No One Told Me

No one told me I'd be sick for a year

and my love of dancing and singing would veer.

No one said that a daily migraine would be

something constant to keep sanity.

No one asked if I'd like to be sick

or if my tears would fall till my cheek was slick.

No one informed me that my fatigue

would feel like I'm constantly hiking a league.

No one questioned if I'd like this at all

but would you want to hang out this fall?

No one needed to ask me a thing

or tell me that this wasn't a one time fling.

No one let me know

that God would make me grow.

No one could tell me that my heart would break

and that some days I'd feel like a fake.

No one would say about the intimacy

I'd grow with God infinitely.

No one should ever get sick for a year

and let their favorite hobbies veer.

No one wants to have a migraine every day

yet I'd never ask God to not have His way.

No one knows that if it weren't for this

I wouldn't know letter writing bliss.

No one mentioned that this trial

would make me fight to find joy each mile.

No one explained each day I'm blessed with 

is truly a gift from God, (and that's not a myth).

No one comprehended how this would be

effective to my testimony and future ministry.

No one treasures sickness of such

yet I do as I have been strengthened so much.

No one may be able to say

Moriah lived joyfully each day.

Yet I pray that someone will say,

God worked on her faithfully each and every day!

Poem by Moriah Peters ~ Written the other day when pondering the past year as I've dealt with pneumonia, mono, and frequent migraines.

Photos by Josh Vanosdell ~ Hello, my name is Joshua Vanosdell. I'm just a beginner photographer. I was born and raised in Louisiana but now live in New Mexico. Thats where most of my pictures are taken now. It has been a culture change for me in New Mexico, but it has its perks. I've been living there now for 5 years and I just love it. If you want to check out more of my photography you can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Google+.

Beautiful Blessings - 8/27/15

~ Spotting a starling perched in a field of corn!

~ Spotting 2 Black and White Warblers! Their backs looked like Oreos or Cookies N Cream ice cream!! Cute little things!

~ Going swimming at the YMCA this afternoon!

~ Listening to the kids turn the playcube into a movie set! "Scene One, Take One!" keeps being hollered!!

~ Getting a letter, some tea, and a pretty picture in the mail from a friend! Thanks girlie!!! <3

Beautiful Blessings - 8/10/15

~ Not getting a migraine until after I came home from work!

~ Getting a 2-in-1 picture from L-Jo to make me feel better! <3 

~ Getting to the library and whatnot before it started raining!

~ Delicious beef, potato, and kale soup for dinner made by our awesome resident chef, Mommy!

~ Seeing how tall the corn has gotten in the past month!

Beautiful Blessings - 8/2/15

~ Getting our picture at the piggy rock!

~ Having communion with the body of Christ!

~ Joining hands as a congregation and singing "The Family of God"!

~ Unexpectedly running into friends!

~ Safely getting home!

Beautiful Blessings - 7/16/15

Long post ahead just to warn ya ;~)

~ Seeing the view from the park where we had a picnic lunch! This snippet of song from Mary Poppins came to mind (Chim-Chim Cher-ee):

"Up where the smoke is
All billowed and curled
'Tween pavement and stars
Is the chimney-sweep world

When there's hardly no day
Nor hardly no night
There's things half in shadow
And half way in light
On the rooftops of London
Coo, what a sight"

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~ Listening to the chimes of a church when it is noon! The Hills are Alive came to mind:

The hills are alive, 

With the sound of music 

With songs they have sung 

For a thousand years

The hills fill my heart,

With the sound of music

My heart wants to sing

Every song it hears

My heart wants to beat

Like the wings of the birds

That rise from the lake to the trees

My heart wants to sigh

Like a chime that flies

From a church on a breeze

To laugh like a brook

When it trips and falls

Over stones on its way

To sing through the night

Like a lark

Who is learning to pray

I go to the hills

When my heart is lonely

I know I will hear

What I've heard before

My heart will be blessed,

With the sound of music

And I'll sing once more.

------------------------------------

~ Discovering where the sidewalk ends!

WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS

There is a place where the sidewalk ends

And before the street begins,

And there the grass grows soft and white,

And there the sun burns crimson bright,

And there the moon-bird rest from his flight

To cool in the peppermint wind.

Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black

And the dark street winds and bends.

Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow

We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,

And watch where the chalk-white arrows go

To the place where the sidewalk ends.

Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,

And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,

For the children, they mark, and the children, they know,

The place where the sidewalk ends.

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~ Imagining my sisters are Betsy, Tacy, and Tib!

"Holding the plate in one hand and a glass of milk in the other, each little girl would walk carefully out of her house and down the porch steps and out to the middle of the road. Then they would walk up the hill to that bench where Tacy had stood the first night she came. And they would eat supper together." - Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace

------------------------------------

~ Spotting the beautiful heart on the dragonfly's wings! To continue with the literary theme:

The Dragon-fly

By Alfred Lord Tennyson

Today I saw the dragon-fly
Come from the wells where he did lie.
An inner impulse rent the veil
Of his old husk: from head to tail
Came out clear plates of sapphire mail.
He dried his wings: like gauze they grew;
Thro' crofts and pastures wet with dew
A living flash of light he flew.

------------------------------------

Twas a beautiful day! :~D

George Washington Carver

Reading about nature is fine, but if a person walks in the woods and listens carefully, he can learn more than what is in books, for they speak with the voice of God.
George Washington Carver

Science Saturday: Chipmunks, Daddy Longlegs and Frost!

(My Dad took this picture the other day!)

Marvelous, mildly-mediocre, interesting facts:

• Chipmunks are different from Squirrels by the mere fact that they live underground while Squirrels live in trees. They usually make burrows near logs, stumps, or boulders.
• A Chipmunk's burrow is more than a place to hide. They make chambers for food storage, sleeping chamber, and an exit tunnel. If it's a female, she would also make herself a nesting chamber.
• They do hibernate some, but they also need to eat through out the winter. This is when the food storage chambers come into play. They can easily access them so that they can eat when they need to.
• Daddy Longlegs are not spiders, but they are part of the Arachnid family. Spiders have 2 distinct sections of their body (the cephalothorax and the abdomen) while Daddy Longlegs have one section (the cephalothorax and abdomen are combined).
• Daddy Longlegs do not have silk glands for spinning webs. They also don't have poison glands for paralyzing prey. Daddy Longlegs do have a unique gland that emits an offensive smell to their predators.
• Their legs aren't just for moving, they are also important sensory equipment. They can be used to sense the surroundings. If anything happens to the second pair of legs, the Daddy Longlegs will most likely die within a short time.
• Frost is a turning point in the fall. It kills the vulnerable plants as the temperature drops below 32* F. 
• You may think of frost as frozen dew, but in reality frost is more crystal-like, an akin to snow.
• Frost occurs when it's a clear night and the temperature drops below 32* F. The vapor in the air freezes into what we know as frost.

Throwback Tuesday: Agent 99 (Barbara Feldon)

I absolutely LOVE the Get Smart tv series from the late 60's! The guy who played Maxwell Smart Secret Agent 86, shares the same birthday as I do! And 99 is one of the best characters ever! Sweet, silly, sarcastic, sassy, and special! :~D

Maxwell Smart: [reads message from the secret compartment in the Chiefs desk] In case anything happens to me, contact my superior: Zebra 642. We're gonna have to look this up in the Chief's special codebooks
# 99: [pushes button to reveal the codebooks behind fake books on bookshelf] Zebra, that's the blue book.
Maxwell Smart: [Carlton reaches for the blue book] The blue book is the one with the green cover.
Carlson: Since when does a blue book have a green cover?
# 99: Max worked it out with the coding section. In case of a KAOS infiltrator every book has a cover identity.
Maxwell Smart: You see we have a cover for a cover.
Carlson: [reading from the book] It says: see green book.
Maxwell Smart: The green book is the one with the blue cover.
# 99: Max couldn't throw away a perfectly good book cover. 

(A perfect quote for my picture....I took the cover of a Bible dictionary for the shot ;~)

Throwback Tuesday: Kay Thompson

 

Kay Thompson, (picture from the musical Funny Face ), was a charming actress, author, and singer. I absolutely LOVE her in Funny Face! Her comedic expressions and classic style of acting make it highly enjoyable! She, Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn were great co-stars. She is also the author of the Eloise books!

"Let's give 'em the old pizazz!"

 

"Lettie, take an editorial! "To the women of America...!" No, make it to the women everywhere. "Banish the black, burn the blue, and bury the beige. From now on, girls, think pink!""

Books, glorious Books!

(Look at the new book I just got!!!! I can't wait until I get the other one I ordered!.....I'll post a picture when it does ;~D )

Janette Oke: A Heart for the Prairie by Laurel Oke Logan

Speaking from Among the Bones by Alan Bradley

Dana's Valley by Janette Oke

The Proposal by Lori Wick

The Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis

The Rescue by Lori Wick

Only Fifty Years Ago by Gladys Hasty Carroll 

The Visitor by Lori Wick

The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches by Alan Bradley

The Pursuit by Lori Wick 

Laura: The Life of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Donald Zochert 

A Prisoner and Yet by Corrie Ten Boom

The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom

The Sunroom by Beverly Lewis

The Lord is my Shepherd by Debbie Viguie 

Ohio Brides by Cara C. Putman.

Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery 

Anne of the Island by L. M. Montgomery

Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne 

Anne of Windy Poplars by L.M. Montgomery

Anne's House of Dreams by L.M. Montgomery

Walking on Water by Richard Paul Evans

Anne of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery

Forevermore by Cathy Marie Hake

Love Finds You in Folly Beach South Carolina by Loree Lough

He Chose Nails by Max Lacado 

Making Rounds with Oscar by David Dosa M.D

The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux

The Phantom of Manhattan by Frederick Forsythe 

Five Weeks in a Balloon by Jules Verne

Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Adventures in the Wilderness by William H.H. Murray

Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne

Around the Moon by Jules Verne

Code of Honor by Sandy Dengler

Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson

Power of Pinjarra by Sandy Dengler

Taste of Victory by Sandy Dengler

East of the Outback by Sandy Dengler

Amish Society by John A. Hostetler 

Hattie Ever After by Kirby Larson

Throwback Tuesday: Lucille Ball

Lucille Ball, beloved from America's favorite show, I Love Lucy! Everyone loves her quirky style of acting that's still enjoyable to this day! She was the first woman to run a major television studio, Desilu, which produced many popular shows including Star Trek and Mission: Impossible. Desilu eventually merged with Paramount Pictures in 1967.

The above clip from one of the I Love Lucy episodes, has to be my favorite scene ever!

Throwback Tuesday: Coco Chanel

 

Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel, also known as, Coco Chanel, is well known for one of the most popular perfumes, Chanel No. 5. She also started the love and popularity for the LBD (Little Black Dress). It was during the time of the Depression when women wanted affordable fashionable dresses. Coco Chanel created a black dress that was comfortable, stylish, and practical. Women fell in love with it, and they are still in style today. Chanel was a leading woman in fashion and was the only fashion designer in the 

Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century.

“A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous.” 
― Coco Chanel

“Elegance comes from being as beautiful inside as outside.” 
― Coco Chanel

“Fashion changes, but style endures.”

― Coco Chanel

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Our guest post today is from the lovely Neona from The Adventures of a Girl and her Monkey!

“A picture is worth a thousand words.”  How true that statement is! I've always been drawn to photography because you can convey so much with just one picture. It is one of my most enjoyable hobbies. I love capturing a moment. There is so much in God’s creation and I love to savour it all with my camera.

Sometimes you can find yourself in a photo; like you’re right there with the photographer, enjoying the view.

A photograph can perfectly capture a moment of pure bliss.

Beauty that would otherwise be overlooked is presented in all of its splendour.

A photograph can inspire awe.

It can also plant curiosity and amusement.

A photograph can be relaxing.

It can bring a smile to your face.

Sometimes, a photograph can steal your breath away and consume you with wonder.

It can fill you with the sunshine of a lovely day.

A photograph can trigger a multitude of emotions.

There are so many wondrous things to see. I love showing the world what I find and giving them a glimpse into my adventures. There is so much to be found…

“The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of his hands.” Psalms 19:1

“All of the earth will worship You, and will sing praises to You; They will sing praises to Your name.”  Psalms 66:4

Throwback Tuesday: Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Taylor Johnson

Claudia Johnson was a first lady who always looked ahead. She was a shrewd business women and investor, before, during, and after the years at the white house. She was also the recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal. 

 "Where flowers bloom, so does hope"

Throwback Tuesday: Nelle Harper Lee

(Sorry it's a day late!)

Nelle Harper Lee, or better known as Harper Lee wrote a famous book known by all. To Kill a Mocking Bird is a poignant tale of the south. I hadn't read until recently, and could understand why this is such a special classic! Her writing style was clear, yet deep in truths. I thoroughly enjoyed it when I read it; I couldn't put it down. I will definitely be reading this classic again!

“Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.” 
― Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

Throwback Tuesday: Beatrix Jones Farrand

While working in the garden today, I was wondering if there were any women known for gardening. Beatrix Jones Farrand was a outstanding landscape gardener and landscape architect. She designed at least 110 different gardens at estates, public parks, botanical gardens, universities and the White House! Quite often she would use native plants to make the gardens look natural and pleasing to the eye.

An talented gardener indeed!

Throwback Tuesday: Rachel Louise Carson

Rachel Louise Carson was a marine biologist and conservationist. She helped raise awareness of the endangered bald eagles. The eagles consumed prey that contained DDT. By 1972, DDT was banned in the United States. Because of this, the numbers jumped from 417 pairs of wild bald eagles in 1963, to 4,712 in 1995.

Since Google honored her today, I decided she would be perfect for Throwback Tuesday.

:~) An amazing lady of her time!