I fell off a cliff (literally) and into my life!
They call it Meditation Rock, I call it Miracle Rock. Beautiful, serene and the perfect place to sit quietly, read and pray. That's just what I did - until I fell off it. It was a twenty three foot drop with a rock-solid landing. Ten broken bones, three broken teeth, four years and a whole new life later I'm ready to tell my story.
Long ago I knew I wanted to be a camp counselor in the spectacular mountains of Colorado. I wasn't a big fan of my college.
The only thing I liked about it was the giant bean bag chair that I crashed on in my dorm.
I had to get out of there.
I applied to the perfect camp and sat by the phone for weeks waiting for my acceptance call.
Rejection was not what I expected, but it is what I got. Angry at God I begrudgingly headed to a smaller camp in Maine - a state I hadn't heard of since my 6th grade geography class. Little did I know I would fall in love...with Maine, with Matt and with the Lord.
Let's start with the Lord. We met at Chop Point camp.
We had been acquaintances for a long time, but it was there that our true relationship began. I'd wake up early, drudge my way up a windy path and crawl under Meditation Rock.
There were a lot of jagged rocks under Meditation rock but there was one smooth, flat rock that was perfect for quiet times. That is, of course, when the tide was out
- otherwise it was covered in water.
It was there, on that special rock that I discovered the Word was living and active and that, it applied to my life! I visited this special spot regularly over the next four years.
Speaking of special, a particular young man caught my eye one summer at Chop Point. One that I just knew was the one for me. I'm told I called his name out over and over when they found me broken beneath the rock.
He wasn't the man, however,
that drove an hour every day for a month to visit me in the hospital. No, I broke up with that man long ago.
He wasn't the one for me. I knew best.
So there, I lay beneath Meditation rock bleeding and murmuring this other young man's name over and over again. I'm told I whispered "help me sweet Jesus" a few times between the painfully embarrassing displays of emotion. Over an hour later I was life-flighted to the Central Maine Medical Center where I under went 18 hours of surgery. I remember none of this.
The first thing I remember is my friend Matt, the one I'd broken up with long ago, sneaking me a sip of water when the doctors were looking the other way. I was dying of thirst and they would only give me ice chips! I spent more than a month in the hospital. I was blessed to be alive. Somehow, miraculously, I did not land on the dangerously jagged rocks, but on the one flat rock I had spent so much time on.
Not only that, but the angle of the rock I landed on leaned toward the water.
I managed to roll up the rock.
I should have rolled off and drowned.
I did however, shatter my knee, break my femur in three places, destroy my hip, crush my wrist and spit out a few pieces of my back teeth (into Matt's hands). But, I was alive and had no damage to my head, neck or back. The recovery period was still quite the process.
It took years. People thought I would get depressed right away, but I didn't. I was surrounded by loving family and friends for months. Then my world began to fall apart. The reality of the recovery time hit me and in the meantime life wasn't giving me any breaks.
That special young man got engaged (and not to me), my grandfather passed away and my uncle committed suicide. I was a wreck. Totally and completely depressed.
I did find a
job I had wanted all my life ? a youth director.
But, I was so discouraged that I couldn't keep it up.
I had no idea what to do with my life.
Once again I found myself questioning God.
I began to make lists of things that I loved. A funny thing came to mind. Bean Bag Chairs.
I was infatuated with the huge bean bag chair I had in college.
I even got a job selling them my sophomore year.
Every time I thought about what I wanted to do for a living the word bean bag popped into my head. Though it felt crazy, I decided to call my old boss and tell him how I was feeling.
He suggested that I start selling his bean bag chairs in Maine for a 20% commission.
I gave it a try. That Christmas I decided to sell the bean bags at a small strip mall. I set
up a tiny little business in a back corner.
The business consisted of one employee (me) and three bean bag chairs.
Then Matt came along.
Again.
He just happened to be an artist and somewhat of a perfectionist.
He encouraged me fix up the corner, build www.heavenlybeanbags.com, print business cards and pricelists. He also began (or maybe I
should say continued) to pursue me relentlessly. Over time I noticed some pretty amazing qualities in Matt.
These qualities won my heart. We have been married for two years now and I'm still not sure when the honeymoon is going to end. As our love grew, Heavenly Bean Bags also blossomed. Eventually we started making the bean bags in Maine and adding all sorts of new features (like removable, washable covers). We set up at the same little strip mall every Christmas Season.
Although the business venture kept us incredibly busy, we knew that Matt's art was a talent that we did not want to let go of. Matt and I saved some money and made prints of his work. We rented 40 feet of space from the same little mall and started something totally new. We gathered the work of local Christian artists, including potters, photographers, jewelers, painters, stained glass artisans, and furniture makers (bean bags included) and sold them on consignment.
We fell in love with the idea of supporting Christian artists and now we are going to pursue it full time.
Tomorrow, we're signing a contract with the biggest mall in Maine, the Maine Mall. We are opening our own store, Genesis Guild. Genesis Guild will specialize in Maine Crafted Home Decor items made by Christians!
So here I am at two o'clock in the morning thinking over what God has done in my life over the past four years. I had it all figured out. I was going to a camp in Colorado, working with youth and marrying "the man of my dreams".
But God had a different plan. I went to a camp in Maine, fell off Miracle rock, married a wonderful (but real) man, started a bean bag business and am about to open a store in the biggest mall in Maine! Although it was incredibly hard at times, I thank God that I fell off a cliff and into my life
Valerie Lecher is a lover of life!After falling off a cliff, she no longer takes it for granted.
Every day is a new day.
She recently started her own business and is loving every minute of it.
Unpacking and acclimatizing your new discus fish
I often get a knock on the door and am welcomed by a currier holding a polystyrene box covered in ?Fragile' and ?this way up' stuck all over it. My face will instantly light up and my hands rub together.
I'm sure you have or will be wanting to order discus fish from the internet or over the phone. If so, there are a couple of important factor you must first take into consideration. The main one is that you need to be sure you are getting quality fish, this may require looking at pictures of those fish and talking to the breeder or importer.
What I want to tell you about today is how to unpack and acclimatize your new fish.
Unpacking?
You need to unpack one box at a time, don't go and open every box if you have 4 or 5. I know you want to look at your discus fish but please take your time.
Take the lid off the first box and take one bag at a time out. Then open the bag, roll down the bag and float it in the water. Do this...
Unpacking and acclimatizing your new discus fish
Bean bag chairs > Unpacking and acclimatizing your new discus fish
Wholesale Massage Chairs Direct from Premier
Premier Health Products massage chairs can now be purchased direct from Premier Massage Chairs at.? Why pay high retail prices for massage chairs when youcan get wholesale massage chairs for hundreds less? ?We have streamlined our business online so we never pass on additional operating expenses to our customers.?
Premier Health Product's is the third largest massage chair manufacturer in the United States and leads the industry in quality, technology and design.? Premier's flagship model, the PHP-2026, offers state of the art body scanning technology to deliver the most realistic massage ever from a robotic chair
www.premiermassagechairs.org/massage-chair-php-2026.html. ?Premier chairs are backed by the longest and most comprehensive warranties in the business....
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Top 5 things to look for when buying Quality Poker Table
Top 5 things to look for when buying Quality Poker TableWhen one is ready to buy a quality poker table that will last for years, there are some things to consider; like what size, what style, quality vs. price, purchasing chairs with the table, and of course where to buy your table.What size poker table should I buy?Round poker tables usually come in 3 common sizes 48", 52", and 60". A 48" table will comfortably accommodate 6 or less people although most say that size will seat 8. If you have a need to seat more players at a round poker table then I would advise purchasing and 52" or better.What style should I buy?Some poker players really want to put on a good tournament by purchasing an authentic Texas Hold'em table. These tables are best for tournament play and allow for more elbow room and possibly a dealer if one desires.These tables can also be equipped with a chip tray and a lock box to safely store cash.What about Quality?Quality...
Top 5 things to look for when buying Quality Poker Table
Bean bag chairs > Top 5 things to look for when buying Quality Poker Table
Penelope’s Avion Bag Rated Top Women’s Laptop Bag
Wake Forest, N.C. (ContentDesk) July 12, 2006 -- The Avion Convertible Laptop Bag by Penelope, which switches from a shoulder bag to a backpack in seconds, received the top rating in a recent review of laptop bags on About.com. Penelope has delivered a laptop bag that fuses fashion and function, said Catherine Roseberry, the mobile office technology expert for About.com.(http://mobileoffice.about.com/od/packingyourmobilegear/tp/womensbags.htm) The Avion Convertible Laptop Bag tops the Mobile Office Technology web sites list for best womens laptop bags, she said.
Its secure external pockets, comfort, multiple fabric options and special design features set this bag apart from other laptop bags for women. The Avion Convertible Laptop Bag is the brainchild of Penelope Manasco, founder of Penelope, a Wake Forest, N.C.-based company dedicated to designing innovative laptop...
Bean bag chairs > Penelope’s Avion Bag Rated Top Women’s Laptop Bag
A Look at Vending Massage Chairs
Vending massage chairs are coin-operated devices that can be found in many retail establishments across the country. Some of the most ideal locations for vending massage chairs are restaurants, airports, malls, hotels and hospitals. Vending massage chairs offer the same benefits as a privately owned massage chair with the convenience of public use.
Vending massage chairs are coin operated but also have the option of accepting paper bills. Most chairs can accept increments of $1, $5, $10 and $20 bills for a set number of massage minutes. These prices vary, as since the vendor can determine the price of the massage and adjust it accordingly.
Businesses often see vending massage chairs as an excellent way to generate additional income. Because these chairs can easily run into the thousands of dollars, places with high traffic such as airports and malls are ideal. In order for the vendor to recoup the costs of buying the chair, he or she should carefully...
Bean bag chairs > A Look at Vending Massage Chairs
Comfortable and Corporate: Leather Office Chairs
There are many choices when it comes to office chairs.
Standard office chairs are available in a wide variety of colors and materials for a low cost.
An ergonomic office chair that offers adjustable settings and proper lumbar support has become a standard fixture in both work and home offices.
However, the ultimate luxury in office chairs is almost always a leather office chair.
Leather office chairs are available for purchase through a large number of dealers.
They can be purchased "standard" for under a hundred dollars, or can even be custom designed for as much as a few thousand dollars.
Leather office chairs are frequently found in the offices of upper management and executives.
They are also common items in executive conference and meeting rooms.
Leather office chairs are chosen for their luxurious material and the comfort that they afford.
They are available in a variety of colors and styles.
Bean bag chairs > Comfortable and Corporate: Leather Office Chairs
Public Memorial Caps The End of XVI International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2006)
Toronto, ON (ContentDesk) July 27, 2006 -- The International AIDS Vigil, a public memorial to those who have lost their lives to HIV/AIDS, will take place Thursday, August 17, 9 PM, rain or shine, at Yonge-Dundas Square in Toronto, Canada. The event, a project of the 519 Church Street Community Centre, brings to an end the week-long activities of the XVI International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2006)."We believe this is a unique opportunity for the local community to join together with conference...
I fell off a cliff (literally) and into my life! hearing aids Public Memorial Caps The End of XVI International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2006)
Bean bag chairs > Public Memorial Caps The End of XVI International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2006)
Stained Glass Patterns
Traditionally, stained glass patterns were used in church architectures. Now they are increasingly used in shopping centers, office buildings, international airports, bars, hotels, and private houses.
A wide selection of original, fresh, and natural stained glass patterns are offered for sale. Stained glass patterns often come with fancy names such as Holly and Ivy, Wonder in Amber, Imagination Unbridled, and Moonlight Dreams. Plenty of stained glass patterns are available on the...
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I fell off a cliff (literally) and into my life! hair loss
nursing courses I fell off a cliff (literally) and into my life! Bean bag chairs
I fell off a cliff (literally) and into my life! Bean bag chairs insurance quotes
Charm Bracelets
For centuries, charms have been used as a medium for superstition, religious beliefs and fashion. The ancient Egyptians first used charm amulets to gain the favor of the gods and to obtain a passage into the afterlife. Later, charms were used to ward off evil forces and were also used to curse enemies.
It was in the Victorian period that charms grew out of their traditional image of spiritual and superstitious objects. Queen Victoria of England started wearing charm bracelets as...
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Bean bag chairs
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