A Mother

A woman once fretted over the usefulness of her life. She feared she was wasting her potential being a devoted wife and mother. She wondered if the time and energy she invested in her husband and children would make a difference.
At times she got discouraged because so much of what she did seemed to go unnoticed and unappreciated.
"Is it worth it?" she often wondered.
"Is there something better that I could be doing with my time?"
It was during one of these moments of questioning that she heard the still small voice of her heavenly God speak to her heart.
"You are a wife and mother because that is what I have called you to be. Much of what you do is hidden from the public eye.
But I notice. Most of what you give is done without remuneration. But I am your reward.
Your husband cannot be the man I have called him to be without your support.
Your influence upon him is greater than you think and more powerful than you will ever know. I bless him through your service and honor him through your love.
Your children are precious to Me. Even more precious than they are to you. I have entrusted them to your care to raise them for Me. What you invest in them is an offering to Me.
You may never be in the public spotlight. But your obedience shines as a bright light before Me. Continue on. Remember that you are My servant. Do all to please Me."

-Roy Lessin

Save Energy/Stop Global Warming

Here are some tips from the Environmental Protection Agency, the Sierra Club, the World Wildlife Fund and the Alliance to Save Energy:

• Drive smarter. Live as close to your job as possible to reduce your commute and cut down on the amount of gasoline you burn. The burning of gasoline and other fossil fuels contributes to global warming and air pollution. If you can't live close to work, use public transportation or car pools. Keep your car's tires well inflated and your vehicle tuned up to run more efficiently.

• Switch light bulbs. Switch from traditional incandescent light bulbs to compact fluorescent bulbs to save energy. If every household in America switched just five bulbs, the energy savings would be equivalent to taking 8 million cars off the road, according to the Sierra Club.

• Save energy at home. Buy energy-efficient appliances and electronics that carry the Energy Star label. Make sure your doors and windows are well sealed. Buy a programmable thermostat that allows you to set your heating and air conditioning to use less energy when you're not home. Turn off your computer and monitor when they're not in use. Computer screen savers and slide shows use a great deal of energy. Unplug your TV whenever you leave town. TVs suck up energy even when turned off.

• Use cleaner energy. Many utility companies allow customers to buy "green power" generated by renewable energy such as wind and solar. To find out what's available in your area, go to http://zoomer.sierraclub.org and click on "efficiency/renewables."

• Recycle. Make sure to recycle aluminum cans, glass bottles and paper. Creating a new aluminum soda can from recycled materials consumes just 5% of the energy it takes to make one from scratch.

Endangered Species

• Live in a "recycled" home. Buy or rent an existing home rather than contributing to suburban sprawl by buying in a new housing tract away from the city center. The loss of habitat is the major threat to endangered species.

• Save trees. Make sure to recycle all your paper products. Recycling a 4-foot-tall stack of newspapers will save a mature tree that is home to birds and other species.

• Create less garbage. Buy products with the least amount of packaging. Recycle everything you can. Don't litter. Bring cloth bags to the grocery store so you won't be throwing away paper or plastic sacks. Donate used clothes, toys and household items to charity rather than throwing them away. Trash creates the need to use up more land for dumps rather than preserving it for wildlife.

Clean Water

• Don't pour pollution down the drain. Take unwanted household chemicals such as cleaning solvents, paint and varnishes to hazardous waste collection centers. If you pour them down the drain, you will make it harder for sewage treatment plants to clean the water before it flows back into rivers, lakes and bays.

• Make your lawn "greener." Don't use chemical fertilizers or pesticides on your lawn and flower beds and don't hire lawn-care services that use them. Those chemicals wash into waterways and harm endangered wildlife. Use organic alternatives instead. Compost your yard trimmings and use them to feed nutrients to your lawn and gardens. Conserve water by collecting rainwater in barrels placed at downspouts to your house and using it for your plants.

• Pick up pet droppings. Waste from dogs and cats runs off yards and streets into storm drains and contaminates waterways.

Clean Air

• Go farther on a gallon of gas. Choose cars that are energy efficient and pollute less. For more information, check out the EPA's Green Vehicles Guide at www.epa.gov/greenvehicles.

• Get out of the car. Combine as many errands as possible into one car trip. Avoid waiting in long lines at fast-food restaurants and drive-through banks. Park the car and go inside instead. Work from home at least one day a week if your employer will allow it. Shop on the Internet instead of driving from store to store.

• Rake your leaves. Gas-powered lawn mowers, leaf blowers, weed trimmers, chainsaws and snow blowers contribute to air pollution. Consider trading them in for rakes, shovels, handsaws, clippers and push mowers.

~ 50 Ways to Save Water - from ConsumerReports.org

~ 101 Easy Ways to Save Energy - from PowerHouseTV.com
~ Stop Global Warming - list of few things that we can do to make a difference.

Why Are Plastic Bags Such A Problem?

They are:

Landscape eyesores are only part of the problem across the globe. Plastic litter is responsible for a litany of environmental and infrastructure woes, including:

• Clogging sewage systems.

• Killing sea and land animals such as sea turtles and cows that eat the bags and choke or starve to death.

• Contaminating soils and harming marine life as bags degrade into small plastic bits that absorb concentrated amounts of dangerous compounds such as PCBs.

• A byproduct of a non-renewable resource (petroleum);

• Not accepted by most residential recycling programs;

• Not often returned by consumers to supermarkets for recycling.

Returned bags can be recycled into other bags or used for fence posts, railroad ties or highway materials such as road signs and barrier barrels.

Several cities and countries around the world, including Mumbai, India; Ireland; and Bangladesh have either banned or taxed plastic bags. Last month, San Francisco became the first U.S. city to require large supermarkets and chain pharmacies to switch to biodegradable plastic bags made of cornstarch or paper bags. Supermarkets have about six months to make the switch, pharmacies about a year. - from USA Today.com

Look at the sufferings of animals due to plastic bags.

Operation to remove plastic from gut of a green turtle.	Green turtle gut contents including blue plastic bag and red balloon.	Freedom for one rehabilitated turtle - how long will it survive?
Images courtesy Tarongo Zoo, Sydney Australia

Another article on "Why are plastic bags such a problem?"

Be True To Yourself

Hold to your dreams as the years unfold
Don't compromise the ideals that you hold
For on history's pages are written the deeds
Of those who had courage to live by their dreams
and at last achieved
The lofty goals in which they believed
So be true to yourself in all that you do.
Reach for the stars and your dreams will come true.

~ Barbara Burrow

The Art of Marriage

A good marriage must be created.
In the marriage the little things are the big things...

It is never being too old to hold hands.
It is remembering to say "I love you"
at least once each day.
It is never going to sleep angry.
It is having a mutual sense of values
and common objectives.
It is standing together facing the world.
It is forming a circle of love that
gathers in the whole family.
It is speaking words of appreciation
and demonstrating gratitude
in thoughtful ways.
It is giving each other an atmosphere
in which each can grow.
It is a common search for the
good and the beautiful.
It is not only marrying the right person -
It is being the right partner.

Rules For A Happy Marriage

1. Never both be angry at the same time.
2. Never yell at each other unless the house is on fire.
   
3. If one of you has to win an argument, let it be your mate.
4. If you have to critize, do it lovingly.
5. Never bring up mistakes of the past.
6. Neglect the whole world rather than each other.
7. Never go to sleep with an argument unsettled.
8. At least once every day try to say one kind or complimentary thing to you life partner.
9. When you have done something wrong, be ready to admit it and ask for forgiveness.
10. It takes two to make a quarrel and the one in the wrong is the one who does the most talking.

Everyone Needs Someone

People need people and friends need friends

And we all need love for a full like depends
Nor on vast riches or great acclaim
Not on success or on worldly fame
But just in knowing that someone cares

And holds is close in their thoughts and prayers
For only the knowledge that we're understood
Makes everyday living feel WONDERFULLY GOOD
And we rob ourselves of life's greatest need
When we 'lock up our hearts' and fail to heed
The outstretched hand reaching to find
A kindred spirit whose heart and mind
Are lonely and longing to somehow share
Our joys and sorrows and to make us aware
That life's completeness and richness depends
On the things we share with our loved ones and friends

~ Helen Steiner Rice

Whose Job Is It?

This is a story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was asked to do it. Everybody was sure Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that, because it was Everybody's job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn't do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.