May Angels rest beside your door,

May you hear their voices sing.

May you feel their loving care for you,

May you hear their peace bells ring.

May angels always care for you,

And not let you trip or fall,

May they bear you upon angel's wings,

May they keep you standing tall.

May they whisper wisdom in your ear,

May they touch you when you need,

May they remove from you each trace of fear,

May they keep you from feeling greed.

May they fill you with their presence,

May they show you love untold,

May they always stand beside you

And make you ever bold.

May they teach you what you need to know

About life here and here-after.

May they fill you always with their love

And give you the gift of laughter.

Merry Christmas!

Hugs!!!

Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
 A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
 A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
 Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
 Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
 Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

 'What are you doing?' I asked without fear,
 'Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
 Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
 You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!'
 For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
 Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts.

 To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
 Then he sighed and he said 'Its really all right,
 I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night.'
 'It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
 That separates you from the darkest of times.

 No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
 I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
 My Gramps died at ' Pearl on a day in December,'
 Then he sighed, 'That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers.'
 My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ' Nam ',
 And now it is my turn and so, here I am.

 I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
 But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.
 Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
 The red, white, and blue... an American flag.
 I can live through the cold and the being alone,
 Away from my family, my house and my home.

 I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
 I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
 I can carry the weight of killing another,
 Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
 Who stand at the front against any and all,
 To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall.'

 '  So go back inside,' he said, 'harbor no fright,
 Your family is waiting and I'll be all right.'
 'But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
 'Give you money,' I asked, 'or prepare you a feast?
 It seems all too little for all that you've done,
 For being away from your wife and your son.'

 Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
 'Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
 To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
 To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
 For when we come home, either standing or dead,
 To know you remember we fought and we bled.
 Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
 That we mattered to you as you mattered to us.'

 PLEASE, would you do me the kind favor of sending this to as many
 people as you can? Christmas will be coming soon and some credit is due to our
 U.S service men and women for our being able to celebrate these
 festivities. Let's try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we owe. Make people
 stop and think of our heroes, living and dead, who sacrificed themselves for us.

  LCDR Jeff Giles, SC, USN
 30th Naval Construction Regiment
 OIC, Logistics Cell One
 Al Taqqadum, Iraq

May your stuffing be tasty

May your turkey be plump.

May your potatoes and gravey

Have nary a lump.

May your yams be delicious

And your pies take the prize,

And may your Thanksgiving dinner

Stay off your thighs!

~Unknown~

Hugs!!!

http://www.quotegarden.com

Just in case I don't post again before next Thursday, have a safe, blessed and Happy Thanksgiving.

Hugs!!! 

I found this little treasure in a book titled: "You Bring the Umbrellas, Lord written by Joy Morgan Davis. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

I am drenched in the moonlight.

I would drink it If I could...

This soft silvery

Liquid light that pours

Over my body,

Washing away the lines of

Weariness and worry

Until I am

Fresh, free, and glowing from my bath.

And I wonder...

Would I truly know this tranquil night

If my day had not been so troubled?

Would peace be peace, If peace was all there was?

And what of joy?

Is joy more precious after sorrow, and if so,

should I ask for sorrow?

So that I may know joy.

Where is the treasure?

In the light or in the darkness

that makes me know the light?

I am not sure.

Therefore, I shall accept them both

as gifts from God,

Grateful...

while I bathe in the moonlight.

Have a blessed day!

Hugs!!!

There is this old saying that I just love, "The past is history, the future is mystery, but the NOW is a gift. That is why they call it the PRESENT. Life is a gift that only happens in the NOW. You will never get the chance to live this day again, make the most of each moment."

Today, the present is the only time you have the ability to experience life and create change. There are power and magic in the now. The present is the only moment where life actually exist.

Today, practice unconditional love and infinite patience. Just for today, do not judge, do not complain, do not explain, and do not defend. Today, do not agonize about the PAST; do not worry about the FUTURE, just embrace the NOW. Today, opt to be at peace with everyone and everything.

Hugs!!!

I don't know if I have posted this before but If I have it is worth posting again.

Words have power, they can heal or they can destroy. When words are both true and kind, they can change our worlds. - Buddha

An old Scottish proverb states, "Wisdom comes in ten parts, nine of which are silence. The tenth is brevity of language. Need I say more!

What kind of feelings come from the following words: jerk, stupid, revenge, assult.

Now, what kind of feelings come from these words: love, celebrate, honor, success, happiness.

This poem says it all.

Be slow to anger, slow to blame

and slow to plead thy cause.

But swift to speak of any gain

that gives thy friend applause.

Mary Whitcher

This one adds to it.

Tone of voice

It's not so much what you say,

as the manner in which you say it.

It's not so much the language you use,

as the tone in which you convey it.

Unknnown

The instruments of both life and death are contained within the power of the tongue. Proverbs 18:21

I can live for two months on one good compliment. - Mark Twain

Pause and think on these.

Have a great day!

Hugs!!!

For many years, I have struggled with this question. I have written essays, poetry and stories on this one subject.

I believe success is different to each individual, but finally I believe I have the perfect explanation written by a famous writer and philosopher over 100 years ago, at least I believe it is the perfect answer.

"Ralph Waldo Emerson - (1803-1882)

"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the, affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social contition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.

This is as close to Luke 9:46-48 as you can get. In Luke 9:46-48 Jesus calls us to follow a different value sysstem than our worlds. Position, success and beating the competition fade in comparison to caring for those around us who are weak and forgotten. He beckons us as His followers to replace competition with compassion. Who near you needs affirmation and help?

That's it, it's that simple.

Take a moment to read Luke 9 in your spare time. It's an awesome chapter.

God is an awesome God! I was reading about Solomon and all his riches. The thing that struck me was his reply to God's question "what do you desire," his reply was wisdom. It sounds like a simple answer but in my reading, I discovered that there is nothing simple about wisdom. Here are a couple of scriptures that shed a new light on my perception of wisdom.

I wisdom, dwell together with prudence; I possess knowledge and discretion. Proverbs 8:12.

Wisdom begins with respect for the Lord, and understanding begins with knowing the Holy One. Proverbs 9:10.

Arent' these beautiful explanations of  what wisdom if from a spiritual point of view? When I looked up wisdom in the dictionary, it stated that wisdom is knowledge, judgement and wise sayings. How boring compared to the biblical definition.

Today I accept the presence of divine power within me. I trust in myself and in the wisdom that created me.

Hugs!!!

Read Proverbs 4, It is simply beautiful!

God is an awesome God, I was thinking about Solomon and all his riches and about his reply being Wisdom when God ask him what was his desire.

It sounds like a simple thing wisdom, but in my reading I discovered that there is nothing simple about wisdom. Here are a couple of scriptures that shed a whole new light on my perception of wisdom.

I Wisdom, dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of willy inventions. Prov. 8:12

Wisdom begins with respect for the Lord, and understanding begins with knowing the Holy One. Prov. 9:10.

Aren't these beautiful explanations of what Wisdom is from a spiritual point of view? When I looked up wisdom in the dictionary, it stated that wisdom is knowledge and judgement, wise sayings. How boring!

Today I accept the presence of divine power within me.

I trust in myself and in the wisdom that created me.

Hugs!!!