creations for today

Animation by Charity & Co.

We should live in urgency and not

exploit the opportunity of life.

Let us not drift...nor trifle our

lives away.

Read John 12:46

Lying covers a multitude of sins -----Temporarily.

Read Proverbs 11:3

May we love nothing in a way that displeases God and

may we love everything for God's sake.

Read Acts 5:29

Arm yourself against the devil's assults.

Read 1 Peter 5:8

Those who keep speaking about the sun while

walking under a cloudy sky are messengers of hope, the

true saints of our day.

God never called us to be naive. He

called us to integrity.

Read Proverbs 11:3

Nothing is more foolish than a security built upon the

world and it's promises, for they are all vanity and a lie.

Read. 1 John 5:4

Honest men fear neither the light nor the dark.

REad Proverbs 11:3

Live so that you need not change your mode

of living, even if your sudden departure were

immediately predicted to you.

Read John 9:4

Take the name of Jesus with you

as a shield from every snare and if

temptations round you gather, rather that

holy name in prayer.....Lydia Baxter....

Read 1 Peter 5:8

Quote Cards for today

Animation by Charity & Co.

If God doesn't give us what we ask for,

we can be sure that He has something far better.

Read Isaiah 55:8

Our progress in holiness depends on God and

ourselves - on God's grace and on our

will to be holy..... Mother Teresa....

Read Deuteronomy 6:18

Begin to be now what you will be hereafter.

Read Ezekiel 36:26

Careful meditation on the Scriptures

makes for a closer walk with the Savior.

Read Psalm 118:130

As a Christian you are "God's advertisement."

Do people want what you see in you????

Read John 13:35

Each day we choose the one we will follow in life.

Read Joshua 24:15

Let God's Word explore your inner being.

Read Hebrews 4:12

If God doesn't give us what we ask for,

we can be sure that He has something far better.

Read Isaiah 55:8

It is so important for us to live as if Jesus would

return any day...

Read Jeremiah 32:17

Today's animation by Charity & Co.

To all November Birthday and Anniversary friends.

I baked you a cake but baking isn't one of my bestest things

to do....still practicing

Success or failure can be pretty well predicted by the

degree to which the heart is fully in it.

Read Ecclesiates 9:10

God helps the sick in two ways, through

the science of medicine and through

the science of faith and prayer.

Read 2 Kings 20:5

Being loved by Him whose opinion matters

most gives us the security to risk loving... AMMMEN

Read Psalm 47:1

Forgiveness is the final form of love.

Read Ephesians 4:32

God Himself is what enlightens understanding about

everything else in life. Knowledge about any subject

is fragmentary without the enlightenment that comes

from his relationship to it.

Psalm 33:11

Success or failure can be pretty well predicted by the degree to

which the heart is fully in it.

Read Ecclsiates 9:10

Unrighteous anger feeds the ego

and produces the poison of

selfishness in the heart.

Read Ephesians 4:26,27

Being loved by Him whose opinion matters

most gives us the security to risk loving, too

even loving ourselves.

Read Psalm 47:1

My spirit has become dry because it forgets to

feed on God.

Read Ezekiel 36:26

Nap without guilt: It boosts sophisticated memory

By LAURAN NEERGAARD,AP Medical Writer AP - Tuesday, November 25

WASHINGTON - Just in time for the holidays, some medical advice most people will like: Take a nap.

Interrupting sleep seriously disrupts memory-making, compelling new research suggests. But on the flip side, taking a nap may boost a sophisticated kind of memory that helps us see the big picture and get creative.

"Not only do we need to remember to sleep, but most certainly we sleep to remember," is how Dr. William Fishbein, a cognitive neuroscientist at the City University of New York, put it at a meeting of the Society for Neuroscience last week.

Good sleep is a casualty of our 24/7 world. Surveys suggest few adults attain the recommended seven to eight hours a night.

Way too little clearly is dangerous: Sleep deprivation causes not just car crashes but all sorts of other accidents. Over time, a chronic lack of sleep can erode the body in ways that leave us more vulnerable to heart disease, diabetes and other illnesses.

But perhaps more common than insomnia is fragmented sleep _ the easy awakening that comes with aging, or, worse, the sleep apnea that afflicts millions, who quit breathing for 30 seconds or so over and over throughout the night.

Indeed, scientists increasingly are focusing less on sleep duration and more on the quality of sleep, what's called sleep intensity, in studying how sleep helps the brain process memories so they stick. Particularly important is "slow-wave sleep," a period of very deep sleep that comes earlier than better-known REM sleep, or dreaming time.

Fishbein suspected a more active role for the slow-wave sleep that can emerge even in a power nap. Maybe our brains keep working during that time to solve problems and come up with new ideas. So he and graduate student Hiuyan Lau devised a simple test: documenting relational memory, where the brain puts together separately learned facts in new ways.

First, they taught 20 English-speaking college students lists of Chinese words spelled with two characters _ such as sister, mother, maid. Then half the students took a nap, being monitored to be sure they didn't move from slow-wave sleep into the REM stage.

Upon awakening, they took a multiple-choice test of Chinese words they'd never seen before. The nappers did much better at automatically learning that the first of the two-pair characters in the words they'd memorized earlier always meant the same thing _ female, for example. So they also were more likely than non-nappers to choose that a new word containing that character meant "princess" and not "ape."

"The nap group has essentially teased out what's going on," Fishbein concludes.

These students took a 90-minute nap, quite a luxury for most adults. But even a 12-minute nap can boost some forms of memory, adds Dr. Robert Stickgold of Harvard Medical School.

Conversely, Wisconsin researchers briefly interrupted nighttime slow-wave sleep by playing a beep _ just loudly enough to disturb sleep but not awaken _ and found those people couldn't remember a task they'd learned the day before as well as people whose slow-wave sleep wasn't disrupted.

That brings us back to fragmented sleep, whether from aging or apnea. It can suppress the birth of new brain cells in the hippocampus, where memory-making begins _ enough to hinder learning weeks after sleep returns to normal, warns Dr. Dennis McGinty of the University of California, Los Angeles.

To prove a lasting effect, McGinty mimicked human sleep apnea in rats. He hooked them to brain monitors and made them sleep on a treadmill. Whenever the monitors detected 30 seconds of sleep, the treadmill briefly switched on. After 12 days of this sleep disturbance, McGinty let the rats sleep peacefully for as long as they wanted for the next two weeks.

The catch-up sleep didn't help: Rested rats used room cues to quickly learn the escape hole in a maze. Those with fragmented sleep two weeks earlier couldn't, only randomly stumbling upon the escape.

None of the new work is enough, yet, to pinpoint the minimum sleep needed for optimal memory. What's needed may vary considerably from person to person.

"A short sleeper may have a very efficient deep sleep even if they sleep only four hours," notes Dr. Chiara Cirellia of the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

But altogether, the findings do suggest some practical advice: Get apnea treated. Avoid what Harvard's Stickgold calls "sleep bulimia," super-late nights followed by sleep-in weekends. And don't feel guilty for napping.

___

EDITOR'S NOTE _ Lauran Neergaard covers health and medical issues for The Associated Press in Washington.

How to Age Gracefully

How to Age Gracefully
by Dawn Papandrea

Getting older is a fact of life, but looking older—well, that's your choice.

While there's nothing wrong with growing old gracefully, there are also

simple things you can do to defy aging that do not involve surgical

enhancements. Take a look through 10 expert ways to keep your fashion, beauty

and style sense young at heart.


Zap Wrinkles
The secret to youthful skin is keeping it moisturized, says Christine

Rodgers, Denver-based plastic surgeon. "By adding more moisture to the skin,

wrinkles are naturally reduced and the face appears fuller and younger."

Also, slough off dead skin cells with a light microderm scrub to give skin a

healthy glow, which will increase blood flow to the face.


Pucker Up for Anti-Aging
Dr. Macrene Alexiades, NYC-based cosmetic dermatologist advises to stick with

sheer lipsticks and glosses. "Glosses are especially youthful and give lips a

healthy, moisturized appearance." On the flipside, she says, matte and brown

lipsticks can make teeth look discolored and add years to your look.


Revitalize and Brighten
It's a fact that older women have a harder time sleeping, but that doesn't

have to show on your face. For an instant brightener, apply a chilled wet

washcloth to your face before applying your makeup, says Farah Reid, stylist

from Blow, the New York Blow Dry Bar. "The cold will brighten your complexion

and shrink your pores."


Get a New, Sophisticated 'Do
Women think longer hair keeps them looking young, but that isn't necessarily

the case, assures Valery Joseph, owner of New York City's Valery Joseph

Salon. Young hair is all about healthy shine and bounce. "Cut off dead hair

for a super chic bob. Bangs also create instant youth to hair and face."

Not sure what style works best for you? Try on hairstyles using

Makeover-o-Matic before you hit the salon.


Lash Out Against Old Eyes
As we age, lashes become thin and sparse, explains Eugenia Weston, celebrity

makeup artist and founder of Senna Cosmetics. "Curling your lashes both makes

them appear fuller and helps to open the eye." To take this concept a step

further, line the inner eyelid to give definition to the eyes without looking

like you’re wearing a lot of makeup.


Flash a Youthful Smile
A fairly quick and inexpensive way to look younger is to show off your pearly

whites... after a whitening treatment, that is. "It’s amazing how a brighter,

whiter smile can really take years off of your face," says Laura Kelly,

dental ceramist and member of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry.

"While dentists offer some of the best whitening treatments in-office, there

are tons of over the counter products that work well, too." She recommends

getting a full cleaning and consulting your dentist prior to using any

products.


Loosen Up Your Locks
Nothing says I'm over the hill more than stiff hair, says hair artist Kenneth

Darrell. "Make sure your hair moves! When hair is combed, sprayed, teased,

and set firmly into place, subliminally it says to the observer you're stiff,

inflexible, and unyielding."


Dress Your Age
Even though you're still years from retirement, you should think about

retiring your tights pants and short skirts. "If you don't, it looks as if

you are trying to be younger than your real age, so it ages you," warns

Stefanie Gutierrez, senior wardrobe stylist for Urban Darling. "Wear clothes

that are age appropriate, fit well, and most important, make you feel good."


Avoid Product Overload
Anti-aging products can work wonders, as long as you don't go overboard, says

Kimberly Sayer, a London-based Esthetician and Organic Skincare Expert. "If

you pile an alpha-hydroxy acid (AHA) over a retinoid over a Vitamin C, for

example, you could be left with irritated, inflamed skin. Figure out which

anti-aging product works best for you and stick to it."


Less is Young
When you see signs of aging in the mirror or hit a big birthday, don't panic

by trying to change everything about yourself, says Wendy Lewis, beauty and

health author and aesthetic consultant. "Try a new anti-aging skincare

product, new hair style, or new makeup palette." Just don't do everything all

at once, or your makeover plan can backfire and reek of mid-life crisis.

Quotation Cards

Animation

by Charity & Co.

Happy the person whose words issue from the Holy Spirit

and not from himself.

Read Proverbs 10:14

Truth is often in the minority in this evil world.

Galatians 1:10

Anger is a kind of temporary madness.

Read Ephesians 4:26,27

Unrighteous anger feeds the ego and produces the

poison of selfishness in the heart.

Read Ephesians 4:26,27

The born-again Christian sees life not

as a blurred, confused, meaningless mass. cut

as something planned and purposeful.

Read... Ephesians 2:10