Paul Palmer, proud to be a pisces man

Many lasting life lessons are not academic, but are the soul’s spiritual lessons for growth through adversity. These are moments of transformation and illumination felt deeply as you are in alignment with a universal higher and greater power.I was honored to witness many of these lessons through my daughter, during the final days of my stepfather’s life.

Treasuring my daughter from the moment he knew she would arrive, we all saw their special connection. As Parkinson’s disease and strokes began robbing him of independence and his tremendous intellect, she was eleven. She had lived through her parent’s divorce, moving, my Mom’s cancer and her father’s suicide. I wondered if she would protect her already fragile heart, or be open and vulnerable by loving him through his full lifespan.

Seeing him as the precious grandparent he had always been, through more than 2 years of hospitalizations and nursing home stays she lit up his face with every visit. After wheeling her new bike up to the second floor of the nursing home to show her Dan-Dan, she proudly rode it right out the front door! My daughter creatively included him in her life, and as she adapted, found her love still fit.

During our last Christmas together my stepfather struggled to share his last advice for her to “take advantage of every opportunity”. A simple message,it reflected his life philosophy. After the holidays, his life’s journey was nearing an end, and hard decisions for end of life measures brought anguish for my Mother.From three hours away, the stress of being apart was enormous, and weekend visits and late night phone calls left us living on edge.

Then came a mid-week call indicating that the time was near; sleeping more than awake, doctors said soon he would only sleep away. School was concerned about absences,but we knew we had to go, as we knew the pricelessness of closure, and the empty pain of having none.

The bright blue February day contrasted with the grayness of the pain we felt; we had lived through the death of my ex-husband, and knew what my 75 year old Mom was soon to endure.Entering the hospital room felt like we had entered a different dimension; it was not the setting but the circumstance that felt alien. This was not what life should come to, not a life well-lived in service to others. Our hope was for a meaningful and memorable visit, but I saw that we had entered a different form of “life classroom”.

He was no longer hooked up to tubes he hated but seemingly unaware of our presence; we learned that he had been awake the day before. Perhaps we had missed the opportunity for him to know our goodbye. Uneasy, but staying close, my daughter hated seeing him so thin, his white hair not so clean. Together we gently washed it one last time, and like always, she gently put lotion on his thin skin.I watched her care for her “Dan- Dan”, much as he had cared for her as an infant,her eyes filled with love and acceptance. Life is a full circle!Loving them both, it was almost more than I could bear as I witnessed the essence of my child truly loving another soul, just as they are.

My stepfather had spent his life striving for perfection in all he attempted, to “earn” or deserve acceptance. Even a masters degree in divinity, chemistry, and physics, and a doctorate in education did not lessen his drive to prove himself worthy. Giving thousands of hours in public service, as a spiritual, personal, community and professional role model, he was not satisfied that he had done enough. He always graded himself slightly short, denying his Parkinson’s diagnosis for as long as possible, and embarrassed as he lost strength and balance.

The purpose and meaning of his experience had been a topic of private discussions between us as I suggested his illness was a way for him to be humbled enough to finally love and accept himself. He knew intellectually that grace is a gift and not a pre-paid plan, and I reminded him that he was perfect as he was, with a wheelchair or hospital bed. Now I was saying goodbye to a man truly humbled, and still loved beyond measure. Was that not Grace? Did he feel it in his heart?

Moreover, his long illness had shown my daughter growing in grace, patience, compassion and love. She had come to see love as not only good times, like playing catch, helping with homework, or coming to watch school plays and basketball games. Loving now encompassed loving someone even when pared down to the very essence of life, vulnerable and fragile. Since her Dad’s death, she understood why love is to be treasured and never taken for granted.

Now, it was time to head home. My stepfather had been lightly awake at times, and hopefully he had heard us tell him how much we loved him. I whispered in his ear a wish to let me know when he “got where he was going”,to let me know if he and my husband were together again. (They had been great buddies,sharing a sense of humor unique to their relationship.)

As we neared the door, my daughter turned back for one last try. I believe she needed something she did not get from her Dad, to hear this goodbye. She had encouraged him all afternoon to speak, but he had not spoken in a couple of days. I ached for her disappointment, and questioned whether I had exposed my child to too much. Had I hurt her in trying to help her?

Leaning over the railing very close, she said slowly one more time, “I love you Dan-Dan.” Now awake, I saw he was looking right at her, focusing very intently. We heard a very soft, but clear and precious “…Love …(pause) .. You”. They were the last words that kind, generous and wise man ever spoke, a true gift to a devoted granddaughter who needed that last goodbye so very much.

Almost two years have passed since my stepfather’s death, and tears are hitting my keyboard even now. There is no doubt in my mind that I had the guidance of a higher power helping me parent that day and perhaps heal a small part of the ache for her Dad.

We are faced with so many decisions as parents, the sum total of which help to shape who our children are and will become. Yet, many singular decisions made day- to- day, over and over, appear to be of no great consequence. How do we know which decisions are life-changing? If we reflected too greatly on that, we would make no decisions at all!

I often hear parents who are struggling with major life decisions voice a desire to protect and shelter their child, even staying in unhealthy relationships believing it is best for their child. What are we teaching our children in that classroom that is Life? Children are resilient, and wiser and stronger than we imagine. Lessons they take away from observing and living our choices will one day influence the choices they make when it is all up to them.

Listen to your heart. We hear that so much because the messages of the soul offer guidance, whether through prayer, meditation, music or quiet reflection. By appreciating and respecting a child’s spiritual needs, we are able to place them in a path of learning through adversity, or to try to steer them out of the path. Sometimes the best path for their emotional growth is right beside you, learning from you, while you are still able to hold their hand.

My daughter listens to her heart, even if it hurts. She reaches out to help others,such as in comforting cousins as their Mom was suddenly dying. She sat by her Aunt’s hospital bed to tell her goodbye when others were hesitant to enter that hospital room, taking my Aunt’s hand, and saying goodbye. Her sensitivity and compassion have helped a close friend who recently lost her brother in a car accident, with an inner wisdom greater than her years.

Would I wish for a less traumatic childhood for her? Of course, but I also trust in a Purpose for us all, and see her growing into a young woman with compassion and a deep capacity for understanding. I know in my heart that she will continue to follow her unique life path in a way that honors and expresses her many special gifts. Guided by her promise to her “Dan-Dan”, I know he is also making sure she takes advantage of that opportunity.

And, if you are wondering, he did let us clearly know when he “got there”.

“No exercise is better for the heart than reaching down to lift up another.” Tim Russert

Janice Burroughs

Did you know that people with ADD actually have an evolved brain that’s the next step in where our entire race as human beings is going? That’s one theory about ADD. But it makes sense. With everything going on in the world–the technology, medicine, business… everything–doesn’t it make perfect sense that people are going to need quicker minds?

Never use ADD as an excuse for why your life stinks. Don’t even infer it. Whether or not ADD is an affliction is beside the point. You can’t let the fact that you have ADD destroy your self-image and when you destroy your self-image, you destroy your ability to accomplish anything of consequence, especially maintaining a powerful, strong, unique, and progressive relationship with someone. ADD can be your best asset!.

When many people decide that they’re going to have better relationships, they say, “Why do I have to be the one to change? Why can’t somebody else change?” Today you get a choice. When you have ADD, you can decide to master yourself or you can keep on trying to control everybody else.

When you try to control everybody else, guess what? It usually doesn’t work.

The choice is to either make a change or make a whole lot of changes and be willing to make changes for the rest of your life, in order to stay in strong, healthy relationships or stay the way you are, letting your ADD try to control everyone, and allow things to fall apart.

When we talk about making a change, we’re not talking about changing who you are permanently to be something else, like if you’re left-handed right now, suddenly you should become right-handed. Or, just because you’re ADD, there’s no way you can become non-ADD. We’re not talking about that, not about permanent kinds of changes.

What we’re talking about is using your innate ADD ability to shift, to model, and to work in different modes to simply align yourself at a particular time within a particular relationship to make the relationship go more smoothly. We’re talking about a skill.

If you went out and you did a 12-week French intensive and you learned how to be fairly fluent in French, and right after that, what if you went and learned Chinese and then you learned another language and all of a sudden you know 24 languages.

Because you developed those skills to be able to literally shift gears depending on who you were talking to in order to have better communication, better interaction, more positive back and forth and ultimately have everything run more smoothly and more profitably, either financially or whatever you’re trying to accomplish in the situation, would you be any less you?

No, of course not.

You’d be more.

If you’ve ever been on a cruise and you pull into a port of call in a place where they speak a foreign language, it is so cool to be able to converse with the merchants in that foreign language to buy a souvenir. Think about it, it takes three times as long to make your purchase and it takes a lot more frustration and a lot more energy. Not to mention when you can speak the local language, most of the time you get a better deal.

Try translating that idea into your last negative or abrasive conversation with your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, or your wife. You get a better deal out of the situation if you know how to talk in other people’s languages.

Tellman Knudson And Stephanie Frank
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/adult-add-speak-new-languages-103682.html

A strong belief in yourself will give you the Confidence to achieve whatever you want from your Personal and Professional Life.

Why settle for second best ? Why not seize life with both hands and achieve the things you really want ? What’s stopping you from achieving your true potential?

You are only here once and its too late by the time you a sitting in your rocking chair !

Self confidence is something that can be achieved by anyone – its a life skill and is something that you are born with but it often gets lost along the way.

Life coaching has helped millions of people throughout the world to build their confidence and self belief.

Success breeds success and you will see positive changes in a very short space of time. As your confidence grows, you will want to stretch yourself and see just how far you can go.

Bolster Your Self Confidence in 10 Easy Steps

1 - Work out in your own mind what success means to you. What goals do you want your new confident self to achieve. Make these SMART goals and write them down using the formula, “It is now (date) and I am / have (insert your own words)”. Image these are your ultimate goals if everything was exactly as you wanted it to be (10 out of 10).

2 - For each goal, spend some time thinking about what needs to have happened to let you know that you have achieved this goal ? What will you be saying to yourself, what will you be doing, what will other people be saying ?

3 - 90% of achieving your goals come from the “Why”. Why are these goals important to you ? What are the reasons, write them all down beside each goal.

4 - Beside each goal, estimate where you what score you would give yourself as of today in terms of satisfaction in that particular area.

5 - Work out which areas of your life you are already confident in (if any) and write these down eg. career; relationships; physical; parenting skills etc. List your key strengths in these areas, what are you good at ? Note these down and look for evidence to back these up.

6 - What could you do to move your current rating up by one notch. Eg. if you are confident in your ability to lose weight today at 5/10, what could you do to move it to a 6/10 ? List all possible ideas, spend some quality time doing this and draw up a long list of things that you could do.

7 - Now go through the list of options and select which options will deliver the results you want and appeal most to you, without being overwhelming.

8 - What are the “baby steps” within each of these options that you would need to do, eg. look up a phone number, speak to a friend etc

9 - Prepare an action plan with specific “baby step” tasks and times/dates that these will be done.

10 - Do these actions, remembering why you are doing these and congratulating yourself along the way when you have achieved each small step – you are now moving closer to achieving your goal and living the life you want – CONGRATULATIONS !!!!!

Repeat as necessary until you achieve your goals to your satisfaction.

If you need an independent coach who will listen and challenge you, contact Kaleidoscope Coaching.

Jennifer Bruce

According to a survey, a growing number of people are searching for marriage advice on the internet, based on the reports of search engines. It’s no surprise really, when recession is at its peak, job uncertainty and layoff is at its highest, inflation rises constantly, the demands for today’s environment necessitates constantly keeping abreast of technological advances in any market for both businessmen and job seekers alike, amongst a zillion other factors. At the same time, infidelity and extra marital affairs are growing at an exponential rate especially among co-workers. In such times, how does one manage to keep up the spice in his/her marriage by investing time, energy, money, creativity, and other resources? Or should he manage to make his spouse try and understand him every time?

First of all, let me make this clear – it is certainly possible to spare a bit of your time /resources for your spouse, no matter how busy you are, or how many deadlines you have to meet, or whatever your mental, physical and financial condition is. If you cannot accept this fact, none of the tips I give you (or the ones you find elsewhere) will do you any good. I can actually prove this to you right now – how much time, energy and money do you spend in thinking up of excuses, fighting with your spouse over trivial matter, surfing uselessly on the internet, watching crap on the idiotbox, and spending money on products / services you don’t really need? (Try keeping a record for just one month, you will be surprised). Can not you utilize this time, energy and money for your beloved, for someone with whom you’ve spoken your marriage vows, for someone with whom you decided to spend the rest of your living life? Now if you’re really serious in leading a happy married life, I’ve written a few tips below that will give you maximum ROI in today’s hectic times, so to speak! But before I begin, you need to understand that work time and family time don’t mix, you need to separate them. While it’s OK to share your experience about your day with your spouse, it is not OK to continue your work throughout your family time. If you work entirely out from your home or you have deadlines and need to bring some of the work, home; set a specific time when you plan to complete it and inform it to your spouse. And when the time comes for it to get over, you better quit!

Below are some tips to spruce up your marriage:

1. Spending quality time together is a great way to enhance your marriage, especially doing something of common interest. Watching movies together cuddled on the patio, dining out, going to parties, gardening, cooking, going to the gym, eating together, going for a weekend getaway, going for a walk, etc are just some of the things you can do together, which you would anyway be doing it. If both of you like to do charity, you can go together and shop for whatever it is you would like to donate. For example, cribs, baby clothes and toys for synergy houses and orphanages, trees / plants for a nearby park, preparing food packets and giving it to the poor, etc. Besides the good that it does, charity also boosts your self respect.

Warning: While spending time together is good for you, so is giving each other space. Encourage each other to take time apart and do the things that they love to, without interfering. A “singles” night out is all right at times. Have trust in your spouse – don’t be suspicious and drill them on details.

2. Surprise your spouse with little low cost gifts that are creative and show that you really think of and care for them. Gifting a flower without any occasion (just creatively say “for being my best friend and life partner”), surprise tickets to a concert, getting up a little early and serving breakfast in bed, saying “I love you, sweetheart” just out of the blue and at a time when your spouse least expected it, offering to give a massage, doing one of their errands without being told, flirt with your spouse in a public place (especially if you don’t generally do it), giving compliments, just once leave the toilet seat up (or down whichever is the opposite of your habit), stealing a kiss, making a greeting card and sending it to his office (or to her at home), gifting a personalized item like a porcelain cup with your mate’s name, etc are some ideas; put on your thinking cap and get creative! Write a love letter and put it in unexpected places. If your spouse travels to work, put it in his CD case, or stick an “I love you” note on the mirror before you go to sleep, so your spouse sees it in the morning and smiles!

3. Keep a memory box and fill it with photograph albums, a sexy dress that you no longer wear (but was gifted by your spouse), old movie and concert tickets, old love letters, birthday cards and anniversary cards, travel brochures of places you have visited and enjoyed, etc. You can open the box once in a while and reminisce about each of them, bring the memories alive!

4. Once in a while, go shopping alone and buy a bunch of things just for your mate. Be careful in what you buy; you don’t want to waste a lot of money in things that will never be used. For example, buy a watch for her that has changeable color rings to match her clothes, colorful buckles and hair bands, etc; a travel shaving kit for him, or maybe a box of beers. Buy something “especially for him / her”, not to be used by you at all.

OK friends, I’ll take a break here; look out for my next article “dos and don’ts to lead a happy and healthy married life”. You will find it at http://www.bharatbhasha.com/family.php/107297

Nirjara Rustom
http://www.articlesbase.com/marriage-articles/sprucing-up-your-married-life-on-shoestring-resources-678726.html

I’m sure this message will land me on some kind of enemies list and I will be branded racist, kook, right wing extremist, but I just don’t give a D…., any more. This country has been too good to me and my loved ones to stand by and watch it turned into a dictatorship without letting my voice be heard. I’m going to be communicating to all I can reach via internet while it is still available. How many of you know legislation is quietly sliding through the senate(Jay Rockefeller) that will give the chosen one complete authority to control the internet in the US of A. Where does your internet business go when He decides an “emergency” warrants shutting down the internet for “security” reasons? If you think I am some senile old fool sitting in his rocker holding a drool cup, do so at your peril, you and your loved one freedoms are at risk.

The current President of The United States is the biggest threat this country has ever been faced with. I’ve been on this earth for 73+ years, served eight years in the Air Force and love what this country has always stood for, a place where hard word, education, loyalty, kindness, love and determination will reward you unbelievably well. I’m so sad to see how our newest generations are so simple minded as to believe in this Pied Piper, that he will somehow take care of you in all ways. I am amazed at the speed and ease with which he is being allowed to do this.

The unbelievable debt being generated for future generations will soon come due, but then it will be too late. I’m happy to see there are others like me who understand what is happening, but I fear “He” is already working on ways to shut our mouths permanently. The internet takeover being one of them. Please, Americans, wake up and look at what is happening…not a shot is being fired but our wonderful country is close to surrender, being destroyed silently and quickly from within. There has never been a country as great as ours and if this “change” is allowed to happen, there will never be another like it, ever again.

Why do you think so many people from all over the world want to come here? They’re smarter than we are…they know what the alternatives are, have lived it and want to get away from it. Please, please don’t let this man destroy the American way of life. Write your congress reps. and senators and tell them to oppose this man and his radical ideas.

Many of you aren’t old enough to know the recent past, but there are those who think Jimmy Carter was a good president. He may have been a “good man” but he was without doubt the most ineffectual, uninspiring, unpatriotic president in my lifetime. (I almost voted for him because I was angry at President Ford for letting Nixon off) Thank God I didn’t, it would have been one of the more stupid choices of my life. The country suffered greatly. But I’d trade ‘Bama for Carter in an instant. What Carter did was due to being incompetent and even though he was a screaming liberal, he never held malice towards this country. ‘Bama wants revenge for deeds done long before most of us were born and he wants to be the Ultimate Ruler over this great land. He’s on his way with all the liberal media outlets in his back pocket, figuring ways to stifle talk radio, shut down the internet, cap and trade to increase the cost of energy to where we won’t be able to afford travel, I know I’m leaving alot out, but the best of all will be his “Civilian Army” with “a strength as great as our present miltary”.(His words, not mine) Do you know why he needs this? Who is this unseen threat, we citizens? We have a volunteer military. Some are there because they needed a job, but most are patriots and passionately believe in America and it’s principles, as was my decision “back when” in 1956. If it ultimately came to a total take over of our country because this administration had crippled us so badly we had to capitulate to his rule for just our existence, for food and water, I don’t believe our military would go along with him. He will of course try to ruin the military by holding back funding, which he is already doing.

Ever heard of (Americorps) Let’s not forget Acorn, Apollo Group, the  New Black Panthers to name a few of “HIS chosen troops for his army. The  “civilian army” would be there to finish off the job, taking over the role of our present military. His own personal army. How do you spell “dictator”? This scenario has happened many times before in history, even recently(Hugo Chavez). Wake up before it’s too late. Don’t let him get away with this. Vote him out in 2012. Resist him now. Speak up Be American!!

Wally
http://www.articlesbase.com/politics-articles/speak-up-be-american-1241818.html

Do you want a better job? Do you want more friends? Learn Spanish and you can have both! Spanish is spoken in many parts of the world and is spoken throughout the United States. With so many people speaking Spanish it can improve your job aspects and your friends network if you learn Spanish. Take the time to learn Spanish and many jobs will open up to you. If you learn Spanish, you will have a whole new group of people to be friends with.

Many jobs open up to you when you learn Spanish. Spanish speakers are all over and people need to be able to talk with them. In restaurants, offices, schools, stores, churches, or anywhere else that you find people, there is likely a need to have someone who can speak Spanish. Learn Spanish and these jobs become available to you. Learn Spanish and you can often get higher pay for this very important skill.

Some of the many tools that can help you learn Spanish include listening and responding to Spanish tutor recordings, reading Spanish books, practicing Spanish grammar, spending time in Spanish chat rooms, or talking to friends in Spanish. Learning a new language can be very challenging, but if you are willing to spend the time to work in the language, you will be able to learn Spanish in little time.

To learn Spanish in a classroom is difficult. You get very little one on one attention from the teacher. In a standard classroom, you go in to learn Spanish, but you are practicing with someone who speaks it at the same or lower level than you, another student. You are hearing them speak it wrong, you are practicing it wrong. The teacher might give you a little one on one attention, but if they have 30 students, you will get a minute or two of individual attention in a 60 minute class. This is not enough to learn Spanish. There are many different ways but the easiest way I found is using today’s technology on the net and once I learned a few words it was easy to get into conversation and stumble through to learn more and more words. Going back to how we learned our own language, by using pictures and sounding out words makes learning a new language quick , fun and easy!

Now, if you really want to improve your life and learn Spanish, then you need to spend time with Spanish speakers. Listen to native speakers and practice saying the words like they do. Practice your limited Spanish on native speakers. You will learn Spanish faster, the more you practice. Not to mention how quickly you will pick up the accent. Any native speakers will usually appreciate your attempts to speak their language, even if you get it wrong. Let them help you learn Spanish and use the excuse to go on holiday so you can show off your new skills!

Abi Smith
http://www.articlesbase.com/education-articles/how-spanish-can-change-your-life-745666.html

We live in a fast paced world that has become more focused on technology and personal advancement than the needs of the individual.  It is easy to get down on yourself or feel the urge to give up, but the truth is that will not solve anything. I am writing this with the hope that it can inspire just 1 person to be a better person and work to achieve a life that is truly fulfilling. I have been where you are at and know what it feels like. I have noticed 2 qualities that seem to prevent many from success and personal happiness.

The first danger you must avoid is a low self esteem. I can not stress this enough. If you do not love yourself, you will never be able to truly love another or be comfortable with who you are. A low self esteem will cause you to underestimate yourself, let manipulative people take advantage of you, cause you to push away people who can help you, and give you a sense of unrest because you will feel like nothing you do is ever good enough. To love yourself, you first must be true to yourself. Contrary to popular belief, people who are prideful, arrogant, materialistic, and vain hate themselves. It is all a front they put up to make others feel inferior. Do not fall into this trap. Society in general mistakes these traits for strength when they are actually glaring signs of weakness and insecurity. You can not achieve happiness through these things. For example, lets take materialism into account. If having better “stuff” than everyone else is what you feel makes you happy, it will be impossible. This is because no matter what you do, there will always be someone else who has better “stuff” than you do, more expensive clothes, bigger house, fancier car, etc. This is a form of competition that will not benefit you. If instead you make up your mind to love yourself, this stuff will not matter to you, and you will be able to see through it. Let us use vanity as an example. Do not mistake me, I believe everyone should try to look their best, but feeling you have to look like an anorexic, bleach blond, D-cupped magazine model is not healthy. I have known models. They have told me that it is impossible unless you more or less starve yourself. Some of them have told me they ate only 1 apple or 1 stalk of celery every day to have the body they have. Every human being has physical flaws, and the sooner you accept them the better off you will be. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Society is extremely shallow, but that does not mean you have to be as well. Look your best, take care of your body, and be happy with that. Those magazines present an image that is unattainable. It is a fantasy. Television and magazines are not real life. They are glamorized to appeal to the masses. If you base your supposed happiness on achieving an impossible and false image, you will never be happy with yourself because there is always something else you could do cosmetically or surgically to try to achieve perfection, which is impossible.

So you ask how do you love yourself? This is easier said than done, but the first step is figuring out who YOU are, not who society feels you should be. Take some time out to sit down and write out the person you want to be, both now and in the future. Also write down the things you love about yourself and things you feel are negatives that you could change. Never stop growing as a person. You can always improve yourself, but do not go overboard or it will overcome you. Also, learn to accept at work at the flaws in your personality. Everyone has at least 1 thing they struggle with, whether they will admit it or not. For me, it is keeping my emotions in check, but with years of work I can see improvement in myself. The next step is the hard part, actually putting a plan into action and fulfilling it. Realize that every human being is born an individual, different DNA and different fingerprints. It is a lot harder to be a leader than a follower, but the truth is nobody respects followers. It is the leaders who make differences in the world, and change starts with the individual. It is a lot less stressful to be yourself than to have to live your entire life pretending to be someone else. Also, keep in mind that no matter what you do you will never be able to please everyone, so just be yourself and make it easier!

The second thing keeping most from bettering their lives is jealousy and blaming others for your problems. You can not be responsible for the actions of others, only your own. It is popular to blame others for problems, but most the time people bring problems on themselves. Are you in an abusive relationship? You picked the other person and are choosing to stay. Have you gotten yourself into debt? Nobody forced you to charge all that stuff. Are you unhappy with your weight? If so, it is not the fault of someone who spends time at the gym. Jealousy will get you nowhere, only give you a sense of false satisfaction by blaming someone else for an issue that is entirely your own. I understand there are some things in life that can not be changed, but for anything that can be it is up to you and you alone to put in the hard work and reap the rewards of positive change in your own life. The sooner you learn to accept responsibility for your actions and love yourself, the sooner you can be a happier person.

I hope this can help someone out there. I am an independent life coach who has been helping young ladies for 6 years. If you are a struggling young lady who would like more information about me or speak with me about what is troubling you, feel free to visit my website at http://jmlifecoach.110mb.com. Thank you for reading, and I hope you have a great day!

Joshua Mikhail

Many Americans are learning Spanish to meet both business and personal goals. If you are one of the millions of visionary Americans taking on this challenge, bravo!

In business, speaking Spanish will help you attract loyal customers and a diverse employee base. By speaking Spanish in your personal life, you will meet fascinating people from around the world– and you’ll build valuable, long-lasting friendships.

For adults learning foreign languages can be challenging. You are never too old to acquire a second language! In fact, it’s good exercise for your brain.

Prepare to be dedicated in the pursuit of your linguistic goal. After all, you didn’t learn English over night. We learn our native language through years of trial and error. Nevertheless, you can achieve good results quickly by using these ten practical tips.

1. Use the words you know. Everyone who speaks English knows more Spanish than they realize. When you are beginning to speak Spanish, it could be difficult for you to compose and say an entire sentence. That doesn’t matter. Don’t wait until you have an entire “perfect” phrase. Say the words in Spanish that you know.

When you observe native speakers, you will hear them converse in English, Spanish and even Spanglish. With language it’s never all or nothing! Say what you know, even if it’s only one word.

2. Set yourself up for success. Start with simple greetings like “hola” or “buenas tardes.” If you say please or thank you to a Spanish-speaking customer or employee and you know the words “gracias” and “por favor,” use them after you say the words in English.

Setting a positive bilingual tone for communication is always a good idea. It lets the person you are speaking with know that it’s fine with you to use both English and Spanish.

3. Expect to make some mistakes. If you had a foreign language class in high school or college, perhaps you were corrected so many times that you feel defeated before you start. We all make mistakes when we speak English, so making mistakes in speaking Spanish is normal and natural. Everyone makes mistakes– even native speakers.

4. It’s OK to feel awkward. Speaking Spanish will feel physically different to you. You might even feel like a cartoon character has taken over your speech! Speaking Spanish requires more use of your facial muscles- and then there are those “trilled” r’s. Just do your best. Your accent will develop over time. Not having the best accent will only stand in the way of your ability to communicate if you let it.

5. Being shy is normal. It takes a strong, positive personality to take the risk of speaking another language. We are all inhibited to one degree or another. We’re terrified that people will laugh at us– or even yell at us out of impatience. Smile and dive in! It’s normal to feel inhibited when you begin to speak another language.

6. Ask “yes-no” questions. As you begin to increase your skills, when asking questions pose them so that the answer will be yes or no. This will give you a head-start on understanding the rest of the answer.

7. Practice each day. Practicing just five minutes each day will make a “grande” difference in your ability. A few minutes here and a few minutes there really add up over time. When you do practice, put yourself in situations where you can use the language. Attempts at memorization are usually very ineffective.

Write the days of the week on your calendar at the office and look at them each day.

Put a sticky note on your phone and write the numbers in Spanish from zero to ten on it. Each time you dial a number, say it in Spanish.

Make index cards of the Spanish words you want to learn first, and carry them in your purse or car. Exercises like these make your practice habits practical and help you build them into your normal routine.

8. Learn practical phrases.Think critically about what you do each day and what you need to learn to function more efficiently at your workplace. Learn those words and phrases first. By learning words that are practical, you will use them more often. The more you use the words, the faster you will remember them–and add to them.

9. Don’t worry about your grammar. Remember that no one speaks perfectly. Always remember that communication is always more important than conjugation! If the individual you are speaking with understands you, that’s all that really matters. It doesn’t have to be pretty and perfect to be effective.

10. Go slowly. Learning Spanish is like eating your favorite meal. Savor the experience. Learn Spanish one word or phrase at a time. Chew it completely before going on to more material. If you learn slowly, you will remember what you have learned longer. And, that’s the whole point!

Myelita Melton
http://www.articlesbase.com/communication-articles/ten-tips-for-learning-to-speak-spanish-135734.html

I think we may be in agreement on the “contradiction” issue. I think I am looking at it one way and you are looking at it another way, but we both agree somewhat on the issue. There are definitely physical language contradictions in the Bible, but there are no untruths. Do you agree with that assessment?

If we deem there are untruths, then why should we read it? If we deem there are untruths, who decides which ones? Then the Bible can become our own philosophy, with us picking and choosing those things we deem are true and those things we deem are not. Many religions have their foundations built on this premise. You can’t just read part of the Bible and pick and choose which part to believe and which part not to believe. This then becomes religion or philosophy. The Bible has to be taken as a whole. You also have to remember that “Yahweh Is love” and Elohim is perfect in all His ways, including the writing of His Bible by men and women He chose.

One big problem is that people do not know the Tenach and the New Testament fully and judge them from the miniscule amount they think they know or what they have heard, instead of searching it out for themselves in the scriptures. Also, the Bible absolutely cannot be understood with just the mind of man and its intelligence. One must have the Spirit of Yahweh in him to understand it, otherwise it is being understood with man’s mind only and it was not written by man’s mind. It was written by Elohim’s mind, who got man to transcribe it for Him. So when man speaks against the Bible saying it has mistakes in it because it was just written by man, he does not understand the ways of God very well and is only looking at it from a humanistic point of view.

It is true there are many seeming contradictions and perhaps seeming untruths in the Bible. Is God so stupid or un-powerful or un-omnipotent that He cannot influence men to write Him a perfect book? If we think so, then we do not think much of God and put a whole lot of stock in humanity and all its flaws. (Jeremiah said: The heart [mind] of man is desperately wicked above all things…). Those who believe God is so weak and incapable also believe God had to have “help” to create the universe, that He could not possibly just speak a word and have it come into being, out of thin nothingness, but He had to have a natural process of millions of years to do it. Man’s mind who has only observed his minute dimensions of parameter and number, is so bold as to postulate that God must do it this way, because that is what is present in man’s world and surly God cannot operate outside what we see, hear, taste, feel or think. All else to the natural man is just science fiction and should be on Star Trek. Speaking of the natural man: See I Corinthians 2—this pretty much explains what I just said in much better terms, mainly starting in vs. 7-16: “But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory. Which none of the princes of this world knew {and still don’t – examples: the pope, PhD evolutionists, great men and women of human intelligence and power, etc.} for had they known it they would not have crucified the Yahushua of glory {today they still crucify Him by denying Him and His creation and nullifying his importance and power}. But it is written, eye has not seen nor ear heard, neither has entered into the heart {mind} of man, the things which Elohim has prepared for them that love Him. {now usually people stop here with this verse to prove that we don’t know yet, but we will know someday, but continue and you are shown a revelation, if you can hear it}. But God has revealed them unto us by His Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, yea the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of man, save the spirit of man which is in him {the bible’s definition of death is “the body without the spirit is death”. So you see this mystery? Now you know what element in the human body is the element that causes life. It is the spirit of man in him. When man dies man’s spirit leaves to go to paradise, on either the good side or the bad side; it is separated by a great chasm.} even so the things of Elohim know no man, but the Spirit of Elohim {i.e., only the Spirit of Yahweh knows the things of Yahweh. The spirit of man knows only the things of man and has no idea about the things of Elohim.} Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of Yahweh; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of Yahweh. {i.e., we absolutely cannot understand this bible apart from being given the spirit of Elohim. Initial salvation is the mechanism of Elohim’s Spirit joining with man’s spirit, so that we actually and literally, become a NEW CREATION, hence the saying we are born again, the old man has died and the new man has revived. This is what it is talking about.} Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teaches {man’s wisdom is found in the university juggernauts} but which the Holy Ghost teaches; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of Yahweh; for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. {hence, we have the reason why men of great intelligence literally cannot and do not have any capacity whatsoever to be able to understand the things of Elohim, because they do not have the Spirit of Elohim in them, but only the spirit of man} But he that is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who has known the mind of Yahweh, that he may instruct Him? But we HAVE the mind of Yahushua Ha Mashiah. {if we are saved we do. If we are not, we don’t. Elohim gives us His Holy Spirit in initial salvation, but salvation is three fold–see II Corinthians 1; 10–” Who delivered us for so great a death [initial salvation], and does deliver [daily salvation--dependant upon our walk and learning and application of the bible, etc.], and in whom we trust that He will yet deliver us. [this is future salvation from the very presence of sin and destruction to be with Christ]}

There is a classic example of “contradiction” in Proverbs 26; 4 -5: ” vs. 4: Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him. vs. 5: Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit.” What’s the answer then to this glaring contradiction? It is found in Ecclesiastes 3;7 “…a time to keep silence, and a time to speak…”. The thing we have to remember is that while there may be many “contradictions” in the Bible there are no untruths. The contradiction is actually in our minds in our understanding of the Bible and not in the Bible itself. We assume that which we don’t understand is a contradiction when it may be just that we don’t understand it yet. Our understanding of it is opened more and more as we read and study, as we pray and seek, etc. Draw near to Elohim and He will draw near to you. This is one of the main ways He draws near, is by giving us revelation from His Holy and Inspired Word. Elihu told Job in Job 32: “Days should speak, and the multitude of years should teach wisdom {have you ever seen an old fool? I have seen many.} but there is a spirit in man and the inspiration of the Almighty gives them understanding. Great men are not always wise, neither do the aged understand judgment.” {necessarily}. II Peter 1: “Know this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man; but holy men of Yahweh spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” Example of Elohim writing His book, again. It is impossible to know the actual ways of Yahweh without having Elohim’s spirit and having the mind of Yahushua Ha Mashiah. It was written by the Holy Ghost, therefore it cannot be understood by the mind of man, but only by the Holy Ghost that is in some men.

It will take Elohim opening these doors of truth for you and there may be some submission involved, some humbling of yourself to see this. I hope, if nothing else, you do it to humor an old friend who is petitioning you to view and read it. Elohim’s got all the time in the world, however we don’t.

Let me get something straight: Now I do absolutely believe in micro-evolution, which is change within a species, but I absolutely do not believe in macro-evolution, which is when one species changes to another. There is absolutely no empirical evidence in the fossil record of this ever occurring and the lack of transitional forms screams to the top of its lungs. Micro-evolution absolutely occurs within a species and is observable both in living examples and in the fossil record. It is an environmentally induced manipulation of the genes within a species to adapt to whatever situation comes into being. Yahweh has so created living things so that there is an enormous pool of genes within a species that can combine to produce many different forms for adaptation within a species. Adam and Eve had all the genes and from that we have seen races “evolve” and various size humans with various ways of thinking, etc. Any species, dependant upon the environment and other influences can, over a period of time develop new forms within that species. Look at dogs. A tiny dog is not a large dog, but is still a dog. A wolf is not a dash hound, yet they are still dogs. The ark probably had one common form of dog with all the genes capable of producing all the forms of dogs that we see today. This is another plain and observed fact that evolutionist deny and that is the flood of Noah. On every mountain top, few or none without exception, there are fossilized sea shells. Of course the macro-evolutions say its from localized flooding. The great oil reserves are from giant masses of living things buried suddenly and quickly during the flood of Noah. The pressures they are under within the earth are not millions of years old or the pressures would have leaked out by now. The mid-Atlantic ridge and the circle of fire is probably where the fountains of the deep broke loose and water sprayed into the upper atmosphere and rained down with sudden dramatic drops in temperature {wooly mammoths are found frozen standing up with food still in their mouth. Something dramatic and sudden happened in extinction. It was the great flood. It may have been triggered by a cosmic event, but the point is that it happened. Extinction of many of the forms we see was sudden.} It’s amazing that today, all we see is extinction occurring in species and never creation of any new species. Wow! Every culture in the world has a historical story of some great flood that happened in their distant past. I wonder why? (Good resources: http://www.drdino.com, http://www.icr.org.)

I can see very well how men are duped into believing evolution, though. My goodness, everywhere you turn on any science channel, they speak of it as if it is a proven fact beyond criticism, rather than an unproven, far fetched theory. There is no empirical evidence that holds any water in the fossil record, of macro-evolution, in fact, there are no transitional forms in the fossil record that haven’t been skewed and glued together with the great imagination of men. Anywhere you go in any university, almost, you find PhD’s of science teaching it as if it were solid, hard facts. They are not trying to deceive others. They actually have been brainwashed themselves into believing a fairy tale, where the frog has turned into the prince and the kiss was that magic ingredient called time.

Keep in mind that Yahushua Ha Mashiah chose those things men consider as foolish to confound the things that they consider are wise: See I Corinthians 1; 18-31″…the preaching of the cross is to them that perish is foolishness…Yahweh has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and Elohim has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world and things which are despised, has Yahushua chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nothing things that are…”

For someone who is not trying to convince you, I have sure laid out a lot here. I guess I am trying to convince you, but only because I want you to know these truths.

Michael R. Sears

Being women is more than about maternity. As men are visual animals that they have many erotic fantasies in their mind, the woman in his life can make at least one of these dreams come true that will really make him on his knees before you. Just like the cherry on the top of ice cream, erotic lingerie can also be the spice of your love life.

By putting on your most provocative lingerie, you can elicit just about the right mood to set the bedroom ablaze. It is right the time to flaunt your best assets with the sexiest bit of erotic lingerie.

Everything from the color, materials, and the cut of her erotic lingerie can speak of her sexual fantasies. What she chose to wear will let your know how she see herself. And the lingerie will reveal her deeper personality. It is sure that some piece of sexy lingerie would reveal how she thinks about her sexy attraction. Here are some tips to choose the best erotic lingerie for your much-anticipated night.

Satin, silk and lace would be always the first choice. They will add more glamour to your passionate lovemaking due to their soft touch and feminine appearance. Maybe these fabrics are pricier but they are really worthwhile.

The gorgeous bust line should be always accentuated by choosing the push-up and padded bras. According to female anatomy, the bust line catches the most attention. Therefore, sexy lingerie should always concentrate on the perfect bust line.

Choose some see-through cover-up to get him want more. Some fine, sheer fabrics like lace that draped and skimmed around your body will create sexier silhouette.

The last but not the least, size does matter a lot. Hot, ultra-sexy bra is pointless if it does not fit your body at all. Regardless of the size of your bust, the perfect-sized bra will make you appear more alluring as the perfect-fitting bra can spells confidence in all corners.

When it comes to shopping for your best erotic lingerie, some details like ribbons, ruffles and lace also should be paid attention. And by shopping these seductive patterns online, you can avoid a lot of embarrassment in regular shopping in lingerie outlets. Also you have a wide range of selection out there.

alice