Green to Blue to Red
These green eyes have seen an awful lot
Somethings I really wished I had not
I have born witness to times that were of the best
While other events truly put me to the test
I tell my students that no new technical find
Can ever replace the wonders or the power of their mind
Kids can't spell and are struggling to read
Corporations peddle the latest "best way" not for the benefit of the child, but for their own greed
They tell you; you cannot fail a child you must move them on
what happens when they become grown and they face the world in a whole new dawn
By this practice they are being set up for failure by just pushing them on to the next grade
For those children I am heartbroken and truly very afraid.
Back in my day if I failed that was my score
It is certainly not like that anymore
Teachers are not there just to collect a check
We care and trust me we feel as if we are on a ship that is certainly bound to wreck.
Our system is in trouble
Left to this we will be fighting to dig out of the unjust rubble
Educators are fleeing a broken system
We want change and accountability is their anthem.
These eyes of green have turned and began to fade
to that of another shade
from green to blue to red
what ever the color tears are shed
Faith and Beyond
Faith tells me that the Lord created all. All things come from His calling them into existence. My belief is very simple, and it is what works for me. I believe having a relationship or not with Christ is a personal and individual experience for us all. I, like everyone have experienced storms, tragedies and trials. I have been going through some difficulties over the past few months. If my foundation was based on myself or that of this world...I would have long crumbled, however, my foundation is not built on "sand", but is built on the "rock." He is my anchor.
I do believe God knew us before we were formed. He knew the choices and actions that we would make, nothing comes as a surprise to him, and that despite our many shortcomings he loves us and offers forgiveness if we ask. In the majesty of all his creations, he gave us free will. We can choose to believe or not. Accept or reject, the choice is ours. It is certainly not mine to condemn another's beliefs or one's non-belief.
I think about the great love that he chose to give...he who was perfect and without any sin loved his children enough to take on their sin. That is powerful. His death was beyond brutal. His empty tomb and resurrection are victory over death. I praise him and I thank him. He is my Lord.
I have no doubt in my heart or my mind that I serve a living God who is ever present. There are things that occur in our world that we just do not understand....there is evil among us, there are wars and so many injustices. Things that are not clear will be made clear. I just hold faith.
I pray, I believe in his presence, his tender mercies and every grace he lovingly gives. I know when I call upon his name, he knows my need. I know he is with me in all things. I cannot possibly nor properly express enough praise or gratitude to God.
My personal belief is that when this life closes, we go into His arms in that moment. I honestly, do not know the process from that moment on...but believe in His word. I am at peace with it because I have accepted him as my Savior and that I walk by faith not by sight. I believe in full heart he is with us throughout our lives - before we were formed, our first breath and every moment in between including the final breath drawn here on this earth. While the shell of the body is laid to rest our soul lives on, it is eternally with Him.
Cowboy Rides Away
Cowboy hat pulled down with collar straight up, hand on the trigger, walking right into whatever the next adventure life holds. His steps measured realizing the power of luck isn't so much in his corner, as it's more situational. The thing about situations is they change on a dime. Sometimes we walk in tall cotton other times life is cattywampus. Life is what it is, until it isn't.
When I asked where he was headed, he looked at me and half grinned stating, "I figure north is a direction and south is just a lifestyle." He disappeared. Vaya con Dios.
Cleansed
Loving eyes angered and reflective of flames
His offer of grace, mercy and forgiveness often ignored
People throughout the land continue to play their insane games
Yes, the actual decline and separation of the lowly human has soared.
We go through our days
Choices and options before us often lose out
to what comes down to our desires or just easier ways
The abundance accumulated by the means of the world is lost by a self-inflicted drought
We are not without hope for he has a plan, it's never forced, but offered for redemption
Nothing brings more joy than that lost child finding the way back home
The joy of that sheer sweet moment of surrender and salvation
Never more to stray, never more lost to roam.
We walk by trial and tribulation
Consumed by the worldly generated fire
We are given absolution
That gift that can only be from a power higher
We are cleansed.
This and That
Wake up grateful. Throughout your day, take it all in. Everything, whether it is a positive or negative experience brings you growth. Let it teach you, then remember the lesson taught. Don't say you can't do something, because you can do anything. Don't buy in to that "I'm too old" stuff....as long as there is breath in you - it is never too late. If it doesn't turn out exactly like you planned - at least you know you tried.
Think before you speak. Words are often felt harder than flying fists. The stinging memory of them can last a lifetime. Choose them well. Why tear someone down, when you can build them up. We are all going through something, and you truly don't know what is going on in another's life. Your choice of words or acts of kindness might be what they need. Be that person, the one who reaches a hand up, or offers words of support. Not only will they feel better, but you will too.
Stop stressing. All it will do is beat you down, don't let it. They say, "don't sweat the small stuff" and in the scope of life most things fall under "small stuff". If you came home tired from a job, had to decide what to eat, took a warm shower, and placed your head on a pillow in your home for a night's rest...look how blessed you are. Before you go to sleep thank God for all that you were blessed enough to see, hear, and do. If you are carrying a load that has you feeling beat, broken or just drained...place it in His hands and leave it there. When you look back over your life - look at all the hard and hurtful spots you found yourself in...by his grace and mercy you made it through. Every storm passes.
A Purpose to Fill
What came from a seed, saw itself through sunny hot days, to unexpected cold spells, from too much or too little rain...what has fought so very hard to not only live but to thrive has a gift to give.
Can you begin to imagine the power in feeding the hungry....to be responsible for helping a child grow tall and strong, giving them the energy they need for all day long? How about seniors who live by barely scraping by...my gosh can you imagine how sweet it must be to fill their plates? What about the men and women who proudly serve our country...what an honor to give them nourishment.
What came forth from those little seeds, I can only imagine how it must feel so very happy knowing that it has blessed those who were able to enjoy the nourishment received....but what about all the waste, all that which was thrown away....the heavy sadness that must be felt of knowing it could have been on a plate...it could have been in a belly....
Thank God for the farmers who work so hard from sunup to sundown. In the land of plenty.... sadly there are plenty who do not have....
Lord, thank you for the food....bless it from the farmers to the tables....Please let all the food find its way to every soul so no one ever misses a meal.
These Days....
I feel as if our days of present are just flat out giving us the finger
they seem to be somewhere between the Twilight Zone
or perhaps an episode of Jerry Springer
Society's norms and its levels of unreal have reached a deeper realm of the unknown
We know wrong and bad have always been
but there is such a decline among us
good is still represented, but lately it has been taking it on the chin
the slightest glance or word can send someone into a violent fuss
I don't like to watch the news
people behaving badly
if one of us is a victim of evil we all lose
it truly takes a piece of our peace sadly
We are all connected and together we need to stand
as one we can shake our heads, but in numbers we can bring change
we need to sweep the hate, the violence, and the wrongs that rage across our land
coming together should be natural, not extraordinary or strange.
As Rod Serling would say in only the way he could
"Imagine if you will...."
A world where we chose love not hate and lived as we should
Where we could take a moment to breathe in peace and just be still.
The Happy Mix
On low and slow, cooked all day
the deliciousness of the perfect rub
that juicy brisket runs over my tongue to play
For it there is simply no sub....
Then again, chips and queso
oh Lordy, there's the Enchilada
can't leave out the jalapeno topped nacho
Without TexMex life would be nada
Cream gravy on top of a Chicken Fried Steak
Not to boast
mashed potatoes covered with a cream gravy lake ....
and that delicious Texas toast
Nothing wrong with my taste that is for sure.
A two-margarita limit sometimes I should have quit at the first of a half glass
who I am is a simple tour
Liquid gold or not I am a little bold, sassy and ditzy but not afraid to land on my ass.
I appreciate life and all the things that have made and continue to make me, me
Friends, work, laughter, trying to be kind and just happy to live
So whether my days or juicy or spicy
I'm happy to be a Texas native.
Y'all I embrace it all...every single minute I am blessed to have.
Whispers
I often find myself sitting and rocking on the floor
sweating in fear
my eyes focused on the door
I sit in silence so that I can clearly hear
Steps shuffling along
stopping in the hall
I know them like an old familiar song
to me they do call
Slowly they enter to check on me
they talk and smile
within the tiny cup they hold it will set me free me
I swallow they watch me for awhile
They leave
and the lock does turn
in my mind the stories of yesterdays begin to blend and weave
my eyes fill with tears that burn
Faces I have known
Memories or fiction
did I hear myself moan
Life can be such a contradiction
The whispers in the nighttime
do come calling
The whispers in the nighttime
I'm slowly drifting and falling.
Time
The old man sat down beside me
He smiled as he looked off past where I sat
He told me sometimes on his walk he gets lucky and finds shade from an old oak tree
He said some days are lonely, but sometimes he finds someone like me in need of a chat
I wasn't for sure what he meant
He didn't know me from nowhere
He had no clue how my life had been wasted and spent
Did he really think that I had time to hear him talk, or even care
It was like he read my mind
What I thought was just a meeting of chance
This old man was a gifted find
He said he too had once seen himself a victim of circumstance
Life he said is all in how we see it
It is all in how we live
He said its not easy to take at times, that you had to have grit
If you take you need to be wise enough to double down in goodness in what you give
He said most mean well
Some get lost to the pleasures this old world tosses out there
Some he said well it is just hard to tell
Things get rough and they find themselves living like an empty chair
I know my expression showed I didn't understand
He said some are always filled holding good and offer rest and stability, but for others their vessel just remains empty
You can fill your rooms and world with love and laughter, or be a speck of sand
hollowed out by words of don't tempt me.
He told me, "The trouble is you think you have time" and the problem with that is
that we are not its keeper. Time is not defined by you, nor me but how well we used it...or how foolishly we let it slip through our hands. Just like that he was gone...moving on.