Waffle Cones

Sizzle sizzle,

The aroma fills the air.

Waffle Cones are needed,

We have none to spare.

Noses turn to inhale

The sweet aroma,

Stomachs growl at the thought

Of freshly filled

Waffle Cones.

March Musings - Day 11

Twinkling little fairy lights,

yellow, green, and blue, so bright,

remind a little girl at night,

that everything is alright.

Even as the light shadows dance.

the lights twinkle as in a trance,

there is a little tiny chance,

by the light the fairies prance!

Finding Color

Colors are the building blocks,

and tiny little gears,

that make wheels spin,

in colorful ways,

so ideas come rolling to you.

But a sad thought can stop it,

while a bright thought can pop it!

Shining lights, colors bright,

finding colors.

Confessions of a Bookworn

Yes, I have inhaled the musty aroma.

Yes, I have swooned over a book store.

Yes, I have read for hours on end.

Yes, I have let the stories rock my core.

Yes, I have longed for a shelf of the classics.

Yes, I use my birthday money to buy even ones that are dull.

Yes, I treat myself to adventure and fantasy.

Yes, I trudge through books I need to stop in to mull.

Yes, I enjoy every style, genre, and kind.

Yes, I feel the salty sea in the ocean pages.

Yes, I stop to smell the daffodils in a poem rhymed.

Yes, I feel the bitter cold while a war rages.

Yes, I rejoice when the characters do.

Yes, I feel the heartache when they lose a friend or two.

Yes, I am a bookworm, it's clear through and through.

Yes, I am a bookworm; now what about you?

The Reason I Live (a guest post)

{by Naomi H.}

One of my favorite verses in all of Scripture is 2 Corinthians 4:5-6. It says that “For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.”

This verse is a verse that I quote almost every day. It reminds me that my identity is not in the things of this world, but in CHRIST ALONE! HE ALONE is my light, my life, and my salvation. He is my everything, my strength when I am week, my light when all is dark, and my friend when I feel alone.

On the other side of the coin, it also challenges me to evaluate my life and see if I am showing Christ the way that I should. Are all of my words, actions, and even thoughts Christ-honoring? Do I respect and glorify Him with everything that I do?

An old friend of mine had a gift for writing poems. Although the friendship is long over, the poem has stayed with me through the years. I entitled it “Faith Sings a Melody”. Every now and again, I dig it out and read it. It reminds me that the Christian walk is not a destination, its a life long journey. A path that brings us closer to our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Faith sings a melody, glorious and free

In Christ my faith I’ve put, it’s time to lean on He

Who’s died to pay my debt, no more chains on me

A song which rings aloud, for all the world to hear

Now this song I cry, as Christ does now draw near

I’ll sing it loud I’ll sing it proud, best of all to make it clear

I’ve faith in Jesus Christ, my life He does lead

This passion and this love, his commandments I shall keep

This greatest book of all, a blessing now to read

This faith now does tell me, He is stronger than I

And on this mountain top, I lift his name on high

And soon the day to see His face, I know it does draw nigh

Naomi is a good friend of mine, who I met through John. She is going to college for nursing, loves hedgehogs, and has a beautiful heart for Christ! I'm so proud to call her a friend! Best part of it? We are twins in so many ways...including the fact we both love Psalm 27!

The Eagle

on a frigid February morn
a bald eagle above did soar

a day in which we did celebrate

the life of a man who was great

people came from far and wide

for a man who stayed at the side

of those he cared and loved so dear

and that is why we are here

the next day we gather again

this time it is the end

the time in which we say goodbye

in our grief we sigh and cry

as we head to the grave side

we look up to the cloudy sky

and in the sky soaring above

is the eagle with the heart of a dove

a reminder of this special man

who was a father, son, and friend

a firefighter to the core

that is why the eagle soared

so as we said our last goodbyes

we kept our eyes to the skies

the eagle brought us hope and peace

even though his life did cease

and so we continue with our day

and for the family we pray

that comfort from the Lord above

shall remind them of His love

~ Isaiah 40:28-31 ~
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understand is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
and the young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.

I will miss you, Mr Schairer! I'm so thankful I got to meet you! <3

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+.

Hats for the Holidays! Day 10

Sweet ruffly lace,

a sweet hat for a sweet place,

upon a head doth grace!

I wish hats could talk so I could find out more about who used to have them! <3

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"

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

~ 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.

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

~ 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

Venerable Vintage Hats: Daffodils!

The Daffodils

William Wordsworth, 1770 - 1850

I wandered lonely as a cloud

   That floats on high o’er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

   A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine

   And twinkle on the Milky Way,

They stretched in never-ending line

   Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced, but they

   Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:

A Poet could not but be gay,

   In such a jocund company:

I gazed—and gazed—but little thought

What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie

   In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

   Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.

(I memorized this poem as a kid, and as I was thinking about this hat, it came to mind. :~)

Safe in Strong Arms

We like to feel safe. We like to know who we can trust and who we are safe with. We usually feel the safest in strong loving arms.

This past week in Sunday School, a little girl in the class I work with, told us a story when we were talking about trust and trust falls. She recounted her tale with shining eyes how her big strong brother would always catch her if she did one with him. She had so much trust in his strong safe arms. She knew that he would always be willing to protect and take care of her.

My sisters personally like being in safe in Daddy's arms. Every day before he goes to work and when he comes home, they clamor for hugs. Sometimes they ask for two or three because they love getting a great big bear hug from Daddy!

One day when they were getting hugs, I thought I'd like one too! So I went up to my Dad and he picked me up, giving me a great big hug. That day shall always be a memory for me. In fact, the day he did that, I wrote the following poem:

Sweet Daddy of Mine
He gives them all a hug goodbye,
as he heads out the door. 
As he turns around he sees me, 
standing in the middle of the dining room floor.

He gives me a great big hug,
and whispers in my ear:
"You have grown to be such a young lady,
with the passing of each year."

He jokes I've gotten way too big,
so I say he should shrink me.
He puts his hand behind my shoulders,
and puts his other behind my knee.

He holds me in his arms,
the moment marked in time.
Then he sets me down,
this moment now etched in rhyme.

I personally love getting hugs from my friends and family. I feel safe and loved in their arms. As I pondered these things, I realized how awesome it is to be safe and be able to trust in God's strong arms. I pursued the topic a bit, and came across the following verses.

Jeremiah 17:7 (ESV)
Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
    whose trust is the Lord.

Isaiah 26:4 (ESV)
Trust in the Lord forever,
    for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.

Proverbs 3:5-6 (ESV)
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
    and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
    and he will make straight your paths.

Psalm 118:8 (ESV)
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
    than to trust in man.

Knowing that I can put my trust in God's safe strong arms, I feel safe! I know He will protect me through the good times and the bad. If I go through a trial-filled time, then who can I turn to? God! I know He's always there for me. I can put my complete trust in Him.

Hebrews 13:6 (ESV)

So we can confidently say,

“The Lord is my helper;

I will not fear;

what can man do to me?”

Venerable Vintage Hats: A Little Garden!

A little garden of flowers,

sitting on my head.

With tiny white florets,

growing in the garden bed.

Every which way they sprout,

upon my lovely hat.

I dream of a spring day,

with tea, a book, & furry cat!

His Feet - A Poem

Today's guest post is from my lovely friend Natalie. She wrote this poem, and graciously let me share it with you all!

His Feet

By: Natalie Knodel :-D

I will only see his feet

Yes...that is all I'll see

I will not see His hands, His arms,

His eye's looking down at me

Not His scars, not His mouth

No...just His feet

I will not see his hands,

His strong yet gentle hands

The hands that touched the untouchable

That flipped the selling stands

The hands that gave sight, the wiped the leper's spots

That broke the holy bread

The ones that calmed the storm,

That blessed the children's heads

No...it's his feet that will be first seen

As my Lord and Savior stands before me

I will not see his arms

The one's that paid the price

The one's that were outstretched on the cross

That put up without a fight

I will not see His eyes, 

Whatever color they may be

The eyes that see all my faults

But still chooses to see me

I will not see his scars

From the nails on his wrists

Or the puncture in his side,

 or the scars from the whips

I will not see his mouth

His mouth that preached the word

The one that spoke of soon to come

Making sure that all had heard

The one that spoke, "Follow me"

Or, "Pick up your mat and walk"

The one that spoke in parables,

Or said, "Lazarus come out"

The one that casted out demons

Who set the captives free

The one who shouted... "IT IS FINISHED!"

...But this is not what I'll see

First and only, first only see Jesus' feet 

When I first see him

I won't be able to stand

I'll fall flat on my face

Trembling with head in hands

Then slowly I'll open my eyes

And that's when I'll understand

Exactly what his feet represent

And how they help unfold his plan

 I'll see the feet that walked the earth

To show how much he cared

The feet that walked on water

And were washed by Mary's hair.

Then slowly, very slowly

He'll bring me to my feet

Then and only then, I'll see his hands, his arms, his scars, his mouth

And obviously his feet.

I'll look into his eyes

And hear him softly

"Welcome home my child"

"You are home to stay"