Be a Bringer of the Light. For your light can do more than illuminate your own path. Your light can be the light which truly lights the world.

Musings & Poetry

Thomas Chisholm

Frank O'Hara

I can only imagine what it will be like when I walk by Your side. I can only imagine what my eyes will see when Your face is before me. I can only imagine. Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel? Will I dance for you Jesus? Or in awe of You be still? Will I stand in Your presence? Or to my knees will I fall? Will I sing hallelujah? Will I be able to speak at all? I can only imagine.

Mercy Me

Mary Jo Koch

Mary Jo Koch

Introversion

The ability to enjoy one’s own company is one of the greatest gifts life has to offer.

Learning to turn my thoughts away from all my responsibilities at the day’s end, and take my mind into a state of peace and benevolence enables me to carry greater and greater loads, without feeling the burden.

When my inner landscape is full of beautiful thoughts, everything I do is a pleasure.

Gently, I calm down chaotic situations and offer solace to troubled minds.

Marcella

Make the Most of Where You Are

Wherever you are, be there fully.  For where you are is where you can most effectively act and live.

If you’re constantly wishing that you were somewhere else, you diminish the opportunities for where you are now.  When your thoughts are in another place or time, your actions lose much of their effectiveness.

It’s great to dream, to plan, to aspire, to reach for new and improved circumstances.  And yet the way to successfully do that is by being the best you can be in the place where you now find yourself.

It’s great to keep yourself focused on an ambitious goal.  And that focus is the most effective when it is crafted from the perspective of where you are now.

To successfully travel the path from here to there, you must start with being fully here.  The more you give your attention and energy to making the most of where you are, the more quickly you’ll move along that path.

There is much to be accomplished, much to be lived in every place and in every moment.  Be there fully for all of them, and life will be rich indeed.

author unknown  (source: Marcella Porretta)

1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.

2. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

3. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick.  Your friends and parents will.  Stay in touch.

4. You don’t have to win every argument.  Agree to disagree.

5. Cry with someone.  It’s more healing than crying alone.

6. Make peace with your past, so it won’t screw up the present.

7. It’s OK to let your children see you cry.

8. Don’t compare your life to others.  You have no idea what their journey is about.

9. Everything can change in a blink of an eye, but don’t worry; God never blinks.

10. Take a deep breath.  It calms the mind.

11. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.

12. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

13. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ‘In five years, will this matter?’

14. Forgive everyone everything.

15. What other people think of you is none of your business.

16. Time heals almost everything.  Give time.

17. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

18. Believe in miracles.

19. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.

20. Your children only get one childhood.

21. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

22. Get outside every day.  Miracles are waiting everywhere.

23. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.

24. Envy is a waste of time.  You already have all you need.

25. The best is yet to come.

26. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up

27. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

Regina Brett

Winter nearly gone

A revival of all things

Your life is stirring

God has provided

Treatment that will strengthen you

He is our lantern

Lighting the right way

To strength and new health for you

We are all amazed

Keep up the good work

As you travel the road set

For soldiers of God

Love and strength...JOY JOHNSON

Haiku

Faith above all else

Strength given by the Lord God

I hold to His hand

Every minute counts

Don't waste time regretting things

Do look up always

Healing of the soul

As the body fights the fight

God ever present

Love pours out on you

As friends join your hard fought fight

You are not alone

May God always bless

Give you strength in the combat

You give us all hope

Joy Johnson

Gratitude is like a flashlight.  If you go out in your yard at night and turn on a flashlight, you suddenly can see what’s there.  It was always there, but you couldn’t see it in the dark.

Dawna Markova

(A close friend mentioned to me that you could replace the term ‘gratitude’ with ‘faith’ as well. )

Inspiration Tea 

If it were easy, everyone would be doing it.

Just pretend you don’t know how hard it is.

Hold your ideas up to the light. 

Make a date to do something you’re scared of doing.

Admire wildflowers. 

Sit under the stars or on the edge of the ocean.

Spend time with someone who believes in you. 

Or with someone you believe in.

Make a list of everything you would do if you were guaranteed success.

Walk under old trees. 

Take can’t out of your vocabulary.

Risks are worth taking.

Mistakes are worth making.

Take a deep breath.

Plant a seed. 

It will grow.

 

The Joy of the Journey

Why has no answer,

so holding onto God’s plan,

the journey begins.

 

Life is different,

overcome by emotions,

yet free from anger.

 

Angels sing softly,

believe, know, and be at peace,

let the soul shine through.

 

Once in a slumber,

now awake for each moment,

feel the energy.

 

Love will conquer fear,

joy will overshadow pain,

faith will take the wheel.

 

Give thanks for blessings,

be present with family,

celebrate true friends.

 

Support lies above,

help circles to heal on earth,

to share is to live.

 

It is not easy,

but the spirit will not quit,

the journey goes on.

Sally

Two friends were walking through the desert.

During some point of the journey, they had an argument,

And one friend slapped the other one in the face.

The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, wrote in the sand:

‘Today my best friend slapped me in the face.’

They kept on walking until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath.

The one who had been slapped got stuck in the mire and started drowning,

But the friend saved him.

After he recovered from the near drowning, he wrote on a stone:

‘Today my best friend saved my life.’

The friend who had slapped and saved his best friend asked him,

‘After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now, you write on a stone, why?’

The friend replied ‘When someone hurts us we should write it down in sand,

Where winds of forgiveness can erase it away.

But, when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone

Where no wind can ever erase it.”

“… that it is more important to do things with my children, than for my children.”

Leslie Richards

YouTube - Randy Pausch Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams

A survivor is a triumphant person who lives with, after, or in spite of a diagnosis or traumatic event.  Survivors refuse to assume the identity of their adversity. 

They are not imprisoned by the constraints of a label.  Instead, survivors use their brush with mortality as a catalyst for creating a better self.  We transform our experience n order to further evolve spiritually, emotionally, physically, and mentally.  Our reality challenges us to go deeper.

Survivors cultivate an essence that will never be victim to a word.

From “Crazy Sexy Cancer Survivor”, author Kris Carr,, inspired by Beth Villandry

At the end of the day find a relaxing place, clear your mind, and ask two simple questions:

1) For what moment today am I most grateful?

2) For what moment today am I least grateful? 

Through reflecting on each, it allows a chance to see what brings us joy and what brings us desolation or challenges.

Dancing With God

When I meditated on the word Guidance,

I kept seeing ‘dance’ at the end of the word.

I remember reading that doing God’s will is a lot like dancing.

When two people try to lead, nothing feels right.

The movement doesn’t flow with the music,

and everything is quite uncomfortable and jerky.

 

When one person realizes that, and lets the other lead,

both bodies begin to flow with the music.

One gives gentle cues, perhaps with a nudge to the back

or by pressing lightly in one direction or another.

It’s as if two become one body, moving beautifully.

The dance takes surrender, willingness,

and attentiveness from one person

and gentle guidance and skill from the other.

 

My eyes drew back to the word Guidance.

When I saw ‘G’: I thought of God, followed by ‘u’ and ‘i’.

God, you, and I dance.

As I lowered my head, I became willing to trust

that I would get guidance about my life.

Once again, I became willing to let God lead.

To read a book is magical

Just me and my imagination

From the humdrum of days, it transports me

To sun sand and a special vacation

Every thing around me fades

Gray skies and storm weather

I see me lying on a beach

Or floating on water like a feather

Humdrum days no more for me

I solve a complicated mystery

Or reading of days long gone by

And catching up on history

Reading a book is like traveling

To places far away

Exotic sights and foreign ports

Something exciting every day

When things are making you gloomy

Find a book that makes you laugh

When you find you need relaxing

Take your book into the bath

Make every day an adventure

When you open a brand new book

You'll discover something wonderful

If you just take time to look

Joy Johnson

The Life That Is You

by Ralph Marston

You can choose to be happy or you can choose to be miserable.

Which would you rather be?

You can choose to make productive and purposeful use of the moments in this day,

Or you can choose to let the time slip away and be left with nothing but regret.

Life is what you decide you are going to make of it.  What have you decided to make of the possibility-filled moment that is right now?

You can complain that it’s all so very unfair, but all that you will accomplish is to bring you down even more.  Or, you can fully accept life as it is and then experience the genuine satisfaction of making your way forward in spite of obstacles.

You can choose to hide behind excuses or you can open yourself up to the richness of life.  You can decide to make the most of whatever comes your way, and know how great it feels to be fully alive and engaged in your world.

No matter what has come before, life in this moment is what you decide to make it.  Consider all the possibilities, and then choose the life that is you.

When your hut’s on fire..  The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island.  He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him.  Every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming.  Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements, and to store his few possessions.  One day after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, with smoke rolling up to the sky.  He felt the worst had happened, and everything was lost.  He was stunned with disbelief, grief, and anger.  He cried out, ‘God! How could you do this to me?’  Early the next day, he was awakened by the sound of a ship approaching the island!  It had come to rescue him.  ‘How did you know I was here?’ asked the weary man of his rescuers.  ‘We saw your smoke signal,’ they replied.

The Moral of this story:  It’s easy to get discouraged when things are going bad, but we shouldn’t lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of our pain and suffering.  Remember that next time your little hut seems to be burning to the ground.  It just may be a smoke signal that summons the Grace of God.

“A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose” by Eckhart Tolle

 Thin Places

A friend at work the other day shared with me an age-old concept from Celtic literature from Ireland, England, and Scotland, known as “thin places.”  This was a cool, new lesson for me.  Many of you may realize that “thin places” are the places where it is believed the veil or curtain separating heaven and earth is the thinnest; the place where the membrane between God and humans becomes especially permeable and people become aware of God’s presence.  My friend said his pastor challenged in his message, to look in daily life’s common occurrences, for the opportunity to find “thin places.”

“Mountain top” experiences may seem out of reach, but I believe they are far easier to find, if we are eagerly looking for them and want to make ordinary become extraordinary.  To capture the essence, we probably need to be moving at a calm speed.  I used to reach those 4 way stops and get irritated by other drivers who rudely went out of turn, didn’t know the “rules”, and even those kind folks, who just waved everyone through the intersection, bothered me.  Now, I just laugh and realize it really is no big deal in the scheme of things.

“I Wonder”

by Sally Lake

I wonder what tomorrow will bring,

or how I might feel by spring;

As thoughts churn deep inside my head,

I attempt to drift asleep in bed.

 

I begin to pray to Lord our King,

please grant me courage to handle anything;

Give me strength to keep other souls fed,

blanket me with comfort, with each tear I shed.

 

“Live each day with love,” the choir of angels sings,

“fear not the day we’ll carry you on our wings;”

“For even if the water is rough ahead,

believe and feel peace, God will help you tread.”

Life

Never take life for granted

Whatever comes your way,

Just grasp it in both hands

And enjoy it every day.

 

Sometimes sorrow comes your way

Blocking out the light,

That’s the time to pray and

To know you’ll win the fight.

 

Life is but a journey,

Through mountains, hills and vales

We cannot have the sunshine

If we have no rain and gales.

 

So enjoy each precious moment,

And always give your best

Remember keep faith in God

Then you’ll be truly blessed.

IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER

I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren’t there for the day.

I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.

I would have talked less and listened more.

I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained, or the sofa faded.

I would have eaten the popcorn in the ‘good’ living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.

I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.

I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.

I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.

I would have sat on the lawn with my grass stains.

I would have cried and laughed less while watching television and more while watching life.

Erma Bombeck

Seven Wonders of the World

1. To See

2. To Hear

3. To Touch

4. To Feel

5. To Laugh

6. To Love

7. Greatest of All- God’s amazing love for mankind in sending his only son Jesus to set us free and give us eternal life

 A Song of the Road

I lift my cap to Beauty, I lift my cap to Love;

I bow before my Duty, and know that God’s above!

My heart through shining arches of leaf and blossom goes;

My soul, triumphant, marches through life to life’s repose.

And I, through all this glory, nor know, nor fear my fate—

The great things are so simple, the simple are so great!

Fred Bowles

Live simply.  Love generously.

Care deeply.  Speak kindly.

Leave the rest to God

Be Like the Bird

Be like the bird, who

Halting in his flight

On limb too slight

Feels it give way beneath him,

Yet sings

Knowing he hath wings.

Victor Hugo

Blessings in Disguise

The world is full of miracles to those who recognize them,

But we have to look the right way since God sometimes will disguise them.

He shines His light in places where we’d least expect Him to,

And often does the opposite of what we think He’ll do…

 

He has a way of bringing out the best within the worst,

The moment we stop worrying and choose to put Him first.

And if we do, He’ll pull us through and help us find the door,

That opens to the very thing that we’d been looking for.

Emily Matthews

Maureen, Florida

Lance Wubbels

The Fishing Pole

A fishing pole’s a curious thing; It’s made of just a stick and string; A boy at one end and a wish, And on the other end a fish.

Mary Carolyn Davies

The One Best Tip

Here is the science and sum of it all—

  Keep your eye on the ball!

Through fair green or hazard or grass that is tall—

  Keep your eye on the ball!

No matter the distance, how short or how far,

No matter your game, be you duffer or star,

There is only one way you can hole out in par—

  Keep your eye on the ball!

Over the course comes the clarion call—

  Keep your eye on the ball!

One little turn and you’re in for a fall—

  Keep your eye on the ball!

Whether it’s golf or the game we call Life,

Down the Long Course where the tumult is rife,

Over the hazards and bunkers of strife—

  Keep your eye on the ball!

Anonymous

“As thy day thy strength shall be.”

This should be enough for thee;

He who knows thy frame will spare

Burdens more than thou canst bear.

 

When thy days are veiled in night,

Christ shall give thee heavenly light;

Seem they wearisome and long,

Yet in him thou shalt be strong.

Frances Ridley Havergal

Things Take Time

 

No matter if the path I tread

Takes straight or winding ways,

Still something beckons me ahead

And brightens all my days;

Through pastures green or

sun-dried weeds

Life’s goodness beckons me

To take whatever time I need-

To love and laugh will be my creed,

To sing and dance and plant some seeds,

I have eternity.

Rev. Thomas Shepherd

Chapter 1- Childhood:  “She turned her cant’s into cans, and her dreams into plans.”

 

Chapter 2- Young Adult:  “She ran ahead where there were no paths.”

 

Chapter 3- Married w/Child:  “She loved life and it loved her right back.”

 

Chapter 4- After Initial Cancer Diagnosis:  “She held her head high and looked the world straight in the eye.”

 

Chapter 5- Remission:  “She decided to enjoy more and endure less.”

 

Chapter 6- Cancer Returns:  “She went out on a limb, had it break off behind her, and discovered she could fly.”

 

Chapter 7 and Beyond- To be continued

Kobi Yamada

Destiny’s Like Weather

Sometimes I wonder,
why can’t the sunshine always;
warm, cheery, and bright?

Then I remember,
cloudy days make us yearn for
clear skies tomorrow.

And when the rain falls,
my tears mix with the big drops,
but soon all is dry.

Here comes the rainbow,
a promise of light and love,
each day is a gift.

Life is so fragile,
but destiny’s like weather,
God is in control.

Sally Lake

L: Love your Lord first and with all your heart.

O: Love Ourselves; we must love ourselves before we may fully express love to others.

V: Live with Virtues, making it a habit to love daily and freely.

E: Love Everybody, it is ok not to like everyone, but it is important to love everyone.

Sally Lake

Christiansen

by Annie Johnson Flint

One day at a time, with its failures and fears, With its hurts and mistakes, with its weakness and tears, With its portion of pain and its burden of care; One day at a time we must meet and must bear. One day at a time to be patient and strong; To be calm under trial and sweet under wrong; Then its toiling shall pass and its sorrow shall cease; It shall darken and die, and the night shall bring peace. One day at a time-but the day is so long, And the heart is not brave, and the soul is not strong, O Thou pitiful Christ, be Thou near all the way; Give courage and patience and strength for the day. Swift cometh His answer, so clear and so sweet; "Yea, I will be with thee; thy troubles to meet; I will not forget thee, nor fail thee, nor grieve; I will not forsake thee; I never will leave." Not yesterday's load we are called on to bear, Nor the morrow's uncertain and shadowy care; Why should we look forward or back with dismay? Our needs, as our mercies, are but for the day. One day at a time, and the day is His day; He hath numbered its hours, though they haste or delay. His grace is sufficient; we walk not alone; As they day, so the strength that He giveth His own.

Pat & Rita

Joy Johnson

Healthy one morning,

she went through the daily drill,

just a normal day.

 

Told she had cancer,

days were no longer normal,

life became precious.

 

Family and friends,

strength for the fight of her life,

she is not alone.

Sally Lake

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Dear Lord,
You give so much but ask so little.
When I ask, You listen.
When I need, You give.
You’re always there, just for me.

Help me Lord,
to be there just for You.
Let me listen when You call.
When You need, make me ready to give.
When You whisper, “Come Follow Me”,
let me hear my name. Amen.

Sally Lake

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Lydia Avery Coonley Ward