Condolence
It is an occasion of grief for a person who has passed away. It could be your parents, relatives, friends, co-workers or neighbours. The person may have helped you in several ways when he was alive. He or she may have shared many happy memories with you. You may have walked with him together for many years both in times of grief and glee. Now that you are so grieved you want to give a token of your appreciation for that person to his family members.
How To Stop A Divorce
Divorce appears to be the new tendency in marriages these days. The entire globe appears to have jumped on the bandwagon which is endlessly being caused by split-ups in the entertainment industry. The holiness of wedlock is being sacrificed and it has turned into a marketplace for divorce- driven oblects such as divorce attorneys.
A great many people believe that obtaining a divorce is the sole means to pull out of a distressed relationship. However, as the wonderful philosopher Aristotle said, “There is always a third option.” Regarding individuals that believe that obtaining a divorce is the same thing as being contented, try thinking it through again. A current study that was lead by Ms. Linda Waite of the University of Chicago disclosed that divorced individuals are not any happier. An additional even more amazing reality that was uncovered by the research is that 67% of the individuals that became distressed about their marriages later stated that they were happy in their marriages five years later. Her group additionally discovered that a preponderance of devotedly wedded pairs had undergone long durations of sadness in their unions. The distinction is that the pair remained with the relationship and discovered answers to their difficulties.
Matrimony is designed to connect the inner souls of two individuals together. The marriage loses its holiness in the complete circumstance of splitting up. There exist more methods than one to stop divorce. Listed below are a few valuable points that someone can use in trying to rescue their marriage.
-Communication is the Key Virtually all differences advance to fights as a result of the absence of communication. A few pairs merely discuss chores and projects. Maintaining an open line of communication would maintain the frankness in the relationship and prevent concealed perceptions that could prod significant emotional harm.
-There Are No Perfect Relationships The fundamental lessons of economics dictate to us that any time we remain with one thing, we are consistently excluding something else. Divorces are commonly spurred by unfaithfulness and third-party affairs. Keep in mind that no relationship is perfect. Problems between marriage partners is no reason for unfaithfulness, actually it ought to make their relationship stronger.
-Look For Assistance In case everything else does not work the way you hoped it would and you have attempted to solve the difficulty between the pair of you, seek outside help. There exist professional marriage counselors that are able to help marriage partners with problems to get back on the right track. There’s no harm in seeking assistance.
Keep in mind that divorce has its penalties, which include tremendous monetary losses. Even more significantly, it taints marriage and completely finishes relationships. What it comes down to is that if there is more than sufficient love that exists within a home, divorce will not ever rear it ugly head.
David Fordley owns the website www.marriage-coundeling-stop-divorce.com where you can find marraige counseling to stop divorce and turn a marriage in trouble into one of happiness.
How to Have a Sizzler of a Honeymoon! Article No. 4
When Maria Callas first appeared on the international scene, she sang like a bird, looked like a small whale, and the only people who truly knew and loved her were the perennial ticket-holding opera lovers.
Few years later, looking like Audrey Hepburn, photographers couldn’t get enough of her face and body, socialites overwhelmed her with invitations to their yachts and private planes, and rich men kept their beds warm ever hopeful that she might, one day, consent to join them there.
Yes, the world and its’ inhabitants are superficial. That, I imagine, includes you and me. If some enchanted evening you’re looking at a stranger across a crowded room, ten to one your eyes won’t be lingering on the plainest and the most overweight person there.
But while the critics of Maria Callas cried hypocritical tears about the massive vanity which led Maria Callas to become a shadow of her former self, vanity wasn’t the only factor guiding her actions.
No one was more aware than Ms. Callas that the Verdis and the Puccinis, and even the Wagners, were not writing operas about giant-killing sized heroines. On the contrary, if their heroines weren’t dying of consumption or broken heart, they were seducing powerful men with their beguiling playfulness or Salome-like sexiness.
As a singer Maria Callas could pretend to be playing a part, or, as she actually chose to do, be the part.
Which brings me to the point of the article. If you’re about to take a honeymoon and you’re not as young as you used to be, or as flexible as you used to be, or as maneuverable as you used to be, and if you decide to do something about it such as get acquainted with your nutritionist, beautician and gym instructor, do remember that there’s a life beyond your honeymoon. Once you’ve become what you want to be, make it a lifelong transformation. Isn’t a life-long union worth it?
Vlady Peters, who is a Civil Marriage celebrant, is an author of three books, “the Complete Book of Australian Weddings”, “The small Organisation Handbook”, and an ebook, “Honeymoon! A Sizzle or a Fizzle?’ which you can see on her website http://www.vlady-celebrant.com
Wedding Themes and Favor Ideas: Simple Ways to Decorate Your Wedding
Attention to details is the key to making your theme wedding unique and memorable.
Below are some simple decorating ideas for popular wedding themes to help make your day truly magical.
Beach Theme
A romantic stroll down a white sandy beach with the cool breeze brushing against your face and the orange glow of the sunset behind your back is what we envision for those that are having a beach themed wedding. It is not complete without the necessities that make it a beach wedding. Start off with a “message in a bottle” invitation to casually invite your guest to a beautiful outdoors event. The highlight of the wedding are the guests arriving to see aisles of chairs decorated with garlands of fresh flowers in season and the waves crashing in front of them.Definitely a lei is a must for the couple to be as they stand and exchange their vows. Guests can enjoy the outdoors sea mist as they sit lightly fanning themselves with a sandalwood fan. To end a beautiful occasion, guests can go home with a memory of all this, with wedding favors such as tin pails filled with seashell potpourri or an elegant silver sea shell favor. It is a day that the bride and groom eagerly await for and happily will remember and cherish.
Garden Theme
A traditional quaint garden wedding brings tradition to modern times. If you are having a garden themed wedding, it doesn’t necessary mean it needs to be outdoors. A modern edition of a traditional garden wedding can be substituted with great accessories. Create a floral ambience with fresh flowers in bloom all around the ceremony or reception location. Having plenty of flowers is a must to recreate a garden theme wedding if you want to play to your guests’ senses. Add some twinkling lights across the ceiling for a romantic ambience. Small furry critters are a great accessory to table settings such as butterflies, lady bugs, or bees. Line the walk ways with candles such as luminary tea light bags or have real trees or plants and hang some candles on the branches with hanging votive holders. Guests will happily end the occasion by bringing home some great wedding favors such as a mini pear candle that reads “The Perfect Pair” or a mini handbag filled with pear scented potpourri.
Wine Theme Weddings
Great food, friends, and wine are the ingredients to a great wine theme wedding. If having your wedding at the wine country is not within your budget, a recreation of the exquisite ambience can be done wherever you may be having your wedding. Grapes and more grapes are always a must to create a wine theme atmosphere. Have accessories on the table such as grape vineyard place card holders to seat your guest accordingly for that added special touch. Play off the theme with vibrant colors of deep maroon and gold or light ivory and gold depending on which wines you love, the reds or the whites. Make sure to fully stock your bar with plenty of wines from various parts of the country. Have guests nibble on appetizers to compliment the various wines. Lastly, have special toasting glasses or wine stoppers engraved with your guest’s name so they can always remember your special day.
Copyright Tracy Yang, 2005. All rights reserved.
Reprint Rights: You may use this article as long as you include the author’s copyright and link to the author’s website.
Tracy Yang is the creative director for HansonEllis.com. The place for unique wedding favors and bridal shower gifts for your special event.
Cultivating Spiritual Intimacy
When two people - destined for each other, come together, there is often an incredible amount of combustibility. Combustion occurs when two or more substances react chemically together, resulting in the giving off of heat and light; often called burning. In the same manner, two people joined together by God can spiritually set each other on fire.
However, after being married a while that sense of combustibility can easily be lost if the spiritual life of the marriage is not cultivated. But, a couple that intentionally, and actively engages in maintaining the spiritual life of the marriage continues to be a strength one to another, and ignites new sparks that blazes through every area of marriage and family. I believe that through personal devotion, mutual support, joint devotions, spiritual dialogue, and spiritual activities, a Christian couple can maintain spiritual intimacy in their marriage.
First, each spouse must keep their fire burning. Each partner keeps their fire burning by maintaining a growing and intimate relationship with the Lord Jesus, through personal prayer and Bible study. When we first got married, my wife and I mistakenly thought we could depend on each other’s spiritual life for our personal growth. I thought to myself “my wife is such a great Christian, she will be able to help me solve my spiritual struggles”. The mistake we made was instead of pursuing the Lord for our personal growth, we began to depend on each other. Eventually instead of helping, we began to drain each other. What we learned is that we must maintain intimacy with the Lord in order to have true spiritual intimacy with each other.
Once our personal lives are burning with spiritual fire, then we can conduct that heat to our partners. If you have ever touched a hot pot, then you understand what a conductor is. Metal pots are good conductors because they transmit the heat coming from the stove. The person whose spiritual life is hot and on fire can conduct that spiritual strength to their partner.
To be spiritual heat conductors we must intercede for our mates in prayer, and support them with our encouragement. An effective intercessor believes God for the success of their partner. Exercising faith in prayer for your partner is crucial. Why? Well, we know more than anyone else the strengths and weaknesses of our partners. We see their faults, joys, and sadness. Thus, not only do we have the opportunity to intimately intercede in faith for them, but also our encouragement means a lot to them. Essentially, we must be our partner’s own spiritual cheerleader - fanning the flames.
In addition to the above, a Christian couple spreads the spiritual flames through joint spiritual habits. The most obvious of these is having scheduled devotions. In devotions couples pray and share biblical truths with each other in an open and transparent way. I recommend not only having a scheduled time of devotion, but also allowing that time to develop into a natural habit. In our experience, my wife and I, have found it best not to allow our scheduled time to become a rigid formality; instead, it serves as a training time for the natural flow of our spiritual connection. So that in times of difficulty praying and sharing together will be as simple as breathing.
A natural outflow of a joint spiritual life is spiritual dialogue. Although often neglected, spiritual dialogue is an important part of spreading the flames of spiritual intimacy. I define spiritual dialogue as qualitative and interactive conversation concerning our application, thoughts, feelings, and conclusions on spiritual matters as it relates to our life and society. Put simply, it is enjoyably talking about how spiritual things affect our life and the world around us.
Spiritual dialogue is qualitative and interactive. It is more than surface talk, such as “Pastor preached a good sermon today”. It involves sharing our deep spiritual thoughts to each other, such as “this is how I’m going to apply the sermon to my daily life..”, or “the Lord showed me weakness in that area”. Remember to interact, and allow each other ample time to share insights and thoughts.
Going to spiritual events together provides opportunities for spiritual dialogue. Sometimes we can make religious activities such a duty that we drain all the joy out of it. Couples, however, can enjoy spiritual activities together. The spiritual activities couples can share together goes beyond the regular Sunday services, and weekly conferences. Volunteering to work side by side in a Christian ministry, and working together on Christian projects are good activities to share together.
Along with that, today there are Christian movies and television programs that you can watch. Many Christian organizations today are making Christian videos more than ever. Perhaps you and your mate can buy a video, and watch it together, then discuss it afterwards. Simply enjoy your joint spiritual life; you are heirs together of God’s promise.
Omaudi Reid is the owner of HarvestersOnline, and author of Creating Unbreakable Bonds: Marital Intimacy on Three Levels He has a diploma in ministry from Harvest Army Bible Institute, and is currently pursuing a bachelor at Beulah Heights Bible College. He is an ordained minister of the gospel of Christ. Visit his website, Harvesters Online, for other marriage articles.
My Next Husband Will Be Normal!
My friend gave me a plaque that read, “My next husband will be normal.” I didn’t realize how fitting it was until the morning I announced to the husband, “I’m taking a quick bike ride before breakfast. I should be back in half an hour or so.” He nodded, heading toward the garage to tear apart a motorcycle.
For a moment, I hesitated — wondering if I should skip my morning ride. I had a migraine and my fibromyalgia and arthritis were acting up too, making it tough for me to even walk. But I was determined not to let my connective tissue disease get the better of me. I was not about to give in to pain and alter my daily schedule of walking, biking, and aerobics class.
After pedaling only about a mile down a deserted sand road, the strength began to drain from my body like air leaking from a balloon. I felt weak, like the energizer bunny without batteries. My ears started ringing and things around me appeared to sprout black fuzz around the edges. My legs went limp like cooked linguini and my body folded up like a cheap lawn chair. Things got blurrier then went totally black.
I awoke in the ditch to the smell of mud and the weight of the heavy bike across my chest. My head and ankle were throbbing. Bits of gravel were embedded in my skinned palms. When I tried to sit up, the world began to spin again and I felt like I would hurl; so I lay back down in the dirt.
Since I couldn’t make it home on my own power, I had no choice but to wait for someone to happen along and help me. Knowing there was rarely any traffic on that road, I clung to the hope that the husband would come to my rescue. “He’ll be along any minute,” I reassured myself. “He’ll know something’s wrong when I’m not back home at the usual time.”
I assumed that when he realized I’d been gone too long, he would wonder if something happened and he’d come looking for me. I was wrong.
I continued to lie there in a rain puddle with rocks and a discarded Pepsi can digging into my back. I felt flaccid like a marionette without strings. Each time I started to stand up, I felt faint, so I spent a good part of the morning lying there at the side of the road.
I pulled grass and a cigarette butt from my hair and spit the sandy grit from between my teeth while watching dead leaves, gum wrappers and other litter blow past me. When a McDonald’s bag tumbled by, I wondered who had eaten their Big Mac here, in the middle of nowhere, and then recklessly thrown the trash out their car window.
After a while, the local bugs discovered me. Bees buzzed around my head, ants crawled up my shorts, and Japanese beetles tickled my thighs.
Meanwhile, the sun grew hotter as it rose higher in the sky.
I lay there for what seemed like eighteen hours, and I didn’t have on my 18-hour bra!
After a while, I finally felt my strength returning. By this time, I had become painfully aware that the husband was not searching for me. Giving up any hope that my knight on horseback was coming to help, I muttered to myself, “If I want to get home before the winter snows come, it’s up to me to get myself there.”
Using the bike for leverage, I pulled my woozy body up on quivering legs. I couldn’t tell if it was the world spinning or just me wobbling. Half standing and half slumping over the handlebars for support, I trudged home. All the way, I mentally rehearsed what I would say to Sir Galahad when I got there.
Staggering into the front yard, I heard cheerful whistling coming from the garage. For a moment I forgot the ringing in my head and the pain in my ankle. I dragged myself toward the whistling and shouted weakly, “I passed out in the road and waited for you to come looking for me!” The husband looked up from his project in surprise, but he said nothing.
“Weren’t you worried about what had happened to me when I didn’t come right back?”
“I didn’t notice that you were gone that long,” he replied.
“I was gone half of the day!” I yelped. He stared at me with a puzzled look.
“I could have been killed, flattened by a moving van or a beer delivery truck!” I told him. By this time, I was angry enough to spit hammers; but he still just stood there, silent. I wondered if, while I was gone, he’d been zapped by a lightening bolt and struck dumb. He wiped his hands on a greasy rag and shrugged, as if he couldn’t understand what I was upset about.
“My inward parts could have been spilling out all over the road,” I ranted, “I could have been devoured by wolves, weasels, or wild cats!” He just scratched his head.
“My eyes could have been plucked out by vultures, coyotes, and hungry arachnids!
All sorts of vermin could have been feasting on my flesh . . . but you didn’t even miss me!”
“Sorry,” he said, almost in a whisper. He sighed, turned around, and started back toward the garage. Suddenly, he stopped and looked back. I waited expectantly for some delayed display of sympathy.
“Oh,” he said, “let me know when lunch is ready.”
I was too weak to choke him, but as I fell in a heap on the front porch step, I made this resolution: If I should ever have a next husband, I will definitely attempt to find one that’s normal — if that’s even possible.
Wait a minute. Maybe this sort of behavior IS normal (for a husband). I hadn’t thought of that!
Marsha Jordan
Author of “Hugs, Hope, and Peanut Butter”
hugsandhope@gmail.com
www.hugsandhope.org
Bridal Shop Owner Reveals Insider Secrets Every Bride Should Know
Your wedding is nine months away and you decide to start searching for your perfect gown. You walk into a bridal store and start talking to one of the salespeople. They ask you for your wedding date and you tell them. They immediately tell you that you will need nine months in order to special order your wedding gown. Is this true? In most cases, this is not true. The bridal shop is telling you that just so you will panic and place your order that day. This also helps them in stopping you from looking at other bridal shops. Don’t ever be bullied into buying your wedding dress on any given day. You might have found the dress of your dreams but give yourself a little time to think about it. You are making a big purchase for a special day and you need to make sure that this is the dress. Even if it is one day make sure you really think about it. I have suggested to some girls to go eat some lunch, discuss it with family or friends and then come back to make your purchase. Once you buy your gown that is it. Most shops do not allow returns or money back especially on special orders. Once you put money down on a special order, the dress is yours.
The majority of manufacturers require 8-12 weeks for a special order unless you are making drastic changes to a dress. Did you even know you could change designs on a dress. Most manufacturers will allow you to lengthen a train, shorten a train, take off some beads, or add beads. If there is something you would love to add/change to your dress just ask the salesperson. Not all manufacturers allow this but some do. It never hurts to ask. If a bridal shop gives you a delivery date of 6 months or more then I would be very careful.
You have decided on your perfect wedding dress and now it is time to order it. First of all I would pay one one-half of the deposit. If the shop asks for more than that then walk out. You do not want to put more then half down on something you do not yet have in your hands. Also if the wedding is cancelled, you have lost only one-half the cost of the dress because remember deposits on special order dresses are not refundable. Being in the bridal business, I understand why stores ask for more then half. Weddings sometimes get cancelled or the bride decides she does not want the dress. Also, I suggest you put your deposit down with a credit card. This way if anything happens like the store closes down or never places your order then you have a way of getting your deposit back. After you place your order and put your half deposit down, make sure you get a receipt. Also make sure that they write down the style number, color, and size down on your copy as well as the store’s copy. This way you have proof of what was supposed to be ordered. When I was a bride, I picked out my bridesmaids dresses from this particular store near me. I searched for hours in bridal magazines until I finally found the perfect bridesmaids’ dresses. Believe it or not once the dresses came in, I realized the store ordered the wrong dress. This was only one month before my wedding day. Luckily we caught it in time and the store corrected the problem. It does happen, so make sure you get everything in writing.
In the next couple of days after you place your order, call the store and get an estimated delivery date. This way you can be sure they ordered it. These are estimated dates not actual dates. No one can give you an actual date. This is the real world and things do happen. When a bride places an order with us, we always call them the next day or so and give them the delivery date. Make sure you right this date down on your receipt along with the day and person you spoke with. One hint: If you have plenty of time then I suggest you move your wedding date up one month. This will help to reassure you that the dress will come in plenty of time before your wedding. This is a trick I use myself. When I order a dress from the manufacturer, I move the wedding date up a couple of weeks just to make sure we have plenty of time to get the dress in. The manufacturer thinks they have the actual wedding date and base their delivery date on it. This gives me a couple of extra weeks to correct a problem if something does go wrong. If your wedding date is 4 months or less away, then you cannot do this because you will incur rush charges.
How to make sure your dress is new: You’ve found your perfect dress and although the store has the exact size and color in stock you decide you want to order your dress new from the manufacturer instead of the store’s sample. You make your down payment, the dress is ordered and you have an estimated delivery date. The bridal shop calls you to tell you your dress has arrived and you go in to try it on. Before you even try it on you notice makeup stains inside the bodice of your dress and the underskirt looks as though it has been dragged across a dirty floor. Guess what? It’s a sure bet that your dress was never ordered and they are passing off the floor sample as a new dress. At this point you should point out the problems to the shop. Refuse to take the dress and demand they order you a new dress. Never take the dress out of the store and expect to come back later to show them the problems. Once you take a dress out of the store, the dress is yours no matter what.
Sometimes when a dress comes into the shop and we unpack it, we will find dirt or stains in the dress. We notify the manufacturer immediately and they provide us with a new dress at no extra charge. If your dress came in from the manufacturer stained or dirty you should have no problem requesting a new one. If, in fact, the store never ordered you a new dress and are trying to pass the floor sample on to you, you have every right to demand your money back or if it would satisfy you, to have the store clean it at their expense. Always make sure you go into the store as soon as you can when your special order dress comes in. This includes bridesmaids’ dresses as well. If you go in immediately then you can still get the manufacturer to replace the dress if anything is wrong. Usually most manufacturers give the shop one to two weeks to notify them if something is wrong. After the certain time frame there is nothing you or the bridal shop can do to request a new dress if something is wrong.
This is another reason to plan your wedding a year in advance. When situations do arise and things do happen then you have plenty of time to correct the problem. When dresses are ordered just 8-12 weeks prior to the wedding, if something does go wrong, it is very difficult to correct the problem.
Susan Cook is the author of “Bridal Shop Owner Reveals Insider Secrects Every Bride Should Know”. For more useful tips and advice visit http://www.bridalinfo123.com. This article is a clip from her book “Bridal Shop Owner Reveals Insider Secrects Every Bride Should Know.”