The Cats Meow

(1903)

MATTOON -- St. Valentine's Day is approaching and the store windows are full of comic and sentimentals. People thought the observance of the day would decline and die out long ago but the rage for it seems to be increasing.

Reprinted from the "Glancing Back" column of the Mattoon (IL) Journal-Gazette

Miss Annie was in her 80's, and much admired for her sweetness and kindness to all. The pastor came to call on her one afternoon early in the spring, and she welcomed him into her Victorian parlor.

She invited him to have a seat while she prepared a little tea. As he sat facing her old pump organ, the young minister noticed a cut glass bowl sitting on top of it, filled with water. In the water floated, of all things... a condom. Imagine his shock and surprise. Imagine his curiosity!

Surely Miss Annie had flipped or something...! But he certainly couldn't mention the strange sight in her parlor. When she returned with tea and cookies, they began to chat. The pastor tried to stifle his curiosity about the bowl of water and its strange floater, but soon it got the better of him, and he could resist no longer.

"Miss Annie," he said, "I wonder if you would tell me about this?" (pointing to the bowl).

"Oh, yes," she replied, "isn't it wonderful? I was walking downtown last fall and I found this little package. The directions said to put it on the organ, keep it wet, and it would prevent disease. And you know...I haven't had a cold all winter."

Reprinted from Smile Awhile

Are "YOU" in an Abusive Relationship?

What is Domestic Violence?

A commonly used definition is:   A pattern of assault and or coercive behaviors, including physical, sexual and psychological attacks, as well as economic coercion, that adults and adolescents use against their intimate partners.

Legal definition:  battery with injury committed against a victim by an offender who is or was a spouse, who is or was living as if a spouse, or who has a child in common with the victim.

Domestic violence includes all forms of family violence: wife beating, martial rape, child abuse, neglect and sexual abuse, elder abuse and incest as well as more subtle forms of physical, sexual, verbal, emotional, and economic control of family members or intimate partners.

Are you with someone who:

Is jealous and possessive, won't let you have friends, checks up on you, won't accept breaking up?

Tries to control you by being very bossy, giving orders, making all the decisions, doesn't take your opinions seriously?

Is scary...You worry about how they will react to things you say or do, threatens you?

Is violent...Has a history of fighting, loses their temper quickly, brags about mistreating others?

Pressures you for sex, is forceful or scary about sex.  Attempts to manipulate or guilt-trip you by saying "if you really loved me, you would"...Gets too serious about the relationship too fast?

Abuses drugs or alcohol or pressures you to take them?

Blames YOU when they mistreat you.  Says "you" provoked them, pressed their buttons, made them do it, led them on?

Has a history of bad relationships and blames the other person for all the problems in the relationship. "They just didn't understand me".

Has hit, pushed, strangled, restrained, kicked or physically abused you?

Ask yourself the following questions.

Answer Yes or NO

• Does your partner continually criticize what you wear? How you act or how you look?___




• Does your partner often call you insulting or degrading names? ___




• Do you feel that you need to ask permission to go out to see your friends and family?___




• Do you feel that no matter what you do, everything is always your fault?__




• When you're getting home late, does your partner harass you about where you were and whom you were with?__




• 
  

• Has your partner threatened to hurt you or the children if you leave?__




• Does your partner force you to have sex whether you want to or not?__>




• Has your partner threatened to hurt you?__




• Has your partner ever pushed, shoved or slapped you?__

If you answered yes to any of these questions you may need to consider obtaining resource information about domestic abuse and community support.

Nationally, call 1-800-SAFE (1-800-799-7233)

Quiz reprinted from http://www.scdvtf.org/signs_of_abuse.htm

Phone # supplied by http://www.havejusticewilltravel.org/signs.htm

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BIT OF WISDOM:
"When one door of happiness closes, another opens;
but often we look so long a the closed door that
we do not see the one that has been opened for us."
- Helen Keller

Reprinted from Mr Mom

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If you put a buzzard in a pen that is 6 feet by 8 feet and is entirely open at the top, the bird, in spite of its ability to fly, will be an absolute prisoner. The reason is that a buzzard always begins a flight from the ground with a run of 10 to 12 feet. Without space to run, as is its habit, it will not even attempt to fly, but will remain a prisoner for life in a small jail with no top.

The ordinary bat that flies around at night, a remarkably nimble creature in the air, cannot take off from a level place. If it is placed on the floor or flat ground, all it can do is shuffle about helplessly and, no doubt, painfully, until it reaches some slight elevation from which it can throw itself into the air. Then, at once, it takes off like a flash.

A bumblebee, if dropped into an open tumbler, will be there until it dies, unless it is taken out. It never sees the means of escape at the top, but persists in trying to find some way out through the sides near the bottom. It will seek a way where none exists, until it completely destroys itself.

In many ways, there are lots of people like the buzzard, the bat, and the bumblebee. They are struggling about with all their problems and frustrations, not ever realizing that the answer is right there "Above" them.

Reprinted from ChemoAngels For Jesus

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A Little Kindness
By Nellie Sonido Feng

A true story of a little boy who thirsts for attention.
There was a little boy who was perplexed about life. It seems he could not help doing things that would call attention to his antics.
He would get things and he would do things that would irk the other kids in the boarding school no end.
Whenever something was amiss, it became prevalent for everyone to surmise that he would be the culprit.
One September evening, in the place where he lived, he unexpectedly received a pack of fried salted peanuts from the person in authority.
The bag of peanuts in hand, the little boy stood in awe, he did not know what to say.
He could not believe that he was worth this much attention without him doing anything at all!
He went back to his sleeping quarters feeling happy and in a daze. ...
Shortly, he came out of his room and he in turn, surprised the kind Peanut Giver with a "gift " of his own.
He gave the Peanut Giver the "gift"------wrapped in white writing paper saying softly: " I found this." Then he timidly walked away.
He left behind a speechless Peanut Giver who uncovered a folded 100 Peso bill...!!!
Was the money really found by the little boy ?
Or ... ?
The Peanut Giver would like to think
that the little boy felt he was valued,
so he was encouraged to do good,
so he did the right thing.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta said :
" IF YOU JUDGE PEOPLE,
YOU HAVE NO TIME TO LOVE THEM."

SO.... FRIENDS,
LET US DO ALL THE LOVING
WHILE WE STILL CAN...

Reprinted from More From Rondout

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SUBJECT - "Blessings"

"When I started counting my blessings my whole life turned around."
~~ Willie Nelson (country singer) ~~

"Our real blessings often appear to us in the shape of pains, losses and disappointments; but let us have patience and we soon shall see them in their proper figures."
~~ Joseph Addison ~~

SOWING AND REAPING BLESSINGS

Anthony de Mello

Source - http://www.peterspearls.com.au

A grocer came to the Master in great distress to say that across the way from his shop they had opened a large chain store that would drive him out of business. His family had owned his shop for a century -- and to lose it now would be his undoing, for there was nothing else he was skilled at.

Said the Master, "If you fear the owner of the chain store, you will hate him. And hatred will be your undoing."

"What shall I do?" said the distraught grocer.

"Each morning walk out of your shop onto the sidewalk and bless your shop, wishing it prosperity. Then turn to face the chain store and bless it too."

"What? Bless my competitor and destroyer?"

"Any blessing you give him will rebound to your good. Any evil you wish him will destroy you."

After six months the grocer returned to report that he had closed down his shop as he had feared, but he was now in charge of the grocery department of the chain store and his affairs were in better shape than ever before.

Reprinted from Written Wisdom

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AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE

 

"As he [Jesus] was going into a village, ten men who had

leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in

a loud voice, 'Jesus, Master, have pity on us!' When he saw

them, he said, 'Go, show yourselves to the priests.' And as

they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he

was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He

threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him--and he was a

Samaritan. Jesus asked, 'Were not all ten cleansed? Where

are the other nine?'" (Luke 17:12-17, NIV).

 

William Stidger, a Methodist minister, began to think of

the blessings he had received during his life. He

remembered a special elementary school teacher who had gone

out of her way to give him an appreciation for verse. It

had been more than 50 years since Stidger had been in her

class, but his appreciation for verse had endured since

that time. Stidger wrote to his former teacher a letter of

appreciation and she replied: "My Dear Willie, I cannot

tell you how much your note meant to me. I am in my

eighties, living alone in a small room, cooking my own

meals, lonely and, like the last leaf of autumn, lingering

behind. You will be interested to know that I taught in

school for fifty years and yours is the first note of

appreciation I ever received."

 

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please give me a grateful

heart and a thankful spirit, so that I will always give and

express credit where credit is due, thanks where thanks is

due, and appreciation where appreciation is due. And above

all, give me a thankful heart for the countless blessings

you have given so freely to me and especially for your gift

of salvation and a home in Heaven to be with you forever.

Help me to so live that my life will be a living expression

of gratitude for all that you have done for me. Thank you

for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus'

name, amen."

 

From Pastor Ron Clarke, Tasmania, Australia

Reprinted from ACTS Daily Encounter

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Think Love Into Existence
© 2002
Julie Jordan Scott

"There is Gold in Them Thar Hills!!" exclaims the television commercial gold miner. I
take the core of his message quite seriously: "There is gold in each interaction we have
with another human being."

Recently I was in a conversation with two friends, Virginia and Bryan.  We were talking
about the recent Festival of the Faiths in Louisville, Kentucky where Deepak Chopra
was a featured speaker.

Virginia had attended his talk.  Bryan had heard him speak before and shared
briefly about asking Dr. Chopra to sign a book for him.

Bryan spoke of the depth of feeling in the moment of eye contact as he requested
an autograph.

He said there was a sensation of light, of deep compassion, a profound and
expressive love for humanity.  All in a brief moment of eye contact.

Our conversation moved along to other topics and I pondered how it would be
to fully become a beacon of light.  I wondered how might I share deep compassion and
a profound and expressive love for humanity in each moment of my life.

I wanted to Be Like Deepak.

I wanted to Think Love into existence.

This is not a new concept for me, I know first hand the power of dwelling in a space of
love.  I know my own personal greatest successes have come from standing firmly in love.
Yet this exercise in "Being Like Deepak" was allowing me to intentionally try the tool
of love from a little bit different perspective.

I was very conscious of connecting this "Being Like Deepak" (which for me became "Being
Love") as the days wore on.  I was simply having fun with it, certainly not expecting anything
to come of my joyful experiment except knowing I would feel much more content.  I was
especially mindful of allowing the energy to flow mostly through my eyes.

Sunday morning dawned brightly.  I really enjoyed the message at church. The worship
service filled my soul completely.  As I was leaving, I spotted a friend who was holding
her baby son.  Apparently he had been in the service the whole time without
making a sound!

"Christina!  Henry was such a good boy today, I did not hear him at all! WOW!"

She smiled and said, "He took a nap, I was so happy.and." she was looking at me
oddly as she stammered.."Your eyes, Julie, they are so pretty!"

I was taken aback momentarily.  After all, we are on a committee together. We had spent
two hours together just a few days before this conversation.  I know she has seen my
eyes many times.

And then it hit me.

She was not only seeing the blueness of my eyes, she was seeing the beauty of the
love my eyes were expressing through my "Being Love" experiment.

The next day I found myself in a long bank line.  I groaned as I saw it.  "Oh
great, a long line."

In the next moment I realized I could spend the time in line "Being Love" .
I began to bless people with my eyes and thoughts, starting with the bank
tellers who were working hard to process the hordes of people.  With each
look, I consciously blessed them with love.

Next I began blessing each customer. Each person I looked at with love
became another "Blessee" or person upon whom love was being bestowed
through my eyes.  I was literally humming in contentment, no longer
concerned about the length of the line.

I would have been completely happy standing there all day long blessing
people, loving people silently.

As the line moved forward, I got eye contact with my next "Blessee," who
immediately gasped, "JULIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!"

I exclaimed back, "WOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW" as my mind briefly
flickered "I can not remember her name!!!"  Immediately, I shifted out of that
thought as we hugged each other.

With matching smiles of glee, we verbally shared our current lives.  We used
to work together at County Mental Health.  The man behind me wanted to get
into the hugging action.  As the line moved up and we were separated, the
woman in front of me said "These tellers just aren't giving us enough time
to wait!"

Now that is a change from the normal complaint factory of a line of people.

Nearly skipping out of the bank, my next stop was the epitome of the
ordinary.  My destination?  Wal-mart: my source for diapers.

I walked through the store, loving people with my eyes.   I sauntered
to the express line, very pleased that I was able to have no wait at all
to make my purchase.

That is, until it came time to make change.

The cashier ran out of single dollar bills.  The management had to make
change.  Seven minutes later I was still waiting for the $3.31 I was to
receive back from my $20.00.  I was almost ready to just leave, without
any anger of course because I was Being Love.

I looked out around me, still in that space of love when I caught the eye
of another customer who was approaching.

"Is this lane open?" he asked.

"Yeah, I am waiting for change though, you might not want to wait here."
Was my reply.  Thankfully the cashier was fully tuned into the situation
when she said, "And if you have one's then I can take care of you."

His total was $8.65 and he had $9 in his wallet: one 5 dollar bill and
four one dollar bills.

In one transaction, I had my change and he had his purchase.

I was so jubilant to receive $3.31!

"Thank you so much!!" I gushed.  "You have no idea how grateful I am for you
and your dollar bills today!"

My fellow shopper looked at me with a completely serious face.  "Well, Ma'am,
I like to think of myself as a Low Level Super Hero.  I just show up and do what
I can.. Deliver change as its needed, you name it and I just do my best to be
there and do whatever it takes."

A Low Level Super Hero.  What a delight.

I left Wal-Mart even more contentedly than when I had exited the bank.  The
joy factor was extremely high.

All I had done was stand on some lines.

It was who I was being and what I was DOING as a result that made the difference.

I was Being Love.  I was allowing the wisdom of the Gold Miner to permeate my
life as well.  "There is GOLD in each interaction."

There is power in love especially as we interact with whatever people happen
to be around us.

As I drove away, I called out to another old friend who "just happened" to be passing
by.  We shared deep love in our visual and verbal "How ARE you's?!"

It felt almost as if my car had lost physical contact with the road as it floated buoyantly
above the physical plane.

It is in that context of Being Love that possibilities and dreams come true.  It is the
most fertile soil for your next project.

What are you projecting to the world as you perform mundane tasks out in the
community?

Napoleon Hill said, "Our minds become magnetized with the dominating thoughts
we hold in our minds and these magnets attract to us the forces, the people, the
circumstances of life which harmonize with the nature of our dominating thoughts."
As I participated in my life focused upon Being Love, I was also receiving Love by
the truck load.

As I continue to Be Love in each moment, I continue to bring a higher level of joy
and fulfillment into my existence.

As I bring fulfillment, the abundance and prosperity naturally flows.

So you see, the Gold is MORE than in "Them Thar Hills."

What are you doing with YOUR Gold?
++++
The two individuals with whom I had the conversation that inspired this article
are both phenomenal coaches.  Please click on the links below to get to know them:

Bryan:
http://www.5passions.com/boostyourbiz.html

Virginia:
http://www.purposeful-living.com/
http://www.grandmapreneur.com/

***************
Julie Jordan Scott is a Personal Success Coach who left her career
as a government bureaucrat and built a successful business in less
than six months. She now combines mothering 4 children with inspiring
people worldwide with her books, ezine, teaching and personal coaching.
Visit http://www.5passions.com/ for free resources for YOUR success
Contact Julie now to bring YOUR vision to life today.
ph: 661.325.4116 or email mailto:julie@5passions.com
=================================================
Today's article contains nuggets of gold on several levels.  Thinking Love
into existence has the possibility of creating a more successful life than
you could ever imagine.  In fact, I believe that Love is the Greatest Success
Power of All!  You can take the Gold of that thought and wear it!
It is the Featured Thought on my very own Thought-Powered Wearable.
Visit http://www.5passions.com/thoughtwear.html to find out how
you can be a part of spreading the Power of Thought!

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    GOD  ~  OUR  ONE TRUE VALENTINE 

 

 

 

 

 

 God's the only Valentine that lasts Forevermore 

Celebrating love is what Valentine's Day is for. 

He gives undying love to us each and every day

A love that always blesses us every time we pray.

 

 

 Dear God, my one true Valentine

Unconditionally, you will be mine. 

 The one love assured to always stay 

 Forever, not just on Valentine's Day.

 

 

Dear God how my love for you deepens and expands

 Assured that when I'm lost you'll always take my hand. 

And whenever I am sad or lonely ~ troubled or afraid

All I need to do is take the time to honor you and pray.

 

 

 God, our one True Valentine

For He is our Creator

Incomparable Love  ~  Devine

No Love could be Greater. 

 

 

 

 

Love and Light,

 

Donna Wallace

 

a.k.a.  Gentle-Daydreamer

 

©  2003

 

 

 

 

http://www.angelfire.com/poetry/daydreamer1/index.html

 

http://www.MidnightEdition.com/poets/donna

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Until next week, that's all from THE CAT'S MEOW!

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