“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life.” –Proverbs 13:11-13 My blogging friend, Slam Dunks, hit one out of the park with his latest post, “The Best that Never Was.” He writes about a well-known athlete, Marcus Dupree, who sustained an injury that ended his promising career in professional football. …
“If” by Rudyard Kipling: A Guide for Living and Relating
When my son approached manhood, I gave him Rudyard Kipling's poem “If.” No other poem seemed to say all that my mother’s heart felt needed saying in order to prepare him for success in life: If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, If you …
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Remember to Sing
Sometimes life goes backwards. You reconnect with a former friend who posts pictures on Facebook of your missionary outreach days in Budapest, Hungary. You look at you children ages four and seven and wonder under which carpet the Sandman swept away those years. If I could tell young moms a tidbit of advice, I’d say …
Serving in Systems: Creativity or Conformity?
Systems will always be with us. We humans band together in social units as small as two-party relationship and as large as corporations. Systems serve many purposes. One of which is to create structure for people to visualize, tackle, and implement a vision. I have served in systems my entire life from families, marriages, churches, …
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Find your Voice
I gently prop my first mixed media art piece against the wall next to where I write and smile. My first attempt at this art form pleases me, just as a child’s awkward ballet performance elicits a mother’s delight. The piece squeals “gaudy, flamboyant, Phantom of the Opera-like,” but I don’t mind. The feelings that …
Face your Sunshine
"Most of the shadows of this life are caused by standing in one's own sunshine." -Ralph Waldo Emerson This quote I read today stunned me. Now just so you know, I'm a quote lover, a collector of quotes, and a fashioner of quotes, but rarely have I ever come across such wisdom packed in a one-liner. The …
True American Idols
My father fought in distant seas So I could live in peace Two sunken ships he paddled from Now give my soul release To drive as free man towards the dawn Because our soldiers paid A price that only touches some On this Memorial Day My cell phone sounds. I pick up and hear my …
Surrender
Money vanishes on wings of circumstance—not as a homing pigeon returning to roost... but like a wild hawk breaking free of the tether. And yet, we mortals breathe in cultural winds that promise swift returns and scurry to fill the empty cage with another beast of prey. Surrender—how poignant and yet so difficult. "Father, if …
Chrysalis
Chrysalis by Susan Lordi http://www.willow-tree-angel.com/willow-tree-chrysalis-figurine.html Sad goodbyes haunt my memories.Almost eight years spent traversing the earth.I breathed in your scent and kissed soft cheeks when our arms entangled.Pulling apart broke my heart into pieces that blew away in the wind.Never to fit together quite the same way again You held the Mother’s Day gift I …
JoDee Luna Art 