bedside.

She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. Proverbs 31:25 What does this mean really? She can laugh at the days to come? ...because from where I'm looking, there is nothing to laugh about. What I see happening all around me gives no reason to smile, much less laugh. There is such heartache, loss, and reasons for depression all around us. If you don't see it, you are turning a blind eye - choosing a coping strategy that I must admit is tempting to hold onto with a passion. Just today, a 69 year old man died in the room I was standing in. That is not unusual, being what I do for a living, but death isn't what was sad about it. It was his life that was sad. Lonely, alone, scared, fighting the inevitable while lonely and alone. I don't understand how someone can live their life for 69 years with people all around, and on this day, THE DAY, there's not one family member or friend to be at his side. It's natural that loved ones don't want to experience death, death so alive and living in a loved one right before their eyes. I can understand that. What I feel pressed to try and understand is, his life. What about his life leaves a place of empty coldness at his bedside? What about his life leaves a sadness and tears in the eyes of only strangers? What about his life, instead of happy memories spoken through tears of loss, leaves silence and a sound so quiet that it screams? What about his life makes a mark that very few miss? When I think about my life, it's not so much about me and my memories as it is the mark we are called to leave on others. The mark we are called to leave on our husband, wife, children, brother, sister, mother, father, friend, co-worker, store clerk, bank teller, garbage man, police officer, teacher, boss, enemy, opposites, people we don't like to be around, people who have wounded us, people we have nothing in common with, the adulterers, the liars, the robber, the two faced girl, the proud, the mocker, the devil worshiper, the buddhist, the slanderer, the child molester, the hungry, the poor that abuse the system, the high rollers, the rich, the sluts, the famous, the ugly, the deformed, the loud, the quiet, the ones who stink, the everyone, the everyone that walks into our days to come. Think about it. It's harder to leave a mark of kindness than it is not to. It's easier to go about your day, minding your own business, than it is to be intentional in touching and changing a life in your world. I don't think we are called to mind our own business and stay out of peoples lives..sorry, we're just not. That's an excuse for the fearful or for the selfish. Can you laugh at the days ahead? Because really, our days ahead are being determined now, today.

His lonely bedside wasn't determined the day he died. The room he died in was destined to be empty long before that day. When he stayed out of peoples business, when he chose to look away from the pain he saw in another, when he chose the easy path decorated with ribbons of comfort and lights of complacency - he chose his days ahead. He chose his bedside.

Can you laugh at the days ahead? Are you, am I, right now living a life that is sure to bring laughter? My opinion is that she could laugh at the days ahead because her life at that moment was filled to overflowing with the readiness that is needed for future laughter. Are we preparing ourselves to laugh? Are we living our life with marked intentions that are covered in love, kindness, compassion, and readiness? She knew she could laugh at the days to come because even though the world was falling down around her, she was prepared for love, ready for giving, covered in truth, confident in grace, and...clothed in strength and dignity. Destruction, famine, death, fear, loss, sickness - in the middle of it all she could tilt that head back and laugh from

a joy within. You will laugh at destruction and famine and need not fear the

beast of the earth. Job 5:21 She knew that when destruction came - she could introduce the lover of the broken, when famine came - she could give the bread of life, when death came - she had joy in the morning, when fear came - she had the sword of the spirit, when loss came - she had a friend that sticks closer than a brother, when sickness came - she had at least a mustard seed faith. She could laugh at the days to come. What brought fear and worry to those around her, she could laugh at! He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with

shouts of joy. Job 8:20 She could laugh. She was confident in her life at that moment that she could actually laugh at the days to come. Are you confident in your life before the Lord at this moment that you can laugh at the days to come. In some ways I am, but in many ways I am not. So friend, today I stand with you and agree with you, that we are going to live our life to the fullest now, so that we can laugh right now at the days to come. Confident laughter with a heart of assurance! That's what I want for you and for me.... Confident laughter that changes the lives of those around us! It's my inner experience having an outer expression! An outer expression that is changing the paths of eternal human souls, and meeting us, in the end, at our bedside.

The Holiest of Callings

Motherhood, It Will Change Your Life
Author Unknown

Time is running out for my friend. We are sitting at lunch when she casually mentions that she and her husband are thinking of "starting a family". What she means is that her biological clock has begun its countdown and she is being forced to consider the prospect of motherhood."We're taking a survey," she says, half jokingly. "Do you think I should have a baby?" "It will change your life," I say carefully, keeping my tone neutral."I know," she says. "No more sleeping in on Saturdays, no more spontaneous vacations..." But that is not what I mean at all. I look at my friend, trying to decide what to tell her. I want her to know what she will never learn in childbirth classes. I want to tell her that the physical wounds of childbirth heal, but that becoming a mother will leave her with an emotional wound so raw that she will be forever vulnerable. I consider warning her that she will never read a newspaper again without asking, "What if that had been my child?" That every plane crash, every fire will haunt her. That when she sees pictures of starving children, she will look at the mothers and wonder if anything could be worse than watching your child die. I look at her carefully manicured nails and stylish suit and think she should know that no matter how sophisticated she is, becoming a mother will immediately reduce her to the primitive level of a she-bear protecting her cub. That a slightly urgent call of "Mom!" will cause her to drop a souffle. That the anger she will feel if that call came over a lost toy will be a joy she has never felt before. I feel I should warn her that no matter how many years she has invested in her career, she will be professionally derailed by motherhood. She might successfully arrange for child care, but one day she will be waiting to go into an important business meeting, and she will think about her baby's sweet smell. She will have to use every ounce of discipline to keep from running home, just to make sure he is all right. I want my friend to know that everyday routine decisions will no longer be routine. That a visit to McDonald's and a five-year-old boy's understandable desire to go the men's room rather than the women's room will become a major dilemma. That right there, in the midst of clattering trays and screaming children, issues of independence and gender identity will be weighed against the prospect that a child molester may be lurking in the rest room. I want her to know that however decisive she may be at the office, she will second-guess herself constantly as a mother. Looking at my attractive friend, I want to assure her that eventually she will shed the pounds of pregnancy, but will never feel the same about herself. That her life, now so important, will be of less value to her once she has a child. That she would give it up in a moment to save her offspring, but will also begin to hope for more years, not so much to accomplish her own dreams, but to watch her child accomplish his. I want her to know that a cesarean scar or shiny stretch marks will become badges of honor. My friend's relationship with her husband will change, I know, but not in the ways she thinks. I wish she could understand how much more you can love a man who is always careful to powder the baby or who never hesitates to play "bad guy" with his son. I think she should know that she will fall in love with her husband again for reasons she would now find very unromantic. I wish my modern friend could sense the bond she will feel with other women throughout history who have tried desperately to stop war and prejudice and drunk driving. I hope she will understand why I think rationally about most issues, but become temporally insane when I discuss the threat of nuclear war to my children's future. I want to describe to my friend the exhilaration of seeing your daughter learn to hit a baseball. I want to capture for her the belly laugh of a baby who is touching the soft fur of a dog for the first time. I want her to taste the joy that is so real, it hurts. My friend's quizzical look makes me realize that tears have formed in my eyes. "You'll never regret it," I say finally. Then I reach across the table, and squeezing my friend's hand, I offer a prayer for her and me and all the mere mortal women who stumble their way into this holiest of callings.

My Pokey

I am so proud of my oldest son. He has a heart of gold, loves God, loves his family, and has developed standards that will protect his journey and honor his first love. He has always been a great joy to us. His joyful and happy spirit, even as a child, got me through the most difficult time in my life as I lost my dad. He is my only baby that my dad got to meet and hold, of my children. It's funny how as an infant my dad called him "pokey" because he took so stinkin long to come out, and to this day he is slow at doing most things! HA! Mike and I were tested in our faith with him. When he was a little boy, he was speculated to have JRA, and we were very scared. We prayed, in fear, and I remember Mike and I saying together that we would love and serve God, no matter what the doctors said. That was hard. From his "Cover Girl" song to his little sister to his desire to drive, he has done nothing but bring pride to his dad and I. What does the future hold? Who knows? One thing I do know, nothing in life will catapult you into faith like having a son that sits on the edge of manhood. I want him to just "get it" and not have to go though all the crap it takes for the "get it" to come! I want him to know that being kind to others is always the best choice. I want him to know that jealousy and envy only keeps you from YOUR calling. I want him to taste the joy of being an answered prayer for a person in desperate need. I want him to see that hard work is not for others, but for God and His eyes only. I want him to know that the ones we push away, we always end up needing. I want him to feel the freedom of a debt free life. I want him to experience the amazing love that a husband and wife have and how when you think the love of two in one is the best ever...you have a child! I want him to know that the bible is filled with, get to's, freedoms, uncharted paths, wide open opportunities; not, boundaries, walls, rules, and not to's. I want him to have a guilt free soul when his head hits the pillow at night. I want his love for others to come before his love for things, always. I want him to see stuff as wasting away and not worth the striving, and character as an eternal gift that can be given to our Lord one day, everyday. I want him to know when to trust his feelings and when his heart is deceiving him most. If he could master what I have yet to get: That even a fool when he is silent is considered wise, it would save him so much grief. Oh if he could just get that horrible feeling of wrongdoing when gossip shows it's destructive self in a conversation. If right now, he could understand that what is freedom for one, may not be freedom for another...and THAT'S OK, he could be spared some pain. I will tell him to respect and open the door for his date, but I want him to know what that does in a young ladies heart - it raises her standards, allowing her to see what she deserves. If he could know that touching, hugging, and speaking words of life to those around you is the greatest gift we have - just ask the blind, deaf, paralyzed and sick. So much I want him to know, taste, see, get. But, it's not for him to know right now, at least not on my timing. Life really is all about the journey through understanding all these things, isn't it? I wouldn't want to take that journey away. For it's in the journey that we fall in love with our ever loving, ever kind, ever forgiving maker, right? So here I sit, along with so many others, the mother of a fifteen year old son, hoping and praying for his journey to be as painless as possible. But I must remember always, life isn't painless. Life won't be painless for him. I must release God to do what is needed for my son to taste all the above....and that will be hard at times. I must release my God, not only his, to help me lead him in the way he should go, so that in the end, he will not depart from it. For after all, that is the most important. And most eternal.

Sunlight Making Me Laugh

The moon will shine like the sun, and the sunlight will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven full days, when the LORD binds up the bruises of his people and heals the wounds he inflicted. Isaiah 30:26

There are amazing things in the Word of God, I mean, are you kidding me right now??!! Think about it, He is making a point to show us how much power and strong energy He will put into healing our wounds, our bruises! You know those days that the sun is super hot and bright, so powerful that to even look at it, it hurts your eyes. Well, this warm feeling I am thinking of, is like this: Being in a very cold building, or house, and then walking in the sunlight and literally feeling the heat soak into your skin. It's so hard to describe this feeling of warmth that almost melts away the tense feelings of cold and of chills. As a soon to be nurse I know that it's our blood vessels opening and allowing the heat and warm blood bring life to every organ and inch of our body. Where our vessels have been constricted by cold, by shivering, by a tense, rigid guarding, it is now open, relaxed, ready to distribute the oxygen, healing cells, and warmth that flows in our blood. It is an amazing feeling of warmth and healing. I know you know what I mean so go there for a moment and read that scripture again. SEVEN TIMES BRIGHTER, LIKE THE LIGHT OF SEVEN DAYS...all in one....WOW! The healing he brings to us will be like the power, heat, and brightness of seven days of full sunshine. If you feel like you have nothing to laugh about today, my friend - LET THIS BE IT!!! But wait, it gets better... He says it's the bruises and wounds that He has inflicted. So, after some study, I have realized that it is the wounds we have allowed to come into our lives because of the choices we have made. It's the bruises we have felt on our own skin, in our own life, due to the consequences of our willful acts of sin we commit against our loving Father, against the ones we love, and against ourselves. He has allowed these inflictions, these wounds, these bruises. We have given Him no other choice; For the wonderful gift of free will and the choosing of relationship with the Father also comes with mistakes, sin, and wrong choices. So with that being said, it comes to this: The sins, the hurt, the past, the mistakes, the willful acts of hurt to others, the thoughts of choices that bring pain to lives around us, the words of death spoken through us, the unforgiveness we hold to protect our brokenness, the wishing of broken dreams on another because of jealousy and envy, the willful act of withholding love because we are uncomfortable with the vulnerability it brings, the feelings of rage directed to those who hurt us, the wishful thinking of getting even to those who injure the ones we love, the words we don't speak because it shows weakness and a need for another...all this, and so much more, He speaks to. He speaks to the sins WE have committed. He speaks to the consequences he has allowed to come because of His great love for us. He speaks to those things and says:

"The moon will shine like the sun, and the sun will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven full days when the Lord binds up the bruises of His people and heals the

wounds he inflicted."

So what is the moral of this long story? He not only binds the wounds and the pain caused by another, but He also brings healing to the bruises we cause and bring to ourselves. That, my friend, is sweet freedom, sweet freedom always waiting to be felt. Always waiting to soak into our skin and be felt by a warmth that comes with the brightness of a seven day sunlight and the strength equaling seven days of SUNSHINE ALL AT ONCE!! Heat, light, brightness - they all allow us to feel again. It's like a newness that brings a power to acomplish good things, love those around us, be a minister of peace. He knows that guilt brings the opposite. Guilt traps us, holds us back, speaks lies to our souls that says we will never move beyond this point. Guilt tells us we don't deserve to move, change, or heal. Guilt reminds us what others see, so we feel parpalized and stuck. Guilt always has a plan. His plan is to keep us in the dark, to keep the good hidden and out of reach. But today, remember this: Guilt is exposed. It is brought to the surface of our journey with the sunshine of seven days. Guilt is found guilty with a sunlight that is seven times brighter. HA! That makes me laugh!

"...that we might choose the dream of God over the dream of nations"

I read this prayer and loved it! I hope you like it too. I hope it moves you a little. I feel His heartbeat in it. I can hear God's agreement in it. What do you think?

God of of Abraham, Miriam, Hannah, Rizpah, and David…
God of Elijah, Amos, Ruth, Isaiah, Deborah…
God of Mary, John the Baptizer, Peter, Paul, Philemon and Onesimus…
God of Anthony, Ambrose, Dirk Willems, Teresa of Avila, and Francis of
Assisi,
God of Dorothy Day, Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa, William
Wilberforce, and Oscar Romero
and God of love, grace, and hope…
Thank you for creating a perfect world.
Forgive us for the mess we have made of it.
Thank you for creating Jubilee, gleaning, and Sabbath as patterns to
ensure that the poor are cared for, the earth rests, and inequality is
dismantled.
Forgive us for choosing the patterns of empire.
Thank you for using the weak things to shame the strong and the
foolish things to confound the wise.
Protect us from becoming too strong or too wise.
Protect us from ourselves.
Forgive us…
for the groaning of creation
for the millions who die of hunger and curable diseases
for warehousing people in prisons and using them for labor
for the scandal of billions wasted in war
for worrying about tomorrow and storing up more than this day our
daily bread
for an economy that mirrors the seven deadly sins
for our Caesars and our Herods
for the violence and greed in our own hearts
Save us from ourselves.
Deliver us…
from the arrogance of power
from the myth of redemptive violence
from the tyranny of greed
from the ugliness of racism
from false hope and counterfeit change
from the cancer of hatred
from the seduction of wealth
from the idolatry of nationalism
from the paralysis of cynicism
from the ghettoes of poverty
from the ghettoes of wealth
from the blood-stained pages of history
and from the legacy of slavery.
Deliver us oh God.
Give us the courage…
to bless the poor in a world that blesses the middle class.
to bless the meek in a world that admires aggression.
to bless the hungry in a world that feeds the already fed.
to bless the merciful in a world that shows no mercy on evildoers.
to bless the pure in heart in a world of clutter and noise.
to bless the peacemakers in a world that baptizes bombs.
Give us imagination…
that we might not conform to the patterns of this world.
that we might shatter indifference and interrupt injustice with grace
that we might choose the cross over the sword
that we might be as shrewd as serpents and as innocent as doves
that we might consider the lillies and sparrows as they shame Wall
Street’s splendor
that we might choose the dream of God over the dreams of nations
that we might cling to the God that so loved the world, not just America
that we might allow our Jesus to change America rather than America to
change our Jesus.
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.


Shane Claiborne is a Red Letter Christian and a founding partner of The Simple Way community, a radical faith community that lives among and serves the homeless in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia. He is the co-author, with Chris Haw, of Jesus for President.

Hope Defeating Time

And hope does not disappoint, fail to fulfill the expectations or wishes of, sadden, disillusion, dishearten, frustrate, or fail to satisfy our desire. Hope does not cast down, come to nothing, deceive, delude, disconcert, disgruntle, dishearten, disillusion, embitter, fail, fall short of, foil, founder, hamper, hinder, let down, mislead, not show, ruin prospects, stand up, tease, thwart, and finally hope does not torment us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
Romans 5:4-6

Time always moves, so unthoughtful time is. It just moves and plows through life leaving it’s casualties on the side lines screaming. “Wait, stop, I’m not ready to move, I’m not ready to be your friend and run with you.” In our struggle to find meaning, time just flies, minding its own business as if what it has done to us means nothing. Time is supposed to be good, and yet there are day’s time is our biggest enemy. Sometimes time is the very thing that becomes the author of our depression, our regret, our fear, our lack of trust, our confusion, our accuser. Time reminds us that it has gone by before and will continue to go by, causing the damage it desires to cause. Time controls our emotions, when it chooses to, telling us it heals. It can’t heal. Only the truth of God’s word, of God’s promises heal, without the daily reminder of the hope we have, time can’t heal. Time, you will never heal. But today, time, I tell you, you and your wicked lies of shame, regret, stolen ground, and hurts…there is one who Lords over you. There is one who can transcend you. There is one who is in no submission to you. There is one who to Him a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like a day. There is one who can take all the damage it took you to create in a lifetime, and heal it with a sweet song of eternal joy. There is one who will stop you. He will end the strong control you have and the damage you do with that control. He will do what we, as His Children know He will. He will end your reign, continue His own, and the best thing about it…we will all be together. Those who you target for defeat and depression will be together and you, time, won’t be there. I will be there with my dad. Mike will be with his grandpa. Evan will be there with Tina. Shanen will be there with her mom. Mothers will be with the flesh of their flesh that you took from their wombs. WE WILL BE TOGETHER! We will be there with each other…without you, your power over us, and your victory in heartache. So today, I tell time, I tell death what the God of hope tells us all... When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." So time, you may a have a hold on me now and then. I may listen a little to the pain and lies you speak and be saddened by the ground you steal, but with hope in sight and with hope in charge, I say to you today, "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death is your sting? For the grass withers and the flowers fade, but the WORD of the LORD stands forever." Did you hear that time, I said forever…something you will never know.

Deeper into Faith, Belief...

AND HAPPINESS!
I am so excited for my friend and sister Chrissy! I remember when I first met her, shy and wanting to be alone. She was always beautiful, and I was always sure of the great call on her life. Afraid of kids; now she is a wonderful mother. Somewhat shy and quiet; now she is a leader in life, as she encourages and motivates others. Watching her grow deeper into faith and belief has been an encouragement! Now, she launches this creative ministry of beautiful and simple jewelry; and I am blessed! Blessed because her jewelry is simple and beautiful, just like her. Stepping out isn't easy...even if it is something you want! I want to be an RN and it has been hard, but taking that first step was taking a step deeper into faith and belief. Faith because I have to believe that God and His people will meet me, help me, hold out a hand and speak words that bring life. Belief because I have to believe that the gifts and callings that God has put in my life are to be used, raised up, exerted, applied, utilized, and displayed for His glory. My gifts and callings can change others more than I can know...but, one thing is certain: if I just think about what it can do, and never do it, I won't ever know. So, yay! YAY to a dream realized and a dream at the starting line! I pray for each of us. That we would dare to jump in a little deeper into faith and belief and do those things that have been sitting in our mind to do. Just because it's not something super spiritual doesn't mean the hand of God doesn't rest heavy on it! Your dream is an avenue into your greatness! It won't fix all our problems, but stepping deeper into faith and belief will add joy to our souls, and make us happier people! So here ya have it - nothing super profound, just a reminder note. A reminder note that says: Wake up my Child and go for it! Nothing is too hard for me! What you want to do, do it. Comment your way to me and I will make your path straight. Straight....and happy! :) Also, as a side note: Tell someone your dream and let them join in speaking life and encouragement into it! We need each other! But...we need each other happy! :)
...check her jewelry out at the link on "my sites" on this page! ----->

From Gravity into Freedom

Sometimes a song just gets me, like the one you should be hearing now. (i took it off my page, but it's Gravity by Sara Bareilles). I love it when that happens! I understand that some of you may think this is cheesy, but let's get one thing straight...God will use whatever works. I have been listening to this song for weeks. I love her voice and her lyrics, but for some reason I have been drawn to this particular song. Now, I don't usually change the intended meaning of a song to fit my own life, OK...maybe I do. But, I'm sure the writer would be OK with that, right? It's art, left to the interpreter for it's meaning of how it moves someone, changes someone, releases the feelings needing to be released, right? Well this song developed into a conversation with my sin. Now, don't freak out, I don't usually converse with my sin and my weaknesses, but this song motivated me to speak to that which separates me from moving forward and on to freedom. I understand she is speaking of a relationship that is bringing her down, a relationship that she uses as comfort, for her own pleasures. One that she chooses to hold on to, hide behind, be comfortable in...sorta like that thing, that thing that we can't shake, that sin that comes back over and over again. You know, the one thing that you can't believe you let have it's way AGAIN, the thing that causes you to fall AGAIN, believe the lie AGAIN!!! UGH! For some of you it may be unforgiveness, doubt, the inability to surrender, to trust. For others it may be the need to control something you must let go of, a lack of self control, needing the approval of someone, lust of any kind, money, pride, insecurity, fear, being easily offended, gossip, the desire to marry, the desire to not be married, hate, or jealousy... just...THAT THING!! You know, the one we sorta like, but hate all at the same time. We want what we know, what we are used to. We want the good feeling it brings our flesh; not the rain it brings...and it will bring rain, always. It's that choice we make, and keep going back to, that reminds us that we are weak and unable to stand tall. It is , in fact, that sin that we need to speak to and say, "SET ME FREE, LEAVE ME BE, I DON'T WANT TO FALL ANOTHER MOMENT INTO YOUR GRAVITY." I don't think we should focus on our sin, but being aware of that which keeps us down, which has power over our freedom, is good. It's good because when it rears it's ugly head, it rears it's ugly head in a soul that knows it's power over my weak flesh. I'm no longer blind to it's plan, its desired outcome. Light sheds death on that which holds me back. Knowing, puts me that that much closer to the freedom that awaits, moves me closer to the freedom that awaits others, through me. Call me crazy, but in this sad, lost, empty love song, I found a way to say enough and no more. Try it!

Gravity

Something always brings me back to you, It never takes too long

No matter what I say or do, I still feel you here till the moment I'm gone

You hold me without touch, you keep me without chains

I never wanted anything so much then to drown in your love and not feel your rain

Set me free, leave me be, I don't wanna fall another moment into your gravity

Here I am and I stand so tall I'm just the way I'm supposed to be

But you're on to me and all over me

You loved me cause I'm fragile when I thought that I was strong

But you touched me for a little while and all my fragile strength is gone

Set me free...

I live here on my knees as I try to make you see

That your everything I think I need here on the ground

But your neither friend nor foe though I can't seem to let you go

The one thing that I still know is that you're keeping me down

You're keeping me down

You're on to me, on to me and all over

Something always brings me back to you

It never takes too long

~In order that satan might not outwit us, for we are not unaware of his schemes.

2 Cor 2:11

~Sin is crouching at your door, it desires to have you, but you must master it.

Genesis 4:7

~For sin shall not be your master, for you are not under law, but under grace.

Romans 6:14

~For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.

Romans 8:13

~In all things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

Romans 8:37

~Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world.

1 John 4:4

Awaits Your Reaching

Valentines day is coming and I am so aware that it's not always a cheery day for everyone. Life is hard, relationships struggle, and if you are waiting for your love, it can be a long and weary journey. Hopeful one day, a big ball of doubt the next. When I saw this artwork I was reminded of our Father's love for us, you, me, the lonely, the not lonely. All of us. Because the truth is; a lover cannot satisfy your deepest needs and longings. A lover cannot reach down in the depths of who you are and meet the most driest of needs. A lover cannot find the hidden parts of your true self and make them glow with self confidence. A lover cannot know the longings so passionate in your heart, that he can make them be experienced just at the perfect time in history. A lover cannot know the undone parts of your painful history and introduce it to healing many years later. A lover cannot know the dreams and desires you have when you don't know them yet. A lover cannot find a friend that only he knows can bring joy and perseverance through the difficult times in life. A lover cannot know the plans that will bring you good and speak them into existence years before you taste the reality of them. A lover cannot hear your unspoken questions and answer them though ways you never imagined possible. A lover cannot cover a multitude of sins with perfect kindness. A lover cannot wash you white as snow, and then perfectly create a circumstance that causes that washed away sin help redeem others. A lover cannot create a divine appointment that will change your destiny. A lover cannot answer your prayer for a lost loved one or a dying friend. A lover cannot send away the evil that speaks doubts and lies to your soul. And although a lover makes us feel good and is our soul mate, a lover cannot love you with a perfect, I created you, love. He (or she) wasn't created to do that. So Happy Valentines Day, friend, because this day, lonely or not, you have found a lover that says,"Pick a Heart From my Tree of Life." It never changes, never dies, and always has the heart you need to pick. Everyday, every second, our perfect loving Father has the love note you need. So, married or not, your lover AWAITS YOUR REACHING and can't wait for you to know the surprises His HEARTS have for you.

Isabelle and Lennon: Sundy's version of a Norman Rockwell Painting... I will call it, "The Guardian."