Thursday, April 30, 2009

ULTIMATE DIRECT TV

I still remember the days where Direct TV was not existent and over the air terrestrial TV was the only available TV media. Channels were very limited (only 3 channels back then) and they were not broadcasting 24 hours daily. To catch prime time shows I had to adjust my personal schedule to match that of the TV programming schedule which was always a major inconvenience for me. There were no reruns so once you have missed an episode be ready to look else where to fill the missing gap. In every 15 minutes or so there were always commercial breaks and I had no choice but to sit through them (or go to the loo or something).

I must admit that I am one of the many who jumped for joy with the introduction of DirectTV. Instead of adjusting my personal schedule to match TV programming schedule, the Directv System has given me the power and control to adjust my very own Directv Service to suit my personal schedule. I can set my Direct TV System to record my favorite shows minus all the commercials and watch it at a later time at my convenience.

I am a PREMIER Ultimate Entertainment Package fan of the Direct TV Service as it comes with all 265 digital channels, 12 FREE HD Pay Per View movies and FREE DVR or HD receiver after instant rebates! It is truly the Ultimate Entertainment Package that DirectTV has to offer. They are one of the cheapest Direct TV dealers so you know you will be getting your money's worth of every penny spent.

NO REGRETS FOR LIFE

Transformers combined toy robot - “The attempt to combine wisdom and power has only rarely been successful and then only for a short while”

Not many people have heard of Bill Havens. But Bill became an unlikely hero of sorts - at least among those who knew him best. Here is his story:

At the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris, the sport of canoe racing was added to the list of international competitions. The favorite team in the four-man canoe race was the United States team. One member of that team was a young man by the name of Bill Havens.

As the time for the Olympics neared, it became clear that Bill's wife would give birth to their first child about the time that the US team would be competing in the Paris games. In 1924 there were no jet airliners from Paris to the United States, only slow ocean-going ships. And so Bill found himself in a dilemma. Should he go to Paris and risk not being at his wife's side when their baby was born? Or should he withdraw from the team and remain with his family?

Bill's wife insisted that he go to Paris. After all, competing in the Olympics was the culmination of a life-long dream. But Bill felt conflicted and, after much soul-searching, decided to withdraw from the competition and remain home where he could support his wife when the child arrived. He considered being at her side his highest priority - even higher than going to Paris to fulfill his dream.

As it turned out, the United States four-man canoe team won the gold medal in Paris. And Bill's wife was late in giving birth to their child. She was so late, in fact, that Bill could have competed in the event and returned home in time to be with her when she gave birth.

People said, "What a shame." But Bill said he had no regrets. For the rest of his life, he believed he had made the better decision. Bill Havens knew what was most important to him. Not everybody figures that out. And he acted on what he believed was best. Not everybody has the strength of character to say no to something he or she truly wants in order to say yes to something that truly matters. But for Bill, it was the only way to peace; the only way to no regrets. There is an interesting sequel to the story of Bill Havens.…

The child eventually born to Bill and his wife was a boy, whom they named Frank. Twenty-eight years later, in 1952, Bill received a cablegram from Frank. It was sent from Helsinki, Finland, where the 1952 Olympics were being held. The cablegram read: "Dad, I won. I'm bringing home the gold medal you lost while waiting for me to be born."

Frank Havens had just won the gold medal for the United States in the canoe-racing event, a medal his father had dreamed of winning but never did. Like I said - no regrets.

Thomas Kinkade eloquently said, "When we learn to say a deep, passionate yes to the things that really matter... then peace begins to settle onto our lives like golden sunlight sifting to a forest floor."

From Lifesupport.

Lifesigns Life Quotes

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

RISE ABOVE FOR LIFE

Serene seaside view - “Faith is not simply a patience that passively suffers until the storm is past. Rather, it is a spirit that bears things - with resignations, yes, but above all, with blazing, serene hope.”

Former U.S. President John F. Kennedy received endless advice and criticism from the media concerning how he should run the country. Much of it he took good-naturedly. In fact, he often used a favorite story in response to the media's comments about how they thought he could do a better job.

He told about a legendary baseball player who always played flawlessly. He consistently hit when at bat and was never thrown out at first. When on base he never failed to score. As a fielder, he never dropped a ball and he threw with unerring accuracy. He ran swiftly and played gracefully.

In fact, he would have been one of the all-time greats except for one thing - no one could ever persuade him to put down his beer and hotdog and come out of the press box to play!

Most of us can empathize, for we all have people in our lives who criticize and second-guess. They are quick to point out flaws and quicker yet to offer advice.

When it comes to receiving criticism, I believe it helps to remember first that not all criticism is invalid. Wisdom listens for the kernel of truth and saves it for future growth. But when criticism seems unfair, I believe it helps to remember the hawk. When attacked by crows, it does not counterattack. Instead, the hawk soars higher and higher in ever- widening circles until the pests leave it alone.

When there is nothing to learn from criticism, can you rise above it and soar?

From Lifesupport.

Lifesigns Life Quotes

Sunday, April 26, 2009

ENJOYING WHAT YOU DO FOR LIFE!

Reflective silver metallic ball - “The difference between men and women is that, if given the choice between saving the life of an infant or catching a fly ball, a woman will automatically choose to save the infant, without even considering if there's a man on base.”

Plato said that work should be play. Some airline employees have taken his injunction seriously. After landing, one flight attendant announced, "Thank you for flying Delta Business Express. We hope you enjoyed giving us the business as much as we enjoyed taking you for a ride."

As a plane touched down and was slowing to a stop at Washington National, a lone voice came over the loudspeaker: "Whoa, big fella. WHOA!"

One pilot made this weather announcement: "Weather at our destination is 50 degrees with some broken clouds, but they'll try to have them fixed before we arrive."

"As you exit the plane," a flight attendant said, "please make sure to gather all of your belongings. Anything left behind will be distributed evenly among the flight attendants. Please do not leave children or spouses."

And passengers heard this just as they were to exit the aircraft: "Last one off the plane must clean it."

To enjoy your work more, it helps to put some play in what you do. But what if you don't like your work? Can you find something to do you enjoy?

Authors Doug Hall and David Wecker tell the story of Ken Davis, a man who found a simple way to enjoy his work (MAKING THE COURAGE CONNECTION; Fireside Books, 1997). Ken just couldn't find his occupational niche. He worked at a variety of jobs and disliked them all. While Ken was working as a door salesman, he noticed that at least half of his customers had malfunctioning doorbells. And suddenly, Ken's life career became clear. He opened his own doorbell repair service.

Ken's wife laughed when she first heard his idea. When she realized he was serious, she cried. Whoever heard of making a living repairing doorbells? But Ken is making a comfortable living at his unique job, and he's happier than he's ever been. Ken didn't enjoy what he was doing, so he is now doing what he enjoys.

"The biggest mistake that you can make is to believe that you are working for somebody else," Earl Nightingale asserts. "Job security is gone. The driving force of a career must come from the individual. Remember, jobs are owned by the company; you own your career!"

No matter where you work, you work for yourself! With a little creativity and imagination, your work can seem less like drudgery and more like play. And wouldn't you really rather have it that way?

From Lifesupport.

Lifesigns Life Quotes

Friday, April 24, 2009

A CHOICE FOR PEACE FOR LIFE

Airport ambiance lighting - “A smile is the lighting system of the face, the cooling system of the head and the heating system of the heart.”

Photographer Nick Ut received a Pulitzer Prize for a dramatic war-time picture taken in Viet Nam. You may remember seeing it. The picture shows a little girl in agony walking naked down a country road amongst other weeping children. Dark smoke hangs heavily in the sky behind the fleeing group. The child's arms are painfully outstretched and her face is contorted in an expression of terror and misery. A Napalm bomb, dropped on her village, seared off the little girl's clothing and severely burned her skin.

The date is June 8, 1972. The child, Kim Phuc, was carried by Nick to a truck and transported to an area hospital. She cried over and over, "Non'g Qu'a. Non'g Qu'a," which means "Too hot! Too hot!"

Kim hovered between life and death. She required 17 different surgical operations and months of rehabilitation. Today, she lives in Canada and has become an important spokesperson on issues of peace. "Pain never disappears," Kim says. "You just learn how to deal with it."

In 1996 she was asked to say a few words at the Viet Nam War Memorial in Washington D.C. Kim talked about forgiving those people who were responsible for all the misery and suffering inflicted that tragic day. She said, "Even if I could talk face to face with the pilot who dropped the bombs, I would tell him we cannot change history but we should try to do good things for the present and for the future to promote peace." It was a message of forgiveness. She knew that her acts of reconciliation were the bricks that could pave the only true road to peace.

Kim could easily spend the rest of her life blaming others for her suffering. She could have grown up a bitter and resentful woman. Instead, she made a courageous choice - a choice for peace.

It's a choice none of us can escape.

From Lifesupport.

Lifesigns Life Quotes

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

WAIT TRAINING FOR LIFE

White bunny rabbit in a cage - “Do not rely on a rabbit's foot for luck, after all, it didn't work out too well for the rabbit.”

Perhaps you can relate. One man was to meet his wife downtown and spend some time shopping with her. He waited patiently for 15 minutes.

Then he waited impatiently for 15 minutes more.

After that, he became angry. Seeing one of those photograph booths nearby (the kind that accepts coins into a slot and takes four shots while you pose on a small bench), he had an idea. He assumed the most ferocious expression he could manage, which wasn't difficult under the circumstances, and in a few moments he was holding four small prints that shocked even him!

He wrote his wife's name on the back of the photographs and handed them to a clerk behind the desk. "If you see a small, dark lady with brown eyes and an apologetic expression, apparently looking for someone, would you please give her this?" he said.

He then returned to his office content that, if a picture is worth a thousand words, then four photos must be a full-blown lecture!

His wife saved those pictures. She carries them in her purse now. Shows them to anyone who asks if she is married...

How are you with patience? One person calls it "wait-training." It seems that there is always something we are waiting for. We wait on traffic and we wait in lines. We wait to hear about a new job. We wait to complete school or to retire. We wait to grow up or for maturity in a child. We wait for a decision to be made. We wait for someone to change his or her mind.

Patience is an essential quality of a happy life. After all, some things are worth waiting for. Every day presents plenty of opportunities for wait training.

We can resent waiting, accept it or even get good at it! But one thing is certain - we cannot avoid it. How is your wait training coming along?

From Lifesupport.

Lifesigns Life Quotes

Monday, April 20, 2009

LOVE IS UNDERSTANDING FOR LIFE

Detailed white ship model - “History is the ship carrying living memories to the future

You've heard it said: "Love is patient and kind." If love is patient, it may be because love is truly understanding.

Do you know what the most common craving is among pregnant women? (I'm sure this is factual.) The most common craving among pregnant women is not spicy food, pickles or ice cream. Not even close. It is for MEN to get pregnant.

Why? Because then they would know what it is like! Then they might be more patient. What most women need during times of cravings, discomfort, swollen ankles and morning sickness is... understanding.

Much of our conflict is simply misunderstanding. As a new bride, one woman moved into the small home on her husband's ranch in the mountains. She put a shoe box on a shelf in her closet and asked her husband never to touch it.

For 50 years he left the box alone, until his life partner was old and dying. One day when he was putting their affairs in order, he found the box again and thought it might hold something important.

Opening it, he discovered two doilies and $82,500 in cash. He took the box to her and asked about the contents.

"My mother gave me that box the day we married," she explained. "She told me to make a doily to help ease my frustrations every time I got mad at you."

Her husband was touched that in 50 years she'd only been upset enough to make two doilies.

"What's the $82,500 for?" he asked.

She explained, "Oh, well that's the money I've made selling the doilies."

Marge Piercy beautifully said, "Life is the first gift, love is the second and understanding is the third." But it is love that gives us life and understanding that brings about love.

Making doilies might take your mind off the problem, but it won't change anything. The path from conflict to love is not by way of arts and crafts. It is through the valley of understanding.

From Lifesupport.

Lifesigns Life Quotes

Saturday, April 18, 2009

COMPLIMENT MORE; REPRIMAND LESS IN LIFE

Exotic woodcraft display ornament basket - “As irrigators lead water where they want, as archers make their arrows straight, as carpenters carve wood, the wise shape their minds.”

Alan Loy McGinnis cites an interesting study in his book THE FRIENDSHIP FACTOR (Augsburg, 1979). A second-grade teacher complained that her children were spending too much time standing up and roaming around the room rather than working.

Two psychologists spent several days at the back of the room with stopwatches observing the behavior of the children and the teacher. Every ten seconds they noted how many children were out of their seats. They counted 360 unseated children throughout each 20-minute period. They also noted that the teacher said "Sit down!" seven times during the same period.

The psychologists tried an experiment. The asked the teacher to say "Sit down!" more often. Then they sat back to see what would happen. Now she commanded her students to sit down 27.5 times in an average 20-minute period, and now 540 were noted to be out of their seats during the same average period! Her increased yelling actually made the problem worse. (When she later backed off to her normal number of reprimands, the roaming also declined to the exact same number recorded previously in just two days.)

Then the experimenters tried another tack. They asked the teacher to refrain from yelling "Sit down!" altogether, and to instead quietly compliment those children who were seated and working. The result? Children's roaming decreased by 33%! They exhibited their best behavior when they were complimented more and reprimanded less.

Eleanor Porter said, "Instead of always harping on a man's faults, tell him of his virtues. Try to pull him out of his rut of bad habits. Hold up to him his better self, his real self that can dare and do and win out."

It works for children and it works for adults. There is immense power in encouragement -- power to make a real difference!

From Lifesupport.

Lifesigns Life Quotes

Thursday, April 16, 2009

CHOOSING THE RIGHT COMPASS FOR LIFE

Tiger the cat dreaming about becoming super cat - “To dream anything that you want to dream. That's the beauty of the human mind. To do anything that you want to do. That is the strength of the human will. To trust yourself to test your limits. That is the courage to succeed.”

"We pass this way but once," we have heard it said. But my wife has learned that, unless I've studied a map, that isn't necessarily true.

So I understand the fix a local hunting guide got himself into. His party became hopelessly lost in the mountains and they blamed him for leading them astray. "You told us you were the best guide in Colorado!" they asserted.

"I am," he said, "but I think we're in Wyoming now."

It's bad enough to get lost in the city or in the mountains. But how much worse to get lost in our life's journey.

One parent asked the clerk in a discount store if they carried any compasses. She answered, "We have compasses for making circles, but not for going places." Have you ever confused the two? Has it seemed as if your life is going in circles and not actually getting anywhere? Then it may be that you are lost or at least unsure what direction you should be heading.

Here are some questions to ask yourself if you feel as if you are going in circles:

- Where do I want to be a few years from now (in this relationship, this vocation, or any other way important to me)?

- What do I need to do to make it happen?

- Who will help me along the way?

- When do I want to arrive?

- How will I take the next small step?

Living well has little to do with comfort and speed, but much to do with direction.

From Lifesupport.

Lifesigns Life Quotes

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

HOW TO BE A WEAK LEADER IN LIFE

Transformers Bumblebee toy model - “Imagine for yourself a character, a model personality, whose example you determine to follow, in private as well as in public.”

Ten sure-fire ways to become a weak leader:

1. Weak leaders are blind to the current situation. They solve the wrong problems in the wrong way.

Good leaders understand what is happening. They size up the situation, put themselves in the right position to respond, prepare, and then act at the proper time.

2. Weak leaders discourage others. They find fault and blame. They criticize when things don't go right.

Good leaders encourage. They give credit when things go well and take responsibility when they don't go well.

Alabama football coach "Bear" Bryant was once asked how he inspired his players. He responded, "Well, I'm just an old plow hand from Arkansas, but I've learned a few things about getting people to do what you want them to do. When things go wrong, I did it. When things go semi-good, we did it. And when things go good, you did it. That's all it takes to hold a team together and win football games."

3. Weak leaders know it all. They already have the answers.

Good leaders keep learning. A cross-discipline study of leadership indicated that effective leaders in all fields are always learning. They constantly improve their skills. The best leaders are perpetual learners. Unlike weak leaders, they know that a spurt here and a spurt there does not make one an expert!

4. Weak leaders never rock the boat. They won't make courageous decisions for fear of failing. They prefer to keep things as they are, even if the system is not working all that well. Weak leaders will almost always follow the well-worn path.

Good leaders, however, will often go where there is no path and leave a trail. They are sure of their direction and they act boldly.

5. Weak leaders keep others in their place. They remind them who is boss.

Good leaders know that authority is more earned than granted.

A young Army officer found that he did not have the correct change for a soft drink vending machine. Noticing a subordinate nearby, he said, "Private, do you have change for a dollar?"

Cheerfully, the man said, "I think so - let me look."

"That is no way to address your superior, soldier!" scolded the officer. "Now, let's try it again. Private, do you have change for a dollar?"

The soldier snapped to attention, saluted and said, "NO, SIR!"

6. Weak leaders do all of the work themselves. They delegate poorly. They micro-manage and control.

Good leaders identify the gifts, strengths and limitations of those they lead. They assign, train, encourage and then get out of the way.

7. Weak leaders sabotage the successes of others. When those below them succeed, they feel threatened.

Good leaders, on the other hand, help their subordinates find success. They give a hand up. They realize that when one is lifted to another's shoulders, both stand taller.

8. Weak leaders ask others do what they are not willing to do themselves, and try to get others to go places they have not been.

Good leaders always lead by example.

9. Weak leaders motivate by force. They cajole, intimidate, threaten and issue ultimatums.

Good leaders know that motivation by force destroys morale. They understand that people respond best to positive incentive. They know that people who believe in themselves will do more work and better work.

10. Finally, weak leaders do not listen to those they lead. Their minds are already made up and they charge recklessly ahead.

Good leaders listen and learn. U.S. Secretary of State Dean Rusk once said, "One of the best ways to persuade others is with you ears -- by listening to them." Good salespeople know this. Good motivators know this. Good leaders know this.

There you have it: ten characteristics of weak leaders. Avoid all ten of these leadership blunders and you can become a GREAT leader.

From Lifesupport.

Lifesigns Life Quotes

Sunday, April 12, 2009

YOUR RIGHT TO BE WRONG IN LIFE

Fresh moringa flowers - “Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead. The consciousness of loving and being loved brings a warmth and richness to life that nothing else can bring.”

A humorous story has it that a newly appointed young clergy person was contacted by a local funeral director to hold a graveside service at a small country cemetery in Iowa. There was to be no funeral, just the committal, because the deceased had no family or friends left in the state.

The young pastor started early to cemetery, but soon became lost. After making several wrong turns, he finally arrived a half-hour late. The hearse was nowhere in sight and cemetery workers were relaxing under a near-by tree, eating their lunch.

The pastor went to the open grave and found that the vault lid was already in place. He took out his book and read the service. As he returned to his car, he overheard one of the workers say, "Maybe we'd better tell him it's a septic tank."

Why is it we make our biggest mistakes in public? And some people can't avoid it...former hockey goalie Jacques Plante wonders, "How would you like a job where, if you made a mistake, a big, red light goes on and 18,000 people boo?"

But we should never give up our right to be wrong. Good judgment comes from experience and experience comes from bad judgment. It is your right to be wrong. "No (one) ever became great or good except through many and great mistakes," said William E. Gladstone. Great mistakes are opportunities for great learning. And great learning makes for great living.

You have a right to be wrong. And if you are to build a great life, you have a duty to make great mistakes. If possible, laugh at them. Always learn from them. And try to make sure your next mistake is one you haven't made before!

From Lifesupport.

Lifesigns Life Quotes

Friday, April 10, 2009

HURRY UP AND BE PATIENT IN LIFE!

Posing with Chicky the mascot - “Let the world know you as you are, not as you think you should be, because sooner or later, if you are posing, you will forget the pose, and then where are you?”
Justify Full
You've heard it said, "Hurry up and wait!" But learning to wait calmly is an important part of living. In this age of high-speed connections and instantaneous results, it helps to remember that the Mayflower made its historic voyage across the Atlantic Ocean at about two miles per hour! How did those early settlers occupy their time as they were waiting to arrive?

I love the story of a passenger on Britain's Imperial Airways, a company that pioneered air travel between England and Australia in the mid-1930s. "If you have time to spare, go by air," was the popular expression of the day. Airliners were both slow and incapable of flying long distances.

One of the very first flights took off from Croydon Airport near London and flew to northern France where it was delayed extensively due to bad weather. When it arrived in the south of France, one of the motors had failed and it was necessary to wait for another engine to be shipped by sea from England. There were further lengthy delays along the route in Rome, Cairo, the Middle East, etc., until finally the flight had progressed as far as Singapore.

At this point a lady passenger asked the manager in Singapore if he thought the flight would arrive in Australia in the next few weeks because she was expecting a baby shortly.

"My dear lady," he replied, "you should never have commenced your trip in that condition."

She replied, "I didn't."

Next time you miss a flight, think about her predicament and "hurry up and be patient"! The sooner you're patient, the easier your life will become. When you're patient, you can relax and enjoy the ride.

There is great benefit in learning to wait calmly and creatively. Here is a "waiting checklist" to test your waiting skills:

+ Do you expect delays, or do they catch you unawares? Do you anticipate those times when you are likely to have to wait?

+ Do you calmly let your inner motor idle though others around you may be stripping their gears?

+ Do you welcome unexpected delays as a gift of time, which can be used creatively? Do you use the free time to plan ahead or quietly meditate (to get in touch with your soul)?

+ Do you prepare for delays? Do you have work or entertainment handy when forced to wait?

How did you do on the exercise? Are you making the most of your waiting time? We will never escape delays, but we can use them creatively. Now is the time to hurry up and be patient!

From Lifesupport.

Lifesigns Life Quotes

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

ALL THE ADVICE YOU'LL EVER NEED FOR LIFE

Yee sang prosperity and unity chinese tradition - “A love for tradition has never weakened a nation, indeed it has strengthened nations in their hour of peril

A popular T-shirt reads, "Upon the Advice of My Attorney, My Shirt Bears No Message at This Time." Perhaps the counsel of others is occasionally heeded, but I know that advice is not something people crave. Which is why it is sometimes said that free advice is worth about as much as you pay for it. Or put another way: "Plain advice is free. The right answer will cost plenty."

Our penchant for not wanting advice holds true across the generations. President Harry Truman once said, "I have found the best way to give advice to your children is to find out what they want and then advise them to do it."

Nor is our aversion to advice just a peculiar sign of the times. As one boy wrote in an essay on the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates: "Socrates was a man who went around town giving his advice and opinions, so...they poisoned him!" What this student lacks in historical accuracy he more than makes up for in his sense about how well most advice is received.

Not all advice should be discarded, however. Nor should we overlook wisdom from unlikely sources. Like the "uneducated." And the aged.

I have a faded letter clipped from a newspaper many years ago. The author published some counsel given him by his grandmother who had died some 60 years prior, and who had never attended school. She offered it printed on a slip of paper, accompanied by the words, "All the advice you'll ever need to have a good life." I find it worth remembering. Here is what she wrote:

"Wash what is dirty. Water what is dry. Heal what is wounded. Warm what is cold. Guide what goes off the road. Love people who are least lovable, because they need it most."

Enough days spent refreshing, healing, warming, guiding and loving will add up to a good life, significant and well lived.

From Lifesupport.

Lifesigns Life Quotes

Monday, April 6, 2009

WHO WILL YOU BE TOMORROW IN LIFE?

Contemporary bridge design - “Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.”

One man sat at a stop light. The woman in front of him was going through papers on the seat of her car, and when the light changed to green she didn't go. A green light is not a suggestion, you know, it is more of a commandment. But she didn't notice.

When the light turned red again, she still had not moved. The man in the car behind her now started screaming epithets and beating on his steering wheel.

A policeman tapped on his windshield. "You can't arrest me for hollering in my car," the man said. The cop asked for his license and registration, returned to his car, talked on the radio for a while, and finally handed the papers back. The driver protested, "I knew you couldn't cite me for yelling in my own car!"

The officer replied, "I didn't want to cite you for shouting in your car. But I was directly behind you at the light. I saw you screaming and beating your steering wheel, and I said to myself, 'That man is out of control. He's going to hurt someone!' Then I noticed the cross hanging from your rear view mirror, the bright yellow 'Love Is a Choice' license tag, the 'Give Peace a Chance' and 'Prayer Changes Things' bumper stickers, and I was sure you must have stolen the car."

His behavior did not reflect his bumper stickers. But let's not be too critical. Are we always the people we want to be?

We make changes by stretching. Personal transformation can happen when the person we presently are does not yet resemble the person we hope to be. Better to set high ideals and occasionally fall short than to settle for mediocrity and succeed.

The important question is not, "Who are you today?" It is better to ask, "Who will you be tomorrow?"

Remember: if nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies.

From Lifesupport.

Lifesigns Life Quotes

Saturday, April 4, 2009

ACCESSORIES FOR LIFE

If you have not heard of ShopWiki then you are missing out on one of the best online shopping experience! They got everything covered in one place so you do not have to hop around to find your numerous products! Whether you are looking for fashion accessories or branded sunglasses or luxury jewellery and watches head on over to ShopWiki and be amazed!

Its been a while since I last shopped for a new pair of sunglasses. Back then the fashion styling of the sunglasses was all that mattered to me. I would buy if it looked good on me. But ever since I have come to know of the wonderful ShopWiki, I have been relying on it for most of my online accessories shopping. With the helpful and reliable sunglasses buying guide I have become more informed on the safety and aesthetic styling aspects of choosing the most suitable pair for me. Since I have an oval shaped face the guide states that any sunglasses styling would be suitable for me. So I chose the aviator sunglasses, particularly the Nueu Aviator Sunglasses 708 - Black. They sure look good and they are built to last too!

If you are looking for jewellery and watches make sure to drop by ShopWiki's jewellery and watches buying guide. They have useful and essential information that will help you select the right men jewellery or women jewellery and time pieces to suit your personal needs and requirements. I know I'll be sure to check out their engagement and wedding jewellery buying guide when the time is right! Can't afford to make any buying mistakes there.


From Lifesupport.

Lifesigns Life Quotes

THEY ARE ALL OUR CHILDREN FOR LIFE

Tea cups and saucers - “A thousand cups of wine do not suffice when true friends meet, but half a sentence is too much when there is no meeting of minds.”

There are few things in this life more difficult to experience than the loss of one's child. Jim Wallis, in *Who Speaks For God?* (Delacorte Press, 1996) tells about a sad and terrifying incident that occurred during the tragic war in Sarajevo a few years ago. A reporter who was covering the violence in the middle of the city saw a little girl fatally shot by a sniper.

The reporter threw down his pad and pencil and rushed to the aid of the man who was now holding the child. He helped them both into his car and sped off to a hospital.

"Hurry, my friend," the man urged, "my child is still alive." A moment or two later he pleaded, "Hurry, my friend, my child is still breathing." In little later he said, "Hurry, my friend, my child is still warm."

When they got to the hospital, the little girl was gone. "This is a terrible task for me," the man said to the reporter. "I must go tell her father that his child is dead. He will be heartbroken."

The reporter was amazed. He looked at the grieving man and said, "I thought she was your child."

The man replied, "No, but aren't they all our children?"

Jim Wallis adds this: "Yes, they are all our children. They are also God's children as well, and he has entrusted us with their care in Sarajevo, in Somalia, in New York City, in Los Angeles, in my hometown of Perry, Georgia, and...in Washington, D.C."

What a fascinating question: Aren't they all our children? Under our roof and across the street? In the next town, the next state, the next country? In Europe and North America? In Africa and Asia? In prosperous nations and developing countries? In the jungles of South America and on sandy island coastlands?

Aren't they all our children? Ours to feed? Ours to clothe? Ours to educate? Ours to keep safe? But mostly, ours to love?

"If we have no peace," said Mother Teresa, "it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other." If we belong to each other, they are indeed our children. Ours to care for.

Is there a greater privilege?

From Lifesupport.

Lifesigns Life Quotes

Thursday, April 2, 2009

SPRINKLE JOY FOR LIFE

Reflection in the eye - “The beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not to twist them to fit our own image. Otherwise we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them.”

"Sprinkle joy," said Ralph Waldo Emerson. And at least one little creature seems to do just that.

There is a small bird in the northwest part of the United States called the ouzel, or the American Dipper. This unusual bird lives around fast rushing water, sometimes nesting behind water falls. It has been seen flying in and out of white water rapids of mountain rivers that crash and splash through steep and rocky canyons. It loves the violent, noisy, chaotic life of the rugged river environment.

And through it all, it sings! When rain falls in sheets, when wind blows in a violent fury, when other birds huddle in sheltered nooks against the rage of the storm, the dipper frolics in the tempest and blissfully sings.

Don't you love to be around people like that? People who don't wait for circumstances to change or for happy times to come before they laugh and sing? People who can be happy in the confusion and chaos of life?

These people do not expect life to make them happy. Nor do they spend time looking for joy - instead, they decide to give it away. Like that remarkable little bird, they can be found in the midst of life's turbulence, enthusiastic and hopeful.

These resilient people teach us an important lesson about survival. They show us that people who "sprinkle joy" grow stronger. Sprinkled joy immunizes them against despair during difficult and tumultuous times. They actually weather storms better because of a lifetime habit of approaching difficulties with a glad heart.

JOY - it's not just for the birds.

From Lifesupport.

Lifesigns Life Quotes

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