WAY BACK WHEN...

      Close your eyes...And go back...
Before the Internet or the MAC
Before semi automatics and crack
Before SEGA or Super Nintendo...

Way back...

I'm talkin' bout hide and go seek at dusk.
Red light, Green light.
Playing kickball & dodgeball until your porch light came on.
Mother May I?
Red Rover
Hula Hoops
Running through the sprinkler
Happy Meals

Wait...
Watchin' Saturday Morning cartoons
Fat Albert, Road Runner, Smurfs, Picture Pages, G-Force & He-Man
Wonder Woman & Super Man Underoos
Playing Dukes of Hazard
Catchin' lightning bugs in a jar
Christmas morning...
Your first day of school
Bedtime Prayers and Goodnight Kisses
Climbing trees
Getting an Ice Cream off the Ice Cream Truck
A million mosquito bites and sticky fingers
Jumpin' down the steps
Jumpin' on the bed
Pillow fights
Runnin' till you were out of breath
Laughing so hard that your stomach hurt
Being tired from playin'
Your first crush...
Rainy days at school meant playing "Heads up 7UP" in the classroom
Remember that?

I'm not finished yet...
Kool-Aid was the drink of the summer
Giving your friends a ride on your handlebars
Wearing your new shoes on the first day of school
Class Field Trips
When nearly everyone's mom was at home when the kids got there.
When a quarter seemed like a fair allowance, and another quarter a Miracle.
When any parent could discipline any kid, or feed him or use him to carry Groceries, and nobody, not even the kid, thought a thing of it.
When your parents took you to McDonalds and you were so cool.
When being sent to the principal's office was nothing compared to the fate that awaited a misbehaving student at home.

Basically, we were in fear for our lives but it wasn't because of drive by shootings, drugs, gangs, etc. Our parents and grandparents were a much bigger threat! And some of us are still afraid of em!

Didn't that feel good, just to go back and say, "Yeah, I remember that!"
I want to go back to the time when...
Decisions were made by going "eeny-meeny-miney-mo"
Mistakes were corrected by simply exclaiming, "do over!""Race issue" meant arguing about who ran the fastest.
Money issues were handled by whoever was the banker in "monopoly"
Catching fireflies could happily occupy an entire evening
It wasn't odd to have two or three "best" friends.
Being old, referred to anyone over 20.
The worst thing you could catch from the opposite sex was cooties.
Nobody was prettier than Mom.
Scrapes and bruises were kissed and made better.
It was a big deal to finally be tall enough to ride the "big people" rides at the amusement park.
Getting a foot of snow was a dream come true.
Abilities were discovered because of a "double-dog-dare"
Spinning around, getting dizzy and falling down was cause for giggles.
The worst embarrassment was being picked last for a team.
Water balloons were the ultimate, ultimate weapon.
Older siblings were the worst tormentors, but also the fiercest protectors.
If you can remember most or all of these, then you have LIVED!!!

Pass this on to anyone who may need a break from their "grown up"
life...

DOES GOD CRY?

                                 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 "Does God Cry?"

           A little girl once asked, "Mommy does God cry?"
      "Don't be silly, God can't cry baby," her mother replied.
     "But what about when He looks down from Heaven above
                 And sees all the people who needs His love?
              And what about when He looks down and sees
            The playground kids fall and scrape their knees?

   Or how about Aunt Jane who can't have baby girls or boys?
   Or what about the poor kids who gets no Christmas toys?
      Maybe God would cry if He lived with my friend Tommy.
       Whose daddy beats and bruises him and his mommy.

      Or maybe if He looked down and saw people being killed,
             I think He'd surely have eyes that are tear filled.
         But I think most of all, mommy, what would have made God cry, Is
when He looked down at the cross and watched His baby die."

     The mother stood in silence as her eyes filled with tears,
        For she knew her little girl was wise beyond her years.
Staring into deep blue eyes, the mother found courage to say,
  "Yes baby girl, I think God looks down and cries every day."

WHAT MAKES ME...

 

 

 

 

 

 

What makes me weak? My fears
What makes me whole? My God
What keeps me standing? My faith
What makes me compassionate? My selflessness
What makes me honest? My integrity
What sustains my mind? My quest for knowledge
What teaches me all lessons? My mistakes
What lift's my head high? My pride
What if I can't go on? Not an option
What makes me victorious? My courage to climb
What makes me competent? My confidence
What makes me sensual? My insatiable essence
What makes me beautiful? My everything
What makes me a human? My heart
Who says I need love? I do
What empowers me? My God & Me

ANGEL KNOCKING AT THE DOOR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Angel Knocking at the Door

There came a frantic knock At the doctor's office door,
A knock, more urgent than he had ever heard before.

"Come in, Come in," the impatient doctor said,
"Come in, Come in, before you wake the dead."

In walked a frightened little girl, a child no more than nine,
It was plain for all to see, she had troubles on her mind.

"Oh doctor, I beg you, please come with me,
My mother is surely dying, she's as sick as she can be."

"I don't make house calls, bring your mother here,"
"But she's too sick, so you must come or she will die I fear."

The doctor, touched by her devotion, decided he would go,
She said he would be blessed, more than he could know.

She led him to her house where her mother lay in bed,
Her mother was so very sick she couldn't raise her head.

But her eyes cried out for help and help her the doctor did,
She would have died that very night had it not been for her kid.

The doctor got her fever down and she lived through the night,
And morning brought the doctor signs, that she would be all right.

The doctor said he had to leave but would return again by two,
And later he came back to check, just like he said he'd do.

The mother praised the doctor for all the things he'd done,
He told her she would have died, were it not for her little one.

"How proud you must be of your wonderful little girl,
It was her pleading that made me come, she is really quite a pearl!

"But doctor, my daughter died over three years ago,
Is the picture on the wall of the little girl you know?"

The doctors legs went limp for the picture on the wall,
Was the same little girl for whom he'd made this call.

The doctor stood motionless, for quite a little while,
And then his solemn face, was broken by his smile.

He was thinking of that frantic knock heard at his office door,
And of the beautiful little angel that had walked across his floor.

-author unknown

I KNOW there are Angels among us ! ! !

THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE

 

Today, when I awoke, I suddenly realized that this is the best day of my life...ever!
There were times when I wondered if I would make it to today; but I did!
And because I did I'm going to celebrate!
Today, I'm going to celebrate what an unbelievable life I have had so far:
the accomplishments, the many blessings, and, yes, even the hardships
because they have served to make me stronger.
  I will go through this day with my head held high and a happy heart.
I will marvel at God's seemingly simple gifts:
the morning dew,  the sun,
the clouds,
the trees,
the flowers,
the birds.
  Today, none of these miraculous creations will escape my notice
Today, I will share my excitement for life with other people.
I'll make someone smile.
I'll go out of my way to perform an unexpected act of kindness for
someone I don't even know.  Today, I'll give a sincere compliment to someone who seems down.  I'll tell a child how special he is, and I'll tell someone I love
just how deeply I care for them and how much they mean to me.
  Today is the day I quit worrying about what I don't have and start
being grateful for all the wonderful things God has already given me.    I'll  remember that to worry is just a waste of time because my faith in
God and His Divine Plan ensures everything will be just fine.
 
And tonight, before I go to bed, I'll go outside and raise my eyes to
the heavens will stand in awe at the beauty of the stars and the moon, and I will praise God for these magnificent treasures.
 
As the day ends and I lay my head down on my pillow,
I will thank the Almighty for the best day of my life.
And I will sleep the sleep of a contented child,
excited with expectation because
I know tomorrow is going to be the best day of my life.....ever!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

UNSELFISHLY


She is so very beautiful her love is from within,
How can I praise this special woman where do I begin?
She always knows just what to say and what I need to hear,
And when I need that special someone she is always near.

She always knows just what to do when I am feeling lost,
Her kindness and compassion comes without a hidden cost.
Unselfishly she shares her love and asks none in return,
Love that's unconditional from her is what I've learned.

She stands so tall and elegant a goddess in my eyes,
The older that I get it seems the more I realize,
How very wise and understanding she has always been,
And now I understand that she has been my dearest friend.

She always gives and never asks to receive in return,
And many times I thought the way I acted just might ruin,
The bond we have created or the closeness that has grown,
But she is always there for me I never am alone.

There are some times we've disagreed and I felt we would part,
But always she was waiting for me with a loving heart.
Forgiving all my attitudes and loving me for me,
Looking way beyond the things that other people see.

Even when I make mistakes I know that she will say,
Gone are yesterday's mistakes this is a brand new day.
No matter if I still rebel or her advice I spurn,
She says experience is not the only way to learn.

When I am up and all is great she shares my happiness,
But when my world comes crashing down she also shares in this.
She always has a word to say about what I should do,
But right or wrong she never says the dreaded, `I told you.'

I understand the force behind her love on Mother's Day,
Advice that she has given me has helped me find my way.
I try with all my heart to love unselfish like my mother,
But on this day she needs to know how much I really love her.

GOD AND THE GEESE

  God and the Geese
 
There was once a man who didn't believe in God, and he didn't hesitate to let others know how he felt about religion and religious holidays. His wife, however, did believe, and she raised their children to also have faith in God and Jesus, despite the husband's disparaging comments.
One snowy Christmas Eve, his wife was taking their children to a service in the farm community in which they lived. They were to talk about Jesus' birth. She asked the husband to come, but he refused.
That story is nonsense!" he said. "Why would God lower Himself to come to Earth as a man? That's ridiculous!"
So she and the children left, and he stayed home. A while later, the winds grew stronger and the snow turned into a blizzard. As the man looked out the window, all he saw was a blinding snowstorm. He sat down to relax before the fire for the evening.
Then he heard a loud thump. Something had hit the window. Then another thump. He looked out, but couldn't see more than a few feet. When the snow let up a little, he ventured outside to see what could have been beating on his window.
In the field near his house he saw a flock of wild geese. Apparently they had been flying south for the winter when they got caught in the snowstorm and couldn't go on. They were lost and stranded on his farm, with no food or shelter. They just flapped their wings and flew around the field in low circles, blindly and aimlessly. A couple of them had flown into his window, it seemed.
The man felt sorry for the geese and wanted to help them. The barn would be a great place for them to stay, he thought. It's warm and safe; surely they could spend the night and wait out the storm. So he walked over to the barn and opened the doors wide, then watched and waited, hoping they would notice the open barn and go inside. But the geese just fluttered around aimlessly and didn't seem to notice the barn or realize what it could mean for them.
The man tried to get their attention, but that just seemed to scare them, and they moved further away. He went into the house and came with some bread, broke it up, and made a bread crumb trail leading to the barn. They still didn't catch on.
Now he was getting frustrated. He got behind them and tried to shoo them toward the barn, but they only got more scared and scattered in every direction except toward the barn. Nothing he did could get them to go into the barn where they would be warm and safe.
"Why don't they follow me?!" he exclaimed. "Can't they see this is the only place where they can survive the storm?"
He thought for a moment and realized that they just wouldn't follow a human. "If only I were a goose, then I could save them," he said out loud.
Then he had an idea. He went in to barn, got one of his own geese, and carried it in his arms as he circled around behind the flock of wild geese. He then released his goose and it flew through the flock and straight into the barn and one-by-one, the other geese followed it to
safety.
He stood silently for a moment as the words he had spoken a few minutes earlier replayed in his mind: "If only I were a goose, then I could save them!" Then he thought about what he had said to his wife earlier. "Why would God want to be like us? That's ridiculous!"
Suddenly it all made sense. That is what God had done. We were like the geese, blind, lost, perishing. God had His Son become like us so He could show us the way and save us.
As the winds and blinding snow died down, his soul became quiet and he pondered this wonderful thought. Suddenly he understood why Christ had come. Years of doubt and disbelief vanished with the passing storm. He fell to his knees in the snow, and prayed his first prayer:
"Thank You, God, for coming in human form to get me out of the storm!"

--Author unknown