Hard to believe at the moment.

A classmate of mine, Jake, passed away about a month ago in an auto accident. However, I wasn't told this until about a week ago. I find it hard to wrap my mind around the fact that he's gone. I didn't know this young man very well, but from what I'd observed by listening, watching, and talking a little bit to him, he struck me as intelligent, alert, independent, but at the same time, easy going. I was deeply saddened when I found out he'd passed away. My main regret is that I didn't take the time to really get to know him. As we had a few moments of silence for Jake in class today, I reflected on how fragile, yet precious, life is and how each moment needs to be treasured.
 Please keep Jake's family in your prayers as they go through this difficult time.

And It Shall Be.

And It Shall Be. By: Grace E. Easley

And it shall be as it was planned,
In spite of crowns and kings and things,
The dusk, the dawn, the blessing peace
Beyond our weary wanderings.
And it shall be as it was planned,
I must believe in greater things,
Who hear God's whisper through the pines,
And in each feathered throat that sings.
And it shall be as it was planned,
How can I doubt the evidence
Of fertile field and mountain range,
Of shadowed pool and ivied fence?
But ask me now how it can be
... I only know He walks with me.

Friends. By Grace E. Easley

Friends are for sharing
The good and the bad,
Smiling through happy times,
Sighing through sad,
Friends are for telling
Things that we feel,
Full of compassion,
Because they are real.

Friends are forever,
As endless as time,
Growing more precious,
The higher we climb,
Blessings that shine,
As bright as a star,
Because our friends love us,
... The way that we are!

My goodness!

Wow! What happened to 2011? It's more than halfway over. It's hard to believe that soon the weather will be growing colder and the air more crisp. The leaves will change color as they welcome fall. I say enjoy summer as long as we can before the cold weather hits and we start complaining about that.

Psalms of Praise.

(All scriptures are from the New King James Version)

I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvelous works. I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.

Psalm 9:1-2

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge.

Psalm 19:1-2

Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous! For praise from the upright is beautiful. Praies the Lord with the harp; make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings. Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully with a shout of joy. For the word of the Lord is right. and all His work is done in truth.

Psalm 33:1-4

It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; to declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, and Your faithfulness every night, on an instrument of ten strings, on the lute, and on the harp, with a harmonious sound.

Psalm 92:1-3

Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless Holy holy name!

Psalm 103:1

Psalm 45:1

My heart is overflowing with a good theme; I recite my composition to the King; my tongue is the pen of a ready writer.

Psalm 45:1 (NKJV)

Summer is almost here!

Tomorrow is the first day of summer and it will also be the longest day of the year. How did scientists find out that June 21st is the longest day out of all the other 364 days in a calender year? Now that it's the last day of spring and we'll wake up to summer tomorrow morning, do we know how we're going to spend our upcoming hot days? What's your favorite thing to do when it's really hot outside? Do you like to curl up in a cool nook in the house and write a story? Or do you like to take a glass of ice water and your favorite novel and go the hammock to read?

D-Day.

On this day, sixty-seven years ago, American Forces landed on Normandy beach in France. I can't help but sit here and wonder how many of those brave soldiers that went in had this knowing that they wouldn't be going back home to their families? They were about to give their lives for not only their country men, but for people that they didn't know and would probably never know. Without really knowing it, they were exercising something Jesus said in John 15:13, "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friend." (NKJV)
It didn't matter whether or not these soldiers were friends with the people they were liberating. It was the fact that they were willing to lay down their lives so that others may continue to live in freedom.

Warriors, we salute you this day and we thank you for for the wonderful sacrifices you've made for us and will continue to make for us. We thank God for you!

Keep pecking away.

The other day, I was watching a video of this little chick that was hatching out of it's egg. At first, a crack appeared and the egg shook as the little chick fought to break free. It seemed only a few seconds before the crack was big enough for the chick to finally crack its eggshell in half and enter the world. It seemed like the chick hatched in a mere five seconds for times sake. In reality, it can take a chick a very long time to break out of its egg. That's how it can seem with our writing or other goals that we may have in life. We're like that little chick. We're surrounded by things that seem to encase us and prevent us from achieving what we really want in life. (Kind of like a shell) We've got to peck at whatever it is that's keeping us down or preventing us from getting ahead in life and peck at it until we've broken free of it. It will most likely take us longer than a few seconds to peck our way out of our "shells." But if we persevere, just like that little chick did no matter how hard it was nor how long it took, we'll eventually achieve what we set out accomplish!

Psalm 30

I will extol You, O Lord, for You have lifted me up, and have not let my foes rejoice over. O Lord my God, I cried out to You, and You healed me. O Lord, you have brought my soul up from the grave; You have kept me aive that I should not go down to the pit. Sing praises to the Lord, you saints of Hise, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name. For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. Now in my prosperity I said, "I shall never be moved." Lord, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong; You hid Your face and I was troubled. I cried out to You, O Lord; and to the Lord I made supplication: "What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it declare Your truth? Hear, O Lord, and have mercy on me: Lord, be my helper!" You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, to the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.

Psalm 30 (NKJV)

Mother's Day.

You know, there's a time set aside for lots of things in life. Someone obviously loved their mother enough to set aside a special day once a year to honor their mother. Which reminds me of the verse in Ecclesiastes which reads, To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven: a time to love. - Ecclesiastes 3:1,8

Our mother's no doubt set aside more time for us than we'll ever begin to realize. Is it to much to ask that we return the favor and set aside time for them?

Happy Mother's Day!

The rain has stopped for now.

And the sun's finally shining! Thanks be to God, we've had no rain today! Rain is nice, yes, but after a while, one does long to see a bit of sunshine. I feel sorry for the families who've lost their homes and even their loved ones in the storms that raged across the States. I pray that these storms stop and that we can start helping them rebuild their homes and help them in anyway we can.

Rain.

I do not claim to own any rights to this poem nor will I even try!

The rain is raining all around
It falls on field and tree
On the umbrellas here
And on the ships at sea
                                           -Robert Louis Stevenson.

Psalm 47

Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples! Shout to God with the voice of triumph! For the Lord Most High is awesome; He is great King over all the earth.

Psalm 47:1-2

Psalm 124

If it had not been for the Lord who was on our side, let Israel now say- "If it had not been for the Lord who was on our side, when men rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us alive, when their wrath was kindled against us; then the waters would have overwhelmed us, the stream would have gone over our soul; then the swollen waters would have gone over our soul."
Blessed be the Lord, who has not given us as prey to their teeth. Our soul has escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken and we have escaped. Our help is in the name of the Lord.

Psalm 124 (NKJV)

May's almost here.

With May being only two days away, there are flowers to be planted, fruit plants, and maybe even a vegetable garden to be prepared. But how about your ideas? Are you ready to plant those little seedling ideas into the soil of your brain, nuture them, and let them blossom into something spectacular?

I do have a question. Why was May chosen to be the month where farmers could begin planting their crops? Why not April or June? Do any of you have a special "time" that you like to write? Like a farmer sets aside special time to plant, do you like to set aside a special time to write?

Spring is here!

Spring is here! The snow's finally stopped coming and the sun has started to shine. Yes, it may be raining a lot where some people live, but don't let that stop you from letting your ideas start to take root. Nourish them and let them bloom into whatever you want them to be.