FREE CHRISTIAN T-SHIRTS

We are pleased to announce our FREE DRAWING for Christian T-shirts. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. ONE ENTRY PER PERSON. Earn an Extra entry for every $25.00 you spend on merchandise (tax and shipping does not count towards $25.00 increment). To enter, simply email your Name, Address, Phone Number, and Email Address to drawing@foreverandalwaysonline.com. The drawing is for your choice of any Christian t-shirt or jewelry item from our website. (Banners, Hoodies, Avon, and items not on www.foreverandalwaysonline.com are not included in prize choice.) Four (4) prizes will be given away on November 30, 2009. The winner will be notified via email and must respond with his or her prize choice by 6:00 PM CST on December 1, 2009 or another winner will be chosen. The new winner will have until 6:00 PM CST on December 3, 2009 to respond. If no response is given by then, the first winner to respond will receive an additional prize of our choosing. The SAME person can win all four (4) prizes. Prizes include free shipping to anywhere inside the Continental U.S. Prizes can be shipped to an address other than the winners. Gift wrapping, however, is not available. To enter, simply email your Name, Address, Phone Number, and Email Address to drawing@foreverandalwaysonline.com. This contest is open to All Ages. An active email is required. Please do not create fictitious people and emails. By signing up for our drawing, you are agreeing to receive promotional emails from us. Us includes www.foreverandalwaysonline.com and Summer Lemoine, Avon Independent Sales Representative. Your name will be added to our database and can be removed at any time after December 3, 2009. WE DO NOT SELL, RENT, OR SHARE YOUR INFORMATION.

Reflections

Now is the time of our lives. Not waiting until we retire. Not waiting until the kids are grown. Not waiting until all of our finances are in order. NOW. Now is the time. I encourage each of you to take a look around. Reflect on your life. Are you living to the most of your potential? Are you waiting to LIVE? Look at the ones around you. Is this the group you wanted to be a part of? Don't procastinate on living...you may never get the chance. If you are a leader, LEAD. If you are a follower, FOLLOW. If you are a salesman, SALE. If you are a cook, COOK. If you are a poet, WRITE. My point is that too many are sitting and waiting without doing. You have to be who you are led to be. God created us each with our own talents. Do not waste your talent waiting to live. God gave you a gift and the ability to recognize that gift. Put it to use and see what God truly had in store for you to do. When we decide to listen to what God has told us, we will know what happiness is. I was lost in a world I didn't care for until I took a chance. God blessed me with a very supportive wife who stands with me through the good times and the bad. She saw my unhappiness with the work I was doing. She listened as I told her idea after idea after idea of things I would like to do. She simply said who she thought I was and reassured me of my abilities. I'd like to pause here to publicly thank her for her support and love. Babygirl, it's because of you that I have found my true happiness. You told me that no matter what, you would be here and as long as I did what God wanted me to do, I would be ok. She was right. God has blessed us. We have gone through quite a few trials since stepping out on God's word, but Satan likes to create trouble. We have stood fast on our faith in the Good Lord and He has brought us through it all. Crazy as it seems, He has led us around through many different ventures to get us where we are and to land us in total happiness. We still have difficulties from time to time, but we are always taken care of. My point to all of this is simple. Look at your life. Look at your job. If you are unmarried and have not yet found that person who completes you, LISTEN TO GOD and be who you are supposed to be. If you live the life He has in store for you, He will take care of things. In closing, I would like to thank God for the gifts he has given me. He has given me a wife who makes me whole, great children who add to the everyday enjoyment of life, and several abilities and talents that make me who I am. All of these things I give Him credit for. May God bless you and keep you safe in all that you do. Please feel free to comment or share your story with us.

AVON

More exciting news!! We've added Avon to our line up of products we sell. Now you can go online to www.youravon.com/summerlemoine and receive FREE SHIPPING on orders of $30 or more. No more setting up appointments. You can shop and buy online while wearing your "comfortable clothes". Since its shipped to you, you don't have to make arrangements to get it. This information is being provided by an Independent Representative.

Life and All of its Wonders

God is truly AMAZING. He created the whole universe and still has time for you and me. He answers prayers and makes things work out. Life is a special gift we are given that everyone doesn’t appreciate. We are put here to give glory to our Lord, yet some are ashamed, some don’t believe, and some just don’t care. We are in a world of turmoil and disease; uncertainty and hardships; distrust and misrepresentation. We are also in a time of great opportunity. We now have the ideal opportunity to turn things back by putting our faith and trust back in GOD. It is our duty as Christians to proclaim to the world that our Lord God is in control and has power over all of the bad things. He can take away the bad things if we put our faith in Him. I ask that each of you reading this ask God for his guidance on anything and all things in your life. Take the time to talk to him again. Talk to him about things that are bothering you like finances, swine flu, aids, layoffs, the broken washing machine, your lack of romance, and everything else in your life. Be sure to also thank Him for the gifts, both large and small. Our lives are filled with such wonder that most of it goes unnoticed. Most people get up, go to work, come home, go to bed, get up, go to work, and so on. We have so much to appreciate if we just take a moment to think about it. We have the power to influence people all around us. When you go to the store, do you give the clerk an attitude or do you smile and wish them a great day? When you’re driving, do you glare, yell, and give hand gestures to your neighboring drivers, or do you wave and smile at complete strangers? How many say, “God bless you” when someone sneezes and how many say something else if anything at all? Use the power you have for good. Thank the people who help you or wait on you. Tip the waiter, waitress, or carhop who brought your food. Don’t yell at the person who cut you off. Enjoy the moments you’re given. I’ll end here because my boys are wanting me to play…one of the moments that changes both my life and theirs. May God bless each and every one of you.

Earning a Dollar

A dollar. It used to be so much. Now it seems like it's nothing. The new generation has no appreciation for the cost of a dollar. The youth of today see us go to the store and slide a piece of plastic through the machine and we leave with "stuff". They have no idea how it works. My wife and I try to pay with cash on most items so our kids see it's not magic. They watch us at flea markets when people give us money in exchange for merchandise. I think this summer we will let our kids bring back the "lemonade stand". I think it will help them to understand how a dollar works. When I was younger, I wanted a toy that cost about $50. That was a lot of money for a toy in the early '80's. I was told "NO". But then my very insightful step-Dad said I could work for it. He had a pile of bricks that had just been thrown into a pile in the wrong spot in the yard and needed them stacked neatly by the fence on the other side of the yard about 250 - 300 feet away. I carried bricks one in each hand, then stacks of 4 or 5 at a time, and then just whatever I could handle. I was so tired. Every day after school for about a week I carried and stacked bricks until dark. When all of the bricks were moved, I was given the money to go get that toy...it was the first Optimus Prime Transformer. I paid for it with my HARD EARNED DOLLARS and had maybe a couple of dollars change back. A few years ago, they moved that stack of bricks to almost where they started out at. Anyway, I hope to give our kids the same life lesson that a dollar is not just something everybody has and that you have to EARN it. Keep in mind that when we were growing up, our parents went to the bank to deposit a paycheck and went to the bank to get money. It was real, not just a "magic" piece of plastic. That's all for now. We'd love to hear your thoughts. Tell us what you think. God bless you.

Recession - How REAL is It???

I have heard the stories and seen the news clips of how bad the economy is. But, how bad is it? I know in several areas, there have been plant closings and other such events that have taken tolls on the people of those communities. My thoughts and prayers are with you. On the other side...When my wife and I go through nearby towns, we see new shopping centers being built, new apartment complexes, new buildings and businesses popping up. Most of the working people I talk to have received a pay raise in the last year. The only ones that seem to be affected by the NEWS MEDIA telling us how broke we are is the self-employed, small business owner. People have flocked to "discount" stores such as Wal-Mart, Dollar General, Family Dollar, and others. According to people I know who work in these types of places, business is up. That's right, these businesses are GROWING!! The sad thing is that I can go to a local, small town, grocery store and buy milk and other products CHEAPER than the big, GROWING bigger, businesses. How is that possible? The big chains buy in bulk to get better pricing. Their sales are up and their cost is cheaper. Why do they charge more? Why do we as a society tolerate paying more? I think we have become brainwashed over the years by the MEDIA telling us what we "know". We have been told that the housing market has collapsed. It's not a surprise. I used to work in mortgage lending. The guy I worked with said it was coming because of appraisers inflating house values, mortgage companies not requiring correct documentation, and mostly of borrowers wanting adjustable rate loans instead of fixed rates. Yes, the payments are lower now, but in three years when that rate adjusts, the balance hasn't changed much. That means if you couldn't afford a fixed rate loan at that interest rate then, you couldn't afford that new adjusted rate in three years. Unfortunately, most consumers don't realize what takes place when doing a loan. The loan officers and brokers who made the loan knew better. The banks who carried the loan knew better. Unfortunately, none of them cared enough about "John Doe" off the street because making him a loan made them rich. What am I saying? Did GREED cause this to take place? YES, YES, YES!!! Now the banks that held these loans are hurting because the borrower can't afford the higher payments and when they go to forclose on the home, there isn't a buyer for that over-priced piece of property. I'm sorry for the people who lost their homes. I am not sorry for the banks and loan companies who are "suffering". It's hard to feel sorry for somebody who only made $100,000 to $1,000,000 last year. They could have gotten by without the government bailing them out. They didn't have to pay those huge salaries and bonuses to the people who made bad judgement calls. If you would like to save some money and have fun at the same time, I encourage you to visit a flea market or trade days or swap meet in your area. Most of the people there are hard working individuals trying to feed their families. Some places my family and I set up are Bonnie & Clyde Trade Days in Arcadia, LA and First Monday Trade Days in Canton, TX. There are also some near Dallas, TX; Burmingham, AL; Myrtle Beach, SC; and other places across the country. Another way to find bargains is to shop online. I personally recommend http://www.foreverandalwaysonline.com/ for a great selection of Christian t-shirts and other merchandise. I encourage you to truly look at your situation and see if you are hurting financially or if you just think you are because somebody told you you were. If you're needing more money coming in, try looking for a different or additional job. Yes, jobs are also everywhere you turn around. Let go of your pride and take one at the gas station, fast food chain, or what ever is available that doesn't violate your morality. That about concludes my thoughts for the day. Please leave your comments about what you think. Also, please visit your local, small town stores. They need your support. Also remember, you might save $5 by buying that new whatever in the bigger towns, but it'll cost you at least $10 in gas to get there plus the extra miles you added to your vehicle. In closing, I ask that each of you reading this pray about your situation, pray for the ones who are without work and pray for the ones without a home. Remember that God is in control and He won't give you more than you can handle. May God Bless you and keep you safe.

Taking Time

Have you ever stopped to think? Have you ever stopped to see? Have you ever stopped to listen? This morning my family and I were on the road at about 6:15 which is not unusual. This morning was different though. As we left the house, I noticed the full moon just above the horizon to our left. My wife commented how beautiful it was. It was "big" with a yellow glow. As we continued our journey, we had changed directions so that it was now directly in front of us. As we came up a hill, it looked as if we could drive to the moon. It was an incredible sight. The reason I mention this is because we have made this trip most mornings for the last several months. Today was different. Have we been so pre-occupied in our daily running and doing that we haven't seen it before? Or, has it just not been there? Sadly, the moment passed as our conversation resumed and the moon "disappeared". I have thought about that a lot this morning. What are we missing? I see my family everyday, but I may be overlooking parts of the day because of other events that cast huge shadows or maybe "outshine" the joy we have. I personally haven't "seen" the beauty that fills this house for a bit of time because of "life". "Life" is the daily to do lists of updating our website, advertising, paying bills, taking out the trash, and other such tasks that occupy our time. That has made me stop to think, see, and listen. Tonight I plan to surprise my wife and kids with a night out. Putting "life" to the side so we can live. I plan to "see" my family and all of the joy, warmth, and hope they offer. I'm also making time to listen to all of the great stories that have to be told about school, friends, and all of the other meaningful events of the day that influence the ones I love. Life is too short not to live it. I plan to redirect my motivations of living to work into working to live. I love my wife and kids and do not want to miss anymore time together. A quick sidenote: when my wife and I were dating, we would stay up until 2 or 3 in the morning just talking...It made it hard to be at work before 8AM. We are now self-employed and busier than before. So, I ask you again...DO YOU SEE THE MOON? Take the time to think about this, to see what you're missing, and to listen to the ones who make your life complete. May God bless you and keep you safe in all that you do. Pray for the ones you can't help and help the ones you can. Thank you for reading.

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Our Newest Blog

We will use this blog to discuss the important things in life such as Salvation, Family, Jesus, Life in general, and other suchs topics. We will also discuss some other topics such as politics, finances, and website promotions. Thanks for checking us out. We look forward to sharing with you.