March 7, 2010 Awareness of God

This was part of a reading in our Church today. As you know, I love nature and always have thought of it being a way of meditating and being sort of a "Green Sanctuary"
This is a story of a young girl, Amanda, who wrote a letter to God and simply said, "I love you , God". She then waited for a reply from God for weeks but did not receive any.
One morning, while Amanda was alone sitting beside a brook in a countryside feeling somewhat down, she suddenly heard "I love you." She turned around and did not see anyone. Then, when she bent forward and listened intently, she heard the water babbling very distinctly again, "I love you."
God was answering her letter. Amanda over the coming days went back to the countryside; daily she heard God speaking to her in her heart through nature.
Amanda would hear how God continue to say to her, "I love you." in the sigh of the breeze,
the whisper of the trees,
the rustle of the dry leaves,
the twittering of the birds,
and even in the formation of the clouds.
Opening our ears and listen more attentively to nature and opening our eyes to see the beauty in nature is one way of increasing our awareness of God daily in our lives.

MARCH 6, 2010 HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Joyce, Have a happy birthday! Here is a way to stay young.
!. Throw out non essential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. That is why you pay her.

2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.

3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. "An idle mind is the devil's workshop." And the devil's name is Alzheimers.

4. Enjoy the simple things.

5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.

6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve and move on. The only person who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.

7. Surround yourself with what you love, whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health. If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, to the next county, to a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is.

10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity. AND ALWAYS REMEMBER: Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

March 5, 2010 Exercise

I went to the doctor this morning for my check on my hand after the surgery. He said every thing looked fine. While there, I saw this cartoon on his bulletin board. It was a doctor talking to an overweight man sitting on the examination table. The doctor says "What fits your schedule better? Exercising one hour a day or being dead 24 hours a day."
I left there, went straight to the club and did the ellipitical machine for 30 minutes, then to the core class for 30 minutes. You can tell which answer I chose.
Happy Exercising!

March 4, 1010 DREAM

Dream what you want to dream, go where you want to go, because you have only one life and one chance to do all the things that you want.

Joey has had this dream to be in law enforcement since he was very little. He got his degree in it 2 year ago but couldn't get into the field without this advanced training. He got in last November and is now finished. He will be working in one of the state prisons. I congratulate him for having his dream and staying with it even though it took a few years longer to start working in the field.We need to have our dreams and stay with them even though it may be rough at times.

Spring is coming! Tomorrow is not supposed to rain! I am happy since we have to be in Galt by 9:00 am. We will leave about 7:00. Today was my good day. I sent out most of my requests for recipes for Relays sent out a notice about Relay to the homeowners newsletter, ask the manager of the tennis club to donate a free month's due for a raffle ticket.I only did 20 minutes on the elipital machine but did a 30 minute core class. I went to the health food store to get some whey.Tonight I met with the college landscape class for our Church. I still have to call the boy scout leader to see if his troop wants to help us again with setting up the garden. I feel like today was a make progress day.













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Nutrition

We had rain off an on today but it wasn't white like it was at this house. That will probally be the last time I see snow for awhile.
Now to Nutrition. Our subject today was cutting salt and GMO foods. I will send you the sheet.Some of the sayings that came out during class was:Sugar is poison, the antidote is fiber.
If it is from a plant, eat it. If it is made in a plant, don't eat it.
Don't eat anything that your grandmother wouldn't recognize as a food.
Eat your colors.
Buy GMO free. Have a vegetable garden.
GMO foods were linked to "statistically significant" signs of kidney and liver damage as well as higher blood sugar and triglyceride levels in animals.
When people cut back on salt- even by a little-they start to prefer less of it in their food within just a few weeks.

March 1, 2010 Chasing Rainbows

Today was a beautiful day, in contrast to last Friday. Last Friday we had many real downpours. I did my shopping early so I wouldn't be caught in the worst of weather. Around 5:00, the sun came out and it was still raining. The prettiest rainbow came out. I wish that I didn't live in such a wooded lot. The rainbow was so bright and double. It looked like it ended just down the street. You could almost see the pot of gold. The rainbow was so big, there was no way that I could get a picture of the whole rainbow. But the picture will always be in my head. It is truly a symbol of renewed hope