The Loveliness of a Field of Sunflowers

Field of Sunflowers

Cheerful sunflowers after the rain storm

Here's looking at you

Tallest in the family group!

Sometimes God gives you a special moment when you are not expecting it.
I am out and about in my community quite a bit and I travel on the small two lane roads as much as possible, mostly because I enjoy them but also because it helps to get where you are going in Knoxville a lot quicker.  I was traveling up this side road and lol and behold there was an entire field of  Sunflowers!  They were not the giant ones but they were around 5 feet tall and absolutely gorgeous in all of their splendor.  It was so amazing to see this.  I realize in many areas folks plant acres and acres of Sunflowers for harvesting, but not in dear ole' Powell, Tennessee.

A stand of Sunflowers....?

I have been trying to find the right word to describe how many there were.  Descriptive words are so interesting and vital when you are trying to get your point across. As a side note to this Curt and I use to have discussions like this when we would be out driving around.  It would go something like this 'Well would you consider that a host of something, or would that be a stand of something, or would that qualify as a group, a flock, a herd, a multitude, a magnitude.   I am sure you get the point!  

Regardless I was immensely pleased to happen upon this lovely sight and I thought I would share it with you.

I am trying to keep my camera with me when I am out and about so that I might capture the interesting things that seem to cross my path daily.  I was always saying 'gosh I wish I had the camera.'  Now I do!  Here's hoping  you have a good day and may all of us become more aware of the special moments everyday that are just there for the viewing.
LSJL

Update: 8/18/2015
It is hard for me to realize that five summer's have passed since I wrote these thoughts and snapped these photo's. When I look back and visualize in my mind the events that have happened in our lives since July 2010, it seems to have been but a blink of an eye...I am older, our children are older, our grandchildren are older, life has continued to revolve and evolve all around us, ever changing, turning and spinning ever forward.  When I began this blog it was a way for me to write and describe my innermost thought's and experiences as I reached toward the 'Sonshine of God's healing love. It was my way to rehab myself, and heal my grief.

What I have discovered somewhere along the way, is that no matter how many hours you spend with others, listening, sharing, reaching out, receiving love, care and tender mercies, it is through the loving grace of God, who abides within all of us, that shows us the way forward. None of us are the same, all of us are unique and different, our chemical and genetic make-up is only ours. I know for a certainty that this is true. I am thankful for this knowledge
"I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well" Psalm 139:14 

Every year at this time, I prepare my home for autumn. I take pleasure in decorating my home with Sunflowers and reflecting on the memories of when Curt and I would plant them in the garden in the spring and be amazed as they grew to gigantic proportions, not unlike our son, our daughter, and their son's and daughters. Lifting their flowery heads towards the sun almost to say nurture me LORD fill me with your light and goodness, show me the way to be the best that I can be. That my friends is what we all want, when we look back on our lives, that we were the best that we could be. Sunflowers also remind me to pray, as they finish their growth, they lower their heavy heads as if in prayer and await their next task. So when you drive around and see the sunflowers in the field, perhaps you will see them in a new and different way, and maybe it will give you a little perspective on life and the cycle of life as we know it.  Today I am grateful for the simplicity of  a Sunflower and the lessons it has shared with me. God Bless...LSJL

The Sunflower....FYI

THE MEANING & SYMBOLISM OF
sunflower

While their distinctive and brilliant appearance makes it easy to see why sunflowers have long held our fascination, when they were first grown in Central and South America,

Sunflower Plate purchased from an artist when we were visiting Santiago, Chile`

it was more for their usefulness (providing oil and food) than beauty. And perhaps this unique combination of striking beauty and utility is, in part, why sunflowers have appeared as such revered symbols throughout the ages.
It’s said that the natives of the Inca Empire worshipped a giant sunflower, and that Incan priestesses wore large sunflower disks made of gold on their garments. Images of sunflowers were found in the temples of the Andes mountains, and Native American Indians placed bowls of sunflower seeds on the graves of their dead. The Impressionist period of art is famous for its fascination with the sunflower, and this striking flower remains today a commonly photographed and painted icon of uncommon beauty.
The 3rd wedding anniversary flower and the state flower of Kansas, sunflowers turn to follow the sun. Their open faces symbolize the sun itself, conveying warmth and happiness, adoration and longevity.

 

THE BOTANY OF sunflower

Sunflower plants are of the genus Helianthus, of the family Asteraceae, and are native to North and South America. They are an annual plant with availability year round, but the peak period of enjoyment is from June to October. The blossom is actually a composite of multiple flowers crowded together, with “ray florets” forming the outer petals that surround a large brown or yellow disc. Their thick, leafy and hairy stems often grow more than 4 feet in height, although dwarf varieties are available for ornamental gardens.
Although a bright and attractive flower, the sunflower does not produce a fragrance.  It does, however, have value from an economic and ornamental point of view. The leaves are used as fodder, the flowers yield a yellow dye, and the seeds have many uses in food, fuel etc. The yellow, sweet oil obtained by compression of the seeds is considered equal to olive oil for table use. The oil is also used in soap and paints and as a lubricant.
Many have found value in its medicinal uses for ulcers, canker sores, gum disease, sore throats and tonsillitis.

Missing the Smell of Wood Shavings and Other Remembrance's

Big Daddy Lane's Wood Shop

Dulcimer's Waiting......

Worn Out Broom and Saw Dust Shavings

I miss the smell of wood.  Wood that has been freshly sawn has a wonderful clean smell.  I don't know if it is the wood sapping, the combination of the saw and the wood or just the wood it's self that offers up this special smell.  If you pull up outside of Home Depot the entrance with the large pull door, the smell just oozes out and it is the aroma of sawn wood. It hangs heavy in the air and to me is very alluring.  Curt always smelled like that whether he had been out in his shop 'piddling' or after his day's of working at the Depot.  I miss him and his manly smell.   It was unique and special.  Sometimes I drive over towards Marshall's store simply  just to catch a whiff!  Silly huh?

There are many people, things and places that I personally have associated smells with in my memory.  Some may be part of your memories also and you may have some that I can't think of right now but would enjoy remembering.

Here are a few that are my favorites:
Fresh linens off the clothes line
Just ironed clothes
lavender scent
rosemary scent
babies rubbed with baby lotion after their bath
fresh baked cookies
crisp mountain air on a fall morning
a bowl of newly picked apples
smell of burning leaves
grilling out doors on a picnic
towels just out of the dryer
spaghetti sauce stewing
fresh ground coffee
fresh mown hay
burger king
abercrombie and fitch
summer rose's
lilacs in the spring
turkey baking in the oven
coal burning in a stove when arriving at Grandma Johnson's neighborhood
shaving cream
cucumbers
dill
basil
peppermint
evergreen fir Christmas trees 
shoe polish
old spice
sawdust
cedar
eucalyptus
gain detergent
I know there many more aroma associations that I have misplaced and or forgotten.

The five senses that most of us probably haven't thought about since grade school are the sense of smell, the sense of sight, the sense of sound, the sense of touch, the sense of taste.  I like so many others take them, as we do many other God given abilities, for granted.  We become comfortable and accepting of the senses and we do not fully appreciate them or even realize how much we need them until they turn up missing.

I am fortunate enough to say that I can still use my senses. ( I know what you are probably thinking here"Does she still have the ability to think sensibly? haha) I am thankful that I have been blessed by them and the advantages of using them daily make my life so much fuller.  Even though many earthly and worldly things are gone from my life, I can still feel, see, touch, hear, smell and taste what life has to offer.  God is good.
LSL

Eric Clapton/Tears in heaven

Six Months and still Counting................

'Dogwood' God's promise of Eternity with Him in Heaven

 Togetherness

Death is nothing at all.
 

I have only slipped away to the next room.
 

Whatever we were to each other, that we still are.

Call me by my old familiar name, speak to me in the easy way you used to.

Put no difference in your tone, wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow.

Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes we enjoyed together.

Play, smile, think of me.

Pray for me.

Let my name be the household name it always was.

Let it be spoken without the shadow of a ghost in it.

Life means all that it ever meant.

It is the same as it ever was.

What is death but a negligible accident.

Why should I be out of your mind because I am out of your sight?

All is well, nothing is lost.

One brief moment and all will be as it was before.

~Canon Henry Scott-Holland~ 

 
Our lives are measured in increments.

Webster's dictionary gives this definition for increments" the amount or degree by which something changes; especially : the amount of positive or negative change in the value of one or more of a set of variables.

I would say that definition would come very close to what I, my children, their families and others have experienced during these last six months since Curt's passing.  It is odd how the way you measure your lives becomes all about the way we reacted before and the way we react after experiencing a loss such as Curt's passing.

This is not my first loss but each loss pulls more and more at my heart strings.  Life does not prepare you for giving up someone you love. Losing someone you care about and the finality of it,... is really just too much to endure. Grieving is a personal journey and the way grief is handled is just as varied as the individuals who experience the state of grief.  Therefore I can't speak for others here but only share my thoughts and feelings.

Over the years I have lost grandparents, aunts, uncles, in-laws, a close high school friend named Bonnie Hackler, the night before graduation, all who were loved by me.  I felt sad and remorseful at their passing and wanted to share that loss with others that loved them too!  Perhaps loss increases it's depth as you grow closer to the end of your life.  The reality of existence as you have known it begins to twist and turn and is not as comfortable or as reliable when those around you begin to pass beyond your reach.

September 5, 2002 I loss a very special friend  Charlene Maddox Jones.  Her life was a struggle from the beginning. She suffered Juvenile Diabetes and it was what eventually led up to the circumstances of her passing.  I am so very thankful that God placed her in my life.  We learned so many lessons from one another, but mostly I learned to be joyful and to live my life without fear of what was to come.  She lived daily with the knowledge that her moments here on this earthly plane were fleeting, she was prepared to leave when God called her.  I was touched by the very essence of her spirit and somehow her death was like a preparation of what was to follow.

January 3, 2003 our dear friends George and Cathy Fillmore lost their son James Neil Fillmore in a tragic accidental death in Arizona.  Neil was a vibrant young man with life just opening up it's pathway's for him.  Neil's passing was a great loss to many and it's occurrence has altered the path of his parents, family and friends.  Neil lived his life as a Christian and was a leader and an example of God's teachings throughout his life.

July 12, 2003 my dad, Byron Trent Johnson passed through this earthly realm on his way to Heaven.  His loss was one I had always tried to prepare for all of my life.  When I was a very young girl the nightmares I had at night were of losing my parents.  I would wake myself up crying and in such unbearable pain.  It was my greatest fear and something I never shared.  I had always prayed that God would take me first so I would not have to suffer their loss.  The pain would be too great you see.  My dad was a gentle soul.  He was someone who always put others first even at the end of his life his concern was for my mom and who would take care of her.  God spared him the agony and pain that he suffered at the last and took him home.  God gave me the strength, courage and  the fortitude to overcome my greatest challenge of letting him go.  Curt had walked that path before me and showed me and my brother Andy how to offer a loved one the dignity and respect as they pass over.

November 13, 2003 my mom Muriel Rose Engle Johnson passed this earthly realm on her way to Heaven.  Her loss was one I had been struggling with for such a long time. When it became a reality so soon after my dad's passing it was like it happened to someone else.  My heart and my mind was unable to except it. Even though I knew her health was so poor that she struggled to breathe for many years.  It was painful to watch her have to deal with the effort.  She knew she would not be going back to her house when I took her to the hospital.  She was prepared for her journey, but she tried valiantly to stay with us.  My Mother was a very strong willed woman.  She did not offer her love easily or lightly but once she loved you it was forever.  I never told her how much I admired  the courageousness that it took for a young girl from the back hills of Appalachia in the state of Kentucky, to come to Tennessee, fall in love, leave all that she had ever known and travel all over the World and the United States.  She and my Dad leaned on each other with out help from family, raised four children, provided and cared for us all without complaint and still managed to see the brighter side of life.  I loved her great ability to be standoffish, but kind, her stubbornness and her fearfulness and her sense of being for ever youthful in looks, as well as her spice for life and all it had to offer.  At the end of her life she waited to go until her children could come see her and make peace with her passing.  Such a woman of greater strength I have never known.  She said her final goodbye to my beloved husband Curt, she shared with him through telepathy the beginning of her journey home.  Her dad Oscar Engle was there waiting for her with "Old Dan' the family horse and their only transportation for many years.  Her pain was over and she was joyful to be going home.  My mom and Curt were kindred spirits and I am grateful that he shared her parting with me.

January 23, 2010 Six months ago today I experienced a loss that words can not adequately describe.  Even with the preparation of those dear ones that had gone before I was not prepared, or ready, or capable to give up my dear friend, my companion, my lover, my sweetheart, my heart, my very soul.  It was a heartbreaking experience in it's finality. There were so many unfinished sentence's to complete.  So many adventures still to plan and travel.  So many more moments, seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years still needed to complete the journey of our life together.  In a few short minutes the decision was completed.  God answers prayers. Curt asked for God "to help him he was ready to go" and God did as he was asked.  I was there through it all.  I knew I was in 'the waiting room' I had been there before.  I knew what to expect, I knew what was going to happen.  I knew what I should do, but I wasn't ready, I wasn't prepared to let go, it was too soon, too quick, too fast....but when it was all said and done it was decided long ago and it was between God and his son Curtis Andrew Lane and he was calling him home to Heaven and I know he was ready to go because I was there.........

Curt was, without question living his life with a purpose.  Each day was special and meant something to his very being.  Our paths crossed 41 years ago and we shared those years together, as we mingled families, friends, and our beliefs in God.  He taught me so much about Spirituality.  We enjoyed our children, grandchildren and the lives that we shared with them. Those years were grand and I am grateful for the time we had together.  Wishing for a different outcome to the story will not change the ending.

I have had six months to ponder and remember and I am not yet done with my grieving.  Perhaps I will never be done but I am looking and searching for the way forward. I look back at those who have walked this path before me. I have seen their face's written with their pain, and the sorrow in their eyes, and I am reaching towards understanding.  I have learned and grown in these past months.  I know for certain that none of God's children are taken before their time.  He tells us that in Revelations.  He had a plan for all of us long ago before we ever began our journey and he will be there to see us complete our earthly journey and welcome us home.

LSL

Time Away.................in Alabama?

 

                                                   Statue of 'Grandma Johnson' look-alike
                                           Farmer's Market 'Pepper Place' Birmingham,Alabama

                                                           Brother Andy and son Chris
                                                   enjoying the morning at the farmer's market

                                                    Son Chris, niece Katie, brother Andy
                                      at the infamous Dreamland Bar-b-que Tuscaloosa,Alabama
                                                               on Saturday evening

    Linda and Andy posing

     like Mindy and Rebbecca

      but....we are not pregnant...

      just looks that way...haha

                            Chris and his morning Joe' in Andy's beautiful and peaceful back yard

                                     Enjoying Andy's flowers he really loves his home and yard!

                                       Chris and Mom self-portrait getting ready to go to church

Another tasty meal in Alabama breakfast at the 'Egg and I' after we attended church at 'Alabaster United Methodist' early morning contemporary blue grass service.  It was uplifting and renewing. It was especially special getting to attend with Andy and Chris two great guys in my life!  Then it was time to hit the road and return back to Tennessee as Andy prepared for another week in Atlanta, Georgia.

Time away, I have found is a wonderful way to make your perspective on life seem clearer.  It was a pleasure this week-end to be able to spend a few days with family in a different setting.  Even though it was not very far away or for very long it was 'just enough', to make the  horizon look brighter.

Chris was able to get away for the week-end, since Barbara and the boys were away on a trip to  St Louis, Missouri, visiting her family,  Andy was home for the week-end, from his new job in Atlanta, Georgia.  Katie took the evening off from her job at Kobe Steakhouse to spend time with us.

Andy's friend Tracy Campbell, shared some moments with us on Saturday at the farmer's market and Sunday for breakfast, she is really a nice lady friend who helps Andy with his plants and all while he is away during the week.  Andy has had a lot of stress this spring trying to re-acclimate after his job went away after 32 plus years.  It is good to have friends who are generous with their time and listening abilities when you just need someone to talk to.

Although I have never been a fan of Alabama, especially during the harrowing 8 months of  my pregnancy with Amy, when Curt, Chris and I lived in Athens, Alabama.

Alabama is where I experienced severe morning sickness, learned what those little shelters that were built in the ground were for, can you spell  :TORNADO'S: and learned what sweat can do to a pregnant woman when you do not have air-conditioning in the summer time in hot 'Ole' Alabama.  We found it was cooler fishing on the river bank, which is what we did everyday when Curt didn't have to work, then smothering at our little home that we rented in Athens, while Curt was working at Brown's Ferry Nuclear Plant.

Anyway as I was saying before I got sidetracked.  Alabama is not where I would choose to stay for more then a visit but it is a very lovely place to spend time with family.  Thanks Andy for having us down, not once but twice this summer, we love you lots and lots.

LSL

Welcome Home !

Sophia Rose Germano, Major Mark Thomas Germano home for his mid tour from Iraq

Thank you Mark for giving up so much for your country, and your family.  May your short visit here be a renewal and a rekindling of your family unity and may God continue to bless and keep you until you return again safely.  You are loved!
LSL

BUTTERFLY LEGENDS

When our Lord was crucified, all nature wept.The very earth trembled in anguish, and every creature of God was filled with sorrow.  The trees shed their leaves, the flowers lost their petals, and outside the tomb of the Lord, a tiny caterpillar  spun itself a shroud of silk in preparation for death.

Then on the third day, Christ rose from the dead, gloriously and triumphantly and left the tomb to walk again among the beauties of nature that he loved so much.  He saw the silken cocoon and touched it.

And suddenly the caterpillar burst forth in new splendor--a butterfly of breathtaking beauty, rising heavenward with new life.

Even so today the Butterfly testifies every spring to the miracle of Resurrection and the beauty of God's love.

Lord, send me a surprise.  One that catches me off guard and makes me wonder.Like Easter. Send me a resurrection when everything looks dead and buried, like a Butterfly. Send me a new friend when I am alone.  Send me peace when I'm afraid.  Send me a future when it looks hopeless.  Send me your Resurrection when I die.  

This butterfly was found this morning by a young girl visiting Ed across the street.  It was fluttering a little but was leaving soon after.  It is a beautiful example of nature at it's finest,even while life is fleeting.  It is a perfect example of God's love for humanity.

The Shoshone Ladies Butterfly Dance

Many, many years ago when the Earth was still quite new, there was a beautiful butterfly who lost her mate in battle. To show her grief, she took off her beautiful wings and wrapped herself in a drab cocoon. In her sadness, she could not eat and she could not sleep and her relatives kept coming to her lodge to see if she was okay

Of course she wasn't, but she didn't want to be a burden on her people so she packed up her wings and her medicine bundle and took off on a long journey. She wandered about for many days and months, until finally she had gone all around the world.

On her journey she kept her eyes downcast and stepped on each stone she came to as she crossed fields and creeks and streams. Finally, one day as she was looking down, she happened to notice the stone beneath her feet, and it was so beautiful that it healed her sorrow.

She then cast aside her cocoon, shook the dust from her wings, and donned them once more. She was so happy she began to dance to give thanks for another chance to begin her life anew. Then she went home and told The People about her long journey and how it had healed her.

To this day,The People dance this dance as an expression of renewal, and to give thanks for new seasons, new life, and new beginnings.

The shawl in the Fancy Shawl Dance represents the butterflies wings, the fancy steps and twirls represent the butterfly's style of flight. This is another reason you will sometimes hear the Fancy Shawl Competition Dance referred to as " the butterfly dance."

Faith in God...the appearance of Butterflies..believing in the possiblities...

A Butterfly Lights Beside Us

                                                                                                                                                                                           A butterfly lights beside us, like a sunbeam...
and for a brief moment it's glory
and beauty belong to our world...
but then it flies on again, and although
we wish it could have stayed,
we are so thankful to have seen it at all.


My husband Curt loved butterflies.  Being a 'Music Maker and Piddler of Sorts' he had a passion for fashioning wooden butterflies out of different types of woods and turning them into custom pieces of wearable art.  They were very desired by family, friends and clients who purchased them from his 'Big Daddy Lane Creations' business.  The above poem was always enclosed with each object.  Many times Curt would give them to someone who had given up a loved one to our heavenly Father.  Through this caring ministry, one of which just came naturally to him, Curt began to use his woodworking talents to reach out to God's people.

Over the years there have been acquaintances that have shared stories with us about the appearance of butterflies after giving up their loved one.  We always felt that the butterflies were heavenly spirits that were letting those left behind know that they are with our Father in heaven.

Recently my son Chris experienced such an appearance.

He was working at his job at Lowe's and was conducting a small meeting with his employees, when they started laughing.  Of course he stopped and said "what?"  They pointed to his shoulder and there was a butterfly just alighting there.  He flicked his shoulder and went on and they were laughing again, the butterfly had moved to the other shoulder, then to the top of his head, his nose, and finally the butterfly gently settled on his lips and then flew away!  Somehow Chris finished his meeting and carried on his daily work. That evening he shared his story with his wife Barbara.  It was a very emotional moment for them. There is not a doubt in my mind or theirs that it was Curt. He was teasing his beloved son, just a little bit, and then giving him a sweet kiss before he flew away.  Chris has had a busy summer season at his store, but now he knows without a doubt, that his Dad is just a flutter away saying" take a few minutes son to enjoy and appreciate the beauty that is all around you, I am here beside you." Love Dad

Our friend Dee Lamott had shared this story after her husband Bob had passed away. Someone in the family had asked God for a sign that Bob was okay and would God send a 'white butterfly'.
Not long after Dee was sitting on her porch when a 'white' butterfly appeared and just kept flying around and around.  Dee thought well okay is this for real?  A few days later she was standing in her kitchen washing up the dishes and looking out the window, once again there was a 'white butterfly' flying back and forth in front of the window. It appeared  many, many times after that.  Dee believes it was their sign.  Curt gave her a couple of butterfly pins after she had shared this story. A short time after that a little 'white butterfly' started appearing at our yard and would even venture into Curt's shop when he was out there working.  Curt would always say "hi Bob" .  We saw that little butterfly a lot last summer.

As I sat talking on my porch this morning with our sweet adopted daughter, Robin Spicer Southern, our neighbor Ed's daughter, and her cousin Amy.  Amy shared a similar story.  Her mother passed away not too long ago and while they were at the service both the hospice nurse and her husband locked eyes as they watched a beautiful butterfly float around the room, Amy did not get the experience of seeing this fluttering gracious flower like creature, but she truly believes it was her mother's spirit.  Sometimes you just have a sixth sense about those sort of experiences.

At the beginning of this spring and summer I too had a similar 'little white butterfly' visiting...............it would fly all around the porch in and out amongst the liriope and vinca minor that Curt had planted.  I have my suspicions that Curt's spirit is in so many of  God's creatures that visit the Lane's house.  Why you might ask?  Curt was in tune to nature and his surroundings. Life was his Sanctuary and his spirit is everywhere.

It is comforting to know that God gives us these signs  to let us know that we need to have faith in him, he is watching over us, guiding us, protecting us, and when the time comes for us to join him in his heavenly kingdom, he will walk through the gates with us.  Faith is the key to the Kingdom.
LSL

Today was............

For some reason today I have been out of sorts.  I am not myself.  I feel different.  One of the reason's I believe is I can't remember what Curt and I did last Fourth of July.  We were together, but not with anybody else, but where we were, what we did, is a total blank.  That bothers me.  Memories are so valuable.

Our dear friends Wayne and Gail invited all of us to spend the day with them and their family at their pool. We took stuff to cookout and Wayne did a good job cooking.  It was terribly hot but it was nice to share the time together.  It was very hard to be there without Curt.  It was the first time that I had been at the pool where there have been so many family events over the years.  He loved going up there and just cooling off in the water and relaxing in the sunshine.  Of course he always had to aggravate Gail just a little bit, by saying that he hadn't had an invitation!

Today really was an emotional event for me and draining too.  I feel like I could just roll up in a cocoon and not think. feel, or move ever again.  I am realizing that missing my husband is too much, too hard, too intense.

Words can not describe the utter emptiness that I feel.  Each day I wake up thinking I am ready to try it again, and every night I say another day is done.  This repetitiveness is my life now..........what is my purpose?  The future is..............uncertain.............Planning has always been what I did best....but now there is no reason.  I am at a loss.

America, the Beautiful

As I watched this video I realized just how many of these places that I have been fortunate
enough to see in person.  America the Beautiful has always been my favorite patriotic song.
When I was in school everyday we did the 'Pledge of Allegiance', with our teacher standing up
in front of the class leading us, we all had our hands over our hearts and our eyes on the flag.
When we would sing America the Beautiful my heart would race and my voice would swell,
as we sang this song.  I did not know how to describe my feelings then, but I now know it
was a feeling of belonging, of ownership, of pride in a very special place called the
'United States of America'!

When I had studied about how this country was founded, I really did not appreciate how big
a task it was to settle and establish this land.  Even now when you travel across the United States
it takes many hours if you fly, or days if you drive, to arrive at your destination.  Those courageous
men and women who were willing to do it on foot or wagon, were hero's. They were the first
foot soldiers, making their way in a new land, facing hardships and strife, but with the end goal
being a better land to raise the future generations. Today I honor them. I lift up them and their
ancestors who sacrificed for all of us so that we might live here with all of the freedoms that we take for granted.

Perhaps we should all remember back to our school days and put our hands over our hearts in
gratitude and keep our eyes on the flag for loyalty and our true allegiance should be to the Father,
the Son and the Holy Spirit.

May God Bless us all.
LSL

Cool Summer Morning

I have been sitting on the front porch listening to the sounds of the birds.  There have been an assortment that have been visiting the Lane's yard this morning. Large  red-headed wood pecker, yellow finch, blue bird, robin, sparrows, daddy cardinal, have all said hello to the face on the Chinese elm tree this morning.  The weather is cool, no humidity, and a lovely day to be outside getting fresh air.
I am thankful that we have always had this porch available for sitting and observing.  It is sometimes amazing what you can see while you are just sitting and watching.  There was a cute little brown hare that was nibbling on our neighbors grass, not a care in the world, other then nourishment at that moment.  I haven't seen any of those pesky squirrels today but I am positive they are running around joyfully jumping from place to place.
It hasn't been too noisy so the quietness has been refreshing.
Taking time to smell the aroma of the out of doors is always a good thing!  LSL

The Waiting Room

Today is the beginning of a new month!  July 2010.  Just the fact that it is 2010 is unbelievable to me.  Where have the years that came before gone?  How could one half of a year already have passed of this year 2010?  It seems as if I am in a time vault, bouncing around from one moment or experience from long ago  and then I am back in todays time and it is moving in a slow and methodical way towards the the next second,minute,hour day, year and beyond.

Time is relentless in it's constant nagging.
Time is a teacher of sorts.
Time is there from the beginning of your existence.
Time is there at the very end of your life.
Time is the gate keeper.
Time regulates every moment.
Time was there before you were born,
Time was there after you were no more.
Time keeps us and regulates us,
Time keeps us waiting...waiting for the beginning...waiting for the end
Time is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
Time is the Alpha and the Omega.
Time is...........

LSL