The Sublime Roundabout

"My birthday comes this time each year," She heard him whisper in her ear. "But about my present you need not fear. I do not want something to wear Nor a frosty mug of root beer Nor music for my ears to hear. I just want you to stay so near And always make your love so clear. Then I will know you hold me dear. Into my mind your love will sear. And I will know it is sincere As I see you sitting so close, right here. I'll feel your heart so full of cheer I'll know that I have no closer peer." She smiled and wiped a gentle tear Knowing their love becomes a whole new sphere Of life and light and joyous appear.

He stands alone But he's not alone He's never alone Left with his thoughts His heart is full So full it aches But then his heart Is not his own His heart belongs to others And others are not Always kind to those Who give their hearts And their thoughts And their lives But there are those Who reach the depths And plumb the hidden recesses And find the treasures therein They bring light They bring warmth They bring joy These angels of glory Touching all with their love.

My grandfather lost his wife about a year before he passed himself. I remember him saying to me, "This is a bitter pill to take." A man is designed to be with a woman. There can be no doubt of that. It is NOT good for man to be alone. It is not good... My wife has also frequently commented to me about how quickly men degenerate after their wives have passed. She saw it many times in her work as a geriatric physical therapist. She noted almost without exception that the will and drive and desire to live diminished to the point to where recovery was almost impossible, and where the inevitable comes more quickly... And so this morning I am grateful to a loving Heavenly Father for the gift and blessing of a righteous wife. She is patient, forgiving, and kind. She anchors my soul in righteousness, and her faithfulness is stronger than the bands of death or hell. Nothing I have done or could ever do could possibly make me worthy of such a woman - she is truly a divine blessing from...

One thing that comes from standing near the brink is that if you can tear your eyes away from the gaping maw of destruction, it's actually a pretty nice view. And if you can allow that view to inspire and motivate, perhaps you can turn yourself away from the abyss and find new vigor and strength. Turning one's self around also puts us back into the presence of God Himself. All that is required is a complete abandonment of everything that we would hold dearer than His will - including and especially our own will. In this lies strength - in this lies real power. Those who can abandon the pretext of worldly control, of independence, of MY will to power - those who can sacrifice all things find themselves completely under the control of the Almighty. Those people are few, and the cycle of pride repeats itself many times in one's life. But if we believe Christ, if we really, really believe Him, we will find ourselves yearning to abandon those things which keep us from Him and Hi...

I recently reconnected with an old friend from high school on Facebook. She's living in Southern California, single, and involved with what appears to be a very fulfilling and successful career involving her talents and abilities. She wrote this: Life throws curveballs and I just try to stay ahead of the crazy!... This was very profound to me... I am experiencing currently some of the curve balls that life can and does throw at one. Why does life have to be curvy? Why can't everything be straight forward and simple? Up to this point in my life it has seemed very clear and very simple. Suddenly I am finding myself facing something that is complex. It is distressing to me, because I can feel the gaping maw of the abyss opening before me. I am not in the abyss, merely on the precipice. I do not know what will happen - just that the direction I am heading needs more, well, direction. I am not one who is accustomed to failure. I am not afraid to fail, but I am just not familiar with...

‎1. Where can I turn for peace? Where is my solace When other sources cease to make me whole? When with a wounded heart, anger, or malice, I draw myself apart, Searching my soul? 2. Where, when my aching grows, Where, when I languish, Where, in my need to know, where can I run? Where is the quiet hand to calm my anguish? Who, who can understand? He, only One. 3. He answers privately, Reaches my reaching In my Gethsemane, Savior and Friend. Gentle the peace he finds for my beseeching. Constant he is and kind, Love without end. Hymns, 129 Where Can I Turn For Peace