Sunday,Apr 8 2007, 12:57:31 PMWhat Is Maturity?

I've got this from my friend, Gabrielle, who forwarded to my email account. I thought what it is written here is quite true , so I post it here for everyone to read. Do you agree?

What Is Maturity

Maturity is the ability to control anger and settle differences without violence or destruction.
Maturity is patience. It is the willingness to pass up immediate pleasure in favor of the long-term gain.

Maturity is perseverance, the ability to sweat out a project or a situation in spite of heavy opposition and discouraging set-backs. Maturity is the capacity to face unpleasantness and frustration, discomfort and defeat, without complaint or collapse.

Maturity is humility. It is being big enough to say, "I was wrong." And, when right, the mature person need not experience the satisfaction of saying, "I told you so."
Maturity is the ability to make a decision and stand by it. The immature spend their lives exploring endless possibilities; then they do nothing.

Maturity means dependability, keeping one's word, coming through in a crisis. The immature are masters of the alibi. They are the confused and the disorganized. Their lives are a maze of broken promises, former friends, unfinished business, and good intentions that somehow never materialize.

Maturity is the art of living in peace with that which we cannot change, the courage to change that which should be changed -- and the wisdom to know the difference.

Sunday,Apr 8 2007, 12:52:29 PMWife or Girlfriend

Dear Tech Support:

Last year I upgraded Girlfriend 7.0 to Wife 1.0. I soon noticed that the new program began unexpected child processing that took up a lot of space and valuable resources. In addition, Wife 1.0 installed itself into all other programs and now monitors all other system activity. Applications such as Poker Night 10.3 , Football 5.0 , Hunting and Fishing 7.5 , and Racing 3.6 .

I can't seem to keep Wife 1.0 in the background while attempting to run my favorite applications. I'm thinking about going back to Girlfriend 7.0 , but the uninstall doesn't work on Wife 1.0. Please help! Thanks, A Troubled User.

______________________________________

REPLY: Dear Troubled User:

This is a very common problem that men complain about. Many people upgrade from Girlfriend 7.0 to Wife 1.0, thinking that it is just a Utilities and Entertainment program. Wife 1.0 is an OPERATING SYSTEM and is designed by its Creator to run EVERYTHING!!! It is also impossible to delete Wife 1.0 and to return to Girlfriend 7.0 . It is impossible to uninstall, or purge the program files from the system once installed.

You cannot go back to Girlfriend 7.0 because Wife 1.0 is designed to not allow this. Look in your Wife 1.0 manual under Warnings-Alimony-Child Support. I recommend that you keep Wife1.0 and work on improving the situation. I suggest installing the background application "Yes Dear" to alleviate software augmentation.

The best course of action is to enter the command C:\APOLOGIZE because ultimately you will have to give the APOLOGIZE command before the system will return to normal anyway.

Wife 1.0 is a great program, but it tends to be very high maintenance . Wife 1.0 comes with several support programs, such as Clean and Sweep 3.0 , Cook It 1.5 and Do Bills 4.2 .

However, be very careful how you use these programs. Improper use will cause the system to launch the program Nag Nag 9.5 . Once this happens, the only way to improve the performance of Wife 1.0 is to purchase additional software. I recommend Flowers 2.1 and Diamonds 5.0 !

WARNING!!! DO NOT, under any circumstances, install Secretary With Short Skirt 3.3 . This application is not supported by Wife 1.0 and will cause irreversible damage to the operating system.

Best of luck,

Tech Support

Saturday,Mar 17 2007, 03:56:56 PMIntroducing Joss stone

Joss Stone has sold more than 7.5 million albums worldwide; been nominated for four Grammy Awards; appeared onstage with James Brown, The Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, Elton John, Patti Labelle, Mavis Staples, Donna Summer, and Smokey Robinson; sat for an interview with Oprah Winfrey; starred in two major ad campaigns for the Gap; and performed for more than 200,000 people at the 2005 Live 8 Concert in London - all before reaching the ripe old age of 19.

And yet, only now, on her third album, Introducing Joss Stone, does the British soul singer and songwriter feel she is expressing her true musical vision. "This is the first album I've made that is truly me," she says. "That's why I'm calling it Introducing Joss Stone. These are my words, and this is who I am as an artist."

Knowing she needed to write the album alone, Stone decamped to the Caribbean island of Barbados in April to come up with lyrics. There, amid the sandy beaches and warm tropical breezes, she had an epiphany. "I'm driving along in my car and I'm thinking, 'Why am I going through life looking for unconditional love from a human being, when it's music that's unconditional?" she says. "It's always there for me. It's the love of my life. I've found it."

That simple realization became a major theme, both lyrical and musical, on Introducing Joss Stone, and it explains the album's electrifying mix of warm vintage soul, '70s-style R&B, Motown girl-group harmonies, and jazzy grooves performed by a live band conducted by Stone's main musical collaborator and producer Raphael Saadiq (known for his work with D'Angelo, The Roots, and Macy Gray). "Raphael [who plays bass on the album] is the most mind-blowing musician I've ever met in my whole life," Stone says. "Musically, I feel like he reads my mind. I'll give him a look and he'll know exactly what I want." Stone and Saadiq spent two months recording in the Bahamas, and then mixed the album at the legendary Electric Lady Studios in New York City.

From the first beat of the languid opening track, "Music", every note, groove, and harmony is infused with Stone's love for the gift of song. On "Music," she sings: "I'm so in love with my music / The way you keeping me moving / Ain't nobody do what you doing." The track, originally inspired by "The Mask" by The Fugees, features a rap by Fugees singer Lauryn Hill. Stone's collaborator on the song, Novel, a writer and producer who is the grandson of soul legend Solomon Burke, jokingly suggested they ask the famously reclusive star to make a guest appearance. "And of course, being me, I was like, 'I'm going to get her.'" Stone called Hill's mother every day for a month and a half, asking if her daughter had listened to the song. "Every day I'd say, 'Have you heard from Lauryn?' and she would just be like, 'No.' Click. But I just couldn't let go until it happened."

Then there's the Supremes-esque "Girl, They Won't Believe It," which is about finding happiness through music. "When I was in school, I wanted to be a singer and everyone said I was crazy," Stone says. "They'd be like, 'Get your head out of those clouds and come do your math work.' So now I'm telling them, 'Girl, they won't believe it, I finally found some sweet through the bitters of life. All I need is a kiss from a melody."

As any soul album worth its salt must, Introducing Joss Stone features its share of relationship songs, from the blissed-out "Catch Me I'm Falling," with a shuffling groove and string arrangement that would make Marvin Gaye proud, to the sweet, dreamy "Tell Me What We're Going To Do Now" (featuring guest rapper Common), to the classic Motown vibe of "In the Arms of My Baby," which Stone wrote about feeling lonely on the road. "That song is about needing to be back somewhere where I feel like home," she says. "Sometimes you need a hug or affection from someone. You can't have that over the phone."

Of course love ain't always rosy. On the bitter, regretful break-up song "I Wish" Stone sings: "I wish I never met you / I finally had enough of your shit / I should have left your ass a long time ago." "It's all cool now," she says with a laugh. "We're friends, but when something ends, all you have left is that deep hurt. But I had to go through that hurt in order to write these songs." The superfunky, playful first single "Tell Me 'Bout It" finds Stone moving on, looking for new love, but wondering why he can't step up to the plate. "That is my life story," she says, sighing. "It's like, come on, tell me how you feel. Don't be such a wuss. It's clear that you like me and I like you, so just do something about it!"

From the time the Devon, England-bred Stone emerged on the music scene at age 16, she has always displayed a strength and intensity, despite insisting that back then, being so young, she didn't know what she was doing. Critics disagreed, calling her a singer who possesses a "rich, deep, soulful belt," as the New York Post put it, and "unlike any singer of her generation." In 2003, Stone released The Soul Sessions, an album of covers of obscure soul tracks, hit the road for a year, then recorded 2004's Mind, Body & Soul, her first album of original material. Of that album, Newsweek noted: "Stone can croon it sad, deep, and throaty, belt it out juke-joint style, or get down and funky for the bump-and-grind crowd," while Interview heralded her "gutsy voice, which can sting like aged bourbon, or melt like strap molasses."

Stone was nominated for three Grammy Awards in 2005, including Best New Artist, and performed a memorable tribute to Janis Joplin with Melissa Etheridge at the ceremony. Their rendition of "Cry Baby"/"Piece of My Heart" was released as a single, and became Stone's first Top 40 hit in the U.S. That same year, Stone appeared on every American late-night and morning talk show, and scored magazine features everywhere from Rolling Stone to Vanity Fair as well as the cover of fashion bible Elle.

In February 2006, she joined Stevie Wonder, John Legend, and India.Arie for the Super Bowl XL pre-game show, while on the night of the 2006 Grammy Awards, she appeared with Legend and Van Hunt singing a medley of hits by soul star Sly Stone. Their cover of "Family Affair," which appears on the Sly Stone tribute album Different Strokes By Different Folks, has been nominated this year for a Grammy Award for "Best R&B Performance By A Duo or Group." Always game to honor the legends who came before her, Stone brought down the house with her rendition of Dusty Springfield's "Son of a Preacher Man" at the UK Music Hall of Fame Awards in November.

Stone will be no less busy in 2007, when Virgin Records releases Introducing Joss Stone.

Visit the website:  http://www.jossstone.com/

Wednesday,Feb 28 2007, 01:51:00 PMA Healthy Look At Yourself

When is the last time that you compared yourself to someone else? Women are notorious for comparing ourselves to each other and determining in our minds that we are better than some but not as bad as others in many areas of our lives. We rate and gauge the worth of our looks, families, homes, financial situations, possessions, jobs and knowledge based on what others have. This is a faulty comparison system that we tend to continue in our own minds even if we never say it out loud. When you compare yourself to others on a continual basis your mental wellness starts to suffer.

Here are four steps to begin to break the cycle of comparison.

1. Realize and appreciate your uniqueness. There is no one else exactly like you. You are very individual and created exactly the way God intended. Nothing about you in a mistake. When you compare yourself to others you are essentially saying that God was wrong for making you this way.

2. Realize that everyone is made from the same pattern. Genesis 1:26, "Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness.'" While you are unique in your make up, every person is made in the image of God and that give us a special bond as humans that we do not find with any other of God's creations.

3. Focus your thoughts on bigger things. Philippians 4:8, "Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent of praiseworthy - think about such things."

4. Be the very best you can be. Be as well as YOU can be not as well as you think someone wants you to be or as well as someone else is. Seek to find what is healthiest and best for you and follow that path.

As you walk the wellness path this month, avoid comparing your pace and progress with others. Rely on God to lead and direct you. Wellness is achieved one wise choice as a time. Choose to stop comparing yourself to others.

Wednesday,Feb 28 2007, 01:40:35 PMStaying Healthy on the Go

DALLAS (BP)--Let's face it. Most of us live our lives always "on the go." But we still need to take the time to be healthy. I recently shared this "on the go" wellness information with our marketing staff who accumulate thousands of frequent flyer miles each year.

Nutrition
Eating on the go often means making poor food choices. To make better choices, keep these things in mind:

-- Stay away from fast food restaurants and buffets. Eating healthy is all about making wise choices: portion control, grilled instead of fried, salad dressing on the side, fresh vegetables instead of fries, fresh fruit for dessert, etc.

-- Eat three to five times a day. Be sure to eat breakfast — it doesn't have to be big, just a protein, a carb, and a dairy will kick-start your day. Grab an extra yogurt or fruit before you leave home for a mid-morning snack. Eat lunch. Have an afternoon snack and then eat a light dinner.

-- Drink plenty of water.

Exercise
Take every opportunity to exercise when you are on the go.

-- When traveling by car, take frequent walk breaks at parks, rest stops, tourist sites, etc. If traveling by plane, check in if necessary, and then walk around until time to board.

-- However you are traveling, it is important to exercise your legs. While sitting, blood can collect in the lower part of your body and create deep vein thrombosis (blood clots). Just moving each heel up and down for a minute will pump the blood to the upper portion of your body.

-- Most hotels have some type of exercise facility. If your hotel does not, exercise in your room with a jump rope, exercise bands, or a DVD.

Sleep
It can be difficult to get a good night's sleep when you are away from home. Some tips for improving sleep:

-- Exercise more than one to two hours before bedtime.

-- Don't eat a big meal just before going to bed.

-- Bring your pillow from home. Sometimes that is all you need.

-- Bring some "white noise" to drown out unfamiliar noises. This might be radio music played very low or actual "white noise" that you can pick up in stores like Sharper Image.

Remember, if you have to be on-the-go, get going with wellness.

Tamara Quintana is a graduate of All Saints Episcopal Hospital School of Vocational Nursing and the director of the employee wellness program for GuideStone Financial Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention.