It is Saturday, and although we have plans to go to a play this evening, both my hubby and I are feeling a bit "yucky"... and since I thought I'd write a poem, (and since I am so lazy and listless today), I chose to write a couplet:  the easiest of the verse forms. It consists of two lines with an end rhyme.

What am I thinking of doing today?

Just resting, and thinking to say, “No way!”

©CJ: 2014 (but who would want to claim it anyway?!)

If you want to watch something inspiring, here is a really special video that I posted last week on Facebook that touched me.  Video

I learned how to make a cute little black  heart on Xanga (& Word Press). You probably already knew how to do this, but I didn't.  You type in the following: an ampersand, immediately followed by the word hearts, immediately followed by a semicolon, and you get:   ♥   

Yesterday when I went shopping for groceries, I picked up a couple of things that Mom asked me to get:  a Razzleberry pie (made by Marie Callender) and some flowers.  So  I baked the pie while we were eating our supper last night (we brought home Lee's Famous Recipe chicken, mashed potatoes & gravy, biscuits, and a yummy salad I'd gotten from the grocery salad bar.).

 

 

This past week my daughter-in-law posted this picture of our youngest grandchild (8 & 1/2 months).   I think that it epitomizes my feelings about waiting for Spring!   And when did she start standing independently?! Sigh... before I know it she'll be running around like her siblings!

My daughter-in-law put this caption with the picture: She's been staring out there for a while. I can't help but look at her & think of the movie Independence Day. Then think "release me!"

Since I haven't seen that movie, I can't appreciate the allusion to it.  I assume it's humorous.

I'm closing with two pictures. The first is from earlier in the week when I took my Mom to get her haircut and perm, and then treated her to a meal at a small Japanese restaurant that I like; she loved it!  The second is a  picture that I took a couple of years back, but I just today relocated it, and then did special effects on it before adding the Bible verses to it. Have a wonderful weekend!  ♥         

What Would YOU Be?  (This is for my friend Carolyn.)

If I were a month I would be: April

If I were a day of the week I would be: ? S, M, T, W, T, F, S?

If I were a time of day I would be: midnight

If I were a sea animal I would be:dolphin

If I were a piece of furniture I would be: My rocking chair with its rocking hassock

If I were a drink I would be: Cold: diet root beer; Hot: cappuccino

If I were a gemstone I would be: Diamond, emerald, or turquoise

If I were a tree I would be: A leafy, shady, good climbing tree

If I were a flower I would be: Daisy

If I were a plant I would be: Bougainvillea

If I were a kind of weather I would be: Sunshine

If I were a musical instrument I would be: Piano or guitar

If I were a color I would be: Green

If I were an emotion I would be: Easy-going

If I were a fruit I would be: Mango or Papaya

If I were a candy bar I would be: Chocolate (any of them)

If I were a sound I would be: Music

If I were an element I would be: Water

If I were a car I would be: Corvette convertible definitely!

If I were a food I would be: Filipino food

If I were a place I would be: The Philippines

If I were a material I would be: cotton

If I were a taste I would be: Sweet & salty

If I were a scent I would be: Lemon

If I were a dog I would be: Black lab or a mix

If I were an animal I would be: Bear cub

If I were a bird I would be: Canary

If I were an object I would be: Kindle Fire/laptop

If I were a body part I would be: Eyes

If I were a facial expression I would be: Smile

If I were a pair of shoes I would be: Comfortable worn sneakers (true, C#1)

If you want to…PLEASE do this JUST FOR FUN on your site! 

Copy and paste the “If I were”‘s…and then delete my answers about me and fill in your answers about you! I’d love to read it!

I just came from  Val's site,  where she wrote another poem and explained it thus:  "A cascade poem is where each line in the first stanza becomes the last lines in the following stanzas. There is no requirement for rhyme or meter. The stanzas would look like:

ABC deA fgB hiC."

Today was a great day for teaching, worship,  singing, listening,  praying, fellowship, and enjoying a meal together with others in a smaller group.  At home it was also a good day to rest, have family time, etc.

Here is my cascade poem, and the theme was not just based upon our day at church today, but every day in which worship is a part.

Copyright © 2014 Carolyn Justice

Have a wonderful week.  

I'll be around to visit your sites now.

Today's blog is a miscellany of photos and quotes.

The first set is to show how our weather has been changing this week.  First two pictures show Monday night's sleet sparkling on the car, snow, and lamppost.  By Tuesday late morning, much of the snow had melted due to the bright sun, and some warmer weather (like in the 30's)! The birds were chirping even!  Can you see the bird nest?

The second set is supper that I fixed tonight: salad and two types of quiche.

The third set is of the grandkids.    Tristen advanced to her brown belt last week; Brogan & his dad called and talked with us Tuesday ... telling us about the games that he plays on computers, etc.; and Quinn has been learning about "big-people" foods: blueberries, eggs, and chocolate! 

The fourth set is for laughs.  :-D    

And the last is for encouragement.  Be blessed my friends!  :-)   HUGS!

"

DEAR XANGA FRIENDS ... I want to share my latest post from WordPress.  Most of you don't know that much about me, so I thought I'd share a little.

I love to meet friends from around the world. When I saw this visitor app, I thought ... perfect, I can now keep track of where where my friends are all coming! I couldn't find how to embed HTML code into my site. I kept trying different things, but without too much luck. I'd hoped to use it on FB, but learned that they do not support this program (though they used to do so). On my Xanga account (in the old days of Xanga), I knew how to do all sorts of stuff like this. Now on this new site -- WordPress, I feel lost. I don't "get" lots of stuff like badges, widgets, embedding, pressing, pinging, posts vs pages, etc. There is so much to learn (just in the terminology) that it can be overwhelming! 

I grew up as a child of missionary parents in the Philippines. For many years, I felt that although I am an American by birth, that I had more of a connection to the country in which I grew up. I felt closer sometimes to people of other cultures as well, or to other people who had grown up in a culture other than that of their parents' (& thus their) citizenship. There is a term for this: "3rd Culture Kids" If you are interested in more information on this, you can click on this link to take you to a Wikipedia article on it.

Some of the things that I realized about myself when we came to the U.S. to remain were that I was “different” from most of my American friends my age – as a teen, as a young adult, and even today as a senior citizen. I just don't have the same cultural input as others of my age: same memories, education, experiences, etc. I grew up without t.v., movies, popular music, malls, values, etc. (Not saying any of this isn't good ... sometimes better!)

During my earliest years, I was the only white/American child in my town and church. During my years from 9-14, I lived on another island, and I had more friends from around the world when I attended a school for children of missionaries.

When I came to the U.S. in the late 60's, I didn't "get" the whole "race" issue that seemed to be such a big deal in this country, especially at that time. I had always been the minority, and especially in my earliest years nearly all of my friends were various shades of brown, and I was perfectly happy with that "norm."  Furthermore, the first year we were back in the U.S., both Martin Luther King, JR. and Bobby Kennedy were assassinated! I wasn't so sure about this "new" country where I had come to live!

  I grew up in the three islands named: Cebu, MIndanao, & Luzon.The country of my birth,                                                                                                                                             and where God brought me to live out the rest of my life (as far as I know).

Tonight I served a Filipino meal (not an unusual thing for me), mixed with some American things as well. Pictured: pork adobo, rice, tomatoes, and an American gulay (i.e. - vegetables).

 I close with one of my favorite picture - quotes with my philosophy.

I recently began a blog over on WordPress, and for the most part, I am copying some of my posts from here over there. However, I also am taking part in a weekly photo challenge (Fri. through Fri.), and this is the third one that I have participated in (but the 4th photo ... one can post more than one each week).

Many things can be considered as treasures, and the theme for this week is "Treasure." I will probably add a second one later, but this is the one that I posted on Valentine's Day.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Treasure – I

I have a question to ask of you,  my Xanga friends.  Do you prefer to have me respond to your comments on my blog (as I have been doing), or on your blog? Since I am specifically commenting back to you (but you don't know that I am, or may forget to check back here), would you prefer that I comment back on your site?  I aim to please! Please let me know. Thanks.

Well,  that is it for this post! Hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day.  Have a great weekend.  Blessings to all of you my friends.

I once had lots of flavor.

For folks to eat and savor.

A citrus type, or so they say.

And once was juicy all the way.

Tho quite small I brought great joys,

Specially to girls and boys!

I'm mostly (or all) without a seed.

I'm easy to peel, oh yes indeed!

Can anyone guess just what I am?

I'm a dried-up clementine mandarin!

Poem Copyright © 2014 Carolyn Justice

ANSWER TO THE RIDDLE IN RHYME!

Today we stayed home from church, and let the snow fall where it may!  As the snowflakes fall - some big, some small - some quickly, some floating, others bouncing ... they are pristine in their beauty!  There is serenity in satisfaction.

My new friend Val is a very creative lady and writes lots of poetry. She has encouraged me to write more, and so I thought I would try something new from this page of poetry types.   Since I had already posted an acrostic, and then a blank verse, I decided to continue down the  first column of types of poems.

Today's poem that I wrote is an echo verse poem.  Here is the definition taken from that page:  "An Echo Verse is when the last word or syllable in a line is repeated or echoed underneath to form a rhyming line, normally ending as the last line being the title to the poem."

Quietness can be peaceable.

Echo: Able.

It can bring pleasure,

Echo: Sure!

Or hide thoughts painful.

Echo: Full.

Or awkwardness induce.

Echo: Deuce!

Or pregnant with creative thought,

Echo: Ought,

There is action resulting.

Echo: TING!

Then back to repose.

Echo: Pose.

 Poem Copyright © 2014 Carolyn Justice

Every night in recent years, my husband and I  have had a tradition of  a snack time together ... usually while watching a T.V. show together in the living room.   Sometimes fruit, a baked item,  an ice cream treat, a fruit smoothie,  popcorn, etc. was the choice.  Probably ice cream or a fruit smoothie  became the most common snack.  Then when Mom came to live with us this past September,  it pretty much           became "Carolyn's Ice Cream Shoppe!"  Below are some of the various ways that ice cream has been served in the past week.

My daughter-in-law posted these (& others) pictures of our son and their daughter Tristen, dressed up for an 80's-themed Daddy-Daughter-Dance which is an annual occurrence at her school This is her fourth, but only her second with her Daddy.  Our son Shaun missed the first two due to being deployed in Kuwait and Afghanistan, so Tristen's BFF's dad took both of them to the dance. That was such a special ministry that he provided to the family! However, Tristen (& her Dad) are delighted and overjoyed to be able to go to the school dances together now!

Hope everyone is doing well!  I end with this little note of encouragement that goes along with my blogs theme for the day.

I decided to bring back an old post from 8 years ago, in order to share with many of you who are in a new audience with me. Have you ever had a "pity party" for yourself?

 I remember a pity party that I had when I was 15 years old. I had been through 3 corrective surgeries for post-polio problems with my feet, and had just learned that we would not be returning to the country of my love - i.e. - the Philippines (where I had lived with my missionary parents for 8-1/2 years). God challenged me with these words from I. Thessalonians 5:18 - (NLT)  - "Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus."

 Sometimes . . . later, God even shows us some of His reasons. He doesn't have to -- but He may, just because He is a gracious, loving Father. One possible reason for our going through difficult times is shown in the following verses.

2 Corinthians 1:3-7 - "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort." (NIV) 

What follows is a free-verse poem that I wrote back when I was in college some 40 years ago (give or take a year)! Still fits!

PLANS

I had my plans worked out so well,

I knew just what to do;

But something happened to those plans

I hadn't planned at all.

Somehow these plans (so wonderful!)

Became completely changed;

And I, so discouraged became--

And fretted, feared, and wept.

But then God showed me something

(Something I really knew,

But HE reminded me of)

And then, how blessed I was!

He told me, "MY way is best.

Such things I have in store for you,

Just trust in ME, believe in ME,

And you'll be glad you did!"

Then I said, "Thy will be done!"

And discouragement turned to blessing;

My fretting into peace;

My fears to trust, my tears to joy--

AND OH - SUCH HAPPINESS!!

For now I'm living day to day

With full assuredness--that HIS plan is at work,

AND HIS WAY IS THE BEST!

Poem Online Copyright © 2006 Carolyn Justice

I saw the following quote the other day, and it fits here too.  Have a wonderful week!