Category — General

As an eCard designer/developer, perhaps I am more aware of which holidays are acknowledged and which are not.  I find it disturbing, to be quite honest in today’s day and age when the economy is faltering, people are losing their jobs, losing their homes, declaring bankruptcy and perhaps even worse.  The loneliness and isolation they must be feeling has to be quite unbearable.  (We are all somewhat affected – gas prices, food bills, no matter what we touch the price is higher and the quantities are smaller, for the same price no less.)

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The one thing we should be able to count on is our friendships and relationships — Our priceless possessions.  True friendship is unconditional!
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I am not even remotely implying that our friends do not care about us or would not be there for us — if we asked, and some even when we do not ask.  I for one, am blessed with a few good friends.  I also lost two girlfriends to Cancer many years ago who I would give anything to have one more day with them.  Friendship of the “unconditional” kind is extremely hard to find and some never experience it!  Be grateful if you have/are experiencing that kind of friendship!

What I am saying is that “we are NOT recognizing” our friends.  Life happens and we become too busy. It is not that we don’t care.  Life happens and “people” and things are falling between the “cracks of life.”

We need to say “Thank You for being there for me.  Thank You for being my friend. I Care about you. I Love You!”  I recognize the fact that it is not easy for all of us to say these things face-to-face or voice to voice!  Trust me, I know this!

eCards To The Rescue

What is the big deal in sending an unexpected eCard to show appreciation?  Don’t we have that much time to spare for our loved ones and those we care about!  Even acknowledging those we are not that thrilled with can turn things around.  Everyone needs and deserves a little kindness.

And no, it is not sour grapes that my Friendship eCards are not moving – at the time this entry is being written.  That IS what prompted the writing of this Blog entry!  It is still early in the day and I cater to a market worldwide so the time zones are different all over the world.  My point is people are not even searching for Friendship Day eCards.  It is one thing to visit an eCard web site and not buy or use their products or services, it is quite another when we are “not” even looking for them.

I would venture to bet that most people do not even know that today is National Friendship Day… We publicize all the negatives in our lives, but what about the positives.  What about the people and things we hold near and dear to us.  What about those special people we depend on to keep us grounded.  Do we really need to feel the guilt of neglect when someone is no longer with us?  I am sure we can all relate to this.  I know I can, I am not immune from guilt, however, these day I try to do what I can to avoid having to feel guilty or neglectful.  But I am not perfect!

Please let me share my own personal story of guilt…

A little more than two years ago I had the unpleasant experience of having the retina in my right eye detach.  This is scary stuff!  It happened in a split second while walking down the hallway in my apartment.  Thank God after all was said and done I am ok now.  I had an excellent doctor and surgeon.  God was good and all worked together to restore my eyesight.  MY POINT…

For a couple of months I was not able to see out of my right eye.  It was loaded with gas and what I saw could be compared to looking through wax paper into clouds.  It was not pleasant and more than a little scary – this I can attest to.

In the comfort and familiarity of my own home it was not as uncomfortable and scary as when I was out in the street walking – alone.  Outside in the bright sunlight (worse yet in the blackness of night)… I felt unbalanced and unsteady on my feet.  I was afraid to cross the street!  The worst yet was when I went into the grocery store I had trouble finding things.  Finally I realized “I had to ask for help up front upon entering the store – Otherwise I was ignored!”

I got an excellent glimpse into what some people live with each and every minute of each and every day.  My REAL POINT… My dearest aunt had developed macular degeneration in a time when no one knew what macular degeneration was.  There were no cures and she lived with it until the day she died!

MY GUILT is/was… I could have been a lot nicer to her by being there more — being more understanding and attentive!  I felt the most overwhelming sense of guilt during the time I was recuperating from my retina re-attachment surgery.  I prayed for her forgiveness.  My REAL POINT… why wait until it is too late!

Acknowledge your friends, family, loved ones and business associates  NOW… while there is still a chance.  Just because we are lucky enough not to walk in everyone else’s shows, does not mean that they are not having a hard time and need our support and encouragement, even if it is through an unexpected eCard demonstrating just how much we care and we DO think about them and we DO remember them.  What could be easier than that — Of course they need to be able to receive the eCard, but now-a-days everyone has access or knows someone who has access to an Internet connection.  The payoff of knowing you made someone happy is priceless!

Friendship Day should be everyday.  National Friendship Day is the day we “officially” acknowledge our friends – relatives are friends too – loved ones should be friends too – and business associates are friends too.  Even some who are not, why not acknowledge them anyway.  Who knows… special things happen when one is shown a little extra unexpected kindness.  As Dog The Bounty Hunter Says — “Mercy Given is Mercy Received!” Or, it is “Those Who Give Mercy Receive Mercy!”  Well you get the point!

To visit Say It With eCards National Friendship Day eCards follow the links below:

Judaic National Friendship Day eCards (traditional)
http://www.sayitwithecards.com/index.php?cat_id=475

Patriotic Judaic National Friendship Day eCards
(let keep the troops in mind and send patriotic)
http://www.sayitwithecards.com/index.php?cat_id=476

With Warm Regards,

Today, Sunday August 3, 2008 is National Friendship Day.

Say It With eCards aka Say It With eCards Judaic Greetings Club is offering a huge selection of Judaic Themed Friendship Day eCards in honor and celebration of National Friendship Day.

While Friendship Day should be everyday, sometmes we forget and take for granted that our friends know how much we care.  But everyone needs to hear it from time to time.  Some of us need to hear it more than others, but then there are those of us who have trouble showing our feelings.  This is where eCards come in.  An unexpected “in-the-moment” eCard is the best gift ever!

Say It With eCards is the only site on the web offering Judaic Friendship Day eCards.  YOU and YOUR FRIENDS deserve the very best!

Check them out here:

Judaic National Friendship Day eCards

http://www.sayitwithecards.com/index.php?cat_id=136 (See All)

http://www.sayitwithecards.com/index.php?cat_id=475 (Judaic & Non-Judaic)

http://www.sayitwithecards.com/index.php?cat_id=476 (Patriotic Judaic Friendship Day eCards)

Life is so short!  Times are bad!  PLEASE take the opportunity to reach out and let those you care about know it!  YOUR CARD can brighten up an otherwise dark and dreary day!

Happy Friendship Day to you and yours!

Posted in Love and Peace,

Subhead:
Roz Fruchtman Reviews Joyce Meyer’s new book…  The Secret to True Happiness – Enjoy Today, Embrace Tomorrow

Before I start, I will say… DO NOT WALK… DO NOT PASS GO… RUN to your nearest bookstore, or CLICK the LINK BELOW to pre-order/order Joyce Meyer’s new book:  “The Secret to True Happiness – Enjoy Today, Embrace Tomorrow.”  I love Joyce, but she surely out did herself with this one!

ORDER TODAY:
The Secret to True Happiness – Enjoy Today, Embrace Tomorrow

I do review, but… not as much as I used to, since I decided to concentrate on my own digital designs and online eCard Club “Say It With eCards.”  Now-a-days… I only review a product or service that catches my eye, or is a product or service I use or have knowledge of, or interest in – good or bad.  My mission is to share and inform others of what is good, what is bad and what is questionable — via my own opinion and/or experience.  This said: 

I felt really honored and truly blessed when I was approached to review the new book by Joyce Meyer.  Honestly I could not believe my eyes when I read the email. Initially, I thought it was spam, until I re-read it and did a bit of online sleuthing. 
       I say blessed, because this opportunity came to me when I was dealing with some of my own issues.  It made me think of “The Secret” and the Law of Attraction.  What you put out, you receive.  I am truly in receipt!

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REVIEWER’S NOTE: When I can, I choose the audio versions of books as I can listen anywhere and take them anyplace, as well as re-listen on whim.  At times, I will buy both the paper version and the audio.  This depends, however, on the book though!  It can become quite expensive otherwise.  I will say… it would have been easier to review if I had the paper version as well as the audio as I would have had an Index.  Nonetheless, listening and reviewing this book was one of the highlights and delights of my life!  YOU SIMPLY MUST READ OR LISTEN to it!
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I had just finished listening to Joyce Meyer’s “Battlefield of the Mind” and was in the middle of Joyce Meyer’s “Approval Addiction,” when my copy of Joyce’s “The Secret to True Happiness” arrived. 

I promptly put Approval Addiction on hold in lieu of this review.  I am glad I did, The Secret to True Happiness is absolutely phenomenal.  I would recommend it to anyone and everyone – whether Christian or not.  Absolutely EVERYONE can take something away from this book. 

I read the book in audio form, so I found myself listening to each CD two or more times before I went on to the next CD.  While it is a book, the CDs can be listened to again and again in whatever order you like – should a particular topic resonate with you or speak to your heart.  I would suggest starting from the beginning initially as one chapter follows another and might make more sense.

I love Joyce Meyer.  I discovered her a little more than five years ago when I began on my own spiritual path.  While her teachings are serious, she shares in easy to understand terms and/or the everyday language that everyone could understand.  Her humor and honesty makes one believe she really does understand and you feel as if you are listening to a friend, who has been there before you. 

While I was not sexually abused as Joyce was, I, like many others was verbally abused. When I was growing up people did not talk about it as no one really knew what to do and there really was not a lot of help.  How freeing to be able to unload that baggage now, even after so many years and to know that I was not alone!

The teachings of The Secret to True Happiness – Enjoy Today, Embrace Tomorrow focuses on enjoying life where you are on the way to where you are going.  Joyce talks about this a lot, but this book truly dissects each aspect of life so it becomes more real and feasible to the reader/listener.  I am embarrassed to share this, as I usually do not speak this way, but I found myself saying “right on sister” more than once.  I felt she really understood and really knew what I was going through or had been through.

Since I read/listened to this book in audio form I do not have an index to go through and list here, but I will tell you, DO NOT miss this book.  DO NOT, DO NOT, DO NOT miss this book.

You owe it to yourself and to everyone you know and/or will meet, because what you/we do, how we behave, what we say or how we act not only impacts on us as individuals, but on everyone else as well.  While we know this deep in our heart of hearts, the reinforcement is so uplifting and much needed from time to time.

Here are some examples in my own life…

We do not have to wait for our situation to change or for us to receive things in order for us to become happy.  If we think we do, then we will rob ourselves of more than any thief can take from us.  Happiness is a state of mind, one that we can have in an instant.  I learned from Anthony Robbins, “things are as important as we make them,” and “we can change our focus in a moment!”  Joyce reenforces this way of thinking and after a while it becomes second nature. 

For example:  Last week I dropped a huge styrofoam cup of boiling hot tea on myself.  (This is true!)  On my way to the doctor’s offer, I kept thinking of things I could be Grateful for.  One was, it was pretty bad, but… it could have been lots worse.  The second was that I had health insurance and did not have to sit in a hospital emergency room, the third was that the doctor had office hours on Saturday and that I did not have to sit in a crowded emergency room or worry about my situation until the doctor came in on Monday.  The fourth thing was that the doctor was doing to tell me that things would be ok.  As I walked to the doctor’s office I took time to enjoy nature and snap a few digital images with my camera.  Trust me, I was plenty scared of what was going to happen, or what could happen, but as long as I could I would keep these good thoughts alive.  In the end it was all true.  The last, will take a while and I will have to do my part to make sure I follow the Doctor’s instructions in order for my burn to heal properly. (It is much more pleasant to think of things in a positive way as we really can’t change some of them.  I remember a time when I would have been hysterical under the same situation.

Joyce’s books and teachings are one of the main reasons I can keep this attitude.  It is NOT easy, but when I slip I have something to grab onto.  Many times I will find myself reaching for one of Joyce’s books or teachings and as odd as this might sound, sometimes the teaching just happens to be on the subject I am dealing with. 

Joyce says:  “Our Words Affect Others”…  About a month or so ago I went to throw the trash out.  I found a pizza box on top of where the newspapers were to be.  For some reason I opened it.  There was a “huge uneaten slice of pizza in the box!”  I lost it.  I was so furious, thinking of the rodents and vermin it could draw I ran right into my apartment and wrote a really strong note and posted it on the compactor room door.  Well, it did not take long for someone to write back asking “who made me the boss!”  I was even more furious, but was at a loss for what to do.  Oh, and don’t let me forget to share, each day for the next week there were more food boxes left. 

After I listened to Joyce, I wrote another note, much softer with a catch title:  “Rodent Alert!”  I went on to explain that raw food draws roaches, mice, rats, and who knows what.  I finished up thanking them for their cooperation and signed my name.  So far… I have NOT seen any more food being left in the compactor room.  I still feel strongly about what was done, but changing the way I behaved about it, made a huge difference.  THANK YOU Joyce!

On one of the CDs Joyce spoke about loss.  Loss comes in many forms.  Could be loss of a person, a job, a marriage, etc.  In my case it was the sudden loss of a friend’s son – he was 43. I was there for my friend and was and am as supportive as I can be.  But… I found it did not let me come to terms with the loss.  I was not able to deal with it properly as I was/am there propping her up.  Don’t get me wrong, that is what friends do, but your emotions do not understand that.  Listening to Joyce it all came into perspective again.  Loss is like the seasons…  There is a sequence to go through.  I found myself listening to that CD more than once.  But once was enough to get me back on track.  The next time I spoke to my friend, I felt that I understand better as I was using Joyce’s words and this time I knew it was not just lip service. I truly believe that God will eventually heal my friend’s heart.  My friend does not believe it or accept it, but I believe it and I will do my best to feed it into her!

The last CD is on Discipline — How true it is! 

Joyce talks about doing what it takes to be/get where we want to be and not be envious of those who might have gotten there first IF we DID NOT or DO NOT want to do the work to get there ourselves.  She talks about going the extra mile and not taking shortcuts, as they do not work.  How true this is!  Every time I take a shortcut because I am tired, or lazy, it comes back to haunt me — fifty-fold.

We all know in our heart of hearts, the right thing is to work for what we want, even if it takes us longer than we thought it would.  Complaining about life’s injustices will not help and will certainly not put us in the frame of mind to do what is necessary.  Through Joyce (and Joel Osteen), I have learned to look for the good in bad things — at the least they will make me/us stronger.  As we go through things, we sometimes wonder how they could possibly help later, but as an artist… sometimes I feel it helps me design my eCards with more emotion (walking in other’s shoes, so to speak).

Discipline also has to do with our behavior, how we act and get excited about what we can’t change.  Here again, it was almost as if God were leading me to listen to this Chapter when I did.  An incident happened here that was so unfair and infuriated me as it was lodged against me.  It happened on a weekend, so I had to wait until Monday to do something about it.  Well, I won’t say that I did not get upset, but as I listened to Joyce’s message, I felt the anger and frustration melt away as I waited to take the action I could, come the beginning of the week.  It does not help to carry on as it will only make ME/US SICK, waste our precious time and prevent me/us from enjoying life.

I have learned… Carrying on, being frustrated and/or angry really will not make anything better or resolve things sooner.  I know, I do NOT feel better physically when I vent on life’s injustices — maybe it is old age creeping up, as it never used to get to me as it does now!  I do my best to give it to God — this DOES NOT come easy to me as breaking old habits is hard, but I am a work in progress and it is much easier than it used to be. 

I would like to paraphrase Joyce’s Saying:  “I may not be where I want to be, but at least I am not ‘where I used to be!'”  This is so true!!!  When I look back to where I was just two years ago at this time, I have come so far.  We need to look to the future in dark times as the light always comes — in one way or another.

As Joyce says and is reinforced over and over in The Secret to True Happiness – Enjoy Today, Embrace Tomorrow… We do not have to wait for things to happen or to receive things in order to be happy.  If we think we need certain things to happen in order to be happy, we will rob ourselves of more than any thief can take from us.

What I would say to anyone reading this:  RUN, DO NOT WALK to your nearest book store, or better yet, CLICK THIS LINK to order Joyce Meyer’s new book:  “The Secret to True Happiness – Enjoy Today, Embrace Tomorrow!”  You owe it to yourself and everyone else you will ever come in contact with.  For sure, I WILL be listening to this book over and over and over again.  

For your convenience I have added a link to order Joyce Meyer’s NEW BOOK.  At the least, click the link to check it out now.  Don’t take my word for it.   You will be glad you did though — of that I AM POSITIVE!

CLICK TO ORDER:
The Secret to True Happiness – Enjoy Today, Embrace Tomorrow

With Warm Regards,

Roz Fruchtman
mailto:roz@DesignsByDaybreak.com
Blog Views By Roz / http://www.BlogViewsByRoz.com
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Say It With eCards / http://www.SayItWithEcards.com

I have wracked my brain and spent exhaustive hours online looking for a place to donate a bag of old eyeglasses.

I asked all the eye doctors in the neighborhood and even my ophthalmologist and retina doctor if they knew what I could do with them.  As someone having vision problems all my life, and almost losing the eyesight in my right eye two years ago during a retina detachment, I know the value of eyesight first hand.  I got a preview of what it would be like not being able to see out of one eye for a short time, a short scary time.

I am a follower of Joyce Meyer and just decided to have a look at your her website and low and behold, Joyce Meyer Ministries is collecting old and used eyeglasses to use in their outreach missions work.

Check it out / Donate your used and old eyeglasses here:
http://www.joycemeyer.org/jmmweb/jmmads/eyeglassescampaign/donate.aspx

You would not believe all those I asked about what to do with my old eyeglasses, people who you would think would know.  NOT ONE could give me an answer!  I knew others would have the same problem and that is why I am posting this information here on BlogViewsByRoz.com

Posted by Roz Fruchtman / BlogViewsByRoz.com