A Simple Reminder

Day after day she sits looking out her parlor window as a prisoner behind the rusty, strong bars of her cell. Children, who pass by skipping and singing rhymes they picked up from their friends on their long dusty walks through the streets, suddenly stop as if by curiosity to look upon the figure, almost lifeless, molded into the frame of the window. As towns people and visitors walk down her street they can not help but notice her house.

The house sinks into the ground pulling all of its surroundings to the underworld with it. The countenance of the house is dispirited and dreary. The house accomplishes its goal everyday: to make people feel the pain and agony the years had brought it. On the inside of the house there is a fireplace that has been neglected for so long that just the look of it sends frigid vibes through your body and chokes all feelings of warmth. The spiders, on the other hand, find the accommodations quite fitting and to show their appreciation take to decorating her walls with their art.

The house, in order to keep its prisoner from ever breaking free of her chains, shuts her off from the outside world. The house has a way of making people feel the way it does, this includes the victim. She is like the inside of her house, no warmth fills the lonely corners of her heart.

She is isolated from all other human life forms. No one knows for sure why she sits there day after day. Maybe it's because sitting there watching people pass by and children play reminds her of the days when she too was young and care free. Or maybe she is a prisoner ever being watched by her overseer, her house. only one thing is certain about her sitting there: she is a story for most children at the dinner table, a reminder to some to be thankful for the love of their family and companions, a reminder to all to be content.

~Sarah

Sarah Snapped

Poems

As the girl stood in the field
She leaned over a beautiful rose
She watched as the wind blew every petal away
She felt as if she were holding her life in her hands
The mistakes she thought could never be forgiven forgave
The last petal blew away but not unnoticed
She hoped her life had brought the happiness to everyone around her
The way this flower had brought happiness to her
As she looked down there was nothing left of the flower
All she had left were memories of the flower in her heart
She hoped that when she was gone from this world she too would leave
Sweet and fond memories in the hearts and minds of everyone
The way the flower had left her.

My Poems

We went to the library today and I checked out a book of poems by Edgar Allan Poe. After I read them I was inspired to write some of my own. I wrote a total of seven but I want to just put one out right now. Please leave a comment and tell me what you think.

The Poverty Princess

The ground upon which she toils is so dry
That when it is hit with water
One would think that there is a small fire
Because of the dust it produces
Her garden looks as if it is a burial ground
For decaying vegetables and rotting weeds
Her house looks as if not even pigs would feel welcomed
But that the perfect guest must be the most gruesome of bugs on the planet

Her clothes look in such a way that one could not help but doubt that the poor would even
Accept them as a donation
She is the very definition of poverty and filthiness
And every day these facts are made known to her
By the glances of her passers
And rather than imagine a different way of living
She excepts her state of being
She is thankful that she even has land and that she has clothes to wear
And that if ever one day she comes out of her state of life at present
She can comfort those who still are there because she knows how the glances pierce
The heart
In her own eyes her life is the very definition of happiness and content
She feels as if she were living as a princess treasuring every moment
Without uttering a complaint because her maker is still giving her breath.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our LORD Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God."

II Corinthians 1:3&4

-Sarah Hadding

Quotes

I am reading the book Trial and Triumph by Richard Hunnula...it is about the early church and the people who started it. Here are some really good quotes...

"I do not seek to understand in order that I may believe, but I believe in order that I may understand." -Anselm

"Brothers, know how immeasurably God deserves to be loved. The Lord, who is so great, first loved us who are so little and so wretched! What then, I ask you, could be the limit of our love?"
"He who is filled with the love of God is easily moved by everything in scripture."

-Bernard

This is probably my favorite so far...

The Prayer of St. Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

To be consoled, as to console;

Not so much to be understood, as to understand;

Not so much to be loved, but to love;

For it is in giving that we receive;

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

It is in dying that we awaken to eternal life.

The Least of These

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." John 13:34 & 35

A new commandment? The command to love has been in place since Old Testament times. So what changed? Why is this a "new" command? One of the biggest differences is that the command has changed from loving our neighbor as ourselves, to loving each other as Christ loves us.

What does it mean to love as Christ? It means to love in a way that will sacrifice everything, even life, for the welfare of another. Christ left all the glory of heaven to live in all the discomfort of earth. So that he could die. We don't even have to do that. But we should look for ways to love others that will cost us something.

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the king will say to those on his right, 'Come, you are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothed you? And when did we see sick or in prison and visit you?' And the king will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'

We are commanded to love and then I believe he tells us in this passage who we are to love. We are to love those who are considered lower than us. We are to love the poor, the sick, the criminals, the homeless. Instead, most of the time we just pass them by without thought, without meeting their needs. It's not that we usually ignore them on purpose. It's worse because we don't even see them.

My prayer is that God will give me eyes to see everything that I miss. To make the things that seem small in my world bigger. That I would care but not just a passing I feel bad kind of way, but that I would help.

So, here's what I want to do. In the next four weeks I want to work and raise as much money as I can. (My goal is $300.) Then I want to take the money and go shopping, (the really fun part) for things that are needed by the Pregnancy Resource Center. You can help and be a part of my mission. Hire me to work for you. I'll do a great job and you can help me love the ones who sometimes get forgotten or ignored. Here are some things I can do:

House Cleaning:

baseboards

ceiling fans

washing doors and walls,

organizing closets, shelves, cabinets, etc.

Regular housecleaning chores like sweeping, mopping, dusting and vacuuming

Yard Work:

raking and bagging leaves

weeding

mowing (mower must be provided)

Child Care:

babysitting

Miscellaneous Things:

dog washing

car washing

Personal Assistant:

For three hours I will assist you with any task not already listed.

Your time...your choice.

I will not set a specific fee. Instead, you may decide what my work is worth and how much you are able to contribute to my goal. Thank you for being a part of this with me! I look forward to working for you!

My Day

I had a very fun day I went to the Bluffs, Golden Corral, and the Naval Aviation Museum.
The coolest thing about my day is that I found my future husband! I am going to tell you a little about him...DO NOT scroll down this post and look at the picture at the bottom just read the post first.

So my future husband is a little older than me, he's a really good listener, he's tall, When we get married I will do all of the driving( and he won't even care!), he doesn't care where we go at ALL! He really is a great guy...the only problem is he doesn't talk...at ALL! And everybody calls him a dummy. :(

Here we are!

Isn't he handsome...NOT!