BIG ROCKS
Just something to think about....

One day, an expert in time management was speaking to a
group of business students and, to drive home a point,
used an illustration those students will never forget.

As he stood in front of the group of high-powered overachievers
he said, "Okay, time for a quiz" and he pulled out a one-gallon,
wide-mouth Mason jar and set it on the table in front of him.

He also produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully
placed them, one at a time, into the jar.
When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks
would fit inside, he asked,
"Is this jar full?"

Everyone in the class yelled, "Yes."

The time management expert replied, "Really?"
He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel.
He dumped some gravel in and shook the jar causing pieces of
gravel to work themselves down into the spaces between the big rocks.

He then asked the group once more, "Is the jar full?"

By this time the class was on to him.
"Probably not," one of them answered.

"Good!" he replied. He reached under the table and brought out
a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in the jar and it
went into all of the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel.

Once more he asked the question, "Is this jar full?"

"No!" the class shouted. Once again he said, "Good."

Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the
jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked at the class and asked,

"What is the point of this illustration?"

One eager beaver raised his hand and said,
"The point is, no matter how full your schedule is,
if you try really hard you can always fit some more things in it!"

"No," the speaker replied, "that's not the point.

The truth this illustration teaches us is if you don't put the big
rocks in first, you'll never get them in at all.

What are the 'big rocks' in your life???

Time with your loved ones, your faith, your education,
your dreams, a worthy cause, teaching, or mentioning others?

Remember to put these BIG ROCKS in first or you'll never get them in at all.

So, tonight, or in the morning, when you are reflecting on this short
story, ask yourself this question: What are the 'big rocks' in my life?

Then, put those in your jar first.

Gardening God's Way

Plant three rows of peas:
Peace of mind
Peace of Heart
Peace of Soul

Plant four rows of squash:
Squash gossip
Squash indifference
Squash grumbling
Squash selfishness

Plant four rows of lettuce:
Lettuce be faithful
Lettuce be kind
Lettuce be obedient
Lettuce really love one another

No garden without turnips:
Turnip for meetings
Turnip for service
Turnip to help one another
Water freely with patience and cultivate love

There is much fruit for your garden
Because you reap what you sow.
To conclude your garden,

We must have thyme:
Thyme for God
Thyme for study
Thyme for prayer

When I learned to love, I learned to live...

Search for love, for it is the most important ingredient of life.
Without it, your life will echo emptiness.
With it, your life will vibrate with warmth and meaning.
Even during any hardship, love will shine through.

To love abundantly is to live abundantly.
To love forever is to live forever.
Be thankful for what you have now, and the opportunities
for love and success that are before you.

There is no force more potent than love.

If you have it, you don't need to have anything else,
and if you don't have it, it doesn't much matter what else you have.

As you look back upon the events in your life
you will find that the moments that stand out,
the moments when you have really lived, are the moments
when you have done things in a spirit of love.

Therefore, search for love.
Once you have learned to love,
you will have learned to live.

Love is the most important ingredient.

A Motto to Live By

When the world gets you down,
put things in perspective.

Move ahead in a positive way;
don't allow yourself to become mired in a negative view.

See things for what they really are.

Don't let the little things get in the way.

Do what you can, however you can,
with the resources you have available to you.

Don't sell yourself short;
you have the power with you to change what needs changing.

Face the situation with the resolve to remedy it;
do what you need to do to put it behind you.

Move ahead in the direction of happiness;
go for your dreams
and reach for your star.

And remember who's in
the driver's seat: YOU ARE!

Wet Oatmeal Kisses

One of these days you'll explode and shout to all the kids,
"Why don't you just grow up and act your age!"

And they will.

Or, "You guys get outside and find something to do
without hurting each other, and don't slam the door!"

And they don't.

You'll straighten their bedrooms until it's all neat and tidy,
toys displayed on the shelf, hangers in the closet, animals caged.
You'll yell,
"Now I want it to stay this way!"

And it will.

You will prepare a perfect dinner with a salad that hasn't
had all the olives picked out and a cake with
no finger traces in the icing and you'll say,
"Now this is a meal for company."

And you will eat it alone.

You'll yell,
"I want complete privacy on the phone.
No screaming,
Do you hear me?"

And no one will answer.

No more plastic tablecloths stained.
No more dandelion bouquets.
No more iron-on patches.
No more wet, knotted shoelaces, muddy boots or rubber bands for ponytails.

Imagine, a lipstick with a point,
no baby-sitters for New Year's Eve, washing clothes only once a week,
no PTA meetings or silly school plays where your child is a tree,
no car pools, blaring stereos or forgotten lunch money.

No more Christmas presents made of library paste and toothpicks,
no wet oatmeal kisses, no more tooth fairy,
no more giggles in the dark, scraped knees to kiss
or sticky fingers to clean.

Only a voice asking,
"Why don't you grow up?"

And the silence echoes:
"I did"

Celebrate Life

There is a wonderful life waiting to be lived.
Celebrate it today.
Life is too short to put off living until tomorrow.

Live it fully.
Live it's changes and choices.
Let is surprise you.
Let it show you new ways of doing old things.
Let it help you explore and discover.
Let it introduce you to people you have never known;
To dreams you have never dreamed;
To seeds you have never sown.

Let life take away some of your worries and caress your woes.
Let it help you wonder and laugh and love.
Let it show you how to rise with the sun and aim for the stars.
Let it reveal how to reach out and become all that you are.

Let life challenge encourage you.
Let it stimulate and arouse you.
Let it embrace and enfold you.
Let it show you the majesty of a simple, peaceful morning.
Let it show you the miracle of your complexity.
Let it help you find your belief and discover your God.
Let it amaze you with its possibilities.

Let life help you realize that.....
It is what you make it,
And that it can be everything you want it to be.

Have a wonderful day.....
Today and Everyday!

To Dad With Love

There are all kinds of dads in this world but you are one in a million.
You've raised me, fed me, clothed me, and helped me by showing me
Morals, respect, understanding and love.
Because you have your own unique way of showing your love,
With a simple smile, a hug, a pat on the back --
I can still see that you care.
Although words don't come easily for you and sometimes we sit in silence,
I can feel the warmth of your love and understanding.
I used to wish we had more words to say to each other --
But now I know it's O.K. because my heart feels that bond we've always had,
The bond that will never be broken.
Dad, I just want to say thank you
For being such an important part of my life.
I Love You!

Happy Father's Day to all Father's, Dad's, Daddy's, and Grandpa's.
May your day be filled with lots of Love, Fun & Happiness!
A special wish for you single Dads alone raising your kids.

And for those of you, like me, who's Father has passed away,
may you be filled with happiness on Father's Day knowing that
your Dad is an Angel in heaven watching over you.

God Bless Father's and Daddy's everywhere...!!!

Tags By ~jel~
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Whatsmoo's Recipe Club

Angel Cloud Cookies
Makes 36

2 Egg whites; stiffly beaten
2/3 cups Sugar
Dash salt
1 c Almonds; chopped
1 cup Chocolate chips or carob chips; chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
Turn off when putting in cookies.
Fold sugar, salt, nuts and chips into egg whites.
Drop by the teaspoonful onto a well greased cookie sheet.
Leave in the oven for 2 1/2 hours or overnight,
but do not open oven door until time to remove.

Lemon Cream Cookies
(Makes about 3 dozen 2-inch round cookies)

Ingredients

1/2 Cup Shortening
1 4oz. Package Cream Cheese, softened
1 Tbs. Milk
1 Cup Grnaulated Sugar
1/2 Tsp. Lemon Flavoring
1/2 Tsp. Lemon Peel, finely grated with no pith
1 Cup All-Purpose Flour
1/2 Cup Chopped Nuts (Pecans, Walnuts, etc.)

Pre-Heat Oven to 375 Degrees

In a large mixing bowl cream together the
shortening, cream cheese, and milk, (with an
electric mixer set on medium speed setting)
until well blended.

Beat in sugar, lemon extract, and peel,
Mix in flour.
Stir in nuts.

Drop level measuring tablespoonfuls of dough
2 inches apart onto an ungreased baking sheet.

Bake for 10 minutes.
Remove to cooling rack.
Enjoy!

Strawberry Sparkles
(Courtesy of CHERUBlM57)

There's no better time than now, during the height of picking season,
to celebrate the great taste of fresh strawberries.
It takes only a couple of minutes to turn a pint of them into
a festive, mouthwatering treat for the whole family.

Wash the whole berries and pat them dry with a paper towel.
Fill a shallow bowl with colored sugar
(you can buy this at the grocery store or mix your own by
stirring two drops of food coloring into 1/4 cup of sugar).

In a mixing bowl, blend four ounces of softened cream cheese,
two teaspoons of confectioners’ sugar, four teaspoons of milk,
and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract with a fork until smooth and creamy.
Add more milk if needed to achieve the desired consistency.

Now, holding the berries by their stems, your kids can dip
them into the cream cheese, roll them in the sugar, and enjoy.

Fruit Bowl with Dressing

Fruit-flavored yogurt
(raspberry and strawberry are very good)
1 pint sour cream
Half and half (for flavor and consistency)
Shredded coconut
Chopped walnuts
Boiled raisins
Seasonal fruit

Combine all ingredients except fruit to your own preferred consistency.
Mix well.
Cut several different seasonal fruits
(apples, melons, kiwi, strawberries and peaches)
and mix together in a large bowl.
Place seedless grapes on top.
Pour fruit dressing over the entire fruit bowl.
Sprinkle shredded coconut and chopped walnuts over dressing.
Sprinkle boiled raisins over the entire fruit bowl.
Serve the fruit bowl with hot, flaky croissants, juice and coffee.

Fluffy Orange Pie

1 - Keebler Graham Cracker Pie Crust (6 oz.)
1 - 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened*
1 - 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk (NOT evaporated milk)
1 - 6 ounce can frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
1 - cup (1/2 pint) whipping cream, whipped

*Softened in microwave on HIGH 15 to 20 seconds.

Directions:

In large mixer bowl, beat cheese until fluffy; gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk then orange juice concentrate until smooth.
Fold in whipped cream. Pour into pie crust.
Chill 2 hours or until set.
Garnish as desired.
Refrigerate leftovers.
Makes 8 servings.

Cheesy Apple Bacon Brunch

1 medium cooking apple, peeled and chopped, about 1 cup.
2 T sugar
1 1/2 C Bisquick
1 1/2 cups milk
4 eggs
2 cups shredded Cheddar Cheese {8 ounces}
1 pond Bacon, crisply cooked and crumbled

Heat oven to 375 degrees
Grease rectangular baking dish, 11 x 7 x 1 1/2inches.

Mix apple and sugar; spread in baking dish.
Stir baking mix, milk and eggs until blended; pour over apple.
Sprinkle with cheese and bacon.
Bake uncovered 30-35 minutes or until knife
in center inserted comes out clean.
8-10 servings.

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