Happy Thanksgiving to all my readers! Gobble Gobble! As you celebrate Thanksgiving Day with your family and close friends, be sure to say a prayer for those less fortunate than yourselves, for our military and their families, and those who have recently lost a loved one in death. Here are a few Thanksgiving Prayers and poems collected from the net for your consideration. If you have a Thanksgiving prayer you wish to share, please leave a comment below. Happy Thanksgiving and blessings to all of you as you enjoy your Thanksgiving Day meal celebration with loved ones. Bring on the football game (and then a well deserved nap!)

Thanksgiving Prayer

“Loving Merciful God, We give You thanks for the creation of this world; it is a wonder and a blessing which should give us pause to offer You thanks. Creator, we are blessed by such little-big things as the air we breathe and the water we drink, these little-big things that fill our lives with the elements of living, but are commonly overlooked for we do not always stop to think about the wonders of the world which are working. We know that in Your time and space all will been done to fulfill Your glory, Your plans for us. We are reminded by Your Word in the Scripture 1Thessalonians 5:18 to be joyful always, pray continually, and give thanks in all things for this was Your will for us in Christ Jesus.

It is the daily bread of our lives, the everyday comings and goings, were we must pause to give You thanks. We find this a hard task to do in this present day as we are ever mindful of suffering, pain, sorrow, violence, addictions, greed, universal poverty, incurable diseases, mounting cost, dissenting view points, depression, and very day busy-ness of our lives. We are lost in the endless fear of losing yet another family member or friend. We watch endless newscasts about other people suffering and it is all more than we can bear. We find that our voices matter little to others or we are afraid that we will be heard and have to make time to do the work You are calling us to carry out. We also find that we are held captive to our lives and cannot be thankful for all circumstances. Some of us are carrying around decades old anger and fear which we cannot begin to excavate ourselves from nor find any reason to give thanks or forgiveness. Where is the time to continually be joyful, to pray, to be thankful?

We need Your love and guidance now the same as all Your children throughout the generations has need it. We need, in this season of Your creation to slow us down, giving us the chance to pause in thanksgiving and waiting for the Advent for Christ’s coming into our lives to give us a turning point into even more thankfulness and forgiveness. Help us to be thankful for the chance we are given still to ask for and receive forgiveness.

Help us God to truly lift our voices in Praise so that all can hear the wonders of Your world, from the tiniest voices of a baby’s cry to the thundering masses at a sports game, the quiet whispers of hope being uttered over the sickbeds of our nation to the rumbling desert tanks of our solders defending the innocent on distant shores. Help us fill our lives with thanksgiving and forgiveness as we strive for making this time and place the fulfillment of Your kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.Help us to realize that in the act of filling our lives with continuous joy, prayer, and thanksgiving that we are making the choice to take the courage of Christ into our lives so that others may find thanksgiving and forgiveness in their “daily bread.” We ask all these things in the Your name, O God, as Christ taught us. Amen.”

Thanksgiving Prayer for those who lost a loved one in death:

“Dear God, we are here to express our gratitude for all your blessings. You have given us so much, not only providing what we need to live, but in giving us yourself. We are richly blessed, and it is right to acknowledge that you are the source of all good things. Yet this day also brings a mix of emotions to us. We confess our thanks, but also our sadness because of the empty place at our table. We know that death and sorrow were not your original plan, but we also know that you use difficulties to draw us closer to you and to each another. Here and now fill the empty places in our hearts and this empty place at our table. Teach us to savor the moments we have with one another, to rightly remember what we have lost, but also to look forward in hope to what we have promised in the future. We say again, ‘Your love is better than life.’ Thank you for all your blessings, for even through trials and loss you always, somehow reveal your goodness. In Jesus we pray.”

Thanksgiving Prayer

“Heavenly Father, on Thanksgiving Day
We bow our hearts to You and pray.
We give You thanks for all You’ve done
Especially for the gift of Jesus, Your Son.
For beauty in nature, Your glory we see
For joy and health, friends and family,
For daily provision, Your mercy and care
These are the blessings You graciously share.
So today we offer this response of praise
With a promise to follow You all of our days.”
Mary Fairchild

A Thanksgiving Day Prayer

“Lord, so often times, as any other day
When we sit down to our meal and pray

We hurry along and make fast the blessing
Thanks, amen. Now please pass the dressing

We’re slaves to the olfactory overload
We must rush our prayer before the food gets cold

But Lord, I’d like to take a few minute more
To really give thanks to what I’m thankful for

For my family, my health, a nice soft bed
My friends, my freedom, a roof over my head

I’m thankful right now to be surrounded by those
Whose lives touch me more than they’ll ever possibly know

Thankful Lord, that You’ve blessed me beyond measure
Thankful that in my heart lives life’s greatest treasure

That You, dear Jesus, reside in that place
And I’m ever so grateful for Your unending grace

So please, heavenly Father, bless this food You’ve provided
And bless each and every person invited.
Amen!”

Thanksgiving

“For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food,
For love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

We Gather Together

“We gather together to ask the Lord’s blessing;
He chastens and hastens his will to make known;
The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing,
Sing praises to his name: He forgets not his own.

Beside us to guide us, our God with us joining,
Ordaining, maintaining his kingdom divine;
So from the beginning the fight we were winning;
Thou, Lord, wast at our side, All glory be thine!

We all do extol thee, thou leader triumphant,
And pray that thou still our defender wilt be.
Let thy congregation escape tribulation;
Thy name be ever praised! O Lord, make us free!
Amen”
Traditional Thanksgiving Hymn
(A translation by Theodore Baker: 1851-1934)

We Give Thanks

“Our Father in Heaven,
We give thanks for the pleasure
Of gathering together for this occasion.
We give thanks for this food
Prepared by loving hands.
We give thanks for life,
The freedom to enjoy it all
And all other blessings.
As we partake of this food,
We pray for health and strength
To carry on and try to live as You would have us.
This we ask in the name of Christ,
Our Heavenly Father.”
Harry Jewell

I Thank Thee

“O Thou whose bounty fills my cup,
With every blessing meet!
I give Thee thanks for every drop—
The bitter and the sweet.

I praise Thee for the desert road,
And for the riverside;
For all Thy goodness hath bestowed,
And all Thy grace denied.

I thank Thee for both smile and frown,
And for the gain and loss;
I praise Thee for the future crown
And for the present cross.

I thank Thee for both wings of love
Which stirred my worldly nest;
And for the stormy clouds which drove
Me, trembling, to Thy breast.

I bless Thee for the glad increase,
And for the waning joy;
And for this strange, this settled peace
Which nothing can destroy.”
Jane Crewdson (1860)

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There are many ways to quit smoking cigarettes, and since I finally quit smoking, I’m here to tell you that the best way to quit smoking is by what I believe to be the easy way to quit once and for all. Any smoker who wants to quit smoking cigarettes (and those who don’t want to quit) can give you a laundry list of reasons why quitting is good for you and the healthy thing to do, to the point where repeating the reasons to quit starts sounding like a broken record and smokers want to say “Shut Up!” to family or friends with their well-intentioned barrage of requests to quit.

Smokers know the health risks and dangers associated with smoking cigarettes or cigars, or even the health risks involved with chewing tobacco products, but nicotine addiction keeps smokers smoking and dippers dipping despite the risks or harmful effects, and all the begging and nagging to quit smoking or chewing tobacco sounds like “blah blah blah” to smokers and tobacco users, which won’t help get loved ones to quit.

Reading various myths about quitting smoking or hearing about all the bad things that can happen because of physical withdrawal, such as having to cope with nasty nicotine withdrawal symptoms (like the feeling of wanting to rip someone’s head off for making you mad), is enough to cause some hardened smokers to keep on smoking.

Common Nicotine Withdrawal Symptoms

• Cravings to smoke

• Irritability (ready to kill someone)

• Insomnia

• Anxiety

• Fatigue

• Difficulty concentrating

• Headache

• Cough

• Sore throat

• Constipation, gas, stomach pain

• Dry mouth

• Sore tongue and/or gums

• Postnasal drip

• Tightness in the chest

Many smokers have successfully quit smoking with a wide variety of quit smoking aids in the form of nicotine replacement therapy (NRTs) like nicotine gum, stop smoking pills, shots, patches, inhaler, lozenges and nasal sprays. Quitting smoking “cold turkey”, hypnosis and acupuncture treatments have also helped many people quit smoking. It was my personal choice to stay away from all nicotine replacement therapies and prescription quit smoking pills like Chantix because of the strange and scary side effects reported by many Chantix users, but I know several people personally who have successfully quit smoking with Chantix and swear by the effectiveness of the prescription pill.

Easy way to stop smoking

When I decided to finally quit smoking, I found the process of quitting to be very easy. Really. Previous halfhearted attempts to stop smoking was more like saying “I want to want to quit smoking”, rather than a real decision to quit, and after several attempts to quit I gave up and started smoking again. Now that I have really quit smoking once and for all, I can honestly say that of all the known nicotine withdrawal symptoms many people say are so horrible, my experience has been quite the opposite.

If I have experienced physical or emotional withdrawal symptoms, the feelings have been so slight that they are virtually indistinguishable to me and others around me, but I wouldn’t recommend testing me to see if I’ll have a meltdown. Until recently, I never would have believed that there really was an easy way to stop smoking, but I’m so glad to have discovered Allen Carr’s book about quitting smoking. I know, I know. Reading a book helped me quit smoking?

Yes, it did, and you don’t have to take my word for it either. By the time I had read just half of Allen Carr’s book called The Easy Way to Stop Smoking, I had put out my last cigarette and I knew I would never smoke again and I haven’t. If you are trying to quit smoking or you know someone who is trying to stop smoking, read the book. You have nothing to lose by reading the book and finding out for yourself how easy it can be to stop smoking. Really easy.

When I told a couple of people that I quit smoking because of what I read in a book, they all asked me, “Well, what did the book say?”, with a silly yeah-right look on their face. It’s not just a matter of what Carr says in the book, but how he explains the easy way method to stop smoking that surprises readers.

Allen Carr used to smoke 100 cigarettes a day! That’s a 5-pack a day smoking addiction, and his method to quit smoking worked for him immediately, instantaneously. I knew that if Carr could quit smoking that many cigarettes a day and deal with his nicotine addiction effectively, then my piddly barely a pack a day smoking habit would be easy to stop. Quitting smoking was easy for me, and quitting can be just as easy for you too. Read the book and see for yourself.

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Give up coffee? Who, me? Why should I stop drinking coffee when I like the taste of coffee? Can someone really be addicted to caffeine in coffee? Maybe, maybe not, depending on which research studies and health experts you believe. Almost every morning I enjoy two or three cups of home-brewed coffee to start my day, and it’s not uncommon for me to have two more cups of coffee at night while writing or watching television, especially on cold winter nights.

If drinking a freshly brewed cup of coffee or two first thing in the morning doesn’t give you a jolt of energy to get your day started, reading the “evidence” about how caffeine is addictive and all the reasons why you or I should stop drinking coffee will be enough to give you jitters that last all day long. If the amount of coffee and tea I drink on a daily basis makes me a caffeine addict, then coffee addiction is an addiction I’m content to accept being what it is.

Are you a caffeine addict? Are you one of millions of Americans who kick-start their day getting a Starbucks coffee caffeine fix one or more times a day? I haven’t been to a Starbucks coffee shop in years because, as you know, you can make coffee at home and it’s a lot cheaper than buying coffee at 7-11 or Starbucks. I’m not even sure how much a cup of coffee at Starbucks costs these days, but I can think of many other more important things to do with my money than spending it on an expensive Starbucks latte or espresso.

Why Give Up Coffee or Caffeine?

Reading health-related articles that talk about the need for coffee drinkers to understand the effects caffeine has on a person’s body and advice to stop drinking coffee completely is enough to give me a headache, and I’m not referring to the kind of caffeine addiction commonly referred to as caffeine intoxication that can lead to death. Death caused by drinking coffee? Seems that way, especially if you are prone to drinking a lot of coffee in rapid succession, consuming too much caffeine and/or taking caffeine pills that may lead to an overdose of caffeine which can be lethal in extreme cases.

Researchers say caffeine intoxication or “caffeine overdose” can lead to a condition called caffeinism, bringing about a variety of physical and mental conditions that include nervousness, irritability, anxiety, insomnia, muscle twitching and heart palpitations, and that’s just for starters. Overdosing on caffeine or coffee kind of reminds me of hot dog eating contests, where contestants cram as many hot dogs down their gullet as humanly possible without killing themselves or becoming sick to their stomach, but who would drink 80-100 cups of coffee that quickly?!

There are just as many articles talking about the health benefits of coffee, tea and sodas etc (saying the caffeine content found in many foods and drinks we choose to consume are good for us) as there are “caffeine addiction” articles telling people to quit caffeine once and for all, including a large number of reported reasons why caffeine is bad for you.

Is caffeine bad for you or is caffeine good for you? People who consume caffeine on a regular basis, but say they are not addicted to caffeine and don’t experience caffeine withdrawal symptoms, will inevitably be told they are fooling themselves about their caffeine addiction because they have supposedly built up a tolerance to caffeine which can still be dangerous to your health.

Common Sources of Caffeine

Included amongst the most common sources of caffeine are coffee, tea, cocoa beans, chocolate, soft drinks and energy drinks. Caffeine is also present in some over-the-counter pain relievers, cold medications, chocolate pudding, coffee flavored yogurt and diet pills, just to name a few. Coffee drinkers who want to give up caffeine by switching to decaf should know that decaffeinated coffee isn’t completely free of caffeine either.

Some articles recommend that people wanting to live a longer life by incorporating a healthy lifestyle into their daily routine should stop drinking coffee cold turkey, only to be countered by other articles talking about the harmful effects of quitting cold turkey. Quitting coffee cold turkey is said to bring about some nasty side effects and withdrawal symptoms including headaches, fatigue, anxiety, irritability, depressed mood and difficulty concentrating.

Hello? Why can’t the so-called health experts simply make up their minds and provide solid evidence of their findings for us all to make an informed choice of our own, instead of being so contradictory and all over the map? There are a lot of myths associated with caffeine that even health experts can’t seem to agree on, and some of the so-called facts about caffeine and what happens inside your body when you consume too much caffeine borders on the ridiculous.

Just for fun, I took an online quiz to find out if I am addicted to coffee and the results of the silly test came back as I expected. I am not a coffee addict, nor do I experience any of the so-called withdrawal symptoms reported by those who claim to be caffeine addicts and are now trying to quit. On days where I don’t drink coffee or consume caffeinated drinks at all, I don’t get headaches or any other withdrawal symptoms others have said they experience.

Research studies and reports by doctors and scientists about the effects of coffee drinking and caffeine on the body can’t seem to come to any real decisive conclusion, so if you are trying to decide if you are a coffee addict or feel you should quit drinking coffee, gradually cutting back on caffeine is apparently the best way to quit caffeine.

Perhaps it would be too much to ask, but it would be nice if health experts would finally get their facts straight about caffeine consumption and what effect the various sources of caffeine in food and carbonated caffeine drinks actually has on consumers once and for all. Until there are solid reasons to stop drinking coffee entirely, I’m going to continue defending my coffee habit and keep on enjoying my coffee in moderation, like right now.

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Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Cancer. My dad has been diagnosed with B type Hodgkins Lymphoma and my mind is racing a mile a minute. I just received a phone call from my mother telling me the news, and I can’t quite wrap my mind around what she was telling me.

People that know me and my background know that I don’t often hear from my mother. Seeing their phone number appear on the Caller ID immediately makes me think someone in the family was seriously injured in an accident, is very ill or dead. I haven’t heard from my father since 1995, because I chose to leave the religion I was born into, and the results of that choice were automatic and immediate.

In the eyes of my father and most of my siblings, I died in 1995. All because of my personal decision to leave a religious organization I no longer wanted to be a part of. My mother tends to think of me as being in some sort of coma, hoping that I’ll somehow “come to my senses” and take the required and necessary steps to rejoin the religion.

Doing so would mean I would have been miraculously “resurrected from the dead”, where family members and old friends (who haven’t spoken to me since 1995) would suddenly welcome me back with open arms. Not gonna happen. Ever.

My parents live in Dallas, which is only about a 30-minute drive from our house. Having family members living in such close proximity to our house, but rarely hearing from or seeing any of them, is something I’ve never quite gotten used to. The wounds from the past run very deep, and try as I may to “forgive and forget” everything that happened, forgiving and moving on is easier than the ability to actually forget.

My mother said that my 79-year-old father has very itchy skin, or “eczema” as she called it, which is a classic symptom of Hodgkin’s Disease. She said my father has sores on his legs, is always very tired, takes several naps a day and is no longer able to work doing people’s taxes.

Common symptoms of Hodgkins Disease include:

• Appetite Loss

• Drenching night sweats

• Fatigue

• Fever

• Red patches on the skin

• Severely itchy skin, often affecting the legs and feet

• Weight loss

Some of these general signs and symptoms of Hodgkin’s Disease were mentioned by my mother in regards to my father. I can only assume that the sores on my father’s legs are from persistent scratching of his itchy legs, to the point of causing sores to develop.

Reading about the types of Hodgkin’s Disease makes me very nervous for my dad’s prognosis. From what I’ve read so far, “B symptoms are related to an increased cancer “burden”—more cancerous tissue—in many patients and, therefore, indicate a worse prognosis, or outcome.” We don’t know much more than that at this point.

Tests are scheduled to begin soon to determine the specific “stage of Hodgkins” my father would be categorized as being in at this point, and what treatment options there are for him. I briefly read that Chemotherapy and/or radiation may be treatments recommended for my father, but we’ll know more once the test results are in. That’s about all I can handle reading right now. Rather than dwelling on the possible negative prognosis for my father, I’m doing my best to keep calm and dredge up good memories from the past, and just hope for the best outcome.

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“Deaths occur in threes. If one person in your family dies, two more will within a short period of time.” Do deaths come in threes or is it just an old wives tale? There’s been a lot of discussion in the last few days that deaths always happen in threes or celebrity deaths come in threes, and questions about where the “deaths come in 3” tale came from.

My understanding is that the origin of the old wives tale or legend about deaths occurring in threes came from the first world war. When the men would light their cigarettes they knew not to use 3 on a match because the enemy could pinpoint them and shoot them from the light of the match being lit so long.

The myth about deaths in threes is often used as proof regarding “notable”, famous celebrities, but people tend to forget about the deaths of celebrities who may not be quite as famous and well known around the world as others who have died.

Some people also claim that the deaths in threes rule applies to deaths occurring within 3 days of each other, while others claim the myth applies to deaths happening “within a short period of time” according to the legend.

The Wall Street Journal listed some “deaths in threes” examples like this:

• Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the “Big Bopper” all died together in a plane crash in 1959
• Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison all died in close succession in 1970-71
• In 2003, Johnny Cash, John Ritter, and Warren Zevon all died within the same week
• In 2005, King Fahd, Peter Jennings and Robin Cook died within a week of each other
• The following year brought the closely timed deaths of Don Knotts, Darren McGavin and Dennis Weaver
• Heath Ledger, Suzanne Pleshette and Brad Renfro all died within a week of each other in January 2008

2009 Celebrity Deaths

If famous celebrity deaths really occur in threes, then who is next?

1. David Carradine
2. Ed McMahon
3. Farrah Fawcett

Then

1. Michael Jackson
2. Billy Mays
3. ????

“If you are at a graveside and for some reason the there is a delay in the burial, it is a sign that the deceased person does not wish to leave this earth alone and want to travel with someone. One of the mourners present will die soon.” Oh pa-leeeze.

Out of all the recent celebrity deaths in 2009, Michael Jackson’s death has hit me the hardest. Perhaps it comes from the deep and profound connection I feel having been born into the same controlling religion (or cult) as Michael, or maybe it’s because of the abuse Michael himself reported in the “Living with Michael Jackson” documentary interview with Martin Basher as having experienced as a child at the hand of his father Joe Jackson, and the aftereffects of such abuse. Maybe it’s all of that plus his incredible music career throughout all these years, and watching the Jackson Five on television years ago, but I’m a huge fan of Michael Jackson and always will be.

Losing Michael Jackson far too soon, at the age of just 50 years old, came as a huge shock to all Jackson fans. I can’t even imagine what the Jackson family must be going through right now, and seeing devastated Janet Jackson at the BET Awards show and Jermaine Jackson’s tearful interview with Matt Lauer on the Today Show shook us all to the core of our being.

Don’t even get me started talking about Joe Jackson’s behavior before the BET Awards show, where he chose that time to promote and hype a stupid record company in the wake of his son’s death. I have no sympathy for Joe Jackson whatsoever, but my heart breaks for the rest of the Jackson family and Michael Jackson’s children, who are suffering deeply and are apparently about to be thrown into a child custody battle involving Debbie Rowe, according to recent news reports.

If the deaths in threes old wives tale were true, then I’d be worried. Having just attended the funeral for my husband’s 84-year-old aunt yesterday along with other family members and friends, if deaths really do happen in threes then all I can say is Uh-Oh, who is next?

R.I.P. Michael Jackson – you will be dearly missed.

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OK! Magazine has sunk to a new low. OK Magazine paid $500000 for a cover “death photo” of Michael Jackson on a stretcher, as emergency personnel tried to revive the dying star, which has created quite a controversy amongst Michael Jackson fans, the pathetic magazine’s advertisers and the music community.

The OK! Magazine Michael Jackson cover picture is all over the internet now, and I can only imagine how upsetting and heart-wrenching the circulation of this photo must be for the Jackson family.

You may now add OK! Magazine to the list of other tabloid rags to line your birdcage with. Or, better yet, unsubscribe today from the magazine and don’t buy the rag-mag ever again.

The OK Magazine cover picture of Michael Jackson’s last moments has fans outraged at the despicable, disrespectful and outrageous decision to plaster a death photo of Jackson on its latest issue released today.

OK! Magazine claims the cover picture to be a Michael Jackson tribute, supposedly in an attempt to honor and memorialize the King of Pop for Jackson fans. The media circus surrounding Michael Jackson’s death and upcoming funeral arrangements exemplifies how low photographers, television and magazine reporters will go to make a buck.

Sarah Ivens, editorial director at OK!, told MediaWeek.com that she thought the dying Jackson photo would differentiate OK! from the other magazines running tribute issues this week.

“It’s a photo that captures the surprise and the upset and the moment of this breaking news story. I hope the cover will provoke readers. It celebrated the man, but it also does expose that he was an eccentric character who lived a very controversial life.”

FAIL!

There is a petition to “Stop Michael Jackson Death Photo” where fans can sign their name and demand that OK! Magazine stop this highly insensitive and disgusting use of Michael Jackson’s image as he lays dying. The petition has over 400 signatures so far. The petition says:

“This is, aside from being a low blow to a musical icon and pathetic attempt to revive their failing business, a violation of the basic rights of human beings.

“The editors and owner of OK! magazine are violating not only Michael Jackson’s privacy, but the dignity of his family, friends, and fans.

“Please sign this petition if you believe that it is a basic human right to protect the privacy and dignity of your loved ones when they cannot protect themselves.”

One signer posted my own thought. “”It’s about time that people stopped buying OK! and advertisers dropped it from their schedules. A tribute? Give me a break. It’s sick.”

The media circus is incredibly disrespectful to the Jackson family as well as Michael Jackson fans, still in shock over the news of MJ’s untimely death. Unfortunately, but typical of tabloid crap magazines like OK! Magazine and other media outlets, we’ve likely not seen or heard the last of this incredible lack of decency.

A tribute to Michael Jackson? Not by a long shot.

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I’ve been paying close attention to the Swine Flu school closings in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, especially since I live in Plano TX myself. Swine Flu (H1N1) concerns has lead Fort Worth ISD to close all schools in the district, with Lewisville ISD and Ponder ISD following suit.

The Swine Flu debate rages on, in regards to whether or not school districts and officials are overreacting to the Swine Flu/H1N1 outbreak, especially since Dallas ISD has yet to close all schools at least temporarily, and hearing the word “pandemic” from health officials is quite unsettling for everyone.

Tawnell Hobbs, a Dallas ISD reporter, recently asked if school districts are overreacting to the “swine flu thing” on her blog:

“We’re trying to understand why school districts have reacted differently to this swine flu thing. Here’s what some districts are doing:

*Dallas is closing Daniel Webster Elementary after one student tested positive for the virus.

*Fort Worth ISD decided to close all of its campuses after one student tested positive for swine flu. Three students in the district also are listed as “probable” for having the virus.

*Cleburne ISD decided to close all of its campuses because four students could possibly have the virus.

*Lewisville ISD shut down a campus because three students possibly have it.”

The discussion in the comments section on Tawnell’s post from readers pretty much sums up what I’ve thought about the school closings in Fort Worth, Ponder, Lewisville as well as other cities and suburbs.

Ever heard the phrase, “damned if you do and damned if you don’t”? Schools that make the decision to close due to concerns about Swine Flu are said to be overreacting and in sheer panic mode, and schools in districts like Dallas that haven’t (yet) decided to close cause people to ask, “Why hasn’t Dallas ISD closed because of Swine Flu”? Damned if you do, and damned if you don’t.

Canyon Creek Elementary in Richardson TX closed its doors due to a confirmed case of Swine Flu, and the fact that Canyon Creek Elem. is just a stones throw from our office, the news really hits home for us because my boss’ niece and nephew attend Canyon Creek.

Some highly popular public events, like the annual Mayfest, have been canceled while other events have not, leaving some to feel that there are mixed messages about swine flu being given to the general public living in North Texas: “There are still a lot of unknowns with this illness, which is why most communities are using extreme caution”.

Dallas County Health and Human Services Directory Zachary Thompson defended his agency’s aggressive approach in dealing with the swine flu crisis. “This is not overkill; this is serious,” he said. “If we had a similar scenario that you have in Mexico, it would definitely not appear to be overkill.” County medical director and health authority Dr. John Carlo said it continues to be a very “fluid situation.”

Hearing news reports and seeing photos of parents in Fort Worth attempting to drop off their children at school after numerous announcements were made and continue to be reported on radio, television and the internet that all schools in Fort Worth were closed due to Swine Flu, seemed rather odd to me. Hello??? Have you not turned on your television news or listened to the radio and heard the news/updates about swine flu at all? Have you even heard about Swine Flu/H1N1 and/or read information about how to protect yourself and loved ones from getting the flu?

H1N1 Swine Flu- How to Protect Yourself

The Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has updated their website with information for the general public, including an explanation of What is H1N1 (Swine Flu):

H1N1 (referred to as “swine flu” early on) is a new influenza virus causing illness in people. This new virus was first detected in people in April 2009 in the United States. Other countries, including Mexico and Canada, have reported people sick with this new virus. This virus is spreading from person-to-person, probably in much the same way that regular seasonal influenza viruses spread.

Is this new H1N1 virus contagious? CDC has determined that this new H1N1 virus is contagious and is spreading from human to human. However, at this time, it is not known how easily the virus spreads between people.

What are the signs and symptoms of this virus in people? The symptoms of this new influenza A H1N1 virus in people are similar to the symptoms of regular human flu and include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. A significant number of people who have been infected with this virus also have reported diarrhea and vomiting. Also, like seasonal flu, severe illnesses and death has occurred as a result of illness associated with this virus.

What can I do to protect myself from getting sick? There is no vaccine available right now to protect against this new H1N1 virus. There are everyday actions that can help prevent the spread of germs that cause respiratory illnesses like influenza. Take these everyday steps to protect your health:

• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way.
• Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
• Stay home if you are sick for 7 days after your symptoms begin or until you have been symptom-free for 24 hours, whichever is longer. This is to keep from infecting others and spreading the virus further.
• Follow public health advice regarding school closures, avoiding crowds and other social distancing measures.
• Be prepared in case you get sick and need to stay home for a week or so; a supply of over-the-counter medicines, alcohol-based hand rubs, tissues and other related items might could be useful and help avoid the need to make trips out in public while you are sick and contagious.

There is a right way and wrong way to wash your hands. Parents, be sure you are taking the necessary precautions to educate and protect yourselves and your children from becoming sick, by teaching your children how to wash your hands correctly for a full 20 seconds with soap and water. Stay updated on the list of school closings in North Texas from regular updates on WFAA.com’s school closings page.

What do you think? Do you think school districts are doing enough to prevent the spread of H1N1 (swine flu) throughout their schools, or do you think the school closings are just overkill?

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Oprah’s warning to Rihanna has been all over the internet, and I really hope Rihanna is paying attention to what Oprah warns WILL happen if Rihanna isn’t very careful about her relationship with “alleged-abuser” Chris Brown. Oprah knows what she’s talking about, and abused women all over the world need to take heed to Oprah’s warning that Love Doesn’t Hurt! Rihanna, are you listening to Oprah?!

We’ve all heard the news reports of the “alleged attack” by Chris Brown on his girlfriend Rihanna, and we’ve seen the pictures online “allegedly” showing a beaten, bruised and battered Rihanna. It’s enough to make Oprah and all women outraged that Chris Brown raised his hand to Rihanna at all, but also that Brown not only bit Rihanna, but “allegedly” punched her in the face multiple times.

To Rihanna, teenage girls and women who are being abused by angry, controlling, abusive men listen up! Abusive men do NOT change! Do NOT become a statistic like so many other Rihanna’s in the world. The truth is, Rihanna is a celebrity who has been battered and beaten, and I’m thrilled that Oprah is doing a show next week dedicated to abused women and teen girls.

Abusive relationships affect teenage girls and women all over the world, and teenage abusive relationships are on the increase. Regardless of Rihanna’s celebrity status, Rihanna is no different than any other women who has been abused either physically, mentally or emotionally. Rihanna could be your sister, mother, cousin, niece or even your own daughter, and it’s about time abused teenage girls and women finally realize that abusive men will promise you “it will never happen again”, but don’t you believe it! Love Doesn’t Hurt! Oprah was right when she said, “If a man hits you once, he WILL hit you again“!

Oprah Warns Rihanna Video

I sure hope Rihanna will watch Oprah’s show, and that Rihanna will do some serious soul-searching about the abuse she suffered. I also hope Rihanna will take some time to herself, read everything she can get her hands on about abusive men and how statistics prove that if a man hits you once, he WILL hit you again! Are YOU in an abusive relationship? Do you know the signs of an abusive relationship and the steps you must take to protect yourself from your abuser?

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What do I know about being a Grandma? As a grandparent, do I have visitation rights to see my grandchildren? I’m not so sure anymore. Until recently, I had no idea that getting to see my grandson, living out of state, would be next to impossible with current laws being as they are. What visitation rights do grandparents have, if any?

If anyone had told me that getting grandparents visitation rights would be so difficult (or necessary), with me living in Texas and my one-year-old grandson living with his mother in Illinois, I would have thought they were joking. Unfortunately, it’s no joke at all, and I’m not the only grandparent having difficulty in being allowed to see and visit with their own grandchildren.

It came as quite a shock to me when I heard the news that my son and his significant other had split up and went their separate ways even before my grandson was born. Who would have thought that one major fallout of two people ending a relationship and going their separate ways would mean that Grandma and Grandpa would have no right to meet, see or visit our own grandchild as much as possible?

Grandparents Rights

I’ve been spending a lot of time researching grandparent’s rights, to find out what (if any) rights of grandparents there are, in order to get visitation rights to see my grandson living in Illinois. Apparently, there is no such thing as “grandparents rights”, as Illinois law refers to grandparent visitation as a “privilege”, not a right.

I’ve read numerous Illinois and Texas Supreme Court case documents that don’t seem to favor grandparents having the right to see their own grandchildren, but I’m not through yet. I’ve even been told that if I want visitation rights to see my grandchild that I have to move to Illinois and file a court petition and ask the family court judge to grant visitation with my grandson, but the court is not required to give grandparent visitation rights at all.

The law requires that if any legal action is being planned to gain visitation with a grandchild, action must be done in the state where the child resides, that being Illinois in my case. Under Illinois law, grandparent’s must show that “denying visitation will harm the child mentally or physically, and that you are being unreasonably denied visitation by a parent”.

Illinois Visitation Rights

Let me be very clear. I am not seeking grandparent custody of my grandson. I just want opportunities to visit with and bond with my grandson, share in the joys of being a grandmother, exercise my bragging rights by telling Grandma stories, and be a part of his life as he grows up. Is that too much to ask?

My grandson’s mother is a fit and competent young mother, taking very good care of my grandson, from what I hear through the grapevine. Whatever happened between her and my son is a private matter between them and has nothing to do with me.

I attempted to contact her for several months, before and after my grandson was born, in order to clear up any questions or concerns she may have had, only to discover that HER mother and father are the ones pulling the strings and preventing me from knowing my own grandson. Apparently, from their twisted point of view, their grandparent rights trump my right to shared visitation to a grandchild we all share.

After emailing back and forth with my grandson’s mother, and actually making arrangements to see and visit my grandson for the very first time during a recent vacation trip to Illinois, a final email arrived in my inbox saying I wouldn’t be allowed to see my grandchild because her parents said no.

The maternal grandma and grandpa are dictating the rules of who gets to see and spend time with my/our grandson, and because my grandson’s mother lives with her parents in Illinois and I live in Texas, they figure there isn’t much I can do about it.

Grandparents Visitation Rights

According to Illinois Legal Aid, a judge may order grandparent visitation rights to visit with a grandchild if:

• The parental rights of at least one parent have not been terminated, and

• Visitation with your grandchild is in that grandchild’s best interest, and

At least one the following 6 rules are true:

1. Your child (mother or father of your grandchild) has been incarcerated during the 3-month period prior to filing the petition, or has been found to be incompetent, or is dead.
2. The parents of your grandchild are divorced or have been living apart for at least three months.
3. Your grandchild has been abused or neglected by a parent.
4. It has been found by the court that your grandchild is a child in need of supervision.
5. Your child (a parent of your grandchild) has had his or her parental rights to your grandchild terminated.
6. Your grandchild has resided with you for at least six months during the last two years.

Illinois law says grandparents, great-grandparents and siblings can file a petition in a court of law to ask for visitation. Once the petition is filed, it is recommended to continue trying to work out an amicable agreement for a visitation order, otherwise there will be a court trial with witnesses and evidence presented to the judge, wherein the judge will make his ruling.

Illinois Legal Aid says: “If the mother is considered a fit parent, then the court must follow her wishes unless there is a danger of harm to the child. However, Judges will usually try to maintain a healthy and established relationship between grandparents and a grandchild”.

The child’s mother made arrangements with me personally to meet and spend time with my grandson, but the “mother’s wishes” were denied by her parents, and since she is currently living in their home while attending college, they are controlling her life and my right and privilege to visitation with my grandson.

Family law attorneys aren’t cheap by any means, and while I hope to resolve this problem amicably and with no hurt feelings on either side of this issue, I am considering all of my options. Whether or not grandparents rights should be a “right” or a “privilege” is still open for debate, but when it comes to deciding whether or not a grandparent should give up trying to have visitation with their own flesh and blood, giving up isn’t in my nature.

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Jennifer Hudson’s 51st Grammy performance of “You Pulled Me Through” brought tears to Jennifer’s eyes and to many of us who saw Jennifer’s amazing performance. Jennifer Hudson won a well-deserved Grammy for best R&B Album of the year, and in her acceptance speech, Jennifer spoke with love and appreciation to everyone she has loved and those she’s lost.

“I don’t really know what to say. First of all, I’ve got Whitney Houston presenting to me and, wow, I’m just in awe right now. But I would first of all like to thank God, who has brought me through. I would like to thank my family, those in heaven and those who are here today. David Otunga (Jennifer’s fiance’) who’s here with me tonight. My sisters, who are here. I just don’t know where to start. Everybody, thank you, thank you all.”

Jennifer Kate Hudson, born September 12, 1981 in Chicago, begins her very first solo tour on April 2, 2009 in Philadelphia with singer Robin Thicke, co-headlining for a 6-week concert tour in the U.S that ends in Houston on May 8, 2009.

After the horrific ordeal Jennifer experienced with the murder of her mother, brother and uncle last year, Jennifer’s Super Bowl performance and her spectacular live Grammy performance showed she is ready to step back into the public eye and share with us her amazing singing and acting abilities once again.

Jennifer Hudson You Pulled Me Through LIVE Grammy Performance

Jennifer Hudson You Pulled Me Through Lyrics

I was in the darkness
I was out in the cold
Seemed nothing could heal this
This hole in my soul
You reached out your arms to me
Held out your heart to me
Pulled me back from the edge
Thought i reached the end.
When i was drowning
When i was so confused
You you you pulled me through
I was in the shadows
Lost, nothing left to lose.
You, you, you pulled me through.
You gave my faith back
Faith was so hard to find
You gave me my life back
You were my lifeline
The love that you gave me
Is love that has saved me
Your strength is what made me strong
You held me and i held on
When i was drowning
When i was so confused
You oh you you pulled me through
I was in the shadows
Lost, nothing left to lose.
You, you, you pulled me through.
Out of the dark
Into your arms
Into the light
Your love saved my life
When i was drowning
When i was so confused
You, ooh you, you (pulled me through)
(when i was drowning) when i was drowning
I was so confused (when i was confused)
Yea you ooh you yea you you pulled me through
(you pulled me through, you) you, you pulled me through

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