The Mayonnaise Jar
(and 2 CUPS OF COFFEE)
When things in your life seem
almost too much to handle,
when 24 Hours in a day is not enough,
remember the mayonnaise jar
and 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class
and had some items in front of him.
When the class began, wordlessly,
he picked up a very large
and empty mayonnaise jar
and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.

He then asked the students
if the jar was full.
They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar.
He shook the jar lightly.
The pebbles rolled into the open
areas between the golf balls.

He then asked
the students again
if the jar was full..
They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand
and poured it into the jar.
Of course, the sand filled up everything else.
He asked once more if the jar was full.

The students responded
with an unanimous
"yes."

The professor then produced
two cups of coffee from under the table
And poured the entire contents
into the jar, effectively
filling the Empty space between the sand.
The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor,
as the laughter subsided,
"I want you to recognize that
this jar represents your life.
The golf balls are the important things -
God, family, children, health,
friends, and Favorite passions --
things that if everything else was lost
and only they remained,
your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter
like your job, house, and car.

The sand is everything else --
the small stuff.

"If you put the sand into the jar first,"
he continued,
"there is no room for
the pebbles or the golf balls.
The same goes for life.

If you spend all your time
and energy on the small stuff,
you will never have room for
the things that are
important to you.

So...

Pay attention to the things
that are critical to your happiness.
Play With your children.
Take time to get medical checkups.
Take your partner out to dinner.
Play another 18.

There will always be time
to clean the house
and fix the disposal.

"Take care of the golf balls first --
the things that really matter.
Set your priorities.
The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand
and inquired what the coffee represented.

The professor smiled.
"I'm glad you asked".

It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's
always room for
a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

Someday when my children are old enough to
understand the logic that motivates a parent, I will
tell them, as my Mean Mom told me: I loved you
enough . . . to ask where you were going, with whom,
and what time you would be home.

I loved you enough to be silent and let you
discover that your new best friend was a creep.

I loved you enough to stand over you for two hours
while you cleaned your room, a job that should have taken 15 minutes.

I loved you enough to let you see anger,
disappointment, and tears in my eyes. Children must
learn that their parents aren't perfect.

I loved you enough to let you assume the
responsibility for your actions even when the
penalties were so harsh they almost broke my heart.

But most of all, I loved you enough . . . to say
NO when I knew you would hate me for it.

Those were the most difficult battles of all. I'm
glad I won them, because in the end you won, too.
And someday when your children are old enough to
understand the logic that motivates parents, you will tell them.

Was your Mom mean? I know mine was. We had the
meanest mother in the whole world! While other kids
ate candy for breakfast, we had to have cereal, eggs, and toast.
When others had a Pepsi and a Twinkie for lunch, we had to eat
sandwiches.
And you can guess our mother fixed us a dinner that was
different from what other kids had, too.

Mother insisted on knowing where we were at all
times. You'd think we were convicts in a prison. She
had to know who our friends were, and what we were
doing with them. She insisted that if we said we
would be gone for an hour, we would be gone for an hour or less.

We were ashamed to admit it, but she had the nerve
to break the Child Labor Laws by making us work We
had to wash the dishes, make the beds, learn to
cook, vacuum the floor, do laundry, empty the trash
and all sorts of cruel jobs. I think she would lie
awake at night thinking of more things for us to do.

She always insisted on us telling the truth, the
whole truth, and nothing but the truth. By the time
we were teenagers, she could read our minds and had
eyes in the back of her head. Then, life was really tough!

Mother wouldn't let our friends just honk the horn
when they drove up. They had to come up to the door
so she could meet them. While everyone else could
date when they were 12 or 13, we had to wait until we were 16 .

Because of our mother we missed out on lots of
things other kids experienced. None of us have ever
been caught shoplifting, vandalizing other's
property or ever arrested for any crime. It was all her fault.

Now that we have left home, we are all educated,
honest adults. We are doing our best to be mean
parents just like Mom was.

I think that is what's wrong with the world today.
It just doesn't have enough mean moms!

Dear children,

It has come to my attention that many of you are upset that folks are
taking My name out of the season. Maybe you've forgotten that I was not
actually born during this time of the year and that it was some of your
predecessors who decided to celebrate My birthday on what was actually a
time of pagan festival. Although I do appreciate being remembered at
anytime.

This celebration can probably be most easily understood by those of you
who
have been blessed with children of your own. If you want to celebrate My
birth just,love one another. Let Me go on.

If it bothers you that the town in which you live does not allow a scene
depicting My birth, then just get rid of Santas and snowmen, and put in a
small Nativity scene on your own front lawn. If all My followers  did
that
there wouldn't be any need for such a scene on the town square because
there
would be many of them all around town.

Stop worrying about the fact that people are calling the tree a holiday
tree, instead of a Christmas tree. It was I who made all trees.

You can & may remember Me anytime you see any tree. Decorate a grape vine
if
you wish: I actually spoke of that one in a teaching explaining who  I am
in
relation to you & what each of our tasks were. If you have forgot that
one,
look up John 15: 1 - 8.

If you want to give Me a present in remembrance of My birth here is my
list.
Choose something from it.

1. Instead of writing protest letters objecting to the way My birthday
is
being celebrated, write letters of love and hope to soldiers away from
home. They are terribly afraid and lonely this time of year. I know, they
tell Me all the time.

2. Visit someone in a nursing home. You don't have to know them
personally. They just need to know that someone cares about them.

3. Instead of writing George complaining about the wording on the cards
his staff sent out this year, why don't you write and tell him that
you'll
be praying for him and his family this year. Then follow up. It will be
nice
hearing from you again.

4. Instead of giving your children a lot of gifts you can't afford and
they don't need, spend time with them. Tell them the story of My birth,
and
why I came to live with you down here. Hold them in your arms and remind
them that I love them.

5. Pick someone that has hurt you in the past and forgive him or her.

6. Did you know that someone in your town will attempt to take their own
life this season because they feel so alone and hopeless? Since you don't
know who that person is, try giving everyone you meet a warm smile it
could
make the difference. Also, you might consider supporting the local
Hot-Line: they talk with people like that every day.

7. Instead of nit picking about what the retailer in your town calls the
holiday, be patient with the people who work there. Give them a warm
smile
and a kind word. Even if they aren't allowed to wish you a "Merry
Christmas"
that doesn't keep you from wishing them one. Then stop shopping there on
Sunday. If the store didn't make so much money on that day they'd  close
and
let their employees spend the day at home with their families.

8. If you really want to make a difference, support a missionary,
especially one who takes My love & Good News to those who have never
heard
My name. You may already know someone like that.

9. Here's a good one: There are individuals & whole families in your
town
who not only will have no "Christmas" tree, but neither will they have
any
presents to give or receive. If you do not know them (and I suspect you
don't) buy some food & a few gifts & give them to the church, the
Salvation
Army or some other charity which believes in Me & they will make
the delivery for you.

10. Finally if you want to make a statement about your belief in and
loyalty to Me, then behave like a Christian. Don't do things in secret
that
you wouldn't do in My presence. Let people know by your actions that you
are one of mine.

Finally do not forget; I am God and can take care of Myself. Just love Me
&
do what I have told you to do. I'll take care of all the rest.

Check out the list above & get to work; time is short. I have promised
to
help you.

And do have a most blessed Christmas with all those whom you love and
remember, I LOVE YOU!

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. The conversation soon
turned into complaints about stress in work and life.

Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups -
porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain-looking, some expensive and some exquisite -
telling them to help themselves to the coffee.

After all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up,
leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is but normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your
problems and stress."

"Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases, it's just more expensive and in some cases even hides
what we drink.

What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups...and then began eyeing each other's
cups."

"Now consider this: Life is the coffee, and the jobs, houses, cars, things, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools
to hold and contain life, and the type of cup we have does not define nor change the quality of life we live. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us."

God brews the coffee, not the cups . . . enjoy your coffee.

"Being happy doesn't mean everything's perfect, it means you've decided to see beyond the imperfections"

Live in peace and peace will live in you.

WHY I LOVE MOM Mom and Dad were watching TV when Mom said, "I'm tired, and it's getting late. I think I'll go to bed" She went to the kitchen to make sandwiches for the next day's lunches. Rinsed out the popcorn bowls, took meat out of the freezer for supper the following evening, checked the cereal box levels, filled the sugar container, put spoons and bowls on the table and started the coffee pot for brewing the next morning. She then put some wet clothes in the dryer, put a load of clothes into the washer, ironed a shirt and secured a loose button. She picked up the game pieces left on the table, put the phone back on the charger and put the telephone book into the drawer. She watered the plants, emptied a wastebasket and hung up a towel to dry. She yawned and stretched and headed for the bedroom. She stopped by the desk and wrote a note to the teacher, counted out some cash for the field trip, an d pulled a text book out from hiding under the chair. She signed a birthday card for a friend, addressed and stamped the envelope and wrote a quick note for the grocery store. She put both near her purse. Mom then washed her face with 3 in 1 cleanser, put on her Night solution & age fighting moisturizer, brushed and flossed her teeth and filed her nails. Dad called out, "I thought you were going to bed." "I'm on my way," she said. She put some water into the dog's dish and put the cat outside, then made sure the doors were locked and the patio light was on. She looked in on each of the kids and turned out their bedside lamps and TV's, hung up a shirt, threw some dirty socks into th e hamper, and had a brief conversation with the one up still doing homework. In her own room, she set the alarm; laid out clothing for the next day, straightened up the shoe rack. She added three things to her 6 most important things to do list. She said her prayers, and visualized the accomplishment of her goals. About that time, Dad turned off the TV and announced to no one in particular. "I'm going to bed." And he did...without another thought. Anything extraordinary here? Wonder why women live longer...? CAUSE WE ARE MADE FOR THE LONG HAUL..... (and we can't die sooner, we still have things to do!!!!)

I'M SORRY I HAVEN'T TYPED A BLOG FOR SO LONG ,BUT AM PRETTY BUSY AND HAVEN'T BEEN FEELING GOOD ,GETTING WINTERIZED I THINK,I WOKE UP AND THOUGH A TRUCK RAN OVER ME I ACHED SO MUCH ,BUT GETTING BETTER  .THANK MY LORD .   I HAVE SO TOTALLY ENJOYED PLAYING THE CHALLENGES PEOPLE HAVE SENT ME ,AND I CAN'T WAIT TILL I GET ONE , I JUST JOPE I AM NOT SENDING TO MANY TO MY FRIEND'S ,IF I AM PLEASE LET ME KNOW.    I AM GOING TO MY GRANDSON'S HOCKEY GAME TONIGHT , HE IS THE OLDEST OF 8 ,(17) WILL BE 18 IN JAN.   KEEPS US GOING KEEPING UP TO ALL OF THERE EVENTS . I LOVE IT THOUGH . MY HUBBY HAS PARKINSON'S AND WE DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH LONGER WE CAN GO , BUT WITH THE LORD'S HELP WE CAN GO FOR AWHILE YET . WELL I BETTER GO FOR NOW .GOD BLESS YOU ALL . AND KEEP THEM GAMES COMING.  LOVE BARB

IT'S BEEN AWHILE ,BUT I'M SO BUSY TRYING TO KEEP CAUGHT UP WITH THE CHALLENGE'S  THAT I DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME TO SEND A BLOG ,BUT TODAY I DO ,I HAVE OPENED UP A NEW SITE . AND I HAVE BEEN SO BUSY TRYING TO GET THAT UP AND GOING. I CAN'T FIGURE OUT HOW PEOPLE  CAN EVER GET BORED ,I HAVEN'T THE TIME TO GET BORED . I BEEN WALKING UP TO 7 MILES A DAY ,SOMETIMES I ONLY GET IN 3 ,BUT I DO WHAT I CAN .GOD IS SO GOOD AMEN.BARB  

HELLO TO ALL IN MY FIENDS LIST AND I WANNA SAY I'M BLESSED TO HAVE FOUND THIS SITE ,SO I CAN HAVE SO MUCH FUN WITH THE CHALLENGES ,I'M STILL NOT TO GOOD AT THE GAMES ,SO PLEASE BE PATIENT WITH ME , THE LORD HAS BEEN SO GOOD TO ME AND I THANK HIM FOR EACH DAY I LIVE ,AND I WANNA LIVE IT TO THE FULLEST , HE HAS BLESSED ME WITH A GREAT FAMILY ,A BUSY LIFE STYLE , AND A WONDERFUL HUSBAND,BUT FOR THOSE THAT PRAY ,COULD YOU PRAY FOR HIM ,HE HAS PARKINSON'S . THANK YOU SO MUCH. LOVE BARB

I THINK THE GAMES IN  THIS SITE ARE THE COOLEST,AND AM LOOKING FORWARD TO PLAYING THEM TILL I'M TO OLD TO TYPE ANYMORE . AND WITH JESUS HELP THAT WILL BE A LONG TIME YET. GOD BLESS