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Thought of the Day - 6/13/09


Sometimes the heart sees what is invisible to the eye.

Sing to Me Saturday #7

There's a Man in Here by the Statler Brothers

What is a Miracle?
A miracle is an extraordinary event showing
evidence of a supernatural work of God.
While He was on earth,He performed a lot of miracles,
and He performs a lot of miracles today.

There's a man in here who turns water to wine
And He walks on the water and gives sight to the blind
And He gives back life to the one's that's dead
And He fed four thousand with seven loaves of bread.

There's a man in here who makes demons flee
Who makes cripples walk and has chosen even me
For He lives in my heart and I'll have no fear
I'm a better man 'cause there's a man in here.

There's a man in here that I'm looking for
Cries a man who can find no room at the door
So they lowered him down on a stretcher bed
And Jesus looked at him and said
"All your sin's are all now gone this day.
Take up your bed and go your way"
as he walked through the crowd they heard him declare,
"I can tell you all, there's a man in there."

"There's a man in here", the disciples cried
When the ship was tossed from side to side
So they woke Him up as the waves flew high
And said, "don't you care that we're about to die."
He said, "Peace, be still" and when the wind had laid
He said, "where's your faith; why were you so afraid"
When they saw that the sea was smooth and clear
They said "Thank you God, that the man's in here."

There's a man in here who turns water to wine
And He walks on the water and gives sight to the blind
And He gives back life to the ones that's dead
And He fed four thousand with seven loaves of bread.

There's a man in here who makes demons flee
Who makes cripples walk and has chosen even me
For He lives in my heart and I'll have no fear
I'm a better man 'cause there's a man in here.

To here this beautiful song, click here.


Please join me in sharing songs that touch your heart. Add your link to Mr. Linky below.


Today I Am Thankful - 6/12/09

Today I am thankful...

  1. For my friend, Teresa, who constantly checks on me.
  2. For the telephone, so my friend can check on me.
  3. For Rick, my mechanic, who allows me to make payments so the car is legal and I still have money to pay my utilities.
Yes, I have many things to be thankful for every day. But, as I am sure as most of you know, we need to stop and focus instead of multi-tasking all the time. I try to focus on only three things during my meditation and prayer time.

Become Your Own Best Friend


Thought of the Day - 6/12/09

My purpose in life is...
to live consciously and courageously;
to enjoy, increase, and share peace, energy, passion, and abundance;
to resonate with love and compassion; and
to fully embrace this present moment.

Thought of the Day - 6/11/09

Have you ever had anything unfair happen to you? I certainly have and I think that everyone has experienced disappointments, setbacks, heartache, or hurts at one time or another. Unfortunately, many people continue to live negative, bitter, resentful lives because they are still holding on to the pain of yesterday.

The good news is we serve a really big God. He is bigger than your past, bigger than your disappointments, bigger than your problems. No matter what kind of mistakes you have made, God can turn them all around and use them for good. He can right all the wrong things that have happened to you and pay you back in abundance for all the hurt you've experienced.

It doesn't matter what you have been through in the past. Your future can start today. Let hope fill your heart and receive God's mercy. Release all of your anger, guilt, and condemnation. Forgive those who have wronged you, stop carrying around the baggage of yesterday and make a fresh start today. When you do, God will give you a new beginning.

Begin each day declaring,
"with God all things are possible,"
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me," and
"everything I put my hand to today will prosper."

These are not idle words or motivational sayings; it's the Word of God, His promises for your life.

Thought of the Day - Bonus #4

Every Day Is A Good Day

Let me share with you a strategy I use to avoid being flooded with feelings of gloom, depression, and fear. Every day is a good day. But when I'm experiencing a day full of frustrations, I try not to call it a "bad" day, I call it an "interesting" day. This habit keeps me from being overwhelmed with negative emotions. Why does this work?

Repetitive thoughts and words create feelings. Those feelings create a positive or negative behavior pattern. If I tell myself it's a bad day, I began to feel defeated and exhausted. If my day has one issue after another, and if I tell myself it's an "interesting" day this keeps my heart and mind open to gratitude, hope, solutions, resiliency, and sometimes even a sense of humor. I try to monitor my words when I'm feeling in a slump so I can avoid those "knot in your stomach," stressful, anxious. sickening, "I'm losing it" feelings.

I have had several "interesting" days recently and I had to constantly remind myself to stop, do some deep breathing, and regroup. If you're having an "interesting" day, let these words minister to you. Sometimes the children are screaming, the boss is irritating, the traffic is slow, and the bill collectors just won't go away. Sometimes you feel strong and confident. Sometimes you're full of regrets and wonder where all the time went. Sometimes you feel like you want to give up. Sometimes you're too tired to move because you have so much to do. Sometimes you're lonely and wonder if love will ever come. Sometimes you're glad to be alone to think your own thoughts. Sometimes life is easy. Sometimes life is hard.

Today be grateful that you've come this far. Breathe in peace, faith, and hope.

All the answers, I definitely do not know. But I'm here to say...
Count your blessings.
Don't give up.
You can make it.
Miracles, big and small,happen each day. Don't miss them because you're focusing on your pain, frustrations, and fears.

Wordless Wednesday #27



To see other great photos of just about anything, go to 5 Minutes for Mom.

Works for Me Wednesday #19

I do believe in recycling. One way to recycle is to reuse those plastic bags you get from discount stores, grocery stores, etc.

10 Ways to Reuse:

  1. Small trash can liner.
  2. Water balloon.
  3. Package padding when mailing gifts, etc.
  4. Lunch bag.
  5. For soggy laundry.
  6. Trash bag for the car.
  7. Doggy duty.
  8. Ice pack.
  9. Kitty litter liner.
  10. For shoes when packing for a trip.
To get more tips for the house, vacation, homeschooling, and more go to We Are THAT Family.

Around the 'Net - Creative Park

Canon Printers has a great site called Creative Park where you can download PDF papercraft projects to print out on your printer and then assemble into all sorts of wonderful models, toys, and other fun things.

My personal favorite is the papercraft model of the structure of the sun, but there's all sorts of cool things here: a sundial... giant beetles... praying mantises... Tyranosaurus... Triceratops... airplanes, ships, & cars... moving toys... and much more. You really need to just check this out and dig around a bit. It is loads of fun.

Talking The Talk: Communicating With Your Teens

Ever feel like you don't understand your teen? Or maybe you are a new teen parent and just need some guidance on how to handle this new territory. Here is a good report by Aurelia Williams to help you.

Download it here for FREE.

What You Deserve In Life


Thought of the Day - 6/10/09

As we grow up, we learn that even the one person that wasn't supposed to ever let you down probably will. You will have your heart broken probably more than once and it's harder every time. You'll break hearts too, so remember how it felt when yours was broken. You'll fight with your best friend. You'll blame a new love for things an old one did. You'll cry because time is passing too fast. You'll eventually lose someone you love so take too many pictures, laugh too much, and love like you've never been hurt because every sixty seconds you spend upset is a minute of happiness you'll never get back. Don't be afraid that your life will end, be afraid that it will never begin.

Appreciation

One day, the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live. They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.

On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, "How was the trip?"

"It was great, Dad."

"Did you see how poor people live?" the father asked.

"Oh yeah," said the son.

"So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?" asked the father.

The son answered, "I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them."

The boy's father was speechless.

Then his son added, "Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are."

Isn't perspective a wonderful thing? Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for everything we have, instead of worrying about what we don't have. Appreciate every single thing you have!

Tuesday Toot #11


I got the pictures from our zoo trip downloaded. What makes this a great accomplishment is that it is a new camera I rented so I am not familiar with the downloading saving process for this particular camera.

To check out the fun zoo photos, go here.

To see the toots and praises of others, go to Mommy Community.


P.S. Why is it so hard for mothers' to toot their own horn?

Thought of the Day - 6/9/09

When God takes something from your grasp He's not punishing you,
but merely opening your hands to receive something better.
The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you!

McRelationships

Sometimes I think all I have ever known are McRelationships.
~~ Nathan Hurst ~~

I suppose I couldn't figure out what he saw in me. I once heard it said that everyone needs love -- and if they're denied, they'll find it, or a reasonable substitute, somewhere. Attracting relationships is a skill; I got good at it. But my relationships never lasted. It was like they came with an expiration date, like a carton of milk.

But even if disposable relationships seemed to be my modus operandi, I had grown weary of them. He was certainly the kind of man you could build the right life around. I just wasn't the right kind of woman. The thought filled my heart with dread.

Thought of the Day - 6/21/09

Our thoughts are not arrows haphazardly shot out into the cosmos. They are boomerangs.
~~ Nathan Hurst ~~

Get Cool for a Cause

Get Cool For a Cause This Summer by Opening a Virtual Lemonade Stand

Join Electrolux and Kelly Ripa the fight against ovarian cancer. When you open a lemonade stand, you can recapture the feeling of childhood summers, and help raise funds and awareness for the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund.

For every lemonade stand opened at Electrolux, Electrolux will donate $1 to OCRF. In addition, you can help the cause even more by selling virtual glasses of lemonade to your friends and famil with 100 percent of the proceeds will go to OCRF.

To help spread the word, Electrolux is giving away an elegant new French Door Refrigerator.

Go to my stand today to get your refreshing glass of lemonade.

Wordless Wednesday (or Monday) #26

Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium
May 2009













This is an elephant skin which is amazingly soft and very wrinkled. Hands (from to right): Renee, Cassandra, mine, Cameron (left & right).








Make Me Laugh Monday - Old Lady Gets Back

Join me in the fun and giggles of making Mondays a better day by sharing some laughs. Add your link to your Make Me Laugh Monday post to Mr. Linky below. (All links not leading directly to your post will be deleted.) All posts should be funny in some way. Yes, this is up to interpretation. Ideas include riddles, funny family stories, comic strips, jokes, silly graphics, funny lyrics, hilarious photos, etc. Please don't leave me to snicker all alone. I'm sure YOU have something funny to share.



Thought of the Day - 6/8/09

Being happy doesn't mean everything is perfect, it means you've decided to see beyond the imperfections!

QOTW - Camping

Did you ever go camping as a kid? Or attend an overnight camp?

As a young kid, I went camping with my family to Kinzua Dam. It is some of my most memorable times as a kid. We went for a month at a time. The car and boat were packed to the gills. We would set up camp away from the masses, in a secluded spot, and the only way to get there was by boat. It would take my father several trips to get everyone to the camping site because there were so many of us and with the boat being packed full of food, camping supplies, clothes, etc. There would be 4 - 5 tents because friends, uncles, aunts, grandparents, and us (7) were all there.

One of my best memories is catching newts after it rained. We would catch 100s in a short amount of time and fill up our buckets -- and sometimes pillowcases -- full of newts. The next day they would all be gone. I sure hope someone released them all. Poor little newts.

Another memory is picking blackberries. Yummo! We'd get in the boat and ride for a good 20 minutes to get to our destination. You could pick all the blackberries you wanted for free. The bramble bushes were unfortunately next to a graveyard and that was kind of creepy.

Another fun time is learning to water ski. I didn't get very far in learning this before the camping at Kinzua stopped. All the kids learned to ski (except my sister since she was the youngest of the bunch). Two of my brothers could do all kinds of fancy tricks and spins.

One thing I hated about camping was the outhouse. The smell, -- ewww, gross! -- the heat, the smell, the lack of toilet paper, the smell, the long walk to get there, the smell, the bugs. Did I mention the horrible smell?

Camping at Kinzua Dam is one of the very few memories of my childhood that I can actually remember.

During my tween and teenage years, I attended Deep Valley Christian Camp in Slippery Rock, PA. I attended as a camper as well as worked there for several summers.

Later I would teach classes there -- not realizing, at first, it was the same place I attended as a child.

Choose the People In Your Life


Thought of the Day - 6/7/09

I have been both wise and foolish. I have been loved, and betrayed, and abandoned. And much to my despair, I have unwittingly wounded others, and I humbly beg their forgiveness. I have loved much, and given of my whole heart and sole. Even when badly wounded, I have continued on the path, with faith, and hope, and even blind relief, toward love and freedom.

The journey continues.

 
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