Mega Millions Lottery Jackpot Fever

Surely you’ve heard about the Mega Millions Lottery Jackpot in the news.  Everyone in the media is going gaga over the $330 million jackpot winnings.  People are dreaming big.  Oh there is speculation on the lips of those that are interviewed about what they WILL do with their winnings (they haven’t even bought a ticket yet) and they are fantasizing about how THEIR money will be spent and how they will choose to collect it; either in a lump sum or, through long term annuity payments.

Players are standing in long lines to purchase their tickets.  Even the “odds of winning” aren’t a deterrent to the most loyal of players…the 1 in 176 millionth of a chance of winning.  Really?  I wonder how someone convinces themselves that THEY are the one who WILL win the jackpot with those kind of odds.   If you would like to finish reading this post click here: WriteWhereYouAre

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If It Weren’t For Bad Luck…

        Donald Peters won, and he won big!  It was his luckiest day…and his most unlucky day as well.  On November 1st Donald bought a lottery ticket in Conneticut; and he won $10 million dollars.  Can you believe it?  He was a retired factory worker; I am sure that money could come in handy after all those years of working hard.  He bought two tickets…but, he didn’t cash them in.   Someone else did…and they did it just this past week.   It was Donald’s wife of 59 years who cashed the ticket in.

       Why her, and not him, you may ask?  Hours after buying the winning ticket he went home and  had a heart attack.  Donald died…and his family grieved; not even knowing of the winning ticket that sat unattended, in the home, while they went about mourning the loss of the man they loved.

        While some would say the man was lucky to purchase a winning $10 million dollar lottery ticket…others would say if it weren’t for bad luck….he would’ve had no luck at all.   You see, the purchase of these tickets was a tradition that he and his wife shared for 20 years.  While he won the lottery, he didn’t get to celebrate…he didn’t even know that he won the money, let alone get to spend a dime of it!

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Stand Up To (2) Cancer

        Do you know anyone who has been diagnosed with cancer?  Did you know that 1 out of 3 women will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime…1 out of 2 men.  So unless you are a family of one, with no friends and you are the luckiest person in the whole wide world…cancer is going to touch someone you care about, at some point.  If you haven’t had to deal with the enemy cancer yet…consider yourself blessed beyond reason.  There is a movement afoot to Stand Up To Cancer.  It doesn’t matter if it is breast cancer, colon cancer, blood cancers, brain cancer,ovarian, or any other kind of cancer…it is a destroyer and needs to be eliminated.  Please join forces to battle a plague on the world that we live in…help fight cancer.

        The goal is to Stand Up To Cancer and understand it…take it apart…so that we can more efficiently battle it and WIN!  That is the end goal.   Cancer is the enemy…it is a thief…it has stolen enough, artists, doctors, mothers, muscians, pilots, cab drivers, babies, teachers, clerks, lecturers, fathers, students, writers, researchers, husbands, factory workers, miners, fire fighters, sons, nurses, daughters, child care workers, politicians, sisters, waitresses, brothers, lecturers, speakers, wives, caregivers, grandparents, role models, athletes, neighbors, librarians, friends, social workers, police men & women, military men and women, designers, dancers, clergy, you get the idea…Cancer is not picky about who it chooses to invade and try to destroy. 

          It could be you next, or someone you care about.  Cancer claims one life a minute each day!  Can you believe that?  One person a minute per day is too many loses! That is 1,500 deaths per day… that is unacceptable.    Protect your health best way that you can, eat right, exercise, protect your environment, take your vitamins, stay away from contaminants, be aware and educate yourself.  Honor those who have fought with everything they have…help out someone in a health crisis with cancer…be a supporter to someone in need. 

          Once cancer strikes…there are many needs, physical,spiritual, medical, emotional, financial, transportation, and daily care needs.  Do what you can to lift someone up!  Life is precious.  Will you make a commitment to be a force to be reckoned with and help make an impact in the fight against cancer?

         For us to win the war on cancer it requires courage, support, awareness, education and funding.  The television networks are joining together to bring those tools to the public and try to create a historic event that will hopefully rev up the odds of winning.  http://abcnews.go.com/Health/StandUp2Cancer/  There are many celebrities who are adding their voice and their talents to the project.  They have a wonderful website that you can view here that will explain more.  In the meantime, look for the program to hit the networks on Sept 5th, at 8 pm.  You can go to the website and read up on the idea here:  http://www.standup2cancer.org/  Let’s not be idle and let others do the fighting…there is something that we all can do…what are you willing to do to help?  Let’s envision a future without cancer!!!

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Oprah’s Big Give

      Tonight is another episode of Ophrah’s Big Give.  This show, if you have not seen it, is all about giving and making a positive change in someone’s life circumstances.  To those down on their luck, experiencing loss, lonely, sick or just plain in need; it is a miracle flowing their way.  To those doing the giving it is a gift of themselves to be able to tap into their ability to reach out to others and make a difference.

       Each week, each contestant is given a certain amount of money…they all have the same rules each week to make the most of giving the money away.  Then they are each judged by a panel of three who judge them on their creativity, effectiveness and follow through.  If a person is judged to have ill used the money or not followed through or in some way…didn’t exhibit the good intent of the helpfulness then they are let go.  Each week…at least one person leaves.

        As the responsibilities increase so do the expectations of the panel of judges.  In the beginning they worked in teams.  They use their talents and knowledge to find ways to raise additional funds in some cases.  If they didn’t work well together or tried to go their own way…they were let go.  Some were successful and some were not successful at teamwork.

           It was and is about using the money to achive the most positive help available and using their skills to tap into communities to support and inspire others to be looking for opportunities to be a blessing to others.. 

         I have to say that this show really challenges the viewer to “pay it forward”.  Last week, one of the gentleman failed to follow through.  He did some good work…but it was frustrating to see him promise to help pay for a person’s funeral..only to fail to show up because of his commitment to help others and he missed the time frame.  That is a heavy load of responsibility and disappointment.

        I like that Oprah is doing a show that is an extention of her Christian faith by the idea of “to those who much is given, much is expected in return”.   The contestants must find ways to help those in need; and so should we all.   

           It is a joyful show to watch.  It definately springs forward hope to those who have been helped and hopefully will allow them to be able to do the same when they are able for others.  The show is a beautiful  inspiration for finding the way to live our lives.  Keep up the good work!

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Luck

      Morning brings a clear view of  just how powerful last night’s storm was.  We have trees down in our yard.  Not just little….who cares about them sized trees…i am talking about trees the size of “wow, that changes the whole look of things”!

     Luck or grace, what do you think?    One, thank you God, those same trees narrowly missed the house.  Two, no one was hurt or killed, thank you again God. 

     Now, the fun begins.  I get to call the insurance company to report it and start that whole process.  I dont know about you…but somehow , we have the luck of someone who has walked under every ladder ….while holding a black cat, with an upside down horshoe on a string for a necklace!  We get major damage everytime there is a major storm.

     We have been hit by lightening several times…taking out our furnace and many , many major appliances.  Oh well, like i said…we are all safe.  I wasn’t so sure we were going to be safe as we were driving in hurricane proportion winds, rain and lightening.  We didn’t have a choice, as we were on our way home from church when the storm hit. 

     We get home and there was no power .  As i am parking the van, i see the trees down…but it is so dark we can’t see the full extent of the damage.  When the lightening lets ups then my husband went outside to check some of the damage and sees that the neighbors trees are also down; in our yard as well as our own trees.  Only difference is her tree took down the power line and that is dangerous. 

     She runs a business out of her home and we were worried that her customers would come in the early morning (as they normally do) and someone would be hurt or killed.

    Since we have no power, we had no phone….all cordless in the house.  Again, thank God, i have a cell phone.  It was partially charged and it had 38 minutes left on my service.  So , we got it reported.  They were able to come out and fix it during the night.  Brave and talented people. 

     So, we are grateful and it could have been so much worse than it was!

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