Community programs are in place to aid us in any healthy resolves we may have made. The list below will have something to help anyone in need of a fresh start or who is making a continued effort to improve their health.

‘Look Good Feel Better’ - January 05, 2009, 8:00 am. This program is for women undergoing treatment for cancer and is sponsored and located at Bedford Memorial Hospital. Patients in various stages of treatment receive make-over tips and personal attention from professionals trained to meet their needs. They also use and take home complimentary cosmetic kits in their appropriate skin tones (light, medium, dark, extra dark) with helpful instruction booklets. Professional advice is provided on wigs, scarves and accessories. This program is from 10am till noon at Bedford Memorial Hospital in the glass room. The best entrance to use is in the circular loop in front of the hospital. To Register call 540-587-3308.

It’s swiftness is amazing. The Bible speaks of our lives as a vapor that vanishes away and indeed the years do seem to pass with ever increasing speed.

Time is a healer, a friend and an enemy. Time is constricting and a bringer of freedom. Time is an invention of man that has a strange and emotional affect on us at times.

I am grateful for the time God has given me. As the Psalmist asked that God would help him to number his days rightly, meaning to make the days of his life count, so I desire to do also. I pray that as 2009 approaches that each and every reader would find themselves in one of two places: either looking back at a productive and growth filled year, or looking forward at how they will grow and be productive in the new year.

Blessings to one and all for 2009 and beyond.

Happy New Year!!

TimeTravelBiz.com is a 24/7 online website source for all your travel and entertainment event needs. We offer flights, hotel/resorts, rental cars, cruises, vacation packages, all inclusive properties, golf packages, honeymoon registry, concert tickets, sporting event tickets, flowers, passports, and more. When it’s your time to travel check out our competitive rates at www.TimeTravelBiz.com and book reservations at your convenience anytime day or night! ph: 540.493.1220

One of these evenings when you are all sitting around after supper with nothing to do, maybe you will decide to share inspiring stories with one another that you have heard (or read). If so, you will love the one below. This true story will bless all who hear it and remind them of the hope God has for us.

The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned to their first ministry
to re-open a church in suburban Brooklyn, arrived in early October excited
about their opportunities. When they saw their church, it was very run down
and needed much work. They set a goal to have everything done in time to have
their first service on Christmas Eve.

They worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls, painting, etc. and on
Dec 18 were ahead of schedule and just about finished. On Dec 19 a terrible
tempest - a driving rainstorm - hit the area and lasted for two days. On
the 21st, the pastor went over to the church. His heart sank when he saw
that the roof had leaked, causing a large area of plaster about 20 feet by 8
feet to fall off the front wall of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
beginning about head high.

The pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor, and not knowing what else to
do but postpone the Christmas Eve service, headed home. On the way he
noticed that a local business was having a flea market type sale for charity
so he stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful, handmade, ivory colored,
crocheted tablecloth with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
embroidered right in the center. It was just the right size to cover up the
hole in the front wall. He bought it and headed back to the church.

By this time it had started to snow. An older woman running from the
opposite direction was trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
invited her to wait in the warm church for the next bus 45 minutes later.
She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor while he got a ladder,
hangers, etc., to put up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry.

The pastor could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up
the entire problem area. Then he noticed the woman walking down the center
aisle. Her face was like a sheet. “Pastor,” she asked, “where did you get
that tablecloth?”

The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check the lower right corner
to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into it there. They were. These
were the initials of the woman, and she had made this tablecloth 35 years
before, in Austria. The woman could hardly believe it as the pastor told how
he had just gotten the tablecloth.

The woman explained that before the war she and her husband were
well-to-do people in Austria. When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
Her husband was going to follow her the next week. She was captured, sent
to prison and she never saw her husband or her home again.

The pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth; but she made the pastor keep
it for the church.

The pastor insisted on driving her home, that was the least he could do.
She lived on the other side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn for
the day for a housecleaning job. What a wonderful service they had on
Christmas Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the spirit were
great.

At the end of the service, the pastor and his wife greeted everyone
at the door and many said that they would return.

One older man, whom the pastor recognized from the neighborhood, continued
to sit in one of the pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he wasn’t
leaving.

The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on the front wall because it
was identical to one that his wife had made years ago when they lived in
Austria before the war and how could there be two tablecloths so much
alike?

He told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he forced his wife to flee for
her safety, and he was supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and put
in a prison. He never saw his wife or his home again all the 35 years in
between.

The pastor asked him if he would allow him to take him for a little ride.
They drove to Staten Island and to the same house where the pastor had
taken the woman three days earlier.

He helped the man climb the three flights of stairs to the woman’s

apartment, knocked on the door and he saw
the greatest Christmas reunion he could ever imagine.

True Story - by Pastor Rob Reid

Do you really need this e-course?  Let me ask you some questions.  Do you know:

• How to avoid buying an “unbuildable” lot (and 3 ways many people get burned)?
• The 7 factors that drive Smith Mountain Lake property value?
• How to avoid expensive flood insurance at your waterfront property?
• How the lake authorities can remove your dock priviledges (and how to prevent them)?
• How an unethical seller or real estate agent can cost you $$$?

These questions, topics and much much more are answered in detail in The Definitive Guide to Smith Mountain Lake Real Estate e-course. 

I understand how critical this information is for you. 

That’s why I’m giving you a special opportunity - the chance to get this e-course for FREE! Simply click here, if you would like to sign up!

From now through January 5th, local non-profit and community organizations will have their own unique holiday tree decorated at The Pointe in Mariners Landing. Contributing organizations include Couples and Kids: A Counseling Center for Families, the Bedford Area Educational Foundation, Goodwill Industries, the Republican Women’s Club, Crisis Line, the Bedford Humane Society, EastLake Business Association, the Agape Center, and the Boys and Girls Club of Central Virginia.

Area residents are asked to visit The Pointe at Mariners Landing during normal business hours to vote for their favorite tree! The tree which collects the most “votes” (dollars) will also receive a $500 donation from Mariners Landing.

“Votes” will be collected at the front desk on the main level of The Pointe, Building #1 through January 5th during the following hours: Monday, Tuesday: 8 am - 7 pm, Wednesday - Saturday: 8 am - 9 pm, Sunday: 8am - 6 pm. Though the winner will be announced at the Smith Mountain Lake Chamber of Commerce’s Business After Hours on December 18th, again, donations will be accepted through January 5th. Vote early and vote often! - Mariner’s Landing, 1037 Whitetail Drive, Huddleston - 540-297-9499

In the fall of 2004 I came across Smith Mountain Lake by doing a search of  waterfront property on the web. A month later I found myself putting a $1000 deposit on a heavily wooded lakefront lot , located on a cul-de-sac in the Park Place community, sight unseen (other than a few pictures). Ultimately, after a whirlwind personal visit , I knew I had done the right thing as the lot has a Great long view across the main channel to Smith Mountain and the Dam. My (then) girlfriend Tara thought I was crazy to make such a large investment in a place, which at the time, we knew little or nothing about .

Nevertheless, over the next year I had the lot cleared and rip rapped, and had a boat house built.

At first it was a bit of a challenge to convince Tara that what I was doing would someday pay off, but gradually, after many enjoyable times at the boathouse, she too came to enjoy the peace and serenity of the lake and the friendliness of the people in the area and started to not mind the nine hour drive we have from Long Island, NY.

After much debate, pouring through over a thousand building plans, and admittedly a mountain of courage, I made what can best be described as “an executive decision” to break ground on a house at the site. I was lucky enough to have a Great Builder , Keith Caron, (from Moneta) who did an exceptional job with our large, custom house .

In July of 2008 the house was completed and my beautiful bride, Tara and I had a perfect Lake Wedding with many of our friends and family in attendance . Who would have ever thought that in such a few short years, SML would have grown from a just a thought to a cherished home and possibly a way of life in the near future .

Who ever said,”Green Acres is the place to be” should have seen Smith Mountain lake first.

We do not promote putting animal welfare above human needs, however the scripture says that a good man is kind to his animals.

The Humane Society offers a valuable service in kindness. For those animals that need food and shelter and perhaps even the mercy of permanent sleep, animal shelters are essential. Far too many people are not responsible with their animals, leaving the burden to others.

Domestic animals in this culture are nearly completely dependant on mankind’s aid. If everyone helps just a little we can be sure the Humane Society is able to perform it’s mission of mercy effectively. Questions?  Please call 540-721-3009. 

Lights delight the human eye and lift the heart, especially in the cold, dark days of winter. Perhaps that is one reason why we love Christmas so much. If you love the holiday lights too, you may be interested in one of the several ways below that I found to enjoy the lights of the season with others.

Be sure to stop by Hot Shots in December and walk the Christmas light spectacular sponsored by local area businesses.  The walk is FREE and any donations go directly to Lake Christian Ministry.  WII bowling leagues forming now for a mid January start.  Call 719-1547 for details.

Holiday Lights Displayat Liberty Lake Park in Bedford - 5:30-10pm- Every day till the end of December. Come take a drive through the 30 acres of holiday lights. This is sponsored by the City of Bedford Parks & Recreation Dept. This display is free to the public. Liberty Lake Park, Rt 122. 540 586-7682