This is too precious to miss...

A 2 yr. old singing 'The Lord's Prayer'.....you have to smile seeing this...
you can't help it....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AR4PQ30VkBk

A picture tells a 'thousand words'.....Are you happy being...YOU?

We start out in life asking all these questions...
Who am I?
Why was I born?
What am I to live for?
Where do I fit in?
What is the meaning of life?
And on and on and on it goes......

Each of us must find our own answers in the 'Quest' of life....
My answer...God, Family, Country.....love, forgiveness, peace, joy, laughter and
good, clean FUN living!
I've found mine.....and I pray that you....all of you....have found yours as well...

A 'Don't Worry + Be Happy' outlook on life.....is perfectly pictured below...
I laugh every time I look at it....
I have been asked about this photo I've used several times on my blog...
It is of a 80 yr. old woman in Cuba smoking a Cuban cigar.
Do you think she gives a flip how she really looks.....?
She has found her place in life....that being....
"I am what I am....take it or leave it....
I am happy just being....ME!"

Lynn, Britt & Cindy... Blonde's have more fun...finally!

Above is blonde women in our family.....
not dumb blonde's for sure....
just ask anyone who knows or works with them...
Of course, they/we do 'dumb things' from time to time......
mostly it gets laughed about...and talked about
with this preface of confession, "Let me tell you about
a dumb thing I did the other day..."
Sharing a day with Lynn and Cindy yesterday was very
rare. We ate India food, visited Thrift Shops, saw Britt at her work,
prayed over the latest batch of Eden's Passion water
and caught up with family news...
Oh, yea, we shared bags of clothes with each other and
Britt got a new 'bra' in the parking lot!
Yep, we needed that!
Mother & Daughter...which is which?
One has a daughter the other has only sons...
Way to go girls!

How to be a good...'Old Person'....

Start when you are young...

There is a story told to me by a friend, Luci....when she was in college, age 20, she met, Edna, who was 80. Edna lived alone in a three-room house two blocks from the college campus.
Her daughter, Marian, and Luci sang together in the church choir and one Sunday Marian invited a group of students to lunch at her mother's home.
Luci tells it like this, "When we approached the little clapboard house where Edna lived, I loved it immediately. There was flowers everywhere - all over the yard as well as in window boxes. Classical music filled the air, along with the smell of fresh baking bread.
Edna, a spry, animated little woman, greeted us all warmly and smilingly asked, "How about a glass of iced tea?" Edna went into the kitchen while I began to browse....
Books were everywhere....on shelves, the floor, the chairs....it was obvious she was reading many of them at once....I asked, "you enjoy reading, Edna?"
"Yes, I love it. I'll never have enough time to read all I want, but I'm making a dent in my list. Some of these books I've had all my life. They're old and weathered...like me," she said, laughing, "but I can't ever throw them away and I'm always adding new ones."
I found that I 'liked' Edna and the way she lived, and I wanted to be with her, learn from her, and memorize how to be at any age.
She used to have little sayings like,

"While I'm making bread, I'm writing poetry in my head." or
"Planting flowers the other day, I worked on memorizing the first six Psalms." or
"I was standing at my kitchen window last week, when it hit me....I think I'll paint the bathroom...so I did." or
"I ran across a French word today while I was reading. Had to look it up so I could keep going."
What was Edna's secret? I do not know but all I know is that...
she simply lived, and lived...simply, every day...all the time!
She put her 'whole self' into everything she did, savoring her moments, counting her blessings, trying new things...

She used to say....'if you want to be happy when you are old.....start young!
Stay centered with the Lord, learn something new every day, ....wear your inside person outside, being who you really are, know that tranquillity is your greatest source of beauty, and don't every stop (for any reason) loving others."

When Luci relates this story I find that I have many "Edna's" who have influenced my life as well. Yet today, sitting at a laptop computer, drawing images from my digital camera, and using all the 'now technology' of life, it would appear that life is .....not simple.
Unless we make it so......just as my mouth tastes and knows...good food....so it is with my mind when I hear and 'taste' truths....

Ecclesiastes 11:8 says....
'However many years a man/woman may live,
let him enjoy them all....'

My friend, Sally and great-granddaughter Kinsley, enjoy 'being young' together....

Happy Easter Message to Our Family...by Brian

Our Easter was quieter this year....the little children, aka: Lil Turkey, Dylan & JJ were with relatives elsewhere.
This year I asked Brian to give our Easter Message....
Brian has put up with all our 'silliness', family drama, love and forgiveness happenings etc. over the years and seems to have a 'calm' and 'sensible' way of approaching life. He has helped me personally clarify many of my 'quagmire moments' and as a result....I've been blessed.
Below is Brian's message to us yesterday.....

Happy Easter!

The words roll off our tongues so easily- we can buy cards from Wal-Mart, we can make baskets of candy and dress in bright colors and eat the candy.
For so many people, Easter, like Christmas, has become a commercial exercise.
Being part of your extended family has renewed my own faith in Christ, and helped me to be able to put this message together today.
Today's message that I wanted to cover is around ...Sacrifice.
What does sacrifice mean?
How many times have you pulled up to an intersection and seen a homeless person asking for spare change or food... And just smiled and drove on?
Or found spare change to give them.. Enough that you felt good about yourself, but not too much that you had to question whether it was too much or if you could afford it?
How many times have you not answered the phone when you saw it was someone you didn't want to talk to? You just knew that you were too busy to deal with that person and solve whatever issue you had with them- that you didn't have the time to give and would rather let the issue continue on forever.
How many times have you seen injustice in the world, even in our own country, but never bothered to get involved because you felt you couldn't make a difference because you are just one person, or that it was someone else's issue to solve?
I ask you to think about sacrifice- God gave the ultimate sacrifice for humanity- he gave his Son. Imagine yourself in that position- can anyone even begin to comprehend the gravity of that kind of offering?
As you go about life, reconsider what sacrifice really IS.
I challenge everyone to reach into their wallet rather than the spare change dish next time they see the homeless person. Next time that phone rings and its from someone you have had a falling out with- answer it and spend time both talking to and listening to them.
And if you see things going on in our country or in our world that you don't like - get involved- write a letter to your congressman, volunteer in a charitable organization, get people to go to the voting booth with you.
Easter is about more than buying candy, dressing in an Easter Bunny suit and simply saying Happy Easter. The good news of the Easter message is that Jesus can forgive your sins, remove all doubt of what happens after you die.....and give you a more joyful life today.
He asks only one thing according to John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."
Thanks, Brian, for your 'sensible' message
to our family.....
Chad, presents a special gift to his Dad...
A picture signed personally by Dan Marino

when he was inducted into the football Hall of Fame....

Pops loves it, of course!

Smile....it is....Easter Britt!

Inspiration .....happens!

Today is....Good Friday!

Know what 'Good Friday' means to me......Sunday's coming!

Yep, we all know the Crucifixion/Resurrection/Easter story in the USA especially since we learned it on our 'Mother's knee'.....

In our family as we celebrate the real meaning of Easter....or Christmas.....sometimes the event needs a translater.....

.....The celebration can go like this....

"O.K. listen up you guys, MaMa or Pops, or Lynn, or Chuck, or Chad or Matt, or Joshua or.....(and the list goes on and on)..... now will 'give the message'...."

And for a brief period of time, a wild, rambuncious, love to 'cut up' group of family members stop

and 'respect the sacred' long enough for whoever is chosen beforehand....to give the real meaning of this day....

A few Easter's ago it was Matthew's turn.....Lynn had gone to St. Cloud to get her Aunt Shyrl for Easter so it was a 'special' event for her as well.

Matthew opens his Bible, Joshua throws a gel stick Spider Man on the glass doors and everyone 'cracks up' laughing....

Matthew tries again and someone says, "Chad, do you know that there is big sales tag on that chair that Matt is sitting in?"...."Yes, I just got it yesterday but am returning it tomorrow so I didn't take it off!"......

Finally an older member of the family has to put a stop to this foolishness (this is on video) and says....."O.K. enough.....go ahead Matt...."

And as Matthew begins to read and explain the Easter story from the Message Bible.....something funny happened.....a quiet hush, a sacred moment in time, a simple message of faith as told by a 22 yr. old takes place...our heart is opened to the gift we are receiving and everyone present is .......blessed!"

We were inspired to live our lives in the 'simpicity' of faith as explained by Matthew....

he made it easy for us to understand that......

AND WE LISTENED.......Inspiration happened!

The 'Easter' story....no eggs or bunnies here...

Family Tree....check it out....

Geni Family Tree

I've been a user of Geni.com for a while now, and my (recorded) extended family now numbers 303 and growing!

It's a great way to keep track of all the family all over the world, as well as a tool to show my kids the generations before them. Although not generally accessible without invitation, Geni recently introduced a sharing feature, allowing me to show below a part of my "immediate" snippet of family tree.
Anyone reading this and related to me who has not yet got an 'invite', let me know:-)

Family tree from Geni.com

View more of Mary Faith's tree  |  Get your own family tree at Geni.com

Let's Get It On!

Have you ever heard anyone say, "Hey, I've got a good idea!"?

Or as my brother, Dockie, says often upon arising early in the morn,

"You know, I've been thinking!"

Then you know that trouble or a 'great adventure' is in the offing...

Today's 'good word' for me makes this kind of 'light bulb idea' an

exciting possibility....

New Adventures
I move forward with enthusiasm for my next adventure.
Now is the time—time for the good and the new—

for acting on ideas that have inspired me.
As a child of God, I am guided in ways that lead me to share

more good with more people.
I release any unproductive or stagnant patterns from my past

and embrace the innovative.
My new adventures take many forms,

and this may bring a time of change to my lifestyle.
I may have opportunities for a new career, to relocate, or to travel.
This very day, I discover expanded ways to serve God.
With each adventure, I experience greater freedom of expression.
Valuing opportunities to share,

I give the very best I have to give and I receive with gratitude.
I welcome new adventures, the freedom they bring me,

and the good they bring into my life
and into the lives of others.

“Whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all.”

—Galatians 6:10

From Sea to Shining Sea....

"The earth is the Lord's and ALL that is in it,
the world, and those who live in it:
for He has founded it on the seas,
and established it on the rivers..." Psalm 24:1-2

Beautiful Kissimmee River........

Grand Canyon + South Rim + Years Ago...Still a 'Special' Moment In Time

...A grain of sand....do you realize how small one little, tiny grain of sand actually is?
That is the only way I can describe the picture of me above....a very small speck of a human being in the vast, immense, magnificent backdrop of God's beautiful nature in the Grand Canyon...My heart sang....my soul was thrilled, my mind could not actually fathom the greatness, the grandeur of the moment....until I later went to the Psalms and they spoke for me....and explained my 'feeling' to me....then I knew!

....Psalm 104:34......
"May He Be Pleased With My Song, for My Gladness...Comes...From...Him!"

Let's Laugh Now!

OOPS, Now that is 'falling between the cracks' for sure!
Don't laugh....it could happen to you, too.....

You know, a funny thing happened as I read my Bible this morning....
Reading through the Bible this year (New Year's resolve, yuk!) I find
myself in the pessimistic book of...Ecclesiastes.
But, lo and behold, as I was reading in my 'just get er done' mindset there
right before me came a laser beam of light that awoke my soul....
....In Ch. 9:7-10 (Message Bible) .......it says this,
"Each day is God's gift.
Oh yes - God takes pleasure in your pleasure!"
I can certainly see how I, as a parent, take pleasure in my children's...pleasure!
And so it is with our loving Heavenly Father.
Thanks, Lord, I needed that!

Be Blessed!

Yesterday meeting with my prayer girls, Abby and Nancy, at a local restaurant was a real treat...Usually we meet at each other's house and have our prayer time and then go to lunch.
Yesterday we had to combine both...Abby is busy 'renovating' their condo, Nancy is off to seeing her husband in Virginia before he leaves for Kuwait plus helping her child who is a 'single Mom' and I, too, have a lot of 'irons in the fire'......Southern talk, don't you know?
At any rate, our 'chapel' became the local restaurant....the owner, whom Abby knew, came out and she gave us her prayer request for her health....Patty was a beautiful Christian lady and we briefly talked and 'praised God' for His miracles....
Today I ask myself, why does an actual building have to be perceived as to .....'contain God'?
Yes, the beauty of a 'House of Worship'....a unique chapel in the woods, a trip to the 'Wailing Wall' in Jerusalem are all beneficial to our spiritual heart....and I have experienced these....but the real place of worship lies in our own heart!
As we meet with others who are 'like minded' the hearts unite to form and invisible sanctuary that is.....HOLY!
Love is given and received between the hearts that are united with God whose presence is obvious within....
This was our experience yesterday and we came away refreshed, ready to face the world again with a full heart of JOY....
And indeed, we did discuss things that were not spiritual in the least....like getting a new 'Dooney & Bourke' purse for Nancy whose 3 yr. old one was 'too small'...and her husband saying 'Yes' yet when she got to the register to pay she says, 'No way can I pay this!" and puts it back....we tell her she is a 'fool' and laugh hilariously!
Our human flaws, our 'seemingly silly' ways of being together as prayer girls have been a 15 year odyssey of life....we have seen life changes in our family and friends, we have seen miracles galore, we have walked through births, deaths, marriages, divorces, jobs given and taken, houses bought and sold, wayward children going and coming, and the list goes on and on....
Each of us go to different churches on Sunday morning......yet our life-long commitment to God and Family weave us together in a way that is....unexplainable!
God placed us together as a team....a SWAT team so to speak....to stand in the gap, as needed, and work with Him 'for good' wherever we are each day...
Mission Accomplished......no building involved here.....just 'building lives' day by day...by Faith!

Anthony Chapel in Hot Springs, Arkansas...


Psalm 9:1-2 Message Bible...."I'm thanking You, God, from a full heart.
I'm writing the book on Your wonders.
I'm whistling, laughing, and jumping for joy;
I'm singing Your song, O my God!"
My prayer for .....YOU!

Chad's 'thought for the day' below fits in perfectly with my today's writing...I am 'not guilty' ....

"Plenty of people miss their share of happiness, not because they never found it, but because they didn't stop to enjoy it."

William Feather1889-1981, Writer

Isla Margarita, Venezuela.... La Restinga Parque Nacional

Isla Margarita (Margarita Island), Venezuela, a tropical Caribbean island paradise, is situated off the north coast of Venezuela. (click on pictures to enlarge)

We had a very thoughtful tour driver named Gregory, who, upon discovering we were 'boaters' took us to their ' Laguna La Restinga National Park....Lagoon National Park which has 1,800 Canals...Peninsula Macanao is a large lagoon filled with mangroves, oysters, sea horses, fish and many birds.

Our boat driver, Capt. Jesus'(real name) ,

pictured below was extremely informative and helpful.

He reached down and picked from the water live starfish and we learned that with seahorses it is the male seahorse that has the babies (true).

On the pictures below you see a pregnant seahorse.

The boat ride itself contained the 6 of us for an hour drive thru many of the the Amazon's canals and it only cost $20.00 for all of us...

,

Of course, the 'political views' of their anti-American President, Hugo Chavez, were in our thoughts...Being with the islands people gave us an insight into the preservation of nature which gave them their livelihood....plus tourism...

Cars were old, poverty was there, but nature was rich and plentiful....

All in all....the beauty of God's world in the Amazon Rain forest area....was awesome!

Health is the first.....Wealth!

Time flies by swiftly just when I am looking for a day to 'stop and smell the roses'....Listening briefly to the birds sing yesterday was only for a short moment ...All the time I was hearing their joyful singing my mind was racing through the project I was involved with, planning the next thing that just 'had' to be done etc.
I did not relish the moment and let it seep into my soul..
As a result, I lost a chance to replenish my spirit with the gift that nature was offering up to me in my own back yard.
What a loss!
Too many chances lost like this is very costly to me and I know this by experience.
Filling my life with doing, doing, doing is tiresome even if the doing is 'pleasurable'...
One of my greatest joys is in 'spiritual renewal' with God through....nature.
Where ever we have lived or traveled in the military, exploring and drinking of nature in that area has been my God-given gift...
Believe it or not, even on our cruise nature was my drink every morning.
Looking out at the ocean view window the moment I awoke was sheer joy to me...
Loving the water, being on the water to sleep and awake became an elixir of pure joy; in addition, exploring islands, waterfalls, sulfur volcano's, jungle cruise canals surrounded by all kind of interesting people was certainly a 'dream come true' time...
Therefore if I neglect nature's awesome moments in my own back yard .....
I neglect my own health!

Reading my today's devotion in the book of Ecclesiastes shows me my loss anew:
Make the Most of What God Gives...
Prov. 5:18-20 Message Bible......."We should make the most of what God gives,
both the bounty and the CAPACITY TO ENJOY IT,
accepting what's given and delighting in the work...
It's God's gift!
God deals out joy in the present, the N O W! "
These are God's thoughts from God's Word, The Bible!
Yep, that is exactly what it says and this ....is my Rx for full health...
The capacity to enjoy life...comes as a gift from God!
Thanks, God, for my gift of....Today!

Enjoying the God-given-Good Life on
a canal on Margurita Island, Venezuela...

Poor Me?

To all you dancers.....and dreamers......and 'feeling-sorry-for me-today' people....
If you need inspiration....as all of us do at times.....read below....
Read below first, then click on the link at the bottom.
The dancers are acting out their true life's story.
-----The lady in her 30s was a dancer and was trained since she was a little girl.
Later she got into an accident and lost her entire left arm.
She was depressed for a few years. It seemed that someone asked her to coach a children's dancing group. From that point on, she realized she could not forget dancing.
She still loved to dance and she wanted to dance again.
So she started to do some of her old routine. But by her losing an arm, she also lost her balance.
It took awhile before she could even make simple turns and spins without falling.
Eventually she got it.
Then she heard about a guy in his 20's had lost a leg in an accident.
This guy also fell into the usual denial, depression and anger type of emotional roller coaster. She looked him up (seemingly he was from a different Province) and persuaded him to dance with her. He had never danced.
And to dance with one leg?
Are you joking with me? No way.
But she didn't give up.
He reluctantly agreed.
" I have nothing else to do anyway."
She started to teach him dancing 101.
The two broke up a few times because the guy had no concept of using muscle, control his body, and a few other basic things about dancing.
When she became frustrated and lost patience with him, he would walk out.
Eventually they came back together and started training.
They hired a choreographer to design routines for them.
She would fly high (held by him) with both arms (a sleeve for a arm) flying in the air.
He could bend horizontally supported by one leg and she leaning on him, etc.
They danced beautifully and they legitimately beat others in the competition.
I would like to share with you this most magnificent and touching performance!
It is living proof that a strong spirit can conquer any physical llimitations.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnLVRQCjh8c