Storytime Tapestry Newsletter

The newsletter devoted to spreading love and cultural awareness around the world.

Feb 20, 2007

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Today’s Stories

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 When Worry Becomes A Prayer

Robin Lee

Thoughts Of Concern

If prayer is an intention that we announce to the universe in order to create a desired outcome, then our every thought is a prayer. This includes thoughts of worry as well as of hope. All thoughts are subtle creative energy. Some thoughts are more focused or repeated more often, gathering strength. Some are written down or spoken, giving them even greater power. Every thought we have is part of a process whereby we cocreate our experience and our reality with the universe. When we use our creative energy unconsciously, we create what is commonly known as self-fulfilling prophecy. In essence, when we worry, we are repeatedly praying and lending our energy to the creation of something we don't want.

The good news is that we can retrain our minds and thoughts to focus our energy on what we do desire to bring into our lives. Since most worry is repetitive, it will take more than one positive thought to counteract the energy we've created. The simplest antidote to worry is affirmations. When we hold these positive thoughts, repeat them often, speak them and write them and refer to them throughout our day, we are using focused energy to create positive results.

We can start right away, together: I am a creative being, using my energy to cocreate a wonderful world. I know that I create my experience of life from within, and as I do so, I also create ripples of energy around me that echo into the world. My positive thoughts gather together with the thoughts and prayers of others, and together we create enough positive energy to heal not only our own lives but the world we share. I am grateful for the ability to cocreate good in my life and in the world.

A lot of times we have concerned loved ones that worry about us. When this happens they are also sending out a worry prayer to the world. A loving conversation letting them know what is happening is the easiest solution. Also, ask them to send you positive affirmations rather than worry about you. After all, worry doesn't do them any good either. Explain to them that worry can actually be energetically harmful to you and that wishing good things for you is much more beneficial and much more fun too.

Robin Lee

onespiritx3@yahoo.com

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MUSHROOMS

By: Joseph J. Mazzella

     I never liked mushrooms when I was a boy. There seemed something strange about them. They grew in clumps of dead leaves, on rotting tree trunks, and in moldy basements. Their white, fleshy texture seemed almost ghostly as well. In addition, I had been warned a hundred times not to eat any wild ones because they might be poisonous. This didn’t put me in a mood to taste them then when I saw my Grandma getting ready to put them on a pizza one day. I did, however, work up my courage and ate a raw one while she was spreading the sauce. It tasted just like it looked: musky, bland, and unwholesome. I spit it back out right away and from then on I picked the mushrooms out of anything I ate without tasting them.

     It wasn’t until I was an adult that I was pressured into trying mushrooms again. This time, though, I found out something I hadn’t known before. When you cook mushrooms in something they not only take on the flavor of that food, but they enhance it as well. Soon I was enjoying mushrooms in soups, on steaks, in sauces, and even on pizzas. I became a true mushroom lover and have enjoyed this wonderful creation of God ever since.

     I realized something special too. God often gives us a lot of different "mushrooms" in our lives. Often we have to go through things and experiences that we don’t like and even are afraid of. After they are stirred in with the rest of our lives, though, we find that they have helped us rather than harmed us. I know that more than once I have been mad at God for having to go through pain, disappointment, and hardship only to later find that these things have brought me to a place of deeper love, joy, caring, and oneness with Him. Don’t be afraid of the mushrooms that come your way then. Stir them in, cook them up, and enjoy the feast of life that God has given you. And don’t forget to set a place at the table for everyone you love.

Joe Mazzella

joecool@wirefire.com

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Thirteen Men Who Were Willing To Die

Chris Hansen

Thirteen men went on a three year mission to change the world.  How did they do?  At first, things did not go well at all.  Jesus, a young rabbi who preached fiery sermons against a corrupt religious establishment ended up dead on a Roman cross.  Ten followers ran like cowards.  One follower, named Peter denied that he even knew his master on three different occasions.  One of his followers, Judas, betrayed his master and committed suicide.  One follower, John, did stick around long enough to take the mother of Jesus home with him.  Well, that’s a really poor start. It is far from the end of the story.

So, whatever happened to the young rabbi who got himself killed, and his eleven followers?  These eleven men claimed that they had seen their risen master alive!  Jewish and Roman authorities did everything they could to suppress this wild story to no avail.  Then hundreds of eyewitnesses came forward also claiming that they too had seen the risen Jesus.  These eleven leaders and their followers were chased from town to town, beaten, imprisoned, tortured, and even killed.  Jews accused them of upsetting the laws of Moses.  Romans accused them of treason for declaring that Jesus rather than Caesar was Lord.  Greeks laughed at them for insisting on their monotheistic views. 

How did they end their lives?  Judas committed suicide for his betrayal.  Ten followers died horrible deaths still insisting that the resurrection had actually happened.  The final follower died an old man who never changed his wild story that his dead master had actually come to life.  Hundreds and then thousands of followers went out all over the Roman world persuading millions that the stories about Jesus were all true.  Two-thousand years later, billions now believe that these amazing events in the life of Jesus really took place.  The followers of Jesus were willing to die for him simply because they saw supernatural events they just could not explain.  What they saw filled them with a courage that just can’t be explained in normal natural terms.  Jesus came!  They saw!  They conquered!  So will we.

Chris Hansen

chrishansen54@sbcglobal.net

Author:

“Revelation Revisited,” “Secret of the Psalms,” “Grandfather’s Journal.”

http/www.xlibris.com

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Poetry Corner

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Tears
Cynthia

Cleansing the dry eye,
Tears are like a soft salty mist oozing from the sky.
Like a gentle April shower,
Tears of intense joy, exude profound power.
Like the sea or ocean that will roar in a raging way.
Constant tears of depression or sadness,
Are the dark storm clouds of a sunny day.
 Oh, tears of joy, happily flow,
 As they are like springtime plants that will sprightly grow.
 Tears of sorrow,
 Will flood the dreams of my tomorrow.
 So, I ask myself,
 To place the worries and woes on the high back shelf.


Cynthia Groopman
Cynthia.Groopman@verizon.net
Copyright ©2004 Cynthia Groopman

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I Beam
Cynthia Groopman

I beam with awe,
At God's creation which I truly treasure and adore.
I beam with love,
At the clear blue sky so high above.
I beam with smiles,
At cultural differences customs and styles.
I beam with admiration,
At each good deed and joyful with deep appreciation.
I beam at God's shining light,
That guides me through the darkness of each of life's plights.
For the beam of everlasting friendship,
Is the candle shining so brightly in my heart,
And its brilliant glitter will forever remain and will never part.


Cynthia Groopman
Cynthia.Groopman@verizon.net

Copyright ©2006 Cynthia Groopman

Readers Feedback

Thank you Bruce for “Your History”  WonderfulI !  I would love to have more history lessons from your pen.               Louise

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