When all the laughter dies in sorrow

When all the laughter dies in sorrow 

and the tears have risen to a flood

When  all the wars have found a cause

 in human wisdom and in blood 

 Do you think they'll cry in sadness? 

Do you think the eye will blink? 

Do you think they'll curse the madness?

 Do you even think they'll think? 

When  all the great galactic systems 

sign to a frozen halt in space 

Do you think there will be some remnant of beauty 

of the human race?

Do you think that it will be a vestige or a sniffle or a tear?

do you think a greater thinking thing will give a d*** that man was here?

She Laughed- Dana Parish

For a princess and her Daddy. 30 years ago today....I miss you Dad

Sweetie, let me tell you a story

A little fairytale just for you
About a princess and her daddy:

She was flyin' on her magic carpet
A little stardust in her hair
Till her daddy took the lead
And he said follow me up to the moon
I promise we will be there soon
And we can dance and play all through the night

And she laughed every time she cried
She could feel you lift her up
All your love she has inside
She laughed throughout her life
She could hear the words you said
As you tucked her into bed, goodnight.

Baby, you'll grow up in a heartbeat
The boys will stand in line
All waitin' just for you
And I know you'll be home past midnight
Just creepin' up the stairs
But I'll be waitin' there for you

One thing you should always know
Is I will always love you so
You will always be my little girl

And she laughed every time she cried
She could feel you lift her up

Take it from me, I'm a daddy's girl too
His whole world stops when I walk into the room
There's no greater love and there's no in between

Now she laughs every time she cries
She can feel you lift her up
All your love she has, she has inside
She laughed throughout her life
She could hear the words you said
As you tucked her into bed, goodnight

Goodnight my angel, goodnight my darlin'
Goodnight, goodnight my love, goodnight..

Songwriters: Hollander, Andrew / Parish, Dana

She Laughed lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.

God, Thou Art Love

 

GOD THOU ART LOVE

If I forget,
Yet God remembers! If these hands of mine
Cease from their clinging, yet the hands divine
Hold me so firmly that I cannot fall;
And if sometimes I am too tired to call
For Him to help me, then He reads the prayer
Unspoken in my heart, and lifts my care.

I dare not fear, since certainly I know
That I am in God’s keeping, shielded so
From all that else would harm, and in the hour
Of stern temptation strengthened by His power;
I tread no path in life to Him unknown;
I lift no burden, bear no pain, alone:
My soul a calm, sure hiding-place has found:
The everlasting arms my life surround.

God, Thou art love! I build my faith on that.
I know Thee who has kept my path, and made
Light for me in the darkness, tempering sorrow
So that it reached me like a solemn joy;
It were too strange that I should doubt Thy love.
by Robert Browning

Grown and Flown

On the day we got new carpet installed, my mom messaged me and said, “Big day for you!”
This is because moms care about the things no one else cares about.
Not about things like brushing your teeth and whether you’ve had a vegetable lately, although moms do generally care about those things.
But about the minutiae of daily life. The little details that make up the big picture. The things that, if you told most anyone else about them, they’d think, “And this is supposed to interest me how?”—but that your mom follows like it’s a page turner and she’s hanging on every word.
It’s not that there’s anything wrong with everyone else; it’s just that people in our lives are on a need-to-know basis, and moms are the ones who NEED TO KNOW.
So, for instance, if you’re getting new carpet, that’s all anyone else wants to know about it, if they even want to know that much. But your mom wants to know what color and if there are any flecks in it and if you got new padding and does it have a pattern and how plush is it and when can she come see it? And the morning it’s supposed to be installed, you get an “it’s a big day for you!” text from her.
The mom interest factor isn’t nosiness or overstepping or being too clingy; it’s just that, from the moment we enter our moms’ lives, it’s their job to pay attention to every detail. Every kick, every cry, every bodily function, every bite of food, every development, every milestone, every need.
This is a switch that’s hard to turn off. So when they no longer need to know everything, the best moms still want to know a lot.


And what a gift this is. Those of us who are blessed to have moms like this still with us on earth already know one of the many things we’ll miss when they’re gone is having someone we can share the fine print of life with—the back stories and the follow-ups and the plot twists.
Given the chance, we vow to try to repay our moms for all their years of rapt attention the same way way we plan to try to repay most everything else they’ve done for us: by doing the same for their grandchildren.
So kids, down the road, when you get a great deal at T. J. Maxx or finally pick between “vanilla mist” white and “hand-churned cream” white for that wall you’re painting or, you know, get new carpet, just know this: we’d love to hear all about it.
Thank you Guilty Chocoholic Mama

MercyMe - Dear Younger Me (Official Lyric Video)

Dear younger me,
Where do I start
If I could tell you everything that I have learned so far
Then you could be
One step ahead
Of all the painful memories still running through my head
I wonder how much different things would be
Dear younger me, dear younger me

Dear younger me,
I cannot decide
Do I give some speech about how to get the most out of your life
Or do I go deep
And try to change
The choices that you’ll make cuz they’re choices that made me
Even though I love this crazy life
Sometimes I wish it was a smoother ride
Dear younger me, dear younger me

If I knew then what I know now
Condemnation would’ve had no power
My joy my pain would’ve never been my worth
If I knew then what I know now
Would’ve not been hard to figure out
What I would’ve changed if I had heard:


Dear younger me, It’s not your fault
You were never meant to carry this beyond the cross


Dear younger me,
You are holy
You are righteous
You are one of the redeemed
Set apart a brand new heart
You are free indeed

Every mountain every valley
Thru each heartache you will see
Every moment brings you closer
To who you were meant to be
Dear younger me, dear younger me.

Ryan Stevenson - Eye of the Storm

In the eye of the storm, You remain in control
And in the middle of the war, You guard my soul
You alone are the anchor, when my sails are torn
Your love surrounds me in the eye of the storm

She Is Clothed in Strength and Dignity

 "There is a distinct difference between those who live for God, and those who simply go to church, and call themselves "Christians." Living for God is a life of self sacrifice. He begins to live, move, and breathe in and through us. It's a life of doing His will above our own. Its a life of love, kindness, compassion, gentleness, integrity, and boldness. It's a life that bears FRUIT! It's not a self-seeking life that follows only its own selfish desires, even at the expense of others. It's a life that can be seen in our home, work, and relationships... both publicly and privately. It can be evidenced by the way we talk to people, the way we forgive people, the way we treat people, the way we handle their feelings and deal with their actions toward us. It's a life of humility, not pride. It's a life of forgiving others and ourselves. It is not a life of perfection, but it IS a life of accountability; to God, and to others. It's a 7 day a week life. Not a 1 day a week, when certain people are looking, kind of life. If we live for God, people will know it. They will see it, as they come to know us. If not, we need to ask ourselves if we might just be going to church, and going through the motions. Are we trying to change the Word, or are we allowing the Word to penetrate and change US? Because the closer we draw near to a loving and powerful God, the more He changes us. We don't remain stagnant. We don't remain hard. We soften, and we grow."

-"She Is Clothed in Strength and Dignity" blog post

Rainbow Tears

 "The soul would have no rainbow had the eyes no tears"
-John Vance Ceney

Climax Blues Band - I Love You

                         

When I was a younger girl
I hadn't a care
Fooling around
Hitting the town
Growing my hair

You came along
And stole my heart
When you entered my life
Ooh, babe
You got what it takes
So you made me your wife

Since then
I never looked back
It's almost like living a dream
And, ooh
I love you

You came along
From far away
And found me here
I was playing around
Feeling down
Hitting the beer
You picked me up
From off the floor
And gave me a smile
You said
You're much too young
Your life ain't begun
Let's walk for awhile

And as my head was spinning 'round
I gazed into your eyes
And thought, ooh
I want you

Thank you, babe
For being a friend
And shining your light in my life
'Cause, ooh
I need you

As my head was coming round
I gazed into your eyes
And thought, ooh
I want you

Thanks again for being my friend
And straightening out my life
'Cause, ooh
I need you

Ode: Of Imitation of Immorality - Splendor In The Grass

What though the radiance which was once so bright 

be now forever taken from my sight. 

Though nothing can bring back the hour of splendor in the grass, 

of glory in the flower, .we will grieve not.

Rather find strength in what remains behind.

what remains behind in the primal sympathy of having been 

must ever be in the soothing thought that spring out of human suffering.

Beneath the Sweater and the Skin

Silver


"How many years of beauty do I have left? she asks me.

How many more do you want?

Here. Here is 34. Here is 50.

When you are 80 years old and your beauty rises in ways
your cells cannot even imagine now,
and your wild bones grow luminous and ripe,
having carried the weight of a passionate life.

When your hair is aflame with winter
and you have decades of learning and leaving and loving
sewn into the corners of your eyes
and your children come home
to find their own history in your face.

When you know what it feels like to fail ferociously
and have gained the capacity
to rise and rise and rise again.

When you can make your tea
on a quiet and ridiculously lonely afternoon
and still have a song in your heart
Queen owl wings beating
beneath the cotton of your sweater.

Because your beauty began there
beneath the sweater and the skin,
remember?

This is when I will take you
into my arms and coo
YOU BRAVE AND GLORIOUS THING
you’ve come so far.

I see you.
Your beauty is breathtaking."

~ Jeannette Encinias

Bee Gees - Words

Ever have one of those days when you hear a song and your just stare off into space and smile?

Something to Ponder

SOMETHING TO PONDER: George Carlin George Carlin's wife died early in 2008 and George followed her, dying in July 2008. It is ironic George Carlin - comedian of the 70's and 80's - could write something so very eloquent and so very appropriate. An observation by George Carlin: The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness. We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things. We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less. These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete. Remember to spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever. Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side. Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent. Remember, to say, 'I love you' to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you. Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again. Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind. And always remember, life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by those moments that take our breath away. George Carlin

Hello Again - Raul Malo

How is it that "one night we're making memories, and then that's all you are"? Here's to you old friend. You know who you are.

Well, well, hello again, tell me where you've been
It's been a while oh honey, my old friend.
You've been there for me, faithful as you can be
You're the one I count on in the end.

I wish it weren't so but that's how it seems to go
One night you're making memories then that's all you are.

Well, hello again, here's to what might have been

We've got no secrets, no reasons to pretend
Talk about old times, laugh until we cry
We haven't done this since I don't know when

Well, hello again, tell me where you've been
Well, hello again, here's to you old friend.

Why Prayers Don't Get Answered

1- You don't pray

2- Unconfessed sin

3-You pray in disbelief (James1)

4- You pray for the wrong reasons 

I remember him

 I'll always remember him. He was so beautiful like the morning of that day.

 beautiful he was when we were alone

 we never met after because the night took him away.

 Everything  like a secret was left behind in the night

 His face full of tears.

Maybe it's best that time erases all the pain

 but still often , too often , I remember him.

 Daily the rain is falling by the park

 I stand alone 

memory came over me. 

I remember the morning of all the sorrow

 I remember the night with he went away

 He was so beautiful like the morning of that day

 beautiful he was when we were alone 

we never met after that because the day took him away.

Who You'd Be Today

For Mike

When God Says "Pssst"

 

If you have children who have wandered away from God,
don’t give up on them. They’ll come running back…
      When God Says “Pssst”       

By Gloria Copeland

 

Did you know your children are in your heart? It’s true. You carry your children in your heart the same way God carries you in His heart.

You can feel what’s going on with them even when they’re on the other side of the world. If they’re hurt, if they’re lonely, if they’re toying with sin and getting off track—when things are wrong or things are right, you can feel it.

I remember once when Ken and I were in Australia. We were flying from one city to another and suddenly thoughts of our son, John, flooded my heart. John was a teenager at the time and he was all boy. He rode everything with wheels—cars, trucks, motorcycles, dune buggies. And it seemed he was always turning something over.

That day on the plane, I was concerned about him. I knew how much the devil would like to sneak in and steal his life, and I was concerned that John’s misadventures could give the devil the opportunity to do it.

But the Holy Spirit broke in on my thoughts. He spoke to Ken and said, My mercy hovers over John. When Ken relayed those words to me, all my fears vanished.

My mercy hovers over John. I’ll never forget that promise. As I’ve prayed for John throughout the years, that wonderful word from God would often rise up and remind me that John’s life was secure. It would assure me that God would keep him and hold him steady until the day he got things straight in his life.

My mercy hovers over your child. That is a wonderful word from God. If God will do that for my child, He will do it for yours. The covenant God has made with you in the blood of Jesus extends to your children and your children’s children. Psalm 103:17 says,

 

"But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children."

Our grandchildren are covered in our covenant with God. Everything God gives to me, He’ll give to them. All the protection that I have, He passes on to my family.

If you’re a believer and you’re willing to trust God for the deliverance and salvation of your children, you will not be disappointed.

Study Zechariah 10:7-9. There God tells us about the outpouring of the Spirit of God in the last days—the days we’re living in. He says:

 

And they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as through wine: yea, their children shall see it, and be glad; their heart shall rejoice in the Lord. I will hiss for them [your children], and gather them; for I have redeemed them....And I will sow them among the people: and they shall remember me in far countries; and they shall live with their children, and turn again.

You may not even know where your children are right now. They may be in another city or another country. It doesn’t matter. This scripture says when you rejoice in the Lord—not when you’re depressed or worried or afraid, but when you trust God so totally that you’re filled up with joy—then your children will see it and turn.

"I will hiss for them." What does that mean? It means God will signal for them. He’ll say, Pssst! Come here! And they’ll come running.

Let me tell you something. God knows how to get somebody’s attention. He knows how to signal for the ones His people are praying for. Kenneth’s mother prayed for me and then one day God said, Pssst, Gloria! I heard Him and was born again.

I didn’t know much about God before that time. I knew there was a God, but had no real knowledge about Him. Yet He still knew how to get my attention. He called and here I am today preaching His Word!

He’ll do the same thing for your child. It doesn’t matter what kind of wickedness that child has fallen into, God can still reach him.

 

I know a man who pastors a great church in Sacramento, California. His name is Phil Goudeaux. He used to be part of the militant black power movement. In fact, he was in charge of security for the Black Panthers.

He didn’t know God and he didn’t want to know God. But one day when he was in college, a young white fellow came over to his lunch table and started telling him about Jesus. This Black Panther leader couldn’t believe it. The nerve of this guy! He tried to get rid of him. He threatened him and even tried to hit him...but he couldn’t

For weeks this little white fellow followed this big "bad" black guy around talking to him about Jesus. Finally, the Black Panther prayed with the fellow just to get him off his back. After that he tried to forget about it...but he couldn’t. Two weeks later, all by himself, he made Jesus Christ the Lord of his life.

God knows how to get somebody’s attention! He’ll knock them over and speak to them right out loud if He needs to. He proved that in the life of a man named Saul. Years after that man was saved, he wrote, "…I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:12).

God apprehended Paul one day on the road to Damascus. According to the dictionary, to apprehend means to capture or arrest. God captured Paul’s attention. The last thing he wanted to be was a follower of Jesus. He was a declared enemy of Jesus. But God was able to apprehend him anyway.

Don’t you worry. God knows exactly how to apprehend your children. And when the time comes, He’ll do it. After all, you weren’t in your prayer closet when He found you!

But until then, you must stand fast in faith for them. No matter what they get into, no matter how far off the track they seem to be, just keep saying what the Bible says about them. Keep your eyes focused on the covenant mercy of God and not on the symptoms of ungodliness that you see in their lives.

Don’t ever give up on your child. If you’ve grown weak and discouraged lately, it’s time for you to get that fire back in your bones. Dig into the Word of God and dig out the promises He’s given you for your children. Lay hold of those promises and don’t let go.

Learn to call things that are not as though they were (Romans 4:17). When you hear bad news about your children or you see them do something that hurts your heart, just say:

 

God, I thank You that Your tender mercy hovers over my child. I thank You Lord that he is born again, filled with the Holy Ghost and obedient to You. I thank You that Your Word is in his mouth (Isaiah 59:21), that he is taught by Your Spirit and great is his peace (Isaiah 54:13). I am not moved by what I feel or what I see. I am moved by Your Word and I call it done in Jesus’ Name!

I’m going to say it one more time: You have a covenant with God that covers your children. So rejoice! God will be faithful to you. One day your boy or your girl will be going about their business doing their own thing when suddenly—Pssst!—they’ll hear the voice of God.

When that happens, they’ll come running.

You can count on it.

Love Is Patient

 

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).

Know Yourself

KNOW YOURSELF 

Know yourself they say 

and don’t be led astray

but how can I know who I am 

when I’m different every day?

Some days I’m the smart one 

with the answers people need 

and some days I’m the strong one 

standing up to take the lead.

On other days I’m sure 

that if the wind blew me too hard 

I would shatter like a glass

into a million tiny shards.

And on those days I cower 

and I hide out from the world

waiting on my inner child

to blossom and unfurl.

And each day I’m surprised 

by the newness that I see

the things I’m finding out

the complexity of me.

So how to know yourself 

when you’re all things rolled in one? 

you simply must decide

to love whatever you become.

Donna Ashworth

From ‘I Wish I Knew

An Understanding Heart

 Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?

1 Kings 3:9
 
The death of President Franklin Roosevelt abruptly thrust Harry Truman into the presidency. He traveled to Capitol Hill to address Congress, and at the end of his speech he said: “As I have assumed my heavy duties, I humbly pray Almighty God, in the words of King Solomon: ‘Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad; for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?’ I ask only to be a good and faithful servant of my Lord and my people.”[1]

The Sound of Our Breathing

The Sound Of Our Breathing
Take a breath and breathe it out. Do it again, slowly, and try to mean it. Breathing – of all things maybe we take it most for granted. Do we ever wonder why we are built this way, this soft machine of ours always pumping oxygen in and out?

In sadness, we breathe heavy sighs. In joy, our lungs feel almost like they will burst.

In fear we hold our breath and have to be told to breathe slowly to help us calm down.

When we’re about to do something hard, we take a deep breath to find our courage. When looking at it this way, can breathing be said to be a kind of praying?

But what is the sound? What are we saying?

When Moses had the nerve to ask God what his name is, God was gracious enough to answer, and the name he gave is recorded in the original Hebrew as YHWH. We’ve added the vowels to it to have it become Yaweh.

Breathe in again …Yah now exhale….Weh. A wonderful question rises to excite the imagination: what if the name of God is the sound of breathing?

This is a beautiful thought, especially considering that for centuries there have been those who have insisted that the name of God is so holy that we dare not speak it because of how unworthy we are. How generous of God to choose to give himself a name that we can’t help but speak every moment we’re alive. All of us, always, everywhere, waking, sleeping, with the name of God on our lips.

It makes you wonder what this means in key moments like when a baby is born – newly arrived on planet earth, must they take their first breath, or rather speak the name of God if they are to be alive here?

On our deathbed, do we breathe our last breath? Or is it that we cease to be alive when the name of God is no longer on our lips?

Can’t find the words sometimes when you pray? Breathe in. Breathe out. It’s all we need. Yahweh. He knows our hearts. In Romans 8:26 we read “He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs.

-Taken from The Rabbit Room- Jason Grey 2011

Ed Sheeran - Visiting Hours - In honor of those we lost on 9-11

  I wish that Heaven had visiting hours
So I could just show up and bring the news
That she's getting older and I wish that you'd met her
The things that she'll learn from me, I got them all from you

Can I just stay a while and we'll put all the world to rights?
The little ones will grow and I'll still drink your favourite wine
And soon, they're going to close, but I'll see you another day
So much has changed since you've been away

I wish that Heaven had visiting hours
So I could just swing by and ask your advice
What would you do in my situation?
I hadn't a clue how I'd even raise them
What would you do? 'Cause you always do what's right

Can we just talk a while until my worries disappear?
I'd tell you that I'm scared of turning out a failure
You'd say, "Remember that the answer's in the love that we create"
So much has changed since you've been away

I wish that Heaven had visiting hours
And I would ask them if I could take you home
But I know what they'd say, that it's for the best
So I will live life the way you taught me
And make it on my own

And I will close the door, but I will open up my heart
And everyone I love will know exactly who you are
'Cause this is not goodbye, it is just 'til we meet again
So much has changed since you've been away

Happy or Blessed?

When people ask me how I'm doing sometimes I respond with "I'm blessed". But what does that really mean? Does it mean that I'm happy? The word blessed means more than happy because happiness is an emotion often dependent on outward circumstances. Blessed however refers to the ultimate well being and distinctive spiritual joy of those who share in the salvation of the kingdom of God. So which is it? Am I happy or am I blessed? I'm blessed.

Called For A Time As This

 Mammas-

“Don’t feel sorry for or fear for your kids because the world they are going to grow up in is not what it used to be.

God created them and called them for the exact moment in time that they’re in. Their life wasn’t a coincidence or an accident.

Raise them up to know the power they walk in as children of God.

Train them up in the authority of His Word.

Teach them to walk in faith knowing that God is in control.

Empower them to know they can change the world.

Don’t teach them to be fearful and disheartened by the state of the world but hopeful that they can do something about it.

Every person in all of history has been placed in the time that they were in because of God’s sovereign plan.

He knew Daniel could handle the lions den.

He knew David could handle Goliath.

He knew Esther could handle Haman.

He knew Peter could handle persecution.

He knows that your child can handle whatever challenge they face in their life. He created them specifically for it!

Don’t be scared for your children, but be honored that God chose YOU to parent the generation that is facing the biggest challenges of our lifetime.

Rise up to the challenge.

Raise Daniels, Davids, Esthers and Peters!

God isn’t scratching His head wondering what He’s going to do with this mess of a world.

He has an army He’s raising up to drive back the darkness and make Him known all over the earth.

Don’t let your fear steal the greatness God placed in them. I know it’s hard to imagine them as anything besides our sweet little babies, and we just want to protect them from anything that could ever be hard on them, but they were born for such a time as this.” -Alex Cravens