Live now

My grandmama was a wise old soul
Took me by the hand not long ago
Said, "Son, what's your hurry, boy, slow it down
Taste the wild honey, listen to the sound
Of the wind that's blowin' through the trees
Rivers flowin' to the sea
Yeah, they're all headin' home, just like you and me
Life's for livin', child, can't you see?

These are the days we will remember
These are the times that won't come again
The brightest of flames becomes an ember
And you've gotta live 'em while you can

These Are the Days -- Keith Urban


"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like the shifting shadows. " James 1:17

butterscotch sonnet

I remember my grade 8 teacher reading this sonnet in class, and how the language absolutely captivated me. So, being the nerd I was (and never really grew out of being) went home and proceeded to memorize it.
You could say "You're beautiful, and nothing, not even time will change that," OR, if your name happens to be William Shakespeare, you could blow all other attempts out of the water, and pen something like this:

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May
And summer's lease hath all too short a date
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd
With every fair from fair some times declined
By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimm'd
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'est
Nor shall Death brag thou wander 'st in his shade
When in eternal lines to time, thou grow'est
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee

It's like words made out of butterscotch pudding.

Seeds

As I sat on my couch a few days ago, feverish and achy and generally out of it, I decided I had better increase my intake of Vitamin C. So I sluggishly dragged myself to the fruit bowl and grabbed an orange. As I peeled it, I began salivating at the prospect of its juicy deliciousness. But as I pulled the segments apart, and popped one into my mouth, I was met with a most unwelcome surprise.
Seeds. And not just those tiny ones; these were big. And not just one, but FOUR in the first segment of orange alone! I was rather put out, but I put them on my plate and plugged on, assuming the next segment would cause this orange to regain my better opinion. It, and the segments to follow, however, produced just as many, if not more seeds than the first! By the time I had finished the orange, I was strangely annoyed. I stared at the rather impressively large handful of seeds this small piece of fruit had contained, and realized, with amazement, that I had hardly noticed the taste of the orange itself. I had so looked forward to the sweet and juicy flavour, but had missed it almost entirely because I was focused on the seeds.
How often do we do this with our lives? Perhaps that's too large of a question. Just take one day as an example. How often do we let the things that disappoint or annoy us in the course of a day completely overpower the sweetness of the day itself? How easily we forget that in his love and mercy God gives us each new morning as a fresh beginning. Lamentations 3:23 says, " Because of the LORD's great love, we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."
May God give us the eyes of faith to see past the "seeds" in our days, and to rejoice in the incredible love and mercy He shows us each morning!

Po-e-try, easy as 123 (or ABC?)

I so wish I could claim authorship of the genius below, but alas, I must simply say that I was amused enough to share.

Haikus are easy
But sometimes they don't make sense
Refrigerator

Little thing: a thundering downpour on a warm day. spring is here :)

a golden tidbit

Greet everyone as a fellow guest on his way to the banquet.
Laugh out loud because there is more to find that is funny about you than there is about anyone else. Don't take yourself too seriously. The Lord, if He so chooses, will use you when you are most vulnerable -- just so the recipient doesn't get confused with who is the bearer and who is the Christ.

--Marti Fischer