From the Inbox

[Tina]

A prayer for today:

Dear Lord, I thank You for this day I thank You for my being able to see and to hear this morning. I'm blessed because You are a forgiving God and an understanding God. You have done so much for me and You keep on blessing me. Forgive me this day for everything I have done, said or thought that was not pleasing to you.

I ask now for Your forgiveness. Please keep me safe from all danger and harm. Help me to start this day with a new attitude and plenty of gratitude Let me make the best of each and every day to clear my mind so that I can hear from You. Please broaden my mind that I can accept all things. Let me not whine and whimper over things I have no control over.
And It's the best response when I'm pushed beyond my limits.

I know that when I can't pray, You listen to my heart. Continue to use me to do Your will. Continue to bless me that I may be a blessing to others. Keep me strong that I may help the weak... Keep me uplifted that I may have words of encouragement for others. I pray for those that are lost and can't find their way. I pray for those that are misjudged and misunderstood. I pray for those who don't know You intimately. I pray for those that don't believe.

But I thank you that I believe. I believe that God changes people and God changes things. I pray for all my sisters and brothers. For each and every family member in their households. I pray for peace, love and joy in their homes that they are out of debt and all their needs are met. I pray that every eye that reads this knows there is no problem, circumstance, or situation greater than God. Every battle is in Your hands for You to fight.
I pray that these words be received into the hearts of every eye that sees
it.

[Tina]

http://www.flashdemo.net/gallery/wake/index.htm

[Tina]

A man was exploring caves by the seashore. In one of the caves he found a canvas bag with a bunch of hardened clay balls. It was like someone had rolled clay balls and left them out in the sun to bake.

They didn't look like much, but they intrigued the man so he took the bag ouf of the cave with him. As he strolled along the beach, he would throw one of the clay balls one at a time out into the ocean as far as he could.

He thought little about it until he dropped one of the clay balls, and it cracked upon a rock. Inside was a beautiful precious stone.

Excited, the man started cracking the remaining clay balls against the rock. Inside each one was a similar treasure. He found thousands of dollars worth of jewels in the 20 or so remaining clay balls that he had left. Then it struck him.

He had been on the beach a long time. He had thrown 50 or 60 clay balls with their hidden treasure into the ocean waves. Instead of taking home thousands of dollars worth of treasures, he could have taken home tens of thousands, but he had just thrown it away.

It's like that with people. We look at someone, maybe even ourselves, and we see the external clay vessel. It doesn't look like much from the outside. It isn't always beautiful or sparkling, so we discount it.

We see that person as less important than someone who is more beautiful or stylish or well known or wealthy---but we have not taken the time to find the treasure hidden inside that person.

There is a treasure in each and every one of us. If we take the time to get to know that person, and if we ask God to show us that person the way that he sees them-- then the clay begins to peel away and the brilliant gem begins to shine forth.

May we not come to the end of our lives and realize that we have thrown away a fortune in friendships because the gems were hidden in bits of clay.

May we see the people in our world as God sees them.

I am so blessed by the gems of friendship that I have with each of you.
Thank you for looking beyond my clay vessel.

[BoredOutOfMyMind]

Originally Posted by Tina

http://www.flashdemo.net/gallery/wake/index.htm

If I die before you wake...

Back home now I know you're probably sleepin'
Over here it's the middle of the day
I finally found the time to write a letter
Sittin' here a half a world away


I heard about all them folks protestin'
As if I really want this war
But that don't stop me from believin'
There's just some things worth fightin' for

CHORUS
And if I die before you wake,
I pray the world will take
A good look at what God's given us
That we could only understand,
everything is in his hands
All we need is a little faith and trust
I want you to know it ain't too high a price to pay
If I die before you wake

Tell everybody that I miss them
And I can't wait to get back home
But until then I'll serve my country
And be proud to wear this uniform

CHORUS
No it ain't too high a price to pay
If I die before you wake

[Theresa]

Hope Rides Alone
By Eddie Jeffers

I stare out into the darkness from my post, and I watch the city burn to the
ground. I smell the familiar smells, I walk through the familiar rubble,
and I look at the frightened faces that watch me pass down the streets of
their neighborhoods. My nerves hardly rest; my hands are steady on a device
that
has been given to me from my government for the purpose of taking the lives
of others.

I sweat, and I am tired. My back aches from the loads I carry. Young
American boys look to me to direct them in a manner that will someday allow
them to see their families again...and yet, I too, am just a boy....my age not
but a few years more than that of the ones I lead. I am stressed, I am scared,
and I am paranoid...becau se death is everywhere. It waits for me, it calls
to me from around street corners and windows, and it is always there.

There are the demons that follow me, and tempt me into thoughts and actions
that are not my own...but that are necessary for survival. I've made
compromises with my humanity. And I am not alone in this. Miles from me
are my brethren in this world, who walk in the same streets...who feel the same
things, whether they admit to it or not.

And to think, I volunteered for this...

And I am ignorant to the rest of the world...or so I thought.

But even thousands of miles away, in Ramadi , Iraq , the cries and screams
and complaints of the ungrateful reach me. In a year, I will be thrust back
into society from a life and mentality that doesn't fit your average man.
And then, I will be alone. And then, I will walk down the streets of America ,
and see the yellow ribbon stickers on the cars of the same people w ho compare
our President to Hitler.

I will watch the television and watch the Cindy Sheehans, and the Al
Frankens, and the rest of the ignorant sheep of America spout off their
mouths about a subject they know nothing about. It is their right, however, and
it is a
right that is defended by hundreds of thousands of boys and girls scattered
across the world, far from home. I use the word boys and girls, because
that's what they are. In the Army, the average age of the infantryman is
nineteen years old. The average rank of soldiers killed in action is Private
First
Class.

People like Cindy Sheehan are ignorant. Not just to this war, but to the
results of their idiotic ramblings, or at least I hope they are. They
don't realize its effects on this war. In this war, there are no Geneva
Conventions, no cease fires. Medics and Chaplains are not spared from the
enemy's
brutality because it's against the rules. I can only imagine the horrors a
military Chaplain would experience at the hands of the enemy.
The enemy slinks in the shadows and fights a coward's war against us. It
is effective though, as many men and women have died since the start of this
war. And the memory of their service to America is tainted by the
inconsiderate remarks on our nation's news outlets. And every day, the
enemy changes...only now, the enemy is becoming something new. The enemy is
transitioning from the Muslim extremists to Americans. The enemy is becoming
the very
people whom we defend with our lives. And they do not realize it. But in
denouncing our actions, denouncing our leaders, denouncing the war we live
and fight, they are isolating the military from society...and they are becoming
our
enemy.

Democrats and peace activists like to toss the word "quagmire" around and
compare this war to Vietnam . In a way they are right, this war is becoming
l ike Vietnam . Not the actual war, but in the isolation of country and
military. America is not a nation at war; they are a nation with its military
at
war. Like it or not, we are here, some of us for our second, or third times;
some even for their fourth and so on. Americans are so concerned now with
politics, that it is interfering with our war.

Terrorists cut the heads off of American citizens on the internet...and
there is no outrage, but an American soldier kills an Iraqi in the midst of
battle, and there are investigations, and sometimes soldiers are even
jailed...for doing their job.

It is absolutely sickening to me to think our country has come to this.
Why are we so obsessed with the bad news? Why will people stop at nothing to
be against this war, no matter how much evidence of the good we've done is
thrown in their face? When is the last time CNN or MSNBC or CBS reported
the opening of schools and hospitals in Iraq ? Or the leaders of terror cells
being detained or killed? It's all happening, but people will not let up their
hatred of Bush. They will ignore the good news, because it just might show
people that Bush was right.

America has lost its will to fight. It has lost its will to defend what is
right and just in the world. The crazy thing of it all is that the
American people have not even been asked to sacrifice a single thing. It's not
like
World War Two, where people rationed food, and turned in cars to be made
into metal for tanks. The American people have not been asked to sacrifice
anything. Unless you are in the military or the family member of a
service member, its life as usual...the war doesn't affect you.

But it affects us. And when it is over, and the troops come home, and they
try to piece together what's left of them after their service...where will
the detractors be then? Where will the Cindy Sheehans be to comfort and
talk to soldiers and help them sort out the last couple years of their lives,
most of which have been spent dodging death and wading through the deaths of
their friends? They will be where they always are, somewhere far away, where
the
horrors of the world can't touch them. Somewhere where they can complain
about things they will never experience in their lifetime; things that the
young men and women of America have willingly taken upon their shoulders.

We are the hope of the Iraqi people. They want what everyone else wants in
life: safety, security, somewhere to call home. They want a country that
is safe to raise their children in. Not a place where their children will be
abducted, raped, and murdered if they do not comply with the terrorists
demands. They want to live on, rebuild and prosper. And America has given
them the opportunity, but only if we stay true to the cause, and see it to its
end.
But the country must unite in this endeavor...we cannot place the burden on
our military alone. We must all stand up and fight, whether in uniform or
not. And supporting us is more than sticking yellow ribbon stickers on
your cars. It's supporting our President, our troops and our cause.

Right now, the burden is all on the American soldiers. Right now, hope
rides alone. But it can change, it must change. Because there is only
failure and darkness ahead for us as a country, as a people, if it doesn't.

Let's stop all the political nonsense, let's stop all the bickering, let's
stop all the bad news, and let's stand and fight!

Isn't that what America is about anyway?

[BoredOutOfMyMind]

How to properly place new employees


1. Put 400 bricks in a closed room.

2. Put your new hires in the room and close the door.

3. Leave them alone and come back after 6 hours.

4. Then analyze the situation:
a. If they are counting the bricks, put them in the Accounting Department.
b. If they are recounting them, put them in Auditing.
c. If they have messed up the whole place with the bricks, put them in Engineering.
d. If they are arranging the bricks in some strange order, put them
in Planning.
e. If they are throwing the bricks at each other, put them in Operations.
f. If they are sleeping, put them in Security.
g. If they have broken the bricks into pieces, put them in Information Technology.
h. If they are sitting idle, put them in Human Resources.
i. If they say they have tried different combinations, they are looking for more, yet not a brick has been moved, put them in Sales.
j. If they have already left for the day, put them in Management.
k. If they are staring out of the window, put them in Strategic Planning.
l. If they are talking to each other, and not a single brick has been moved, congratulate them and put them in Top Management.
m. Finally, if they have surrounded themselves with bricks in such a way that they can neither be seen nor heard from, put them in Congress.

[BoredOutOfMyMind]

Rudy's Last Chance To Save The Nation

[Rhoni]

?
This could happen to you.

I was barely sitting down when I heard a voice from the other stall saying:
"Hi, how are you?"

I'm not the type to start a conversation in the restroom but I don't know what got into me, so I answered, somewhat embarrassed,
"Doin' just fine!"

And the other person says:
"So what are you up to?"

What kind of question is that? At that point, I'm thinking this is too bizarre so I say:
"Uhhh, I'm like you, just traveling!"

At this point I am just trying to get out as fast as I can when I hear another question.
"Can I come over?"

Ok, this question is just too weird for me but I figured I could just be polite and end the conversation. I tell them
"No.......I'm a little busy right now!!!"

Then I hear the person say nervously...

"Listen, I'll have to call you back. There's an idiot in the other stall who keeps answering all my questions.

[Tina]

HOW TO GET TO PARIS FRANCE (according to google)



1. Go to google.com.

2. Click on Maps.

3. Click on Get Directions.

4. From: New York, New York.

5. To: Paris, France.

6. Then, pay special attention to line #23.

[Tina]

After you open the website below, just click your mouse anywhere on the black space to create your garden of flowers. Technology continues to be amazing ..
P.S. Try holding down the mouse button and dragging it across the page. Also Neat!


GO TO: http://www.procreo.jp/labo/flower_garden.swf