REMEMBER: By Pat Baker; Try making the best of what you are. Do not complain if you do not have the right tools for living, but use well the tools you have. What you are and wherever you find yourself is God's providential plan; it is God's doing. Take courage and live wisely by looking your disadvantages in the face to see what can be done with them.

Juanita Barnes

Next month there will be three "Community Meetings." Residents are invited to speak at any of the meetings. The meetings are scheduled as follows, 6-8 p.m. Monday, Oct. 1, 2007 at the Moreno Valley Senior Community Center 25075 Fir Ave; 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2007 at Towngate Community Center, 13100 Arbor Park Lane; 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 4, at Moreno Valley Ranch Community Room, 28095 John F. Kennedy Drive. The City of Moreno Valley needs to add 7,500 housing sites by 2014, which will require to re-designate certain areas for housing, city officials said. Public input will help the City Planning Commission and City Council to plan for future growth and housing needs. Information: City Neighborhood Preservation Division (951) 413-3450.

Moreno Valley District is presenting college information night; A college night is set for Oct. 4th 2007 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Rancho Verde High School, 17750 Lasselle Street. High School students in the Moreno Valley and the Val Verde Unified School districts and parents are welcome. There will be financial aid sessions in English and Spanish at 7 and 8 p.m. For information call (951) 485-6200 ext. 31171.

"THE SICKLE CELL ORGANIZATION of the INLAND COUNTIES" will present "A Celebration of Hat Fashions" September 29, 2007 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Eddie D. Smith Senior Center 5888 Mission Blvd. Riverside Ca. DONATION: 15.00. Please dare to make a difference. For information call (951) 684-0420. I will write more on this organization at a later date.

Let me leave you with this thought: in your spirit, "Accepting God's Peace" by Gien Karssen; The above words may be familiar because this blessing is still pronounced in many churches today. But do you grasp its full magnitude? Do you realize who is speaking? It is the Lord, the Creator. His very name and character guarantee that he can give the promised peace. He graciously wants to bestow this on us. But everything has its price. Peace is no exception. It cannot be brought with money, yet a high price was paid for it. It costs someone his life! The Son of God died on a cross in order that there would be peace between God and people. He died to reconcile people one with another and with themselves. So peace is a gift. It is given to those who want to accept it and who meet its conditions. Peace can never be separated from a personal relationship with God. It branches out to all aspects of our lives. The offer of peace can be trusted. God is its guarantee. Whether we personally enjoy this peace is entirely in our own hands. God extends the offer. The acceptance depends on us.

BE BLESSED

J.B.