Just A Thought...

2004-05-16T18:17:00.000-05:00

A Memo From God...

Effective immediately...

Please be aware that there are changes
You need to make in your life.
These changes need to be completed in order that
I may fulfill My promises to you.
My desire is to grant you peace, joy and happiness.
I know that this might seem to be a lot to ask,
but please if you follow these guidelines,
you will help Me and make My job a lot easier.

STOP WORRYING:
Sure life has dealt you a blow
and it's natural to sit and worry.
Have you forgotten that I am here
to take your burdens and carry them for you?
Or do you enjoy fretting over every little thing that comes you way?

PUT IT ON THE LIST:
If you need something to be done or taken care of,
put it on the list.
No, not YOUR list.
Put it on MY to-do-list.
Let ME be the one to take care of your problem.
Remember I can't do a thing until you hand it over to Me.
And remember I have already taken care of a lot of things for you;
things you never even knew about.

TRUST ME:
Have I not been there for you in the past?
Why not let Me do My job?
Once you give your burdens to Me, don't take them back.
Trust Me, I am still God.
I will take care of your needs, your problems,
your healing, and your trials.
Take your problems, AND PUT THEM ON THE LIST!
Emotional roller coasting?
That's My concern, for My sake, I want to help you.
All you have to do is ask.

LEAVE IT ALONE:
Don't think because, all of a sudden,
you begin to feel better and the corner seems to have turned,
that you can handle it on your on from now on.
It's only because you handed your burdens over to Me
and I have taken care of them.
I will also renew your strength and cover you in peace.
Don't you know that if I give you those problems back,
you will just be right back where you started.
Leave them with Me, forget about them.
Just let Me do My job.

TALK TO ME:
Oh, how I love to hear from you.
You are My friend.
I don't want you to suffer.
I want you to forget all the bad things.
Forget the worry and STOP FRETTING.
I AM IN CONTROL!
Just don't forget.
We need to talk, OFTEN.
I desire your fellowship.
I love you and long to hear your voice.
I want you to include Me in every facet of your life.
Prayer is simply you having a conversation with Me.
And I so much want to be your best friend!

HAVE FAITH IN ME:
I promised I would not leave you nor forsake you!
And I see a lot of things you can't see from where you are.
Have faith in what I am doing.
Trust Me, I will continue to care for you, to watch over you.
I have set you apart and no matter what your situation,
I will do what is best for you and I WILL give you
My peace for as long as you want it.
I know I have a big job,
but you can do your part by just trusting Me.
After all I am GOD and I am able to do ALL THINGS!
Just do your part and leave the rest to Me.

SHARE:
There are others less fortunate than you.
They don't know Me.
How about giving them My prayer address.
I would love to help them also,
to share your joy and your laughter with.
They probably need it more than you.
Share your tears with those who have forgotten how to cry.
Be aware of the people around you.
Encourage them in their circumstances.
Most important, SHARE YOUR FAITH WITH THEM!

BE PATIENT:
I have spent a lifetime taking care of you and your problems,
most of the time you didn't know that I was lifting you up
and carrying you in your time of need.
I know that there are probably a lot of things on your to-do-list
that you want done now, but be patient.
Trust in My timing.
FOR MY TIMING IS PERFECT.
I don't want to rush, everything I do for you must be perfect!

BE KIND:
Most important, be kind to others.
I love them just as much as I love you.
I don't want them hurt.
I know that they might not be as
Well off or as good looking as you.
Some won't even talk like you and dress as well as you.
But, I still love them too.
Please know I love all your differences.

LOVE YOURSELF:
If I love you so much,
how can you not love yourself?
I created you to be loved, and to love in return.
It makes My heart ache when you get angry with yourself
when things go wrong.
You are very precious to Me.
DON'T FORGET THAT.

With all My heart I love you, so please trust Me,

GOD

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My Personal Pages

View My Photo Album

Email Cheryl

Let It Go...

2004-05-16T17:06:00.000-05:00

There are people who can walk away from you. And hear me
when I tell you this! When people can walk away from you:
let them walk.

I don't want you to try to talk another person into standing with you,
loving you, calling you, caring about you, coming to see you,
staying attached to you. I mean hang up the phone.

When people can walk away from you let them walk.
Your destiny is never tied to anybody that left.
The bible said that, they came out from us that it might be made
manifest that they were not for us. For had they been of us,
no doubt they would have continued with us. [1John 2:19]

People leave you because they are not joined to you.
And if they are not joined to you, you can't make them stay.
Let them go. And it doesn't mean that they are a bad
person it just means that their part in the story is over.

And you've got to know when people's part in your story is
over so that you don't keep trying to raise the dead.
You've got to know when it's dead.
You've got to know when it's over.

Let me tell you something.
I've got the gift of good-bye.
It's the tenth spiritual gift, I believe in good-bye.
It's not that I'm hateful, it's that I'm faithful, and I
know whatever God means for me to have He'll give it to me.
And if it takes too much sweat I don't need it.
Stop begging people to stay. Let them go!!

If you are holding on to something that doesn't belong to
you and was never intended for your life, then you need
to . . . LET IT GO!!!

If you are holding on to past hurts and pains. LET IT GO!!!

If someone can't treat you right, love you back, and see
your worth . . . LET IT GO!!!

If someone has angered you . . . LET IT GO!!!

If you are holding on to some thoughts of evil and
revenge . . . LET IT GO!!!

If you are involved in a wrong relationship or addiction . . .
LET IT GO!!!

If you are holding on to a job that no longer meets your
needs or talents . . . LET IT GO!!!

If you have a bad attitude . . . LET IT GO!!!

If you keep judging others to make yourself feel better . . .
LET IT GO!!!

If you're stuck in the past and God is trying to take you to
a new level in Him . . . LET IT GO!!!

If you are struggling with the healing of a broken
relationship . . . LET IT GO!!!

If you keep trying to help someone who won't even try to help
themselves . . . LET IT GO!!!

If you're feeling depressed and stressed . . . LET IT GO!!!

If there is a particular situation that you are so used to
handling yourself and God is saying "take your hands off of
it," then you need to . . . LET IT GO!!!

Let the past be the past. Forget the former things. GOD is
doing a new thing for 2004!!! LET IT GO!!!

My Personal Pages

View My Photo Album

Email Cheryl

2004-05-16T17:02:00.000-05:00

When I was in my younger days,
I weighed a few pounds less,
I needn't hold my tummy in
to wear a belted dress.

But now that I am older,
I've set my body free;
There's comfort of elastic
Where once my waist would be.

Inventor of those high-heeled shoes
My feet have not forgiven;
I have to wear a eight now,
But used to wear a seven.

And how about those pantyhose--
They're sized by weight, you see,
So how come when I put them on
The crotch is at my knee?

I need to wear these glasses
As the print's been getting smaller;
And it wasn't very long ago
I know that I was taller.

Though my hair has turned to gray
and my skin no longer fits,
On the inside, I'm the same old me,
the outside's changed a bit.

But, on a positive note...
I've learned that no matter what happens,
or how bad it seems today,
life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.

I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person
by the way he/she handles these three things:
a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.

I've learned that regardless of your relationship
with your parents,
you'll miss them when they're gone from your life.

I've learned that making a "living" is
not the same thing as making a "life."

I've learned that life sometimes
gives you a second chance.

I've learned that you shouldn't go through life
with a catcher's mitt on both hands.
You need to be able to throw something back.

I've learned that whenever I decide something
with an open heart,
I usually make the right decision.

I've learned that even when I have pains,
I don't have to be one.

I've learned that every day you should reach out
and touch someone.
People love a warm hug,
or just a friendly pat on the back.

I've learned that I still have a lot to learn.
I've learned that people will forget what you said,
people will forget what you did,
but people will never forget how you made them feel.

My Personal Pages

View My Photo Album

Email Cheryl

Hey Mom! Remember When...

2004-05-14T16:58:00.001-05:00

Back In The Day...

My Mom used to cut chicken, chop eggs and spread mayo on the same cutting board with the same knife and no bleach, but we didn't seem to get food poisoning.

My Mom used to defrost hamburger on the counter AND I used to eat it raw sometimes too, but I can't remember getting e-coli.

Almost all of us would have rather gone swimming in the lake instead of a pristine pool (talk about boring).

The term cell phone would have conjured up a phone in a jail cell, and a pager was the school PA system.

We all took gym, not PE.. and risked permanent injury with a pair of high top Ked's (only worn in gym) instead of having cross-training athletic shoes with air cushion soles and built in light reflectors. I can't recall any injuries but they must have happened because they tell us how much safer we are now. Flunking gym was not an option... even for stupid kids! I guess PE must be much harder than gym.

Every year, someone taught the whole school a lesson by running in the halls with leather soles on linoleum tile and hitting the wet spot. How much better off would we be today if we only knew we could have sued the school system.

Speaking of school, we all said prayers and sang the national anthem and staying in detention after school caught all sorts of negative attention. We must have had horribly damaged psyches.

I can't understand it. Schools didn't offer 14 year olds an abortion or condoms (we wouldn't have known what either was anyway) but they did give us a couple of baby aspirin and cough syrup if we started getting the sniffles.

What an archaic health system we had then. Remember school nurses? Ours wore a hat and everything.

I thought that I was supposed to accomplish something before I was allowed to be proud of myself.

I just can't recall how bored we were without computers, PlayStation, Nintendo, X-box or 270 digital cable stations.

I must be repressing that memory as I try to rationalize through the denial of the dangers that could have befallen us as we trekked off each day about a mile down the road to some guy's vacant lot, built forts out of branches and pieces of plywood, made trails, and fought over who got to be the Lone Ranger. What was that property owner thinking, letting us play on that lot? He should have been locked up for not putting up a fence around the property, complete with a self-closing gate and an infrared intruder alarm.

Oh yeah... and where was the Benadryl and sterilization kit when I got that bee sting? I could have been killed!

We played king of the hill on piles of gravel left on vacant construction sites and when we got hurt, Mom pulled out the 48 cent bottle of Mercurochrome and then we got spanked. Now it's a trip to the emergency room, followed by a 10-day dose of a $49 bottle of antibiotics and then Mom calls the attorney to sue the contractor for leaving a horribly vicious pile of gravel where it was such a threat.

We didn't act up at the neighbor's house either because if we did, we got spanked (physical abuse) here too ... and then we got spanked again when we got home.

Mom invited the door to door salesman inside for coffee, kids choked down the dust from the gravel driveway while playing with Tonka trucks (Remember why Tonka trucks were made tough..it wasn't so that they could take the rough Berber in the family room), and Dad drove a car with leaded gas.

Our music had to be left inside when we went out to play and I am sure that I nearly exhausted my imagination a couple of times when we went on two week vacations. I should probably sue the folks now for the danger they put us in when we all slept in campgrounds in the family tent.

Summers were spent behind the push lawn mower and I didn't even know that mowers came with motors until I was 13 and we got one without an automatic blade-stop or an auto-drive.

How sick were my parents? Of course my parents weren't the only psychos. I recall Donny Reynolds from next door coming over and doing his tricks on the front porch just before he fell off. Little did his Mom know that she could have owned our house. Instead she picked him up and swatted him for being such a goof. It was a neighborhood run amuck.

To top it off, not a single person I knew had ever been told that they were from a dysfunctional family. How could we possibly have known that? We needed to get into group therapy and anger management classes?

We were obviously so duped by so many societal ills, that we didn't even notice that the entire country wasn't taking Prozac! How did we survive?

My Personal Pages

View My Photo Album

Email Cheryl

2004-05-10T17:58:00.000-05:00

Before I Was A Mom...

I made and ate hot meals.
I had unstained clothing.
I had quiet conversations on the phone.
Before I was a Mom,

I slept as late as I wanted.
I never worried about how late I got into bed.
I brushed my hair and my teeth everyday.
Before I was Mom,

I cleaned my house each day.
I never tripped over toys.
I never forgot words to lullabies.
Before I was a Mom,

I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.
Before I was a Mom,

I had never been . . .
puked on, pooped on,
spit on, chewed on,
peed on, or pinched by tiny fingers.
Before I was a Mom,

I had complete control of my mind,
thoughts and body. I slept all night.
Before I was a Mom,

I never held down a screaming child
so that doctors could do tests or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.
Before I was a Mom,

I never held a sleeping baby
just because I didn't want to put it down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces
when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.
Before I was a Mom,

I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a Mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important.
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to
make sure all was okay.
Before I was a Mom,

I had never known . . .the warmth
the joy, the love, the heartache
the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much . . .
Before I was a Mom.

My Personal Pages

View My Photo Album

Email Cheryl

2004-05-09T13:08:00.000-05:00

Why Women Cry...

A little boy asked his mother, "Why are you crying?" "Because I'm a woman," she told him.

"I don't understand," he said. His Mom just hugged him and said, "And you never will."

Later the little boy asked his father, "Why does mother seem to cry for no reason?"

"All women cry for no reason," was all his dad could say.

The little boy grew up and became a man, still wondering why women cry.

Finally he put in a call to God. When God got on the phone, he asked, "God, why do women cry so easily?"

God said:

"When I made the woman she had to be special.

I made her shoulders strong enough to carry the weight of the world, yet gentle enough to give comfort.

I gave her an inner strength to endure childbirth and the rejection that many times comes from her children.

I gave her a hardness that allows her to keep going when everyone else gives up, and take care of her family through sickness and fatigue without complaining.

I gave her the sensitivity to love her children under any and all circumstances, even when her child has hurt her very badly.

I gave her strength to carry her husband through his faults and fashioned her from his rib to protect his heart.

I gave her wisdom to know that a good husband never hurts his wife, but sometimes tests her strengths and her resolve to stand beside him unfalteringly.

And finally, I gave her a tear to shed. This is hers exclusively to use whenever it is needed."

"You see my son," said God, "the beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair.

The beauty of a woman must be seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart - the place where love resides."

My Personal Pages

View My Photo Album

Email Cheryl

MIDLIFE A GREAT TIME?!?!?!

2004-05-06T22:00:00.000-05:00

I've seen two shows lately that went on and on about how mid-life
is a great time for women. Just last week Oprah had a whole show
on how great menopause will be....

Puhleeeeeeeze!

I've had a few thoughts of my own and would like to share them with you.
Whether you are pushing 40, 50, 60 (or maybe even just pushing your luck)
you'll probably relate..

Mid-life is when the growth of hair on our legs slows down.
this gives us plenty of time to care for our newly acquired mustache.

In mid-life women no longer have upper arms, we have wingspans.
We are no longer women in sleeveless shirts, we are flying squirrels in drag.

Mid-life is when you can stand naked in front of a mirror and you can see
your rear without turning around.

Mid-life is when you go for a mammogram and you realize that this is the only
time someone will ask you to appear topless.

Mid-life is when you want to grab every firm young lovely in a tube top and scream,
"Listen honey, even the Roman empire fell and those will too."

Mid-life brings wisdom to know that life throws us curves
and we're sitting on our biggest ones.

Mid-life is when you look at your-know-it-all,
beeper-wearing teenager
and think: "For this I have stretch marks?"

In mid-life your memory starts to go.
In fact the only thing we can retain is water.

Mid-life means that your Body By Jake now includes Legs By Rand McNally
-- more red and blue lines than an accurately scaled map of Wisconsin.

Mid-life means that you become more reflective...
You start pondering the "big" questions. What is life? Why am I here?
How much Healthy Choice ice cream can I eat before it's no longer a healthy choice?

But mid-life also brings with it an appreciation for what is important.

We realize that breasts sag, hips expand and chins double,
but our loved ones make the journey worthwhile.
Would any of you trade the knowledge that you have now
for the body you had way back when?

Maybe our bodies simply have to expand to hold
all the wisdom and love we've acquired.

That's my philosophy and I'm sticking to it!

My Personal Pages

View My Photo Album

Email Cheryl

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

2004-05-06T21:37:00.000-05:00

HAPPY EARLY MOTHER'S DAY"

This is for the mothers who have sat up all night with sick
toddlers in their arms, wiping up barf laced with Oscar Mayer
wieners and cherry Kool-Aid saying, "It's okay honey, Mommy's here."

Who have sat in rocking chairs for hours on end soothing crying
babies who can't be comforted.

This is for all the mothers who show up at work with spit-up in
their hair and milk stains on their blouses and diapers in their
purse.

For all the mothers who run carpools and make cookies and sew
Halloween costumes. And all the mothers who DON'T.

This is for the mothers who gave birth to babies they'll never
see. And the mothers who took those babies and gave them homes.

This is for the mothers whose priceless art collections are
hanging on their refrigerator doors...

And for all the mothers who froze their buns on metal bleachers
at football or soccer games instead of watching from the warmth of
their cars, so that when their kids asked, "Did you see me,
Mom?" they could say, "Of course, I wouldn't have missed it for the world,"
and mean it.

This is for all the mothers who yell at their kids in the
grocery store and swat them in despair when they stomp their feet and
scream for ice cream before dinner. And for all the mothers who count to
ten instead, but realize how child abuse happens.

This is for all the mothers who sat down with their children and
explained all about making babies. And for all the (grand) mothers
who wanted to, but just couldn't find the words.

This is for all the mothers who go hungry, so their children can
eat.

For all the mothers who read "Goodnight, Moon" twice a night for
a year. And then read it again. "Just one more time."

This is for all the mothers who taught their children to tie
their shoelaces before they started school. And for all the mothers
who opted for Velcro instead.

This is for all the mothers who teach their sons to cook and
their daughters to sink a jump shot.

This is for every mother whose head turns automatically when a
little voice calls "Mom?" in a crowd, even though they know
their own offspring are at home -- or even away at college.

This is for all the mothers who sent their kids to school with
stomach aches, assuring them they'd be just FINE once they got
there, only to get calls from the school nurse an hour later asking them to
please pick them up. Right away.

This is for mothers whose children have gone astray, who can't
find the words to reach them.

For all the mothers who bite their lips until they bleed when
their 14 year olds dye their hair green.

For all the mothers of the victims of recent school shootings,
and the mothers of those who did the shooting.

For the mothers of the survivors, and the mothers who sat in
front of their TVs in horror, hugging their child who just came home
from school safely.

This is for all the mothers who taught their children to be
peaceful, and now pray they come home safely from a war.

What makes a good Mother anyway?

Is it patience?
Compassion?
Broad hips?
The ability to nurse a baby, cook dinner,
and sew a button on a shirt, all at the same time?

Or is it in her heart?
Is it the ache you feel when you watch your son or daughter
disappear down the street, walking to school alone for the very
first time?

Or the jolt that takes you from sleep to dread, from bed to crib at
2 A.M. to put your hand on the back of a sleeping baby?

The panic, years later, that comes again at 2 A.M. when you just
want to hear their key in the door and know they are safe again
in your home?

Or the need to flee from wherever you are and hug your child
when you hear news of a fire, a car accident, a child dying?

The emotions of motherhood are universal and so our thoughts are
for young mothers stumbling through diaper changes and sleep
deprivation...

And mature mothers learning to let go.

For working mothers and stay-at-home mothers.

Single mothers and married mothers..

Mothers with money, mothers without.

This is for you all. For all of us
Hang in there. In the end we can only do the best we can.
Tell them every day that we love them. And pray.

Please pass along to all the Moms in your life.

"Home is what catches you when you fall - and we all fall."

Please pass this to a wonderful mother you know.

I just did....

My Personal Pages

View My Photo Album

Email Cheryl

If Tomorrow Starts Without Me

2004-05-03T15:46:00.000-05:00

If tomorrow starts without me,
and I'm not there to see,
If the sun should rise and find your eyes,
all filled with tears for me;
I wish so much you wouldn't cry,
the way you did today,
While thinking of the many
things we didn't get to say.

I know how much you love me,
as much as I love you,
And each time that you think of me,
I know you'll miss me too;
But when tomorrow starts without me,
please try to understand,
That an angel came and called my name,
and took me by the hand,
And said my place was ready,
in heaven far above,
And that I'd have to leave behind
all those I dearly love.

But as I turned to walk away,
a tear fell from my eye
For all my life,
I'd always thought,
I didn't want to die.
I had so much to live for,
so much left yet to do,
It seemed almost impossible,
that I was leaving you.

I thought of all the yesterdays,
the good ones and the bad,
I thought of all the love we shared,
and all the fun we had.
If I could relive yesterday,
just even for a while,
I'd say good-bye and kiss you,
and maybe see you smile.
But then I fully realized,
that this could never be,
For emptiness and memories
would take the place of me.

And when I thought of worldly things
I might miss come tomorrow,
I thought of you,
and when I did,
my heart was filled with sorrow.

But when I walked through heaven's gates,
I felt so much at home.
When God looked down and smiled at me
from His great golden throne...

He said,
"This is eternity, and all I've promised you ..."
Today your life on earth is past,
but here life starts anew.
I promise no tomorrow,
but today will always last,
And since each day's the same way,
there's no longing for the past.
You have been so faithful,
so trusting and so true.
Though there were times you did some things
you knew you shouldn't do.
But you have been forgiven,
and now at last you're free.
So won't you come and take my hand,
and share my life with me?
So if tomorrow starts without me,
don't think we're far apart,
For every time you think of me,
I'm right here in your heart.

I love you, always

Dedicated To Those
Who I have Loved & Lost

My Personal Pages

View My Photo Album

Email Cheryl

A Prayer For You...

2004-04-29T19:36:00.000-05:00

Dear Lord,

Every single evening
As I'm lying here in bed,
This tiny little Prayer
Keeps running through my head.

God bless all my family
Wherever they may be,
Keep them warm and safe from harm
For they're so close to me.

And God, there is one more thing
I wish that you could do,
Hope you don't mind me asking
Please bless my computer too.

Now I know that it's unusual
To Bless a motherboard,
But listen just a second
While I explain it to you, Lord.

You see that little metal box
Holds more than odds and ends,
Inside those small compartments
Rest so many of my friends.

I know so much about them
By the kindness that they give,
And this little scrap of metal
Takes me in to where they live.

By faith is how I know them
Much the same as you,
We share in what life brings us
And from that our friendships grew.

Please take an extra minute
From your duties up above,
To bless those in my address book
That's filled with so much love.

Wherever else this prayer may reach
To each and every friend,
Bless each e-mail inbox
And each person who hits send.

When you update your Heavenly list
On your own CD-ROM,
Bless everyone who says this prayer
Sent up to GOD.com.

AMEN

My Personal Pages

View My Photo Album

Email Cheryl

The Old Barn

2004-04-26T20:34:00.000-05:00

A stranger came by the other day with an offer that set me to thinking.
He wanted to buy the old barn that sits out by the highway. I told him right
off he was crazy. He was a city type, you could tell by his clothes, his car,
his hands, and the way he talked. He said he was driving by and saw that
beautiful barn sitting out in the tall grass and wanted to know if it was for sale.
I told him he had a funny idea of beauty.

Sure, it was a handsome building in its day. But then, there's been a
lot of winters pass with their snow and ice and howling wind. The summer sun's
beat down on that old barn till all the paint's gone, and the wood has turned
silver gray. Now the old building leans a good deal, looking kind of tired.
Yet, that fellow called it beautiful.

That set me to thinking. I walked out to the field and just stood
there, gazing at that old barn. The stranger said he planned to use the lumber to
line the walls of his den in a new country home he's building down the road. He
said you couldn't get paint that beautiful. Only years of standing in the
weather, bearing the storms and scorching sun, only that can produce beautiful
barn wood.

It came to me then. We're a lot like that, you and I. Only it's on the
inside that the beauty grows with us. Sure we turn silver gray too. and lean a
bit more than we did when we were young and full of sap. But the Good Lord
knows what He's doing. And as the years pass He's busy using the hard wealth of
our lives, the dry spells and the stormy seasons, to do a job of beautifying
our souls that nothing else can produce. And to think how often folks holler
because they want life easy!

They took the old barn down today and hauled it away to beautify a rich
man's house. And I reckon someday you and I'll be hauled off to Heaven to
take on whatever chores the Good Lord has for us on the Great Sky Ranch.

And I suspect we'll be more beautiful then for the seasons we've been
through here ... and just maybe even add a bit of beauty to our Father's house.

May there be peace within you today. May you trust God that you are
exactly where you are meant to be.

"I believe that friends are quiet angels who
lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble
remembering how to fly.

My Personal Pages

View My Photo Album

Email Cheryl

2004-04-25T16:25:00.000-05:00

Some of you may know that
My husband of 15 years and the father of my children
died of an 'accidential' perscription drug over dose...
Since I have found some interesting stastics on the

'Accidential deaths by doctors':

The number of physicians in the US is 700,000.

The number of accidental deaths caused by Physicians
per year is 120,000.

The number of accidental deaths per physician is
0.171. (US Dept. of Health & Human Services)

The number of gun owners in the US is 80,000,000.

The number of accidental gun deaths per year (all age
groups) is 1,500.

The number of accidental deaths per gun owner is .0000188.

Statistically, Doctors are approximately 9,000 times more
dangerous than gun owners.

FACT: NOT EVERYONE HAS A GUN, BUT ALMOST
EVERYONE HAS AT LEAST ONE DOCTOR.

Please alert your friends to this alarming threat.

We must ban doctors before this gets out of hand.

As a public health measure, I have withheld the statistics
on lawyers for fear that the shock could cause people to
seek medical attention.

My Personal Pages

View My Photo Album

Email Cheryl

My Handsome Stranger

2004-04-25T14:56:00.000-05:00

My Handsome Stranger

See Him

All I want ~ is want I think you want too
Someone to be a life partner, a playmate, a friend
Problem is…not just anyone will do.

I need a miracle…
And despite the pain of love in the past
I have the faith to pull me through,
Cause I am waitin’ and
I need someone baby…
Someone like You.

Your right around the corner
Waiting, wonderin’ like me!
I know if I could just find you
You’d see what you been missin’
I am precious and would
Treasure your kissin’!

Your eyes,
that smile
your face!
Has been in my
Mind and my dreams
for months
Maybe years now
Do you sense that I am out here
Looking for you?

I have no doubt
That you could very well be
the love that I need…
and, God willin’ I will find you
Where I can put my arms around you
And tell you how long I have waited
For you.

Come on baby!
Where ya been?
You’re my weakness
I gotta know
Your name
What your dreams are
What you passionately want
What makes that smile
And can I make it shine
On me?

What I want is to hold you
What I need is to hold on to
The hope and the dream
That someday I’ll find you
Waiting somewhere
There for me!

1-2004 Help me find him, please! If you know of this man tell him I am here waiting!

My Personal Pages

View My Photo Album

Email Cheryl

Firearms Refresher Course

2004-04-23T07:01:00.000-05:00

FIREARMS REFRESHER COURSE

1. An armed man is a citizen. An unarmed man is a subject.

2. A gun in the hand is better than a cop on the phone.

3. Glock: The original point and click interface.

4. Gun control is not about guns; it's about control.

5. If guns are outlawed, can we use swords?

6. If guns cause crime, then pencils cause misspelled words.

7. Free men do not ask permission to bear arms.

8. If you don't know your rights you don't have any.

9. Those who trade liberty for security have neither.

10. The United States Constitution (c) 1791. All Rights reserved.

11. What part of "shall not be infringed" do you not understand?

12. The Second Amendment is in place in case they ignore the others.

13. 64,999,987 firearms owners killed no one yesterday.

14. Guns only have two enemies: rust and liberals.

15. Know guns, know peace and safety. No guns, no peace nor safety.

16. You don't shoot to kill; you shoot to stay alive.

17. 911 - government sponsored Dial-a-Prayer.

18. Assault is a behavior, not a device.

19. Criminals love gun control -- it makes their jobs safer.

20. If guns cause crime, then matches cause arson.

21. Only a government that is afraid of its citizens tries to control them.

22. You only have the rights you are willing to fight for.

23. Enforce the "gun control laws" we have, don't make more.

24. When you remove the people's right to bear arms, you create slaves.

25. The American Revolution would never have happened with gun control.

26. "...A government of the people, by the people, for the people..."

My Personal Pages

View My Photo Album

The WebMistress

Email Cheryl

Remember when...

2004-04-22T19:54:00.000-05:00

This was MY life!!!

DO YOU REMEMBER WHEN...?

All the girls had ugly gym uniforms?

It took five minutes for the TV warm up?

Nearly everyone's Mom was at home when the kids got home from school?

Nobody owned a purebred dog?

When a quarter was a decent allowance?

You'd reach into a muddy gutter for a penny?

Your Mom wore nylons that came in two pieces?

All your male teachers wore neckties and female teachers had
their hair done every day and wore high heels?

You got your windshield cleaned, oil checked, and gas pumped,
without asking, all for free, every time?
And you didn't pay for air? And, you got trading stamps to boot?

Laundry detergent had free glasses, dishes or towels hidden inside the box?

It was considered a great privilege to be taken out to dinner
at a real restaurant with your parents?

They threatened to keep kids back a grade if they failed. . .and they did?

When a 57 Chevy was everyone's dream car...to cruise,
peel out, lay rubber or watch submarine races, and people went steady?

No one ever asked where the car keys were
because they were always in the car,
in the ignition, and the doors were never locked?

Lying on your back in the grass with your friends
and saying things like, "That cloud looks like a .."

And playing baseball with no adults to help kids with the rules of the game?

Stuff from the store came without safety caps and hermetic seals
because no one had yet tried to poison a perfect stranger?

And with all our progress, don't you just wish, just once,
you could slip back in time and savor the slower pace,
and share it with the children of today?

When being sent to the principal's office was nothing
compared to the fate that awaited the student at home?
Basically we were in fear for our lives,
but it wasn't because of drive-by shootings, drugs, gangs, etc.

Our parents and grandparents were a much bigger threat!
But we survived because their love was greater than the threat.

Send this on to someone who can still remember
Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, Laurel and Hardy,
Howdy Dowdy and the Peanut Gallery,
the Lone Ranger, The Shadow Knows,
Nellie Bell, Roy and Dale, Trigger and Buttermilk.

As well as summers filled with bike rides, baseball games,
Hula Hoops, bowling and visits to the pool,
and eating Kool-Aid powder with sugar.
Didn't that feel good, just to go back and say, "Yeah, I remember that"?

I am sharing this with you today
because it ended with a double dog dare to pass it on.
To remember what a double dog dare is, read on.
And remember that the perfect age is somewhere between
old enough to know better and too young to care.

How many of these do you remember?

Candy cigarettes
Wax Coke-shaped bottles with colored sugar water inside
Soda pop machines that dispensed glass bottles
Coffee shops with tableside jukeboxes
Blackjack, Clove and Teaberry chewing gum
Home milk delivery in glass bottles with cardboard stoppers
Newsreels before the movie
P.F. Fliers

Telephone numbers with a word prefix....(Raymond 4-601).
Party lines

Peashooters
Howdy Dowdy
45 RPM records
Green Stamps
Hi-Fi's

Metal ice cubes trays with levers
Mimeograph paper
Beanie and Cecil
Roller-skate keys
Cork pop guns
Drive ins
Studebakers

Washtub wringers
The Fuller Brush Man
Reel-To-Reel tape recorders
Tinkertoys
Erector Sets
The Fort Apache Play Set
Lincoln Logs
15 cent McDonald hamburgers

5 cent packs of baseball cards -
with that awful pink slab of bubble gum

Penny candy

35 cent a gallon gasoline
Jiffy Pop popcorn

Do you remember a time when...

Decisions were made by going "eeny-meeny-miney-moe"?
Mistakes were corrected by simply exclaiming, "Do Over!"?
"Race issue" meant arguing about who ran the fastest?
Catching the fireflies could happily occupy an entire evening?
It wasn't odd to have two or three "Best Friends"?

The worst thing you could catch from the opposite sex was "cooties"?
Having a weapon in school meant being caught with a slingshot?
A foot of snow was a dream come true?

Saturday morning cartoons weren't 30-minute commercials for action figures?
"Oly-oly-oxen-free" made perfect sense?
Spinning around, getting dizzy, and falling down was cause for giggles?

The worst embarrassment was being picked last for a team?
War was a card game?
Baseball cards in the spokes transformed any bike into a motorcycle?
Taking drugs meant orange-flavored chewable aspirin?
Water balloons were the ultimate weapon?

If you can remember most or all of these, then you have lived!!!!!!!

My Personal Pages>

View My Photo Album

The WebMistress

Email Cheryl

The Power Of The Human Brain

2004-04-19T22:46:00.000-05:00

I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdgnieg

THE PAOMNNEHAL PWEOR OF THE HMUAN MNID Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? "

Don't Look Back

2004-04-19T21:09:00.000-05:00

"DON'T LOOK BACK"

As you travel through life there are always those times
When decisions just have to be made,
When the choices are hard, and solutions seem scarce,
And the rain seems to soak your parade.

There are some situations where all you can do
Is simply let go and move on,
Gather your courage and choose a direction
That carries you toward a new dawn.

So pack up your troubles and take a step forward -
The process of change can be tough,
But think about all the excitement ahead
If you can be stalwart enough!

There might be adventures you never imagined
Just waiting around the next bend,
And wishes and dreams just about to come true
In ways you can't yet comprehend!

Perhaps you'll find friendships that spring from new things
As you challenge your status quo,
And learn there are so many options in life,
And so many ways you can grow!

Perhaps you'll go places you never expected
And see things that you've never seen,
Or travel to fabulous, faraway worlds
And wonderful spots in between!

Perhaps you'll find warmth and affection and caring
And somebody special who's there
To help you stay centered and listen with interest
To stories and feelings you share.

Perhaps you'll find comfort in knowing your friends
Are supportive of all that you do,
And believe that whatever decisions you make,
They'll be the right choices for you.

So keep putting one foot in front of the other,
And taking your life day by day...
There's a brighter tomorrow that's just down the road -
Don't look back! You're not going that way!

My Personal Pages

You Might As Well Dance...

2004-04-18T14:07:00.000-05:00

Dear Friends,

I just wanted you to know that as each birthday passes I apparently get smarter and smarter…I'm reading a lot more and dusting less. I'm sitting in the yard and admiring the view without fussing about the weeds in the garden. I'm spending more time with my family and friends and less time working. I feel that whenever possible, life should be a pattern of experiences to savor, not to endure. And, lately I'm trying to recognize these moments and cherish them.

I'm not "saving" anything; we use our good china and crystal for every special event such as losing a pound, getting the sink unstopped, or the first Amaryllis blossom. I wear my good blazer to the market. My theory is if I look prosperous, I can shell out $28.49 for one small bag of groceries. I'm not saving my good perfume for special parties, but wearing it for clerks in the hardware store and tellers at the bank.

Since the deaths of some close friends and family my own mortality is so apparent. So, "Someday…" and "One of these days…" are losing their grip on my vocabulary; if it's worth seeing or hearing or doing, I want to see and hear and do it now. I'm not sure what they would've done had they known they wouldn't be here for the tomorrow that we all take for granted. I like to think they would have called family members and a few close friends. They might have called a few former friends to apologize and mend fences for past squabbles. I like to think they would have gone out for a Chinese dinner or for whatever their favorite food was. I'm guessing; I'll never know.

It's those little things left undone that would make me angry if I knew my hours were limited. Angry because I hadn't written certain letters that I intended to write one of these days. Angry and sorry that I didn't tell my husband and parents often enough how much I truly love them. I'm trying very hard not to put off, hold back, or save anything that would add laughter and luster to our lives.

And every morning when I open my eyes, I tell myself that it is special. Every day, every minute, every breath truly is a gift from God. If your reading this, it could well be because you care for me, or because you find me worthy or interesting enough to have read this far. Better yet, you do not know me, but would love to! Never let pass by an opportunity to reach out ~ do what you have to do for You ~ I am. I don't believe in miracles. I rely on them. Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance.

"People say true friends must always hold hands, but true friends don't need to hold hands because they know the other hand will always be there."

With much love,

Cheryl

More Of My Personal Pages

2004-04-14T21:33:00.000-05:00

A young wife sat on a porch in Pikeville, Kentucky on a summer day, drinking iced tea and visiting with her Mother-in-Law. As they talked about life, about marriage, about the responsibilities and the obligations of adulthood, the mother-in-law clinked the ice cubes in her glass thoughtfully and turned a clear, sober glance upon her daughter-in-law.

"Don't forget your girlfriends," she advised, swirling the tea leaves to the bottom of her glass.

"They'll be more important as you get older. No matter how much you love your husband, no matter how much you love the children you'll have, you are still going to need girlfriends. Remember to go places with them now and then; do things with them. And remember that "girlfriends" are not only your friends, but your sisters, your daughters, and other relatives too. You'll need other women. Women always do."

'What a funny piece of advice,' the young woman thought. 'Haven't I just gotten married? Haven't I just joined the couple-world? I'm now a married woman, for goodness sake, a grownup, not a young girl who needs girlfriends! Surely my husband and the family we'll start will be all I need to make my life worthwhile!'

But she listened to her mother-in-law; she kept contact with her girlfriends and made more each year. As the years tumbled by, one after another, she gradually came to understand that her Mom really knew what she was talking about. As time and nature work their changes and their mysteries upon a woman, girlfriends are the mainstays of her life.

After 40+ years of living in this world, here is what I know about girlfriends:

Girlfriends bring you casseroles and scrub your bathroom when you need help.

Girlfriends keep your children and keep your secrets.

Girlfriends give advice when you ask for it. Sometimes you take it, sometimes you don't.

Girlfriends don't always tell you that you're right, but they're usually honest.

Girlfriends still love you, even when they don't agree with your choices.

Girlfriends laugh with you, and you don't need canned jokes to start the laughter.

Girlfriends pull you out of jams.

Girlfriends help you get out of bad relationships.

Girlfriends help you look for a new apartment, help you pack, and help you move.

Girlfriends will give a party for your son or daughter when they get married or have a baby, in whichever order that comes!

Girlfriends are there for you, in an instant when the hard times come.

Girlfriends will drive through blizzards, rainstorms, hail, heat, and the gloom of night to get to you when your hour of need is desperate.

Girlfriends listen when you lose a job or a friend.

Girlfriends listen when your children break your heart.

Girlfriends listen when your parents' minds and bodies fail.

Girlfriends cry with you when someone you loved dies.

Girlfriends support you when the men in your life let you down.

Girlfriends help you pick up the pieces when men pack up and go.

Girlfriends rejoice at what makes you happy, and are ready to go out and kill what makes you unhappy.

Times passes. Life happens. Distance separates. Children grow up. Marriages fail. Love waxes and wanes. Hearts break. Careers end. Jobs come and go. Parents die. Colleagues forget favors. Men don't call when they say they will. But girlfriends are there, no matter how much time and how many miles are between you.

A girlfriend is never farther away than needing her can reach. When you have to walk that lonesome valley, and you have to walk it for yourself, your girlfriends will be on the valley's rim, cheering you on, praying for you, pulling for you, intervening on your behalf, and waiting with open arms at the valley's end. Sometimes, they will even break the rules and walk beside you. Or come in and carry you out.

My daughter, sister, sisters-in-law, mother-in-law, nieces, cousins, extended family, and friends bless my life! The world wouldn't be the same without them, and neither would I. When we began this adventure called womanhood, we had no idea the incredible joys or sorrows that lay ahead. Nor did we know how much we would need each other. Every day, we need each other still.

I love you all! Thank you for being my gurlz! ~ Cheryl

My Personal Pages

2004-04-14T21:16:00.000-05:00

For my secret love...

Darling,

If only I dared call you that! If only I dared think that you might feel the same way about me as I do about you...

We're friends. At least, I like to think we are. I know I make you laugh. I treasure those moments, and when I'm lying alone at night, I take them out
and look at them, one by one, like photographs in an album.

Sometimes, I dare to dream that you might smile because I laughed at something you said. That you might want to hold me, be with me, laugh with me...

If I were braver, I'd tell you in person. As it is, this letter is the best I can bring myself to do. Be gentle with me...please
Cheryl's Thoughts

2004-04-11T13:57:00.000-05:00

Dedicated to BHU

When did our friendship begin?
When did it start to grow and blossom like flowers in the spring?
Was it the day we left our footprints in the sand
Or way back when I offered that first welcoming smile?

I can still feel your first touch –
How you folded me in your arms;
How I felt your warmth and strength.

I can still see that special moment…
When our eyes locked and held.
In you I saw hope, caring, and a promise for tomorrow.

Since our first meeting
There has been no one else like you.
Your part of my heart and my life.
I cherish every moment that we have ever spent together.

I appreciate the way that we are able to talk openly about everything.
That’s why I value your opinion.
In times of perplexity, you are able to draw me out of myself –
To see the beauty and fragility of life and love.

Most of all, I cherish your constant friendship.
In spit of the rocky roads that we have traveled,
We have remained secure in each other’s devotion.

I will always be here for you.
There is no other place on earth
That I would rather be than
Right here with you –
Needing you, caring for you,
Being part of your world.
I will be you friend forever!

My Personal Page

2004-04-10T13:13:00.000-05:00

Welcome to my lil Blog Spot!
As you can see this is a 'work in progress'
so please come on back...

In the meantime,
Feel free to check out my
Personal Pages

BLOGGER

2004-04-10T12:53:00.000-05:00

My Personal Pages Start Here