Tying a silver cord from the lesser light, I cast the line towards a distant star but catch a comet by the tail. It pulls me up as I grab a mountain top to hold on to the earth. I am drawn into the celestial realm as the catch seeks to get away. I feel the line go taught behind me as the man in the moon pulls on the silver twine. Together we haul in the shooting star and decide it is not quiet big enough to keep, so we let it sail on it's way. Now as I sit with the man in the moon, I wonder just how I will get back home?

Life is a spark then a light then a bit of smoke. In between these moments is when we truly are meant to live. What we do will define us for an eternity. Do we put our flicker of light under a lamp shade or set it on a pedal stool so that it may shine brightly and dispel the darkness so that others may see.

They may not show their wings or walk around with glowing halos, but that does not diminish their work. People who walk among us everyday going about their normal business, but who affect the lives of others in the most extraordinary ways. It may only be a word of kindness to someone who has lost all hope, or a handkerchief to someone who needs to blow their nose. They may give a few dollars to someone who is in need or perhaps they will give their time to teach a child to read. From preparing a meal for a stranger, to helping out a neighbor or friend, the miracles are miraculous if you could truly see their end. Each person who lends a helping hand, sends kindness and hope along the way. These ordinary Angels who walk among us, working not for fame or glory, but simply seeking to make the world a better place.

The sea of people churns like violent winds. They have no direction but run everywhere. Seeking anything that will give peace to their souls, they are without a set course. All who seek rest from the peace of God sail a crooked course. If we reject his peace, though we think we are at rest, we are never satisfied with the things of the world.

I walked among the graves and saw many a religious and pious image, until I came to one lonely but grand grave. Upon the finely hewn stone was the image of a raven made from dark marble. It was weather worn, but still glistened in the sun. I thought how peculiar to see such a thing among all of the crosses and angels that people use. As I got closer to the monument, I noticed it's shiny eyes. They reflected the light from the dreary overcast sky. As I started to move away, I thought I saw the statue move. Then I dismissed it as a fanciful thought. It was then that I heard a cry of caw caw from behind me, I turned to see the head stone empty and a dark raven flying away.

I walk in lace of purest white, I come to the day I have dreamed of all of my life. With Roses and babies breath adoring my hair. I have become a treasure most precious, an object of pure desire. In a breathless moment I take my place in a grand precession on this special day. As all eyes turn to me and through a lacy white veil, I look forward as I take my first steps into a moment of a dream. Though I am in quiet reverence of this moment, I am bursting with joy inside, for I walk in lace at last to become my soul mates loving bride.

I see the love coming from her eyes, I know the fullness of her lips as she speaks to me. I smell the scent of her Auburn locks and the Jasmine in her hair.

I scream at the mirror. I jump up and down in a cold sweat. I cook something I should not eat. I walk to the store in the rain. All the things I was told not to do, I have done and more. It is my way of weathering an emotional storm

I can hear your cries for pity, I can hear your pleas for mercy. I hear your voice and I cry for you. I can hear your sorrow and broken heart as it cracks into. I can hear your suffering from so far away. I can hear your hopelessness. I can hear your want for a better life. I can hear all of these things, and I will try to give you a voice. I can hear you.

Divisions are everywhere , society is filled with despair. The liberal liars revel in the chaos. They crave disharmony and lust for power. They despise freedom and embrace tyranny. They want destruction so that they may feed on crumbs of the despair of others. They speak with a silver tongue, deception is worn by them like a shroud. They hide in plain sight among a crowd. Little liars liberals all, sitting around waiting for the fall. So they can pick up the pieces of what is broken and create their utopia. You must simply be compliant and voice no resistance. Just be compliant or they will become insistent. In lock step they come, in unison they March to the same drum. Free will is a danger to their plans. Individual choice cannot be allowed to stand. So they will tell you that you are a nonconformist, they will say that you are not normal like the rest of us. The fact is that there is no compromise there is only one truth. That is what ever they choose.

Pain and suffering abound in a world filled with strife. Children go hungry and disease ravages whole countries. All seems hopeless and lost, and yet we are told that we should,praise God? Why should we praise him and who is this God that will let people suffer so? Perhaps it is because we have tried everything but calling on him, that when all else has failed us that now more than ever we need to give our praises to God.

Watching a homeless person beg for change, I just walk on by. Seeing a mother that was addicted to drugs, now clean and sober asking for help to get her children back. My heart feels no sympathy, I have lost compassion and love. I see the images until I am jaded and I just don't care anymore. The love of my humanity has waxed cold and I seem to only care about myself. Is this what we are to become, is there no mercy left with in us? The shadow of apathy has fallen upon many, I often prayed that it would not be me. Now I find myself caring nothing about the human suffering that I see. We are all becoming guilty and will one day have to answer for our in action. As we watch others suffer with depraved indifference and go about our daily lives.

They say its noon, but with my curtains drawn the light doesn't hurt so much. I like the darkness, I can just lie here. I feel numb, but last night I was alive, at least I think I was. The clock ticks like thunder, I look at it on the wall mocking me. In and out of sleep I slip, in some kind of weird trippy dream. Is it night yet, can I get up and see the stars. No the suns still up, dam it! My head feels like it will explode if the sun doesn't go down, the darkness is stale, I want to open the window so I can get some cool night air, but the sun won't go down. Tick Tock goes the mocking clock. I slip back into a comatose state. The drugs don't really help, but I can't tell through the haze. The doctors say I am doing well, but I am just slipping into the abyss waiting for the sun to go down.

I listen to the rain falling and hear the wind howl. I see birds falling from the sky and look at the rivers running red. The waters change colors like a fading rainbow and I feel the sadness as the Earth bleeds. I feel the ground shake and watch the waves rise. I see the animals dying and watch the blackening of the skies. The leaves on the trees fall early and the winters are not so long. One place becomes dry and arid and another becomes cold and unforgiving. In a moment of time we live as Earth ages pass. Yet in our fleeting moment, our actions can outlast us. What will be our legacy, what future will we leave. What will our children say as they hear the Earth cry and bleed.

In a kitchen full of laughing children with a yard full of sunlight. I dance around my duties to make sure everything is just right. A cake must be cooked even and golden brown. Cookies that smell divine must cool before they can be devoured. In a bustle of sweat I swish about and clang pans. While little helpers stand idly by waiting to lick a spoon or bowls when I an done with them. Some say it is too much labor, but I say that when it is for the joy of family, that I am wrapped in love and there is no greater comfort that I can find.

I narrowly escape my own destruction as temptation looms ever present. I wrestle with a demon that torments me relentlessly. Each day is a struggle and each night I lay in a cold sweat as it whispers to me to succumb. I feel the aching in my bones as the demon rages to be set free. Barley did I escape the addiction that ruined my life, and each day tries to reclaim me.

A shattered mirror lies in pieces on the bathroom floor. The image you saw terrified you. Filled with self loathing, not able to take the sight of your own reflection. Sickened by the blackness of the person that lies with in. Tormented by memories of what you have done. Drugs no longer **** the demons from your past. When you try to sleep, they come to haunt you, the screaming horrors of your mistakes. Tossing in fits of rage and sweat, ripping the sheets in panic as you awake. Faces and places thought long forgotten, buried in the deepest recesses of your soul. They now call to you for a day of reckoning. They demand that you pay the price for your past deeds, they are here to collect part of your soul. Nothing you do can satisfy their lust for you. They tear and rip at your soul. A conscience once thought seared black with a branding iron, now dredges up all of the things you want to forget, you haven't even begun to start fighting your demons yet.

I have cried the tears of disappointment. I have wept through the long night. I have been wounded and I carry the scars. Through all of the anguish, your hand has been with me. Even when I thought I was alone, I was being guided by the unseen love that you feel for me. Now after the long journey, I have come through to the other side. The burdens have been lifted and the pain is fading. I see the new day dawning and now I realize what true love is. For despite my mistakes, you have been faithful. You kept your promises and did not forsake me. Always you were present with loving kindness and the strength of the nail scared hands.

God is kindness and God is love. God is a firm hand from above. God is instruction and God is change, in the way our lives are lived. God is reason and God is wisdom. God is correction with a loving hand. God is a father and a teacher. God is a comforter and a friend. God is a creator and God is a judge, with divine wisdom and discernment. God is all of these things and so much more, if we would only open our hearts, we would know what God is.

When the heart seems lost, it can be rescued. When the heart is broken, it will heal. When loneliness overflows, comfort will come. When loss makes us feel empty, the void can be filled. When hope seems lost to us, love will find a way into our lives.

The shadows are following me, I am sure it is them. I see the trees moving to surround me, I should stay away from them. I lock myself in my room, because I think it is safe. I keep looking under the bed to make sure, that no one is laying in wait for me. Most days I can only have a conversation with myself. I am not sure why that is, perhaps I am the only one who understands me. I change my clothes at least 3 times a day, my shoes almost never match what I want to wear. Perhaps I have gone over the edge already, or perhaps I am almost there. I am not sure which way I will lean tomorrow, it will depend on which way the sun chooses to rise. Beyond that, I think me and the voices will be just fine.

Not seeking fame and fortune, but looking to heavenly things. Holding fast to the way of service, taking each day as it comes. While denied earthly rewards, with caring hands you give of yourself. Not giving a thought of your sacrifice, but looking towards the welfare of others. In all things being humble and seeking the well being of the less fortunate. All for the cause of heaven, to show that unconditional love truly exist, in a servants life.

Baseball games have been replaced with a smart phone. Arguments are not settled with a dare but with a 9mm at school. The government is going to take care of it. So the father is not needed in the home. All we see on t.v. is the thing that is imitated in the streets and rebroadcast on the 6 pm news. Likes and hits have replaced true friends. The grownups have crawled into a pill bottle and let someone else deal with their problems. A child must be given everything but the one thing they need. Then when our baby goes off of the deep end, we try to blame society. The politicians say it is the objects that did this, the kid is not at fault. Let's give them a pill and it will solve everything. So the cycle repeats itself generation upon generation. Our children have lost their identity and are not sure who they are. Finally we sit down and look at a photo and do a hash tag for what we have lost. When the answer is simple enough, all we need is a mirror to answer the question where have are children gone?

Oh how the fish jump about, oh how they dive high into the air, upon a lake so pristine and clear. To the delight of any fisherman what seems to be an abundance of game, fit to be taken on any given day, but alas this is not the case for a fish is smarter than they look. The aerial display of agility does not translate to a fish on a hook. For while I admired the splendor of a potential catch of the day. The fish had other plans and simply danced away. As I placed my boat into the water I noticed that their dancing stopped, they swam away from my part of the lake to another spot. In what was almost with a mocking choreography that the fish escaped my grasp. Choosing to go to where my baited hook was not to continue their little fishy dance.

In a v formation the geese ascend. They honk as heralds of the coming spring. The snow is melting and the lakes will thaw. As geese from southern haven return North in majestic beauty. Returning spring again.

Chatter, chirp and screech, thus goes the pundit on t.v. . Reminiscent of the mocking bird, sounding like other things but itself. Chatter, chirp and screech, that is all today's news commentary is to me.

Vanity is an infection that distracts from the truth. Superficial beauty fades like leaves on a tree in Autum. Wealth blinds the eye to justice. Silver and gold turns away true judgment. Those who have can buy judgment, while the poor have no recourse. All things come to an end, kingdoms collapse and empires fall. Death is the one true equality. All face this judgement, an no mortal can escape it. No matter what trappings the world has given us.

I narrowly escape my own destruction as temptation looms ever present. I wrestle with a demon that torments me relentlessly. Each day is a struggle and each night I lay in a cold sweat as it whispers to me to succumb. I feel the aching in my bones as the demon rages to be set free. Barley did I escape the addiction that ruined my life, and each day tries to reclaim me.

Give mercy that I can help another. Show me kindness so I can show my brother. Grant me peace that I can share. Please oh Lord show me how you care.

Accept my way or die. They are to blame for your problems. God loves me and hates you. These are the messages that are delivered everyday. These are the things that our children hear and see, ignorance and intolerance, close mindedness and bigotry. Blaming ones neighbor for our poor decisions. Saying that what another has is ours by some imagined right. These are the messages that stir up strife. These are the words that people use to create divisiveness. These are the tools of the messengers of hate.

I walked out on to open plain and I saw the mid-day sun. I watched my brother the Eagle soar into the sky. I looked at the lonely mountain and I began to climb,on through the day and into the evening past many clinging Pines. On to the top of the mountain from which I saw my brother the Eagle fly. I watched the sun go down and I saw the stars fill the sky. Shining down as the souls of the ancestors watching me down on the Earth below. I sat down by a roaring fire and began to chant and listen to the night, when I was taken by a vision in to the heavens and there I saw many wondrous sights.  I soared into the clouds with my brother the Eagle and I watched the ground pass below. I saw the tops of mountains and the clinging Pines as I went on. I came to the birth place of the river and saw how it is given life, as it pours up out of the Earth and begins on its long journey. I asked the rushing water where it had come from and where it intended to go. It replied I came from the Earth and to the plains I must flow. I followed the raging river until it became calm and at peace. I saw the great Buffalo grazing beside it's banks and they stopped by it to take a drink. As I poured out my soul into the heart of all living things, I ran with the Buffalo as they thundered across the open plains. I went to so many place and saw so many things, I heard the stories of the mountains and of all living things. When at last I returned to my own place on the lonely mountain top, I knew that I had been changed inside and many new lessons I had been taught. I saw the world through new eyes as I completed my Spirit Walk.

Dressed in the finest clothes, with the best looks, money and prestige in abundance. Only when the serpent has beguiled you into submission, do you see it's fangs too late. Taking up a banner in the name of righteousness, only to commit atrocities that would make God turn his head. Singing for joy of holiness, when the actions are anything but that. Hiding in a crowd, appearing plain and normal, while underneath the façade, a raving wolf waits to pounce. Whether with a serpents beguiling tongue or the appearance of self righteousness, evil has many faces of which one must be aware.

In rage and frustration mindless thugs light torches. They pound the pavement with their boots and become a resemblance of marauding hoards from years long past. With no regard for justice or another s right to life. The unwashed masses of villains set the town alight. The city burns with anger, the city burns with hate. The city burns with want for revenge, which masked robbers gladly take. From a peaceful calm to torrents of flames, with false calls for justice, the city burns.

From the deepest blue of the ocean a mighty giant rises. Calling into the dark depths then rising to meet the sun, it lifts it's mass out of the darkness into the radiant light in a display of power that is seldom seen. It's haunting echoes call to your soul as you listen in the dead deep silence. Only the sound of the waves churning can be heard from the distance surface world. As you fall with the mighty ocean giant back into the nether region of the abyss from which it rose, the Blue Whales song calls in a unique harmony that only a few can appreciate.

I see a new day before me. I see an opportunity for good things. I can choose good or bad  the decision is mine. So my choices now will affect my tomorrow. Let me do right and not wrong. Let me be a hope for today.

Shedding all of your clothes and removing your inhibitions, stand in front of the mirror and admit the truth to yourself. You are what you were made to be, you are beautiful indeed. Could you lose some weight, yet but only for your health not for vanities sake. So accept your existence and breathe in the free air. Be at one with what you are and just go from there.

It has been 3 days since I needed it. My hands have become unsteady and I am shivering with cold chills, though it is warm outside. My eyes have cleared up but I have black circles under them from lack of sleep. It hurts to even breathe at times. I am sweating like there is no tomorrow and I am unsteady on my feet. I have to sit down too often, but I am determined to make it through this. There is not a pill I can take, I must suffer for my life. I want to just give in, which has been the problem in the past. To let go and feel the warmth shooting through my veins, is a quiet peace but then it is just temporary. I cannot hide from my problems in a syringe anymore. I must face the reality of what I am becoming before it is too late.

Shuffling through my emotions I relive all of my days. I look at the triumphs and failures and think about different things. I pull at the layers of my inner self to find out who I am inside. I look for some reason for knowing love, fearing what it is that I might find. With know sense left in my spirit, I dare not chance this to fate. If I make one mistake, it could end the gift I have been given. So I carefully dissect my heart to know that my love is sure. Because I cannot never find this gift again, because I have found perfection in you.

Our souls have been sold for instant fame! Now you can be famous for no reason at all. Post your life online, for all of the world to see. Depravity has become the norm and piety has been cast aside. For thirty pieces of silver was once the price, now thirty seconds can gain you a million followers. As what cost have we sold our souls at what price have we forsaken any form of virtue. To open our homes and our lives to scrutiny once reserved for only the most infamous among us. Now for fame and self adulation, we will forget the golden rule, and teach ourselves and any who will follow how to be mean to others. Only to find out in the end that no life matters. For we have become, a empty and virtue-less world.

I wake up with a hang over and I haven't been drinking. I am sick at my stomach because I haven't eaten. The wounds are healing on my wrist, but I keep wanting to lay them open. I am not sure what is wrong with me, still I keep hoping. I look for answers but I find little to make me feel alive. No matter what I try, I am still sad inside. The day wears on, one into the next. Most are horrible make me want to give up. What I wouldn't give for just one lousy day.

Iron brought out of the dark earth, pushed into a crimson forge. Coals heated beyond white hot, metal liquid then cooled. Over and over the process is repeated, each time the hammer falls ringing on the metal. The breath of a red beast is poured into the steel that has been wrought from iron. The seething venom of a hell spawn with red scales like glistening red jewels. It spits its flame into the forge as the coals become hot beyond reason. In goes the steel out it pours into the mold. Clang goes the hammer as it is folded and formed. Back into the fire, the dragons breath hot on the blade. Bang goes the hammer to the anvil. Muscle and sweat are poured into the blade with blood spattered on it for good measure. Hell spawns breath heats the forge as it roars to life, putting the final touches on the sword. A weapon that will cut through the night and make women lament and weep for they are widows and their children are orphans. What a terrible thing, this Dragon blade that thirst for battle and wills itself to drink blood.

A young man once spoke to an old man and he said why do you sit here idly by? The old man said what would you have me do, for I have lived my life. The young man said whatever it takes to get rid of the rags that you wear, the old man responded I could if I had silver and gold, but then would I be happy? The young man then said one day I shall have these things a crown and riches Untold. So the old man passed into memory and the young man worked very hard he learned the things that were expedient, and Achieve greatness. Then one day as he set upon his throne wearing his Golden Crown, he happened to look out the window and saw an empty piece of ground. There in his memory he remembered what an old man had said and then he hung his crown laden head for his heart was filled with Dread. He had achieved all the things that money could buy but yet he had no peace, so at lasts he understood what the old man meant and wished he could speak to him again.

I saw a luscious looking berry just hanging from a vine. I thought I would pick it quick and just be on my way. Little did I expect what was laying in wait, behind gorgeous Green leaves, where the berry waited to be pricked, were rows of unsightly thorns, wanting to give me a stick. So in my hurried anticipation, I reached into to claim my prize, then I winced as tears filled my eyes. So just remember this lesson, when you curse at the fruit you would have enjoyed, check behind the foliage first because Briars do have thorns.

Left or right, liberal or conservative, ideologies do not put food in a hungry child's belly. Foreign aid, domestic spending, in the end, where does the money really go. Trillions are spent by both sides but the poor still seem to be poor. Perhaps we should get rid of  the ideological leaders and give the average person a chance. How would a waitress make the law work, would a carpenter do better at rebuilding our inner cities. Perhaps if we move beyond the politics and let real people have a chance, then the world beca better place.

When the world makes no sense, we call upon his name. When we are frustrated and feel defeated, we call upon his name. When we lack the answers, we call upon his name. When our enemies seem to be winning, we call upon his name. When the darkness surrounds us, we call upon his name. Oh what a privilege it is to call upon Jesus name.

Comforts surround us as we walk through an illusion. We believe that we need the things we have acquired, but in truth they mean little. Material things fade as dust and blow away. At the end of the day when twilight calls, what do they really matter. Photographs are but memories that will fade. Soft blankets and good food are all part of the illusion. When the mortal shell begins to wither as a flower at the end of a summers day, and we travel from our short piece of time. Our place in the sun goes to another and all that we have achieved will be put down in one blip of time. As things go, stars and mountains will be here long after we have faded into the dust from which we came. So why do we fight so hard against the inevitable, when it is time to leave this world?

String bikini's have replaced over coats, flip flops have replaced furry boots. The sun rises higher in the sky and stays longer. The warm trade winds come in from the ocean and the smell of barbecue fills the air. There is no question that winter is gone and summer time is here.

Who is this man that was crucified. Who is the man who was pierced in his side. Who is the one who walked by the sea. Who is the one they called the Nazarene? Who is the one that was crucified between two thieves? Who is the man that they say rose from the grave. Who is this man who sought to save? Who could this man be? Perhaps this man is you and me?

My graduation was a smashing success and my diploma looks good on my wall. Now I have to wake up when ever my boss decides to call. Sleeping in is not an option, I am always on the clock. I wanted to be on my own, now I wish I could go back to school. I studied for 4 years and only partied a little. I thought it was only 9 to 5 but its more like daylight to the next sunrise. I never see my friends anymore, they have their own lives. My old roommate has twins and has forgotten what it is to sleep. I am not far behind because I work just to eat. So when I do get a day off, my parents want me to stop by. My mother has a dozen errands for me and my dad wants me to mow the lawn. I think I will just go back to work, at least I get paid for being hassled there. Who new life would be so hard, oh wait I must have missed that class. Welcome to reality my dad once said, yeah pop its a real blast.

Woven of strips of wood, and set on a table somewhere. A simple item that was made with such love and care. To some it seems a simple thing, but oh the stories it could tell. How it held flowers for a sick loved one and help that person get well. It once carried home made bread, on a lovers picnic. It was filled with colored eggs one Easter as it was filled to the brim with the excitement that went with finding them. The plain and rather ordinary basket, has been many times to a garden, where it was used to pick fresh vegetables to carry to someone in need. It has been a play pen for kittens and a place to keep pencils and pens. Such a simple thing a woven basket, oh how useful it has been .