A HEART INSPIRED

Well, here I sit in disbelief, in a little bit of denial and quite frankly... in shock. Look at me, expanding my horizons; widening my circle, leaping out of my little fish bowl...gazing way out yonder, exceedingly beyond my little prairie! Putting myself out there; exposing personal hopes and dreams, choices and mishaps, family matters and longings. If only one year ago, you had asked me...could it even be remotely possible, that shy, quiet, private me...would be Blogging, FaceBooking, Tweeting , Job Hunting ...on the Internet? I would have said... Never. No way. Whatever for? Not interested. Nope. Not a chance. No. Uh-uh. No-way No-how. No Sirree Bob. NOT ME! Social Networking is not for me. It doesn't suit me. It won't benefit me. It couldn't help me. It might possibly harm me. Whatever for? Yet, here I sit. Loving every moment of it! I feel free. I feel exhilarated. What have I got to hide? This is ...

As far back as I can remember, being a mom was the very desire of my heart. As a little girl, I mothered my dolls as if they were my very own living, breathing babies. Friends and family always knew I would have a bunch someday. When my husband proposed at the age of nineteen, I told him that I would need to be a stay at home mom for our children. He whole heartedly agreed, and I said yes to the proposal! Well, as it turns out I have been blessed beyond measure. My cup, surely it runneth over!                                       I was twenty four years old when our first was born and and thirty one when our fourth arrived. Life was incredibly fun and tremendously exciting. Super busy and exceedingly joyful. Never had I imagined all of the living and loving we would do. I doted on t...

T his title comes to you, courtesy of my mother. We were discussing the blog and the things that I have written about. I shared with her that I have no idea what I'm going to express until my fingers hit the key board. Literally, word after word, I do not know what it is that will end up on the screen until I press 'publish'. We tossed around the idea of how it would be fun if topics were brought to my attention and requests were made for me to broach ideas of interest to my readers. Well, she blurts out to me "The bells are ringing!" I said, "Huh?" and there you have it. That is the topic that she threw into my lap and onto your screen!         ~ Surely, it would have been easy enough to write about, just Google some facts about bells and steeples, mention some historical insights, a few quaint photos and there you have it. A blog about ringing bells.        ~ I actually tossed around the...

Nitty~Gritty; (n) The specific or practical details; the heart of the matter.                                                                          Such a peculiar choice of words to express such a serious sentiment. The heart of the matter. Why is it that the details of ones life are so easily filtered and siphoned into the mere celebration of resolving the blunders as quickly as possible? Overlooking details at great lengths, for the sake of moving on. Whatever happened to getting down to the nitty~gritty, really sinking your teeth into every morsel and coming out the victor, with the end result being clear and audible...

Cry me a river, so deep and so wild. Thought I would have drowned in these tears of a child. Found myself in a big strong boat. Searched a little deeper, it was built from hope. The oars, so strong, resilient with might. They were my compass...I held on tight.                                                                Cry me a river, so deep and so wild.                                              The journey was hard, exhaust...

Girls...remember when I said I was going to revisit some places....well, this is where it probably gets pretty real. I was all prepared to write about my sweet, dear, Buddy Bear. However ... As I was collecting my thoughts and thinking about how I wanted to express the amazing love that occurs between a dog and his family, I embarked on a trip through recollection valley. I came across some redemptive pit stops, more than one regretful u-turn, quite a few shameful dead-ends and a whole bunch of water under the bridge exits. It is by the Grace of God that this road trip ended on a blazingly sunny pasture with a flowing brook and meandering paths, overgrown with daisies and lilies of the valley, weeping willows, glorious oaks and every shade of lavender. I found myself in the land of Goshen. It turns out that you do have to struggle through some undesirable travels in order to recognize the destination when you finally get there.         ...

                Happy 9th Birthday Becca Paige   Becca's Poem ~ 2010 Becca Silver is turning eight How exciting, let's celebrate She is pretty and smart and also funny Just a sweet picture she's cute as a bunny I have to say I love her to bits Especially when she has her morning fits Oh, big dreams she has so many A teacher a dancer a princess to boot What a cutie, that Becca She's a hoot Oh, the joy and blessings she brings to my day I thank you Dear God for making her, just this way!{vs} Becca, Sweety... I have a story to share It's about you and your special flare! How you came into this world All precious and sweet Loving you each day has truly been neat Your brother and sisters adore you too You make them laugh with all you do How blessed we are that you are here We cherish your hugs you are so dear Continue to grow and do good as you go Always remember ...

The final airing of The Oprah Winfrey Show, after 25 years and four thousand five hundred sixty one shows. Oprah bids us, farewell: Whether you love her or hate her, tolerate her or turn her off, one thing is for sure, Oprah Winfrey has made a lasting impression. In so many ways, she has touched millions of lives. I have always LOVED her...in the past few years, however, I have become a little jaded with questions circulating about her faith and the God she serves. {Today, she seemed to put that to rest, at least for me. She spent quite a bit of time, expressing her faith to the One True God.} Even though it seemed a little questionable, (her faith) I still could not escape a level of  fascination I felt for her. I found myself mesmerized time and time again. It didn't seem to matter what needed to get done, or who needed to get where, if Oprah was on, things were just going to have to wait. I honestly cannot remember an episode when I have not crie...

 ~The Lord Certainly Knew What He Was Doing When He Created Friendship ~   I have been so very blessed with the truest, most sincere friends. To me, they are the very face of God. His embrace ~ His smile Reflected. I don't know what I did to deserve them. I pray that I can be such a dear to those I love. I long to see this repeated in my children's lives as they grow. Friendship. It shapes us. It molds us. Even the ones that don't last or may have even caused pain. We grow, we learn, we do better . Looking back on my entire life, I can say that I have always, always had wonderful friends. Most have lasted a lifetime, with some separation in between. Quite a few are newer friendships, which have been clearly ordained by God. I think of how, if only I had made this decision or that one, if I had only chosen that house instead of this one or attended a different church or shopped at a ...

PROCRASTINATION....               PROCRA ...                            PRO... See what I mean....it's the name of my game, it's how I roll. I'm starting to think it's the reason I started this blog. I have tons to do, it's not like I don't. There's laundry to put away, kids to tuck in, dishes to wash, floors to mop, bathrooms to clean, boxes to pack, hairs to pluck, cobwebs to dust, lunches to make... And for those of you reading this....shouldn't you be tending to other things as well? I promise myself at least once a day, maybe twelve times a day that I will stop this. It's not at all productive...the procrastinating not the blogging. This thing that I do isn't funny or cute to anyone but me. It's had me missing appointments, deadlines and such. I'm creating little mo...

Juliet: O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, and I'll no longer be a Capulet. Romeo:[ Aside] Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this? Juliet: 'Tis but thy name that is my enemy; Thou art thyself, though not a Montague. What's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot, nor arm, nor face, nor any other part belonging to a man. O, be some other name! What's in a name? that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet ; So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd, retain that dear perfection which he owes without that title. Romeo, doff thy name, and for that name which is no part of thee take all myself . Romeo: I take thee at thy word: Call me but love, and I'll be new baptized; Henceforth I never will be Romeo . T here are more that one hundred and fifty different varieties of roses, each with their own uniquename...I've narrowed it down a tad ~ These...

~1988~ Guardian Angel from up above, Full of Grace and precious love Send me hope and strength....endurance and pride Forgive me my sins, Lord, and those times I've lied Help me to be better, to love from within Deliver me from the hell, in which I've been Help me, O Lord, to become all that I can be Save me from the disasters I cannot see Guard me my Angel, you've been sent with care To guide my life and to just be there... {Valentina Silver©️} I was 17 then...I am 40 today... ~ it seems as though this senitiment, this prayer, has been a constant in my life...This is one time I cannot say "I wish I knew then, what I know now" Looks like I knew where to turn, even then.                   ~ Psalm 91:11 ~ For He will command his angels concerning you, to g uard you in all your ways.                 ...

There is a reason roses have thorns... I never thought of this as a young  girl.... we don't often hesitate to make them our own treasures; these beautiful, fragrant, delicate creatures. The little prick on the finger is so insignificant at the time. We reach for them without a moments pause. How greedy we are. Maybe this is how one would express a deep loss. Maybe someone greedy just grabbed at you and what was yours... without a moments pause. Ouch.  So you are plucked, left to dry out, discarded...your suffering is short. But the one who did the grabbing... the greedy one, well their pleasure was certainly short lived as well.  Shall it suffice to say, perhaps that you brought the beauty and held something so desireable that it had to be had...thorns and all. There is a reason roses have thorns... {Valentina Silver©️}