Memories PART 2

PART 2 <?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = O /><O:P></O:P>

1. Falling in love.<O:P></O:P>

2. Laughing so hard your face hurts.<O:P></O:P>

3. A hot shower.<O:P></O:P>

4. No lines at the supermarket.<O:P></O:P>

5. A special glance.<O:P></O:P>

6. Getting mail.<O:P></O:P>

7. Taking a drive on a pretty road. <O:P></O:P>

8. Hearing your favourite song on the radio.<O:P></O:P>

9. Lying in bed listening to the rain outside.<O:P></O:P>

10. Hot towels fresh out of the dryer.<O:P></O:P>

11. Chocolate milkshake (vanilla or strawberry).<O:P></O:P>

12. A bubble bath. <O:P></O:P>

13. Giggling.<O:P></O:P>

14. A good conversation.<O:P></O:P>

15. The beach<O:P></O:P>

16. Finding a 20 dollar bill in your coat from last winter.<O:P></O:P>

17. Laughing at yourself. <O:P></O:P>

 <O:P></O:P>

18. Looking into their eyes and knowing they Love you <O:P></O:P>

19. Midnight phone calls that last for hours.<O:P></O:P>

20. Running through sprinklers.<O:P></O:P>

21. Laughing for absolutely no reason at all.<O:P></O:P>

22. Having someone tell you that you're beautiful.<O:P></O:P>

23. Laughing at an inside joke <O:P></O:P>

 <O:P></O:P>

 <O:P></O:P>

24. Friends. <O:P></O:P>

25. Accidentally overhearing someone say something nice about you.<O:P></O:P>

26. Waking up and realizing you still have a few hours left to sleep.<O:P></O:P>

27. Your first kiss (either the very first or with a new partner). <O:P></O:P>

28. Making new friends or spending time with old ones.<O:P></O:P>

29 Playing with a new puppy.<O:P></O:P>

30. Having someone play with your hair.<O:P></O:P>

31. Sweet dreams.<O:P></O:P>

32. Hot chocolate.<O:P></O:P>

33. Road trips with friends. <O:P></O:P>

34. Swinging on swings.<O:P></O:P>

35. Making eye contact with a cute stranger. <O:P></O:P>

 <O:P></O:P>

 <O:P></O:P>

36. Making chocolate chip cookies. <O:P></O:P>

37. Having your friends send you homemade cookies.<O:P></O:P>

38 Holding hands with someone you care about.<O:P></O:P>

39. Running into an old friend and realizing <O:P></O:P>

that some things (good or bad) never change.<O:P></O:P>

40. Watching the expression on someone's face <O:P></O:P>

as they open a much desired present from you. <O:P></O:P>

41. Watching the sunrise.<O:P></O:P>

42. Getting out of bed every morning and <O:P></O:P>

being grateful for another beautiful day.<O:P></O:P>

43 Knowing that somebody misses you.<O:P></O:P>

44. Getting a hug from someone you care about deeply.<O:P></O:P>

45. Knowing you've done the right thing,<O:P></O:P>

no matter what other people think. <O:P></O:P>

 <O:P></O:P>

Pass on These Natural Highs to at Least 7 People in the Next Half Hour and Something Fantastic Will Happen to You in the Next Few Hours. <O:P></O:P>

 <O:P></O:P>

Be sure to send it back to the person who sent it to you! <O:P></O:P>

 <O:P></O:P>

Lord keep Your arm around my shoulder <O:P></O:P>

 <O:P></O:P>

and <O:P></O:P>

 <O:P></O:P>

Your hand over my mouth <O:P></O:P>

<O:P> </O:P>

  merry1621@aol.com
Today's Quote

Best of thoughts

Dear Journal buddies, a  This will be in 2 parts because of the length rule, but I promise you, you won't be sorry you read it!!

I don't know if you've seen this before but it is so good. I had seen just parts of it.  My sister just sent it to me.  It made me cry, but a good cry.  Be sure you scroll ALL THE WAY TO THE END!!    It's  worth it. Had to share this with you. I hope you like it. Love you my pals, Merry    Anyway, I wrote Bev back immediately saying: Bev, Boy, this was wonderful, many were great, but the last one is like the "legacy" we hope when we pass on people will say this about us and the way we lived our lives.  Mostly #1 guy = our creator, Jesus Christ.   Mom once told me when I fussed about too much with housework, and I missed things and then she said, "When I die, I don't give 2 hoots if it DOESN'T say on my tombstone, "She kept a good house,"  Or even, "She was a good cook."  Much better to have been a good friend, a good person, and to leave this world knowing you did your best to the end."  She really did say this to me.   Love to all, Merry

Natural Highs <?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = O /><O:P></O:P>

Please make sure you forward this back to me . . . You'll see why at the end ! <O:P></O:P>

Think about them one at a time before going on to the next one . . . <O:P></O:P>

It Does Make You Feel Good, especially the thought at the end #45. <O:P></O:P>

 

Christmas Story

  I hope you haven't already read this, but if you have that it's been a while so you can enjoy it again.  Love Always, Merry

____________________________________________


MASON'S CHRISTMAS BALL
by Kathy Pippig Harris

      The clock in the hallway sounded 12 times.
      Midnight.  Christmas Eve.
      Playing softly through the speakers mounted above the nurses'
station Christmas music filtered into those rooms with open doors.
      The older lady sat in her chair by the window.  A thick
comforter wrapped around her frail frame.  Colors flashed and spun
along the walls of her room from the gaily lit Christmas tree in the
walkway, just outside her door.
      Lora gazed past the chilled windowpane, at the snow flurries
dancing on an errant breeze.
      But the vision that filled her eyes was that of a certain yellow
Lab who had become her most treasured visitor.
      His name was Mason and he had once been Lora's life companion.
When she became too ill to care for him, her neighbors, newlyweds
Tyler and Kelli, had volunteered to take him in.
      Mason had always nurtured a fondness for the couple and quickly
became a member of their family, while spending many hours with Lora.
Happy hours they were, sitting in Lora's garden as the sun warmed
them both.  Or in Lora's den, a fire crackling in the hearth as both
canine and human napped in its cozy glow.
      Lora had been in the retirement home for nearly three years, and
Mason always visited her on Christmas day.  She looked past her
reflection in the window glass and smiled.
      Not too long now until she'd get to see Mason.
      Closing her eyes she snuggled into the warmth of the comforter,
her mind playing back well remembered scenes.  Mason loved to fetch
and come every Christmas he would gingerly pull aglass ball off
their tree, trot over to her and drop his treasure in her lap.  Lora
never knew why he was fascinated with the Christmas ball decorations,
but she had come to anticipate this loving gesture from Mason.
      Last Christmas, when Mason came with Tyler and Kelli to visit,
he had proudly presented her with a shiny red ball.  Moments after he
had brought the decoration to Lora, a nurse padded through the
doorway, a searching expression on her face.  Lora held up the glass
ball and the nurse had smiled and shook her head.  Mason grinned and
everyone laughed.  Mason had plucked it from the Christmas tree in
the hallway.
      Comforted by her rememberings, Lora fell asleep as the snow
tapped softly on her windowpane.
                                    __________

      Their guests had left an hour ago and it was just after midnight
when Kelli and Tyler had headed for the comfort of their bed.  Their
party had been marvelous but it had left them both tuckered out and
the thought of sleep was welcome.
      Mason, too, had enjoyed the party, entertaining guests.  Seeking
out and giving affections.  Bestowing sloppy kisses on the children,
and for the adults Mason proffered his paw.  It was the closest he
came to giving them a hug, without fear of knocking them down.
      Kelli and Tyler had stopped telling their guests that Mason
would fetch them a Christmas ornament from the tree.  For in the two
Christmases that had passed, Mason did not comply.  It seemed this
particular "gift" was given to one person only -- Lora.
      As the couple made their way up the stairway, Mason followed
close behind, his long tail wagging happily.  A smile on his face, he
panted, tongue out to the side of his muzzle.  An expression of utter
joy on his furry face.
      As Kelli and Tyler settled in for the night, Mason circled three
times, then snugged down into his soft bed on the floor, at the foot
of their bed.
      Christmas morning arrived as the winter sun splintered through
the blinds of the bedroom window.  Tyler groggily stumbled toward the
bathroomand stopped short.
     Something was not right.  He turned 'round and his eyes fell on
the sight of his wife at Mason's bedside.
      Tears wet her cheeks as she sobbed -- Mason's head held gently
in her hands.  Mason was limp, his once animated face now lifeless.
      Tyler swallowed back a lump in his throat.  He walked numbly
over to his wife and Mason, dropped down on his knees and wept into
Mason's soft fur.
                                    __________

      Lora was awakened due to the persistent nudging of her hand by a
cold, wet nose.  Whiskers tickled her wrist and she smiled as she
opened her eyes.
      There in her lap lay a multi-colored glass ball.  And staring at
her was the happiest face she could ever remember.  That of Mason's.
      Lora gingerly cupped the ornament in one hand as she stroked the
broad yellow brow of her beloved Mason.  She bent down over her
friend and whispered, "Merry Christmas, Mason."
      The nurse padded quietly into Lora's room to find the woman,
lifeless, still wrapped in the comforter.
      In her lap was a glass ball -- the one she noticed missing from
the Christmas tree earlier that night.
     Outside the frosty windowpane, the wintry sun sparkled on new snow.

            -- Kathy Pippig Harris   <kappi00 @ gmail.com>

___________________________________________
Kathy is a published author.  She finds inspiration for her novels,
short stories, and poems from her family, her job, her life's
experiences -- from a diagnosis of cancer, to a diagnosis of life,
and from the furry loved ones who share her world.  And she thanks
God for them all.
____________________________________________
We put a space before and after the @ symbol in the email addresses
to disguise them from robots that harvest addresses on the Internet.
If you would like to correspond, just take out the spaces.

  merry1621@aol.com
Today's Quote

You can't keep blaming yourself. Just blame yourself once, and move on.

-Homer Simpson

prayer

I believe we need to remember there are all

 kinds of illnesses.  The ones people seem to

mention are physical ones. The ones that

 aren't talked about so much are depression,

 anxiety, and etc.  I pray for people suffereing

 from ALL chronic illnesses, and I hope you

will join me in this prayer today.  Thanks to

 each of you good journal buddies!

Best wishes for you to have a wonderful,

happy and productive day.

Love Always & God Bless each of you,

Merry
Prayer for Those With Chronic Illness
Dear Lord, please help all those with chronic illnesses. We suffer more than people see on the outside and have lost the faith at times. Help us hold up to the daily struggle of living.

- Beliefnet member lynn3014 Appropriate for many faiths source: Beliefnet prayer circle

funny-some old some new, but cute

In a message dated 11/13/2005 12:18:25 AM Central Standard Time, I recieved this from an email friend and buddy.  You will have to scroll down to read it all, but it  is funny and worth reading, honest.  Or at least I thought it was.   Love always, Merry

Been around, but still funny.

  Hmm
>>
>>
>> If you yelled for 8 years, 7 months and 6 days you would have produced
>> enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee.
>>
>>
>>
>> (Hardly seems worth it.)
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> If you passed gas consistently for 6 years and 9 months, enough gas is
>> produced to create the energy of an atomic bomb.
>>
>>
>>
>> (Now that's more like it!)
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> The human heart creates enough pressure when it pumps out to the body
>> to
>> squirt blood 30 feet.
>>
>>
>>
>> (O.M.G.!)
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> A pig's orgasm lasts 30 minutes.
>>
>>
>>
>> (In my next life, I want to be a pig.)
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> A cockroach will live nine days without its head before it starves to
>> death.
>> (Creepy.)
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> (I'm still not over the pig.)
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories a hour
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> (Don't try this at home,maybe at work)
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> The male praying mantis cannot copulate while its head is attached to
>> its
>> body. The female initiates sex by ripping the male's head off.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ("Honey, I'm home. What the....?!")
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> The flea can jump 350 times its body length. It's like a human
>> jumping the
>> length of a football field.
>>
>>
>> (30 minutes..lucky pig! Can you imagine?)
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> The catfish has over 27,000 taste buds.
>>
>>
>>
>> (What could be so tasty on the bottom of a pond? )
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Some lions mate over 50 times a day.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> (I still want to be a pig in my next life...quality over quantity)
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Butterflies taste with their feet.
>>
>>
>>
>> (Something I always wanted to know.)
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> The strongest muscle in the body is the tongue.
>>
>>
>>
>> (Hmmmmmm......)
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Right-handed people live, on average, nine years longer than
>> left-handed
>> people.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> (If you're ambidextrous, do you split the difference?)
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Elephants are the only animals that cannot jump.
>>
>> (okay, so that would be a good thing)
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> A cat's urine glows under a black light.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> (I wonder who was paid to figure that out?)
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.
>>
>>
>>
>> ( I know some people like that.)
>>
>>
>>
>>


>> Starfish have no brains

 (I know some people like that too.)
 Polar bears are left-handed.



>> (If they switch, they'll live a lot longer)




>>
>> Humans and dolphins are the only species that have sex for pleasure.
>>
>>
>>
>> (What about that pig??)

Have a great weekend all my journal buddies!  Don't do anything I wouldn't do!

Love ya,

Merry

personal improvement

This is something we probably should but don't always do.  We may have good intentions, but we get too caught up in our own daily routines.

A quote most of us could benefit by working on. Love, Merry

Here is your Inspirational Daily Quote, courtesy of
The Corporate Learning Institute:

Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections, but instantly set about remedying them-- every day begin the task anew.

St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622) French bishop & writer

Yesteray was my 62nd birthday. 

I had so many people send me cards, phone calls from local and out of town friends. The phone actually rang all day long.  Some of these people I had lost touch with, and I was truly touched that they thought of me and took the time to contact me. 

I'd like to thank all of my online friends who remember this day, as well as those who have contacted me lately to let me know that they were praying for me.

I feel that I must be doing something right, if all of these folks care about me, and want me to know it.  It also reminded me of how important it is to remember other people's special days.  They don't know you are thinking of them, if you don't call or write them!  I am truly blessed.  This is a boost for my ego and self esteem.  I wonder if God somehow had a hand in this. (As if he knew that this year I really needed to be reminded of how many nice people there are in my world!)

Right now things are dark and difficult for me as I try to cope with everything..    I know that the world is a good place,   But, I am struggling with depression and anxiety in regard to my physical problems..  Things like this article remind us of the light at the end of the tunnel.   Merry
In the dark night live those for whom
The world without alone is real; in night
Darker still, for whom the world within
Alone is real. The first leads to a life
Of action, the second to a life of meditation.
But those who combine action with meditation
Cross the sea of death through action
And enter into immortality
Through the practice of meditation.
So have we heard from the wise.

-Isha Upanishad

From "Teachings of the

Recognizing a Stroke

Subject: RECOGNIZING A STROKE


A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours  he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke...totally. He said
the trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed and getting to the patient  within 3 hours which is tough.

RECOGNIZING A STROKE - A true story

Susie is recouping at an incredible pace for someone with a massive stroke all because Sherry saw Susie stumble - - that is the key that
isn't mentioned below -and then she asked Susie the 3 questions.

So simple - - this literally saved Susie's life -- Some angel sent it to Suzie's friend and they did just what it said to do. Suzie failed all
three so then 9-1-1 was called. Even though she had normal blood pressure  readings and did not appear to be a stroke  as she could converse to some  extent with the Paramedics they took her to the hospital right  away.

Thank God for the sense to remember the "3" steps. Read and Learn!

Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke. Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:

1. Ask the individual to SMILE.
2. Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.
3. Ask the person to SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE(Coherently) (ie . It is sunny out today) If he or she has  trouble with any of these tasks, call 9-1-1 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

After discovering that a group of non-medical volunteers could identify facial weakness, arm weakness and speech problems, researchers
urged the general! public to learn the three questions. They presented their conclusions at the American Stroke Association's annual meeting last   February. Widespread use of this test could result in prompt diagnosis and treatment of the stroke and prevent brain damage.

A cardiologist says if everyone who gets this e-mail sends it to 10 people, you can bet that at least one life will be saved.

BE A FRIEND AND SHARE THIS ARTICLE WITH AS MANY FRIENDS AS  POSSIBLE

kkkkkkkk

PONDERISMS
 I used to eat a lot of natural foods until I learned that most people 
die of natural causes.
       
Gardening Rule: When weeding, the best way to make sure you are 
removing a weed and not a valuable plant is to pull on it. If it 
comes out of the ground easily, it is a valuable plant.
      
2.  The easiest way to find something lost around the house is to buy a 
replacement.

 3.  Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway. 4.  There are two kinds of pedestrians: the quick and the dead.
     
5.  Life is sexually transmitted.
      
6. Health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.
      
  7. The only difference between a rut and a grave is the depth.
  
8. Some people are like Slinkies. Not really good for anything, but you 
still can't help but smile when you see one tumble down the stairs.

9. Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals
dying of nothing.
  10.  Have you noticed since everyone has a camcorder these days no one
talks about seeing UFOs like they used to?

11. Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.
      
12.  All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention 
to criticism.   13. In the 60's, peopletook acid to make the world weird.  Now the world 
is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal.
Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come 
to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first.
  14.  How is it one careless match can start a forest fire, but it takes a
>> whole box to start a campfire?
      
15. Why is there a light in the fridge and not in the freezer?
    
16.  If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a song about him?
     
17.Why does Goofy stand erect while Pluto remains on all fours? They're 
both dogs!
  
18.   If quizzes are quizzical, what are tests?
 If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made from 
vegetables, then what is baby oil made from?
  
19. Do illiterate people get the full effect of Alphabet Soup?
       
20.Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog's face, he gets mad
at you, but when you take him on a car ride, he sticks his head out
the window?
     
21. Does pushing the elevator button more than once make it arrive faster?         
22.   Why doesn't glue stick to the inside of the bottle?? 
  
23.  Do you ever wonder why you gave me your email address?

Bank robber

Oh boy, I have to tell you our latest news!  Yesterday we had a bank robbery in Mason City!  It was in the middle of the afternoon.  There was NO weapon used.  It was a male, 45-55, about 6'2, average build, graying hair.  (The guy looked average--they showed the "tape" that they had of him in line)  Anyway, he left the bank, escaped.  Mason City had police out, the sherriff was out, you name it, they were all after this dude.  They even had helocopters SP? out looking, but they did not find him. They do not know where he is from, do not think he had a record though.  This isn't the first time someone has tried to rob a bank here. Every few years someone does this; but they just "get away."  I can't believe the Mason City police!  It would be funny if it weren't such a serious thing!  So, if you ever want to "rob a bank" just come to Mason City.  ha ha   I had to tell you our BIG news! 

From "crime free" Mason City, IA Love, Merry

Friendship

Prayer for Friendship

You have blessed us, O God,
with the gift of friendship,
the bonding of persons
in a circle of love.
We thank you for such a blessing:
for friends who love us,
who share our sorrows,
who laugh with us in celebration,
who bear our pain,
who need us as we need them,
who weep as we weep,
who hold us when words fail,
and who give us the freedom
to be ourselves.
Bless our friends with health,
wholeness, life, and love.
Amen.
- Vienna Cobb Anderson

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

life

Today's Quote

If you don't run your own life, someone else will.

-John Atkinson   How true, how true, don't you think?
Merry

Fall

If you haven't lived in the midwest, you may not have to ask this question.  We have "skipped" or "fast-forwarded" fall many years in the past.  But we always hope we will have it a longer time, rather than skip it.  Our weather in Mason City is in the 40's for highs.  By this weekend we might even get snow flurries with our rain showers. 

I was hoping winter would stay away until after my birthday, which is Nov. 8.  But at least we don't have tropical storms or hurricanes here!  I hope you enjoy the fall if you still have it.
Love, Merry  

Funny things!

 My sister sent me these!  They are SO true, too!  I had to send them on! If they don't seem "funny" to you, you didn't grow up in Minnesota!  :) Merry

JEFF FOXWORTHY ON MINNESOTA

>If you consider it a sport to gather your food by drilling through l8
>inches of ice and sitting there all day hoping that the food will swim
>by,you might live in Minnesota.
>
>If you're proud that your state makes the national news 96 nights each
>Year, because International Falls is the coldest spot in the nation, you
>might live in Minnesota.

>If your local Dairy Queen is closed from November through March, you might
>live in Minnesota,
>
>If someone in a store offers you assistance, and they don't work there, You
>might live in Minnesota,
>
>If you have worn shorts and a parka at the same time, you might live in
>Minnesota.
>
>If your town has an equal number of bars and churches, you might live in
>Minnesota.
>
>If you know how to say Wayzata, Mahtomedi, Edina, Shakopee ,Winton and Ely,
>you might live in Minnesota.
>
>If you think that ketchup is a little too spicy, you might live in
>Minnesota.
>
>"Vacation" means going up north past Virginia (Minnestora)  for the weekend,
>
>You measure distance in hours,
>
>You know several people who have hit deer more than once,
>
>You often switch from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day and back again,
>
>You see people wearing hunting clothes at social events,
>
>You install security lights on your house and garage and leave both
>unlocked,
>
>You think of the major food groups as beer, fish, and venison,
>
>You carry jumper cables in your car and you wouln't hesitate to ask some "nice guy" to jump your car for you.
>
>There are 7 empty cars running in the parking lot at Zups Grocery Store at
>any given time,
>
>You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit,
>
>Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow,
>
>You know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter and road
>
>construction,
>
>You can identify a southern or eastern accent, >

>
>Down South to you means Iowa,
>
>A brat is something you eat,
>
>You go out to fish fry every Friday,
>

>You actually understand these jokes, You might live in Minnesota.

    merry1621@aol.com


Some people succeed because they are destined to, but most people succeed because they are determined to.

- Anonymous

Not knowing when the dawn will come, I open every door.

- Emily Dickinson

Hindu Wisdom

Hindu Wisdom (Beliefnet)

Know God and all fetters will fall away.
No longer identifying yourself
With the body, go beyond birth and death.
All your desires will be fulfilled in him
Who is One without a second.

Know him to be enshrined in your heart
always.
Truly there is nothing more in life to know.
Meditate and realize this world
Is filled with the presence of God.

-Shvetashvatara Upanishad

Merry

merry1621@aol.com

 

The Ring

Today's Inspirational Story  (I think this is true!)

 

 The Ring
My mother's wedding band may not have been fancy or expensive, but to me, it was a priceless jewel.
By Esther Bonilla Read When I was growing up, my mother had a ring she never took off. It was the only ring I ever saw her wear during my childhood. It was made of a shiny silvery metal with an oblong penny-brown metallic piece upon which two hearts were attached in the center.

She wore it when she swept, when she mopped, when she made her large mound of golden flour tortillas, when she sewed on her treadle Singer sewing machine and when she washed clothes on the rubboard.

She didn't really have any other jewelry, and, in fact, I remember my father saying that he didn't even buy her a ring when they were married. He hadn't thought about it, and during the ceremony, they had borrowed her brother Charlie's ring.

The years passed. My father, who had come from Mexico in the 1920s to try to earn a living, worked long, long hours at the service station he operated. And my mother, who was also from Mexico, toiled at home, keeping house for her husband and eight youngsters. With his hard work and her thriftiness, they sent their first son off to college, then another child and then another. The older children helped with the expenses of the younger ones.

Just as the last two children were graduating from college, my father died suddenly of a heart attack, but my mother lived on for another twenty-three years. Their children had become lawyers, businessmen and teachers. In the last years of her life, my mother was finally able to enjoy the luxuries that had always been denied her. She was even able to buy some jewelry, which, I was surprised to learn, she really loved.

A few years before she died, she told me that she wanted her jewelry to go to her granddaughters. And when she died, it was done. A diamond ring to this one, a pearl ring to that one, an opal ring to another, and so it went.

Then I discovered it: her first ring. Now I could identify the metal. The ring was a thin, fragile thing by now, a small strip of stainless steel attached to two small hearts on either side of an oblong-shaped piece of copper. It had been worn so long that the copper had become unattached to the circle. Its value was naught.

I took the ring, polished it with a cloth and carried it to the bank to place in a safety-deposit box. To me, it was a gem that symbolized the sacrifices my mother had made for us and the values that she lived. How many years had she worn it? How many times had she denied herself so that we might succeed? Why did she save this ring when it seemed worthless? Was it a symbol to her, too?

The rest of my family doesn't quite understand this, but when I look at that ring, I see the priceless jewel of my mother's strength and the brilliance of the love that she showed us every day of her life.

PS Had to share with you,

Love,

Merry

merry1621@aol.com

You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.
James D. Miles

A Petwarmers Poem

 A Petwarmers Poem  (I Love it)
WHEN I AM OLD

      When I am old...
      I will wear soft gray sweatshirts...
      and a bandana over my silver hair...
      and I will spend my social security checks on wine and my dogs.

      I will sit in my house on my well-worn chair
      and listen to my dogs breathing.
      I will sneak out in the middle of a warm summer night
      and take my dogs for a run, if my old bones will allow...

      When people come to call, I will smile and nod
      as I show them my dogs...
      and talk of them and about them...
      ...the ones so beloved of the past
      and the ones so beloved of today...

      I will still work hard cleaning after them,
      mopping and feeding them and whispering their names
      in a soft loving way.

      I will wear the gleaming sweat on my throat,
      like a jewel, and I will be an embarrassment to all...
      especially my family...
      who have not yet found the peace in being free
      to have dogs as your best friends...

      These friends who always wait, at any hour, for your footfall...
      and eagerly jump to their feet out of a sound sleep,
      to greet you as if you are a God,
      with warm eyes full of adoring love and hope
      that you will always stay,

      I'll hug their big strong necks...
      I'll kiss their dear sweet heads...
      and whisper in their very special company....

      I look in the mirror... and see I am getting old....
      this is the kind of person I am...
      and have always been.

      Loving dogs is easy, they are part of me.

      Please accept me for who I am.
      My dogs appreciate my presence in their lives...
      they love my presence in their lives...

      When I am old this will be important to me...
      you will understand when you are old,
      if you have dogs to love too.

                            -- author unknown

____________________________________________


PETITION TO KEEP PETS WITH THEIR OWNERS DURING DISASTERS:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/750226838

____________________________________________

I Have Arrived!

A funny story a friend of mine from Beaverton, Oregon sent me!

A couple from Minneapolis decided to go to Florida to thaw out during one particularly icy winter. They planned to stay at the very same hotel where they spent their honeymoon 20 years earlier.

Because of hectic schedules, it was difficult to coordinate their travel schedules. So, the husband left Minnesota and flew to Florida on Thursday, with his wife flying down the following day.

The husband checked into the hotel. There was a computer in his room, so he decided to send an e-mail to his wife. However, he accidentally left out one letter in her email address, and without realizing his error, he sent the e-mail.

Meanwhile, somewhere in Houston, a widow had just returned Home from her husband's funeral. He was a minister of many years who was called home to glory following a sudden heart attack. The widow decided to check her e-mail expecting messages of condolence from relatives and friends. After reading the first message, she fainted.

The widow's son rushed into the room, found his mother on the floor, and saw the computer screen which read:

To: My Loving Wife
Subject: I've Arrived
Date: 16 January 2004

I know you're surprised to hear from me. They have computers here now and you are allowed to send e-mails to your loved ones. I've just arrived and have been checked in. I see that everything has been prepared for your arrival tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing you then! Hope your journey is as uneventful as mine was.

P.S. Sure is hot down here.

Love to all,

Merry

We've Got to Keep Our Senses of Humor

Subject: We've got to keep our senses of humor....
I feel like my body has gotten totally out of shape, so I got my doctor's permission to join a fitness club and start exercising. I decided to take an aerobics class for seniors. I bent, twisted, gyrated, jumped up and down, and perspired for an hour. But, by the time I got my leotards on, the class was over.

************************************** 

Reporters interviewing a 104 year-old woman: "And what do you think is the best thing about being 104?" the reporter asked.
She simply replied, "No peer pressure."

************************************** 

Just before the funeral services, the undertaker came up to the very elderly widow and asked, "How old was your husband?"
"98," she replied. "Two years older than me."
"So you're 96," the undertaker commented.
She responded, "Hardly worth going home is it?"

************************************** 


I've sure gotten old. I've had 2 by-pass surgeries, a hip replacement, new knees. Fought prostate cancer, and diabetes. I'm half blind, can't hear anything quieter than a jet engine, take 40 different medications that make me dizzy, winded, and subject to blackouts. Have bouts with dementia. Have poor circulation, hardly feel my hands and feet anymore. Can't remember if I'm 85 or 92. Have lost all my friends. But.....Thank God, I still have my driver's license!

************************************** 
 An elderly woman from Brooklyn decided to prepare her will and make her final requests. She told her rabbi she had two final requests. First, she wanted to be cremated, and second, she wanted her ashes scattered over Bloomingdales.
"Bloomingdales?" the rabbi exclaimed. "Why Bloomingdales?"
"Then I'll be sure my daughters visit me twice a week."

************************************** 

Three old guys are golfing.
First one says, "Windy, isn't it?"
Second one says, "No, its Thursday!"
Third one says, "So am I. Let's go get a beer."

************************************** 

A man was telling his neighbor, "I just bought a new hearing aid. It cost me four thousand dollars, but it's state of the art. It's perfect."
"Really," answered the neighbor. "What kind is it?"
"Twelve thirty."  

Allan Alda- A Lessen in Change

Hi all,

Hope you all are safe, out of the way of harms way of the hurricane.  I read this exert that was on Beliefnet.com, written by Alan Alda.  I just had to share it.

A Lesson in Change
It took a major health scare for me to learn that I needed to start paying attention to my life. By Alan Alda I was in an ambulance, bumping down a mountain road for an hour and a half. Someone on a gurney was moaning at the top of his voice. It was me.

I was gripped by something that comes upon us from time to time, whether we like it or not: change. It wasn't something I felt I really needed.

I was aware of being tripped up by change for the first time when I was seven years old. One day I was playing with my friends and the next I was in bed with a case of polio. I got over that, but a year later, my dog died from eating leftover Chinese food and I got introduced to the biggest change there is. I suddenly realized that death is permanent. It won't go away; nothing you do can bring your dog back.Then in my teens, I chose a profession that has change at its very core; I became an actor. People in other lines of work sometimes don't change jobs until years have gone by. Actors change them every few weeks. M*A*S*H, of course, went on for eleven years, but that was an oasis that only made a desert of change seem even hotter. Every new job is another set of challenges, with new skills to master, or fail at in a public way. And every few years the kind of part you were once right for is only right for the generation behind you.

You'd think after forty years or so of a life like this that I'd be used to change. But it still could surprise me when it made its blunt and unforgiving entrance. I suddenly had to leave the familiar place I was in and go into the unknown. I did know that if I didn't accept change I couldn't grow, I couldn't learn. I couldn't make progress at anything unless I was willing to gothrough this dark tunnel of uncertainty. So I went through it, but usually I went through it warily, sometimes even a little suspiciously.

It took a lesson on top of a mountain in Chile to make me accept change in a way I never had before. I think I even began to like it.

I was in an observatory, in in a remote part of Chile, interviewing astronomers for a science program called Scientific American Frontiers. The show often called for me to do dangerous things in far-off places, and I was always a reluctant adventurer because I'm a cautious person. This wasn't dangerous; it was just talk, but suddenly something inside me literally started to die. My intestine had become crimped and its blood supply was choked off. Every few minutes more and more of it was going bad, and within a few hours, so would the rest of me.

The astronomers brought me down the mountain and hustled me to the closest town; not a very big one, but amazingly, there was a surgeon there who was expert in intestinal surgery. I had only a few hours. There was no chance to fly to a larger city.

It's not just that I'm cautious; I usually practice a form of caution almost indistinguishable from cowardice. And yet I wasn't frightened. It happened too quickly for fear to set in. Knowing I might not wake up from the surgery, I dictated a few words to my wife and children and grandchildren. And then I went under.

I woke up a few hours later with a deep understanding that this surgeon had given me my life. I was grateful to him in a way I had never been grateful to anyone before; I was grateful to the nurses and to the painkillers; I was grateful to the soft Chilean cheese they gave me to break my fast. The first bite of that bland cheese, because it was the first taste of food I had in my new life, was gloriously complex and delicious. Everything about life tasted good to me now. Everything was new and bright and shining.

I hadn't asked for this change and I certainly wouldn't have picked it if I had a choice, but it actually transformed and excited me.

When I got home, I saw that I was paying more attention to things. The way the cheese tasted when they finally let me eat again became the taste of life for me. And I began doing more of the things I care about and caring more about whatever things I did. It didn't matter if what I was doing was an official, important enterprise -- or a game on a computer screen. I gave it my attention. My sense of taste for everything had been heightened.

It's only been two years since that night in Chile. Maybe this will all go away, and maybe I'll take life more for granted again. But I hope not. I like the way it tastes.

Wishing you all a beautiful fall weekend.

Love ya,

Merry

Joke (religious)

----- Original Message ----- Subject: Preacher man As a young minister, I was asked by a funeral director to hold a grave side service in a new cemetery for a derelict man (with no family or friends) who had died while traveling through the area. The funeral was to be held way back in the country at a new cemetery. This man would be the first to be laid to rest at this new cemetery. As I was not familiar with the backwoods area, I became lost. Being the typical man I didn't stop for directions. And when I finally arrived an hour late, I saw a crew and a backhoe, but the hearse was nowhere in sight. The workmen were eating lunch. I apologized for my tardiness, but the workers just looked puzzled. I stepped to the side of the open grave, to find the vault lid already in place. I assured the workers I would not hold them long, but this was the proper thing to do. As the workers gathered around, still eating their lunch. I poured out my heart and soul. As I preached, the workers began to say "Amen," "Praise the Lord" and "Glory," (they must have been Baptist). I preached, and I preached, like I'd never preached before. I began from Genesis and worked all the way through to Revelation. I preached for 45 minutes. It was a long service. Finally, I closed in prayer and it was finished. As I was walking to my car, I felt that I had done my duty and I would leave with a renewed sense of purpose and dedication, in spite of my tardiness. As I was opening the door and taking off my coat, I overheard one of the workers saying to another. "I've been puttin' in septic tanks for 20 years, and I ain't never seen nothing like 'at before."

 I hope no one was offeneded. Merry

Pete the Cat (NEAT)

I hope you all like this, I had to share it with you.  (just in case you don't have time to read all this stuff like I do all day)

AFTER 10,000 YEARS
by Niki Behrikis Shanahan

      Our family didn't have any pets when I was growing up, so I
didn't give much thought to having a companion animal.  I suppose if
you never had it, you don't know what you're missing.
      My husband, Jack, always had cats in his family growing up.
When Jack and I were first married, we lived on the second floor of a
condominium.  Little did we know who was living on the first floor --
it was Pete!
      One day we heard a cat meowing in the hallway outside our door.
Jack dashed to the door and let the cat in.  It really didn't matter
much to me if he let him in or not.  Pete kept visiting us, each time
meowing outside the door for admittance.
      One day, I was writing at the kitchen table when Pete came in.
He got up on the chair beside me, and I looked into the most
beautiful green eyes I had ever seen!  On other occasions he would
walk around, and rub up against my legs as I did the dishes at the
sink.  Little by little, this short fluffy bundle of love stole my
heart!
      Then it happened.  I started looking for him -- I was hooked!
We started feeding Pete on a regular basis and he would stay for long
periods of time.  One night he didn't leave, sleeping on a rocking
chair in the living room all night.
      Finally, I discovered that he belonged to Judy on the first
floor.  I explained to her Pete has been stopping by to visit and
that he had stayed overnight a couple of times.  She told me if Pete
bothered us, just to throw him out!
      Judy said that she was getting married in a couple of months and
she didn't know what she was going to do with Pete, because her
fiance had a dog that couldn't tolerate other animals.
      That was the day that I decided I would definitely adopt him.
      Jack was going to night school and was busy with that most of
his spare time, so Pete and I kept each other company.  Pete would
get up with us in the morning and have breakfast -- he was always
veryvocal about being fed promptly!  He would sleep on our bed,
usually laying on my legs all night, sit on my lap in the evening,
nap in my arms, and play toy and flashlight games with Jack.  He'd
let you put a little rubber duck on his head and allow us to be
amused by it.  He was a good sport.
      He was very cooperative the year I put a Santa hat on his head
and asked him to pose for our Christmas cards.  He loved to sit under
the Christmas tree.  When I would bring the tree into the house and
lay it against the wall before setting it up, Pete would sit under
it, ready to start celebrating right away.  He loved to open the toys
at Christmas, and exchange gifts and cards with his Grandma and
Auntie every year.
      Fourteen wonderful years passed.  It was a couple of weeks
before Pete passed away that he was sitting on the bay window in the
dining room.  I went over to see him, and there I saw a beautiful
pure white cat outside directly in front of the window where he sat.
The white cat was staring up at Pete.
      I called Jack to come over to see this white cat who seemed to
be in a trance as she gazed up at Pete.  Jack came over to take a
look and within a couple of minutes she vanished from sight.  I
immediately ran outside to leave her some food in case she came back,
but all the while I had an uneasy feeling inside me that this was no
ordinary cat.  We never saw this white cat before, and we've never
seen her since.
      I couldn't get it out of my mind that the beautiful feline was
an angel, ready to take Pete to heaven.  I asked Jack if we could
pray for Pete a little later that night and we did.  Within a couple
of weeks Pete did pass away from a heart attack.
      Pete lived to be close to 22 years old, which is a long time for
a cat, but not enough when you love someone.  He enjoyed a very
loving life with us, and was really only sick the last year of his
life.  Even though it pains us deeply that he is gone, we know he's
with the Lord in heaven waiting for us to join him someday.
      The great bond between Pete and I inspired me to research the
Bible to see what God had to say about the afterlife of animals.  I
found many scriptures in myresearch and I felt the need to document
it in an organized way.  Once I began to type everything in a file, I
said to Jack, "I think this is a book!"  I was delighted with my
findings that proved scripturally that all the animals go to heaven.
I titled the book, There Is Eternal Life For Animals.
      On December 15, 2002, it was exactly one year since Pete passed
away.  I was feeling very depressed, and just moping around the
house.  I looked out the window and noticed that it was snowing.
Later I looked out the back window at the place where Pete was
buried, right under the big rock.
      I had to look twice because there was a snow shaped cross on the
big rock right over Pete's grave!  Why isn't there any snow on the
rest of the rock?  There's snow everywhere else, on the trees, on the
grass, everywhere.  But on the rock it was only in the shape of a
cross.  After the snow was gone I went to see what the rock looked
like, and I noticed that there was a branch which formed the vertical
part of the cross, horizontally it looks like an indent in the rock.
We have photos of the rock fully covered with snow, and others with
the snow melting, and we have a photo of the rock with the Cross of
Snow.  I know it's a sign from God that Pete is alive and well in
heaven!  I believe that God wants us to share this story with all
those who are feeling the pain at the loss of their animal
companions.  It's true that God preserves people and animals as is
stated in Psalm 36:6.
      I often wonder what it's like in heaven, and what everybody is
doing.  Sometimes I imagine Pete's playing with the other animals,
perhaps riding on a big elephant!  I'm sure he's spending time with
my Dad, who passed away 40 days before him.  He and his Uncle Johnny,
my brother who passed away at only three years old, are no doubt
enjoying each other's company.
      Whenever I feel sad about my boy being gone, I stop and think.
I'm going home to Pete someday and we're going to live forever in
heaven!  Then after 10,000 years go by, I'm going to turn to Pete and
say, "Well son, what do you want to do today?"

            -- Niki Behrikis Shanahan   <eternalanimals @ comcast.net>

____________________________________________
Niki is from Massachusetts.  Her book, There Is Eternal Life For
Animals, has been reviewed 43 times by readers at Amazon.com and has
received the highest 5 star rating. 

My friend Patty

I realize I have been blessed by having Patty for a friend for 48 years.  God joined our paths when my parents moved to the town she lived in.  We were adolescents.  She has been one of the biggest influences of my life, even though there have been some fairly long periods of time that we weren't in contact.  She is one of the very stongest persons that I know, and too independent in some ways.  But I realize this illness, the decisions she makes for treatment or no treatment are HERS, no one else's.  What she does will be for her son, her daughter, her grandchildren, her mom, and to a lesser extent her brother and sisters.  I talked to her on the phone this morning, and she said that she will  have tests starting the end of the week.  She will see the Oncologist again the end of September.  If her options inlude any hope of true recovery (Not surgery then 6 to 12 months of treatments and illness followed by death) she will have them.  Right now they do not kinow the extent of her condition.  I will keep you posted on it. For me.  I have to tell someone this.  I can't just sit her stoicly (sp) and be strong.  I am crying, I am weak, I am losing a best friend. In a way, I am being selfish, I am losing my childhood heroine, it's my loss, she will be in a better place.  But I need all the support I can get, from any of you who read this and are willing to help me, and from God himself.  Her concern (other than her family) is that I take care of my medical needs!) Can you believe this angel my freinds?

For Pat

Prayer for Friendship
You have blessed us, O God,
with the gift of friendship,
the bonding of persons
in a circle of love.
We thank you for such a blessing:
for friends who love us,
who share our sorrows,
who laugh with us in celebration,
who bear our pain,
who need us as we need them,
who weep as we weep,
who hold us when words fail,
and who give us the freedom
to be ourselves.
Bless our friends with health,
wholeness, life, and love.
Amen.

Vienna Cobb Anderson  |  Source: Adapted from "Prayers of Our Hearts" © 1991 Vienna Cobb Anderson. Reprinted with the permission of the author.

 

I wish the prayer below said, "Fix Pat Jesus!"

Fix Me Jesus
Oh yes, fix me, Jesus, fix me.(HER)
Fix me so that I can walk on
a little while longer.
Fix me so that I can pray on
just a little bit harder.
Fix me so that I can sing on
just a little bit louder.
Fix me so that I can go on despite the pain,
the fear, the doubt, and yes, the anger,
I ask not that you take this cross from me,
only that you give me the strength to continue carrying it onward 'til my dying day.
Oh, fix me, Jesus, fix me.

Thank you dear friends who have read this, stick with me now, I pray, but even more important pray for Patty.

I love you all, even though I many not know your faces, I know your hearts.  Thanks for your praryers and your understanding.

Merry

Courage

We take a risk when we open our hearts because the truth is, if we open our hearts, we will get hurt. You can’t open your heart and not have some hurt because you’re in a human experience. Even if it’s the love of your life and you have many wonderful, deepening, growing, powerful years together, it’s a human experience and that person will pass over. Love takes courage. Be courageous."

      "Courageous risks are life-giving, they help you grow, make you brave, and better than you think you are.

Bpth frpm  Collection of Courageous Quotations

My soul-mate Patty

I have a favor to ask of all of you who read journals.  I received a note today from my soul-mate, high-school, best friend.  (So you know we have been friends for a long time.)  She told me that she had to have colon surgery.  She has a large tumor and a lot of blood.  She was to see the surgeon to make final arrangements Thursday.  I am so worried about her.  She lost her husand at 23, raised a daughter and a son by herself.  She is a wonderful daughter to her mother, wonderful friend to freinds, and really lives for her family.  Her son has a serious medical depression problem, so much so that he is on disability, but Patty still "watches out" for him, like you do when kids are at home, even though Bob does have his own house.  Laura, her daughter has 2 kids, a boy and a girl and Pat lives for them.  Most of her time is spent with them.

Although she's had the chance many times, she never remarried.  She's never done anything bad to any human being and I am so so sad that she is having to go through this all alone.  Her mom is in her 80"s and she has a bad heart.   Pat's plans were to tell her only minimal information at the last minute.  Pat's biggest worry was that Laura (her daughter) will not keep her colonoscopy appointment and be checked out.  And that Bob would be okay with her not "stopping in and checking on him every day."

I am asking, no, I am begging:  Will each of you say a special prayer for Pat, or Patty for me?  PLEASE?.  I triend to call tonight but got no answer, she could be with her grandchildren, or already in the hospital.  She told me she'd be in touch as soon as she was able to.  She doesn't have a computer

In this life we only get a few really close (best) friends.  We tend to carry them our whole lives in our hearts.  Pat and I made a soul-mate pack togeth ere on our confirmation day...we were 14 or 15 then.  We took our first communion together.  We have always been able to "take up right where we left off in conversations, whether it has been a year or 5 years later. 

If you decide to pray for Pat, it would really mean the world to me.  Thank you all!

A very worried Merry

quiet time

www.beliefnet.com 
Home       Community       Christianity       Spirituality       Inspiration       Soulmatch     9/15/2005
Daily Christian Wisdom

Let go of your plans. The first hour of your morning belongs to God. Tackle the day's work that he charges you with, and he will give you the power to accomplish it.


-Edith Stein, St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross Today's reading is I Corinthians 2:14-3:15

Religious joke

Message from God TO: EVERYONE    FROM: GOD    Effective immediately, please be aware that there are changes you need to make in your life.  These changes need to be completed in order that I may fulfill my promises to you to grant you peace, joy and happiness in this life.  I apologize for any inconvenience, but after all that I am doing, this seems very little to ask of you.  I know, I already gave you the 10 Commandments.  Keep them.  But follow these modern TEN COMMANDMENTS, also.    1.) QUIT WORRYING  Life has dealt you a blow and all you do is sit and worry.  Have you forgotten that I am here to take all your burdens and carry them for you?  Or do you just enjoy fretting over every little thing that comes your way?  Get over it.    2.) PUT IT ON THE LIST  Something needs to be done or taken care of.  Put it on the list.  No, not YOUR list.  Put it on MY to-do-list.  Let ME be the one to take care of the problem.  I can't help you until you turn it over to me.  And although my to-do-list is long, I am after all, God.  I can take care of anything you put into my hands.  In fact, if the truth were ever really known, I take care of a lot of things for you that you never even realize.      3.) TRUST ME > Once you've given your burdens to me, quit trying to take them back.  Trust in me.  Have the faith that I will take care of all your needs, your problems and your trials.  Problems with the kids?  Put them on my list.  Problem with finances?  Put it on my list.  Problems with your emotional roller coaster?  For y sake, put it on my list.  I want to help you.  All you have to do is ask.    4.) LEAVE IT ALONE  Don't wake up one morning and say, "Well, I'm feeling much stronger how, I think Ican handle it from here." Why do you think you are feeling stronger now?  It's simple.  You gave me your burdens and I'm taking care of them.  I also renew your strength and cover you in my peace.  Don't you know that if I give you these problems back, you will be right back where you started?  Leave them with me and forget about them.  Just let me do my job.    5.) TALK TO ME  I want you to forget a lot of things.  Forget what was making you crazy.  Forget the worry and the fretting because you know I'm in control.  But there's one thing I pray you never forget.  Please don't forget to talk to me - OFTEN!  I love you.  I want to hear your voice.  I want you to include me in on the things going on in your life.  I want to hear you talk about your friends and family.  Prayer is simply you having a conversationwith me.  I want to be your dearest friend.    6.) HAVE FAITH  I see a lot of things from up here that you can't see from where you are.  Have faith in me that I know what I'm doing.  Trust me, you wouldn't want the view from my eyes.  I will continue to care for you, watch over you, and meet your needs.  You only have to trust me.  Although I have a much bigger task than you, it seems as if you have so much trouble just doing your simple part.  How hard can trust be?    7.) SHARE  You were taught to share when you were only two years old.  When did you forget?  That rule still applies.  Share with those who are less fortunate than you.  Share your joy with those who need encouragement.  Share your laughter with those who haven't heard any in such a long time.  Share your tears with those who have forgotten how to cry.  Share your faith with those who have none.    8.) BE PATIENT  I managed to fix it so in just one lifetime you could have so many diverse experiences.  Yougrow from a child to an adult, have children, change jobs many times, learn many trades, travel to so many places, meet thousands of people, and experience so much.  How can you be so impatient then when it takes me a little longer than you expect to handle something on my to-do-list?  Things occur on MY timetable, not yours.  Trust in my timing, for my timing is perfect.  Just because I created the entire universe in only six days, everyone thinks I should always rush, rush, rush.    9.) BE KIND  Be kind to others, for I love them just as much as I love you.  They may not dress like you, or talk like you, or live the same way you do, but I still love you all.  Please try to get along, for my sake.  I created each of you different in some way.  It would be too boring if you were all identical.  Please know I love each of your differences.    10.) LOVE YOURSELF  As much as I love you, how can you not love yourself?  You were created by me for one reason only - to be loved, and to love in return.  I am a God of Love.  Love me.  Love your neighbors.  But also love yourself.  It makes my heart ache when I see you so angry with yourself when things go wrong.  You are very precious to me.  Don't ever forget that!  With all my heart I love you, GOD    Oh, don't forget to TALK to me.   P.S.  I LOVE YOU ALL !!!!!!! Merry