There are no ugly women!

This photo was taken at a competition in June 2006. The competition was between 9 women for best makeover. They had every possible beauty treatment available to them over a period of 12 hours before the contest.Conclusion - there are no ugly women * (see below), only poor women.... If you had the money....Good Grief!!! The woman 2nd from the left won the contest.


click on the picture to enlarge.

***** Added later

I am like most of you and go for the natural look myself....but the reason I liked this so much is because you can see that ordinary people can look like movie stars after all the make up and air brushing..... Remember not all what we "see" is real and we must not let ourselves be influenced by these images. Our self esteem and worth are based on other things......

Growth

Learn from Nature. Patience and perseverance brings its own rewards

I believe

I have a new bloggy friend Debbie where I found this lovely prose and just had to share it with you. She says she found it on the web!



I believe - A Birth Certificate shows that we were born; a death certificate shows that we died; pictures show that we lived!
I believe - That just because two people argue, it doesn’t mean they don’t love each other. And just because they don’t argue, it doesn’t mean they do.
I believe - That we don’t have to change friends if we understand that friends change.
I believe - That no matter how good a friend is, they’re going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.

I believe - That true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance. Same goes for true love.
I believe - That you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life.
I believe - That it’s taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.
I believe - That you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them.
I believe - That you can keep going long after you think you can’t.
I believe - That we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.
I believe - That either you control your attitude or it controls you.
I believe - That heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.
I believe - That money is a lousy way of keeping score.
I believe - That sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you’re down will be the ones to help you get back up.
I believe - That sometimes when I’m angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn’t give me the right to be cruel.

I believe - That maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you’ve had and what you’ve learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you’ve celebrated.
I believe - That it isn’t always enough to be forgiven by others. Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself.
I believe - That no matter how bad your heart is broken, the world doesn’t stop for your grief.
I believe - That our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.
I believe - Two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different
I believe - That your life can be changed in a matter of hours by people who don’t even know you.

I believe - That even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you - you will find the strength to help.
I believe - That credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.
I believe - That the people you care about most in life are taken from you too soon.
I believe - The happiest people don’t have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have.

“The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you.”

How Can I Keep From Singing?

This song has been a real blessing and I wanted to share it.... A dear friend has just introduced me to Chris Tomlin!!!

Another update on Karen´s mum

Just a quick note to those who haven’t heard yet that Mum is back in hospital. The GP thought it would be good to rule out the possibility of a blood clot on the lungs and sent us to A&E yesterday. They decided to keep her in as she has a lot of liquid in her lungs, low oxygen levels in the blood, and is very tired and short of breath. The emergency doctor said the worst thing at the moment is her heart.

She has been put on the Medical Oncology ward and will have another CAT scan on Monday and a test to see whether she has a blood clot on the lung, although they don’t think this is likely.

My sister Suzanne arrives here tomorrow evening with some documents from Mum’s chest specialist in the UK. Marilynn is due to arrive next Friday, but is wondering whether to change her flight and come earlier. It is difficult to know really.

Love Karen


THanks for your continued prayers and support.

Update on Karen´s Mum

Here´s an update from Karen´s Mum:


My Mum came home form hospital on Friday evening. She has had a bad cough over the last week and the Dr said she would be better off at home as she could catch a bad infection at the hospital. This afternoon she was breathing much better.

It has been very tiring looking after her so far, and initially I really felt I couldn’t cope. It isn’t just the practical side but also the emotional as she keeps saying how bad she feels, which then makes me wonder whether it is the cancer. On the last day in hospital I saw the oncologist, who was not very encouraging. She has looked at Mum’s CAT scan and informed me that there is fluid accumulation and swelling of the lymph glands in the right lung and fluid in the pericardial sac (around the heart). The oncologist’s initial diagnosis is that it looks malignant and Mum’s current state of health would rule out chemotherapy. However, in order to correctly assess the situation, the oncologist needs a complete case history with copies of the scans and x-rays. Specifically she needs to know what type of lung cancer was initially diagnosed and why chemotherapy was ruled out. I have to try and get all this information from the UK.

The oncologist did say she thought it would be better for Mum’s own specialist to see her, but given the other circumstances I don’t know that this will be possible – i.e. that she needs to do physiotherapy to regain mobility after the hip replacement op and that in the UK she was living on her own, which at the moment would be impossible. Also, she is still on oxygen so I would imagine that would make travelling difficult even if her general health would enable her to travel.

She has been through a lot these last five weeks and the Lord has been gracious and has spared her life. My prayer is that His purposes would be fulfilled in her life and that she would be truly aware of His presence.

Thanks again for your continued prayers, Karen.


Thanks guys for keeping Karen in prayer... she has greatly appreciate your support and comments....

The Love of Friendship

I just visited my friend at her blog and came across this wonderful post and just had to share it with you!

The Love of Friendship

One day a woman's husband died, and on that clear, cold morning, in the warmth of their bedroom, the wife was struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there isn't anymore. No more hugs, no more special moments to celebrate together, no more phone calls just to chat, no more "just one minute." Sometimes, what we care about the most gets all used up and goes away, never to return before we can say good-bye, say "I love you."

So while we have it, it's best we love it and care for it and fix it when it's broken ... ... and heal it when it's sick. This is true for marriage .. and old cars ... and children with bad report cards and dogs with bad hips and aging parents and grandparents. We keep them because they are worth it, because we are worth it.Some things we keep -- like a best friend who moved away or a classmate we grew up with. There are just some things that make us happy, no matter what.

Life is important, like people we know who are special. and so, we keep them close!I received this from someone who thought I was a 'keeper'! Now I'm sharing it with the people I think of in the same way.

Suppose one morning you never wake up, do all your friends know you love them?I was thinking...I could die today, tomorrow or next week, and I wondered if I had any wounds needing to be healed, friendships that needed rekindling or three words needing to be said.Let every one of your friends know you love them.

Even if you think they don't love you back, you would be amazed at what those three little words and a smile can do.And just in case GOD calls me home .... I LOVE YA!!! I'm sssoooo glad you're my FRIEND!Live today to the fullest because tomorrow is not promised.

A lesson for living

I found an old pile of Reader´s Digests from the year of the Ark´s landing and found this article which I felt to be very fitting for me at this time and thought it might be an encouragement to you. ...... enjoy!!


Condensed from PLUS: The magazine of Positive Thinking by Ronald Reagan
(Found in Readers Digest Magazine May edition 1990)

"Everything happens for the best," my mother said whenever I faced disappointment.

"If you carry on, one day something good will happen. And you´ll realize that it wouldn´t have happened if not for that previous disappointment."

Mother was right, as I discovered after graduation from college in 1932. I had decided to try for a job in radio, then work my way up to sports announcer. I hitchhiked to Chicago and knocked on the door of every station and got turned down every time.

In one studio, a kind lady told me that big stations couldn´t risk hiring an inexperienced person. "Go out in the sticks and find a small station that´ll give you a chance."

I thumbed home to Dixon, Ill. While there were no radio-announcing jobs in Dixon, my father said that in a sports department they were looking for a local athelte to manage it. Since Dixon was where I had played high-school football, I applied. The job sounded just right for me. But I wasn´t hired.

My disappointement must have shown. "Everything happens for the best," Mom reminded me. Dad offered me the car to drive 70 miles to the Tri-Cities. I tried WOC RAdio in Davenport, Iowa. The program director, a wonderful Scotsman , told me they had already hired an announcer.

As I left his office, my frustration boiled over. I asked aloud, "How can a fellow get to be a sports announcer if he can´t get a job in a radio station?"

I was waiting for the elevator when I heard the director calling, "What was that you said about sports? Do you know anything about football?" Then he stood me before a microphone and asked me to broadcast an imaginary game.

The preceding autumn, my team had won a game in the last 20 seconds with a 65 yard run. I did a 15 min buildup to that play, and the director told me I would be broadcasting Saturday´s game!!!!

On my way home, as I thought of my mother´s words: "If you carry on, one day something good will happen - something that wouldn´t have happened if not for that previous disappointment."