I found this website that personalizes certain psalms & prayers. All you do is enter in your name at the prompt and it does the rest. I understand that this might cause offense to some folk, but I found it very moving.
Here is one of my personal favorites:
Psalm 27
The LORD is Courtney's light and salvation;
Whom shall Courtney fear?
The LORD is the strength of Courtney's life;
Of whom shall Courtney be afraid?
When the wicked came against Courtney to eat up Courtney's flesh,
those enemies and foes, stumbled and fell.
Though an army may encamp against Courtney,
Courtney's heart shall not fear;
Though war may rise against Courtney,
In this Courtney will be confident.
One thing Courtney desired of the LORD,
and that will Courtney seek:
That Courtney may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the time and forever,
To behold the beauty of the LORD,
And to inquire in His temple.
For in the time of trouble
God shall hide Courtney in His pavilion;
In the secret place of His tabernacle
He shall hide Courtney;
He shall set Courtney high upon a rock.
And now Courtney shall be lifted up above any enemies;
Therefore Courtney will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle;
Courtney will sing, yes, sing praises to the LORD.
Hear, O LORD, when Courtney cries out!
Have mercy also upon Courtney, and answer.
When You said, "Seek My face,"
Courtney's heart said to You, "Your face, LORD, I will seek."
Do not hide Your face from Courtney;
Do not turn Your servant away in anger;
You have been Courtney's help;
Do not leave nor forsake Courtney,
O God of Courtney's salvation.
Even if forsaken by others,
the LORD will take care of Courtney.
Teach Courtney Your way, O LORD,
And lead Courtney in a smooth path, because of enemies.
Do not deliver Courtney to the will of adversaries;
For false witnesses have risen against Courtney,
And such as breathe out violence.
Courtney would have lost heart,
unless Courtney had believed
that Courtney would see the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait on the LORD;
Be of good courage,
He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the LORD!
{click on the headline to be taken to the site directly}
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Finally a definition that makes sense to me.
I have always wondered what was truly meant when we are told not to take the Lords's name in vain. It never seemed that uttering a word like Goddammit was what this was referring to. Then I was randomly jumping around reading articles about relationships and these 3 lines jumped out at me. I love when this happens so I thought I'd share :)
Actions speak louder than words.
Taking God’s name in vain has less to do with using it inappropriately than it does with claiming the name Christian, yet living as if we’d never met Christ.
Actions speak louder than words. Do. Walk. Love. Justice, Mercy, Humility.
Actions speak louder than words.
Taking God’s name in vain has less to do with using it inappropriately than it does with claiming the name Christian, yet living as if we’d never met Christ.
Actions speak louder than words. Do. Walk. Love. Justice, Mercy, Humility.
Words to live by......
If You’re Going Through Hell (Before The Devil Even Knows)
by Rodney Atkins
Artist/Band: Atkins Rodney
Well you know those times
When you feel like there's a sign there on your back
Say's I don't mind if ya kick me
Seems like everybody has
Things go from bad to worse
You'd think they can't get worse than that
And then they do
You step off the straight and narrow
And you don't know where you are
Use the needle of your compass
To sew up your broken heart
Ask directions from a genie
In a bottle of Jim Beam
And she lies to You
That's when you learn the truth
If you're going through hell
Keep on going, Don't slow down
If you're scared, don't show it
You might get out
Before the devil even knows you're there
Well I been deep down in that darkness
I been down to my last match
Felt a hundered different demons
Breathing fire down my back
And I knew that if I stumbled
I'd fall right into the trap that they were laying, Yeah
But the good news
Is there's angels everywhere out on the street
Holding out a hand to pull you back upon your feet
The one's that you been dragging for so long
You're on your knees
You might as well be praying
Guess what I'm saying
If you're going through hell
Keep on going, Don't slow down
If you're scared, don't show it
You might get out
Before the devil even knows you're there
Yeah, If you're going through hell
Keep on moving, Face that fire
Walk right through it
You might get out
Before the devil even knows you're there
If you're going through hell
Keep on going, Don't slow down
If you're scared, don't show it
You might get out
Before the devil even knows you're there
Yeah, If you're going through hell
Keep on moving, Face that fire
Walk right through it
You might get out
Before the devil even knows you're there
Yeah you might get out
Before the devil even knows you're there
Yeah.
{inspiration from the old Irish toast, "May you be in heaven an hour before the devil knows you're dead."}
by Rodney Atkins
Artist/Band: Atkins Rodney
Well you know those times
When you feel like there's a sign there on your back
Say's I don't mind if ya kick me
Seems like everybody has
Things go from bad to worse
You'd think they can't get worse than that
And then they do
You step off the straight and narrow
And you don't know where you are
Use the needle of your compass
To sew up your broken heart
Ask directions from a genie
In a bottle of Jim Beam
And she lies to You
That's when you learn the truth
If you're going through hell
Keep on going, Don't slow down
If you're scared, don't show it
You might get out
Before the devil even knows you're there
Well I been deep down in that darkness
I been down to my last match
Felt a hundered different demons
Breathing fire down my back
And I knew that if I stumbled
I'd fall right into the trap that they were laying, Yeah
But the good news
Is there's angels everywhere out on the street
Holding out a hand to pull you back upon your feet
The one's that you been dragging for so long
You're on your knees
You might as well be praying
Guess what I'm saying
If you're going through hell
Keep on going, Don't slow down
If you're scared, don't show it
You might get out
Before the devil even knows you're there
Yeah, If you're going through hell
Keep on moving, Face that fire
Walk right through it
You might get out
Before the devil even knows you're there
If you're going through hell
Keep on going, Don't slow down
If you're scared, don't show it
You might get out
Before the devil even knows you're there
Yeah, If you're going through hell
Keep on moving, Face that fire
Walk right through it
You might get out
Before the devil even knows you're there
Yeah you might get out
Before the devil even knows you're there
Yeah.
{inspiration from the old Irish toast, "May you be in heaven an hour before the devil knows you're dead."}
Friday, July 28, 2006
President George W. Bush visits with the Dalai Lama Wednesday, May 23, 2001 at the White House
Statement by the Press Secretary
Meeting with the Dalai Lama
May 23, 2001
His Holiness, the XIV Dalai Lama, met at the White House this morning with the President and the National Security Advisor to discuss Tibet. The President commended the Dalai Lama's commitment to nonviolence and declared his strong support for the Dalai Lama's tireless efforts to initiate a dialogue with the Chinese government. The President said he would seek ways to encourage dialogue and expressed his hope that the Chinese government would respond favorably. The President also reiterated the strong commitment of the United States to support the preservation of Tibet's unique religious, cultural, and linguistic identity and the protection of the human rights of all Tibetans. The President and the Dalai Lama agreed on the importance of strong and constructive U.S.-China relations.
Buddhists 'really are happier'
Buddhism may be good for your mental health
There is something about conscientious Buddhist practice that results in the kind of happiness we all seek~ Paul Ekman, University of California San Francisco Medical Centre
Scientists say they have evidence to show that Buddhists really are happier and calmer than other people.
Tests carried out in the United States reveal that areas of their brain associated with good mood and positive feelings are more active.
The findings come as another study suggests that Buddhist meditation can help to calm people.
Researchers at University of California San Francisco Medical Centre have found the practise can tame the amygdala, an area of the brain which is the hub of fear memory.
They found that experienced Buddhists, who meditate regularly, were less likely to be shocked, flustered, surprised or as angry compared to other people.
Paul Ekman, who carried out the study, said: "The most reasonable hypothesis is that there is something about conscientious Buddhist practice that results in the kind of happiness we all seek."
Brain activity
In a separate study, scientists at the University of Wisconsin at Madison used new scanning techniques to examine brain activity in a group of Buddhists.
Their tests revealed activity in the left prefrontal lobes of experienced Buddhist practitioners.
This area is linked to positive emotions, self-control and temperament.
Their tests showed this area of the Buddhists' brains are constantly lit up and not just when they are meditating.
This, the scientists said, suggests they are more likely to experience positive emotions and be in good mood.
"We can now hypothesise with some confidence that those apparently happy, calm Buddhist souls one regularly comes across in places such as Dharamsala, India, really are happy," said Professor Owen Flanagan, of Duke University in North Carolina.
Dharamsala is the home base of exiled Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama.
The studies are published in New Scientist magazine.
Denmark 'happiest place on earth'
If it is happiness you are seeking a move to Denmark could be in order, according to the first scientist to make a world map of happiness.
Adrian White from the University of Leicester in the UK used the responses of 80,000 people worldwide to map out subjective wellbeing.
Denmark came top, followed closely by Switzerland and Austria. The UK ranked 41st. Zimbabwe and Burundi came bottom.
A nation's level of happiness was most closely associated with health levels.
Wealth and education were the next strongest determinants of national happiness.
HOW THE NATIONS RANKED ON HAPPINESS
1st - Denmark
2nd - Switzerland
3rd - Austria
4th - Iceland
5th - The Bahamas
23rd - USA
41st - UK
90th - Japan
178th - Burundi
Wealth and education were the next strongest determinants of national happiness.
Mr White, who is an analytic social psychologist at the university, said: "When people are asked if they are happy with their lives, people in countries with good healthcare, a higher GDP [gross domestic product] per captia, and access to education were much more likely to report being happy."
He acknowledged that these measures of happiness are not perfect, but said they were the best available and were the measures that politicians were talking of using to measure the relative performance of each country.
He said it would be possible to use these parameters to track changes in happiness, and what events may cause that, such as the effects a war, famine or national success might have on the happiness of people in a particular country.
Measuring happiness
He said: "There is increasing political interest in using measures of happiness as a national indicator in conjunction with measures of wealth.
"A recent BBC survey found that 81% of the population think the government should focus on making us happier rather than wealthier.
"It is worth remembering that the UK is doing relatively well in this area, coming 41st out of 178 nations."
He said he was surprised to see countries in Asia scoring so low, with China 82nd, Japan 90th and India 125th, because these are countries that are thought as having a strong sense of collective identity which other researchers have associated with well-being.
"It is also notable that many of the largest countries in terms of population do quite badly," he said.
He said: "The frustrations of modern life, and the anxieties of the age, seem to be much less significant compared to the health, financial and educational needs in other parts of the world."
Adrian White from the University of Leicester in the UK used the responses of 80,000 people worldwide to map out subjective wellbeing.
Denmark came top, followed closely by Switzerland and Austria. The UK ranked 41st. Zimbabwe and Burundi came bottom.
A nation's level of happiness was most closely associated with health levels.
Wealth and education were the next strongest determinants of national happiness.
HOW THE NATIONS RANKED ON HAPPINESS
1st - Denmark
2nd - Switzerland
3rd - Austria
4th - Iceland
5th - The Bahamas
23rd - USA
41st - UK
90th - Japan
178th - Burundi
Wealth and education were the next strongest determinants of national happiness.
Mr White, who is an analytic social psychologist at the university, said: "When people are asked if they are happy with their lives, people in countries with good healthcare, a higher GDP [gross domestic product] per captia, and access to education were much more likely to report being happy."
He acknowledged that these measures of happiness are not perfect, but said they were the best available and were the measures that politicians were talking of using to measure the relative performance of each country.
He said it would be possible to use these parameters to track changes in happiness, and what events may cause that, such as the effects a war, famine or national success might have on the happiness of people in a particular country.
Measuring happiness
He said: "There is increasing political interest in using measures of happiness as a national indicator in conjunction with measures of wealth.
"A recent BBC survey found that 81% of the population think the government should focus on making us happier rather than wealthier.
"It is worth remembering that the UK is doing relatively well in this area, coming 41st out of 178 nations."
He said he was surprised to see countries in Asia scoring so low, with China 82nd, Japan 90th and India 125th, because these are countries that are thought as having a strong sense of collective identity which other researchers have associated with well-being.
"It is also notable that many of the largest countries in terms of population do quite badly," he said.
He said: "The frustrations of modern life, and the anxieties of the age, seem to be much less significant compared to the health, financial and educational needs in other parts of the world."
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Saturday, July 22, 2006
One of my favorite quotes
"LIFE IS NOT A JOURNEY TO THE GRAVE WITH THE INTENTION OF ARRIVING SAFELY IN A PRETTY AND WELL PRESERVED BODY, BUT RATHER TO SKID IN BROADSIDE, THOROUGHLY USED UP, TOTALLY WORN OUT, AND LOUDLY PROCLAIMING: WOW....WHAT A RIDE !!!"
Friday, July 21, 2006
Chap Olympics :)
.
The annual event is hosted by Chaps Magazine - the bible for traditional gentlemen who are against the vulgarity of modern culture. The opening ceremony includes the lighting of the Olympic pipe.
These Olympics are for the immaculate of trouser, the frail of form and the fearful of sport. It celebrates panache rather than athleticism. In the Bounders discipline chaps approach a lady, behave like cads and the one who is slapped hardest around the face wins.
Chapettes also took part. In the three-trousered limbo pairs share enormous trousers, run to a limbo pole and try to go under it. The trousers must remain at a discreet level, with points deducted for underwear revelation.
Any chap - or lady - of worth smokes a pipe. In the Pipe Relay a lit pipe is passed between teams of three along a gruelling 100-yard course. Wearing any kind of sportswear at the games results in instant disqualification.
Contestants hop, skip and jump holding a brimming gin and tonic. The winner is the one left with the most drink in their glass.
A quill is thrown at a target as poetry is read out. Extra points are awarded for epic, metaphysical or absurdist verse.
Teams compete to mix a dry martini, with the handicap of having no butler to do it for them.
The prize? Gold, silver and bronze cravats of course, among other things.
Thanks to BBC for this article :)
I went roller blading last week. It's been too hot to go this week, so my gear just sits and waits... I should probably deal with it before the spiders move in. Oh in case your wondering, my balance is still messed up but not NEAR as bad as it was, I didn't fall UNTIL I'd decided to call it quits and went to sit down in the grass to take my blades off....
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Medication Errors Injure 1.5 Million Americans a Year
THURSDAY, July 20 (HealthDay News) -- Medication errors injure at least 1.5 million Americans annually, costing the nation more than $3.5 billion a year, according to a new government report released Thursday.
In hospitals alone, the sobering statistics translate into an average of one medication error per patient per day, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies report found.
And those costly totals don't even begin to include lost wages and productivity.
Click Headline to read the rest of the article....
In hospitals alone, the sobering statistics translate into an average of one medication error per patient per day, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies report found.
And those costly totals don't even begin to include lost wages and productivity.
Click Headline to read the rest of the article....
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