There is a God in the Post Office…

May 28, 2009 by admin  
Filed under Random, dogs

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Who knows if it’s true but it’s a lovely story :-)

This is one of the kindest things I’ve ever experienced.. I have no way to know who sent it, but there is a beautiful soul working in the dead letter office of the US postal service.

Our 14 year old dog, Abbey, died last month. The day after she died, my 4 year old daughter Meredith was crying and talking about how much she missed Abbey. She asked if we could write a letter to God so that when Abbey got to heaven, God would recognize her. I told her that I thought we could so she dictated these words:

Dear God,

Will you please take care of my dog? She died yesterday and is with you in heaven. I miss her very much. I am happy that you let me have her as my dog even though she got sick.

I hope you will play with her. She likes to play with balls and to swim. I am sending a picture of her so when you see her. You will know that she is my dog. I really miss her.

Love, Meredith.

We put the letter in an envelope with a picture of Abbey and Meredith and addressed it to God/Heaven.. We put our return address on it. Then Meredith pasted several stamps on the front of the envelope because she said it would take lots of stamps to get the letter all the way to heaven. That afternoon she dropped it into the letter box at the post office. A few days later she asked if God had gotten the letter yet. I told her that I thought He had.

Yesterday, there was a package wrapped in gold paper on our front porch addressed, `To Meredith,’ in an unfamiliar hand. Meredith opened it. Inside was a book by Mr.. Rogers called, ‘When a Pet Dies.’ Taped to the inside front cover was the letter we had written to God in its opened envelope. On the opposite page was the picture of Abbey & Meredith and this note:

Dear Meredith,

Abbey arrived safely in heaven.

Having the picture was a big help. I recognized Abbey right away.

Abbey isn’t sick anymore. Her spirit is here with me just like it stays in your heart. Abbey loved being your dog. Since we don’t need our bodies in heaven, I don’t have any pockets to keep your picture in, so I am sending it back to you in this little book for you to keep and have something to remember Abbey by.

Thank you for the beautiful letter and thank your mother for helping you write it and sending it to me. What a wonderful mother you have. I picked her especially for you.

I send my blessings every day and remember that I love you very much.

By the way, I’m easy to find, I am wherever there is love.

Love,
God

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For All the Girls

May 28, 2009 by admin  
Filed under Humor

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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 nine 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 knees?

I need to wear these glasses
As the prints were getting smaller;
And it wasn’t very long ago
I know that I was taller.

Though my hair has turned to grey
And my skin no longer fits,
On the inside, I’m the same old me,
Just the outside’s changed a bit.

Author Unknown

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Inspiration

May 15, 2009 by admin  
Filed under HP_Left_SiteMap, Sitemap

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inspire1If  you can dream it, then you can achieve it. You will get all you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want. Zig Ziglar

This is another area where there are no tags or categories.  I imported all of my files into WordPress from another database and so some of them imported without tags.  I’m going to work on this problem but for now, do a search for a title or keyword.


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Poems, Quotes & Stories

May 15, 2009 by admin  
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Poems, quotes and stories on almost every topic.  Thousands of pages to uplift you, make you smile, help you with talks, speeches, lessons or just  get through the day!

This is a VERY long list. I think the search feature is more effective but if you’d like to browse the posts under this category, they are listed below. You can also use CNTL F to find certain words on this page.

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Humor

May 15, 2009 by admin  
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Humor is the great thing, the saving thing after all. The minute it crops up, all our hardnesses yield, all our irritations, and resentments flit away, and a sunny spirit takes their place.
- Mark Twain

Below is a list of some of the humor you can find on this site.
Or, you can search the site for specific keywords.

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Love At Home (begins with you)

May 15, 2009 by admin  
Filed under HP_Left_SiteMap, Love At Home, Sitemap

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42-19012691Love truly does begin at home. It is present deep within the core of our hearts. Just like a plant, we nurture it, cultivate it and watch it grow until it springs forth and takes root within the hearts of those around us.

After reading the article below.  Click on this link to see all of the posts for Love At Home or use the search feature for something specific.

Love at Home Begins with YOU!
By Gerri Stephey

Everyone has heard the story of the man who returned home from work one day to find total mayhem in his house. His three children were outside, still in their pajamas, playing in the mud with empty food boxes and wrappers strewn all around the front yard. He found an even bigger mess in the house. A lamp knocked over, the TV blaring on a cartoon channel and the family room strewn with toys and clothing. In the kitchen, dishes filled the sink, breakfast food was spilled on the counter, dog food was spilled on the floor, a broken glass lay under the table, and a small pile of sand was spread by the back door. He quickly went in search of his wife. He was sure that she lay gravely ill or even worse. He found her lounging in the bedroom, still curled in the bed in her pajamas, reading a novel. She looked up at him, smiled, and asked how his day went. He looked at her bewildered and asked, “What happened here today?” She again smiled and answered, “You know every day when you come home from work and ask me what in the world I did today?” “Yes,” was his incredulous reply? She answered, “Well, today I didn’t do it.”

How many of us can identify with this story? We take our role of mother and homemaker very seriously, and we seldom stray far from that task. But what of our own development? Don’t we owe it to ourselves and our families to become all that we can be? Are we on call 24 hours a day without a break, or do we feel guilty when we do take a break? We wouldn’t dream of letting our children go hungry, or our homes go to ruin, but do we sacrifice the time it takes to continue to develop as individuals?

“Realize your personal self-worth”. How are we to realize our self worth if we don’t take the time necessary to grow? We need to grow spiritually, socially, intellectually, and culturally. A well-rounded person is not necessarily the one who has dish pan hands. Our Savior recognized this as is noted in Luke 10:38-42. “Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? Bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou are careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” Mary was taking a break from the ordinary to enhance her life. If we are to be helpmates to our husbands, examples to our children, daughters and sisters who can contribute to the quality of life of those around us, we must see that we take the time and make the effort to improve our minds and our abilities. We also must have some time for our own spiritual growth, our own hobbies and our own interests. Not only does this release us from the pressures of daily living, but also it helps us to become stronger and more well rounded individuals.

Love truly does begin at home. It is present deep within the core of our hearts. Just like a plant, we nurture it, cultivate it and watch it grow until it springs forth and takes root within the hearts of those around us. Taking the time to see to our personal growth is like a gentle rain that nourishes the love within the garden of our hearts. In your busy week of seemingly never ending appointments and schedules, don’t forget to schedule a little time to grow. You will find that it renews your spirit, revitalizes your energies, and makes the sun shine just a little bit brighter..

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Family History / Genealogy

May 15, 2009 by admin  
Filed under 1Genealogy, HP_Left_SiteMap, Sitemap

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“If you don’t recount your family history, it will be lost. Honor your own stories and tell them too. The tales may not seem very important, but they are what binds families and makes each of us who we are. “   Madeleine L’Engle

Below are some of the posts tagged Genealogy

Note: Still working on this page. Many links are dead.

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Family Night Ideas

May 15, 2009 by admin  
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42-18850707

Family Home Evening Builds Unity
May I suggest ways to strengthen our commitment to God and build unity and love during our family home evenings:

List of Family Night Ideas

By James E. Faust (article in full can be found here)

1. Pray. The source of our enormous individual and family strength is no mystery. It is an endowment from God. We need not consume addicting chemicals found in drugs and alcohol to make us capable of meeting life’s problems. We need only draw constantly from the divine power source through humble prayer.

It often takes a seemingly superhuman effort to get everyone together for family home evening. You may not always feel like praying when you finally do get together, but it will pay great dividends if you persevere.

2. Sing or listen to sacred music. Church hymns and children’s songs can invite the Holy Spirit into family home evening. The Lord has said that “the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads” (D&C 25:12).

3. Study the scriptures. All of us need the strength that comes from reading the scriptures. Parents must obtain a knowledge of the standard works to teach them to their children. Those who lead family home evening discussions should be adequately prepared to use the scriptures in the lesson. A child who has been taught from the scriptures has a priceless legacy. We are all fortified when we become acquainted with the heroic figures and stories of the scriptures, such as Daniel in the lions’ den, David and Goliath, Nephi, Helaman and the stripling warriors, and all the others.

4. Work together and serve others. Children need to learn to work. Every household has routine daily chores for which children can be responsible. Meaningful service can be given during family home evenings through well-planned home or community work projects.

5. Focus on developing discipline and obedience. If parents do not discipline their children and teach them to obey, society may have to discipline them in ways neither the parents nor the children will like. If adults do not discipline themselves, setting the proper example for others, the consequences can be devastating for themselves and society. Without discipline and obedience in the home and in our personal lives, unity within a family collapses.

6. Place a high priority on loyalty to each other. The dictionary defines the word loyal as being “faithful to a private person to whom fidelity is due.”  If family members are not loyal to each other, they cannot be loyal to themselves.

7. Build self-worth. One of the main problems in society today is that we spend less and less time together. Some, even when they are together, spend an extraordinary amount of time in front of the television, which robs them of personal time for reinforcing feelings of self-worth. Family home evenings give individuals and families important time to talk and listen as parents and children, brothers and sisters, spouses, and friends. Time together is precious—time needed to encourage and to show how to do things. Less time together can result in loneliness, which may produce feelings of being unsupported, untreasured, and inadequate.

8. Develop traditions. Some of the great strength of families can be found in the traditions they have established. Traditions can include making special occasions of the blessing of children, baptisms, ordinations to the priesthood, or birthdays. Traditional activities such as fishing trips or skits on Christmas Eve can help create fond memories of times together. Weekly family home evenings can also be a time for traditions. Home evening groups of any kind can likewise establish traditions by the activities they choose to continue on a regular basis and the way they celebrate special occasions and accomplishments.

9. Do everything in the spirit of love. Elder LeGrand Richards (1886–1983) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles shared a tender relationship with his father. Said he: “I walked into my father’s apartment when he was just about 90 … , and as I opened the door, he stood up and walked toward me and took me in his arms and hugged me and kissed me. He always did that. … Taking me in his arms and calling me by my kid name, he said, ‘Grandy, my boy, I love you.’ ” 2

Some parents have difficulty expressing their love through words or actions. I do not ever recall my own father using the words “Son, I love you,” but he showed it in a thousand ways that were more eloquent than words. He rarely missed a practice, a game, a race, or any activity in which his children participated.

The touch and time of the mother in the home make it warm, comfortable, and pleasant. Wives and mothers deserve special support from husbands and children. President George Albert Smith (1870–1951), addressing husbands and fathers, said: “Some seem to think that the woman’s responsibility is to take care of the home and everything else while the man goes to his meetings. I want to tell you that your chief responsibility is in your own home.”

Family home evening is a time for patience and mutual respect. Let there be no ill will or anger between parents and children, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, and kinsmen. Let there be unity and love between all members of the ward or branch. Lingering feelings of hurt or disagreement should be settled quickly. I pray that the rich humanness of warm, loving family life will prevail in all our relationships.

Read this article in full here at lds.org

There are 150+ Family Night related pages here.

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