Sunday Drive Roundup May 18, 2014

Finding Inspiration in Faith, Poetry, Family Stories, Photography, and in Healthy Eating

I named this  new Sunday feature on my blog page, Sunday Drive Roundup in remembrance of my dad who liked to take us all on long Sunday drives around the country side. It was always an enjoyable and relaxing time when we did this; he seemed to never worry about getting lost on those windy Wisconsin roads For some reason I was remembering those Sunday drives as I contemplated the starting of this section when I would surf or take a virtual “drive” around the blogosphere to discover new and interesting blog sites to share with my readers.

So, for the first installment of this feature I thought I would focus on the blog pages which I have been discovering in my recent Blogging 101 class. I met many interesting and talented bloggers who each have started very interesting, well-designed, and informative blogs. Therefore I want to feature some of those in this first Sunday Drive Roundup:

Easter Ellen shares personal stories, poetry and beautiful photography depicting her personal life and how through her faith and dependence on God, she strives to overcome. She really bares her heart and soul here and maintains her faith and trust in God. I am inspired by her openness and honesty in life as well as her strong and resilient faith: http://easterellen.com/

Meredith continues her writing journey in this beautiful blog as she writes about faith, stories about family, shares recipes and spiritual insights. I find her writings and her faith to be very encouraging as I struggle to keep my faith in God. Here’s a peek at her blog site: http://meredithlbl.com/

I am inspired by and enjoy seeing the beauty of this world through photography. I wish I was a better photographer and hopefully I will find more time to practice and improve in that area. But for now, here is another wonderful blog featuring inspirational and vivid photos from a photographer who enjoys sharing nature’s beauty. This blogger seems to be always awestruck by nature’s breathtaking beauty and never takes it for granted.  Take a look here: http://kerlundphoto.se/

Finally, I know I need to do better at eating healthy and leading a healthier lifestyle. I am taking steps to improve in this area of my life. Wouldn’t you know it? There was a blogger in my Blogging 101 class who has focused on healthy eating and healthy living for their blog. It is full of interesting articles, information, and recipes. There is so much to look at and study there about healthy eating and just being healthy. It is a great blog page to keep handy as a resource:  http://eatallfresh.me/

And there you have it, although a bit late because it is just after midnight here, the first Sunday Drive Roundup!

Sunlight at First Sight

8 Replies

When I originally wrote this poem, I actually wrote it in response to a daily post prompt at

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/first-sight/

When given this prompt, I actually sat there looking at a blank paper and then I thought about seeing the sunlight first thing in the morning and then these words came to me:

 

047

I awoke one quiet morn and saw vivid sunlight

gleaming through my window shade.

I then caught a glimpse of a brightened blue sky;

The beginning of a warm and glorious day.

With quiet and soothing contentment, I

Relaxed letting the stream of light fill my inner being

Chasing away the dreary darkness that

Tries to capture and keep hold of me.

That dreadful, chilling and evil darkness

Tries to chain my spirit; the depth of my soul

Along with my contemplative mind and thoughts

To a hidden place where hopelessness grows.

But alas the blackness of night is over and so

For another day the dreaded darkness has gone.

How welcoming to see that glowing burst

Of sunlight with the sweet chorus of birdsong.

Now with the sunlight quenching my thirsty soul

And filtering through this quiet day of my life,

I arise in anticipation as I wonder what other

Gentle blessings will I see before the return of night?

Friday Verse Journal Hebrews 11:6

011_8A

In the trials of every day life; whether the day be easy or difficult, or whether I face disappointment, failure, or triumph, I need to remember to hold onto faith:

F A I T H

Forever

Adoration, belief, and trust

In Jesus, our friend, Savior and

True Son of God living in

Heaven and our hearts forever

Hebrews 11:6 (Holy Bible New International Version):

 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Broken

10 Replies

 

 

043

Admittedly, this is a very different post. When I started this blog, I had intended for it to be a place of hope, encouragement and inspiration to anyone who happens to visit and read it. And I do continue to do that but sometimes I hurt so much that I need to let it out even just briefly. Though I strive to hold on to faith and continue to be hopeful, I do have times when I am so down I can’t seem recover from whatever is hurting me. Once again, I see precious dreams that I held on so tightly come crashing down. I am just ever so reluctantly accepting that and it is hard, it just hurts I realize God is wiser and God has a plan but right now I am not seeing it; I am not seeing anything new on the horizon to lift me out of this. I have spent over 20 years helping others in many ways and trying to follow what I think is God’s will for me. Yet I still come home alone. Always alone. No one is there to love and help me. The chance to have love in my life is always taken away because somehow I am never good enough,  I feel hurt, defeated, and utterly broken. My heart just aches and the tears just come but no one here really gets the deepness of this; no one really understands. To be rejected over and over because I am not good enough just hurts, hurts, hurts. I do know that God will lift me out of this, I just don’t know when.

Broken

No love can I find to hold and heal me

No tender touch to comfort and soothe me.

All my dreams and hopes for love are shattered

And my aching heart is pierced and broken

Never to be whole and hopeful again.

Like a once vivid stain glass window

Laying in jagged pieces upon a dirt-filled floor

In an old forgotten church

The broken panes are strewn relentlessly

By a malicious and eerily whistling wind

 The window can never be mended and made whole again.

The once colorful fragments fade and splinter as

Time, dust and drenching rain assault them

And soon nothing is left as witness of that shattered

Tinted pane’s former inspiration in

Depicting a scene and pointing to heaven.

No hope of being rescued and mended

It silently slips away to nothing.

So too my tear-stricken heart has no more hope

Of being rescued and mended by love

So I feel destined to quietly fade away into oblivion

And no one will ever know who I really am or

who I could have been.

 

 

Reflecting on “EASTER” and “A Fleeting Moment”

Leave a reply

 

183

For my Blogging 101 class, I was told to study my blog stats and to write a new post which reflects and expands on the posts which generated the most views. In studying my blog stats, I have found that the two posts which received the highest number of views were my EASTER poem and another poem I called, “A Fleeting Moment”.  These poems are very different and I am interested to hear from readers about why they like a certain poem or other posts on my blog. From reading some of the comments related to my “A Fleeting Moment” poem, I gathered that readers were very contemplative in reflecting on how fast and easily precious moments just slip away leaving us wishing we could recapture a certain speck of time. I certainly feel that way when I reminisce about favorite childhood memories or when remembering being with a favorite relative who has passed on.  Also I am recalling moments when I didn’t take time to stop and enjoy a beautiful pinkish-orange sunset or a vibrantly high-arching rainbow reaching into the deep, brilliant blue sky. Then I sense regret because I don’t know when such a moment will pass my way again. For the new readers who missed this poem, here it is again and please feel free to let me know what you think:

A Fleeting Moment

A precious speck of time gone

At a solitary glance!

Did you grasp that fleeting moment?

Did you behold by any chance?

 

As for the “EASTER” poem which generated the most views in one day, I am sure it was well received because I posted it just one day before Easter but most readers viewed it on that Easter Sunday. So, it was very timely and it focused on faith through Jesus, God’s Son. And through him, I think many respond and hold on to the new and everlasting hope we can share in him which is the point of celebrating the Easter holiday. Through having and holding onto that faith, we have hope and the endurance to continue through trials and difficult days believing that thru Jesus those hardships will come to an end. I do face my share of struggles and hard times but with hope and anticipation I can look to the future. Easter, I guess, is a very special time to reflect on one’s faith and what God has done for me. As a recap, here is that EASTER poem and I hope it continues to encourage and inspire readers today:

 

EASTER

Everlasting love and hope

And to Jesus never ending adoration

Son of God has risen to wash away all

Tears and heartaches, sin and suffering

Eternal life and lasting peace awaits after our own

Rebirth in Jesus and joyous resurrection

Finding More Inspiration in Creative Writing, Poetry, and in Gazing at the Stars

 

004

I did some more “diving and driving” through the blogosphere world and found more inspirational, hopeful, and helpful blogs in the areas of creative writing, poetry, and in gazing at the stars. I hope you enjoy exploring these links and find some inspiration from them as well:

Here’s a helpful blog for us bloggers who are also fiction writers. Every day, it publishes a one sentence prompt and you, the writer, respond by starting with at sentence and write a story. The point of these exercises is that as soon as you receive the one sentence prompt, you start writing! This is a very interesting and challenging way to practice and hone skills in fictional and other creative writing.

http://todaysauthor.wordpress.com/

I found another blog site which addressed the process of writing, “Making Sandwiches” by Robert Jackson Bennet who is a fiction author and writer. He compares the writing process to that of making a sandwich. The main idea is that he is encouraging you to write what you want and to do it your way. We writers need to develop and follow our own creative writing style. Here is the link to his article:

http://robertjacksonbennett.wordpress.com/2014/04/21/making-sandwiches/

I also came across a fun and very creative poem entitled, “Adventures in Poetry” which explores the challenges of poetry writing. It is very cleverly written and enjoyable to read. Furthermore, I also view poetry writing as an adventure. Each time I start a poem I usually have no idea how it will end. I am always very determined that my writing makes sense and makes a point but I am not always clear on what that point will be until I reach the ending. In that manner writing can be an unknown adventure. Here is the link to this very cleverly written poem by Eclectic Alli:

http://eclecticali.wordpress.com/2014/04/16/poetry/#comment-284

I enjoy gazing at the night sky and watching the stars. I also desire to learn more about them and to be able to identify celestial objects in the night sky. While thinking about that I came across this very interesting blog about the night sky. This blogger/photographer has mastered the skill to photograph and identify constellations, planets, and other interesting sights in the night time sky. His posts also are very timely; he often give insight on how you can discover what he sees in the dark sky. Take a look and enjoy:

http://sky-watching.co.uk/2014/04/30/astronomy-events-may-2014/

 

My Mother’s Beautiful Hands

9 Replies

With Mother’s Day approaching, I wanted to publish this poem in memory of my own mom who passed away in 2010 just a short time after her 65th birthday. Her passing happened very unexpectedly leaving many of us in deep sorrow and with a painfully empty void in our lives. In her own quiet and special way she had touched many lives.  She loved being hospitable and she enjoyed being creative with her hands; sewing, crocheting, and needlepoint are just a hint of her creativeness.  For me she was a mother and a close friend and she remains in a special place in my heart. i very much miss visiting home and sitting by my mother’s side. In the old farmhouse where I grew up and on a quiet evening that was my favorite place to be. I know that many others will be deeply missing their mothers this weekend too.

024

I always remember many cold and wintry nights

when in a house warm with love, a scene of beauty met my sight;

My mother sitting so content and so quietly working with her hands.

An object was forming, a colorful thing which at first I do not understand.

As her mysterious creation grew and took shape, I knew what it was to be.

Sometimes a blanket, quilt or doll; perhaps slippers or ornaments for the Christmas tree.

When finished she gently wraps the gift with care and at the chosen time,

the treasured gift is given and her deep love brightly shines, warm and genuine.

Where else could I find such a tender love? Where else would I go?

Except to my mother’s side, whose warm love could melt a mountain of snow.

So over the years I kept going home to see my  mom and a gift I did not understand

being created by her with love and with her warm, gentle, and beautiful hands.

Lost in the Woods

4 Replies

While following the challenges of my Blogging 101 class and diving further into the blogosphere, I found more writer’s prompts and here’s today’s writing prompt from Today’s Author: http://todaysauthor.wordpress.com/2014/05/

I thought this would be a good way to practice writing some flash fiction and I hope you enjoy reading it.

Today’s prompt: They burned all the wood they had in the fire pit, and then started chopping down trees.

And here is my response:

Lost in the Woods

They burned all the wood they had in the fire pit, and then started chopping down trees. When the third sapling fell with a soft crash on the forest floor, Josh paused looking at Timothy, his younger brother, “I think that’s enough for now. Let’s cut these into cords of fire wood, restart the fire in the pit, and get into our sleeping bags.”

Timothy swallowed hard looking tearful, “We’re really lost. How are we going to get home? And I’m still hungry.”

Josh sighed while searching through his backpack, “Here are some crackers I have left over from supper. We need to ration what food we have left so we can make it last. By morning it will be daylight again, and then we can try retracing our journey back to the main road and back to where I parked the jeep. In the meantime, we need to prepare for another cold night in these woods.”

Time passed, the trees were chopped into firewood and a warm fire was blazing in the pit. The brothers settled into their sleeping bags. Exhausted from the long hike and chopping fire wood, Timothy soon fell asleep. Josh rested under his covers; with his hands laced behind his head, and listened to his brother’s rhythmic breathing. While letting out his pent up breath, he gazed at a patch of starry sky between the towering trees above and wondered, “What if we can’t find our way back tomorrow? What if we have to spend yet another cold night in the woods? Some great camping trip this has turned out to be. Our first camp site got flooded out and now this.” Josh turned on his side groaning, “This is my fault since I insisted on hiking so far through a new wilderness area and then losing some of our gear while climbing up that steep trail.” He returned to his back gazing at the starry heavens one more time, “Never mind,” he told himself while tears stung his eyes, “I have to be brave for Timmy. Somehow we’ll find our way out of here: somehow we’ll find our way home.”

In the stillness, Josh turned to face his sleeping brother and whispered, “Timothy, I’m sorry that I got us lost. I know this is the worst camping trip ever.”

He was startled to see his brother twist himself around and sit up in the moonlit darkness, “That’s ok Josh; this is not just a camping trip. It is an adventure.”