An Award Bouquet

A bouquet of awards!  What an honor!  What a treat!  I am genuinely speechless!  What a great way to celebrate the world of blogging!

I offer a humble and very grateful thanks to Savannah for the lovely thought. Savannah is very passionate about God and helping children. She has a heart that drips with sweetness and the love of God.  She covers many areas of life on her blog, and even offers prayer and/or advice for her visitors. http://savannahhardcastle.wordpress.com/

seed-of-light-award1one-lovely-blog1versatile

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Filed under Awards, Everythingelse

A Tribute To The Only Father I Have Ever Known

Father’s day has always been a very painful day for me. I felt the emptiness of never having met my father while growing up. I felt an even greater loss, because he didn’t care about me at all. He walked out on my mother when she wouldn’t abort me. This year, I chose to do something different. I chose to honor the father who has always been faithfully with me, with this poem.

My bio-father wanted me aborted,

A heartbreaking fact I have had to bear.

His wishes, however, were thwarted,

By another father who surely did care.

A father with much richer, future plans,

For this embryo, so fragile and forlorn.

He guarded me with his very own hands,

Instead of allowing my flesh to be torn.

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Filed under A Broken Childhood, Awed by His Love and Grace, Child Abuse and Neglect, Everydayliving, Everythingelse, Following Christ Has Changed My Life, Inner Sruggles and Heartache, Poetry

We. Are. Fa.mi.ly. My Brothers, Sisters, and Me.

In 1979, the uplifting song, “We are Family,” became very popular. This song was performed by the four Sledge sisters’ group they called, Sister Sledge. They wanted the world to know they were proud of their family bond as they flew through life “like birds of a feather.” As I write this, the song makes rounds in my head.

I wasn’t a blogger at all when I began blogging, so naturally, I was quite nervous.  I am supposed to put my private thoughts and experiences out there.  What if I get ridiculed or criticized for putting my heart out there and bearing my soul?  This thought resonated through me long after I pressed my first “publish” button.

Well, I am happy to say, I have not had that experience at all.  If anything, I have found it to be a great joy.  Through blogging at WordPress, I have found a family of friends.  I have gotten to know them by reading their posts, and by the warm and loving comments they have left on mine. Some have even called me friend.  And in many ways, we are family, we fly through the blogosphere like birds of a feather.  I am especially touched because I have very little real family, and often feel cheated and left out of the community and togetherness of a family’s inner circle. Continue reading

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Filed under Awards, Everythingelse, Seeds of Inspirations

The Good, The Bad, And The Forever

Last Friday evening, my bank account went overdrawn by a couple of dollars. Since I hadn’t used my debit card in a few days, and had no outstanding checks; this was a definite red flag alert. I found an unsolicited $93 charge from Oxyfresh Cleansers. I called the phone number associated with the charge on my bank statement, but my call immediately went to this recording. “You have reached customer service. Someone will be with you in 34 minutes.”

You’ve. Got. To. Be. Kidding. Not only had I not ordered anything from Oxyfresh, but I was supposed to wait 34 minutes before, maybe, I would be able to speak to someone, who may or may not, be able or willing to help me. I wasn’t going to go there! I had been scammed.

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Filed under Everydayliving, Everythingelse, Following Christ Has Changed My Life, Life Lessons

Smart Dog

Ponder This

What will you notice today?

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Take some time to notice the beautiful world around you today. Let go of the past. Let go of the future. Still your mind in the present and bask in the glory of all that is in this moment. You are here. The practice of mindfulness is one we could all benefit from. Why not start today.

I have reblogged this from Ambition In The City.  I love its heavily impacting simplicity.

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Filed under Everydayliving, Everythingelse, Seeds of Inspirations

Is The Grass Really Greener On That Side?

Annie

Annie

I think half of every kid in America has had a grey bunny they named Thumper. My daughter Rachel wasn’t any different. Her Thumper was the sweetest bunny. With a little nudging, Rachel was good about keeping his food and water supply filled. She often gave him vegetable treats. Under her watchful eye, Thumper even got to run loose in a small section of our backyard sometimes. She cuddled him and dressed him in baby doll clothes. But Thumper wasn’t satisfied with what he had. He constantly scratched at the corners of his hutch, in a desperate effort to get out. I couldn’t blame him; he was confined to a small space.

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Filed under Awed by His Love and Grace, Everydayliving, Life Lessons, Seeds of Inspirations, Writing and Author Stuff

Dogs Have The Right Idea

I saw a bumper sticker a couple of years ago that left me laughing out loud, in the car, by myself. It imagesaid, “Wag more, bark less.” My dogs are happy dogs. Their joy is quite visible, they wag their tails more times a day than I can count. We all enjoy a dog’s expression of joy–that whirl of wags and wiggles. But, we become easily annoyed when the barking begins. It’s obvious that barking is also stressful for the barking dog. Though funny at first, the true meaning of that quote sunk in, and hit too close to home.

When I was a single mother, I did too much barking and not enough wagging at home. I struggled so much with the my financial situation. I was often anxious, frustrated, and mentally and physically exhausted. My ex-husband didn’t pay child support. Living in a community property state, meant I was also responsible for the unpaid debts he left when he disappeared. I had no family to turn to, and three teenage kids to support. The paychecks I received from multiple part time jobs, only covered three-fourths of the bills. Paying bills became a recurring, juggling act. I grew weary of the threatening, red-letter notices in the mail.

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Filed under Awed by His Love and Grace, Everydayliving, Following Christ Has Changed My Life, Inner Sruggles and Heartache, Just for Fun, Life Lessons, Seeds of Inspirations, Single Parent Struggles, Writing and Author Stuff

Blessed Dreams

imageSometimes it hits me. The grief, the still foreign concept. I lost a child. He was 27 years old when he died in September of 2011, but he was still my child. They say the loss of a child by far is the heaviest of losses a soul can bear. I agree.

I found another thing they say to be true. They, being the experts on grief and loss. The second year of loss is the worst. I agree. The reality pools around one’s feet. The permanency of this kind of loss becomes a stagnant puddle one must wade through.

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Filed under Awed by His Love and Grace, Everydayliving, Following Christ Has Changed My Life, Inner Sruggles and Heartache, Life Lessons, Loss of a Child, Seeds of Inspirations

Keep Knocking, Keep Seeking, Keep Asking

breadImagine you and your family are sound asleep after a long day. You wake up to loud rapping on your door. You shoot a blurry-eyed glance at the clock on your nightstand. A red 12:00 midnight glares back. The continued rapping makes you realize you weren’t dreaming. You throw on a robe, and rush to your bedroom window, fearing the worst.

Your friend is standing on your porch with a very concerned look on his face. You open the window and loudly whisper. “What’s going on? It’s midnight!”

“Hey friend, I have unexpected company and need to borrow some bread,” he says.

“Bread? That’s what this is all about? Sheesh, I thought somebody died! Come back tomorrow?”

“I need to feed my guests. Can you lend me some bread?” He insists.

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Filed under Awed by His Love and Grace, Everydayliving, Inner Sruggles and Heartache, Life Lessons, Seeds of Inspirations

The Holy Spirit Is To Our Souls What Invisalign Is To Our Teeth

I used to have naturally, perfectly aligned teeth.  More than one dentist I visited assumed I once wore braces.  I never did. Within the past seven years or so however, one particularly stubborn tooth has decided to break rank and go out on its own.  It is the tooth next to my right, top front tooth.

One of my lower, back molars had to be pulled after it cracked in a car accident when I was 18 years old. The dentist suggested I never have the wisdom tooth directly behind it pulled in order for it to partner with the molar directly above it.

“The wisdom tooth will slowly move into the spot of the absent molar. If you don’t keep that wisdom tooth, you will eventually lose the molar above it as the two molars biting down against each other help keep each other in place.”  He said. Continue reading

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Filed under Awed by His Love and Grace, Following Christ Has Changed My Life, Life Lessons, Seeds of Inspirations