Sabbath Keeping

"Where there is no guidance the people fall,

But in abundance of counselors there is victory."

~ Proverbs 11:14 ~

"Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm." ~ Publilius Syrus ~
"Somebody has to take responsibility for being a leader."
~ Toni Morrison ~
"He who has never learned to obey cannot be a good commander." ~ Aristotle ~
"Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others." ~ Jack Welch ~

"It is the solemn obligation of a leader to always be a leader.

Even when, perhaps especially when, 

you don't feel like being a leader.

~ Bill Owens ~ 

"A ruler should be slow to punish and swift to reward." ~ Ovid ~
"A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way."
~ John Maxwell ~
"I must follow the people. Am I not their leader?" ~ Benjamin Disraeli ~
"You manage things; you lead people." ~ Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper ~

"A leader is one who sees more than others see, 

who sees farther than others see,

and who sees before others see."

~ Leroy Elmes ~

"Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." ~ Harold R. McAlindon ~
"Leadership is action, not position." ~ Donald H. McGannon ~
"A bold beginning is half the battle." ~ Guiseppe Garibaldi ~

"Leaders think and talk about the solutions.

Followers think and talk about the problems."

~ Brian Trace ~

"Never give an order that can't be obeyed." ~ General Douglas MacArthur ~

"Never tell people ho to do things.

Tell them what to do and

they will surprise you with their ingenuity."

~ General George S. Patton ~

"Earn your leadership every day." ~ Michael Jordan ~
"A good leader is a person who takes a little more than his share of the blame and a little less than his share of the credit." ~ John Maxwell ~
"You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing you think you cannot do."
~ Eleanor Roosevelt ~
"A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week."
~ General George S. Patton ~
"Not the cry, but the flight of a wild duck, leads the flock to fly and follow." ~ Proverb ~
"To command is to serve, nothing more and nothing less." ~ Andre Malraux ~

"Remember your leaders,

those who spoke to you the word of God.

Consider the outcome of their way of life,

and imitate their faith."

~ Hebrews 13:7 ~

If you'd like a name added to the prayer list, please let me know. Names are kept for one week, around the world people are praying.

Prayer Keeping ~ unspoken requests ~ those with connections to Malaysian flight ~ "A" ~
Sandra ~

Sabbath Keeping

~ HayJ, American Curly x Percheron ~

Listen for God's Replies, when...

God seems far away...Psalm 25

having a good time seems too important...Galatians 5:1-26

you want inward peace...Romans 8:1-39

you are discouraged...Psalm 23; 42

friends are unfaithful...1 Corinthians 13:1-13

tempted to do wrong...Psalm 19:1-14

you are jealous...James 3:1-12

you are disobedient...Luke 5:1-11

you are impatient...Psalm 40:1-17

you have a grudge...2 Corinthians 4:1-18

your faith is weak...Psalm 146

a crisis comes...Job 28:12-28

you are bored...Psalm 103

you seem to busy...Ecclesiastes 3:1-15

you feel unwise...James 1:5

If you'd like a name added to the prayer list, please let me know. Names are kept for one week; around the world, people are praying.

Prayer Keeping ~ unspoken requests ~ Sister in Christ "A" ~ Lynn ~ Sandra ~

SpRiNg Day 1

~ crocus ~

In case you've been living in a cave...today is the first day of SpRiNG! I don't care the weather MAN (because even a hormonal woman wouldn't call for snow after the winter we've had) is calling for snow next Tuesday...today is this Tuesday and it's not snowing! The sun is shining, has been all day, and the wind is brisk but it is NoT SnOwINg! Reason to celebrate, pass the Harp. (Did you get it? huh huh Did you get it??? Oh all right...Harp is a very fine Irish brew and this close to St. Patrick's Day and beautiful heavenly weather...now do you get it??? ROTFLOL but I'm a simple soul. The harp is also a national symbol of Ireland.)

~ last week ~

I changed the header photo and it's not the most wonderful but it's NoT sNoW or iCe so it's beautiful! Why, yes, I am a bit giddy; how can you tell? 

~ my home place ~

Dori asked on this post, what were those little buds, peeping through the snow. They are crocus and in the first photo, they have braved the snow, ice, cold temps and wind to open. God bless 'em! 

~ best buds ~

"Where dips the rocky highland
Of Sleuth Wood in the lake,
There lies a leafy island
Where flapping herons wake
The drowsy water rats;
There we've hid our faery vats,
Full of berrys
And of reddest stolen cherries.

Come away, O human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand.

Where the wave of moonlight glosses
The dim gray sands with light,
Far off by furthest Rosses
We foot it all the night
Weaving olden dances
Mingling hands and mingling glances
Till the moon has taken flight;
Toand fro we leap
And chase the frothy bubbles,
While the world is full of troubles
And anxious in its sleep.

Come away, O human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand.

Where the wandering water gushes
From the hills above Glen-Car,
In pools among the rushes
That scarce could bath a star,
We seek for slumbering trout
And whispering in their ears
Give them unquiet dreams;
Leaning softly out
From ferns that drop their tears
Over the young streams.

Come away, O human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand.

Away with us he's going,
The solemn-eyed:
He'll hear no more the lowing
Of the calves on the warm hillside
Or the kettle on the hob
Sing peace into his breast,
Or see the brown mice bob
Round and round the oatmeal chest.
For he comes, the human child,
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world's more full of weeping than he can understand."
~ William Butler Yeats ~ 

and sung by Lorenna McKennit, here

One day, every tear will be wiped from our eyes; there'll be no more crying, no more death, no more weeping, no more sighing, no more pain. 

Blessings ~ Yeats ~ McKennit ~ my best buds ~ crocus ~ my home place ~ spring ~

My name is Sandra, and I'm an eejit

~ photo of a photo at Cliffs of Moher ~

Have you ever gone about your business, your daily life, thinking all is well and you're doing just fine? No worries, none major that is, and your to-do list is manageable and you're even ticking off some "done" items. The sky is blue, the sun is shining and there's a pervasive (uh oh, insert organ music) sense of all's right with the world. Last Friday, that was my attitude, I felt positively chipper and took a few minutes to read some blogs. One was a post about St. Patrick's Day and the writer even had a photo of herself, green streaks in her hair, table dressed beautifully and I thought, "But isn't St. Paddy's Day the 17th? Isn't today the 15th?" And, the more I thought, the more I thought myself wrong. That's right...I managed to convince myself my rightness was wrong and so I posted St. Patrick's Breastplate a full three days ahead of schedule!  

Yes, my name is Sandra and I'm an eejit! But I can forgive myself whilst looking at my photos taken during my Irish holiday last year. Later, I'll do a travelogue but for now, will show a few photos taken in Ireland. While at Cliffs of Moher, I walked from Hags Head, the southern point to the northern tourism center, some 5 kilometers. The footpath went along the cliffs and, with a very strong wind, was invigorating, exciting and, sometimes, caused the heart to beat rapidly as cliffs edge was a few, very few, feet away and more than 700 feet above the Atlantic Ocean!

~ an eejit standing at the Cliffs of Moher ~

If you've never heard of, nor read, St. Patrick's Breastplate, please go here. First you'll read the poem, then you can hear a choir sing the heavenly music and you can read a bit about the history of the piece. I don't even mind if you have a Irish brew while you do it. 

If I'd planned better, I would be watching an Irish film tonight. Some of my favorites are The Quiet Man - but anything that has the wonderful Duke and marvelous Maureen O'Hara (who'll be 94 in August) has to be excellent. Here, she speaks of her favorite leading man and here, the portrait mentioned in the video. The Maureen O'Hara Magazine, here, is raising money for the restoration of the Quiet Man cottage. 

~ The Quiet Man cottage replica ~

Other favorite films include The Secret of Roan Inish which is visually lush and hauntingly beautiful; but, how can it be otherwise, having been filmed on the west coast of Ireland in Donegal?

Two that I've not seen, but think I want to, is The Wind That Shakes the Barley and The Secret of Kells. 

~ I visited Trinity College and The Book of Kells...amazing! ~

A definite want to see is Circle of Friends, a film adaption by Irish novelist Maeve Binchy. I also want to see The Lilac Bus and Tara Road, both written by Mrs. Binchy and made into films. My list includes The Field,  The Last September and Waking Ned Devine.

~ Trinity College Library ~

Mrs. Binchy is one of my absolute favorite story tellers and she weaves...the perfect word!... her stories from book to book, trailing characters along like seemingly random thoughts. I think she would have been a wonderful friend. She was frequent in her praise of her husband, kind toward her readers and her last book, A Week in Winter, was set on the west coast of Ireland and finished only days before she died in July 2012. Gordon Snell, a writer in his own rights, thought the book should be published anyway and presented to her readers. God bless him for that gift, I finished it tonight. Read here for a lovely tribute.

~ William Butler Yeats ~

She said, "I'd like people to think I was a good friend and a reasonable story-teller and to know that thanks to all the great people, family and friends that I met, I was very, very happy when I was here." She certainly made me very happy; I could get lost, and have done, in one of her books to the exclusion of everything else, save feeding the animals. I always felt I was reading about people I know, that I'd met and am always pleasantly sad to finish one of her books.

~ Sandra with Mags of fraiselachrymose ~

I traveled in both Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland and out of a possible 32 counties, I visited 20 or 21 which isn't bad for two weeks travel time. While in Belfast, I stayed with blogger friend Mags, and her family, she of fraiselachrymose blog. Absolutely delightful, she, her husband and their two boys. I want to go back! said in a whining voice.

Bennett is my last name and it's said to have originated in Scotland (Benet) by way of France (Benoit) and now found all over southeast Ireland. It's from ancient Latin, Benedict, meaning blessed and I am...greatly blessed.

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all!

Blessings ~ Ireland ~ Mags ~ Cliffs of Moher ~ John Wayne ~ Maureen O'Hara ~ Maeve Binchy ~ Irish movies ~ Trinity College ~ Book of Kells ~ 

Sabbath Keeping

"...to obey is better than sacrifice."

~ 1 Samuel 15:22 ~ 

"Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?" ~ Corrie ten Boom ~
"Religion today is not transforming people; rather it is being transformed by the people. It is not raising the moral level of society; it is descending to society's own level, and congratulating itself that is has scored a victory because society is smiling accepting its surrender." ~ A. W. Tozer ~
"I would sooner read five lines of the Bible than hear five masses in the "Church"." 
~ Anne Askew, martyred for her faith at Smithfield in 1545 ~
"Salvation is a work of God for man, rather than a work of man for God." 
~ Lewis Sperry Chafer ~
"Do you need help today? Lift up your hands to the Lord in supplication and in expectation, and soon you will lift up your hands in jubilation and celebration." ~ Warren W. Wiersbe ~
"Let us never forget that what we are is more important than what we do." 
~ James Hudson Taylor ~
"How else but through a broken heart may Lord Christ enter in?" ~ Oscar Wilde ~

"I used to ask God to help me.

Then I asked if I might help Him.

I ended up by asking Him to do his work through me."

~ James Hudson Taylor ~ 

"No one who really wants to count for God can afford to play at Christianity."
~ H. A. Ironside ~ 
"The acid test of our love for God is obedience to His Word." ~ Bob Jones, Sr. ~
"To be like Christ is to be a Christian." ~ Daniel Webster ~

"People who are crucified with Christ have three distinct marks:

1. they are facing only one direction,

2. they can never turn back, and

3. they no longer have plans of their own."

~ A. W. Tozer ~

"God sends no one away empty except those who are full of themselves." 
~ Dwight L. Moody ~

And Satan trembles when he sees, 

The weakest saint upon his knees."

~ William Cowper ~

"A faith that hasn't been tested can't be trusted." ~ Adrian Rogers ~

"Cast your cares upon Him

for He cares for you."

~ 1 Peter 5:7 ~

If you'd like a name added to the prayer list, please let me know. Names are kept for one week; around the world, people are praying.

Prayer Keeping ~ unspoken requests ~

St. Patrick's Day

~ a photo of a photo at Cliffs of Moher, Ireland ~

"I bind unto myself today

The strong Name of the Trinity,

By invocation of the same

The Three in One and One in Three.

I bind this today to me forever

By power of faith, Christ's incarnation;

His baptism in Jordan river,

His death on Cross for my salvation,

His bursting from the spiced tomb,

His riding up the heavenly way, 

His coming at the day of doom

I bind unto myself today.

I bind unto myself the power

Of the great love of cherubim;

The sweet 'Well done' in judgement hour,

The service of the seraphim,

Confessors' faith, Apostles' word,

The Patriarchs' prayers, the prophets' scrolls,

All good deeds done unto the Lord

And purity of virgin souls.

I bind unto myself today

The virtues of the star lit heaven,

The glorious sun's life giving ray,

The whiteness of the moon at even,

The flashing of the lightning free,

The whirling wind's tempestuous shocks,

The stable earth, the deep salt sea 

Around the old eternal rocks.

I bind unto myself today

The power of God to hold and lead,

His eye to watch, His might to stay,

His ear to hearken to my need.

The wisdom of my God to teach.

His hand to guide, His shield to ward;

The word of God to give me speech.

His heavenly host to be my guard.

Against the demon snares of sin,

The vice that gives temptation force,

The natural lusts that war within,

The hostile men that mar my course;

Or few or many, far or nigh,

In every place and in all hours,

Against their fierce hostility

I bind to me these holy powers.

Against all Satan's spells and wiles,

Against false words of heresy,

Against the knowledge that defiles,

Against the heart's idolatry,

Against the wizard's evil craft,

Against the death wound and the burning, 

The choking wave, the poisoned shaft,

Protect me, Christ, till Thy returning.

Christ be with me, Christ within me,

Christ behind me, Christ before me,

Christ beside me, Christ to win me,

Christ to comfort and restore me.

Christ beneath me, Christ above me,

Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,

Christ in hearts of all that love me, 

Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

I bind unto myself the Name,

The strong Name of the Trinity,

By invocation of the same,

The Three in One and One in Three.

By Whom all nature hath creation,

Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:

Praise to the Lord of my salvation,

Salvation is of Christ the Lord." 

~ Cecil Frances Alexander, 1889 ~ 

"His truth shall be thy shield and buckler." ~ Psalm 91:4 ~

Listen here.

From this page, "the lyrics are a translation of a Gaelic poem called "St. Patrick's Lorica," or breastplate. (A "lorica" was a mystical garment that was supposed to protect the wearer from danger and illness, and guarantee entry into Heaven.) Cecil Alexander penned these words at the request of H. H. Dickinson, Dean of the Chapel Royal at Dublin Castle:

"I wrote to her suggesting that she should fill a gap in our Irish Church Hymnal by giving us a metrical version of St. Patrick's "Lorica" and I sent her a carefully collated copy of the best prose translations of it. Within a week she sent me that exquisitely beautiful as well as faithful version which appears in the appendix of our Church Hymnal." "

Blessings ~ a rich Christian heritage ~ Mrs. Alexander ~ Cliffs of Moher ~ St. Patrick ~ 

A Taste of Things to Come

~ Easter Romney, 16 to 18 years old ~

Daddy always says the weather that comes in on the Equinox will be the weather we have for spring. Spring is a few days hence but... Mother Nature and Father Time are sending rain tomorrow followed by sleety snow and low temps...just in case I might have forgotten the horrors of last month. 

As if.

Patrice, Everyday Rurality (almost typed Reality -grin-) is hosting Number 130 Chats on the Front Porch; her questions, my answers.

1. If you're in the USA, does the time change mess you up? Absolutely and I despise DST. I don't know of any farmers, or folks who live close to the land, who like DST. It's difficult for bodies, human and animal, to acclimate and I'm not sure we ever do acclimate. We just bear under, plow through and wait for sun time to return. 

~ neighbor's lambs ~

2. Do you usually drink a beverage with your meals? Yes, it varies between water, milk, sweet ice tea (as we say in the South) or wine. 

3. How often do you iron clothes? When needed and as necessary. When I travel, I wear man-made fibers but, at all other times, I wear natural fibers and am partial, as you might imagine, to wool. . I've found a toss in the dryer, with a wet washcloth, will, usually, rid the garment of wrinkles. Well, that and being spread over my large frame, which helps as well -lol-.

4. When was the last time you took an enjoyable walk? Today was lovely so I took two walks, morning and afternoon, in the pasture. The dogs and I thoroughly enjoyed it and plan to do it each and ever day, weather permitting. When weather doesn't permit, I'll take a few turns on the stationary bicycle.

~ good place for a walk ~

5. Tell me whatever you'd like to share with us. The fire in the wood stove died out so will be laid, ready to be lit, when the weather turns. Yesterday, someone asked what would I do when the farm sold. The plan is to move closer to family, in central VA and almost four hundred miles away, but to another farm. My strong as an ox nephew told me, "Sissie (my family nickname), you just get down here and I'll take care of everything else." As the Bible admonishes, "a good person leaves an inheritance for their children's children, but a sinner's wealth is stored up for the righteous." Dave and I had no children so my plan is to leave an inheritance for my nephews and their children. 

In my attempt to find a house cleaner, I spoke with someone who said she's a widow of some five years. One thing she said was, "There are days I scream I WANT MY OLD LIFE BACK!" It stunned me because I've never said that but with my entire being I've lived it these past two plus years. I, too, want my old life back but it ain't happening so moving on, no longer standing still, seems to be the order of the day. I've been watching the Lord Peter Wimsey DVD's and one line jumped out at me, "One would wake up and there would be a whole day of jolly things to do!" Lord Peter said this as he was contemplating marriage to Harriet Vane and it's how I lived with Dave. We'd wake each morning with an entire day full of jolly things to do! My day is still full of jolly things to do, it's just they come disguised as hard work -lol- but, it beats an office cubicle, don't you agree?

Yes, I do work dreadfully hard but it's work I love. Each morning I get up and, as I told my Mother, "set about wondering which fire to put out first." Even so, I love my life, my animals, this farm and consider it all privilege and joy to tend to these few acres and these animals. Winter is brutally hard, due to weather, but it's still a beautiful place to live and work. I don't mean to complain but want to be honest if, for no other reason, those among you who pray, know how to pray for me. And thank ye. Thank ye very much.

A few days ago, we had a nocturnal visitor, during daylight hours, who spent considerable time up a tree in order to avoid the dogs. Generally, my first thought is rabies but I think this little one was hungry and in an ill humor. S/he kept hissing at me, like I was going to climb the tree and bother it. HA! Winter has been hard and food sources are scarce and animals are being driven off the mountain, out of the forest, seeking food. The dogs kept watch for an hour or so, then enthusiasm wore off, they lost interest and came inside; the raccoon scampered down the tree, backwards, and left, no harm done. 

Nine days until spring...please Lord, let it be gentle with us.

Blessings ~ enjoyable work for hands and heart ~ a good walk ~ inheritance for family ~ a possible house cleaner ~ 

A Week Gone

~ Izzabella and DaniGirl ~

Although colder temps still linger, the snow has melted and daylight hours bring a modicum of warmth. The wind still has a decided bite but, dare I hope, spring creeps ever so diligently closer...day by day, and, as of today, spring is ten TEN days away...be still my heart! Due to illness, this last week has been spent doing the basics and not much more. It seems all that spare time available since Carly, Harry and Sophie died, wasn't going to be spent doing fun stuff. Oh No! It was spent taking antibiotics and Sambucol, drinking copious amounts of water, eating (somewhat) healthfully and sleeping. At least sleeping during the night; I'm one of those people who find it difficult to sleep during the day but I can crank out eight to ten hours a night, depending upon exhaustion level. Even so, it would be boorish of me to complain about being sick as the last time I was ill was Dec 2010 and, even this time, it wasn't dreadful. Just enough to make my wagon drag and suck energy like Al Gore's house. 

Water troughs still have ice but one sunny, warmish day the dogs and I opened gates for Daddy John. He was feeding silage and having a gate opener decreases both the amount of work, energy needed and speeds up the job. 

John uses one tractor to load silage into a loader which will disperse the amount he wants to each individual cow herd.

I'm standing beside the open gate, watching as the cows watch the tractor. It doesn't take long for the animals to associate the tractor sound with food!  If I remember correctly, he put about 6,000 pounds of silage on the ground for these cattle then we moved to the adjacent pasture.

After John finished feeding, I closed the gate and went down the road to take pictures of the new lambs. 

Last week, I put out round hay, a task that I do very slowly, extremely carefully and not without a bit of trepidation. It takes the men fifteen minutes to sit out hay; it takes me thirty, or more, depending upon weather. The hat lots are on a slight incline and backing the tractor on a hill takes extreme concentration on my part.

After moving bales away from the fence, I ended up pushing, not carrying, hay because my summer help put the hay too close to the fence; the result being, HayJ and Bo leaned across the fence, broke it down and started munching. The hay was too loose to pick up and carry so I pushed it into the field and left it.

I was annoyed at my summer help because it was his fault but my responsibility to see the job was finished correctly so am paying the price of having some hay wasted. There's, ultimately, only myself to blame.

HayJ doesn't seem to mind; he's the black and white Curly x Percheron and is a huge horse. He's so tall, he can raise his head and I can't get his halter on him so I trick him. I put a bucket of sweet feed on the ground and make him put his head through it in order to get to the feed. As Queen Victoria said, "We are not amused"...but I am and chuckle anyway. When you're 5'5" tall and your horse is about 18 hands tall, tricks are allowed. 

Mornings begin with dogs and I piled on the sofa and me having devotions. Gray Tom likes loves to curl up next to Sam, long suffering Sam, and the day begins gently. Tonight, it's going on 11:00 which is hours past my bedtime. Have I mentioned how much I despise hate daylight savings time? I want to know what's being saved 'cause it's sure not anyone or anything I know. Farmers, generally, hate dst and with good reason. It's light at 7 p.m. and by the time I get back inside, feed the cats and dogs, feed myself, get ready for bed, check e-mail it's past 9. If I want to update the blog, it's late...going on 11:00. grrrr! It's time to put the dogs out for their last toilet, more meds for me then sleep for all. 

Sweet dreams to you.

Blessings ~ good health for years ~ being helpful and useful ~ animals who love me and each other ~ good hay ~ warmer weather ~ 

Sabbath Keeping

"I am weary, O God;

I am weary, O God,

and worn out."

~ Proverbs 30:1 ~

"Our labour preserves us from three great evils 

-- weariness, vice, and want."

~ Voltaire ~

"I am old, Gandalf. I don't look it, but I am beginning to feel it in my heart of hearts. Well-preserved indeed! Why, I feel all thin, sort of stretched, if you know what I mean: like butter that has been scraped over too much bread. That can't be right. I need a change, or something." ~ J. R. R. Tolkien ~

"Ah! when will this long weary day have end,

And Lende me leave to come unto my love?"

~ Edmund Spenser, Amoretti and Epithalamion ~

"If we want to get over being tired and weary, we have to learn how to go to God on a regular basis. The minute we feel like we can't take it anymore, we have to go spend a little time with him, read his word and talk to him in your prayers, he hears every words you tell him, just leave all your burden with him as soon as you tell him your troubles, feel the ease up on your shoulders, because he took your load of them, the pain in your heart ease up because he comforted you. What a friend we have in our Lord!"
~ Glen Rambharack ~

"Never flinch.

Never weary.

Never despair."

~ Winston Churchill ~

"When I consider how my light is spent Ere half my days in this dark world are wide. And that one Talent which is death to hide Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent. To serve therewith my Maker and present My true account, lest He returning chide, "Doth God exact day-labor, light denied?" I fondly ask. But Patience, to prevent That murmur, soon replies, "God doth not need Either man's work or his own gifts. Who best Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state Is kingly: thousands at his bidding speed, And post o'er land and ocean without rest; THEY ALSO SERVE WHO ONLY STAND AND WAIT." ~ John Milton, On His Blindness ~

"O weary hearts!

O slumbering eyes!

O drooping souls,

Whose destinies are fraught with fear and pain,

Ye shall be loved again."

~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow ~

"Fatigue makes cowards of us all." ~ Vince Lombardi ~

"Weary of liberty,

He suffered himself to be saddled and bridled,

And was ridden to death for his pains."

~ Goethe ~

"Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the earth, are never weary of life."
~ Rachel Carson ~
"This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it, or exercise their revolutionary right to overthrow it." ~ Abraham Lincoln ~

"They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old.

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning,

We shall remember them."

~ Laurence Binyon ~

"Meaninglessness does not come from being weary of pain.
Meaninglessness comes from being weary of pleasure."
~ G. K. Chesterton ~

"How far that little candle throws his beams! 

So shines a good deed in a weary world."

~ Shakespeare ~

"Courage brother, do not stumble, though thy path be dark as night. There is a star to guide the humble, trust in God, and do the right. Let the road be dark and dreary and its end far out of sight. Face it bravely, strong or weary. Trust God, and do." ~ Norman Schwarzkoph ~

"I will not wish thee riches nor the glow of greatness, 

but that wherever thou go, 

some weary heart shall gladden at thy smile 

or shadowed life know sunshine for awhile. 

And so thy path shall be a track of light, 

like angels' footsteps passing through." 

~ Blessing from a church wall in Upwaltham, England ~

"Come unto me 

all ye that labour and are heavy laden

and I will give you rest."

~ Matthew 11:28 ~

If you'd like a name added to the prayer list, please let me know. Names are kept for one week; around the world, people are praying. Please include me, I've been sick for a week.

Prayer Keeping ~ unspoken requests ~ 

Sabbath Keeping

~ Gray Tom, thinking deep thoughts ~

"For as a man {or woman} thinks,

so he {she} is."

~ Proverbs 23:7 ~

"We are addicted to our thoughts. We cannot change anything if we cannot change our thinking."  ~ Santosh Kalwar ~ 
"Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers." ~ Voltaire ~
"The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindles." ~ Plutarch ~
"Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right." ~ Henry Ford ~

"Self-control is strength. 

Right thought is mastery.

Calmness is power."

~ James Allen ~

"The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along anda trying to put things in it." ~ Terry Pratchett ~
"A person is limited only by the thoughts that he chooses." ~ James Allen ~

"Five percent of the people think;

ten percent of the peple think they think;

and the other eighty-five percent would rather die than think."

~ Thomas Edison ~

"Poirot," I said. "I have been thinking."

"An admirable exercise my friend. Continue it."

~ Agatha Christie, Peril at End House ~

"Whoever controls the media, controls the mind." ~ Jim Morrison ~

"The third-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the majority.

The second-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the minority.

The first-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking."

~ A. A. Milne ~ 

"Simple can be harder than complex: 

You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. 

But it's worth it in the end because once you get there, 

you can move mountains."

~ Steve Jobs ~

"People don't like to think, if one thinks, one must reach conclusions.
Conclusions are not always pleasant."  ~ Helen Keller ~
"Readers are plentiful; thinkers are rare." ~ Harriet Martineau ~
"Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason so few engage in it."
~ Henry Ford ~ 
"He who thinks little errs much..." ~ Leonardo da Vinci ~
"Life is a comedy to those who think, a tragedy to those who feel." ~ Jean Racine ~
"We can not solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them."
~ Albert Einstein ~

"If you believe that your thoughts originate inside your brain,

do you also believe that television shows are made inside your television set?"

~ Warren Ellis ~

"What you keep before your eyes will affect you." ~ Joel Osteen ~ 

"If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you;

But if you really make them think, they'll hate you."

~ Don Marquis ~

"Tall, aren't you?" she said.
"I didn't mean to be."
Her eyes rounded. She was puzzled. She was thinking.
I could see, even on that short acquaintance, that thinking 
was always going to be a bother to her."  ~ Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep ~

"Finally, brothers and sisters, keep your thoughts on 

whatever is right or deserves praise: 

things that are true, honorable, fair, pure, acceptable, or commendable. 

Practice what you've learned and received from me, 

what you heard and saw me do. 

Then the God who gives this peace will be with you."

~ Philippians 4:8-9 ~

If you'd like a name added to the prayer list, please let me know. Names are kept for one week; around the world, people are praying.

Prayer Keeping ~ unspoken requests ~ Petal ~ Rick and Mark's family ~