HEART'S CRY

Every morning when I went to school we gathered around the flagpole outside to put up the flag and say the Pledge of Allegiance.  The worst thing that could ever happen was to let a piece of it touch the ground or if it was folded wrong. I stand during the Anthem and I pledge my support to the Red, White and Blue.   I was taught to stand when a flag went by in a parade and to have respect for it. And yet...I'm ashamed to say, have never had one.  This week we bought our first flag pole and flag and David has proudly put it out every morning.  Out of respect for those who lost their lives for our freedom.  For those who are serving today and for all that the flag stands for. Happy 4th of July America.

I spent a good part of the past two days sorting through kids' photos.  My son will be a Senior and I had his pictures all over the floor and the three of us going through them.   Laughing and remembering. Knowing that the pictures are just snapshots in time.  A moment caught and saved for us to remember.  To cherish.  To treasure. In terms of our lives isn't that what today is or this hour or this minute-just a snapshot in time.  A picture in God's great scrapbook of this present moment of my life. Today matters.  This hour matters.   Today can't be spent on just looking at the snapshots of yesterday but on making snapshots of today. Snapshots  that will last through eternity. Can't just spend it wishing or hoping. Today is one moment in time that we have in our lives to make a difference.

Begin: Dry Ground. Soil is nutritious for my beautiful flower baskets For the garden For the grass and my trees For me Today the soil in my beds and baskets was dry Packed Hard Unmoving The pouring water ran through and escaped at the first chance Poured again and it began to take it in Poured again and the soil became like a sponge Soaking up the water Water soaking into the soil and around the roots Cooling, feeding and restoring Today the soil of my own heart and mind and energy Is baked The first pouring of quiet and mediation escapes The continued time is soaking into my very being Bring restoration and refreshment Stop

 Thank you Pat Schulz for sharing with me the following poem.  My new favorite!  The people I love the best jump into work head first without dallying in the shallows and swim off with sure strokes almost out of sight. They seem to become natives of that element, the black sleek heads of seals bouncing like half-submerged balls. I love people who harness themselves, an ox to a heavy cart, who pull like water buffalo, with massive patience, who strain in the mud and the muck to move things forward, who do what has to be done, again and again. I want to be with people who submerge in the task, who go into the fields to harvest and work in a row and pass the bags along, who are not parlor generals and field deserters but move in a common rhythm when the food must come in or the fire be put out. The work of the world is common as mud. Botched, it smears the hands, crumbles to dust. But the thing worth doing well done has a shape that satisfies, c...

Today I had the opportunity to meet some very amazing people.  Everyday people.  Hardworking.  People who have not just survived but have thrived. I met a father today who struggled with learning until he learned about dyslexia and then finished his BS degree.  This very intelligent Dad and Mom raising their children to love the Lord, count their blessings, work hard and put family first.  They have not let labels, distances, struggles or illness to derail them. Amazing. Sitting at the table tonight with two cancer survivors.  I'm so blessed to be part of the Relay for Life this year.  So many people have or are fighting life threatening illnesses that try to steal not just their health but their spiritual, emotional, relational and mental life.  These two people at the table who have not just survived cancer but are living passionately and with purpose.  They could have plopped down on their couch and just let life pass by waiting for othe...

    Remembering that old poem hanging on my Mom's wall... Cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow for babies grow up I've learned to my sorrow so quiet down cobwebs and dust go to sleep-I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep. Michael and I 10/11 Football Year. My poem for Michael's Senior Year: Cleaning and scrubbing and meetings and committees can wait till next year for high school goes fast I've learned to my sorrow.   So quiet down emails, phone calls, classes and trainings .. I'm hanging out with my senior and seniors don't keep!!! Corney poem but that is just the way it is going to be for the next year or four.  It is hard for me to say no, not to anticipate problems and try to fix them and getting myself over-involved in what's around me when all my boys really need is my time to be available whenever they need. Day at the Lake! Michael and I on 4th of July!

I'm wondering today...can exhaustion build up in your body?? Do we on a daily basis build levee systems to prevent it from seeping out or busting through and then once it does it floods your system?   Does our own stress hormones that flood our system with fight or flight chemicals stay in our system until our guard has let down? I have to know the process.  People have told me to reduce stress to help weight loss, increase memory, energy and overall health.  Why?  How does it all connect?  Where's the emergency brake to stop the stress? Here are some of my attempts at understanding what stress does to my brain and my body.   This is one website that I found. http://www.youramazingbrain.org.uk/brainchanges/stressbrain.htm Our brain perceives a threat and it sends immediate nerve signals down to the adrenal glands.  "Once released, adrenaline increases the amount of sugar in your blood, increases your heart rate and...