Tornado Billings Montana June 6, 2011

Uploaded by wnfun on Jun 7, 2011

Weekend to Remember “Getaway” Half Price Discount

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Arnold Schwarzenegger & Family Out For A Walk In Santa Monica

In This Photo: Maria Shriver, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Christina Schwarzenegger

The Govenator Arnold Schwarzenegger takes a walk on Ocean Ave with his wife Maria Shriver and daughter Christina Schwarzenegger in Santa Monica, CA.

(// May 23, 2009- Photo by FlynetPictures.com)

Maria Shriver Asks – How Do You Handle Transitions in Your Life?

Arnold Schwarzenegger admitted to his wife several months ago that he had fathered a child about 10 years ago with a member of their household staff. Maria moved out, but has not filed for divorce. In the you tube clip above she comments:

“Like a lot of you I’m in transition: people come up to me all the time, asking, what are you doing next?” she said, adding: “It’s so stressful to not know what you are doing next when people ask what you are doing and they can’t believe you don’t know what you are doing.”

“I’d like to hear from other people who are in transition,” she said. “How did you find your transition: Personal, professional, emotional, spiritual, financial? How did you get through it?”

Mrs. Shriver has asked for spiritual input and I personally think that unless she gets the spiritual help that she needs then she will end up in the divorce court. I am starting a series on how a marriage can survive an infidelity. My first suggestion would be to attend a “Weekend to Remember” put on by the organization “Family Life” out of Little Rock, Arkansas. I actually posted this as a response to Mrs. Shriver’s request on you tube.

I really got a lot out of this story below:

My Story: Finally Doing Marriage God’s Way:
We now have the tools to make our marriage work, and we’re sharing them with others by Maria Purcell

Dating Derrick was a joy. We not only spent time getting to know each other, but also attended church events together and participated in community outreach projects. His proposal was planned and very romantic. We prepared a marriage ceremony and reception that gave God the glory, and we thought that our life together would be great.

But there was a problem: We had no idea how to be married. Reality set in after our honeymoon.

Derrick had the “I am the king of this house and you will serve me” syndrome. After being single for 33 years, he wanted all of the attention on himself. His parents had always praised him and he expected the same from me. He said that he felt like he received more respect at work and from friends than he did at home.

Derrick and Maria Purcell

I had been a single mom for years and had worked hard raising my girls all alone. I wanted to be “queen of the house” and felt like my king should serve me. I thought I deserved this after doing things for myself and everyone else for so long. I wanted Derrick to do life my way while pampering and spoiling me.

We didn’t recognize God in our marriage, but pretended it was perfect when we were in front of our friends or at church. We lived more as roommates and didn’t know how to compromise. Working at marriage was foreign to us. We thought since we were Christians, marriage would just work itself out.

Neither of us was willing to budge—we were both very stubborn and selfish.

To make matters worse, our marriage began with three children. They felt that the attention they had received all of their lives was going to someone else. Neither of us anticipated the challenges of a blended family, and we didn’t have the tools to make the situation any better.

After four years of an unhealthy and weak marriage, I heard a radio advertisement for a Weekend to Remember® marriage conference. I thought that we should give it a try. Derrick agreed to attend and told me, “Now you will see that I am right and you are wrong.”  And I just knew that “now Derrick will see that he’s the reason our marriage isn’t working.”

An eye-opener

When Derrick and I attended the Weekend to Remember in Hunt Valley, Maryland, we both wanted to make our marriage work. After the sessions on Friday night I thought, Oh, God, this is beautiful. We’re going to work it out.

The conference was an eye-opener for Derrick and me. We learned that we were each other’s gift from God and that the Lord needed to be at the center of our relationship. Although we received so much wonderful information at the Weekend to Remember, we were afraid that things would go back to the way they were when we got home.

A turning point occurred at the conference when we participated in a sample session of the HomeBuilders Couples Series® (FamilyLife’s small group Bible studies). At that point we started getting excited about our future. We had been living a lie for so long, pretending we were happily married. We decided that HomeBuilders was the follow-up that we needed.  The study was fun—not intimidating. And we knew that it would give us an opportunity to meet with other couples. When we won a HomeBuilders starter kit at the conference we thought, “This is absolutely from God.”

We started our first HomeBuilders group in May 2007 with some friends. When we told the couples about our struggling marriage they said, “We would never have believed it.” Until that day, we hadn’t shared about the things that we had been going through. We had been ashamed and hadn’t known how to fix our marriage problems until we attended the Weekend to Remember. And then HomeBuilders reinforced what we had learned there.

Derrick and I have facilitated many different HomeBuilders groups in the last two years. As new HomeBuilders directors for the Maryland and Virginia areas, our goal is to spread the word about HomeBuilders, help get groups started, and encourage them to move into other HomeBuilders studies. One couple has joined our team, and they now facilitate sessions on their own. Like us, they are passionate about helping marriages stay strong and healthy through HomeBuilders.

Serving God first

Today Derrick and I know how to laugh together. We know how to strengthen one another. We’ve learned that our marriage is not about me wanting him to make me feel good or about him wanting me to make him feel good. We’ve each had to make the decision to serve God first.

In serving the Lord I’ve learned to serve my husband. I’ve learned to accept Derrick unconditionally and now allow him to be the man of God and the leader of our home that God has called him to be. In doing this I not only gained a husband, but also gained a friend. I had to let go of myself to receive what the Lord had for me.

I’d describe our marriage today as very harmonious. Yes, there are issues from time to time … there will always be something … but Derrick and I know what to do when those issues come up. We’ve learned that we have to come together when it gets all rough outside and that everything will be okay when we are anchored in Christ.

Sometimes I sit back and think, My God, I cannot believe that we have come this far. Derrick and I were two very strong-willed people who just would not budge. But now we have the tools to make our marriage work. We’ve learned to do marriage God’s way. And we are sharing what we’ve learned with everyone we meet!

Today’s discussion is about who is the 3rd best soccer player of all time.

cristiano ronaldo (enjoy the video that 33 millions have)

Wilson Hatcher picks Cristiano Ronaldo

Wikipedia notes:

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, OIH, (Portuguese pronunciation: [kɾɨʃtiˈɐnu ʁuˈnaɫdu]; born 5 February 1985),^[2] commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a right winger or striker for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and is the captain of the Portuguese national team. Ronaldo is the most expensive player in football history after moving from Manchester United to Real Madrid in a transfer deal worth £80 million (€94m, US$132m). In addition, his contract with Real Madrid, in which he is to be paid £11 million per year over the following six years, makes him the highest-paid football player in the world,^[3] and values him at €1 billion as per his buyout clause.^[4]

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Diego Maradona Video

Everette Hatcher chooses Diego Maradonna. Below you will read:

 Easily one of the most controversial players ever, he is also the most gifted. Physically short and stocky, Maradonna none the less grew into a giant on the field. At the hight of his playing days Maradonna had not a single flaw on the field. He had unbelievable acceleration and pace, superhuman ball control, flawless technique, unrivaled vision and an infallible instinct for when to pass the ball and when to hold on to it. Despite having every tool imaginable for a soccer player, he was even a good header of the ball despite his diminutive size, he would never hold on to the ball if passing to a team mate was a better option. At his pinnacle Maradonna took Argentina to the very zenith of soccer glory virtually singlehandedly. His performance in the 1986 World Cup is the most impressive feat accomplished in any sport, on any stage. In the midst of his most accomplished moment, Maradonna showed his duality perfectly in the now infamous semi finals against England. In a single half Maradonna scored two of the worlds most remembered and talked about goals. The blatant handball on the now dubbed ‘Hand of God’ goal is in stark contrast to his second goal in the same half that is now widely regarded as the best goal ever scored. In passing through the entire English side, Maradonna never touches the ball with his right foot. Some of the best defenders in the world were helpless against the little magician. Off the field, Maradonna strikes a tragic figure, but on the field he was perfection.

Diego Maradona discusses ‘Hand of God’ World Cup goal – BBC

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Here follows my list of the worlds 10 best soccer players of all time. Names like Zinedine Zidane, Cristiano Ronaldo and Ruud Gullit are all absent from my list, which speaks volumes of the extraordinary talent of the players that rise above them.

10. Lev Yashin

This legendary Soviet net minder revolutionized the goal keeper position. Despite his intimidating size he was incredibly agile and developed the position into the active keepers we see in today’s game. Fearless like any extraordinary goalie, Yashin was all over the penalty area diving at feet and working from post to post better than anyone. Always expanding the role of the goal keeper, Yashin is considered to be the inventor of the sweeping goal keeper role, that is having the goal keeper come out of the penalty area to pick up long through balls before the opposition’s strikers.

9. Eusebio

Portugal’s best player ever, unrivaled until the emergence of Ronaldo, still holds down a spot as one of the very best players to play the beautiful game. With a powerful runs and silk smooth ball control Eusebio was as clinical a finisher as the game ever saw. A long time favorite in Benfica he would score over a goal a game throughout his career. In 715 matches for Benfica he scored 724 goals and still holds the all time scoring record at the club. In an area were Portugal were routinely out-shined by larger European soccer nations Eusebio singlehandedly lifted his country onto the international scene. In the 1966 World Cup Eusebio became the tournament’s top scorer with 9 goals helping Portugal claim the bronze medal.

8. Georghe Hagi

7. Michel Platini

France has produced some of the most memorable playmakers the game has ever seen, but Platini towers above them all. Possibly the best European midfielder Platini had all the qualities of a classic play maker. Flawless ball handling, a super accurate passing foot, a deadly free kick specialist but above all an uncanny instinct and vision for the game. Always a threat to release a team mate into space, he was also very capable of deep runs into the oppositions penalty area where he would show off a finishing ability unrivaled by any of his peers. His authority and unbendable winning mentality made him a perfect team captain, qualities he showed of to the fullest in France’s 1982 Euro Cup win. The way Platini carried his team through the tournament to their first European trophy is second only to Maradonna’s unmatchable heroics in the 1988 World Cup.

6. Ference Puskas

The Hungarian ‘little canon’ is probably the best pure striker soccer has ever seen. Short and stocky, he was immensely powerful and his thunderous left foot was feared by everyone. In his career he managed an incredible 84 goals in 85 games for Hungary, still an international goal scoring record. Because of his stocky and powerful build Puskas was frequently overlooked by the opposition. Virtually impossible to move off the ball, he sometimes looked as he could score at will. After defecting from Hungary Puskas finally landed a job with Real Madrid after having been turned down due to his age by several European teams. The ‘old man’ went on to secure 4 championships and even got capped for Spain.

5. Bobby Charlton

4. Franz Beckenbauer

Kaiser Franz was the best defender of his time, and the best defender of any time. Unlike most defenders of his age, and in fact all the way up until today, Beckenbauer was a complete soccer player. Confident with the ball, an outstanding passer and with an overview unmatched by anyone he invented and perfected the libero, or sweeper, role. His elegance on the ball and his natural authority on the pitch earned him the nickname ‘Der Kaiser’. Beckenbauer lead his team and his country to several triumphs, including three straight European Championships with Bayern Munich and a World Cup victory in 1974 for West Germany. In all he played more than 100 international matches for Germany.

3. Johan Cruyff

The brain, heart and soul of the Dutch ‘total football’ Cruyff is probably the most influential soccer player in the world. His approach to the game is now universally adapted and has transformed the game from the core. Cruyff saw soccer as an exercise in creating and manipulating space. The goal of total football was to have the entire team work together with this as their goal. To open up and manipulate space. From the wing or a deep center forward position Cruyff would torment defenders with his flowing dynamic play and creative vision. Always a fast and technically brilliant player, Cruyff’s brilliance was in his deep understanding of the game and the positioning of his teammates. His sense of space and angles earned him the nickname ‘Pythagoras in boots’.

2. Pele

Playing alongside and against the finest players in the world he was still consistently dominant. As a player Pele has a style and flair that would dazzle anyone. After retiring as a player, Pele has added to his status as an ambassador for the game with his winning personality and clean cut image.

1. Diego Maradonna

Any list that has Pele as the second best player in the world invariably puts Maradonna as the worlds finest player. Easily one of the most controversial players ever, he is also the most gifted. Physically short and stocky, Maradonna none the less grew into a giant on the field. At the hight of his playing days Maradonna had not a single flaw on the field. He had unbelievable acceleration and pace, superhuman ball control, flawless technique, unrivaled vision and an infallible instinct for when to pass the ball and when to hold on to it. Despite having every tool imaginable for a soccer player, he was even a good header of the ball despite his diminutive size, he would never hold on to the ball if passing to a team mate was a better option. At his pinnacle Maradonna took Argentina to the very zenith of soccer glory virtually singlehandedly. His performance in the 1986 World Cup is the most impressive feat accomplished in any sport, on any stage. In the midst of his most accomplished moment, Maradonna showed his duality perfectly in the now infamous semi finals against England. In a single half Maradonna scored two of the worlds most remembered and talked about goals. The blatant handball on the now dubbed ‘Hand of God’ goal is in stark contrast to his second goal in the same half that is now widely regarded as the best goal ever scored. In passing through the entire English side, Maradonna never touches the ball with his right foot. Some of the best defenders in the world were helpless against the little magician. Off the field, Maradonna strikes a tragic figure, but on the field he was perfection.