Don't Worry, Be Happy........

5 Things Happy People Do.....

They find their most golden self: Picture happiness. What do you see? A peaceful soul sitting in a field of daisies appreciating the moment?

They design their lives to bring joy: It may seem obvious, but "people don't devote enough time to thinking seriously about how they spend their life and how much of it they actually enjoy," says David Schkade ( a psychologist)

They avoid "if only" fantasies: If only I get a better job...find a man....lose the weight...life will be perfect.

They put best friends first: It's no surprise that social engagement is one of the most important contributors to happiness. What's new is that the nature of the relationship counts. Compared with dashing around chatting with acquaintances, you get more joy from spending longer periods of time with a close friend......

They allow themselves to be happy: As much as we all think we all want it, many of us are convinced, deep down, that it's wrong to be happy(or too happy). ....just think of how much more you can help the world if you allow a little happiness into your life.

** excerpt from Oprah's magazine, article written by Gabrielle Leblanc.

I thought I would look up the word "HAPPY" it means, enjoying pleasure or good, successful, prosperous, living in concord; satisfied, propitious, felicitous.

Proverbs 11:25 A generous man will prosper, he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.

Life Lessons are Priceless.....

Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about 11 things they did not and will not learn in school. He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.

Rule 1 : Life is not fair - get used to it!

Rule 2 : The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself

Rule 3 : You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4 : If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5 : Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.

Rule 6 : If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7 : Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8 : Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life

Rule 9 : Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10 : Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11 : Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one. If you agree, pass it on. If you can read this - Thank a teacher! If you are reading it in English - Thank a soldier

Moments in Time.....

Well, this is a milestone for me. The first time Ryan has been away for any length of time. He has done well, 19 and this will be his first time flying and on a missions trip. Ryan has had it in his heart for the last couple of years to go to the Philippines. He has a missions heart that is for sure, I have a feeling though that this may be just the beginning for him.

Needless to say, I was up often wondering how he was and where they would all be. He was funny though, anytime I would ask him about anything, he would just say, "it's fine, I'll be fine". I was hovering soooooo bad!! I am still on that journey, it's not an easy one. One child is going across the world and the other is getting married!!! No wonder my grey hair is growing in faster, HELP!!!! I am not old enough for this.

Well, all I can say is bless you to the ones who are coming behind, I will do my best to encourage and help you along the journey.

It's a sweet ride!!!!!

Leave it to the Professionals.......

Ok, to the faint of heart, just want to let you know that this story may cause you to feel faint. Now, this story was sent to me through an e-mail and thought that because waxing is one of my professional duties I would share this story with you. This is why I have titled this one "leave it to the professtionals"

Also you will have a good laugh!!!! Since our theme for this week is laughter, I thought I would include this story in my blog.





My night began as any other normal weeknight. Come home, fix dinner, playwith the kids. I then had the thought that would ring painfully in my mind for the next few hours:"Maybe I should pull the waxing kit out of the medicine cabinet." So, I headed to the site of my demise: the bathroom. It was one of those"cold wax" kits. No melting a clump of hot wax, you just rub the strips together in your hand, they get warm and you peel them apart and press them to your leg (or wherever else) and you pull the hair right off. No muss, no fuss. how hard can it be? I mean, I'm not a genius, but I am mechanically inclined enough to figure this out. (YA THINK!?!)

So I pull one of the thin strips out. Its two strips facing each other stuck together. Instead of rubbing them together, my genius kicks in so I get out the hair dryer and heat it to 1000 degrees. ("Cold Wax",yeah...right!) I lay the strip across my thigh. Hold the skin around it tight and pull. It works! OK, so it wasn't the best feeling, but it wasn't too bad. I can do this! Hair removal no longer eludes me! I am She-ra, fighter of all wayward body hair and maker of smooth skin extraordinaire. With my next strip I move North.

After checking on the kids, I sneak back into the bathroom, for the ultimate hair fighting championship. I drop my panties and place one foot on the toilet. Using the same procedure, I apply the one strip across the right side of my bikini line, covering half of my *hoo hoo* and stretching down to the inside of my butt cheek ( Yes it was a long strip) I inhale deeply and brace myself...RRRRIIIIPPP!!!!!!! I'm blind!!!!!! Blinded from the pain!!!! OH MY GOSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Vision returning, I notice that I've only managed to pull half the strip.) CRAP!!! Another deep breath and... RRRIIPP!!! (Everything is swirly and spotted. I think I might pass out...must stay conscious... Do I hear crashing drums??? Breathe, breathe... OK, back to normal. I want to see my trophy-a wax covered strip, the one that has caused me so much pain, with my hairy pelt sticking to it. I want to revel in the glory that is my triumph over body hair. I hold up the strip! There's no hair on it. Where is the hair??? WHERE IS THE WAX!!!!!????? Slowly I ease my head down, foot still perched on the toilet. I see the hair. Then I make the next BIG mistake...remember my foot is still propped up on the toilet? I know I need to do something. So I put my foot down. DANG!!! (I hear the slamming of a cell door.) My *Hoo-Hoo*??? Sealed shut!! My Butt??? Sealed shut!! I penguin walk around the bathroom trying to figure out what to do and think to myself, " Please don't let me get the urge to poop. My head might pop off!!" What can I do to melt the wax? Hot water!! Hot water melts wax!!! I'll run the hottest water I can stand in the bathtub, get in, immerse the wax-covered bits and the wax should melt and I can gently wipe it off, right??? WRONG!!! I get in the tub - the water is slightly hotter than used to torture prisoners of war or sterize surgical equipment - I sit. Now, the only thing worse than having your nether regions glued together is having them glued together and then glued to the bottom of the tub...in scalding hot water. Which by the way, doesn't melt cold wax. So, now I'm stuck to the bottom of the tub as though I had cement-epoxied myself to the porcelain!!

God bless the man who had convinced me a few months ago to have a phone put in the bathroom!!!! I call my friend, thinking surely she has waxed before and has some secret of how to get me undone. It's a very good converstaion starter~ "So, my Butt and my Hoo Hoo are glued together to the bottom of the tub!!" There is a slight pause. She doesn't know any tricks for removal but she does try to hide her laughter from me. She wants to know exactly where the wax is located, "Are we talking cheeks or hoo hoo?" She's laughing out loud by now...I can hear her. I give her the rundown and she suggests I call the number on the side of the box. YEAH!!!!! RIGHT!!! I should be the joke of someone else's night. While we go through various solutions, I resort to scraping the wax off with a razor. Nothing feels better than to have your girlie goodies covered in hot wax, glued shut, stuck to the tub in super hot water and then dry-shaving the sticky wax off!!! By now the brain is not working, dignity has taken a major hike and I'm pretty sure I'm going to need Post-Traumatic Stress counseling for this event. My friend is still talking to me when I finally see my saving grace... the lotion they give you to remove excess wax. What do I really have to lose at this point?

I rub some on and..."OH...MY...GOSH!!!!!!!!" The scream probably woke the kids and scared the heck out of my friend. It's sooooo painful, but I really don't care. IT WORKS!!! It works!!! I get a hearty congratulations from my friend and she hangs up. I successfully remove the remainder of the wax and then notice to my grief and despair....THE HAIR IS STILL THERE... ALL OF IT!!!!!!!!!! So I recklessly shave it off. Heck, I'm numb by now. Nothing hurts. I could have amputated my own leg at this point.

Above & Beyond.......

Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us…” (Ephesians 3:20).

God is able to do more than you could ever ask or imagine! But notice that this verse says it’s according to the power that is at work within you. How does God’s power work within you? God’s power works in you when you are walking in love. God’s power is at work in you when you choose to forgive those who have wronged you. God’s power is at work in you when you bow before Him with a humble heart. He is at work in you when you are serving others by putting their needs above your own. Remember, God wants to move on your behalf. He loves to bless you! Choose today to let God’s power work in and through you! As you allow Him to work in your life, He promises blessing beyond your wildest dreams! He will do immeasurably more than you can ask or imagine. He’ll cause you to live the abundant life He has in store for you!
**from Joel Olsteen's devotional.

Blessings to you all today!!!!!!!

Are you LOW!!????

Well girls, I am finally writing this story. Rhonda, Shari, Roxanne and I went to here Mary Audrey Raycroft on Sat over in the county. We decided to go for lunch before heading to the meeting. We found the perfect spot, we went in and settle in for a great lunch. As we sat in the bright eating area, we enjoyed looking at the menu and deciding what would be great for lunch. The server came over and were telling us the fine specials for the day. Well Shari, asked how much one of the specials was. The server said let me check and I will get right back to you, after she left, Shari asked if that was proper to ask what the price was, I said if you have to ask then you can't afford it. She comes back and says, "it comes to $10.17 with tax, are you low"? Well, Shari was stunned and wasn't sure what she meant, do I look like I am having a bad day? The server said, " we can adjust the price if your low". Basically saying that if she didn't have the money to spend on lunch than she could probably work out something for her to have lunch. Well, we had a great laugh about that. The server told us of a couple that had come in for Valentine's day and the man ask everytime they order something how much it was with taxes. How would you have liked for him to take you out? Anyway, after that we decided this was a blog story, I of course grabbed it since I need to blog about something.

So girls I hope I did justice to this story, I think though that it won't be as funny as being there, I think you will agree. It was a great day for having lunch in the county and going to here a great speaker, Great food, fellowship and of course fun. The company was great, and we will have to do that again. Hopefully next time, more can come and join in the fun. So I guess I have to ask, is anyone low?

Laughter, it is good for the soul!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday, Shari.......

I just want to take this opportunity to say what a blessing it is to have you in my life, and how much I appreciate your friendship.

I want to honour you on your "Birth"-day.

I also want to say that "you are blessed among women".

So here's to you Shari..... Be blessed, honoured and cherished today!!!

Love you lots, Tammy

Echos/Reflections

This is a story about a man and his small son who were hiking up a mountain. Suddenly, the little boy slipped and slid about thirty yards down the mountain side, getting caught in some brush. Unhurt but frightened, he called out, "Somebody, help me!" A voice called back, "Somebody, help me!" The Youngster looked surprised and confused. He said, "who are you?" The voice shouted back, "who are you?" The boy began to get aggravated. "You're a coward!" He yelled. The voice shouted back, "You're a coward". The boy shot back, "You're a fool." The voice repeated, "You're a fool."
By then, the boy's father had reached him and helped extricate his son from the brush. The boy looked up and said, "Dad, who is that?" The father chuckled and said, "son, that's called and echo, but it's also called life." He said, "son let me show you something." The dad shout out, "You're a winner!" the voice shouted back, "You're a winner!" The dad's voice boomed, "You've got what it takes." The voice boomed back, "You've got what it takes!" The dad shouted, "you can make it!" The voice shouted back, "you can make it!"

"Son, that's exactly how it is in life," the father explained. "What ever you send out always comes back to you."

*excerpt from "Become a better You" by Joel Osteen.

Thought for the day.....what messages are you sending out?

Abundant Blessing!!!!!

Refiner's Fire

I recieved this through an e-mail today and thought that this story would be a great post. What a true picture of who God is. Purify my heart Lord, as pure gold and precious silver........

Be Blessed by this story.....



Malachi 3:3 says: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver."

This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.

That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining Silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.

The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver." She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed. The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?" He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it."

If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you. Pass this on right now. This very moment, someone needs to know that God is watching over them. And, whatever they're going through, they'll be a better person in the end.