Hello Springtime!

When winter storms are over
and sun rays warm the earth,

The birds begin their singing,
joyful songs of sweet rebirth!

Little seeds so carefully planted
plop their heads above the ground,

Just to say "Hello" to springtime,
and to take a look around.




(This little ditty was written for an assignment in College.)

Squirrels chatter on a tree limb beside me,

Birds hop across the lawn outside my living room window.

How I wish that I could join them in their world 

We are so close, yet so far away!

(Written in 2006 as I gazed out my large living room windows .....)

There is a blue sky in my heart,

The Sun of God is shining through.

Gray skies are only dark skies lightening ....

The breakthrough I seek is within me!

  

Turn It Over!

When you feel like you have reached the end of your rope, you do not need to "tie a knot and hang on".  There is another option.  Just let go!  The drop is only as far as your knees to the floor and there, God is waiting to help you!

My Random Rap Rant .....

"Do you miss me yet?"

Said my facebook wall ....

With a picture of Donald Trump

Standing straight and tall.

"Yeah .... I do," I said. I had to admit,

So I "liked" that post, to make it a hit.


　
BUT, I DIDN'T SHARE IT.


　
Here's the scoop, you see

It's not politically correct ....

I've got facebook peeps

With whom I daily connect.

Every things cool, it’ll all turn out good,

Just give it some more time,

and it’ll all be understood!


　
AT LEAST, I HOPE SO.


　
So, I'm surfing through the net

And I'm thinking, "Holy Cow" ....

Celebrities, pornography and violence

Is what I'm seeing now.

How in the world did we get to where we're at?

Is it really all due to that One Fat Cat ....


　
WHO SITS IN WASHINGTON, DC?


　
Nope, I don't think so

He just gives us what we want ....

We hand him the ball

And he delivers the punt!

The ball goes through the goal post, but amidst all the cheers

A small section can still be heard, expressing their fears:


　
"WE ARE PLAYING THE WRONG SIDE OF THE FIELD, FOLKS!"


　
As the scoreboard flashes

And new points are being recorded ....

We are still unaware

That the new points being "hoarded",

Will not benefit us at all, in fact it must be said,

If you think we’re gonna win this game, you’re either dazed or dead.


　
THESE POINTS ARE GOING TO THE WRONG TEAM!


　
How long can this go on?

I surely do not know ....

We are all so focused on "the trailer"

That we're missing the whole show!

The Nachos have been served and the popcorns on the ground

The hot dogs have been eaten and the snack bars closing down.


　
SO, HOW DOES THIS MOVIE END ANYWAY?


　
"Do you miss me yet?"

Said my facebook wall ....

With a stained Old Glory

Wadded up in a ball.

"Yeah, I do", I said. I had to admit,

With tears in my eyes that just …. wouldn't quit.



"I REALLY, REALLY DO!"

Here's another, "Parent Friendly" Hint:

Have you ever met up with the problem of trying to get the truth out of children that won't "rat" on each other?  An admirable trait, but sometimes you just need to find out what the heck is going on!

Ask them to line up in a straight row and stick out their tongues.  Tell them that you can actually figure out who is telling the truth by their tongues.  Now, of course it is their eyes and body language that will be the strong clues you are looking for ..... but you know that and they don't!  (O:

This tip I cannot take credit for.  I read it somewhere and thought it was great!

Truth

Sitting smugly in the very beginning of the word truth can be found the letters R and U. Maybe this is a coincidence, but having recognized this, the question then must be asked ....

R U ready? Are you ready for the truth?

The truth hurts but it also heals. If we speak the truth vindictively to purposely hurt someone, that is not good. But if we face up to,  and speak the truth because it cannot be denied, we are on  our  way to freedom and healing.

Truth gives us direction.  It changes our focus.  When we embrace truth, we no longer have to run from fear.  Fear is a mirage sent by the enemy to intimidate and hold us back.

 Truth is, it is not our past that makes us or breaks us. It is our reaction ... to our past ... that will ultimately determine which way our future will go.  Our past will lead us by the nose if we let it. It will be a cruel task master if we do not manage it.  It will also be a wonderful mentor if we will allow it. 

 

Romans 3:33 says:

 

"Careful!  I've put a huge stone on the road to Mt. Zion, a stone you can't get around.  But the stone is Me!  If you are looking for Me, you will find Me, on the way .... not in the way."

 

Do not try to "side step" or find a way to get around the truth.  Listen to the words of Jesus:

John 14:6 says: 

 

  "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life....  No one comes to the Father except through Me." 

    

 

 

Nose Goalies

Does your child pick their nose and wipe it on the living room wall?  I admit, this is better than eating it .... but not by much!  Here is a suggestion that just might work.  Ask:

"Who left the Nose Goalie on the living room wall?"

That will get their attention.  After all, a booger and a goalie have a lot in common.  It's the goalie's job to keep unwanted balls out of his/her team's end zone.  Same with a booger.  God created our noses with that slimy, yucky, yellow stuff inside to catch unwanted germs, toxins, etc., so they can't get inside  our bodies and make us sick.

See?  You can solve an irritating problem, learn some science and have some fun at the same time.

You're welcome and feel free to mention it.  (O:

Imagine…..

· A home where kids make decisions based upon careful consideration, rather than by, “The Mad Mama Syndrome”.

 

· A place where Mom and Dad do not shelter their kids from beneficial consequences, which would only increase their understanding of why certain things don’t work!

 

· A  family where parents spend more time mentioning how proud they are of the decisions their kids are making, than complaining about the ones that they are not.

 

Ok, so no home is perfect, parents or kids alike…. but we can all certainly do better.  Would you not agree?  If we have a strategy and carry it out with humility, love and respect, many a crisis can be prevented before it even has a chance to take root! 

I put my talking alarm clock in the kitchen pantry because it wouldn't tell the right time and it wouldn't shut up. The punishment hasn't worked though....it's still boldly speaking out the wrong time. Guess I'd better let it out... and change it's battery! LOL

My dog Frank drives me nuts when he gives himself a bath! That sound! I try to ignore it, but find it impossible. When I pick up my Bible to read or start my morning prayers, he's always there with his big, slurpy tongue licking and cleaning himself.

So, I pray harder, thinking, “This is ridiculous”! Poor Frankie is getting so much satisfaction out of this bath and I am being selfish by not over looking it. I'm having this battle right in the middle of prayer, no less!

Finally, in desperation, I cry out, "FRANK, STOP LICKING" and he does. One day, I half expect to hear an answer....."MY NAME'S NOT FRANK AND I AM NOT LICKING!" Yep, maybe there's a good object lesson here......(O:

Good news ...... I conquered my elephant today!  (O:

You know how sometimes, things we go through in life become such attention grabbers that they   steal our focus and keep us distracted? We try to forget about them and let go, but there they are waiting for us around the next turn!  It's like, as the familiar old saying goes, "having an elephant in the room"!

How awkward is it, trying to navigate a small room which you are sharing with an elephant? You become very familiar with and tired of looking at ….. elephant parts! Imagine my surprise when I realized that my elephant was not within the room. It was within me! Woah!

God in His grace was trying to show me something and I was not yet quite ready to understand. Certain things in my life were "butting up" against reality. My stubbornness was bringing me grief and yes I was tired of it, but had never claimed responsibility. As I saw it, the elephant was trespassing and needed to get out!

Moral to this story is, I like my elephant now ..... we have become good friends. When things begin to get tight, I remember that it is probably me and not the elephant, after all. (O: 

A Family Named Jones

There once was a family named Jones

Spread out over several time zones.

They bought them a Lexus

And drove it to Texas -

Then on to Nebraska

Where it felt like Alaska -

And finally to California

Where, well, gosh and gol darn ya,

They just had to turn and go home!

Why Celebrate Christmas?

 

 

A bright star appears and a small baby cries...
A young Mother smiles, a Father sighs.
A growing boy becomes a man
Committed to His Father's plan.

 

A dreaded cross on a hill called, "The Skull"
Defines my salvation like nothing else ever will.
Because, this old rugged cross stands in the place
Where love and sin meet face to face.

 

As a grieving Mother kneels and cries,
Relentless pain .... closes her young son's eyes.
Friends and loved ones walk away
To them, it has been a most hopeless day!

 

Then, the Son of God lays His grave clothes aside ….
(While hell's cryptic gates shake, moving aside)
And demands the keys to sin and death ….
(As a humbled darkness, holds it's breath.)

 

In the presence of Unspeakable Authority and Heaven's Grace
Hell's darkest knight turns his face.
A once cursed tomb becomes alive
As our Risen Savior steps outside.

 

So tell me, what is the Christmas story and how far does it go?
Does it end with the Wise men over 2000 years ago?
Does it include the cross and the empty grave?
Did Christ come to reign, did He come to save?

 

The Word became flesh, this I know
For the Bible tells me so.
He is my Savior and He is my King
To me.... He is my Everything.

 

 

This pretty well sums it up with me. God's gift to us was SACRIFICE, from the very beginning. Though the celebration of Baby Jesus has brought joy to many hearts here on earth .... it broke the heart of both Father and Son to carry this out. God the Father and His Son (are/were) very close (read John, chapter one) and this separation was painful and agonizing for both. OBEDIENCE, RESPECT and COMMITTMENT though, were the gifts which Jesus gave to His Father (and us) as He walked out "The Plan" from start to finish.

 

Sacrifice, obedience to God, respect and commitment ..... it all came in such a very plain package that first holy night .... who would have known it's value? Only a few but their lives were never the same! This year, may we understand that the gifts that really matter cannot be bought .... or wrapped. They come at a much greater cost and we are not so happy to give them. But they will stand the test of time and bring real joy to those we love.

Blessings to you all. You are so kind to take the time to read my rambling thoughts.

I am finished with New Year's Resolutions.

A New Year's REVOLUTION is what I need!

Webster's dictionary gives us an interesting comment under the term rebellion.  It

     says,  history shows, rebellions are likely to fail, while revolutions succeed. We 

    can rebel against anything we want  but if that is as far as it goes, if it goes

     no farther than a rebellion, our efforts will most likely fail, or fizzle

    out.  Why is this?  To rebel is common.  We find a cause we 

     do not like and take a stand against it.....  But how

 long and how hard we stand depends on

  how deep and how wide 

  our convictions 

are.  We may

just give up

 if our cause

 seems too

  

 demanding. 

Here in is the
  

  problem with a 

      mere rebellion.

  It just doesn't 

 go far enough!

To revolve means 

 to make a complete

 turn around. This requires

   movement and change.  It is a means

         to an end but not an end in itself.  Here's to a

      Successful New Years  REVOLUTION for us all,  in the

   year 2015, and may our hearts be turned to our Creator, God.