Goodmorning to you everyone
May only good come your way
As you go out into
The gift that's called Today

JESUS

Every name outside the name of Jesus,
Will to Jesus someday bow,
It matters not how much  power or prestige ,
That you may think you have.

Phillipians 2:10
......at the name of Jesus every
knee shall bow

Majestic
Mountains
Distant
Seen,
Daughter
Grandaughter
Close,
We
Are
Here.

RLB

What is it within us
This thing that makes us whole
It is what we are inside
Within us is our soul

It is our spirit
Gods breath of life inside
Breathed into us by the creator
That we might be alive

Our soul will live forever
Dwell through eternity
Will it be in hell
Or our home be heavenly

When death at last has come
And your soul is released
Will you dwell in eternal torment
Or will you be at peace

Choose this very moment
Christ the risen Lord
That your soul may be at peace
When death knocks upon your door

Jackson! Jackson!Dear General Jackson!
Can Stonewall be forever stilled?
Horrific war and chaotic gun,
Dreadful this night is Chancelorsville.

RLB

Thank you Lord this morning
For the gentle falling rain
You heard our prayers O Lord
And answered once again


Praise be unto our lord for ever
and ever

Why is it, we as Christians
At least by words, that's what we claim
Talk so bad of others
If Christlikeness is our aim

Why is it that we
Speak anger against another
If it is we truly believe
They are our sister and our brother

Why is it we utter
Words that should not be said
Against another's soul
And therefore slay that person, dead

This sin I do not understand
For I myself stand guilty to
I claim that I am Christian
But my tounge destroys you

Every word I speak
Should lift up and edify
Not tear down and destroy
And cause sorrows to multiply

If I am truly Christian
Saved by Gods own son
Why do I speak evil
And not control my tounge

The day proclaimed as Thanksgiving
Comes to us each November
A day to count our blessings
A day to recall and remember

All that God to us has given
The great and the small
The things we take for granted
God has given to us them all

Too God above I am thankful
For all I have received
When I begin to count my blessings
I simply cannot believe

My beautiful loving wife
A helpmate always by my side
Our warm and simple home
Where we safely within abide

My two little sisters
My precious loving daughter
Memories of my mother
The presence of my father

A bounty of food upon my table
Work for my hands
The freedoms I enjoy
The beauty of this great land

The love of family
Mans most treasured possession
The truth of Gods word
The promise of a resurrection

So much to be thankful for
Though thanks I do not oft enough say
Shouldent everyday we are given
Be Thanksgiving Day?

Lord ,I know you are busy
With folks more important than me
But I have just one request
Lord, just one earnest plea

Lord, my hands are tired
They are not as strong as before
Lord, would you make them strong again?
Make their time a little more

You know Lord I need these hands
To do my work each day
They were not always like this Lord
Time has made them this way

Lord, my hands they hurt
At times they are racked with pain
They are now bent and crooked
And cannot long endure works strain

Lord, I know you are busy
Tending to folks with more dire needs
But Lord I've this one request
Strengthen my hands Lord, please.

RLB

I
Was
Going
Under,
I
Reached
Up
To
You,
I
Needed
You
At
That
Moment,
And
You,
You
Let
Me
Drow­n,
I
Thought,
I
Thought
You
We're
My
Friend.

RLB

If I did a candle burn
It would show forth its light
But soon it would at last burn out
And show how short it's life

Strong and bright would stand the flame
Dancing in the wind
Never giving second thought
That the candle someday ends

Our life is like a candles flame
Gods breath lights the wick
We brightly burn a little while
Then death our life does *****

The flame of life only shortly breathes
It does not forever burn
When will we take the time to see
And this lesson learn

Behold,
A list of Maxims
Taught me by my father;
1...............
2..............
3.............
4........­.....
5............
6...........
7..........
8.......
9....
10..
­Only empty lines of a legacy from which I have learned ,
Nothing.
Yet ,I learned more than he will ever know ,for in the empty lines there were lessons to be learned.

RLB

Life is an impartial balance
From its beginning to its end
It weighs you not as a foe
Nor does it weigh you as a friend

It comes to you uninvited
In the dark within the womb
Then leaves without consent
And you are laid within the tomb

Life cares not if you be rich or poor
Life cares not if you be strong or lame
Life comes to each just as they are
To life, we are all the same

Life does not possess us
Rather, we are possessors of life
Possessors of its many joys
Possessors of its many strifes

Pursue life to its utmost meaning
Do ! That ,within your heart you know
For life is not your friend
Nor is life your foe

From old to new
From new to old
Over the ages
Different stories told

Through song, through story
Through poems unfold
The victories and the sorrows
Of a life untold

Some are written
For all to see
Others kept away
For ones heart to keep

Those stories, those songs
The poems all  tell
The feelings and emotions
Hidden within ourselves

Crystal Sacco


My daughter has taken an intrest in
writing ,so with her permission
I  am sharing this poem that she
wrote. Please let us know what you
think.
Thank you.

I laid asleep in the deepest dream
Till the alarm shattered my mind
How quickly came the mornings sounds
Get Up! Is it really time?

I look and see I'm started late
The clock it must be broke
How can it be. Did I set it wrong?
Is someone playing a joke

I quickly arise to meet the day
Prepared for a shower that's hot
Then I recieve a shocking surprise
As I find the hot water is not

I begin to dress in double time manner
It was time to be headed out
Then I turned around and took a step
And my cat shrieked out a shout!!

My heart now racing along with me
I find myself in the kitchen
At first it was eggs and bacon
But due to time now I'm switchin

I'll now have toast from the toaster
I'll make it a double stack
Up it pops in its alloted time
Crispy and burnt and black

Forget the toast I have no time
But caffeine is a must
I find no sugar no creamer no spoon
Looks like coffee is also a bust

Out the door at last I go
Coffee! Man I NEEDED that!
Then low and behold I look to see
Out of the four one is flat

Can you believe because I cannot
BLEEP and BLEEP and BLEEP!!
I call the boss ,"Sorry I'm sick"
And I go back to sleep.

RLB

How many different voices will speak
What truths will there be spoken
Over my body as it lie still in death
When my soul at last has broken

Will there be words of kindness shared
Of a deed that once I wrought
To one who was then a stranger
Some soul that I knew not

Will there be words of remembrance
Of a once kindly offered smile
Given to one to encourage
As they travelled a long hard mile

Will there be words of sadness heard
At the loss of a cherished friend
One who once was loved
One they wish to love again

From deep within the heart
Will the voices speak sincere
Followed by the gentle falling
Of a grief weighted tear

The words the voices give
I hope to you will tell
The story of a friend called true
And the memories of a life lived well

Some beautiful morning
Some beautiful day
Christ will come
To take me away.
Away to my home
Beyond this lifes shore
To live with him
Forevermore .

My best companions come in twos
Starting with my own two feet
They carry me each day I am given
Too the task that I must meet

Two more friends of mine
Are my two able hands
They help me do my work
While my two legs help me stand

My two eyes let me see
The light of the morning sun
While these two arms of mine
Help my task to get done

With my two ears I can hear
The sounds of the day
My fingers of ten help me count
The hours to work away

With the many task before me
And work that never ends
Sometimes it seems to me
That I am my own best friend

With hands of steel and a heart of love
You fought hard
Your fight was a good fight
Now you can rest in the arms of Christ

RLB

It is in the stillness and the silence
That the saviours voice is heard
If we will only quiet ourselves
We will hear his voiced word

Can we learn to turn?
From the things that draw us away
Could we set aside some moments?
To listen to Christ each day

Is it possible for us as men
To from our busyness turn?
And listen to Jesus speak
Or do his voice we spurn?

There is so much audible confusion
That into our mind is leaking
O, if we could learn to be still in silence
We would find the voice of our saviour is speaking.

When I look into the mirror
And I stare into my eyes
Is it me I really see?
Or just a man in a disguise

The mirror shows my reflection
The way I look physically
But it cannot show to you
The state I am in spiritually

The mirror it cannot reflect
The heaviness of my heart
Or the pain it feels within
As if pierced by a sharpened dart

The mirror does not reveal to you
The sadness that abides within
Or the absence of joy that did exist
Will I find it ever again?

The mirror is a great deceiver
For it shows only the outer shell
Where all seems as it should
While hiding the inner hell

Today I have given you
A beautiful Sunday morning
A sky of topaz blue
The Suns beams adorning

An ever gentle breeze
Passing silently by unseen
Through the leafless trees
And over the blades of green

I give you music along the way
From natures vocal cords
Singers red and blue and gray
Singing without a word

I am ever present in creation
This I am reaffirming
As I walk in revelation
On this beautiful Sunday morning.

RLB

Why is it we strive so hard
To increase our earthly possessions
We see we want we buy
It seems to be an obsession

Of the many things we have
How many of them do we truly need
Do we just try to obtain
To satisfy our greed

These many things we own
They may glitter they may shine
But soon they lose their luster
As quickly turns the hands of time

Then we become dissatisfied
With the previous things we got
And seek to fill that empty place
With some new thing we've  bought

The years they pass, time comes and goes
We are surrounded by our wealth
But among the many things we own
We find no love no family no health

To late we discover we have laid up treasure
Treasure of an earthly kind
Of things that have no meaning
How could we have been so blind

Do you show to others
The love shown to you
Not the superficial
But a love that's true

Do you reach out
Extend a helping hand
To someone who is down
And thereby help them stand

Do you speak the words
That another needs to hear
Or do you remain silent
Because of doubt and fear

Do you forgive another
As you were once forgiven
Or do you condem
For the life one is living

Do you show compassion
To the blind the sick the lame
Show mercy to the poor
Treat all men the same

If we could learn to see
Through the eyes of Jesus every man
Then these things we would do
For then we would understand

The wind so ever gentle blows
It is all around though we cannot see
Yet we know that it is there
By the joyous dancing of the leaves

The touch of the wind we can feel
It's presence to us is proven
And since the days of long ago
Wind through the life of man has woven

We can hear the unseen winds
As they from the four directions rise
But the winds that today we hear
Will they fill tomorrow's skies ?

For unlike this'moments unseen wind
Tomorrows winds may not blow
And like an unseen wind we have never felt
Tomorrows winds we may never know

The clock is wound for life but once
And it sings it's ticking song
We know not if the song be short
Or if the song be long

With each quickly passing moment
The clocks spring comes unwound
And never can it be wound again
Once the spring runs down

Live life true and do your best
For God and your fellow man
While the clock still sings for you
And on the earth you stand

Some unknown day the clock will cease
And it's tune no longer sing
Do good now, have no regrets
Before runs down the spring

Can we as men comprehend
The value of time
Or is time a commodity much to rare
To be assessed by our feeble mind

Can time be bought for gain
Or for wealth be bought or sold
Does time posses a value
Such as diamonds or as gold

Is time it's self a currency
To be saved as an investment
Should a return be expected
As we prepare for retirement

Could time be a hidden treasure
An object we seek to posses
To add to what time we think we have
Do we over this thought obsess

We as men want so much
Of what we cannot see
For we men know not how much time
Is alloted to you and me

While we are breathing life
Unseen time is always appearing
And at the very same moment
Unseen time is disappearing

So,what is the value of time?
Will the answer by man be ever revealed
Or will this mystery that plaques mans mind
From his knowledge forever be sealed.

RLB

I strive each day , but too many times I find myself not treating my fellow man the way I want him to treat me.Wether that person is aware of my act or speech or not.Help me Lord to treat others always as I myself want to be treated.

Why do I not treat others
The way I wish to be treated
Why do I not lift up
A friend who seems defeated

Why do I not forgive
Though forgiveness from you is expected
Why do I turn from you
And leave you feeling rejected

Why do I not share with you
The blessings I receive
Why do I speak words to you
That you should not believe

Why do I not show compassion
To the poor the sick the old
Why do I not treat others
In the way that JESUS told

Help me Lord Jesus to  always do unto others as I would have others do unto me,
Amen

The
Unseen
Rope
We
Grasp
When
All
Else
Proves
Futile

In these long hot days of summer
The heat , it beats me down
As the ground it lies cracked and dry
And the grass is dead and brown

The rays of the summer sun
Reach down and touch the earth
Causing me to seek the shade of a tree
Knowing now its worth

Summer is also a beautiful time
As we are warmed by the light of the sun
But I count the days of summer away
Until at last the summer is done

Then, that season for which I yearn
That season which nature in her time will call
And I with anticipation await
With joy, the arrival of fall

A song birds song drifts into my ears
As the valley green sings to my eyes
The music from the bird is clear
As clear as is the valleys skies
The gentle hum of the rain is heard
As the lighting screams into my eyes
The music from the rain brings dreams
And the lighting dances in my sight
A coyotes howl rings in my hearing
And a mountains tune I can see
The coyotes song is a lonely rhyme
But the mountains verse speaks mystery
An oceans wave plays a gentle chord
While the far horizon lies in distant days
The oceans wave makes a peaceful sound
While the music of the horizon in silence lays
All the music of nature that's heard
And all the peaceful sights of nature you see
Each work together in harmonious tune
Playing music in perfect harmony

Gazing down from the mountains top
Across the valleys depth below
I feel a certain peace within
That Only God could bestow

Looking across the vast wilderness
Into the place that I had been
Never thinking that I could rise
To the place where I now stand

Traveling through the valleys low
And through the rivers deep
I kept my eyes lifted up
Fixed on the mountains peak

The valley at last came to end
Then the rock I had to climb
So I began my journey up
With victory in my mind

The mountains side seemed unclimbable
And the climb it took its toll
When I at last had reached the top
There was a renewed strength within my soul

I could not have made the journey
But for the strength of God alone
For when I am weak and want to stop
God helps me to carry on

Now descending the mountains other side
And through its valley I shall not stop
For in the distance is another mountain
And I shall reach its top

RLB

Where is it a man must go?
How far must he travel?
To find a place of peace
Free of noise and rattle

It seems I am pressed
Upon each and every side
Mans noise and sound and confusion
My ears can no longer abide

Mingled within the sounds of man
My ears hear the songs of birds
They call me to a quiet place
Where only natures sounds are heard

I look I seek I strive
For a place to clear my mind
Why does it elude me so?
The quiet I hope to find

RLB

With every tick of the clock
Time quickly steals away
Never giving promise
Of another day

RLB

John 4:14 (KJV)
Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow ,for what is your life?
It is even a vapour, that appeareth for
a little time, and then vanisheth away.

The
Peace
Of
God
Resides
Within
The
Storms
Raging
Winds

O how quickly hastens time
The days they turn to years
Like a shooting star across the sky
Then quickly disappears

Moments passed become remembered
Growing sweeter with the time
Just as grapes put to the lips
Taster sweeter from the wine

Time now gone becomes more precious
Valued more than gold or money
Scenes held so dear remain unchanged
Just as the taste of the long kept honey

Then comes the hour our breath is faded
And our eyes no longer see
The memories we held so dear in life
Are then given up to eternity

No more seen and no more known
Just as times alloted wages
Our memory is taken to the grave
And there we are given to the ages

Quietly the minutes slip away
Dying through the eon of time
Numbered as the stars of heaven
So few will ever be mine

RLB

From the tomorrow we hope to come
We can never borrow time
And from its minutes we cannot take
From the day that lays behind

Each day given holds its own
A measured amount of alloted hours
We cannot add or detract from one
This task is not within our power

We only have what time is given
There is no time within the past
And the time that is yet to come
Is fleeting quickly and will not last

The time now that we posses
Is the greatest gift we have been given
It cannot be bought with gold or silver
And it's value cannot be written

Will you spend your time as a fool will do
Upon temporary and fleeing pleasure
Or will you spend it on things eternal
And lay up for yourself  in heaven , treasure

Sweet remembrances
Of family knocking
Dear friends stopping by
These ,are only memories now.

RLB


Where has time taken my family and my friends?

There was once a man who worked
Who used neither hammer nor chisel nor clay
Yet, worked from mornings early hours
Till evenings close of day

Creating works of art
For his fellow man to see
A legacy to leave behind
For all of eternity

His tool is the rounded wood
That holds the darkened lead
This is the tool he chose
To create the words we've read

He would work and mold and shape
His art into a ryme
As he etched it upon the paper
To be read by all through time

These works of art he made
Held meaning as he would sow them
And when his piece was done
He called his art a poem

You are only a weary pilgrim
While upon this road of life
While passing this way upon your journey
To a land of day or night

You are here for just a little while
What mercies will you leave behind
Will you be the feet of the crippled man
Or the eyes of one whose blind

There is a space only you can fill
While traveling upon this earth
Fill it with kindness to all mankind
Help each man to know his worth

Do unto all the men you meet
As you would have them do to you
This is Gods command to all
It is life's golden rule

Then when at last you are called
To that land of joy and bliss
Folks left here will remember you
And your presence will be missed

I love historic images
Life captured so long ago
Of places I'll never see
Of faces I'll never know

Old images hold within
An unknown mystery
When looking into the image
What story do we see

A moment from years now past
A frozen scene in time
Are a joy to look upon
And are a pleasure to these eyes of mine

Ferrotypes made on iron
Ambryotypes on glass
Dageruotypes on copper sheets
Then the cabinet card came at last

I love these beautiful images
With their hues of browns and black and grays
In each a story longing to be told
Is held in these treasured yesterday's

Gazing into the eyes
Of these long forgotten faces
And seeing how it used to be
In those now forgotten places

Brings great joy to my heart
And much happiness to my soul
To see what and who once was
In our not so long ago.

RLB

Time it can't be seen
It travels as the wind
One moment it is upon you
Then it is gone again

Time it glides so freely
As on life's rails it rolls on by
It moves as sound so quickly
As it passes through our lives

Then the day is quickly come
When time for you is stopped
You find that day has come upon you
Though you had hoped it not

Our time on earth is but a vapor
It is seen then it is gone
Our bodies then laid to rest
But time, it travels on

As time goes on it is bringing
After all life's bitter tears
A time when a thousand shall be as a day
And a day as a thousand years

So place your faith in Christ
Let Jesus rest your mind
For in your home in heaven
There is no such thing as time

James 4:14-15

Jesus,
Arms reaching,
D
O
W
N

T
O

M
E
Gentle hands open wide.

RLB

Faint
Retreating
Ignominious
Embers of;
Never
Disturbing
Shadows

Hope is in the rising sun
On a frozen winters day
Giving to you reassurance
That summer is on its way

Hope is in the thundering clouds
To your ears a fresh refrain
Bringing to a dry cracked earth
The liquid of silver rain

Hope is the song of a robin
Joyfully singing in the morning dawn
A chorus of"There is no need to worry,
For child you are my very own"

Hope is wrapped in faith
The promise of things unseen
Kept within our heart
Peaceful,secure , serene.

Never am I hurt,
By those to whom lifes breath is no more giving,
Yet I fall daily wounded,
By ones who walk among the living.

RLB

Lord, is it true
You keep the tears I have shed
The ones that fall so heavy
Like the precious blood you bled

Do you keep a count
Of each lonely sad lament
A record written down
Of each feeble plea I've sent

Lord, is it true
You know each mornful wail
Every thought of sadness
Every heart wrenching tale

Lord, I know it is true
Written in the 56:8 of Paslm
Not one tear has ever escaped
The healing of your balm.