Thank You

I'd like to thank everyone who took action when asked. Not only did many of you take the time to read the poems and rank them, you shared with me your reasons, opinions and feelings about them. Thank you for taking your precious time to help me decide on something that means so much to me. There was no easy answer (which kind of surprised me) or clear-cut winner. Because of that, I chose not to enter the contest at all. KIDDING! Seriously, I have entered the contest and will let you know the outcome, as well as the results of the voting on this blog, as soon as I know the results of the contest.

Thank you, thank you, again and again, for your help and encouragement!

Action Requested

Okay, so I need your help with something here. I am going to enter one or more poems in a Christian poetry contest and I can't decide which of them to use. So, I am going to trust my one or two faithful blog readers to tell me which poem(s) to enter. Here's how it will work:

Read the three poems and rate them with #1 being your top choice and #3 your last choice. You can either respond by sending me an e-mail or by sending a comment (of course, I'd prefer a comment, but I know some of you are shy, so ...) to the blog. I really do need your help, so please take the time to read and rate the poems. I will submit the poem(s) based on the responses I receive. Please submit your responses by Tuesday, Aug. 26.

Thank you in advance! (And please forgive typos - I can't even keep my eyes open right now!)

Option 1: The Woman You Are

I am intimately acquainted
with each beat of your heart,
with the depths of your soul
and the woman you are.

I created you with a purpose,
goals you're meant to achieve,
things you're meant to accomplish
with the gifts you've received.

Though some may seem like burdens,
gifts that you'd like to trade,
winning's not all in the cards,
but the way that they're played.

Use your gifts for My purpose,
use your gifts for My will -
they are yours, with my blessing,
for your role to fulfill.

That stubborn streak they talk about
is persistence, you see.
You will need it, I know,
to do your work for me.

And the temper that you cry about
is the passion I've sewn
in the fabric of you -
it will help you go on.

You're aggressive, dramatic
and you overreact,
not to mention the things
others say that you lack.

You could stand to smile more sweetly,
hold your head a different way.
People will always try to change you,
always have something to say.

Don't you know that I created you
and I don't make mistakes?
Every gift I have given,
in My time, has its place.

You have all you require,
it's been given - it's done.
All your needs have been met,
every battle's been won.

Now it's up to you, Beloved,
to use what I've given you -
Use it well and be rewarded.
All I've promised will come true.


Option #2: The Daughters of Eve

The essence of me
that I carry inside
is the beauty you see
when I don’t run and hide.

It’s in every look,
it’s in all that I say
and the way I react
to my life every day.

In the way that I love
with my whole heart and soul
and invite you to learn
all that my beauty holds.

In the way that I offer
all the love that I know
and entice you to share,
to come bask in its glow.

In the way that my presence
draws you in from the start,
how it welcomes you into
the warmth of my heart.

It’s the trust I display
when I let others in,
how I freely give all
that I am from within.

It’s the power in me,
it’s my gift from above,
how my God crafted me
to distribute His love.

Most of all, it is God,
and His will, I believe,
that His beauty would shine
through the daughters of Eve.


Option #3: When I Say that I Love Jesus

When I say that I love Jesus,
I’m not saying I’m a saint,
‘cause I know nobody’s perfect
and can promise you I ain’t

When I say that I love Jesus,
I’m not trying to prove the point
that I’m the saved and sanctifiedest
holy roller in the joint.

When I say that I love Jesus,
He’s the Saviour of my soul,
I’m not speaking out in judgment –
that’s just not the way I roll.

When I say that I love Jesus,
I don’t mean to shut you out.
It’s just my way of expressing
what my life is all about.

When I tell you I love Jesus,
I’m not saying you love Him less
or that you can’t choose your own way
to make sure that love’s expressed.

All I’m saying is that He’s
my All in All, my truth, my light –
He’s my Father and He’s shown me
that I’m precious in His sight.

So when I say, “I love You, Jesus,"
why not think of it this way –
they’re the same three words that every
father’s little girl should say.



Think of this as practice for the election - let your voice be heard. Thanks!

Unfinished Portrait

The artist sees the portrait in His mind,
but 'til He's finished, I will never find
the purpose in what was meant to be,
or the precious beauty that He sees in me.
The barren canvas slowly comes to life
with colors that reflect the shades of me.
How brilliantly He paints my soul in time
and bares the depths that only He can see.


People usually look back and reflect on life at the end of the year. Or at the beginning of the year. Or after some major, life-changing event has occurred in their lives. Well, I'm a rebel and I am going to reflect now. In August.

I have had one very eventful year. It's been emotional, draining, full of ups and downs and valleys and speed bumps and pot holes, along with the good, the bad and the ugly. I probably cried more tears, laughed much harder and gained a much deeper understanding of what it is to love and be loved than I ever had before. So far.

I have grown in ways that were painful, healed in ways that surprised me, and received gifts that humbled me. I have changed more in this one year of my life than I ever thought possible. For now.

With all the changing and growing and learning and loving and hurting and laughing and crying and healing I've done in so short a time (it didn't feel short at all much of the time), I have so much more of those things to do. And some of it will feel much better or much worse than anything I experienced this past year. You see, the Artist is not finished with me yet. Until He is, I stay on the roller coaster ride and do my best to trust that He has the completed me, the perfected me, in His mind and that He will reveal her to me according to His perfect will, in His perfect time.

My Lover

He seeks me in the darkest,
deepest reaches of my heart
and knows the hidden yearnings of my soul.

He fills me with His essence,
with the fullness of His love -
His breath of life alone can make me whole.

He meets me where I’m searching
for a hand that I can hold
and leads me to the place where I am loved.

He soothes me with His presence,
gently whispering in my ear,
“Don’t worry – in My eyes you are enough.”

He saves me from the shadows
and He calms me with His touch,
embracing me just like a faithful friend.

His promise is a covenant
He’s made with me in faith
that He will be my lover ‘til the end.

He loves me with a fierceness,
with a power that conveys
His strength and His desire for my heart.

Protector and my Lover,
He pursues me night and day -
our joining means we’ll never be apart.

An Ode to My Parents

Normally, I wouldn't post a blog entry on my birthday. After all, having just completed the special birthday breakfast my son requested, I am on my way to spend a few hours being pampered at the spa, after which I will come home, spend the afternoon with my children and have a celebratory dinner of sloppy joes, waffle fries, baby carrots (our new favorite) and far too much Carvel ice cream cake. This day is all about me. It's my birthday. Me, me, me, me, me. Which is why my wonderful husband sent me an e-mail this morning and then called me bright and early to be the first to wish me a happy birthday today. Which is also why I am sure I will receive many phone calls from people I love wishing me the best (or enjoying the fact that I am getting older by the second).

The "me" factor aside, I want to make this day about my parents. They brought me into this world. They agreed to love me, raise me, teach me, love me, cherish me, teach me, keep me safe, cry for me, cry over me, struggle for me, love me, stay up late waiting for me, let me go, welcome me home, and so on. I don't think any two people have ever taken their parenting decision more to heart or more seriously than my parents.

I love them.

And I thank them.

Happy Florence's Birthday, Mommy and Daddy. You rock.

The Grass Isn't Always Greener...

... on the other side of the valley. Some people may read the previous entry and think that I'm depressed or wallowing in self pity or being overly dramatic. That's okay. I'm here to tell you that I'm not. (Well, I have been known to indulge in drama every now and again, but I wouldn't go so far as to say I'm doing so now.)

What people sometimes fail to understand is that the grass isn't always greener during life's peaks. Sometimes, a valley is right on time. There are certain things I'm pretty sure you don't accomplish as completely during the peaks in your life. How challenging is it to summon a smile when you're at your best? How aware are you of the smallest blessings when everything is going well? How likely are you to appreciate the sunlight when you've never experienced the dark night? (Okay, so that was dramatic. But it worked. Quite well.)

I believe, as I wrote last time, that the valley is the place we end up when God really wants to talk to us, to work on and in our hearts at a time we're likely to be the most receptive. I firmly believe that He wants us to seek Him there, to realize He is everything we need, what we need to fill us. I don't know about anybody else, but when I feel like I'm getting everything I need from my husband or elsewhere in my life, I tend to let my relationship with God take a back seat. It's not that I don't need Him during those times, or that I forget about Him - I just start to believe the lie that another person (or things) can complete me, fulfill me, be my satisfaction. I forget that He blessed me with those people and things and that they are in my life for a season (however long that season is) while He is eternal, He loves me more than even my parents ever could, and He is what I truly need. Without Him, I would not be here and it is only without His love that I am worthless. Since His love is perfect, unfailing, unconditional and, yes, eternal, I am absolutely, unfailingly, unconditionally and (YES!) ETERNALLY precious. Period.

So, if the valley takes me to the place where I am reminded of how precious I am to my Creator, that He loves me more than any human being ever could and that in Him I have all that I will ever need, there are worse places I could be.

Notes from the Valley

Healing Day

Alive, the sky
with trails of light,
the air with morning dew,
erasing darkness
of the night
and memories of you.
And with each ray
of morning sun,
my broken heart will mend
until each memory,
each one,
becomes nothing again.
But if the rain
precedes the beams
of light that I await,
its healing drops
will blend with tears
that flow from the floodgates -
until there's nothing
left of pain
that's all that's left of you.
The new day heals,
with sun or rain,
as light reveals His truth.

I am in a valley. I have been in a valley for quite some time. And, to date, it has probably been the most painful time in my life. I'm not complaining, though (at least I'm trying not to). I think I have passed the "woe is me" stage (several times) and graduated to the "Lord, have Your way with me" stage (again, it comes and goes). This is the stage in which I realize that God uses the valleys to meet me, comfort me and talk with me when I'm most able to listen - when I feel alone and without hope, when I am quiet and the noise of my life is so far away that it can't get in the way. During this stage, God shows me - yet again - that He is always there, able to reach me even out in the wilderness. He uses the valleys to make me turn to Him so that He can show me that He is everything I need, that He is my ever-present help.

So, I remain in the valley - for now - while God has His way with me. I remain in the valley and treasure each and every realization He brings me (okay, so it's painful and I may not be as enthusiastic as I should be, but ...), along with each and every little bit He opens my eyes and my heart a little more.

I believe I am in this valley for specific reasons, some of which God has revealed to me. I am working on those things so that I can avoid revisiting this particular valley again in the future. I have a feeling, though, that I still need to do some time in this valley, so I am doing my best to be a faithful, attentive pupil and avoid having to learn these particular lessons again because, while I know there are far worse things in life, this place is not somewhere I want to be again.

Sista, Sister

Sistas, we're not sisters
when we put each other down,
when the only thing that feels good
knocks our sista to the ground.

Sistas, we're not sisters
when we judge from seats on high
fellow sistas we look down on
and ridicule as they walk by.

Sistas, we're not sisters
if our only claim to fame
is how we elevate ourselves
as we trash our sista's name.

Sistas, we're not sisters,
not when we believe it's weak
just to rise above the drama,
simply turn the other cheek.

Sistas, we're not sisters
when we read, write and erase,
roll our eyes and suck our teeth,
put our palm in sista's face.

We sistas say we're "sisters,"
yet we have the awful knack
of putting down those we call sisters,
plunging daggers in their backs.

Oh, my sista, not yet sister,
please don't get an attitude.
Why not ask yourself this question:
Is it you I'm talking to?

'Cause if it is, my future sister,
put the drama on the shelf
and realize that how you treat me
shows how much you love yourself.

(I started writing this blog entry last July and think the message is still right on time, so here it is ...)

Yesterday, I hosted a girls-only "soiree in the afternoon" in my home. Not being one to make friends easily (I have built walls, you see), I invited women who have children to come over and spend an afternoon without their children in the company of other women who have children. Some of these women I know fairly well, while others not so much. They all arrived with one thing in common and left, I think, with the realization that they have so much more in common than they knew.

You see, as women, we have so much that unites us. We may look different, think differently, be at different stages in our lives or careers, have different philosophies and faiths, but we really are sisters. We really are in search of a way to get past the things that would separate us and can make us feel so alone. It's just so difficult to focus on the areas of commonality when life makes it so much easier to focus on the differences, on the reasons we really should stay apart from one another - we don't have time to spend together, too many responsibilities and expectations we have to live up to.

There is so much out there that is more important than the ties that bind us together that we lose sight of the fact that we need support to handle everything else. The sad thing is that when we test them, those ties that bind us are strong enough to provide a lot of the support we need. If we would only realize that we are never stronger than when we do stand together and support one another, we would be able to accomplish so much more.

Loneliness is a dangerous thing - sisterhood is a healing thing.

A Deafening Chorus

Rejoice always
and pray without ceasing,
give thanks for all
the bounty He brings.

Do not despair
and give in to grieving -
believe that God
has power over all things.

So, when you hear
of pain and of suffering,
hold fast to faith
and never let go.

The child of God
may not escape trials,
but still she leans
on the Lord of her soul.

Her comfort comes
not from being spared strife,
her solace not
from eluding the blows.

'Cause the One we serve,
with infinite wisdom,
allows pain for reasons
that only He knows.


Okay, so here I am again. Twice in one week is a little much for me, but that's okay. As I've said before, it's my blog and I'll do what I want to.

Once again, this entry is prompted by something that's going on in someone else's life. That's not to say that there is nothing going on in my life or that I can't apply this to myself, but that a conversation I had with a dear friend of mine put this message on my heart. I might be as bold as to say (okay, so I am bold enough and I'm saying it) that this message can apply to any one of us at any given point in life.

So, you're asking yourself, what is this profound message she's going to share? Well, it's pretty simple, really - no matter what is going on in my life, I should always praise God and thank him for not only the calm, but also the storms themselves. To me, giving my heart and soul to God is not about being pain free all the time. It's about recognizing that the pain itself can serve a purpose - it can make me realize how much I really do have, how important the people I love are to me, how precious the people who love me are, how much better off I was the moment before the pain started and how I'd give anything just to get back there.

Would that I could be so fully aware and grateful all the time, not just when something threatens the things that matter most to me. Would that I could stop taking those people and things (and God) for granted and always be fully alive in my praises. Sadly, that's not the case with us humans. Did you ever notice that when you hurt yourself - really hurt yourself - every fiber of your being cries out for relief? That's because we're never more alive than when we're in pain, suffering and at our wit's end. When we think we can take no more and we cry out for help, that's when we're truly alive, which is a good thing because when the relief comes, we should be more aware of it, so thankful that we cry out again, only in thanks this time. The moment (or endless moments) of pain is also the time we tend to appreciate what we had the moment before the pain began. Everything we took for granted, everything we skipped because we said we would do it later - every single one of those things becomes so precious when we're in the dark valley of our pain.

I haven't done this before, but I'm going to ask everyone who reads this to stop and pray for the people in your life who are suffering (whether you know it or not), the people you don't know who are suffering and for everyone else who is reading this. If we all do it, then each of us will have countless people (because this blog is so popular) praying for him or her. Prayer, whether we know it or not, doesn't go unanswered. I like the idea of "inciting" a deafening chorus of prayer that will uplift those of us who know others are praying for us.

Blame it on Eve

She took the apple from the tree
and bit it on a whim,
so now, and ever, we are blamed
for weaknesses in him.


No, I didn't just write this. I wrote it several years ago when, I'm pretty sure, I was fighting with my husband. It just so happens that I pull it out periodically when I feel it applies to my life. I recite it. Over and over again. And it keeps me from nagging, you see, because I am so very busy reciting it. Over and over. Okay, so the reciting and nagging parts aren't true, but I enjoyed saying them.

And, yes, I'm sure that every woman has felt this way at one time or another - whether she admits it or not. Don't read too much into it. Just let it flow over you. Chew on it a little. Digest it. And then let it go. That's what I do.

Talk amongst yourselves.