Surrounded by Signs and Landmarks
Take a right. Bear left. Turn left. Straight. Left.
Right. Left into the parking lot. I drive to the grocery store without even thinking about it. There are many places I drive to each day or week without giving it a second thought. Sometimes I don't even give it a first thought!But when someone asks me for directions, I have to stop and think.
How do I get to the grocery store, my hair salon, or a Toastmasters meeting? What signs and landmarks should someone be looking for if they want to travel to those destinations? When someone asks me for directions I realize how many signs and landmarks are available to guide me.Last summer I was meeting a friend at a nearby bank. Although she was familiar with the road it was on, she didn't remember seeing this particular bank branch before. So I told her it was located between the Friendly's and Wendy's restaurants. She didn't know where either of these were! I was shocked. I couldn't think of any other landmarks so I told her to look for the restaurants and she'd find the bank, or find the bank and she'd also find the restaurants.
This example reminds me that not everyone sees the same things as they travel down life's roadways. Some people see the restaurants, others the car dealerships, and still others the public buildings. But just because we don't see something, doesn't mean it isn't there.Over the past year I have been contemplating the direction I want my life to travel. While my husband and children will forever be a top priority, I feel a restlessness to do something more?something that fulfills a higher calling from my Creator. But I worry that a new direction might upset the balance of my family and my life.
I worry that I may be making a mistake. I worry that I may go in the wrong direction.Yet, all my worry does is remind me that I am suffering from an extreme breakdown in faith. After all, if I am searching for the path my Creator has mapped out for me, why should I worry that He'd lead me away from the things He indicates are important? If He is leading me, why should I worry that I am lost when surely He placed signs and landmarks along the path to show me the way? It is only when I quiet my thoughts and open my heart and mind that I notice the signs and landmarks that appear before me: offhand comments, invitations, new friends. As I begin to look at the world around me, this same world I've been living in for so many years, I suddenly see things I'd never noticed in the past: opportunities, relationships, achievements. But just like that bank, these opportunities haven't gone out of business or moved to a new location.
The signs are there, the doors are open and I must decide if I am ready to become a customer. The choice is always mine.If, like me, you are looking for signs to indicate the direction your life should take, if you are feeling a bit unsettled or too settled into your daily routine, or you want to try something new, exciting, or fulfilling I encourage you to start paying attention to the signs and landmarks you encounter everyday as you travel through life. These signs can tell you where you are, where you are headed, and if you look back, they can even tell you where you've been. Then you can decide whether you need to change lanes and head in a new direction or turn into an unfamiliar parking lot. If, like me, you aren't quite sure what direction you should go in take time to ask for directions.
For me, prayerful reflection helps me keep the fears, worry, and lack of faith to a minimum. If you don't know how to get started or what the next step is, ask for directions or look for signs and landmarks. Signs and landmarks will tell you when you need to change directions or take an exit, when you are nearing your destination, and can even indicate if you are going in the wrong direction. But you need to keep your eyes open and your mind focused. You need to pay attention to the signs and landmarks along your journey..
Donna Doyon helps entrepreneurial-wannabes and starting-to-bes say ?goodbye? to self-defeating attitudes and behaviors and ?Hello!? to greater success, healthier relationships, and more balanced living. Visit her web site at http://www.donnadoyon.com if you want to move forward with your entrepreneurial vision.donna@donnadoyon.comTheCondomSpot.com Assisting in Report of the NYC Commission on HIV/AIDS
(ContentDesk) June 28, 2005 -- In the latest report from the New York City Commission on HIV/AIDS, prevention is the first step in making New York a national and global model in the prevention, treatment, and care of Aids/Hiv. Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, commissioner of NYC Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene said he formed the commission because no one group seemed to be looking at Aids from an overall, treament and prevention perspective.
The most prominent factor for this report is to prevent Aids before it starts. To maintain the best chance of prevention, male and female condoms should be made much more readily accessible in public and private places. Places including but not limited to beauty parlors, movie theaters, libraries, schools, hotel rooms, restaurants, limosines, airports, and sporting arenas to name a few.www.TheCondomSpot.com, which supplies many such establishments with low cost condoms, has been...
TheCondomSpot.com Assisting in Report of the NYC Commission on HIV/AIDS
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30th Birthday Gift Ideas
Choosing a birthday gift for a friend about to turn thirty years old can be a challenging task. You want to honor the special day with a unique gift, but not necessarily draw attention to their age. After all, thirty is the pivotal year of life when we transition from young adults to full-fledged grownups. Make your loved one feel their best on their big day by choosing a gift that focuses on the beginning of his or her life, not the number of years that have passed. If you want to give a truly personal gift, you cannot go wrong with a birthstone-- a gift idea that dates back to Biblical times.
Birthstones and zodiac stones are great gifts that hold deep significance and will be treasured for years.
When making your purchase, be sure to keep in mind the type and size of jewelry the person wears most often, as well as whether she prefers gold or silver. This way, you can embed her birthstone, for instance a pearl for a June birthday, in a setting that will be adored. Birthstones...
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Kids Party Planning Checklist
Planning a party that meets the needs of children can be challenging, however it is never impossible. If done correctly, it can be fun, engaging and even exciting. One thing you can't afford to live without when planning your child's party is a party planning checklist. Consider the tool below when planning your child's next party. It will ensure that you do not forget any party essentials on your child's special day.
PARTY PLANNER CHECKLIST For the Planner:?Choose the most suitable Party Date (at least one month in advance).?Select the Party Time, to go for 1.5 to 3 hours at the most, taking into consideration the age of the children.?Location, give this some serious thought and include the child in the decision making process.?Decide on the number of guests?Decide on a Party Theme (see our book for ideas and suggestions. You can get your copy at www.inspiredparties.info)?Create or purchase invitations and mail out 2-3 weeks in advance. There are many great themed invitations...
Kids Party Planning Checklist
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THE ZODIAC LOUNGE Celebrates Bed-Stuy and Beyond in the New Year
Bedford-Stuyvesant, New York City (ContentDesk) January 12, 2006 -- Need to relax?
Need a massage?
Need nutritional counseling after binging during the holidays?
Or do want profound insight on serious personal problem?
Then chances are you can find what you need at the Zodiac Lounge. The Zodiac Lounge, currently only at the Food 4 Thought Caf? (443 Marcus Garvey Boulevard at MacDonough Street) every other Friday, is an alcohol-free mini spa event.There are practitioners on handranging from astrologers to massage therapists to top psychicsto provide 20 minute consultations for attendees.
Participants can also sit out the consultations and enjoy an invigorating natural juice while taking in the entrancing sounds of Bed-Stuys newest mixologist from Los Angeles, DJ 180 (nee Stephen Barrios).The purpose for creating the Zodiac Lounge, according to co-creator Samuel F. Reynolds, an astrologer, was to provide the people of Bed-Stuy with a regular...
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International Superstar and Former Olympian Keba Phipps Returns as a Key Player to Help US 2004 Women?s Olympic Volleyball Team Win the Gold in Athens
San Francisco, CA (ContentDesk) August 13, 2004 -- Keba Phipps returned to the US National team in 2002 to make the U.S. Olympic Volleyball team after refusing several invitations over the years.
Keba produced immediate results at the 2002 Worlds competition, ranking seventh of all competitors (and first on the U.S. team) in spiking percentage. She was a key element of the team's block, its best weapon.
Due in part to Keba's stellar play, the U. S. won its first ten games in the tournament and advanced to the gold medal final against Italy. Records show it was the best performance the women had at a World Championship since 1967, when it placed second for the silver medal. Keba missed the final because of an eye injury, and the U.S.
lost, 3-2.
Keba went on to help the U.S finish third at the 2003 World Cup to qualify for Athens. With Keba as its most experienced player, the U.S. has a chance for its first Olympic medal since 1992. The ReturnThrough the...
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Easy and Inexpensive Hostess Gifts
In days gone by,it was considered impolite to go to someone's house for dinner or a party and not take a small gift for the hostess (or the host!). The gift didn't have to be anything "special" or very expensive, just something that said "Thank you" to your hostess. It can be very easy, and not at all expensive, to renew that happy custom. And speaking from personal experience, it is so much fun to watch her face when you hand her a little gift! Keep Gift Items on HandIt is relatively simple to keep a few things on hand that make nice little gifts. You don't need to spend a fortune either---and here's how you do it:Buy trial-sized items! You can find hand lotions, small bottles of spray perfume, bars of moisturizing soap, etc.
I've even found very small bottles and tubes of bath gel, body lotion, and after-bath spray all in the same scent---these make a perfect hostess gift set!Look for 2-for, 3-for, and 4-for sales! I watch for sales and coupons, especially BOGO (Buy One, Get...
Easy and Inexpensive Hostess Gifts
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