Landscape’s color wheel
Artist’s infinite choices—
Every brilliant shade
Quiet morning breeze
Punctuated with raindrops—
Perfectly designed
Empty canvas waits
Sketch’s anticipation—
Inspiration blooms
Clouds of change fill morning’s sky
Hidden in frozen crystal ball
What will tomorrow bring?
Many questions wait to free fall
Transformation rides each wind
Hidden story’s unwritten thread
Others forecast gloom and doom
Some say, better times ahead
Harmony fills every thought
Hidden in history’s playbook
Another bridge, not too far
Truth discovers faithful nook
Joyful peace, flowing with hope
Hidden anthem’s spirited choice
Rodeo’s last mount to ride
Countless answers offer voice
By making us in His image, God gave us capacities not given to other forms of life. He gave us freedom to make choices.
From Deuteronomy 30:19: “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live.”
Running a quick errand for mother
Feeling twenty-five cents in my hand
Heading to the nearby little store
Milk, bread—let’s see what candy looks grand
Years ago, two bits meant feeling rich
A few coins equal twenty-five cents
Today, this sweet tooth will be in luck
Let this candy shopping now commence
Below the front counter, treasures wait
Friendly woman cashier stands and smiles
A few pennies for Sweet Tarts and more
Licorice, Smarties add to the pile
Looking to spend one final nickel
Picking through endless, tempting choices
Spying at last, a sweet Hershey bar
Overcome by sugar-filled voices
Arriving back home without delay
Pockets filled with sweetest treasure
Mother asks about the milk and bread
Two bucks unspent, plus her displeasure
Growing up in my childhood neighborhood, there was a little store just a few blocks away. My brothers and I made many a journey to the store for milk, bread, and other quick-to-find essentials for our mother. I cannot recall forgetting the milk and bread, but having a few coins in my pocket was treasure waiting to be spent on the candy found there.
The poem lists a few of the types of candy found back in the 1960s. Do you have a favorite candy from your childhood?
Originally published July, 2020.
Quiet the voice telling you to do more and be more, and trust that in this moment, who you are, where you are at, and what you are doing is enough.
You get to decide what you accept and what you let go. You get to choose how to honor yourself, and how to protect your heart.
Daniell Koepke is an American writer.
Life’s defining moments are usually played under the shadow of doubt.
I must take not take joy from status or power, but from my accomplishments, and the way I choose to accomplish them.
Stephen J. Cannell (1941-2010) was an American television producer, writer, and occasional actor.
Morning now surrounding
Feeling never alone
Confidence shining through
Harboring writer’s backbone
Questions’ answers stirring
Knowing mind remains full
Sometimes sweetness arrives
Savoring every spoonful
Reality writing
Filling story’s plotline
Harmony’s cautious breath
Sailing to distance shoreline
Silent voices hiding
Reaching out to each one
Script drawing from choices
Hanging out with wordsmith’s fun
Interactions blooming
Finding forgotten time
Pages empty of gaps
Coaxing distant thoughts to climb
Photo by Simon Matzinger on Pexels.com
We have a clear path to choose
Anything else, we definitely lose
A godless enemy brings emptiness
He prowls and waits, eager to strike
His path only leads to unhappiness
Our lives feel like a bursting dike
We see the good life in front of us
But the light comes with false hopes
Glamour and riches without the fuss
Darkness clouds over life’s periscope
Gloomy doom brings promises, so empty
A champion bears our guilt and shame
There is a better way, filled with plenty
Life truly means more than just a game
The Light of Salvation chases away the dark
Christ bears our wounds at a bloody cross
The enemy slithers away, gone is his spark
Jesus’ Holy righteousness reaches across
Our loving Father sacrifices His only Son
His shed blood atones for our sinful ways
An empty tomb declares, Christ has won
Accept me and follow, He proudly says
We have a clear path to choose
Anything else, we definitely lose
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
Originally published October, 2019.
Life’s supposed to be about making the path a little gentler for those traveling behind you.
Anything worth doing, is worth doing all the way. Just know you’ll have to live with all the choices that you make.
Reba McEntire (born 1955) is an American country music singer and actress. She has earned the nickname of “Queen of Country.”
Cumulatively small decisions, choices, actions . . . make a very big difference.
What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.
Jane Goodall (born 1934) is an English-born primatologist and anthropologist. She is considered the world’s foremost expert on the family and social interactions of chimpanzees.
Big Sky Buckeye 