In 2002, two players on a Los Angeles college football team were hospitalized from a staph infection. One athlete’s infection was so bad he had to have the infected skin around his wound surgically removed and a skin graft put in place to cover it.

"There are different strains of staph infections - flesh-eating, bone-eating," said Kevin Mercuri, head trainer for the Orlando Predators and former head trainer for the University of Central Florida. He was there when his intern contracted the staph infection. "It can be deadly."

MRSA on the beach?

Posted: 12:51 PM ET By Elizabeth LandauWriter/ProducerCNN.com Health

Next time you go to the beach, you might want to shower — before you get in the ocean as well as after, says Dr. Lisa Plano, associate professor of clinical pediatrics and microbiology and immunology at the University of Miami.

A study she collaborated on shows that a person’s risk of exposure to staph is about 37 percent – but note that the bacteria could have come from you or from someone else. Your chance of getting MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a form of antibiotic resistant staph, is about 1 percent.

Plano presented her research, conducted in subtropical marine waters, at the meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Chicago, Illinois, over the weekend. The study, which is the first large epidemiological study of its kind, looked at 1,300 people.
Preliminary data suggest that the number of people in the water increases number of bacteria in the water, she said.

The MRSA found in the study "looked like they were likely to cause aggressive infections, in the family of community-associated MRSA," she said. The other staph, on the other hand, looked benign and unlikely to cause infections.

"We have to conclude that the beach could be a source for community-acquired staph infections," Plano said.
Definition-MRSA infection is caused by Staphylococcus aureus bacteria — often called "staph." MRSA stands for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. It's a strain of staph that's resistant to the broad-spectrum antibiotics commonly used to treat it. MRSA can be fatal.
Most MRSA infections occur in hospitals or other health care settings, such as nursing homes and dialysis centers. It's known as health care-associated MRSA, or HA-MRSA. Older adults and people with weakened immune systems are at most risk of HA-MRSA. More recently, another type of MRSA has occurred among otherwise healthy people in the wider community. This form, community-associated MRSA, or CA-MRSA, is responsible for serious skin and soft tissue infections and for a serious form of pneumonia.
Symptoms-Staph skin infections, including MRSA, generally start as small red bumps that resemble pimples, boils or spider bites. These can quickly turn into deep, painful abscesses that require surgical draining. Sometimes the bacteria remain confined to the skin. But they can also penetrate into the body, causing potentially life-threatening infections in bones, joints, surgical wounds, the bloodstream, heart valves and lungs.
Causes-MRSA is a strain of staph that's resistant to the broad-spectrum antibiotics commonly used to treat it.

Staph infections

Staph bacteria are normally found on the skin or in the nose of about one-third of the population. If you have staph on your skin or in your nose but aren't sick, you are said to be "colonized" but not infected. Healthy people can be colonized and have no ill effects. However, they can pass the germ to others.

Staph bacteria are generally harmless unless they enter the body through a cut or other wound, and even then they often cause only minor skin problems in healthy people. However, staph infections can cause serious illness. This most often happens in older adults and people who have weakened immune systems, usually in hospitals and long term care facilities. But in the past several years, serious infections have been occurring in otherwise healthy people in the community, for example athletes who share equipment or personal items.

Antibiotic resistance

Although the survival tactics of bacteria contribute to antibiotic resistance, humans bear most of the responsibility for the problem. Leading causes of antibiotic resistance include:

Unnecessary antibiotic use. Like other superbugs, MRSA is the result of decades of excessive and unnecessary antibiotic use. For years, antibiotics have been prescribed for colds, flu and other viral infections that don't respond to these drugs, as well as for simple bacterial infections that normally clear on their own.

Antibiotics in food and water. Prescription drugs aren't the only source of antibiotics. In the United States, antibiotics can be found in livestock. These antibiotics find their way into municipal water systems when the runoff from feedlots contaminates streams and groundwater.

Germ mutation. Even when antibiotics are used appropriately, they contribute to the rise of drug-resistant bacteria because they don't destroy every germ they target. Bacteria live on an evolutionary fast track, so germs that survive treatment with one antibiotic soon learn to resist others. And because bacteria mutate much more quickly than new drugs can be produced, some germs end up resistant to just about everything. That's why only a handful of drugs are now effective against most forms of staph.
Treatments and drugs-Both hospital- and community-associated strains of MRSA still respond to certain medications. In hospitals and care facilities, doctors often rely on the antibiotic Vancomycin to treat resistant germs. CA-MRSA may be treated with Vancomycin or other antibiotics that have proved effective against particular strains. Although Vancomycin saves lives, it may become less effective as well. Some hospitals are already seeing strains of MRSA that are less easily killed by Vancomycin.

In some cases, antibiotics may not be necessary. For example, doctors may drain a superficial abscess caused by MRSA rather than treat the infection with drugs.
Prevention-Hospitals are fighting back against MRSA infection by using surveillance systems that track bacterial outbreaks and by investigating products such as antibiotic-coated catheters and gloves that release disinfectants.

Still, the best way to prevent the spread of germs is for health care workers to wash their hands frequently, to properly disinfect hospital surfaces and to take other precautions, such as wearing gowns and gloves when working with people infected with resistant bacteria.

In the hospital, people who are infected or colonized with MRSA are placed in isolation to prevent the spread of MRSA. Visitors and health care workers caring for people in isolation may be required to wear protective garments and must follow strict hand-washing procedures.

What you can do in the hospital

Here's what you can do to protect yourself, family members or friends from health care-associated infections.

Ask all hospital staff to wash their hands or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer before touching you — every time.

Wash your own hands frequently.

Make sure that intravenous tubes and catheters are inserted under sterile conditions, for example, the person inserting them wears a gown, gloves and mask and sterilizes your skin first.
What you can do in your community

Protecting yourself from MRSA in your community — which might be just about anywhere — may seem daunting, but these common-sense precautions can help reduce your risk:

Wash your hands. Careful hand washing remains your best defense against germs. Scrub hands briskly for at least 15 seconds, then dry them with a disposable towel and use another towel to turn off the faucet. Carry a small bottle of hand sanitizer containing at least 60 percent alcohol for times when you don't have access to soap and water.

Keep personal items personal. Avoid sharing personal items such as towels, sheets, razors, clothing and athletic equipment. MRSA spreads on contaminated objects as well as through direct contact.

Keep wounds covered. Keep cuts and abrasions clean and covered with sterile, dry bandages until they heal. The pus from infected sores may contain MRSA, and keeping wounds covered will help keep the bacteria from spreading.

Shower after athletic games or practices. Shower immediately after each game or practice. Use soap and water. Don't share towels.

Sit out athletic games or practices if you have a concerning infection. If you have a wound that's draining or appears infected — for example, is red, swollen, warm to the touch or tender — consider sitting out athletic games or practices until the wound has healed.

Sanitize linens. If you have a cut or sore, wash towels and bed linens in a washing machine set to the "hot" water setting (with added bleach, if possible) and dry them in a hot dryer. Wash gym and athletic clothes after each wearing.

Get tested. If you have a skin infection that requires treatment, ask your doctor if you should be tested for MRSA. Doctors may prescribe drugs that aren't effective against antibiotic-resistant staph, which delays treatment and creates more resistant germs. Testing specifically for MRSA may get you the specific antibiotic you need to effectively treat your infection.

Use antibiotics appropriately. When you're prescribed an antibiotic, take all of the doses, even if the infection is getting better. Don't stop until your doctor tells you to stop. Don't share antibiotics with others or save unfinished antibiotics for another time. Inappropriate use of antibiotics, including not taking all of your prescription and overuse, contributes to resistance. If your infection isn't improving after a few days of taking an antibiotic, contact your doctor.

MEASURES TO PREVENT H1N1 and FLU

2009-08-31T10:48:00.002-05:00

I received this information this morning from a good friend, Pat Tew who works in the Wellness Division of the State Employees Insurance Board of the State of Alabama....she said this information might help us all stay well.

With the constant fear of H1N1 symptoms, the following measures can be practiced by one and all.

Tamiflu does not kill but prevents H1N1 from further production till the virus limits itself in about 1-2 weeks (its natural cycle). H1N1, like other Influenza A viruses, only infects the upper respiratory tract and multiplies (only) there. The only portals of entry are the nostrils and mouth/ throat. In a global epidemic of this nature, it's almost impossible not coming into contact with H1N1 in spite of all precautions. Contact with H1N1 is not so much of a problem as contamination is.

While you are still healthy and not showing any symptoms of H1N1 infection, in order to prevent spread of the virus, development of symptoms and secondary infections, some very simple steps - not fully highlighted in most official communications - can be practiced (instead of focusing on how to stock N95 or Tamiflu):

1. Frequent hand-washing.

2. "Hands-off-the-face" approach. Resist all temptations to touch any part of face (unless you want to eat, bathe or slap).

3. Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine if you don't trust salt). H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat/ nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms. Simple gargling prevents growth. In a way, gargling with salt water has the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on an infected one. Don't underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method.

4. Similar to 3 above, clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt water. Blowing the nose hard once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton buds dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bringing down viral population.

5. Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C (citrus fruits). If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc/bioflavonoids to boost absorption.

6. Drink as much of warm liquids as you can. Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction. They wash off growing viruses from the throat into the stomach where they cannot survive, reproduce or do any harm.

All these are simple ways to prevent, within means of most households, and certainly much less painful than to wait in long lines in emergency rooms.

UPDATE ON LINDSAY DIETZ SMITH & HER BABY BOY ISAAC

2009-08-31T08:35:00.004-05:00

From: Smith, Lindsay Sent: Friday, August 28, 2009 4:38 PMTo: Wooden, Wonzie; Wilson, Lois; Russell, Sharon; Segrest, Sandi; Sankey, Elaine; McAlister, Cheryl; Vaughn, Mike; Jackson, Jessica; Burrell, Marion; Bryan, Shannon; Bell, Nannette; Bear, Bonnie; Thomas, Josh; Walker, Charlie; Childrey, Leovetta; Veasey, Autumn; Green, Bebe; Beesley, Ed; Jones, Ron; Anthony, Manuel; Grier, Brad; Miller, James; Whitson, Kimberly; Barrontine, Linda; Lavender, Evelyn; Carmack, Larry; Blackwell, Keith; Arnold, Joshua; Frady, Luke; Dunn, Tammy; Nemeth, Mark; Merritt, Elaine; McKinnon, Roshanda; Hornsby, Jeff; Scroggins, Mike; Watson, Roy; Harris, Brian; Cone, Connie; Williard, Larry; Peagler, Nicole; Shirley, Sandy; Bostic, Leona; Baldwin, Connie; Traylor, Gail; Tippett, Marcia; Moore, Kirk; Elston, Sharon; Dawson, Sandra; Harris, Tyrell; Harden, Christine; Dudley, Yolande; White, Emmett; Henderson, Orin; Cizek, Steve; Alonzo, Chip; Butler, Kyler; Rambo, Cory; Price, Robin; Mills, Brittany

Hello Everyone!!!!!

I wanted to send you all an e-mail to say thank-you for all of the prayers, thoughts, and well wishes. We have had quite an experience these last three weeks. I got out of the hospital this time on Wednesday afternoon. I have spent the last two days sleeping and getting to know some of the home healthcare nurses. I was able to leave the hospital this time after surgery, and I have what is called a wound vac. I have a special dressing and a tube coming from my incision that sucks out all of the infection. I am required to have a home health care nurse come three times a week to check me and change my dressings for the wound vac. I am feeling much better now, and the doctors hope I will only have the wound vac for two weeks. I am home bound, except for seeing Isaac at the hospital. He is growing by leaps and bounds. We couldn't see him yesterday, but the day before we knew he was 3 lbs. and 12 ozs. I have been able to hold him three times now. He is so precious.

I wanted to also thank those of you who have donated leave to me. I greatly appreciate it especially since this second surgery may have added on more recovery time. I will have a check-up in two weeks, and I will know more then. For anyone who may still be able to donate any time, please see Barry.

Please visit our website that Michael has set-up with our pictures of Isaac.

http://www.xcsnettech.com/gallery

Thanks,

Lindsay Smith
State Audit Division
Department of Examiners of Public Accounts

YOU ARE GOD'S MASTERPIECE...

2009-08-28T20:10:00.006-05:00

I received this from my friend Roxy Wishum...who when I read my Facebook tonight found out that he got it from my friend Twila Bedgood. Anyway, I thought it was too good not to share with you.

You can click on the Title above or this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyOIBnExlrw

10 CRUCIAL SAFETY TIPS...especially for Children & Women

2009-08-28T14:06:00.004-05:00

PLEASE READ AND BE SAFE. Crucial stuff that you need to be aware of....e-mailed to me by my oldest brother Milton Slauson....

In daylight hours, refresh yourself of these things to do in an emergency situation...

This is for you, and for you to share with your wife, your children, everyone you know.

After reading these 10 crucial tips, forward them to someone you care about.

It never hurts to be careful in this crazy world we live in.

1. Tip from Tae Kwon Do:

The elbow is the strongest point on your body.

If you are close enough to use it, do!

2. Learned this from a tourist guide:

If a robber asks for your wallet and/or purse, DO NOT HAND IT TO HIM.

Toss it away from you....

Chances are that he is more interested in your wallet and/or purse than you,
and he will go for the wallet/purse.

RUN LIKE MAD IN THE OTHER DIRECTION!

3. If you are ever thrown into the trunk of a car:

Kick out the back tail lights and stick your arm out the hole and start waving like crazy.
The driver won't see you, but everybody else will.
This has saved lives.

4. Don't sit in your car by yourself after shopping, eating, working ,etc:

Women have a tendency to get into their cars after shopping, eating, working, etc., and just sit
doing their chequebook, or making a list, etc.

DON'T DO THIS!

The predator will be watching you, and this is the perfect opportunity for him to get in
on the passenger side, put a gun to your head, and tell you where to go..

AS SOON AS YOU GET INTO YOUR CAR , LOCK THE DOORS AND LEAVE..

If someone is in the car with a gun to your head DO NOT DRIVE OFF,
Repeat: DO NOT DRIVE OFF!

Instead gun the engine and speed into anything, wrecking the car.
Your Air Bag will save you.
If the person is in the back seat they will get the worst of it .
As soon as the car crashes bail out and run.
It is better than having them find your body in a remote location.

5. A few notes about getting into your car in a parking lot, or parking garage:

A.) Be aware:

Look around you...Look into your car...
Look into the passenger side floor...and in the back seat

B.) If you are parked next to a big van, enter your car from the passenger door.
Most serial killers attack their victims by pulling them into their vans while the women
are attempting to get into their cars.

C.) Look at the car parked on the driver's side of your vehicle, and the passenger side...
If a male is sitting alone in the seat nearest your car, you may want to walk back
into the mall, or work, and get a guard/policeman to walk you back out.

IT IS ALWAYS BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY. (And better paranoid than dead.)

6. ALWAYS take the elevator instead of the stairs.

Stairwells are horrible places to be alone and the perfect crime spot.
This is especially true at NIGHT!)

7. If the predator has a gun and you are not under his control, ALWAYS RUN!

The predator will only hit you (a running target) 4 in 100 times; and even then,
it most likely WILL NOT be a vital organ.

RUN, Preferably in a zig -zag pattern!

8. As women, we are always trying to be sympathetic:

STOP.....It may get you raped, or killed..

Ted Bundy, the serial killer, was a good-looking,
well educated man, who ALWAYS played
on the sympathies of unsuspecting women.
He walked with a cane, or a limp, and often
asked 'for help' into his vehicle or with his vehicle,
which is when he abducted his next victim.

9. Another Safety Point:

Someone just told me that her friend heard
a crying baby on her porch the night before last,
and she called the police because it was late
and she thought it was weird.. The police told her
'Whatever you do, DO NOT open the door..'

The lady then said that it sounded like the baby
had crawled near a window, and she was worried
that it would crawl to the street and get run over.
The policeman said, 'We already have a unit on the way,
whatever you do, DO NOT open the door.'

He told her that they think a serial killer
has a baby's cry recorded and uses it to coax
women out of their homes thinking that someone
dropped off a baby. He said they have not verified it,
but have had several calls by women saying that
they hear baby's cries outside their doors
when they're home alone at night.

10. Water scam!

If you wake up in the middleof the night to hear all your taps outside running or what you think is aburst pipe, DO NOT GO OUT TO INVESTIGATE!

These people turn on all youroutside taps full ball so that you will go out to investigate andthen attack. Stay alert, keep safe, and look out for your neighbors!

Please pass this on this e-mail should probably be taken seriously because
the Crying Baby Theory was mentioned on America 's Most Wanted when they profiled
the serial killer in Louisiana I'd like you to forward this to all the women you know.

It may save a life.

A candle is not dimmed by lighting another candle..
I was going to send this to the ladies only, but guys, if you love your mothers, wives, sisters, daughters, etc., you may want to pass it onto them, as well.

Send this to any woman you know that may need to be reminded that the world we live in has a lot of crazies in it and it's better to be safe than sorry..
Everyone should take 5 minutes to read this. It may save your life or love one's life

Five (5) Lessons To Make You Think About the Way We Treat People

2009-08-27T12:19:00.003-05:00

1 - First Important Lesson - Cleaning Lady

During my second month of college, our professor gave us a pop quiz.

I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions until I read the last one:'What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?'

Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times.

She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50's, but how would I know her name?

I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank.. Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade.

'Absolutely,' said the professor.

'In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant.

They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say 'hello.

'I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.

2. - Second Important Lesson - Pickup in the Rain

One night, at 11:3 0 p.m., an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rainstorm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car. A young white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 60s'.. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxicab. She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his address and thanked him. Seven days went by and a knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home. A special note was attached..It read:'Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband's bedside just before he passed away.. God bless you for helping me and unselfishly servingo thers.' Sincerely, Mrs. Nat King Cole.

3 - Third Important Lesson - Always remember those who serve

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him.' How much is an ice cream sundae?' he asked. 'Fifty cents,' replied the waitress. The little boy pulled is hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it.'Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?' he inquired. By now more people were waiting for a table and thewaitress was growing impatient. 'Thirty-five cents,' she brusquely replied. The little boy again counted his coins. 'I'll have the plain ice cream,' he said. The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left. When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies.. You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.

4 - Fourth Important Lesson - The obstacle in Our Path

In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way. Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the King indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many of us never understand! Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.

5 - Fifth Important Lesson - Giving When it Counts...

Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare & serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness.. The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister. I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, 'Yes I'll do it if it will save her.' As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the color returning to her cheek. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded. He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, 'Will I start to die right away'. Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her but he had chosen to save her anyway.

'Work like you don't need the money, love like you've never been hurt, and dance like you do when nobody's watching.'

57 CENT CHURCH

2009-08-26T07:20:00.008-05:00

I received this story from a friend at my office and thought I would share it with you...

A little girl stood near a small church from which she had been turned away because it was 'too crowded.'

'I can't go to Sunday School,' she sobbed to the pastor as he walked by.

Seeing her shabby, unkempt appearance, the pastor guessed the reason and, taking her by the hand, took her inside and found a place for her in the Sunday school class. The child was so happy that they found room for her, and she went to bed that night thinking of the children who have no place to worship Jesus.

Some two years later, this child lay dead in one of the poor tenement buildings. Her parents called for the kindhearted pastor who had befriended their daughter to handle the final arrangements.

As her poor little body was being moved, a worn and crumpled red purse was found which seemed to have been rummaged from some trash dump.

Inside was found 57 cents and a note, scribbled in childish handwriting, which read: 'This is to help build the little church bigger so more children can go to Sunday School.'

For two years she had saved for this offering of love.

When the pastor tearfully read that note, he knew instantly what he would do. Carrying this note and the cracked, red pocketbook to the pulpit, he told the story of her unselfish love and devotion.

He challenged his deacons to get busy and raise enough money for the larger building.

But the story does not end there...

A newspaper learned of the story and published It. It was read by a wealthy realtor who offered them a parcel of land worth many thousands.

When told that the church could not pay so much, he offered to sell it to the little church for 57 cents.

Church members made large donations. Checks came from far and wide. Within five years the little girl's gift had increased to $250,000.00--a huge sum for that time (near the turn of the century).. Her unselfish love had paid large dividends.

When you are in the city of Philadelphia, look up Temple Baptist Church, with a seating capacity of 3,300. And be sure to visit Temple University, where thousands of students are educated.

Have a look, too, at the Good Samaritan Hospital and at a Sunday School building which houses hundreds of beautiful children, built so that no child in the area will ever need to be left outside during Sunday school time.

In one of the rooms of this building may be seen the picture of the sweet face of the little girl whose 57 cents, so sacrificially saved, made such remarkable history. Alongside of it is a portrait of her kind pastor, Dr. Russell H. Conwell, author of the book, 'Acres of Diamonds'.

This is a true story, which goes to show WHAT GOD CAN DO WITH 57 CENTS.

May today there be peace within. May you trust your highest power that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.. May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content knowing you are a child of God. Let this presence settle into our bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing and dance. It is there for each and every one of you ...

Live Today To The Fullest Because Tomorrow Is Not Promised...

2009-08-25T13:11:00.006-05:00

I received this from my dear 1st cousin Kathy Bozeman and wanted to share it with you...

One day a woman's husband died, and on that clear, cold morning, in the warmth of their bedroom, the wife was struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there isn't "anymore". No more hugs, no more special moments to celebrate together, no more phone calls just to chat, no more "just one minute." Sometimes, what we care about the most gets all used up and goes away, never to return before we can say good-bye, say "I love you."

So while we have it, its best we love it, care for it, fix it when it's broken and heal it when it's sick. This is true for marriage.....And old cars...And children with bad report cards, and dogs with bad hips, and aging parents and grandparents. We keep them because they are worth it, because we are worth it.

Some things we keep -- like a best friend who moved away or a sister-in-law after divorce. There are just some things that make us happy, no matter what.

Life is important, like people we know who are special..
And so, we keep them close!

I received this from someone who thought I was a 'keeper'!
Then I sent it to the people I think of in the same way...
Now it's your turn to send this to all those people who are "keepers" in your life, including the person who sent it, if you feel that way. Suppose one morning you never wake up, do all your friends know you love them?

I was thinking...I could die today, tomorrow or next week, and I wondered if I had any wounds needing to be healed, friendships that needed rekindling or three words needing to be said.

Let every one of your friends know you love them. Even if you think they don't love you back, you would be amazed at what those three little words and a smile can do. And just in case I'm gone tomorrow.

I LOVE ALL OF YOU!!!

Live today to the fullest because tomorrow is not promised..

Lastest Update on Lindsey Dietz Smith and her baby boy Isaac

2009-08-20T07:18:00.003-05:00

Lindsay was released from the hospital Sunday afternoon (August 16th) and is resting at her mother’s house this week. She is still taking meds for the blood pressure and toxins. Isaac is doing great. They have removed him from all machinery and he is functioning on his own, breathing pretty good, etc. He has taken to a pacifier and they are beginning to give him Pedialyte yesterday in a bottle and were going to start him on some breast milk and preemie formula today. Mike was trying to get sick Friday and they have him quarantined at Lindsay and Mike’s house away from Lindsay and the baby. She can only go in to see the baby at certain times of the day.

THORNS

2009-08-17T11:36:00.002-05:00

This is a little long, but a wonderful lesson that I received from my friend Lynn Cagle regarding the subject of “THORNS”.

Sandra felt as low as the heels of her shoes when she pulled open the florist shop door, against a November gust of wind. Her life had been as sweet as a spring breeze and then, in the fourth month of her second pregnancy, a "minor" automobile accident stole her joy. This was Thanksgiving week and the time she should have delivered their infant son. She grieved over their loss.

Troubles had multiplied.

Her husband's company "threatened" to transfer his job to a new location. Her sister had called to say that she could not come for her long awaited holiday visit. What's worse, Sandra's friend suggested that Sandra's grief was a God-given path to maturity that would allow her to empathize with others who suffer. "She has no idea what I'm feeling," thought Sandra with a shudder "Thanksgiving? Thankful for what?" she wondered. "For a careless driver whose truck was hardly scratched when he rear-ended me...for an airbag that saved my life but took my child's?"

"Good afternoon, can I help you?"

Sandra was startled by the approach of the shop clerk. "I…I…I need an arrangement," stammered Sandra.

"For Thanksgiving? I'm convinced that flowers tell stories, "she continued."
Are you looking for something that conveys 'gratitude' this Thanksgiving?"

"Not exactly!" Sandra blurted out. "In the last five months, everything that could go wrong has gone wrong."

Sandra regretted her outburst, and was surprised when the clerk said, "I have the perfect arrangement for you."

Then the bell on the door rang, and the clerk greeted the new customer...

"Hi, Barbara, let me get your order." She excused herself and walked back to a small workroom, then quickly reappeared, carrying an arrangement of greenery, bows, and what appeared to be long-stemmed thorny roses…Except the ends of the rose stems were neatly snipped: there were no flowers.

"Do you want these in a box?" asked the clerk. Sandra watched - was this a joke? Who would want rose stems with no flowers! She waited for laughter, but neither woman laughed.

"Yes, please," Barbara replied with an appreciative smile. "You'd think after three years of getting the special, I wouldn't be so moved by its significance, but I can feel it right here, all over again," she said, as she gently tapped her chest.

Sandra stammered, "Ah, that lady just left with .. .. . uh . . she left with no flowers!"

"That's right," said the clerk. "I cut off the flowers. That's the 'Special'. I call it the Thanksgiving Thorns Bouquet. Barbara came into the shop three years ago, feeling much as you do today," explained the clerk. "She thought she had very little to be thankful for..

She had just lost her father to cancer; the family business was failing; her son had gotten into drugs; and she was facing major surgery. That same year I had lost my husband," continued the clerk.
"For the first time in my life, I had to spend the holidays alone. I had no children, no husband, no family nearby, and too much debt to allow any travel.."

"So what did you do?" asked Sandra.

"I learned to be thankful for thorns," answered the clerk quietly.

"I've always thanked God for the good things in my life and I never questioned Him why those good things happened to me, but when the bad stuff hit, I cried out, 'Why, Why me?!' It took time for me to learn that the dark times are important to our faith! I have always enjoyed the 'flowers' of my life, but it took the thorns to show me the beauty of God's comfort! You know, the Bible says that God comforts us when we're afflicted, and from His consolation we learn to comfort others."

Sandra sucked in her breath, as she thought about what her friend had tried to tell her. "I guess the truth is I don't want comfort. I've lost a baby and I'm angry with God..."

Just then someone else walked in the shop.

"Hey, Phil!" the clerk greeted the balding, rotund man.

"My wife sent me in to get our usual Thanksgiving arrangement…twelve thorny, long-stemmed stems!" laughed Phil as the clerk handed him a tissue wrapped arrangement from the refrigerator.

"Those are for your wife?" asked Sandra incredulously. "Do you mind telling me why she wants a bouquet that looks like that?"

"Four years ago, my wife and I nearly divorced," Phil replied. "After forty years, we were in a real mess, but with the Lord's grace and guidance, we trudged through problem after problem, the Lord rescued our marriage. Jenny here (the clerk) told me she kept a vase of rose stems to remind her of what she had learned from "thorny" times. That was good enough for me. I took home some of those stems. My wife and I decided to label each one for a specific "problem" and give thanks for what that problem taught us."

As Phil paid the clerk, he said to Sandra, "I highly recommend the Special!"

"I don't know if I can be thankful for the thorns in my life" Sandra said to the clerk. "It's all too fresh."

"Well," the clerk replied carefully, "my experience has shown me that the thorns make the roses more precious. We treasure God's providential care more during trouble than at any other time. Remember that it was a crown of thorns that Jesus wore so we might know His love...Don't resent the thorns."

Tears rolled down Sandra's cheeks. For the first time since the accident, she loosened her grip on her resentment. "I'll take those twelve long-stemmed thorns, please," she managed to choke out.

"I hoped you would," said the clerk gently. "I'll have them ready in a minute."

Tears rolled down Sandra's cheeks. For the first time since the accident, she loosened her grip on her resentment. "I'll take those twelve long-stemmed thorns, please," she managed to choke out.

"I hoped you would," said the clerk gently. "I'll have them ready in a minute."

"Thank you. What do I owe you?"

"Nothing…nothing but a promise to allow God to heal your heart...The first year's arrangement is always on me."

The clerk smiled and handed a card to Sandra. "I'll attach this card to your arrangement, but maybe you would like to read it first."

It read:

"My God, I have never thanked YOU for my thorns.
I have thanked YOU a thousand times for my roses,
but never once for my thorns.
Teach me the glory of the cross I bear;
teach me the value of my thorns.
Show me that I have climbed closer to
YOU along the path of pain.
Show me that, through my tears,
the colors of YOUR rainbow look much more brilliant."

Praise Him for the roses; thank Him for the thorns

God Bless all of you. Be thankful for all that the Lord does for you.

"Live simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly, and leave the rest to God."

We often try to fix problems with WD-40 and Duct tape.

God did it with nails.

ONE NATION UNDER GOD

2009-08-17T08:39:00.006-05:00

I received this from a long-time friend, Lynn Cagle and wanted to share it with you...

Billy Graham's Prayer For Our Nation

Subject: FW: He hit the "world" on the headTruth..........from a man the media has never been able to throw dirt on..amazing!! He has certainly hit the "world" on the head!!

THIS MAN SURE HAS A GOOD VIEW OF WHAT'S HAPPENING TO OUR COUNTRY!

'Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem. We have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and Set us free... Amen!'

Commentator Paul Harvey aired this prayer on his radio program, 'The Rest of the Story,' and received a larger response to this program than any other he has ever aired. With the Lord's help, may this prayer sweep over our nation and wholeheartedly become our desire so that we again can be called 'One nation under God'.

Think about this: If you forward this prayer to everyone on your e-mail list, in less than 30 days it would be heard by the world. (It's worth a try!) One Nation Under God !

Progress of Baby Isaac Robert and his mom Lindsey Dietz Smith

2009-08-13T10:33:00.004-05:00

Her audit division director visited with her last night and she reported to us today that both Lindsey and her baby were doing well. Lindsey was getting ready to eat her first meal since she was hospitalized on Sunday but had not gotten out of bed yet to walk due to her legs/ankles still being swollen enabling her to go see her baby boy “Isaac Robert” yet in the neo-natal unit. But her spirits rose when her husband Michael brought her a picture of him as well as knowing that Isaac Robert is only on oxygen…not a ventilator at this point in time…he is even sucking some on a pacifier. So, I believe many prayers have been answered the last 48 hours!

OPENED AND CLOSED DOORS

2009-08-12T13:14:00.009-05:00

We need to learn to thank the Lord for closed doors just as much as we do for open doors. The reason God closes doors is because He has not prepared anything over there for us.

If he didn't close the wrong door we would never find our way to the right door. Even when we don't realize it, God directs our paths through the closing and opening of doors. When one door closes, it forces us to change our course. Another door closes; it forces us to change our course yet again.

Then finally, we find the open door and walk right into our blessing. But instead of praising God for the closed door (which kept us out of trouble), we get upset because we "judge by the appearances." And in our own arrogance, or ignorance, we insist that we know what is right.

We have a very present help in the time of need who is always standing guard. Because He walks ahead of us, He can see trouble down the road and HE sets up road blocks and detours accordingly. But through our lack of wisdom we try to tear down the roadblocks or push aside the detour signs. Then the minute we get into trouble, we start crying "Lord how could this happen to me?"

We have got to realize that the closed door was a blessing. Didn't He say that "No good thing will He withhold from them that love Him?"

If you get terminated from your job - don't be down, instead thank God for the new opportunities that will manifest themselves - it might be a better job, or an opportunity to go to school. If that man or woman won't return your call - it might not be them, it might be the Lord setting up a roadblock (just let it go).

One time a person had a bank he had been doing business with for many years tell him "NO" for a $10,000 loan. The Lord led him to call another bank. That bank approved a $40,000 loan for him at a lower interest rate than his own bank had advertised.

I'm so grateful, for the many times God has closed doors to me, just to open them in the most unexpected places. "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way." (Psalms 37:23) The mountain top is glorious, but it is in the Valley that I will grow!

Always Remember God gives you...

Enough Happiness to keep you Sweet
Enough Trials to keep you Strong
Enough Sorrows to keep you Human
Enough Hope to keep you Happy
Enough Failure to keep you Humble
Enough Success to keep you Eager
Enough Friends to give you Comfort
Enough Wealth to meet your Needs
Enough Enthusiasm to make you look forward
Enough Faith to banish depression, and
Enough Determination to make each day a better day than the last.

Life must be lived forward but can only be understood backwards.

Commit to the Lord in whatever you do and your plans will succeed. (Proverbs 16:3)

Update on Lindsey Dietz Smith

2009-08-12T08:05:00.008-05:00

We were notified by Lindsey's mother this morning that the delivery of her baby boy named Isaac Robert Smith weighing only 3 lbs. 2 ozs. and 16 inches long went well. But Isaac came into this world 10 weeks premature and is scheduled to be in the Neonatal Unit for at least two months. The next 24 hour watch for the child is going to be very important and Lindsey is still being treated and taking medication for toxemia. Your continued prayers are greatly appreciated.

Special Prayer Request for Lindsey Dietz Smith

2009-08-11T15:04:00.005-05:00

I have a special prayer request for all of you for a co-worker of mine, Lindsey Dietz Smith. She is a young mother only in her 20's of a toddler and who is expecting her second child in about 10 weeks but was admitted to Baptist East Hospital on Sunday Night, August 9th with Toxemia and Eclampsia and as of today is still in very serious condition. She was in a coma yesterday morning and last night was awake but speaking incoherently. Late this afternoon around 5:30 p.m. her doctor has scheduled to take her baby. Please pray that she and the baby will pull through this and allow her to regain her full health back again and also let the baby be free of any long-term health problems. Lindsey is one of the brightest and most kind-hearted young ladies that you’ll ever meet. She was especially thoughtful and attentive to me last year at work after Keith got sick and wrote some of the sweetest guestbook notes that we received on our CaringBridge blog. Love, Cheryl

An Open Letter to President Obama

2009-08-11T11:49:00.008-05:00

I received this from my sister-in-law, Debbie Slauson and wanted to share it with all of you and I thought Mr. Lou Pritchett's letter sadly so was pretty much accurate!

Please read, even if you are an Obama fan. It is legitimate, written by respected, Lou Pritchett, formerly of Proctor and Gamble. Lou Pritchett is one of corporate America’s true living legends- an acclaimed author, dynamic teacher and one of the world's highest rated speakers. Successful corporate executives everywhere recognize him as the foremost leader in change management. Lou changed the way America does business by creating an audacious concept that came to be known as "partnering." Pritchett rose from soap salesman to Vice President, Sales and Customer Development for Procter and Gamble and over the course of 36 years- made corporate history.
_____________________________________________________

AN OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA

Dear President Obama:

You are the thirteenth President under whom I have lived and unlike any of the others, you truly scare me.

You scare me because after months of exposure, I know nothing about you.

You scare me because I do not know how you paid for your expensive Ivy League education and your upscale lifestyle and housing with no visible signs of support.

You scare me because you did not spend the formative years of youth growing up in America and culturally you are not an American.

You scare me because you have never run a company or met a payroll.

You scare me because you have never had military experience, thus don't understand it at its core.

You scare me because you lack humility and 'class', always blaming others.

You scare me because for over half your life you have aligned yourself with radical extremists who hate America and you refuse to publicly denounce these radicals who wish to see America fail.

You scare me because you are a cheerleader for the 'blame America' crowd and deliver this message abroad.

You scare me because you want to change America to a European style country where the government sector dominates instead of the private sector.

You scare me because you want to replace our health care system with a government controlled one.

You scare me because you prefer 'wind mills' to responsibly capitalizing on our own vast oil, coal and shale reserves.

You scare me because you want to kill the American capitalist goose that lays the golden egg which provides the highest standard of living in the world.

You scare me because you have begun to use 'extortion' tactics against certain banks and corporations.

You scare me because your own political party shrinks from challenging you on your wild and irresponsible spending proposals.

You scare me because you will not openly listen to or even consider opposing points of view from intelligent people.

You scare me because you falsely believe that you are both omnipotent and omniscient.

You scare me because the media gives you a free pass on everything you do.

You scare me because you demonize and want to silence the Limbaugh’s, Hannity’s, O'Reilly’s and Beck’s who offer opposing, conservative points of view.

You scare me because you prefer controlling over governing.

Finally, you scare me because if you serve a second term I will probably not feel safe in writing a similar letter in 8 years.

Lou Pritchett

_____________________________________________________
TRUE- CHECK:

http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/youscareme.asp

This letter was sent to the NY Times but they never acknowledged it. Big surprise! Since it hit the internet, however, it has had over 500,000 hits. Keep it going. All that is necessary for evil to succeed is that good men do nothing. It's happening right now.

STRESS

2009-08-11T10:09:00.005-05:00

I received this from my cousin, Kathy the other day and thought it was a good one to share!

A lecturer when explaining stress management to an audience,

Raised a glass of water and asked,"How heavy is this glass of water?"

Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g.

The lecturer replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter.

It depends on how long you try to hold it.

If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem.

If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm.

If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance.

In each case, it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.

"He continued,"And that's the way it is with stress management.

If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden

becomes increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on. "

"As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again.

When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden."

"So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down.

Don't carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow.

Whatever burdens you're carrying now, let them down for a moment if you can.

"So, my friend, put down anything that may be a burden to you right now.

Don't pick it up again until after you've rested a while."

Here are some great ways of dealing with the burdens of life:

* Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue.

* Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.

* Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.

* Drive carefully. It's not only cars that can beRecalled by their maker.

* If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.

* If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, It was probably worth it.

* It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to be kind to others.

* Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won't have a leg to stand on.

* Since it's the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.

* The second mouse gets the cheese.

* When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.

* Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.

* You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.

* We could learn a lot from crayons... Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull.
Some have weird names, and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box.

*A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

Have an awesome day and know that someone has thought about you today...I did.

How to Salute Our Soldiers

2009-08-10T12:47:00.003-05:00

Have you ever seen one of our military soldiers walking past you and wanted to convey to them your thanks, but weren't sure how, or it felt awkward?

Recently, a gentleman from Seattle created a gesture which could be used to express your thanks and has started a movement to get the word out..

Please everybody take just a moment to watch..... The Gratitude Campaign ...and then forward it to your friends! THEN START USING THE SIGN.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSfFYxSdKdo

Obama take on Military Health Care

2009-08-08T19:12:00.004-05:00

"Our new President's ideas and legislation that he is trying to pass lately with the Healthcare Reform are really scary to me!" This was an email I received from my friend Betty Brown and thought it needed to be shared...

Recent events show he (Obama) also has a problem with Law Enforcement Officers.

The Reverend Wright and Bill Ayers are cool guys though!!!

GOD HELP US!

HERE IS OBAMA'S RESPONSE WHEN HE BACKED OFF FROM HIS DECISION TO LET THE MILITARY PAY FOR THEIR WAR INJURIES.........EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW JUST WHAT HE THINKS OF OUR MILITARY WHO FIGHT FOR OUR COUNTRY AND GET HURT AND KILLED PROTECTING OUR FREEDOM!!!

Bad press, including major mockery of the plan by comedian Jon Stewart, led to President Obama abandoning his proposal to require veterans carry private health insurance to cover the estimated $540 million annual cost to the federal government of treatment for injuries to military personnel received during their tours on active duty.

The President admitted that he was puzzled by the magnitude of the opposition to his proposal.
"Look, it's an all volunteer force," Obama complained.."Nobody made these guys go to war. They had to have known and accepted the risks. Now they whine about bearing the costs of their choice? It doesn't compute...

"I thought these were people who were proud to sacrifice for their country," Obama continued. "I wasn't asking for blood, just money. With the country facing the worst financial crisis in its history, I'd have thought that the patriotic thing to do would be to try to help reduce the nation's deficit. I guess I underestimated the selfishness of some of my fellow Americans."

Please pass this on to every vet and their families whom you know.

Where Congressman Bobby Bright Stands on Health Care Legislation

2009-08-04T12:40:00.005-05:00

I went on Congressman Bright's website http://www.house.gov/bright/ and found the following regarding the stand is he taking about the scary HR 3200 regarding America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009, which made me feel some better about how one of our U.S. Representatives is thinking!

Where I Stand on Health Care Legislation

As it currently stands, I am opposed to the House draft health care legislation. I am hopeful that when Congress returns in September, the process will be more bi-partisan and we will be able to produce something that works for the American people.

I continue to believe that the current direction of health care reform relies too heavily on taxes on individuals and small businesses, and the overall cost of health care legislation remains too high. Moreover, though changes have been made to how the public option will work, the overall bill does not represent my belief in a free-market approach to health care reform.

Additionally, I have signed onto several letters expressing concern over specific parts of the bill. You can view those letters here:

Bright supports small businesses in health care reform legislation
Bright sends letter opposing small business surtax in health care legislation
Bright: health care reform cannot fund abortions
Bright supports Blue Dog principles in health care reform

There are also a few articles from sources in the district outlining my opposition to the current legislation. You can read them below.

Bright: No to current healthcare bill

Lance Griffin
Dothan Eagle
July 17, 2009

Congressman Bobby Bright said he will vote against the current House version of the Healthcare Reform Bill unless it changes drastically.

"Not at all, not the way it is now," Bright said during a phone interview with the Dothan Eagle.
Bright said he opposes a "public option" for healthcare reform. According to the current House bill, the public option would be a government subsidized plan that competes alongside current private healthcare plans. Bright said the public option placed too many healthcare decisions in the hands of government officials and could put private plans at a competitive disadvantage.

"I have said this from the beginning, that I would support a healthcare plan that is market driven," Bright said.

Bright said he also opposed tax increases on individuals making more than $250,000 annually because he believed it would disproportionately affect small business owners.

"For them to try to pay for healthcare reform on the backs of small businesses, I can't support that," he said.

Bright and 21 other members of Congress sent a letter Thursday to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi expressing concern over the tax.

"Especially in a recession, we need to make sure not to kill the goose that will lay the golden eggs of our recovery," the letter stated.

Two other healthcare bills are currently making their way through the Senate. Bright said one is sponsored by Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., and is similar to the House version. He said another, sponsored by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Montana, "has potential" as well as some bipartisan support.
The House bill is about 1,800 pages. Bright said he has been reading the bill since it was released last week. President Barack Obama is urging Congress to pass healthcare reform as early as September.

"I have a copy of the House bill and before I either support it or turn it down, I will have read it and I will understand it. I will be an informed voter," Bright said.

'Blue Dogs' focus of health care debate
Bill Theobald and Deborah Barfield Berry
The Montgomery Advertiser
July 27, 2009

WASHINGTON -- Fiscally conservative House Democrats, including Alabama Rep. Bobby Bright, thrust themselves into the middle of the health care debate last week, blocking legislation drafted by their own party's leadership.

"We're not 'Blue Dogs' anymore -- we're the bulldogs," Bright said. "We're slowing this thing down. There's no rush. We need to talk more about this. We need to investigate this. We need our constituents more involved in this."

If the 52 members of the Blue Dog Coalition remain united against the bill, they could bar its passage in the House Energy and Commerce Committee and later in the full House.

On Tuesday, objections by Blue Dog members of the committee to the cost and other aspects of the health care bill prompted committee chairman Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., to delay discussing and amending the legislation for at least a day.

Also Tuesday, President Barack Obama met with Democrats on the committee.

Eight of those Democrats are Blue Dogs, who said they have serious problems with the bill's estimated cost: $1 trillion over 10 years.

Only one committee Blue Dog, Rep. Jane Harman of California, spoke in favor of the bill.

Members of the Blue Dog Coalition say the House bill:

Wouldn't reduce the growth in health care costs.

Would punish small-business owners by raising taxes on families making more than $350,000 per year as a way to pay for health care reform.

Would not insure all of the approximately 46 million people without health insurance. The bill would leave about 9 million people uninsured, the Congressional Budget office estimates.

Bright said lawmakers are hearing from constituents who are concerned about the escalating cost of health care and who are "even more frightful that whatever they replace it with might be worse."

"We do have some challenges with the cost and the accessibility of health care right now," said Bright.

Bright said he wouldn't vote for the bill as it's written because he opposes a government-run program, a proposed mandate that businesses provide insurance for workers or pay a payroll tax, and proposed new taxes on individuals and families to help finance health care reform.

He called the mandate "un-American" and said it "creates a tremendous burden" for businesses.
"They're already on shaky ground with the economy being unstable," he said.
Republican leaders are targeting Blue Dogs and freshmen Democrats in hopes of lining up more opposition.

"There's a lot of disgruntlement on the other side of the aisle," said Rep. Charles Boustany, R-La., a physician and a GOP pointman on the issue.

Boustany said that even if all the Republicans oppose the measure, they will need Democrats to defeat the legislation.

"A lot is going to depend on the Democrats," said Boustany. "We don't have the votes. The pressure is on them."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California downplayed any conflict within her party on Tuesday, as did Obama.

The president has said he wants health reform legislation to pass before Congress leaves for its August recess.

Two House panels, the Ways and Means Committee and the Education and Labor Committee, have approved the House health care reform bill.

A similar bill has won approval in the Senate health committee, but that bill doesn't address how to finance the health care reform effort. The Senate Finance Committee is struggling to reach bipartisan agreement on that issue.

Some lawmakers say Congress may have to work through its normal monthlong August break to reach consensus on health care reform.

"I think everybody on Capitol Hill ... wants quality affordable heath care for all citizens," Bright said. "We need to throw party labels out the window and get to work. If we quit playing 'gotcha' politics, we can get this done.

Health Care Bill Introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives...

2009-08-04T08:47:00.007-05:00

http://edlabor.house.gov/markups/2009/07/hr-3200-americas-affordable-he.shtml

Once you enter the link above you can do a search for HR-3200 to find a 1,000 page PDF file of this bill so you can download it for your reading.

CONTACT YOUR SENATORS! TELL THEM TO VOTE AGAINST THIS INSANE BILL!

“This should WAKE US ALL UP!!!”

111TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. ll

To provide affordable, quality health care for all Americans and reduce
the growth in health care spending, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Mr. DINGELL (for himself, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. GEORGE MILLER
of California, Mr. STARK, Mr. PALLONE, and Mr. ANDREWS) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
A BILL

To provide affordable, quality health care for all Americans
and reduce the growth in health care spending, and
for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF DIVISIONS, TITLES,
4 AND SUBTITLES.
5 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
6 ‘‘America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009’’.

Some of the items in the Health Care Plan now in the works: (Yes, someone IS reading the immense document !!! But it isn't your representatives in Washington D.C.!)

Pg 22 of the HC Bill MANDATES the Govt will audit books of ALL EMPLOYERS that self insure!!

Pg 30 Sec 123 of HC bill - THERE WILL BE A GOVT COMMITTEE that decides what treatments/benefits you get

Pg 29 lines 4-16 in the HC bill - YOUR HEALTHCARE IS RATIONED!!! You can only get so much "care" per year

Pg 42 of HC Bill - The Health Choices Commissioner will choose your HC Benefits 4 you. You have no choice!

PG 50 Section 152 in HC bill - HC will be provided to ALL non US citizens, illegal or otherwise

Pg 58HC Bill - Govt will have real-time access to individs finances & a National ID Healthcard will be issued!

Pg 59 HC Bill lines 21-24 Govt will have direct access 2 your banks accts for elective funds transfer

PG 65 Sec 164 is a payoff subsidized plan for retirees and their families in Unions & community orgs (ACORN).

Pg 72 Lines 8-14 Govt is creating an HC Exchange to bring private HC plans under Govt control.

PG 84 Sec 203 HC bill - Govt mandates ALL benefit pkgs for private HC plans in the Exchange

PG 85 Line 7 HC Bill - Specs for Benefit Levels for Plans = The Govt will ration your Healthcare!

PG 91 Lines 4-7 HC Bill - Govt mandates linguistic appropriate services..... Example - Translation for illegal aliens

Pg 95 HC Bill Lines 8-18 The Govt will use groups i.e., ACORN & Americorps to sign up individually for Govt HC plan

PG 85 Line 7 HC Bill - Specs of Benefit Levels for Plans. #AARP members - your Health care WILL be rationed

-PG 102 Lines 12-18 HC Bill - Medicaid Eligible Indiv. will be automat.enrolled in Medicaid. No choice

-PG 124 lines 24-25 HC No company can sue GOVT on price fixing. No "judicial review" against Govt Monopoly

pg 127 Lines 1-16 HC Bill - Doctors/ #AMA - The Govt will tell YOU what you can make.

Pg 145 Line 15-17 An Employer MUST auto enroll employees into public opt plan. NO CHOICE

Pg 126 Lines 22-25 Employers MUST pay for HC for part time employees AND their families.

Pg 149 Lines 16-24 ANY Emplyr w payroll 400k & above who does not prov. pub opt. pays 8% tax on all payroll

pg 150 Lines 9-13 Biz w payroll between 251k & 400k who doesnt prov. pub. opt pays 2-6% tax on all payroll

Pg 167 Lines 18-23 ANY individual who doesn’t have acceptable HC according to Govt will be taxed 2.5%

Pg 170 Lines 1-3 HC Bill Any NONRESIDENT Alien is exempt from individual taxes. (You and I will pay for them)

Pg 195 HC Bill -officers & employees of HC Admin (GOVT) will have access to ALL Americans financial/personal recds

PG 203 Line 14-15 HC - "The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax" Yes, it says that

Pg 239 Line 14-24 HC Bill Govt will reduce physician services for Medicaid. Seniors, low income, poor will be very affected

Pg 241 Line 6-8 HC Bill - Doctors, doesnt matter what specialty you have, you'll all be paid the same

PG 253 Line 10-18 Govt sets value of Dr's time, professional judgments, etc. Literally value of humans.

PG 265 Sec 1131Govt mandates & controls productivity for private HC industries

PG 268 Sec 1141 Fed Govt regulates rental & purchase of power driven wheelchairs

PG 272 SEC. 1145. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN CANCER HOSPITALS - Cancer patients - welcome to rationing!

Page 280 Sec 1151 The Govt will penalize hospitals for what Govt deems preventable readmissions.

Pg 317 L 13-20 OMG!! PROHIBITION on ownership/investment. Govt tells Drs. what/how much they can own.

Pg 317-318 lines 21-25,1-3 PROHIBITION on expansion- Govt is mandating hospitals cannot expand

pg 321 2-13 Hospitals have oppt to apply for exception BUT community input required. Can you say ACORN?!!

Pg335 L 16-25 Pg 336-339 - Govt mandates estab. of outcome based measures. HC the way they want. Rationing

Pg 341 Lines 3-9 Govt has authority to disqualify Medicare Adv Plans, HMOs, etc. Forcing all into Govt HC plan

Pg 354 Sec 1177 - Govt will RESTRICT enrollment of Special needs

Pg 379 Sec 1191 Govt creates more bureaucracy - Telehealth Advisory Cmtte. Can you say HC by phone?

PG 425 Lines 4-12 Govt mandates Advance Care Planning Consult. Think Senior Citizens end of life. Seniors will be interviewed every year for health issues and decisions made as to what care they can or can't receive

Pg 425 Lines 17-19 Govt will instruct & consult regarding living wills, durable powers of atty. Mandatory!

PG 425 Lines 22-25, 426 Lines 1-3 Govt provides apprvd list of end of life resources, guiding you in death

PG 427 Lines 15-24 Govt mandates program for orders for end of life. The Govt has a say in how your life ends

Pg 429 Lines 1-9 An "adv. care planning consult" will be used frequently as patients health deteriorates

PG 429 Lines 10-12 "adv. care consultation" may include an ORDER for end of life plans. AN ORDER from GOV

Pg 429 Lines 13-25 - The govt will specify which Doctors can write an end of life order.

PG 430 Lines 11-15 The Govt will decide what level of treatment you will have at end of life

Pg 469 - Community Based Home Medical Services=Non-profit orgs. Hello, ACORN Medical Services here!!?

Page 472 Lines 14-17 PAYMENT TO COMMUNITY-BASED ORG. 1 monthly payment to a community-based org. Like ACORN?

PG 489 Sec 1308 The Govt will cover Marriage & Family therapy, which means they will insert Govt into your marriage

Pg 494-498 Govt will cover Mental Health Svcs including defining, creating, rationing those services

This is all in there, check it out yourself! And be afraid. You must contact your representatives and STOP this insane Health Care Plan before they pass it some night at midnight.

Video of How Great Thou Art as sung by Alan Jackson

2009-08-03T14:58:00.007-05:00

http://www.openmyeyeslord.net/UltimateFreedom.htm

Please take time to watch this video...it's excellent....but I want you to know that it may take a little bit for it to begin but once you see the circle in the middle of the screen wait till it starts...it is well worth the wait!

Oh Lord my God
When I in awesome wonder
Consider all the works
Thy hands have madeI see the stars
I hear the rolling thunder
Thy power throughout
The universe displayed

Then sings my soul
My Saviour, God, to Thee
How great thou art
How great thou art
Then sings my soul
My Saviour, God, to Thee
How great Thou art
How great Thou art

When Christ shall come
With shouts of adulation
And take me home
What joy shall fill my heart
Then I shall bow
In humble adoration
And there proclaim My God
How great Thou art

Then sings my soul
My Saviour, God, to Thee
How great Thou art
How great Thou art
Then sings my soul
My Saviour, God, to Thee
How great Thou art
How great Thou art

How great Thou art
How great Thou art...

Down in My Heart

2009-07-31T10:50:00.003-05:00

After my last posting of the story of "The Heart", I started remembering back when I was a child singing this song..."Down in My Heart" in Bible class and especially when I attended a VBS during the summertime...I have the joy, joy, joy, joy, Down in my heart (where?) Down in my heart...to stay!

Down in My Heart

I have the joy, joy, joy, joy,

Down in my heart, (where?)

Down in my heart,

I have the joy, joy, joy, joy,

Down in my heart, (where?)

Down in my heart to stay.

And I'm so happy, so very happy

I have the love of Jesus in my heart. (down in my heart)

And I'm so happy, so very happy

I have the love of Jesus in my heart.

I have the love of Jesus, love of Jesus,

Down in my heart, (where?)

Down in my heart,

I have the love of Jesus, love of Jesus,

Down in my heart, (where?)

Down in my heart to stay.

And I'm so happy, so very happy

I have the love of Jesus in my heart. (down in my heart)

And I'm so happy, so very happy

I have the love of Jesus in my heart.
I've got the wonderful love of my precious redeemer,

Way down in the depths of my heart,

Down in my heart, (where?)

I've got the wonderful love of my precious redeemer,

Way down in the depths of my heart,

Down in my heart to stay.

And I'm so happy, so very happy

I have the love of Jesus in my heart. (down in my heart)

And I'm so happy, so very happy

I have the love of Jesus in my heart

Proverbs 16:1-2
1 To man belong the plans of the heart, but from the LORD comes the reply of the tongue.
2 All a man's ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the LORD.
Proverbs 16:3
3 Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.

Proverbs 22:17-19)
17 Pay attention and listen to the sayings of the wise; apply your heart to what I teach,
18 for it is pleasing when you keep them in your heart and have all of them ready on your lips.
19 So that your trust may be in the LORD, I teach you today, even you.

The Heart

2009-07-31T10:46:00.004-05:00

"Tomorrow morning," the surgeon began, "I'll open up your heart..."

"You'll find Jesus there," the boy interrupted.

The surgeon looked up, annoyed "I'll cut your heart open," he continued, to see how much damage has been done..."

"but when you open up my heart, you'll find Jesus in there," said the boy.
The surgeon looked to the parents, who sat quietly.

“When I see how much damage has been done, I'll sew your heart and chest back up, and I'll plan what to do next."

"But you'll find Jesus in my heart. The Bible says He lives there.
The hymns all say He lives there. You'll find Him in my heart."
The surgeon had had enough. "I'll tell you what I'll find in your heart
I'll find damaged muscle, low blood supply, and weakened vessels.

And I'll find out if I can make you well."

"You'll find Jesus there too. He lives there."

The surgeon left. The surgeon sat in his office, recording his notes from the surgery, "......damaged aorta, damaged pulmonary vein, wide spread muscle degeneration. No hope for transplant, no hope for cure. Therapy: painkillers and bed rest Prognosis: here he paused, "death within one year."

He stopped the recorder, but there was more to be said. "Why?" he asked aloud. "Why did You do this? You've put him here; You've put him in this pain; and You've cursed him to an early death. Why?"

The Lord answered and said, "The boy, my lamb, was not meant for your flock for long, for he is a part of My flock, and will forever be Here, in My flock, he will feel no pain, and will be comforted as you cannot imagine. His parents will one day join him here, and they will know peace, and My flock will continue to grow."

The surgeon's tears were hot, but his anger was hotter. "You created that boy, and You created that heart. He'll be dead in months. Why?" The Lord answered, "The boy, My lamb, shall return to My flock, for He has done his duty: I did not put My lamb with your flock to lose him, but to retrieve another lost lamb." The surgeon wept...

The surgeon sat beside the boy's bed; the boy's parents sat across from him. The boy awoke and whispered, "Did you cut open my heart?" "Yes," said the surgeon. "What did you find?" asked the boy.

"I found Jesus there," said the surgeon.

Author Unknown - Celebrate Jesus in 2009

If you aren't ashamed to do this, please follow the directions listed below:
Jesus said, "If you are ashamed of me, I will be ashamed of you before my Father."
I Am Not Ashamed.

Pass this on only if you mean it. "Yes, I do Love God. He is my source of existence and Savior. He keeps me functioning each and every day. Without Him, I will be nothing. Without him, I am nothing, but with Him I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me." (Phil 4:13)

The Interview With God

2009-07-30T20:47:00.002-05:00

http://www.theinterviewwithgod.com/popup-frame.html

The Interview With God Poem

I dreamed I had an interview with God.

“So you would like to interview me?” God asked.

“If you have the time” I said.

God smiled. “My time is eternity.”

“What questions do you have in mind for me?”

“What surprises you most about humankind?”

God answered...“That they get bored with childhood,

they rush to grow up, and then long to be children again.”

“That they lose their health to make money...and then lose their money to restore their health.”

“That by thinking anxiously about the future, they forget the present,

such that they live in neither the present nor the future.”

"That they live as if they will never die, and die as though they had never lived.”

God’s hand took mineand we were silent for a while.

And then I asked...“As a parent, what are some of life’s lessons you want your children to learn?”

“To learn they cannot make anyone love them.

All they can do is let themselves be loved.”

“To learn that it is not good to compare themselves to others.”

“To learn to forgiveby practicing forgiveness.”

“To learn that it only takes a few seconds to open profound wounds in those they love,

and it can take many years to heal them.”

“To learn that a rich person is not one who has the most,

but is one who needs the least.”

“To learn that there are people who love them dearly,

but simply have not yet learned how to express or show their feelings.”

“To learn that two people can look at the same thing and see it differently.”

“To learn that it is not enough that they forgive one another,

but they must also forgive themselves.”

"Thank you for your time," I said humbly.

"Is there anything else you would like your children to know?"

God smiled and said, “Just know that I am here... always.”

-author unknown

"Why I Named My Blog What I Did"

2009-07-30T10:02:00.003-05:00

Last night I created my own blog after several of you have told me numerous times that I needed to become a blogger…first being my friend Sandy Shirley who I work with closely and another is LaWanna Wishum…so you can find my blog at http://anndoyouhaveaplan.blogspot.com/. The story behind the name of my blog…..Ann is my middle name…My brothers through the years have referred to me as “Ann” at times and my dad as well has called me “Annie Babe”…but my brother Gary has asked me this question for years…”Ann, do you have a plan?” So I thought I would name my blog Ann Do You Have A Plan?”...except I couldn’t use the question mark http://anndoyouhaveaplan.blogspot.com/. Hopefully, it will keep me motivated to have a plan, think about what I need to do on this earth while I’m here and challenge you to do the same! Love, Cheryl

2 Chronicles 7:14

2009-07-29T19:52:00.002-05:00

I remember reading about the children of Israel who turned from God time and time again, only to realize their mistake and pray for forgiveness. Each time, God would forgive them and they would walk with him for a time. So, I am going to ask you to join me in praying for our nation every day.

Please read the email below. God is in control.

May God Have Mercy on America; Protect Our Troops

When we were in Texarkana last week, there were signs in people's yards that said, "America, prayer is our only hope" - with 2 Chronicles 7:14 underneath. We certainly need God's help!
I have no idea who started this, but I certainly agree with this e-mail.

I heard a preacher on TV tonight who said if we pray for our nation that things will turn around.
After a day of contemplation and soul searching, I have decided to reach out to my friends and relatives and ask you to do something that has been troubling me for a long time.

Our nation is/has been on the slippery slope for a long time. If you look around you will find corruption, greed, moral decay, and a steady move away from the things that made us great. The principles upon which this nation was founded are no longer our backbone. However, we can reverse this trend.

2 Chronicles 7:14 in God's own words states, "If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land."

I am convinced that we must pray for our nation and its leaders and ask for forgiveness. So I ask you to join me in this plea to our Lord.

Would you please send this to people in your address book? Ask them to pray EVERY DAY. (25 to the 5th power are 9,765,625 people.)

IMAGINE if each person reaches TEN others...Or all TWENTY FIVE!

If you do and they comply, we will lift up millions and millions of prayers a day to our Creator. He will hear us, and in faith will answer.

Here's a quote from Ronald Reagan: "If we ever forget that we are one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under."

I truly believe this is why the United States of America is in the shape it's in today.

Most people have forgotten that we are ONE NATION UNDER GOD!Let us as Christians stand up and remind people of this