Storytime Tapestry Newsletter

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

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March 24, 2006

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? Today??™s Announcements:

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Today we welcome Julie Jordan Scott as writer #306, for Storytime Tapestry.?  Many of you may know of Julie and her wonderful internet courses.?  For those of you who have not met this incredible lady yet, she is the inspiration behind all the creative writing you have seen me doing of late.?  Take the time to look at her website and join her programs.?  You will not be disappointed.?  Please email her and let her know what you think of her story and welcome her to our group.

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Today??™s Queue Stories

~**~**~

TIME TO LIVE

By: Joseph J. Mazzella

? ? ? ?  The longer I live the more I realize just how precious a thing time is. Time is our most valuable resource. It is the one thing that we would all like to have more of. The sad truth, though, is that most of us waste far too much of our time here just existing and spend far too little of our time here really living.

? ? ? ?  I decided recently that I wanted to spend as much time as I possibly could in my own life truly living. I didn't want to just exist. I didn't want to spend hours each day running from job to job, chore to chore, errand to errand, and activity to activity. I wanted to spend my days, hours, and moments loving, learning, and growing. I wanted to spend my time helping, caring, and sharing.?  I wanted to have the time of my life living the way God meant for me to.

? ? ? ?  Now days you won't find me on the road quite so often then. I try to combine my errands and limit my trips as much as possible. It gives me more time to read a good book with a cat sleeping on my lap and a dog curled up at my feet. Now days you won't find me watching so much television either. I find that time better spent going for walks, hugging my sons, talking with my daughter, and writing words like the ones you are reading here. Now days you won't find me restlessly looking for more work to do as well. I find that time better spent thinking of God, watching the sunset, singing a song, and laughing with my family and friends. The funny thing too is that now that I am giving myself time to live I find myself doing better and accomplishing more than I ever did before. Most of all, though, my time is now spent joyously and my days on Earth feel closer to Heaven.

? ? ? ?  Abraham Lincoln said, "It's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. "May all of us then have the time of our lives truly living the days and years God gives us here.

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? Joseph J. Mazzella
joecool @ wirefire.com

Joe lives in West Virginia with his wife and three children. Various dogs and cats have adopted Joe and his family for their own. Joe enjoys his family, beauty, love and hearing from his email friends. Joe likes to take the time to smell the roses and enjoy the beauty around him as he goes about his daily life.

~**~**~

ValueSpeak
A Weekly Column
By Joseph Walker

valuespeak@msn.com

? REALIZE LIFE . . . NOW!
? I blame Alan Jackson.
? The country music star??™s wistful ???Remember When??? was on the radio as I was driving Beth to school this morning.?  Yeah, I know ??“ ???Remember When??? is a romantic song about marital memories.?  I get that.?  But the whole notion of looking back fondly swept over me as I glanced at my daughter.?  Suddenly it hit me: we are exactly halfway through her high school career.
? Fifteen months ago she was a nervous, timid sophomore trying to pick out the perfect outfit to wear on her first day of high school.?  Fifteen months from now she??™ll be wearing a cap and gown and confidently moving on to . . . who knows what??  Who knows where?
? I don??™t think she noticed the tears in my eyes as I reached over and patted her hand.?  But she did smile at me ??“ that wide-eyed, joyful smile of hers that resonates with happiness, innocence and love.?  And for a moment I thought I was looking at her older sister Amy.?  This is partly because Beth and Amy look a lot alike.?  But it is also because it doesn??™t seem like so long ago ??“ could it possibly be 11 years? ??“ that Amy was in the car next to me as I drove her to high school.?  Amy would??™ve been singing along with Alan Jackson because Amy was always singing.?  And she would??™ve been wearing a baseball hat because she got up late and didn??™t have time to do her hair.
? That baseball hat used to bug me.?  But now, the memory of it makes me smile.
? I blink, and suddenly it??™s as if Joe Jr. is sitting in the car next to me.?  We??™re driving home from basketball practice at the high school, and he says he will starve to death if I don??™t stop at Wendy??™s and buy him a triple cheeseburger.?  Since we??™re a good five minutes away from home, and since dinner is probably 15 or 20 minutes from being on the table, I stop.?  I mean, I couldn??™t let my child starve, could I??  The burger is gone before we get home, and it doesn??™t put a dent in his appetite for dinner.
? His contented burp is still echoing in the car.?  I can hear it even if nobody else can.
? I blink again, and now it??™s Andrea sitting next to me.?  And if Andrea is sitting next to me and we??™re driving to school, I??™m laughing.?  For some reason Andrea felt it was her moral obligation to entertain me as I drove her to school each morning.?  Mostly she would do it with her voices and accents ??“ she was an actress, and she loved experimenting with different sounds that she could make.?  And I loved listening to her.?  I would smile all the way to work after dropping her off.?  And now, even seven years later, I??™m still smiling.
? Only now I??™m smiling at Beth.?  To her, it??™s just another morning on the way to school.?  But to me, it??™s suddenly important, and I want to remember every detail: the smell of the strawberry yogurt she??™s eating while we drive, the sight of her trying to heft her huge pink book bag to her shoulder (why has she adjusted the strap so it hangs so low?), the pleasant sensation of her lips brushing my cheek as she kisses me good-bye, the sound of Alan Jackson singing on the radio: ???We won??™t be sad, we??™ll be glad for all the life we??™ve had, and we??™ll remember when.???
? Near the end of Thornton Wilder??™s classic ???Our Town,??? a character is given the opportunity to go back in time to re-live a simple, ordinary day of her life.?  She is stunned by how little we appreciate the everyday wonders of life and the people with whom we share it.?  ???Oh, earth,??? she exclaims, ???you??™re too wonderful for anybody to realize you!???
? Please don??™t let this be so for you and your loved ones.?  Realize them now.?  Savor each moment with them for what it is: a glorious, wondrous gift from God.
? Now if you??™ll excuse me, I??™ve got to take Jon, our youngest, to junior high.
? I just hope Alan Jackson isn??™t singing on the radio.

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~**~**~

In Your Dreams
?© 2002
Julie Jordan Scott

George Eliot's words "It is never too late to
be what you might have been" ring clearly and purely in my mind and
heart.

There was a time when I did not believe this. I could not hear it. There
certainly was no ringing in my mind or heart. That was the time in my life
where I was literally numb. As in Charles Dickens "Tale of Two Cities" it
was as if I was "buried alive for 18 years!" although for me it was more
like 5 or 7 or 9 at the most.

Anytime figuratively buried alive is too much time.

And anytime figuratively buried alive can be used to catapult you into
becoming what you might have been. In fact, it may be exactly the catalyst
you need to get where you most want to go.

One of my friends said, "You can't do ANYTHING small. Everything has to
be BIG for you!" In fact, she said it with disdain in her voice. She
obviously has not been with me throughout the buried alive times in my
life, where doing much of anything out of the ordinary seemed
perposterous. I also wonder what is buried in HER that makes my BIGNESS
so threatening?

Where are you today? Are you being what you might have been?

Have you fallen asleep to what you might have been?

Are you denying fervently what you might have been?

As I am seeing my dreams blossom forth into the world, I literally laugh
out loud in delight. I frequently say things like, "Is this REALLY me?"

The answer is a resounding YES!

And the YES is borne from embracing George Eliot's words: "It is never
too late to be what you might have been."

Don't wait to wear purple. Don't wait to start creating. Don't wait until
everything is perceived to be "just right". Don't wait to get "this one last
task" completed. Don't wait!

Step out NOW so a month, a year, a decade from now you will NOT be in
the same place you are now. Even if where you are in this moment is as
miraculous as you think it could possibly be, I guarantee there is another
magnificent miracle further along the path. Keep walking the path in your
moment. Know that it is never too late.

Don't accept being buried alive.

Activate your Passion today. Become completely alive.

Passion Activator: Listen carefully to your language this week. Are you
expressing a lot of "Waiting for the perfect time to.....(fill in your
blank)...."
Waiting for that is like writing your letter of resignation to the thriving
world. As you notice yourself thinking these thoughts or worse, speaking
these thoughts, ask yourself, "How may I best serve myself and the planet
through shifting out of this brand of thinking?"

Don't concern yourself with a perfect answer or any answer for that
matter. Simply ask it. And re-ask it. And re-ask it. The answer will
come to you at exactly the right time.

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Julie Jordan Scott

julie@5passions.com

Welcome to your new week! Activate Your Passion!

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Julie Jordan Scott is a Writer, Speaker, Success Coach, Actor,
Workshop Facilitator and Mother Extraordinaire who created
the DreamActivation program to ignite your dreams.
Use the Power of DreamWitness, Focus and Intentional
Action to live your wildest dreams now....
http://www.5passions.com/dreamactivationnew.html

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Poetry Section

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Think of God

Joyce C. Lock

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When the World Seems Shallow - LOVE

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  And Everything's Amiss - PEACE

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  Just Think of God - TRUTH

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? And Remember Who He Is - JOY

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?© by Joyce C. Lock

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~**~**~

Through the Night

? Joyce C. Lock

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Did you seek Him in the darkness
As you praised Him in the light?

Did the song of your daytime
Last you through the night?

In tribulation, did you
Still carry His name?

With the good and the bad,
Did you love Him just the same?

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?© by Joyce C. Lock

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~**~**~

Today

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Joyce C. Lock

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Today and

in the days to come ...

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May you experience

God's comforting peace,

Knowing He will always do

The most loving thing possible.

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?© by Joyce C. Lock

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Readers Feedback

Hi Kathy, I hope this is helpful...?  I know PETA really gets on things.?  I can't believe they don't know about this atrocity in Jourdanton.?  Love, Barbara

Carol,
? ?  I loved your St. Patrick's Day issue.?  I especially loved learning more
about Ireland and St. Patrick
himself.?  Have a joyful Saint Patrick's day.?  Joe

Prayer Requests and Updates

Janice, if you are having this surgery at the UAB
hospital in Birmingham, then you are in a wonderful
place.?  My son had surgery there last year in Feb. and
he had wonderful care and a wonderful surgeon.?  His
surgery was on his shoulder and was done due to an old
football injury.?  His doctor has? left UAB but there
are other great doctors there.?  I will remember you in
my prayers.?  Doris

P. S.?  We ate at a wonderful seafood restaurant across
from the hospital.?  Can't remember the?  name but it
was run by folks from Greece.

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Senior Writers

Chief writer: Sharon Bryant

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Agee, Vance; Apted, Violet; Baker, Kathy; Batt, Al; Berry, Nell; Blaine, Pamela; Boda, Ginger; Buhagiar, Victor; Cassady, B.J.; Cavalera, Robyn; Crider, Mark; Deming, Barb; Doherty, Maria; Gilbert, Robert, Jr.; Goodier, Steve; Braun-Haley, Ellie; Harris, Kathy Anne; Hunt, Sharlett; Hymes, Christina; Jacobson, Gary; Kiser, Roger Dean; Kerens, Claudia; Kevin, Tim; Jenkins, Pamela; Liles, Norma; Lily Jodi Flesberg; Lock, Joyce; Marlor, Janice Bumbalough; Mazzella, Joe; Morris, Deepak; Ojeibge, Georgewaters; Petry, Dianna Doles; Roberts, Susan; Shiveley, Debra; Shaw, Bob; Sims, Richard; Streidel, Saskia; Swarner, Ken; Vaknin, Sam; Verhoeff, Jan; Walker, Bill; Walker, Joe; Warner, Gordon, K; Walsh, Sue; Weymouth, Barbara J.; Whirity, Kathy;

Wainland, David; White Robert;

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Storytime Tapestry Staff

Carol Roach - Founder/publisher

Thelma Hartselle - Co-Founder, Moderator

Clara Westerfer ??“ moderator

Bob Johnston - moderator

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