Mumtaz: I still say wow to beauty

Be it career or marriage, spirituality helps you believe in yourself. Isn't that how you conquer the world? Never be afraid of obstacles. Don't let anyone or anything bother you. My family has been a pillar of strength, my sister, my two daughters and my husband.

When I was suffering from cancer, there were days, I'd be low, I'd think of the time when life was only sunshine. You have to keep the faith alive. Don't indulge in self-pity. And I never detached myself from the world. I travel, I see the world with excitement, marvel. I still say ‘wow' to beautiful things.

I've kept alive my childlike innocence. I don't let anything or anyone dampen my zest for life. Now, that's very important.

So, I make sure, I live everyday to the full.



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Mom's motivation pays off for Price

Thanks to a mother who wouldn't let him walk away from football, Mike Price will be heading to East Carolina University on a football scholarship in 2009.

A do-it-all wide receiver from New Bern, Price became the ninth high school player to make a verbal commitment to ECU recruiting Class of 09 on July 8. He made the decision just over two weeks after receiving a surprise scholarship offer from the Pirates after attending a one-day camp in Greenville.

I didn't think it (scholarship) was going to come so soon, Price said. I thought I'd have to wait until the (2008) season started.

But I had been down there on a couple of (unofficial) visits. I walked around campus, talked to the coaches and got to know the program a little bit. I just liked everything about it.



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Articles Of Faith: Remember the values of independence and mercy

Spirituality or faith is personal, but it isn't private. If we are serious about growing to be more authentic and faithful people, we need others.

We need the larger tradition that most congregations are part of. We need the example and wisdom of others. We need the encouragement of others. And because all of us have a huge capacity for self-deception, we need the reality check others provide.

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Video: roxette listen to your heart (klik på play-knappen for at

(or am i gracy maybe i am i just thinking that my friends cares about me . one of my best friend is like an angel she will never ever be forgotten or i just wonna say one thing that is dont lad your mind blow you away because there is some one who cares about you guess who that person is . if you can that person have you her heart and i can say it . not yet hopely some day . but not now you will never ever be alone dearest iggu i love you. trust the angels . and they will be there for you just like me

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Obese children 'need motivation'

A health trust in Bradford is encouraging parents of overweight children to try a new approach to help them lose weight.

The weight loss course is the first in the country and comprises a six-week residential camp followed by a twelve-week programme of physical activity and healthy eating - delivered in a fun way.

Catherine Marston reports from Bradford. .



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Other religions accepted while Christianity scoffed at

Because it deals with 'truth' and 'life' and 'spirituality,' it is a religion."

I continued pondering how some religions are accepted when my Christian beliefs are often scoffed at.

One of the last assignments my son had in literature was analyzing a poem. I like to know what he's studying, so I went online to read the poem. In an effort to understand what I was reading, I Googled the author's name to learn about her. The author was influenced by Zen Buddhism, so I did some research on that as well. I found a classroom lesson from a school in New Jersey with these interesting words: "The end product will be a multimedia presentation showcasing these materials and displaying the students' knowledge of Zen principles."

Wow! I remember when my son wrote a poem in first grade about his friend, Jesus, and was admonished by his teacher.



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Pop Culture: Finding Meaning and Purpose in the Neighborhood

Pascal Boyer suggests that humans are created to have a spirituality, so whether we're religionists or atheists, we all strive toward the transcendent. Religionists tend to seek their source for meaning in a Transcendent reality (God), while atheists tend to find purpose in a Humanistic trajectory. (Admittedly, this is grossly simplistic, so my apologies to both groups.)

However, these differences are meaningless when it comes to pop culture. When Yael Naim's "New Soul" introduces the new MacBook Air, I hear a deeply religious message and my thoughts bounce back and forth from Martin Buber to Paul Tillich to Teilhard de Chardin—theologians who looked at life from a faith perspective. Others could be thinking of humanity in the cosmic scope of things, and recall the writings of Arthur Clarke, Isaac Asimov or Robert Heinlein—authors who looked at the world from a humanistic perspective.


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Amy Winehouse's Father: 'Blake Fielder-Civil Can Be Positive

Mitch Winehouse, the father of Amy Winehouse, says his daughter's husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, can still have a "positive influence" on the singer. Fielder-Civil was sentenced to 27 months behind bars earlier this week for assaulting a pub landlord and attempting to pervert the course of justice. Winehouse's husband has already served nine months of his sentence on remand and could be free in the next five months. Speaking this morning at the unveiling of his daughter's waxwork, Mr Winehouse said: "If Blake comes out of prison and proves to be a positive influence on Amy, then they will have a fantastic life, and he will make his parents very proud. "The other option is just not tenable. I don't know if the extra five or six months he has to spend in prison will make a difference, I just don't know." Mr Winehouse also said that his daughter was "doing really well" on a drug replacement program and admitted that she was keen to have children.



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My Love: Pre-Release Reviews

Much like The Song of Solomon, My Love is the perfect blend of love, vulnerability and spirituality. I honestly didn't think I would enjoy reading a book like this, but I did. Now I view this book as a guide for my role as a man of God, a husband and a father.
- Darryl Wilson, New York, NY

My Love: Love Proverbs, Love Psalms, and Love Poems on Loving a Woman, Being A Man, and Seeking God, by Nathan A. Chowilawu-Eshe is a work of genius that reaches men and women and transcends race and culture.
- Author & Poet Dr. Candace Allen-Staten

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Faith and the Democratic Party

The paper states that Herbert Daughtry's ministry has combined black liberation theology with spirituality, and in the fellowship hall a banner touting reparations for slavery said "They Owe Us." Daughtry says she and her siblings were raised “to believe that we would only experience success — success in the sense of contentment, peace — to the extent that we were faithful to the covenant made between our great-great-grandfather and God." The covenant, her father told me, is “to struggle with and for the people, to make life better for the human family."

One paragraph from the article says:

In her positions as Dean's top aid and the convention's top official, Daughtry, who is 44 years old, is leading the Democratic Party's new mission to make religious believers — particularly ardent Christian believers — view the party and its candidates as receptive to, and often impelled by, the dictates of faith.


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Stay positive and beat the credit crunch

And I think for us all as leaders what we need to be doing is to be confident and positive and enthusiastic about the future.

That doesn't mean that we're being dishonest or unrealistic, but recognising that yes, the economy is in a downturn but that what we have to do is learn from it and recognise that when you go through difficult times, that you can grow from adversity and we can become more efficient as a result of adversity.

What companies typically do in a recession is cut out unnecessary costs and they become more efficient.

So one of the things that's going to happen is that we are going to become more efficient and more effective and that's something to be pleased about, to be confident about. the concerns is that because of this financial downturn, that ordinary families are going to suffer and of course everybody suffers in a recession, but what we need to do is limit the scope of that recession by not talking ourselves into a worse and worse state.


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‘Theology in Life’

Majors will go on to take upper-level courses in areas including sacramental theology, the New Testament, and Catholic spirituality. The capstone for the major program, Fletcher explained, will be a seminar relating theology to an area of life. “Someone who's doing science education and theology for example would do a project on, say, the theology of stewardship and environmental science," she said. A student double-majoring in math and theology, she continued, could study the problem of knowledge.

“You start with the questions people have about life, and then, ‘What are the answers? Why would you take a Catholic position?’" said Fletcher.

This generation of undergraduates is, both by empirical and anecdotal accounts, acutely interested in the so-called “big questions." A survey of 112,000 freshmen conducted by University of California at Los Angeles researchers in 2004 found, for instance, that 74 percent of first-year students discuss the meaning of life with friends, and 76 percent search for life's purpose.


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Waterford Motivation Weight Management Clinic Celebrates One Year

The Waterford Motivation Weight Management Clinic opened its doors in July 2007. Since its opening, the Clinic has literally turned around the lives of its clients with them not only losing weight but also enjoying lots of energy, improved health, confidence and enthusiasm for life again!

As one client describes "This programme has changed my life. I know that sounds really dramatic but it's true. I have tried every diet known to man so I feel like an expert and I can safely say this programme is the only one to get to the core of my weight problem. The weight came off really quickly and easily because the weekly consultations kept me really focused and motivated. The consultants are both professional and helpful and made the whole experience a total pleasure. The amazing thing about this programme is I know that I will be able to maintain the weight loss for the rest of my life."

The actual programme has been in operation in Ireland for over 12 years and in Canada for over 30 years and has been embraced by the people of Waterford since the Clinic opened in Canada Street last July.



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