shifted!

i shifted to a new site. the website address is

no-more-fairytales.com/blog

everything will be on there from now on. to see more links please look to the left under the links section. thanks for coming.

On the Yahoo! News

ATLANTA - The picture of the smiling little girl on the flier was more than Laura Bolan could take.

The 8-year-old on the pamphlet needed a kidney transplant, and Bolan knew she could help. She did a quick Web search on the surgery and talked it over with her husband. Then she made a phone call to offer one of her kidneys to Sarah Dickman.

The suburban Atlanta girl was born with the genetic disease juvenile nephronophthisis, which slowly destroys the kidneys. Without treatment, it can kill a child before the age of 15.

Bolan, 34, had never met Sarah when she agreed to donate the organ.

"It breaks your heart to know there's a little girl sick out there who you could help," Bolan said earlier this week.

The pair underwent successful surgeries Thursday at hospitals across the street from each other in Atlanta. Surgeon Dr. Thomas Pearson said both patients were doing well on Friday, and initial tests of Sarah's new kidney showed it was working normally.

Sarah was expected to be in intensive care for at least a day and then spend up to a week at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston. She said she was looking forward to being free from a dialysis machine so she can spend the night at her best friend's house.

And when doctors remove her catheter, she can take bubble baths again because there will no longer be the risk of infecting the skin around the tube.

Best of all, she can go to Kangaroo Bob's, a children's recreation center with inflatable slides, mazes and obstacle courses.

"I'll get to go there on my birthday because I won't have this anymore," she said, pointing to the catheter.

Bolan was expected to return home after a few days at Emory University Hospital. She first saw a flier about Sarah in September at the elementary school where two of her children are students. Sarah attends the same school.

Bolan knew she had the same blood type as the little girl, so she called the number on the flier that evening.

Sarah's parents, Lori and Joe Dickman, had added Sarah's name to a national waiting list for transplant recipients after learning that neither parent was a match to donate a kidney. The flier was just a shot in the dark.

The Dickmans received two calls from people interested in donating a kidney. Both were tested, and Bolan was the better match. The Dickmans were relieved because Sarah's condition was quickly deteriorating.

She was put on dialysis in September, the same month the flier went up. She often left school early because her failing kidneys made her exhausted and irritable.

"We definitely need more people like Laura in the world," Lori Dickman said.

Joe Dickman wants to add his name to living donor lists so that he can help someone else. It's the least he can do to repay Bolan for saving his daughter, he said.

"A thank-you doesn't fit for what she's doing," Joe Dickman said of Bolan. "She can call me at four in the morning for a gallon of milk. I don't care. I'm indebted to her for life."

God Is Not My Genie

when i was a bit younger (though i am not very old now), i had a conversation with my dad. i wanted something that i could not get using my own means. i was still dependent on my parents then. i told my dad i would pray to God so He could give me what i want. what he said next partly changed the way i am as a christian forever. i cant exactly remember what he said, but it was something along the lines of, 'He is your God, not your genie. Please give Him the respect and treat Him as your God.' i couldnt say anything back then. it was true. and then i realized how many people treat God as their genie. let us not do that, and give God the respect He deserves and treat Him like our Lord.

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On January 12, 2000, our family saw a miracle of God! We were then in the process of building our new house; my husband and I did all the contracting ourselves, so therefore, we were at our house site "daily" for 6 months! On this particular evening, Eric (my husband), myself and Ericka (our 4 year old little girl) were all on the second floor of the house doing our normal clean-up duties. {Our 11-year-old son, Corey, was playing with a neighborhood friend.} During the process of these cleaning duties, we were sweeping with the wide "push" broom, vacuuming the sawdust, and picking up scrap 2x4's. Eric and Ericka were in Ericka's bedroom doing the sweeping and vacuuming (Eric doing whichever one Ericka had not wanted to do at the moment), and I was about 5 feet away in the "balcony" area picking up the wood remnants. As I bent over to pick up another piece of wood, I heard this "PING". You have to realize that this was just at a time the Shop Vac was not running! I knew! this sounded just like a broom handle hitting the concrete slab 12 feet below us, but I didn't know why. I ran to the edge of the balcony and saw my baby Ericka unconscious on the concrete slab! {Later we concluded that Ericka had been pushing the push broom and backed off the edge, in between the studs of the wall, which are 12 inches apart.} As I looked over, I screamed and flew down the stairs. As I turned the corner, Eric had jumped that 12 feet from the balcony to little Ericka's rescue. He was trying to wake her. After a seemingly eternity, my baby opened her eyes, but they were both fixed in an upper left position (first sign of head trauma)! Her head just seemed to be as a newborn with no neck control! I was in total shock! I could not speak; I grabbed her from him and just held her close. Eric ran to get the car, once on our long ride to the hospital, Eric was asking Ericka all sorts of questions, to check her mentality and awareness of her surroundings. S! he knew her name and would answer yes or no questions with yes ma'am to Eric and say, "I mean yes sir" in between her cries. After some time, she asked Eric to sing Jesus Loves Me, I began crying harder and Eric started singing it to her....he broke at one point and she finished the line! Looking back, Ericka was quite alert just a few minutes after her fall. {It just seemed like eternity to us parents!}

Once at the hospital, Ericka began vomiting (second sign of head trauma). They took us immediately to begin IV's, x-rays, CT scans, MRI’ s, etc. They determined the right side of her head is where she landed onto the concrete slab! At this point, she had a nosebleed, only from the right nostril...we panicked once again. After all the tests were completed, hours later, she only had a MINOR CONCUSSION! During this evening, a nurse made a comment to me after the test results: "You know, children are so resilient." I explained to her that yes, this is true regarding some things, but God and only God carried my baby down 12 feet to the concrete she could have shattered on to! --- I know of a toddler that fell from its crib (about 3 feet) to the carpet floor and is BLIND today! Yes, children are resilient, but let's be realistic, it was a deadly fall!

We were so very blessed to have so many relatives, friends and a wonderful church family surrounding us at this time. E-mail allowed the prayer chains to begin so quickly!

Eric and I have always been convinced that this was a grand miracle of God! First of all, the push broom is over 24 inches wide, it had to fall just right to get in between the 12 inch space from stud to stud....hearing the "PING" to notify us something was wrong, just at a time the Shop Vac was off. Secondly, the fact that the doctor said that where she hit her head, the mere cartilage on the top of her right ear, cushioned the blow enough to save her life! Thirdly, as we returned to the house site 5 days later, we went upstairs and saw that the rail on the balcony that Eric jumped over was cracked horizontally the length of the board and we realized yet again how God's hand was on all of us!

We praise God for His blessings during this time and pray he will continue to touch her in His special way!

by Kristi W. Griffin 

Answered Prayers

this post today will be a little long i guess. but i will put a story at the end of it though, for those who come only for my stories. but then, probably no one is going to read this. anyway, this post might be a little offensive to some.

today i read the newspaper, and the incident of the sex scandal between asian celebrities ( Edison Chen and the other female celebrities ) was brought up again. one of them, this girl, one of the singer in the duo called The Twins was performing on stage for a charity and was mocked at, jeered at etc till she cried because she was involved in the scandal.

the message below is for those who condemn the people who are involved, especially Christians who take part in the condemning.

firstly i have to say it totally disgust me to see people condemning other people for matters like, sex? why do you condemn her (and others)? just because she has sex? are you going to tell me you are not going to have sex for the rest of your life? or is it pre-marital sex? among all those who take part in the condemning, i don't believe all of you are so pure and innocent that you only do it after marriage. so then, what is the difference between you and them? sure, she did have her photos taken, and that idiot guy actually leaked it out. everyone makes mistakes.

why do you guys condemn her (them)? because she(they) has lost her 'pure and innocent' image you have of her when you actually fantasize about having sex or raping her in your own mind? or is it just because you don't like it that other people can have her while you can't? why do you girls condemn her? because she spoilt the image of the female race? do you plan to say you too don't intend to have sex? or do you say you too definitely will not have pre-marital sex? if you people really want to condemn someone, why don't you do it earlier? i'm sure you have friends who have pre-marital sex. older people commit adultery. why don't you mock and jeer at them? or maybe you are one of those not-so-pure people afterall, guilty of the act yourself. tell me which is worse, 2 adults committing adultery and breaking up each other's family or 2 unmarried people having sex?

just because people are celebrities, does it mean they cannot have their own private life? just because their job has to show their faces on television more often, does it mean they have to live their lives according to what you expect from them? who are you? their parents?

parents would say, 'as a celebrity who is influential, she(they) should live their lives accordingly, lest they corrupt the young and lead them down the wrong path indirectly.' do you mean to tell me you parents are such a failure at raising your child that a celebrity who doesn't even know your precious baby has more influence over your kids than you do? to those who want to say they never had and never will have pre-marital sex, let me just say it is by God's grace that either you don't have a chance to do it or He gave you enough strength to resist the temptation. ask yourself honestly, without Him, are you able to resist? will you not go for it the moment chance present itself? don't tell me that thought never occur to you. 'Why do you look at the speck of saw-dust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.' does the verses sounds familar to the christians? if you want to talk about people, examine yourself first. even criminals get a second chance. why do you people condemn them instead? are they criminals? did they murder, steal, rob? did they even do anything to you in the first place?

if you are so holy, for the sake of the good of society, i think the war in africa needs your help there. the idiot dictator there is declaring war and killing his own race. why don't you say anything about him? i'm very sure at least one of your friends or/and you yourself have pre-marital sex or commit adultery too. why dont you do something about it? does it please you to see people down and out? does it even makes you happy to watch people fall? because if you do, i really strongly encourage and highly recommend you see a doctor. they are humans too. and they make mistakes. they dont make mistakes like murder, embezzle money etc. they made a mistake many people did. does that mistake deserve that kind of treatment? you probably would be proud of yourself or cheer for your friend who did something she did. or did you ever envy those people who get a chance to have sex when you don't have it?

i'm definitely against pre-marital sex. but if your basis to condemn her is because she has sex before marriage, then arent you as guilty yourself? "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." to those who don't know what this sentence really means, and the story behind this sentence, go ask your christian friends. they would know it. the story behind it is not so different from this.

i do not agree with the celebrities actions, but neither do i condemn them. i have no interests in them. but if you don't believe me, i dont really care. i just want to say, all your hypocrisy disgusts me.

below is the story section.

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My friend Kathy was talking to a maintenance worker at the school where we work. He mentioned that his boss, Bud, was duck hunting. Kathy felt the need to stop what she was doing and pray for his safety. The rest of the day went as usual.That night in the news we saw that Bud's boat capsized while he was hunting. He was in water over his head trying to hang on. Someone finally spotted him. The man that found him used his cell phone and called for help. He was rescued and only suffered from hyperthermia.The man that found him was planning on hunting somewhere else that day and changed his mind at the last minute. There was no one else anywhere around.Sometimes our change of plans or delays are God's way of putting us right where he wants us right when he wants us.- Sharon Beal

Valentine's Day Reflections

Today is Valentine's Day, a day where romance is celebrated. There is no other days in the 365 or 366 days of calender that you would find girls carrying flowers or presents around as they walk, or guys smiling happily with the little presents their girlfriends made or buy for them. You can see the smiles on people's faces everywhere. The guy who finally got enough courage to confess and got accepted, the girl whose crush finally confessed to them, or even the confirmation from their partners that they still love them. To the people who are having a precious relationship with their partners, my heartfelt congratulations to you. There is perhaps no emotions more powerful enough to make a person feel more alive and meaningful, except for hate. 

But what about the others? As we see the smiling faces of everyone who are enjoying the sweetness of romance, what about those who didn't get to experience it, and still have to watch others who are enjoying their relationships? We didn't see people sulking around the streets, but that doesn't mean they are happy in their hearts. The boy who finally got enough courage to confess but was rejected, the guy who didn't even get the chance to get near the woman he likes, the girl who didn't receive a confession from the boy she admires and the woman who step out of her 'boundary' and confessed but still was turn down. Finally we have those who 'got used' to the freedom of being single, but still thought, 'I wish I could be like that couple over there.'  and the ones whose partners told them they wanted a breakup. Humans are not made to be alone, that's why we feel for the opposite sex (or the same sex).

No, I am not going to give you advice on how to get your crush to fall in love with you, or how to improve your relationship. The rest of the article, or whatever you call it, is a reflection i got today.

As the singles walk around and see couples, we may thought, why is it only me out of my other friends, remains single? Or why did that uncool person over there got attached? Am I not even comparable to him/her? Perhaps you will be familiar with the thought of 'I love this person so much that if it is possible, I want to get married with him/her and start a family, living happily.' I guess everyone would have thought of that before. 'I did so much, and it all come to waste.' Almost certainly I would say you would have cried over a failed relationship, or over a relationship you can never get it to start, whether is in front of your best friend, or whether it is in your room in the middle of the night. Either case, it hurts.

I can offer no sound human wisdom to alleviate your pain. But as you probably would have guessed, i can only offer you consolation, or maybe some encouragement using Christianity teachings. If you stumble into my blog, you would have noticed I am a christian who don't put my life stories on blogs. So same for here, I will not put my life story here (which is why nobody ever visit my blogs). But before you go away, thinking: this is another idiot trying to preach, let me assure you I am not going to do that. But I am going to explain somethings in the christian manner, so non-christians please do not get offended by it. Don't worry I will not insult anybody in my article. Lols.

As we all know, God is all powerful and all knowing. Even before you are born he already knew you, planned your life and has everything set for you, if only you would follow Him. I know it sucks to know that you are not in control of your life, but let's not go into that for now. Now, if we can agree with what I said, that it logically follows that He has already chosen a partner for you, if you are planned to get married. I can't say for sure whether you are planned to remain single or married. Nobody knows. But let us assume everyone here is planned to get married. So if we are still not having a partner, and we are planned to get married, then what on earth is going on? I thought about this, and the answer popped up. Simply because the time is not up. Either you are not ready, or your partner is not. But one thing we know, if you are planned to get into a relationship, start a family, you will get it. That is provided you follow Him. Of course, we can take control of our own lives. I choose my own partner! Sure, but then, are you sure you will be happy with the one not meant for you? When things go wrong, maybe you would start to think: What would have happened if I had entered into a relationship with another person instead of him/her? Without a confirmation from God about the person meant for you, you would sway a little from your relationship when things go sour. You would not think of keeping the relationship at all cost. When that happens, doesn't the heartbreak from a failed relationship more painful than the one you get when you could not get a relationship to start? After saying so much, what is the moral of the story? 

Everyone wants to love and to be loved. But we sometimes don't see that coming. Wait patiently. Communicate with God. Find out from Him what he wants from you, and above all have faith. If it is meant for you, you will get it. God doesn't make mistakes, but we do. Who doesn't want a relationship like Romeo and Juliet, where one could not live without the other? Or who wouldn't be touched when they see the japanese drama [Sekai no Chuushin de, Ai wo Sakebu], where the guy's love for the girl is so deep that he could not let go of the relationship with her, even after she died of leukemia 17 years ago?  Is 17 years, not 17 days, not 17 months. We can have that kind of relationship too, I mean the depth of love, not the act of suicide when you saw your partner die. All I can say is, wait faithfully and trustingly from God. As for me, I am waiting too. =)

Love

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, 'What does love mean?'
The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think:

'When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore.
So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love.'
Rebecca- age 8

'When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.'
Billy - age 4

'Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.'
Karl - age 5

'Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.'
Chrissy - age 6

'Love is what makes you smile when you're tired.'
Terri - age 4

'Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.'
Danny - age 7

'Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss'
Emily - age 8

'Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.'
Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)

'If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate,'
Nikka - age 6
(we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet)

'Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday.'
Noelle - age 7

'Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.'
Tommy - age 6

'During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling.
He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore.'
Cindy - age 8

'My mommy loves me more than anybody, You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.'
Clare - age 6

'Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.'
Elaine-age 5

'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.'
Chris - age 7

'Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day'
Mary Ann - age 4

'I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.'
Lauren - age 4

'When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.' (what an image)
Karen - age 7

'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross.'
Mark - age 6

'You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.'
Jessica - age 8

And the final one -- Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge.

The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child.

The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife.

Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.

When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said,'Nothing, I just helped him cry'

Waiting for the Wind

My nephew's 10 year old son came for a visit one hot, July weekend. I was enticing him to stay inside by joining him in a nintendo game. After being mercilessly defeated by a more experienced player, I suggested that we relax awhile. I collapsed into my favorite recliner to let my neck muscles relax and my ego recover from such a beating. He had slipped out of the room and I was catching a few relished moments of peace and quiet.

"Look, Alice," he said enthusiastically as he ran over to the chair where I was recovering.
"I found a kite. Could we go outside and fly it?"
Glancing out a nearby window, I noticed there was not a breeze stirring. "I'm sorry, Tripper," I said, sad to see his disappointed eyes, but thankful for the respite from more activity. "The wind is not blowing today. The kite won't fly."
The determined 10 year old replied. "I think it's windy enough. I can get it to fly," he answered, as he hurried out the back door.

I peeked through the slats in the venetian blinds to watch determination in action. Up and down the yard he ran, pulling the kite attached to a small length of string. The plastic kite, proudly displaying a picture of Batman, remained about shoulder level. He ran back and forth, as hard as his ten year old legs would carry him, looking back hopefully at the kite trailing behind. After about ten minutes of unsuccessful determination, he came back in.

I asked, "How did it go?"
"Fine," he said, not wanting to admit defeat. "I got it to fly some."
As he walked past me to return the kite to the closet shelf, I heard him say under his breath, "I guess I'll have to wait for the wind."

At that moment I heard another Voice speak to my heart. "Alice. Sometimes you are just like that. You want to do it your way instead of waiting for the Wind."

And the voice was right. How easy it is to use our own efforts to accomplish what we want to do. We wait for the Wind only after we have done all we can and have exhausted our own strength. We must learn how to rely on Him in the first place!

Eagle Peak

Hello, minna-san (everybody), i just blog-hopped. i was using msn spaces. i got so pissed with it and decided to switch. anyway, i will continue what i have been doing all along, posting stories. to anyone who is interested in my previous stories, you can find them in my old blog at sweehin.spaces.live.com. i am not transferring all of them here. simple, i am lazy. 

i was doing barbeque over at my friend's house the other day. it was my turn to cook prawns ( i have no idea why she would buy prawns for barbeque ). anyway, the flames got a little too strong as they all kept dumping charcoal into the pit. the flames did not reach me, but the heat did. my hand felt painful, and i pulled away. it was natural. no sane human would let his hand be barbequed. but the point is, if a small fire which heat is enough to make me feel pain and make me drew my hand away, what would happen if i get thrown into hell, where the fire would be there to burn for all eternity. someone once said, if a seagull comes once every 1000 years to take a particle of sand from the beach, even that would have a hope of the process coming to an end. i forgot who said it, but i felt it is true. he was trying to say, if you are going to hell, it is game over for you. even when the seagull cleared the beach, you would still be there in the fires if you just get thrown inside. i do not wish to go to hell. and i do not wish to see anybody i know going there. but then, that is an impossible wish, isnt it? anyway, i dont do preaching. because what i do does not tally with what i said. it makes me feel like a hypocrite. but i wouldnt want to just sit and do nothing. so, i started posting stories. of course this is the first post on this blog, but i had posted for the n-th time on my old site. nobody really read it. people are just interested in other people's life story. ok this will be the end of the long intro for my first post on the new blog. below is the story. enjoy the story, and those to come. i hope, that God will use these stories i put up to change the life of others.

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Behind the city of Colorado Springs, at the back of the U.S. Air Force Academy stands a mountain called Eagle Peak which is popular among local hikers, and Scouts in particular. From it's summit you can peer into the depths of the Rocky Mountains on one side or overlook the vast expanse of the Great Plains on the other. Each summer the trail leading to the peak is trod by those who've walked it's track before as well as those who make of it a new experience.

The inexperienced hiker is generally always told, if he cares to ask, that the hike will take all day to go up and back. He is told to start early and to set a strong, steady pace for the journey will be difficult and rigorous. The inexperienced hiker who follows this advice and plans accordingly can be easily disappointed and even become angry or confused upon reaching the beginning of the trail, because he can see with his own eyes from the parking lot that the hike to the summit and back would take far less than half a day with little difficulty at even the most leisurely pace.

And so he changes his plans. He meanders up the trail wandering frequently from the path, taking numerous side-trips and detours. He stops to play and to snack on some of the supplies he had brought since he obviously won't need so much for such a short trip. He goes well out of his way to avoid some of the more difficult parts of the trail. This he does until about half way through the day when he finally climbs to the summit only to discover that it was his eyes which had deceived him and not the words of those who had gone before. For he now stands on a false summit which had blocked his view of the higher summit far above.

Realizing his lack of foresight, this hiker now quickly reevaluates his time and decides that if he pushes himself hard enough he can still make it to the summit and back before it gets too dark. And so he sets off at a frantic pace; stumbling, crashing through the brush, receiving bruises, scrapes and scratches as the sun moves steadily toward the horizon. Until at last he reaches his mark and looks up at still another summit. You see, Eagle Peak has two false summits, both of which must be travelled over before reaching the real goal. Our inexperienced hiker now sadly begins his trek back down the mountain knowing he fell short of the goal he had sought after. He will try again another day, for there are many beautiful days in Colorado Springs. Wiser for his experience, he will doubtless reach his goal on the next occasion.

In our journey through life, however, we are not so fortunate. There are many false summits and if you strive toward only those goals which you can see, you will fall far short of the genuine goal.

- RD Clyde

As usual, i will post one anime picture after every post. so this is it for today. i had wanted to upload those pics i uploaded to my old site up to here, but im simply lazy. when im more hardworking, i may upload them here. haax.