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Are you bored with life?  Then throw yourself into some work you believe in with all your heart, live for it, die for it, and you will find happiness that you had thought could never be yours. Knowledge is the same. Throw yourself in to it, learn and become a top adjuster. In today's society, there is no reason to be bored, in fact, I despise the word BORED.

A life lived with integrity, even if it lacks the trappings of fame and fortune, is a shinning star in whose light others may follow in the years to come. Honor and Integrity should be your key applied to your success goals. Perseverace, Passion, Perception, and Perspicacity. Make the four P's a part of your everyday life.

A life lived with integrity - even if it lacks the trappings of fame and fortune is a shinning star in whose light others may follow in the years to come. I cannot express the need for integrity enough. It forms your life forever and ever.

Some people are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves.  They therefore remain bound, and heading nowhere. Don't be one of those.

The soul is controlled by your thoughts and actions. Think only on those things that are in line with your principles and can bear the light of day. The content of your character is your choice. Day by day, what you do is who you become.

We prowled through the second hand bookstore the day after Christmas, just my husband Louie, our daughters, Jenny and Helen, and me. This was a precious time for us. We would be splitting up as a family in just a couple of days. It had been a tough eight months since my husband had retired from the Navy. We hated every good-bye, so we had manipulated the military system while on active duty, preventing some. Now, we were retired, and we were eight months into our longest separation. We assured one another of our love, and we clung to our faith that this separation would soon come to an end.

Military families seem to fall into two categories: those who look for affectionate opportunities, and those who avoid close contact, because "good-byes" are painful. In our military career, we had become painfully aware that anything can happen during the briefest separation. We were shocked to discover that the only job available for Louie, after retirement was in the city of Norfolk, Virginia. Our dream was to live out the rest of our lives in the mountains of southwestern Virginia, six-and-a-half hours away. My asthma had gotten so bad, that it was impossible for me to stay with Louie in the city. We had finally settled for a separation, praying that a job would become available in the beautiful region that we love.

There we were, the day after Christmas, delaying another departure by passing time in a second hand bookstore, before the girls and I headed back to southwest Virginia. We were as broke as we'd ever been, with Louie supporting two households. Even so, we were thankful for every moment together, and we seized upon every opportunity for extra hugs, shared daydreams and laughter.

Besides the proprietor, there was only one other person in the bookstore, a lovely, well-dressed woman, about my age. I noticed her costly clothes, her shoes, and her expensive handbag. I wondered what it would be like, to be rich enough to walk into a bookstore and have the money to buy any book my heart desired. We were having so much fun, however, that I quickly forgot the woman.

We joked as we continued our treasure hunt, clutching our spending money of five dollars apiece, all hoping to be the first to find the oldest, least expensive book. It was a bitter-sweet excursion. Frequently Louie and I would brush past one another, finding excuses to touch or to give one another's hand an extra squeeze. Jenny remembered that there was an ATM machine not far from the bookstore, and she decided that she needed another twenty dollars that she had squirreled away.

"No fair!" I cried, laughing. "The rest of us can only spend five dollars, and here you're going to have twenty-five dollars?!" We all laughed, and we began to tease Jenny mercilessly, but she was able to convince her Dad that she must have that twenty dollars, in order to get that irresistible book.

"Come on, Jenny," Louie laughed. "I'll drive you to the ATM." Then we did another round of hugging and kissing, not wanting to be apart for even a few minutes. It must have been a curious ballet, this emotional family scene, but we were oblivious to what others might think. Unmindful of the impression we made, we continued to give kisses and hugs all around. I have to admit that we are a "huggy-kissy" family, so looking back, I realize how odd we must have appeared.

Finally, in between another hug and kiss, I spied my perfect book! It was a hundred years old, and it was on my favorite time period, the Middle Ages. Oh, how I wanted that book!I quickly checked the inside cover for the price, and my heart fell.

It was twenty-five dollars! We just didn't have it. I looked up at Louie, already knowing the answer. He must have wanted me to have that book, because I could see the pain in his eyes. Louie reached out and gave me an extra hug.

"Oooohh, I wish I were rich," I murmured, as my eyes locked with the woman's.

"It looks to me, as though you already are." She said, with a smile.

There was a pause that stretched through eternity, and my heart filled with comprehension. I looked up at my husband, and I gazed at my daughters, wrapped as we were in the arms of love, and I knew it. I was rich. Very rich. I quickly turned to thank the woman for her gentle reminder, but she was gone!

I am quite certain that it was all part of God's plan to remind me of what being "rich" is all about .faith, love, family, and friends. When I get to heaven, I will not be at all surprised to discover that God sent an angel to a second hand bookstore, to give me this rich message, the day after Christmas, not so long ago.

Christmas gift suggestions:

To your enemy, forgiveness.

To an opponent, tolerance.

To a friend, your heart.

To a customer, service.

To all, charity.

To every child, a good example.

To yourself, respect.

"My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that?"