Archive | March 2014

My Favorite Things Now Obsolete

Mar11

image

Price tags on the products in the grocery
Handritten letters with stamps for history
Toys fueled by imagination not batteries
There was no shame if you worked in the factories.

Saturday cartoons that were truly funny
Ten bucks an hour meant you made some money
Library days spent searching the stacks
Sun warmed tomatoes off vines for snacks.

Fireflies in Mason jars for summer night lights
Believing the world would turn out alright
Barbie’s bed was my book and in my world she was singing
Conversations got held face-to-face not by texting.

When the clock strikes
And I’m fifty
I won’t be so blue
Until I remember my favorite things
Are all obsolete!

Newspapers delivered fresh every morning
Parents understood what their kids were learning
A book was a friend I held in my hands
A portal to new people, places and lands.

Everything wasn’t blamed on global warming
Cautions on medication didn’t read like deadly warnings
A man was a man a woman a woman
Solving our problems meant first do what you can.

Sears and Penny’s were the places to shop
No one in the Deep South drank soda pop
We used sugar and real butter for baking
The best gifts to give were the ones you spent making.

When the clock strikes
And I’m fifty
I won’t be so blue
Until I remember my favorite things
Are now all obsolete.
d.f.a.v. 3-11-14
Giggles!
–Donna

Gratitude from the Cottage by the Sea

Mar10

image
Abba Father,
The door to my “secret room” is open
My sins, my flaws, weaknesses exposed
But I’ve prayed about them before
These things I hide You already know.
I didn’t come to our seaside abode
To pray over things or past hurts
I come here today to say thank you
For the way Your Spirit within me works.
Let me express my gratitude
For Your daily protection and strength
Your provisions and Your guidance
Have added tremendously to my days in length.
Your love for me is so vital
It’s grace, it’s peace, it’s joy
It heals my deepest hurts and anguish
More comforting than a child’s treasured toy.
I take so much, too much, for granted
Show so little gratitude in turn
How pitiful the time I take to express
Thanks for Your love within that burns.
For people loving me beyond measure
When I’ve deserved it the least
They’ve stepped up and loved me like You
When I’ve been much like a beast.
I’m ashamed of the times I forget
To say thank You for them too,
Its weak and its even foolish
To forget one’s truest of true.
Lord Your blessings upon me can’t be numbered
Like the grains of sand on the beach
Your love that covers me keeps growing,
Keeping them all within my grasping reach.
Let me take the time say You
Thank You Abba for blessings abound
Thank You for this moment right now
For being lost now being found.
Thank You Abba Father, thank You
No expression will ever be enough
For the blessings always around me
As beautiful as the sand and surf.
d.f.a.v. 3-10-14
Gratefully,
–Donna

Cottage by the Sea at 1:56 a.m.

Mar7

Dear Abba!
Can we sit here?  Together.
Do You ever feel this way?
Plain ole’ washed out and tired.
Once every million days?

This body of mine?  Hurting.
I know You know that.
I just need to say it anyway.
A need to state the fact.

My heart burdened.  Needless.
I have You and prayer.
No other resource works so well.
I need sweet, sweet prayer.
image

But I also have Your Spirit.
It dwells with in me.  Thank you.
Can we just sit here?  Silent.
Can I lean on You?

Close my eyes, let go?
Will You bind up my wounds?
Restore my mournful soul?
Regive to me Your sound?

Ease my troubled mind
Takes much to bear this all
With me not understanding
I feel so really small.
image
Here’s where I want to be.
Must be.  To be truly free
Quiet in Your presence
From our Cottage by the Sea.
         d.f.a.v. 3-7-14
Take time to have time with God,
—Donna

Happy Birthday Alex

Mar5

image

My sweet nephew Alex turns 20 today
His birth is the only live birth I’ve seen,
He has less than five percent of his brain stem
Doctor’s shake their heads in disbelief
     he shouldn’t be alive
     how is it he’s alive
     what keeps him alive?
Doctor’s are great but not God
Alex, you have a purpose, but not only in their medical journals,
In the fabric of our family, our lives
Sweet young man you were meant to be–
     smiling always
     loving always
     always always.
You are such a charming fellow,
Seeming to flirt with nurses from your bed,
All the hours of monitors bleeping
I remember when you slept tucked under my chin–
     sick little boy
     loved little boy
     sweet little boy.
All the doctor’s dire predictions
They come back to haunt us
You’re frozen in developmental time
Meningitis robbed you robbed us
     of certain things
     of “normal” things
     but not all things.
Happy birthday miracle child
Thank you for showing us how little can be enough
We waste our big old brains
That love is understood on a level we cannot fathom–
     God loves you
     Mom loves you
     Your dad’s love you
     Your sisters love you
     I love you
     Your whole family loves you.
Happy, Happy, Happy 20th birthday Alex!
          d.f.a.v 3-5-14

Run Home

Mar4

image
The game was in overtime
The players were tired
Coaches still pushed for a win
Hopes were high could it be done again?
This team could do it
They were the boys
And then…
Coach looked at his list
Had to be someone who rarely missed
But could it really be true?
Yet next in the line-up
Was their weakest of players
And then…
The crowd held their breath
Teammates cursed the fates
A victory depended on him?
He picked up his bat
Took his stance at home plate
Ball came whistling
And then…
With unusual strength
Amazing beauty and grace
He swung, “smack”, ball contact
He flew by first and second
Feet touched third
He was flying for home
And then…
The hospital room grew quiet
His mother was crying
His dad shed tears of his own
“Go ahead Son, run for home!
“Run for home, there it’s safe,
There’s no better place.”
And then…
The mourners were weeping
Doctor’s shook weary heads
Hopes turned to why’s again
But in heaven waiting in place
With outstretched arms
Jesus waited as he
Flew towards home
And then…
The hometown team
Rejoiced in his ultimate win
He was home, he was safe,
Though gone from them
Up in heaven he raced
The bases he again
Home run!  He wins!
          d.f.a.v 3-3-14
To honor every child whose lives have been claimed by terminal illnesses or accidents…The Game is dedicated. Not to make their journeys a “game”, the analogy I used was not used in disrespect.

–Donna

Ah, the Good Ole’ Days

Mar3

image
Lord, I miss them,
The good ole’ days!
When things were simpler,
     folks were surely gentler,
     life’s pace was much slower,
     time’s passing seemed kinder,
Right Lord?

I mean, weren’t they?

Father God,
The good ole’ days!
Even with wars and rumors of wars,
     huge, fast, hot rod cars,
     we never dreamt of exploring Mars,
     when we vowed to grab the stars,
Right Father?

I mean weren’t they?
Weren’t we?
The good ole’ days?

Dear Lord, I miss
The good ole’ days!
Saturday morning cartoons,
     Sunday morning church’ til noon,
     children weren’t grown so soon,
     life’s fabric from grandma’s loom.
Right Lord?

I mean weren’t they?
Weren’t we?
It was better, right?

Lord, I miss them,
The good ole’ days!
No air conditioning, playing outside,
     home made dresses and pies,
     truth was simply not a lie,
     imagination took to the skies.
Right Lord?

I mean didn’t I?
Weren’t we?
Didn’t they?

Lord Jesus, do I miss
The good ole’ days?
I can see maybe only in hindsight,
     before adulthood came to light,
     the sun set on innocence’s night,
     parents made everything right.
Right Lord?

Is it them I miss?
Or me then?
Though I’m okay
With me today.
Are you?

Amen.

d.f.a.v. 3-3-14

-Donna