MIXED BAGGAGE

[MajestyJo]

Old, but always timely. IMHO, America has taken political correctness way beyond reasonable.

Received with thanks from my friend Carey in Texas

A dog had followed his owner to school. His owner was a fourth grader at a public elementary school. However, when the bell rang, the dog sidled inside the building and made it all the way to the child's classroom before a teacher noticed and shooed him outside, closing the door behind him.

The dog sat down, whimpered and stared at the closed doors.

Then God appeared beside the dog, patted his head, and said,


'Don't feel bad fella'...they won't let ME in either'.

[MajestyJo]

YOUR HAND

When my world falls down around me,
And the ground is sinking sand;
When peace can't be found on this earth,
I reach out for your hand.



Then when your hand wraps 'round my own,
A strength pours from your soul;
It brings me to a quiet calm,
Till once again I'm whole.



A peace beyond all reason,
A rest there in your touch;
Something in your quiet words,
My heart yearns for so much.



If I but rest my worries,
Upon your shoulder there;
The strength that pours forth from your soul,
Will wash away each care.



Like a cool, sweet taste of water,
For a tired and thirsty man;
My heart finds peace, my soul is calm,
When I reach out for your hand.

Have A Wonderful Day!

[MajestyJo]

WOW, WHAT A STORY!!!!!!
MARINES AND TAMPONS

Tampons to the rescue in Iraq !! Don't worry, it's a good story, and worth reading. It's even humorous in parts. It's from the mother of a Marine in Iraq .

My son told me how wonderful the care packages we had sent them were and wanted me to tell everyone thank you. He said that one guy we'll call Marine X, got a girl care package and everyone was giving him a hard time. My son said, 'Marine X got some really nice smelling lotion and everyone really likes it, so every time he goes to sleep they steal it from him.' I told my son I was really sorry about the mistake, and if he wanted I would send Marine X another package. He told me not to worry about Marine X because every time I send something to him, Marine X thinks it's for him too.

He said when my husband and I sent the last care package, Marine X came over to his cot picked up the box, started fishing through it, and said, 'What'd we get this time?'

My son said they had the most fun with Marine X's package. He said he wasn't sure who we were sending the pack to, but the panties were size 20, and he said one of the guys got on top of the Humvee and jumped off with the panties over his head and yelled, 'Look at me, I'm an Airborne Ranger!!!!' One of the guys attached the panties to an antenna and it blew in the wind like a windsock. He said it entertained them for quite a while. Then of course.......they had those tampons.

When he brought this up, my imagination just went running, but he
continued. My son said they had to go on a mission and Marine X wanted the Chap-Stick and lotion for the trip. He grabbed a bunch of the items from his care package and got in the Humvee. As luck would have it he grabbed the tampons too, and my son said everyone was teasing him about 'not forgetting his feminine hygiene products'

He said things went well for a while, then the convoy was ambushed and a Marine was shot. He said the wound was pretty clean, but it was deep. He said they were administering first aid but couldn't get the bleeding to slow down, and someone said, 'Hey! Use Marine X's tampons!' My son said they put the tampon in the wound. At this point my son profoundly told Me, 'Mom, did you know that tampons expand?'
('Well....yeah!')

They successfully slowed the bleeding until the guy got better medical
attention. When they went to check on him later The surgeon told them, 'You guys saved his life. If you hadn't stopped that bleeding he would have bled to death.' My Son said, 'Mom, the tampons sent by the Marine Moms by mistake saved a Marine's life.'

At this point I asked him, 'Well, what did you do with the rest of the
tampons?' He said, 'Oh, we divided them up and we all have them in our flak jackets, and I kept two for our first aid kit.'

I am absolutely amazed by the ingenuity of our Marines. I can't believe
that something that started out as a mistake then turned into a joke, ended up saving someone's life. My sister said she doesn't believe in mistakes. She believes God had a plan all along. She believes that 'female care package' was sent to Marine X to save our Marine.

Either way, our efforts have boosted the morale of many Marines, provided much needed items for our troops, AND saved the life of a Marine! God bless every one of you for your efforts and hard work, and God bless our Marines, Army, Navy, Air Force and all our military service personnel.



GOD BLESS AMERICA AND KEEP IT SAFE!Please send this on after a short prayer.


Pray for our soldiers!

PRAYER:

'Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands.
Protect them as they protect us.
Bless them and their families for the selfless acts
they perform for us in our time of need.
Amen.'

[MajestyJo]

Feel the truth In every moment, in every circumstance there is a new truth to be discovered. Life is rich with possibilities for deeper, more profound understanding.
You are, at the same time, all-encompassing essence and also a particular momentary expression of that essence. You live in this moment and you live beyond it.

Discovering truth is a matter of confirming in experience what you already know in your essence. The way you know it is truth is because it resonates so perfectly within the depth of who you are.

Truth is not something you must be told. Truth is truth because you recognize it so completely.

Living successfully in this moment and in this world is a matter of connecting your outer life to your inner truth. The most effective, fulfilling choice in any situation is to live the truth of who you are.

In pure truth there is no fear, no worry, no anxiety or anger. Feel the truth that is within you, and let it guide your every choice.

-- Ralph Marston

Just shared on this on an ABC Recovery post. It is about finding our truth. Experiencing our own life and no longer living it through others.

For me, it is about not playing old tapes, but making new ones in living colour!

What do I believe in? What do I want for my life? What do I need for my own health and well being so that I can be there for others? When I am focusing on others and not on my own recovery, the well runs dry. I need to remember that I need food for the body, mind and spirit.

Can't fault the last statement. If I am living in those feeling, I am not working my program or not working it to the best of my ability. When fear is near, God is here. I need to have faith in that. That is my truth.

There is negative in life. That is a given. It is what I can do to change it into a positive that matters. Turning a blind eye and pretending that it isn't there isn't the solution.

[MajestyJo]

If you want to beat traffic. . .

Pick some fruit!!



Yesterday it took me an hour and fifteen minutes to go 10 miles.

I was frustrated.
I was powerless.
I was exhausted.
I was grateful.
I was victorious.
I was energized.

Heavy traffic volumes are a fact of life in any big city. Many of the local governments fund road improvement programs, only to close lanes as they improve the roads.

Lanes close, traffic increases, people get more frustrated and distracted, they have accidents, they cause more traffic pile-ups.

It's a vicious cycle.

It is often said that a person's first reaction in times of crisis tells a lot about that person. I say that a person's reaction while traveling six inches per minute tells even more about that person.

Sitting in traffic is one of the best times to pick some fruit.

Pick some patience. . .
You'll be able to relax. After all, you'll be sitting there for a while anyway.

Pick some peace. . .
Try something different --- instead of listening to the radio traffic reports about the traffic you're sitting in, turn the radio off. Play a classical CD.
Or better yet, just enjoy the quiet time.

Pick some kindness. . .
Smile at the person in the car next to you. Now that's really different!

Pick some love. . .
Start a conversation with your spouse or child about something you know is bothering them. Time spent driving can be time spent talking and understanding each other.

Pick some joy. . .
Be thankful that you're not the person involved in the calamity that's causing the traffic.

Pick some faith. . .
Take this time to look up at the sky, observe the trees, marvel at the birds. Think about your own life. Then you'll know for sure that there is a God.

Pick some gentleness. . .
I know you have a cell phone, so pick it up and call someone you haven't spoken to in months. You still remember the number.

Pick some goodness. . .
Plan a good deed that you'll do for someone as soon as you get out of the traffic. Maybe there's something you can do immediately to help the person on the side of the road.

Pick some meekness. . .
No matter what kind of car you're riding in, understand that it's not by your own works that you were able to obtain it.

Once you pick your fruit, your frustration, powerlessness, and exhaustion will transform into gratitude, victory and energy.

You'll have a new outlook on life all because you pulled over,
. . . and decided to pick some fruit.


~A Mountain Wings Original by C. Elijah Bronner~

They say, if we do the work, we will see the fruit of our labour. If you don't put something into it, you won't get anything out of it.

I think that is why they say, give it a way in order to keep it. When you do, it comes back to you, not always from the same source, but it will come back.

May you have a fruitful life today.

[MajestyJo]

My life is unmanageable when managed by me. Yet often, when life happens and I get caught up in 'stuff' and I don't realize what is going on, until I am in it, and need to get myself out of it.

When I do the do things, pick up my phone, go on the internet, read my books, do a meditation and talk to my God, things come into their true perspective. It is only when I find acceptance what is in the moment, and look to what I need to do to change. First is my attitude, prayer to my God, and doing the do things that the program suggests I do, like going to a meeting, call my sponsor, journaling, and meditation to find the answer.
here is a great quote in Courage to Change from Al-Anon which gave me the thought for discussion.

If problems arise today, I will try to acknowledge them - and then put a little spiritual space between my problems and myself. If I can share them with another person, I will further diminish their power. Recognizing that my life is unmanageable is the first step toward managing it.

"...when we bring things out into the light, they lose their power over us."

...In All Our Affairs.

My life is unmanageable when I put my life on hold waiting for someone else to make a decision.

My life is unmanageable when I don't practice putting more balance in my life. When everything is all computer, it isn't healthy. Even though I balance my time between several sites, I don't think that counts.

My life is unmanageable when I allow my pain to rule my life. When I give up doing and just let my pain dictate my actions, my life is unmanageable.

My life is unmangeable when I do everything at once and don't balance my day. Like this week, I was in for three days because of the weather and then I had to play catch up. It would have been much more manageable to do things Wednesday and Thursday.

My life is unmanageable when I don't accept what is in the moment, no matter 'what ' is. I don't have to like it, but I do need to accept it before I can move beyond it.

My lfie is unmanageable when I don't write things down and write reminders and then forget where I put the reminder or forget the list. Fibromyalgia has a way of doing that to me. I think I have paid, but have only thought of doing and I didn't follow up the thought with action.

I get the thought to take something out for supper. If I don't act on it, it is gone and when dinner time comes, nothing is thawed.

It isn't a whole lot unmanageable like it was prior to recovery. I no longer have to rob Peter to pay Paul because I drank the money. I don't have to make partial payments because I spent the money on others things.

My life is unmanageable when managed by me. If my God lead me to it, He will see me through it. Doesn't look manageable and doable sometimes, but it is amazing how things turn out sometimes. My God performs miracles. I know, because I am one.

[MajestyJo]

FOLLOW THE 80/20 RULE

"Nothing can add more power to your life than concentrating all your energies on a limited set of targets."
-- Nido Qubein

The 80/20 rule says that on a list of 10 tasks, only 2 of those tasks will return 80% of the value of the entire list. Look at your 'to do' list for today. Which tasks are directly related to what you most want in life? Find the 2 high value items on your list and tackle them first. These tasks are the ones that really move us forward.

Many of us actively avoid the top 2 priorities because they are more challenging than the rest. If they are to lead us to worthy goals, they are undoubtedly asking us to move into new territory in thinking and acting, and this can be scary. But this is also REWARDING!

"Don't kid yourself: it's because you're doing all those C's (low priorities) and NOT because you haven't any time, that you don't get to do your A's."
-- Alan Lakein

Confused about what you want and where you're going? Discover the empowerment that comes with focus!

[MajestyJo]

"For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin -- real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be got through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life."

-- Fr. Alfred D’Souza

My whole life seemed to go to the pits and I blamed it on my parents. Either my father for not being there or for my mother being there and doing nothing or doing things that I found abusive and controlling.

I didn't know that she was dealing with her own pain and didn't have the tools to deal with it. I believe she too had fibromyalgia.

As the quote says it was my life and my choices. A lot of those choices were a result of what I had seen in my past and didn't know I had the power to change them. I didn't know I was giving up my own power. Didn't know I had it to lose.

Life happens! Life doesn't change, the only person who can change is me. I don't have the power to change or make anyone do anything. I can still hear my mother saying, "Look at what you made me do!"

Often the obstacles are self imposed. I put on the limitations myself. Through my God, all things are possible. I didn't need prison bars, I was a prisoner of my own mind.

Life didn't get better, I did.

[MajestyJo]

FOR THOSE in the Ya-Ya Sisterhood:

1. If you love something, set it free. If it comes back, it will always be yours. If it doesn't come back, it was never yours to begin with. But, if it just sits in your living room, messes up your stuff, eats your food, uses your telephone, takes your money, and doesn't appear to realize that you had set it free....... You either married it or gave birth to it.

2. Reason to smile: Every 7 minutes of every day, someone in an aerobics class pulls a hamstring.

3. They keep telling us to get in touch with our bodies. Mine isn't all that communicative but I heard from it the other day after I said, "Body, how'd you like to go to the six o'clock class in vigorous toning?" Clear as a bell my body said, "Listen fatty....do it and die."

4. My mind not only wanders, it sometimes leaves completely.

5. The best way to forget all your troubles is to wear tight shoes.

6. The nice part about living in a small town: When you don't know what you're doing, someone else always does.

7. Just when I was getting used to yesterday, along came today.

8. Amazing! ! You hang something in your closet for a while and it shrinks two sizes!

9. Sometimes I think I understand everything, then I regain consciousness.

10.. I read this article that said the typical symptoms of stress are eating too much, impulse buying, and driving too fast. Are they kidding? That's my idea of a perfect day.

Original Source Unknown

[MajestyJo]

YESTERDAY, TOMORROW
... and TODAY


The journey's our goal, our path is the point ...

There are two days in every week we should never worry about,
two days that should be kept free from fear and apprehension.

One is yesterday, with its mistakes and cares, its aches and pains, its faults and blunders.

Yesterday has passed forever beyond our control.

All the money in the world cannot bring back yesterday.

We cannot undo a single act we performed, nor erase a single word we've said. Yesterday is gone.

The other day we should not worry about is tomorrow, with its impossible adversaries, its burden, its hopeful promise and unknown performance.

Tomorrow is beyond our control.

Tomorrow's sun will rise either in splendor or behind a mask of clouds ...
but it will rise ... and until it does.

We have no stake in tomorrow, for it is as yet unborn.


This leaves only one day: TODAY!

Anyone can fight the battles of just one day.

It is only when we add the burdens of yesterday and tomorrow that we break down.

It is not the experience of today that drives people mad.

It is the remorse of bitterness for something that happened
yesterday, and the dread of what tomorrow may bring.

Make TODAY the best day it can be, and live one day at a time!

One of my all time favourites.

[MajestyJo]

WE HAVE FREEDOM OF CHOICE! UNDERSTAND WHERE YOU ARE IN THE CYCLE OF YOUR LIFE AND USE IT TO THE FULLEST.



I HAVE A CHOICE! I CAN BE WILLING OR WILLFUL!



DON'T FALL FOR EVERYTHING YOU SEE! HESITATE & MEDITATE!

[MajestyJo]

"For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favor is life:

weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning."

Psalm 30:5

Sunrise To Your Soul

~~~**~~~




God allows us to have "blue" seasons

where there is more weeping than laughing.

What we must remember is that they are only for a season.

That is crucial.

Joy will come in the morning, just as sure as the sunrise.



If you get up tomorrow morning to see the sunrise,

let me tell you what not to do.

Don't try to make it hurry up.

You can't do it.

You can get a brass band and cheerleaders,

but that sun is not going to come up

one second sooner than God intends.



Waiting on the Lord is like waiting on the sun to come up.

You can't hurry it.

You also can't stop it.



God is going to bring a sunrise to your soul.

Just wait for it.

And trust Him while you wait.



Are you in a waiting period . . .

praying days, weeks, months, even years,

for something and God hasn't answered?

Be still and know that in the fullness of time,

your request will be answered so positively.



"Be still, and know that I am God:

I will be exalted among the heathen,

I will be exalted in the earth."

Posted on my site Jo's Kitchen

[MajestyJo]

FREE TO BE YOU

Watch your attitudes, know that you are responsible for yourself and not others. Realize that all judgment of, criticism of, condemnation, and anger towards other people is to be released to their own good. Bless all people as they travel the highway of life and always remember that you are free to be you. And therefore, everybody else is free to be themselves.

Begin to enjoy everyone around you. Keep in mind that love, intelligence and courage is always present enabling us to always be who we are. We can rise up and accomplish all that we desire and maintain the joy, happiness and fulfillment we seek - all we need do is practice our spiritual exercises, study and act as we believe with deep faith. II TIMOTHY 1: 7 reads, "For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but the power and love and sound mind."

Antestian Newsletter - Road to Enlightenment

[MajestyJo]

At first glance she looked like any other old woman.
Plodding along in the snow, alone, neglected, head
bowed. People passing on the busy city sidewalk
averted their eyes, lest she remind them that pain and
suffering did not stop to celebrate Christmas.

A young couple, smiling, talking, laughing, arms
loaded with Christmas presents, took no notice of the
old woman.


A mother with two small children hurried by, on their
way to grandmother's house. They took no notice.

A minister walked by proudly carrying his Bible in his
right hand, like a well armed Christian soldier. But
his mind was stayed on heavenly things, and he took no
notice.

If these people had noticed, they would have seen that
the old woman wore no shoes. She walked barefoot in
the ice and snow.

With both hands the old woman gathered her worn
button-less overcoat at the collar to keep out the
wind. She stopped and stood bent and bowed at the bus
stop. A red and blue scarf covering her head, she
waited for the downtown bus.

A gentleman carrying an important looking briefcase
waited near her, not too closely. After all, she
could have something contagious.

A teen-age girl also waited for the bus. She glanced
repeatedly at the old woman's feet, but said nothing.

The bus arrived and the old woman slowly, painfully
boarded. She sat on the sideways seat just behind the
driver. The gentleman and the teen-age girl hurried to
the rear. The man sharing the seat with the old woman
shuffled uneasily and twirled his thumbs. "Senile,"
he thought.

The bus driver saw her bare feet and thought; "This
neighborhood is sinking deeper and deeper into
poverty, I hate to see it, I'll be glad when they put
me on the College Park route."

A little boy pointed at the old woman.

"Look, Mother, that old lady is barefoot."

The embarrassed mother slapped his hand down. "Don't
point at people, Andrew. It's not polite to point."
She looked out the window.

"She must have grown children," a lady in a fur coat
suggested. "Her children should be ashamed of
themselves." She felt morally superior, because she
took good care of her mother.

A teacher seated near the middle of the bus steadied
the bag of gifts on her lap. "Don't we pay enough
taxes to handle situations like this?" she said to a
friend seated beside her. "It's this tax-cut crazy
Republican administration, her friend replied. "They
rob the poor and give to the rich." "No, its the
Democrats," a gray-haired man behind them
interjected. "These Democrat welfare programs just
make people lazy and keep them in poverty."

"People have to learn to save their money," a
well-dressed young college man added. "If that old
woman had saved when she was young, she wouldn't be
suffering now. It's her own fault."

And all these people beamed with satisfaction that
their acumen had delivered such trenchant analysis.

But, a kind businessman felt offended by this
murmuring detachment of his fellow citizens. He
reached into his wallet and took out a crisp
twenty-dollar bill. He strode proudly down the isle
and pressed the bill into the old woman's unsteady,
wrinkled hand. "Here, Madam, get yourself some shoes."


The old woman nodded her head in thanks. The
businessman strode back to his seat, feeling pleased
with himself, that he was a man of action.

A well-dressed Christian lady had noticed all of this.
She began to pray silently. "Lord, I don't have money.
There is no way I can help. But Lord, I can turn to
you in every need. Lord, I know that you are a loving
God. You make a way out of no way. Now Lord, let your
blessing shine on this old woman. Let shoes fall like
manna from heaven, so that this old woman can have
shoes for Christmas." And the Christian lady felt
supremely spiritual.

At the next stop, a young man boarded the bus. He
wore a heavy blue jacket, a maroon scarf around his
neck, and a gray woolen cap pulled down over is ears.
A wire running under the cap and into his ear was
connected to a Walkman. The young man jiggled his body
in time to music only he heard. He paid his fare and
plopped down on the sideways seat directly across from
the old woman.

As the young man's glance caught the old woman's bare
feet,

His jiggling stopped. He froze.

His eyes went from her feet to his. He wore his
expensive, new, brand name sneakers. For months he
had saved from his minimum wage pay to buy these
sneakers. Everybody in the gang would think he was
"so cool."

The young man bent down and began to untie his
sneakers. He removed his impressive new sneakers. He
removed his socks. He knelt down before the old woman.


"Mother," he said, "I see you have no shoes. Well, I
have shoes."

Carefully, gently, he lifted the old woman's crusty
feet in his hands. He placed his socks and his fine
sneakers on the old woman's feet. The old woman nodded
in thanks.

Just then the bus arrived at the nest stop. The young
man left the bus and walked away, barefoot in the
snow.

The passengers crowded at the windows to watch him as
he plodded barefoot through the snow.

"Who is he?" one asked.

"He must be a prophet," said another.

"He must be a saint," someone suggested.

"He must be an angel," said yet another.

"Look! There's a halo around his head," somebody
shouted.

"He must be the Son of God," said the Christian lady.

But the little boy who had pointed, said, "No Mother,
I saw him clearly, He was only a man."

[MajestyJo]

IT'S STRANGE ISN'T IT



1. Isn't it strange how a 20 dollar bill seems like such a large amount when you donate it to church, but such a small amount when you go shopping?


2. Isn't it strange how 2 hours seem so long when you're at church, and how short they seem when you're watching a good movie?


3. Isn't it strange that you can't find a word to say when you're praying, but you have no trouble thinking what to talk about with a friend?


4. Isn't it strange how difficult and boring it is to read one chapter of the Bible, but how easy it is to read 100 pages of a popular novel or ZANE GREY book


5. Isn't it strange how everyone wants front-row-tickets to concerts or games, but they do whatever is possible to sit at the last row in Church?


6. Isn't it strange how we need to know about an event for Church 2-3 weeks before the day so we can include it in our agenda, but we can adjust it for other events at the last minute?


7. Isn't it strange how difficult it is to learn a fact about God to share it with others, but how easy it is to learn, understand, extend and repeat gossip?


8. Isn't it strange how we believe everything that magazines and newspapers say, but we question the words in the Bible?


9. Isn't it strange how everyone wants a place in heaven, but they don't want to believe, do, or say anything to get there?


10. Isn't it strange how we send jokes in e-mails and they are forwarded right away, but when we are going to send messages about God, we think about it twice before we share it with others?


IT'S STRANGE ISN'T IT?

Original Source Unknown