Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Special Days - Special Times

Today is a special day - My daughter Beverly's birthday.  I am so, so blessed to be able to celebrate this grand occasion with her.  There will be a birthday dinner on Sunday with good food (I hope), birthday cake and loved ones.

As I continue to pull together this vast collection of writings from the darker days, it's important to stay focused on today; to concentrate on all that is good and all that is precious.  It's too easy to regress in life - to look at the past and allow it to define us.  It is my sincere wish that this next book to come - This, Too, Shall Pass - will nurture and encourage those who are still living in their darker days.

Here's an excerpt one of those writings in support:

 Because It's There
And if today is not what I would have it be,
If somehow all seems against me, as if all Pandora’s woes are set to undo me,
I will not run and hide; but I will don my armor and set my guard.
For I know that someday soon, mayhap as near as Tomorrow,
The sun will smile on me again,
And all the odds will be in my favor, where naught can slow my step,
And I shall reach the Mountain Top – subdue and conquer my world,
Because it’s there!

My birthday wish for you, baby girl, is that you are never far from your mountain top.  Happy birthday.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcWXCaXQmKI

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Hello, Sunshine! Goodbye, Snow.........

I never have liked snow - not even as a child when the neighborhood youths would gather at the top of our pastureland, build bonfires, and ride to the bottom of the hill on whatever they could use as a makeshift sled.  I'm content - even happy, maybe ecstatic - to gaze through my window at the beauty of nature's white landscape while I'm staying warm and dry.  My friends and family in Virginia are reporting 12 - 20 inches of snowfall and I might add I'm really, really happy not to be snowed in atop the Bedford mountains.

I'm making progress, albeit slow progress, putting together my next book - This, Too Shall Pass.  I'm finding it difficult to stay with converting the old typewritten pages into the document I will upload to Amazon.  Sometimes I can't remember what motivated some of the pieces, and sometimes I'm on the verge of depression, but I'm going to carry on with the process because I believe there's a purpose in this book.  People are suffering today - trying to cope with the problems I faced...that I was delivered from.  Hopefully, they'll be able to see their deliverance and just hang on by whatever means they can find until it comes.

Here's an excerpt from some of the material.
I walked the shadows of darkest night, looking neither left nor right; Seeing only straight ahead. Too soon to probe the past now dead.Crouched in the shadows, the formless shape of Failure looms with bitter taste.Helpless to cast a ray of light to bring the shadows into light.Only time can ease the pain and bring my soul to peace again.
To God be the Glory!  I am a survivor.