Happy Father's Day Donald, Caleb, and David!

Ahhhh, here we are at another FATHER'S DAY!!
So I am here doing my Father's Day post.  HOWEVER, it is not about my Father, I blogged about my father HERE! This Father's Day post is also not about God, I blogged about Him HERE!
But I do want to give honor to a guy that has been fulfilling the role of Father to my grandson!
DH has been a part of our family for the past 4 years.  My daughter and DH have been together since she was pregnant.  He is at every holiday gathering, every family function, he is my honorary son!  He has stepped up to do a job that is not his job to do by blood but he chose to do it anyway.  He is not only a help to my daughter but he also helps the family whenever we need him too.  He goes above and beyond to do for a child that is not his but he does so willingly!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY DONALD! I HONOR YOU TODAY!!

My 3 Sons Sam, Donald, & David 

(I have one more son to add now)

Daddy Donald and his family at the pool!

Donald's 3 sons (My grandbaby on the right!)

I would be remiss if I did not mention my other son Caleb!  As you may know I am about to have another grandson (due in October!) Caleb inserted himself into my family about a year ago (and we can't seem to get rid of him!).  I pray that he is receptive to the call of God on his life (Because being a FATHER is a  FULL TIME JOB and is better done WITH GOD!).

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY CALEB! Your job is just beginning!

I of course must give my son a HAPPY FATHER'S DAY shout out!!  

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY DAVID!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY GENTLEMEN! I LOVE YOU ALL!
Mom!

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America, Racist America...

Excerpt from "America The Beautiful"...

America! America!

God shed His grace on thee,

And crown thy good with brotherhood

From sea to shining sea.

Ok, so let me first say that if GOD, HIMSELF has shed HIS grace on something or someone I think there should be a better testament to His Grace and Love.  And that word BROTHERHOOD is clearly ignored by MANY!
The REALITY is that MANY people and factions of people and locations are indeed RACIST.  This HAS NOT and likely WILL NOT change.  This POST-RACIAL AMERICA is AS RACIST or MORE  RACIST then the Pre-Racial America!  (I think the ONLY, TRULY Pre-Racial America was before America existed...)
This should NOT come as a surprise to anyone but for some reason people always seem to be surprised when things that are clearly racist in nature are exposed.
Case in point, a couple weeks ago a television commercial was showed by the General Mills company, makers of Cheerios breakfast cereal.  The Cheerios commercial portrayed a bi-racial daughter of a Caucasian mother and African American father.  I applaud General Mills/Cheerios for the commercial.  In efforts to remain relevant, and in efforts to include all audiences it stepped outside the box and boldly aired this interracial family.  An amazing marketing ploy because more people are talking about Cheerios now than ever before!  Even negative press is still press.  Also there are the people who are so proud of the bold move and will go out and buy the product just because General Mills dared to do something so courageous.
I won't lie, even I want to go out and buy some cheerios... but then again I actually like cheerios!

Any way the point is that "SOME" people were so OUTRAGED that General Mills dared to show a bi-racial couple (AND this couple had the AUDACITY to bring forth a little mixed breed baby... the shame of it all!! **rolls eyes**) that they posted comment after racist comment on YouTube.  Which caused the Cheerios company to disable comments as well as delete all comments that had been posted.

Here is the commercial that started the whole brewhaha!


I also came across this very clever spoof of the commercial. I like the line, "And NOW we're giving America what it wants"... wow


Anyway, again I APPLAUD CHEERIOS/GENERAL MILLS for the commercial. And for the record it would have REALLY IMPRESSED ME if General Mills/Cheerios had publicly issued a statement, via You Tube or posted to the CHEERIOS/GENERAL MILLS website about the commercial.  I think just disabling the comments and walking away is a COP-OUT!  But hey at least we have the commercial...

What say YOU???

Blessings,
Regina

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They Shall See God - Book Review

I DEFINITELY give this book 5 out of 5 star rating!

WOW!! What an AWESOME READ! This book was an excellent example of how LOVE, HATE, GUILT, & FEAR can shape or misshape lives!
A FEAR that immobilizes, a LOVE that sacrifices, a GUILT that hardens the heart... wow! The enemy is TRULY a deceiver who purposes to steal, and to kill, and to destroy!
This book is a must read for BELIEVERS and Non-BELIEVERS alike!

CHRISTIAN versus JEW, LOVE versus HATE... This book takes our inner most fears and puts it on the table, exposing our inconsistencies, our insecurities, our loneliness, our love, and our sacrifices and shows us how it can literally destroy lives.

They Shall See God pick up your copy HERE

Happy Reading!
Regina

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Baby Likes Spinach!

SPINACH, SPINACH, SPINACH! I have a daughter who I could not get to eat leafy greens. This child of mine also happens to be pregnant. So with the baby coming I have been trying to impress upon her the importance of eating right for her AND the baby! As most women who have had a child already know THE BABY WILL DRAW EVERYTHING IT NEEDS FROM YOU! Yes, the baby will drain you of your calcium, your iron, your essential vitamins and minerals, so YES, YOU will need to over compensate by eating MORE of the ESSENTIALS!

All that being said, guess what my daughter has started doing???  She now likes to put her leafy greens in smoothie form! This is a good thing because she needs to get the iron in by ANY MEANS NECESSARY! So she is getting her healthy doses of spinach accompanied by fruit. And wonder of wonders, she kept it down! Which means THE BABY LIKES SPINACH!!

Now I just have to convince her to smoothie it up on a REGULAR basis! Yes, I also had a GREEN MACHINE! The Green Machine contained spinach, pineapples, bananas, strawberries, and a splash of orange juice! I honestly cannot tell you if it was good or not because I drank mine as if I was in a bar tossing back shots! Yes, I took it to the head, in other words. I picked up my glass, ate my strawberry, took a deep breath, and then drank that green mess like my life depended on it. Swallowed it down in one gulp! Since I used to drink (recreationally of course!) years ago, my daughters were laughing, talking about I activated my LIQUOR LUNGS to drink it so fast! LOL! WHATEVER, I still got it down!

Get your allotted amount of FRUITS and VEGETABLES in by ANY MEANS NECESSARY!! YOUR LIFE depends on it!

Smooches,
Regina



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What To Do When Being Nice FAILS.....

So, I received an email from a lady named LAUREN CARPENTER (Actually a number of emails!). Ms Carpenter works for the digital branding company BlueFirePR (according to her emails). Ms. Carpenter wanted to know if I wanted some material from BlueFirePR for my webpage.
I told Ms. Carpenter that I DID NOT want any material from BlueFirePR, that I was not currently looking for guest posts for my blog.
For some reason Ms. LAUREN CARPENTER DID NOT understand what the word NO meant because she emailed me THREE TIMES! I was nice the first TWO TIMES but by the time email NUMBER THREE arrived, I was starting to get pissed off.  So like any other blogger I BLOG MY FRUSTRATIONS!!!  And YES I am sending LAUREN CARPENTER of BlueFirePR company the link to this blog post so she can see that SHE IS FRUSTRATING ME!!!
NO MEANS NO, I am starting to feel violated (No I am not in any way trivializing rape, I am just venting and voicing MY frustrations with this lady!).
So if any of you gets an email from LAUREN CARPENTER the PR Coordinator of BlueFirePR please be FOREWARNED she does NOT know the meaning of the word NO, she likes to HARASS(aka- Spam your inbox)!
Well, at least they got some FREE PR! Even bad PRESS is PRESS!
These are the email exchanges she and I had...

LAUREN CARPENTER WROTE:>>>

On Thu, May 9, 2013 at 7:14 PM, Lauren Carpenter wrote:
Hi,
I wanted to follow up with and make sure you received my original email a few days ago. As I previously stated I have a guest post opportunity for you. I think it will be a perfect fit for your site. The article will be of no cost to you and I can get it to you as soon as next week to review. Can we discuss this further?
I look forward to your response.
Thank you for your time,
Lauren Carpenter
PR Coordinator
BlueFirePR
lauren@bluefirepr.com

I replied>>>

Sorry, I did see your email the other day but have been finishing up some projects and had not had the chance to reply.  Thank you but I am not in need of guest posts at this time.
Regards
JR Seaman

LAUREN CARPENTER WROTE:>>>

On Fri, May 10, 2013 at 11:04 AM, Lauren Carpenter wrote:

Hello JR,
Thank you for taking the time to get back to me. Happy Friday!
I understand that you probably aren't looking for guest posts right now, but I would like to take this opportunity to tell you a little more about what I am offering.
I work with a team of journalists and we are looking to build long-term relationships. My team of writers and editors create editorial content for free.
We do not pay to place our articles, we invest highly in our content creation process which is what allows us to create custom articles for our publishers. It allows our content to be trending and naturally shareable and gives us the ability to give our publishers access to our promotion team who promotes via social and search channels.
We would love to form this kind of partnership with you!
I would be more than happy to send some of my ideas your way or discuss any ideas you may have.
I look forward to hearing from you!
Kind Regards,

I replied>>>

On 05/10/2013 10:01 AM, Regina wrote:

No, thank you.
Have a great weekend!
JRS

And then AGAIN, this morning LAUREN CARPENTER WROTE:>>>

Hi Regina!
I would love to send some content your way so that you can see for yourself the kind of work that we can do.
I would also be happy to sit down with one of my writers and develop a few solid ideas for an article for your site.
We have some great articles about families and taking care of families.
We would love to have the opportunity to work with you and really show you what we can do.
I look forward to hearing from you!
Kindest Regards, 

So my reply will be (I will be sending a link to this blog post with the email) :>>>

Ms Carpenter,Thank you again for your interest. I have already explained that I am NOT looking for guest posts at this time. I have said NO THANK YOU twice already. At this point I feel you are spamming and harassing me. Please refrain from emailing me again and remove my information from your database.Thank you AGAIN, but no thank you. Regards,JR Seaman

Maybe this last time she will get the hint...
I tried being nice the FIRST TIME, but I do not like to be harassed, if I say NO than guess what?  I actually mean NO!
Have you had interactions with people or organizations that just would NOT take NO for an answer?? What did you do?

Have a great day All!
Regina


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The Lesson In The Blessing...

BABY ON BOARD!  This is what we say now when we get in the car with my youngest daughter because she is pregnant!  She is a few days away from her fourth month and she is having a BOY!  Yes, I am excited ... NOW!  Nevertheless, that was NOT my initial feelings.  Being a Christian of course, pre-marital sex is a NO-NO in my book.  I think most mothers have that same cringe when a teenage daughter utters the words "I'm pregnant".  Through a mother's mind rushes all of the obstacles, the issues, the problems, that their daughter will undoubtedly encounter.  Issues with school, work, childcare, future expectation, the father of the child and a myriad of other issues run through the head in the 10 seconds it takes your daughter to say "I'm pregnant".  

I was no different.  As the words escaped her mouth, I felt something inside of me break.

WHY, WHY, WHY would she do such a thing?  Didn't I train her better?  Didn't I teach her the principles?  Didn’t I give her the love and nurturing she needed so she would not have to seek fulfillment in the wrong way?  Didn’t I give her enough GOD?  I failed..., as a parent, as a mother, as a Christian, I failed.  I am a Christian, with an unwed, pregnant, 19 year old daughter.  Yes, I failed.

So, after I went through my pity party for one, I actually prayed.  God had to speak to me because I was so convinced of my failure.  However, what it took me sometime to realize is that I was internalizing the entire situation, when in reality IT WASN'T EVEN ABOUT ME!  I know that as a parent I did the best that I could.  I know that I gave her the love she needed.  I know that she has the principles of the bible, she KNOWS God's word.

1 Thessalonians 4:3 For This is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality.

Romans 13:13

Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy.

I Peter 2:11

Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul.

So in essence, I DID MY JOB!  This is not an indictment against her or me, this is life, and we have to live it!  As a parent, I trained and taught but the rest is all up to her and God.  My job now is to love and support.  I know that I have trained her and laid the groundwork and foundations...

Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

I cannot live her life for her; I cannot shield her from the complexities, the hardships, the pains, or the joys of life.  I can AND DO pray for my children.  Pray that God's will is done in their lives.  Pray that they are protected from evil, and enlightened by the Holy Spirit.  I pray that they become sensitive to Gods voice, listen, and obey.  However, mostly I pray that as they go through their lives, traveling the path that God already knows they will travel that HE is with them every step of the way!

What is done, is done, and cannot be undone right?  Than flip the script and ENJOY it!

Life teaches us lessons.  Some we learn the easy way and some we learn the hard way; I guess the only thing that really matters is that we LEARN THE LESSON!  The lesson that I learned was that in ALL THINGS God is in control.  Moreover, in ALL THINGS we have to learn to LET GO!  Let go of the disappointment, let go of the anger, let go of everything that will hinder our own personal growth and our blessings.  Acknowledge that we alone cannot fix everything, someone greater than us can help us handle it.  A life, a baby is a blessing, not everyone can produce this bundle of joy and not everyone is allowed to...  What an honor!

LIFE is a BLESSING, LIVE IT, and PRAISE GOD for it!

Be Blessed!
Regina


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Donna Fletcher Crow’s "An Unholy Communion" - Book Review

Title – An Unholy Communion: The Monastery Murders Series

Author – Donna Fletcher Crow
Publisher – Lion Fiction
Date of publication – April, 2013
Number of pages – 384
*Litfuse Publicity Group has provided me with an advanced, complimentary copy of "An Unholy Communion"  to read in order to write my unbiased review.*

The newest offering in The Monastery Murders series (Lion Fiction).

This is the excerpt from the back cover of the book which enticed me to want to read it! I LOVE a good mystery, especially when battles between good and evil are afoot!

First light, Ascension morning. From the top of the tower at the College of Transfiguration, voices rise in song. But Felicity's delight turns to horror when a black-robed body hurtles over the precipice and lands at her feet.Her fiance Father Antony recognizes the corpse as Hwyl Pendry, a former student, who has been serving as Deliverance Minister in a Welsh diocese. The police ignore the strange emblem of a double-headed snake clutched in the dead man's hand, labeling the death a suicide. But Hwyl's widow is convinced otherwise, and pleads for Felicity and Antony to help her uncover the truth.Matters grow murkier as Felicity and Antony, leading a youth pilgrimage through rural Wales, encounter the same sinister symbol as they travel. Lurking figures follow them. Then a body is found face-down in a well...

About The Author...

Donna Fletcher Crow is the author of 43 books, mostly novels of British history. She has twice won first place in the Historical Fiction category from the National Association of Press Women, and has also been a finalist for "Best Inspirational Novel" from the Romance Writers of America. She is a member of The Arts Centre Group, and Sisters in Crime. 

Donna and her husband live in Boise, Idaho. They have 4 adult children and 12 grandchildren. Donna is a former Queen of the Snake River Stampede, Miss Rodeo Idaho and runner-up for Miss Rodeo America. She is an enthusiastic gardener.

Learn more about Ms. Donna Fletcher Crow by going HERE, HERE, HERE, or HERE!

My Thoughts, Reactions, Review!...
The synopsis of the book is very enticing!  And sure enough 4 pages into chapter one it happens! A body! We are thrust right into the action with a mystery in the opening pages. Murder or Suicide is now what we must read on to figure out! The book is full of religious history and it is obvious that the book, times, methods, ordinals, and sacraments have been thoroughly researched.  The author did a superb job of describing the rolling hillsides of the pilgrimage as well as giving the reader an in-depth look at the Catholic/Welsh history.  Research is very well done! Bravo! some of the character development is sparse but the way the group interacts together is well written.  The author did a very good job of blending Catholic history with the welsh countryside, leaving the reader with very scenic imagery!

Unfortunately, this is where my praises end for this book. After the grand work up in the synopsis and despite the dead body in chapter one, the story is VERY LONG, and VERY OBTUSE!  The descriptions of the NEVER-ENDING scenery is very wordy, verbose, and extremely long winded! I am a very fast reader and can read a book in a week or two depending on what is going on in my life at the time.  It took me almost 2 MONTHS to get through this book.  I actually put it down several times and I read three other complete books and came back to this one with dread! There was no ACTION, and no real MYSTERY! I found the heroine Felicity to be slow and un-knowledgeable about all things spiritual and I found Father Antony to be overly passive and stoic and slow to act, or even know when he should act! There are 30 chapters in this book and Father Antony did not really start actively investigating until chapter 24! And the body face down at the well was unneeded in chapter 27 because I was already brain dead from boredom by chapter 10! As a lover of mysteries it takes more then occasional whispery voices, and devil-like winds, to make a good mystery!
But do not just take my word for it! Buy your own copy...  Purchase a copy: http://ow.ly/keus1
I tried hard to like this book but sadly, I just could not.... It was long, and painful to read and I am actually glad it is over.
See what other reviewers had to say about "An Unholy Communion"   HERE
Enter to win a Kindle Fire HERE!


Blessings,
Regina

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Abandon - Book Review

I recently completed a very entertaining book titled "ABANDON" by Blake Crouch.  The book is about an old western mining town called Abandon where the past and the present seem to meld into one time.  On Christmas day in 1893 the people of  Abandon disappear  leaving untouched Christmas meals, opened and unopened gifts, they were just ... GONE!
Over a hundred years later, In 2009 a group of 4 men and 2 women decide to hike into the ghost town, in a blizzard  to uncover the truth of Abandon.  They of course get more than they bargained for.

This was a very good and enthralling book.  It keeps you wondering who will live and who will die, and all expectations are subject to change at any moment. The author does a very good job of telling the story of 1893/2009 concurrently.  We are kept on the edge in some cases and the fate of the past and present are truly unknown until the end.
This book was a thrilling page turner! The character development was very good (for most of the characters) there were one or two characters that could have been better utilized, but for the most part the characterization was very good. Some characters deserved to die and some deserved to live and it was very interesting reading the fate of these and comparing them with what I thought should happen to them! The ending was unexpected and not at all what I was leaning toward. It was certainly no cookie cutter ending! A great way to spend the weekend!
A Very Good Read!

ABANDON, by Blake Crouch... pick it up today!

Happy Reading!
Regina




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