BOOK 08, CHAPTER 4, PAGE 30

All of Spring proclaims the Hope

God gives our hearts

Both the hummingbird and the vulture fly

over our nation's deserts.

All vultures see is rotting meat,

because that is what they look for.

They thrive on that diet.

But hummingbirds ignore the smelly flesh

of dead animals.

Instead, they look for the colorful

blossoms of desert plants.

The vultures live on what was.

They live on the past.

They fill themselves with what is dead and gone.

But hummingbirds live on what is.

They seek new life. They fill themselves

with freshness and life.

Each bird finds what it is looking for.

We all do.

Author unknown

GOOD MORNING !

OVER THE HUMP DAY

Mid week always seems a bit of struggle. I’m always glad when this day is past and I know the work week will soon end. The 5 days of work are now grandly compensated by my little place in the woods, but those 5 days seem awful long sometimes.

Yes, just like the hummer in the little story above, we all do find what we’re looking for. Oh, if only I could understand the faith of the hummingbird. She sits on her perch and belts out a song of joy and exuberance. She has not a care in the world. Her only desire is to let creation know that she is alive and well

My little song is not so exuberant for sure

I owe, I owe

It’s off to work I go….

 

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

Go outside, to the fields, enjoy nature

and the sunshine, go out and try to recapture

happiness in yourself and in God.

Think of all the beauty that’s still left in

and around you and be happy!

Anne Frank

In this season of renewal and rejuvenation

May your spirit soar high and

May you be blessed

Not just today, but always.

 

Wishing you a beautiful SPRING !

MA

 

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BOOK 08, CHAPTER 4, PAGE 29

All of Spring proclaims the Hope

God gives our hearts

If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy,

if a blade of grass springing up in the fields

has power to move you,

if the simple things of nature have a message

that you understand, rejoice, for your soul is alive.

Eleonora Duse

GOOD MORNING !

It will be cold here for a couple of days but it’s supposed to warm up by the weekend which is good for me.

I can’t put my warm clothing away as it is definitely needed some days and since we had a few really warm days I’ve got my summer weight clothing out too. I’ll be glad when I can put some away as my closet is full to bursting with it all.

It is hard to believe that the end of April is almost here and that means a new month and I’ve not even thought about what my theme for May will be, so I’d best get busy with it.

We have lots of celebrations coming up next month too. I have another first communion this coming Sunday for our Star and our Angel’s birthday is also that day. My DS#4’s birthday, DDIL#5’s birthday, and DSIL’s birthday, and DS#3 and his wife's anniversary will all be celebrated in May. Gosh I hope I didn’t forget anyone…it will be busy. Oh, I did forget…Mothers Day is also celebrated in May. I’ll get to sit back and enjoy that one for sure.

May will bring warmer days and more sunshine for us here in Northern Ohio. I’m looking forward to that. We really did have a lovely April for the most part. All the Spring flowers and blooms out did themselves for sure. We had just enough warmth and sunshine to make them really show off for us.

I found myself ready to dose off by 7:00 in the evening yesterday. I made my self stay up til the usual 9:00 but I could have gone earlier. I really don’t want to go to bed when it is still daylight outside.

The longer days are really nice as I now go to work in the daylight in the morning. The ride to work is always lovely as I get out in the country for a while, but when it is dark out it’s not much fun.

Have a great Tuesday everyone!

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

A laugh is just like sunshine.

It freshens all the day

 

In this season of renewal and rejuvenation

May your spirit soar high and

May you be blessed

Not just today, but always.

 

Wishing you a beautiful SPRING !

MA

 

 

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BOOK 08, CHAPTER 4, PAGE 28

All of Spring proclaims the Hope

God gives our hearts

 

Oh, how fresh the wind is blowing!

See! The sky is bright an clear,

Oh, how green the grass is growing!

April! April! Are you here?

Dora R. Goodale

GOOD MORNING

The weekend went by so fast and here it is Monday again. It will be another long work week ahead but then come Friday I’ll be off to the camper once more.

The weather has turned chilly here and after the really warm weather of last week it is a bit disappointing, but then it is more normal too. My lilacs are just about to bloom and everything is bright and beautiful. What more could we ask?

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle

In this season of renewal and rejuvenation

May your spirit soar high and

May you be blessed

Not just today, but always.

Wishing you a beautiful SPRING !

MA

 

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BOOK 08, CHAPTER 4, PAGE 27

All of Spring proclaims the Hope God gives our hearts

Yesterday the twig was brown and bare;

To-day the glint of green is there;

Tomorrow will be leaflets spare;

I know no thing so wondrous fair,

No miracle so strangely rare.

I wonder what will next be there!

L.H. Bailey

I have a sense of what a farmer feels when a springtime field is ready for planting. There’s an expectant eagerness, a readiness to spend long hours of hard work planting seeds because each seed holds a promise of growth

Good Evening Everybody,

It was another fast and busy weekend. I went to my granddaughter’s First Communion on Saturday morning and then headed for the camper mid afternoon. The weather turned out to be beautiful after a rainy start and I took lots of pictures as you can see.

I have to get things ready to go back to work tomorrow so I’ll see you all in the morning !

You are all in my thoughts and prayers!

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

Every single day is precious and unique. Spend each day moving life forward in apersonally meaningful way

Ralph Marston

In this season of renewal and rejuvenation

May your spirit soar high and

May you be blessed

Not just today, but always.

Wishing you a beautiful SPRING !

MA

BOOK 08, CHAPTER 4, PAGE 26

All of Spring proclaims the Hope

God gives our hearts

I live now and only now, and I will do what I want to do this moment and not what I decided was best for me yesterday.

Hugh Prather

Enjoyment and appreciation are matters of choice. "Wherever we are, we have the capacity to enjoy the sunshine." Wherever we are, and whenever we're there. It's pretty simple, yet so hard to put into practice. It takes work, and it takes constant effort. It takes opening our minds and our hearts to the possibility of seeing--truly seeing--our surroundings and all that they hold

GOOD MORNING !

Enjoying my life sometimes does take a bit of work. First of all in order to enjoy the weekend at the camper I had lots to do at home that I don’t usually do.

In order to enjoy today’s family celebration for our Princess I had to get up really early and travel 2 hours to their home.  I also baked a cake last evening and made an effort to decorate it for her. I don’t think I’ll be showing any pictures of it as it is honestly only something my family could appreciate. I am not a cake decorator at all.

I won’t worry about that though, being together with all of them is what is important for sure. I’ll be camping after the family get together and will return home Sunday evening. I hope to have pictures for you all.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

If my heart can become pure and simple like that of a child,

I think there can be no happiness greater than this.

Kitaro Nishida

In this season of renewal and rejuvenation

May your spirit soar high and

May you be blessed

Not just today, but always.

Wishing you a beautiful SPRING !

MA

 

 

 

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BOOK 08, CHAPTER 4, PAGE 25

All of Spring proclaims the Hope

God gives our hearts

The way I see it, if you want the rainbow,

you gotta put up with the rain.

Dolly Parton

Life's too short and beautiful to look at darkly and hopelessly, so do your best to see it brightly, and share that brightness with others, and you'll see how much of a change you'll go through.

 

GOOD MORNING

Sometimes the news is all about what is wrong with this old world of ours and because that is what we hear about, we begin to think everything is going wrong in the world. The truth is there are still good and beautiful people and things in our world .

I try to always dwell on the positive side of life and if something or some one gets me down I try to avoid them. Negativism is a terrible thing. It can take over our minds until that is all we can think about sometimes. If we can just find one happy thought and think about it for awhile, everything suddenly becomes much brighter.

After reading the article about wind chimes that I had in my entry yesterday, I went shopping at lunch time on Thursday and tried to find some small wind chimes to hang in my car, but had no success. I’ll have to keep looking because it really sounds like a good idea to me. I found lots of large ones, but the car really needs some little ones.

I have them on my porch and often hear them blowing in the wind, and I think I need more of them in my life. They will be calming as I take the long drive to the camper each weekend and also on the ride to work each day.

My work was all finished when I left work yesterday so today will be one of those slow long ones I fear. All my files are in order so there is nothing to do…I even vacuumed the office already this week. I think it must be a ‘TRIP TO THE BEACH DAY!

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

Let your hopes,

not your hurts,

shape your future.

Robert H. Schuller

In this season of renewal and rejuvenation

May your spirit soar high and

May you be blessed

Not just today, but always.

Wishing you a beautiful SPRING !

MA

 

 

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BOOK 08, CHAPTER 4, PAGE 24

All of Spring proclaims the

Hope God gives our hearts

NURTURING YOUR SPIRIT ... wind chimes

When you think of making noise for comfort,

you might think of singing, tapping your feet,

whistling, or humming. Those are great,

but there are other ways to release tension,

lift up your mood, and energize your spirit.

One of them is with chimes.

Chiming soothes our ethereal self.

Carry small chimes with you.

Play them when stuck in traffic, on your lunch break,

in the bathtub. Experiment with different sequences,

pitches, and volumes. Pay attention to the silence

 between chords. This exceedingly simple act is amazingly

powerful in its ability to bring you to a state of balanced,

calm wonder.

GOOD MORNING

I wasn’t having any luck finding a nice poem or story to share with you so this entry is short and sweet compared to most I make.

I’ve been busy at home every evening this week trying to catch up from having the weekend away. I’m not doing so well at that and things seem abit out of sink around here. I’ll have to work on keeping some balance between work, home and camping.

It’ll just take awhile to work it all out I hope

I plan on enjoying the weekends so the extra during the week will make it all worth while. If I could find some extra energy that would help for sure.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

Dead ends...

Remember, when you reach a dead end,

It is nothing more than a good place to turn around.

In this season of renewal and rejuvenation

May your spirit soar high and

May you be blessed

Not just today, but always.

Wishing you a beautiful SPRING !

MA

 

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BOOK 08 CHAPTER 4, PAGE 23

All of Spring proclaims the

Hope God gives our hearts

I shall open my eyes and ears.

Once every day I shall simply stare at a tree,

a flower, a cloud, or a person. I shall not

then be concerned at all to ask what they

are but simply be glad that they are.

I shall joyfully allow them their "divine,

magical, and ecstatic" existence.

Clyde S. Kilby

What gives quality to my day? When I say or do something that comes from my heart and consider the uniqueness in this world, that is quality time.

 GOOD MORNING !

Here is a fun thing to do for you today

Let everyone know what kind of flower you are! http://www.thisgardenisillegal.com/cgi-bin/quiz.cgi

I found out I was a daisy -- you have to click on the picture of the flower there and it will ask you questions to determine what kind of flower you are.

And it said:

You are just a sweet person. When a friend needs a shoulder to cry on, you are happy to offer yours with a box of tissues as well. Once in awhile, you wish you could be a little more dramatic but then sensibility sets back in and you know that you are perfect the way you are

Well the good Lord made me so I am what I am

I found that link on a blog that was written by the same lady that does OLD FASHIONED LIVING. I don’t have the link to that one right at the moment but I’ll have to put it in my links on the sidebar.

The laptop is now up and running just fine and if I make it to the campground this weekend I may just try it out. Rain is predicted for the entire weekend, so I may just stay at home.

Saturday I have to be at my granddaughters first communion celebration most of the day anyway.

Today is Wednesday and we go over the hump once more and can then slide on in to the weekend.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

Be who you are and say what you feel,

because those who mind don't matter,

and those who matter don't mind.

Dr. Seuss

In this season of renewal and rejuvenation

May your spirit soar high and

May you be blessed

Not just today, but always.

Wishing you a beautiful SPRING !

MA

BOOK 08, CHAPTER 4, PAGE 22

All of Spring proclaims the

Hope God gives our hearts

We must work on our souls, enlarging and expanding them. We do so by experiencing all of life-- the beauty and the joy as well as the grief and pain. Soul work requires paying attention to life, to the laughter and the sorrow, the enlightening and the frightening, the inspiring and the silly.

Matthew Fox

GOOD MORNING !

I really believe that everything we experience in life is there for a reason. Some things help us to grow and to learn. Other things bless us with their beauty and awesome splendor. Even my going to work each day has done lots for me as I’ve come to realize the value of what I do.

With the good Lord’s help each day is molding and shaping me. I’m certainly not the person I was 20 years ago nor will I be the person I am now 20 years from now.

We have been so blessed here with beautiful weather. The last few days we’ve had above normal temps and more sunshine than rain for sure. It probably won’t last as we usually don’t get this warm until later in May but I’m enjoying it!

To answer a question by Jan in a comment she made -- I was welcomed at the church I went to last Sunday. Yes, the people there are quite friendly and are very used to ‘campers’ invading them come nice weather.

The countryside all around this area is a tourist spot. People come from near and far to enjoy the hiking, fishing, canoeing and boating .etc. So they are very accommodating to us outsiders.

I noticed in their church bulletin that they even add an extra service during the summer months. I’m just happy to have found one so near to where I camp. I always miss my home church when I’m away, but they’ve seen a lot of me over the years and I of them so it’s good to have a little change now and then.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

Things are only worth what you make them worth.

Moliere

In this season of renewal and rejuvenation

May your spirit soar high and

May you be blessed

 Not just today, but always.

Wishing you a beautiful SPRING !

MA

 

 

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BOOK 08, CHAPTER 4, PAGE 21

All of Spring proclaims the

Hope God gives our hearts

 

HOW TO HAVE A BAD DAY

Wake up late, in a panic

Rush to get ready

Dress hurriedly

Don't eat

Drink lots of coffee

No spiritual reflection

No exercise

Don't plan your day

Focus on your failures.

Never smile

Be selfish and unfriendly

Criticize, blame, complain

Think negative thoughts

Dictate, direct, command

Don't forget to nag

Don't overlook mistakes

Grumble

No time for lunch

Harbor resentment

Keep rushing

Don't communicate

Keep it all to yourself

Worry about tomorrow

Be rigid and cranky

Retire with bad thoughts and a full stomach.

HOW TO HAVE A GOOD DAY!

Wake up early - don't rush

Breath slowly and deeply

Exercise

Have some quiet time

Greet everyone

Smile a lot

Compliment often

Communicate

Listen more - talk less

Beware of giving advice

View your work as a privilege

Express appreciation

Do your best

Welcome change

Relax your neck muscles

Plan time for relaxation

Throw away negative feelings

Let go of anger and guilt

Leave work at work

Review your accomplishments

Plan pleasurable events

 Eat well at night

Recognize your blessings

Lots of love

GOOD MORNING !

It’s Monday morning once again. With all my rest and relaxation this past weekend it’s going to be very hard to put the payroll out at work today. It will be busy as I’m sure there are things on my desk from Friday too ! The good thing is that I have next weekend to look forward to.

My laptop is not quite set to work at the campground yet, but I do now have it. DS#4 is helping me to get it set up. I need to import my folders from my other computer.

I have to go to the camp office/clubhouse to use the Wi-Fi but that will be sort of nice in the summer time as they have a deck overlooking the lake there that I can set out on. I haven’t had any time to do that just yet as we’ve been so busy getting the campsites set up.

I owe, I owe It’s off to work I go

It’s going to be a great day!

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

Come now, put aside your

business for a while,

take refuge for a little

from your tumultuous thoughts,

cast off your cares and

let your burdensome distractions wait.

Take some leisure time with God

and rest awhile with God.’

St. Anselm

Yesterday was the feast of Anselm who lived over a thousand years ago and was a great thinker and writer of his time. But even back then he recognized a great need to take a step back from all we do and to take time to reflect. . . . Anyone who can take a few steps aside from the hectic pace of life in whatever way is doing themselves a great favour

Today Is My Gift to You

http://www.todayismygifttoyou.ie/

(That was certainly what I did over the weekend.)

In this season of renewal and rejuvenation

May your spirit soar high and

May you be blessed

Not just today, but always.

Wishing you a beautiful SPRING !

MA

BOOK 08, CHAPTER 4, PAGE 20

All of Spring proclaims the Hope

 God gives our hearts

There is always a tomorrow.

There is always a tomorrow with God

and your tomorrow with God

will be better than today.

Certainly, some of our tomorrows of the past

we now call our yesterdays have not been the best.

 Some of our yesterdays may

even have been horribly tragic.

But God does not want and does not will

for us to live as if tomorrow will be horribly tragic.

God wants us to live as if tomorrow

will be like Heaven on earth.

How can we do this?

How can we live as if tomorrow

will be like heaven on earth

when we may know tomorrow can bring tragedy?

We can live like tomorrow will be great

and grand because we can know God

 will be with us no matter what happens

Author Unknown

Feel the warmth of God’s embrace

In the sunshine’s golden rays,

And remember that He’s with you

Today, and for always

GOOD EVENING !

It is Sunday and I’ve had another wonderful weekend. I do hope you enjoy the pictures. I took so many that maybe I’ll add a few more to the entries later in the week too!

I am so thankful for the blessings of this special time I’ve been allowed. Camping is my little bit of heaven on earth. To be so close to nature is awesome and to be with some of my family too is a blessing.

Life hasn’t all be sunshine and roses for me, but even in the tough times I’ve always had the assurance that our dear Lord is right there with me.

I got an advertisment in the mail the other day that was for health insurance for those that are going to be 65. The title of the brochure was ROUTE 65. They were letting me know I’d be hearing from them this year so maybe when I reach 65 I’ll choose their insurance coverage.

I thought it was an eye catching theme to go with…that ROUTE 65. That is what I’m traveling this year and I know there will be hills and valleys in my wanderings, but today is great and hopefully a few more days will be just as good.

I did make it to the little church nearby this morning and afterward the sunshine came out and it was another beautiful day.  You are all in my thoughts and prayers even when I go camping !

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

As this glorious Springtime of rebirth

gets closer to happening outside my door,

I am reminded again how each day

for us can be a rebirth as well.

Everyday we are given a

new chance to choose love,

a fresh opportunity to share joy,

and a new life to live in

goodness and oneness with God.

 Everyday for us is the first

day of Spring and our hearts and souls

are always ready to blossom

and bless this world with

their beauty, love, and light.

Celebrate each new chance you are given then.

Rejoice in each new day you are blessed with.

Joseph J. Mazzella

In this season of renewal and rejuvenation

May your spirit soar high and

May you be blessed

Not just today, but always.

Wishing you a beautiful SPRING !

MA

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BOOK 08, CHAPTER 4, PAGE 17

All of Spring proclaims the Hope

God gives our hearts

Slow down and take the time to really see.

Take a moment to see what is going on

around you right now, right where you are.

You may be missing something wonderful.

J. Michael Thomas

You may be surprised at just how many great things are around us all the time. Sometimes we don't see them because we're in a hurry and we don't make time to see them. Sometimes we don't see them because we get so used to them that we start to take them for granted and we lose sight of them.

We think we can see because our eyes work, because we've been seeing almost since the day we were born. But there's much more to seeing than having our eyes open

Good Morning !

I will definitely be slowing down a bit as I’ve tomorrow off for a vacation day and will be leaving for my little place in the woods as soon as I get home from work this evening and pick up the beagle.

Today and tomorrow are supposed to be really nice weather-wise, but Saturday and Sunday have a chance of rain. I’m hoping that chance doesn’t come our way.

The car is loaded with everything but the kitchen sink as I’ve tried to think of anything and everything I might possibly need. I know I’ll probably forget something, but then the babes will be there this weekend and if I need something, they’ll probably have it.

I’ll take lots of pictures and try to make an entry Sunday evening. I hope you all have a great weekend! I’m going to take things slow and easy and just enjoy it all as much as possible.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

One never knows what each day is going to bring.

The important thing is to be open and ready for it

Henry Moore

In this season of renewal and rejuvenation

May your spirit soar high and

May you be blessed

Not just today, but always.

Wishing you a beautiful SPRING !

MA

 

 

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