酷我-北美枫

Blue ice,
Do you know the secret of the oak tree?

In the fall, his once green leaves
Turn gold and drop to the ground

During the winter
With his branches empty
He does not seem to be alive

So tall, still, and quite
It looks as though he will not awake again

Even though he looks as if he is gone
He is always there for you

Then spring comes
And new buds start to show up once more

Aha!, he did not leave
But simply went to sleep

Once again he will provide food and shelter
For the tree dwelling creatures
And comfort you with his shade.

I am never alone in life
because God,
through His infinite wisdom,
is always where I am
To work through me
in my understanding

A friend
Knows the song of my heart
And sings the words
When my memory fails.

1. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
2. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older their conversational skills will be as important as any other.
3. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have, or sleep all you want.
4. When you say, "I Love You," mean it.
5. When you say, "I'm sorry," look the other person in the eye.
6. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.
7. Believe in Love at first sight.
8. Never laugh at anyone's dream. People who don't have dreams don't have much.
9. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt, but it's the only way to live life completely.
10. In disagreements fight fairly. No name calling.
11. Don't judge people by their relatives.
12. Talk slowly but think quickly.
13. When someone asks you a question that you don't want to answer, smile and ask, "Why do you want to know?"
14. Remember that great love and great achievements, involve great risks.
15. Say "bless you" when you hear someone sneeze.
16. When you loose, don't loose the lesson.
17. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; and Responsibility for all of your actions.
18. Don't let a little dispute injure a great relationship.
19. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
20. Smile when picking up the phone, the caller will hear it in your voice.
21. Spend some time alone.

I just wanted to send a small note to say hi,
and hope that you're sharing your smile today.

A smile is one of the greatest gifts that we human beings have,
because each day we get the opportunity to choose whether we're going to take advantage of it or not.

One of the nice things about a smile,
is that we can share it with whomever we want.

Sometimes, I'll smile at someone, and watch their reaction to this random act of kindness.
And the responses that I get back are interesting.

When you smile you give a small part of yourself away.
And when you smile with your heart, it has an even greater effect on the person at the receiving end.

A smile can be one of the best stress relievers in the world.
And when it turns into laughter,
it has been proven to have therapeutic benefits.

So, at times when your personal batteries need recharging,
a smile might be just what the doctor ordered.

Sometimes I wonder if it was an accident
that I just happened to be in the coffee shop that day
when you came in with my friend.

There was something very special about the your smile;
which I caught a glimpse of out of the corner of my eye,
as the two of you were standing at the counter
ordering what I assumed to be some exotic blend.

I was so enchanted by your loveliness that
I knew that I just had to meet you.

So when I saw him later that evening;
like a young and anxious schoolboy,
I asked about you
And he agreed to arrange our first meeting.

With my heart pounding so loudly that I thought you might hear it,
I must admit to being a bit nervous
when we were finally introduced;
almost like a teenager on his very first date.

Yet, there was a warmth in your eyes and the touch of your hand
that immediately put me at ease.

After we got our coffee and found a table,
we talked for hours that night.
It was as if we had known each other from a previous life.

The shared laughter and stolen glances
only made the evening more pleasurable
when we had our first embrace and passionate kiss.

Each day afterwards,
I would look forward to walking or sitting next to you,
caressing your hand;
or feeling your warm breath against my cheek.

Spending time with you
was the happiest
that my life had ever been.

Then one day
you were gone.

Our time together
etched into my memory
for all eternity.

I will forever cherish what we had
and remember that
it is better to have loved and lost
than never to have loved at all.

You will always remain special,
because you were able to touch me as no one had before;
You will always be in my heart.

The true warrior accepts death as inevitable
And is not bound by the fear of dying
He lives with the wisdom, knowledge, and understanding
That there is no time more important than now
For him there is life in every breath.

Unselfish

You see me off every morning,
with a great big smile.

And no matter how late it is when I return,
you are always glad to see me.

You never make unreasonable demands,
or get angry if I bring company home without calling first.

You are very good with the children,
seldom getting upset when they play a little rough.

At times I have shared my deepest secrets,
confident that you will never reveal them to anyone else.

And because of your loyalty and devotion;
to love, honour, and obey does not belittle your self-esteem.

You are the most unselfish of all God’s creatures,
and would willingly give your life for those you love.

Could that be the reason why?
dog, spelled backwards…is G-O-D?

The Island of Feelings

Once upon a time there was an island where all the feelings lived: Happiness, Sadness, Knowledge and all the others, including Love.

One day it was announced to the feelings that the island would sink; so they all prepaired their boats and left.

Love wanted to persevere until the last possible moment.
When the island was almost sinking, Love decided to ask for help.

Richness was passing by Love in a grand boat.

Love said, "Richness, can you take me with you?"

Richness answered, "No, I can't. There's a lot of gold and silver in my boat. There is no place here for you."

Love decided to ask Vanity, who was also passing by in a beautiful vessel.
"Vanity, please help me!"

Vanity answered, "I can't help you. You're all wet and might damage my boat."

Sadness was close by so Love asked for help.
"Sadness, let me go with you."

"Oh...Love, I am so sad that I need to be by myself!"

Happiness passed by Love too, but she was so happy that she did not even hear when Love called out to her!

Suddenly there was a voice,
"Come Love, I will take you."

It was an elder.
Love felt so blessed and overjoyed that he even forgot to ask the elder his name.

When they arrived at dry land, the elder went his own way.

Love, realizing how much he owed the elder asked, Knowledge, another elder, "who helped me?"

"It was Time," Knowledge answered.

"Time?", asked Love.
"But why did he help me?"

Knowledge smiled with deep wisdom and answered,
"Because only Time is capable of understanding just how great Love is."

ATTITUDE
by Charles Swindoll

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company...a church...or a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past...we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude...I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you...we are in charge of our Attitudes."

Old Dogs

I have always heard
That you can't teach an old dog new tricks.
Fortunately, I found out
You just have to give him a reason to learn.

The Value of a Friend

A friend knows
the song of my heart,
and sings the words,
when my memory fails.