A Gallon Of Milk

A young man had been to Wednesday night Bible Study. The Pastor had

shared about listening to God and obeying the Lord's voice.

The young man couldn't help but wonder, "Does God still speak to people?"

After service he went out with some friends for

coffee and pie and they discussed the message.

Several different ones talked about how God had

led them in different ways. It was about ten o'clock when the young

man started driving home. Sitting in his car, he just began to pray,

"God...If you still speak to people speak to me. I will listen. I will do my

best to obey." As he drove down the main street of his town, he

had the strangest thought to stop and buy a gallon of milk. He shook

his head and said out loud, "God is that you?" He didn't get a reply and

started on toward home. But again, the thought, buy a gallon of milk. The

young man thought about Samuel and how he didn't recognize the voice

of God, and how little Samuel ran to Eli. "Okay, God, in case that is you, I will buy the

milk." It didn't seem like too hard a test of obedience. He could always use the milk.

He stopped and purchased the gallon of milk and started off toward home.

As he passed Seventh Street, he again felt the urge, "Turn Down that street."

This is crazy he thought and drove on past the intersection.

Again, he felt that he should turn down Seventh Street. At the next

intersection, he turned back and headed down Seventh.

Half jokingly, he said out loud, "Okay, God, I will".

He drove several blocks, when suddenly, he felt like he should stop.

He pulled over to the curb and looked around. He was in semi commercial

area of town. It wasn't the best but it wasn't the worst of neighborhoods

either. The businesses were closed and most of the houses looked dark

like the people were already in bed. Again, he sensed something, "Go and give the milk

to the people in the house across the street." The young man

looked at the house. It was dark and it looked like the people were either

gone or they were already asleep. He started to open the door and then sat

back in the car seat. "Lord, this is insane. Those people are asleep

and if I wake them up, they are going to be mad and I will look stupid."

Again, he felt like he should go and give the milk. Finally, he opened

the door, "Okay God, if this is you, I will go to the door and I will

give them the milk. If you want me to look like a crazy person, okay. I

want to be obedient...I guess that will count for something but if they

don't answer right away, I am out of here." He walked across the street and rang the bell.

He could hear some noise inside. A man's voice yelled out, "Who is it? What do you want?"

Then the door opened before the young man could get away.

The man was standing there in his jeans and T-shirt.

He looked like he just got out of bed.

He had a strange look on his face and he didn't seem too happy

to have some stranger standing on his doorstep. "What is it?"

The young man thrust out the gallon of milk, "Here, I brought this to you."

The man took the milk and rushed down a hallway. Then from down he hall

came a woman carrying the milk toward the

kitchen. The man was following her holding a baby.

The baby was crying. The man had tears streaming down his face.

The man began speaking and half crying, "We were just praying.

We had some big bills this month and we ran out of money. We didn't have

any milk for our baby. I was just praying and

asking God to show me how to get some milk."

His wife in the kitchen yelled out, "I ask him to

send an Angel with some. Are you an Angel?"

The young man reached into his wallet and pulled out all the money he had

on him and put in the man's hand. He turned and walked back toward his

car and the tears were streaming down his face.

He knew that God still answers prayers.

Sometimes it's the simplest things that God asks us to

do that cause us, if we are obedient to what He's asking, to be able to

hear His voice more clear than ever. Please listen, and obey!

He will bless you (and the world). Phil 4:13

@..@
(----) FROG....Fully Rely On God
( >__< )
^^ ~~ ^^

Adam and Eve

Whenever your kids are out of control, you can take comfort from the thought that even God's omnipotence did not extend to God's kids. After creating Heaven and earth, God created Adam and Eve. And the first thing He said to them was, "Don't."

"Don't what?" Adam asked.

"Don't eat the forbidden fruit," God said.

"Forbidden fruit? We got forbidden fruit? Hey, Eve! We got Forbidden Fruit!"

"No way!"

"Yes WAY!"

"Don't eat that fruit!" said God.

"Why?"

"Because I'm your Creator and I said so!" said God, wondering why he hadn't stopped after making the elephants.

A few minutes later, God saw the kids having an apple break and was angry. "Didn't I tell you not to eat that fruit?" God asked.

"Uh huh," Adam replied.

"Then why did you?"

"I dunno," Eve answered.

"She started it!" Adam said.

"Did Not!"

"DID so!"

"DID NOT!"

Having had it with the two of them, God's punishment was that Adam and Eve should have children of their own.

To Be Fair To Men

How Dogs and Women Are Alike

Both look stupid in hats.

Both can eat 5 pounds of chocolate in one sitting.

Both tend to have "hip" problems.

Neither understand football.

Both look good in a fur coat.

Both are good at pretending that they're listening to every word you say.

Neither believe that silence is golden.

Both constantly want back rubs.

Neither can balance a checkbook.

You can never tell what either of them is thinking.

Both put too much value on kissing.

How Dogs And Men Are The Same

Both take up too much space on the bed.

Both have irrational fears about vacuum cleaning.

Both are threatened by their own kind.

Both like to chew wood.

Both mark their territory.

Both are bad at asking you questions.

Neither tells you what's bothering them.

Both tend to smell riper with age.

The smaller ones tend to be more nervous.

Both have an inordinate fascination with women's crotches.

Neither does any dishes.

Both fart shamelessly.

Neither of them notice when you get your hair cut.

Both like dominance games.

Both are suspicious of the postman.

Neither knows how to talk on the telephone.

Neither understands what you see in cats.

Human Moods

Moods of a Woman

An angel of truth and a dream of fiction,
A woman is a bundle of contradiction,
She's afraid of a wasp, will scream at a mouse,
But will tackle her boyfriend alone in the house.
Sour as vinegar, sweet as a rose,
She'll kiss you one minute, then turn up her nose,
She'll win you in range, enchant you in silk,
She'll be stronger than brandy, milder than milk;
At times she'll be vengeful, merry and sad,
She'll hate you like poison, and love you like mad.

~~~~~~~~~~

Moods of a Man

Horny.

I Will Be There

Endure The Darkness

I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness because it shows me the stars.~Og Mandino

Piece Of Cake

Don't let anyone tell you that you can't have your cake and eat it too. Of course you can eat it! You just have to count it as two breads, one dairy, and 150 optional calories.

Lofty Inspiration

"Be inspired with the belief that life is a great and noble
calling; not a mean and groveling thing that we are to shuffle
through as we can, but an elevated and lofty destiny."
~William E. Gladstone
British Statesman



Your were never meant to shuffle. You were given a mind so that
you might soar. You were meant to spread your mental wings and fly.

Joke Time, People!

If I Knew

If I knew it would be the last time
That I'd see you fall asleep,
I would tuck you in more tightly
and pray the Lord, your soul to keep.

If I knew it would be the last time
that I see you walk out the door,
I would give you a hug and kiss
and call you back for one more.

If I knew it would be the last time
I'd hear your voice lifted up in praise,
I would video tape each action and word,
so I could play them back day after day.

If I knew it would be the last time,
I could spare an extra minute
to stop and say "I love you,"
instead of assuming you would KNOW I do.

If I knew it would be the last time
I would be there to share your day,
Well I'm sure you'll have so many more,
so I can let just this one slip away.

For surely there's always tomorrow
to make up for an oversight,
and we always get a second chance
to make everything just right.

There will always be another day
to say "I love you,"
And certainly there's another chance
to say our "Anything I can do?"

But just in case I might be wrong,
and today is all I get,
I'd like to say how much I love you
and I hope we never forget.

Tomorrow is not promised to anyone,
young or old alike,
And today may be the last chance
you get to hold your loved one tight.

So if you're waiting for tomorrow,
why not do it today?
For if tomorrow never comes,
you'll surely regret the day,

That you didn't take that extra time
for a smile, a hug, or a kiss
and you were too busy to grant someone,
what turned out to be their one last wish.

So hold your loved ones close today,
and whisper in their ear,
Tell them how much you love them
and that you'll always hold them dear

Take time to say "I'm sorry,"
"Please forgive me," "Thank you," or "It's okay."
And if tomorrow never comes,
you'll have no regrets about today.

No Charge For Love

A farmer had some puppies he needed to sell. He painted a sign
advertising the 4 pups. And set about nailing it to a post on the edge of his
yard. As he was driving the last nail into the post, he felt a tug on his
overalls. He looked down into the eyes of little boy.

"Mister," he said, "I want to buy one of your puppies."

"Well," said the farmer, as he rubbed the sweat off the back of his
neck, "These puppies come from fine parents and cost a good deal of
money."

The boy dropped his head for a moment. Then reaching deep into his
pocket, he pulled out a handful of change and held it up to the farmer.
"I've got thirty-nine cents. Is that enough to take a look?"

"Sure," said the farmer. And with that he let out a whistle. "Here,
Dolly!" he called. Out from the doghouse and down the ramp ran Dolly
followed by four little balls of fur.

The little boy pressed his face against the chain link fence. His eyes
danced with delight.

As the dogs made their way to the fence, the little boy noticed
something else stirring inside the doghouse. Slowly another little ball
appeared, this one noticeably smaller. Down the ramp it slid. Then in a somewhat
awkward manner, the little pup began hobbling toward the others, doing
its best to catch up....

"I want that one," the little boy said, pointing to the runt. The
farmer knelt down at the boy's side and said, "Son, you don't want that puppy. He will never be able to run and play with you like these other dogs would."

With that the little boy stepped back from the fence, reached down,
and began rolling up one leg of his trousers. In doing so he revealed a steel
brace running down both sides of his leg attaching itself to a specially made shoe.

Looking back up at the farmer, he said, "You see sir, I don't run too
well myself, and he will need someone who understands."

With tears in his eyes, farmer reached down and picked up the little
pup. Holding it carefully handed it to the little boy.

"How much?" asked the little boy. "No charge," answered the farmer,
"There's no charge for love."

The world is full of people who need someone who understands.

Information Please

When I was quite young, my father had one of the first telephones in our neighborhood. I remember the polished, old case fastened to the wall. The shiny receiver hung on the side of the box. I was too little to reach the telephone, but used to listen with fascination when my mother talked to it.

Then I discovered that somewhere inside the wonderful device lived an amazing
person. Her name was "Information Please" and there was nothing she did not know. Information Please could supply anyone's number and the correct time.

My personal experience with the genie-in-a-bottle came one day while my mother was visiting a neighbor. Amusing myself at the tool bench in the basement, I whacked my finger with a hammer, the pain was terrible, but there seemed no point in crying because there was no one home to give sympathy.

I walked around the house sucking my throbbing finger, finally arriving at the stairway. The telephone! Quickly, I ran for the footstool in the parlor and dragged it to the landing. Climbing up, I unhooked the receiver in the parlor and held it
to my ear. "Information, please" I said into the mouthpiece just above my head.

A click or two and a small clear voice spoke into my ear."Information." "I hurt my finger..." I wailed into the phone, the tears came readily enough now that I had an audience.

"Isn't your mother home?" came the question. "Nobody's home but me," I blubbered. "Are you bleeding?" the voice asked. "No," I replied. "I hit my finger with the hammer and it hurts." "Can you open the icebox?" she asked. I said I could.
"Then chip off a little bit of ice and hold it to your finger," said the voice.

After that, I called "Information Please" for everything. I asked her for help with my geography, and she told me where Philadelphia was. She helped me with my math. She told me my pet chipmunk that I had caught in the park just the day before, would eat fruit and nuts.

Then, there was the time Petey, our pet canary, died. I called, "Information Please," and told her the sad story. She listened, and then said things grown-ups say to soothe a child. But I was not consoled. I asked her, "Why is it that birds should sing so beautifully and bring joy to all families, only to end up as a heap of feathers on the bottom of a cage?"

She must have sensed my deep concern, for she said quietly, "Wayne always remember that there are other worlds to sing in." Somehow I felt better.

Another day I was on the telephone, "Information Please." "Information," said in the now familiar voice. "How do I spell fix?" I asked.

All this took place in a small town in the Pacific Northwest. When I was nine years old, we moved across the country to Boston. I missed my friend very much. Information Please" belonged in that old wooden box back home and I somehow never thought of trying the shiny new phone that sat on the table in the hall.

As I grew into my teens, the memories of those childhood conversations never really left me. Often, in moments of doubt and perplexity I would recall the serene sense of security I had then. I appreciated now how patient, understanding, and kind she was to have spent her time on a little boy.

A few years later, on my way west to college, my plane put down in Seattle. I had about a half-hour or so between planes. I spent 15 minutes or so on the phone with my sister, who lived there now. Then without thinking what I was doing, I dialed my hometown operator and said, "Information Please."

Miraculously, I heard the small, clear voice I knew so well. "Information." I hadn't planned this, but I heard myself saying, "Could you please tell me how to spell fix?"

There was a long pause. Then came the soft spoken answer, "I guess your finger must have healed by now." I laughed, "So it's really you," I said. "I wonder if you have
any idea how much you meant to me during that time?" I wonder," she said, "if you know how much your call meant to me. I never had any children and I used to look forward to your calls."

I told her how often I had thought of her over the years and I asked if I could call her again when I came back to visit my sister. "Please do", she said. "Just ask for Sally."

Three months later I was back in Seattle. A different voice answered, "Information." I asked for Sally. "Are you a friend?" she said. "Yes, a very old friend," I answered.

"I'm sorry to have to tell you this," she said. "Sally had been working part-time the last few years because she was sick. She died five weeks ago."

Before I could hang up she said, "Wait a minute, did you say
your name was Wayne?" "Yes." I answered. "Well, Sally left a message for you. She wrote it down in case you called. Let me read it to you."

The note said, "Tell him there are other worlds to sing in. He'll know what I mean."
I thanked her and hung up. I knew what Sally meant. Never underestimate the impression you may make on others.

Whose life have you touched today? Why not pass this on? I just did....

Lifting you on eagle's wings. May you find the joy and peace
you long for. Life is a journey ... NOT a guided tour.

I loved this story and just had to pass it on. I hope you enjoy it just as I did.

The Forest For The Trees

"We create our lives a thought at a time. And sometimes, it comes
down to changing a thought such as 'Why did this happen to me?'
into 'There is a divine plan and there is a reason for this, and my
choice is to create the most positive reaction I can.'"
~Dee Wallace Stone
American Actress
(She played the mom in "ET")



Just as you cannot see a forest for the trees, neither can you see
a solution for the problems. Change your perception, however, and
the solutions are not only evident, the change has caused the
problems to disappear.

The Hand Of Your God

You will be a crown of splendour and the royal diadem in the hand of your God.

You no longer are deserted or your land called desolate.

For the Lord your God will delight in you as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride.

You have nothing to hide... you are forgiven and delivered by the hand of your God.

The world has tried to claim you; tried to give you its own name.

But I can see and I believe He has given you a new name.

He has given you a covenant with Him that will never end.

I can see His glory over your face, His spirit over your life.

Eternal hope in your eyes... for you have a Saviour.

You are rescued and restored by the hand of your God.

Come rejoice and sing now in the bounty of our Lord.

Come and dance a new dance in the joy of our Lord.

Come restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from needless tears.

Come sing and celebrate and prepare Him room...

For the bridegroom is coming for His bride.

So put on your linens of white. Come and get ready for your destiny...

HE WILL BE HERE SOON!

Help From The Lord

We all carry a thousand wounds. The wounds of childhood, the wounds of adolescence, the bitter wounds of adult failures still stinging with remembered pain. The soured loves and lost dreams...

How do we make them all go away? How do we become brave and trusting again? How do we wipe the slate clean? I wish I knew...

I only know the answer doesn't lie in learning how to protect yourself from life.

It lies in learning how to strengthen yourself so you can let a bit more of it in.

It lies in help from the Lord...

Forget Everything

"Forget past mistakes. Forget failures. Forget everything except
what you're going to do now and do it."
~William Durant
Founder of General Motors


Success is a three-step process. First you forget the unimportant.
Secondly, you focus on the goal and third, you do whatever it takes
to reach it.

Happy Easter

Edith Burns was a wonderful Christian who lived in San Antonio, Texas.
She was the patient of a doctor by the name of Will Phillips.
Dr. Phillips was a gentle doctor who saw patients as people. His
favorite patient was Edith Burns.

One morning he went to his office with a heavy heart and it was
because of Edith Burns. When he walked into that waiting room,
there sat Edith with her big black Bible in her lap earnestly
talking to a young mother sitting beside her.

Edith Burns had a habit of introducing herself in this way:
"Hello, my name is Edith Burns. Do you believe in Easter?" Then
she would explain the meaning of Easter, and many times people
would be saved.

Dr. Phillips walked into that office and there he saw the head
nurse, Beverly. Beverly had first met Edith when she was taking
her blood pressure. Edith began by saying, "My name is Edith
Burns. Do you believe in Easter?"

Beverly said, "Why, yes, I do."

Edith said, "Well, what do you believe about Easter?"

Beverly said, "Well, it's all about egg hunts, going to church, and
dressing up."

Edith kept pressing her about the real meaning of Easter, and
finally led her to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Dr. Phillips said, "Beverly, don't call Edith into the office quite yet.
I believe there is another delivery taking place in the waiting room."
After being called back in the doctor's office, Edith sat down, and
when she took a look at the doctor she said, "Dr. Will, why are
you so sad? Are you reading your Bible? Are you praying?"

Dr. Phillips said gently, "Edith, I'm the doctor. You're the patient."
With a heavy heart he said, "Your lab report came back and it says
you have cancer, and Edith, you're not going to live very long."

Edith said, "Why Will Phillips, shame on you. Why are you so sad?
Do you think God makes mistakes? You have just told me I'm going
to see my precious Lord Jesus, my husband, and my friends. You
have just told me that I am going to celebrate Easter forever, and
here you are having difficulty giving me my ticket!"

Dr. Phillips thought to himself, "What a magnificent woman this
Edith Burns is!"

Edith continued coming to Dr. Phillips. Christmas came and the
office was closed through January 3rd. On the day the office
opened, Edith did not show up.

Later that afternoon, Edith called Dr. Phillips and said she would
have to be moving her story to the hospital and said, "Will, I'm very
near home, so would you make sure that they put women in here
next to me in my room who need to know about Easter."

Well, they did just that, and women began to come in and share that
room with Edith. Many women were saved. Everybody on that floor
from staff to patients were so excited about Edith that they started
calling her Edith Easter; that is, everyone except Phyllis Cross,
the head nurse.

Phyllis made it clear she wanted nothing to do with Edith because
she was a "religious nut". Phyllis had been a nurse in an army
hospital. She had seen and heard it all. She was the original
G.I. Jane. She had been married three times; was hard, cold,
and did everything by the book.

One morning the two nurses who were to attend to Edith were sick.
Edith had the flu and Phyllis Cross had to go in and give her a shot.
When she walked in, Edith had a big smile on her face and said,
"Phyllis, God loves you and I love you, and I have been praying for
you."

Phyllis Cross said, "Well, you can quit praying for me. It won't
work and I'm not interested."

Edith said, "Well, I will continue to pray, and I have asked God
not to let me go home until you come into the family."

Phyllis Cross said, "Then you will never die because that will
never happen," and curtly walked out of the room.

Every day Phyllis Cross would walk into the room and Edith would
say, "God loves you, Phyllis, and I love you, and I'm praying for
you."

One day Phyllis Cross said she was literally drawn to Edith's room
like a magnet would draw iron. She sat down on the bed and Edith
said, "I'm so glad you have come, because God told me that today
is your special day."

Phyllis Cross said, "Edith, you have asked everybody here the
question, 'Do you believe in Easter?', but you have never asked me."

Edith said, "Phyllis, I wanted to many times, but God told me to
wait until you asked, and now that you have asked..."

Edith Burns took her Bible and shared with Phyllis Cross the Easter
Story of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Edith said, "Phyllis, do you believe in Easter? Do you believe
that Jesus Christ is alive and that He wants to live in your heart?"

Phyllis Cross said, "Oh, I want to believe that with all of my
heart, and I do want Jesus in my life." Right there, Phyllis Cross
prayed and invited Jesus Christ into her heart. For the first time
Phyllis Cross did not walk out of a hospital room, she was carried
out on the wings of angels.

Two days later, Phyllis Cross came in and Edith said, "Do you know
what day it is?"

Phyllis Cross said, "Why Edith, it's Good Friday."

Edith said, "Oh, no, for you every day is Easter. Happy
Easter Phyllis!"

Two days later, on Easter Sunday, Phyllis Cross came into work, did
some of her duties, and then went down to the flower shop and got
some Easter lilies, because she wanted to go up to see Edith, give
her some Easter lilies, and wish her a Happy Easter.

When she walked into Edith's room, Edith was in bed. That big black
Bible was on her lap. Her hands were in that Bible. There was a
sweet smile on her face. When Phyllis Cross went to pick up
Edith's hand, she realized Edith was dead. Her left hand was on
John 14: "In my Father's house are many mansions. I go to prepare
a place for you. I will come again and receive you to Myself, that
where I am, there you may be also."

Her right hand was on Revelation 21:4:
"And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, there shall be
no more death nor sorrow, nor crying; and there shall be no more
pain, for the former things have passed away."

Phyllis Cross took one look at that dead body, and then lifted her
face toward heaven, and with tears streaming down her cheeks said,
"Happy Easter Edith --- Happy Easter!"

Phyllis Cross left Edith's body, walked out of the room and over to
a table where two student nurses were sitting.

She said, "My name is Phyllis Cross. Do you believe in Easter?"

If you believe in Easter, forward this on. God works in wonderful
ways, and to believe in His power is to truly be free. If Jesus
had e-mail, He'd do the same for you.

HAVE A BLESSED DAY!

Facts Of Life

An older couple is lying in bed one morning.
They had just awakened from a good night's sleep.
He takes her hand and she responds, "Don't touch me."
"Why not?" he asked.
She answered, "Because I'm dead."
The husband asked…
"What are you talking about?
We're both lying here in bed together and talking to one another!"
She said, "No, I'm definitely dead."
He insisted, "You are not dead.
What in the world makes you think you're dead?"
"Because I woke up this morning and nothing hurts."

Remember...
Once you get over the hill, you'll begin to pick up speed.

...If it weren't for STRESS
I'd have no energy at all.

Whatever hits the fan...
Will Not Be Evenly Distributed.

Everyone has a photographic memory.
Some, like me, just don't have any film.

I always know...
God won't give me more than I can handle
There are times I just wish He didn't trust me quite so much.

Dogs Have Owners ~ Cats Have Staff

If the shoe fits... buy a pair in every color.

Never be too open-minded, your brains may fall out.

Just going to church doesn't make you a Christian.
Not any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.

Bills travel through the mail...
at twice the speed of checks.

If you look like your passport picture...
you probably need the trip.

Some days are a total waste of makeup.

Men are from earth.
Women are from earth.
Deal with it.

A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand.

Middle age is when broadness of the mind
and narrowness of the waist change places.

Opportunities always look bigger going than coming.

Junk is something you've kept for years
and throw away three weeks before you need it.

Experience is a wonderful thing.
It enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.

By the time you can make ends meet, they move the ends.

Learn from the mistakes of others.
Trust me... you can't live long enough to make them all yourself.
I've tried!!

Have A Wonderful Day!

Think Well Of Yourself

"Never think that you're not good enough yourself. A person should
never think that. People will take you very much at your own
reckoning."
~Anthony Trollope
Victorian Novelist


The opinion others have of you is never more than a reflection of
the opinion you have of yourself. Think well of yourself and others
will think well of you, too.

Birthdays Are Important

Hi, Everyone!

Go to this website, and enter your birthdate.

http://www.frontiernet.net/~cdm/age1.html

Here is mine:

You said your birthday is 9 / 24 / 1972
which means you are 33 years old and about:

55 years 11 months younger than Walter Cronkite, age 89
51 years 3 months younger than Nancy Reagan, age 84
48 years 3 months younger than George Herbert Bush, age 81
41 years 0 months younger than Barbara Walters, age 74
38 years 10 months younger than Larry King, age 72
32 years 8 months younger than Ted Koppel, age 66
29 years 3 months younger than Geraldo Rivera, age 62
26 years 3 months younger than George W. Bush, age 59
21 years 2 months younger than Jesse Ventura, age 54
16 years 11 months younger than Bill Gates, age 50
12 years 1 month younger than Cal Ripken Jr., age 45
6 years 3 months younger than Mike Tyson, age 39
2 years 2 months younger than Jennifer Lopez, age 35
3 years 3 months older than Tiger Woods, age 30
9 years 9 months older than Prince William, age 23
and that you were:

28 years old at the time of the 9-11 attack on America
27 years old on the first day of Y2K
24 years old when Princess Diana was killed in a car crash
22 years old at the time of Oklahoma City bombing
21 years old when O. J. Simpson was charged with murder
20 years old at the time of the 93 bombing of the World Trade Center
18 years old when Operation Desert Storm began
17 years old during the fall of the Berlin Wall
13 years old when the space shuttle Challenger exploded
11 years old when Apple introduced the Macintosh
10 years old during Sally Ride's travel in space
8 years old when Pres. Reagan was shot by John Hinckley, Jr.
7 years old at the time the Iran hostage crisis began
3 years old on the U.S.'s bicentennial Fourth of July
a 1 year old when President Nixon left office

Blessings

Have you ever given much thought to what
a blessing really is and how it works? Although there are numerous
definitions, most of them fringed with religious connotation, a
blessing is basically an expression of good. It is a way of
conferring happiness and prosperity upon another, a sign of
unconditional approval, and a conduit between souls.

A blessing acknowledges good that is inherent in our world.
Burdens, pain, suffering and lack flee from a blessing the way
darkness flees from light. It is impossible to bless someone else
without being blessed in return because when our minds are focused
on offering good to another, there is no room for thoughts of our
own troubles and woes. And in that moment when our thoughts are
removed from that which bothers us, it loses its power over us.

A blessing is the most divine expression of unconditional love we
are capable of expressing. The soul connection between ourselves
and those we bless demonstrates our relationship with a Higher
Power and allows us to recognize evidence of the Divine in others.
By embracing the true essence of a blessing, we keep love
circulating. We become One with those we bless.

That is what a blessing is.

Have you blessed anyone today? And have you counted the blessings
in your life?

If not, why not take a moment to do so now? It will make you feel
phenomenal.


May you be blessed with all things good.

****I bless my sister Rhoda today.****

Attorney's Advice

ATTORNEY'S ADVICE -- NO CHARGE

A corporate attorney sent the following out to the employees in his company.

1. The next time you order checks have only your initials (instead of first
name) and last name put on them. If someone takes your checkbook, they will not
know if you sign your checks with just your initials or your first name, but
your bank will know how you sign your checks.

2. Do not sign the back of your credit cards. Instead, put "PHOTO ID REQUIRED".

3. When you are writing checks to pay on your credit card accounts, DO NOT put
the complete account number on the "For" line. Instead, just put the last four
numbers. The credit card company knows the rest of the number, and anyone who
might be handling your check as it passes through all the check processing
channels won't have access to it.

4. Put your work phone # on your checks instead of your home phone. If you
have a PO Box use that instead of your home address. If you do not have a PO
Box, use your work address. Never have your SS# printed on your checks. You
can add it if it is necessary. But if you have it printed, anyone can get it.

5. Place the contents of your wallet on a photocopy machine. Do both sides of each license, credit card, etc. You will know what you had in your wallet and all of the account numbers and phone numbers to call and cancel. Keep the photocopy in a safe place. I also carry a photocopy of my passport when I travel either here or abroad. We've all heard horror stories about fraud that's committed on us in stealing a name, address, Social Security number, credit cards.

Unfortunately I, an attorney, have firsthand knowledge because my wallet was stolen last month. Within a week, the thieve(s) ordered an expensive monthly cell phone package, applied for a VISA credit card, had a credit line approved to buy a Gateway computer, received a PIN number from DMV to change my driving record information online, and more. But here's some critical information to limit the damage in case this happens to you or someone you know:

1. We have been told we should cancel our credit cards immediately. But! the key is having the toll free numbers and your card numbers handy so you know whom to call. Keep those where you can find them.

2. File a police report immediately in the jurisdiction where your credit cards, etc., was stolen. This proves to credit providers you were diligent, and this is a first step toward an investigation (if there ever is one).

But here's what is perhaps most important of all: (I never even thought to do this.)

3. Call the 3 national credit reporting organizations immediately to place a fraud alert on your name and Social Security number. I had never heard of doing that until advised by a bank that called to tell me an application for credit was made over the Internet in my name. The alert means any company that checks your credit knows your information was stolen, and they have to contact you by phone to authorize new credit. By the time I was advised to do this, almost two weeks after the theft, all the damage had been done. There are records of all the credit checks initiated by the thieves' purchases, none of which I knew about before placing the alert. Since then, no additional damage has been done, and the thieves threw my wallet away this weekend (someone turned it in). It seems to have stopped them dead in their tracks. Now, here are the numbers you always need to contact about your wallet, etc., has been stolen:

1.) Social Security Administration (fraud line): 1-800-269-0271
2.) Equifax: 1-800-525-6285
3.) Experian (formerly TRW): 1-888-397-3742
4.) Trans Union: 1-800-680-7289

We pass along jokes on the Internet. We pass along just about everything. But if you are willing to pass this information along, it could really help someone that you care about.

Praying Rocks

This is AWESOME! Tilt your head to the left to see the picture.
You will be amazed at what you see. Look at the entire length of
the picture......

My Master Is There

~ A sick man turned to his doctor, as he was
preparing to leave the examination room and said,
"Doctor, I am afraid to die. Tell me what lies on
the other side."

Very quietly, the doctor said, "I don't know."

"You don't know? You, a Christian man, do not know
what is on the other side?"

The doctor was holding the handle of the door; on
the other side came a sound of scratching and
whining, and as he opened the door, a dog sprang
into the room and leaped on him with an eager show
of gladness.


Turning to the patient, the doctor said, "Did you
notice my dog? He's never been in this room before.
He didn't know what was inside. He knew nothing
except that his master was here, and when the door!
opened, he sprang in without fear. I know little of
what is on the other side of death, but I do know
one thing... I know my Master is there and that is
enough."

Divorce Recovery

-From The Divorce Recovery Workbook by Bob Burns and Tom Whiteman

You have to resume your life. And it will be a different life from what you're used to. You're single again. You're also older, wiser and injured. You must radically redefine yourself.

I felt like a complete failure. The most important thing in my life-my family, my home-had fallen apart. And I thought to myself, "If I couldn't keep that together, what can I do? What good am I?

Stay away from the voices that will tear you down. Find friends who will build you up. Say aloud, "I'm not a failure. I'm a unique individual, created in God's image. I have a lot to offer!"

How To Redeem A Bad Childhood

Upon hitting the save prompt on my computer after finishing the last line of my newest book, "Bad Childhood – Good Life," I became choked up. That's never happened after completing any of my prior eight adult books. I believe I got so emotional because of three factors:

I was deeply moved by the courage and character displayed by people who have:
a.) suffered significant pain at the hands of others they should have been able to trust and count on;

b.) realized and been willing to face and change the mess they may have created for themselves with counterproductive thoughts and actions that were a reaction to their bad childhood.

I felt that this was probably the most important book I've ever written, based upon how much I believe it is going to help change peoples lives dramatically for the better.
I realized that I could not have written this book any earlier in my life because I had to be way down the road of my own Good Journey – and I was pleased to be able to see myself in that context.
Both of my parents are now deceased. While I will share some of my personal issues with you, I am not – as are the other contributors to this book – anonymous, and I don't wish to do damage to my parents even after their deaths. Therefore, this will be more philosophical than autobiographical.

About one year before my father's stomach cancer rapidly took his life just weeks after it was diagnosed, I remember him commenting on the huge number of people who came to the funeral of the wife of one of his co-workers: "Gee, I wonder how many people would come to my funeral?" It was an unusually candid moment for my father, and I believe it was probably one of the few introspective moments of his life. Perhaps he had regrets at that time for not having nurtured relationships. He was a very difficult, compulsive, critical and argumentative guy – who could also be very charming.

The last day he was coherent, I asked him the question of my lifetime: "Do you love me and have you ever been proud of what I've done with my life?" I remember the moment, thinking that his answer would change a lifetime of anguish and transform me into a more peaceful and happy person.

He looked at me calmly, and simply said, "Yes."

Obviously, that was the answer any daughter would want to hear. I waited, as one does for the thunder after the lightening strike, for something magical to happen to me. I should have been happy or satisfied or something.

Absolutely nothing happened. I excused myself and walked out the sliding door to his living room into the back yard and paced around his pool. I was trying to figure out why I was not moved and I was trying to come up with what might be my next question.

I realized quickly why I was not moved by what he said, and why there was no next question. My father had been so tough on me that, for example, one spring-break week in college, I actually stayed in the dorm and survived on a bag of Oreo cookies rather than come home to his brow-beatings. Nonetheless, it has been clear to me for a long while that my drive to excel is directly related to a desire to finally please my dad. I can look at his impact on me as positive (I worked extremely hard to do something of value) and negative (I found it extremely difficult to enjoy my successes).

By the time of this last conversation with him, I had pulled back the lens and looked at him with objectivity. I was not the little girl trying to get approval from her dad. I was a grown, competent woman looking at a man who had been petty, insensitive, mean, thoughtless, demeaning and downright unloving, all for the sake of his own ego. At that moment, I realized why I was not moved by what he said, and why there was no next question: He'd been a "jerk," and what he had to say really didn't, and shouldn't, matter. Believe me when I tell you that was a stunner! To think that much of what was not healthy about my life was a reaction to him – wow! – what a waste!

Sadly, when my father finally died shortly after this conversation, I did not mourn. I realized that was because there was no emotional bond. To this day, I envy people who suffer over the death of a parent because it means there was so much love and attachment that the loss of it tears at their soul. I never had that with either parent.

My first memory from my childhood is one of my mother pulling me along the sidewalk on a rainy night, while my father was in the car, rolling along the curb, begging her to get in ... "The kid'll get sick!" This pretty much represented their marriage. For reasons I never knew, they never appeared happy with each other. My father would never do nice things for her, she was always annoyed with him.

My mother was a war-bride from Italy. My father, a second lieutenant in the Army, met her in Gorizia, after the American forces liberated northern Italy. My mother was an amazing beauty. When I was 21 and planning an anniversary gift for them, I asked my father what anniversary it was. Turns out they were married in Italy, outside under a beautiful tree when I was some 5 months into my fetal development. I actually liked hearing that I was a "love child," because it meant there was at least one time they had been happy with each other.

When my mother, a nice Italian Catholic girl, came to America after having married my father, a nice American Jewish boy, all hell broke loose when my father's mother went on a relentless attack against the "shicksah," which means in Yiddish the non-Jewish wife of a Jewish man. My grandmother tried to do everything she could to get rid of my mother, and turned much of the family into rejecting her/us.

When I was 2-1/2, my mother took me back to Italy, probably to get a break from this cruelty. My mother's mother and father were dead by this time. She was not close to her brother, and her older sister had been killed by the Nazis on the first day she joined the underground resistance (I like to think that I channel her courage).

There was always tension in our home, and I was always trying to smooth things over and try to make things better. My sister, 11 years my junior, and I really didn't have much bonding time because I left for college at 17 (she was 6) and never came home to live again. She and I handled the negativity in our home in different ways – she was more free-spirited, and I was more serious; this brought conflict between us.

My parents finally divorced after my father was involved in some extracurricular activities, and he married a nice woman with whom he lived until his death. My mother never remarried, and constantly expressed disdain for men, sex and love. Neither one of them had ever developed any close friendships at all. I felt responsible for her, while my sister gravitated toward my dad – who was feeling some guilt for the whole family mess and would indulge her.

I financially supported my mother (who had significant financial resources from her divorce and investments) by having her be a receptionist in my counseling clinic. She had tried other jobs in clothing stores and such, but her poor people skills would soon end that. She was abrupt and nasty with the counselors and with people on the telephone, and she seemed to try to pit me against everyone else, I guess to have me all to herself. I put up with all of this out of a sense of obligation. I always took her on my vacations and bought her lovely gifts even when I had a modest income (mink jacket, diamond bracelet, for example). She would never be grateful and would always find something to criticize.

One day, I gently asked if she would take a typing course, on my dime, because I needed help with the growing amount of paperwork I had as a therapist, writer and college professor. She said, "No," picked up her stuff from the office and refused to see or talk to me ever again. Once my mother scratched you off her list, you were off for life – even if you were her daughter. She had pathological pride.

She was not there for my son's birth, my home burning to the ground, my husband's near fatal heart-attack, nor the public attacks on me and my career by various special-interest groups. After that, I frankly didn't care about her either. There had never been any mother-daughter bond with me or with my sister.

One day the Beverly Hills Police called me (she had a condo in Beverly Hills) to let me know my mother was dead, and had been dead on the floor of her apartment for about four months. (There were no friends and none of her neighbors were close – nobody noticed!) They said it was probably a homicide, but not a robbery. When the police came to my home to ask me questions, I told them it couldn't be a homicide. I said that to murder someone "personal," you had to be close enough to begin to hate, and that nobody got close to her. The final conclusion was unknown cause of death, but not homicide.

The horrendous part of all of this is how the media – because I am a "celebrity" – handled this event. I was accused by many of the network so-called news shows and radio talk-show hosts of abandoning my mother, contrary to what I espouse on my radio program. She alienated everyone from her life and I was being made to pay the price for that. One of the network morning-news anchors asked some psychiatrist they grabbed at the last moment to comment on whether I should be giving advice about family issues when I didn't have a relationship with my mother. My mother, I anguished, was causing me pain even after death!

My mother had a condo worth over a half-million dollars, stocks, bonds, money in the bank, and insurance policies (which were made out to me as the beneficiary – I gave it all away to a children's foundation charity). She took trips on luxury liners and flew the Concorde to Europe. She didn't lack for anything she wanted.

Nonetheless, let me answer that question, although it should be obvious. That I did not have a loving, bonded family as a child disqualifies me from trying to help others create such in their homes? Huh? Of course not. If because I did not have a loving childhood I tried to undermine everyone else's attempts to have one, then I should be disqualified, of course. Everyone knows I'm a "family values" kinda girl, and because my positions – on marriage before children, hands-on parenting before institutionalized day care, divorce as a last recourse when there are minor children, and adoption before abortion – are hot-button issues, the messenger (me) was attacked in this vulgar, inhumane manner by media types who somehow see these values as threatening America.

When my mother died, I didn't mourn. As with my father, there just wasn't any bonding. I did suffer, though. I was aware that both of my parents had an incredible impact on my life – my difficulties being happy, trusting friendships, being open, even relaxing. I didn't want to end up like either one of my them, virtually alone and unloved.

Dr. Laura Schlessinger holds a postdoctoral certification in marriage and family therapy from USC and a license in marriage, family and child counseling from the state of California. She is the author of seven New York Times best-sellers, as well as four children’s books, and the host of an internationally syndicated radio program. She may be contacted by fax at (818) 461-5140, or by writing: Dr. Laura Schlessinger; P.O. Box 8120; Van Nuys, CA 91409.

Abuse Of A Loving Wife

When the beatings start
You forget the love in your heart

When I love you starts to mean nothing at all
You're being told its all your fault

You're scared you will say the wrong thing
Because you will be called horrible names

Then things start getting worse
You feel there's no one you can trust

When your dreams are all shattered
Nothing seems to matter

When you look at your kids and think you should stay
That's when all you can do is pray

Just remember you can be something
Instead of feeling like nothing

When life seems unfair
There is people who care

When all he knows is to hit her
There is three important things to remember

First abuse is nothing to play with
Who wants to be hit with a fist

Second God cares about you
So let him help you do what is best for you to do

Third and most important of all you deserve to have a life
Instead of being a beat up wife

'1996'

Alicia Blackwell

A House Full Of Love

A House Full Of Love - Surviving Abuse

I had to write this poem
In the quiet of the night
The kids are fast asleep
The kitchen is a fright,
But we had a pleasant day
No big dramas or disaster
Just a day of normalcy
Joking around and laughter.
Before I go to sleep
I will take the time to reflect
Of all the good in my life
Things I don’t want to forget.

Like our morning times of peace
There is no meanness here
We all are comfortable in this house
Not one of us lives in fear.
This truly is a blessing
Because not so long ago
I can remember terrible sadness
In a house that wasn’t so.

But our new house is filled with joy
None of us like to fight
We can just be who we are
Morning, noon and night.
No need to tip toe around
Because we may awaken him
The one who used to drink
And lived a life of sin.

Today I can smile bright
At Someone up above
Who decided it was time
We all lived in a house full of love.

Connie Webb

Make A Rainbow

Make A Rainbow I Can Find

Show me how to unlock
These chains around my heart
To open wide the doorway
Make a brand new start.
Show me how to set free
The wings upon my soul
To fly out of the darkness
Make the light my goal.
Show me how to release
The pain inside my mind
To see the path before me
Make a rainbow I can find.
Show me how to follow
The yearnings of my heart
To chase after the rainbow
Make the curtain part.
Show me how to love again
And show me how to feel
And show me that you'll cry with me
And teach me how to heal.

Linda S. Kelly

Alphabet Of Essentials For Humans

Acceptance - God accepts us where we are... to take us to where He wants us to be. Today your life is enough just the way it is, and it is yours.

Beauty - You are as your Creator God made you. He is satisfied with you; you should be too. You are beautiful.

Courage - I always thought it took true courage to suffer. Now I see that being alive is a special kind of bravery.

Dreams - If you want your dreams to come true, don't sleep! (Yiddish proverb)

Experience - Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted. You don't learn to hold your own in the world by standing on guard, but by attacking and getting well hammered yourself.

Feelings - When you ignore and suppress your feelings, they come out in frightening, sometimes destructive ways. Learn to know them-whatever they are.

Gratitude - Give thanks to God for the good that is in your life. Give thanks for being you.

Healing - When you are ready, you will have the opportunity to make those journeys to old hurts with the knowledge that God can heal them... and then you can move on.

Intimacy - Just a tender sense of your own inner process that holds something of your connection with the divine. In-to-me-see...It won't hurt to try it.

Joy - Jesus, Others, Yourself (in that order).

Kindness - To let your heart fill with kindness is better than any combination of vitamins and exercise you could ever come up with.

Love - Love is life's anesthesia. Loving the people you know allows you to know the people you love. Love is the triumph of imagination over intelligence.

Morality - Value yourself; take care of yourself. You will be an example that others will envy or follow. Having self-respect will help you not allow yourself to be manipulated by anyone.

Niceness - Women are never stronger than when they arm themselves with being nice... they win every time.

Optimism - It is all about atitude. If you have a positive atitude, you'll get more out of life.

Perseverance - No one drowns if they persevere and pray to God-and can swim.

Quietness- Don't talk too much, for it fosters sin. Be sensible and turn off hte flow. Proverbs 10:19 (NLT)

Responsibility - The choices you make about what you do with your time are your choices even when they don't appear to be.

Salvation - Accept that Jesus died on the cross for your sins... that His blood makes you clean. Repent and be saved.

Trust - Believe in your heart that who you are is enough. That is the key to a more satisfying and balanced life.

Understanding - Understand that you know nothing; that God knows everything. Trusting Him brings healing and wisdom.

Value - You are important to God. If you believe this, you are of value to others as well.

Wholeness - You can't help others if you are not well yourself.

X-citement - To enjoy life, you must have a sense of adventure. Be open to all possibilities.

Youthfulness - Wonder comes with youth. Wonder is a gift of living. Living is a gift of wonder. Don't take anything for granted... it could be gone before you know it.

Zeal - Serve God with zeal and He will not abandon you to your enemies.

Praise The Lord

****Always stay optimistic. Always have faith. Always believe and trust in God. Life is mostly about atitude.****

There was a little old lady, who every morning stepped onto her front
porch, raised her arms to the sky, and shouted: "PRAISE THE LORD!"

One day an atheist moved into the house next door. He became
irritated at the little old lady. Every morning he'd step onto his front
porch after her and yell: "THERE IS NO LORD!"

Time passed with the two of them carrying on this way every day. One
morning, in the middle of winter, the little old lady stepped onto her
front porch and shouted: "PRAISE THE LORD! Please Lord, I have no food
and I am starving, provide for me, oh Lord!

The next morning she stepped onto her porch and there were two huge
bags of groceries sitting there. PRAISE THE LORD!" she cried out.
"HE HAS PROVIDED GROCERIES FOR ME!"

The atheist neighbor jumped out of the hedges and shouted: "THERE IS
NO LORD. I BOUGHT THOSE GROCERIES!!"

The little old lady threw her arms into the air and shouted: "PRAISE THE
LORD! HE HAS PROVIDED ME WITH GROCERIES AND MADE THE DEVIL PAY
FOR THEM!

Life Takes Courage

My Favorite Scripture

Revelations 3:10

Life Is Waiting

A Mother's Advice

Fish In the Sea

I Want You To Love Me Because You Do

By Rhoda Maciel 4-8-2006


“What the hell do you want from me” you say…
“I don’t know” I usually answer
But not today…
Today you’ll hear the truth.

I want you to love me because you do.

Don’t love me because I’m beautiful.
One day that will be replaced
With wrinkles, sags, bags, and jiggles…
And I can’t afford a face lift, tummy tuck, or a boob job…
So, get over it.

I want you to love me because you do.

Don’t love me because I’m smart.
One day I might get alzheimers, have a stroke, or a head injury…
And I wouldn’t want to be starved to death
for the lack of a fucking conversation.

I want you to love me because you do.

Don’t love me because you feel sorry for me either.
Who wants to be stuck with someone because no one else will?
If that’s the case…I’d rather be alone.

Hell, if I’m such a damn nuisance
You might as well just shoot me
And put the world out of it’s misery—
Just don’t pity me…

I want you to love me because you do.

Don’t expect me to be perfect either…I’ll NEVER be…
If I don’t get the housework done…HELP me for God’s sake!
If I’m annoying…LOVE that about me!
If I say dumb things in public…don’t be embarrassed…
Or angry…

LOVE ME!
ENJOY ME!
CHERISH ME!

I want you to love me because you do.
…that’s all…
I want you to love me just because you do.

Marriage

You have two choices in life:
You can stay single and be miserable,
or get married and wish you were dead.

At a cocktail party, one woman said to another,
"Aren't you wearing your wedding ring on the wrong finger?"
"Yes, I am. I married the wrong man."

A lady inserted an ad in the classifieds:
"Husband Wanted"
Next day she received a hundred letters.
They all said the same thing:
"You can have mine."

When a woman steals your husband,
there is no better revenge than to let her keep him.
A woman is incomplete until she is married. Then she is finished.

A little boy asked his father,
"Daddy, how much does it cost to get married?"
Father replied, "I don't know, son, I'm still paying."

A young son asked,
"Is it true, Dad, that in some parts of Africa
a man doesn't know his wife until he marries her?"
Dad replied, "That happens in every country, son."

Then there was a woman who said,
"I never knew what real happiness was until I got married,
and by then, it was too late."

If you want your spouse to listen and
pay strict attention to every word you say -- talk in your sleep.

Just think, if it wasn't for marriage, men would go through life
thinking they had no faults at all.

First guy says, "My wife's an angel!"
Second guy remarks, "You're lucky. Mine's still alive."

AND NOW FOR THE FAVORITE!!!

Husband and wife are waiting at the bus stop with their nine children.
A blind man joins them after a few minutes. When the bus arrives, they
find it overloaded and only the wife and the nine kids are able to fit
onto the bus.
So the husband and the blind man decide to walk. After a while, the
husband gets irritated by the ticking of the stick of the blind man as
he taps it on the sidewalk, and says to him, "Why don't you put a piece
of rubber at the end of your stick? That ticking sound is driving me
crazy."
The blind man replies, "If you would've put a rubber at the end of YOUR
stick, we'd be riding the bus ... so shut the hell up."

May God Bless and
keep you in his care.
Now, Forever and Always.

Never Give Up

"Tough" hardly seems an adequate word. Words fail completely to describe the most difficult moments in the recovery process of bad situations that happen to us. Recovery has many valleys. Some days we walk through the "valley of the shadow of death." In the darkness and disorientation of those valleys we may find ourselves filled with despair.

There are times in recovery when it feels as if all we have are tough times. We fear getting lost in the valley and never finding our way out again. We struggle with feelings more intense than any we have experienced before. We struggle with cravings for the substance or behavior to which we are addicted.

Scripture offers us courage and hope in the times of our greatest fear and despair. Scripture tells us that God is with us in our darkest moments. We can walk through the valley of the shadow of death because God walks with us. He protects us. He leads us through the valleys.

May God fill you with the comfort which comes from knowing He is with you even in the toughest times.

God comforts me.

Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.Isaiah 41:10

Many of us struggle with fear. It is a very uncomfortable emotion. We would be happy to be rid of it. It causes our hearts to race, our focus of attention to narrow, and terrible possibilities to enter our minds. We wish we could banish fear from our hearts by sheer will power. We wish we could simply stop feeling afraid. Unfortunately fear is not dismissed so easily.

When God says 'do not fear', it is not a simple imperative from an authority figure. The words "do not fear" are spoken as words of comfort. They are followed by a specific promise of God's presence with us.

A loving parent speaks to a child who awakens from a nightmare with words such as, "Don't be afraid. I'm here with you. You are safe." This is not a rejection of the child's fears. It is not an instruction to do the impossible. It is, rather, a promise of protection. If a parent says only "Don't be afraid," then the child learns that the parent doesn't understand and the child feels unprotected. But if the parent says "Don't be afraid, I'm here with you," the child's needs are validated and the child is comforted by the parent's protection.

God comforts us in the way a loving parent comforts a frightened child. God says to us, "I know that you are afraid; but I also want you to know that I am here with you. I will not leave you. I will give you strength. I will give you help. I will hold you by the hand so that you will not fall".

You know, God,
how often I am afraid.
And you know the soil in which these fears have grown.
And you know how I have struggled to be free from fear.
Help me to draw courage today from your presence.
Be with me.
Give me strength.
Help me.
Uphold me with your hand.
Still my fears, God of all Comfort.
Still my fears with your powerful love.
Amen.

Copyright 1991 Dale and Juanita Ryan


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

God guards my heart

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.Philippians 4:20

Sometimes it feels like our hearts are breaking.

And sometimes we worry that we will lose our minds.

Both our hearts and our minds need protection.

When we let go of the defenses that have protected us for so long, and we allow ourselves to be honest and vulnerable, it sometimes feels like we will 'come apart'. In these moments can find courage in God's promise of protection. God's peace can guard our breaking hearts and our troubled minds.

Notice that God's guardianship of our heart and mind is 'in Christ Jesus'. It is in Jesus that we see most clearly that God is 'for' us. He can be trusted to guard us because he cares about us. It is in Jesus that we see most clearly that God understands the dangers to our hearts and minds. He can be trusted to guard us because he knows from personal experience the dangers we face. It is in Jesus that we see most clearly God's power. He can be trusted to guard our hearts and minds because he has the resources to do what needs to be done.

The peace of God is not a 'blissed out' euphoria that helps us minimize or ignore our problems. God's peace does not participate in denial. This peace is not another Novocain, another 'fix' to alter our mood. It is the gentle guard that protects us so that we can face reality. It is the security that comes from knowing that God pays attention, that we are not forgotten, that God is with us, that we are loved.

Guard my breaking heart today, Lord.
Guard my troubled mind.
Let your peace do its work in me, Lord.
because I am in danger and I need your protection.
Guard me with your peace today.
Guard my heart and mind.
Amen.

Copyright 1991 Dale and Juanita Ryan


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God walks with me in the valleys

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Psalm 23:4

Sometimes the recovery journey takes us through the valley of the shadow of death. It is a frightening valley.

What a difference it makes in times like this to hear God's promise to be with us. It's not that the fears vanish, they don't always. But we experience them differently when we are not alone. When we are alone our fears can become the focus of our thoughts and feelings - they can consume all of our emotional resources. But when our journey is a shared one, fear does not have the same power over us.

God has made a very specific promise to us when we are going through the most difficult of life's struggles. He has promised to be with us. It's hard to say how God's presence will be made known. Our subjective experience of his presence may vary widely. Sometimes when we least expect it, we may hear the still, small voice of God saying "I am here". Sometimes God will use a friend, a sponsor, a counselor, or someone in a support group to speak to us in ways that help us to remember that we are not alone. Sometimes he will give us a peace that needs no words.

The important reality is that God is with us. God does not come and go in the way our experience of his presence comes and goes. He does not forsake us. He walks with us. Even through deep valleys.

God, I am walking through a difficult valley right now.
Sometimes I think my heart will give way with fear.
Remind me of your presence.
Sometimes I know you are here.
Sometimes I'm sure you have gone.
Are you really here?
Please walk close beside me.
I need your protection.
I need your love.
Amen.

Copyright 1991 Dale and Juanita Ryan


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God is with me in the depths

If I go to the heavens, you are there;If I make my bed in the depths, you are there.Psalm 139:8

Sometimes life is hell. That's how it feels. It feels like we have taken up residence in hell. Sometimes the darkness overwhelms us. Sometimes we hurt so much that we can't imagine experiencing joy or peace ever again. Sometimes we seem to have 'made our bed ' in a place that God has deserted, a place from which God has turned away.

But the psalmist says 'even if I make my bed in the depths, you are there'. There are no genuinely God-forsaken places on our journey. There are no places unfamiliar to God. It is a difficult and painful journey, but our lines of support are not stretched thin. God is not at a distance. He is with us.

If God is with us, we can travel through those dark times in recovery, those times in hell. If God is with us, we can hold on through the difficult emotional and spiritual roller coaster of recovery.

No matter where I am, Lord
you are with me.
If I am up, today.
You are here.
If I am down.
You are here.
If I am very, very down.
You are still here.
If I am very, very, very, very, very down.
You are here.
Thank you.
Even in the terrible times when I am in the depths, you are there with me.
Your presence is a ray of hope
in the dark times of my recovery.
Amen.

Copyright 1991 Dale and Juanita Ryan


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God prays for me

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself prays for us with groans that words cannot express. Romans 8:26

When we are alone, when our private terrors have left us without the ability to speak, when even the simplest of prayers ["Help!"] is more that our weary hearts can muster - those are the times we need God's Spirit most of all.

It is life itself to know that God pays attention to us. The Spirit of the Living God is with us and is attentive to our weakness. He does not shame us for our weakness. Our weakness is not a bad thing to him. Our weakness is simply a reality. The Spirit's response to our weakness is to help us. He is on our side. The Spirit knows us and loves us. He knows the pain that crushes us. He helps us in our weakness.

In those moments when we have been silenced by life, the Spirit prays for us. He prays with groans for which there is no language. When we are not able to pray we can find comfort and hope in the promise that the Spirit is praying for us.

Oh God
I need to be reminded when I feel so absolutely alone
that you know my pain,
you know my weakness.

When I come to the end of words,
when my mind is full of confusion,
help me to remember that you pray for me.

When I am overwhelmed with despair,
when I want to give up,
when I want to run away in fear,
it is only your presence,
gentle, powerful Friend,
that gives me hope and strength.

I need your help today.
I need you to pray for me.
Amen

Copyright 1991 Dale and Juanita Ryan


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God protects me

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.Isaiah 43:2

There are times in the recovery process when it feels like we will drown in sorrow. The losses, the betrayals, the failures threaten to overwhelm us. The intensity of the emotional pain frightens us in times like this. We feel ourselves loosing ground as life swirls around us.

This text states with great clarity two central truths which are critical to our survival in times like this. First, God has made a very specific promise to us. He says "I will be with you." This may not always be what we want. We may want God to take the floods of life away. We may want God to build dams upstream in life so that the danger of flood is diminished. But, his promise is clear. I will be with you.

Secondly, this text says very clearly "When you pass through the waters, they will not sweep over you." God will protect us and see us through. There are times in recovery when there just doesn't seem to be any way to make it. Nothing is more painful in these times than to have someone who stands at a distance express optimism about our recovery in a way that minimizes the struggle. ["Oh, you're going to be fine. Stop worrying about it."] Conversely, nothing is more valuable in these times than to have someone with us who sees the danger clearly but who is able to be hopeful for us and protect us and see us through

For your promise to be with me in the floods of life, God,
I give you thanks.
Help me to sense your presence.
For your hopefulness about my recovery,
I give you thanks.
Help me to share in your hope.
You are Life-Preserver to me, God.
Thank you.
Amen.

Copyright 1991 Dale and Juanita Ryan


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God leads me when I can't see.

I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them, I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do;I will not forsake them.Isaiah 42:16

God leads blind people along unfamiliar paths. God promises to make rough places smooth for sightless and disoriented people. He will not forsake them.

During recovery we often feel sightless and disoriented. Our abilities to see clearly are often very limited - we don't have enough distance on things to give proper perspective. Denial leaves us blind. Rejected emotions and ignored human needs can also contribute to spiritual and psychological blindness.

So many things in recovery are unfamiliar to us. We are not accustomed to feeling what we feel, to talking about our experiences, or to trusting other people. Honesty is new territory for us. All of this is not only unfamiliar territory, it is scary territory as well.

But it is exactly to people like us that God makes promises. God makes promises to sightless and disoriented people. He will guide. He will give light. He will smooth the rough places. He will not abandon.

I can't see very well, Lord.
I certainly am not familiar with this path, Lord.
Are you sure you know where this leads?
This feels like a pretty rough trail to me, Lord.
Are you sure we can make it?

Be my guide, Lord, I am afraid.
I would be lost without you.
I cannot find my way alone.
Guide me, Lord.
Turn darkness into light.
Make the rough places smooth.
Do not forsake me.
Amen.

Copyright 1991 Dale and Juanita Ryan


****Sometimes when I choose to face the music, I find that I can dance to it.****

Ode To Single Parents

Lord, are you trying to tell me something?

Being a single parent doesn't mean I'm a failure.
It does mean I've had some trials.

Being a single parent doesn't mean I think I know everything.
It does mean I'm learning something.

Being a single parent doesn't mean I have been a fool.
It does mean I've had enough heart to love.

Being a single parent doesn't mean I've been disgraced.
It does mean I dared to try.

Being a single parent doesn't mean I don't have it.
It does mean I have to do something in different way.

Being a single parent doesn't mean I am inferior.
It does mean I am human.

Being a single parent doesn't mean I've waste my life.
It does mean I have an excuse to start over again.

Being a single parent doesn't mean I should give up.
It does mean I must try harder.

Being a single parent doesn't mean I'll never make it.
It does mean I need more patience.

Being a single parent doesn't mean God has abandoned me.
It does mean He must have something better for me in mind.

This goes to all single parent that are
trying to raise their kids on their own.

The Patron Saint of Ordinary People

Editor's note: This article was adapted from "Losers and Winners, Saints and Sinners: How to Finish Well in the Race of Life" (New York: Warner Faith, 2005). Used by permission.

© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com

Maybe your parents gave you a name you don't particularly like. I heard about a mom and dad who decided to give their child the very curious name of "Odd." Poor kid! Obviously that invited ridicule and mockery all through grade school, high school and college. But the jibes made him want to achieve, and he became a very successful lawyer.

Because people ribbed him his entire life, he decided that upon his death, he wanted an unmarked tombstone placed at his grave so his name would never be uttered again. His wishes were honored. The problem was when people saw this tombstone without an inscription, they almost always said, "That's odd."

Jesus gave to His disciple Simon the new name of Rock. Why? He knew Peter would eventually grow into the name. His given name, Simon, means "a listener" or "a hearer." Upon seeing him for the first time, Jesus essentially gave him a nickname – a new title to describe the person he was going to become. He said, "Your name is going to be Peter or 'Rock'" (the literal meaning).

I think the others might have done a little snickering at that point. If there was anything Simon was not, it was a rock. A rock is stable and solid. Peter was given to the emotion of a moment. He could be hotheaded. But God saw him for what he would become.

We know Jesus knew what He was getting. He knew Peter would fail. He knew Peter would fall short. He even knew Peter would ultimately deny Him. But Jesus also knew Peter would make a comeback. He knew that after his early failure, "the rock" would courageously serve the Lord all the days of his life. He looked right through him, and He saw potential.

In the same way, Jesus looks at you and doesn't see you just for what you are. He sees you for what you can become. We see a lump of clay; God sees a beautiful vase. We see a blank canvas; God sees a finished painting. We see a lump of coal; God sees a refined diamond. We see problems; God sees solutions. We see failures; God sees potential success. We see a Simon; God sees an apostle Peter.

God can take the failures of our lives and use them for His glory. That doesn't mean we should go out and intentionally fail. It means that when we do, we can learn from those mistakes. The doorway to success is entered through the hallway of failure. If at first you don't succeed, relax – you are just like the rest of us!

Have you ever tried to do something for God that was a complete failure?

It may have been a prayer for someone to get better physically, who actually got worse. I remember once a friend was feeling nauseated and asked if I would pray. I did just that, and his nausea increased! He said he would never ask me to pray for him again!

Perhaps you tried to do some good work in your community and it failed.

Let me say to you: Thank you for your failures! I would far rather try and fail than never do anything at all. Besides, failure is not always such a bad thing. We learn from our mistakes. Failure can indeed teach success.

Successful people know how to handle failure. Many failed initially only to succeed later. Albert Einstein failed at math before he discovered the theory of relativity. Isaac Newton had to have an apple fall on his head before discovering the theory of gravity. Michael Jordan failed to make his high-school basketball team before making the NBA.

You might say Peter was the patron saint of ordinary people. In short, Peter was a man just like us. The point: God can take an ordinary person and do something extraordinary. Jesus did not choose the apostles because they were great. Rather, their greatness came as a result of Jesus' choosing them. In the same way, God did not choose you because you were great. You aren't. Nor am I. Yet in His grace and mercy, He can do something wonderful with both of our lives.

So True!

(REALITY)

The Difference Between Men and Women
(By Dave Barry)

Let's say a guy named Roger is attracted to a woman named Elaine. He asks her out to dinner; she accepts; they have a pretty good time. A few nights later he asks her out again; and again they enjoy themselves. They continue to see each other regularly, and after a while neither one of them is seeing anybody else.

And then, one evening when they're driving home, a thought occurs to Elaine, and, without really thinking, she says it aloud: "Do you realize that, as of tonight, we've been seeing each other for exactly six months?"

And then there is silence in the car.

To Elaine, it seems like a very loud silence. She thinks to herself: I wonder if it bothers him that I said that. Maybe he's been feeling confined by our relationship; maybe he thinks I'm trying to push him into some kind of obligation that he doesn't want, or isn't sure of.

And Roger is thinking: Wow! Six months.

And Elaine is thinking: But, hey, I'm not so sure I want this kind of relationship, either. Sometimes I wish I had a little more space, so I'd have time to think about whether I really want us to keep going the way we are, moving steadily toward... I mean, where are we going? Are we just going to keep seeing each other at this level of intimacy? Are we heading toward marriage? Toward children? Toward a lifetime together? Am I ready for that level of commitment? Do I really even know this person?

And Roger is thinking: So, that means it was... let's see... February when we started going out, which was right after I had the car at the dealer's, which means...let me check the odometer... Whoa! I am way overdue for an oil change here.

And Elaine is thinking: He's upset. I can see it on his face. Maybe I'm reading this completely wrong. Maybe he wants more from our relationship, more intimacy, more commitment; maybe he has sensed, even before I sensed it, that I was feeling some reservations. Yes, I bet that's it. That's why he's so reluctant to say anything about his own feelings. He's afraid of being rejected.

And Roger is thinking: And I'm going to have them look at the transmission again. I don't care what those morons say, it's still not shifting right. And they better not try to blame it on the cold weather this time. What cold weather? It's 87 degrees and this thing is shifting like a garbage truck, and I paid those incompetent thieves $600.

And Elaine is thinking: He's angry. And I don't blame him. I'd be angry, too. I feel so guilty, putting him through this, but I can't help the way I feel.

I'm just not sure.

And Roger is thinking: They'll probably say it's only a 90-day warranty... idiots.

And Elaine is thinking: Maybe I'm just too idealistic, waiting for a knight to come riding up on his white horse, when I'm sitting right next to a perfectly good person, a person I enjoy being with, a person I truly do care about, a person who seems to truly care about me. A person who is in pain because of my self-centered, schoolgirl romantic fantasy.

And Roger is thinking: Warranty? They'd better not say its only a 90-day warranty.

"Roger," Elaine says aloud.

"What?" says Roger, startled.

"Please don't torture yourself like this," she says, her eyes beginning to brim with tears. "Maybe I should never have... Oh my, I feel so... (She breaks down, sobbing.)

"What?" says Roger.

"I'm such a fool," Elaine sobs. "I mean, I know there's no knight. I really know that. It's silly. There's no knight, and there's no horse."

"There's no horse?" says Roger.

"You think I'm a fool, don't you?" Elaine says.

"No!" says Roger, glad to finally know the correct answer.

"It's just that...it's that I...I need some time," Elaine says.

There is a 15-second pause while Roger, thinking as fast as he can, tries to come up with a safe response. Finally he comes up with one that he thinks might work. "Yes," he says.

Elaine, deeply moved, touches his hand. "Oh, Roger, do you really feel that way?" she says.

"What way?" says Roger.

"That way about time," says Elaine.

"Oh," says Roger. "Yes."

Elaine turns to face him and gazes deeply into his eyes, causing him to become very nervous about what she might say next, especially if it involves a horse. At last she speaks.

"Thank you, Roger," she says.

"Thank you," says Roger.

Then he takes her home, and she lies on her bed, a conflicted, tortured soul, and weeps until dawn.

When Roger gets back to his place, he opens a bag of Doritos, turns on the TV, and immediately becomes deeply involved in a rerun of a tennis match between two Czechoslovakians he never heard of. A tiny voice in the far recesses of his mind tells him that something major was going on back there in the car, but he is pretty sure there is no way he would ever understand what, and so he figures it's better if he doesn't think about it.

The next day Elaine will call her closest friend, or perhaps two of them, and they will talk about this situation for six straight hours. In painstaking detail, they will analyze everything she said and everything he said, going over it time and time again, exploring every word, expression, and gesture for nuances of meaning, considering every possible ramification. They will continue to discuss this subject, off and on, for weeks, maybe months, never reaching any definite conclusions, but never getting bored with it, either.

Meanwhile, Roger, while playing racquetball one day with a mutual friend of his and Elaine's, will pause just before serving, frown, and say, "Norm, did Elaine ever own a horse?"

And that's the difference between men and women.