Grasping the tangible with meticulous ease
Within a world full of violence, disrespect, disease,
Longing for better, receiving far less
A chasm between want and hopelessness.

Journeys through now, until the end
Require bravery without energy to spend,
Dark skies loom, rare is the light
A reversal demands a relentless fight.

Reaching out for a world no more
Toward light and heaven we will soar,
An intangible world is not earthbound
Only realms within Him peace shall be found

by
Karen

I often reflect throughout the days
The times we've shared in those special ways,
When things get tough I just think of your smile
Remembering our friendship makes it all seem worthwhile.

I just wanted to stop and take a moment in time
To let you know you've given me reason to climb,
Those mountains of life which were once tiny hills
Thank you for the part of my life your friendship fills.

Wherever you go and whatever you do
Remember our friendship, which has always remained true,
Your kindness and honor is the perfect blend
Thank you for the privilege of calling you, "Dear Friend."

by
Karen

I wrote this many years ago for one of my Dearest Friends. Yet through the years as my heart has expanded to include so many wonderful people I can honestly say to them, "Dear Friend."

I wanted to include my Dear Friends on Blogstream. My older friends from starting on the Stream two years ago, to my newest friends.

God Bless each and everyone one of you and may your hearts expand also to include many more wonderful people into your lives.

Karen

The years have passed so quickly
The memories are shadowed by time gone by,
Yet the hurt stands out like
The cold sting of a windy, wintry day.

Mama was always there to prove her love
Oh how I loved to show her my special things,
To know she was within my reach
Hearing the songs we struggled so hard to learn.

Daddy's face always seems to slip away
Never really being able to remember his smile,
Nor quite feeling his warm brown eyes
As his voice seems to echo in a never ending darkness.

Oh, Dear Daddy! Why were you always too busy
To give yourself to me and my special things?
If only you had tried, one time would have been enough
To help your smile linger within my memories

by
Karen



All you Dads out there. Please be available to your children. This poem was written for two generations of Dads who thought the only important thing was to bring home the paycheck and let Mom raise the kids. One was my father and the other was my husband, until one day when my husband had a heart attack and stroke and decided that life was too important to throw away, and now my Chuck is the best husband, father and granddaddy there is.

I would like to take this moment, just to let you know
You've always lightened up my way with your special glow,
When I look upon your face, with your encouraging smile
It helps me to remember why this life is worthwhile.

We've experienced so much throughout the years
Many with laughter, some with tears,
Standing by one another through happy times and sad
You have always had the magic to chase away the "bad".

I'll never cease to tell you,
"You will always be the one
Who illuminates my way,
You are my strength-giving sun."

by
Karen

Funny how holidays seem to turn into disagreements between family members.

Our Christmas tree has a special memory to me that I don't think my family even realizes. I'm one of these kind of people who hangs onto certain things for sentimental reasons. The tree is one of these special things.

I was told by a family member that I should get rid of it because it is ugly. For one thing, it isn't ugly. It might be 15 years old, but it is tall and full and I enjoy decorating it each year.

Fifteen years ago in December my husband suffered a heart attack and stroke. He was flown to Austin, 65 miles from where we live. I spent the time in Austin with him, while my kids stayed here. My youngest was 10, so one of my friends and fellow co-worker took care of her. My other 4 children were old enough to take care of themselves and get to school and work, plus my church family helped out.

The kids wanted to do something special for their dad, so they decided to replace our old Christmas tree, which had already been decorated. Our two oldest kids bought the tree we have now and bought all new decorations as a special homecoming treat for their father. It just made them feel like they were doing something to help out because they did feel pretty helpless in the situation.

I will have this tree until I die. That fateful day 15 years ago changed our lives forever. I won't go into details, but sometimes bad things happen to help other situations get better, and this was one of those cases.

Originally I named my blog My Golden Moments and this was one of them.

I subbed in a first grade class today and there was a lot of tattling on one another. Of course I had to go into my basic speech. "Please take care of your own business and let everyone else take care of themselves. You are so busy trying to watch everyone, you aren't getting you own work done." This goes for adults as well, don't you think?

"Now there are sometimes you have to intervene because of dangerous situations, but this was not one of them."

I our
Karen