OUT OF THE DARKNESS

UPDATE - Tuesday May 11th.    

Hallie, John, Connor and Grandma Gayle have met their fund raising goal.  !!!!

Other teams members:    Uncle David Keene -   Aunt Shelly Kobrenski -  & Friend Kim Marcotte
STILL need financial support to meet their goals.   


LINK to TEAM CJ - OUT OF THE DARKNESS OVERNIGHT - WALK

~*~   CJ Twomey   ~*~

I 'met'  (online) Hallie back in the summer of 2007 through her WONDERFUL blog,

Wonderful World of Weiners

Hallie's 20 year old son C.J. took his own life in April.   
On May 5th on her Facebook page, Hallie posted this message:

'Three weeks ago today...three weeks.
The song was wrong. Suicide is NOT painless. Shmoops, I miss you.'

Yesterday, on Mother's Day - Hallie shared that their family, would be
participating in the American Foundation for Suicide Preventions, Boston
Out of The Darkness Walk. 

Since knowing of CJ's death, I have prayed for his Mother Hallie,
his Father John, and his little brother, Connor, his fiancee, Danielle
and everyone who has been affected by his passing. 

My distinct prayer for Hallie has been.... "Dear Lord, may Hallie find some
way to build a bridge over this gut wrenching pain".


THIS WALK .... OUT OF THE DARKNESS ... IS THAT BRIDGE !!!

They need to raise a certain monetary amount to participate.


I know many folks don't like to do the online donation, this is a link to
a PDF form.
Print it out and mail to the address listed.

You will need this info for the top of the form. USE only ONE name
and number per form.


Name of Participant    Hallie Twomey - Supporter ID - 10016565

Name of Participant    John Twomey - Supporter ID - 10016567

Name of Participant    Connor Twomey - Supporter ID - 10016572

EVENT ID -  #  603

Donation Form to Print and mail in - The Over Night



If you would care to donate directly online here is the link:

TEAM CJ Link to donate online

Christopher John Twomey

Christopher John Twomey, known to his loved ones as C.J.
passed away unexpectedly on April 15.


He was the beloved first born son of John and Hallie Twomey
arriving on July 3, 1989 in Stoneham, MA. Following his graduation from
Edward Little High School in 2007, C.J. spent time proudly serving as
an enlisted aircrew member in the United States Air Force, successfully
earning his enlisted aircrew wings.


C. J. was known as a friend to all, a natural comedian and the life
of the party. His smile brought joy to his friends and his family
alike. He was charismatic, extremely charming and always willing to
lend a hand to a friend in need. He loved unconditionally and made sure
those people he cared about always felt special. His zest for life and
his ability to see the good in all will never be forgotten.


He was and always will be the world’s greatest big brother to
Connor. Their relationship was something to behold. They adored one
another from day one and were the best of friends.


C. J. is survived by his loving parents, John and Hallie Twomey of
Auburn, his younger brother Connor of Auburn, his grandfather Bill
Keene of Haverhill, MA, his grandmother and husband, Gayle and Paul
Nigro of Haverhill, MA, his grandparents Mike and Jerri Twomey of
Hampton, NH, his uncle and aunt David Keene and Shelley Kobrenski and
their daughter Sarah of Acton, MA, his uncle Brian Twomey of Amesbury,
MA, his aunt Jennifer Twomey and her three children, Ethan, Gabby and
Matias of New York City, NY, and his loving fiancé Danielle Dubois of
Auburn. C.J. will also be missed by countless friends who loved him as
much as he loved them.

C.J. will be forever in our hearts.

.    .    .    .    .     .    .    .    .    .

With my unending prayers and LOVE to you all

XO XO

Deb

"Love Is The New Religion"

This past week, I was able to offer some help to a friend. 
This friend and I are joined by our son's service in the U.S. Air Force. 
I'm planning on traveling to her home, to stay with her Mom while she
attends her son's homecoming from 'The Sand'. 

Other friends have learned about this help, and they've called me an Angel.
My response to them was..... I'm not an angel.....  I try and live these words...


"We must become the change we want to see in the world."
Mohandas Gandhi - 10/2/1869 - 1/30/1948.


In all honesty, I would rather not even mention of my helping,
but for our military parents support group, it was a great lift for everyone
to know that AF Mom 'M' was going to get the help she needs.  

This morning, I was searching on the net for some words
to assist me in explaining that I'm not an angel, it's
extending myself in a loving way, because I CAN, and
because I care.   I came across these words...


~ LOVE IS THE NEW RELIGION ~



Ohhhhhhhh my what a welcome home Brian's words
are for me....  I've come to know what I am....

I am an embedded agent of an secret, undercover
Clandestine Global operation....

Ohhhhhhhh man, I guess I just blew it because
this is 'undercover'.   Well, I'm not undercover anymore.

JOIN IN ----  Please join in.    :)))))

LOVE
Deb


Love Is The New Religion
On the surface of the world right now there is war and
violence and things seem dark
But calmly and quietly, at the same time, something else
is happening underground
An inner revolution is taking place and certain individuals
are being called to a higher light
It is a silent revolution
From the inside out
From the ground up

It is time for me to reveal myself
I am an embedded agent of an secret, undercover
Clandestine Global operation
A spiritual conspiracy
We have sleeper cells in every nation on the planet

You won't see us on the T.V.
You won't read about us in the newspaper
You won't hear about us on the radio

We don't seek any glory
We don't wear any uniform
We come in all shapes and sizes
Colors and styles

Most of us work anonymously
We are quietly working behind the scenes in every country
and culture of the world
Cities big and small, mountains and valleys, in farms
and villages, tribes and remote islands

You could pass by one of us on the street and not even notice
We go undercover
We remain behind the scenes
It is of no concern to us who takes the final credit
But simply that the work gets done

Occasionally we spot each other in the street
We give a quiet nod and continue on our way so no one will notice

During the day many of us pretend we have normal jobs
But behind the false storefront at night is where the real work takes place

Some call us the "Conscious Army"
We are slowly creating a new world with the power of our minds and hearts
We follow, with passion and joy
Our orders from the Central Command
The Spiritual Intelligence Agency

We are dropping soft, secret love bombs when no ones is looking
Poems
Hugs
Music
Photography
Movies
Kind words
Smiles
Meditation and prayer
Dance
Social activism
Websites
Blogs
Random acts of kindness

We each express ourselves in our own unique ways with our
own unique gifts and talents

"Be the change you want to see in the world"
That is the motto that fills our hearts
We know it is the only way real transformation takes place
We know that quietly and humbly we have the power of all the oceans
combined

Our work is slow and meticulous
Like the formation of mountains
It is not even visible at first glance
And yet with it entire tectonic plates shall be moved in the centuries to
come

Love is the new religion of the 21st century

You don't have to be a highly educated person
Or have any exceptional knowledge to understand it

It comes from the intelligence of the heart
Embedded in the timeless evolutionary pulse of all human beings

Be the change you want to see in the world
Nobody else can do it for you

We are now recruiting
Perhaps you will join us
Or already have....
All are welcome...
The door is open

-Brian Piergrossi
(From the book "The Big Glow")    link to Brian's web site

Help Others.Org ~ Smile Card Project

HelpOthers.org -- kindness is contagious.

How did the SmileCard project start?

One college student was talking to another slightly older
twenty-something guy about pranks that students do for rival football
teams. The older guy says, "Isn't it interesting that students are
motivated to do such incredible acts without getting any credit?" Such
acts are fun, collective, creative, and incredibly challenging. But
typically, they're not all that constructive nor do they leave anyone
with a lasting "wow" feeling either. So the question followed -- why
not do the same with kind acts? More friends joined in the
conversation. Right then, we thought up a game of doing anonymous acts
of kindness and leaving behind a "smile card"
to keep the ripple going. Over the next three months, we tested out the
concept. And then, we setup this anonymous website and got started.

What resources did you start with?

Not
too many. One of our friends designed the card, another wrote up the
content on the card, and another gathered 15 bucks to go to a local
Kinkos. The guy at Kinko's, well, he found out about this and did it
for free. That was September 2003 and our first box of 100 cards. We
never anticipated that this concept would extend all over the world!

Is there a business plan behind any of this?
Nope.
Everything here is (and always will be) a labor of love. We run this
commerical-free portal with dedicated volunteers, we send weekly
kindness newsletters
without any agendas, we ship smile cards all over the world for free,
we allow people to download, print and republish everything without any
restrictions. Some people order free cards to do kind acts, some share
creative ideas of compassion, some contribute stories of inspiration,
some sponosor cards for others, and kindness keeps spreading.

What is the future of the project?

We just launched a new site -- our third revamp of the year -- to keep
up with the increasing demand. More recently, we launched Smile Groups
based on the requests we heard from smile-carders around the globe.
Quite honestly, we don't really know the future; our attempt is keep
doing "small acts with great love" in the present.

Is this a religious effort?
Not really. All the
anonymous folks behind the scenes have their own reasons for practicing
compassion; for some it might be their religious beliefs, for some it
might be their spiritual cultivation, for some it might just be common
sense.

How can I help?

Do something kind in your community. Join Smile Groups and make it a weekly habit. Comment on the many stories to encourage the carriers of kindness. And if you're still pumped-up to give more, drop us a note.

Kindness is contagious! Keep it going.

Jump over to the site and read some kindness stories....

........ like this one....................

Smile Stones, Mile Stones 

--posted by singlestep on Jun 9, 2008

Here's
an idea that brings lots of smiles-- go to your neighborhood crafts
store (I went to Michael's), pick up some polished colored stones,
hand-draw some smiles, and leave those smile-stones with the following
poem at coffee shop tables or just about any public venue.

Look a Smile Stone straight in the eye and you'll smile back not knowing why



It's something about their lopsided grins, their lack of noses and of chins



A twinkling something that's not-quite-art touches your heart



Like snowflakes and fingerprints no two are the same



But why? You ask- What's the point of this game?



Somebody's hand drew those smiles for you



To find and to keep and to give away too



For when the smile fades from the stone



Then you'll find it within



And this is where you get to begin



To share that smile where there's a lack



All you'll need is a pen



(Permanent. Black)



To draw a new smile in place of the old



And send it off on its way



to places untold



Smilestone milestones



Marking the way



We each can reach out



to



Make Someone's Day.

~ Of Dreams and Spirit ~

The story of Lopez Lomong is an absolute must read. !




I
dedicate this post not only to Lomong and his ~ Spirit ~, but the

~ Spirit ~
that LIVES in each and every one of us.   

‘True Olympic spirit is often found away from gold medalists
with
their agents and sponsorship deals -- it is found
in its purest sense in
those that come last.’
(Agence -Presse- French
News Agency)

 

Presumed dead in Sudan, Lopez Lomong lives American dream

         
   

By WAYNE COFFEY    

DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

   
  Wednesday, July 30th 2008, 10:15 PM
   

   

   

       

                        

Lopez Lomong, now the pride of Tully, N.Y., goes from war-torn homeland
to representing U.S.A. in Beijing.

Twenty miles south of  Syracuse and 6,000 miles west of East Africa, a
freshly hung flag flies over the tiny town of Tully. It is on the pole in front
of the high school, just beneath the American flag, a big white rectangle with
five Olympic rings, a salute not so much to the Beijing Games that will commence
next week, but to the Lost Boy who found a home and a life and an athletic
calling, and who has made virtually everyone in his central New York state
village proud.

The
village of Tully has 924 residents and one traffic light, and one remarkable
1,500-meter runner, Joseph Lopepe (Lopez) Lomong, child prisoner turned feted
Olympian. He will begin competing in Beijing on Aug.15.

"We've never had someone in the Olympics before, and we probably will
never have another," says Eileen Baldassarre, a Tully resident whose sons are
friends with Lomong. "This is huge, because...those of us who know Lopez know
what a nice and generous kid he is."

Says
Lomong, "I came a long way, for sure, from running through the wilderness to
save my life, and now I am doing this for fun."

At
23, Lopez Lomong is a sinewy 5-11, 148-pounder and one third of perhaps the most
intriguing team of 1,500 runners the U.S. has ever assembled, a melting pot on
the move. The favorite for gold is Bernard Lagat, the defending world champion,
who captured bronze and silver in the two previous Games, running for his native
Kenya before becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen. The runner-up in the trials
earlier this month was Leonel Manzano, a Mexican-American and two-time NCAA
champion for Texas, whose father reportedly crossed the border 16 times before
becoming a legal U.S. resident.

And
then there is Lomong, a man whose journey has taken him from the southern Sudan
village of Kimotong to a Kenyan refugee camp in Kakuma, to the lakeside home of
Rob and Barb Rogers in Tully. He has seen kids in the next bed die, and has
visited his own grave. Why wouldn't he savor his Olympic achievement?
"This
is America, this is the land of everybody," Lomong says.

Lomong's story has been well chronicled, a fact that makes it no less
chilling. At age 6, while attending Mass with his family in Kimotong, he and
some 50 other children were taken at gunpoint by a government-backed militia in
Sudan's long-running Civil War, hauled off in a tarp-covered truck to a work
camp. After several weeks, three older boys found a hole in a fence, escaped the
camp and brought Lopez with them, walking for three harrowing days through woods
and wilderness, before stumbling into Kenyan border guards.

For
the next 10 years, home for Lopez - one of the so-called Lost Boys of Sudan -
was a a sprawling Kenyan refugee camp, where meals consisted of U.N.-provided
corn and came once a day. Soccer provided about the only respite from the
bleakness and boredom. The notion of anything better scarcely occurred to him
until late summer of 2000.

Lomong earned five Kenyan shillings (about seven cents) for moving some
dirt. He didn't spend it until he heard it could buy him a chance to see the
2000 Olympics on a black-and-white TV.

Lomong and a few friends walked five miles to see the Games. He came away
mesmerized by Michael Johnson, running the 400 meters.

He
prayed that God would give him a chance to do something similar. "I saw him run
so fast and I said, 'I want to run just like that,'" Lopez says.

A
year later, shortly after 9/11, an international relief effort began to place
the Lost Boys in American homes. Lomong wrote an essay describing his ordeals.
Rob and Barb Rogers, devout Christians, saw a notice in their church bulletin
one Sunday that Catholic Charities was looking for foster parents for the boys.

Before long, 16-year-old Lopez Lomong was on his way to Hancock Airport
outside Syracuse. He was shocked when the Rogerses met him in their car.
"He
walked to the airport (in Kenya), and assumed he'd walk from the airport
(here)," Rob Rogers says.

Lopez was awed by the breadth and asphalt splendor of Interstate 81, by
electricity and running water. He enrolled at Tully High, became a cross-country
and track star, before moving on to Northern Arizona, where he grew into an NCAA
champion. Lomong's American adventure was just beginning, and it was for the
Rogerses, too; they have since taken in five more Sudanese boys.

Rob
Rogers buys and sells heavy equipment, while Barb manages the 27 apartments they
own, and runs their laundromat, Suds and Bubbles. Uncertain about how a
virtually all-white community would receive their adopted Sudanese sons, the
Rogers have been heartened by the whole experience. Apart from a single nasty
epithet written by two high school kids - an incident that aroused the ire of
almost the entire school - the embrace has been universal.

"We
thought we'd be in the 'out' crowd, and now we're in the 'in' crowd," Rob Rogers
says, laughing. He pauses and talks about how life has changed since Lopez made
the Olympic team on the night of July 6 - exactly a year after he gained his
U.S. citizenship. He did it with a bell-lap charge that carried him from sixth
to third, balky ankle be damned.

"The
highlight of my life is telling CNN I couldn't talk because HBO was here,"
Rogers says.

At
Christmas time last year, Lomong went back to Kenya and Sudan for HBO's "Real
Sports" program, which was doing a segment on him. He reunited with his birth
mother, Rita, and his younger brothers. He even visited the grave his family
made for him, certain that he was dead. It was a small pile of stones that
contained a necklace and childhood keepsakes. They happily took the pile apart.

"They brought me to life again," Lomong says.

 

Thanks to a Tully-wide fundraising effort
spearheaded by Eileen Baldassarre, more than $13,000 has been collected to send
Rob and Barb Rogers to Beijing, along with Jim Paccia - Tully High's track coach
- and his wife, Cheryl. Rob Rogers got in the Olympic spirit almost immediately
after watching Lopez make the team, ordering an Olympic flag and banner on the
Internet for $68. The banner is on the front door, the flag flying in the front
yard.
His foster son, Lopez Lomong, a Lost Boy no longer, will soon be
surrounded by the best runners in the world. He will race hard, and whatever
happens, he will be powered by gratitude, and unencumbered by fear.

"This is payback for the people who helped me
through my childhood," Lomong says.
"Now I am running for America. I'm an
American citizen and I can go out and compete.
I'm so
thankful."

Former 'Lost Boy' leads U.S. team as

Beijing welcomes the world to China

 

(Photo - Pretty/Getty)

Lopez Lomong, one of the Lost Boys
of Sudan,
leads Team USA into Beijing's national
stadium.

 

----------------------------------------------------------

http://lopezlomong.org/

 

Lopez Lomong's
web site

" When we were in Africa,
we didn't know what was there for us as kids--we just ran.
God was
planning all of this stuff for me, and I didn't know.
Now I'm using
running to get the word out about how horrible things
were back in
Sudan during the war. Sometimes these things are not on CNN,
so if I
put out the word, I hope people can get the information.
Right now,
similar terrible things are going on in Darfur; people are
running out
of Darfur, and I put myself in their shoes."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Save Darfur

www.savedarfur.org

The
Save Darfur Coalition's mission is to raise public awareness about
the
ongoing genocide in Darfur and to mobilize a unified response
to the
atrocities that threaten the lives of two million people in the Darfur
region.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Olympic Spirit


http://www.olympicspirit.org

Inspire
the Youth of the World



'Our vision and purpose is clear -

To be an icon of Olympic values and ideals, to inspire and motivate

the youth of the world to be the best they can be'

Mark R.
Dzenick

Chairman - Olympic Spirit Group

Stephen Hopson - Amazing Person !

First off........    Jump over to YouTube and watch this
2 minute video of Stephen.   :)      

YEAH........... go NOW and then come back.    

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuqlVivegXg






Stephen J. Hopson ~ 'Turn Adversity Into A
University

 

Stephen, deaf since birth, has gone where no deaf man had ever gone
before. 

Stephen the pilot made aviation history on February 24, 2006 when

the FAA gave Hopson an instrument rating.
His instrument rating requires
that he flies with a qualified copilot
to handle the radios for
him.

 

Hopson left a very successful Wall Street career to follow his
inner
voice and passion of becoming an inspirational speaker and author. 

 

He has a successful and interactive blog site named: Adversity
University.
http://www.adversityuniversityblog.com/

 

I met Stephen at Phil - MAKE IT GREAT - Gerbyshak's blog.
Stephen had written a guest post about the value of sending snail mail
Thank you
notes.  I am a HUGE fan of snail mail myself and in ending the
comment, I
asked him for his mailing address.   It turned out we live in
the very same
county in Ohio.   What a pleasant shock.

 

To explain Stephen, I've grabbed a little bit from his own web
site.
I believe you can FEEL his enthusiasm and ZEST from his own
words.

 

Stephen's life example encourages me everyday to be thankful and

grateful for my own hearing.  His living beyond what might hold
someone
else back, is just pure inspiration. !!!

 

(from his web site)

 

Imagine with Stephen. . .

 

Let’s go on a little trip, if you will.
Open the stairwell to your
imagination for a moment.

 

Imagine…think in your mind what it would be like in your life to

never heard a sound…any sound. You’re completely deaf and have

been since birth. You’ve never heard a baby’s cry, a bird chirp, an

airplane’s roar or worst yet, your mother’s reassuring words of
comfort in

a time of pain, need or sorrow. You are in effect, virtually alone

in a world of your own.

 

Now go deeper in your imagination. If you’ve never heard a sound,

that also means you’ve never heard a word articulated. Think about

that for a second. If you’ve never heard a word articulated, how
would

you know or better yet, how would you even learn how to

pronounce a word…any word?

 

How would you distinguish between similar sounding words that were

spelled the same or slightly different? For example, “The solider
decided

to desert his dessert in the desert”; “They were too close to the
door to

close it”; “Upon seeing a tear in the painting, I shed a
tear.”

 

Sounds impossible, doesn’t it? Do you think a totally deaf person

could do it? Do you think you could master the language if

you were deaf yourself?

 

Stephen Hopson was born completely deaf. He’s never in his life

heard a grunt, a groan or a peep. Yet he not only mastered the
English

language and become an accomplished professional
speaker but he’s

also been a successful Wall Street stockbroker and recently made

aviation history by becoming the first deaf person ever to earn an
instrument
rating, a rating that actually requires hearing – something
so-called experts

considered would never happen in a million years. Stephen proved
them wrong.

 

If Stephen can master the spoken language and achieve the
impossible,

what’s stopping you from achieving your goals? Goals that don’t
require

nearly the work, the effort, the time and the discouragement that
he’s encountered?

 

ANYTHING’S POSSIBLE. You just have to set your goals and they must
be high.

Donald Trump thinks in multiple BILLIONS not just enough to pay

next month’s rent. You have to develop a plan, muster your
resources and

then most importantly, take action.

 

Stephen is not here to tell you what to do. As a motivational
speaker

and author, he shows you, no better than that, he gives you a
roadmap…

that will not only get you started in demolishing the obstacles
that you are

holding back but help you accomplish your dreams, your goals and
your aspirations.

 

But wait, there’s more…much more. The question isn’t whether the

content of his speeches works. There’s no question that it does.

He’s living proof. The real question is, Are you going to work what
he

shares with you from the platform?

 

When you hire Stephen as keynote/meeting speaker, your audience

will not only overcome the demons, obstacles, and stumbling blocks
that
are holding them back from achieving their goals, they will also be
inspired
and motivated to take action. They will begin to maximize the

God-given talents they’ve been blessed with and start capitalizing
on the
wonderful and abundant rewards that are lying in wait for them to
claim!

http://www.sjhopson.com/

 

 

Stephen has entered a video contest that is taking place at the

BeTheNextBestSellingAuthor.com website.

 

Stephen chose his video on his most life changing moment. 

 

For this contest, they are picking 3 winners.
Two will be chosen
outright and a 3rd will be from
the most views on YouTube.   

I believe that Stephen's entry will be chosen outright,
but just in case..........   The most viewed would help too. 

 

ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW and
it counts as a view. 
Stephen's video is 2 minutes long.

 

Most Life Changing Moment That Led to a Dream Coming True

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuqlVivegXg

A Man Dying Shares HOW TO LIVE ~ AMAZING

This morning, my dear friend Carey sent me a link to this video....
~ THANK YOU - THANK YOU Carey ~

In her words.......

"Very humbling"


I say - absolutely AMAZING. !!!!!!!!!!!

From the Carnegie Mellon Web site, I snagged the following description:

"Carnegie Mellon Professor Randy Pausch, who is dying from pancreatic cancer,
gave his last lecture at the university Sept. 18, 2007, before a packed McConomy
Auditorium. In his moving talk, "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams," Pausch
talked about his lessons learned and gave advice to students on how to achieve
their own career and personal goals."

This is a comment a viewer left on the YouTube site after viewing Randy....
I could not have said it better, that is way I am quoting this viewer....

"Have you ever met someone who's eyes sparkled? When they smiled their entire
faces lit up and a twinkle appears in their eyes. I have always believed people
like that are Angels. Beings that walk amongst us, blending in and living life
among us. Randy is an Angel. He is that special being that walks among us. And I
truly believe this, when he is gone, there will be a twinkle in his kids eyes
that his wife will see and this will be her realization that he is still with
them."

The link below will take you to an 11 minute video.  On my site here, I
have popped in the longer 70 some minute version.    I know that not everyone
has 70 minutes to sit and watch, but PLEASE consider bookmarking this
and come back to the long version later on.

Link to Video of Randy reprising his 'Last Lecture' on the Oprah show.

Randy's September 2007 - Last Lecture - Longer Version.

 

This link will take you to a PDF  transcript of the lecture.   
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~pausch/Randy/pauschlastlecturetranscript.pdf

Randy Pausch's Web Site
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~pausch/

Absolutely AMAZING. !!!!!!!!!!!