King James Version
Psalm 107:2
Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others HE has saved you from your enemies.

King James Version
Psalm 107:2
Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others HE has saved you from your enemies.
She pulled at the quilt until she had it properly tucked up under my chin. Hopping about the bed, fussing in her endearing manner. Raven walked across my headboard, one leg gracefully over the other, one wing softly pressing down on my shoulder. With her beak close to my ear, Raven would whisper, “Remember your dream, my dear.”
Then she would fly to the window, look back with her dark eyes, and fly away in to the night. I would lay there staring at the night sky till I drifted off. Who’s that raven on my bed telling me to remember the dreams in my head?
Each morning before I left the house, I would sit at my desk close to the window and record any part of a dream I could piece together.
I still have my childhood bedroom furniture. I have it set up in a spare room of my home in the country where I still sit each morning. I write poetry and children’s books, encouraging children and adults to follow their dreams.
The book shelves are lined with some of my favorite childhood books. A few, I added, for our children and grandchildren. The Tale of Peter Rabbit. The Wind in the Willows. Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House series was bought for our daughter.
One summer morning, many years since her last visit, I realized what a privilege it was having Raven tuck me in at night. Even though she was a bird, she was a dear friend. I gathered from Ravens disappearance that it was time I grew up.
She sat on top of my book shelves, walked to the edge, and fell off. When she did this I gasped, but at the last possible moment of hitting the ground, Raven flew up to my ceiling and then gently flew over head, singing a song of praise with my name. She received a laugh and I sat up in bed, clapping. Then she pulled on my covers, hopped to the headboard and whispered something slightly different. This night, instead of telling me to remember my dream, Raven clearly said to follow my dream.
She hummed a little tune as she fussed over me. Before she left, Raven landed on my desk. Turning, she looked at me for a long moment. Then, snatching up my small cloth figure of a raven she had given to me a long time ago, Raven flew out of my life.
I’m all grown up now an have been diligent to daily record not only my dreams and also, nightmares, but to weave stories and poems from them.
I write about my childhood. I write about being a young man in the 1950’s, going to college, choosing my career. I write about my raven who taught me to not only remember my dreams, but that she really meant to follow my dreams.
My dreams took me to other worlds, in words, on paper. Worlds I could share with others, encouraging them to dream.
Each day, I look out the window, wishing to be a little boy again, for just a night. This morning, when I came in to write, I took up my pen. It’s silly, I know, but I wrote her a note.
My day went as planned, writing and heading to our daughter’s home for dinner.
As we had sat at the table, our daughter told a story of being a little girl and of the raven that visited her room each night.
Today, she said, before I arrived, a note from someone and this little cloth bird was on her desk. With tears in her eyes, she handed me my note, and I drove home with a small cloth figure in my hand.
You Got This!
How do you encourage yourself or other’s each day? Whatever you do or someone does to help you keep your spirits up each day, Pass It On! Tell yourself and friends and family-YOU GOT THIS!
You Can Do Anything!
Whatever you want to do, you can do it! One saying that sticks in my head-If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again! My list is quite long, and I have my down days, but I get up early and take my classes and writing seriously.
One Foot In Front Of The Other & Reach Out To Others
Having an especially difficult time putting one foot in front of the other? Something that might help is reaching out to someone else. Send out a message that reads, You Got This! Or, So Proud of You! Attached with a heart <3 and a smile. Every day someone will call me and cheer me on. As I was typing this, my husband called because he wanted to hear my voice and tell me he loves me. Reach out to people. Even smiling when you pass someone might make their day and yours. You Got This! <3 🙂
Check out ancestry.com
Last night, I was staring at people, but only one that I knew.
I felt like I was drifting in and out my dreams, and in and out of rooms.
Seems I was carefully writing down their life stories. The one person I knew stopped and gave me a curt look.
I thought I was reciting some of it in my head, but I must have been talking out loud, instead.
I backed out of the door, my feelings slightly hurt. Then someone came and said in my head, “You’ve done this before. Don’t do it anymore.
Then he took my book and pen and said again,you do this all the time. You’ve written it all down. You know they’re all dead.
Photo Courtesy of rebelcircus.com
Picture it
Downtown, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1949. A grandma and her granddaughter are walking on the sidewalks among the many other people. These girls are going shopping at L. S. Ayres. As they walk, they hold hands. Taking their time to notice the shop window displays, as the crowd rushes by, on their way to work.
Grandma is in a predicament
They had come by bus since they lived in the city of Indianapolis. Grandma has her five year old granddaughter by the hand when she has to make a quick decision. The elastic waistband in grandma’s underwear broke. She did not have elastic in the legs, so those underwear were coming down. And, fast!
What to do?
What to do and how fast could she do it? This question ran through her mind in a split second. Grandma stepped herself right out of her underwear and kept walking!!
In honor of Elvis Aaron Presley, I fondly remember a very special moment and a very sweet woman who was battling cancer. She played his songs every morning. My last memory of her before she passed away, was the screen door made a sweet sound as I went outside to find her. It was a sunny morning, sweet tea was ready, and Kentucky Rain was gently playing.
I was about 7 years old, 1975, a couple of years before Elvis Presley’s death. We lived in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and the snow cone man had just come around. He had become a friend of our family.
We would all stand outside and my parents and him would laugh and talk and he would spoil us with extra snow cone flavors as we ran by. This man was not only an amazing snow cone man to us kids, but he had an amazing voice. He could sing and sound a lot like Elvis Presley.
One night, he stopped and I remember my mom asking if he would sing to her dear friend who was the “Hugest Fan of Elvis Presley”! She was very sick with cancer, it was her birthday.
Shag carpet of gold. Striped couch of green and brown. Yellow wall phone with a long cord. This man stood in our kitchen and sang song after song to this kind woman.
“Thank you, thank you very much, ma’am, he would say, then he would laugh like him. He was ever kind like Elvis would be.
In my mind, then and now, I knew this is what Elvis Presley himself would do. If he had driven by, he would have stopped and enjoyed a snow cone with all of us. He would have walked right in to our home and sang song after song to her. Like this man, he would end the call with the happy birthday song and say “good night, sweet dreams ma’am.”
They are both in heaven now. She is enjoying song after song, his laughter and kindness.
Proverbs 17:22 A merry heart doeth good like a medicine:but a broken spirit drieth the bones. From the Bible. King James Version.
Merry and Bright
Over the weekend, I woke up to this verse. I must have read it a dozen times. I pray I am a merry dose of joy for myself and others. I began to mentally list ways to reach out to someone, so I wrote them out to share with you.
Daily Bible Study
I have a daily verse delivered, from a Bible app, to my phone and computer. www.bible.com You can choose what version you would like to read or choose audio for travel, walking, or resting.
Have fun getting closer to the Lord!
When you go to the app, you will be able to choose from 1200 Bible versions and 900 languages. You can read the verse and the full chapter. You can choose a Bible Plan, devotional or bible study, for the year, just for you, for free. Share verses, highlight and bookmark.
Spread Joy! It does a body good!!!
The last part of the verse talks about being a broken spirit and our bones drying up. There are several times I feel the pressure of being positive and happy rocked by the real struggle of life. If I am not careful, I spread a virus of unhappiness to everyone I talk to, instead of a healthy dose of Joy and Confidence. Spread Joy!
When you work really hard, and you want to stop for lunch, mixing up this extremely tasty Power Salad is simple. There are many different varieties. Please comment and share your Power Salad Creations! Just the aroma from blending Kale and Chickpea’s together is incredible.
I use our Ninja, which was a blessed gift from my husband when he saw me cutting up veggies for salads, soups, meals, and side dishes each week.
I make enough for him and I to take to work for a few of days. Pulse the Kale & Chickpea’s first. Quickly pulse the Beets so they stay in an assortment of bite sizes.
Mixing them all together, I lay them on a pile of Romaine Lettuce, with a sprinkle of Spinach. Drizzle with Salad Dressing!
Poach an egg, and add Ground Rainbow Blend Peppercorn. Then enjoy a delicious and easy lunch that does not take up a lot of time :)Jen
On my morning walk, this fella was hanging out. Is he a Seed Bug?
Every morning I wake up, all day long, and in my dreams, I am writing something down. Even riding in our van, I am creating a scene. But, I don’t know if you do this or not, ???, I sit down with paper and pen and try to begin. How to get this thought on to paper?
I shared this problem with my husband and in another blog I said how sweet of him and my daughter. She got me the Forky notebook to write my poems and story ideas and he bought me a year of masterclass.com
Since then, in the mail, as a surprise from Gary, arrived a 2019-2020 PRETTY SIMPLE WEEKLY & MONTHLY PLANNER. Go to their site, prettysimpleplanners.com and just Enjoy Shopping! I got excited seeing that they have planners and journals 🙂 Love all the room for notes and each month has a saying. August is-The secret of getting ahead is getting started.-Mark Twain.
So, I have the classes and the writing material and I put hours in to writing! I love creating stories and poems. What do you like to write about?