If Tomorrow Starts Without Me

If Tomorrow Starts Without Me

A few weeks ago a woman was killed in an auto accident. She was very well liked, so the office shut down for her funeral and it was on the news.

On the day the workers came back to work, they found this poem in their e-mail that the deceased woman had sent on Friday before she left for home.

"If tomorrow starts without me,
And I'm not there to see,
If the sun should rise and
find your eyes all filled with tears for me;

I wish so much you wouldn't cry
the way you did today,
While thinking of the many things,
We didn't get to say.

I know how much you love me,
As much as I love you,
And each time that you think of me,
I know you'll miss me too;

But when tomorrow starts without me,
Please try to understand,
that an angel came and called my name,
And took me by the hand,

And said my place was ready,
In heaven far above,
And that I'd have to leave behind
all those I dearly love.

But as I turned to walk away,
A tear fell from my eye,
For all my life, I'd always thought,
I didn't want to die.

I had so much to live for,
So much left yet to do,
it seemed almost impossible,
that I was leaving you.

I thought of all the yesterdays,
The good ones and the bad,
I thought of all that we shared,
And all the fun we had.

If I could relive yesterday,
Just even for a while,
I'd say good-bye and kiss you
and maybe see you smile.

But then I fully realized,
That this could never be,
For emptiness and memories,
would take the place of me.

And when I thought of worldly things,
I might miss some tomorrow,
I thought of you, and when I did,
My heart was filled with sorrow.

But when I walked through heaven's gates,
I felt so much at home.
When God looked down and smiled at me,
From His great golden throne,

He said, "This is eternity,
And all I've promised you."
Today your life on earth is past,
but here life starts anew.

I promise no tomorrow,
But today will always last,
and since each day is the same way,
There's no longing for the past.

So when tomorrow starts without me,
don't think we're far apart,
For every time you think of me,
I'm right here, in your heart

Feel free to copy and paste this to all those you care about.... because you never know what's going to happen tomorrow...

Show them how you care, before it's too late...

May God watch over you and your family now and always.

There is no right time to do the wrong thing.
There is no wrong time to tell someone you care.

Dance with God

Dance together with God, trusting God to lead and to guide you through each season of your life. "You changed my mourning into dancing…" Ps 30:12. Dance like no one's watching!

Change your life....Learn to dance! tm

When I see the word GUIDANCE, I kept seeing "dance" at the end of the word.

I remember reading that God's will is a lot like dancing. When two people try to lead, nothing feels right.

The movement doesn't flow with the music, and everything is quite uncomfortable and jerky. When one person realizes that, and lets the other lead, both bodies begin to flow with the music.

One gives gentle cues, maybe a nudge to the back, or by pressing lightly in one direction or another.

It's as if two become one body, moving beautifully.

The dance takes surrender, willingness, and attentiveness from one person and gentle guidance and skill from the other.

My eyes drew back to the word "Guidance". When I saw "G" I thought of God, followed by "u" and "i". "God" "u" and "i" "dance". God, you and I dance.

As I lowered my head, I became willing to trust that I would get guidance about my life.

Once again, I became willing to let God lead.

My prayer for you today, is that God's blessings and mercies are upon you this day and every day.

May you abide in God, as God abides in you. Dance together with God, trusting God to lead and guide you through each season of your life.

This prayer is powerful and there is nothing attached. If God has done anything for you in your life, please share this message with someone else.

There is no cost, but a lot of rewards. So, let's continue to pray for one another.

And I hope you DANCE!

IT'S NOT DANCING. IT'S EVERYTHING DANCING IS.
Dancing is fun. Dancing is spontaneous. Dancing gets you moving and inspires others. Dancing makes people fall in love. Dancing fills a room with music. Dancing is timeless, bringing generations together. Dancing is elegant. Dancing is admired. Dancing is freedom.

I've Learned....

As I've aged, I've become kinder to myself, and less critical of myself. I've become my own friend..

I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging.

Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4 AM or sleep until noon? I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60 &70's, and if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love .. I will.

I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves with abandon if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the jet set. They, too, will get old. I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten. And I eventually remember the important things.

Sure, over the years my heart has been broken. How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even when somebody's beloved pet gets hit by a car? But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion. A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.

I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face. So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver..

As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think. I don't question myself anymore..I've even earned the right to be wrong.

So, to answer your question, I like being old. It has set me free. I like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be. And I shall eat dessert every single day (if I feel like it).

MAY OUR FRIENDSHIP NEVER COME APART ESPECIALLY WHEN IT'S STRAIGHT FROM THE HEARt!!! XOXO

The Blessing Of Thorns

Sandra felt as low as the heels of her shoes as she pushed
against a November gust and the florist shop door. Her life had
been easy, like a spring breeze. Then in the fourth month of
her second pregnancy, a minor automobile accident stole her
ease.

During this Thanksgiving week she would have delivered a son.
She grieved over her loss. As if that weren't enough, her
husband's company threatened a transfer. Then her sister, whose
annual holiday visit she coveted, called saying she could not
come.

What's worse, Sandra's friend infuriated her by suggesting her
grief was a God-given path to maturity that would allow her to
empathize with others who suffer. "She has no idea what I'm
feeling," thought Sandra with a shudder.

"Thanksgiving? Thankful for what?" she wondered aloud. For a
careless driver whose truck was hardly scratched when he rear-
ended her? For an airbag that saved her life but took that of
her child?

"Good afternoon, can I help you?"

The shop clerk's approach startled her.

"I....I need an arrangement, "stammered Sandra. "For
Thanksgiving?

Do you want beautiful but ordinary, or would you like to
challenge the day with a customer favorite I call the
Thanksgiving Special?" asked the shop clerk.

"I'm convinced that flowers tell stories," she continued.

"Are you looking for something that conveys 'gratitude' this
Thanksgiving?

"Not exactly!" Sandra blurted out. "In the last five months,
everything that could go wrong has gone wrong. " Sandra
regretted her outburst, and was surprised when the shop clerk
said, "I have the perfect arrangement for you."

Then the door's small bell rang, and the shop clerk said, "Hi
Barbara...let me get your order." She politely excused herself
and walked toward a small workroom, then quickly reappeared,
carrying an arrangement of greenery, bows, and long-stemmed
thorny roses.

Except the ends of the rose stems were neatly snipped...there
were no flowers.

"Want this in a box?" asked the clerk.

Sandra watched for the customer's response. Was this a joke?
Who would want rose stems with no flowers!?! She waited for
laughter, but neither woman laughed. "Yes, please," Barbara
replied with an appreciative smile.

"You'd think after three years of getting the special, I
wouldn't be so moved by its significance, but I can feel it
right here, all over again," she said as she gently tapped her
chest.

"Uhh," stammered Sandra, "that lady just left with, uhh... she
just left with no flowers!"

"Right...I cut off the flowers. That's the Special... I call
it the Thanksgiving Thorns Bouquet.

"Oh, come on, you can't tell me someone is willing to pay for
that?" exclaimed Sandra.

"Barbara came into the shop three years ago feeling very much
like you feel today," explained the clerk. "She thought she had
very little to be thankful for. She had lost her father to
cancer, the family business was failing, her son was into drugs,
and she was facing major surgery."

"That same year I had lost my husband, "continued the clerk,"
and for the first time in my life, I had to spend the holidays
alone. I had no children, no husband, no family nearby, and too
great a debt to allow any travel.


"So what did you do?" asked Sandra. "I learned to be thankful
for thorns," answered the clerk quietly. "I've always thanked
God for good things in life and never thought to ask Him why
those good things happened to me, but when bad stuff hit, did I
ever ask! It took time for me to learn that dark times are
important.

I always enjoyed the 'flowers' of life, but it took
thorns to show me the beauty of God's comfort. You know, the
Bible says that God comforts us when we're afflicted, and from
His consolation we learn to comfort others.

"Sandra sucked in her breath as she thought about the very thing
her friend had tried to tell her. "I guess the truth is I don't
want comfort.

I've lost a baby and I'm angry with God."

Just then someone else walked in the shop.

"Hey, Phil!" shouted the clerk to the balding, rotund man.

"My wife sent me in to get our usual Thanksgiving arrangement
....twelve thorny, long-stemmed stems!" laughed Phil as the
clerk handed him a tissue-wrapped arrangement from the
refrigerator.

"Those are for your wife?" asked Sandra incredulously. "Do you
mind me asking why she wants something that looks like that?

"No...I'm glad you asked," Phil replied. "Four years ago my
wife and I nearly divorced. After forty years, we were in a
real mess, but with the Lord's grace and guidance, we slogged
through problem after problem.

He rescued our marriage. Jenny here (the clerk) told me she
kept a vase of rose stems to remind her of what she learned from
"thorny" times, and that was good enough for me. I took home
some of those stems. My wife and I decided to label each one
for a specific "problem" and give thanks to Him for what that
problem taught us."

As Phil paid the clerk, he said to Sandra, "I highly recommend
the Special!"

"I don't know if I can be thankful for the thorns in my life."
Sandra said to the clerk. "It's all too... fresh."

"Well," the clerk replied carefully, "my experience has shown me
that thorns make roses more precious. We treasure God's
providential care more during trouble than at any other time.

Remember, it was a crown of thorns that Jesus wore so we might
know His love. Don't resent the thorns."

Tears rolled down Sandra's cheeks. For the first time since the
accident, she loosened her grip on resentment. "I'll take those
twelve long-stemmed thorns, please," she managed to choke out.

"I hoped you would," said the clerk gently. "I'll have them
ready in a minute."

"Thank you. What do I owe you?" asked Sandra.

"Nothing." said the clerk.

"Nothing but a promise to allow God to heal your heart. The
first year's arrangement is always on me. "The clerk smiled and
handed a card to Sandra.

"I'll attach this card to your arrangement, but maybe you'd like
to read it first."

It read:

"Dear God, I have never thanked you for my thorns. I have
thanked you a thousand times for my roses, but never once for my
thorns. Teach me the glory of the cross I bear; teach me the
value of my thorns. Show me that I have climbed closer to you
along the path of pain.

Show me that, through my tears, the colors of your rainbow look
much more brilliant."

~Author Unknown~

True Strength

Anyone can give up, it's the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone would understand if you fell apart, THAT'S true strength.

Reputation vs. Character

Character is like a tree, and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it, The tree is the real thing.
-Abraham Lincoln

Be more concerned with your character than with your reputation. Your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.
-Dale Carnegie

Have you become a person that would make your grandma proud? Do you make the right choices when no one else is looking? What action could you take this week to strengthen your CHARACTER?

Perhaps you need to speak up on behalf of someone else, or do the right thing even if it isn't convenient, or maybe find the courage to apologize and make amends for a past wrong.

You may notice that as your CHARACTER grows, so does the shadow called your REPUTATION!

My welcome

Thanks for stopping by and welcome to my world! My blog is just about chit chat fun, laughing good times is what I love to have and blog about, so grab a seat and sit down, I'll enchant you with my charm!! And who knows, maybe I'll teach you to write out your spells in my book of shadows!!!(that is you'll leave a blog comment or three !!) Be aware though of the Wiccan law:
Bid ye the Wiccan Laws ye must, in perfect love and perfect trust.
Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill: An ye harm none, do as ye will.
And ever mind the rule of three , what ye sends comes back to thee.
Follow this with mind and heart, and merry meet and merry ye part.

For those of you new to The Craft, the above quote is from the Wiccan Rede, the rule by which we live: Do what you want as long as you don't hurt anyone. that any spells cast are not for personal gain or to hurt someone, mine are to enhance the power of YOU my friends and fellow bloggers!!!
Come in to my attic, and sit and chat with me....I am a good witch!!! LOL~(Yes I am a BIG Charmed fan!
But I am also a big Dancing with The Stars Fan too! My motto is "Change your life...learn to dance" I am a Ballroom dancer and love it so much! IT'S NOT DANCING. IT'S EVERYTHING DANCING IS.Dancing is fun. Dancing is spontaneous. Dancing gets you moving and inspires others. Dancing makes people fall in love. Dancing fills a room with music. Dancing is timeless, bringing generations together. Dancing is elegant. Dancing is admired. Dancing is freedom.
I'm a strong Scorpio so sometimes I need a CAUTION on my blog that I may be a bit passionate about what I blog about. We don't have to AGREE on everything to be friends but, at least lets accept the fact that we can agree to disagree! If you don't agree with what I post you are welcome to comment without name calling, degrading or disrespecting.
HUGS and WELCOME!!!