Prescription for a happier and healthier life: resolve to slow down your pace; learn to say no gracefully; resist the temptation to chase after more pleasure, more hobbies, and more social entanglements.
From Psalm 62:1-2: “For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall never be shaken.”
From Psalm 23:4: “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff–they comfort me.”
Being careful with life’s missteps
Sinful disobedience waits
God’s Word touches our inner soul
Hell pleasing, never be our fate
Our truest, most faithful support
Shall always arrive from His love
God’s Word will endure forever
His Spirit reigns from high above
When life’s dark trials boil over
Creating quagmires of distress
God’s Word quells each predicament
His next move leads like playing chess
Our life’s journey travels by faith
Transformed by Christ’s merciful heart
God’s Word reaches out, filled with hope
Bringing a new day, let’s restart
From 2 Corinthians 5:7: “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”
Photo by Alessio Cesario on Pexels.com
God would love to piece together the shattered fragments of your life. But He is waiting . . . graciously waiting until the time is right. Until you recognize your need for Him . . . He’s waiting.
From Proverbs 15:23: “To make an apt answer is a joy to anyone, and a word in season, how good it is!”
This is the inaugural post of a new feature here at Big Sky Buckeye. Every couple of months or so different snapshots about the Buckeye State of Ohio will be presented.
This famous song has been sung by young school children in America since the early 1900s. Perhaps a few readers remember singing these familiar lyrics:
I’ve got a mule and her name is Sal
Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal
She’s a good old worker and a good old pal
Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal
The “Erie Canal Song” serves as an introduction to the Ohio and Erie Canal, which connected Lake Erie (along Ohio’s northern border) with the Ohio River (along its southern flank).
The canal was constructed years before railroads would arrive so it provided an effective and cheaper way to ship business products and agricultural goods over longer distances.
Leaving Lake Erie near Cleveland, the canal ran through a series of valleys which dot much of the eastern and central part of the state. Covering a total of 308 miles, the canal proceeded through the river valleys of Cuyahoga, Muskingum, Licking, and Scioto. Once it reached the Scioto River south of present-day Columbus, barge traffic used the Scioto River on its way to Portsmouth on the Ohio River.
The canal was constructed between 1825 and 1832 (the Erie Canal was finished in 1825). Construction costs ran about $10,000 per mile.
By the 1850s, railroads arrived upon the scene, and their efficiency and lower costs brought about the eventual demise and decline of the canal systems in Ohio and other regions of the nation.
There is significant evidence of the canal today across many areas of Ohio. A curious traveler should be on the lookout for:
CANAL ROUTE
LOCKS
There are numerous websites with additional information. If one searches for “Ohio and Erie Canal,” much more information is available as well as interesting destinations along the former route of the canal. There are numerous locations with additional locks, towpaths, and former canal channels. Many places offer parks, walking and hiking trails, and canoeing.
It is not enough for us to be where God is worshipped, if we do not ourselves worship Him.
From John 4:23-24: “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.
Office
Flexible schedule
Working from home
Feeling fulfilled and happy
Retirement
Busy
Digital devices
Talking each day
So, why can’t we?
Pause
Writing
Rough draft
Building a novel
Hours of editing await
Masterpiece
The German-inspired poetry style of Elfchen (or Elevenie) contains five lines of poetic verse, usually without the use of rhyming verses. A total of 11 words are used with a sequence of one, two, three, and four words before ending with a single word in the final verse.
There will come a time when you believe everything is finished. That will be the beginning.
There are good men everywhere. I only wish they had louder voices.
College basketball star and high school majorette
Growing up under Montana’s brilliant Big Sky
Destined to raise this band of brothers as their sons
Rearing five boys, better than any Fourth of July
Household of boys born over a span of twelve years
Perhaps their father dreams of a basketball team
While their mother nurtures with love and care
Quintet of brothers’ thoughts filling with biggest dreams
Brothers grow up, facing life’s many challenges
Inspired by a father with amazing courage
Battling back from near-fatal car crash in his youth
His steadfast work ethic always encourages
These driven brothers discover their niche at school
Excelling with their academics in the classroom
Competition fuels a welcome outlet through sports
Lives mature too quickly, future destinies zoom
This family story would never be complete
The boys’ mother remembers God’s lovely bouquet
These five brothers always cherish their one sister
Believe it or not, she’s born on Valentine’s Day
This poem gives you a quick glimpse into my childhood family. Growing up under Montana’s Big Sky was a blessing for my brothers and sister. The memories will last a lifetime.
Think of the blessings we so easily take for granted: Life itself; preservation from danger; every bit of healthy we enjoy; every hour of liberty; the ability to see, to hear, to speak, to think, and to imagine all this comes from the hand of God.
From 2 Corinthians 9:7: “Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
Sower scattering any seed
Wildly without any foresight
God scatters His Word as planned
His aim, truthful in its flight
Called to sow His righteous seeds
Following a living light
Sharing of God’s Holy Word
Walking in Jesus’ delight
These efforts shall bear His fruit
Quenching the rich, fertile ground
God adds the living water
Patient, His trust to be found
Not every seed shall bloom now
Some will lie quiet and wait
Just as a pine cone pauses
Holds seeds for their proper fate
Spreading God’s Word to others
Using our freedom for good
Allowing Spirit to work
Sowing for Him as we should
Sharing love and forgiveness
Lord’s eternal Word aligned
Taking blessed, scattered seeds
Harvesting fruit of all kinds
From Isaiah 55:10-11: “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”
Big Sky Buckeye 