I submit that Sears is an exemplary corporate citizen and should be recognized for its contribution. I suggest we all shop at Sears, and be sure to find a manager to tell them why we are there so the company gets the positive reinforcement it well deserves.

Pass it on.Decided to check this before I sent it forward. So I sent the following e-mail to the Sears Customer Service Department: 

I received this e-mail and I would like to know if it is true. If it is, the Internet may have just become one very good source of advertisement for your company. I know I would go out of my way to buy products from Sears instead of another store for a like item, even if it’s cheaper at that store. 

This is their answer to my e-mail:

Dear Customer:Thank you for contacting Sears.The information is factual. We appreciate your positive feedback.

Bill Thorn
Sears Customer Care
webcenter@sears.com 
1-800-349-4358 

Sears needs to be recognized for this outstanding contribution and we need to show them as Americans, we do appreciate what they are doing for our military!!! It’s Verified ! By Snopes.com at: 
? ? 
http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/sears.asp ? (shows the entire article)

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November is Bladder Health Month and a good time to learn more about how to manage bladder conditions like interstitial cystitis (IC) that affect millions of people in the United States. In support of Bladder Health Month, the Interstitial Cystitis Association (ICA) is offering a new, free, online educational fact sheet.

 
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Confrontation
 

Here are three principles that outline a way to gently confront. The other person is far more apt to receive your comments when he or she hears them expressed through these three principles.

1. Learn to express your feelings through three loving attitudes: warmth, empathy, and sincerity. These are common words, but what do they mean? Warmth is the friendly acceptance of a person. Empathy is the ability to understand and identify with a person’s feelings. Sincerity is showing a genuine concern for a person without changing your attitude toward him when circumstances change.
2. Learn to share your feelings when angry or irritated without using “you” statements and instead replacing them with “I feel” statements.
3. Learn to wait until your anger or feelings of irritability have subsided before you begin to discuss a sensitive issue.

No one likes to be criticized, regardless of how much truth lies behind the criticism. Whether, we are male or female, six or sixty, when someone corrects us, we automatically become defensive. Yet honest communication is vital to any relationship. These two basic truths appear contradictory. How do you honestly tell the one you love about something you find displeasing or aggravating without prompting, that familiar, defensive glare or indifferent shrug?

Lord, help me express myself in such a way that my loved one knows deeply of my love and admiration.

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
Proverbs 15:1

© Copyright 2006 Smalley Relationship Center

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We argue over family rules … help! Every family operates by certain “rules.” These rules make up “the way our family does things,” and cover all kinds of topics—what we eat, what TV programs we watch, how we observe holidays (for example, do we open presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning?), and how we communicate. Many marital arguments have gone fifteen rounds to see whose family rule will win out in the new marriage. All families need rules or boundaries of some kind. But the challenge is: Who decides the rules? Families can adopt biblical rules, “principles of the Lord,” like not letting the sun go down on anger and being kind to one another. These types of family guidelines can be safely passed through generations. But not all family rules are worth retaining. Some family rules—written or unwritten—can devastate a family. We decided early on to agree on some simple guidelines for our family … and the rules include mom and dad. One of our rules is that we honor God in every way we can. Instead of dictating the rules as our kids got older, we asked them to think of ways we can honor God, and then we wrote them down. We created a family contract so that the kids understood both the blessings and the consequences of our family rules. We involved them in deciding the consequences and adjusted those with their ages. The key was we loved them, blessed them, and guided the development of their hearts. Make a list with your spouse and pray about creating a family contract today!

Blessings,

Gary Smalley
Editor, Smalley Relationship Center

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How To Teach People To Pray In A Small Group

Contributed by Scott Koenigsaecker

For many people, praying aloud can be threatening. Novices may feel so anxious that they will back out of the group. How do we enable people to move from the fear of praying aloud to enjoying God’s presence and others’ presence as they pray together? The following eight-week plan has proved effective:

Session One: As the leader, you open and close the meeting with prayer.

Session Two: Open in prayer. After the meeting, explain that you will close with a short time of thanks. Group members may offer a one-word prayer of thanks, or they may participate silently. Explain that people may pray as often as they wish, and times of silence are fine. You begin as follows: “Lord, we thank you for  . . . (our families).” Close after a reasonable amount of time.

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Study Shows Fibromyalgia Is a “Real Disease,” Related to Brain Dysfunction http://www.efluxmedia.com/news

By Alice Carver 15:00, November 4th 2008

According to a new brain scan study, fibromyalgia may be related to a dysfunction of cerebral pain-processing. Pain researchers in Marseilles, France, used single photon emission computed tomography, also called SPECT, in an attempt to detect functional abnormalities in certain regions of the brains of patients with fibromyalgia. This technology allows precise measurements of blood flows in different regions of the brain and offers an image of electrical activity.   There is no known cause or accepted cure for fibromyalgia, a painful syndrome in which the patients describe chronic and severe pain in muscles, ligaments and tendons. Pain in the neck and shoulders is common but sufferers also report problems with sleep, anxiety and depression. More of 90 percent of fibromalgya sufferers are women. Fibromalgya has been called the “invisible syndrome” because it can’t be diagnosed based on a lab test or X-ray. The researchers looked at 20 women diagnosed with fibromalgya and 10 healthy women. Participants were given brain scans and they answered questions to asses measures of pain, disability, anxiety and depression. In women with fibromalgya, researchers found an increase in blood flow in the parts of the brain responsible for sensing pain and a decrease in an area involved in emotional responses to pain. The results confirmed that patients with fibromalgya have “a real disease/disorder” and suggest this disorder “may be related to a global dysfunction of the cerebral pain-processing.” The research found no relationship between these abnormalities in cerebral blood flow and presence of depression or anxiety.

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Has the election created strife?

Are you at odds with family members or friends? Maybe it’s because of the election results or just a decision someone made. Do you often feel as if you win—or lose—in those relationships?

In your relationship with God, it’s important to allow him to be God. He’s the one who chooses kings and rulers in his sovereign plan. He’s the one who guides our lives. We don’t have to live in fear. We can be at perfect peace by trusting in him for our future and happiness in life. That frees us to love others with the love of Christ … and to pray for our leaders.

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Fibromyalgia No Longer an “Invisible” Disease

By: Drucilla Dyess
Published: Wednesday, 5 November 2008

The chronic disorder known as fibromyalgia is characterized by extensive muscle pain lasting for at least three months coupled with heavy fatigue. Other symptoms include problems with cognitive function and memory and concentration, as well as sleep disturbances and stiffness. The condition affects between two and four percent of the world’s population with most of the victims being women.

Until now, fibromyalgia has been labeled the “invisible syndrome” as it could not be diagnosed through lab tests or X-rays. But a group of French researchers have recently detected abnormalities in the brains of those suffering from the condition.
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 Diet

Many interstitial cystitis (IC) patients find that diet modification helps to control symptoms and avoid flare-ups. Others note that what they eat or drink seems to have little effect on how they feel. Anecdotal evidence collected by doctors and the Interstitial Cystitis Association (ICA) reveals that determining which foods and beverages may act as triggers is an individual matter.

Although these are broad guidelines that most IC patients can follow, discovering which particular foods may cause you problems requires perseverance. Many IC patients report that restricting their diet is an effective form of treatment and believe that it is worth the effort.

If you would like to explore the role diet may play in your symptoms, it is best to begin with an elimination diet that includes only those foods and beverages listed in the “okay to try” sections, which most IC patients report they can tolerate. Try eating several small meals instead of one large one. Keeping a diet diary where you record everything you eat and drink is a useful technique for monitoring diet. After a few weeks, start introducing the foods and beverages listed in the “avoid” sections, one at a time. If, after consuming a given food or beverage, you have no flare-up in symptoms, you should be able to continue consuming this item without problems. If any symptoms do occur, eliminate the given food from your diet.

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