<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><rss xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:openSearch="http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/" xmlns:blogger="http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008" xmlns:georss="http://www.georss.org/georss" xmlns:gd="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005" xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0" version="2.0"><channel><atom:id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698568077138968245</atom:id><lastBuildDate>Thu, 29 Aug 2024 16:11:37 +0000</lastBuildDate><category>Christmas</category><title>Pam&#39;s Perspectives</title><description>Lagniappe for the Journey</description><link>http://pamardoin.blogspot.com/</link><managingEditor>noreply@blogger.com (Pam)</managingEditor><generator>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>19</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>25</openSearch:itemsPerPage><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698568077138968245.post-1301830796644554174</guid><pubDate>Fri, 27 May 2011 17:18:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-05-27T12:18:14.841-05:00</atom:updated><title>The sacraments of ordinary things</title><description>&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZzqbT6XsQup8-WvhkN6l_pA0N99_CS01ZJ2J-wfq_eR_nuiqWGeoRITmTgi6gj4rk6HQyugpGpUz3c_jnycrMUP2KXUv9RoV4_m8FgJBqkz9dmcanONRnHLJe5AKCjRSfbIW_w3Rqbjwl/s1600/book+ken+gire.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;320&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZzqbT6XsQup8-WvhkN6l_pA0N99_CS01ZJ2J-wfq_eR_nuiqWGeoRITmTgi6gj4rk6HQyugpGpUz3c_jnycrMUP2KXUv9RoV4_m8FgJBqkz9dmcanONRnHLJe5AKCjRSfbIW_w3Rqbjwl/s320/book+ken+gire.jpg&quot; width=&quot;214&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;I&#39;m comfortable for now sitting at my desk. Outside my window the roses are blooming, the birds are feeding and the squirrels are chasing one another. The books inside the cases that stand on each side of my desk have kept my mind occupied this morning. It&#39;s been a &amp;nbsp;nice respite from all the changes going on in my life. My books are like faithful friends. You know the voice of a friend &amp;nbsp;that brings comfort and cheer. The ones whose hugs are genuine. The ones whose love blankets you like an old quilt does. The voice that touches something inside that hasn&#39;t been touched in a long time. &amp;nbsp;The voice that helps bring clarity or a surprise laugh.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;One favorite book inside my bookcase is &quot;The Reflective Life&quot; by Ken Gire. &amp;nbsp;It was these words of his that jumped off the page this morning. &quot;Books in a way are sacraments that make the communion between an author and a reader possible. The white paper and black ink are the means through which one heart is revealed to another. But the paper and the words are merely the elements of the sacrament. What is sacred is the heart that writes the book and the heart that sits in silent communion to take and read what has been written. The words that are read are small, wafer-like things. But sometimes, on some page, God humbles Himself to come through some of those words and touch the reader&#39;s heart. It is not the words that are sacred but God who is &amp;nbsp;sacred . . . and the person to whom He comes.&quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;He goes on to tell a special memory of his mother and how she made him sugarbread as a summer treat when he was a boy. His sugarbread was a slice of white bread with a smear of margarine and a sprinkling of sugar. He tells the reader it was always given with a smile. He still makes sugarbread but its the memory &amp;nbsp;of how he was looked after and loved that is special now. &amp;nbsp;He says, &quot;sacraments are ordinary things through which something extraordinary is offered. An ordinary bush ablaze with God&#39;s glory. Tablets of earthly stone engraved by a heavenly hand. The divine Word becoming flesh and dwelling among us. . . . &amp;nbsp;Should we even expect Him to speak in the everyday moments of our lives? &amp;nbsp;Something from heaven offered to us through earthly hands? Coming to us like a sacrament. Letting us know that we are looked after and that we are loved.&quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;I&#39;m spending time this morning reflecting on the times I&#39;ve had Him offer something to me through sacraments that came through earthly hands. And I am &lt;b&gt;thankful&lt;/b&gt; and ask for His help that I may always be aware of any He sends my way.</description><link>http://pamardoin.blogspot.com/2011/05/sacraments-of-ordinary-things.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Pam)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZzqbT6XsQup8-WvhkN6l_pA0N99_CS01ZJ2J-wfq_eR_nuiqWGeoRITmTgi6gj4rk6HQyugpGpUz3c_jnycrMUP2KXUv9RoV4_m8FgJBqkz9dmcanONRnHLJe5AKCjRSfbIW_w3Rqbjwl/s72-c/book+ken+gire.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698568077138968245.post-6480788655726959370</guid><pubDate>Thu, 14 Apr 2011 23:17:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-04-14T18:17:58.579-05:00</atom:updated><title>Worthy of a Song</title><description>&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs_mYhqDzHuRqJkfS8ruTnc863yuq157THjzkv1OJYTa5cj5f9pGEDpuzwGTi08ZURgekAs4r-v_U8HzXSzJDjlhNXwL-3CmpbZfIR9yycOK3plA-GxMoBjdrWm06wLWd9CsYiSedVqi4t/s1600/photo+%25288%2529.JPG&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;320&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs_mYhqDzHuRqJkfS8ruTnc863yuq157THjzkv1OJYTa5cj5f9pGEDpuzwGTi08ZURgekAs4r-v_U8HzXSzJDjlhNXwL-3CmpbZfIR9yycOK3plA-GxMoBjdrWm06wLWd9CsYiSedVqi4t/s320/photo+%25288%2529.JPG&quot; width=&quot;239&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; Ever heard a phrase that lingered over your mind? I did recently. It was a question I heard Beth Moore ask her audience. Is your life worthy of having a song written about it? &amp;nbsp;Your first response might be like mine was. Who? Me? Yes. . . You and Me! &amp;nbsp;Next response-what kind of song? &amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; Her question was based on a person named Deborah from the Book of Judges in the Bible. Chapter 4 of Judges tells her story and Chapter 5 is a song about that story. If you don&#39;t know her story, I think you would find her to be quite an interesting woman. She has something to appeal to everyone. I would surely &amp;nbsp;like to sit down and have a chat with her. Her life was certainly worthy of a song. Ours &lt;i&gt;should&lt;/i&gt;&amp;nbsp;be as well.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; I&#39;m not a song writer. I can plan piano and sing some. I don&#39;t know which &amp;nbsp;words would best capture my life. I would hope the word LOVE would be one of them. You can be sure I would like the notes to be &lt;b&gt;happy &lt;/b&gt;ones- ones that would bring a smile to the listener&#39;s heart.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; It&#39;s a good question. A question I want to linger and make a permanent mark in my mind and heart. What about you? &amp;nbsp;Let&#39;s sing our life out loud and sing it out strong. &amp;nbsp;Who knows? &amp;nbsp;One day it may turn into a song!</description><link>http://pamardoin.blogspot.com/2011/04/worthy-of-song.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Pam)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs_mYhqDzHuRqJkfS8ruTnc863yuq157THjzkv1OJYTa5cj5f9pGEDpuzwGTi08ZURgekAs4r-v_U8HzXSzJDjlhNXwL-3CmpbZfIR9yycOK3plA-GxMoBjdrWm06wLWd9CsYiSedVqi4t/s72-c/photo+%25288%2529.JPG" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698568077138968245.post-8892164508130677889</guid><pubDate>Tue, 29 Mar 2011 21:23:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-03-29T16:23:31.614-05:00</atom:updated><title>My new favorite recipe</title><description>I&#39;ve tried many new recipes in the past couple of years. This one is at the top of the list. It is easy and so delicious. It is &lt;b&gt;Pecan-Crusted Fish&lt;/b&gt;. &amp;nbsp;Recipe follows. &amp;nbsp;Hope you will try it. You won&#39;t be disappointed.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
4 fish filets- 6-8 oz. each. &amp;nbsp;I used tailapia&lt;br /&gt;
2 Tbsp. Honey-Dijon mustard&lt;br /&gt;
2 tsp. water&lt;br /&gt;
1 cup pecans&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Heat oven to 400. Line a rimmed baking pan with non-stick foil. Finely chop pecans by hand or in a food processor. Spread the pecans out on a sheet of waxed paper or use a large plate. Put honey mustard in a small cup and stir in the 2 tsp. water. Brush &lt;i&gt;one side only&lt;/i&gt; of the fillets with mustard mixture, then press fillets into the chopped pecans. Place on baking pan. Bake 10-14 minutes until pecans are lightly toasted and fish is just cooked through. Yum! &amp;nbsp;Per serving: 425 cal, 32 g pro, 7 g carb, 3 g fiber, 31 g fat (&lt;i&gt;&lt;b&gt;only 4 g sat fat&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/i&gt;) 100 mg chol, 188 mg sodium. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHz9F20_UM_7RCu_Uv_unjo2R_7xC63K3jPl38AVOMBfgRE2nIpaBkWsTetMwGU5U2eH_vCMTLs68Fp8nkmiTWfdFfi7HB1ACagOp8emDckVIH9L4zzUI5c_1eJYBGh9p8AQcg5EDBMulQ/s1600/fish0001.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;237&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHz9F20_UM_7RCu_Uv_unjo2R_7xC63K3jPl38AVOMBfgRE2nIpaBkWsTetMwGU5U2eH_vCMTLs68Fp8nkmiTWfdFfi7HB1ACagOp8emDckVIH9L4zzUI5c_1eJYBGh9p8AQcg5EDBMulQ/s320/fish0001.jpg&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;I haven&#39;t tried the mustard and pecans on chicken yet but I plan to. &amp;nbsp;Healthy and delicious. &amp;nbsp;Hope you enjoy!&lt;br /&gt;
You can also substitute other types of fish and other nuts. No other seasoning is necessary, the mustard adds lots of flavor. We serve ours with asparagus or another green vegetable.</description><link>http://pamardoin.blogspot.com/2011/03/my-new-favorite-recipe.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Pam)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHz9F20_UM_7RCu_Uv_unjo2R_7xC63K3jPl38AVOMBfgRE2nIpaBkWsTetMwGU5U2eH_vCMTLs68Fp8nkmiTWfdFfi7HB1ACagOp8emDckVIH9L4zzUI5c_1eJYBGh9p8AQcg5EDBMulQ/s72-c/fish0001.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698568077138968245.post-6640138632549918439</guid><pubDate>Thu, 17 Mar 2011 17:22:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-03-17T12:28:07.297-05:00</atom:updated><title>Give Away</title><description>Here&#39;s something very simple we can do today. Give something away. Need an idea?&lt;br /&gt;
Here are two. First one is a HUG! Don&#39;t you need one yourself? &amp;nbsp;Give one and I&#39;m sure you will get one back. It may not be from the same person but maybe so.&lt;br /&gt;
Second idea is to make something. &amp;nbsp;I can almost hear some of you sigh. &amp;nbsp;Don&#39;t you remember when you were a child? Most of us loved it when it was craft time. &amp;nbsp;It doesn&#39;t have to be something big. &amp;nbsp;Think!!! Look around!!! I have hundreds of ideas of things to make. &amp;nbsp;It can even be something from your kitchen. &amp;nbsp;Here&#39;s the easiest one I can think of. &amp;nbsp;Make a peanut butter sandwich for someone. Remember when you made a heart on top of the peanut butter with jelly. &amp;nbsp;Surely you did that, didn&#39;t you. If you didn&#39;t it is HIGH TIME you tried it. It will make you smile. Not to mention what it will do for the person you give it to.&lt;br /&gt;
I just found a great idea for popcorn to share with you. I didn&#39;t know that there is some talk that the packaged microwave popcorn isn&#39;t healthy because of the chemicals they put in it. &amp;nbsp;Well there is an alternative that will cost less and is natural.&lt;br /&gt;
You will need a brown paper sack, some clear tape, 3-4 Tbsp. of &lt;i&gt;uncooked &lt;/i&gt;popcorn, and whatever seasonings you want to put on top.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM3dnWbus0P5_5n9hPXgzCYyCmoyJnj591yPDIsOq_GblzXJ9LBLvam9qfE_81dYeQQu9B_gs_Blo6SUq56YbZpT7t6zTql1f_nnrHPMxufjoX4SQpRn6yA5dS2jNRPO_kyRYIxS5TBzJ5/s1600/popcorn+crop.bmp&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;background-color: white; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;320&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM3dnWbus0P5_5n9hPXgzCYyCmoyJnj591yPDIsOq_GblzXJ9LBLvam9qfE_81dYeQQu9B_gs_Blo6SUq56YbZpT7t6zTql1f_nnrHPMxufjoX4SQpRn6yA5dS2jNRPO_kyRYIxS5TBzJ5/s320/popcorn+crop.bmp&quot; width=&quot;234&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;To make the popcorn-simple place the uncooked kernels in your paper sack, fold the sack over twice and tape it. Lay it flat on the table and press out excess air. Lay it in the microwave on the side for 2-3 minutes. Times will vary of course with individual microwaves. When you hear 1-2 second intervals between popping. Take the bag out, shake it a few times and open carefully. Add 1 tsp. melted butter and/or other seasonings. &amp;nbsp;Enjoy!&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; I leave you with this story I found.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: left;&quot;&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;background-color: #ea9999;&quot;&gt;A wise woman who was traveling in the mountains found a precious stone in a stream. The next day the woman met a traveler who was hungry, and the wise woman opened her bag to share some food. The hungry traveler noticed the precious stone and asked the woman to give it to him. She did so without hesitation. The traveler left rejoicing in his good fortune. &amp;nbsp;He knew the stone was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime. But a few days later he came back to return the stone to the wise woman.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: left;&quot;&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;background-color: #ea9999;&quot;&gt;&quot;I&#39;ve been thinking,&quot; he said. &quot;I know how valuable the stone is and I give it back to you in hopes that you will give me something even more precious. Give me what you have within you that enabled you to give me the stone.&quot; &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: left;&quot;&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;background-color: #ea9999;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &lt;b&gt;&quot;The Wise Woman&#39;s Stone&quot;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: left;&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;background-color: #ea9999;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;Author Unknown&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://pamardoin.blogspot.com/2011/03/give-away.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Pam)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM3dnWbus0P5_5n9hPXgzCYyCmoyJnj591yPDIsOq_GblzXJ9LBLvam9qfE_81dYeQQu9B_gs_Blo6SUq56YbZpT7t6zTql1f_nnrHPMxufjoX4SQpRn6yA5dS2jNRPO_kyRYIxS5TBzJ5/s72-c/popcorn+crop.bmp" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698568077138968245.post-479959054718141873</guid><pubDate>Fri, 11 Feb 2011 23:41:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-02-11T17:45:48.658-06:00</atom:updated><title>Growing up</title><description>&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;span style=&quot;color: #444444;&quot;&gt;This morning I was reading over some old journals of mine. I love to read old entries I have forgotten. Here&#39;s one on growing up.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #444444;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; You grow up into the person&amp;nbsp;you believe you are. We always ask children what do you want to be when you grow up and then what happens?&amp;nbsp; Do these children grow up to become the person they know inside they are? Hardly, I think. Why?&amp;nbsp; They listen to the wrong voices in the world. The more they listen- the more they believe the wrong voices.&amp;nbsp; Then who they knew inside they should be becomes vague, so very vague until so much time passes they don&#39;t remember at all. How sad.&amp;nbsp; Is this why we become so sad?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #444444;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Sometimes I write snips and pieces of favorite books in my journals. One favorite is &quot;Windows of the Soul&quot; by Ken Gire. He wrote this.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #0b5394;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&quot;The future can fill your lungs with refreshing air and your heart with hopeful dreams. Do you hear it? Somebody calling your name, only in a language you can&#39;t quite understand? Have you recognized your calling or to what you have been called?&amp;nbsp; Do you recognize your name?&quot;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #444444;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;If I look back over my life I can put frames around the things that have brought me joy. If I look I see pictures. When I listen, what do I hear? Do I hear it above all that has called to me over the years. In a graduation address, author Frederick Buechner said, &quot;The voice we should listen to most as we choose a vocation is the voice that we think we should listen to the least, and that is the voice of our own gladness.&quot;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #444444;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Life passes quickly.&amp;nbsp; My hope is that we all find the joy that our God intends for us to have.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;left&quot; style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #444444;&quot;&gt;﻿&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://pamardoin.blogspot.com/2011/02/growing-up.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Pam)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698568077138968245.post-5867839206334626786</guid><pubDate>Fri, 04 Feb 2011 21:21:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-02-04T15:21:37.088-06:00</atom:updated><title>Love&#39;s Focus</title><description>&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3_gNWlKnfe5Z9dsvuHpmsfSATz1j4pZO1gF-jCKYjKhDAkXwwx2J5hrTw5KkQ_lTlRty9EHr6PCON4Ucy4Z8aj9uQVsgov88wrsla0JsomDcwo_zug-twfMu6E1yxotOcBhdrRvevQEVt/s1600/valentine+crop.bmp&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; h5=&quot;true&quot; height=&quot;289&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3_gNWlKnfe5Z9dsvuHpmsfSATz1j4pZO1gF-jCKYjKhDAkXwwx2J5hrTw5KkQ_lTlRty9EHr6PCON4Ucy4Z8aj9uQVsgov88wrsla0JsomDcwo_zug-twfMu6E1yxotOcBhdrRvevQEVt/s320/valentine+crop.bmp&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; I awoke this morning with a rapid succession of thoughts about love. The first one was how much God loves me. The second&amp;nbsp;was how much I want to love him and others more. The third being that it is only possible because God loved me first and I receive His love for me.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Later on in the morning I thought of something my husband, Mike&amp;nbsp;had done for which I was grateful. As I continued to think about his love I saw the parallel to my first thoughts of the morning. I realized that I spend more time thinking of how much Mike loves me than I think of loving him. (It should be obvious by now that I have a wonderful guy!)&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; My focus of Mike&#39;s love for me has not created selfishness in me- quite the contrary. It has made me want to love him more and to give to him more.&amp;nbsp;It has placed me in a position to receive more of his love and more of&amp;nbsp;what he wants to give to me.&amp;nbsp; I know that God is love and that it is possible to love him because He loved me first. The only place I can get love to give away is from Him.&amp;nbsp;As I focus on how much God loves me I will be able to receive more of His love. The more I receive means I have more available to give away, first to Him then to others.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Happy Valentine&#39;s to all you family and friends who love me. I am very blessed to have you to love me. Your love is sweet and very precious to me. I want you all to know that. I have another desire and&amp;nbsp;it is for everyone to know the breadth and length and height and depth of the love of Christ Jesus.</description><link>http://pamardoin.blogspot.com/2011/02/loves-focus.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Pam)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3_gNWlKnfe5Z9dsvuHpmsfSATz1j4pZO1gF-jCKYjKhDAkXwwx2J5hrTw5KkQ_lTlRty9EHr6PCON4Ucy4Z8aj9uQVsgov88wrsla0JsomDcwo_zug-twfMu6E1yxotOcBhdrRvevQEVt/s72-c/valentine+crop.bmp" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698568077138968245.post-2409582271285470133</guid><pubDate>Mon, 13 Dec 2010 16:51:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-01-06T09:19:21.221-06:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Christmas</category><title>The Spirit of Love</title><description>&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUJFOlDcwAdJ34w3lHHDDntwK6zQmalFgok_Ber2eiO8JpkZUJWwGrEycIHbRODjdDzN_ZbeyuESHSrebrAUwyAeHXmcg1jNCG3aAkK6Hiqg5EB3pfoyXBoNRag0Kxls91l4k0W2Gmmd2h/s1600/A+BABY+CHANGES+EVERYTHING.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;320&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUJFOlDcwAdJ34w3lHHDDntwK6zQmalFgok_Ber2eiO8JpkZUJWwGrEycIHbRODjdDzN_ZbeyuESHSrebrAUwyAeHXmcg1jNCG3aAkK6Hiqg5EB3pfoyXBoNRag0Kxls91l4k0W2Gmmd2h/s320/A+BABY+CHANGES+EVERYTHING.jpg&quot; width=&quot;309&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;color: red;&quot;&gt; The song by Faith Hill, &quot;A Baby Changes Everything&quot; is becoming one of my favorite Christmas songs. &amp;nbsp;It tugs at this mother&#39;s heart as she remembers her babies and ponders how Mary cherished holding baby Jesus in her arms. &amp;nbsp;I imagine she had many of the same emotions we have as mothers and some of the same questions. I am grateful for this mother who trusted God to give birth to our Savior. Her faith in God and her willingness to sacrifice her life to be a mother was a gift she gave to all of us. &amp;nbsp;I&#39;m sure she would agree with &amp;nbsp;us that &quot;a baby changes everything.&quot; &amp;nbsp;That baby&#39;s life and death certainly changed everything for me.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;color: red;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;My prayer for all of us this Christmas is that we will make this holiday all about His love for us and in turn our love for all others. Let us remember that God is love. Let us also remember that we &amp;nbsp;love God &amp;nbsp;because He first loved us and that without love we are nothing and that nothing we do apart from love will have any lasting significance. &amp;nbsp;The &quot;spirit of love&quot; is truly what Christmas is all about. I agree with the words of H. Drummond- &quot;You will find as you look back upon your life that the moments when you have really lived are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love.&quot; &amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;color: red;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;Merry Christmas with love, Pamela &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;color: red;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;</description><link>http://pamardoin.blogspot.com/2010/12/spirit-of-love.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Pam)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUJFOlDcwAdJ34w3lHHDDntwK6zQmalFgok_Ber2eiO8JpkZUJWwGrEycIHbRODjdDzN_ZbeyuESHSrebrAUwyAeHXmcg1jNCG3aAkK6Hiqg5EB3pfoyXBoNRag0Kxls91l4k0W2Gmmd2h/s72-c/A+BABY+CHANGES+EVERYTHING.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698568077138968245.post-9209910159689713187</guid><pubDate>Mon, 22 Nov 2010 17:16:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-11-22T11:16:55.353-06:00</atom:updated><title>A new appreciation for an old word</title><description>&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; Years ago when I worked for an advertising agency I enjoyed learning a little about what makes a commercial effective. Creativity is important because there are so many variables to consider in relating to the consumer. I&#39;ve seen a commercial recently and each time it has struck a deeper cord within me. &amp;nbsp;Their advertising worked on me with the sound of a word. &amp;nbsp;The word is &lt;i&gt;insieme (&lt;/i&gt;in see m a), the Italian word for &lt;i&gt;together.&lt;/i&gt;&amp;nbsp;The commercial is for baby bow tie pasta and you can be sure I am going to buy some. :)&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;Since I found a new way to say &lt;i&gt;together&lt;/i&gt;&amp;nbsp;I&#39;ve been doing a lot of thinking about what together means. I&#39;m saddened with how little &quot;togetherness&quot; most of us are participating in. I think the reason is that we&#39;ve come to the conclusion that togetherness is not all that important and we can do okay without it these days. I don&#39;t want to do just &quot;okay&quot;. Do you?&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;We can&#39;t do without it. The truth is we were designed by God to be together. He made it that way so we would need each other. We are designed for spiritual, physical, emotional and mental togetherness. We have His word on it. He said in Genesis 2:18 that it is not good for man (one human being) to be alone so he made him a companion to help him. Many people think that their situations would be better if others weren&#39;t involved. It is time to see others as a help, not a hindrance and time to see ourselves as a helper in other lives. It is time to see that we can contribute something of &amp;nbsp;value to someone else and to appreciate the value they can contribute to us.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; We have a longing inside of us for togetherness. Togetherness can happen in lots of different settings but the true essence of togetherness is not simply being in physical proximity with others. There has to be a connection and for connection to happen someone has to reach out and take something of themselves and give it away with the hope of it being received.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; I believe with all my heart that there are many people around us ready to receive. &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; I hope you experience &lt;i&gt;&amp;nbsp;insieme &lt;/i&gt;&amp;nbsp;this Thanksgiving.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; Let it be more than a visit to another house and good holiday food.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; Be thankful to God and to others.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; Be &lt;i&gt;insieme&lt;/i&gt; and be glad to be &lt;i&gt;insieme.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
I came across this old picture of myself, my mom and my two children taken in 1989. &amp;nbsp;I think you will agree everyone was happy to be &lt;i&gt;insieme.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;</description><link>http://pamardoin.blogspot.com/2010/11/new-appreciation-for-old-word.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Pam)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiukRFWAZZoeZKZb0lKf8AGAJirl1E3rUEvwmKLMO1RQYHr8bXd7qz8WvNRvVuDrFHa6s10IU5GQaQ9A6LCqOO50tes8fX74opVXVPSrNNmg7MW9oW46hEE1oQ8eujMqQelOOohNRyomBLu/s72-c/Mothers+Day+1989.bmp" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698568077138968245.post-8624835184696566975</guid><pubDate>Thu, 04 Nov 2010 15:32:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-11-04T10:32:47.221-05:00</atom:updated><title>Share the goodness</title><description>&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxOgYQzKaxT3RdfsF1eFD9gdTRhlNsuXG3aZvwWM6tLkA34CAlPgimEgz1kAn8s9PyPxYqzUCBD_Rwtvc3eeZlspahO02Tk1e5Z7hQWAaF7WyhTi-LIN9QxBnZ6sqfWwLUxtwr4NRjFByG/s1600/aprons.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxOgYQzKaxT3RdfsF1eFD9gdTRhlNsuXG3aZvwWM6tLkA34CAlPgimEgz1kAn8s9PyPxYqzUCBD_Rwtvc3eeZlspahO02Tk1e5Z7hQWAaF7WyhTi-LIN9QxBnZ6sqfWwLUxtwr4NRjFByG/s1600/aprons.jpg&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I love ideas. They are everywhere. Open eyes and hearts find them in all kinds of places. &amp;nbsp;I found one today I want to pass on to you. &amp;nbsp;It is a Thanksgiving idea from another wonderful blog I found called Apron Memories. &amp;nbsp;National Tie One On Day is November 24. &amp;nbsp;Here&#39;s how it works: &amp;nbsp;on the day before Thanksgiving Day you wrap up a baked good in an apron with a note of encouragement. Deliver your bundle to a friend, a neighbor, co-worker, or anyone you think of that you want to bless. On her website (blog button on my site) you can download a card to include in your bundle. &amp;nbsp;What a wonderful idea! &lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; Most people think of aprons as only something practical. &amp;nbsp;They have a rich history. &amp;nbsp;They tell stories. You can find one in all shapes, colors, sizes. &amp;nbsp;There are free patterns on the internet to make one. &amp;nbsp;There is an apron for everyone. &amp;nbsp;If you don&#39;t have one. Now is the time. Give yourself a bundle and someone else as well. My favorite apron is red. I&#39;ve decided its time for another apron or two so I suppose its time to go shopping. What girl can have enough aprons?&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;By the way- &amp;nbsp;you don&#39;t have to bake something. &amp;nbsp;The baking came come from another person&#39;s&amp;nbsp;hands but the note of encouragement can come from &lt;i&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;color: red;&quot;&gt;your heart&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&amp;nbsp;. &amp;nbsp;Hope you &quot;tie one on&quot; for someone this year and share your the goodness that has come your way. In case you haven&#39;t thought about it lately- when you do something &quot;good&quot; &amp;nbsp;God is shining through your life to someone else.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;mso-ignore: vglayout;&quot;&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;&lt;!--[endif]--&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;color: red; font-family: &#39;Fine Hand&#39;; font-size: 24px;&quot;&gt;Pamela &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;color: red; font-family: &#39;Fine Hand&#39;; font-size: 24px;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;color: red; font-family: &#39;Fine Hand&#39;; font-size: 24px;&quot;&gt;Ann&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;color: red; font-family: &#39;Fine Hand&#39;;&quot;&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-size: 35px;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://pamardoin.blogspot.com/2010/11/share-goodness.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Pam)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxOgYQzKaxT3RdfsF1eFD9gdTRhlNsuXG3aZvwWM6tLkA34CAlPgimEgz1kAn8s9PyPxYqzUCBD_Rwtvc3eeZlspahO02Tk1e5Z7hQWAaF7WyhTi-LIN9QxBnZ6sqfWwLUxtwr4NRjFByG/s72-c/aprons.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698568077138968245.post-4888917451255637282</guid><pubDate>Fri, 29 Oct 2010 15:02:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-10-29T10:02:23.548-05:00</atom:updated><title>Our cutest pumpkin</title><description>&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU3A14Bj2t_Eq6HzgGdZ_zLRsEEp2GmKKJX9PU0guq5WLsZCVXQLNweJbEwPJy2feFh7nk-LPo4iotGnoBqkeGe7HKeAbayhiYeLcJZ4DIs5g7CoCxma1bdGnPg3MiKs35YOXn9SOqirvU/s1600/will+visiting+pumpkin+patch+in+hat.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;320&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU3A14Bj2t_Eq6HzgGdZ_zLRsEEp2GmKKJX9PU0guq5WLsZCVXQLNweJbEwPJy2feFh7nk-LPo4iotGnoBqkeGe7HKeAbayhiYeLcJZ4DIs5g7CoCxma1bdGnPg3MiKs35YOXn9SOqirvU/s320/will+visiting+pumpkin+patch+in+hat.jpg&quot; width=&quot;240&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIhDVbXkZ9puXJV2Lhtc9ZH2sAJ_fTVy2tEkCQI2qObITjVRz5Wf45-rljXdaKZHLUCz45seLQGiwFP5lIRelmChGMqCxzkmIBBd2lTQk5aEADYJqiRF5zBwcCYs_p3otBrnmoIIn4j8NC/s1600/will+in+the+pumpkin.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;320&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIhDVbXkZ9puXJV2Lhtc9ZH2sAJ_fTVy2tEkCQI2qObITjVRz5Wf45-rljXdaKZHLUCz45seLQGiwFP5lIRelmChGMqCxzkmIBBd2lTQk5aEADYJqiRF5zBwcCYs_p3otBrnmoIIn4j8NC/s320/will+in+the+pumpkin.jpg&quot; width=&quot;240&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4SfzHS0Ypm4T5whzKFqeZZjp4suCiDLmFn-cxkGeWf-ZSu9LGCOlQKz8dmHXIdYIpBOaINcoYsk6kXWQOkhiqnx4MLgxd6PcfDU_LEH5jS9maqPZTXrHe60mitkCQm_e-2KgGs2reNdwx/s1600/will+in+pumpkin+hat.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;320&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4SfzHS0Ypm4T5whzKFqeZZjp4suCiDLmFn-cxkGeWf-ZSu9LGCOlQKz8dmHXIdYIpBOaINcoYsk6kXWQOkhiqnx4MLgxd6PcfDU_LEH5jS9maqPZTXrHe60mitkCQm_e-2KgGs2reNdwx/s320/will+in+pumpkin+hat.jpg&quot; width=&quot;240&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
This is the cutest pumpkin ever, our Will! &amp;nbsp;He visited his first pumpkin patch yesterday in Ft. Worth with Mommy and Daddy. &amp;nbsp;I am so happy to see him wearing the pumpkin hat I made for him. His Mimi loves him more by the minute and she is planning more hats for the future.</description><link>http://pamardoin.blogspot.com/2010/10/our-cutest-pumpkin.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Pam)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU3A14Bj2t_Eq6HzgGdZ_zLRsEEp2GmKKJX9PU0guq5WLsZCVXQLNweJbEwPJy2feFh7nk-LPo4iotGnoBqkeGe7HKeAbayhiYeLcJZ4DIs5g7CoCxma1bdGnPg3MiKs35YOXn9SOqirvU/s72-c/will+visiting+pumpkin+patch+in+hat.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698568077138968245.post-6785650960817973055</guid><pubDate>Fri, 29 Oct 2010 03:27:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-10-28T22:27:27.632-05:00</atom:updated><title>Sweet Pumpkin Bracelets</title><description>&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwSScmnhiXneq9gZCEAFH5sYPzKttOWvZsD_r0Of8OcLFUGPgDUpDlHaj37DHc_KVvXafXajx3E86BRx5ZGkq-KZ0gbOoszWRXAGSO7ifMDKXst6YrkqunFVAOSDp07Wb9eCvPvUbZNMj-/s1600/pumpkin_bracelet_3--close_copy.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;240&quot; nx=&quot;true&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwSScmnhiXneq9gZCEAFH5sYPzKttOWvZsD_r0Of8OcLFUGPgDUpDlHaj37DHc_KVvXafXajx3E86BRx5ZGkq-KZ0gbOoszWRXAGSO7ifMDKXst6YrkqunFVAOSDp07Wb9eCvPvUbZNMj-/s320/pumpkin_bracelet_3--close_copy.jpg&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
I had to share this idea I found for these sweet pumpkin braclets.&amp;nbsp;They are super simple to make and the instructions are on one of my favorite new blogsites- Brown Paper Packages.&amp;nbsp; I have a link posted on my blog.&amp;nbsp; I know some of you have little girls who would love one of these bracelets or you know of someone you could make one for.&amp;nbsp; All you need are candy pumpkins, a few ribbons, a needle and dental floss.&amp;nbsp; It doesn&#39;t get any easier than this.&amp;nbsp; Hope you enjoy making one.&amp;nbsp; Let me know.&amp;nbsp; Happy Fall!</description><link>http://pamardoin.blogspot.com/2010/10/sweet-pumpkin-bracelets.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Pam)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwSScmnhiXneq9gZCEAFH5sYPzKttOWvZsD_r0Of8OcLFUGPgDUpDlHaj37DHc_KVvXafXajx3E86BRx5ZGkq-KZ0gbOoszWRXAGSO7ifMDKXst6YrkqunFVAOSDp07Wb9eCvPvUbZNMj-/s72-c/pumpkin_bracelet_3--close_copy.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698568077138968245.post-742639492818168394</guid><pubDate>Tue, 26 Oct 2010 18:00:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-10-26T13:00:44.590-05:00</atom:updated><title>Intentional Joy</title><description>&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUpABh6tH-PSv3g1oXz9YRIsq9zt09ISud7qwDX0YcJa4byS3mw2y2dqr15WiKs1eQeOmPJqziwpOq43X4QNVDdNrm8OM6U04MM6JkVPkmnyPb89yomhw1z7573LEeFTMVM2cjMq8NGV-6/s1600/vintage-teacups.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; nx=&quot;true&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUpABh6tH-PSv3g1oXz9YRIsq9zt09ISud7qwDX0YcJa4byS3mw2y2dqr15WiKs1eQeOmPJqziwpOq43X4QNVDdNrm8OM6U04MM6JkVPkmnyPb89yomhw1z7573LEeFTMVM2cjMq8NGV-6/s1600/vintage-teacups.jpg&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; The sentence I read in the book on my bedside table held those two words. They leaped off the page, jumped in my mind.&amp;nbsp; It wasn&#39;t long (maybe 2 minutes) until they found their way to the door of my heart. I&#39;m glad I answered the knock and opened up.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; I decided long ago that Joy is a must have. I always knew it was a Pam essential but I didn&#39;t know why for years and years. I watched lots of people do without it.&amp;nbsp; I found that answer in my favorite book- the Bible- page 1656, Romans 14:17.&amp;nbsp; Joy is a tell-tale sign&amp;nbsp;that the Kingdom of God is in operation.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; My heart reminded me that&amp;nbsp;my joy is always in jepardy. I decided I will be intentional about protecting it. I also know that because of that decision my Helper will glady assist me.&amp;nbsp; Disappointments have been coming, problems need the answers I don&#39;t have right now, changes are taking place that could be scary if I let them, personal progress is slow. Top it off with a cloudy sky outside my window view.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; What&#39;s this girl to do? The 3 P&#39;s I so often do?&amp;nbsp; Yes, I will pray, pour a cup of tea ( in the prettiest of my cups) and ponder the next step. Speaking of tea cups- years ago I met some people who read the future in their&amp;nbsp;tea leaves (seriously- don&#39;t laugh- some people really do that). Well the pretty tea cup and slightly sweet and tart raspberry tea provided something for my senses but&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;the prayer and pondering provided what I really needed.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; He restores my soul. (Psalm 23) I&#39;m so glad I don&#39;t have to do the restoring.&amp;nbsp;I learned today that I probably have to wait a while on the bigger joys but I can rejoice and enjoy so many small things right now.&amp;nbsp; I&#39;ll stack them one on top of each other intentionally.&amp;nbsp; They will give me strength.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Guess what?&amp;nbsp; The sun is shining outside my window view now.&amp;nbsp; The birds are at the feeder, the roses are still&amp;nbsp;blooming, the squirrels are chasing each other, all the clothes are folded, my knitting needles are nearby, I know God loves me&amp;nbsp;and I&amp;nbsp;say- &quot;It is well with my soul.&quot;&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Think I&#39;ll have another cup of tea and intentionally be joyful as I remember, &quot;Those that wait on the Lord will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.&quot; (Page 1011, Isaiah 40:31)</description><link>http://pamardoin.blogspot.com/2010/10/intentional-joy.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Pam)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUpABh6tH-PSv3g1oXz9YRIsq9zt09ISud7qwDX0YcJa4byS3mw2y2dqr15WiKs1eQeOmPJqziwpOq43X4QNVDdNrm8OM6U04MM6JkVPkmnyPb89yomhw1z7573LEeFTMVM2cjMq8NGV-6/s72-c/vintage-teacups.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698568077138968245.post-6678270842963610814</guid><pubDate>Mon, 18 Oct 2010 14:59:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-10-18T09:59:51.059-05:00</atom:updated><title>The Importance of Together</title><description>&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7UPernQsO8O2M-LDt1MNxB7nMQX0kS0KZUiHocEfWKV0Ejer7X1Ig_MwHobSdTzWsnDpNR8ffyl79nRKLc4sJzAfkQ4bkc_ZenB4Jc0RSf5SvILgGfIAmQ47fIzQ6bbp5hf0M7S_4Zkop/s1600/pam+and+mike+%232+ruston.bmp&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; ex=&quot;true&quot; height=&quot;283&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7UPernQsO8O2M-LDt1MNxB7nMQX0kS0KZUiHocEfWKV0Ejer7X1Ig_MwHobSdTzWsnDpNR8ffyl79nRKLc4sJzAfkQ4bkc_ZenB4Jc0RSf5SvILgGfIAmQ47fIzQ6bbp5hf0M7S_4Zkop/s320/pam+and+mike+%232+ruston.bmp&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; When life runs &quot;snack dab&quot; in your face, the pictures and words your mind holds onto and the ones you imagine coming to pass are ropes to grab and hold onto.&amp;nbsp; I learned this two weeks ago as I stared at my husband, Mike lying in a bed in the I.C.U. of St. Francis Cabrini Hospital. No one expected the complications that arose from a simple hernia repair.&amp;nbsp; The repair was quick and perfect; the awakening process was quite a different scenario.&amp;nbsp; As soon as the two doctors left the small conference room after delivering the critical news, I had a choice to make. I had help!&amp;nbsp; God is faithful and in a split second reminded me of His promises we stand on every day of our lives; one of them being, &quot;with long life I will satisfy you and show you my salvation.&quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Throughout the next two days, He continued to remind me of the promises in His Word and those personal ones He has given to our family. We chose and continue to choose His Word instead of circumstances and our feelings.We know this for sure:&amp;nbsp; God is faithful!&amp;nbsp; His Spirit inside of us comforts, guides and strengthens us.&amp;nbsp; When we believe Him, He does marvelous works.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Hundred of images bombarded my mind.&amp;nbsp; God helped me, along with our children and good friends to choose to hold onto the good pictures.&amp;nbsp; Every time I looked at Mike full of tubes and restrained in that I.C.U. bed, I thought of us talking, laughing, being with our children and our grandchild.&amp;nbsp; We took the pictures here last Saturday when we celebrated our daughter, Casey&#39;s 23rd birthday in Ruston.&amp;nbsp; I look forward to sharing more pictures&amp;nbsp;of us being with David, Lindsey and Will in the near future.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; TOGETHER is a special place to be.&amp;nbsp; I never want to take another &quot;together&quot; time for granted, with each other, our family or special friends and most certainly, not with God.&amp;nbsp; God has been so good to us. Our family has been so blessed. Our children are wonderful and so are our friends.&amp;nbsp; We appreciate you in our lives.&amp;nbsp; Reminds of me an old song. . . &quot;I can&#39;t see me lovin nobody but you for all my life. When you&#39;re with me baby the skies&#39;ll be blue for all my life. Me and you and you and me, no matter how they toss the dice, it has to be. The only one for me is you and you for me . . .SO HAPPY TOGETHER.&quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://pamardoin.blogspot.com/2010/10/importance-of-together.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Pam)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7UPernQsO8O2M-LDt1MNxB7nMQX0kS0KZUiHocEfWKV0Ejer7X1Ig_MwHobSdTzWsnDpNR8ffyl79nRKLc4sJzAfkQ4bkc_ZenB4Jc0RSf5SvILgGfIAmQ47fIzQ6bbp5hf0M7S_4Zkop/s72-c/pam+and+mike+%232+ruston.bmp" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698568077138968245.post-3536114115416750897</guid><pubDate>Thu, 09 Sep 2010 18:51:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-09-09T13:51:44.364-05:00</atom:updated><title>HOPEfully devoted to you</title><description>&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Baby dedications are beautiful, especially when the one you&#39;re attending is your grandson&#39;s. As I watched our son and daughter-in-law dedicate Will, I thought about what it means to be devoted to someone or something.&amp;nbsp; An &quot;oldies&quot; song popped into mind- Hopelessly Devoted to You.&amp;nbsp; I decided I was definetly devoted but HOPEFULLY so.&amp;nbsp; I thought about how I commited myself to this child before he was born. I am also commited to Jesus Christ, my husband, and my children as well.&amp;nbsp; As I began to think of other people and other things I&amp;nbsp;am&amp;nbsp;dedicated to, I decided to check out the definition.&amp;nbsp; Here&#39;s what I found.&amp;nbsp; According to Merriam Webster it means &quot;devoted to a cause, ideal or purpose, firm in one&#39;s allegiance to someone or something.&quot;&amp;nbsp; The example given was &quot;a dedicated follower of the television show wouldn&#39;t dream of missing an episode.&quot; Is this the best example people can relate to when&amp;nbsp;they think of using the word&amp;nbsp; dedicated?&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Some synonyms and related words for dedicated are: zealous,devoted, constant, faithful, loyal, steadfast, true,&amp;nbsp;reliable, responsible, solid, unhesitating, unwavering, gung ho, passionate, enthusiastic and determined.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; I decided the next time I think or say that I am dedicated to someone or something, I&#39;m going to check out these words again. Applying one of my house rules is also in order for my life. Whenever I buy something new, I look around for something I no longer need and remove it.&amp;nbsp; One of my friends continually keeps a great word in front of her- intentional.&amp;nbsp; That&#39;s what I want for my life.&amp;nbsp; I want to be intentional, to live purposefully.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;The choice is ours. We can be hopefully or hopelessly devoted.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; We think Will is going to be a steadfast LSU fan and in all fairness a Texas one as well, but all Mimi could find in Louisiana to fit Will was purple and gold.&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxLeXXBBiL_sipJRS7fUGyGBGETr51FwWcMQlzEw5R85gu_ZpYdoT_RgU1-Xz7hrhdRW4F4QVUmr-1L6LPyik7g1ez4qp94VomhIIzOoI0bFA95ueccK2w8CTTHDpl_fknvXDPTwPY5Xe2/s1600/home+family+pictures+078.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; ox=&quot;true&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxLeXXBBiL_sipJRS7fUGyGBGETr51FwWcMQlzEw5R85gu_ZpYdoT_RgU1-Xz7hrhdRW4F4QVUmr-1L6LPyik7g1ez4qp94VomhIIzOoI0bFA95ueccK2w8CTTHDpl_fknvXDPTwPY5Xe2/s320/home+family+pictures+078.jpg&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;</description><link>http://pamardoin.blogspot.com/2010/09/hopefully-devoted-to-you.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Pam)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgspnnU4DXI7vYR1ddLTGZiAqYLIMnboG-R-KUgJVX4oTMMpzF5tUCsNN-1XhAazOVjPiw4PQd1h4WsXnmTwG0CjaFFiMS9_SuBfoYu7gHWGwuL1RjRWw-scKaJGWwI8fcynfPz2JO0ooPB/s72-c/home+family+pictures+102.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698568077138968245.post-2034698327164615992</guid><pubDate>Tue, 17 Aug 2010 23:27:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-08-17T18:27:20.847-05:00</atom:updated><title>A reminder of the Son&#39;s love</title><description>&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; Have you ever wondered why God loves you? The answer is a simple one. &amp;nbsp;If you love His Son, Jesus and believe that Jesus came from His Father, then God loves you. (John 16:27) &amp;nbsp;By believing and receiving His love, we are given the right to be children of God. (John 1:12) &amp;nbsp;Being in a family means you belong to someone.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; God&#39;s love toward us reminds Him of the love between Himself and His Son. &amp;nbsp;He loves us because we belong to Him and we belong to His Son.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;We are given an intimate look at a prayer Jesus prayed to His Father in John 17. &amp;nbsp;He refers to all those the Father gave to Him seven different times. We are a gift they gave to each other.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; Take a look a a new mom and dad with their little baby. &amp;nbsp;That child is a gift they gave to each other and a gift God gave to them. &amp;nbsp;Those little babies are loved not for what they can do for mom and dad. They are loved because they belong to them. &amp;nbsp;For those who adopt children or who have been adopted, its the same. They are chosen and loved because they belong to those who chose them.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; Its easy to relax and be at home with your family when you believe they love you simply because you belong to them. We can relax in God knowing He loves us because we love His Son, not because we always do the right things. &amp;nbsp;The more we experience their love, the more we will want to do what pleases them.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; We are a constant reminder to God of His love for Jesus and Jesus&#39; love for us. May you be a peace knowing you are greatly loved.&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://pamardoin.blogspot.com/2010/08/reminder-of-sons-love.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Pam)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698568077138968245.post-1712120990708750644</guid><pubDate>Thu, 12 Aug 2010 21:46:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-08-12T16:46:16.573-05:00</atom:updated><title>The desire needed to accomplish something</title><description>&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsXe8ZOyov0PlZVjiGiUEk6R6CZpQFC2xuMgVxdsLZpNRsV-87O0wXoIaL2vukRHHxQhhTYVSkHxhNw2AcPglmTdmoBv3MS179n56Ngs3ZHyhyphenhyphen5Gda1h6PsBufkCTmu1cJxD9VXBOT933j/s1600/knitting+008.JPG&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsXe8ZOyov0PlZVjiGiUEk6R6CZpQFC2xuMgVxdsLZpNRsV-87O0wXoIaL2vukRHHxQhhTYVSkHxhNw2AcPglmTdmoBv3MS179n56Ngs3ZHyhyphenhyphen5Gda1h6PsBufkCTmu1cJxD9VXBOT933j/s320/knitting+008.JPG&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; I recently had a conversation with two of my friends about the need for a greater desire for things we want to accomplish. As we talked we agreed that our desire usually follows what we give our attention to. Sometimes we convince ourselves that life is more complicated than it needs to be. If there&#39;s anything we would like a greater desire for we can create that desire by giving more attention to it.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; For&amp;nbsp;example, I now love to knit. That wasn&#39;t the case when I first began. I did have the motivation to learn but quite honestly, the desire to actually do it wasn&#39;t there. I find it is usually hard to for me to get excited about something that is difficult at first. &amp;nbsp;My motivation was to learn to knit for grandchildren. At least I was wise enough (or know myself well enough) to give myself a head start. I began to learn when there was no evidence of babies on the horizon, but I did have faith for a grandchild. I&#39;m happy to say God has blessed our family with a gorgeous baby boy. I&#39;m knitting for him and I love doing it now. By the way to show you how desire can work, &amp;nbsp;that is the little vest I made for Will. His Daddy wears vests all the time so Will needed one early on. &amp;nbsp;It took lots of practice. I started the vest 3 different times but I was happy with how my attention paid off. That little vest took lots of desire to accomplish.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; In the beginning I was very frustrated because I simply wasn&#39;t giving enough attention to doing the knitting. I read books and magazines about knitting, thought a lot about it, but I wasn&#39;t doing it. I&#39;m not convinced that old saying, &quot;practice makes perfect&quot; is true but I do know that without practice you won&#39;t learn and you won&#39;t have enough desire to keep yourself motivated. &amp;nbsp;It is easy to &lt;i&gt;become&lt;/i&gt;&amp;nbsp;motivated but to &lt;i&gt;stay&lt;/i&gt;&amp;nbsp;motivated is quite another thing. I&#39;m well on my way into the knitting adventure. &amp;nbsp;Now I must start attending to the regular exercise program adventure. &amp;nbsp;I have the shoes, the workout clothes, the videos. &amp;nbsp;Surely desire is right around the corner.</description><link>http://pamardoin.blogspot.com/2010/08/desire-needed-to-accomplish-something.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Pam)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsXe8ZOyov0PlZVjiGiUEk6R6CZpQFC2xuMgVxdsLZpNRsV-87O0wXoIaL2vukRHHxQhhTYVSkHxhNw2AcPglmTdmoBv3MS179n56Ngs3ZHyhyphenhyphen5Gda1h6PsBufkCTmu1cJxD9VXBOT933j/s72-c/knitting+008.JPG" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698568077138968245.post-4399683715750402287</guid><pubDate>Sat, 07 Aug 2010 14:03:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-08-07T09:03:22.627-05:00</atom:updated><title>Four Generations</title><description>&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcIXkRYYpdXfjiulTQ-21tI4bLq-JU6Y_-IthtKI54eOheOeyePx_4JLjPdjGDbAe7yCJDvBhfCxPy0M4Ng1Jx0ZjYh7BwZ77AigtnFWHJuLDe5xncuIV51fg5we4BEl1x0YvPlX0uxtL8/s1600/will+visit+8.4.2010+026.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcIXkRYYpdXfjiulTQ-21tI4bLq-JU6Y_-IthtKI54eOheOeyePx_4JLjPdjGDbAe7yCJDvBhfCxPy0M4Ng1Jx0ZjYh7BwZ77AigtnFWHJuLDe5xncuIV51fg5we4BEl1x0YvPlX0uxtL8/s320/will+visit+8.4.2010+026.jpg&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Our home has been full of joy and delight this past week. &amp;nbsp;The wait for this four generation picture has been a long one. My father who is 86 years old, my son David and grandson William David (Will) and Mimi Pam. Children are truly a blessing from the Lord.</description><link>http://pamardoin.blogspot.com/2010/08/four-generations.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Pam)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcIXkRYYpdXfjiulTQ-21tI4bLq-JU6Y_-IthtKI54eOheOeyePx_4JLjPdjGDbAe7yCJDvBhfCxPy0M4Ng1Jx0ZjYh7BwZ77AigtnFWHJuLDe5xncuIV51fg5we4BEl1x0YvPlX0uxtL8/s72-c/will+visit+8.4.2010+026.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698568077138968245.post-377308131337437652</guid><pubDate>Sun, 25 Jul 2010 21:41:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-07-25T16:41:28.204-05:00</atom:updated><title>Under the paper</title><description>&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge9cv3XyjFiEZOeCT8rnuYsjnXvJjGJ3kdiO6Ubxy9Nct3jnoRGhrAHqP_byScsRl96LozuyPQlGd5AjpqepxQUV0tcSXjcJQYglqPSuymYoOFmPvbedKRGvDYJz1oSUE59en6Z86ugYfG/s1600/presentations.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; hw=&quot;true&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge9cv3XyjFiEZOeCT8rnuYsjnXvJjGJ3kdiO6Ubxy9Nct3jnoRGhrAHqP_byScsRl96LozuyPQlGd5AjpqepxQUV0tcSXjcJQYglqPSuymYoOFmPvbedKRGvDYJz1oSUE59en6Z86ugYfG/s320/presentations.jpg&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; My friends know I love gift giving and that I give special attention to the wrapping.&amp;nbsp; I&#39;m not partial to any one type of wrapping. I love bags, paper, ribbon, tags, charms, flowers.&amp;nbsp;Once the present is wrapped I will look for something that puts what I call a &quot;Pam stamp&quot; on it.&amp;nbsp; A book or article on gift wrapping always calls out to me.&amp;nbsp; Sometimes I have to wonder if the presentation speaks more to me than the gift. . . which led me to do a little soul searching. Do I want others to see the value of the gift more than the presentation? &lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Our lives should be a gift to others. Do I allow myself to be unwrapped? Do I unwrap the gift within others? I read a wonderful book by Florence Littauer titled, &quot;Silver Boxes.&quot;&amp;nbsp; The book is based on the scripture verse Ephesians 4:29 which says, &quot;Let no unwholesome word proceed out of your mouth,except that which is edifying so that it might minister grace to hearer.&quot; Mrs. Littauer asked a group of elementary children if they understood what the verse meant. One little boy said that our words should be like building blocks; another said that we shouldn&#39;t go around knocking other people&#39;s blocks down. Knowing how much children like presents, Mrs. Littauer explained that when words come out of our mouth they should be like presents we give away. Finally one little girl&amp;nbsp;simply wrapped it up by saying, &quot;What she means is that our words should be like little silver boxes with bows on top.&quot; She ends the book with a very personal story of her own mother and how dreams can die with us. &lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; It&#39;s no wonder I love this book because I love words and I love wrapped presents. I don&#39;t want to waste my time evaluating or envying someone&#39;s wrapping.&amp;nbsp; I want to spend my energy finding the valuable gift inside of them and encouraging them to let it be unwrapped.</description><link>http://pamardoin.blogspot.com/2010/07/under-paper.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Pam)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge9cv3XyjFiEZOeCT8rnuYsjnXvJjGJ3kdiO6Ubxy9Nct3jnoRGhrAHqP_byScsRl96LozuyPQlGd5AjpqepxQUV0tcSXjcJQYglqPSuymYoOFmPvbedKRGvDYJz1oSUE59en6Z86ugYfG/s72-c/presentations.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698568077138968245.post-3416544655067608311</guid><pubDate>Wed, 21 Jul 2010 17:35:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-07-21T13:59:36.318-05:00</atom:updated><title>Living with Lagniappe</title><description>&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Having been born and raised in New Orleans, this southern girl knows about lagniappe. For those of you who haven&#39;t a clue, in New Orleans, the term is used to describe &quot;a little something extra,&quot; and it is pronounced &quot;LAN-yap.&quot; It&#39;s a Louisiana-French word derived from the American-Spanish word &quot;la napa&quot; which originally meant a gift. Mark Twain described lagniappe as &quot;a word worth travelling to New Orleans to get.&quot; You can find the principle of &amp;nbsp;lagniappe in many cultures including the once norm &quot;baker&#39;s dozen&quot; in North America. Lagniappe in the true sense is unexpected.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; There is so much lagniappe in our lives that goes unnoticed and unappreciated.&amp;nbsp; You can&#39;t earn lagniappe. You can&#39;t buy lagniappe. You don&#39;t deserve lagniappe.&amp;nbsp; It&#39;s a gift and you can&#39;t receive a gift if you think you deserve it.&amp;nbsp;I&#39;m convinced God smiles about lagniappe because it&#39;s all about Grace.&amp;nbsp; We don&#39;t deserve his love and his salvation.&amp;nbsp; We can&#39;t earn it or buy it.&amp;nbsp; We can only receive His love and then turn around and give it to others.&amp;nbsp; Lagniappe living is delightful. It&#39;s fun and it&#39;s rewarding. &lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; I&#39;ll tell you about a recent&amp;nbsp;lagniappe I received.&amp;nbsp; His name is Will.&amp;nbsp; He is the most wonderful gift God sent his Mom and Dad on April 18, 2010 and there isn&#39;t a day that goes by that his Mimi (that would be ME) doesn&#39;t fall head over heals in love with him again and again. Will doesn&#39;t know it yet, but he is in store&amp;nbsp;for a lot of lagniappe from&amp;nbsp;his Mimi, and I&#39;m sure from many others as well. I&#39;ve just begun this new journey of being a grandmother and in case you can&#39;t tell, I&#39;m excited about it. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpl73HJY1pBu01UG1m-p0ZyJvmg7cYHYZ6cNfFJJpxwIZKHfW-6gszYiu7wus5lSEPtz6wGK-4AbYuw8Bv9zwPGhOwFWt1iFgQuzplEDwGVjF2zGDIdMipzSBgtX8NT_NFqwLFmwQHyk3O/s1600/smiling+will.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; hw=&quot;true&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpl73HJY1pBu01UG1m-p0ZyJvmg7cYHYZ6cNfFJJpxwIZKHfW-6gszYiu7wus5lSEPtz6wGK-4AbYuw8Bv9zwPGhOwFWt1iFgQuzplEDwGVjF2zGDIdMipzSBgtX8NT_NFqwLFmwQHyk3O/s320/smiling+will.jpg&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;I hope you discover&amp;nbsp;lagniappe on your journey today and then turn around and give&amp;nbsp;lagniappe to someone on their journey.</description><link>http://pamardoin.blogspot.com/2010/07/living-with-lagniappe.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Pam)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpl73HJY1pBu01UG1m-p0ZyJvmg7cYHYZ6cNfFJJpxwIZKHfW-6gszYiu7wus5lSEPtz6wGK-4AbYuw8Bv9zwPGhOwFWt1iFgQuzplEDwGVjF2zGDIdMipzSBgtX8NT_NFqwLFmwQHyk3O/s72-c/smiling+will.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>1</thr:total></item></channel></rss>