Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Friday, December 27, 2013
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
A SOLDIER'S NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS
TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS,
HE LIVED ALL ALONE,
IN A ONE BEDROOM HOUSE MADE OF
PLASTER AND STONE.
I HAD COME DOWN THE CHIMNEY
WITH PRESENTS TO GIVE,
AND TO SEE JUST WHO
IN THIS HOME DID LIVE.
I LOOKED ALL ABOUT,
A STRANGE SIGHT I DID SEE,
NO TINSEL, NO PRESENTS,
NOT EVEN A TREE.
NO STOCKING BY MANTLE,
JUST BOOTS FILLED WITH SAND,
ON THE WALL HUNG PICTURES
OF FAR DISTANT LANDS.
WITH MEDALS AND BADGES,
AWARDS OF ALL KINDS,
A SOBER THOUGHT
CAME THROUGH MY MIND.
FOR THIS HOUSE WAS DIFFERENT,
IT WAS DARK AND DREARY,
I FOUND THE HOME OF A SOLDIER,
ONCE I COULD SEE CLEARLY.
THE SOLDIER LAY SLEEPING,
SILENT, ALONE,
CURLED UP ON THE FLOOR
IN THIS ONE BEDROOM HOME.
THE FACE WAS SO GENTLE,
THE ROOM IN SUCH DISORDER,
NOT HOW I PICTURED
A UNITED STATES SOLDIER.
WAS THIS THE HERO
OF WHOM I'D JUST READ?
CURLED! UP ON A PONCHO,
THE FLOOR FOR A BED?
I REALIZED THE FAMILIES
THAT I SAW THIS NIGHT,
OWED THEIR LIVES TO THESE SOLDIERS
WHO WERE WILLING TO FIGHT.
SOON ROUND THE WORLD,
THE CHILDREN WOULD PLAY,
AND GROWNUPS WOULD CELEBRATE
A BRIGHT CHRISTMAS DAY.
THEY ALL ENJOYED FREEDOM
EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR,
BECAUSE OF THE SOLDIERS,
LIKE THE ONE LYING HERE.
I COULDN'T HELP WONDER
HOW MANY LAY ALONE,
ON A COLD CHRISTMAS EVE
IN A LAND FAR FROM HOME.
THE VERY THOUGHT
BROUGHT A TEAR TO MY EYE,
I DROPPED TO MY KNEES
AND STARTED TO CRY.
THE SOLDIER AWAKENED
AND I HEARD A ROUGH VOICE,
"SANTA DON'T CRY,
THIS LIFE IS MY CHOICE;
I FIGHT FOR FREEDOM,
I DON'T ASK FOR MORE,
MY LIFE IS MY GOD,
MY COUNTRY, MY CORPS."
THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER
AND DRIFTED TO SLEEP,
I COULDN'T CONTROL IT,
I CONTINUED TO WEEP.
I KEPT WATCH FOR HOURS,
! SO SILENT AND STILL
AND WE BOTH SHIVERED
FROM THE COLD NIGHT'S CHILL.
I DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE
ON THAT COLD, DARK, NIGHT,
THIS GUARDIAN OF HONOR
SO WILLING TO FIGHT.
THEN THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER,
WITH A VOICE SOFT AND PURE,
WHISPERED, "CARRY ON SANTA,
IT'S CHRISTMAS DAY, ALL IS SECURE."
ONE LOOK AT MY WATCH,
AND I KNEW HE WAS RIGHT.
"MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIEND,
AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT."
TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS,
HE LIVED ALL ALONE,
IN A ONE BEDROOM HOUSE MADE OF
PLASTER AND STONE.
I HAD COME DOWN THE CHIMNEY
WITH PRESENTS TO GIVE,
AND TO SEE JUST WHO
IN THIS HOME DID LIVE.
I LOOKED ALL ABOUT,
A STRANGE SIGHT I DID SEE,
NO TINSEL, NO PRESENTS,
NOT EVEN A TREE.
NO STOCKING BY MANTLE,
JUST BOOTS FILLED WITH SAND,
ON THE WALL HUNG PICTURES
OF FAR DISTANT LANDS.
WITH MEDALS AND BADGES,
AWARDS OF ALL KINDS,
A SOBER THOUGHT
CAME THROUGH MY MIND.
FOR THIS HOUSE WAS DIFFERENT,
IT WAS DARK AND DREARY,
I FOUND THE HOME OF A SOLDIER,
ONCE I COULD SEE CLEARLY.
THE SOLDIER LAY SLEEPING,
SILENT, ALONE,
CURLED UP ON THE FLOOR
IN THIS ONE BEDROOM HOME.
THE FACE WAS SO GENTLE,
THE ROOM IN SUCH DISORDER,
NOT HOW I PICTURED
A UNITED STATES SOLDIER.
WAS THIS THE HERO
OF WHOM I'D JUST READ?
CURLED! UP ON A PONCHO,
THE FLOOR FOR A BED?
I REALIZED THE FAMILIES
THAT I SAW THIS NIGHT,
OWED THEIR LIVES TO THESE SOLDIERS
WHO WERE WILLING TO FIGHT.
SOON ROUND THE WORLD,
THE CHILDREN WOULD PLAY,
AND GROWNUPS WOULD CELEBRATE
A BRIGHT CHRISTMAS DAY.
THEY ALL ENJOYED FREEDOM
EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR,
BECAUSE OF THE SOLDIERS,
LIKE THE ONE LYING HERE.
I COULDN'T HELP WONDER
HOW MANY LAY ALONE,
ON A COLD CHRISTMAS EVE
IN A LAND FAR FROM HOME.
THE VERY THOUGHT
BROUGHT A TEAR TO MY EYE,
I DROPPED TO MY KNEES
AND STARTED TO CRY.
THE SOLDIER AWAKENED
AND I HEARD A ROUGH VOICE,
"SANTA DON'T CRY,
THIS LIFE IS MY CHOICE;
I FIGHT FOR FREEDOM,
I DON'T ASK FOR MORE,
MY LIFE IS MY GOD,
MY COUNTRY, MY CORPS."
THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER
AND DRIFTED TO SLEEP,
I COULDN'T CONTROL IT,
I CONTINUED TO WEEP.
I KEPT WATCH FOR HOURS,
! SO SILENT AND STILL
AND WE BOTH SHIVERED
FROM THE COLD NIGHT'S CHILL.
I DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE
ON THAT COLD, DARK, NIGHT,
THIS GUARDIAN OF HONOR
SO WILLING TO FIGHT.
THEN THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER,
WITH A VOICE SOFT AND PURE,
WHISPERED, "CARRY ON SANTA,
IT'S CHRISTMAS DAY, ALL IS SECURE."
ONE LOOK AT MY WATCH,
AND I KNEW HE WAS RIGHT.
"MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIEND,
AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT."
Monday, December 23, 2013
Saturday, December 21, 2013
And the angel said unto her,
Fear not,
Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb,
and bring forth a son,
and shalt call his name
JESUS.
He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest:
Fear not,
Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb,
and bring forth a son,
and shalt call his name
JESUS.
He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest:
and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever;
And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever;
and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
Friday, December 20, 2013
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Monday, December 16, 2013
Saturday, December 14, 2013
A diamond shines no brighter
than that lovely Christmas star.
It shines in all its brilliance;
it's seen from near or far.
A symbol of the Christ child
as He lay upon the hay,
It tells to all the waiting world
a King was born that day.
O Bethlehem Star keep shining -
give us faith and hope and love.
Keep our thoughts forever turning
to the Savior up above.
Give us strength and hope and courage
to do our best by far
And never falter in our faith
as we watch that Christmas star.
Author Unknown
than that lovely Christmas star.
It shines in all its brilliance;
it's seen from near or far.
A symbol of the Christ child
as He lay upon the hay,
It tells to all the waiting world
a King was born that day.
O Bethlehem Star keep shining -
give us faith and hope and love.
Keep our thoughts forever turning
to the Savior up above.
Give us strength and hope and courage
to do our best by far
And never falter in our faith
as we watch that Christmas star.
Author Unknown
Thursday, December 12, 2013
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Monday, December 9, 2013
I have a project to work on, actually two. Never fails, at Christmas, I start something new, when my time is drawn in so many directions - just like yours. So, in between shopping, decorating, planning, cleaning, parties, and trying to get to work in the snow and ice - I will be working on illustrations for two children's picture books. I won't be able to share my progress here as some of the property is not mine.
I'll fill my blog with archive Holiday Illustrations for your viewing pleasure.
I wish you and yours a fabulous Holiday! I hope your turkey is tasty, your cranberries juicy, your pumpkin pies perfect - and may your trash day be on Thursday
See you next year!!
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Dedication
It's December, Christmas is breathing down my neck, and the dark days of winter are drawing me into the hibernation mode. I need a project, a goal, something to spark my creativity.
I should have started a project like Barbara Parker's blog - 365 Guitars. Barbara is an artist I met at a Robert Burridge workshop. The beginning of this year she started a blog where everyday she would post a photo of something that looked like a guitar.
http://365guitars.wordpress.com/
http://upart.fineartstudioonline.com/
You might ask, why a guitar? It didn't have to be a guitar, it could have been anything. The point is, she had a daily goal. Find something that looked like a guitar. Seems relatively simple. She was looking all around her all the time everyday for ideas. Don't you think her observation skills improved? Don't you think she found not only guitars but creative sparks for her painting and art?
I should have started a project like Barbara Parker's blog - 365 Guitars. Barbara is an artist I met at a Robert Burridge workshop. The beginning of this year she started a blog where everyday she would post a photo of something that looked like a guitar.
Parker - Create Each Day
http://createeachday.comhttp://365guitars.wordpress.com/
http://upart.fineartstudioonline.com/
You might ask, why a guitar? It didn't have to be a guitar, it could have been anything. The point is, she had a daily goal. Find something that looked like a guitar. Seems relatively simple. She was looking all around her all the time everyday for ideas. Don't you think her observation skills improved? Don't you think she found not only guitars but creative sparks for her painting and art?
That's what I need for Next Year. A daily goal.
A constant focus. A cattle prod.
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