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Everything Under the Moon Gallery

Everything Under The Moon Sabbatical News Letter

Hello from “The Moon”

We are all still here!! We just wanted to keep you all informed for what is going on. We will be sending out these little news letters while we are looking for our new location. J We hope that everyone had a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving. We know we did. J

First and foremost Jo has become a Grandmother again. We welcome baby Alyssa to the family. She was born on 11/13/07 at 8:05 (EST) 11:05(PST). She weighed 7lbs 5oz, and 20 inches long.

In this news letter we have information on some classes offered by Unity Church and others.

Enjoy and Have a WONDERFUL DAY!!!!!

Harmony

In the end what matters most is

How well did you love

How well did you live

How well did you learn to let go….

Unknown

Visit www.treehugger.com/giftguide

2007 Gift Guide / Shades of Green (I hope you enjoy as much as me)

· An artful display of well loved objects t or that reflect our identity encourages relaxation in any room

· White Sage- Leaves tied in a bundle are used as a “Smudge Stick” or are used separately, one leaf at a time. Strong, pungent sagebrush scent, slightly sweet. Native American traditions say it chases away bad spirits; it is used to clear or purify the air or objects.

· Stress Less- Researchers have found a link between stress and increased weight gain. To keep those extra holiday pounds at bay, do something to maintain your inner ZEN, whether it’s fitting in an extra yoga class, spending time with good friends, walk on the beach, or reading a good book before bed.

· Acai – Loaded with antioxidants. Native to the Amazon Rain Forest is very low in calories. A 2006 University of Florida study even showed its promise as a cancer fighter.

· Hydrating Toner – ¼ cup of tap water – 1 teaspoon vegetable glycerin- 5 drops clary sage essential oil - 5 drops grapefruit essential oil – 5 drops German chamomile essential oil. Boil water rapidly for 3 minutes to sterilize, and then let it cool. Combine all ingredients is a small 2 to 4 oz spray bottle and shake well and spray directly onto clean skin or spray onto cotton pad and apply. You may store up to 2 months. Make sure to skin test first before using.

Dear Spiritual Awakening Student -

Father calls me William, sister calls me Will,

Mother calls me Willie and the fellers call me Bill.

Mighty glad I ain’t a girl – ruther be a boy,

Without them sashes, curls an’ things that’s worn by Fauntleroy!

Love to chawk green apples and go swimming in the lake-

Hate to take the castor oil they give for belly-ache!

Most all the time, the whole year through, there ain’t no flies on me,

But jest ‘fore Christmas I’m as good as I kin be.

Eugene Field (1850 – 1895)

Eugene Field’s charming poem does bring to mind what seemed to be a kinder era. Coupled with the images drawn by Norman Rockwell on the covers of The Saturday Evening Post of rosy-cheeked little boys with impish grins, it isn’t hard to picture Willie, holding himself in check until after Santa makes his appearance on Christmas Eve.

His somewhat selfish motivation aside, Willie serves as an inspiration, even after all these years, because this is a really good time to ask ourselves, “How good can I be this year – in this blessed season – if I really focus on being REALLY good” just before Christmas?”

What level of “goodness” would you need to demonstrate to satisfy your own standard of “how good you can be”?

I AM A JOYFUL AND I AM GRATEFUL

Loretta discovered that she only needed to be a “little bit” good to make an astonishingly lasting good impression. Last Christmas, in the middle of her Christmas shopping, she stopped into a local pharmacy to have a prescription filled. The young pharmacist told her he had to officially confirm that she was the Mrs. Loretta Peres whose name was on the prescription bottle. As he looked at her driver's license he asked, “Do you remember me?” Loretta had to admit that his nametag, Josh, didn’t jog her memory. “I used to sit next to your daughter on the school bus when we were only 5 years old”, he said. “I remember you, because you were the only Mother who always smiled and waved at me.” “At first, I felt so very sad and wondered if his childhood was not a good one,” Loretta said, “but then my eyes filled with tears at the thought that that simple wave made him feel good and stayed with him all this time. I was so-o-o-o-o grateful and happy to be me at that moment.”

I AM A LIMITLESS BEING

Are there any limitations on how good you can be? Sarah was driving home from college when she ran into two men who didn’t seem to know anything about obstacles or limitations when it came to helping her get home for Christmas.

I was driving home from school when I realized that my car was not working right. I kept driving and prayed that it would hold out the 3 hours that I still had to go to reach my home town. Seconds later, everything in my car died and I barely made it to the shoulder of the road. Knowing absolutely nothing about cars, I popped the hood and proceeded to check the oil (since that's the only thing I knew how to do). As I was doing this, two older men in a truck pulled behind me and asked if I needed help. After some investigating they informed me that it was my transmission that had failed and that if they could jump my battery to allow me to make it to a shop that sold auto parts, they would see if they had the right part. They went ahead and purchased the transmission for me and began working on my car while I sat in the driver's seat and prayed. An hour later they were finished and the car ran perfectly again.

I couldn't thank them enough for their kindness. I wrote them a check for the cost of the transmission and tried to give them more, but they wouldn't accept it, just saying that they would hope someone would do the same thing for their daughter if she was ever stranded in a strange place. I cried and sang and prayed the entire 3-hour drive home. I just couldn't believe that two men would take hours out of their day to help a complete stranger. I still think about that day and how grateful I am to those two, kind people.

I AM INTIMATELY CONNECTED TO ALL OF THE POWER OF THE UNIVERSE

"Up until that point in my life, I had admired people who did volunteer work, but I had managed (purposely) to avoid it myself...which is why I still refer to myself as a 'recovering hypocrite'." Robert says. "I often talked about wanting to change the world, but I had to be corralled and pushed into helping people in my own backyard.

Going out on a truck (different congregations in the Washington, D.C. area took turns preparing and serving meals at sites near the White House and the World Bank) was an amazing experience, and I was immediately struck by the fact that churches were paying for food for these people, which wasn’t really necessary because there was plenty of food available at no cost.

I thought to myself, "This group is buying food to give away, while friends of mine in the catering and restaurant businesses are throwing away food every day because we all mistakenly thought that it was illegal to give food away. As a result, at the end of the day, every day, tons of very good food ended up in the dumpster.

Robert came up with a plan. After months of appealing to numerous donors and grant makers, he finally received a $25,000 grant, which allowed him to buy a refrigerator truck. That's how on January 20, 1989, he officially opened DC Central Kitchen.

I AM A HEALTHY, WEALTHY CHILD OF GOD

Each of the people in the three examples above used what they knew how to do for themselves and their families to make the lives of strangers better. Loretta was a natural Mom, who knew how to bring a smile to the face of a lonely little boy. The mechanics in Sarah’s story could easily see that her problem was beyond her own ability to solve, so they did what they knew how to do to get her safely back to her family. And Robert?; he knew where to find food for hungry people and he made sure that they got it. All three of them were just naturally “as good as they could be”.

We have decided to “Awaken” this Holiday season to how good we can be, “just before Christmas”. We’ve taken a calendar sheet for the month of December, and dedicated it to serve as a reminder that we are facing 24 “Good Deed Days” – starting on December 1^st – “just before Christmas”.

Each morning, we will set our intention to make life richer, fuller, brighter and happier for whoever comes to our attention in some way – doing whatever it happens to be that we know how to do to accomplish that. It’s an exciting thought to anticipate who those people will be and which of our talents will be called upon each day to meet our intention. And we further intend to specifically look for the joy in all people and help them to bring it to the surface - just in time to truly celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace.

I AM FILLED WITH A SENSE OF WELL-BEING

Want to join us? If so, we’d love to hear about and share some of your experiences as you discover "how good you can be". So don’t forget to let us know what exciting things unfold for you in the next 24 days. We’re betting that you’re going to find out that you can be even better than you ever thought you could and have a great deal of fun in the process.

One thing we know for sure - God Loves YOU and so do we,

The Rev's

John and Lauren McLaughlin / godbless@tampabay.rr.com

This is just about your last chance - HAVE YOU CALLED "WINGS" YET?