Life's Loving Memories

 LOVINGLY TAKE A STAND "God put the stamp of individuality upon you and called it you?" Ernest Holmes When I was teaching high school in my early years, I remember saying, "After you graduate and go on to the rest of your life, you will be surprised at how many of your former classmates are Gay or Lesbian. Some forty years later LGBTQ is the new moniker. In my opinion, a friend is a friend no matter who he /she is. All my friendships are based on common interests, kindness, caring and interesting conversations.  Now consider who your friends are. Do you still keep in touch with them?  Do they form a wonderful tapestry of interesting backgrounds? I believe that we were created as exactly who we were meant to be, flaws and all. I wish for you a treasure trove of friends and family who love you, and remember, as a wall-hanging in my home says, "Friends are the family you choose." I believe our own nation should reflect the vast variety of inhabitants that make up ...

STICKING PINS "Don't be a prisoner of ignorance. The world is larger, far more complicated, and far more wonderful that ignorance allows."                         Maya Angelou,           --Rainbow in the Sky Do you ever feel like a pin cushion and life seems like you are getting poked and prodded from all directions; late at night, in the morning, constantly making you feel like it will never stop?  Prices rising, making it feel like you are having a bad dream? Despite the insanity that is going on around us we need to set the radio dial on something we would like to be happening, and then get involved in some way. "We may not be able to do great things", but as Mother Teresa would say, "we can do little things with great love." How are you doing in your own family? Do you discuss what is going on in our world and think of how to help people who are affected by the political changes flyin...

 LOVE, IS IT JUST A WORD? "As light overcomes the darkness, as the presence of heat causes the atmosphere of the room to change until it is warm and comfortable, so the radiant presence of Love and Peace dissipates fear, hate and confusion." --  Ernest Holmes When I say, I love you, it isn't just a meaningless phrase. It means a caring and kindness for another person, and how grateful I am for that individual in my life. It is very apparent to me that at this point in our lives, that we reach out to our friends, family and neighbors to remind them of the importance of positive connection with each other. We must be mindful of changes happening all around us, what we stand for and what we don't. Life, liberty and happiness depend on our awareness. Inclusion is what makes our country a wonderful place to live in. Such a diversity of faiths and traditions that our forefathers came here to participate in, and the freedom we have in expressing those freedoms. We are not me...

 DO YOU SEE YOUR SHADOW?                “In the face of impossible odds, people who love this country can change it.”                           — Barack Obama Did the Groundhog see his shadow yesterday? He certainly did, so according to myth, that means six extra weeks of winter. Groundhog's day got it's official start on February 2, 1887 in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, deriving from a Pennsylvania Dutch superstition about predicting the weather. In Germany the same tradition was started using a badger, and in Hungary it was a Bear. The shadow in this instance meant something not to our liking, more cold snow. We as individuals have a shadow side. Sometimes in comes from hiding things we're not fond of instead of addressing them. When we address them we admit that they are there, and it is easier to face them and do something about changing they ways we deal with them. What can ...