Jazz

I love smooth jazz, and this stuff is so good !

1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCFF9W48Ijw&feature=related

2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCw-vcq2n4k&feature=related

3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErKX6s7LldQ&feature=related

Awesome Lawyer Story

This is probably the best lawyer story of the year.

A Charlotte, NC, lawyer purchased a box of very rare and expensive cigars, then insured them against fire and other various things. Within a month of having smoked his entire stockpile of these great cigars and without yet having made even his first premium payment on the policy, the lawyer filed a claim against the insuarnce company.

In his claim, the lawyer stated the cigars were lost in a "series of small fires". The insurance company refused to pay, citing the obvious reason: the man had consumed the cigars in a normal fashion.

The lawyer sued... and won !!

In delivering the ruling, the judge agreed with the insurance company that the claim was frivolous. The judge stated, nevertheless, that the lawyer held a policy from the company in which it had warranted that the cigars were insurable and also guarenteed that it would insure them against fire, without defining what is considered to be unacceptable fire, and was obligated to pay the claim. Rather than endure a lengthy and costly appeal process, the company accepted the ruling and paid the lawyer $15,000 for his rare cigars lost in the "fires".

Now for the best part....

After the lawyer cashed the cheque, the insurance company had him arrested on 24 counts of arson. With his insurance claim and testimony from the previous case of being sued against him, the lawyer was convicted of intentionally burning his insured property and was sentenced to 24 months in jail and a $24,000 fine.

This is a true story and won 1st place in the Criminal Lawyers Awards Contest :)

My Dad ~ Happy Fathers Day

(Dad, Mom and oldest niece Joy)

Thank you Dad, for being such a great man in my life !

Thank you for all you have done for Mom, Orlund, Virden, and me

For investing your words and wisdom into our lives

For all the time you have taken out to play and read to us as children

For taking us out for coffees to talk about life and the future as teenagers

For giving us guidance and advice as we move ahead as adults

You are one of the greatest dads in the world !

Love you always Daddy,

Luv, "Dad's doll"

Pancake machine ?

Lilo and I went to Seattle last summer, and one morning we went down for breakfast and found this...

Friends

This is my friend Andrea and I. We often go for hot chocolate late at night and have some fun chats - she is super sweet and a good friend !

Lilo. My calm, relaxed, easy-going, laid-back friend - we go waaaay back and have tons of memories and laughs together. She's my travelling buddy, and have we ever got some crazy fun travelling memories together. She is one of the sweetest girls I know....

Tracy and I at the movies... she's my "deep-discussion over a Starbucks" friend :P haha ! I think we have a permanent spot reserved at Starbucks for at least once a week.

And this is my cousin JaeNelle and I at the beach last summer. I don't know why we were laughing but what I DO know, is that by the end of the day, we made cooked lobster look pale. I have a great family, I love them very much !

2 Corinthians 2:14

"Thanks be to God, Who always causes us to triumph."

I am sure most of you who read this also understand this already, but sometimes its encouraging to hear again...

God never ends in a negative, He ALWAYS ends on a positive !! Its like we are in a fixed fight. Just like when you record a football game or hockey game, your friends may tell you the score of the final win, so when you watch it later, no matter how bad the team seems to do in the beginning or how many goals they are falling behind on, you can watch in peace knowing that the outcome is still a win.

The same is for us. In fact, the farther behind you seem to get the more exciting it will be to see the comeback - it will be much greater !! God always ends in "All Is Well", so if all is not well, it simply means it is not the end - there is more to come. If you do your part by deciding to move forward and not get stuck where you are, do your best, and remain faithful to God, He will bring you to a flourishing finish. He has it all planned - from the right person at the right time in the right place, in the right situation, under the right circumstance. God has already written every page of your book and it does not end in defeat, or you falling apart, or in betrayal or living lonely - His plans for you are for good, to bring you to a properous and flourishing finish.

A broken relationship, financial troubles, betrayal, depression - when it looks dark, when you don't know how it could ever turn around, when it looks like there is no way out, God has the way.

It may get worse before it gets better but that is a sign that the enemy is taking his best shot to try and keep you where you are. But know this: his best will never be good enough. The forces that are for you are greater than the forces that are against you. The very thing the enemy set out to destroy you with is the very thing God can turn around to help you and bless others with.

Sometimes we feel that we have made too many mistakes or screwed up too badly and have to sit on the sidelines, but think of Samson. The secret of his hair was the key to his strength, but over time he became careless and undisciplined and told someone his secret. One night while asleep, the enemy came and cut his hair and he lost his strength, was taken into captivity, his eyes removed and was put to work in a mill. One day he was taken to a banquet and chained to the wall for his enemies to make fun of him. He asked a child to place his hands on some pillars close by, and then prayed to God to forgive him, to give him back his strength one more time. The Spirit of God came upon him and he was given back his strength and had a great victory.

You cannot do anything to change the past, but you CAN choose to do your part in moving forward by shaking off the blame, quit beating yourself up and do something about the future. Don't keep feeling guilty and condemned - remember, we are in a fixed fight. If you keep moving forward, do your best and stay faithful to God, He has promised us victory. Not sometimes, but ALWAYS !

If all is not well, He simply isn't finished yet because He never ends on a negative, always a positive.

He has promised YOU a flourishing finish !