Real Cowboy

Thanks Monica for sharing. 

 This young boy is so precious and I believe God talked to him.

A prayer for all of us

May today be all you need it to be.

May the peace of God and the freshness

of the Holy Spirit rest in your thoughts,

rule in your dreams tonight,

and conquer all your fears.

May God manifest himself today

in ways you have never experienced.

May your joys be fulfilled,

your dreams be closer,

and your prayers be answered.

I pray that faith enters a new height for you;

I pray that your territory is enlarged.

I pray for peace, healing, health, happiness,

prosperity, joy, true and undying love for God.

I will trust the unknown

It is almost two and a half years since Laura moved to Heaven. I am missing her today as much as the day she left. Although the two years have passed, it seems to me like she left just a short time ago. I have to make myself conscious of the fact that people don’t feel the time like I do.


I started a few activities after her death to help me climb out of that deep, dark hole I was absorbed in. I am still participating in most of the activities to help me maintain my sanity. I still read from Healing After Loss, by Martha Whitmore Hickman. I would like to share a mediation reading from the book with you.

Faith is the centerpiece of a connected life. It allows us to live by the grace of invisible strands. It is a belief in a wisdom superior to our own. Faith becomes a teacher in the absence of fact. –Terry Tempest Williams

We would like to know, wouldn’t we? Or think we would. Experiences like the loss of a loved one fill our lives with questions about the nature of life beyond death. What is the nature of God? What will be our experience of God—and our loved one—after we ourselves die?

Of course these are unanswerable questions. But we have to do something with our longing to know, with our yearning to continue a relationship with our loved one.

Blessed are those for whom faith can absorb the shock of not knowing, who can trust in “a wisdom superior to our own,” in “the grace of invisible strands.”

Perhaps all of us, whatever our faith tradition, can extend our sense of trust into the unknown world. Perhaps it seems a risk. But it may help us profoundly. And—unlike some risks—it won’t do us any harm!

Two Traveling Angels.......

Two traveling angels stopped to spend the night
in the home of a Wealthy family.
The family was rude and refused to let the
angels stay in the Mansion's' guest room.
Instead the angels were given a small
space in the cold basement.
As they made their bed on the hard floor,
the older angel saw a hole in the
wall and repaired it.

When the younger angel asked why, the older
angel replied, "Things aren't always what they seem"

The next night the pair came to rest at the house of
a very poor, but very hospitable farmer and his wife.

After sharing what little food they had the
couple let the angels sleep in their bed where
they could have a good night's rest.

When the sun came up the next morning
the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears.
Their only cow, whose milk had been their sole income,
lay dead in the field.
The younger angel was infuriated and asked the
older angel how could you have let this happen?

The first man had everything, yet you helped him,
she accused. The second family had little but was
willing to share everything, and you let the cow die.

"Things aren't always what they seem," the older angel replied.
"When we stayed in the basement of the mansion,
I noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the wall.
Since the owner was so obsessed with greed
and unwilling to share his good fortune,
I sealed the wall so he wouldn't find it."
"Then last night as we slept in the farmers bed,
the angel of death came for his wife
I gave him the cow instead.

Things aren't always what they seem."
Sometimes that is exactly what happens
when things don't turn out the way they should.
If you have faith, you just need to trust that
every out come is always to your advantage.
You just might not know it until some time later...

I will NEVER see an advantage for Laura's death!

SLOW DANCE

This is a poem written by a teenager with cancer. No name was given so I can't credit her/him here.  I picked it up from one of those floating emails that you receive from people who appreciate the message and want to help stamp out the disease.  I am a skeptic when I see emails pertaining to charities. Most are fraud and some are loaded with a virus.  Although this one just asked to forward the email to as many people possible and money will be donated to the American Cancer Society.  The poem is powerful, so I am reprinting it on my blog. By all means, if you wish to make a donation to the American Cancer Society you can do so online: www.cancer.org

SLOW DANCE

Have you ever watched kids

On a merry-go-round?

Or listened to the rain

Slapping the ground?

Ever followed a butterfly’s erratic flight?

Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?

You better slow down.

Don’t dance so fast…

Time is short.

The music won’t last.

Do you run through each day

On the fly?

When you ask, “How are you?”

Do you hear the reply?

When the day is done

Do you lie in your bed

With the next hundred chores

Running through your head?

You’d better slow down

Don’t dance so fast.

Time is short.

The music won’t last.

Ever told your child,

We’ll do it tomorrow?

And in your haste,

Not see his sorrow?

Ever lost touch,

Let a good friendship die

Cause you never had time

To call and say, “Hi”

You’d better slow down.

Don’t dance so fast.

Time is short.

The music won’t last.

When you run so fast

To get somewhere

You miss half the fun of getting there.

When you worry and hurry

Through your day,

It is like an unopened gift…

Thrown away.

Life is not a race.

Do take it slower.

Hear the music

Before the song is over.

Peace & Blessing to all of us in 2011

January 1--a brand new year, this milestone which has its aura of sadness because we are entering another year without our daughter, Laura. 

I will try to focus on my hopes:

• I hope this new year will be a time of peace and contentment for us. 
• I pray this will be the year that our son finds a doctor who can really help him.
• I hope to improve my physical and spiritual self.
• I pray my pup's health improves and she can stay with us longer. (Laura, I really don't want to send her your way yet.)
• I pray that my family and friends' lives are blessed with good health and lots of love and laughter.
• I pray that the twins enter this world uneventfully. I can't wait to meet them.
• I hope we can always hear in our hearts Laura's voice reminding us to praise life and embrace it fully.  

Happy New Year!

Birthday Gift

Laura was in the habit of buying me one carnation for special events. She started doing that from the time
she had her own spending money. Sometimes she would give me carnations just because she was happy
I did something for her. I always told her one is just as good as twelve or more. Of course, if she wasn’t
short on cash, she would buy me more than one. Yet, I appreciated every carnation she gave me.

The night before my birthday, I asked Laura to please, if at all possible, to send me one carnation
for my birthday. I asked my angels to help her accomplish the task. I woke up the next morning
and sent the same birthday request out to the universe. I shared my hope for the day with her dad.

We enjoyed our time at the SD zoo and all the while I kept my eye out for carnations.

The day advanced, the zoo closed, and no sign.

We were seated for dinner at 8:30 pm and I realized then that I wasn’t getting my birthday wish. The
waiter came over to welcome us and handed us menus. The second time he came to us he had one carnation
in a vase and placed it on the table.

The tears started and once again I was grateful for the one carnation.

Gratitude: John of God at Omega Institute

Three of us spent the day at the Omega Institute. It was truly an amazing experience.

Why Did Jesus Fold the Napkin?

Why Did Jesus Fold the Napkin?

Why did Jesus fold the linen burial cloth after His resurrection?

I never noticed this....

The Gospel of John (20:7) tells us that the napkin,

which was placed over the face of Jesus,

was not just thrown aside like the grave clothes.

The Bible takes an entire verse to tell us that the napkin

was neatly folded, and was placed at the head of that stony coffin.

Early Sunday morning, while it was still dark,

Mary Magdalene came to the tomb

and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance.

She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple,

the one whom Jesus loved.

She said, 'They have taken the Lord's body out of the tomb,

and I don't know where they have put him!'

Peter and the other disciple ran to the tomb to see.

The other disciple out ran Peter and got there first.

He stopped and looked in and saw the linen cloth

lying there, but he didn't go in.

Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside.

He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there,

while the cloth that had covered Jesus' head

was folded up and lying to the side.

Was that important? Absolutely!

Is it really significant? Yes!

In order to understand the significance of the folded napkin,

you have to understand a little bit about Hebrew tradition of that day.

The folded napkin had to do with the Master and Servant,

and every Jewish boy knew this tradition.

When the servant set the dinner table for the master,

he made sure that it was exactly the way the master wanted it.

The table was furnished perfectly, and then the servant would wait,

just out of sight, until the master had finished eating,

and the servant would not dare touch that table,

until the master was finished..

Now if the master were done eating, he would rise from the table,

wipe his fingers, his mouth, and clean his beard,

and would wad up that napkin and toss it onto the table.

The servant would then know to clear the table.

For in those days, the wadded napkin meant, "I'm finished..

"But if the master got up from the table,

and folded his napkin, and laid it beside his plate,

the servant would not dare touch the table, because..........

The folded napkin meant,

"I'm coming back!"

Be open to receive

The woman whispered, "God speak to me,"

and a meadow lark sang.

But the woman did not hear.

So the woman yelled, "God speak to me."

And the thunder rolled across the sky.

But the woman did not hear.

And the woman shouted, "God, show me a miracle."

And a life was born.

But the woman did not hear.

So, the woman cried out in despair,

"Touch me God, and let me know you are here."

Where upon, God reached down and touched the woman.

But the woman brushed the butterfly away and walked on.

Don't miss out on a blessing

because it isn't packaged the way you expect.

Be open to receive and you will.

Faith

DEATH

A wonderful explanation

A sick man turned to his doctor as he was preparing to leave the examination room and said, "Doctor, I am afraid to die. Tell me what lies on the other side."

Very quietly, the doctor said, "I don't know."

"You don't know? You're, a Christian man, and you don't know what's on the other side?"

The doctor was holding the handle of the door; on the other side came a sound of scratching and whining, and as he opened the door, a dog sprang into the room and leaped on him with an eager show of gladness. Turning to the patient, the doctor said, "Did you notice my dog? He's never been in this room before. He didn't know what was inside. He knew nothing except that his master was here. When the door opened, he sprang in without fear. I know little of what is on the other side of death, but I do know one thing...

I know my Master is there and that is enough."