The Straw that Broke the Camel's Back...

Hi Mary Grace... my only and favorite follower... :)  I tried to enroll myself for nursing classes today... You know how I want that RN behind my name!  But all that resulted was me accepting my family's advice that I am simply not ready for more responsibility after what I have been through in the past year.... My ambitions are usually more than I can handle and I have limitation... Darn it! 

So I need to find a way to make peace with the patience that is required in this lifetime...

Taking care of you makes it easier!!!
And I know that I am making a difference by doing an excellent job with what is in front of me instead of jumping ahead... and what is in front of my today is finishing my son's scarf so that he can wrap my love around him every day!   Thank you God for yarn and a mother's love!!

Joni Mitchell - Both Sides Now (Live, 1970)

This is one of the truest songs I know... I wanted to post Case of You as well but I thought some of my followers (HA!) might go on Joni Mitchell overload...... anyway just breathe my friends... JUST LOOK FOR BEAUTY AND BREATHE...

The Peacemaker

Our dual nature

I begin today's post with a poem known to all:

There was a little girl, she had a little curl
Right in the middle of her forehead;
And when she was good, She was very very
Good.
And when she was bad, she was horrid.

--Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I sometimes feel like the curl in my forehead shows when I least desire.  But I have learned to "feed the good wolf" and to take care of making sure my needs are met so that I can caregive for others.  Sometimes I feel that curl twisting up and I want so badly to speak my mind when it is not my place, or to let my pent up anger out towards an undeserving victim... so I find that a reminder of a reputation immortalized by Longfellow may very well be my fate if I don't choose to be a peacemaker to my own healing self. 

Be a Blessing and be Blessed.

Giving Thanks

Today  I give thanks for the Grace that has surrounded me throughout my life, even during the rebellious times.  I've been blessed with family that still care.  I have been blessed with children, all healthy and intelligent.  I am truly grateful for my new job and my new friend, Mary Grace.  I know that the Lord is doing something new in my life and I cling to this scripture that helps me believe in the Grace that is yet to come.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
When you walk through the fire you shall not be burned
and the flame shall not consume you.

Isaiah 43:2

I guess my point is that even though life is made up of trials as well as glories, that I am thankful for I know I will not be alone through it all.  Today I am grateful for Grace. 

The Bliss of Childhood

I have spent the afternoon contemplating the beauty of childhood.  The simple nature of it all. 

Here is a poem I found that sums up my envy of the young among us....

                                        CHILDHOOD

                       How I could see through and through you!
                         So unconscious, tender, kind,
                             More than ever was known to you,
                                   Of the pure ways of your mind.

                         We who long to rest from strife,
                             Labour sternly as a duty,
                                But a magic in your life,
                                     Charms, unknowing of its beauty.

                           We are pools whose depths are told,
                                You are like a mystic fountain,
                                    Issuing ever pure and cold,
                                          From the hollows of the mountain.

                             We are men by anguish taught,
                                 To distinguish false from true;
                                    Higher wisdom we have not;
                                          But a joy within guides you.

--George William Russell


I have always felt blessed with children of substance... I sometimes can't believe they are mine!

After learning that my hours at work had been nearly cut in half this morning... I decided to turn lemons into lemonade spritzers by adopting a handsome Siamese cat tetatively named Shiloh, maybe Micah.. maybe ??  He is one of the two breeds of cat that I am strangely not allergic to.. go figure.  So I am pleased as punch with my extra time today to spend with my new pal.   My daughter's cat, Moira, is extremely dominant and this new addition is very submissive so hopefully things will work just fine as long as Moira doesn't bully... grrr... Im already protective of my new snugglebug and he has exclusive rights to my bed.  Moira will be so jealous...  

Here's a poem that blessed me today.   Blessed be.

How do I love thee?  Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the Ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love this to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints,--I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! --and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

---Elizabeth Barrett Browning 

 I want to say this to the one I love from memory... 

First Blessing

In my first post I have decided to begin with a blessing.  This is from Deuteronomy 28:3-8.  It found it's way into my heart this morning while I read Pierre Pradervand's The Gentle Art of Blessing.  He quotes:

Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.  Blessed shall be the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.  Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. 

Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out...The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto;  and he shall bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

Be a Blessing and be Blessed!  May this blog brings peace to the peacemakers.