Let's face it, no one likes a "pop quiz" or to be tested, right?

And yet, life is a series of tests.  We are challenged daily.  How will we respond to our loved ones today?  How is our body holding up to the aging process?  Will we accomplish everything we need to today, this week, this month, this year? 

How will we get through (fill in the blank).  No one knows the future.  But we can control how we respond to it.

And then, there are the consequences of our actions.  Or fallout from words expressed in anger or hostility.  We have all been guilty of having a knee-jerk reaction and then regret our response.  After all, we are hopelessly flawed human beings, right?

I'm thankful to have a loving, supportive christian husband and super great children to share my life with. 

The joy of the LORD is my strength!  I need God to be good. When I make mistakes, I am sorry, forgiven....and FREE because of what Jesus Christ did for me...

I hope you find peace, joy, and love tonight dear bloggie buddies!

Titled "Selling your laptop on Ebay"....what a story, wow! 

It's within MSN tech and gadgets section, find it and read it. 

book, "The Traveler's Gift".

And I quote:  I will persist without exception.

" Knowing that I have already made changes in my life that will last forever, today I insert the final piece of the puzzle.  I possess the greatest power ever bestowed upon mankind, the power of choice.  To day, I choose to persist without exception.  No longer will I live in a dimension of distraction, my focus blown hither and yon like a leaf on a blustery day.  I knjow the outcome I desire.  I hold fast to my dreams.  I stay the course.  I do not quit.  I will continue despite exhaustion...."

                  I will persist without exception!

There you have it!  All "Seven Decisions that determine personal success"

Of course, there are so many more you or I can think of that have worked in our lives.  I will leave you with a verse out of the New Testament.

Romans 15;13  " May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

book, "The Traveler's Gift".

And I quote:  I will greet this day with a forgiving spirit.

"Many are the times when I have seethed in anger at a word or deed thrown into my life by an unthinking or uncaring person.  I have wasted valuable hours imagining revenge or confrontation.  Now I see the truth revealed about this psychological rock inside my shoe.  The rage I nurture is often one-sided, for my offender seldom gives thought to his offense!

I will now and forevermore silently offer my forgiveness even to those who do not see that they need it.  By the act of forgiving, I am no longer consumed by unproductive thoughts.  I give up my bitterness.  I am content in my soul and effective again with my fellowman.  I will forgive those who criticize me unjustly....."

                            I will greet this day with a forgiving spirit!

Okay, one more to go!  Stay with me folks.  Be sure to read the previous 5. Your comments are always welcome here. 

book called, "The Traveler's Gift"

And I quote:     Today I will choose to be Happy.

"Laughter is an outward expression of enthusiasm, and I know that enthusiasm is the fuel that moves the world.  I laugh throughout the day.  I laugh while I am alone, and I laugh in conversation with others.  People are drawn to me because I have laughter in my heart.  The world belongs to the enthusiastic, for people will follow them anywhere!  I will smile at every person I meet..."

                  Today I will choose to be Happy!

Okay, for those who are still reading...there are 2 more to come!  Be sure to read the previous 4.  Comments welcome!

book, called, "The Traveler's Gift"

And I quote:         I have a decided Heart.

"I am passionate about my vision for the future.  I will awaken every morning with an excitement about the new day and its opportunity for growth and change.  My thoughts and actions will work in a forward motion, never sliding into the dark forest of doubt or the muddy quicksand of self-pity.  I will freely give my vision for the future to others, and as they see the belief in my eyes, they will follow me.

I will lay my head on my pillow at night happily exhausted, knowing that I have done everything within my power to move the mountains in my path.  As I sleep, the same dream that dominates my waking hours will be with me in the dark.  Yes, I have a dream.  It is a great dream, and I will never apologize for it.  Neither will I ever let it go, for if I did, my life would be finished.  My hopes, my passions, my vision for the future are my very existence.  A person without a dream never had a dream come true...."

          I have a decided Heart!

3 more to come!  Be sure to read the previous 3 and feel free to comment. 

book, The Traveler's Gift.  And I quote:

                   I am a person of Action.

"Beginning today, I will create a new future by creating a new me.  No longer will I dwell in a pit of despair, moaning over squandered time and lost opportunity.  I can do nothing about the past.  My future is immediate.  I will grasp it in both hands and carry it with running feet.  When I am faced with the choice of doing nothing or doing something, I will always choose to act! I seize this moment.  I choose now...........

               I am a person of Action!"

4 more to come.  Your comments welcome.  Be sure to read the previous 2....

book, The Traveler's Gift, "Seven decisions that determine personal success"

          "I will seek wisdom.

I will choose my friends with care.  I am who my friends are.  I speak their language, and I wear their clothes.  I share their opinions and their habits.  From this moment forward, I will choose to associate with people whose lives and lifestyles I admire.  If I associate with chickens, I will learn to scratch at the ground and squabble over crumbs.  If I associate with eagles, I will learn to soar to great heights.  I am an eagle.  It is my destiny to fly....

       I will seek wisdom!" 

I welcome your responses.

And, I will post the other 5 soon.

"Seven decisions that determine personal success" by ANDY ANDREWS

Wow!  Here is a peek into the point of the book and I quote....

"The first decision for Success:

                The buck stops here.  

From this moment forward, I will accept responsibility for my past.  I understan that the beginning of wisdom is to accept the responsibility for my own problems and that by accepting responsibility for my past, I free myself to move into a bigger, brighter future of my own choosing.

Never again will I blame my parents, my spouse, my boss, or other employees for my present situation.  Neither my education nor lack of one, my genetics, or the circumstantial ebb and flow of everyday life will affect my future in a negative way.  If I allow myself to blame these uncontrollable forces for my lack of success, I will be forever caught in a web of the past.  I will look forward.  I will not let my history control my destiny.

            The buck stops here." end quote.

Responses welcome....

Fresh (homemade) and out of the oven in a few minutes...I only have a few minutes to chat.  Anyone want to visit?

THE EVIL OF EVALUATION IN EDUCATION – THE STUDENT AS A PERSON You have a bright, active child. They’re interested. The world is new and fascinating for them, every day. They get up each morning assuming that life will be an adventure. So it should be. Then they go to school.

For many students, the adventure turns into grim punishment. They find themselves COMPARED. They’re “slow in math”. They’re “remedial” in science or reading. They’re “behind their grade level”. They’re too tall, too friendly, they’re religious. They’re “hyperactive”. In short, the student is “different-bad”, of far less value, they and their parents are informed, than was believed. With “authority”, the teacher and principle and school psychologist state that your child “needs help”, in the form of additional organizational controls over the student’s life…more time cracking the books, more homework, “special” classes, counseling, Ritalin. The student is not special, he is a “problem”. The world is not fascinating, it’s threatening. A life of self-doubt and even drug addiction (prescribed and sanctioned) has begun. (And, not to be too dramatic, but has there been a shooting in a school in the last ten years committed by a student who was not undergoing psychiatric “care”, most or all of them drugged? Doesn’t seem so.)

Being energetic, bright, having interests is not a detriment, except to overwhelmed teachers with thirty students every hour, and inundated schools trying to service hundreds or thousands of parents and students. The extraordinary student (every student) requires time and attention. Students with unique life interests and vitality are not the “public” targeted by most modern educational systems. Institutions handle numbers, not individuals. Their methods and curricula are designed to service the average, or to keep all students at the level of the lowest common denominator, so “no child is left behind”. Only every student is an individual. Every student, without exception, has unique skills, ideas and needs which should be addressed and satisfied by their education. Every student works best at his or her unique pace, studying in a way that challenges them to think and grow and evaluate for themselves as individuals. This is one of the thrusts behind the meteoric growth of home schooling worldwide. The parent sees their child, and knows. Here is a unique and deserving individual to be valued, not “made to fit in”, and not controlled! A rational look at education pinpoints the need for the student to receive information which the student is then allowed to evaluate. What is the value of this information to the student? How can he or she use that information? This sort of educational approach is impossible in a classroom, where individual brightness and creativity must be crushed in favor of the overall “progress” of the group. Students in the classroom who don’t quite fit, who are too fast or slow or different, must be squeezed into the pace and shape of their fellow “numbers”. That’s how schools survive, and students fail.

 Steven David Horwich Connect The Thoughts

Reen's comments below: ********In the news today, there was an entire lockdown of an entire school district while they hunted down a killer who, in the end, commited suicide. Another tragedy strikes the most innocent....our children! (then, I find this newsletter in my inbox, once again confirming our decision to home school our children. We have from the beginning and we will continue to!)

"Shyly admits...I haven't been that best at it.  So many of you great people have left heartwarming comments there, thank you SO MUCH!  I leave guest book messages from time to time without any regard to "hearing back from that person".   But, I think it's important to convey my gratefulness for your kindness. 

So, thank you , thank you, thank you!

The following is actually an old hymn, have you heard of it?  It's been snowing so much here and across the country, I thought it would be appropriate to share in this forum.  Enjoy!

"I once read in a poem, when snow covers the earth; it hides the world’s flaws and gives nature new birth. And they say when a man turns from sin to the Lord, that forgiveness, like snow, covers him evermore. And somewhere it’s snowing; see the soft coming down, as the snowflakes surrender to the hardening ground. Like the good grace of Jesus that now covers our sin; in the kingdom of heaven it’s snowing again."

And then, when the ground is frozen, that snow is the reason that is stays white and beautiful.  We had 8-10" of snow fall over the past couple weeks!  I thought this was a great metaphor of what it means to be a follower of Christ.  Be encouraged today and remember when the Lord forgives you it covers you from the inside out!

Take no offense, either come and stay or walk away.  I've read a lot of information on here, some I agree with, some I don't.  It's my turn to share more of my heart!....

I've had super success both times I've shipped outside of the USA, so I've bravely added CANADA and UK to all my listings!  I've shipped to Paris, France, too and will consider any and all other locations.

Come see what I have for you!  I really need to list lots more still, though.

BE JOYFUL       ~Reen~

P.S. I buy items from overseas occasionally, too, with no problems. 

I started reading this in the middle of summer, it's called,

THE TRAVELER'S GIFT by Andy Andrews

"Seven Decisions that determine personal success...."

It got moved from my purse to just about every room in the house and my SUV, I found it again the other day, dusted it off, and will hopefully finish it now.  Lol!