Encouragement for 2011

God is for you.
God loves you.
God will guide you.
God will not fail you.
God will be with you.
God will provide for you.
God will bless you.
God will give you rest.
God will strengthen you.
God will answer you.
God will uphold you.
God will keep you.

Club Give Pledge Form - Southeastern Michigan | American Red Cross

Club Give Pledge Form - Southeastern Michigan | American Red Cross

THANK YOU FOR the 2010 Christmas Cards

Last week to save @ Year End

I will pay your shipping & handling plus tax on all $50 orders I receive before the end of the year, New Year's Eve, December 31st!
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Thanks a bunch, a really appreciate all of YOU!

The Amazing Grace Christmas Light House - Official Version

Rubber Band Background Technique

It's a Jolly Holi-dog Celebration!

Merry Christmas

The True Story of Rudolph

A man named Bob May, depressed and brokenhearted, stared out his drafty apartment window into the chilling December night.

His 4-year-old daughter Barbara sat on his lap quietly sobbing. Bob's wife, Evelyn, was dying of cancer. Little Barbara couldn't understand why her mommy could never come home. Barbara looked up into her dad's eyes and asked, "Why isn't Mommy just like everybody else's Mommy?" Bob's jaw tightened and his eyes welled with tears. Her question brought waves of grief, but also of anger. It had been the story of Bob's life. Life always had to be different for Bob.

Small when he was a kid, Bob was often bullied by other boys. He was too little at the time to compete in sports. He was often called names he'd rather not remember. From childhood, Bob was different and never seemed to fit in. Bob did complete college, married his loving wife and was grateful to get his job as a copywriter at Montgomery Ward during the Great Depression. Then he was blessed with his little girl. But it was all short-lived. Evelyn's bout with cancer stripped them of all their savings and now Bob and his daughter were forced to live in a two-room apartment in the Chicago slums. Evelyn died just days before Christmas in 1938.

Bob struggled to give hope to his child, for whom he couldn't even afford to buy a Christmas gift. But if he couldn't buy a gift, he was determined to make one ~ a storybook! Bob had created an animal character in his own mind and told the animal's story to little Barbara to give her comfort and hope. Again and again Bob told the story, embellishing it more with each telling. Who was the character? What was the story all about? The story that Bob May created was his own autobiography in fable form. The character he created was a misfit outcast like he was. The name of the character? A little reindeer named Rudolph, with a big shiny nose. Bob finished the book just in time to give it to his little girl on Christmas Day. But the story doesn't end there.

The general manager of Montgomery Ward caught wind of the little storybook and offered Bob May a nominal fee to purchase the rights to print the book. Wards went on to print "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and distribute it to children visiting Santa Claus in their stores. By 1946, Wards had printed and distributed more than six million copies of "Rudolph." That same year, a major publisher wanted to purchase the rights from Wards to print an updated version of the book.

In an unprecedented gesture of kindness, the CEO of Wards returned all rights back to Bob May. The book became a best seller. Many toy and marketing deals followed, and Bob May, now remarried with a growing family, became wealthy from the story that he created to comfort his grieving daughter. But the story doesn't end there, either.

Bob's brother-in-law, Johnny Marks, made a song adaptation to "Rudolph." Though the song was turned down by such popular vocalists as Bing Crosbyand Dinah Shore, it was recorded by the singing cowboy, Gene Autry. "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" was released in 1949 and became a phenomenal success, selling more records than any other Christmas song, with the exception of "White Christmas."

The gift of love that Bob May created for his daughter so long ago kept on returning back to bless him again and again. And Bob May learned the lesson, just like his dear friend Rudolph, that being different isn't so bad. In fact, being different can be a blessing.

Talladega Nights - Prayer to Baby Jesus

YOU TOOK MY PARKING SPACE AT CHURCH

This should wake us up.

One day, a man went to visit a church, He got there early, parked his car and got out. Another car pulled up near the driver got out and said, " I always park there! You took my place!"

The visitor went inside for Sunday School, found an empty seat and sat down. A young lady from the church approached him and stated, "That's my seat! You took my place!" The visitor was somewhat distressed by this rude welcome, but said nothing.

After Sunday School, the visitor went into the sanctuary and sat down. Another member walked up to him and said, "That's where I always sit! You took my place!" The visitor was even more troubled by this treatment, but still He said nothing.

Later as the congregation was praying for Christ to dwell among them, the visitor stood up, and his appearance began to change. Horrible scars became visible on his hands and on his sandaled feet. Someone from the congregation noticed him and called out, "What happened to you?" The visitor replied, as his hat became a crown of thorns, and a tear fell from his eye, "I took your place."

When you receive this, say a prayer. That's all you have to do. There is nothing attached. This is powerful. Just send this to four people and see what happens. Maybe, just maybe, we can get the world to start thinking of who took our place.

Do not break this, please.

1st Day of Winter

And then it is Winter.

You know. . . time has a way of moving quickly
and catching you unaware of the passing years.

It seems just yesterday that I was young,
just married and embarking on my new life with my mate.

And yet in a way, it seems like eons ago,
and I wonder where all the years went.

I know that I lived them all...

And I have glimpses of how it was back then and of all my hopes and dreams...

But, here it is... the winter of my life and it catches me by surprise...

How did I get here so fast?

Where did the years go and where did my youth go?

I remember well...

seeing older people through the years and thinking that those older people
were years away from me and that winter was so far off
that I could not fathom it or imagine fully what it would be like...

But, here it is...

my friends are retired and getting grey...
they move slower and I see an older person now.
Some are in better and some worse shape than me...
but, I see the great change...
Not like the ones that I remember who were young and vibrant...
but, like me, their age is beginning to show and we are now those older folks
that we used to see and never thought we'd be.

Each day now, I find that just getting a shower is a real target for the day!
And taking a nap is not a treat anymore... it's mandatory!
Cause if I don't on my own free will... I just fall asleep where I sit!

And so...
now I enter into this new season of my life unprepared
for all the aches and pains and the loss of strength and ability
to go and do things that I wish I had done but never did!!

But, at least I know, that though the winter has come, and I'm not sure how long it will last...

this I know, that when it's over... its over...

Yes, I have regrets. There are things I wish I hadn't done...

things I should have done, but indeed, there are many things I'm happy to have done.

It's all in a lifetime...

So, if you're not in your winter yet...

let me remind you, that it will be here faster than you think.

So, whatever you would like to accomplish in your life please do it quickly!

Don't put things off too long!!

Life goes by quickly. So, do what you can today,

as you can never be sure whether this is your winter or not!

You have no promise that you will see all the seasons of your life... so,

live for today and say all the things that you want your loved ones to remember...

and hope that they appreciate and love you for all the things

that you have done for them in all the years past!!

"Life is a gift to you.

The way you live your life is your gift to those who come after.

Make it a fantastic one."

LIVE IT WELL!



BE HAPPY! BE THANKFUL!



Remember "It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold or silver."

RAK REQUEST:

I have a friend in need, Carol went into the hospital mid-November and could not go home after her surgery, instead she is in a nursing care center for the month of December. I'd like to surprise her with Get Well/Thinking of You cards. Send me an email/message if you can help me cheer her up and I'll get you her address.

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Christmas Cookies for Alayna's school party

Before
After

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Drumroll...................................................................

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"Like" PETCO, Feed a Pet

Christmas 2010 Poma Tree Farm Lot

Break the Cycle*, Period Forum, Feminine Care - U by Kotex*

Break the Cycle*, Period Forum, Feminine Care - U by Kotex*

"Wait to Worry"

An Excerpt from Attitude is Everything
by Vicki Hitzges

I used to worry. A lot. The more I fretted, the more proficient I became at it. Anxiety begets anxiety. I even worried that I worried too much! Ulcers might develop. My health could fail. My finances could deplete to pay the hospital bills.

A comedian once said, "I tried to drown my worries with gin, but my worries are equipped with flotation devices." While not a drinker, I certainly could identify! My worries could swim, jump and pole vault!

To get some perspective, I visited a well known, Dallas businessman, Fred Smith. Fred mentored such luminaries as motivational whiz Zig Ziglar, business guru Ken Blanchard and leadership expert John Maxwell. Fred listened as I poured out my concerns and then said, "Vicki, you need to learn to wait to worry."

As the words sank in, I asked Fred if he ever spent time fretting. (I was quite certain he wouldn't admit it if he did. He was pretty full of testosterone-even at age 90.) To my surprise, he confessed that in years gone by he had been a top-notch worrier!

"I decided that I would wait to worry!" he explained. "I decided that I'd wait until I actually had a reason to worry-something that was happening, not just something that might happen-before I worried."

"When I'm tempted to get alarmed," he confided, "I tell myself, 'Fred, you've got to wait to worry! Until you know differently, don't worry.' And I don't. Waiting to worry helps me develop the habit of not worrying and that helps me not be tempted to worry."

Fred possessed a quick mind and a gift for gab. As such, he became a captivating public speaker. "I frequently ask audiences what they were worried about this time last year. I get a lot of laughs," he said, "because most people can't remember. Then I ask if they have a current worry - you see nods from everybody. Then I remind them that the average worrier is 92% inefficient - only 8% of what we worry about ever comes true."

Charles Spurgeon said it best. "Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, but only empties today of its strength."

Most of us want to be positive. It's advantageous to possess a sunny outlook. Doors open to optimists. They make friends, earn respect, close sales, produce loyal clients, and others enjoy and want to be like them. The question is how can we do that consistently?

That's what Attitude is Everything is all about! and many "a-ha" moments that will turn the switch from "off" to "on."

Watching The Wheels - John Lennon

If tomorrow starts without me.....................

A few weeks ago a man was killed in an auto accident.
He was very well liked, so the office shut down for his funeral and it
was on the news.
On the day the workers came back to work, they found this poem in their e-mail that the deceased man had sent on Friday before he left for home.

"If tomorrow starts without me,
And I'm not there to see,
If the sun should rise and find your eyes all filled with tears for me;
I wish so much you wouldn't cry
the way you did today,
While thinking of the many things,
We didn't get to say.
I know how much you love me,
As much as I love you,
And each time that you think of me,
I know you'll miss me too;
But when tomorrow starts without me, Please try to understand,
That an angel came and called my name, And took me by the hand,
And said my place was ready,
In heaven far above,
And that I'd have to leave behind
all those I dearly love.
But as I turned to walk away,
A tear fell from my eye,
For all my life, I'd always thought, I didn't want to die.
I had so much to live for,
So much left yet to do,
It seemed almost impossible,
That I was leaving you.
I thought of all the yesterdays,
The good ones and the bad,
I thought of all that we shared,
And all the fun we had.
If I could relive yesterday,
Just even for a while,
I'd say good-bye and hug you
And maybe see you smile.
But then I fully realized,
That this could never be,
For emptiness and memories,
Would take the place of me.
And when I thought of worldly things, I might miss some tomorrow,
I thought of you, and when I did,
My heart was filled with sorrow.
But when I walked through heaven's gates, I felt so much at home.
When God looked down and smiled at me, from His great golden throne,
He said, "This is eternity,
And all I've promised you."
Today your life on earth is past,
But here life starts anew.
I promise no tomorrow,
But today will always last,
And since each day is the same way,
There's no longing for the past.
So when tomorrow starts without me,
Don't think we're far apart,
For every time you think of me,
I'm right here, in your heart."


You never know what's going to happen tomorrow... Show how you care, before it's too late... May God watch over you and your family now and always. There is no right time to do the wrong thing.... there is no wrong time to tell someone you care.

Great Aunt Mary 11/29/1915 - 12/3/2010

Another death put upon me.
I know it’s the Lord’s way.
I don’t like seeing people suffer as much as it hurts; sometimes it’s best for an end result. Lord, my God open your arms cause one of your children has come home. I will not fall any deeper in the morning of a loved one. I will rise in the spirit of Jesus, my Lord, as well as Great Aunt Mary, you will be missed my sister. Let us not be so sad in her passing, but rejoice in her new embarkment of life with the Lord.

Sears Holdings Heroes at Home Program

Let's make sure this makes it around to everyone.



Passing this along – on the Snopes page there is a link at the bottom where you can read about the Sears Holdings Heroes at Home Program.




Sears - Christmas shopping this year.



I know I needed this reminder, since Sears isn't always my first choice. It's amazing when you think of how long the war has lasted and Sears hasn't withdrawn from their commitment. Could we each buy at least one thing at Sears this year?



How does Sears treat its employees who are called up for military duty? By law, they are required to hold their jobs open and available, but nothing more. Usually, people take a big pay cut and lose benefits as a result of being called up for active duty.



Sears is voluntarily paying the difference in salaries and maintaining all benefits, including medical insurance and bonus programs, for all called up reservist employees for up to two years.



I submit that Sears is an exemplary corporate citizen and should be recognized for its contribution. I suggest we all shop at Sears at least once, and be sure to find a manager to tell them why we are there so the company gets the positive reinforcement & feedback it well deserves.



Pass it on.



I decided to check this before I sent it forward. So I sent the following e-mail to the Sears Customer Service Department:



I received this e-mail and I would like to know if it is true. If it is, the internet may have just become one very good source of advertisement for your company. I know I would go out of my way to buy products from Sears instead of another store for a like item, even if it's cheaper at that store.



This is their answer to my e-mail:



Dear Customer:



Thank you for contacting Sears. The information is factual. We appreciate your positive feedback.



Sears regards service to our country as one of greatest sacrifices our young men and women can make. We are happy to do our part to lessen the burden they bear at this time.



Bill Thorn

Sears Customer Care

webcenter@sears.com

1-800-349-4358



Please pass this on to all your friends. Sears needs to be recognized for this outstanding contribution and we need to show them as Americans, we do appreciate what they are doing for our military!!!



It's verified ! By Snopes.com at:



http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/sears.asp