About Me
- Just My Two Cents
- Ashburn, VA, United States
- I am a Freelance Writer and Editor working on my first book! LOVE to read, write and meet interesting people. Mother of two of THE most fabulous children who have ever walked the face of this earth! They are my world and my inspiration. I look forward to using this blog as an opportunity to further enhance my writing skills, build my platform while learning and growing as a writer and as a person. This is a way to share my life experiences and thoughts with others. Welcome to my wacky world!! :-D
Monday, March 14, 2011
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Finding Balance...
Wow, I found this fantastic article about finding balance in your faith and doing what you love. The irony is that the story is about a 7 year old girl!
As a mom, I, like most find we must work very hard, be rather creative at times while remaining highly organized in an effort to strike balance in our very busy lives.
Raising children to be strong, kind, loving and successful human-beings, doing what you love, carving out time for you and being committed to your faith, well let's face it; that IS a lot to juggle. Imagine doing that by yourself. Whew!
This story touched me so much because it demonstrates how much God does indeed work in mysterious ways. Can you imagine, learning a lesson about life from such a young child?! He speaks to us in some many ways!
Sit back and enjoy this heart-warming story, I sure did. No matter what religion you practice, this precious little girl IS an inspiration to us all! God Bless! Just My Two Cents...
NJ gymnast, 7, balances religious faith and sports
Associated Press/AP Online
By SAMANTHA HENRY
NEWARK, N.J. - When 7-year-old Amalya Knapp took the beam at the New Jersey state gymnastics finals last month, her excellent performance symbolized a far more complicated balancing act.
Although she would have ranked fifth in her age group, eligible for a medal, her individual scores were discounted. She was unable to compete on a Saturday because of her Orthodox Jewish family's observance of the Sabbath.
"I was upset," Amalya said, "but my mother told me there are decisions you have to make."
USA Gymnastics made an effort to accommodate her and let her compete the next day, Sunday, Feb. 13, and permitted her scores to factor into her team's overall rankings.
But the national governing body held that because she hadn't competed at the same time as girls of her skill level and age group, her scores: 9.7 on vault, 9.575 floor, 9.5 beam and 8.75 bars - would not count toward individual medals or rankings.
The news disappointed the second-grader, a member of the US Gym team of the United States Gymnastics Development Center in Leonia, N.J. She had placed first in the all-around category in five previous competitions.
"She tried so hard, and practiced for months, and really put in her all, but just couldn't get that final award for her efforts," said Chavie Knapp, Amalya's mother. Knapp emphasized that her family appreciated USA Gymnastics' efforts to discuss the issue with them and try to reach a compromise.
"I wasn't bitter, and wasn't angry and worked with the organization and tried to work within the system," Knapp said.
Knapp said she and her husband encourage Amalya to engage in the sports and activities she loves, including ice skating lessons and playing for a Jewish youth soccer league that never practices or competes on Saturdays. Amalya said she wants one day to be an Olympic gymnast.
If she had to choose again between competing or observing the Sabbath, she said, "I would do the religion things."
She isn't the only young athlete faced with reconciling her passion for sports with religious obligation. Experts say the issue arises in all faiths, in nearly every sport, and at all levels of competition.
Last month, a standout Iowa high school wrestler, Joel Northrup, refused to compete against a girl at a state tournament, citing his Pentecostal religious beliefs against contact sports between men and women. His position caused him to relinquish any championship hopes.
One of the most memorable instances of an athlete embracing religion over team duty was the refusal of Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers to pitch the opening game of the 1965 World Series. Koufax was observing Yom Kippur, a day of fasting and atonement considered the holiest date of the Jewish calendar.
It was Koufax's story that Amalya's parents chose to explain to her that the Sabbath - for which observant Jews abstain from working from sundown Friday until sundown Saturday - would always take precedence over the sport she loves.
"My father told me stories of people who had to do this, and I felt better," Amalya said.
Chavie Knapp said Amalya, who attends school at the Rosenbaum Yeshiva of North Jersey, was disappointed to miss her first state finals competition in a sport she had loved since she was a toddler. She practices up to 12 hours a week and dreams of competing in the Olympics one day.
"We had to try to help her understand how we really feel strongly that she can be a great gymnast and still be a committed Orthodox Jew," Knapp said. "We want her to be able to combine the love that she has for both of those things into an appreciation for both, and not a resentment of either."
A spokeswoman for USA Gymnastics, Leslie King, said the organization does its best to reasonably provide alternatives to athletes who face scheduling conflicts for religious or other reasons, when possible.
"USA Gymnastics is sensitive to these issues and will continue in its efforts to provide reasonable options to athletes under appropriate circumstances," King said in an e-mail message.
Assemblyman Gary Schaer, D-Passaic, the only Orthodox Jewish member of New Jersey's Legislature, wrote USA Gymnastics, saying its policies don't go far enough to accommodate athletes from all religious and racial backgrounds.
"I am sure you would agree about the critical importance in a child's life of both religious observance and athletic competition and that one should not come at the detriment of the other," he wrote.
Chavie Knapp said news coverage of her daughter's situation, first reported in The Record newspaper of Woodland Park, N.J., had put the family at the center of a heated debate over whether religious exemptions have a place in sports.
"This issue has really been pushing a lot of buttons for people," Knapp said. She's received an outpouring of mostly supportive comments, she said.
But there have been plenty of detractors.
"I had the other side, of people very angry, saying: why should I be accommodated when there's so many different religions and so many different issues that people have that come up, and why did I sign up for something knowing that I wouldn't be able to go to some of the events?" She said.
Rabbi Barry Dov Lerner of Wyncote, Pa., who competed for Arizona State University in the 1960s and held a national title in archery, is a Conservative Jew who observes the Sabbath.
College-level competition is rare for a Sabbath-observant Jew, Lerner said.
"In a nutshell, you can participate in sports, you can enjoy it, you can excel, but the way the world runs, you're not going to be in any competitions," he said. "You can't be in any sport that has competitions on the Sabbath, and not just games, but also workouts and practices on the Sabbath or holidays; that means you're not eligible for a football scholarship," Lerner said, adding with a laugh: "Well, go learn the oboe."
Lerner said he encourages young observant Jews to engage in sports for the training and self-discipline it teaches, but knowing that they may not reach competition levels. He teaches sports and other activities at Jewish summer camps, where children play games on Saturday, but scores aren't kept, to observe Sabbath rules against competing.
The rabbi said it's rare to find Orthodox Jews or strict Sabbath observers among top Jewish athletes, including Israel's professional and Olympic athletes.
Jeffrey S. Gurock, a professor at New York's Yeshiva University and author of the book Judaism's Encounter with American Sports, said Orthodox Jewish athletes or religiously observant athletes of other faiths can only reach a certain competitive level before running into conflicts.
"Can you be fully observant Jew and compete, and also observe the Sabbath? The answer is no," Gurock said. "America is making it easier, but in the end, if you're an Orthodox Jew, your religion will trump the sport, and if you want to be fully observant, you're only going to rise so far unless you can devote 365 days to your sport."
He said the sports world had increasingly recognized, and embraced, America's diversity and pluralism compared to decades past.
"It's still a difficult issue, and if you're going to be a top-flight athlete, you have to make a choice," Gurock said. "They're not going to postpone Wimbledon."
Other major sporting events have been postponed, however, for religious considerations, Gurock said. It's the reason major sporting events are rarely broadcast on Christmas Eve or that ESPN and Major League Baseball agreed, after complaints from die-hard Jewish baseball fans, to switch the starting time of a Yankees-Red Sox game on Sept. 27, 2009, so it wouldn't conflict with the beginning of Yom Kippur.
"Sports is the metaphor, but the real story is how do you live and integrate into American culture and maintain your own tradition," Gurock said. "It's a Jewish story, a Muslim story, a Mormon story."
A service of YellowBrix, Inc. .
As a mom, I, like most find we must work very hard, be rather creative at times while remaining highly organized in an effort to strike balance in our very busy lives.
Raising children to be strong, kind, loving and successful human-beings, doing what you love, carving out time for you and being committed to your faith, well let's face it; that IS a lot to juggle. Imagine doing that by yourself. Whew!
This story touched me so much because it demonstrates how much God does indeed work in mysterious ways. Can you imagine, learning a lesson about life from such a young child?! He speaks to us in some many ways!
Sit back and enjoy this heart-warming story, I sure did. No matter what religion you practice, this precious little girl IS an inspiration to us all! God Bless! Just My Two Cents...
NJ gymnast, 7, balances religious faith and sports
Associated Press/AP Online
By SAMANTHA HENRY
NEWARK, N.J. - When 7-year-old Amalya Knapp took the beam at the New Jersey state gymnastics finals last month, her excellent performance symbolized a far more complicated balancing act.
Although she would have ranked fifth in her age group, eligible for a medal, her individual scores were discounted. She was unable to compete on a Saturday because of her Orthodox Jewish family's observance of the Sabbath.
"I was upset," Amalya said, "but my mother told me there are decisions you have to make."
USA Gymnastics made an effort to accommodate her and let her compete the next day, Sunday, Feb. 13, and permitted her scores to factor into her team's overall rankings.
But the national governing body held that because she hadn't competed at the same time as girls of her skill level and age group, her scores: 9.7 on vault, 9.575 floor, 9.5 beam and 8.75 bars - would not count toward individual medals or rankings.
The news disappointed the second-grader, a member of the US Gym team of the United States Gymnastics Development Center in Leonia, N.J. She had placed first in the all-around category in five previous competitions.
"She tried so hard, and practiced for months, and really put in her all, but just couldn't get that final award for her efforts," said Chavie Knapp, Amalya's mother. Knapp emphasized that her family appreciated USA Gymnastics' efforts to discuss the issue with them and try to reach a compromise.
"I wasn't bitter, and wasn't angry and worked with the organization and tried to work within the system," Knapp said.
Knapp said she and her husband encourage Amalya to engage in the sports and activities she loves, including ice skating lessons and playing for a Jewish youth soccer league that never practices or competes on Saturdays. Amalya said she wants one day to be an Olympic gymnast.
If she had to choose again between competing or observing the Sabbath, she said, "I would do the religion things."
She isn't the only young athlete faced with reconciling her passion for sports with religious obligation. Experts say the issue arises in all faiths, in nearly every sport, and at all levels of competition.
Last month, a standout Iowa high school wrestler, Joel Northrup, refused to compete against a girl at a state tournament, citing his Pentecostal religious beliefs against contact sports between men and women. His position caused him to relinquish any championship hopes.
One of the most memorable instances of an athlete embracing religion over team duty was the refusal of Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers to pitch the opening game of the 1965 World Series. Koufax was observing Yom Kippur, a day of fasting and atonement considered the holiest date of the Jewish calendar.
It was Koufax's story that Amalya's parents chose to explain to her that the Sabbath - for which observant Jews abstain from working from sundown Friday until sundown Saturday - would always take precedence over the sport she loves.
"My father told me stories of people who had to do this, and I felt better," Amalya said.
Chavie Knapp said Amalya, who attends school at the Rosenbaum Yeshiva of North Jersey, was disappointed to miss her first state finals competition in a sport she had loved since she was a toddler. She practices up to 12 hours a week and dreams of competing in the Olympics one day.
"We had to try to help her understand how we really feel strongly that she can be a great gymnast and still be a committed Orthodox Jew," Knapp said. "We want her to be able to combine the love that she has for both of those things into an appreciation for both, and not a resentment of either."
A spokeswoman for USA Gymnastics, Leslie King, said the organization does its best to reasonably provide alternatives to athletes who face scheduling conflicts for religious or other reasons, when possible.
"USA Gymnastics is sensitive to these issues and will continue in its efforts to provide reasonable options to athletes under appropriate circumstances," King said in an e-mail message.
Assemblyman Gary Schaer, D-Passaic, the only Orthodox Jewish member of New Jersey's Legislature, wrote USA Gymnastics, saying its policies don't go far enough to accommodate athletes from all religious and racial backgrounds.
"I am sure you would agree about the critical importance in a child's life of both religious observance and athletic competition and that one should not come at the detriment of the other," he wrote.
Chavie Knapp said news coverage of her daughter's situation, first reported in The Record newspaper of Woodland Park, N.J., had put the family at the center of a heated debate over whether religious exemptions have a place in sports.
"This issue has really been pushing a lot of buttons for people," Knapp said. She's received an outpouring of mostly supportive comments, she said.
But there have been plenty of detractors.
"I had the other side, of people very angry, saying: why should I be accommodated when there's so many different religions and so many different issues that people have that come up, and why did I sign up for something knowing that I wouldn't be able to go to some of the events?" She said.
Rabbi Barry Dov Lerner of Wyncote, Pa., who competed for Arizona State University in the 1960s and held a national title in archery, is a Conservative Jew who observes the Sabbath.
College-level competition is rare for a Sabbath-observant Jew, Lerner said.
"In a nutshell, you can participate in sports, you can enjoy it, you can excel, but the way the world runs, you're not going to be in any competitions," he said. "You can't be in any sport that has competitions on the Sabbath, and not just games, but also workouts and practices on the Sabbath or holidays; that means you're not eligible for a football scholarship," Lerner said, adding with a laugh: "Well, go learn the oboe."
Lerner said he encourages young observant Jews to engage in sports for the training and self-discipline it teaches, but knowing that they may not reach competition levels. He teaches sports and other activities at Jewish summer camps, where children play games on Saturday, but scores aren't kept, to observe Sabbath rules against competing.
The rabbi said it's rare to find Orthodox Jews or strict Sabbath observers among top Jewish athletes, including Israel's professional and Olympic athletes.
Jeffrey S. Gurock, a professor at New York's Yeshiva University and author of the book Judaism's Encounter with American Sports, said Orthodox Jewish athletes or religiously observant athletes of other faiths can only reach a certain competitive level before running into conflicts.
"Can you be fully observant Jew and compete, and also observe the Sabbath? The answer is no," Gurock said. "America is making it easier, but in the end, if you're an Orthodox Jew, your religion will trump the sport, and if you want to be fully observant, you're only going to rise so far unless you can devote 365 days to your sport."
He said the sports world had increasingly recognized, and embraced, America's diversity and pluralism compared to decades past.
"It's still a difficult issue, and if you're going to be a top-flight athlete, you have to make a choice," Gurock said. "They're not going to postpone Wimbledon."
Other major sporting events have been postponed, however, for religious considerations, Gurock said. It's the reason major sporting events are rarely broadcast on Christmas Eve or that ESPN and Major League Baseball agreed, after complaints from die-hard Jewish baseball fans, to switch the starting time of a Yankees-Red Sox game on Sept. 27, 2009, so it wouldn't conflict with the beginning of Yom Kippur.
"Sports is the metaphor, but the real story is how do you live and integrate into American culture and maintain your own tradition," Gurock said. "It's a Jewish story, a Muslim story, a Mormon story."
A service of YellowBrix, Inc. .
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
The World we live in...
Man pleads guilty to duping moms into abusing kids
Associated Press/AP Online
I stumbled across this article today and just had to share. It is so unbelievable and sad. What kind of world do we live in? Just My Two Cents...
RELATED ARTICLES
Man pleads guilty to duping moms into abusing kids
By JEFF KAROUB
DETROIT - In real life, Steven Demink didn't have children, a college degree or a lasting career. Online, prosecutors say, he presented himself as Dalton St. Clair, an attractive single father and psychologist - a fantasy image authorities say the Michigan man used to persuade mothers across the country to commit unspeakable acts on their children.
Demink, 41, of Redford Township, preyed on single mothers for more than a year, prosecutors say, convincing them to sexually assault their children as a form of therapy. After pleading guilty Monday to six charges related to the sexual exploitation of children, Demink faces 15 years to life in prison when he is sentenced in June.
Demink's alter-ego was a single father of a 14-year-old girl, prosecutors said, and he posted pictures of male models as his headshots. In some cases, court documents say, Demink promised the women a date if they followed through with his directions.
Since authorities arrested him in October, seven children were rescued and at least three mothers have been arrested. Prosecutors say all of the children are now safe.
Authorities say Demink chatted with mothers from New Hampshire, Florida, Idaho and elsewhere, persuading them to engage in sexual acts with their children and send images via e-mail or through a live web stream. The children ranged in age from 3 to 15.
Demink told U.S. District Judge Gerald Rosen that before his arrest, he worked as a car salesman for about six months and before that for about five years at a local bank. He said he completed a U.S. Customs and Border Protection training program in 2002 and worked for the Immigration and Naturalization Service for about a year. He attended college for about two years but did not earn a degree, he said.
As part of his plea agreement with prosecutors, seven charges against Demink were dropped.
In one case, Demink started online chats with an Oregon woman about the sexual development of her 8-year-old autistic son, according to the plea agreement. He told her to engage in sexually explicit conduct with her son as a way to teach him about sex, prosecutors say, and she did so while Demink watched on a web camera.
"Demink intimated to these women that the result of the therapy would be healthier children," the document said.
Federal agents were tipped off to his operation by the Teton County Sheriff's Office in Idaho, said Khaalid Walls, a spokesman for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office of Homeland Security Investigations. The mother of a woman who had been chatting with him called sheriff's officials in late 2009.
A Teton County Sheriff's Office report from December 2009 said the Idaho woman met "Daltonst28" on an online dating site called singleparentmeet.com. She told police she performed sex acts on her young son as directed by her online male friend.
The woman's mother, Eileen Schwab of Idaho, said she knows little of how Demink convinced her daughter to follow his orders. She said her daughter was "depressed and lonesome" after her divorce.
"I don't know how he wrangled her in," Schwab said. "She could have turned off the computer and gone the other way. He must have had a power over her."
Her daughter pleaded guilty last May to lewd conduct with a child under 16 and is currently in prison.
Another mother who was arrested was from New Hampshire and pleaded guilty in December to producing child pornography, which carries a possible sentenced of 15 to 30 years in prison. She is scheduled to be sentenced in March. The Associated Press left a message seeking comment from Larry Dash, a federal defender representing her.
A woman from Lee County, Fla., also has pleaded not guilty to five counts and was being held without bond in Florida. She faces a May trial in federal court in Fort Myers, federal defender Martin DerOvanesian said.
Prosecutors say Demink also is linked to four other mothers in Indiana, Georgia, Illinois and Oregon but has not been charged with crimes related to those communications. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Mulcahy said those cases can be considered during sentencing.
The Associated Press is not naming the women to protect the identity of the children. The AP generally does not identify victims of sexual abuse.
Demink's attorney, Timothy Dinan, said his client "has expressed a lot of remorse" for what he did and has taken responsibility by pleading guilty. Dinan said Demink's parents, who declined to be interviewed, are praying for their son as well as the victims and their families.
"It's a shame he couldn't ask for help," Dinan said.
---
Associated Press writer Corey Williams contributed to this story.
A service of YellowBrix, Inc. .
Associated Press/AP Online
I stumbled across this article today and just had to share. It is so unbelievable and sad. What kind of world do we live in? Just My Two Cents...
RELATED ARTICLES
Man pleads guilty to duping moms into abusing kids
By JEFF KAROUB
DETROIT - In real life, Steven Demink didn't have children, a college degree or a lasting career. Online, prosecutors say, he presented himself as Dalton St. Clair, an attractive single father and psychologist - a fantasy image authorities say the Michigan man used to persuade mothers across the country to commit unspeakable acts on their children.
Demink, 41, of Redford Township, preyed on single mothers for more than a year, prosecutors say, convincing them to sexually assault their children as a form of therapy. After pleading guilty Monday to six charges related to the sexual exploitation of children, Demink faces 15 years to life in prison when he is sentenced in June.
Demink's alter-ego was a single father of a 14-year-old girl, prosecutors said, and he posted pictures of male models as his headshots. In some cases, court documents say, Demink promised the women a date if they followed through with his directions.
Since authorities arrested him in October, seven children were rescued and at least three mothers have been arrested. Prosecutors say all of the children are now safe.
Authorities say Demink chatted with mothers from New Hampshire, Florida, Idaho and elsewhere, persuading them to engage in sexual acts with their children and send images via e-mail or through a live web stream. The children ranged in age from 3 to 15.
Demink told U.S. District Judge Gerald Rosen that before his arrest, he worked as a car salesman for about six months and before that for about five years at a local bank. He said he completed a U.S. Customs and Border Protection training program in 2002 and worked for the Immigration and Naturalization Service for about a year. He attended college for about two years but did not earn a degree, he said.
As part of his plea agreement with prosecutors, seven charges against Demink were dropped.
In one case, Demink started online chats with an Oregon woman about the sexual development of her 8-year-old autistic son, according to the plea agreement. He told her to engage in sexually explicit conduct with her son as a way to teach him about sex, prosecutors say, and she did so while Demink watched on a web camera.
"Demink intimated to these women that the result of the therapy would be healthier children," the document said.
Federal agents were tipped off to his operation by the Teton County Sheriff's Office in Idaho, said Khaalid Walls, a spokesman for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office of Homeland Security Investigations. The mother of a woman who had been chatting with him called sheriff's officials in late 2009.
A Teton County Sheriff's Office report from December 2009 said the Idaho woman met "Daltonst28" on an online dating site called singleparentmeet.com. She told police she performed sex acts on her young son as directed by her online male friend.
The woman's mother, Eileen Schwab of Idaho, said she knows little of how Demink convinced her daughter to follow his orders. She said her daughter was "depressed and lonesome" after her divorce.
"I don't know how he wrangled her in," Schwab said. "She could have turned off the computer and gone the other way. He must have had a power over her."
Her daughter pleaded guilty last May to lewd conduct with a child under 16 and is currently in prison.
Another mother who was arrested was from New Hampshire and pleaded guilty in December to producing child pornography, which carries a possible sentenced of 15 to 30 years in prison. She is scheduled to be sentenced in March. The Associated Press left a message seeking comment from Larry Dash, a federal defender representing her.
A woman from Lee County, Fla., also has pleaded not guilty to five counts and was being held without bond in Florida. She faces a May trial in federal court in Fort Myers, federal defender Martin DerOvanesian said.
Prosecutors say Demink also is linked to four other mothers in Indiana, Georgia, Illinois and Oregon but has not been charged with crimes related to those communications. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Mulcahy said those cases can be considered during sentencing.
The Associated Press is not naming the women to protect the identity of the children. The AP generally does not identify victims of sexual abuse.
Demink's attorney, Timothy Dinan, said his client "has expressed a lot of remorse" for what he did and has taken responsibility by pleading guilty. Dinan said Demink's parents, who declined to be interviewed, are praying for their son as well as the victims and their families.
"It's a shame he couldn't ask for help," Dinan said.
---
Associated Press writer Corey Williams contributed to this story.
A service of YellowBrix, Inc. .
The secret to Happiness...
Happy people don't necessarily have the best of everything, they simply make the BEST of everything they have!
Are you making the Best of everything you have? You know the saying? "Happiness is relative." I believe that life is just too short NOT to be happy. Even when it hurts like hell, find your ray of sunshine, your silver lining and hold on for dear life until the storm passes. Because it will!
We have all endured life's many turbulent ups and downs, but as the late, great Ms. Lena Horne once said, "It's not the load that breaks you down, it's the way you carry it." When going through difficult times, it is important to hold you head up high and carry your load with dignity. Believe that things will get better ~ they always do!
My experiences have taught me quite a few things about life and happiness. Live today as if it were your last. Dance like no one is watching, sing out loud in your car (something I do quite often) and love like it will last forever!
The secret to Happiness is to count your Blessings while others add up their problems. Love yourself (that is not always easy, but never stop trying). You are the only one responsible for your own happiness and no one can take that away from you! Just My Two Cents...
Are you making the Best of everything you have? You know the saying? "Happiness is relative." I believe that life is just too short NOT to be happy. Even when it hurts like hell, find your ray of sunshine, your silver lining and hold on for dear life until the storm passes. Because it will!
We have all endured life's many turbulent ups and downs, but as the late, great Ms. Lena Horne once said, "It's not the load that breaks you down, it's the way you carry it." When going through difficult times, it is important to hold you head up high and carry your load with dignity. Believe that things will get better ~ they always do!
My experiences have taught me quite a few things about life and happiness. Live today as if it were your last. Dance like no one is watching, sing out loud in your car (something I do quite often) and love like it will last forever!
The secret to Happiness is to count your Blessings while others add up their problems. Love yourself (that is not always easy, but never stop trying). You are the only one responsible for your own happiness and no one can take that away from you! Just My Two Cents...
Friday, February 25, 2011
The Storms
I know, I have been silent for a few weeks. I did not mean to shut anyone out, especially those that I am trying to inspire. But, I too am human and sometimes the only way for me to see through the difficult times is to just be quiet.
I am fully aware that pleasant experiences can indeed make life very interesting and delightful. It is the painful experiences that lead to growth. How very ironic.
My year and a half has been filled with many highs and lows but each high and each low have taught me a valuable lesson; too often however, the lows have come at a very costly price.
Sometimes, I was my own worst enemy perhaps because of my stubbornness or unwillingness to stop reliving the hurt...Unknowingly, I became what I vowed I would NEVER be; a victim.
It has been so very difficult to wrap my head around the fact the some of the very people in my inner circle, who profess to "love" and "care" about me are actually the ones out to cause me harm and actually delight in my angst.
During my weeks of silence, I have learned that the only thing to do in order to move forward is to let go. It is imperative and quite frankly the only way to protect yourself from the toxic people and that is to remove them from your life. Leave them alone. Stay away from them...How does one do that when the betrayer is a close friend or family member(s)?
It is a lot easier said than done ~ BELIEVE me. But holding on can lead to serious problems, like health issues. I never realized that before now. I guess I somehow thought I was above it. Humbly, I realize that I am not. Life's storms can be brutal but as long as we hold on to faith and hope (the preservers of our lives) we will survive and come out stronger and wiser than before. I can speak of it because I have lived it!
I recently read something that has helped to put things into perspective for me while I continue to heal. The message is loud and clear. I share it because my heartfelt pray is that if it helps just one person, then my pain will have been worth it.
Please keep hope alive in your heart ~ it will show you the way. Celebrate your life for everyday you take a breath IS a special occasion. God Bless you all and thank you for being patient with me.
"The most beautiful stone have been tossed by the wind and washed by the water and polished to brilliance by life's strongest storms." Author Unknown
Just My Two Cents...
I am fully aware that pleasant experiences can indeed make life very interesting and delightful. It is the painful experiences that lead to growth. How very ironic.
My year and a half has been filled with many highs and lows but each high and each low have taught me a valuable lesson; too often however, the lows have come at a very costly price.
Sometimes, I was my own worst enemy perhaps because of my stubbornness or unwillingness to stop reliving the hurt...Unknowingly, I became what I vowed I would NEVER be; a victim.
It has been so very difficult to wrap my head around the fact the some of the very people in my inner circle, who profess to "love" and "care" about me are actually the ones out to cause me harm and actually delight in my angst.
During my weeks of silence, I have learned that the only thing to do in order to move forward is to let go. It is imperative and quite frankly the only way to protect yourself from the toxic people and that is to remove them from your life. Leave them alone. Stay away from them...How does one do that when the betrayer is a close friend or family member(s)?
It is a lot easier said than done ~ BELIEVE me. But holding on can lead to serious problems, like health issues. I never realized that before now. I guess I somehow thought I was above it. Humbly, I realize that I am not. Life's storms can be brutal but as long as we hold on to faith and hope (the preservers of our lives) we will survive and come out stronger and wiser than before. I can speak of it because I have lived it!
I recently read something that has helped to put things into perspective for me while I continue to heal. The message is loud and clear. I share it because my heartfelt pray is that if it helps just one person, then my pain will have been worth it.
Please keep hope alive in your heart ~ it will show you the way. Celebrate your life for everyday you take a breath IS a special occasion. God Bless you all and thank you for being patient with me.
"The most beautiful stone have been tossed by the wind and washed by the water and polished to brilliance by life's strongest storms." Author Unknown
Just My Two Cents...
Sunday, February 6, 2011
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