everlasting delights

"Keep me walking steadfastly towards the country

of everlasting delights,

that paradise-land which is my true inheritance.

Support me by the strength of heaven

that I may never turn back,

or desire false pleasures

that wilt and disappear into nothing.

As I pursue my heavenly journey by thy grace

let me be known as a person with no aim

but that of a burning desire for thee,

and the good and salvation

of others."

This beautiful prayer comes from the book,  Valley of Vision.

It is a collection of Puritan prayers {16th & 17th centuries} written in poetic form.

Jason gave a copy to each of us for Christmas.

It was the first gift we opened.

There wasn't a dry eye as he read one of the prayers,

"The Gift of Gifts," as we started our Christmas morning celebration.

~ ~ ~

A couple of weeks ago, Amanda and her boyfriend, Nick,

took a walk along the Hudson River Walkway.

She took the most beautiful photos.

She knows that I "stole" them for Sky Watch Friday  :D

~ ~ ~

I wish you all a wonderful weekend

filled with everlasting delights!

Reset

Sometimes I just

know

I need to hit the "reset" buttons.

Our kitchen project has kept us busy and focused on details.

- - -

Important details,

but

not the kind that measure a life.

When hours are spent discussing the trim over the refrigerator cabinet...

it becomes clear that we need to press

"Alt - Ctrl - Delete"

and

R E S E T

ourselves ~ to see with clarity

what's really important.

It was time to get out of the kitchen and head outside.

We drove to Schoharie and spent the morning at

Guernsey's Schoharie Nursery cleaning out debris from the flood waters of

Hurricane Irene.  I can't believe the amount of stuff we piled along the curb.

It was a cold, damp, rainy day ~ but we ended our work with an amazing hot meal cooked by a Christian Motorcycle Club. {The volunteers that help the volunteers}

There are some wonderful people in this world!

~
A Big Thank You to Grace Fellowship Church

for the many trips they have organized to Schoharie, NY.

I'm sure the residents of Schoharie appreciate this greatly,

but it also gives others {like me} an opportunity to

reset.

Wishing you a wonderful new week,

another new and fresh start!

♥

"Finally, brothers and sisters,

whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right,

whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable

—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—

think about such things."

Philippians 4:8

a heart for you ♥

I will give them a heart to know me,

that I am the LORD.

They will be my people, and I will be their God,

for they will return to me with all their heart.

 Jeremiah 24:7

Giving thanks for all my blessings

...for the love of the One who made me...

and for

my husband

my family

home

work

play

and always,

you, dear friends

{near and far, but always close in heart}

{Always in Our Hearts}

I will never, never forget September 11, 2001.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all those who risked their lives

and those who

...gave their lives...

to save others.

Firefighters, EMT's, Police, Civilians

the incredibly brave passengers of flight 93 whose call to courage that morning

saved our Capitol.

Thank you

to all our service men and women who continue,

every day,

to answer that call to courage.

May God Bless You,

Always,

at the heart of a flower

~ Love and Joy ~

 

can be found in the center.

I never noticed that at the center of a pink begonia is a bouquet of golden joy!

Wishing you new discoveries of the Creator's love and joy

always,

  ♥ Maria

{sweet little begonias from Ann's garden}

Believe . . .

in God

in yourself and in your dreams

in the beauty 

of everyday moments

in the joy
 of simple pleasures

in the power

of a smile

in the gifts

of family

and friendship

in your ability

to touch the hearts

of other people

and make a difference

in this world.

Believe it with all your heart!

 ♥

Ring, Ring, Ring . . .

have a wonderful week

with lots of sunshine on your face

a little wind in your hair

 

flowers along your paths

and a reason to smile each day

Wishing you joy,

Love,

   ~Maria

Hope is . . .

always there

somewhere in the heart.
It is a free spirit whose silent song is of strength and courage.
It is a song of believing and of never giving up.

Once you choose hope, anything's possible.

-Christopher Reeve

Hope is that thing with feathers that perches in the soul

and sings the tune without the words and never stops... at all.

-Emily Dickinson

"At the point where hope would otherwise become hopelessness, it becomes faith."

-Robert Brault

  

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing,

so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13

~ Praying for the people of Japan ~

for hope, strength, courage and faith.

Ironically, last Monday, I told my students that this week we would be reading This:

{The story ends with great hope.}

Dear family and friends,

Thank you for your loving hearts.

You bring hope to the world

and make a beautiful thing

out of each new day.

Love,

       Maria

Life Phases

Dependence

Independence

Interdependence

"How, child, do I know where you're headed?

Because I'm there, and I can see you coming."

-Robert Brault

It's amazing how time flies.

...one minute...
We need our hands held, lots of hugs and tender care.

...then next minute...

We're off and flying.  Look! No hands!

...before we know it...
We need our hands held, lots of hugs and tender care.

{because we realize that life feels better this way}

What a treasure each and every moment is!

They are each a gift from God.

Let's count our blessings!

~ to one thousand and beyond ~

Beneath the ice {life still stirs}

Father please give me ears to hear

the music

of the wakening world around me.

~ Underneath the ice and snow, life still stirs ~

It's amazing to think these blossoms are tucked inside waiting, waiting
for a few weeks of warm sunshine.

Inspired today by Hazelmarie Elliott's (Mattie) beautiful poem,

posted by her daughter

Spring in Late Winter

"And here I am,
breathing in a promise
of another spring . . ."

"There is a tendency to see divine intervention

in things that happen in the normal course of miracles."

-Robert Brault

 {Stop and visit his website ~ you'll be smiling}

Wishing you days filled with 'the normal course of miracles'

and then some!

Little by Little

Jesus didn't say,

"try to be the light of the world"

or

"you could be the light of the world." 

or

"you might someday be the light of the world."

He said,

"you ARE the light of the world."

Little by little, the the days grow longer and brighter.
Each additional minute of sunshine brings more light and joy.

Let us bring a transforming glow to the darkest parts of life.

Little by little, the world grows brighter and more loving because

 You ARE

 a light to me

and to

all.

Love,

 ~ Maria

Inspiration for this post came from the sermon last weekend.
♥

{sharing something for Friday Pretties at Joyce's blog

and  for Beverly's How Sweet the Sound ~ Pink Saturday post}

What is Forgiveness? {lessons from those so young}

"light, love, and soup."

This is my second year reading The Tale of Despereaux with my sixth graders.

The theme of this book is forgiveness.
{Kate DiCamillo is brilliant.}

I asked them to write a few words on what they learned about forgiveness.

They always seem to teach me a few lessons too.

~

"Forgiveness helps get the hurt out.  If you forgive your heart will be pure."

~

"Forgiveness is a strong word that some people say with no meaning.  

When Despereaux’s father said, “Will you forgive me?” he said it with meaning.  

I think that is half the reason why Despereaux forgave his father."

~

"Forgiveness can be the only way to save your heart from breaking. 
Despereaux had to forgive his father to keep his own heart from breaking."

~

"If you did something bad to someone and you forgive them,
it’s like taking medicine for a cold; you feel a whole lot better.
Forgiveness can relieve stress."

~

"Forgiveness is a magical word, a word that can lift spirits.
Forgiveness can be little, however, it can also be big. 
It can change a life.  Even a little forgiveness can make a big difference."

~

"Forgiveness is power.
Forgiveness is being able to let go of what someone said or did to you;
being able to forgive is being able to move on.

Forgiveness is leaving the past, and moving on to the future...the next present."


~

"Forgiveness.
It’s like a cup of hot chocolate on a chilly day.
Forgiveness.
It’s like a light in the darkness of hate.
Forgiveness.
It’s a kindness that can change the soul, mind, and heart of a mean person {or thing}...
Who can forgive?
Anyone."

~

"Forgiveness is a light which lies within all of our hearts no matter how evil or how bad they may seem, forgiveness can cleanse their heart and fill it with a bright shining light."

~

"Forgiveness is like having a weight lifted off of your shoulders.
When you are forgiven, everything goes good again.
When you forgive someone, you feel better, there’s no more heavy weight on you.
That is what I think forgiveness is, having a weight lift off your shoulders."

 ~

If my students hadn't written these in front of me,
I would have hardly believed that they were written by those so young.
~

Light, Love and Soup
f o r g i v e n e s s

needed by all

understood

by every

soul

~

Locks of Love {a sweet niece's gift of love}

~ Marcy ~

A little hero with a big heart

♥

Marcy grew and grew her hair so long because she knew it was going to have a very special purpose.
She gave her long beautiful locks to another child {for love}

This is the "Locks of Love" mission statement:

Our mission is to return a sense of self, confidence and normalcy to children suffering from hair loss by utilizing donated ponytails to provide the highest quality hair prothetics to financially disadvantaged children.

Her mother and father,  Doreen & Barry ~ and sister, Emily, looked on with joy. 

Amanda and I went to show her our support and heartfelt pride in what she was about to do!

Laura is the stylist that has previously helped donate to "Locks of Love."

She was wonderful!

The gift is "just right" and the process began.

Laura knows that putting the hair in two separate ponytails preserves more
of Marcy's remaining length to style later.

~ The making of a gift ~

~ begins in the heart ~

Locks of Love ~ from Lots of Love ~ to a lucky little child

Laura puts the finishing touches on Marcy's new style.

She loves her new look

and will always be a lil' angel to me.

♥

Her mom and dad treated her to Friendly's that night.

I'll say she definitely deserved that yummy ice cream sundae!

Our lil' hero!

*

Dear friends and family,
I hope you are having a wonderful week.
Many of us have had lots and lots of snow!
Stay warm, cozy and share Lots of Love with all you know.

I'm joining everyone at Joyce's blog for