I thank you God for life is kind
There always is some good to find
Though painful days will sadness bring
Together with our suffering.
Sometimes we rise beyond the past
To find the calm we dream may last
For life is more than stuff or things
It’s full of joyous happenings
It’s peace and love, laughter and song
God’s world in which we all belong !
I think that I have never seen
Mountains so high, so very green
The forests rise up to the skies
Such beauty brings tears to the eyes,
Oh what a sight that greets me still
I see those creatures on the hill
They leap in concert with each breeze
Zigzagging through the maze of trees.
The sunlight shares its specks of dust
While warming all the earth it must
Kaleidoscope of passing sky
Where screaming vultures zoom and fly
Oh what an aspect I do see
God’s beauty waiting there for me !
Of all the evils that exist
That constant are and do persist
The worst of these remain to date
Those filled with unrelenting hate.
Oh what a sadness that must be
The cost of anger’s never free
And leaves an emptiness inside
That sometimes is too hard to hide.
Perhaps these feelings do abate
Oft times occuring far too late
It seems we’ve no solution there
Our only hope is God and prayer !
Now I have dreamt a million dreams
And some of them came true
I guess I’m lucky, so it seems
I like to share with you !
For all those times luck has not smiled
Nor been so very kind
When fate did scheme to drive us wild
With joy harder to find,
We still held on with all our might
Small matter what was done
But win we have after the fight
To save our freedom come !
Tears on my face are nothing more
Than wishes I have hungered for
Like dreams that vanish with the dawn
Before each morn is newly born
It’s time to find some other ways
To help me through these trying days !
We have been friends so many years
We’ve shared the range of joy and fears
We laughed a lot, we also cried
As family and pals have died.
We toughened up and made a choice
We chose to heed the calmer voice
For this scant time we each have left
Perchance to guard against its theft
As all that we’ve been wishing for
May help us reach God’s exit door !
The moment that I rise from bed
Old memories do fill my head
I am back home when I was small
And dad is whistling in the hall.
Mom’s hanging clothes upon the line
The wind is crisp, the day is fine
The children shreiking in the yard
Makes hearing conversation hard.
While Nana’s praying in her room
Pop’s sweeping sidewalks with his broom
The smell of onions fills the air
As dinner waits to be prepared.
My world gets smaller day by day
As those I love all pass away
And will to me this legacy
They bide with me in memory !
I raise my eyes up to the Lord
And praise His grace with true accord
Believing faith begins when we
Accept His laws of harmony !
I love You Lord, You are my strengths
I’d follow You to any lengths
You are courage and made me strong
And in Your care I do belong.
I am with You where ere You go
Through summer storm or winter’s snow
And when I die remember this
I beg of You, one parting kiss !
EXCUSE ME but that’s my song they’re playing ! This morning at 5:58 AM, I was astounded by a tasteful display of the Star Spangled Banner, a beautiful panorama of Martin Luther King Jr., a montage of war memorials in D.C. and a moment of silence. All of this on Fox Cable Network News TV as they commenced morning broadcasting. I almost jolted out of bed however people my age never jolt anywhere at anytime ! I sat, I rose, I appreciated ! Well now here am I sharing this experience with my world at large, no basket over this light ! It’s like a reveille call. I do not know if it qualifies, but I’m going to enjoy this show and thank the new incoming administration for reviving our waning patriotism ! Perhaps there is the hope that it is catching. That would be heartening, thank you ! I already feel 10 pounds lighter, how about you ? Sincerely, Claire B.
I’d like to think that God is there
And hears our every thought and prayer
For He is privy to our dreams
A part of all our lifetime schemes.
I pray that He does not forget
We’ve all done things that we regret
And dare not hide our many faults
Although it’s He our heart exhalts.
But for our God what have we got
Forsaken goals and empty plot
Without His care and loving heart
No life on earth would have a start !
Goodbye’s a word I cannot bear
It means that you’re no longer there
I can’t believe that you have flown
And left me here, I’m on my own
How shall I know when all is lost
And who is left to pay the cost ?
The time has come, the clock’s run out
I’ve no strength left to cry or shout
Somehow I think there is no cure
The end is near of this I’m sure
God help me now to constant be
As I embrace eternity !
Oh how I wish that we could be
Like children once again born free
Beginning with good habits taught
And acts of kindness as we ought.
Let’s use our time to good deeds do
And mend our lives with loving glue
Teach able friends to heal the land
Love one another heart in hand !
Oh for the life that was and is no more
Days of joy and laughter as were before
When life itself was thrilling from the core
As all its dreams stood waiting at the door !
My heart is true, my mind is fair
I know God’s love is ours to share
With simple tasks and friendly deeds
Kindness fulfills all of our needs.
The way is clear and straight ahead
His road to Paradise instead
Awaits us all who patient stand
In line to reach His promised land !
As this old year draws slowly to its close
Unlike the phoenix which from ashes rose
May pass without a hint of shadow kind
To leave its taste of bitterness behind !
And so it is that what we seek
To calm the poor, the mild, the meek
Are promises we all must keep
Before we to great futures leap !
A gentle man was He who came
To save our lives and heal the lame
He brought us sight and gave us grace
To make this world a better place.
He taught us to be kind and fair
And all His blessings learn to share
But best of all, the larger scope
He brought to all the joy of hope !
My tears all tumble down I cannot halt their flow
I’ve tried so very hard they’ve nowhere else to go
I weep for the lost, the forgotten, broken, bruised
Those children who have been discarded or abused
Teardrops like summer rain keep getting in the way
How I wish I could find one tearless sunny day.
I see that times are hard for those upon the road
Though even in that past when God had shared the load
I’m sure He is still there along that rugged trail
All we can do is pray His efforts will not fail !
I’d often thought how great ‘twould be
If all God’s children could feel free
And how improved our lives would seem
With each endowed to chase their dream
Another chance to reach the goal
Which is the anchor of one’s soul
While God to us His treasures bare
In hopes that all may pleasures share !
Seems I don’t know what will come next
I cannot read the hidden text
Some days I’m sure ’twill be my last
And others when the surge has passed.
I find it most confusing now
When shall I take my closing bow
It’s difficult to get a grip
There are no lessons, how to ship !
Well, God and me are on one page
Though surely not upon the stage
And when I make that final call
I’m ready for His curtain fall !
All those noxious gnats, flies, ticks and fleas
Harmful, quite unlike our bumblebees
They do not help the flowers to grow
Or wild fields about to bloom and show,
Their value is but to birds and frogs
Supplying snacks in vast marsh and bogs.
Now we’d be fine if they were inclined
To spread their germs among their own kind !
I love the spring I love the fall
I love God’s word above else all,
The mountains that do rise so high
With many that reach for the sky
The valleys that engender rain
The hills that stretch across the plain,
The oceans and the seas so deep
These are provisions we need keep
A sultry storm, the desert heat
Fields that produce the food we eat,
The forests that protect the home
Where creatures live and breed and roam
This is the world we can’t replace
God gifts to us our lives to grace,
Tis strange how oft we lose our way
Yet manage still to greet the day !
LOST THIS YEARS AGO, NEVER PUBLISHED BEFORE.
Who’s that knocking at my front door
What do you think he’s looking for
He is all dressed in red and white
Looks like he has been up all night,
Can you guess what has brought him here
It must be all that Christmas cheer
Well let him in we have no choice
It’s time to hear his merry voice !
A brand new day dawns bright and clear
What can there be for us to fear
As we are strong and know the truth
For we have had the faith of Ruth.
“Whither thou goest, Naomi,”
Did save our faith and set us free
Who could have known so long ago
From these few words our blessings flow ?
If only I could reach the sky
To count the stars all passing by
Or urge each cloud to weep or cry
O’er arid lands that are too dry,
A lonely eagle up so high
That sails on wind with wings that sigh
Perhaps to dream this will not die
While other hopes may multiply,
To live a life time won’t deny
And praise this land we occupy !
Oh how I wish that I could sing
Another happy feel good song
Where all the choirbells will ring
And those nearby may join along !
We know the holidays are here
The streets are full of joy and cheer
There is a feeling all about
One cannot wait to laugh and shout.
Our hopes are running high today
Do not let fear get in the way
Keep up your spirits, don’t be sad
Fill the stockings try to be glad.
It’s Christmastime, let’s celebrate
Just get on board and don’t be late
We’ve got a lot of dreams to share
Open your hearts it’s time to care !
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||||||
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
| 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | |
Claire V. Bogdanos 