Plant three rows of peas: Peace of mind Peace of heart Peace of soul
Plant four rows of squash: Squash gossip Squash indifference Squash grumbling Squash selfishness
Plant four rows of lettuce: Lettuce be faithful Lettuce be kind Lettuce be obedient Lettuce really love one another
No garden without turnips: Turnip for meetings Turnip for service Turnip to help one another Water freely with patience and cultivate love
There is much fruit for your garden Because you reap what you sow.
To conclude our garden We must have thyme: Thyme for God Thyme for study Thyme for prayer Thyme for each other Thyme for friends (Author Unknown)
My Special List
I have a list of folks I know... all written in a book, And every now and then.. I go and take a look.
That is when I realize these names... they are a part, not of the book they're written in... but taken from the heart.
For each Name stands for someone... who has crossed my path sometime, and in that meeting they have become... the reason and the rhyme.
Although it sounds fantastic.. for me to make this claim, I really am composed... of each remembered name.
Although you're not aware... of any special link, just knowing you, has shaped my life... more than you could think.
So please don't think my greeting... as just a mere routine, your name was not... forgotten in between.
For when I send a greeting... that is addressed to you, it is because you're on the list... of folks I'm indebted to.
So whether I have known you... for many days or few in some ways you have a part... in shaping things I do. I am but a total... of the many folks I've met, you are a friend I would prefer... never to forget. Thank you for being my friend! (unknown)
Life Without Friendship
Life without friendship... is like the dawn without the sun. Life without friendship... is like the sky without the moon when the evening has begun.
Life without friendship... is like a rose without rain.
Life without friendship... just wouldn't be the same.
Life without friendship... is like a ship without a sea.
life without friendship... just could not be without a friend like you for me. (unknown)
When We
Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.
People come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. Embrace all equally!
When we share laughter, There is twice the fun.
When we share success, We have surpassed what we have done.
When we share problems, There is half the pain.
When we share tears, A rainbow follows rain.
When we share dreams, They become more real.
When we share secrets, We reveal our hearts.
If we share a smile, That is when our love shows.
If we share a hug, That is when our love grows.
If we share with someone on whom we depend, That person is always Family or Friend.
In addition, what draws us closer and makes us all care, Is not what we have, but the things that we share. (unknown)
INSTRUCTIONS FOR LIFE
1. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
2. Memorize your favorite poem.
3. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all youwant.
4. When you say, "I love you," mean it.
5. When you say, "I'm sorry," look the person in the eye.
6. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.
7. Believe in love at first sight.
8. Never laugh at anyone's dreams. People who don't have dreams don't have much.
9. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only, way to live life completely.
10. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.
11. Don't judge people by their relatives.
12. Talk slowly but think quickly.
13. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, "Why do you want to know?"
14. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
15. Call your mom.
16. Say "bless you" when you hear someone sneeze.
17. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.
18. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; Responsibility for all your actions.
19. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
20. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
21. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.
22. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.
23. Spend some time alone.
24. Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.
25. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
26. Read more books and watch less TV.
27. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll get to enjoy it a second time.
28. Trust in God but lock your car.
29. A loving atmosphere in your home is so important. Do all you can to create a tranquil harmonious home.
30. In disagreements with loved ones, deal with the current situation. Don't bring up the past.
31. Read between the lines.
32. Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve immortality.
33. Be gentle with the earth.
34. Pray. There's immeasurable power in it.
35. Never interrupt when you are being flattered.
36. Mind your own business.
37. Don't trust a man/woman who doesn't close his/her eyes when you kiss.
38. Once a year, go someplace you've never been before.
39. If you make a lot of money, put it to use helping others while you are living. That is wealth's greatest satisfaction.
40. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a stroke of luck.
41. Learn the rules then break some.
42. Remember that the best relationship is one where your love for each other is greater than your need for each other.
43. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
44. Remember that your character is your destiny.
45. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.
A CHILD'S ANGEL
Once upon a time there was a child ready to be born. So one day he asked God: They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?
Among the many angels, I chose one for you. She will be waiting for you and will take care of you.
But tell me, here in Heaven, I don't do anything else but sing and smile, that's enough for me to be happy.
Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you every day. And you will feel your angel's love and be happy.
And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me, if I don't know the language that men talk?
Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will teach you how to speak.
And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?
Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray.
I've heard that on earth there are bad men. Who will protect me?
Your angel will defend you even if it means risking its life.
But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore.
Your angel will always talk to you about me and will teach you the way for you to come back to me, even though I will always be next to you.
At that moment there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from earth could already be heard, and the child in a hurry asked softly:
Oh God, if I am about to leave now, please tell me my angel's name.
Your angel's name is of no importance, you will call your angel: Mommy (unknown)
God, Are You Real?
"God, are You real?" The child whispered, "God, speak to me," And a meadowlark sang. But the child did not hear.
So the child yelled, "God, speak to me!" And the thunder rolled across the sky But the child did not listen.
The child looked around and said, "God let me see You," And a star shone brightly But the child did not notice.
And the child shouted, "God show me a miracle!" And a life was born But the child did not know.
So the child cried out in despair, "Touch me God, and let me know you are here!" Whereupon God reached down And touched the child. But the child brushed the butterfly away And walked away unknowingly. (unknown)
Into a precious vessel God pours tenderness and love, An understanding heart, And all the joy a child dreams of, He gives her His compassion, And a kindness like no other, Then wraps her in His quiet strength, And gently calls her, MOTHER (Bonnie Jensen)
DEDICATION
For every child who cries at night Alone with shame and pain and fright For every child who wants so much To only feel a gentle touch For the beaten child, who cries in pain Whose tears run silent, like the rain For the child used to satisfy lust Who never learns to love or trust For the child taken from her/his home And made to feel so all alone For the child whose home is just a shell Where life becomes a living hell For the child who smiles but cannot feel Because of scars too deep to heal For every child who yearns for love I hope and pray to God above To hear your cries and heal your pain And give you back your life again (Eric "The redeemed")
Hold fast your dreams! Within your heart Keep one still, secret spot Where dreams may go, And, sheltered so, May thrive and grow Where doubt and fear are not. O keep a place apart, Within your heart, For little dreams to go! (Driscoll)
Take time to listen.
Once there was a man who dared God to speak. Burn the bush like you did for Moses, God. And I will follow. Collapse the walls like you did for Joshua, God. And I will fight. Still the waves like you did on Galilee, God. And I will listen.
And so the man sat by a bush, near a wall, close to a sea and waited for God to speak.
And God heard the man, so God answered.
He sent fire, not for a bush, but for a church. He brought down a wall, not of brick, but of sin. He stilled a storm, not of the sea, but of a soul. And God waited for the man to respond.
And He waited... And He waited... And waited. But because the man was looking at bushes, not hearts; bricks and not lives, seas and not souls, he decided that God had done nothing.
Finally he looked to God and asked, "Have you lost your power?"
And God looked at him and said, "Have you lost your hearing? Max Lucado
A child's love is like a whisper
A child's love is like a whisper, given in little ways we do not hear but if you listen closely it will be very clear.
They often do not say it loud but in how they come to you... Daddy will you play with me? Mommy, tie my shoe?
...the many ways they tell you changes as they grow Dad I made the team today! Mom I've Got to go!
Pop I need some money You see there's... this girl at school.. Mama I met a boy today and wow he is so cool...!
Dad I've got something to tell you... I think she is the one. Mom, He asked me to marry him. Would you love him as your son?
Dad I've got some news for you... It's gonna be a boy! Mom I'm kind of scared of this, yet I'm filled with joy!
A child's love is like a whisper, given in little ways we do not hear but if you listen closely it will be very clear.
They often do not say it loud but in how they come to you... Grandpa will you play with me? Grandma tie my shoe...
It is never ending A blessing from above Listen to the whispers of a child's love. (Unknown)
Last night I had a dream
Last night I had a dream It had a tale to tell. I dreamed I saw an angel; poor thing, he wasn't feeling well.
His body bruised and battered His wings were ripped and torn-- This angel could hardly walk, He looked so tired and torn. I walked right up to him to ask; "Angel? How can this be?" He turned around and paused a bit, Then he spoke these words to me:
"I'm your Guardian Angel, A great task as you can see. You've run amok most all your life: Look what it's done to me.
These Bruises are from shielding you In times both dire and ill. Those alcoholic bouts and drugs you've used I've often paid the bill.
You see my wings are ripped and torn; How often they have flown you From evils unaware. Each mark is it's own story Of deadly wounds destroyed.
You made me wish--more than once- That I was unemployed. If only you could make it Standing on your own;
Oh, don't you fret or worry-- But please try to remember-- I'm getting old and frail."
I Could not believe all I had heard, Let alone how much he cared. I wept upon his shoulder, Then left him in despair.
The next day I sat and pondered: Should I really try? And in the distance I thought I heard; A frail old angel cry. (Unknown)
