THE HIGHEST OF ARTS

                                                        "To affect the quality of the day,"
                                                        wrote Thoreau, "that is the highest
                                                        of arts."

                                                        How shall we affect the quality of our 
                                                        day?  We may do this...

                                                        Through kind words...
                                                        especially for and toward others...
                                                        kind words that bless, that lift,
                                                        that love.

                                                        Through prayer...
                                                        that powerful avenue of communication
                                                        that transcends and overcomes all
                                                        earthly barriers.

                                                        Through adoration...
                                                        both vocal and silent...of our
                                                        Creator...for this joyous journey
                                                        called life.

                                                        And, might we add...
                                                        To uplift the spirit of another human
                                                        being...that too, is the Highest of Arts.

0 CommentsON RAISING CHILDREN (THOUGHT TWO)

   
                                                                                          FALL GUY

                                          Once again, it is that season of the year
                                          which we enjoy bragging about so much
                                          (as if we had a great deal to do with bringing 
                                          it about)...

                                          Autumn has arrived once again...
                                          With flamboyant flare, the eastern skies are
                                          aflame with splashes of tangerine and gold.
                                          There are plucky pecans and orange plastered
                                          plump pumpkins, hot apple pie ala mode
                                          Brisk, invigorating walks down tawny leaved lanes.
                                          Yesterdays remembered down golden green roads.

                                          Each year we bask in the beauty of this wonderous
                                          season. With deep breaths we inhale the expectant
                                          exhilarating air as the passage of each day pushes
                                          us closer toward Thanksgiving and Christmas.

                                          Street lights, porch lights, parlor lights take on 
                                          a warm after glow and homes once again become
                                          our safe harbor.
                                                        
                                          To all of you who would join with us in celebrating
                                          this glorious season...We salute you...as one fall
                                          guy to another.

                                                                       
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                                                    Courtesy  conquers crabbiness
                                                    Courtesy  constitutes chivalry
                                                    in its finest form
                                                    Courtesy  encourages kindness
                                                    in times of disagreement
                                                    Courtesy  overcomes outrage
                                                    and instills confidence
                                                    Courtesy  greets all people as friends
                                                    Courtesy  graciously gives and
                                                    amiably appreciates
                                                    Courtesy  eradicates impudence
                                                    while pursuing politeness
                                                    Courtesy  never lost a client
                                                    Courtesy  is gentility bathed
                                                    in the oil of elegance
                                                    Courtesy  is not a natural pearl,
                                                                           it must be cultivated.

                                                                

                                                       
                                                    TRUE SUCCESS

                                              Wrote David O. McKay...
                                              "No other success can compensate  
                                              for failure in the home."

                                              Wherein doth true happiness lie, 
                                              if not in the home?
                                              Where dear hearts are gathered 'round 
                                              a warm and gentle hearth.
                                              Where knightly dreams are often common-place.
                                              Where dragons may still be slain and 
                                              castles may still be scaled.
                                              Where little girls have fond dreams of
                                              becoming like their mothers.
                                              Where little boys strive to emulate the 
                                              noble actions of their dads...
                                              If we would change our world (and
                                              it is never too late to start)...let us begin
                                              where we should ... in the home.
                                                
                                              (First published on April 3, 2012)
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                                                              HIS POINT  634

                  "The dice of God," wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson,
                  "are always loaded."

                  To further explain this metaphor, Mr. Emerson
                  continued..."The world looks like a mathematical
                  equation, which, turn it how you will, balances itself."

                  "Take what figure you will, its exact value still
                  returns to you. Every secret is told, every crime
                  is punished, every virtue rewarded."

                  We suspect Mr. Emerson is trying to tell us this...
                  "God always makes His point." Nothing good, nor
                  nothing bad, is ever hidden from the eyes of the Lord.

                  And, we would be the most wretched of men if we did
                  not have the faith and the hope that the dice of God
                  have been loaded with the grace and the mercy of Christ.
       
                        (First published on June 14,1979)

                                                     

                                                                   BOUNTEOUS HARVEST

                                          We are troubled on every side
                                          Or so it would appear
                                          Yet we discern in the distant grey
                                          A golden dawn quietly drawing near

                                          Anxieties of the time press down
                                          Yet our misfortunes are easy to bear
                                          For we have a Father in Heaven
                                          Who listens to our honest prayer
 
                                          Every problem contains a hidden blessing
                                          We really have nothing to fear
                                          Clouds of darkness are now dispersing
                                          And God's plans are becoming clear

                                          With hope we look toward tomorrow
                                          With faith we cast away care
                                          Our burdens we leave far behind us
                                          And in the Lord's bounteous harvest
                                          We'll share

                                          (First published on August 23, 2014)

1 CommentPSALM 26:2,3,8,12

                                                   
                                         DISARM OUR HOSTILITY 615

                         "If we could read the secret history of our
                           enemies," wrote Longfellow, "we should find
                           in each man's life sorrow and suffering enough
                           to disarm all hostility."

                           It is easy for most of us to love someone often,
                           but it is probably difficult for any of us to love
                           anyone, all the time.
                            
                           In a week's time we may find someone who rubs
                           us the wrong way by something they say or do.

                           If a person's life's history were flashed before us,
                           perhaps we would be less quick to judge harshly,
                           or condemn severely.

                           O God, Give us thy grace sufficient enough
                           to disarm all our hostility. In Jesus name, Amen

                           (First published on April 15, 1978, with revisions
                           made on April 17,2022)    


                                                                                                                    


          

                                                                     THE SIMPLE LIFE

                          "I am bound to praise the simple life," wrote
                     John Burroughs, "because I have lived it and
                     found it good."
                         
                     To live in the country. To bask in the sun. 
                     To not feel pressured or pushed.
                     To walk quietly and gently down country roads.
                          To notice the zig-zagging of a butterfly. 
                     To watch a dog roll in the grass under a shade tree.
                          To watch tree branches sway and saunter in the breeze
                     as an occasional leaf hesitatingly makes its way to the ground.
                          To watch a garden grow. To plant just a few seeds and watch 
                     God multiply and give the increase.
                          To be at peace with one's self and all of nature's creatures.
                          For theses experiences and many more left unwritten, 
                     we too, are "bound to praise the simple life."
                     
                     (First published on July 19, 2013)


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                                                     Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (Latin: [ˈpuːbliʊs ɔˈwɪdiʊs ˈnaːsoː]; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid (/ˈɒvɪd/ OV-id),[1] was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the three canonical poets of Latin literature. The Imperial scholar Quintilian considered him the last of the Latin love elegists.[2] Although Ovid enjoyed enormous popularity during his lifetime, the emperor Augustus banished him to a remote province on the Black Sea, where he remained a decade until his deatH

Ovid was a few years before my time, however, my family and I have lately been
acquainted with this scurrilous pandemic flu type disease. My wife, Donna, my youngest  daughter, Heather and I are slowly battling our way through this impairment of unwellness. May all of you be blessed in this good old summertime. BM.

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                                                         A SHORT PRAYER (#7)

                                                         Thank you Father
                                                         Thank you Jesus
                                                         Thank you Holy Spirit

                                                          Previous Short Prayers
                                                          1. June 25, 2015
                                                           2.  October 15,2015
                                                             3. February 04, 2016
                                                               4. May 26,2016
                                                                 5. June 28, 2017
                                                                   6. August 24, 2019
​                                                                     7. July 8, 2022