"GYD" - Google Yourself Daily!

Last week I attended a great class on Social Media Marketing as a free means of promoting your business. (See recent post). Among a host of other suggestions, Nems and Jaymie urged us to do a daily Google search on ourselves.

Look what I found today when I was "Googling" myself.

This is hysterical. Although I'm certainly not the satirical Julia Miller in this fictional news story, I have been "church lady" in the past, and may revert in the future. You never know. Read if you're looking for a good laugh.

(It's about the relationship between having a Jesus Fish on your car, and the number of automobile accidents in which you're involved...)

http://www.themq.com/index.php?articles_id=155&issue=105

What do you find when searching YOUR name?

Feeding the Body, Taxing the Brain

I recently learned about Dr. Vincent Fortenacse, a prominent nuerologist who has writen an important book. Amazon should pay me for this link.

http://www.amazon.com/Anti-Alzheimers-Prescription-Science-Proven-Plan-Start/dp/1592403794

Dr. Fortenasce spells out our present and future reality-- as American's we've been burning at both ends, so to speak. Through the advancements of medicine, he says we've been able to prolong the life of the physical body by a length of close to 50 years. BUT-- we haven't been able to extend the life-expectancy of the brain by even a day.

So what does this mean in all practicality?

The way we feed and care for our bodies must do more good than harm. There are countless words written on the subject of diet and exercise. Heavily processed foods also do their commensurate damage. Meditation cures stress, also. But which do we engage in more frequently? Most of us do more stressing than de-stressing.

And, we've got to enlist the incredible powers of the brain, with at least a view to getting it exercised well.

SO-- very shortly I'll be leaving home to take a class. For a woman traveling through the middle-age of my life, this will be challenging and new.

Thanks to my good friends at Three Chicks Catering, (www.threechickscatering.com) I'm taking their class on Social Marketing in the information age. They'll cover facebook, twitter, skype, blogging, web-engine search optimizing and the Lord only knows what else. And I will make my brain learn! And it will keep me mentally fit. Also, I will eat some of their healthy refreshments. A win-win for my brain and body.

TV is passive. Engaging in LIFE is active, and healthy, and I HOPE-- will keep me independent through my 80's and 90's. Should I live that long.

Well, so get off the couch & learn something new!! And let me know what you did!
Love you all!!

Life at 50

Hi Dear Ones!
This is short, but please watch the whole thing. It puts life into perspective.
Just click this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42E2fAWM6rA

Love,
Julia

Before I Was a Mom

I recall discovering I was preganant for the first time-- I confided in tears to my Mom that I was "much too selfish to be a mother!"

And in her wisdom she answered, "Honey, you've just got to know that God loves you SO MUCH, that He's already chosen the perfect baby for you, and that you won't be able to help yourself. You'll LOVE that baby, and you won't want to be selfish."

Had she any idea how life-affirming her words would be, as I stared, through filmy vision, at her warm and knowing eyes? Her belief in God and me, helped ME to believe in God, and, well, me, too.

Five nearly full grown, impossibly wonderful children later (sure, I show the bias of a mother!), I'm a true believer in that affirmation. No one can love our children as much as we do. To others, they're noisy, smelly, hungry, dirty, demanding little creatures, and God only made them cute so we wouldn't kill them. To me, my children ARE my heart. I cry with gratitude at the recurring gift they are to me, each day. I love them so much it seems "crazy-talk" to apply human language to the phenomenon. It's Heavenly.

This treasure showed up in my life recently. It's author isn't known-- not sure why. I'd love to give her credit for this sweet, honest reflection. I hope you enjoy it.

"Before I was a Mom, I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby. I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous. I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom, I had never been puked on. Pooped on. Chewed on. Peed on. I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts. I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom, I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests. Or give shots. I never looked into teary eyes and cried. I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin. I never sat up late hours at night, watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom, I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put her down. I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt. I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much. I never knew that I could love someone so much. I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom, I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body. I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby. I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child. I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom, I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay. I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom...I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Mom.

May you always be overwhelmed by the Grace of God
rather than by the cares of life."

What do you REALLY think?

A precious friend sent me this photo in an e-mail, with a link to World Net Daily, and an article about Barak Obama's first 100 days as President of the United States. I apologize that I couldn't figure out how to format the photo, but turthfully, I'm relieved not to dignify it further by putting it here in plain sight on my blog.

http://wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=96138

It doesn't matter much to me if you read the article. What matters to me are the thoughts and feelings that play out in your heart when you see the image.

You may know that I recently returned from Rome, having participated in a choral performance in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Aracoeli.

Entitled, "The Birth of Christ," and composed by Andrew T. Miller-- this fully orchestrated cantata shared through a talented choir, cast of operatic soloists and noted narrators (Jim Caviezel, Michael York, Louis Gosset, Jr.), portrays the coming of the Messiah -- even foreshadowing his redemptive suffering and death on the Cross.

The coming of Jesus Christ altered human history in ways no human being, no matter how popular, ever could. I trust in Him.

In case they don't print my letter~

I just finished this letter to the editor of our local paper. In case this letter doesn't make the cut, I'll share it with you here, instead.

Dear Editor,

When does human life begin? Obviously President Obama imagines the lifesaving potential in live human embryos, and is willing to allow taxpayer money to be spent experimenting on live human embryos – thus causing their death – with the “hope” of bringing about that potential. If it isn’t alive, why try to use it to enhance and extend life?

So last August, when candidate Obama answered this question with, it’s “above my pay grade,” he plainly lied to all of us. Did his recent pay grade increase suddenly bring clarity to his thinking?

President Obama, let’s clear this up for you. The egg is alive, the sperm is alive. They combine, alive. An embryo is the very beginning of a unique, unrepeatable human life. This is a scientific fact, not a religious dogma.

Do not pit science against religion. Instead, answer the question which is a follow up to when human life begins. When does a human life receive rights?

A quick update from Julia

Anyone who knows me well, knows that I'm crazy for flowers. I want my funeral notice to read-- "In lieu of any other way you might want to memorialize Julia, send FLOWERS! She loved them!"

So I'm glad to report that after taking several years off from my wedding flower business, I am back, to serve those whose occasions call for flowers, with a heart full of joy! This also includes memorial flowers. Thier life and beauty can truly bring comfort to people.

I'll be sharing photos with you soon. You can learn more about my business, Julia's Floral & Gifts, at my website, www.juliasfloral.com. Thanks!

Catching the Subway, but missing the Beauty

Entertain this thought~ If the most beautiful violin music is played for you, by the world's best artist, on a $32 million Stradivarius, would you walk by without stopping?

Over a thousand people did just that, during 45 minutes of the D.C. morning rush in January, 2007, when Joshua Bell posed as a busker. Less than 1/2 of one percent took notice. About a dozen dropped money in the till. A mere handful stopped long enough to listen some. And only one woman recognized him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0KdAXLSO0Y&feature=related

The Washington Post experiment posed the question, if beauty were on display in a banal envornment, at an inopportune time, would it transcend the mundane?

Worth thinking about. By the way, the man who sells out concerts at $100 per seat-- took in a total of $32.

A 5th Century Saint foresees the Modern Age

I have to share this~ Call me crazy, I don't care, just read this post. Without explanation I can say we're living in "strange times," and you'd nod your head, "YES!" But did you know an obscure saint of ancient times had a remarkably clear vision of the era we are living in? It's a little heady, but read it all anyway. It's definitely food for thought. Thanks!

PROPHECY OF ST. NILUS
Realizing that St. Nilus is scarcely known to a large part of the Church, a brief sketch of his life, taken from the Catholic Encyclopedia (1911 copyright edition), is related below:

St. Nilus was one of the many disciples and fervent defenders of St. John Chrysostom. He was an officer at the Court of Constantinople, married, with two sons. While St. John Chrysostom was patriarch, before his exile (398-403), he directed Nilus in the study of Scripture and in works of piety. St. Nilus left his wife and one son and took the other, Theodulos, with him to Mt. Sinai to be a monk. The Bishop of Eleusa ordained both St. Nilus and his son to the priesthood. The mother and other son also embraced the religious life in Egypt.

From his monastery at Sinai, St. Nilus was a well-known person throughout the Eastern Church; by his writings and correspondence, he played an important part in the history of his time. He was known as a theologian, Biblical scholar and ascetic writer, so people of all kinds, from the emperor down wrote to consult him.

St. Nilus must be counted as one of the leading ascetic writers of the fifth century. His feast is kept on November 12th in the Byzantine Calendar; he is commemorated also in the Roman Martyrology on the same date. St. Nilus probably died around the year 430, as there is no evidence of his life after that.

Now the prophecy:
"After the year 1900, toward the middle of the 20th century, the people of that time will become unrecognizable. When the time for the Advent of the Antichrist approaches, people's minds will grow cloudy from carnal passions, and dishonor and lawlessness will grow stronger.

Then the world will become unrecognizable. People's appearances will change, and it will be impossible to distinguish men from women due to their shamelessness in dress and style of hair. These people will be cruel and will be like wild animals because of the temptations of the Antichrist. There will be no respect for parents and elders, love will disappear, and Christian pastors, bishops, and priests will become vain men, completely failing to distinguish the right-hand way from the left.

At that time, the morals and traditions of Christians and of the Church will change. People will abandon modesty, and dissipation will reign. Falsehood and greed will attain great proportions, and woe to those who pile up treasures. Lust, adultery, homosexuality, secret deeds and murder will rule in society.

At that future time, due to the power of such great crimes and licentiousness, people will be deprived of the grace of the Holy Spirit, which they received in Holy Baptism and equally of remorse.

The Churches of God will be deprived of God-fearing and pious pastors, and woe to the Christians remaining in the world at that time; they will completely lose their faith because they will lack the opportunity of seeing the light of knowledge from anyone at all. Then they will separate themselves out of the world in holy refuges in search of lightening their spiritual sufferings, but everywhere they will meet obstacles and constraints.

And all this will result from the fact that the Antichrist wants to be Lord over everything and become the ruler of the whole universe, and he will produce miracles and fantastic signs. He will also give depraved wisdom to an unhappy man so that he will discover a way by which one man can carry on a conversation with another from one end of the earth to the other. At that time men will also fly through the air like birds and descend to the bottom of the sea like fish. And when they have achieved all this, these unhappy people will spend their lives in comfort without knowing, poor souls, that it is deceit of the Antichrist. And, the impious one! – he will so complete science with vanity that it will go off the right path and lead people to lose faith in the existence of God in three hypostases.

Then the All-good God will see the downfall of the human race and will shorten the days for the sake of those few who are being saved, because the enemy wants to lead even the chosen into temptation, if that is possible... then the sword of chastisement will suddenly appear and kill the perverter and his servants."

Didn't Jesus ask in the Scriptures, "But when the Son of Man returns, will He find faith?"

We can trust Him to do His job. I, for one, deeply flawed human that I am, had better get busy doing MY job! Keeping faith alive in my home and family, and community. Thanks for reading!

Source: www.olrl.org/misc/ (Our Lady of the Rosary Library, online)

I wish you Success in 2009

The following is one of my favorite quotes~ A definition of success by Ralph Waldo Emerson. I added boldface to some of the words for emphasis.

To laugh often and much;

To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;

To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;

To appreciate beauty;
To find the best in others;

To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;

To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived;

This is to have succeeded.

May I ask, what is success to you? Is it riches? Power? Receiving accolades, awards and praise? Having the most toys, the nicest house in the best neighborhood? Is it winning at all costs?

I hope it's broader than any of those things. More aligned with the definition above.

Success is authentic living from the heart-- with the ever-present memory that we are God's creation; that we are loved into existence every day, and that we are blessed, whether we feel it or not.

When we know this in our core, we can begin to think about each day as a gift and an opportunity to love. And before we know it, we will naturally be doing each one of Emerson's Success Ideas.