Don’t let anybody steal your joy.
Get your mind set that no matter what anybody says or does, it won’t effect you in a negative way.
Don’t give people permission to control you.
Always keep control of you!

Courtesy of Niecy Davis

VIA REUTERS:

President Barack Obama will urge Congress on Wednesday to “finish its work” and send him a plan to overhaul the $2.5 trillion healthcare system that he can sign into law.

The American people are waiting for the administration to lead, Obama said in excerpts of a statement he was to make later on Wednesday.

“I don’t know how this plays politically, but I know it’s right,” he said. “And so I ask Congress to finish its work, and I look forward to signing this reform into law.”

Obama will contend that fixing the U.S. healthcare system is essential, and seek to enact a sweeping overhaul plan after a year of debate, compromise, raucous public meetings and even last week’s seven-hour “summit” with Republican leaders.

“I don’t believe we should give government bureaucrats or insurance company bureaucrats more control over health care in America. I believe it’s time to give the American people more control over their own health insurance,” he said in the excerpts.

The political stakes are enormous for Obama, whose approval ratings have dropped during the healthcare fight in the face of unified Republican opposition to his plan for sweeping reform.

With more than one third of the Senate and all seats in the House of Representatives up for grabs in November elections, Democrats want to move past healthcare to focus on job creation and the economy.

Republicans contend the public does not want the massive plan, which they say is too expensive for a government running huge budget deficits. Even with more Republican ideas included, they want Obama to scrap the bills approved last year by the House and Senate and start over with an incremental approach.

“Americans don’t want us to tack a few good ideas onto a bill that reshapes one-sixth of the economy, vastly expands the role of government, and which raises taxes and cuts Medicare to pay for it all,” Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said on Wednesday.

Obama had said he was exploring adding more Republican ideas to his proposal, including probes of healthcare providers who receive federal funds, expanded health savings accounts, offering more grants to study alternatives to medical malpractice suits and boosting doctor reimbursements for Medicaid, the federal health program for the poor.

“It’s an approach that has been debated and changed and I believe improved over the last year. It incorporates the best ideas from Democrats and Republicans — including some of the ideas that Republicans offered during the health care summit, like funding state grants on medical malpractice reform and curbing waste, fraud, and abuse in the health care system,” Obama said.

Democrats have been preparing to pass a final measure in the Senate without opposition party support through a process called reconciliation, which requires only simple majority approval.

The excerpts of Obama’s remarks did not use the word reconciliation, despite his comment urging Congress to vote.

Source

VIA THE WASHINGTON POST:

D.C. Superior Court officials are preparing for what they expect to be a flood of same-sex couples descending on the courthouse Wednesday to apply for marriage licenses.

Wednesday is the first day that same-sex couples in the District can apply for licenses in the marriage office, in Room 4485.

“We’re anticipating a lot of excited residents from the District and suburbs coming down to the court to apply, and we want to make this as smooth an experience as possible,” said Lee F. Satterfield, the court’s chief judge.

To expedite the process, Satterfield said, couples should bring, in addition to their “patience,” completed applications, which can be downloaded from the court’s Web site. Couples should also have $35 for their application and $10 for the license (cash or money order).

The application fee is waived for couples who are registered in the District as domestic partners. Those couples should bring their proof of registration and the $10 license fee.

Satterfield said he expects the marriage bureau to receive far more than the usual 10 marriage applications completed each day. The office has hired temporary employees to help staff the bureau. Satterfield has also arranged to bring in additional workers from other areas in the courthouse if needed.

“We want this court to serve the community and be in a position to add to the joy and excitement we expect to see in the couples who come to the court,” he said.

The court has also had to redo its traditional applications and brochures. Gone is the language that asked for the name of “bride” and “groom.” Instead, the applications ask for the name of the “spouse.”

Also tweaked: the final pronouncement of “husband and wife.” Now judges will proclaim, “I now pronounce you legally married,” unless the marrying couple suggests something different.

It takes three business days for the applications to be processed, so the soonest the couples will be able to wed is March 9.

Court officials are also expecting protests by groups opposed to same-sex marriage.

Source

Be thankful in all things!

Courtesy of Niecy Davis

The inspirational stage play, “The Lord Will Make A Way” starring Calvin Richardson, Ann Nesby, Lil G and Scott Savol, is coming to DC this February. Don’t miss out! Get all the details right here.

The Lord Will Make A Way
Warner Theatre
13th & E Streetes, NW

Showtimes:

Thurs. 2/18 @ 8 pm
Fri. 2/19 @ 8 pm
Sat. 2/20 @ 3 pm and 8 pm
Sun., 2/21 @3 pm and 7:30 pm

Click here to purchase tickets.

VIA MYFOXDC:

The second of back-to-back blizzards that smothered the East Coast and eclipsed seasonal snowfall records with more than a month of winter remaining had tapered off by Thursday, although governments and schools remained closed to contend with the aftermath.

In Washington, D.C., the federal government planned to be closed for a fourth straight day, while city agencies and schools in the hardest-hit regions also scored snow days. The nation’s capital joined Philadelphia and Baltimore in logging their snowiest winters in history.

“It seemed extreme, what they were predicting,” said custodial worker Robert Valasquez, of South Philadelphia, as he walked to a downtown subway station on Wednesday afternoon for a ride home from his job. “How am I going to get to work tomorrow? I don’t even know if it will be possible.”

Road crews worked to clear Interstate 76 and I-676 in Philadelphia, which closed Wednesday to leave the city of 1.5 million residents with only one usable major artery. Elsewhere, emergency officials in eastern Pennsylvania reported more than 200 vehicles, mostly trucks, stranded for half of Wednesday along I-78 as snow was falling at about 2 inches an hour. Berks County Emergency Services Director Theodore Cole said gasoline, food and water were delivered to the stranded drivers before plows could clear paths for them by midnight, but the roadway remained closed.

In northeast Maryland, staffers at the Harford County Emergency Operations Center fielded several calls per minute from residents struggling to meet the financial demands of a second snowstorm just days after the first. One woman called to say she couldn’t afford to stay at her motel another night and was about to be evicted. Homeless shelters were full, forcing the county to pay for motel rooms for some people.

“We really can’t have people pushed out into the snow,” said Scott Gibson, the county’s director of human resources. “The motels are our second line of defense.”

There was plenty of work to be done before New Jersey could return to normal after the latest blizzard. Electric crews were working to restore power to 80,000 homes and businesses that lost electricity, but the NJ Transit agency said it planned to resume bus routes Thursday morning and open nearly all train stations so residents could try to get to work.

In neighboring New York, however, Mayor Michael Bloomberg gave the city’s 1.1 million public school students only their third snow day in six years. Bloomberg said the city was working overtime to clear streets and plow major thoroughfares in time for Thursday’s morning rush hour.

Some New Yorkers and tourists took advantage of theater tickets discounted to fill empty seats. “Wicked” had a $61.25 “snow-day” special. There were $31.50 tickets at “Mamma Mia!” “Hair” trumpeted $40 tickets for students with valid ID. Good seats at those shows usually sell for $100 or more.

George and Natividad Sanchez trudged over slushy sidewalks in boots, parkas and scarves to take their 2-year-old daughter to see “Sesame Street Live: When Elmo Grows Up.”

“I didn’t want to disappoint her,” George Sanchez said as the family arrived for the show at a theater in Madison Square Garden.

For many families, the first storm was a fun weekend diversion. People even went skiing past Washington’s monuments. But Wednesday’s blizzard quickly became a serious safety concern. The Pennsylvania governor shut down some highways, including eventually I-78, and warned that people who drove were risking their lives.

“Increasing winds are causing whiteout conditions in many areas of the state,” Gov. Ed Rendell said early Thursday, after reopening three highways.

As of Wednesday, Baltimore had 72.3 inches so far this winter, the Washington area had 54.9 inches and Philadelphia had 70.3 inches. The previous records for snowiest winters were 62.5 inches in Baltimore in 1995-96; 54.4 inches in Washington in 1898-99; and 65.5 inches in Philadelphia in 1995-96.

The streets of downtown Philadelphia were nearly vacant as people heeded the mayor’s advice to stay home.

Entrance ramps to closed highways were blockaded, and the Pennsylvania National Guard had Humvees stocked with food and blankets ready to help anyone who got stuck. Earlier in the day, about 25 vehicles were involved in two pileups on snowy Interstate 80 in central Pennsylvania. One man was killed, and 18 people were injured.

“For your safety, do not drive,” Rendell said. “You will risk your life and, potentially, the lives of others if you get stuck on highways or any road.”

Two other people were killed when their snowmobile struck a moving vehicle at an intersection in Lancaster, Pa. Michigan authorities said the storm contributed to at least four traffic deaths there.

In Virginia, where some areas had snow totals exceeding 30 inches from the two storms, winds were howling at 50 mph and temperatures were plunging. Gov. Bob McDonnell urged people to stay indoors.

Source

VIA THE WASHINGTON POST:

We are living through some of the most extreme winter weather we’ll ever experience in the metro region this morning. Heavy snow, winds exceeding 40 mph, and true whiteout conditions have paralyzed the entire region and steady snow will continue for a couple more hours or so (longer north and east of the District). Blizzard warnings span northern Virginia, the District and the entire state of Maryland. With the falling snow and wind, temperatures have plummeted into the low 20s with wind chills in the single digits.

Steady, wind-driven snow continues through much of the area though the snow is decreasing in coverage and intensity south of Fairfax County and Loudoun County. As the powerful storm off the Delmarva peninsula lifts northward, the snow will slowly diminish from southwest to northeast this afternoon. But even as the snow tapers off, blowing and drifting snow is possible through the day.

Snowfall totals so far for the storm have generally been from 7-9 inches in the immediate metro area, with some higher amounts to the north and northeast. Though we don’t have an official total for DCA, the snow from this storm is surely bringing its seasonal total close to that of 1898-1899 (54.4″), the snowiest winter on record.

As the National Weather Service advised earlier, please stay off the roads in these dangerous conditions.

Source

Everybody you know, everybody you meet is going thought something.
Good or bad, that’s life!
God has already worked it out.

Courtesy of Niecy Davis

From DailyMail.co.uk

Volunteer Carmen Michalska, from Aberdeen, managed to crawl into the tomb-like space where 24-year-old Haitian Wismond Exantus has been trapped for more than a week.

Barely able to move, and buried alive in a grocery store, he had survived on beer, biscuits and Coke, and banged desperately on the broken walls that weighed down on him to get someone’s attention.

He did not know if anyone would ever hear. He prayed, recited psalms, and slept.

To read more, click here

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For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11; NKJ)

I had the pleasure of viewing the movie, “The Book of Eli” twice. Initially I had no idea of what the movie was about. I didn’t recall seeing a full trailer, so I was going on blind faith of reviews from friends and associates. The first viewing was a matinee in an empty theater. The second viewing was a Saturday night in a packed house. I believe I needed to see it in silence the first time in order to appreciate it in concert. At the end of the movie people applauded, something that I have not heard in a long time. I walked away with a feeling of conviction and inspiration.

This movie showed me so much about myself.  Especially how I take so many things for granted. How arrogantly I expect the luxuries of life to always be here. And more so than ever how I do not appreciate the gift that God has given us – His Word.

As believers, we are so busy quoting scriptures and telling others about themselves that we don’t take time to check ourselves. When do, we every sit down and really appreciate the beauty of the words in the Bible? The poetic movements of the Psalms, the whimsical irony of Proverbs, the painful and delicate truth of the Gospels, the historical context of the Old Testament or the road map to life in the New Testament. The bible is a book that has just become words that we claim to live by but not words that we REALLY appreciate and take to heart.

“The Book of El”i convicted and inspired me to continue on the journey that the Lord has set before me no matter the obstacles, the challenges or the dangers. Eli had a mantra that we should all adopt:

Stay focused and stay on the path

Eli’s mantra reminds me of Proverbs 3: 6

In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path. (American Standard)

God has chosen us for a purpose. He will lead and guide us, if we will listen to His leading. He will guide our way clearly. We all have a destiny to fulfill on this earth. God has entrusted a particular task to each of us. We have to be careful not to get so caught up in reaching the destination that we don’t appreciate the journey.

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. (John 15:16- NIV)

This film is very powerful and inspiring. The overall message that I left with was never give up on what God has chosen for you to do. You might have detoured, you might have fallen off the path, but get up! You are truly able to accomplish what has been set before you. This isn’t just for you, so many are waiting on you to complete the task at hand.

Remember, we win!

God Bless,

Judi

Written by: Judi Mason for www.elev8.com

Contact Judi: judi@divaink.com

Twitter: www.twitter.com/judimason

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