This Beautiful Transformational Thing

Spring, the time when all things become new.

The landscape turns green, moist with dew.

The baby animals cry out their arrival,

The free roaming ones and the domestic types too.

Easter is upon us, see for yourself;

The calendar confirms it's true.

This is the best time of the year.

The time we celebrate Jesus rising from the dead

To make new creatures...

loved, protected and saved...out of me and out of you.

He did it for every person, not just a few.

He did this beautiful transformational thing.

He did it on purpose, not wanting our lives to be worthless,

aimless, out of whack, completely askew.

Don't get discouraged about getting it right.

 Don't get down in the mouth because everything isn't perfect that you do.

Be not dismayed as the world grows more wild.

God is far from through.

The place to start is to simply say:

"Dear Lord, on this day,

 I want to be your child."

Tail,Tail Signs Of Spring

Tail, Tail Signs of Spring...What does  it bring?

It depends where you are. 

For some, it means planting a garden,

growing delicious vegetables, then boiling,

and steaming them to finally 

preserve it all in a jar.

Spring means warmer temperatures, melting snow. 

The animal world preening, posturing and putting on a show.

The place I live brings the things of Spring out to play.
Birds full of song, 

Butterflies full of color, bunnies, and lizards 

interested in nibbling the grass 

and catching some rays. 

The flowers dressed in their best, 

present themselves vividly and cheerfully. 

Small dogs scratch at the screen door, 

staring up, with pleading eyes and wagging tails,

eager to join the fun. 

To maybe catch a lizard or chase a fluffy tail. 

As long as he stays on the leash, 

it's harmless and all will be well.

Love or Hate..The Choice Only You Can Make

Love Makes Allowances

Hate Makes Accusations

Love Says You Are Welcome

Hate Says There Is No Place For You

Love Sees Potential

Hate Sees Nothing

Love Offers A Helping Hand

Hate Slaps You Down

Love Gives Strength

Hate Wears You Down

Love Smiles

Hate Growls

Love Begins Again

Hate Insists All Is Lost

Love Carries You Across Troubled Waters. 

Through Blinding Storms. 

Over Towering Mountains.

 Protects You From Harm. 

Encourages your heart to look ahead, 

To Release The Worries And Dread. 

To Starve The Discouraging, 

Fearful Thoughts You Have Long Since Fed.

Love Builds Up

Hate Tears Down 

It Is The Same Everywhere.

All The Big Cities,

Remote Villages And Small Towns.

Hate Is A Dead End

Love Is A Million New Beginnings.

Love Is All You Need......

Hate Is Going To Die,Vanish Altogether; 

If When It Comes Knocking,

You Personally Refuse It.

The Smallest Amount Of Attention,

Not A Morsel Or Even A Crumb.

Be Smart, Don't Behave Dumb

Realize This Is One Beast You Should Never Feed! 

Boy of Courage, Man of Conviction

Patrick endured hardship and separation from all comfort; anything familiar. When his captors, apparent pirates, liberated him from home and hearth, they did not ask, they took. One day free, next day enslaved. Six years, an estimated 2190 days of uncomfortable, frightening, frustrating happenings. He was not discouraged; instead his experiences ignited his fire. Growing ever displeased with his accommodations and company, he escaped. Time is precious, he wasted none; heading straight for his family.... his British home. The courage he used to flee his captors is the same courage that later carried himself back to the Irish people.

Patrick was simply a man of great courage and conviction. He possessed knowledge of something that held significance. It burned in his heart. The need to tell what he knew drove him into the green hills of the north to share his heart with the people. Once a boy in bondage, returning as a man to share the keys to freedom.

We remember him, his name, what he did...centuries later. His life left a mark and changed the course of many lives. The details may be muddied with the passing of time, but this remains...he was a British boy that became a man who gave his heart to Ireland.

What is in your life....that thing tapping on your shoulder to do...to be? You have courage just the same as Patrick. Engage it as he did...do it afraid, knees knocking, hands trembling. Courage is facing the scary things, going out to meet them and looking them in the eye; never flinching. The biggest take away to remember beyond this day is that Patrick did not walk alone. God held his hand, held him steady, made a way to carry him back home. Yes, it is true, Patrick did not walk alone.

So, wherever you are, however it is you celebrate this the 17th day of March, be it a holy day or a reason to drink a green beer, or possibly an excuse to give a pinch to a person not wearing the green....

 Remember Patrick on this St. Patrick's Day.

Time Out For Grown Ups

Time out for grown ups. Unheard of; it doesn't happen. When did it become acceptable to leave all accountability at the door when exiting childhood? When did it become common to use ugly words in hateful ways, to purposefully inflict pain and humiliation on others?

When did honor become something so forgotten that it would  be more likely to dig it up as an archaeological find than to be evident in the lives of men?

I didn't look at my watch to note the day or the hour, but it happened just the same. Whatever has become of us? This is the time to turn from these habits and begin afresh and new, to hold ourselves accountable for bad behavior and moments absent of good judgement.

If necessary, find a corner of quiet and think it through. Is it still not the best course to act with honor, speak with honesty, stand with truth, move in love, react with laughter, a smile and an extra positive attitude, attitude, attitude?

Hearts and Horseshoes

Hearts and horseshoes 

Must not and must do's

It's our choice if we

dance in the rain or

Sing the blues.

 Superstitions and 

Great expectations

Mopey, Dopey Attitudes

or Sweet Salutations

Turn a horseshoe upside down; 

it's meant to drain the luck.

Turn a heart upside down,

pour out the love and 

immediately, it will fill back up.

Attitudes pave the path and plot our course.

Positive or negative; from which do you drink,

which is your source?

February 29, 2016

This day is so special and unique, it only comes out once every fourth year for a peek.

It is a day to be used in a way you wouldn't usually dare. This occasion is not ordinary, but rare.

Take the opportunity to say the sweet things you haven't gotten around to saying.

Doing those, maybe later, stacked up projects that are in the corner laying.

Spend some precious moments walking, talking, and praying.

These activities are all worth while and for far too long, you know it's true, you have been delaying. 

Take the time to notice these precious extra 24 hrs. 
Fly a kite or send a friend some flowers.

Many other options, all meeting your own, one of a kind specifications, can take you on an enchanted journey of your choosing.

At the close of the day, watch the sunset with awe and respect for this day you have lived in, smiled in, overcome a trial in,

held your baby especially close in, and be grateful for 

February 29,2016.

It reminded you to not put off 'til tomorrow what can only take place today.

Then wake up in the morning smiling, for it is then you will realize, before you is a whole entire opportunity to love, live, laugh, cry and give it all an extraordinary try.

You have something before you fresh, something inside you from yesterday, an awareness, a "should I" dareness kind of bubbling energy that makes you want to not drag through, but jump in; 

in other words, take a leap.