No Hands, No Feet, No Worries - The Nick Vujicic Story

Nick is a Giant Extraordinaire.....

he plays golf,
he plays soccer,
he swims,
he drive motor boat,
he inspires.....

watch the video below, and see how lucky you are.....



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Stress, the best explanation I have ever come across....

Stress, the best explanation I have ever come across....

A lecturer when explaining stress management to an audience,
Raised a glass of water and asked

'How heavy is this glass of water?'

Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g.

The lecturer replied, 'The absolute weight doesn't matter.
It depends on how long you try to hold it.

If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem.

If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm.

If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance.

In each case, it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.'

He continued,

'And that's the way it is with stress management.

If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later,

As the burden becomes increasingly heavy,

We won't be able to carry on. '

'As with the glass of water,

You have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again.

When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden.'

'So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down.!

Don't carry it home.

You can pick it up tomorrow.

Whatever burdens you're carrying now,

Let them down for a moment if you can.'

So, my friend, Put down anything that may be a burden to you right now.

Don't pick it up again until after you've rested a while.

Here are some great ways of dealing with the burdens of life:

* Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue.

* Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.

* Drive carefully. It's not only cars that can be recalled by their maker.

* If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.

* If you lend someone £20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.

* It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to be kind to others.

* Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won't have a leg to stand on.

* Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.

* Since it's the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.

* The second mouse gets the cheese.

* When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.

* Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.

* You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.

* Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.

* We could learn a lot from crayons... Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull.

Some have weird names, and all are different colours, but they all have to live in the same box.

*A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour. Have an awesome day and know that a friend has thought about you today...

I did.

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Special thanks to Carolus Wong for his contribution
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Denzel Washington Interview : Devoted to Family and Faith

For Denzel Washington, it’s not about fame and fortune. It’s about keeping the faith.

By David Hochman

Washington’s devotion to his family and deep sense of faith make him something of an anomaly in Hollywood. A member of the Church of God in Christ, the actor has been married to wife Pauletta for almost 25 years. And to hear him gush about their four children—John David, 23, Katia, 20, and twins Malcolm and Olivia, 16, you’d think he was a stay-at-home dad.

On the contrary, Washington works all the time. He’s made 37 movies in the last 29 years, including Academy Award winners Philadelphia, Training Day and Glory.

Although he often plays good-guy roles, this month he appears in American Gangster as a really bad guy. Then, as if to reaffirm his versatility, Washington directs and stars in The Great Debaters, opening Christmas Day, a feel-good movie about a 1930s African American debate team and the inspiring coach (played by who else) who helps them take on Harvard.

Between edits on the film, Washington sat down with Reader’s Digest to talk about fame, fortune and why his personal happiness has little to do with any of that.

RD: What do you think your strengths are as an actor?
Washington: I don’t analyze myself. I put it out there, and it’s up to the people to interpret it. I keep it simple, try to continue my spiritual quest.

RD: Do you think of yourself as a spiritual person?
Washington: Definitely.

RD: In what way?
Washington: I read the Bible every day. I’m in my second pass-through now, in the Book of John. My pastor told me to start with the New Testament, so I did, maybe two years ago. Worked my way through it, then through the Old Testament. Now I’m back in the New Testament. It’s better the second time around.

Godless Hollywood?

RD: Do you ever see a conflict in Hollywood, Godless Hollywood, as a spiritual person?
Washington: Well, wait a minute. Stop. That’s broad. Godless Hollywood? What is that? First of all, Hollywood is a part of Los Angeles, not a way of thinking. When you say Godless Hollywood, are you including me? Are you saying everybody in Hollywood is Godless? That’s like saying Godless Reader’s Digest. No such thing, right?

RD: Right. Right.
Washington: I think it’s easy to generalize. Let’s be specific. We say Godless Hollywood, then we make an assumption that that’s true. It’s not true.

RD: Well, people talk about the violence, the sex—if you watch HBO—in Hollywood.
Washington: Those things happen everywhere. In politics, in war, at the post office. Not just in Hollywood.

RD: Do your spiritual philosophies influence the roles you play?
Washington: I think I’m going to instill it in everything I do, like this conversation. It’s who I am. It goes with me wherever I go. Understand that it’s something bigger than making a film, even American Gangster. When I met Frank Lucas [the drug kingpin the movie is based on], he said, “Do this and win an Oscar.” I’m like, “Frank, I’m not in it for that.” I found it interesting that he paid for his crimes with jail time, and now he’s paying with his body, which has sort of betrayed him. It’s important for me to tell that part of the story. There are consequences.

RD: Who were your childhood heroes?
Washington: I didn’t have a lot of them, but I met one, Gale Sayers. He came to see a play I was in. Oh, man, I was like nine years old again. I wore his number. I wanted to be Gale Sayers. Somebody said, “Gale Sayers heard you talk about him on TV and wanted to say hello.” I said, “Okay. Wait a minute, I got to get myself together.”

RD: What was the meeting like?
Washington: I was like, Oh, he’s smaller than I am! It was very cordial. Early on in the business I also met Jimmy Stewart. That was a treat.

RD: Did you consider them your role models?
Washington: I think a role model is a mentor—someone you see on a daily basis, and you learn from them. I’ve talked a lot about Billy Thomas, [a staffer] at the Boys Club. And Bob Stone, who was my English and acting teacher when I was in college. Those are the two who stand out.

RD: What did you learn from them?
Washington: They gave me confidence. Also, Charles White, who was also at the club. I remember him saying, “With your smarts, you can do anything you want.” Things like that stick with you. I was ten years old, but I never forgot it. You never know the power of words when you speak to young people, which is why I enjoy being involved with them.

RD: Is there one project in you that you feel is your ultimate dream?
Washington: No. There are some stories I want to tell, but I got a great life, period. My ultimate life dream project is my kids. My family.

RD: What’s your parenting style?
Washington: If you have kids, you know there is no style! It’s a hybrid. It’s what my wife and I learned from our parents, and applying religious instruction, discipline, athletic activity and academic excellence whenever possible. My wife’s done a great job. She’s been the consistent one, just trying to give them a normal life.

RD: Do you think it’s hard to live up to a dad like Denzel Washington?
Washington: Well, they don’t know anything different. When my oldest boy was about 14, I started to talk to him about some of the mistakes I made in life, just to put a few dents in that shiny armor.

RD: It’s your son’s second year playing for the Rams. What’s it like for you to see him growing up?
Washington: It’s great helping them navigate this minefield. The job’s not done, but to see him, a man now, responsible, paying bills and finding out what life’s all about. My daughter’s a sophomore in an Ivy League school; that’s unbelievable. And my twins are driving now, so that’s crazy.

RD: So is it different now for you and your wife?
Washington: There are still two [kids] in the house, which is more than most people have. And they bring home more people. In summer it was like a hotel. That they still enjoy coming home, I guess we’re doing a good job.

RD: Why did you want to make The Great Debaters?
Washington: The little train that could, the little guy up against the big guys.


RD: It’s your second time directing. What’s the appeal?
Washington: I like seeing other people do well. I enjoy finding young kids and sharing what I know with them. I like the collaboration. Also, I’m looking down the line. Clint Eastwood is my hero. This guy just seamlessly segued from one career to another.

RD: Your father was a minister. What kind of man was he?
Washington: A gentleman. A real gentle man. A devout Christian. A spirit-filled man, hardworking, low-key, consistent.

RD: Did he play catch with you? Was he a fun dad?
Washington: No, he wasn’t that guy. But I got all that out of my system in the Boys & Girls Club.

RD: Who were you closer with? Your mother or your father?
Washington: I think most boys are closer with their mothers. And like myself nowadays, he was working all day. We didn’t see him. He had one job, I think, from 6 to 12. He’d have a couple hours off, come home, then he’d work his night job. He probably put in 18, 20 hours a day.

Faith and Discipline

RD: That’s a good thing. So you’ve been married for 25 years?
Washington: Coming up on 25 in June. Yeah. I better come up with a plan. So I’ll ask the readers: What should I do for my 25th?

RD: What is the secret to a 24-year marriage?
Washington: Do whatever your wife tells you. Yes, dear. And breathe.

RD: What happens to a relationship after 15, 20 years? Does it change?
Washington: Everything changes. It happens after 15 or 20 days.

RD: How has the onion opened for you two?
Washington: I think it hopefully ends where it starts, which is friendship. And obviously, respect. Understanding our—for lack of a better word—roles. And just getting on with it. Commitment.

RD: How do you get through the hard times?
Washington: You have faith. And discipline as well. You have to work at it. I was just reading today: One day you’re going to have to walk with God when you can’t understand where he’s taking you. [Laughs] Your techniques, skill set and connections won’t get you through. So don’t try this on your own.

RD: What does that say to you?
Washington: It says, He’s got you covered. My faith helps me understand that circumstances don’t dictate my happiness, my inner peace.

RD: If you could change one thing about America what would it be?
Washington: I’d ask to change more than one thing! There are consequences for everything. What’s the domino effect? Start with slavery.

RD: Have you experienced prejudice?
Washington: Sure, absolutely. But I’m a positive person, so I don’t get bogged down with it. If you’re expecting that, if you wallow in that, if you practice that, then you’ll attract what you fear.

RD: People look at you and say you have everything. Do you struggle?
Washington: Struggle? I’m a believer in positive words. You can create your reality. I’d just as soon say I’m doing great. And getting better. I’m looking upward. It’s just my nature.

RD: Do you feel like a success?
Washington: I don’t know what that word means. I’m happy. But success, that goes back to what in somebody’s eyes success means. For me, success is inner peace. That’s a good day for me.

RD: How do you deal with fame?
Washington: It ain’t about me. The one thing for me, understanding how I understand God, is that it keeps me humble, keeps the pronouns out of the picture. I’ve been given certain abilities, and I look at it this way: What are you going to do with what you have? Who are you going to lift up?

RD: You’re a national spokesman for the Boys & Girls Club, and you and your wife work with a number of charities. Why have you gotten so involved?
Washington: It’s what the Bible teaches. It’s the right thing to do. And it’s selfish. There’s a lot of gratification in knowing that you help people. We realize how blessed we are and feel a responsibility to share.

RD: What’s one thing you’d change about yourself?
Washington: My weight! Mind, body and spirit. It’s a discipline, and the body has been lagging. Mind’s really good right now. Spirit is strong, but body’s been lagging. And the body helps the mind. I feel better today having worked out.

RD: Does mortality give you pause?
Washington: No. No. No. Nope. As the old folks used to say, You’re born to dead. It’s a part of life. So you might as well get used to it.

RD: What are you most proud of?
Washington: God, family, work. When our children were born, I was like, My work used to be my life. Now my work is making a living. They’re life. My children are. So what I am proudest of is all of the above. In that order.

RD: How would you like to be remembered?
Washington: I don’t think in those terms. I’m too busy living life.

Downtime with Denzel
RD: Last DVD you saw?
Washington: One I liked: The Lives of Others. And Munich. But I’m really not a movie buff.

RD: What are you reading?
Washington: Books? I don’t have time. Except for the Bible, the No. 1 bestseller.

RD: What’s on your iPod?
Washington: A buddy—not to name-drop—is Lenny Kravitz. I have all his stuff. All of James Brown, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, everything from blues to gospel to jazz. More than 5,000 songs.

RD: Last great vacation you took?
Washington: The Mediterranean. I love to spend time on the water. We’re at sea probably a month each year. In Italy you sit out in a boat in the bay and look back at these beautiful ancient cities.

RD: Favorite motto?
Washington: Do what you got to do so that you can do what you want to do. And fail big.

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From Reader's Digest - December 2007
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Successful Parents Are ......

Successful Parents are ...

Not perfect ...They make mistakes, but observe and learn from both their own, and the mistakes of others.

Personally involved ... with teaching and training their children. They know God holds only the parents solely responsible for overseeing their child's moral and spiritual development.

Praying and studying ...for the job of parenting! They form their ideas about child discipline from a disciplined and prayerful consideration of Bible principles -- not from popular but unproven humanistic ideas!

Refusing to delegate ... their God-given responsibilities for their own children to the state, the church, or others.

Taking personal charge ... of their children's spiritual education to make sure they receive proper Biblical instruction.

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Article from the Christian Parents.net
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1) SUCCESSFUL PARENTS DON'T EXPECT PERFECTION

Either from themselves or their children. Parenting is an art, not a science. Parent's DO; their children BECOME. Between the "doing" and "becoming" there is room for a lot of mistakes. Successful parents understand that, like themselves, their children aren't perfect, either. These parents expect the best from their children, but not perfection. This frees them to love their children unreservedly.

2) SUCCESSFUL PARENTS DON'T FEAR OCCASIONAL FAILURES

They understand that mistakes are a normal, even healthy part of parenting.They make the best decisions they can and when they're wrong, they learn from their mistakes and try to do better the next time. For successful parents, mistakes (by parents or children) aren't failures but opportunities to learn and grow. And learning isn't possible without mistakes.

3) SUCCESSFUL PARENTS DON'T EXPECT TO ALWAYS HAVE "SMOOTH SAILING"

Children have their own opinions, personalities and preferences. Inevitably, they cause us to say "Where did THAT come from?" or "What WERE you thinking?" Our responsibility to provide them with limits and guidance will sometimes clash with their growing desire for independence. These clashes are inevitable. Succesful parents aren't surprised by them; they expect them. But successful parents understand that their responsibility to their chidlren is not to always please them or make them happy. It's to make the hard decisions that will be for their best in the long run.

4) SUCCESSFUL PARENTS DON'T "GO IT ALONE"

Successful parenting means trusting yourself but not being a "lone ranger". No one has the experience or answers to every parenting challenge. But each of us has some of the answers and, together, we've got them all. So successful parents aren't reluctant to seek out the wisdom of others, whether a trusted older friend or relative or a member of a "Mom's" group. They know that, at the end of the day, the decision is theirs, but before they get there, there is plenty of wisdom aong the way waiting to help them.

Successful parents don't get that way by accident.There are some reliable guidelines they follow.

1) SUCCESSFUL PARENTS TRY HARDER

They face the same prressures we all do: demanding jobs, spouses and children who need us, financial challenges, etc. But they live by this rule: "You get back what you put in". They have a clear sense of priorities for their family and are willing to put in the time to achievce those priorities. they give more than the "average parent" so their children will be more than just "average children". These parents work at nurturing and developing themselves to be the best parents they can become. They try harder!

2) SUCCESSFUL PARENTS ENJOY BEING PARENTS!

They enjoy parenting not because it's easy or instantly rewarding but because of the sheer joy and privilege of cooperating with God in shaping another unique and precious life. Any parent of grown children will tell you "they grow up so quickly". Successful parents remind themselves of that and try to savor every day with their children. They immerse themselves in their children as much as possible and just enjoy them--even the days of dirty diapers, illness and disappointments. They don't just LOVE their children, they LIKE them and look forward to spending time with them. They enjoy being parents.

3) SUCCESFUL PARENTS TRUST GOD AND THEMSELVES

Over time and by learning from sucesses and mistakes, successful parents learn to trust themselves, their instincts, their judgement. After all, they're the "right" parents for their children! And when they don't know the answer, they know that God does, so they pray regularly for wisdom to be the best parents they can be. They use their "sanctified comon sense" to make the many decisions of parenting with calmness and confidence. These wise parents trust God --and trust themselves, too!

4) SUCCESSFUL PARENTS STRIVE TO BE THE PERSON THEY WANT THEIR CHILD TO BECOME

There are no formulas for parents. You can't just "program" children like a computer and be guaranteed of the result. But children are great observers and imitators. They watch, listen and absorb values and habits from the people who have the greatest influence on them: their parents.So successful parents resolve that they will set the best example they can for their children. The determine that they will "Be the person I want my child to become". They work every day at being and becoming a better person as they live before their children. That's the best, time tested way to see your children become the person you hope and pray for.

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Articles taken from: Confident Parenting Today
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How A Child Learns

If a child lives with criticism,
he learns to condemn.

If a child lives with hostility,
he learns to fight.

If a child lives with ridicule,
he learns to be shy.

If a child lives with shame,
he learns to feel guilty.

If a child lives with tolerance,
he learns to be patient.

If a child lives with encouragement,
he learns confidence.

If a child lives with praise,
he learns to appreciate.

If a child lives with fairness,
he learns justice.

If a child lives with security,
he learns to have faith.

If a child lives with approval,
he learns to like himself.

If a child lives with acceptance and friendship,
he learns to find love in the world.

Author: Dorothy Law Nolte

My Son Christopher Was Diagnosed With Leukemia At Age Seven Months

My Son Christopher Was Diagnosed With Leukemia At Age Seven Months
- Christopher's Mother, Melissa Ryan

Personal Experience from Melissa Ryan :

'My son Christopher was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of seven months. Now, as a young parent, I didn't know what leukemia was and I did not know that it was cancer. I was soon to find that out...

(You will read Christopher Ryan's complete story in your Healing Codes Manual along with 100+ other testimonials. We now jump forward through 11 years of experimental treatments, surgeries, chemo and radiation as new problems arise for this brave young man.)

"So fast-forward a few years and Christopher is doing great medically. He has a few little problems. He has some thyroid problems. He's starting to have some growth problems. He has some behavioral problems. We're not real concerned.

We're very happy that he is doing great. He's progressing. He doesn't have cancer. You know, once you've had cancer everything else pales in comparison to that.

A couple more years went by and things in his body started breaking down.

"Last year, in August of 2003 we had gone to St. Jude's for a six month's checkup, but they called me the day I got home and said, "You need to come back."

I said, "Well, I'm not coming back…I was just there."

They said, "No, you don't understand. You need to come back. Christopher needs to have surgery on his hips. If he doesn't have surgery right away, he may never walk again."

So what was I going to do? I approached Christopher and I said, "Look, we're going to have to go back to Memphis. You're going to have to have surgery on your birthday."

And he looked at me and said, "That's okay, Mom. At least I get to have another birthday." That really touched my heart.

So we went back to Memphis, we had the surgery on his hips, they put pins in his hips, and he was in a wheelchair for a couple of months. We thought, "Okay. This is fine. This is a side effect of the radiation…no big deal."

"But then he started throwing up. And kept throwing up. And throwing up, and throwing up, and throwing up. He threw up for months."

"We took him to doctor after doctor, but they could not figure out what was wrong with Christopher."

"I'd already seen him go through so much. I'd already seen my baby suffer more than most people have to suffer in a lifetime, and I did not want to see my child have to go through anymore."

"I knew God had healed him and I knew God had given us a miracle, and I didn't understand why he was having to suffer even more. I knew that just was not God's will for him."

"I read the Bible, I know what it says, and nowhere does it say, "I'm going to heal you and give you a miracle and then make you suffer."

"After two months, they finally figured out that he had a sliding hiatal hernia. Part of his stomach was coming up through his esophagus."

"This went on through Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, until finally in the middle of January he had surgery. They wrapped his stomach around his esophagus."

After that, we thought everything was fine. We thought, "Okay, this was one weird thing…no big deal…it's over.

Two major surgeries in one year…we can deal with that. So let's move on."

"About two weeks later, he started throwing up again."

"We took him back to the doctors, they went in, and they dilated his esophagus because it had swollen to the point where no food was getting through. After the dilation he started eating regularly."

"In another week, he started throwing up again. We took him back to the doctor and they said, "You know, we could dilate him again, but you're going to end up with the same problem."

At this point, we just threw up our hands and said, "We're just going to pray. We've done all we can do. We have nothing else to do for this child but pray."

"We did put him on a liquid diet for about three weeks - that was as long as he could tolerate it."

Meanwhile, we were scheduled for another checkup at St. Jude's. I mentioned to his doctors, "He's had this stomach surgery and he's still throwing up, and we don't understand what's going on."

They said "You really need to bring him back for tests. We need to know what's going on. He could have grafts of his host's disease, and his stomach could be attacking him internally."

"They also said his cortisol levels were really low - his adrenal function".

"When he was a little kid, right after the bone marrow transplant, one of the things that they would keep a constant eye on was his adrenal gland function to make sure his cortisol levels were high enough."

"For a while we had to carry around a shot of adrenaline in case he got in an accident. I was told by the doctors at St. Jude's that stress causes your body to deplete itself of adrenaline, and once that's gone, if there's a traumatic injury to the body but you don't have that adrenaline, you die."

"Well, at this point, I thought, 'cortisol levels.' I had talked to Jennifer once about the cortisol levels. I thought, "I'm going to go to Jennifer and see if she knows of any natural remedy. I'm going to ask her to pray for Chris, and I'm going to ask her if she knows of anything I can do about this."

I went to Jennifer one night after services and said, "His cortisol levels are low and we have to go back…"

And Jennifer just got this twinkle in her eye like she was listening to the Holy Spirit and not really what I was saying. She said, "I'm going to give you the number of a man who I think can help you. He was instrumental in my own healing. You call him." (You'll read about Jennifer's personal healing story in your Healing Codes Manual.)

'I got his phone number. I called him the very next day, and it was Dr. Alex Loyd. That very day, he emailed me The Healing Codes manual.

I went over it that day. It sounded great to me, because when you are desperate, you will try anything.

We had tried natural remedies on Christopher. We had done amino acids, vitamins, supplements, herbals. you name it, we had tried it.

But he was still throwing up and the doctors were at a loss. So I read through The Healing Codes that night. The very next morning I started it on Christopher, and I started doing it on myself because I wanted to make sure I was good to do it on Chris.

'We had immediate results. Immediate results. From the very first time I did it on Christopher, he got up from our little session just happy, happier than I'd seen him in a long time."

"He was laughing, he was playing, he seemed to have a lot of energy that he hadn't had the past few months. He'd been very lethargic and very tired all of the time."

'We had exactly twelve days from the time we started The Healing Codes to the time we had to be in Memphis where they were going to do a whole battery of tests on him to find out why he was throwing up."

"Well, twelve days is the initial protocol for The Healing Codes."

We did the twelve days, and we went back to St. Jude's. They did CT scans, MRI's, upper GI's, blood work. you name it, they did it. And the results of every single one of those tests was clear.

There was not anything, and he had stopped throwing up at this point, so I was convinced.

'The other thing that happened with The Healing Codes during those twelve days was that Christopher grew a centimeter.

Christopher has to take growth hormone shots every single night - he has since he was six years old. He grew a centimeter. Normal growth for him is 2-3 centimeters in one year.

We've continued to do The Healing Codes, and in the past month, he has grown three shoe sizes. Your foot is the first part of your body to grow, so you know when your foot grows, you're getting ready to shoot up. Well, Christopher is getting ready to shoot up three shoe sizes worth in one month... '

'He is living and he's going to live. I have medical bills here totaling over a million dollars. What a million dollars in medical care could not do for Christopher, The Healing Codes has done for him.'

-Melissa Ryan

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Daddy is Driving .....

A speaker (Dr. Wan) has once shared his experience:

While his family and he were in Europe, there was once that they need to drive 3 days continuously, day and night, to get to Germany. So, they all got into the car -- he, his wife, and his 3 years old daughter.

His little daughter has never traveled at night before. She was scared the first night in the car, with deep darkness outside.

"Where are we going, Daddy?" "To your uncle's house, in Germany."

"Have you been to his house before?" "No."

"Then, do you know the way?" "Maybe, we can read the map."

Short pause. "Do you know how to read the map?" "Yes, we will get there safely."

Another pause. "Where are we going to eat if we get hungry before arriving?" "We can stop by restuarants if we are hungry."

"Do you know if there are restaurants on the way?" "Yes, there are."

"Do you know where?" "No, but we will be able to find some."

The same dialogue repeated a few times within the first night, and also the second night. But on the third night, his daughter was quiet. The speaker thought that she might have fallen asleep, but when he looked into the mirror, he saw that she was awake and was just looking around calmly. He couldn't help wondering why she was not asking the questions anymore --

"Dear, do you know where we are going?" "Germany, Uncle's house."

"Do you know how we are getting there?" "No."

"Then why aren't you asking anymore?" "Because Daddy is driving."

Because Daddy is driving. This answer from a 3 years' old girl has then become the strength and help for this speaker for the many years follow whenever he has questions and fears on his journey with the Lord. Yes, our Father is driving. We may know the destination (and sometimes we may just know it like the little girl --

"Germany", without understanding where or what it really is). We do not know the way, we do not know how to read the map, we do not know if we can find restaurants along the way. But the little girl knew the most important thing -- Daddy is driving -- and so she is safe and secure. She knows that her Daddy will provide all that she needs.

Do you know your Daddy, the Great Shepherd, is driving today? What are your behavior and response as a passenger, His child?

You may have asked many questions before, but can you like the little girl, starts to realize the most important focus should be "Daddy is driving?"

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http://storiesthattouch.blogspot.com
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Golf Lessons with Daughter

Like every golfer, I can't wait for the start of the golf season. But I have a special reason: my new playing partner, my 8-year-old daughter, known affectionately as "the Terrorist."

When she was only 2, her mother and I bought the little rascal a child-sized seven iron. It was way too big for her, but she dragged it around the house. About the time she was 5, she started accompanying her daddy to the driving range and putting green.

She and I chipped around in the back yard until she started to hit the ball with some authority. One day, she put a Titleist through the bathroom window, which resulted in a torrent of tears After that, we confine golfing to the driving range.

Then last spring, I said to the Terrorist, "What do you say we play 'real’ golf on a ‘real' golf course?

"Yeah! Daddy!" came the enthusiastic response.

So the following Saturday morning, we drove to a nine-hole, par three course. It is a family-friendly course with slow greens, a driving range and a putting green on which to warm up. One rarely has to wait at the first tee.

After a torrential rain, water collects along the left side of the first fairway. And a ditch lies along the second fairway. Otherwise, it is hard to get into trouble on a course with virtually no rough. Just the place for an 8-year-old, and her daddy.

And so Daddy and the Terrorist played their first round of golf together. Golf is, a wonderful game to teach life's little messages to little girls.

"First of all, you have to count all the strokes, even if you accidentally bump the ball, and it rolls an inch," I instructed.

The Terrorist caught on fast and insisted on keeping score. "So you got a 5 on that hole?" I asked. "No, Daddy, I accidentally hit the ball on the hill, and it moved, so I got a 6." And she dutifully recorded the 6. I could be wrong but I think we have the making of an honest child here.

"Daddy, the ball is behind a bush, can I move it?"

"No, sweetheart, you have to play the ball where it lies, no fair moving it." Another of life's little messages.

On each tee, I dutifully filled my divot sand, then filled at least one more. "Always leave the golf course in better shape than you found it." I advised.

Since then, she has methodically attempted to rebuild every tee by filling every divot.

There is something about sand and kids. When the Terrorist knocked her ball into a sand trap, she would have spent the next hour making sure it was absolutely smooth. "No," I admonished, "there are people waiting on the tee, and we can't hold them up." That led to a simple lesson on slow play and about others around you and how your actions have an impact on them.

Once, when we were two holes ahead of the some behind us, we stopped to fix some extra marks on a green and to practice chipping. For 10 minutes, she chipped the ball at the hole, and I putted it back to her, another of life's little lessons: Practice makes perfect.

For now, golf simply is fun. Hit the ball hard, go find it, and who cares what the score is. We spend little time on the driving range with very elementary instruction, but nothing serious. In another two years, if she still enjoys the game, we will see about some lessons. But for now, it is just a game.

On a short, 60-yard hole, the Terrorist drove the green and landed her ball considerably inside her dad's shot. That was a momentous accomplishment, which later was recounted in great detail to her mother.

Two hours after we teed off, the Terrorist and I returned to the clubhouse to drink lemonade, eat candy bars and (at her insistence) add up the score.

She leaned back in her chair, pushed back her golf visor, looked at me with her child's eyes and, and said, "Daddy, that was a lot of fun! Let's do this again!"

And we did, all summer long.

By Donald Hoke

If I Could Do It All Over Again

BY JOYCE MAYNARD

Raising kids is an on-the-job education. Too bad we don't start out with half the expertise we pick up along the way.

I started writing about parenting 19 years ago, when I was pregnant with my first child, Audrey. Last June, she graduated from high school. Charlie, my middle child, recently entered high school. Willy, the baby, will be joining his brother next year.

None of this means my days of parenting are over. I remember when my kids were six, two, and two weeks old, and how I'd sometimes took with envy at mothers and fathers whose children were the same Age as mine are now. But I've since learned that my presence is just as necessary to my teenagers these days as it was when I was changing their diapers and getting up in the middle of the night.

I wasn't mistaken that life with older kids is physically less taxing and filled with more freedom and independence for the parent-not to mention the child. What I hadn’'t realized was that it would still be emotionally and intellectually demanding to have these three people, whose expanded world had become so interesting and complex, in my life. I hadn't anticipated what it would feet like to have my three beloved children reach the age where their heartbreaks could no longer be repaired with a hug and five minutes on my lap or their desires satisfied by a $2.99 plaything from Toys "R" Us.

For most of you who read these pages, the stage of parenthood I've reached is still a long way off. But be advised: You'll get here sooner than you think. As endless as the days seem now when you're rereading for the millionth time the page where Curious George gets a new bicycle-you'll wake up one morning wishing you could relive them.

Because I can't revisit those days, this will be my last reflection on parenting for this column. And because my kids have either left or are leaving childhood, it seems appropriate to look back and assess the long term implications of all the little short-term choices I've made as a parent.

One thing that stands out about raising young children is how little opportunity there is to step back to examine the big picture. A parent rarely has the luxury of taking the time to make sense of what worked and what didn't. In many cases, those things that we once considered so incredibly important now seem, with the benefit of hindsight, equally insignificant.

And although I'm certainly proud of the job my children's father and I have done raising them, you can't help but recognize what you might have done better. So how would I have done things differently if I were just now beginning to raise my first child instead of seeing her off to college?

Maybe it was because my husband and I had so little money the year Audrey was born, but back then I cared an inordinate amount about the trappings that go along with having a baby. I used to walk through fancy stores stocked with baby layettes and tiny smocked dresses, wishing I could buy them. When my mother sent me a birthday check, I raced right out and bought an expensive mobile to hang over our not-yet born infant's crib.

These days, I'd have less difficulty coming up with the money for baby clothes and toys. Oddly enough, though, I'd be far less interested in buying them. And I'm not just talking about the baby stuff. Most of us buy much more for our children than they need. More, even, than is good for them. I know I did. My newborn daughter would have been just as delighted with a bunch of measuring spoons and interesting scarves over her crib. I could have played her my favorite Irish folk records instead of buying a half dozen lullaby tapes.

Not that any of these purchases caused my children emotional distress down the line. Toys made them happy, and that made me happy, too. But, in effect, I was establishing a pattern, modeling a way of life. And that model was based on consumption and acquisition.

Another consequence of giving our kids too much is that-it raises their expectations. The more a child has, the more she wants. Carried to an extreme, a parent's overzealous buying habits can actually inhibit a child's ability to entertain herself or make her feel as though life just isn't worth living without that coveted item of the minute.

If I had the past 19 years to do over, I'd focus on a very different lesson: You can get by with very little. The most important thing is what's inside yourself.

Some of the times that I feel best about as a parent have been those my children spent with me, and with their father, exploring the natural world-camping, hiking, riding bikes. Likewise, I realize that some of our very best adventures centered around making our own toys building forts, sewing doll clothes, constructing doll house furniture. All these things taught our kids valuable lessons about finding joy in simple ways.

In retrospect, I'd also spend less time with my vacuum cleaner and more time with my children. It's so easy to continuously pick up after kids-and feel frazzled as a result. When Charlie was in second grade, his teacher had the class put together a little book for Mother's Day, titled My Mom, in which each child was asked to write a description of his mother. When I opened the book to Charlie's page, I read: "My mom cleans our house a lot."

This was not, in fact, the whole story of Charlie's life with me. But for my son to perceive me this way, I couldn't avoid the conclusion that my priorities were off base. "Do you realize," my daughter asked me a while back, "that the majority of our worst fights have been about housework?"

She was right. But some of those arguments were important, because they dealt with respecting a parent's time and energy and learning personal responsibility. Children need to learn to look after themselves, to take care of the house and pets, and make their own meals at times. It's not good for parents-or our children-when we do their work for them.

And I might go so far as to keep television out of the house completely. Or keep one around only for watching movies on video. Not as a baby sitter but as an occasional family event. To me, the politicians are dead wrong when they cite violent or explicit television programming as the main culprit in corrupting today's youth. The fundamental problem with television isn't what kids are viewing but how much. When a child is watching TV, she's disengaged from the world instead of involved in it.

In the spiritual realm, I didn't raise my children within a particular religion, and not having grown up with a clear set of religious convictions of my own, I don't know how it could have been otherwise. What I tried to do, and wish that Id done more of, was to make room in our lives for spiritual exploration.

In recent years, we started observing the Jewish holidays whenever we could. (My mother was a nonpracticing Jew.) Likewise, the small act of pausing to say grace before eating our dinner every night became important to my kids. I should have taken this one step further and established a pattern of prayer (whatever form it might take), which offers comfort to a child. Id also set up a routine of contributing, regularly and consistently, to our community and the world beyond, and not just, during the holiday season.

Our family was fortunate to do quite a bit of traveling together over the years-sometimes to distant and exotic places, more often a simple road trip a few miles from home. And although the places we visited were important, even more significant were the lessons we learned about each other. Leaving home-getting away from familiar territory and the distractions of work, friends, television, and ringing phones-focuses our lives. In just two weeks on the road, I'd see my children grow more than I might in a full two months at home. And because of that, I wish we'd gone even more places together.

Like most parents, I think I've done a decent job of meeting my kids' needs. On the other hand, recognizing the importance of balancing my needs with theirs was much harder. For years I was so preoccupied with taking care of them that I neglected myself. From the age of 23 to nearly 35, 1 drove my children to their sporting events, then sat on a bench waiting for them, without ever playing tennis or taking a dance lesson or going to a gym myself. And because of those small deficits, accumulated over long periods of time, I constantly carried around a sense of martyrdom and frustration.

If I were to name my single greatest regret about my approach to parenthood, it would be that I tried to be perfect. Needless to say, I didn't succeed. But the sheer effort of trying was enough to take away a lot of the fun. And fun is something it's easy for parents to lose sight of. Which is a shame, because raising young children should be tons of fun.

Having grown up in a family where way too much anxiety existed, I brought to my own mothering the desire to spare my children that feeling. I didn't want them to have to experience even the small disappointments of birthday party invitations that didn't arrive, not winning the baseball game, not getting to wear the prettiest dress.

I tried to protect them and was often successful, but no parent can ever succeed in shielding her children from the real sorrows life delivers. And recently, I've realized that as much as I love my children, I wouldn't want them to experience life without disappointment or hardship or grief. I've come to realize that adversity actually makes a person compassionate and strong. I now understand that there's no avoiding disappointment, no way to control your child's universe. And it's just as well.

These days, when I watch my son get defeated at a tennis tournament or tell my daughter that we can't afford a college that doesn't provide scholarships, what seems most important is not to make my children's lives perfect or spare them pain but to raise them to be strong in the face of life's inevitable roadblocks.

I believe my three children are happy people today, because they carry an internal sense of well-being that's dependent on no person or thing but only on their own strong identity. I plan to be around to mother my kids for many years to come. But it's reassuring to know that they could get along without me. And that, of course, is what all parents are trying to accomplish.

Joyce MAYNARD is a contributing editor of PARENTING and the publisher of the quarterly newsletter Domestic Affairs (P.O. Box 1135, Keene, NH 03431;

The Price of Children

This is just too good not to pass on to all. Something absolutely positive for a change. I have repeatedly seen the breakdown of the cost of raising a child, but this is the first time I have seen the rewards listed this way. It's nice, The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140 for a middle income family. Talk about sticker shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition. But $160,140 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into:

· $8,896.66 a year,
· $741.3 month, or * $171.08 a week.
· That's a mere $24.24 a day!
· Just over a dollar an hour.

Still, you might think the best financial advice is don't have children if you want to be "rich." Actually, it is just the opposite.

What do you get for your $160,140?

Naming rights. First, middle, and last!
Glimpses of God every day.
Giggles under the covers every night.
More love than your heart can hold.
Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.
Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.
A hand to hold, usually covered with jelly or chocolate.
A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites
Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.
For $160,140, you never have to grow up. You get to:

finger-paint,
carve pumpkins,
play hide-and-seek,
catch lightning bugs, and
never stop believing in Santa Claus. You have an excuse to:
keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh,
watching Saturday morning cartoons,
going to Disney movies, and
wishing on stars.
You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters for Father's Day.
For $160,140, there is no greater bang for your buck. You get to be a hero just for:

retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof,
taking the training wheels off a bike,
removing a splinter,
filling a wading pool,
coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.
You get a front row seat to history to witness the:

· first step,
· first word,
· first bra,
· first date, and
· first time behind the wheel.

You get to be immortal. You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren and great grandchildren. You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality that no college can match.

In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God. You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits.

So . . one day they will like you, love without counting the cost. That is quite a deal for the price!!!!!!!

Love & enjoy your children & grandchildren!!!!!!!

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An article from www.rogerknapp.com
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Parent Poem - From God with Love

Children are a blessing sent from God above
For us to care and nurture and most of all to love.

God calls us to be parents and gives us all the tools
And when we feel like giving up, our strength He will renew.

Children are a gift from God that He so freely lends
To make it through the childhood years, on Him we must depend.

He must have a presence, you see it must take three
The parents, child and Christ at the center to be a family.

From childhood days to a child full grown
Their joys and hurts are a parent's own.

Times of joy and laughter and those times of tears
The times spent raising a child are surely the best of years.

There comes that time in life when a child will leave the nest
We must send them off with love and a prayer and leave to God the rest.

We've have shared the Word of God, we've taught them right from wrong
Now it's time to let them go and let them write their song.

The faith instilled, the examples lived, and the lessons taught
All gifts that we've given our child, which will never be forgotten.

There are many paths a child can take, right or wrong will remain unknown
But rest assured that in the end, they all lead back to home.

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Article from http://www.love-quotes-and-quotations.com
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Love You Forever by Robert Munch

A mother held her new baby and very slowly rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while she held him, she sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

The baby grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was two years old, and he ran all around the house. He pulled all the books off the shelves. He pulled all the food out of the refrigerator and he took his mother's watch and flushed it down the toilet. Sometimes his mother would say, "this kid is driving me CRAZY!"

But at night time, when that two-year-old was quiet, she opened the door to his room, crawled across the floor, looked up over the side of his bed; and if he was really asleep she picked him up and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. While she rocked him she sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

The little boy grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was nine years old. And he never wanted to come in for dinner, he never wanted to take a bath, and when grandma visited he always said bad words. Sometimes his mother wanted to sell him to the zoo!

But at night time, when he was asleep, the mother quietly opened the door to his room, crawled across the floor and looked up over the side of the bed. If he was really asleep, she picked up that nine-year-old boy and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while she rocked him she sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

The boy grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was a teenager. He had strange friends and he wore strange clothes and he listened to strange music. Sometimes the mother felt like she was in a zoo!

But at night time, when that teenager was asleep, the mother opened the door to his room, crawled across the floor and looked up over the side of the bed. If he was really asleep she picked up that great big boy and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. While she rocked him she sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

That teenager grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was a grown-up man. He left home and got a house across town. But sometimes on dark nights the mother got into her car and drove across town. If all the lights in her son's house were out, she opened his bedroom window, crawled across the floor, and looked up over the side of his bed. If that great big man was really asleep she picked him up and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while she rocked him she sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

Well, that mother, she got older. She got older and older and older. One day she called up her son and said, "You'd better come see me because I'm very old and sick." So her son came to see her. When he came in the door she tried to sing the song. She sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always...

But she couldn't finish because she was too old and sick. The son went to his mother. He picked her up and rocked her back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And he sang this song:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my Mommy you'll be.

When the son came home that night, he stood for a long time at the top of the stairs. Then he went into the room where his very new baby daughter was sleeping. He picked her up in his arms and very slowly rocked her back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while he rocked her he sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

(This was sent to me but originally taken from book by Robert Munsch.
I recommend his books. See: http://www.robertmunsch.com )

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Article from http://www.rogerknapp.com
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Explain GOD - A Child's View

Written by Danny Dutton, age 8, Chula Vista, California,
for his third grade, homework assignment

"One of God's main jobs is making people. He makes them to replace the ones that die so there will be enough people to take care of things here on earth. He doesn't make grown-ups, just babies. I think because they are smaller and easier to make, That way, He doesn't have to take up His valuable time teaching them to talk and walk. He can just leave that to mothers and fathers.

God's second most important job is listening to prayers. An awful lot of this goes on, since some people, like preachers and things, pray at times besides bedtime. God doesn't have time to listen to the radio or TV on account of this. Since He hears everything, not only prayers, there must be a terrible lot of noise in His ears, unless He has thought of a way to turn it off.

God sees everything and hears everything and is everywhere, which keeps Him pretty busy. So you shouldn't go wasting His time by going over your parent's head asking for something they said you couldn't have.

Atheists are people who don't believe in God. I don't think there are any in Chula Vista. At least there aren't any who come to our church.

Jesus is God's Son. He used to do all the hard work like walking on water and performing miracles and trying to teach the people who didn't want to learn about God. They finally got tired of Him preaching to them and they crucified Him. But He was good and kind like His Father and He told His Father that they didn't know what they were doing and to forgive them and God said OK.

His Dad (God) appreciated everything that He had done and all His hard work on earth so He told Him He didn't have to go out on the road anymore. He could stay in heaven. So He did. And now He helps His Dad out by listening to prayers and seeing things which are important for God to take care of and which ones He can take care of Himself without having to bother God. Like the secretary, only more important, of course. You can pray anytime you want and they are sure to hear you because they got it worked out so one of them is on duty all the time.

You should always go to Church on Sunday because it makes God happy, and if there's anybody you want to make happy, it's God. Don't skip church to do something you think will be more fun like going to the beach. This is wrong! And, besides, the sun doesn't come out at the beach until noon anyway.

If you don't believe in God, besides being an atheist, you will be very lonely, because your parent can't go everywhere with You, like to camp, but God can. It is good to know He's around you when you're scared in the dark or when you can't swim very good and you get thrown into real deep water by big kids. But you shouldn't just always think of what God can do for you. I figure God put me here and He can take me back anytime He pleases.

And that's why I believe in God."

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Article from http://www.rogerknapp.com
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Child's Definition of LOVE

Child's Definition of LOVE.

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, "What does love mean?" The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think:

"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love." Rebecca - age 8

When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You know that your name is safe in their mouth." Billy - age 4

"Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other." Karl - age 5

"Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs." Chrissy - age 6

"Love is what makes you smile when you're tired." Terri - age 4

Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK." Danny - age 7

"Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss" Emily - age 8

"Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen," Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)

"If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate," Nikka - age 6

"There are two kinds of love. Our love. God's love. But God makes both kinds of them." Jenny - age 8

"Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday." Noelle - age 7

"Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well." Tommy - age 6

"During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore," Cindy - age 8

"My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night." Clare - age 6

"Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken." Elaine -age 5

"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford." Chris - age 7

"Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day." Mary Ann - age 4

"I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones." Lauren - age 4

"When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you." Karen - age 7

"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross." Mark - age 6

"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget," Jessica - age 8

Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child. The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his Mother asked him what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, "Nothing, I just helped him cry."

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Article from http://www.rogerknapp.com
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