Those were the days

Those were the days my friend.
We thought they'd never end.
We'd sing and dance forever and a day.
We'd live the life we choose.
We'd fight and never lose.
For we were young and sure to have our way.La la la la...
Those were the days, oh yes those were the days.

My Linked Name in Photoshop

Trying to show off... for my own satisfaction. A knowledge which I acquire via internet.....hemmmm pretty handy and it is FREE. I go crazy with all the sample works and gonna try more soon!

Cup of Tea

By Dr James Dobson

Have you noticed that children sometimes try to be helpful, but it only makes your life more complicated?

I heard a story about a mother who was sick in bed with the flu. Her darling daughter wanted so much to be the good nurse. She fluffed the pillows and she brought a magazine to read. Then she even showed up with a surprise cup of tea.

"Why, you're such a sweetheart," the mother said as she drank the tea. "I didn't know you even knew how to make tea."

"Oh, yes," the little girl replied. "I learnt by watching you. I put the tea leaves in the pan and then I put in the water and I boiled it, and then I strained it into a cup. But I couldn't find the strainers, so I used the fly swatter instead."

"You what?!" the mother screamed.

And the little girl said: "Oh, don't worry, Mum, I didn't use the new fly swatter, I used the old one."

When kids try their hardest and get it all wrong in spite of themselves, what's a parent to do? What mothers and fathers often do is prevent their children from carrying out any responsibility that could result in a mess or a mistake. It's just easier to do everything for them than to clean up afterwards. But I urge parents not to fall into that trap. Your child needs his mistakes because that's how he learns. So, go along with the game every now and then, even if the tea you drink tastes a little strange.

The Walleyed Pike

By Dr James Dobson

Let me tell you a story about a walleyed pike, which is a fish, for those of you who aren't fishermen or fisherwomen.

Some interesting experiments have been done in laboratories where the walleye is placed in a big tank of water, and minnows are then put in the tank, which the walleye very quickly consumes. At that point, a large piece of glass is slid down the center of the tank, with the walleye on one side and the minnows on the other. Now the fish swims after the minnows and inevitably hits the glass and bounces back. He makes a U-turn and he tries again, but crashes into the divider again, time after time. Very quickly, the walleye will get discouraged and even quit trying to get the minnows. At that point, the researchers slide the glass out of the tank and let the minnows swim in and around the pike, but he knew what he knew - the minnows couldn't be had. Believe it or not, a walleyed pike will starve to death in a tank filled with the kind of food that he loves best, simply because he's become discouraged in his efforts to feed.

So it is with children who fail in their early school experiences. If their efforts to read, write and compute only bring frustration, some of them just quit trying. And ten years later, they'll drop out of school. That's why early educational intervention is absolutely critical for the child with a learning disability. You have to reach him or her before the paralysis of discouragments sets in.

Words of Kindness

By Dr James Dobson

I remember sitting in my car at a fast-food restaurant eating a hamburger and french fries. When I looked in the rearview mirror, I saw the most pitiful, scrawny, dirty little kitten on a ledge behind my car. I was so touched by how hungry he looked that I got out, tore off a piece of my hamburger and tossed it to him. But before this kitten could reach it, a huge grey tomcat sprang out of the bushes, grabbed the morsel and gobbled it down. I felt so sorry for the little guy who turned and ran back into the shadows, still hungry and frightened.

I was immediately reminded of my years as a secondary school teacher. I saw teenagers every day who were just as needy, just as deprived and just as lost as that little kitten. It wasn't food that they required; it was love, attention and respect and they were desperate for it. And just when they opened up and revealed the pain inside, one of the more popular kids would abuse and ridicule them, and send them scurrying back into the shadows, frightened and alone.

As adults, we must never forget the pain of trying to grow up and the competitive world in which many adolescents live today.

Taking a moment to listen to, care for or direct such a youngster may be the best investment of a lifetime.

What's a Grandmother?

By Dr James Dobson

Some years ago a nine year old girl wrote a wonderful essay called "What is a Grandmother?" and whenever I read it, it reminds me all over again just how perceptive children can be.

This is what the child said:

'A grandmother is a lady who has no children of her own." That's an interesting definition.

"She likes other people's little girls and boys. Grandmothers don't have to do anything except to be there. They're old, so they shouldn't play hard or run. It is enough that they drive us to the market where the pretend horse is and they have lots of coins ready. Or if they take us for walks, they should slow down past things like pretty leaves and caterpillars. And they should never say 'hurry up.' Grandmothers don't talk baby-talk like visitors do because it's hard to understand. When they read to us they don't skip or mind if it's the same old story over again. Everybody should try to have a grandmother; especially if you don't have television, because they are the only prownups who have time."

How's that for sheer wisdowm from the pen of a child? Not only has this young author given us a marvelous picture of a loving grqandmother, but she tells us in a few short words what children are really looking for...an adult who fully recognises the finer things of life.

Battleship and the Lighthouse

By Dr James Dobson

In the official magazine of the Naval Institute, Frank Koch reported on a very unusual encounter at sea.

A battleship was coming in for maneuvers in heavy weather. Shortly after the sun went down, the lookout reported light in the distance, so the Captain had the signalman send a message,

"We're on the collision course. Advise you change your course 20 degrees."

Minutes later a signal came back, "Advisable for you to change your course."

Well, the Captain angrily ordered that another signal be sent, "I am a Captain. Change course 20 degrees."

Again came the reply, "I'm a Seaman Second Class. You'd better change your course."

Furious by this point, the Captain barked a final threat, "I'm a battleship! Change your course!"

The signal came back, "I'm a lighthouse."

The Captain changed his course.

I don't care how big and powerful a person may become, it's foolhardly to ignore the beacons that warn us of danger.

They take various forms: symptons of health problems, prolonged marital conflict, rebellious children, excessive debts, stress that ties us in knots. These are the warning signs of approaching danger.

It matters not that we're successful and influential and busy. A little Seaman Second Class sits in a lighthouse somewhere and signals, "Change your course," and the wise Captain does so with haste.