End the Toxic Family Cycle

“END THE TOXIC FAMILY CYCLE

If you come from a family of drunkards, let that cycle end with you. Let drunkeness never pass through you to the next generation.

If you come from a family of drop outs, no one gets to finish school or go to University; end that cycle and reach the highest level in study, prove that even your family tree can produce an intellectual.

If your relative's marriages never last, your parent's marriage was a disappointment; end that cycle, when you get married have a marriage built to last.

If you are a man and your father used to beat up your mother; end that cycle, be the opposite of your dad and love your wife like a real man should.

If you come from a tribal family where decisions are made through tribal lenses; end the cycle, show your family that love knows no tribe.

If the family you come from has been living in poverty; end that cycle, make money, lift your family to wealth.

If members of your family are largely known for mediocrity or shameful acts; end that cycle, be excellent and successful, bring pride to your family name.

If people from your family are known to be mean,cold and tempered; end that cycle, work on being friendly, warm and approachable.

If your family has been involved in witchcraft, suicide, curses and ungodliness; end that cycle, introduce God in your family tree, declare that as for me and my house we will serve the Lord!

You don't have to carry forward the shortcomings in your family down the lineage to the next generation. Love your family but learn from their mistakes. You don't have a say in determining the family you are born in to, but you can determine who you become and the kind of future and family you will have. Your decisions affect generations to come”

Pointsettia

        Poinsettia

   

G Hook - Yellow, White, Green & Red Yarn

1. Yellow Yarn - ch 4, join, ch 4, (counts as st made plus ch 1), work 7 more dc, ch 1 in circle, join to 3rd ch of original ch 4 … (8 dc , ch 1 ) cut yarn

1. White Yarn - join White yarn, in each ch 1 space work 3 dc around, join and cut yarn

1. Red Yarn - join red yarn, (working V sts as follows: 2 dc, ch 1, 2 dc in same st) working between the 3 white dc  from previous row, *Work V sts 2 dc, ch 1, 2 dc *around. Join Do Not Cut Yarn

1. Red Yarn , sl st into *center of V st, work V st 2 dc, ch 1, 2 dc in same st, ch 1, *repeat around, join and cut yarn

1. Green Yarn - join green, 7 dc’s in center of Vst ch 1 space, ch 1, sc in ch 1 space between the V st, ch 1, *Repeat around, join and cut yarn

1. White Yarn - join white, *1sc in first 3 sts, 3 sc in next st, 1sc in last 3 sts, ch 1, long sc (long sc means to sc on top of green on) in next st, ch 1* Repeat abound, join and finish off

Hanging Loop: when doing 3 sc above work as follows. 2 sc, ch 14, join to bottom of 2nd sc, now work 1 more sc in same st. - so you  actually have 3 sc & ch 14 loop made on top of center st

Restore Yourself

 

Restore the relationship with yourself.

Because you have lived with yourself through the ages, you know better than anyone else how and who you are, what you feel and what power you have.

Don't be distracted by others telling you what to do. 

In this moment you don't have to do anything.

You may be quiet for a while. 

You may take the rest; you have earned it and may integrate this into yourself.

You are unique and may show this.

Do not allow yourself to be forced into action.

The change in yourself is still growing.

If you force yourself into something now, chances are you will reap the wheat before it is ripe.

Have faith in your own qualities.

Soulful

Art unknown

Grieving

 

A PARENTS WORST NIGHTMARE ........

Losing a child and having to bury them. A man lost his son and couldn’t bare the thought of living without him. He was suffering and couldn’t believe his son was gone. He cried and cried every day and night, missing his son, wishing things were different.

He couldn’t sleep and hadn’t slept in a long time. One night an old medicine man came to him in a dream and told him “Enough!! That’s enough crying!!” The dad told him “I cannot stop, I am never going to see him again!” The old Medicine man said, “Do you want to see him again?” The dad says “yes of course” the old medicine man takes him to the entrance of happy hunting ground where he sees many little beautiful children, so happy and innocent, carrying eagle feathers into the happy hunting grounds, smiling and laughing and just so beautiful. The dad asks “where is my son? Who are these kids?” The old medicine man said “these are the children that are called home early, they are innocent and loved and they go right through to the happy hunting grounds, so happy” the dad says “and my son? Where is he? Why isn’t he with these children?” The old medicine man said, “come this way” and guided him to the side of entrance. A small boy with a beautiful smile was standing there watching all the children enter the happy hunting grounds. He was standing there within reach of an eagle's feather. His dad grabbed him and hugged him, and the boy kissed his dads' cheeks and told him he missed him. The dad said “why don't you have a eagles feather like the other kids? Why are you waiting here at the entrance?”

The boy said “I keep trying to get the eagle feather Daddy, but your tears pull it out of reach. I see you are so sad, and I am tied to that feeling so I wait here until you’re ok” the dad burst out crying for the last time, he told his son, “Get that eagle feather and go, I will be ok, and I know you will be too”

- Don't cry too long for that loved one you lost, whether son, daughter, husband, mother or father!! Let them rest in peace, don't torment your life, because they won't come back, have faith that you will be together again, and that Creator makes us a beautiful home with all our loved ones when we leave this world.

Three Generations - Alfredo Rodriguez (1954, American)

Not Your Body

 I agree that a woman should have control over her body.

But here is the problem...

That baby? It isn't your body. It is his or her body. Yes, it is a body that is CONNECTED to your body. And yes, it RESIDES in your body.

But it is NOT your body. That baby is a human being in a different body.

That human being deserves life. So do what you want with YOUR body, but understand that your baby is not you.

Psalm 139:13-16 "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are Your works, and I know this very well. My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in secret, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all my days were written in Your book and ordained for me before one of them came to be."

Magic Bank Account

 THE MAGIC  BANK  ACCOUNT 

THE AUTHOR IS UNKNOWN.  THIS WAS FOUND IN THE BILLFOLD OF COACH PAUL BEAR BRYANT, ALABAMA, AFTER HE DIED IN 1982.

The Magic Bank Account 

Imagine that you had won the following *PRIZE* in a contest:  Each morning your bank would deposit $86,400 in your private account for your use.  However, this prize has rules: 

The set of rules are:

1.  Everything that you didn't spend during each day would be taken away from you. 

2.  You may not simply transfer money into some other account. 

3.  You may only spend it. 

4.  Each morning upon awakening, the bank opens your account with another $86,400 for that day. 

5.  The bank can end the game without warning.  At any time it can say, “Game Over!"  It can close the account and you will not receive a new one.  

What would you personally do?

You would probably buy anything and everything you wanted right?  Not only for yourself, but for all the people you love and care for.  Even for people you don't know, because you couldn't possibly spend it all on yourself, right?  You would try to spend every penny, and use it all, because you knew it would be replenished in the morning, right?

ACTUALLY, This GAME is REAL ... Shocked?  YES! 

Each of us is already a winner of this *PRIZE*.  We just can't seem to see it.  The PRIZE is *TIME*.

1:  Each morning we awaken to receive 86,400 seconds as a gift of life. 

2.  When we go to sleep at night, any remaining time is NOT credited to us.

3.  What we haven't used up that day is forever lost.

4.  Yesterday is forever gone.

5.  Each morning the account is refilled, but the bank can dissolve your account at any time WITHOUT WARNING.

SO, what will YOU do with your 86,400 seconds?  Those seconds are worth so much more than the same amount in dollars.  Think about it and remember to enjoy every second of your life, because time races by so much quicker than you think.   Take care of yourself, be happy, love deeply and enjoy life!   

Here's wishing you a wonderful and beautiful day.  Start “spending”.

DON’T COMPLAIN ABOUT GROWING OLD!  SOME PEOPLE DON'T GET THE PRIVILEGE!

Queen Elizabeth

 This Poem was written by one of our friends and love it so thought we would share it with you all too..... ♥︎♥︎♥︎

{Shared By: Austin’s Cafe}

 Paddington sat down  sadly 

On a green and quiet glade 

And pulled a sandwich from his  little hat 

Made With the nicest marmalade 

He had heard sad news this very day 

That the Queen's life had come to an end 

He cried because that day they met  

She had become his bestest  friend 

They had shared some tea 

That very day when  to the Palace he had been invited 

He  remembered he could hardly speak 

He was so very very excited 

He offered her his sandwich 

Made with such love and care 

She smiled at him and with a grin 

She showed that little bear 

That inside of her handbag 

There was something she had made 

And that She too kept a  special sandwich 

Made of  the finest marmalade 

Although he was  just a  little bear 

And she a regal queen 

Watching her take that sandwich out her bag 

Was the best thing he had seen 

He wondered if any body else would miss her 

Now that she had gone 

And his heart was filled up to the brim 

When he turned his little phone on 

He saw that Facebook had been flooded

With  her pictures old and new 

And that he himself that little bear 

Was also in them too 

Although today he is the saddest 

That he has ever been 

He will always lovingly  remember 

The  day he had tea with the Queen 

{Shared from Austin’s Cafe}

Honor God’s Word

 Thank You “Wilma Thompson Cook”  for sharing.

In Bible times, the arrangement of unmarried people living as husband and wife was relatively rare, especially among the Jews and Christians.

There are numerous Scriptures that declare God’s prohibition of sexual immorality (Acts 15:20; 1 Corinthians 5:1; 6:13, 18; 10:8; 2 Corinthians 12:21; Galatians 5:19; Ephesians 5:3; Colossians 3:5; 1 Thessalonians 4:3; Jude 7). The Greek word translated “sexual immorality” or “fornication” in these verses is porneia, and it means literally “unlawful lust.” Since the only form of lawful sexuality is the marriage of one man and one woman (Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:5), then anything outside of marriage, whether it is adultery, premarital sex, homosexuality, or anything else, is unlawful, in other words, sin. Living together before marriage definitely falls into the category of fornication—sexual sin.

Hebrews 13:4 describes the honorable state of marriage: “Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.” This verse draws a clear distinction between that which is pure and honorable—marriage—and that which is sexually immoral—anything outside of marriage. As living together outside of marriage falls into this category, it is sin. Anyone living together outside of lawful marriage invites the displeasure and judgment of God.

#honorGodsWord

Grandma’s Hands

 

“Grandma, how do you cope with pain?”

“With your hands, honey. If you do it with your mind instead of relieving the pain, it toughens even harder.”

“With your hands grandma?”

“Yes, our hands are the antennae of our soul. If you move them; knitting, cooking, painting, playing or sinking them into the ground, you send care signs to the deepest part of you and your soul lights up because you’re paying attention to it. Then signs of pain will no longer be necessary.”

“Hands are really that important?”

“Yes my daughter. Think of babies: they start to know the world through the touch of their hands. If you look at the hands of old people, they tell you more about their life then any body part. Everything that is done by hand is said to be done with the heart. Because it’s really like this: hands and heart are connected. Masseurs know well: when they touch someone with their hands, they create a deep connection. It is precisely from this connection that healing comes. Think of lovers: when they touch their hands, they make love in a more sublime way.”

“My hands grandma.... how long I haven’t used them like this!”

“Move them, my love. Begin to create with them and everything within you will begin to move. The pain will not pass away. And instead what you do with them will become the most beautiful masterpiece and it won’t hurt anymore. Because you have been able to transform its essence..

Artist Credit : Claudia Tremblay

Sexual demons

SEXUAL TRANSMITTED DEMONS

There is a spiritual aspect to sexual sin that is always overlooked, due to one wanting to please the flesh. Sexual sin is more dangerous than any STD combined, this is the real STD. There is not a condom in the world that could prevent SEXUAL

TRANSMITTED DEMONS. When you have sex with someone, you exchange/obtain whatever spirits they have or are battling with. You take on their qualities, behaviors, ideology ... why do you think God wanted us to wait until marriage?? Why did God say "when you get married you are one now" ??? And why do you think God said our bodies are a temple? Please, be very mindful of your choices. It will effect you now or in the future. You don't know what someone is depositing in your body that will affect your spirit. Spiritually in God's eye, when you have sex with someone, you are now connected/married to that person or persons. Let alone if you are sleeping with multiple individuals then you are depositing their inner demons with your spirit and vice versa. Spirits are real and so are demons.If you are not yet married stop sleeping around and if you are married stop ADULTERY 

scriptures on sexual immorality- Acts 15:29, 1 Corinthians 5 1-5, Galatians 5:19, Ephesians 4:19, 1 Thessalonians 4:3-7, Revelation 2:14-16

I Like You Just For Being You

 God is ALWAYS at work in our lives!

“A good portion of my pro-bono work is defending abused children. It’s a cause close to my heart.  In the course of my work I met a man who was an adult survivor. You wouldn’t have known it looking at him. He was this gigantic Polynesian guy. Wild curly hair. I think of him every time I see Khal Drogo on GoT. He was counseling some of the little kids, and doing a fantastic job of it.

I visited his home to get his opinion on something and I noticed a little toy on his desk. It was Trolley. Naturally curious, I asked him about it. This is what he told me:

“The most dangerous time for me was in the afternoon when my mother got tired and irritable. Like clockwork. Now, she liked to beat me in discreet places so my father wouldn’t see the bruises. That particular day she went for the legs. Not uncommon for her. I was knocked down and couldn’t get back up. Also not uncommon. She gave me one last kick, the one I had come to learn meant ‘I’m done now’. Then she left me there upstairs, face in the carpet, alone. I tried to get up, but couldn’t. So I dragged myself, arm over arm, to the television, climbed up the tv cabinet and turned on the TV. 

“And there was Mr. Rogers. It was the end of the show and he was having a quiet, calm conversation with those hundreds of kids. In that moment, he seemed to look me in the eye when he said ‘And I like you just for being you’. In that moment, it was like he was reaching across time and space to say these words to me when I needed them most.

“It was like the hand of God. It hit me in the soul. I was a miserable little kid. I was sure I was a horrible person. I was sure I deserved every last moment of abuse, every blow, every bad name. I was sure I earned it, sure I didn’t deserve better. I *knew* all of these things … until that moment. If this man, who I hadn’t even met, liked me just for being me, then I couldn’t be all bad. Then maybe someone could love me, even if it wasn’t my mom.

“It gave me hope. If that nice man liked me, then I wasn’t a monster. I was worth fighting for. From that day on, his words were like a secret fortress in my heart. No matter how broken I was, no matter how much it hurt or what was done to me, I could remember his words, get back on my feet, and go on for another day.

“That’s why I keep Trolley there. To remind me that, no matter how terrible things look, someone who had never met me liked me just for being me, and that makes even the worst day worth it to me. I know how stupid it sounds, but Mr. Rogers saved my life.”

The next time I saw him, he was talking to one of my little clients. When they were done with their session, he helped her out of her chair, took both of her hands, looked her in the eyes and said: “And remember, I like you just for being you.” 

That, to me, is Mr. Rogers’ most powerful legacy. All of the little lives he changed and made better with simple and sincere words of love and kindness."

How do you deal with pain

Grandma, how do you deal with pain?

" With your hands, dear. When you do it with your mind, the pain hardens even more."

“With your hands, grandma?"

" Yes, yes. Our hands are the antennas of our soul. When you move them by sewing, cooking, painting, touching the earth or sinking it into the earth, they send signals of caring to the deepest part of you and your soul calms down.

This way she doesn't have to send pain anymore to show it.

" Are hands really that important?"

" Yes, my girl. Thinking of babies: they get to know the world thanks to their touches. When you look at the hands of older people, they tell more about their lives than any other part of the body. Everything that is made by hand, so is said, is made with the heart because it really is like this: hands and heart are connected. Masseuses know this: When they touch another person's body with their hands, they create a deep connection. Thinking of lovers: When their hands touch, they love each other in the most sublime way."

" My hand's grandma... how long haven't I used them like that!"

" Move them, my girl, start creating with them and everything in you will move. The pain will not pass away. But it will be the best masterpiece. And it won't hurt anymore. Because you managed to embroider your essence."

~ Elena Barnabé

Art by Beatriz Maciel

Focaccia Bread

 Fresh Focaccia Bread right out of the oven

2 1/2 c. Flour

1 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. Salt

1 put. Yeast

1 c. Plus a tablespoon or 2 of water

Drizzle of olive oil

[ grated cheese & oregano, olive oil ]

Directions:

Dissolve yeast in water, add sugar and salt, add some olive oil, then add flour... add more water if needed slowly. Shape in ball, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise 1 hour

Now spray 8 x 12 Pyrex with non-stick spray.

Mix dough and place in Pyrex dish. With fingers spread across bottom of Pyrex dish. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with oregano, and cover with grated cheese. Cover with plastic wrap. Let rise 1/2 hour

Preheat oven for 350 degrees. Bake 30 - 35 min... Oh Yummy

Candlelight

 

MY GRANDMOTHER ONCE TOLD ME that each of us has a candle inside us just bursting to come out and light up the room. "Just imagine," she told me, "if everyone's candle burst out at the same time! "

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I TRIED TO WRAP my mind around the idea that there was a candle inside me, a lit candle ... "Oh, what a wonderful day that would be!!!" she said.

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"Why grandma?"

.

"Why? ... because there'd be no more darkness, no more sorrow, no more suffering, no more violence, no more killing ... the world would be bathed in light and happiness and joy and love ... "

.

I THOUGHT ABOUT THAT for a bit. How difficult it might be to get everybody's light to shine at once. I told grandma that.

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SHE CHUCKLED, then said: "You just make sure your light is shinin' bright ... "

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AND FOR many decades now, I've been tryin' ...

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I've been tryin', grandma ... I've been tryin' ... 🌺🌸💓

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~ author Michael Traveler, author/poet

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What is holodomor

 Thank you Joe  Becigneul for sharing

At the entrance to the memorial park in Kyiv, there is a sculpture of an extremely thin girl with a very sad look holding a handful of wheat ears in her hands.  Behind her back is the Candle of Remembrance, a monument with details reminiscent of authentic embroidery that can be found on traditional Ukrainian costumes.  This is a monument that commemorates a historical event known as the Holodomor.

 What is the Holodomor?

After the end of the First World War, Ukraine was an independent state, but in 1919 the Soviet Union "sucked" it into the community of Soviet states.  The Ukrainians, who even then considered themselves a Central European people like the Poles and not an Eastern European like the Russians, tried to restore Ukraine's independence.

In 1932, not wanting to lose control of Europe's main granary, Stalin resorted to one of the most heinous forms of terror against one nation.  In the process of nationalization, he took away the grain-producing land from the Ukrainian peasants, but also all its offerings, thus creating an artificial famine.  The goal was to "teach Ukrainians to be smart" so that they would no longer oppose official Moscow.  Thus the people who produced the most grain in Europe were left without a crumb of bread.  The peak of the Holodomor was in the spring of 1933. In Ukraine at that time, 17 people died of hunger every minute, more than 1,000 every hour, and almost 24,500 every day!  People were literally starving to death in the streets.

Stalin settled the Russian population in the emptied Ukrainian villages.  During the next census, there was a large shortage of population.  Therefore, the Soviet government annulled the census, destroyed the census documents, and the enumerators were shot or sent to the gulag, in order to completely hide the truth. 

World War.  Their poison gas was hunger.  Their Hitler was Stalin.  Their Holocaust was the Holodomor.  For them, fascist Berlin was Soviet Moscow, and their concentration camp was the Soviet Union.  Today, 28 countries around the world present the Holodomor as genocide against Ukrainians, which you could not learn about in school, because almost all evidence was destroyed and victims were covered up for decades, survivors were forcibly silenced by not having the right to vote until recently.

The Holodomor at that time broke the Ukrainian resistance, but it made the desire for Ukraine's independence from Russia eternal.