Stroke World (I)

Vacant stare
Lifeless limbs
Wordless lips
Stroke world

GETTING OFF OF WORK AGAIN

Guest written by our friend Gladys Fuentes


I was at home in my pajamas watching Direct.TV when a random number called my cell phone. I definitely should not have answered because it was a co-worker ( who had an out of town number) calling to say that they were short staffed and they really needed me to come into work. She put me on the spot and I didn’t have time to think of an excuse. So of course, I had to said yes. I was really looking forward to having two days off. I work in an inpatient women’s substance abuse facility. I work long hours and there is so much drama that everyday will wear you out. So I peeled myself off of the couch, got ready, jumped in the car and headed to work. On the way, I swung by McDonalds. I figured that I would treat myself if I was going to have to go into work on my day off! As soon as I got up there, settled into my desk and getting ready to work. About fifteen minutes later, the coworker that was not going to be able to make it to work showed up. That meant that I got to go home! It was such a nice surprise to get the day off again!

Experiencing Fashion's Night Out in sunny Florida

I really don't understand how all those New Yorkers live in that dreary city. I can't imagine living anywhere that isn't warm year round. It's just so much more pleasant that way, or at least for me. But I was pretty envious of them in regards to Fashion's Night Out until now. There are tons of events that they held here in Florida for it this year and I had a really good time at a few of them that I went to.

I did my research to find out exactly what was going on where and how many events I had time to make it to. While I was looking that up, I ran across some info on direct tv bundles and after I looked through them, I decided to switch our home service over to one of them.

It seemed like everyone that was in attendance had so much fun at Fashion's Night Out Florida. Surely they're going to do it again next year here. It seems like a lot of people bought stuff that normally wouldn't be out shopping on a Thursday night.


Guest post written by Beth Byrne

Planning our Disney World vacation

This will be our fourth time going to Walt Disney World for vacation, but it's going to be a little different than in years past. We're actually going to stay at one of the Disney resorts this time, which I think will mean that we'll get to fit in a few more things and get to the parks earlier as a result. At least we won't have to sit in traffic like the other three times. I told my husband that I was over that and he felt the same way too.

I've been looking up information on the resort that we're staying in and actually found out that there are certain mornings that you can get into the park earlier if you're actually staying at Disney. As I was looking up more of this information, I ran across the site GETCLEARwirelessinternet.com and after I looked through it a little bit I decided to sign up for one of the internet packages that I saw on there for our home.

We're actually going to plan riding the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror aroud going early to the park because the lines for that are just so long in general on a normal basis anyway.


Guest post written by Jenny Sinclair

New Life

Staring at his newborn,
He was overwhelmed with pride and love.
His eyes welled up,
And he felt his baby's vulnerability.
A fierce urge to protect her arose in him.
He who scorned risk management,
Suddenly swore to work doubly hard.
To get protection of all forms,
ANYTHING - to ensure a legacy for his precious little girl!

Reaching out for their newborn,
She held her close to her breast.
The little soft body felt so warm,
It stirred up strange feelings in her.
This little helpless being they have created together,
Depended on them for everything.
She looked at him, who was looking at mother and child.
Their eyes locked, and both made the same vow,
To protect this precious bundle - at ALL costs!

Butterfly in the Net

"You're shy!" her inner voice whispered
"I can't do this!" she decided
She logged off from the Plenfyoffish
website on the computer
Shying away from a chance to find a partner
She buried her face in her pillow
Retreating into her cocoon of sorrow.

"Hi!" the greeting on her computer screen gleamed
Her fingers froze on the keyboard as her inner voice screamed
"Stop! You're shy, remember?"
In the dark, the voice caused her to ponder
But just for a moment, for she decided with a cry
To break out of her cocoon as a butterfly.

Weaving through shelves of books, she and her date
Haunting bookstores was their habit of late
The world might see them as bookworms, it wouldn't make them fret
They shared the same interest, they discovered while they chatted on the net
"Don't be caught by his net so soon, for he may not be true!" the inner voice cautioned
"We'll find out eventually, over lots of books and talk!" she winked and answered.

So Swift the Way! So Short the Day!

A friend's dad wrote this poem.

In this fast moving world of turmoil and tension
With problems and troubles, too many to mention
Our days are so crowded and our hours so few
There's so little time and so much to do.
We are pressured and pushed until we are dizzy,
There's never a minute we're not crazily busy.
And sometimes we wonder as we rush through the day,
Does God really want us to hurry this way?
Why are we impatient and continually vexed,
And often bewildered, disturbed, and perplexed?
Perhaps we're too busy with our own selfish seeking
To hear the dear Lord when he's tenderly speaking.
We're working so tensely in our self-centered way,
We've no time for listening to what God has to say,
And, hard as we work, at the end of the day,
We know in our hearts we did not "pay our way".
But God in his mercy looks down on us all,
And though what we've done is so pitifully small
He makes us feel welcome to kneel down and pray,
For the chance to do better as we start a new day.
And life would be better if we learned to rely
On our Father in heaven without asking "Why"?
And if we'd remember as we rush through the day,
"The Lord is our shepherd and he'll lead the way".
So don't rush ahead in reckless endeavor,
Remember "He leadeth" and "Time is Forever".

- D.S. Baker -