A Box Full of Boxes

Memories are like boxes sometimes.

You can close the lid and toss them into the bin, believing they’re done.

But as you pick up that larger box to throw them all away,

Those little suckers will come tumbling out like a waterfall.

When you bend over to pick up one, three more flip to the floor.

When you place those back on top, a whole passel come plummeting out,

As if they’ve got to make a nose-dive to the base level.

Almost like dominoes, they come cascading down the path.

Will they relent? Will they end?

They come back with every holiday and trend.

They push their way into every crevice, every crack,

Reaching for a new freedom, seeking shelter from what has been.

Will they be cast down? Will they bend?

I place them in the dark, into the new room

Waiting to surprise a new, non-alerted bloke

Waiting in earnest anticipation to capture another one’s journey bouncing down memory lane.

For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create…

Isaiah 65:17-18

The Moth

Ahhh😊 It’s 6am and I am awake before everyone else. I have the house to myself, and I’m ready to enjoy my hot cup of coffee. I love my baby, but …

The Moth

What a beautiful tribute to Mother’s Day! 😂 Thanks, Lovely Panda Mom! Happy Mom’s Day!

Funny Friday

Saying Goodbye

Saying goodbye is never easy.

It doesn’t matter if it’s to a human or to a pet.

Honestly, some would disagree, but I’d have to say the goodbyes to our pets aren’t half as difficult as saying goodbye to our closest family members.

But truly, I do understand if you’d like to argue that point because they are like family, too.

Yet, I’m not prepared today to argue.

I’m not ready today to put up a fight, even in jest.

My heart is broken as I say goodbye.

Our little friend was a good and gentle creature.

He was the most docile cat I’d ever met in my life.

And our son had practically taught him to be a dog. (Lol)

Every time you’d come home, he’d be there to greet you, and as soon as you stepped on the walkway, he’d plop over to get a belly rub.

He was quite the character, meowing in protest if you left him out too long or maybe didn’t get him in before the rain.

He was like an old man on cold, misty days, not wanting to get up and go beyond his warm bed.

He was like a small child, ready to come to you, yet skittish if your boots were too loud or had rustling papers in hand when you reached to pet him.

I felt almost silly crying over a cat this morning, but goodbyes are never easy, no matter who you are.

And I do believe his brother will miss him, too…

To everything there is a season, time for every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die…

Ecclesiastes 3:1-2

How’s Your Heart Today?

This world is full of chaos, confusion, lies, deceit, destruction and devastation.

The list really could go on beyond this written page.

The people we encounter are both full of all of these experiences within their mind.

And the list for these could fill a book.

Everyone you meet, greet, and get to know has the opportunity to woo you or wound you.

Everyone you encounter has the potential to dump all they’ve received onto you, or they may ask to help carry your load.

There are no guarantees, no promises, no contractural agreements to make it as you wish.

And you’re not responsible for them.

You can’t control them.

You can’t dictate, command or place your expectations and know without a shadow of a doubt they will comply.

But you can control you.

You can be responsible for your reaction, your words, your attitudes and your interactions.

Respond with truth in love.

Respond with live in grace.

And respond with grace in hope for a better tomorrow.

And if you just can’t, check your heart.

The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?

Jeremiah 17:9

Just Keep Walking

Your journey may not look like someone else’s, and it may feel you’re all alone.

Just keep walking.

Your path may seem hard and unachievable, with a rocky, uneven, treacherous terrain.

But just keep walking.

Your heart may be racing; your legs may be failing, and you may be breathless.

But just keep walking.

Keep walking toward your goal.

Keep walking toward your joy, your peace.

Keep walking toward your brighter tomorrow.

Never return to the abuse, the turmoil, the destruction.

Run away from the toxic attempts to reclaim your soul.

Run away from the confusion and dysfunction.

Run away from the vicious lies and conceit that thirst for your demise.

Never look back to the broken shards of those shattered dreams.

The you who was there is no more.

The you who was then can never be again.

Those expectations, desires and demands can’t fit you anymore.

You’d be as a butterfly crumbling her wings to fit back in the cocoon .

Your heart would be as the bird clipping her flight to crawl back inside the shell.

Your mind would become as the prisoner who once tasted freedom then slammed the prison door and became insane.

Just keep walking toward your hope that has become today.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord…

Jeremiah 29:11-14

Keep Growing

Said to possibly be the oldest oak in Florida (Tampa area).

When you stop growing, you start dying

No matter your age, no matter your limitations

No matter your intelligence or your pedigree

Life and death is a choice we have

Growth or stagnation is our decision

What will you decide today?

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rootedand built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

Colossians 2:6-7

Is the Tunnel Lit?

Too often, we get tunnel vision, and we can’t see beyond the destination.

But sometimes, we need to pause. Take a step back and let a little more light in.

With more light comes clarity.

With more light come purpose.

With more light comes Truth.

For Truth is Light, and light pierces the darkness.

Let the Light shine in today.

It will bring forth a better tomorrow.

And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

John 1:5

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

John 8:12