simple words for today~

simple words to describe

today

clouds swirl above

the wind blows
trees bend

while the sky turns gloomy

it's the perfect kind of day

to stay inside

curled up with a

book

sneaking in a nap

or two.

hello autumn. hello fall.

hello autumn

hello fall

the glow from the fireplace

reflecting off my face

as i sit with 

a book and coffee

hello autumn

hello fall

the sound of leaves

crunching under my feet

while i go for my daily walk

hello autumn

hello fall

bright orange pumpkins

 &

funny shaped gourds

sitting on porches

everywhere i look

hello autumn

hello fall

warm earthy colors:

burnt orange

yellow & gold

magenta red

dark brown

shades of

greens and dark purple

hello autumn

hello fall

scarecrows & cornstalks

hello autumn

hello fall

boots, scarves, hats

&

cozy sweaters

hello autumn

hello fall

pumpkin spiced lattes

cinnamon tea

hot apple cider

hello autumn

hello fall

shorter days

cooler mornings

hello autumn 

hello fall

soup in a crockpot

football on tv

hello autumn 

hello fall

spiced scented candles

warm cozy blankets

all this

and so much more...

oh yes,

hello autumn

hello fall

love letters

I belong to a facebook Christian writers club. Each week we are given a prompt or two to use as a spring board. I chose Love Letters. I hope you enjoy reading my offering as much as I did writing it.


love letters---

By: Melody Roby Olson



She sits down to spin her tale; the story about how a simple act of kindness, an invitation on someone else's part, impacted her life, her destiny, her fate.
When she was fifteen her big brother was away serving in the United States Navy. His ship was going to go on leave in San Francisco, where his family lived. Her brother asked his buddy if he wanted to come home with him and have a good home-cooked italian meal. The buddy, a cowboy from Wyoming accepted the invite.
Her eyes shine brightly with love and fondness as she remembers; walking down the stairs as the two young men arrive, her big brother and his buddy. As she is coming down the stairs her eyes are drawn to the pretty green eyes of her brother's friend and her heart skips a beat or two. From that moment on, she does not leave her brother's side and tags along with the two friends the whole weekend. When it is time to go back to their ship, she promises to write! After they are gone, she looks right at her Mother and tells her, that someday, yes someday she will marry him!
The first few letters are fairly generic/platonic. The letters begin as simple correspondences and are pleasant as she tells him, about the silly things that happened at school or what is new at home. He looks looks forward to her letters and begins writing back to her and the friendship blossoms; over time it begins to grow into something much more!
As each letter arrives the young girl tucks it away with the rest of the letters, until she has a box full of beautiful love letters tied with a ribbon.
When the green-eyed sailor was done with his tour in the Navy, he asked the beautiful italian girl to be his wife. What she had said to her Mom was true, she did marry him! Dreams do come true!
They were happily married for over 30 years, the two of them had three children together and lived a very happy life!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now, as I sit here putting down to paper the story I have heard over the years, told to me by that young girl who grew into my beautiful Mom; I am blessed to have this love story to hold on to. That dreams can come true. I wish it had a better ending though, you see when the sailor boy was a mere 55 years old he died of cancer and left his beautiful bride of thirty two years. The sadness was so overwhelming to my beautiful Mom, the grief so encompassing that she took those love letters, all wrapped in a special bow, and she burned them! When I found out what she had done, I was upset and told her I would have loved to have them as a keepsake but, her response was, "those were our special letters, private love letters, mine and his alone."
So, I often wonder what those sweet letters would be like to read. They wrote to each other over a period of three years, and the love just grew to bursting, until the only thing left to do was, begin a life together. Oh, such love. Such beautiful sweet love. I like to think about the two of them and how it all started because, my Uncle asked his friend to come home for a visit and a home-cooked meal. The rest, well the rest is destiny.

simply smile

in the silence
in the stillness
of the morning
i sit;
coffee in hand
with the beginning of
a new day, a new week
stretched out before me.

the to-do list is long
and still i sit;
contemplating on
how i can make a difference
this week.

if i can make a difference to
just one person.

somewhere right now
someone is;
waiting. hoping. wondering.

they wonder;
will someone notice?
will anyone show them they care,
that they even matter at all?

a simple act of kindness

opening a door for the person
who has their hands full.
letting the person go ahead
of you in line, because
they have just a few items.
maybe a quick note to tell someone you care.

smile.
a simple smile.
it doesn't cost you a dime
but, the small act
can mean a million.
in an instant your sweet smile
can light up their life.
maybe they have been sitting in darkness
waiting for someone
to notice.
to care.
to just smile.

look into their eyes
let them see you 'shine' your light.
listen with your heart
and the rest will follow.

will you join me?
be the change this week?

hopes

my hopes & dreams 

for the new year

flood my thoughts

as i sit here

reflecting on the year gone by

 places to travel

people & loved ones to visit

things to do

crowd my mind 

as i sit here

reflecting on the year to come

showing my love

shining my light

reading more

loving intensely

the list goes on & on

as i sit here reflecting
on my life

peace. love. happiness. thankful. grateful

may i not miss a chance to shine

happy 2013

write it down.

i have always loved
playing around with
my handwriting.

maybe because i am
a leftie and so many
of my teachers wanted
me to hold my pencil
the 'right' way and turn
my paper the 'right' way...

i think also
it is another form
for me to be creative!

i volunteered to take
sermon notes for our church.
sometimes i am writing
so fast to take it all down
that when i get home
i want to redo those
notes because it looks
sloppy! ha

i love to write poetry,
to write & journal.
i blog, draw & sketch-
and i love to sing...
so my handwriting seems
to me to be another form
of expression. :)

i chose today to
write it down.

today is election day
and i choose joy & happiness
no matter who wins today
i serve a might KING.

and then just for the love;
here is miss olive
who has become quite the
snugga-bug!
love it.

pieces

pieces

little pieces

of my life;

day in and day out

time goes by

never really slowing down

time rushes

zooms,

flies.

on & on

never really slowing down

i share

a few photos 

from 

my life.

this life-

in the kitchen window

in my hutch

my daughter found my grandson

a frog out in our field

this is how miss olive

spends most of her days ;)

  

a dahlia cutting farm-

we are going again

on wednesday for more

dahlias and u-pick pumpkins

one of our walks

my husband and i go on

is in a park.

and we always pass this 

house-

we have begun calling it;

the hobbit house.

the roof is thatched

(rumor has it that they, shipped the materials in from holland)

the house is all done in brick

 and the gardens are

immaculate.

pieces

of life.

if we stop and look around

taking the time

to enjoy 

these moments; 

it really is

 lovely indeed.

blessings

this monday.

may you take time 

to enjoy 

pieces 

of your life.

it arrived.

fall has arrived

bright orange pumpkins
and colorful gourds

scarecrows and cornstalks

fall brings cinnamon spice tea
and pumpkin spice latte's

the glow from our fireplace
lit last night

warm fuzzy blankets

cozy sweaters, tights and boots
have been added in to
the wardrobe again

a hat & gloves when i
went on my morning walk today-

all of these little signs
and much more
mean that fall has arrived.

what does fall mean to you?

time

time

keeps marching on-

minutes turn into hours

hours turn into days

and before you know it

days turn into months

and months into years!

it just keeps on going 

never mind that 

you might

not be willing to

let it.

it doesn't ask for permission

it just keeps on 

'keeping on'.

sometimes life

seems like a blur-

so many things on the 

agenda.

i want to just 

pull the blankets up

tight around my chin

and ignore it all!

but, this is really

not in my 

nature.

i am a fighter-

and so,

i  do not give up.

i look at a calendar

filled with 'busy' things

and instead of letting it

overwhelm me

i choose to be

thankful-

thankful

that i have busy things to

help me 

not miss the family,

who moved so very 

far away!

our youngest daughter
graduated from college this past spring
and life just keeps going on!

i am and 

always will be

 a glass half-full

kind of girl!

yes

keeping busy

is the key,

now if only

i could go and 

take a nap! :)

he fills the gap

today

is the 

fourth monday

since 

my daughter, son in law

and three year old grandson

moved to austria.

what is totally amazing

to me, 

is how 

God totally stepped in-

how he

just covered me!

yesterday,

while taking notes 

for the 

churches 

facebook page;

there were

a few things

that stuck out

for me:

my sermon journal

the main message that

really got me?

stepping into the gap.

Jesus

stepped into the gap

for us.

it got me thinking

about how truly

 faithful he is 

to me.

i was

 floundering around

after my

daughter, son in law

and 

grandson left -

i use to

babysit a

few times a week,

which means 

i now

have

 a 'gap' in

my life

since

they moved away.

Jesus stepped in.

he has filled me-
 he has given me 

all kinds of

busy things 

to see and do.

Jesus 

stepped

into the gap 

for us when

he hung on the 

cross-

and

he continues

to step in-

sometimes 

we don't even realize

we needed him to,

until he does it!

i am thankful-

for God's 

faithfulness.

he continues
to cover me,
my family
&
those i love!

oh, yes-
God 

is

great!

do you have
something you
are thankful for?
has he 'covered' you
or filled a 'gap'
in your life?




http://www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/

real or not real?

when i wake

in the morning

i remember-

i feel like

it could be a dream?

i am reminded

of the book

hunger games,

where the character

peeta asks

katniss,

real or not real?

because, it does not

seem possible

yet

that he is gone.

 i do not 

see or hear

him running 

around the house,

or playing on 

the farm

i think of him

when

i see our tractors-

his

'mighty machine' 

parked in the backyard

right

where he left it.

his barn boots waiting 

to be slipped on,

so he can follow

gramps around 

the farm-

his laughter & giggles 

remain

still thick

& heavy

 in the air-

his cousin asks:

"where did jack go?"

it seems 

so quiet,

ever so quiet.

i know

i should embrace this

quietness,

which i fully

intend to do-

it is the 

healthy thing

to do,

it is

right thing

to do-

i also know that

i am

not the only granny 

in the world

to live far away from her

grandkid!

yes, this i know!! 

i also know

that the reason

 he is gone, 

is for the 

greater good,
that lives will
be changed!

that our God is using
this family
for his purpose.
&
that God will
be glorified
in it all-

but
for right now,

it is too 

raw, fresh, new

and i ask myself:

real or not real?

You paint the sky

on this sunday

i am reminded of 

how awesome 

our God really is!

You paint the night,

You count the stars

and you call them by name

The skies proclaim,

God you reign

song by: lincoln brewster

soar

yesterday, 

as i went for my morning walk

down our lane

on the farm...

there he was

again

at the very top of the tree

(the left tree in the photo)

a bald eagle

he sits there

watching over the fields

so majestic

as i get closer

he tilts his head,

watching me

ever so carefully

and then...

as i get close

off he goes-

all at once

he spreads those amazing

wings

and soars

through the sky

and into the clouds

he soars

on days like this

when the sun is out

and the 

canadian mountains are in the distance, 

with beauty

all around me

i just stop

and take

a deep breath

just to soak it

all in,

to be thankful

oh yes,

life is just beautiful

isaiah 40:13

But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. 

They will soar high on wings like eagles. 

They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.

ready or not?!

trying not to

hang on so tightly

this i know;
i need

to set them free

deep down i know

they need to go

out into the world

to shine their light

to share his love
with others*

to live confidently
on their own
so very
far away from
home

i cannot smother
i must not cling
but, to let them
go and spread
their wings

a hole
in my heart
left by their
absence

i know, yes, i know
it is time
it is right
to take a deep breath,
to smile
 through
this emptiness
and to be ever
so proud
of them

as hard as it is;
ready or not
i will let go

melody-mae

*our daughter tawni, her husband sean
along with my three year old grandson, jackson
will be moving at the end of july
to vienna, austria for missionary work
http://seantawn.blogspot.com/

yahoo!

today is the letter y
and it is perfect
for what i am feeling
right now-

yahoo!

yay!
yippee!

you see i was entered
in a contest for the
christianwomensvoice.org
it was called 'creation station'
an article about where i blog,
the place i sit when i am being creative...
what motivates me to blog. :)

i have the AMAZING honor to
be the first contest winner!

so yes,
today's letter is y
and it stands for
yahoo!
yay!
yippee!

if you are interested in checking
out the magazine you can find it here: http://christianwomensvoice.org/
you can order it in print form or digital too. :)
it is a very beautiful christian women's magazine
filled with all kinds of inspiring articles.

i am honored to be the winner but,
more than anything
i want to give all the glory to Him.

have an awesome saturday!
be blessed and join me will you,
in shining your light!? :)

eXcellent

eXcellent~

the weekend is here

which means 

the end of the challenge is

drawing near.

it has been an eXcellent

eXperience

to write each and every 

day

challenging myself

by using the alphabet

in this creative

 way!

~~~~

wishing you

a lovely,

beautiful

and most eXcellent

weekend.

may it be filled with

things 

that make you smile

i want to be like

a man i know,

who even though

his wife AND small grandson

both have cancer...

when you say hi

to him

and ask how he is doing

he answers;

eXcellent!

he never even hesitates

it just bubbles out.

he just eXudes joy. 

he smiles and answers;

eXcellent!

this weekend

i wish you all

an eXcellent weekend!

the view

v is for view~

the view

from my window

as i sit in my chair-

grass & sidewalks

wet with the recent

rain.

grey clouds

and a chill in the air.

the view 

from my window

as i sit in my chair-

watching the neighbor's

chickens roam 

around the yard

after the fresh rain,

a crowing of the 

rooster...

yes, this is home.

the view 

from my window

as i sit in my chair-

listening

to the cows

and little calves

and they 

call out to each

other...

yes, this is home.

today is

the kind of day

to sit in my chair

and enjoy 

the view.

underneath

“Seen on the bathroom walls of Concordia University:

 'Ignorance is bliss.' and right underneath it... 

'I don't know what this means but I'm happy.'” author unknown

we all look basically

the same on the outside

but, what goes on deep down

in the depths of our soul

the stuff we

so often keep

hidden and locked away;

that is what 

matters.

the true person

that lies underneath.

we can go through

all the right motions,

act as if we have it all

together

that we are happy

that we love others...

but, if it is all

for show 

how

can you be real?

to be happy 

on the inside,

 to be joyful 

underneath

when the storms come...

to be grateful

for the good & bad,

that is what

i am striving for-

my goal.

to enjoy it all.

truly enjoy it.

deep down 

underneath the surface

i want to treat others as

i truly want to

be treated.

to be

thankful not just

on the outside

but deep, down in

my very being,

underneath it all-

i want to grab that

joy for life

and 

share it with others.

life is lovely

i am blessed

and 

i never want to 

forget.

this was taken yesterday,

an afternoon walk down our lane

on a 'treasure hunt' 

with a sweet little boy-

oh yes,

happy way down

in the depths

of my soul, 

how can i not be?

t is for: today

today~

i want to live each day

as if it were a blessing;

 because really,

 is there

anything better than

today-

this moment

right now?

it is so easy to

forget and wrap ourselves

in all the comings and goings

of everyday life-

we get so busy,

that we forget to 

just treasure the moment

right now.

what would happen

if we didn't worry about

all the things that

we need

to get done today-

what if we took

pleasure in this day,

right now?

today is beautiful

it is a gift

to be opened and 

enjoyed

right now.

will you join me

in basking

in the joy of

today-

of this moment

right now?

quietly

in stillness-

in the quiet

of this morning;

a new day

this is the time

for me to

sit and be still-

to  revel

in it all

the sun rises

birds begin their

songs

and quietly,

yes quietly

i sit

thankful

 for a 

new day-

grateful

for it

all.

melody-mae