Jumping For Joy

       Thanks to all of the faithful readers, this blog is now celebrating 91,000 visitors!  You guys rock…thanks for being interested in what goes on in the world.  Thanks for sharing your points of view on the latest news, events, and life’s happenings.  You the readers are the best part of blogging.  Appreciate the comments that inform, observe the world, and communicate your opinions in a family friendly manner.  The world is an interesting place, dont ya think?

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Life Affirming: Sanctity of Life Sunday

        Today is a life affirming day of recognition….it is the Sanctity of Life Sunday…a day when most churches and individuals choose to celebrate life and inspire individuals to cherish & protect it.  Many churches concentrate on the issue of teaching that abortion violates the sanctity of life (I happen to agree)… however, there are many, equally important ways to honor and celebrate life.

        While abortion is a horror to me and i think it should be repellant to all human beings; that issues comes up at the very beginning of life.  There are other circumstances that need to be addressed as well. 

          There are issues such as injury, illness and those who fight for the right to commit suicide.  Life is precious at all stages.  Should we turn a blind eye to those who would turn out the light of another human being simply because they are infirmed, disabled, impaired, terminally ill or have no desire to live another moment?

            For those who truly believe in the sanctity of life…it gets a bit stickier for some when you enter into the idea of criminals who commit heinous crimes; and, the criminal justice system offers up the death penalty or death row for certain individuals who have been convicted of crimes that can dish out the death penalty as punnishment. 

        For me that is a bit trickier –i have not sorted out the boundaries of my beliefs on that.  Criminals who commit the most horrible, vile crimes….it is a struggle in my heart to remind myself that God says, “Vengence is mine sayeth the Lord”.  But, if that verse is applied strictly…then…punnishment will come later from God (in the meantime…life in prison without parole is the only recourse to prevent further tragedy).  

          On the other hand, there are scriptures that also talk about an eye for an eye…and if a man take a life he must also forfeit his.  So…this part of the sanctity of life, i am still working out in my mind and heart.  Until i have studied the issues more closely..i am going to err on the side of; Life is precious and must be protected…at the beginning of life, in the early part of life, in middle age, in the elder years and in all stages in between.

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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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Resolve To Do More Of What Makes You Happy-In 2009

This is the time of year when people make all kinds of resolutions…some are attainable and some are not. Many times people make New Year’s resolutions and set themselves up to fail because they are too big or grand…the promises they make to themselves; or to others, just aren’t realistic. However, I think i have come up with the primo resolution. I want to celebrate the things in life that make me happy! I want to nip things in the bud that hold me back from achieving in the areas of life that I have been afraid to take a chance on.

I resolve to do more of the things in life that make me happy, healthy and that put me in a more financially secure postion. I am going to do less of the things which consume my time, in which I don’t have control over the outcome. I will make more of an effort to be less stressed…more at peace with the choices I make in life, and to do more serviceable types of things for others; not because I have to, but because that makes me happy.

Lord knows there is lots of negativity in the world both outside of my home and inside my head; I am going to work very hard at overcoming negative thoughts that could prevent me from being successful in the things that I decide are important enough to spend my time on. These are all do-able resolutions. They are not a quick fix for any one problem in the world, or in my life but, they are good practices in general. So, it is lifestyle choice…a work in progress.

If I make a mistake and realize it…it doesn’t mean I have to go all negative and stop trying. It simply means that, I am giving myself permission to have a do-over…a start over…a chance to improve. In other words…I resolve to do more of what makes me happy. I have a pretty basic happy nature…but circumstances have the ability to bring anyone down…I am making a decision to allow that to happen less often. What have you resolved to do in 2009?

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Goal…Can I do it?

        I have one main blogging goal…that is to hit 100,000 visitors by the end of July. That is when I will celebrate my 2 year anniversary of writting this blog. It would be a double celebration to hit the 100,000th visitor and celebrate my anniversary at the same time! Can I do it?  I don’t know; but, I sure am going to do my best to reach my goal.  Of course it is an interactive thing…I write and someone reads.    Hope you are along for the ride to help me celebrate when i make my goal. 

Late last year http://alphainventions.com/ helped bump up my visitors stats. “Meeting” my readers thru the comments is one of the best parts of blogging.  There are so many interesting people out there with wonderful things to say.

It is through the interaction that the joy comes. Finding things to interest both the writer and the reader.  In any case, I just wanted to make my intentions known…so that it sets a standard of accountability.   Are you with me?

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In Celebration of Our Troops- And In Honor Of Veteran’s Day

      This week we celebrated two very special things here in the United States: one was Monday, November 10th which was the Marine Corps Birthday…and yesterday, which was Veteran’s Day.  Both dates give honor to our military men and women.  We should celebrate our armed forces because they sacrifice so much for us.  We have men and women who are seperated from their families, often in dangerous situations; defending our country and those in other countries who need defended.

       We have some pretty awesome troops who need support.  I have heard about a wonderful program that does just that.  It is a program that would be a wonderful project for school children or teen youth groups across the nation.   Activity directors in nursing homes would also be a great source for this project.  Even former Veterans can continue to serve their country by reaching out to those who presently serve our great country in the Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force and the Marines. 

       The idea behind http://www.make2tell2.com is to make 2 cards of love and tell 2 others about the project.  They can be holiday cards or just cards that express respect and caring.  This is a great way to lift the spirits of those serving our country when they need an emotional pick me up.  These cards can express patriotism, faith, gratitude, caring, support, encouragement, and communicate comfort to those who need it!

         Please spread the word…get involved…support our troops today.  It doesn’t take much effort and it can mean so very much to the individual who receives it.  After you make the cards…please send them to:  Make 2 Tell 2, 991 Road
325, Harvard, NE 68944  This is also a great way to teach young people about service and about community.  We all need encouragement at times…this is a wonderful way to do that for our troops overseas; it can have a tremendous impact on our military personel.  Thank you!

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Blog Anniversary…Year One!

      Well, today was the day…it was the first year anniversary of the starting of this blog.  What started out as a way to build confidence in myself and my writing skills turned into a real relationship with myself and the news around me.  It has been fun…it has been educational; and, it has been a way to document what goes on in the world around me; and, helps me understand how i interpet those issues. 

        So much has happened in the last year, that to remind myself, of the ups and downs…I  just go back and read random blog posts.   The postings remind me of current events that have happened, celebrity happenings, life changing events; and in general, all of the emotional ups and downs involved in daily living.  At times, i think…did i write that…do i still feel the same way about that subject…is there more current information than I had at the time i wrote the post?  Sometimes i update the posts with current information if it is important to the post.

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Celebrate The Fourth Of July In Style

       The countdown has begun, we have an 8 measly days to prepare for the fourth of July.  How do you plan to celebrate the freedoms that you have, that were purchased by the men and women of our country’s military?   All branches of the armed forces deserve to be honored.   How about along with those picnics and parades, you carve out a litle time to make and send a card to thank them for their sacrifice?

       Did you know that there are many service people who don’t get words of encouragement or support from anyone?   Oh, alot of our military men and women have their own friends and family who are strong in their support…but some really and truly don’t.  Some are lonely or sad; some are on their own, away from home for the first time.  When my husband was in the Marine Corps years ago; he was blessed to have a mother who wrote to him daily, all four years of his service.  My husband had a roomate who never received any cards or letters.  Out of compassion, my mother-in-law sent him a letter; it moved that roomate to tears.  He said to my husband…you do not know how much this means to mean to get this.  It was a moment of support that that young man desperately needed.   Here is a program that i heard about and loved the idea of from the very moment I heard about it.  It is a non-profit organization called, Make 2 Tell 2.

       The whole idea behind make2tell2 is to make two cards of encouragement, good wishes or support; and then, telling two others about the program and getting them to do the same.  The organization will collect the cards and then send them on to our military personel in Afghanistan and Iraq.  There isn’t much time left, we only have 8 days including today!  Can you help?  These are our sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, fathers and mothers…they are sacrificing time away from their own support systems to serve our country.

        How about sitting down the children who are out of school; let them unleash their creativity.    By this point, the newness of being out of school for the summer has set in and they are complaining of having nothing to do.  This is a great craft project for them.  Once they get started they won’t want to stop.  Or, do you know someone who is a scrap booker and loves to use their skills to make their own cards and such?  This is a perfect project for them.  Use your imagination as far as who would be willing to help…this really is a wonderful way to celebrate the fourth of July and celebrate all that we are blessed with here in America.

          For those service people who are overseas…this will help them to feel appreciated and a little less alone.   Here is the contact information for the program.  Feel free to include your contact information, on those cards and letters if you feel led.  Or if you are uncomfortable with that…make them, and just sign your name; either way, this is a great way of serving your country.   It is such a small sacrifice of your time but it can have an amazing impact on someone.   Make 2 Tell 2
991 Road 325
Harvard, NE  68944
        I am doing this myself, with my children today…and I am asking you to do the same.  Make a little time to give back to the greatest country in the world.  Celebrate the veterans of yesterday, today and tomorrow…who knows…they just might be one of your very own loved ones!

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Mother/Daughter Celebration Luncheon

        Today I went to a mother/daughter celebration sponsored by a church ladies group.  I celebrated motherhood with two of my daughters and with my granddaughter as well as my mother and one of my sisters.  It was great.  We had a good time, we took pictures, we played games had good music and food…but, the biggest gift was just the opportunity to spend time together.

      My mother has had a very difficult couple of years with health issues.  I was gifted with a good and loving mother.  I try to make it a point to say and show how much she is loved and needed.  I could have lost her several times in the last several years…so, i dont want to waste any time that i have with my mom.

        I think how fortunate I am.  Mother’s day is meant to be a celebration but sometimes it is very painful.  For those who have lost their mothers or for those from dysfunctional homes…mother’s day can be painful.  For parent’s who have lost their children…mother’s day..is a reminder of the lack of future and present time with their deceased children. 

       Fathers and husbands are parents because of their wives…the mother of their children…celebrate them—no they aren’t your mother…but you chose them to be the mother of your children so honor them.  It doesn’t have to be an expensive gift…just acknowledge the importance of what they do…day in and day out! 

        So, if you are lucky enough to have a mother figure in your life….feel blessed…share your day with someone who doesn’t if you know they are hurting.  Say a prayer for those who are lonely or sad  on this special holiday.  If you need to mend fences with a mother/step mother; and, it is a healthy or safe thing to do; do so (if it will cause no further harm to you or her) then, mend those fences.  Life is too short.  You never know how long you will have with the mother or mother figure you have in your life…dont find yourself with a plate full of regrets or should’ve, would’ve, could’ve  done this or that.  Most of all, connect with the special people in your life!  Tell them what they mean to you.

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Happy Birthday

       Happy Birthday Jesus!  Happy Birthday to you the reader if it is your birthday also.  I have a cousin who was born on Christmas day.  How special it must be to share your birthday with Jesus; to have the whole world celebrating on your big day.

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