Sent to me in an email from a friend, I thought to share with any one out there rattling around in the padded walls...
How To Plant Your Garden
First, you Come to the garden alone,
while the dew is still on the roses...
FOR THE GARDEN OF YOUR DAILY LIVING,
PLANT THREE ROWS OF PEAS :
1. Peace of mind
2. Peace of heart
3. Peace of soul
PLANT FOUR ROWS OF SQUASH:
1. Squash gossip
2. Squash indifference
3. Squash grumbling
4. Squash selfishness
PLANT FOUR ROWS OF LETTUCE:
1. Lettuce be faithful
2. Lettuce be kind
3. Lettuce be patient
4. Lettuce really love one another
NO GARDEN IS WITHOUT TURNIPS:
1.. Turnip for meetings
2. Turnip for service
3. Turnip to help one another
TO CONCLUDE OUR GARDEN WE MUST HAVE THYME:
1. Thyme for each other
2.. Thyme for family
3. Thyme for friends
WATER FREELY WITH PATIENCE AND CULTIVATE WITH LOVE. THERE IS MUCH FRUIT IN YOUR GARDEN BECAUSE YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW. NOT BAD, HUH?!
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
My Mom is Mother
How many people from the country call their Mom, “Mother”? It is such a proper name for a hick from North Carolina to use. Well, this group of six North Carolina hick kids did. That was all I knew my Mom as. I am quite sure, that even as a baby, I never said Momma or Mommy, Just Mother. It is Funny that on Father’s Day, I am thinking about my Mom. It may be because yesterday would have been her natural birthday. I know my Dad instilled a lot of values and moral discernment in our lives, but he was not around during most of my life, so my real hero is my Mom.
When I was growing up, we didn’t have computers, and the internet, and GOOGLE. I know, some of you younger folk are wondering how in the world we got by. But I didn’t need Google, I had my Mom. She knew something about everything.
She knew how to doctor us when we were hurt or sick. I remember one time, I climbed into a big bushy tree to retrieve my baseball, and when I came out, my bare chest was covered with wasp, ( I always wondered how all those wasps knew at what moment I knew they were all there on my chest, because at that very moment, they all stung me at the same time), I just knew I was going to die. But my Mom, never acted all freaked out, or hysterical, she just calmly told one of my sisters to go next door and ask our neighbor for a pack of cigarettes, She unwrapped all of them, and wet the tobacco, and proceeded to paste it on all the stings. Thanks to my Mom’s quick action, (and the fact that most people don’t die from wasp stings) I am alive today.
She knew about finances too. Some of the best advice I have ever received about money was from her, she would tell me, invest your money in real estate, because real estate always increases in value. And until recently, that advice has held to the test as one of the best investments ever.
My Mom knew about the Bible. She answered any questions we had about God, or his Son Jesus Christ, or Salvation, or Heaven, even when we did not ask a question, she had an answer for us.
My mom also was like a walking phonebook. It tickles me to think about her getting upset with all of us, each time we needed to call someone, we would call her, and ask, “What is so-in-so’s phone number”? She would retort,” I am not your phone book, write it down this time”! then she would recite the number to us again, and of course, I would never write it down.
Then there is the cooking… My oh My…. You have never tasted home cooking like my Mom made. I couldn’t even eat over at my friends house, because my taste buds were so spoiled. It didn’t matter what she cooked, fried, or baked, it was always toe tingling awesomely good. I remember during the holidays, my two aunts that lived in town with us would plan a day and come over to our house, and bake pies and cakes for Christmas, and baked all day. What a wonderful day that was in my life. My Mom has made eating to me an experience, not a chore. I loved to watch her taste something new that she liked. She was able to taste all the ingredients, and duplicate the recipe. I cook and eat that way even to this day. I mean… Yum Mom!
Most of all was the love my Mom had for each one of us six kids. I of course was her baby, so there was a lot of jealousy among the other five kids. But she uniquely loved us all, according to our own dispositions. She always made me feel like I was the best at whatever I did. She always aimed me in the right direction. And she always loved me unconditionally when I messed up my life. She wasn’t oblivious to my evil desires, and wicked ways, she did something I didn’t understand until way later in my life. My Mom absorbed my badness into her own soul, then I really believe she offered herself to the Lord to suffer any punishment I deserved. (I know God does not do that) Then she looked at me as though I had never been bad. My Mon only saw what was good in me. What I realized later on in life was this, that God loved me so much he sent his Son to suffer for my badness (Sin), so that he can look at me and only see the goodness of his Son. My Mom had His spirit in her, and loved her children in that same way.
I mentioned my Mom in my first blog, that she prayed for me, and shared God’s love with me, and steered me in God’s direction so many times. She could not bear the thought that one of her children would not be in heaven with her. I know a lot of things happened in my life that led to my getting saved, but I will always believe that it was my Mom’s faithfulness in prayer that moved God to continue to pursue me.
There are so many things I could say about my Mom, but there is not enough “Internet Virtual Paper” to write it all. My Mom is now with the God she loves, she is enjoying the bliss of heaven, her pains and suffering are over, and her tears though in God’s bottle are all wiped away. And she has the wonderful anticipation of the day when all her children will be united with her again.
Mother is the best Mom ever!
See Ya Soon Mom!
When I was growing up, we didn’t have computers, and the internet, and GOOGLE. I know, some of you younger folk are wondering how in the world we got by. But I didn’t need Google, I had my Mom. She knew something about everything.
She knew how to doctor us when we were hurt or sick. I remember one time, I climbed into a big bushy tree to retrieve my baseball, and when I came out, my bare chest was covered with wasp, ( I always wondered how all those wasps knew at what moment I knew they were all there on my chest, because at that very moment, they all stung me at the same time), I just knew I was going to die. But my Mom, never acted all freaked out, or hysterical, she just calmly told one of my sisters to go next door and ask our neighbor for a pack of cigarettes, She unwrapped all of them, and wet the tobacco, and proceeded to paste it on all the stings. Thanks to my Mom’s quick action, (and the fact that most people don’t die from wasp stings) I am alive today.
She knew about finances too. Some of the best advice I have ever received about money was from her, she would tell me, invest your money in real estate, because real estate always increases in value. And until recently, that advice has held to the test as one of the best investments ever.
My Mom knew about the Bible. She answered any questions we had about God, or his Son Jesus Christ, or Salvation, or Heaven, even when we did not ask a question, she had an answer for us.
My mom also was like a walking phonebook. It tickles me to think about her getting upset with all of us, each time we needed to call someone, we would call her, and ask, “What is so-in-so’s phone number”? She would retort,” I am not your phone book, write it down this time”! then she would recite the number to us again, and of course, I would never write it down.
Then there is the cooking… My oh My…. You have never tasted home cooking like my Mom made. I couldn’t even eat over at my friends house, because my taste buds were so spoiled. It didn’t matter what she cooked, fried, or baked, it was always toe tingling awesomely good. I remember during the holidays, my two aunts that lived in town with us would plan a day and come over to our house, and bake pies and cakes for Christmas, and baked all day. What a wonderful day that was in my life. My Mom has made eating to me an experience, not a chore. I loved to watch her taste something new that she liked. She was able to taste all the ingredients, and duplicate the recipe. I cook and eat that way even to this day. I mean… Yum Mom!
Most of all was the love my Mom had for each one of us six kids. I of course was her baby, so there was a lot of jealousy among the other five kids. But she uniquely loved us all, according to our own dispositions. She always made me feel like I was the best at whatever I did. She always aimed me in the right direction. And she always loved me unconditionally when I messed up my life. She wasn’t oblivious to my evil desires, and wicked ways, she did something I didn’t understand until way later in my life. My Mom absorbed my badness into her own soul, then I really believe she offered herself to the Lord to suffer any punishment I deserved. (I know God does not do that) Then she looked at me as though I had never been bad. My Mon only saw what was good in me. What I realized later on in life was this, that God loved me so much he sent his Son to suffer for my badness (Sin), so that he can look at me and only see the goodness of his Son. My Mom had His spirit in her, and loved her children in that same way.
I mentioned my Mom in my first blog, that she prayed for me, and shared God’s love with me, and steered me in God’s direction so many times. She could not bear the thought that one of her children would not be in heaven with her. I know a lot of things happened in my life that led to my getting saved, but I will always believe that it was my Mom’s faithfulness in prayer that moved God to continue to pursue me.
There are so many things I could say about my Mom, but there is not enough “Internet Virtual Paper” to write it all. My Mom is now with the God she loves, she is enjoying the bliss of heaven, her pains and suffering are over, and her tears though in God’s bottle are all wiped away. And she has the wonderful anticipation of the day when all her children will be united with her again.
Mother is the best Mom ever!
See Ya Soon Mom!
Saturday, June 19, 2010
The Road Is My Racetrack
I hold an old reputation for being a wild driver. I don’t think that the word reckless would describe me, because I have never had an accident. But my first real job was a hot shot delivery for a automotive paint store. I prided myself for getting to and back in record time. The world was my racetrack, and I weaved, ( I know, they tell you in Drivers Ed not to do that, but I always believed that rule was for non hot shot delivery people). I thought of myself as a professional driver, and wondered if there were any more like me.
I kind of went through life lonely in my profession, with all the completely idiotic drivers on the road, I was almost certain that there were no other ones like me. Not until of course, my first trip through Atlanta. I was so excited to see that they have two lanes dedicated to professional drivers, it seems this far up north, all the ones like me drove big trucks. I was ever so proud to drive in those right two lanes. I am sure that those excluded from this privilege were eat up with envy.
Over the years I have learned a lot from driving and drivers. There are a lot of patterns that can be seen if you study on the subject hard enough. I call this my “Sheep Theory”. It is amazing that when you come up on a stop light, and have two lanes, everybody will be in the same lane. I am not sure, but I believe that like when women will call each other to see what they are wearing to some event, drivers get a memo or something, that tells them what lane to be in at any given light. And, to be truthful, that’s alright by me, because, I always feel like they have moved aside for me, so that I can drive up in that vacant lane all by myself.
There is something else that has always puzzled me, It is, when a drop of water hits someone’s windshield, the brakes come on, and immediately every drive slows down to a crawl. This same thing happens when you approach a bridge of any sort. Now in Florida, we have rain all the time, and with a river running through town, there are more bridges than pavement. So you can only imagine when it starts to sprinkle… Sheep!
Since moving to Nashville I have seen something else, it has taken me quite a bit of studying to figure out, but I do have the answer. Everybody up here drives in the left lane. Now for someone like me that has paid attention in drivers ed, I know that slower traffic rides in the right lane, and “Passing” traffic in the left. Listen up, and go back and read the book again if you need to, But, the left lane is NOT the FAST lane! (this is a pet peeve with me). Well, I also know that in Jacksonville, people drive in the left lane to be rude, but I quickly was convinced that this was not the case up here. It took me some time of chewing on this “Sheep Action” then I realized that the folk up here did read the book, but the problem is that they don’t know their right from their left. If you don’t believe me, look at the exits around town. If you want to go right on a highway you have to go left, and if you want to go left, you have to go right. (Now as to the reason for this, I am not sure if the road engineers are from here, or if they just made the roads to accommodate the drivers). But I have to admit, Once I have realized that I will never educate enough people to get them to drive in the “Correct” right lane, I decided that I needed to change my driving habits, and I started driving in the left lane too. By golly, all my driving frustrations have disappeared.
One more thing. I love the slower pace up here. People don’t tail gate you all the time here, They love to blow their horns, but it’s not to be rude, they just love the sound it makes. So I have slowed down, rolled my windows down, and smell the roses, as I drive slowly by in the left lane….. Euwwwwwww, what’s that smell…. I feel a song… There’s a Dead Skunk in the middle of the road… Dead Skunk!
I kind of went through life lonely in my profession, with all the completely idiotic drivers on the road, I was almost certain that there were no other ones like me. Not until of course, my first trip through Atlanta. I was so excited to see that they have two lanes dedicated to professional drivers, it seems this far up north, all the ones like me drove big trucks. I was ever so proud to drive in those right two lanes. I am sure that those excluded from this privilege were eat up with envy.
Over the years I have learned a lot from driving and drivers. There are a lot of patterns that can be seen if you study on the subject hard enough. I call this my “Sheep Theory”. It is amazing that when you come up on a stop light, and have two lanes, everybody will be in the same lane. I am not sure, but I believe that like when women will call each other to see what they are wearing to some event, drivers get a memo or something, that tells them what lane to be in at any given light. And, to be truthful, that’s alright by me, because, I always feel like they have moved aside for me, so that I can drive up in that vacant lane all by myself.
There is something else that has always puzzled me, It is, when a drop of water hits someone’s windshield, the brakes come on, and immediately every drive slows down to a crawl. This same thing happens when you approach a bridge of any sort. Now in Florida, we have rain all the time, and with a river running through town, there are more bridges than pavement. So you can only imagine when it starts to sprinkle… Sheep!
Since moving to Nashville I have seen something else, it has taken me quite a bit of studying to figure out, but I do have the answer. Everybody up here drives in the left lane. Now for someone like me that has paid attention in drivers ed, I know that slower traffic rides in the right lane, and “Passing” traffic in the left. Listen up, and go back and read the book again if you need to, But, the left lane is NOT the FAST lane! (this is a pet peeve with me). Well, I also know that in Jacksonville, people drive in the left lane to be rude, but I quickly was convinced that this was not the case up here. It took me some time of chewing on this “Sheep Action” then I realized that the folk up here did read the book, but the problem is that they don’t know their right from their left. If you don’t believe me, look at the exits around town. If you want to go right on a highway you have to go left, and if you want to go left, you have to go right. (Now as to the reason for this, I am not sure if the road engineers are from here, or if they just made the roads to accommodate the drivers). But I have to admit, Once I have realized that I will never educate enough people to get them to drive in the “Correct” right lane, I decided that I needed to change my driving habits, and I started driving in the left lane too. By golly, all my driving frustrations have disappeared.
One more thing. I love the slower pace up here. People don’t tail gate you all the time here, They love to blow their horns, but it’s not to be rude, they just love the sound it makes. So I have slowed down, rolled my windows down, and smell the roses, as I drive slowly by in the left lane….. Euwwwwwww, what’s that smell…. I feel a song… There’s a Dead Skunk in the middle of the road… Dead Skunk!
Monday, June 14, 2010
FIRE
I once entered a poetry contest... and low and behold, I was selected to have my poem published. I was also offered a once in a lifetime opportunity to purchase a leather bound limited edition of this collection of prize winning (I never won a prize) poems. Well as you might guess, I let the opportunity pass, and I never saw my poem in print. But I am sure that a limited number of people have been thrilled with my poem, even to this day!
Now, it's your turn to be thrilled... Without any cost, and no leather.
FIRE
Take a look deep within my soul,
What do you see there to behold?
My heart is pounding, my spirit on fire,
Have you seen it, does it inspire?
Deep within me, there is a passionate love,
Deep as the ocean, and the sky up above.
My body expresses the passion bound in my soul,
My hands, my lips, all of my being whole.
I touch you, and feel my passion exposed,
I kiss you, and feel as though I will explode.
Devoted I give all of myself to you,
My question to you, is, what will you do?
MFL
Now, it's your turn to be thrilled... Without any cost, and no leather.
FIRE
Take a look deep within my soul,
What do you see there to behold?
My heart is pounding, my spirit on fire,
Have you seen it, does it inspire?
Deep within me, there is a passionate love,
Deep as the ocean, and the sky up above.
My body expresses the passion bound in my soul,
My hands, my lips, all of my being whole.
I touch you, and feel my passion exposed,
I kiss you, and feel as though I will explode.
Devoted I give all of myself to you,
My question to you, is, what will you do?
MFL
Friday, June 11, 2010
Love Is Blind
Being blind, I still can see,
Your beauty and your fragrance breathe.
The Reddest Rose could not describe,
Your gentle touch and loving soul.
It's peddles soft and silky so,
The perfume filtered through my nose.
But purer still I see your love,
Lifts me to the heavens above.
None tempt my senses... As you my Love!
MFL
Your beauty and your fragrance breathe.
The Reddest Rose could not describe,
Your gentle touch and loving soul.
It's peddles soft and silky so,
The perfume filtered through my nose.
But purer still I see your love,
Lifts me to the heavens above.
None tempt my senses... As you my Love!
MFL
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