Amy's Place ... Poetry and Potpourri ... April, May and June, 2017

April 1, 2017 | JustAmy; Meg33, The Mayor; Trisham;

[JustAmy]

Welcome To....


'Amy's Place' welcomes all poets
and those who enjoy poetry.
'Amy's Place' is more than just about poetry.
Come in, relax, and share with fellow FReepers
your thoughts about any of the things on the *Menu*.

Enjoy! :)









Never Forget!





Bad Penny



Amy's personal guardian ~
the ever charming, lovable, huggable,
LouieWolf




Many thanks for stopping by. : )

[TheConservativeParty]

Hi there, Sorry I’ve been absent for a while. Working. Might be about done with the spring greenhouse work now.

Thanks for keeping the lights on while I was gone!

[luvie]

Don’t blame you one bit!

[luvie]

Amen! LOL!

[trisham]

:)

[trisham]

A Prayer for Forgiveness
O Lord, Jesus Christ, Redeemer and Saviour, forgive my sins, just as You forgave Peter's denial and those who crucified You. Count not my transgressions, but, rather, my tears of repentance. Remember not my iniquities, but, more especially, my sorrow for the offenses I have committed against You. I long to be true to Your Word, and pray that You will love me and come to make Your dwelling place within me. I promise to give You praise and glory in love and in service all the days of my life.
Amen.

A Happy and Blessed Sunday to all here at Amy's Place!

[MEG33]

Amen.
So beautiful, trish.

[MEG33]

Welcome To Sunday At Amy's Place
~Remembering Those Who Gave All~

"The Mansions of the Lord"
Words by Randall Wallace



To fallen soldiers let us sing
where no rockets fly nor bullets wing
Our broken brothers let us bring
to the mansions of the Lord

No more bleeding no more fight
No prayers pleading through the night
just divine embrace, eternal light
in the mansions of the Lord

Where no mothers cry and no children weep
We will stand and guard tho the angels sleep
All through the ages safely keep the mansions
of the Lord

The Mansions Of The Lord with Video
~Blessings To All Who Enter~

[left that other site]

Memorial Day, 2017

Never forget.

[luvie]

We take this time on Memorial Day to salute our Fallen Heroes who through the history of our country have fought and died for all of us. THANK YOU!!!

~Aaron Tippen~
The Stars and Stripes and the Eagle Flies

[The Mayor]

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Not One Sparrow

May 28, 2017

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful servants. Psalm 116:15

My mother, so dignified and proper her entire life, now lay in a hospice bed, held captive by debilitating age. Struggling for breath, her declining condition contradicted the gorgeous spring day that danced invitingly on the other side of the windowpane.

All the emotional preparation in the world cannot sufficiently brace us for the stark reality of goodbye. Death is such an indignity! I thought.

Heavenly Father, You are right there with us, loving us, keeping us, holding us!

I diverted my gaze to the birdfeeder outside the window. A grosbeak flitted close to help itself to some seed. Instantly a familiar phrase popped into my mind: “Not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it” (Matt. 10:29 nlt). Jesus had said that to His disciples as He gave them marching orders for a mission to Judea, but the principle applies to all of us. “You are worth more than many sparrows,” He told them (v. 31).

My mom stirred and opened her eyes. Reaching back to her childhood, she used a Dutch term of endearment for her own mother and declared, “Muti’s dead!”

“Yes,” my wife agreed. “She’s with Jesus now.” Uncertain, Mom continued. “And Joyce and Jim?” she questioned of her sister and brother. “Yes, they’re with Jesus too,” said my wife. “But we’ll be with them soon!” 

“It’s hard to wait,” Mom said quietly. 

Heavenly Father, this life can be so hard and painful. But You! . . . You are right there with us, loving us, keeping us, holding us! And You promise never to leave us or forsake us.

 

Death is the last shadow before heaven’s dawn.

INSIGHT:

Part of the emphasis in today’s reading is the value God places on every human life. When we face the death of those dear to us—or our own death—it is a comfort to remember how deeply God cares for us. In fact, the psalmist accentuates this assurance, saying, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful servants” (Ps. 116:15). Amazing—the eternal God is concerned about the human experience of death. Though this death is the consequence of our rebellion and fall, God offers us His life so that even though we will inevitably face physical death Jesus promises, “The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die” (John 11:25–26). This shows that His promise to always be with us extends through this life and beyond—even surpassing death. How can this comfort us as we face the passing of loved ones? As we face our own mortality? 

For more on the subject of heaven, read Our Eternal Home at discoveryseries.org/rd911.

[NicknamedBob]

Memorial Day Band

The rhythm of the drums comes through,
The marching of the feet,
Sometimes a shrill reminder,
From the fife's piercing tweet.

I stir a bit, as if to join,
The celebrators there,
But then I settle down again,
Like dust motes in still air.

There was a time I strode about,
And shouted with the boys,
A time when we were conquerors,
Equipped with brand new toys.

We leaped across the oceans!
We flew up in the air!
And girls looked down and smiled at us,
Encouraging our stare.

We would return. We knew it!
We were too young to die.
And so we took our weapons up,
And never asked them why.

Why would we study History?
What did we know of War?
We only did what young men do,
And what's been done before.

But lately, I've been thinking.
I've had some time for that.
I should have studied more in school,
Not jumped at the drop of a hat.

Don't get me wrong! I'm no coward!
I would still have gone, I'm sure,
But at least I could tell my buddies,
What it was we had tried to secure.

You see, there's a dream that we live for,
And which we will die for, too.
This sleep that I'm sleeping reminds me,
That I ought to just share it with you.

I dreamed of a world full of wonder,
Where the walls were just marks on the land,
Of whose farms had the prettiest apples,
Or where showed our Grandfather's hand.

And a gate was a door to a new place,
You could visit, if you'd mind to behave,
And a beach was one twin with a brother,
You could see just beyond that big wave.

I could walk into China like Polo,
And say Hi to the Emperor there,
And he'd smile and he'd say something funny,
And he'd tell me to pull up a chair.

Then we'd chat about silk and we'd chuckle,
And he'd beat me a lot playing chess,
And then finally I'd have to say so long,
You come visit my folks in the US.

I'd walk down the road where the world is,
I'd be glancing around at the view.
I'd be looking real hard for a nice place,
And for something important to do.

So I guess I shouldn't complain, then,
Having fallen into this place,
I managed to live out a part of that dream,
And I'm here with a smile on my face.

It wasn't the nicest real estate,
And it doesn't have much of a view,
But I paid for it with the fame I sought,
And at least I'm important to you.

NicknamedBob . . . . . . . May 18, 2006

[The Mayor]

Thank you!

[The Mayor]

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Let Honor Meet Honor

May 29, 2017

Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. Matthew 6:1

I’ve always been impressed by the solemn, magnificent simplicity of the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery. The carefully choreographed event is a moving tribute to soldiers whose names—and sacrifice—are “known but to God.” Equally moving are the private moments of steady pacing when the crowds are gone: back and forth, hour after hour, day by day, in even the worst weather.

In September 2003, Hurricane Isabel was bearing down on Washington, DC, and the guards were told they could seek shelter during the worst of the storm. Surprising almost no one, the guards refused! They unselfishly stood their post to honor their fallen comrades even in the face of a hurricane.

The more we serve Christ, the less we will serve self.

Underlying Jesus’s teaching in Matthew 6:1–6, I believe, is His desire for us to live with an unrelenting, selfless devotion to Him. The Bible calls us to good deeds and holy living, but these are to be acts of worship and obedience (vv. 4–6), not orchestrated acts for self-glorification (v. 2). The apostle Paul endorses this whole-life faithfulness when he pleads with us to make our bodies “a living sacrifice” (Rom. 12:1).

May our private and public moments speak of our devotion and wholehearted commitment to You, Lord.

Grant me the strength this day, O Lord, to persevere, to return honor to Your name where I am serving. My desire is to give myself in selfless devotion because of Your love for me.

The more we serve Christ, the less we will serve self.

INSIGHT:

In the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5–7), Jesus issues a warning about showcased religiosity and hypocrisy (6:1–8). After His strong caution against it, He gives us the proper motivation. Our reason to share with open hands, to raise our hands in prayer, and to fold them before an empty plate is both stated and implied. When we do these things, we do them out of love for the Father, the source of all good things, knowing He will bless our efforts. The approval of the Father is better than any praise we may receive from friends and neighbors. It is the reward from Him that we should truly and deeply desire. 

[The Mayor]

Freep mail me to be on or off the Daily Bread ping list

Expect and Extend Mercy

May 30, 2017

God, have mercy on me, a sinner. Luke 18:13

When I complained that a friend’s choices were leading her deeper into sin and how her actions affected me, the woman I prayed with weekly placed her hand over mine. “Let’s pray for all of us.”

I frowned. “All of us?”

When we realize the depth of our need for mercy, we can more readily offer mercy to others.

“Yes,” she said. “Aren’t you the one who always says Jesus sets our standard of holiness, so we shouldn’t compare our sins to the sins of others?”

“That truth hurts a little,” I said, “but you’re right. My judgmental attitude and spiritual pride are no better or worse than her sins.”

“And by talking about your friend, we’re gossiping. So—”

“We’re sinning.” I lowered my head. “Please, pray for us.”

In Luke 18, Jesus shared a parable about two men approaching the temple to pray in very different ways (vv. 9–14). Like the Pharisee, we can become trapped in a circle of comparing ourselves to other people. We can boast about ourselves (vv. 11–12) and live as though we have the right to judge and the responsibility or the power to change others.

But when we look to Jesus as our example of holy living and encounter His goodness firsthand, like the tax collector, our desperate need for God’s grace is magnified (v. 13). As we experience the Lord’s loving compassion and forgiveness personally, we’ll be forever changed and empowered to expect and extend mercy, not condemnation, to others.

Lord, please keep us from falling into the trap of comparing ourselves to others. Mold us and make us more like You.

When we realize the depth of our need for mercy, we can more readily offer mercy to others.

INSIGHT:

The two characters in today’s parable have similarities and differences. The obvious similarity is that both the Pharisee and the tax collector went up to the temple to pray. They both had an idea of presenting themselves to God, of communicating and communing with Him. Each of their self-perceptions was influenced by their occupation or position in society. The Pharisees were meticulous rule-keepers, and by the law the Pharisee was likely righteous. Tax collectors were notorious for exploiting the populace and taking more than was rightly due.

The difference between them is that the Pharisee viewed himself in comparison to the tax collector, but the tax collector viewed himself in comparison to God. While the Pharisee thanked God that he was not like the tax collector and judged his standing by comparison, the tax collector did not ask to be made more like the Pharisee. He could only look down and ask for mercy. 

[MEG33]

*Good GratiTuesday To Amy's Place*
I am so grateful my back tantrum is quieter but I must still limit
computer time.

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

[luvie]

Happy GratiTuesday!

[TheConservativeParty]

Hi Meg,
I hope you feel better soon!

I need to do weeding around the back of the house today. Looks like a jungle by the back door.

Our puppy Moose is eight and a half months old now and about three quarters of his full grown size, by my estimate. He’s half chocolate lab, seems to favor that part of his mix.

Take care, feel better!

[MEG33]

Good to hear from you, TCP....Thank you so much for your good wishes.

[ConorMacNessa]

HAPPY GRATITUESDAY
TO AMY'S PLACE!



"The Walk to Paradise Garden"
W. Eugene Smith*

"You Are The New Day"
The King’s Singers
(Click)

May You Approach Each New Day With The
Innocence, The Optimism, And The Sense Of
Wonder Of These Two Children!

*Back story of Gene Smith and his iconic photograph.

[left that other site]

Happy Gratituesday!

It is ALWAYS a beautiful day, with an Attitude of Gratitude!

(((HUGS)))

ML/LTOS