Friends Make a Difference

Some people come into our lives and quickly go;
Some people move our souls to dance; they awaken us to new understanding
With the passing whisper of their wisdom;
Some people make the sky more beautiful to gaze upon.

Friends share simple, ordinary times in our lives,
Moments that become memories that stay in our hearts forever
... And we will never, ever be the same.

Friendship is a strange thing ...
It is by chance we met, by choice we became friends;
We find ourselves telling each other the deepest details of our lives,
things we don't even share with our families who raised us.

But what is a friend? A confidant? A lover? A fellow email junkie?
A shoulder to cry on? An ear to listen? A heart to feel?
A friend is ALL of these things and more;
No matter where we met, I call you "friend":
A word so small ... yet so large in feeling ... a word filled with emotion.

Once the package of friendship has been opened,
It can never be completely closed;
It is a constant book always waiting to be read ... and enjoyed.

We may have disagreements,
We may argue, we may concern one another ...
Friendship is a unique bond that lasts through it all.

A part of me is put into my friends: some is my humor, some is my listening ear,
Some is real life experience, some is my romanticism, but with all, it is FRIENDSHIP ...
Thanks for making a difference in my life!

~ Author Unknown

A Beautiful Day

I woke up early today, excited over all the things
I get to do before the day ends... 

My job is to choose what
kind of day I am going to have.

Today I can complain because the weather is rainy or ...
I can be thankful that the grass
is getting watered for free. 

Today I can grumble about my health or...
I can rejoice that I am alive. 

Today I can mourn my lack of friends or...
I can excitedly embark upon a
quest to discover new relationships. 

Today I can whine because I have to go to work or...
I can shout for joy
because I have a job to do. 

Today I can murmur dejectedly because I have to do housework or...
I can feel honored because life has provided
shelter for my mind, body and soul. 

Today stretches ahead of me, waiting to be shaped ...
And here I am, the sculptor
who gets to do the shaping. 

Today I am going to have a BEAUTIFUL DAY...
Because I am blessed with
so many gifts in my life.

~ Author Unknown ~

Life Still Has Meaning

If there is a future
there is time for mending —
Time to see your troubles
coming to an ending.

Life is never hopeless
however great your sorrow —
If you're looking forward
to a new tomorrow.

If there is time for wishing,
then there is time for hoping —
When through doubt and darkness
you are blindly groping.

Though the heart be heavy
and hurt you may be feeling —
If there's time for contemplation,
there is time for healing.

So if through your window
there is a new day breaking —
Thank Heaven for the promise,
though mind and soul be aching.

If with harvest over, there
is grain enough for gleaning —
There is a new tomorrow
and life still has meaning.


~ Author Unknown

River of Friendship

How do I love
The wilderness places
Where beauty exists
In great open spaces

Where in mountain valleys
Sweet water flows free
Like the river of friendship
Between you and me

May it ever bring joy
Down from hillsides above
Like cascading streams
In a water fall of love.

~G Seierstad~
February 17, 2010

A Crabby Old Woman

 

What do you see, nurses ….. What do you see?
What are you thinking ….. When you’re looking at me?
A crabby old woman ….. Not very wise?
Uncertain of habit ….. With faraway eyes?

Who dribbles her food ….. And makes no reply,
When you say in a loud voice ….. “I do wish you’d try!”
Who seems not to notice ….. The things that you do,
And forever is losing ….. A stocking or shoe?

Who, resisting or not ….. Lets you do as you will,
With bathing and feeding ….. The long day to fill?
Is that what you’re thinking?? ….. Is that what you see??
Then open your eyes, nurse ….. You’re not looking at me.

I’ll tell you who I am ….. As I sit here so still,
As I do at your bidding ….. As I eat at your will.
I’m a small child of ten ….. With a father and mother,
Brothers and sisters ….. Who love one another.

A young girl of sixteen ….. With wings on her feet
Dreaming that soon now ….. A lover she’ll meet.
A bride soon at twenty ….. My heart gives a leap,
Remembering the vows ….. That I promised to keep.

At twenty-five now ….. I have young of my own,
Who need me to guide ….. And a secure happy home.
A woman of thirty ….. My young now grown fast,
Bound to each other ….. With ties that should last.

At forty, my young sons ….. Have grown and are gone,
But my man’s beside me …..To see I don’t mourn
At fifty once more ….. Babies play round my knee,
Again we know children ….. My loved one and me.

Dark days are upon me ….. My husband is dead,
I look at the future ….. I shudder with dread.
For my young are all rearing …..Young of their own ,
And I think of the years ….. And the love that I’ve known.

I’m now an old woman ….. And nature is cruel;
Tis jest to make old age ….. Look like a fool.
The body, it crumbles ….. Grace and vigor depart,
There is now a stone ….. Where I once had a heart.

But inside this old carcass ….. A young girl still dwells,
And now and again ….. My battered heart swells.
I remember the joys ….. I remember the pain,
And I’m loving and living ….. Life over again.

I think of the years ….. All too few, gone too fast,
And accept the stark fact ….. That nothing can last.
So open your eyes, people ….. Open and see,
Not a crabby old woman ….. Look closer …. see, ME!!

~ Author Unknown

Photography: Mom Mona (Bradley)
On my hospital visit last 15 Jan 2010
She passed away 15 February 2010

Be A Friend!

Don't worry about knowing people
...just make yourself worth knowing.

When you ask how someone's doing
...wait to listen to the answer.

Anyone can give advice, but
a real friend will lend a helping hand.

Pick your friends
...but never pick them to pieces!

A good friend is one who keeps up with you
But never looks down on you.

Deal with the faults of your friends
as gently as if they were your own.

The reason a dog is everyone's friend
is that he wags his tail
and not his tongue.

 

~Author Unknown~

My Comfort Zone

I used to have a comfort zone where I knew I wouldn’t fail;
The same four walls and busywork were really more like jail;
I longed so much to do the things I’d never done before,
But stayed inside my comfort zone and paced the same old floor.

I said it didn’t matter that I wasn’t doing much;
I said I didn’t care for things like commission checks and such;
I claimed to be so busy with the things inside the zone,
But deep inside I longed for something special of my own.

I couldn’t let my life go by just watching others win;
I held my breath; I stepped outside and let the change begin;
I took a step and with new strength I’d never felt before,
I kissed my comfort zone good-bye and closed and locked the door.

If you’re in a comfort zone, afraid to venture out,
Remember that all winners were at one time filled with doubt;
A step or two and words of praise can make your dreams come true;
Reach for your future with a smile; success is there for you!

~Author Unknown

DON'T LOOK BACK

As you travel through life there are always those times
When decisions just have to be made,
When the choices are hard, and solutions seem scarce,
And the rain seems to soak your parade.

There are some situations where all you can do
Is simply let go and move on,
Gather your courage and choose a direction
That carries you toward a new dawn.

So pack up your troubles and take a step forward —
The process of change can be tough,
But think about all the excitement ahead
If YOU can be stalwart enough!

There might be adventures you never imagined
Just waiting around the next bend,
And wishes and dreams just about to come true
In ways you can't yet comprehend!

Perhaps you'll find friendships that spring from new things
As you challenge your status quo,
And learn there are so many options in life,
And so many ways you can grow!

Perhaps you'll go places you never expected
And see things that you've never seen,
Or travel to fabulous, faraway worlds
And wonderful spots in between!

Perhaps you'll find warmth and affection and caring
And somebody special who's there
To help you stay centered and listen with interest
To stories and feelings you share.

Perhaps you'll find comfort in knowing your friends
Are supportive of all that you do,
And believe that whatever decisions you make,
They'll be the right choices for you.

So keep putting one foot in front of the other,
And taking your life day by day ...
There's a brighter tomorrow that's just down the road —
Don't look back! You're not going that way!


by Mary Engelbreit

NEWBORN SOULS

❤❤❤

"While viewing the beauty of fresh falling snow,
My mind wandered back to words spoken softly to the ear of a child:

"Snowflakes are like newborn souls falling from the clouds to the earth."

Like the snowflake we are all perfect creations,
Each of us uniquely formed.

Many of us are taught religion in a fog of truth during childhood.

We call ourselves Christians, Jews, Moslems, Buddhists,
Hindus, Atheists, Agnostics or Pagans.

None of us speak or relate to God in the same manner.

Eventually, as the snowflakes melt,
They return to the water from which they were formed.

Water runs deep and will seek its own level
Until it is found.

Sometimes these waters are the waters of consciousness.

Heat melts the snow;
Like snow we soften with warmth.

We each live in a sea of thoughts, feelings and beliefs.

When we experience the warmth of love
Our thoughts, feelings and different beliefs melt away.

Connecting us with one another,
Making us realize we are one."

~Mary Ann Faris
Copyright February, 2008
(Mary Ann is a long-time Inspiration Line Subscriber from Harper's Ferry, West Virginia)


✻ღ♥*✿*•♥ღ✻

Meaningful Resolutions

To leave the old with a burst of song;
To recall the right and forgive the wrong;

To forget the things that bind you fast
To the vain regrets of the year that’s past;

To have the strength to let go your hold
Of the not worthwhile of the days grown old;

To dare go forth with a purpose true,
To the unknown task of the year that’s new;

To help your brother along the road,
To do his work and lift his load;

To add your gift to the world’s good cheer,
Is to have and to give a Happy New Year.

~ Author Unknown

THE MOONLIGHT'S KISS

A perfect round and shining sphere
the August Moon in a dusky sky
shines down upon us and lights the way
for the weary traveler who passes by,
and winds his way o'er hill and down glen
and journeys on to the end of his day.

The light that surrounds us from
this Pearl of perfection
gives hope to the helpless
and to the lost gives direction;
without her light the dark would be endless
and we souls would wander, lost and friendless.

Thanks be for the gift of the night's moon —
we hold you in awe;
we raise our eyes to the night's sky
and behold your radiant glow;
we are ever thankful
to have been so truly blessed
by the touch of your moonlight's kiss
as our soft skin you caress.


Copyright ©2008 Linda Bell, aka Honesty Lunaria
via The Inspiration Line

Recipe for a Happy New Year

Take twelve, fine, full-grown months,
see that these are thoroughly free
from all old memories of bitterness,
rancor, hate and jealousy;
cleanse them completely from
every clinging spite.

Pick off all specks of pettiness and littleness;
in short , see that these months are freed from all the past;
Have them as fresh and clean as when
they first came from the great storehouse of Time.

Cut these months into thirty or thirty-one equal parts —
This batch will keep for just one year;
Do not attempt to make up the whole batch at one time,
but prepare one day at a time, as follows:

Into each day put twelve parts of faith,
eleven of patience,
ten of courage,
nine of tolerance,
eight of hope,
seven of fidelity,
six of kindness,
five of work,
four of rest,
three of generosity,
two of meditation and prayer,
and one well-selected resolution.

Put in about a teaspoonful of good spirits,
a dash of fun, a pinch of folly, a sprinkling of play
and a heaping cupful of good humor.

Pour in lots of love and mix with a vigor;
Cook thoroughly in a fervent heat;
garnish with a few smiles and a sprig of joy;
then serve with quietness, unselfishness, and cheerfulness,
and a Happy New Year is certain.


~ Author Unknown ~

Point of View

I've heard it said, "Don't go to bed
While hanging on to sorrow.
You may not have the chance to laugh
With those you love tomorrow."


You may not mean the words you speak
When anger takes its toll.
You may regret your actions
Once you've lost your self control.

When you've lost your temper
And you've said some hurtful things,
Think about the heartache
That your action sometimes brings.

You'll never get those moments back,
Such precious time to waste,
And all because of things you said
In anger and in haste.

So if you're loving someone
And your pride has settled in,
You may not ever have the chance
To say to them again,

"I love you and I trust you
And although we don't agree,
I'll try to see your point of view,
Please do the same for me."

~Author Unknown

Source: Inspiration Line

Photo: Brothers James and Oliver Silvey

CHEERFUL THOUGHTS LIGHTEN DARKEST FEARS

Cheerful thoughts like sunbeams
Lighten up the "darkest fears,"
For when the heart is happy,
There's just no time for tears.

And when the face is smiling,
It's impossible to frown,
And when you are "high-spirited,"
You cannot feel "low-down."

For the nature of our attitude
Toward circumstantial things,
Determines our acceptance
Of the problems that life brings.

And since fear and dread and worry
Cannot help in any way,
It's much healthier and happier
To be cheerful every day.

And if you'll only try it
You will find, without a doubt,
A cheerful attitude's something
No one should be without.

For when the heart is cheerful,
It cannot be filled with fear,
And without fear, the way ahead,
Seems more distinct and clear.

Helen Steiner Rice (1900-1981)
www.HelenSteinerRice.com

Triumph over Trouble

If wishes worked like magic,
And plans worked that way too,
And everything you wished for,
Whether good or bad for you,
Immediately was granted
With no effort on your part,
You’d experience no fulfillment
Of your spirit or your heart.


For things achieved too easily
Lose their charm and meaning too,
For it is life’s difficulties
And the trials we go through
That makes us strong in spirit
And endow us with the will
To surmount the insurmountable
And to climb the highest hill.


So wish not for the easy way
To win your heart’s desire,
For the joy’s in overcoming
And withstanding flood and fire,
For to triumph over trouble
And grow stronger with defeat
Is to win the kind of victory
That will make your life complete.


Helen Steiner Rice (1900-1981)
www.HelenSteinerRice.com

Source: The Inspiration Line

At Day's End

A Poem for our most loved Minister, Mr Rob Barnett, who passed away last October 27, 2009.

The unforgettable persons in our life. A word of thanks would never suffice.
Is anybody happier
Because YOU passed their way?
Does anyone remember
That you spoke to them today?

The day is almost over,
And its toiling time is through,
Is there anyone to utter
Now a kindly word of YOU?

Can you say tonight in parting
With the day that's slipping fast ...
That you helped a single person
Of the many that you passed?

Is a single heart rejoicing
Over what you did or said?
Does the one whose hopes were fading
Now with courage look ahead?

Did you waste the day or use it?
Was it well or sorely spent?
Did you leave a trail of kindness,
Or a scar of discontent?

As you close your eyes in slumber,
Will Our Creator quietly say ...
"You have earned one more tomorrow
By what you have done today"?

~By John Hall

FRIENDS FOREVER NEAR

As we walk our path of life;
We meet people every day,
Most are simply met by chance,
But some are sent our way.

These become the special friends
Whose bond we can’t explain
The ones who understands us
And share our joy and pain.

Their love contains no boundaries,
So even when apart,
Their presence still embraces us
With a warmth felt in the heart.

This love becomes a passageway
Where even the miles disappear,
And the special friends life sends our way
Remain forever near.

~Author Unknown

Source: The Inspiration Line

Photography: The Newlywed with Auntie Trish
Canberra, ACT
October 30, 2009

The Size of Your Heart

It isn't the size of
your house as such
That matters so much at all;
It's the gentle hand
and its loving touch,
That make it great or small.

The friends who come
and the hour they go,
Who out of your house depart,
Will judge it not
by the style you show,
But rather by the size of your heart.

It isn't your status
in life so much,
It isn't the wealth you found,
That will make you happy —
it's how you touch
The lives that are all around.

For making money is not hard —
To live life well is an art:
How people love you,
how they regard,
Is all in the size of your heart

~Author Unknown (Perhaps, Edward Guest) from FunTown.com

The Light Upon the Sea

There was a time it seemed as though
My life was tossing to and fro
And I, left with nowhere to go,
Was subject to the sea.

But there, ahead, a beam of light
Peered through the darkness of the night
And granted to me clearer sight
That I might be set free.

I steered a course toward the land
To find a refuge on the sand
And maybe touch the gentle hand
That guided me along.

And when I reached the coast that night,
Upon a hill, the shining light
Was tended by a welcome sight . . .
My friends had led me home.

~ © 1999 Robert S. Bise

It's the Light in You that Makes me Thankful

"I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and the new." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

I've seen the light
and it's in you ...
in everything you are
and in everything you do.

It's a perfect light that
shines for all to see;
in fact it shines so brightly,
it's pierced the heart of me.

The light is from a friend,
it's a light that keeps me warm;
it lets me know how loved I am
and keeps me safe from harm.

FOR YOU I AM THANKFUL ...
in so very many ways,
and you lift up my spirits
each and every day.

To know that you are there for me
makes me feel alive;
it is your friendship's light upon
which my own love thrives.

Though 'thank you' isn't good enough,
they're the only words I know
to say your light of friendship
gives my world its glow.

Thanks for sharing your
light with me!

~ Author Unknown

Source: Inspiration Line
November 17, 2009