Trying to Clean up the Blog

Been doing a little playing around with the blog. Due to lack of funds I've had to let my web site (byfaithonly.com) go but am praying someday soon will be able to get it back. In the mean time I will share what I can here and of course on the different sites I write for (just look at prior posts and you will find many).

I have gone through many of my posts and cleared up some confusing tags - if you are a regular reader (hoping I have at least a few) you will see I've changed several of the tags to either "Faith Rambling" or "Faith Rant" - am guessing it won't take long to figure out my mood or attitude for each :)

Two grandkids are spending a little time with me so will share a fun Michigan Picture of same kids when we got our first snow here in Michigan.

Recap of My Week

It's amazing how often I feel like I'm doing nothing but running in circles and accomplishing nothing but when I put it all together it really does look like more... In many ways I think that's how our life with The Lord is - we don't see the many many little things He does for us daily but when we put the whole picture together He has done so many miraculous things in our daily lives.

Wednesday I took the day off! Yes folks if you missed it I celebrated my birthday! I spent the majority of the day at my Mom's house. She had asked if I would help her with some yard work and I jumped on the chance... Spending day at the lake working in the yard I was nearly in heaven. And, it was quiet, no upstairs neighbors blasting their music or stomping on the floor, no constant stream of traffic and sirens so common in town.

I totally cleaned up one flower bed and got a good start on another. Mom made us lunch and sent me home with a big pan of chocolate brownies (along with some other groceries too).

Mom and step-dad, Jim, also gave me a used printer which I greatly need but afraid Thursday-Saturday was a frustration over the printer which is still not working :(

Somehow with taking day off and 'playing' with printer I still managed to publish five articles on Examiner.com and uploaded a good share of pictures on Redgage.com I also had grandson spend two nights with me which is always a joy although somewhat time consuming but certainly not complaining...

So, do you feel like you are going in circles and not accomplishing anything? Try listing all the things you did this past week - you just may be surprised at what you actually did get done...

I reactivated my blog ByFaithOnly's Garden Blog
Free tips and news all related to the garden and gardening!

Examiner Children's Books Articles I Published this past week - the theme 'Arbor Day':

God's Story for Me: 104 Favorite Bible Stories for Children review
“God's Story for Me” is a wonderful children’s book to start children learning the stories in the Bible. The 104 Favorite Bible... Keep Reading »

The Sibley guide to trees by David Allen Sibley Book Review
The Sibley Guide to Trees by David Allen Sibley is not specifically a children’s book but while discussing books to celebrate Arbor Day this is... Keep Reading »

Planting the trees of Kenya the story of Wangari Maathai Children's Book
“Planting the Trees of Kenya: The Story of Wangari Maathai” by Claire A. Nivola is a children’s book that will introduce children to... Keep Reading »

Children's Book Trees by Angels Julivert
“Trees” by Angels Julivert is a children’s book geared towards older children age’s eight to twelve. “Trees” is... Keep Reading »

This Tree Counts by Alison Formento
“This Tree Counts!” by Alison Formento and illustrated by Sarah Snow is recommended for ages 4-8. A counting book for younger children,... Keep Reading »

If you missed them last weeks theme was 'Earth Day' even though Earth Day has passed these are some terrific Children's books to read any time of the year:

I Love Our Earth By Bill Martin
“I Love Our Earth” by Bill Martin, Jr., Michael Sampson, and Dan Lipow combines simple poetry with spectacular photography. “I Love... Keep Reading »

Earth Day by Trudi Strain Trueit
"Imagine a city where the air is so dirty it is hard to breathe. Imagine a lake so full of oil that no fish or wildlife can life there."... Keep Reading »

Earth Day An Alphabet Book by Gary Kowalski
Earth Day: An Alphabet Book by Gary Kowalski is a darling alphabet book to celebrate Earth Day. Each page of the book is dedicated to one or two... Keep Reading »

Free Earth Day Celebration Lansing April 22
Lansing will be holding its Free Earth Day Celebration on April 22, 2010 at the Lansing City Hall. Since the first Earth Day in 1970 this has been a... Keep Reading »

Worm Bin Building Workshop East Lansing
How much fun is this? Many children love to play with worms. Oh let’s face it some adults (cough cough) love playing with worms. But, worms are... Keep Reading »

Photographs Uploaded to Redgage.com


Starting off a new collection - Herbs - I started with Basil

Grape Hyacinth Photographs were taken at my Mom's house:
Grape Hyacinth 1 - Grape Hyacinth 2 - Grape Hyacinth 3 - Grape Hyacinth 4

Red Tulips were photographed at my neighbor's house:
Tulip 1 - Tulip 2 - Tulip 3 - Tulip 4

These beautiful Pink Tulips photos were taken at my Mom's house & Grandson's school:
Pink Tulip 1 - Pink Tulip 2 - Pink Tulip 3 - Pink Tulip 4 - Pink Tulip 5
Generally, tulips have one flower per stem. However, few species may have up to four flowers per stem.

A few other photos Published:
Trees Along Lake 
Goose & Ducks on Lake 
Daffodil Bed Cascades Park
and Tree Along Fence

Brain Cells

While chatting with a dear friend of mine this morning she made a comment about missing brain cells. This brought to mind one of my favorite stories ‘The Things Kids Say’ or ‘Out of the Mouths of Babes’ my #2 son is the star of this story.

Mom bragging rights here I must first give you a little back-ground on my son. In 5th grade he was reading on an 11th grade level. In 8th grade he took the college SAT tests and passed with flying colors… Yes, he was and is SMART.

He does however tend to be more ‘book smart’. A common ‘joke’ in the family was; give him a list of three things to do and he’ll be lucky if he remembers one on the list.

One day driving down a Texas road north of Houston with my bright son riding along he made a major announcement. “Mom, I figured it out!”

Naturally I had no idea on earth what he had figured out as until then he had been quiet – deep in thought.

Before I could ask what he had figured out he went on to explain. “You know how I always forget things? Well, when you tell me to do something I don’t want to lose it so I put it in a room in my brain. You know we have little rooms in our brain. Well, I know it’s important when you tell me to do something so I lock the door to the room so I don’t forget it.”

He had my total attention but I had to pay attention to the road too. Trying not to laugh but certainly wanting to hear the rest of his discovery I responded, “Ok.”

“Well, there’s this little man running around in my head and he steals the keys to the doors. That’s why I can’t remember things. It’s the little man’s fault.”

An eight year old solved a major problem in the world, forgetfulness. It’s those little men in our heads running round. Not the million distractions of life, not ignoring what people tell us, and certainly not old age. Now if he could just figure out how to get them out of our brains. Our brain cells would work just fine!


He and the little man in his head now serve the United States Air Force!

Day Started with Tornado Warnings

It took me years to figure out the difference between tornado warnings and tornado watches. Not sure why really could be because I hear the word ‘TORNADO’ and I go into panic mood. This comes from an experience over 40 years ago!

I was 10 or 11 years old and my parents had gone out for the evening. They hired the teenaged neighbor girl to baby-sit myself and my two younger sisters. We lived in an old, old farmhouse in southern Michigan.

My Mom called and told the sitter to take us all to the basement. This was way before the modern warning systems where tornado watches and warnings are all over the television. Following Mom’s directions she packed us all up and we went to the basement. The dark, damp, musty Michigan basement was not a fun place to spend a minute much less several hours.

It seemed like we were there, huddled under the basement stairs for ever. Later I learned it was less than a couple hours. When the phone rang again upstairs it took some effort for the sitter to convince me to stay in the basement with my sisters while she went to answer the phone.

“It’s all clear. We can go back upstairs!” I know I nearly ran up those stairs so thrilled to escape the dungeon of the basement. The sitter put my sisters to bed but let me stay up until my parents got home. When we heard the car pull in the drive-way I ran upstairs to my bed so neither the sitter or I would get in trouble for my staying up so long after my bedtime.

The next morning I woke to find the huge barn about 50 yards from our house destroyed. It looked like someone picked up a Lincoln log toy house and dropped it 10-20 feet from the Michigan stone foundation. When I saw that and realized what the tornado ‘could’ have done to our house I didn’t think the basement was such a bad option after all.

I think that was when I realize my Mom was not out to just make my life miserable and sometimes we have to do things we don’t want to do but those things are for the better!

Tornado Watch - conditions one could develop watch for one.
Tornado Warning - one has been spotted take cover.

Whirl-Wind Weekend

Wow what can I? I spent most of the weekend reading, a great book by a new friend of mine "Living in the Heartland" a full review will be coming hopefully in the next few days.

Other than reading I worked some more on getting my family photographs organized. My 'pictures tub' was getting out of control. You know those albums that are falling apart, pictures that go pulled out for one project or another and never replaced, or the pictures you took and just didn't know what to do with.... Multiply that by 4 kids and 5 grandkids along with siblings, nieces and nephews and all the others. Not done yet but making great progress.

Yesterday I did make it out to Cascades Park and took a series of photos of kids & families sledding down the hills. Afraid pictures didn't come out as good as I had hoped but will be sharing some in the next few days.

'All By Myself'

Off to do some writing now - book review (my first) and another personal story from my life experience.

Good Morning World

It's Friday morning and my plans are to spend the day relaxing and reading a book - two things I have not done in ages. While I haven't done a lot of writing this week I have made some terrific new connections and made great progress on getting better organized.

I'm in the process of cleaning up my computer - being guilty of saving everything but then being unable to find things when I want them this was needed.

I also started a project with two of my grandchildren (Andrew 7 & Colleen 4) sorting out family photographs. This has provided great fun for the kids seeing their Mom, uncles, and Grandma as we were growing up. It also gave me a great blessing. In the tub of photos which contained a dozen albums that were falling apart and pictures falling out I found a picture of my Mom and her three brothers (my 3 favorite uncles - one has since passed away) that I didn't realize or remember I had.

An unexpected but rewarding activity this week was signing up with Redgage. At Redgage you can share writing, links, and photo. The only reason I joined was to share some of the 1000s of pictures I have on my computer but I got a great surprise. The second day I was a member one of my photos 'Lilies' was chosen as a featured photograph. Two days later I found myself on the 'Featured Users' list. Not sure how I managed that as I don't feel I've done anything other than share some pictures and make a few new friends but was/am honored.

While there have been some down times or  disappointments for the most part I would say this has been a terrific week filled with productivity, blessings, and rewards. Do you take joy in the small joys or are you waiting for the big prize? Myself am very happy with the little things and I hope you have had as great a week as I have.

Giving Out Rewards

It was late afternoon and I had to get to the bank before it closed. My horrid dilemma hit when I could not find my eye glasses. I can not drive without my glasses, my driver license says so. Plus I admit I can not see well without them (I’m near sighted).

I turned the house upside down searching, retracing my steps for the day turned up no sign of the needed spectacles. I knew they did not walk away on their own and as I was the only one whom used them I could not blame the disappearance on the kids.

Closing time was nearing so I broke down and offered a reward to the kids. ‘There’s a $5.00 reward for my glasses. I need them now!”

My next oldest son, about 15 at the time and standing over 6 foot tall sauntered into the kitchen where I was, “Mom does it matter where we find them? Do we still get the money?”

I did not understand his question but in a frantic I responded “Yes” to both his questions.

With a gesture much like I picture Sir Galahad my son swept his hand over my head and presented me with my eye glasses… He then put out his other hand with a look on his face that could only mean, “Ok, give me the money.”

Yes, the entire hour or more I was searching the house my glasses were right there on top of my own head – a place I have a habit of putting them as I do not need them unless driving, watching television, or on the rare occasion there is something I actually want to see that is more than 10 feet from my face.

I paid my son the money although a bit grudgingly. The real kicker was a week later my oldest son, 17 at the time, came in the house and asked, “Hey Mom do you know where your glasses are?”

A bit confused by his question I glanced towards the coffee table where my glasses rested and answered, “Yes, why?”

“Cause I need some money and figured that would be a quick way to make some.” We both laughed yet in our hearts neither of us really thought it was funny. He still needed money and I was still out $5 for my own stupidity.

I realized then that a week later I was still dissatisfied with having to keep my word and pay $5 for the missing glasses that were right on top of my own head.

I learned two lessons from this simple situation. One, if you lose something look for it in the obvious place first. Second, if you offer a reward, or anything else, be prepared to pay up but with a happy heart.

"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Luke 6:38 (New International Version)

May the Lord Bless you till we meet again,
Faith aka byfaithonly


Latest Published Work:
Travel destinations: Alnwick Castle, Northumbria

NIV Bible ~ New International Version: Listener's Bible 

The TNIV Bible: Timeless Truth in Today's Language™ 

New Look, New Name, New Attitude

For over three years I have been on and off posting to this blog. During those years the address has remained the same but the look, name, and content has changed several times.

We are now over a month into the New Year and as with years past I have found myself struggling for ‘information’ to post on a regular basis. Most blog gurus will say you should publish on a blog what you know or love. I am sorry but in the past my desire was to ‘make money on the internet’ so attempted to post information in that area.

Where was I going wrong? Although I do have some experience with earning money online I certainly would not say I know a great deal. Also, my heart has not been into testing programs over and over only to meet disappointment and in effect make money for someone else and little for myself.

This brings us to where we are now, The Ramblings of Faith. For many years I have had people say I needed to write a book about all the things that have happened to me and I have experienced. For 30 years I have worked on what I lovingly refer to as ‘The Book’ but never made it past the first few pages. I just was not geared for the autobiography type writing.

A few years ago the brain storm idea came to me – a collection of short stories from my life, The Ramblings of Faith. My blog will now be largely composed of those stories. I am very excited about this change in my blog and hope you will join me in the journey through my life. Share a laugh, a tear, encouragement and some disappointments.

I will from time to time share information or knowledge I pick up along the way as I ramble around the internet, internet addict that I am.

If you would like to keep up with me please take a minute and follow me on Twitter, follow The Ramblings of Faith via Google Friends, or subscribe to my rss feed. You can find all the information to do any or all of these things on the right panel. I would love to have you leave a comment here and let me know what you are up to – I love to follow people back and make new friends along the way.

May the Lord Bless you till we meet again,
Faith

CraigsList Job Offers

Day one of job searching...



Looking for a job can be a chore. After all the main thing you are doing is 'selling yourself'.

Early this morning I happened upon the 'Jobs' category at Craigslist. I was surprised to find several recent listing in my area. We do after all have an unemployment rate of over 15%.



This opened my eyes to a number of things:
Job positions I had not thought of but would be good at,
Realizing how little I knew about job hunting online,
and How safe is the internet.

Ok, we've all heard the horror stories about women being killed after applying for jobs online. Several of the jobs I found posted I would really love and know I would be good at them. Will I apply? I'm not sure at this point.

I am thinking a 'secure' email address - one that will not contain any of my personal information and simply sending an inquiry letter requesting more information on the listed jobs. I am thinking I could include a brief message as to my concern/safety.

Job Searching – Have a Plan

As with anything else in life having a plan when job searching is very important.

The first part of my job searching plan involves feeling better about myself. We all know that feeling when we are having a 'bad hair day' it just seems nothing at all goes right and if anything everything goes wrong.

Taking a deep breath, ok, several of them and cleansing my body of the negative thoughts and feelings that have surrounded me for months will do a lot to aid in feeling better about me and thus physically feeling better.

Other things that will greatly help are getting some fresh air. It is entirely too cold for a walk but a little old fashioned 'let the sun shine' will certainly help. Opening the shades and praying for sun today.

Then it will be on to working on my surroundings. It is a proven fact that a cluttered or dirty surrounding affects both your attitude and health. Although I would not say my house is dirty it certainly is cluttered – time to do some quick and early spring cleaning.

Also on the list of things to do today is to watch a movie. Not just any movie and actually one I have seen a hundred times before, "Braveheart". You know the one staring Mel Gibson. Am going to watch this time for homework – little cinema research for an article but not what you would expect, no 'movie review'.

This should keep me busy for the day and work towards my job search plan.

Want a little spring in the middle of winter? Check out these slideshows

Peonies
www.associatedcontent.com/slideshow/22294/peonies_.html
Daffodils
www.associatedcontent.com/slideshow/23720/daffodils.html

Peace and Joy,
Faith Draper aka byfaithonly

My Site By Faith Only.com
My Profile Associated Content
Follow Me on Twitter

Road to Unemployment

With today's economy it is not surprising that the work situation is affecting people's health. I am one of those people. Over the last few months I have found myself missing more and more work due to health issues. I am not proud of the fact that in six months I have missed more work than I did in the combined ten years prior.

Migraine head aches which I have suffered from in the past but never to the intensity or frequency as now are just one of the problems.. Stomach ailments have become a part of my life. Not sleeping at night and horrid nightmares or dreams about work is another issue.

The most resent problem combined with the others is panic attacks. Heart pounding, dizzy and a feeling the world is crashing in on me. Just the thought of work brings on these attacks and has for several days straight.

It is certainly time to find a new job. Granted this will not be an easy task but how long can a person continue to work on a job that is breaking down one's physical condition? I do have my internet earning to help but currently do need additional employment.

With an unemployment rate of over 15% in my town job searching will not be easy but I have enough confidence in myself to know I will succeed. I am a hard worker, smart, and reliable – under normal circumstances. In the meantime I have more time to write which does bring me some income but more than anything gives me some joy.

My latest work published on Associated Content:
Relationship with God – first part of my Christian testimony.
www.associatedcontent.com/article/2645383/relationship_with_god.html

Peace and Joy,
Faith Draper aka byfaithonly


My Profile Associated Content
Follow Me on Twitter

Selling Used Books

I have been a collector of books since around the age of 9 or 10 when my grandparents gave me my first 'real book' Heidi which I read a million times over the years. I have also moved a million times and after this last move decided it was time to let go of some 'things'. I am starting with books because they are the heaviest to move.

I plan to be working with craigslist and ebay while selling used books as well as some other things I'm ready to let go of but for right now am just doing it the old fashioned way ha ha ha - on my web site taking offers.

Right now I have mostly classics listed such as Mark Twain's collection of novels, a set by Louisa May Alcott (no, Little Women was not her only book) and an odd-ball collection of James Michener books. Although a little yellowed and certainly read all of my books have all of the pages and covers, both hardcovers and paperbacks.

If you are a lover of books, a collector, or just looking for something to read I would love it if you would stop by my site and take a look then drop me a line if interested in anything.

Splash Pages & Traffic Exchange Sites

Just a quick note today but wanted to let my readers know I've been busy today working on a couple projects I've wanted to do for some time now.

Two 'Splash Pages' - if your not failure with splash pages they are quick loading to the point, eye catching web pages. These pages work particularly well on traffic exchanges sites.

Just think about it, the average traffic exchange site gives the reader from 10 to 30 seconds to view a page before they move on to the next page - remember these members are more interested in accumulating credits to get their page seen than they are seeing what you have to offer.

This is why you want to very quickly get your page loaded and the most important information before them before they leave your page. Many of the different traffic exchange sites are actually providing already made splash pages for the members to use for promoting their traffic exchange. If you join or belong to sites that do this, by all means take advantage of the offer.

This first page is for promoting myLot, my favorite discussion forum (that pays me monthly) http://byfaithonly.com/myLotSplash.html

The second splash page I did is a little more detailed but I've made a point of making the page itself as well as all of the links open in a new window so surfers have the opportunity of opening it without interferring in their surfing
http://www.byfaithonly.com/SplashTraffic.html If you've taken the time to look you will see this page is promoting my favorite traffic exchange sites.

I highly recommend that you check with any and all programs you work with to see if they offer pre-made splash pages for their program or you may want to check into making or having someone else make some up for you.

So Much to Do So Little Time

Some days I wonder what on earth it's going to be next. These last few weeks have been just that - hectic and no relief.

Do have those times, be it days, weeks, or months. Maybe even years. For me it seems there is never a dull moment yet I feel like I've done nothing with my life.

I remember several years ago my Mom asked me if I would know what to do with myself if there wasn't something going on. Nope I wouldn't!

So, my great thought for the day is this with so much to do and so little time why do I/we keep looking for more 'things'? Because it's in our nature - what would life be like with nothing going on? Boring!

On that note I am determined to continue as is working on 2 web sites, 2 blogs, and a multitude of online programs along with starting a new business, being mother, grandmother, and friend....

To all my friends at myLot - big hugs and thank you so very much for keeping me in touch with reality and the real world along with all your support and encouragment.

To all my other readers, if your not yet a member please
Join me on myLot and meet a great variety and group of people from around the world.

Off to a New Year

Well, here it is the 5th of January and it looks like I'm starting my year off the same way I ended the last one - not finding time to post to my blogs :(

Believe me I am disappointed in myself as I have so very much to share. Also, although I am against New Years Resolutions I am determined to get back on track and start providing some useful information or at least something entertaining - with me you never really know what your going to get.

ByFaithOnly.com Something for Everyone

 By Faith Only is a Christian web site devoted to sharing God's love by way of music, graphics, scripture, poems, and inspirational messages. The main idea behind By Faith Only is not to stand on an Internet pulpit and preach religion to people but to offer useful information to anyone and everyone while at the same time sharing information about Christianity in different ways such as Bible Studies, Inspirational American Women, and personal stories about life.

There is a lot of information that is not bible thumping at By Faith Only in the recipe section you can find 100s of recipes for anything from cookies to salads, main dishes to low carbohydrate recipes. Not into cooking? How about tips on getting rid of flees or spiders naturally! By Faith Only also has an entire section devoted to America and proudly supports our service men and women. Or if you're into family genealogy you may want to visit the Family Tree area, who knows you may find some long lost relatives.
Whether you're looking for free graphics for your own web site, a good laugh, or just feel like crying. If you don't know what to give that great niece for a baby shower gift you might take a look at the homemade baby afghans for sale. If you're planning a trip to Michigan you can always by a visit to the section on Michigan and get some ideas for sites to visit while you're there. At By Faith Only there is something for just about everyone.
by Faith Draper

ByFaithOnly
http://byfaithonly.com

Afghans by Faith
http://byfaithonly.com/HomeMade/