May the Raindrops fall lightly on your brow

May the soft winds freshen your spirits

May the sunshine brighten your heart

May the burdens of the day rest light on upon you

and may god enfold you in the mantle of his love

 

~ ~Sparky~ ~

Born To Live

Let life touch you.
Let yourself be moved.
Yes, it will hurt sometimes.
But far, far deeper would be the pain
if you were to build
an impenetrable wall around yourself.
Let it all reach into you, for you have
what it takes to handle the experience.
Know the joys and the sadnesses,
the frustrations and the thrills,
the deep serenity and the noisy commotion.
Immerse yourself in the intensity of life.
You were born not to hide but to live,
so do it every day.
Go ahead and laugh, go ahead and cry.
Jump and smile and hug and sing,
run and dance and shout.
Let life get to you.
And be truly moved by the
awesome wonder of it all.
Ralph Marston

 

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do.

Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey.

He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well.

At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement he quieted down.

A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well.   He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up.. As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the
donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up.   Each of our troubles is a steppingstone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping   .never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up.

Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hatred - Forgive.

2. Free your mind from worries - Most never happen.

3. Live simply and appreciate what you have.

4. Give more.

5. Expect less

NOW --------

Enough of that . . .

The donkey later came back and bit the farmer who tried to bury him. The gash from the bite got infected.

MORAL FROM TODAY'S LESSON:
When you do something wrong and try to cover your ass, it always comes back to bite you.

I've been taking care of my Dad for quite a while now.  He's pretty much blind, and does he ever make a mess.  He's 89 and I'm 52. 

  Since my kidney cancer surgery I figure the house is not going to be as clean as I like.  The stairs are always in need of cleaning. 

  I discovered something.  If you don't clean the stairs, they only get so dirty.  And no dirty'er.  And the world keeps going around.  This is amazing, before, I thought dirty stairs were the worst thing in the world.   I wonder what other things left dirty don't matter?                                                         Roy....

The Clothesline Said So Much

      A clothesline was a news forecast
       To neighbors passing by.
       There were no secrets you could keep
       When clothes were hung to dry.

       It also was a friendly link
       For neighbors always knew
      If company had stopped on by
      To spend a night or two.

       For then you'd see the fancy sheets and towels on the line;
       You'd see the company tablecloths
      With intricate design.

       The line announced a baby's birth
       Of folks who lived inside
       As brand new infant clothes were hung
       So carefully with pride.

      The ages of the children could
      So readily be known
      By watching how the sizes changed
       You'd know how much they'd grown.

      It also told when illness struck,
      As extra sheets were hung;
      Then nightclothes, and a bathrobe, too,
      Haphazardly were strung.

       It said, "Gone on vacation now"
       When lines hung limp and bare.
      It told, "We're back!" when full lines sagged
      with not an inch to spare.

       New folks in town were scorned upon
       If wash was dingy gray,
       As neighbors raised their brows, and looked
       Disgustedly away.

       But clotheslines now are of the past
       For dryers make work less.
      Now what goes on inside a home
       Is anybody's guess.

      I really miss that way of life.
       It was a friendly sign
      When neighbors knew each other best
      By what hung on the line!

March, 2004

I read of a man who stood to speak at a funeral

At the funeral of a friend

He referred to the dates on her tombstone

From the beginning.......to the end

He noted first came he her date of birth

Next date he spoke in tears

But what mattered most of all

Was the dash between the years

For the dash respents all the time

That she spent alive on earth

And now only who loved her

Know what little line is worth

For it matters not,how much we own

The cars...the house....the cash

What matters is how we live and love

And how we spend our dash

So think bout this hard and long

Are there things you would like to change?

For you never know how much time is left

That can still be rearranged

If we could only slow down long enough

To consider whats true and real

And always try to understand

That people feel

And be less quick with anger

And show more appreciation more

And the the people in our lives

love them like you haven't before

If we treat others more with respect

And more often wear a smile

Remembering that this special dash

Might only last a little while

So when your eulogy's being read

With your life's actions rehash

Would be proud of the things they say

About how you spent your dash.......

 

My soul drifts aimlessly in times of hopelessness.
It searches tirelessly for meaning and truth ...
Yet finds no direction.

My heart bleeds quietly in times of loneliness.
It yearns to find warmth and happiness ...
Yet it somehow eludes me.

My eyes seek out visions in times of want.
They gaze endlessly through the blackness that envelops them ...
Yet they cannot see the light.

My ears listen earnestly in times of silence.
They search for familiar sounds to comfort and console ...
Yet they cannot penetrate the darkness that surrounds me.

My arms reach out frantically in times of despair.
They seek strength and compassion to enfold me ...
Yet they find nothing substantial to enwrap.

My mind cries out desperately in times of solitude.
It poses intense questions that demand answers ...
Yet there are none to be found.

My hand reaches out earnestly in these times of confusion.
It types the address of a familiar and calming place......
And gratefully, my lifeline to sanity ... remains intact.

Thanks CCN for being there for all of us.

Lia

 

 SLOW DANCE

Have you ever watched kids
On a merry-go-round?
Or listened to the rain
Slapping on the ground?
Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight?
Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?
You better slow down.
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.

Do you run through each day
On the fly?
When you ask "How are you?"
Do you hear the reply?
When the day is done
Do you lie in your bed
With the next hundred chores
Running through your head?
You'd better slow down
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.

Ever told your child,
We'll do it tomorrow?
And in your haste,
Not see his sorrow?
Ever lost touch,
Let a good friendship die
Cause you never had time
To call and say "Hi"?
You'd better slow down.
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.

When you run so fast to get somewhere
You miss half the fun of getting there.
When you worry and hurry through your day,
It is like an unopened gift....
Thrown away.
Life is not a race.
Do take it slower

Hear the music

               Before the song is over              

 

 

       

No matter how dark, disturbing, painful, and upsetting our circumstances may seem, there is a place of peace God has for each of us as a shelter from the storm.  and we can depend on Him to take us there when we look to him for refuge.

One of the best illustrations of this is whenever we take off in an airplane on a gray, dreary, rainy day.  It's amazing how we can fly right up through the dark, wet clouds---so thick that we cant see one thing from the window--and then suddenly we rise above it all and have the ability to see for miles.  Up there the sky is sunny, clear, and blue.  I keep forgetting that no matter how bad the weather gets, it's possible to rise above the dark and gloom of the storm to a place where everything is fine.

 

Hiya all-Im reading a great book called  Praying through Life's Problems and its wondeful.  I've never been much of a reader but I seen this book and thought it couldnt hurt, now I cant put the book down.  Ive had alot of time to my self lately and what a great time to read and I hope that you all dont mind me sharing the parts that have hit my emotions so much sense dealing with cancer.

IM getting ready to go back to Salt Lake at the Huntsman Center--So Im sure by wensday Ill be sleeping alot and praying for us all.   I luvs ya all much and always thinking of each and every one.  Daisha