What Do You See?

What do you see nurses? . . . .. . What do you see?
What are you thinking . .. … . . when you’re looking at me?
A crabby old man . .. . .. . not very wise,
Uncertain of habit . . . . . with faraway eyes?

Who dribbles his food . . . . . and makes no reply.
When you say in a loud voice . . . . . ‘I do wish you’d try!’
Who seems not to notice ….. .. . .. . the things that you do.
And forever is losing . . . . . A sock or shoe?

Who, resisting or not .. . . . . lets you do as you will,
With bathing and feeding . . . . . The long day to fill?
Is that what you’re thinking? . .. . . . Is that what you see?
Then open your eyes, nurse . . . . . you’re not looking at me..

I’ll tell you who I am. . . .. . . As I sit here so still,
As I do at your bidding, . . . . . as I eat at your will.
I’m a small child of Ten . . .. …. . with a father and mother,
Brothers and sisters . . . . .. who love one another.

A young boy of Sixteen . . . . with wings on his feet.
Dreaming that soon now . . . . . a lover he’ll meet.
A groom soon at Twenty . . . . . my heart gives a leap.
Remembering, the vows . . . . . that I promised to keep.

At Twenty-Five, now . . .. …. . I have young of my own.
Who need me to guide . . . . .. And a secure happy home.
A man of Thirty . . . . . My young now grown fast,
Bound to each other . . . .. . With ties that should last.

At Forty, my young sons . . . . . have grown and are gone,
But my woman’s beside me . . . .. . to see I don’t mourn.
At Fifty, once more, babies play ’round my knee,
Again, we know children . . . . .. My loved one and me.

Dark days are upon me . . . . . my wife is now dead.
I look at the future . . . . . shudder with dread.
For my young are all rearing . .. . . . young of their own.
And I think of the years …. . . . . and the love that I’ve known.

I’m now an old man . . . … … and nature is cruel.
‘Tis jest to make old age . . . . . look like a fool.
The body, it crumbles . . . . . grace and vigor, depart.
There is now a stone . . . . where I once had a heart.

But inside this old carcass . . . . . a young guy still dwells,
And now and again . . . . . my battered heart swells.
I remember the joys . . . . . I remember the pain.
And I’m loving and living . . . .. . life over again.

I think of the years, all too few . .. . . . gone too fast.
And accept the stark fact . . .. . that nothing can last.
So open your eyes, people .. . … . . open and see.
Not a crabby old man . .. . Look closer . . . see ME!!

There is a story that goes with this poem that has circulated via email, the story is fiction but the sentiments in the poem are all too real….that makes this “story” worth sharing in my humble opinion.Remember this poem when you next meet an older person who you might brush aside without looking at the young soul within. We will all, one day, be there too!

Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.

Please pray for these adventurous young ladies as they embark on a life changing trip to Zambia.

This is Erika’s request:

We want to thank you all for your prayers, and ask you to continue to pray as we leave TODAY and begin this incredible journey God has given us the opportunity to experience! We love and will miss you all; please know that you are in our prayers as well. May God bless you and keep you ♥

“He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.”" - Mark 16:15

These three young Christian women have decided to spend almost 7 weeks of their lives working at Sakeji Mission School in north western Zambia. Erika has just finished year 2 of university in her pursuit of a teaching career. Erika is my cousin’s daughter and the other girls are her friends from university. 

Please pray for their safety as they travel and for their time in Zambia, serving the Lord. 

You can follow their adventures by visiting their blog: Voices of the Faithful

Christmas Blessings

Christmas Eve was a busy day, catching up with all I had left to the last minute. I had great plans to be prepared but once again I was left scrambling. I am beginning to think that I do it on purpose and honestly, I think I work well under pressure.
I got it done - the cleaning, the wrapping and made a cherry pound cake before Christmas Eve service at church - which was by the way, excellent! Afterward I had the stuffing to make and put aside in the fridge to be used the next day and I had bacon to cook for Christmas morning breakfast.
Christmas morning, my oldest son came bright and early with his girlfriend and we got our acts together and did breakfast and opened gifts. After the six of us were fed and gifted, it was time to get that 22 lb. turkey into the oven. It all was accomplished by 11:15.
The rest of the day was filled with movies and visits and getting the rest of the meal taken care of.
We were ready to eat by 5:00ish. We had 11 for supper which consisted of the following...turkey (obviously) and mashed potatoes, corn, pickle tray, cranberries, gravy and for dessert there was cherry pound cake (previously mentioned), cherry cheesecake, fruitcake, tea and coffee. A good time and meal was had by all.
Later we played "Pass the Pigs" and watched "Four Christmases."
I'm so glad that we had a good time with our family, no conflict and no disasters.
The best part of the holidays is the time spent with loved ones, making new memories and reminiscing over old memories. I hope that all of my friends and family had a blessed Christmas and many best wishes for a Happy New Year!

“It came without ribbons. It came without tags.
It came without packages, boxes or bags.
And he puzzled and puzzled ’till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before.
‘What if Christmas,’ he thought, ‘doesn’t come from a store?’
What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more?”

-Dr. Seuss

In Flanders Fields

Video link, click below:

"The Last Post"

Women of Strength

A strong woman works out every day to keep her body in shape ...

but a woman of strength kneels in prayer to keep her soul in shape...

A strong woman isn't afraid of anything ...

but a woman of strength shows courage in the midst of her fear...

A strong woman won't let anyone get the best of her ...

but a woman of strength gives the best of her to everyone...

A strong woman makes mistakes and avoids the same in the future...

a woman of strength realizes life's mistakes can also be God's blessings and capitalizes on them...

A strong woman walks sure footedly ...

but a woman of strength knows God will catch her when she falls...

A strong woman wears the look of confidence on her face ...

but a woman of strength wears grace...

A strong woman has faith that she is strong enough for the journey ...

but a woman of strength has faith that it is in the journey that she will become strong...

It's October - Feel Your Boobies

Early detection is key!
Fight for the cure.
Learn more here.

Good Advice

GOOD VISION IN A DOWNPOUR 

How to achieve good vision while driving during a heavy downpour. 

We are not sure why it is so effective; just try this method when it rains heavily. This method was given me by a Police friend who had experienced and confirmed it. It is useful....even driving at night. One method used by Canadian Military Drivers for years.

Most of the motorists would turn on HIGH or FASTEST SPEED of the wipers during heavy downpour, yet the visibility in front of the windshield is still bad...... 

In the event you face such a situation, just try your SUN GLASSES (any model will do), and miracle! All of a sudden, your visibility in front of your windshield is perfectly clear, as if there is no rain. 

Make sure you always have a pair of SUN GLASSES in your car, as you are not only helping yourself to drive safely with good vision, but also might save your friend's life by giving him this idea.. 

Try it yourself and share it with your friends! Amazing, you still see the drops on the windshield, but not the sheet of rain falling.

You can see where the rain bounces off the road. It works to eliminate the "blindness" from passing semi's spraying you too. 

Or the "kickup" if you are following a semi or car in the rain. They ought to teach that little tip in driver's training. It really does work..
And for a similar reason, why "Fog" lights must make WHITE light, or else are useless in FOG
Those YELLOW "FOG"lights are great in those blinding night SNOWstorms, and those big snowflakes become virtually invisible.
But YELLOW is useless in RAIN, FOG. 

This next warning is a another good one! I wonder how many people know about this: 

A 36 year old female had an accident several weeks ago and totaled her car. A resident of Kinburn, Ontario was traveling between Kinburn & Ottawa. It was raining, though not excessively, when her car suddenly began to hydro-plane and literally flew through the air.. She was not seriously injured but very stunned at the sudden occurrence! 

When she explained to the OPP Officer what had happened he told her something that every driver should know - NEVER DRIVE IN THE RAIN WITH YOUR CRUISE CONTROL ON . She thought she was being cautious by setting the cruise control and maintaining a safe consistent speed in the rain. But the Officer told her that if the cruise control is on when your car begins to hydro-plane and your tires lose contact with the pavement, your car will accelerate to a higher rate of speed making you take off like an airplane. She told the OPP Officer that was exactly what had occurred. 

The Officer said this warning should be listed, on the driver's seat 
sun-visor - NEVER USE THE CRUISE CONTROL WHEN 
THE PAVEMENT IS WET OR ICY, along with the airbag warning. We tell our teenagers to set the cruise control and drive a safe speed - but we don't tell them to use the cruise control only when the pavement is dry. 

The only person the accident victim found, who knew this (besides the officer), was a man who had a similar accident, totaled his car and sustained severe injuries. 

NOTE: Some vehicles (like the Toyota Sienna Limited XLE) will not allow you to set the cruise control when the windshield wipers are on.