REVEALING IN THE REFRESHING RAIN

We are All Rain Proof & Water Resistant

Even in the puddles of the dreariest days, we play!

 

 

Alone Again

Maudlin in the Rain

Biking Through the City’s  Streets 

Splashing in Puddles Rushing Off to Work

Taking the Time for the Joys of a Summer Rain Shower

Paris in the Rain – “I Will Never Be the Same!”

 Souls and Rain-Drops

– Sidney Lanier 

Light rain-drops fall and wrinkle the sea,
Then vanish, and die utterly.
One would not know that rain-drops fell
if the round sea-wrinkles did not tell.

So souls come down and wrinkle life
and vanish in the flesh-sea strife.
One might not know that souls had place
weren’t not for the wrinkles in life’s face. 

 

“Some people walk in the rain, others just get wet.”
Roger Miller

“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass…it’s learning to dance in the rain.” – Unknown

Rain  – James Rowe

 

Rain fell last night…quiet, gentle rain,

that tapped against my window pane,

and called me back from troubled sleep,

to soothe a heart too numb to weep. 

My loneliness was too deep and real,

and like a wound that would not heal,

it throbbed within me, and I knew

my arms were empty without you. 

But as I listened to the sound

of soft rain falling on the ground,

I heard your voice, tender and clear,

Call my name, and oh my dear,

I threw my window open wide,

to let the sweet rain rush inside.

It kissed my lips, my eyes, my hair,

and love, I knew that you were there. 

Tears that my heart could not release

Fell down from Heaven, bringing peace.

 

 Rain Videos

I Like London in the Rain – Blossom Dearie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHUVWEgHAy8

Beauty of Rainy Days Bangkok

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=envMHiIyRYk

Famous Poems About the Rain

http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/thematic_poems/rain_poems.html

Love Poems

http://www.1lovepoems.com/rain.shtml

Quotes About the Rain

http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/rain

Video – Walkin in the Rain with the One I Love

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfQHSwZX4sg

25 Songs About the Rain

http://www.beliefnet.com/Entertainment/Music/25-Songs-About-Rain.aspx?b=1&p=13

Enya – Listen to the Rain

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=686k9qcmzkw&feature=related

Cracker – Another Song About the Rain

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8zuQH27Qjk

Country Western Songs About the Rain

http://sunshine625.hubpages.com/hub/Country-Music-Songs-About-Rain

Singing in the Rain

http://www.beliefnet.com/Entertainment/Music/25-Songs-About-Rain.aspx?p=2

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LOSING WEIGHT – for women over 45 / 50 has implications some positive, some negative

According to Jean Langlois, ScD, an investigator in epidemiology at the National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, MD, women over the age of 50 that lose a lot of weight are actually at greater risk of fracturing their hips.  In fact, the study showed that when women lost 10% of their weight or more after the age of 50 their chance of fracturing their hip more than doubled. As a precautionary measure, physicians recommend that women reach an optimal weight and stay at that size, taking into account, however, that heart disease associated with being overweight is even more dangerous than a hip fracture. 

Exercise is always good for reducing pounds and inches but did you know that women who participate in aerobic workouts up to three times per week have a lower risk of developing breast cancer.

Amazingly, anorexia is not an eating disorder that affects young women reports Paul L. Hewitt PhD, associate professor of psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.  Only 25% of the women who die from anorexia are overachieving, young women, in fact, the majority, four out of five, who lose their lives due to anorexia nervosa, are a shocking 45 years of age or even older.

Many women are closet smokers who use nicotine as a measure to control their appetites and because of this strategy suffer years later even after they have given up smoking because they are two to three times more likely to suffer from incontinence than those who never smoked cigarettes at all. Studies indicate that nicotine constricts the bladder, causing unintentional urine leakage. 

The foods mature women eat have a big influence on their overall health. Few women meet their calcium requirements says Ethel Siris, MD, professor of clinical medicine, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York City. Bone thinning is grossly undiagnosed in women over 50. Women with low bone density suffer broken bones at twice the rate of those with normal bone density and those with osteoporosis, four times the rate.  The recommended intake of calcium for women 25 to 50 years of age is 300 mg of calcium, eight ounces of milk or yogurt.

Here are some more interesting facts about weight loss involving women 40, 50 and beyond…

Facts about Women Losing Weight After 40 / 50

Losing Weight after 50

http://www.riverofhopeinternational.org/home-and-family/losing-weight-after-50-often-ignored-facts-about-the-fast-ways-to-lose-fat-and-excess-weight

How to Lose Weight for Women Over 50

http://www.livestrong.com/article/90509-lose-weight-women-over/

Fighting 40’s Flab

http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/guide/fighting-40s-flab

Losing Weight After 40

http://cgi1.usatoday.com/mchat/20050418001/tscript.htm

Weight loss through hypnosis

http://www.dallasfastweightloss.com/fastweightloss/successstories.php

Here’s what to do tomorrow 1^st thing if you cannot lose weight after 50

http://www.nowloss.com/cant-lose-weight.htm

YouTube Video – Unbelievable Research to help eventually minimize the effects of aging

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSSs1C-MmJ4&feature=related

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ALL ABOUT EASTER

Easter Sunday is all about all things that are bright and beautiful! Christ arises from the dead and celebrations abound. Easter is a time of spiritual renewal, when we take inventory of our faith, and when we reunite with the beauty of nature. It is after a long dark period when we expressed hope over doubt, when no visible proof of Christ’s promises were evident. Easter is the time when we are rewarded for our uncompromising faith. He has risen from the dead and with him comes light of redemption. 

THE RESURRECTION

What it Means –

A Spiritual Stimulus for Us All

Greater belief in hope

Evidence in things once unseen

Life after death exists

Christ was more than a prophet

We can trust in the words of the Lord

Promises kept

Serenity Afforded

 A Second Chance

Nature follows the spiritual laws (first there is winter and then comes spring)

Suffering related to our faith is never in vain or fruitless

God’s miracle working power restores all that is lost and broken

Christ is victorious and His truth apparent

His teachings are in the lessons of His complete surrender as evidenced by the crucifixion and

 the release brought about by His resurrection!

Fame, honor, wealth are transient things that change with the seasons but the rewards from God are everlasting in their existence!

PRACTICING EASTER TRADITIONS

Sunrise service

Easter Sunday mass

Church Services at the Vatican in Rome

Easter baskets filled with decorated eggs

Treasured Easter Eggs

Holiday photographs

Dressing up for Easter

Sweets and Cuddly Toys

Easter Egg Hunts at the White House

Easter Parades

Easter bonnets

Easter Shoes

Little baby chicks

Common Easter Faire –

 

Easter brunch at fancy hotels

Easter picnics with barbecue chicken, baked ham and corn on the cob and apple pie for dessert

Supper ham with cherry sauce, peas and carrots with mashed potatoes and homemade biscuits and gravy

Turkey with cornbread and sausage stuffing or braised lamb dinner with roasted red potatoes fresh mint sauce and asparagus with hollandaise sauce

 

More About The Resurrection and Easter

Bible Verses for Easter

http://christianity.about.com/od/holidaytips/qt/easterbiblevers.htm 12

Different Sightings of Christ during the Resurrection

http://christianity.about.com/od/biblestorysummaries/p/theresurrection.htm

Video – A Case for Jesus’ Resurrection (historical facts)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYdzUYyIKMM

Article – I Believe in the Resurrection

http://www.bulletininserts.org/bulletininsert.aspx?bulletininsert_id=237

Resurrection of Jesus Christ – Redemptive history

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACKrry9PTNo

The Easter Song – Enjoy!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lALj7VG9960&feature=related

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WHAT MAKES A SPACE A COZY LIVING ENVIRONMENT?

A warm and comfy living space has its advantages.  First of all, it is a retreat where we can go  when we are exhausted and just need time to recuperate.

It is a place that allows us the ideal conditions with which to recover.  It is a safe haven where we can escape the heat or stay out of the cold.  It is a shelter.

It is an oasis, a private dwelling, basically, a place of our very own.

A cozy living environment is essential for entertaining. Home should be all about having friends and family over for social gatherings. 

A carefully planned living room will have enough seating to ensure that everyone has an area that they can make their own, even if it is only for the temporary.

A lot goes into making a space workable so that it suits not just the needs of its residents but their spirits too.  No place is cozy unless it meets the aesthetic requirements of the person who is occupying it. 

What one person considers appealing decor may be completely garish to another – “to each his own,” as they say.

But, one thing everyone can agree on is that there is nothing like the feeling a comfortable living environment offers.

Here are some of the things that make a room a delightful place to unwind in and to  just chill out.

• Lots of natural light
• Plenty of skylights
• Artwork

• Accent colors on the walls
• A comfortable couch

• A huge arm-chair with an ataman
• Attractive window treatments
• Thick plush carpeting

• Wall hangings
• Lots of light

• Fresco walls
• Wallpaper

• Hand painted furniture
• Mirrors in ornate or modern frames

• Built-in shelving
• Soft artificial lightning  
• Crystal chandelier
• A deep bathtub

• A pleasant view out the windows
• French doors

• Rod iron balconies
• Archways
• A fireplace

• Cross ventilation
• A veranda
• Bay windows
• Window seat

• Tile flooring
• Parquet floors
• Well organized closet and storage systems

• Large flat screen television
• Persian carpets
• The perfect bedding
• Clear passageways
• Easy to access furniture groupings
• Highly aesthetic room accessories

• Wooden cabinets
• Piano
• Winding staircase

• Mahogany or rosewood bookcases
• Scatter rugs
• An oriental screen
• Firmly upholstered chairs

• Drop-front desk or a wrap-around work surface
• Stained glass panels
• Leaded glass windows

• A romantic dining place

• A fantastic sound system

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SPIRITUALLY CENTERED ATHLETES – soulful stories of Centerians

 

In his book “Anatomy of an Illness” Reflections of Healing and Regeneration, Norman Cousins recants the story of a man named Charles Thierry. He was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts in the year 1850 and lived to be 108 years old. Thierry was what I have come to identify as a spiritually centered athlete. He trusted nature, he trusted his own intuitive feelings and most of all he trusted God.

While his other friends turned to doctor’s orders, prescribed medications and were less active due to periodic or chronic depression, Thierry turned to long walks and energetic hikes in the country side. It was a daily habit that he had long cultivated even prior to his retirement. By the time Charles, a silversmith, was “put out to pasture” so to speak (at the age of 93) he was just coming into his own as a spiritual athlete. Despite his age or any aches or pains he may have been experiencing along the way, Thierry made certain that he enthusiastically walked every single day: rain or shine, regardless of the season, or the weather conditions permitting. At the age of 103 he contracted influenza and had the difficulties one would expect for a man recovering at such a late stage in his life. His physician at the time was a believer in the divine power of the mind and in nature and its recuperative properties.

He supported Charles’s intuitive health regimen and encouraged him to hit the trails again just as soon as he felt inclined to do so. Thierry eventually was well enough and resumed his routine walks with the same zest and dedication that he had always had until he came down with pneumonia and died five years later at the age of 108.

I think that athletic centurions are the best evidence of God’s spirit at work. According to Norman Cousins in the introduction of his book, men like Elias Metchnikoff present a cheerful picture of many elderly people he studied in Russia and in France. They live to a ripe old age because they remain active to the very end of their lives. Most of the people Cousins observed also participated in community affairs which would most likely, indicate a spiritual basis of some sort for their ongoing involvement all the way to the very last days of their existence. In the final analysis faith and physical fortitude worked to maintain a quality of life that gave the aged a different experience of their maturing years. These factors, in combination worked side by side to keep their bodies and minds in check along with a healthy restraint for the things in this world that would weaken their resistance leaving them more susceptible to disease.

Others Thoughts on This and Related Subjects –

Catholic Nun Raises the Bar for Older Athletes

http://www.secondact.com/2010/06/sister-madonna/

About Norman Cousins author of “Anatomy of an Illness”

http://www.answers.com/topic/cousins-norman

Living to 100 and Beyond

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/18/living-to-100-and-beyond/

A life Well and Vigorous Lived and Some Marvelous Quotes on this topic

http://www.muscle-4life-nutrition.com/Bible-Quotes.html

Utube- The Most Inspirational Athletes – Just take a look at these positive images of aging

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NWZbVb_DLU

Tips for Aging Athletes

http://thesportfactory.com/site/trainingnews/Tips_For_The_Aging_Athlete.shtml

On the Topic of Growing Old – Why Asking Questions and Embracing Uncertainty is Good for You

http://www.aarp.org/entertainment/books/info-06-2010/the_author_speaks_how_asking_questions_and_being_nosy_awakens_the_spirit_.html

The Spiritual Athlete – Brief Book Review

http://www.monasticdialog.com/a.php?id=529

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Inside Treehouses

Every time I see a tree-house I feel as if I have been transported back into my childhood. When we were growing up I had a doll house, our dog De-john had his own little dog house, but  my brother had so much more than that, he had a detached place where he could go to dream, a little tree-house which was suspended high above the ground. If I looked down from its front window I could see our entire back yard sprawled out under me.  Unlike my doll house that occupied the entire corner of my bedroom, my brother’s sanctuary was located outdoors and completely private, entirely hidden from view.

Even now, after all these years, I still think of that little tree-house that was my brother’s second home, as a space so sacred that its existence could only be described as a work of art that housed the nucleus of my brother’s independent self.

It was so much more than just a wooden observation platform made from a bunch of recyclable materials we collected. It was innocent and unfinished with its sloppily laid side panels and unsecured roof; it was his paradise and his one and only refuge from the harshness of the real world below.

A frayed rope ladder hung loosely from its deck enabling us access to his lofted structure, although, he rarely extended me an invitation, he preferred spending hours alone there instead, uninterrupted, contemplating the uncertainties of his impending future.

Since those days I have driven  through many neighborhoods where I occasionally have caught site of the outside of a tree-house now and again, but what I really long to see is the interiors of these structures that too stand as a monument to pure flights of adult fantasy and aesthetic creativity – what follows are some of my very favorites:

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WHAT’S SO GOOD ABOUT WORK? And, what makes it worth our efforts to do it!

Good Morning,

What we do every day to earn a living is so important. Our work gives us more than mere wages for our efforts.  Our jobs speak to us. They tell us and others ….of our many attributes and personal qualities. How our work environment affects us is equally important. If we like what we do, where we do it and who we do it with, we feel more confident and, ultimately – self-assured. If our work is something that causes us shame or emotional discomfort, it can make us feel underrated, frustrated,  irritable and apprehensive.

There is no doubt that what we do for a living has an enormous impact on so many aspects of our being.  At the end of the day, however, work is work. It is what we do to pay for the material things in our lives and is essential to meet our basic needs.

“O’ Lord, thou givest us everything, at the price of an effort.”

Leonardo Da Vinci

Here Are Some Additional Thoughts About Our Daily Labors:

If We Decide – Work Can Give Us:

• Purpose
• Earnest achievement
• Powers of readiness
• Motivation
• Tough-minded attitudes
• Abilities of greater concentration
• Opportunities to use adversity in a positive way
• Assurance of Order
• Creativity
• Inner force
• Right use of passing moments
• Professional triumphs
• Acceptance
• A sense of dignity
• A central theme for our lives
• An understanding of our vast capabilities
• A quite or a stimulated mind depending on its demands on us
• Treasured memories to look back on after years of service and contributions
• A feeling of family and friendship within our peer groups
• Situation changing power to reshape shattered financial circumstances
• A more interesting view of things and people around us
• Multiple kindnesses carried out on our behalf
• Pathways for personal development
• An Invitation to exercise our imaginations
• A chance to affect the lives of others
• Astonishment
• An opportunity to develop humility
• A real understanding about people
• A voice with which to express what is best in us
• Serenity
• Destiny
• A chance to overcome obstacles and to achieve personal victories
• A radiant future
• A platform with which to believe that anything is possible!

Newt Discusses the Importance of the Work Ethic

http://www.newt.org/video/newt-discusses-importance-work-ethic-america?page=7

The surprising Truth about What Motivates Us

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc&feature=channel

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