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I received this in an email….

Beautiful story…. makes you understand that things truly do happen for a reason:

The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned

to their first ministry, to reopen a church

in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October

excited about their opportunities.. When they saw

their church, it was very run down and needed

much work. They set a goal to have everything

done in time to have their first service

on Christmas Eve.

T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,

painting, etc, and on December 18

were ahead of schedule and just about finished.

O n December 19 a terrible tempest – a driving

rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.

O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.

His heart sank when he saw that the roof had

leaked, causing a large area of plaster about

20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall

of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,

beginning about head high.

T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,

and not knowing what else to do but postpone

the Christmas Eve service, headed home.

On the way he noticed that a local business was

having a flea market type sale for charity, so he

stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,

handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth

with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross

embroidered right in the center. It was just

the right size to cover the hole in the front

wall. He bought it and headed back to the church.

B y this time it had started to snow. An older

woman running from the opposite direction was

trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor

invited her to wait in the warm church for

the next bus 45 minutes later.

She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor

while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put

up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor

could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and

it covered up the entire problem area.

T hen he noticed the woman walking down the center

aisle. Her face was like a sheet. “Pastor,”

she asked, “where did you get that tablecloth?”

The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check

the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into

it there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .

T he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor

told how he had just gotten “The Tablecloth”. The

woman explained that before the war she and

her husband were well-to-do people in Austria .

When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.

Her husband was going to follow her the next week.

He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her

husband or her home again.

T he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;

but she made the pastor keep it for the church.

The pastor insisted on driving her home. That

was the least he could do. She lived on the other

side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn

for the day for a housecleaning job.

W hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas

Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the

spirit were great. At the end of the service, the

pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door

and many said that they would return..

One older man, whom the pastor recognized

from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the

pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he

wasn’t leaving.

The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on

the front wall because it was identical to one

that his wife had made years ago when

they lived in Austria before the war and how

could there be two tablecloths so much alike?

H e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he

forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was

supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and

put in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home

again all the 35 years between.

T he pastor asked him if he would allow him to

take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten

Island and to the same house where the pastor

had taken the woman three days earlier.

H e helped the man climb the three flights of

stairs to the woman’s apartment, knocked on

the door and he saw the greatest Christmas

reunion he could ever imagine.

T rue Story – submitted by Pastor Rob Reid

who says God does work in mysterious ways.

I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for

you today, to guide you and protect you as you go

along your way. His love is always with you. His

promises are true, and when we give Him all our

cares we know He will see us through.

S o when the road you’re traveling seems

difficult at best, just remember I’m here

praying and God will do the rest. Pass this on

to those you want God to bless and remember

to send it back to the one who asked God to bless

you first.

W hen there is nothing left but God, that is when

you find out that God is all you need Take 60

seconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply

say the following small prayer for the person

who sent this to you.

This was from an email I received….

Question:

“Relationships with our parents are notoriously difficult. When we children grow into adults, year after year, the same buttons still get pushed, the same grudges resurface. After years of repeatedly dealing with the same hang-ups, and for some, years of therapy, why is it so hard to accept our parents for who they are? What can we do to be better children to our parents?”

Michael Berg replies:

The Wrong Why

There are no coincidences in this life. When it comes to the topic of family, we are each born into our situations for a specific reason. This reason is called tikun.

Tikun is a kabbalistic concept that means “correction.” In order for us to be happy and fulfilled, to reveal our potential, and to accomplish what we came to this world to accomplish, there must be a process of change we go through. Sometimes that change is effected simply by ourselves; other times it is people or events that push us in ways that force us to change.

Our parents are one of our greatest catalysts for change.  All the personality quirks and negative patterns created by our parents are, in fact, exactly what our souls had asked for in the upper worlds, where they chose the mother and father to whom they would be born. All the good and bad things we experienced growing up are meant to lead us towards a change that each of our souls needs to go through in order to achieve the purpose for which it came into this world.

Some of us are born to parents who judged, ignored, or hurt us. The choice for us becomes, are we going to be a slave to our past – “Why did they do this to me?” – or are we going to grow from the pain – “Why did I need them to do this to me?” One focuses on blame and victimhood; the other puts us in control of our lives.  Too often we ask the wrong why, and it becomes very difficult to move on.

We are meant to change the way we react to our parents’ behaviors. If we are responding now, as we did as children, clearly we are not growing from the situation – and we are missing an opportunity. The goal with our family is to get to a point where we can deactivate the buttons that our parents and family know all too well how to push.

This is a great way to gauge how much of a correction we have made. How diminished is my reaction? How much kinder can I be, even in the face of those old patterns and habits that our parents have? If our reaction changes in small or even great ways, then we can know we are achieving our correction.

But if we are many years out of childhood and yet still blaming our parents and reacting to them in the same old ways, then we are not correcting and doing the work we came here to do. However, if we have developed and evolved, then our reaction to our upbringing will be different. When we realize our soul needed to come into this particular household in order to break through, to grow from, and to become the person we need to become, we begin to let go of the anger, blame, disappointment – and all the guises of the victim mentality. When we realize how necessary this was for us, we can then forgive and grow thankful. Ultimately, when we reach this level of thankfulness, having gone through the stages of change, transformation, letting go, growth, and forgiveness, we come to a point where we can start helping our parents.

It is easy to forget that our parents have their own tikun. They need us just as much as we need them to effect their own change and correction. We can assist them, provided we understand this concept and integrate it into our lives in a very real and practical way. Then we can open a window to shine Light into their lives.

I have one last thing to add regarding thankfulness. Sometimes there is a great opening for healing when we simply respect the fact that, whatever it is we experienced growing up, our parents gave us life and sustained us materially, if not always emotionally. How quickly we negate this fact by focusing only on the bad things they had done. That is why it is such a beautiful consciousness to have, especially during times of family get-togethers, to find those good aspects within them; to awaken a level of thankfulness for the positive things we know they’ve done, and to change our perspective so that we may see them in a new light.

When you are sitting around the dinner table this holiday, rolling your eyes and shaking your head, remember to ask yourself:

• What does my soul need to learn from my family?
• What beautiful qualities do my parents possess?

This will create a powerful – if not perfect – connection within your family. And it will deepen understanding of your soul’s purpose in this world.

Michael Berg is a Kabbalah scholar and author. He is co-Director of The Kabbalah Centre, www.kabbalah.com. You can follow Michael on twitter,twitter.com/inspiringchange. His latest book is, What God Meant.

A truly touching video.  This video shows a man who is an athlete and his friend or brother who is physically disabled.    It is very easy to leave someone with a disability behind, but this man chose to bring the disabled person wherever he goes.  This shows determination, love, strength and courage.

EMPOWERMENT
As I sat in this meeting listening to this man talk about his passion, the sauces he has created and is marketing, I felt – this is it, I want to work with people who have this incredible passion. My role for that moment was to get him to clearly define who his business is, their clear intentions, what is the market they want to go after and so on.

I am offering to Empower him, to guide him, to assist him in writing a business plan to go after a loan from the bank. The rest I will let unfold.

This experience was wonderful and I am able to bring together all of my previous knowledge and experience – English degree, Marketing, Human Resources and all of the awareness I have gained in the last 10 years on my journey.

Fundamentally it comes down to learning to love and honour yourself. This is reflected in every relationship. The more we do this the more we will receive — as seen in our personal and professional lives.

This holiday season I want you to celebrate the person you are in this moment — you are exactly where you are meant to be. As well, re-visit all that you have done this year from the smallest thing to the biggest thing. Give yourself a “hug” and say good work. Look in the mirror and smile and say, “I love you” and be proud of who you are.

If this is challenging for you start with a “self-hug”. Last night I did this, wrapped my arms around myself and told me, “Sandra, you are a great person- you have a lot to offer this world”. It is baby steps.

This site is 11 months old and from my analysis you are reading many of the pages. Thank you. This is the intention of the site. I also want to Empower you to be your best, see your brilliance within and find your passion that moves you.

It all starts now, not January 2010.

The kids are off for the holidays starting tomorrow. I will write next week – It will be Christmas Eve. I want to wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday season.

All my love,

Sandra

Time to find your inner child which I am sure is not difficult.

2009 has been a great year for shedding your layers- knowing more of who you are and your brilliance.

2010 is the year to sprout the seeds.

Have a wonderful holiday. Some are still in exams. Next week you can all let down your hair and relax.

Recoup, regenerate and get your strength back — 2010 there is a lot of work to do!

All my best,

Sandra

LOOKING TO EXPAND THIS ….
When I started this part of the blog I felt really strong that women need to take more accountability and responsibility in their life for their finances.

I have had the opportunity to talk to financial planners and they are looking to reach out to women. I have talked to them about creating the relationship first. It is my firm belief that in order to reduce the fear around this area, women need to understand that in so many ways they are already making the “financial” decisions – food shopping, organizing, taking care of the house and so on.

I am determined to shift the paradigm in women’s minds and open them up to this. We will continue to answer your questions so that you can make sound financial decisions or at least start you on your way to more awareness.

I am conducting a focus group/workshop with a group of women and I will give you their feedback as well as my own.

On behalf of Maritza and myself we want to wish all the families celebrating this holiday a safe and wonderful one. We also want to wish you a very happy and healthy, peaceful and abundant New Year.

2010 is a great year – make it a great abundant, financial one!

It begins with a choice to make a change and see your whole world begin to shift. I have taken my finances from a place I wasn’t too happy to a much better place for me and my family. I am grateful and know this will continue.

I am open to abundance and receiving. The more I receive the more I give!

All our best,

Sandra & Maritza

This first quote is from Conversations with God by Neal Donald Walsh ….

“If I do not go within – I go without”

I received an email that was wonderful:

I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly. As

I’ve aged, I’ve become kinder to myself, and less critical of myself. I’ve become my own friend. I don’t chide myself

for eating that extra cookie, or for not making my bed, or for buying that silly cement gecko that I didn’t need, but

looks so avant garde on my patio. I am entitled to a treat, to be messy, to be extravagant.

I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with

aging.

Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4 AM and sleep until noon? I will dance with

myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60 &70′s, and if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love … I will.

I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves with abandon if

I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the jet set.

They, too, will get old.

I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten. And I eventually remember the important things.

Sure, over the years my heart has been broken. How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even when somebody’s beloved pet gets hit by a car? But broken hearts are what give us strength and

understanding and compassion. A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being

imperfect.

I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched

into deep grooves on my face.  So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver.

As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think. I don’t question myself

anymore. I’ve even earned the right to be wrong.

So, to answer your question, I like being old. It has set me free. I like the person I have become. I am not going to

live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what

will be. And I shall eat dessert every single day(if I feel like it).

MAY OUR FRIENDSHIP NEVER COME APART ESPECIALLY WHEN IT’S STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART!

Here are 25 unlikely animal relationships…..

Now, that you can see what is possible, now examine your relationships.  This certainly puts it in perspective.

You were chosen to receive this novena.

The moment you receive it,

say :

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven, give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen..

GOD WANTED ME TO TELL YOU, It shall be well with you this coming year…

No matter how much your enemies try this year, they will not succeed.

You have been destined to make it and you shall surely achieve all your goals this year..

For the remainder of 2009 and all of 2010, all your agonies will be diverted and victory and prosperity will be incoming in abundance.

Today God has confirmed the end of your sufferings, sorrows and pain because HE that sits on the throne has remembered you.

He has taken away the hardships and given you JOY. He will never let you down…..

I knocked at heaven’s door this morning, God asked me.. My child! What can I do for you? And I said,

‘Father, please protect and bless the person reading this message… ‘

This is a Novena from Mother Theresa that started in 1952.

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