The art of being Organized-Gift placement

(C) 2016 P. Lynne Designs

Well, well, well, look at all of those gifts.  You sure got a lot, now didn’t you? 

It is a wonderful thing to get gifts for Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanza, Festivus, or even your birthday.  (10 points of you had a combo month - you know the drill-Birthday + any two holidays, 20 if you throw in Thanksgiving = Thanksbirthanuzafestmas^*).  Let the food coma begin.  Nothing like the coming of the new year to throw it into overdrive.

Fact: this is the worst time of the year for anyone with food allergies, Gluten intolerance, or diabetics.

Once New Year’s Day is over with, it is time for normalcy to kick in.  Kids go back to school, parents go back to work, and the daily routine schedule commences.  My question is, “where did you put all those presents from December 2016”?  If you do not know, perhaps you are not as organized as you think you are.  Have you even used them yet?  If the answer is yes, good job.  If not, why?

What to do with the gifts?

I know, silly question but I am here to help you out.  You can do several things with gifts.  You can use it, re-gift it (it is not rude to do so). You can return it. Make sure you get a gift receipt, know the store from where the gift was purchased AND their policy, and a good excuse to the gifter on why you are returning it in the first place. (Saying that it is ugly is NOT a good excuse).  You could also sell it.

Have a gift card to a store you do not shop at?  You could try the store out, after all, you may like it, or there are several online places that will exchange the gift card for the one you like, or get a Visa, American Express, or MasterCard gift card. (I have not seen a Discover Card gift card as of yet.)

If you decide to keep said gift…

Please use it.  Nothing is more embarrassing than the gifter standing in long lines just to get you the perfect gift and you do not look at it.  Do not use it out of pity either.  Store the gift in its proper place.  If you do not have a place for it, create one.  Find a like item (something you already have that is in common with the gift).  For instance, my father got me a purse for Christmas.  I am not crazy about the color combination, but I love that I can put my mini Ipad in the main compartment of the purse.  My phone fits up front, and my wallet fits inside with the Ipad.  I do not carry tons of makeup, so when I do, it will fit as well.  I will carry the purse until it is time for the season to change, then I will store it with my other purses.  Now it has a home.  I store my purses in my bedroom closet.

There is another place…

To put an unwanted gift.  You do not need any monitory value for it at all.  Donate the item.  Most places like consignment shops, thrift stores, and shelters take gently used items to give to those without a whole lot of money.  Some places will pay you money for your unwanted gift, like consignment shops and shops like New Uses, but do not expect a lot of money for the precious item.

Back in the summer, I needed some money, so I decided to try New Uses.  I had some retired Longaberger baskets to unload (8), so I decided to give New Uses a try.  Longaberger baskets are worth a lot of money, but the total I would have received from New Uses was a whopping $27.72, had I taken the money.  I was expecting around $200.00 tops.  The buyer explained to me that they go by the size and shape of the baskets, NOT what it is worth. In other words, the value.  She held up the smallest basket and said that it is was worth $2 by itself.  I was so heated, until I grabbed all the baskets, and got out of there. 

Thrift stores do not pay, at least in Columbus, Ohio.  Your best option is to simply donate the gift.  While you are at it, clean out your closets, so your gift would not be lonely.  The donation alone makes a great tax write-off for the end of the year.  My church’s denomination, The United Methodist Church has a free store on the south end of the city.  Those who are in need go there to get gently used items, and it is like a store, where products are set up on shelves or hanging on racks.  The only difference is the people pay nothing for the product, eliminating the stigma of not having any money to pay for a new doll or a new pair of pants.  All you, the donator needs to do, is drop off the products for the people to “purchase”.  Of course, you get a receipt for the items you donate, and you present that receipt to your tax preparer.

Conclusion…

You have received so much in one day, make the most out of it.  Maybe you have not, and this holiday season was such a struggle for you. Perhaps you do not celebrate any holidays or birthdays for whatever reason you choose to, or it was something you were taught.  Whatever the reason, whatever the thought process to the gift you received, and whatever the gift is or was (remember Hanukah and Kwanza are still being celebrated as I type this), always remember that it is the thought that counts, and it is better to give than receive.  Give to others and receive the present of family and friends, for those are lasting memories.  Time is very precious.  Make good use of it.

Just in time for Christmas

(Warning:  Some of the links below may contain affiliate information.  I may receive a commission for that link. For a full explanation, please see my disclosure page. Thank you.)

Shopping at Longaberger Homestead
(c) 2016 P. Lynne Designs

Here is your PSA for the week courtesy of my Facebook Status:

This is your PSA for the Week...Please, please, please be patient. I know many of you out there at the last minute are present hunting. Why? These employees are stressed as it is. I have been there. Yes, stores should be well stocked, but sometimes their buyers underestimate the crowds this time of the year. They go by what their numbers were for the same or similar item last year (2015). They have no idea as they sit in their ivory towers and laugh at the rest of us, shouting "glad I do not have to deal with this". Be glad you have to the money (or the credit, which you shouldn't) to get the item. Trust me, I have worked at a department store and a scrapbooking store, and I always hated the week coming up to Christmas.
I got yelled at for an item not being there when the customer wanted it, an item not on sale, and why can't they get a refund for an item (or raincheck).
At the same time, for the employee, please, please, please, be patient. Customers do not read minds. If a customer is asking you for something, anything, do not brush them off and talk to them down to a child's level. Do not scream at them. Stay professional at all times, don't let them see you sweat. Do not discuss your work affairs around a customer who is just trying to get home or to the next place to shop. No one has time to hear that mess.
OK, Bye, I smell a blog post cooking. Stay tuned...

Patience

The dictionary defines patience as “lack of complaint” and “staying power” (I need to explore that a bit), while my thesaurus says that the similarity words are endurance, tolerance, persistence, and stamina to name a few. 

I will admit to some that I sometimes have a lack of patience, especially when it comes to driving.  I want to get where I am going, but I am less tolerant of those who text or talk on their cell phone, and they are headed towards me with said phone in hand.  I am not in the mood of being totaled again, especially when the cause of my accident last year was me taking my eyes off the road for a second to reach for my donut.  I was not that hungry, and the donut stayed in the car, as I was being carted off by the ambulance.  Trust me, the text or phone call is not important, and neither was me eating as I was heading towards another SUV.

Patience at Christmas Time…

Starting with Black Friday until this week, thousands of people have shopped in the stores, malls, and online, hunting for that perfect gift.  This is a plus for a store. Black Friday, which is the one day of the year where stores operate in the black (making profit) as oppose to operating in the red (losing profit).  If you are a Star Trek fan (which I am), the retail sector would be the Ferengi species, who always want to get something for profit.  In the retail industry, it means sales, sales, and more sales. I wrote about my experiences as both a consumer and a business owner in this post.  It was not easy, but I made it through.  I did not get any sales, but I see the error of my ways and will try to do better next year.

As a consumer, we are a particular breed of customer.  This is the type of person, who is always looking for a bargain or a deal.  They are the ones armed with coupons, sales papers, their cell phone tuned to the latest app, or their tablet and laptop.  They do not want to pay full price for even a stick of candy (I am always armed with my phone and Ipad, the only way to shop, LOL). 

Retail stores are particular too.  They want you to come to the sale, but in addition to the sale, they want you to say, “Oh, I meant to get that last week, but while I am here, let me get it now”.  Are you familiar with the end caps (end of the aisle shelves)?  The shelves at the registers?  The endcaps usually hold the sales.  You go in for the sales and if you do not have time to go deep into the store, you can turn around and be enticed to buy something at the registers.  Retail stores do not like it when a person buys one item.  I also call the shelves at the registers, “shut the kid up” shelves because if you are standing in a long line, and your kid is constantly nagging, you can grab a candy bar, give to the kid, and they are happy.  I had to do that for a niece or nephew once or twice.  Two more points if you are hungry as well.  This is happy money for the store.  This is one of the reasons why a clerk as you if there anything else they can help you with.  They are not being nice for nothing.

This time of the year is trying for both customer and retail.  Not sure what I mean?  Re-read my status at the beginning of this post.  Not too many people can say that they survived the Christmas seasons of the past in retail, and live to write about it.  In fact, I can say that I had more patience for customers than I do for driving. I rung my last sale January 17, 2010, at Archiver’s, a Memories store.  It was a scrapbooking store.  I left in January, and Archiver’s closed its brick and mortar stores in February 2014. I made lots of friends while working there, both in regular customers and in co-workers.  I do not regret my time there, even when I started working with a difficult manager.  She was new and I had already been there for 3 years.  We did not see eye to eye, but she was not the main reason why I left, but I will tell you that P. Lynne Designs was the main reason for me leaving.  Yes, I was starting my own company.

As a customer service associate for the store, and working years earlier at a local department store called Schottenstein’s Department Store for 2 years (I also worked at Sears but in the office-no customer contact), I have received my share of customer rants and raves. When I explained with a simple “no” and a reason why not to the customer, I received answers from a simple “Ok”, to “I WANT TO SPEAK TO YOUR MANAGER, NOW!!!!” I was to remain calm at all times when that was shouted in my face.  I sorry customers, but stores cannot be all things to all people.  I hated when the manager came out, explain the store policy to the customer again (after I have explained it), then to keep peace between the three of us (me, manager, and customer), by issue something that has them skipping out of the store, which was usually money or a lower price on a product.

Customers, please, do not talk down to a person, who is trying to help you with what you want in the store.  Like I explained in the status, the number of products in a store is determined by sales from last year.  Sometimes, a buyer is brain-dead to the stats of the store you shop at.  They do research all the time, but they cannot catch all the data being fed to them.  If the store you are shopping at is a low performing store with not a lot of traffic, there is not a lot of product to choose from.  How does a customer know this?  You don’t, but it would not hurt to ask the manager on duty.  Have a conversation with the manager.  Don’t have a long drawn out conversation, get to the facts on hand.  Please, do not explain how much your child would love the latest Hatchimal, explain where you have been looking in that store.  If no luck, go to a quiet place, and search on your phone while in the store.  If it is at another store, for instance, you search for another Target store while in a Target, ask a manager or a service desk person to call that store to see if they have the item.  If so, see if they can hold it.  If not, ask for a raincheck if possible.  If not, check online when in the store.  Most stores have free WIFI.

As a customer, the last thing I want is for a clerk to do is talk to me like a two-year-old.  I feel like as a customer, your attention should be on me as I talk to you to ask a question or if I am paying for my purchase.  On Black Friday, it was me and my mom looking at a few things.  Come check out time, a person helped my mom, and was wonderful, except during the checkout process, she was talking to another co-worker about another co-worker, who had quit her job, another one who was late, and yet another one who was new.  This convo went on for about 15-20 mins, and we as her customers could have been finished in 10 mins.   No customer wants to hear that kind of talk.  You should be present with the customer, asking them questions about the item they purchased, reminding them about current and future specials, and so on.  Once you are off for the day or on your break, feel free to talk about those co-workers.  A customer’s time is valuable.  Courtesy also has its rewards.  Say a customer calls in to find out if your store has an item for sale.  Do not repeat, do not hang up on them.  If you do not have a product, kindly tell the customer what is the store policy when you sold out of a product.  Again, the customer is not a mind reader.  God does not equip us with those abilities. 

Long Lines

Last thing…. Long lines.  They will come, and they are everywhere.  Don’t like them?  Hire a personal shopper or shop online.  Simple.  You can even arrange when to have it delivered.   If you are stuck in one, play on your phone.  I do.  If you have kids with you while stuck, have them play on your phone.  My sister does. If you and your spouse are shopping together, have that person take the kids to the car.  Problem solved.

My take away for you:  This is a stressful time of the year.  We all go through it, and we try to people please during this time.  Cut the stress by doing something with the family that is meaningful.  In fact, I insist. Helping one another means more than some present that is only going to be tossed aside by someone if they do not like it or it gets worn from overuse.  Love someone, care for someone, never let go of that feeling.  Once they are gone that’s it.  

Take care and Merry Christmas.

A Christmas Wish you heart makes

It all Started with a Mouse
(C) 2016  P. Lynne Designs

Welcome to Christmas week.  I love Christmas and all that it brings.  The presents, the love of family, get-togethers, food, sweets, but most all, the importance of the birth of Christ.  I love the decorations, but again, I must remember that this is Jesus’ birthday.

I know that some Christian purists and theologians will say, “but Christ was not really born on this day.”  No, we do not know ACTUALLY when He was born, but Christmas give us an idea of what day he was born.  Now, when choosing a Christmas story to believe in, to me, it is the biblical one.  Besides that, it is better than to believe in a story about some immortal fat elf, who breaks into people’s homes to leave a present, and spies on you the other 364 days of the year.  I am sorry folks, that is a home invasion.  On top of that, do you really have to leave him cookies and milk, and snacks for the reindeer? 

Now, I do not want to ruin it for the little ones, so, I do respect the guy who needs to be a spokesperson for Jenny Craig.  When kids do ask me about Santa, I tell them about him, and I do tell them about Jesus’ birthday.  No, I have not traumatically ruined the lives of my niece, nephews, and other children around me.  I have had some years to think about this whole Santa thing. 

What do I mean by “A Christmas wish your heart makes”?  I am talking about taking a trip to Disney World.

Like I said, I love looking at decorations, and I have gone to Disney World at Christmastime.  The parks in 1998 were not that crowded, and Disney was not making the big promotion thing like they do now.  Disney’s Animal Kingdom was just a few months old, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios was called Disney’s MGM Studios.  Disney Springs was called Downtown Disney, and my family and I stayed off property.

We went back in 2004 during the spring break, and it was wonderful, but I longed to get back there during Christmastime.  I was a member of the Disney Vacation Club, which is a wonderful way to stay on the property of Disney.  I do recommend it if you take annual trips to Disney.  I do have to warn you; it is like a timeshare, you have all the perks of a timeshare, but it is so worth it if you do visit Disney multiple times of the year if you can afford it.  In 2006, I had to give it up, because of a financial crisis, but I will tell you that it does not show up on my credit report.  I have plans to get the membership again.

I have been trying to get back to Disney World for Christmas since 2009, but many things have come up in my life over the years.  I am shooting for 2017 this time and it may be the first time without my parents.  Dad has never been big on Disney, in fact, he hates it.  I never knew that concept until we took the trip in 2004.  What we don’t do for our kids.  He tolerated Disneyland when we lived in California, and he thought that we would only ask a handful of times when we moved to Ohio.  Little did he know that he would have a child that loved all things, Disney. 

Mom is a lot better about Disney.  Mom’s now has walking issues, and she is afraid that she would not make it through a week of walking around Disney World, even though if need be, we get her an electric chair to ride in.  She did great in 2004, but she was younger and her legs were stronger.  

As for the rest of the family, except for my ankle issues, me, my brother and his family, along with my sister and her family can do this alone, if my parents do not come.  I want to make it a Disney Cruise/resorts type of trip.   I will have to see and talk to them about it.  One of the things about myself that I need to work on is to be assertive when I ask of something from my family.

One of the events I would like to visit in 2017 is the Disney Social Media Mom’s event.  I doubt if the Disney officials would see this post, but that is one of the goals if that could be pulled off.  I believe it’s in March or April, but I am also not sure how many page views I need on this blog to even get an invite.  I have never been to an event of Disney’s and I heard that when they have one, it will blow you away. 

Well, this is short, and again it is Christmas Week.   If I do not post again and I hope I do so before Sunday, you have a wonderful Merry Christmas. (New Year’s will come up sometime next week)

Day 23: Going to find out….

(c) 2015 Ebay.com Lettering by
P.Lynne Designs

That is a powerful sentence, but it is not complete.  What are you going to find out?

Are you going to find out if it is a boy or a girl?  I have a couple of You Tube friends whose vlogs I watch and are expecting a baby within the first 6 months of the year.  So this something they can relate to.  Some parents are quiet about their child.  They want to know at the last minute, and for that reason, they pick both a boy’s and a girl’s name.  The trend is to choose a neutral name, that way little Jordan can be a boy or a girl.  All they have to do is change the spelling of the name.

When are you going to find out if you have the job or not?  This is for those who are looking for a job.  You know the feeling…. you find a job that is meaningful (I hope it is), and you really, really want it.  It has the right hours, location, and it uses your skill set.  It also has the pay rate that you want, and you feel that you are the right fit, but does the company?  It does not matter if you have been with the company for a while and it is a promotion or you are being hired for the first time, people are going to ask you when you will know if you have the job or not.

When are you going to find out the test results?   This can be a little nerve wrecking, because you are finding out your future.  This is both in academia, where a test determines your grade and/or if you graduating from high school, university (that’s college in the United States), the military, or even on the job.  It lets you and the instructor know that you have the right to move on to the next level.  Then there is medical. “Do I have a disease, a disorder, or am I dying?” That is what the person taking the test is asking when the doctor needs to look further into the problem.  “Why do I feel this way?” “If I have this disease, is there a cure for it?”  “What are the long-term effects?” Or “if that is not the problem, what’s next?”

When are you going to find out what you are going to get?  I threw this on in there, because it is Christmastime, and you ask a child this question?  A child knows that they want, but are they going to get it?     As adults, we are often asked this question, and we become like wide-eyed children, wanting to know what we got for Christmas (Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa), but we should not always be in anticipation of always getting something, for “it is better to give than receive” (Acts 20:35) I know it is hard for a little child to understand the concept, but that is where teaching your child this act of kindness.  It is a form a sharing.  “I share what I have so you can be blessed with my gift to you.” You can do that by showing.  Children learn best if they first learn how to share with their siblings, if they have any, cousins, if not.

So, what are you going to find out for New Year’s 2016?  I hope it something that you always wanted.  I hope it will enlighten you if it is not, but most of all, I hope it will bring you understanding, no matter the outcome.

Day 9: a little birdy told me….

After posting day 8, I realized that other than day 2, I really have not posted anything that contained the holidays or even Christmas for that matter.  Do not get me wrong, I LOVE the Christmas season, both for the reason, which God loved us so much that he sent His son in the form of a baby, God reincarnated, to save us from ourselves, and for the pretty lights, decorations, eating, and presents. 

(c) 2015 P. Lynne Designs

I want to focus a minute on the first half of my statement, God Reincarnated. Keep in mind, I respect all religions, but I am Christian, and these are some of my beliefs.  How many people who are parents, or in my case, soon to be a would-be parent, can send their child out into the world to save a whole world from themselves?  I know I could not, and I am sure many parents could say the same, even if, to quote Darth Vader, “Your Destiny”. See something good came out of that evil nut’s mouth, LOL.  Anyway, back to seriousness.  God knew how this world was going to be when he created it.  He knew before that time what Lucifer (who became the Devil) was trying to do.  So, this all was pre-planned from the very beginning, before all of this.  He had to do something and do something fast. (well, in his own time).  Could He have stopped it?  Yes, but there is something called, “Free Will”.  Free will is a totally different subject for a different day and something I will have to consult my pastors on because I do not understand it all.  I just know that it is something that always have been there from the very beginning (and one of the reasons why the devil has been allowed to roam freely throughout the universe). 

This is the reason to have Jesus come as a baby.  God probably knew that if Jesus came as a man from the beginning, he might not have been as well received.  He still wasn’t, because Herod, the current king wanted to kill all the baby boys, so he could remain on the thrown. God protected Jesus and his Earthy family from all of this.  So you might be asking yourself, why not the baby girls?  Well, back then, and even some cultures now, girls were not received as highly as baby boys, plus Herod knew Jesus was a boy.   All of this happened after he sent the Wise Men to go see the babe, but they were warned by God in a dream to go another direction, because He knew what Herod was up to.

Back to the commercial side of Christmas for my last part.  I love decorating and see the lights (see day two on what I think of your electric bill, LOL).  The best part, besides the cooking and the baking, is seeing the reaction of the children’s faces when they first see the decorations and opening their presents.  Here is a quote from a website called “Why Christmas”:

“One of the main reasons we have the custom of giving and receiving presents at Christmas, is to remind us of the presents given to Jesus by the Wise Men: Frankincense, Gold and Myrrh. Frankincense was a perfume used in Jewish worship and, as a gift, it showed that people would worship Jesus.”

I think that is a good enough reason to have them.  

Please leave the holidays alone, they are not bothering you…

(c) 2014   P.Lynne Designs 

I am making a statement, which is one of my motto's for 2015.   For those who have been following me, do not worry, I am not going to be some militant writer, who is going on a 50-state rant across the country.  I am not going to ignore what is going on either, but I do have something to say about the holidays.

Lately, I have been hearing about all these cities across the United States trying to cancel Christmas, because the very thought of celebrating the holiday may offend some people and their beliefs.  My question is how are the cities doing that?  Let me you in one a little secret: ignore it.  You do not have to participate in anything you do not believe in.  Let those of us who love the idea of going downtown to see all the lights, sounds, and smells have our season.  Let me give you an example:

Where I live in Columbus, Ohio, we have horse drawn carriage rides.  They are only given during the holiday season.  Now I have never rode in one, unless you count the time when me and my family visited downtown San Diego, California in 2007, me and my mom rode one, while my father, nephew (then 11), and a family friend walked by the water.  I love seeing them around Columbus, because it is part of the Christmas season.  I am a Christian, but nowhere in the bible does it say that I cannot ride in a carriage taking a tour of downtown Columbus.  I do not have any restrictions so it does not bother me.  I just personally have taken the time over the years to fully enjoy a good carriage ride.  Ok, now say it did offend me.  Do I have the right to take away from others, just because a horse-drive carriage offends me?  No, I do not, because it is about freedom to do what you want, because it is within the context of the law of this country.  I am not an island, and no other person should feel like that they need to put others with them, just because the celebrations of the season put them in that position.

Now to those who live in the towns where Christmas is “cancelled.”  Christmas is not cancelled.  It is on the calendar, and no one has the right to take away your right to celebrate the season.  This is only year one.  After this is over with, write your congressman, and tell them your feelings about the cancellation.  These so-called elected officials have one year to restore celebrations to your city.  Do not let a few people take away your celebration.  Celebrate anyway.  The police do not have right to tell you what you cannot do in your own home.  This is the perfect time to celebrate with family and friends in your home.  There are more problems in the world to complain about, then the cancellation of a downtown Christmas tree, though it is pretty to look at. 

Try to find out why this year’s celebration is cancelled.  Have you ever heard of the game called Telephone?  It is a child’s game, where the first person whispers a name or a phrase.  The idea is to make sure that last person repeats exactly what the first person has started.  Most of the time that last person gets it wrong every time.  What does this game have to do with the cancellation of the Christmas celebration?  Simple.  The real reason for the cancellation gets lost in the shuffle, and the reason may not have anything to do with offending a few people.  It might have been due to budget cuts, construction, anything but being offensive.  By the time the reason gets to a news person, it turns into something that gets a town stirred up and then the anger starts.  That is how most fights get started.   Other names for this type of talk are called “rumors” and “gossip”. 

Whatever the reason, please have a pleasant holiday, and I am looking forward to my presents and celebration the birth of Christ.

Merry Christmas!

I Have No Heart for Christmas.

I have no heart for Christmas, tho snow is dusting sweet

Up and down the silent town, whitening the street.

For I am all but homeless; my wages are reduced.

What be the treat if I must meet my friends in rags unspruced? 

I have no heart for Christmas, for jolly present giving.

It’s been a year of shifts austere; I’ve been through quite a sieving.

The government spreads folly, the people whine and slink.

Corruption stands in many lands, refreshed with food and drink.

I have no heart for Christmas; its meaning is concealed

By bearded guys in cheap disguise with candy canes congealed.

Better to forget about the chants and boundless junk

For tawdry sale through hill and dale – I’d rather be a monk.

I have no heart for Christmas – but stay!  What’s this I feel?

Kindled slow but like a blow from some great bell’s first peal.

My heart is but an organ; it cannot stop the Spirit

Of Joy sublime this Christmastime, if I but choose to rear it!  

About the author:  Tim Torkildson is an editor of online websites, including Scripture Poetry. http://www.scripturepoetry.com/  

This is late but I have to say it...

Merry Christmas, everyone.   It is 7:39 pm here where I live, I am happy in most places, but sad.  Sunday, we  opened our presents, and seeing nephews Mike and Leon with their faces all lighted up brings joy, especially Leon who is only 2 year old.  My brother and his family was going home that evening, because he had to work yesterday.  He is a cook with the Salvation Army, the head chef if you want to call it that, which means he oversees things that needs to be cooked, the budget, and make things meet over there.  
Yesterday was a sad time for 27 families.   The 26 in Newtown, CT, and one here where I live.  I am talking about the ones who died in that senseless killing two weeks ago, but the one I am talking about is a family who belongs to the church I belong to.
Last week, they had to bury a young lady who was their daughter, granddaughter, great-granddaughter, niece, cousin,and friend, but most of all, mother to a very special little boy.  Today would have been her 23rd birthday.  I know that she is now an angel to many of us, because how she lived down here.  When her great-grandmother first got sick, she took care of her, and even was studying to be a nurse at the local university.  She was a role model for the young mothers at the church she belonged to with her mother.   I could go on about the things this young lady did, things that I wish that most people her age would strive to do.  I am going to stop right there, because I want you to think about it, and ponder it in your heart. I have not mentioned her name, because I am not sure if I can mention it, a couple of her cousins are my facebook friends, and all of my posts goes to my personal page as well as Twitter.  I always go by the privacy act, unless I get permission to do so by the family or anything I post that is not originally part of me, even though I knew the young lady personally.  To that I want to still wish her a happy birthday in heaven.
I also want to say this:  We should all strive to do good in our lives.  Not just for children, but for everyone.   I am also thinking about the mall shooting that happen the week before the one in Newtown.  This has become a hateful time, and a time that not only Christians, but everyone needs to start praying for this nation, this world.  Now is not the time to be all about me, and what I want , and what I need.  if there is a need, do it, and if there is a want, and it is vital to that person's well being, try to do it the very best you can.  God commands it from each one of us, but the key here is not just do it, but to except Jesus as your personal Savior and Lord.  I know I have just turned off some people, but I do not care if you are turned of but that remark.  This message is for everyone and anyone who has excepted Jesus, and who wants to except Jesus. I am not a minister, but I know someone who is, and if my pastor would allow me to give you her phone number over the internet, I would, but again, the privacy act.  If you do want to except, or renew your relationship with Jesus, contact your local church.  You do not have to become United Methodist, which is the denomination I belong to within the Christian faith, but join a church.   Make a new beginning to 2013, and tell Satan where he can stick his hatred in Jesus's Name.
Be Blessed your whole life through.

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