HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY WANDA!

Well, this downloaded this from my sample pictures so there is hope.

Mainly I would like to wish Wanda a very happy and lovely birthday and to thank her for the many, many beautiful posts she has shared.  Her posts are so well done and must take her alot of time for she makes them so perfect.  It is almost like going on a mini vacation when I go to read her posts and enjoy the fantastic pictures she has so carefully taken and included...it often feels as if I am in the woods with her or on her porch enjoying the sights of nature.

Thank you for bringing so much beauty into our world Wanda and may you be blessed with the happiest of birthdays!

Sending you love and God's blessings too.

At one point I was doing 'helpful hints on Tuesdays' so today's "hint" would be to remember your friend's special days and then remember their not so special days in some way too (a nice little surprise like a card in the mail, a phone call etc.)!

~~~Thank you Heavenly Father for the blessings of thoughtful and uplifting friends...may they receive many blessings themselves!

Another TRY to fix the problem

Now I have removed a lot of my widgets in hopes that will solve this problem, so I guess time will tell.  Michael seemed to think that one of them could have gone bad and caused problems so let's see what happens now!

My old camera took this photo of Kelly last July when I took her to the beach for her birthday...thought it might be appropriate considering the crazy things my blog is doing!...

My favorite this Friday would be a blog that stays open for everyone!

~~~Thank You Lord for the blessings of suggestions and for the effort of using them.

Testing ....1,2,3

I got into my blog FINALLY...so let's see if others can!!


May the Good Lord bless and guide all of you always!


~~~Thank You dear Lord for the blessings of fixed problems and fixed blogs!

Lent...A Time To Repent

Lent, A Time To Repent Reflect & Make Reparation!

Ash Wednesday, Feb. 17th begins the solemn 40 days of lent.

A time to reflect on our sins and weaknesses. A time to repent for the many ways we rebel against God on a daily basis!

It's a time of self-denial and sacrifice in reparation for the many ways that we fall short and offend God. A time to fast and abstain from some of the creature comforts and luxuries of our time, while focusing on the scourging, passion and ultimate sacrifice of Jesus on a crude, cruel and inhumane cross!

We focus mostly on our sins of commission, but Fr. Leo Clifford says that for every good deed that is done, there are 100 deeds left undone! The Bible reminds us that we will have to account for every idle deed and word-[Mt. 12:35-37]. Imagine that, we will have to account not just for every idle word, but for every idle deed, done or left undone! In St. James 4:17, it could not be stated more clearly, "Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins." St. James also tells us that "faith without works is dead" [St. James 2:26].

Not to be fear mongering, but straight out of the Bible, this is why we share this with you as we journey through, the Holy Lenten season. If you are not producing much fruit, this is a good time to reflect on whether you are doing what God has created you to do, especially in this time and place.

Proverbs 24:16 "Though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again ". Therein lies the crux of how diligent we must be in making the most of EVERY circumstance. How many times have we overlooked someone in dire need because we were too busy, or not listening to someone who's hurting, saying a kind word to someone who is down, gossiping behind someone's back, short changing someone, taking advantage of resources at work, failing to be "salt and light", and countless other ways that we sin by our acts of omission!

God is good in allowing us to change our lives and be the servants He created us to be. This life is a journey, a "flash in the pan". This is NOT our home. While we are here, we have to be busy about the Lord's work, we are to occupy, not just co­exist. The pagans are busy winning many souls to Hell, souls that God has put in our paths, souls that unless we reach out to save them, they may perish for all eternity!



The Lord waits for us much more than we wait for Him. In fact, when we do have to wait for Him, it's because He's waiting for someone else. So to keep from holding God back any longer, we should cooperate with God in those hundreds of things He intends to do now. Our disobedience is holding up everybody else. Repent of keeping God and humanity waiting.

As we journey through these forty days of Lent, we submit the following articles, not to be critical of our church, shepherds or fellow Christians. God knows the enemy is busy and rests not, but for us to reflect on the countless ways, we the majority, fail on a daily basis in positively affecting our culture for the better. Whether through laziness, fear or ignorance, none of these excuses will be allowed before God! So let's get busy, for the times are evil and countless souls are perishing!

Feed My Sheep, Feed My Lambs

The best way to purify the church and keep it pure-is to get rid of all the goats! And the best way to run the goats out of the church—is to feed them 'sheep food'. God's sheep will grow in grace under the preaching of grace—but goats will go hungry because they choke on 'sheep food'. They will soon leave and go somewhere else.

"Feed My sheep." John 2117

"Feed the flock of God entrusted to you. " 1 Peter 5:2

Getting Ready for Lent

If you can start the day without caffeine or pills,

If you can understand when loved ones are too busy to give you time,

If you can take criticism and blame without resentment,

If you can face the world without lies and deceit,

If you can relax without liquor,

If you can sleep without the aid of drugs,



If you can do all these things,

Then you are probably the family dog.

Marquee Sayings for Lent:

Don't wait for the hearse to take you to church.



It's hard to stumble when you're

down on your knees.



What part of "Thou Shalt Not"

don't you understand?



A clear conscience makes a soft pillow.



The wages of sin is death.

Repent before payday.



Never give the devil a ride.

He will always want to drive.



Forbidden fruit creates many jams.



Christians, keep the faith...but not from others!



Satan subtracts and divides.

God adds and multiplies.



To belittle is to be little.



Don't let the littleness in others

bring out the littleness in you.



God answers knee-mail.



Try Jesus. If you don't like Him,

the devil will always take you back.

What's Been Happening and Where is Marcy???

Today is the day for a rhyme

And I've learned that I must take the time

To make this world a little brighter

And hopefully our burdens a little lighter.

The praying for others does not cease

Even when on my forehead worries crease

For I wish you all sweet peace

And from problems a prompt release.

If we our troubles all up to Him

Then we can sing nothing but a happy hymn

For even our most troublesome day

Will turn out so much better if we PRAY.

Now this post all all a messy jumble

And made me do a little mumble

As pictures went a tumble.

For those of you who have failed to be overwhelmed with snow pictures, I render a few from our backyard on snow day here in Georgia.  Just like us, Tinkabelle was amazed at those big flakes...

Here is the view from the other side of our back patio.  You can see our snow covered water barrel on the ground where the workmen took it and left it, along with the concrete blocks they removed and left in the front yard (all without even asking, sad to say) for whatever purpose when they were repairing our water main pipe...

Sadie Mae and Tinkabelle right before their trip out into the snow with shiny eyes (guess I should have removed the red eye here)....

Another view of the first picture....

Lovely falling flakes and the shed and our garden to the right of it, all decorated with snow....

Sadie Mae plowed out into the snow, more adventurous than Tinkabelle who had to see what would happen to Sadie Mae first....

Now here comes part of the goofiness, the jokes are in the middle and it took me a   l  o  n  g , long time to fix this up because it copied and pasted with about 17 blank spaces between every third or fourth word!!!  As I was finishing, I discovered that it ended up in the middle of my post and then I had to just "let it go" as there is no way to drag all those other pictures to the top.  If you like your laughs at the end then skip to the bottom then come back here...

"A 1st grade school teacher had twenty-six students in her class. She presented each child with the first half of a well-known proverb and asked them to come up with the second half. It's hard to believe that these were actually done by 1st graders. Their insight may surprise you. While reading, keep in mind that these are 6-year-olds, because the last one is a classic! (don't peek till you get there!!!)

1.  Don't change horses.......until they stop running.

2.  Strike while the.............bug is close.

3.  It's always darkest before......Daylight Saving Time.

4.  Never underestimate the power of.....termites.

5.  You can lead a horse to water but.....How?

6.  Don't bite the hand that......looks dirty.

7.  No news is.....impossible.

8.  A miss is as good as a....Mr.

9.  You can't teach an old dog new.......math.

10.  If you lie down with dogs, you'll.......stink in the morning.

11.  Love all, trust.......me.

12.  The pen is mightier than the.......pigs.

13.  An idle mind is.....the best way to relax.

14.  Where there's smoke there's.......pollution.

15.  Happy the bride who.....gets all the presents.

16.  A penny saved is......not much.

17.  Two's company, three's......the Musketeers.

18.  Don't put off till tomorrow what......you put on to go to bed.

19.  Laugh and the whole world laughs with you, cry and.......you have to blow your nose.

20.  There are none so blind as.......Stevie Wonder.

21.  Children should be seen and not.....spanked or grounded.

22.  If at first you don't succeed.....get new batteries.

23.  You get out of something only what you.......see in the picture on the box.

24.  When the blind lead the blind.....get out of the way.

25.  A bird in the hand....... is going to poop on you.

And the WINNER



is . . . (now you can wait if you want because this also is goofy and the answer is after the end of these pictures)!!

Here comes some of the news around here....

This looks like what may have happened to Tinka (this dog even looks a little like her), but our cats' front claws are gone, so it could have been a wild animal in the backyard or her sticking her nose under the fence and it wouldn't fit.  We don 't know but the poor baby had three bloody scrapes on top of her nose.  We cleaned them and put some neosporin on them (which she promptly licked off).  So far it is slowly healing and looks fine and so is she (no swelling, no appetite loss and still playful)...

Except for not being three marks and not being vertical, this looks like her nose (also except more healed now)...

Now, for more excitement.  Here's where we had to take Michael a week ago and beside it (that anughty coffee) is the reason.  Not only did his defibrillator go off and shock him but the next day he was wracked with cramps down his back and his legs.  His muscles were cramped from dehydration (lots of coffee takes out water, causes his heart to race and the defribrillator to eventually go off)  ...

If he had been drinking lots of water and eating bananas, it certainly would have lessened any of these things, but his beloved and deadly coffee would still have caused his heart to race...

Now my Michael is being very cautious and not drinking coffee at all and also finally drinking plain water along with volumes of Propel.  Sad to say, though, the doctor once again upped his medications, not allowing him to see if these changes would adjust anything or everything....

This is what I found when I typed in "BAD COFFEE"....

Our Sadie Mae loves to roll around in the dirt outside, so she is our little 'pig' and it recently (the same time as Tinka's problem) got her a case of dirty ears and lots of head shaking which was 'cured' with hydrogen peroxide followed by neosporin.  Amazingly these dogs only go out for 10-15 minute spurts, yet look at all the trouble they can get into...

Here's another out of sync picture, but this does look like the ER where we waited for over four hours as they did tests and X-rays on Michael and had him all hooked up to monitors..

Last, but certainly not least among our "adventures", we discovered we had a leak in the main pipe from our front yard to the house!!  PLEASE learn from me and get at least three estimates before letting someone do the job.  Being stressed with a still problematic septic system and then some major leaks in the main pipe made me jump in and say yes instead of waiting.  I feel we were ripped off deeply on this, but it is fixed at least...

26.  Better late than......... pregnant."


Meanwhile I/we got lured into a thing called Farmville on Facebook which has kept our minds off the financial woes and medical issues, so it takes up alot of time but has kept us happy.

~~~Dear Lord, thank You for the blessings of friends and things that can ease our minds when we are stressed.

Want to know 4 Secrets?

Today's Internet entertainment/education is brought to you by four restaurant secrets.  I have been fortunate enough to have been in many restaurants in many places, so as you look at these restaurants, please let me know which one you would chose to go to for a night out if money was no object.

I can't believe that I almost forgot

For to rhyme words I must take a shot

As you take a gaze upon each spot

Below and rate it hot or not.

This is good for my brain I can feel it work

So try it yourself and try not to smirk

Or worry that maybe you'll twitch and you'll jerk

For I'm still doing it still and haven't gone beserk.

This one looks pretty elegant, doesn't it?....

A guy would never have to worry about his date walking out on him at this restaurant, unless she was a really great swimmer (bet their 'catch of the day' is REALLY fresh)....

This nice little quaint French restaurant reminded me of the ones we saw in Catalan, Spain which is a tourist spot and has signs transalted into hysterical English, like "If you like dogs that are hot to eat, please to come here to eat..."

This is somewhere not in the U.S. but it looked interesting and fancy schmancy...

Even though this restaurant is somewhere in the Arab Republic, it really reminds me of a restaurant that Mario and I went to in Poland, only there were booths all along both sides...

This is a restaurant overlooking the water but it looks as if it could be on a ship...

This one would be fun (and we both like oriental food)but Michael is afraid of heights so I would have to go alone!...

The neat thing about this restaurant is that you wouldn't have to dress up, you could probably even come in your pajamas, but if the food's good, I'm in....

Now here's some elegance (think this is in China) and it looks like there would be plenty of seating...

This one is sooooo romantic...it looks like a great place for romance or to take a good book and have a great reading time...

Michael will get the heebie jeebies just looking at this one in Germany but I'll bet it's wonderful...wish I could have gone to it when we (Mario and I and the children) lived in Germany.  Even though I don't have a special fear of heights (just a respect) I would never lean out the windows here whereas my son and late husband probably would have ....

Now here are the secrests you have all been waiting for....


"4 Must-Know Restaurants Secrets!
By David Zinczenko, with Matt Goulding

Eat This, Not That

by David Zinczenko, with Matt Goulding a Yahoo! Health Expert for Nutrition
.

If being an anonymous blip on a giant corporation’s assembly line makes you feel like a character in some bleak sci-fi movie, we’ve got good news. There are plenty of ways to fight back—to enjoy all the convenience of modern restaurants and all the foods you still like to eat without paying extra money every 6 months for a new pair of pants.



You see, all major restaurant chains—from the fast-food purveyors to the sandwich shops and coffee bars to the sit-down dinner joints with their vaguely Italian/Mexican/Chinese/whatever themes—operate with the same set of secrets, secrets they don’t want their customers to know. And if you know these secrets, well, guess what? The power to eat what you want and still stay slim is in your hands. Lucky you!



This list of sneaky secrets, straight from the book Eat This, Not That! Restaurant Survival Guide will help you start taking back control! And, even better, we’ve created an Eat This, Not That! iPhone app—it’s like having your own personal nutritionist at your fingertips!



Secret #1: Don’t get “supersized”

Sure, it feels like you’re getting a bargain because you’re getting proportionately more food for proportionately less money. But a “value meal” is only a value for two sets of people: the corporations that make the food and the corporations that make liposuction machines and heart stents. Because food is so inexpensive for manufacturers to produce on a large scale, your average fast-food emporium makes a hefty profit whenever you supersize your meal—even though you’re getting an average of 73 percent more calories for only 17 percent more money. But you’re not actually buying more food. You’re buying more calories. And that’s not something you want more of.



Secret #2: Remember, the waiter is a salesperson

A 2005 study published in the Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services found that you’re more likely to order a side dish when the server verbally prompts you. (“Do you want fries with that?”) Restaurants know this, and now you know it, too. When the waiter makes a suggestion, remember his job is not to make you happy. His job is to extract money from your wallet and insert fat in its place.



Secret #3: Don’t get too excited

You eat out all the time. A 2008 study in the International Food Research Journal found that people are less likely to make healthy restaurant choices when they feel that they’re dining out for a “special occasion.” And as we said, dining out used to be special. But before you head out to your next meal, really take stock of how many times you’ve eaten out this week. If you’re eating every meal at home and dining out truly is a once-a-week splurge, then don’t worry about it so much. But if you’re like most of us, eating out is probably more like a once-a-day splurge. And if that’s the case, remember, there’s nothing special here. Eat smart today because you’ll have to do it again tomorrow.



Bonus tip: Download our free Eat This, Not That! guide to shopping once and eating for a week—and save calories, time, and money!



Secret #4: Start small

Here’s the good news: No one is going to stop you from ordering seconds. So be like any good businessperson, and start small. Here’s exactly how expensive it really is whenever you go for the “bargain”:



7-Eleven: Gulp to Double Gulp Coca-Cola Classic: 37 cents extra buys 450 more calories.

Cinnabon: Minibon to Classic Cinnabon: 48 more cents buys 370 more calories.

Movie theater: Small to medium unbuttered popcorn: 71 additional cents buys you 500 more calories.

Convenience store: Regular to “The Big One” Snickers: 33 more cents packs on 230 more calories.

McDonald’s: Quarter Pounder with Cheese to Medium Quarter Pounder with Cheese Extra Value Meal: An additional $1.41 gets you 660 more calories.

Subway: 6-inch to 12-inch Tuna Sub: $1.53 more buys 420 more calories.

Wendy’s: Classic Double with Cheese to Classic Double with Cheese Old Fashioned Combo Meal: $1.57 extra buys you 600 more calories.

Baskin Robbins: Chocolate Chip Ice Cream, Kids’ Scoop, to Double Scoop: For another $1.62, you’ve added 390 calories.

The bottom line on all this? For just a hair more than 8 bucks, you’ve bought yourself an additional 3,620 calories. If you ate each of these once a week, and you were to switch to the smaller size each time—again, still all your favorite foods, just in a more reasonable size—you’d save about $417 a year. It’s not going to buy you a new car, but it could put you on a plane to the Bahamas. But far more important than that is what it will mean to your waistline, because in saving that $417, you’ll also save 188,240 calories in a year—enough to shave a whopping 54 pounds of flab off your body! (Hey, take the 400 bucks and buy some new pants!)"

I even found some restaurant jokes for you....

SIGNS YOU’RE AT A BAD RESTAURANT:

The parking lot has a space marked “RESERVED—HEALTH INSPECTOR”


Their top breakfast special is Honey-Nut Oakios cereal with prune bran and a Geritol power shake on the side.


The main fare at noon is whale-meat sandwiches, and the name of the place is “Thar-She-Blows Lunchmart”


You complain about your dinner, and the waiter asks if you’d like to speak to the house lawyer.

*********

"I should have known better when I saw a sign in the window of the diner that said 'New! — Breakfast Burrito — Now with real Burro!'..."

~~~Lord, thank You for the blessings of restaurants where we can be delighted with new tastes that we would otherwise never know.

I know I can do this!

Well, this was supposed to be last Wednesday's post, but that didn't happen.  So this will now be called Marvelous Monday's post.

What has been happening is tons of more rain, in fact, there has been more rain recorded in the state of Georgia than has ever occurred in the history of weather reporting!!  Which means we are back to square one with our septic problems...rats!  Looks like our income tax return will be going towards an improved system but meanwhile we visit our local grocery store for restroom needs and showers are happening at Michael's workplace, although I can still do the dishes by throwing out the water, so that's a blessing...too bad my clothes washing effort didn't work.......although...I have been tempted to try a smaller load (shhh, don't tell Michael!)

Let's change this sad story to a picture or two.

Here's one of Michael and I taken in late December when we went to Fernbank museum...it looks as if I am falling into him with my eyes closed...well, a girl's gotta get sleep whenever she can!...

Remember me mentioning that there were still some nativities back in Arizona (sad to say, I only found three)?  Well, here's one I found when we were there this past November...

This is just a neat one I thought I'd share with you because it is just a wire silhouette...

You may be asking yourselves where the neat internet information is that Marcy usually supplies us with?  Well, it is bye bye for today as I need to get this post out and I need to go to the store!!!!!!!



Time for some smiles...

Assembly Line

Students in the adult French class I teach include quite a few health-care professionals. During one class, I was coughing so badly a doctor in the class raised her hand. "If you like, I could give you a prescription for that," she offered. Another hand shot up. "I could fill it for you," said a pharmacist's assistant. Not to be outdone, a paramedic added, "And I can take you there to pick it up!"
 

Unattractive

We brought our newborn son, Adam, to the pediatrician for his first checkup. As he finished, the doctor told us, "You have a cute baby."

Smiling, I said, "I bet you say that to all new parents."

"No," he replied, "just to those whose babies really are good-looking."

"So what do you say to the others?" I asked.

"He looks just like you."
 

Old McDonald

While waiting in line at the Department of Vehicle Services for my new license plate, I heard the clerk shout out, "E I E I O." "Here," the woman standing next to me answered.

Curious, I asked if she was married to a farmer, or maybe taught preschool.

"Neither," she replied. "My name is McDonald."

~~~Thank You Lord for the blessings of patience, please grant us LOTS of it (and I will avoid the temptation to say 'right now".)

Stop, Look, Listen and PRAY

Here's a nice prayer I found while searching the Internet the other day, so I thought I'd share it with you.

We need to STOP...this would be the 'silence' parts in this prayer...stopping is a good thing when praying because it should cause us to think about what we just read and/or prayed.

Then we need to LOOK at what we read one more time to remember.

Next comes the part where we 'LISTEN" to the good ways that this can help us make this world a better place.

Following all those steps means we have truly PRAYED!

"Litany for Peace

January 27, 2010



by Thich Nhat Hanh

from the book Prayers from Around the World and Across the Ages

by Victor M. Parachin


As we are together, praying for Peace, let us truly be with each other.

(Silence)



Let us pay attention to our breathing.

(Silence)



Let us be relaxed in our bodies and our minds.

(Silence)



Let us be at peace with our bodies and our minds.

(Silence)



Let us return to ourselves and become wholly ourselves.

(Silence)



Let us maintain a half smile on our faces.

(Silence)



Let us be aware of the source of being common to us all and to all living things.

(Silence)



Evoking the presence of the Great Compassion, let us fill our hearts with our own compassion—toward ourselves and toward all living beings.

(Silence)



Let us pray that all living beings realize that they are all brothers and sisters, all nourished from the same source of life.

(Silence)



Let us pray that we ourselves cease to be the cause of suffering to each other.

(Silence)



Let us plead with ourselves to live in a way which will not deprive other living beings of air, water, food, shelter, or the chance to live.

(Silence)



With humility, with awareness of the existence of life and of the suffering that is going on around us,

let us pray for the establishment of peace in our hearts and on earth.



Amen."



You may need to click on this (or put it under a microscope) to enlarge this and read it as I am having trouble reading it now...

Every prayer should end this way, even those prayers where we are anxious or asking for help, hmm, maybe I should say ESPECIALLY those prayers should end this way for that is what love is all about...

Finally I leave you with a favorite photo that I seem to recycle because I just love it....

This was listed as humorous, but it is also very thought provoking...

"Memorial

Our church was saddened to learn this week of the death of one of our most valued members, Someone Else.

Someone's passing creates a vacancy that will be difficult to fill. Else has been with us for many years and for every one of those years, Someone did far more than a normal person's share of the work. Whenever there was a job to do, a class to teach, or a meeting to attend, one name was on everyone's list, "Let Someone Else do it." Whenever leadership was mentioned, this wonderful person was looked to for inspiration as well as results; "Someone Else can work with that group."

It was common knowledge that Someone Else was among the most liberal givers in our church. Whenever there was a financial need, everyone just assumed Someone Else would make up the difference.

Someone Else was a wonderful person; sometimes appearing superhuman. Were the truth known, everybody expected too much of Someone Else. Now Someone Else is gone! We wonder what we are going to do.

Someone Else left a wonderful example to follow, but who is going to follow it? Who is going to do the things Someone Else did?

When you are asked to help this year, remember -- we can't depend on Someone Else anymore."

~~~Heavenly Father, I thank You for the blessings of doing little and sometimes big things to make this a world that is closer to the loving world it was meant to be.