Good Morning! I do hope that everyone had a wonderful celebration of Jesus Birthday. I know we did. I believe this will be a Christmas that all will remember. We started our morning with the usual holidasy tradition of opening presents and then breakfast. Then we went to church and enjoyed a wonderful service. The rest of the day was just eating and resting from the previous days preparation. The kids all got what they wished for and Sam and I had a wonderful time just watching the gleam in their eyes. That alone made my Christmas complete.

I hope that each and every one of you had a wonderful holiday and I do hope that you will all be very careful with the New Year's Eve events coming up. me, I'll be home. Snuggled in my bed watching the ball drop from the warmth of my bed! God bless all of you. May the next year be a much safer and better one for all of us.

Debbie

>Subject: food for thought

 Season Enjoy-

 When I received this I read it to the end,, and then I stayed in my  seat,

motionless,, speechless...

 Didn't we all do what those people did?  Just imagine how it felt for

Him.

Please read it and pass it on to people whom you care for so they

don't shut the door again. As you well know, we are getting closer to my

birthday.  Every year there is a celebration in my honor and I think that

this year the celebration will be repeated.  During this time there are many

people shopping for gifts, there are many radio announcements, TV

commercials, and in every part of the world everyone is talking that my

birthday is getting

closer and closer.

 It is really very nice to know, that at least once a year, some people

 think of me. As you know, the celebration of my birthday began many years

ago. At first people seemed to understand and be thankful of all that I did

for them, but in these times, no one seems to know the reason for the

celebration.  Family and friends get together and have a lot of fun,

but they don't know the meaning of the celebration. I remember that last

year there was a great feast in my honor.  The

dinner table was full of delicious foods, pastries, fruits, assorted nuts

and chocolates.  The decorations were exquisite and there were many, many

beautifully wrapped gifts.  But, do you want to know something?  I wasn't

 invited.  I was the guest of honor and they didn't remember to send me an

invitation.

The party was for me, but when that great day came, I was left outside,

 they closed the door in my face......... and I wanted to be with them

and share their table.

 In truth, that didn't surprise me because in the last few years all

close their doors to me.  Since I was not invited, I decided to enter the

party without making any noise. I went in and stood in a corner.  They were

all drinking; there were some who were drunk and telling jokes and laughing

at everything.  They were having a great time.  To top it all, this big

fat man all dressed in red wearing a long white beard entered the room

yelling  Ho-Ho-Ho!  He seemed drunk. He sat on the sofa and all the children

ran to him, saying :  "Santa Claus, Santa Claus"... as if the party were in

his honor !

 At 12 midnight all the people began to hug each other;  I extended my arms

waiting for someone to hug me and....  do you know .... no one hugged me.

 Suddenly they all began to share gifts.  They opened them one by one with

great expectation. When all had been opened, I looked to see if, maybe,

there was one for me.  What would you feel if on your birthday

everybody shared gifts and you did not get one?  I then understood that I

was unwanted at that party and quietly left.

 Every year it gets worse. People only remember to eat and drink, the gifts,

the parties and nobody remembers me.  I would like this

Christmas that you allow me to enter into your life.

 I would like that you recognize the fact that almost two thousand years ago

I came to this world to give my life for you, on the cross, to save you.

Today, I only want that you believe this with all you heart.  Iwant to share

something with you.  As many didn't invite me to their party, I will have my

own celebration, a grandiose party that no one has ever imagined, a

spectacular party.

 I'm still making the final arrangements.  Today I am sending out many

invitations and there is an invitation for you.  I want to know if you wish

to attend and I will make a reservation for you and write your name with

golden letters in my great guest book.  Only those on the guest list will be

invited to the party.  Those who don't answer the invitation, will be left

outside.

 Do you know how you can answer this invitation?  It is by extending it to

others whom you care for...

 I'll be waiting for all of you to attend my party this year...

 See you soon....  I love you !

                                           ~Jesus~

There was a man who worked for the Post Office whose job it was to process all the mail that had illegible addresses.
One day just before Christmas, a letter landed on his desk, simply addressed in shaky handwriting to "God".

With no other clue on the envelope, he opened the letter and read, "Dear God, I am an 83 year old widow living on the State pension.
Yesterday someone stole my purse. It had £100 in it, which was all the money I had in the world and no pension due until after Christmas.

Next week is Christmas and I had invited two of my friends over for  Xmas dinner. Without that money, I have nothing to buy food with. I
 have no family to turn to, and you are my only hope. God; can you please help me?"

The postal worker was really touched, and put a copy of the letter up on the Staff Notice board, at the main sorting office where he worked.
The letter touched the other postmen and they all dug into their  pockets and passed it around. Between them they raised £96.

Using an official Post Office envelope, they sent the cash on to the old lady, and for the rest of the day, all the workers felt a
warm glow thinking of the nice thing they had done.

Christmas came and went. A few days later, another letter simply  addressed to "God" landed in the Sorting Office. Many of the postmen
gathered around while the letter was opened.

It read, "Dear God, How can I ever thank you enough for what you did for me? Because of your generosity, I was able to provide a lovely
dinner for my friends. We had a very nice day, and I told my friends of your wonderful gift - in fact we haven't gotten over it and our
Pastor is beside himself with joy.

By the way, there was £4 missing. I think it must have been those thieving people at the Post Office.

When he went to harness the reindeer, he found that three of them were about to give birth and two had jumped the fence and were out at heaven knows where. More stress.

Then when he began to load the sleigh one of the boards cracked and the toy bag fell to the ground and scattered the toys. So, frustrated, Santa went into the house for a cup of coffee and a shot of whiskey. When he went to the cupboard, he discovered that the elves had hid the liquor and there was nothing to drink.

In his frustration, he accidentally dropped the coffeepot and it broke into hundreds of little pieces all over the kitchen floor. He went to get the broom and found that mice had eaten the straw it was made of. Just then the doorbell rang and Santa cussed on his way to the door. He opened the door and there was a little angel with a great big Christmas tree.

The angel said, very cheerfully, "Merry Christmas Santa. Isn't it just a lovely day? I have a beautiful tree for you. Isn't it just a lovely tree? Where would you like me to stick it?

Thus began the tradition of the little angel on top of the tree.

Author Unknown

Hi Folks! sorry it's been so long since I have come out and said anything. Been REALLY BUSY. Working a part time job for the holidays and trying to keep  my head a float in the process.

Kids are doing fine. Cody making the grade in School and Matt doing great in therapy. We are all getting ready for christmas and making the most out of it all. I'll be taking Matt back to PA in April or May 2006 and I have all ideas my dear son will be hoping to marry to soon. Of course we are also trying to get him in school again as the new meds are doing great. So keep us in your prayers, and rememeber we love you all!

God Bless!

Debbie

Happy VGLDSW Day

Today is International Very Good Looking, Darn Smart Woman's Day, so please send this message to someone you think fits this description. Please do not send it back to me as I have already received it from a Very Good Looking, Darn Smart Woman! And remember this motto to live by: Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, wine in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!"



"You don't stop laughing when you get old, you get old when you stop laughing"

I liked the old paths when....

   Moms were at home, Dads were at work.
   Brothers went into the army. And sisters got married

  BEFORE having children!

   Crime did not pay;   Hard work did;
   And people knew the difference.

   Moms could cook;   Dads would work;
   Children would behave.

   Husbands were loving;    Wives were supportive;
   And children were polite.

   Women wore the jewelry;    And Men wore the pants.
   Women looked like ladies;    Men looked like gentlemen;
   And children looked decent.

   People loved the truth, and hated a lie;
   They came to church to get IN, Not to get OUT!

   Hymns sounded Godly; Sermons sounded helpful;
   Rejoicing sounded normal; and crying sounded sincere.

   Cursing was wicked; drinking was evil;
   and divorce was unthinkable.

   The flag was honored; America was beautiful;
   And God was welcome!

   We read the Bible in public; Prayed in school;
   And preached from house to house

   To be called an American was worth dying for;
   To be called a Christian was worth living for;
   To be called a traitor was a shame!

   Sex was a personal word.
   Homosexual was an unheard of word,
   And abortion was an illegal word.

   Preachers preached because they had a message;
   And Christians rejoiced because they had the VICTORY!
   Preachers preached from the Bible; Singers sang from the heart; And sinners turned to the Lord to be SAVED!

   A new birth meant a new life; Salvation meant a changed life; Following Christ led to eternal life.

   Being a preacher meant you proclaimed the word of God; Being a deacon meant you would serve the Lord;
   Being a Christian meant you would live for Jesus;
   And being a sinner meant someone was praying for you!

   Laws were based on the Bible; Homes read the Bible;
   And churches taught the Bible.

   Preachers were more interested in new converts,
   Than new clothes and new cars.
   God was worshiped; Christ was exalted;
   and the Holy Spirit was respected.

   Church was where you found Christians on the Lord's Day, Rather than in the garden, on the creek bank, on the golf course, Or being entertained somewhere else.

   I still like the old paths the best.

THIS ONE WILL MAKE YOU THINK
AND WE SAID OKAY
This one will make you think  
In light of the many perversions and jokes we send to one another for a
laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke,
it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.

Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane
Clayson asked her "How could God let something like this happen?"
(regarding the attacks on Sept. 11).

Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She
said, "I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for
years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of
our government and to get out of our lives.
And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How
can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we
demand He leave us alone?"
In light of recent events...terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I
think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her
body found recently) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools,
and we said OK.
Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school . The Bible
says thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor
as yourself. And we said OK.
Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they
misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we
might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We
said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK.
Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they
don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill
strangers, their classmates, and themselves.
Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it
out. I think it has a great deal to do with "WE REAP WHAT WE SOW."
Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the
world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but
question what the Bible says.
Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like
wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people
think twice about sharing.
Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through
cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and
workplace.  

Morning folks! I got a message yesterday from Tom in MD. So I guess this one is for you "TOM".

Things are going fairly well. Very busy, and as many of you know we had a house full with the hurricanes hitting in Louisiana and having do much family and many many friends there. Several people we know lost thier homes and jobs due to teh Hurricane. We made several runs to the shelters dropping off clothes and food and hygeine supplies to help out. Most we know have returned to Louisiana trying to peice back their lives. We still have not located Matt's dad, or his grandma and grandpa and his half brother Johnathan. We have them posted on a few web sites but still have not heard a word as to how they made out in New Orleans after the storms hit. IF anyone reading this knows anything please contact us as soon as possible. On the central and western side of the state we had a lot of friends that got hit also, and with the following of Rita it was devastating. Several guys I know here in Arkansas went to the coast to try to help out with misc jobs only to have Rita run them back home. The sound of their voices and the stories they tell of what they saw there were eye openers for sure. NO one can really understand the devastation that has hit these people until you see it first hand. Or have lived it already through an earthquake, tornado, or fire ect.

I was really upset when I learned that many I grew up with and worked with in New Orleans were yelling discrimination and blaming the wrong people for a act of nature. I thought to myself" hey... wake up folks! " They all just went fool down there. Looting, killing, and then the best of all racist. But one reporter found something that says it all....Here what the western and central gulf coast cajuns did and thought...

Man bites hurricane

By Michael Graham

They were poor. They lived in homes that, to some Americans, would appear no more than shacks. They've suffered discrimination at the hands of their fellow Americans. And when the hurricane came, it seemed to veer o! ut of its way, just to hit them.

So why didn't hundreds of Cajuns from western Louisiana appear on my TV screen this week, complaining that George W. Bush doesn't like them, demanding $200 billion of my tax dollars or blaming the bad weather on Halliburton?

Hurricane Rita may have hit western Louisiana harder than Katrina hit New Orleans, but Rita across folks made of sterner stuff then you'll find in the Ninth Ward. Here's how one Washington Post story described the scene just hours after Rita made landfall near Intracoastal City, a "city" that in many sense! s barely exists:

"The only people who can get here are the sturdiest of sorts, a small armada of Cajuns with pretty French names and sunburned skin and don't-mess-with-me bravado. The bayous were full of them Saturday, gliding high and quick in airboats, and so was the Vermilion River, where they were spinning steering wheels on fast Boston Whalers and kicking up wakes in flat-bottomed, aluminum boats. They did not wait for the president or FEMA or anyone else to tell them that there were people out there — out there and desperate, on rooftops...

'I got out of the sheriff's office in about 20 seconds,' said Steve Artee, as his son, Chris, made a hard, boat-tilting turn on th! e swollen Vermilion. 'They just took my cell phone number, and I was gone. That's because Kathleen Blanco wasn't involved.'"

Now, anyone who hates Blanco and bureaucrats can't be all bad. But I don't agree with Mr. Artee that the people of Vermilion Parish behaved more responsibly or showed more strength of character because Gov. Blanco didn't have their parish on her speed dial. I believe the people of western Louisiana behaved better because they are, in fact, better people.

The failure revealed by Hurricane Katrina was not a failure of government, at least, not any more than government always fails. Th! e failure in New Orleans was a failure of character. Corrupt people el ecting corrupt politicians who gave millions in tax dollars to corrupt cronies to either mis-construct vital levees or to spend the money on entirely useless pork projects. Then, when disaster struck, these same people—living a Faustian deal of votes for tax-funded handouts— were utterly lost when those corrupt government officials headed for high ground without them.

As John Fund of the Wall Street Journal wrote: "In just the past generation, the Pelican State has had a governor, an attorney general, three successive insurance commissioners, a congressman, a federal judge, a state Senate president and a swarm of local officials convicted. Last year, three top officials at Louisiana's Office of Emergency Preparedness were indicted…. Just this s! ummer, associates of former [New Orleans] mayor Marc Morial were indicted for alleged kickbacks involving public contracts. Last month the FBI raided the home and car of Rep. William Jefferson as part of a probe into allegations he had misused his office."

Not to mention the widespread looting by the citizens of New Orleans themselves, which included televised looting by police officers, too. The chief administrative officer for Kenner, LA, was just busted for pilfering food, drinks, chainsaws and roof tarps from New Orleans and stashing them in his suburban home.

Hey—stay classy, New Orleans!
!
Then came Hurricane Rita, Katrina's ugly sister, to wreak similar havoc just a few hundred miles to the west. The communities affected were, on the surface, similar as well: Abbeville or Cameron, LA were "low income" communities. The education levels were similar to the Ninth Ward, too. And you won't find many branches of the Aryan Nations meeting among the dark-skinned natives of Cajun country, whose heritage is a genetic gumbo of Europe, Africa, the Caribbean and American Indians.

But while the people of New Orleans were panicking and complaining (not to mention stealing, shooting and stabbing) days after the storm, the Cajuns of western Louisiana were out in their boats, looking for! lost neighbors and rescuing strangers off rooftops.

It wasn't just because Gov. Blanco wasn't involved—it was because almost NO government is involved in these folks' daily lives. The people of rural Louisiana grow up with the assumption that their survival in this world of woe is their responsibility. Unlike far too many people in New Orleans, "low income" isn't an excuse to the working families in rural Louisiana. It's just a condition to be dealt with. They live their lives as though they own them, unlike those government-dependent "victims" who live as though life is something the state provides for them and is responsible to maintain.

Randy Gary, a fisherman from Cameron, LA, was asked about his future after his boats were destroyed and flooding poisoned the oyster beds he fished.

He didn't blame FEMA or accuse President Bush of stealing his lunch money. He wasn't spotted kicking in the door of the local Wal-Mart to snag a plasma-screen TV "for survival purposes." He has yet to join the Cajun Action Committee to investigate why so many of Rita's victims spoke French.

Instead, as the AP reports, he smiled.

"What else we gonna do?" he said, pledging to rebuild his shattered home and work. "It's my life. It's what I do."

Hurricane Rita, you've met your match.

Could'nt have said it better myself. So Tom here is your personal update of how life has been for us. Dealing with the pain of our bretheren and trying to understand and give the support that is desperately needed. And yes, my new husband is great. We are doing fine and by marriage I am now a grandma so I have to get a whole new frame of mind for that one! LOL

Take care all. Keep these people in your hearts and in your prayers. And if anyone can donate anything to help them start their lives over please do. They need all they can get.

Any questions??? email me at Savedangel61@yahoo.com if you do have any.

Take care. God Bless!

Debbie