The Ballad of the Blanket

It all started in Italy

as most good stories do

I was barely beyond toddler years and traveling with my parents through Europe

It was there that a housemaid, oblivious to not only international relations
but to my deep dependency to a familiar object in this strange place

Threw out my baby blanket - the one that had been permanently attached to my hand since birth
I did not take this well

The sense of loss was so deep- so tearing- that only another four year old

who had suffered such a loss could fully understand

 yea...that's right....a little empathy here, please....

Perhaps that is why when I hold something dear, I will never let go

and why I am fiercely loyal, and a tad obsessive

or maybe it is just why my closet always seems to be a mess

either way

I am blaming it all on the loss of my baby blanket

and that's poetiquejustis

I Corinthians 7:31. 

 Those who use the things in this world should do so but not depend on them. 

 It is clear that this world in its present form is passing away.

Why, it's no trouble at all....

Let us be poised, and wise, and our own today

R W Emerson

Let the thunder roar around us

Let the seas beat against our shores

Let those who wish us ill make their plans

Cast their nets and

Shake their fists in fury

Let the wind lash against our windows until the house fairly shakes beneath our feet

Until the  trees are stark and bare

It does not matter

because today

..

We will be poised, and wise, and our own.

and that's poetiquejustis

No weapon formed against you will prosper  

Isaiah 54:17

The Contended Mind

The contented mind is the only riches

The only quietness

The only happiness

George Pettie

When you can love the moment you are in

When you can still the hurried thoughts

Erase the need to be in the spotlight

And rest and rejoice in who you are

you are rich indeed

with a wealth that  you can never lose or spend away

and that's poetiquejustis

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.

Phillipians 4:12

The Good Brick

Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present

Jim Rohn

Today I petition myself 

To look well to how I build my life

To lay each brick along the path with love

And care

and daring

Because the path I build today

Will be the road I walk tomorrow

and that's poetiquejustis

Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

I Thessalonians 5:11

Today I met a hummingbird

Necessity is the mother of taking chances

Mark Twain

Today I met a hummingbird

He hovered by my face

Wings beating the air with frantic grace

And he bid me follow

He waited there as long as he could

He wished me no ill and only good

And he bid me follow

But I stood rooted like a tree

Afraid to move - afraid to see

What might be there if I agreed

To follow

And so with one last fleeting glance

He rose in the air and with him my chance

To follow.....

Perhaps he will find me again

and time and duty will tell me when

to follow

And I will soar with graceful ease

and the hummingbird will say

"now if you please....

follow"    

and that's poetiquejustis

But as to the suitable times and the precise seasons and dates, brethren, you have no necessity for anything being written to you.

I Thessolonians 5:1

Developing Your Senses

What is the good of your stars and trees,

 your sunrise and the wind, 

if they do not enter into our daily lives?

E M Forrester

 The majesty of a waking dawn- touch it!

The solemnity of the setting sun- hear it!

The symphony of the falling rain- hear it!

The caress of the windy day- enjoy it!

These are all gifts-

Receive them!

and that's poetiquejustis

^{Psalm 19:1-4}

¹ The heavens declare the glory of God;
    the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
² Day after day they pour forth speech;
    night after night they reveal knowledge.
³ They have no speech, they use no words;
    no sound is heard from them.
⁴ Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
    their words to the ends of the world.

To Light the Darkness

How far that little candle throws his beams!

 So shines a good deed in a weary world.

William Shakespeare

The smallest act of kindness

The flicker of  small smiles

The  touch that warms the heart

The words that light the darkness

Today, may you give and receive that light

in abundance

and that's poetiquejustis

You, Lord, keep my lamp burning;
   My God turns my darkness into light.

Psalm 18:28

When they give you the old razzle dazzle....

"Successful" people are the ones who think of things
for the rest of the world to keep busy at

Don Marquis

Keeping the world busy

Keeping the world entertained

Keeping the world in a state of so much

 that we miss the one thing we should
be seeing-

life.
So, when they try to sell you the old razzle dazzle

click and listen to
 this song 
 to remind yourself of what is REALLY happening

and that's poetiquejustis

        make it your ambition to lead a quiet life:  

^{I Thessolonians 4:11-12}

For This I Am Thankful

I'll never have enough time to paint all the pictures I want to.

Norman Rockwell

 For the words of kindness we say

and our right to say them

I am thankful

For the words we pray 

and our right to pray them

I am thankful

For the wrongs we have righted

The hope we have ignited

I am thankful

and that's poetiquejustis

We give thanks to you, Oh Lord,. Sing along!