The four blessed looks:
Look back and thank God
Look forward and trust God
Look around and serve God
Look within and find God.

I asked God, “How can I get the best out of life?”
God said, “Face your past without regrets.  Handle your present with confidence.  And prepare for the future without fear.”

“Without God our week is: Mournday, Tearsday, Wasteday, Thirstday, Fightday, Shatterday and Sinday so, allow Him to be with you everyday.
“Time is like a river.  You cannot touch the same water twice, because the flow that passed will never pass again...”  Enjoy every moment of life.

A ninety-year-old man is sitting on a park bench, sobbing, when a young man walks by and asks him what’s wrong.  Through his tears the old man answers, “I’m just so in love with my twenty-five-year-old wife.”
“What’s wrong with that?” asks the young man.
Between the sobs and sniffles, he answers, “You can’t understand.  Every morning before she goes to work, she cooks me breakfast and kisses me and tells me she loves me... at lunchtime she comes home and embraces me warmly, and then she makes my favourite meal.  In the afternoon when she gets a break, she rushes home with ice-cream, the best an old man could want.  And then after a gourmet supper, she gives me a warm bath, and cuddles up with me all night.”  He breaks down no longer able to speak.
The young man puts his arm around him.  “Oh, I think I see - I bet you just found out she’s with you for your money?”
“No,” the old man answers through his sobbing and tears, “I forgot where I live.”

---

Northern Health at a glance... some quick facts.
Northern Health is responsible for delivery of health care across Northern British Columbia, including acute care, mental health, public health, addictions, and home and community care.  Our health region serves over 312,000 people (over seven percent of the BC population) across a geographic area larger than France.
Population
• Approximately 15 percent of the NH population is Aboriginal (highest proportion in BC)
• The North has the highest projected growth rate of seniors (65 and over) in BC, with a 48 percent projected by 2015.
• Population growth is estimated at 5.8 percent by 2015 and 8.3 percent by 2020.
Our region’s death rate from motor vehicle crashes is over double the BC provincial average.
• Northern BC residents are more likely to smoke (29 percent) than those living in the rest of BC (22 percent).
Facilities in Northern Health
• 19 hospitals
• Nine community health centers
• 25 long-term care facilities (including hospitals with long-term care beds)
Staff and Physicians
• Over 370 physicians
• Over 7,100 employees across the region
• Over 2,500 registered nurses and licensed practical nurses as part of our total staff
Service Delivery 2006/2007 operating year
• Physicians across Northern Health performed over 27,800 surgeries.
• Facilities across NH provided 540 acute care bed spaces.
• NH facilities scheduled over 140,000 ambulatory visits (these visits don’t include overnight stays).
• NH emergency departments received 271,000 visits.
• Home care nurses provided over 44,700 hours of care to individuals at home.
• Care facilities across the region provided almost 900 residential care bed spaces.
You can see from the above facts and figures our Northern Health region was kept busy during the 2006 and 2007 periods, and from the projections it isn’t going to slack off any in times to come.

---

Our Federated Co-operatives Limited (FCL) had another very successful year ending on October 31, 2007 with total sales of $5,395,754,000, including from operations a Net Savings of $582,847.00.
The 2007 results reflect a $416 million increase in sales and a $135 million increase in earnings from the previous year.
Our local Co-op not only owns a part of FCL, but also shares in Consumers’ Co-operative Refineries Ltd. in Regina and shares in a sawmill and plywood plant in Canoe, BC, shares in seven feed plants in Western Canada and the Grocery People, an Edmonton grocery wholesaler and fresh produce supplier.

---

A recently arrived immigrant who knew very little English visited a church in High Point, NC on Sunday morning.  Because the church was full, the usher put him in a front pew.  A tall man was ushered in and sat beside him, so the immigrant decided to do whatever the tall man did.  When the tall man stood up, the immigrant stood up.  When the tall man bowed his head, he bowed his head.  When the tall man knelt down, he knelt down.  The immigrant was enjoying the service, but suddenly the church became quiet.  The tall man rose to his feet.  When the immigrant stood up beside him, the tall man became upset and pushed him back down.  The immigrant was perplexed.  After the service, the tall man apologized to him for his rude behaviour and tried to explain to him that it was a baptismal service and the preacher asked: “Will the father of the baby please stand up?”

---

“QUOTABLE” - “First, everyone (not just arthritis patients) should eat a healthy balanced diet. - Second, stay fit.  I once read a fortune cookie message that said, ‘It is better to wear out than to rust out.’  That is a great philosophy of life and is important for arthritis patients.” - Dr. Gary Firestein -
“QUOTABLE” - “An estimated 16% of heart attacks and 24% of strokes can be prevented just by taking folic acid supplement every day.” - David Wald, MD
Quotations - “The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win, you’re still a rat.” - Lily Tomlin
- “When the water reaches the upper level, follow the rats.” - Claude Swanson
- “The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious.  It is the source of all true art and all science.” - Albert Einstein
Cruise control should never be used in slippery conditions because snow, ice, slush or rain can cause wheel spin and loss of control.  Four quality winter grip tires will help you get where you’re going safely in winter period.  (ICBC)
These tips will help make your winter journey safer.
* Posted speed limits are designed for ideal road conditions; slow down when driving on snow, ice, slush or rain.
* Overpasses and bridges freeze before other pavement.  Use caution at zero degrees and watch for black ice.
* Allow yourself at least three times the normal following distance to stop on wet or slick surfaces.
* Avoid sudden moves by anticipating turns or lane changes.
* Be familiar with your vehicle’s braking system and how it operates.
* Low beams are more effective than high beams in or for heavy snow conditions.
* Check tire pressure regularly.
* Be cautious using your four wheel drive.  Often it does not enhance your braking or steering on slippery roads.
* New vehicle?  Your owner’s manual may have valuable operating suggestions.

---

“Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.” - Winston Churchill
During the Crimean War, when British soldiers were performing many brave deeds in battle, Queen Victoria urged that a suitable commemorative medal be issued as an award for acts of outstanding gallantry in action.
When the design of the award was completed, the Queen wrote the Secretary of State for War recommending an alteration to the suggested inscription which then read, “For the Brave.”
Her Majesty requested that the inscription should be altered to “For Valour”.  And so was born the Victoria Cross, the highest decoration for bravery that can be awarded.
WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM OUR FRIENDS:
Police in Oakland, California spent two hours attempting to subdue a gunman who had barricaded himself inside his home.  After firing ten tear gas canisters, officers discovered the man was standing beside them in the police line, shouting, “Please come out and give yourself up.”
NOT THE SHARPEST TOOL IN THE SHED!!
In Modesto, California, Steven Richard King was arrested for trying to hold up a Bank of America branch without a weapon.  King used a thumb and a finger to simulate a gun but unfortunately, he failed to keep his hand in his pocket. (hellllloooooo)

---

What is a Cat?
Cats do what they want.
They rarely listen to you.
They’re totally unpredictable.
When you want to play, they want to be alone.  When you want to be alone, they want to play.  They want you to cater to their every whim.  They’re moody.  They leave hair everywhere.  They drive you nuts and cost an arm and a leg.  Conclusion: They’re tiny women in little fur coats.

---

Politicians are proof that you don’t have to be smart to be famous.
Things work out best for those who make the best out of the way things work out.
Some neck!  Despite its great height, the giraffe has only seven neck bones... the same as humans.
Elizabethan England in Shakespeare’s day, at the Globe Theater, the masses paid a penny to stand and watch a show.  If you wanted to sit on a bench, that cost an extra penny, and a cushion could be rented for yet another penny.
Safety features: A 1930 Cadillac, once owned by Al Capone, had bullet-proof glass, 3 inch gun portholes, and was capable of creating a smoke screen for a fast getaway.
The English painter, Sir Frank Dicksee, did a picture which he called “The Two Crowns.”  It depicts a young Roman conqueror riding up the Appian Way with a golden crown on his head and hailed by the cheering crowds.
As he rides he passes a shrine by the roadside in which is set a figure of Christ with the crown of thorns on his head.  And as the Roman victor passes he looks into the eyes of the crucified one with wistful look as if he was realizing that the other has won a greater victory and achieved greater glory than he could ever attain.

---

May the above thought and the following Irish Blessing be with you until our paths cross once again down the way.
You’ve blessed me with friends
You’ve blessed me with the stars
to know wrong from right
You’ve given me so much
please. Lord give me too

Doug Smith, Member at Large