Death by Candlelight

Boo! .... did I scare you? (Heh)
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I found this old, old, old ink pen sketch.
I ripped it out of the sketchbook to scan for your Halloween viewing pleasures.
I have no earthly idea why I scribbled the word 'Ideas' under this composition. (lost that in the scan with my sig.)
My best guess is that I was heavy into experimentation at the time - playing with techniques in drawings, people. *sheesh* (I know what some of you were thinking! lol!)
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..Happy weekend!
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Mmmmmm. candy. =)

Frottage...

"Frottage," explains the Art Teacher, "is bringing texture into your composition by use of an underlaying surface ...and
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... some
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transferance."
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Sounds a bit like psychology 101, A? lol
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This is a little more concrete, as in putting paper down on a side walk and rubbing your crayon over the paper will transfer the concrete's texture into your work - cool, fast designing, minimum work-efforts.
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I used a bit of fottage technique (I didn't know we had a name for it until now) when we practiced drawing circles last month.
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You can see I got bored.
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I drew the Apple, named it, Red Delicious and then the Atom looking thingie.
I drew an Orange - both naked and in full dress... which looked really blah until I went to the block wall of the Art room and added a little 'frottage'.
Click on the pix - you can make it larger which will make it easier for you to see the lovely effect the rubbing gave me. :) ... then came the tea cup.
This is all leading up to a still life...so...there will be more tea cups to come. lol

Stage Riders

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The use of traveling is to regulate imagination by reality,
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and instead of thinking how things may be,
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to see them as they are.
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— Samuel Johnson

O.Baby. Its cold....

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That's right!
O. Baby. It's cold... Inside and out.
My main "cuddle"-partner these days?
*sighs*
The CAT!
She, (her name is Dr. Suess. Dr. CLAUDIA Suess) snuck pass the pile of text books I was climbing through this weekend, settling into the comforter I had stretched across my lap, lapsing into a soft purr.
I was so into the written word I failed to even look at her as she nested.
When I did give her the half second of attention she'll tolerate outta me, I noticed she was sporting a 'spider-web' bonnet.
*Sigh2*
Seems like all creatures great and small are lookin' for a little extention to comfort and warmth in the relay-hand-off of youthful Summer to that fickle-dandy, Autumn...
I can't help but wonder when old man Winter will come screaming in??? I'm hoping he'll hold off until November and let the little kids have their tricks and treats.
Meanwhile... Note to self: Spider safari with Dr. Suess - a.s.a.p.!!!
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P.S.: Broke down and switched on the furnice TODAY... I know. . . I'll pay dearly for being such a cold snap "weenie".

Allstars

I heard this interesting post on NPR, waking up this morning. . . about the North Mississippi Allstars. I liked their mix bag of musical tricks. (click here and you can listen to them.) There are 2-3 songs posted with the story.

Masterpiece...

Life - is an art.
YOU are the artist.

Water Pot 1+2

Finally. The Art Teacher said we could take some of these preliminary sketches home! I tried to bring them home last week. The Teach saw them on my desk and snuck them back over to his pile on the light table. Explaining all the while that although he was done looking at them he still needed to document them. He was basically paying a compliment to me, saying that he need to record my work, as a reflection of his work - as teacher. =)
If the water pot here looks a little goofy, it's because All Art Teachers want you to work big and my beautiful, precious, lovely, I-just-want-to-hug-it all the time scanner doesn't accomodate the size drawings I've been doing. (niether will the big one at the Mac Lab in the Wrightstone Art Building on Campus) So... I scanned twice, played with opacities, lined up image (as best I could), merged the layers, enhanced the tonal qualities then placed a burnt orange layer under to bevel out into a frame for good measure. Thankful all the while that said scanner came with the soft-ware enabling me to do all that fancy foot-work. It has already helped me soooooo much in my other 2 Art classes!The Art Teach really liked this one - all kinds of excited that I "got" the concept that he wanted little to no fluff and all the sight line details of composition kept in there. Heh. I "get" it. Story of my life now, and for the remainder of my time cruising through my studies here at "school", both in and out of the Art Room.
Love to all who pass this way!
Have a happenin' weekend!
Cheerios,
D.
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$$$$$$$$$$$$

No.
Didn't win the Big Lotto.
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However I am celebrating a little victory.
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I Just made it the last 15 days or so, squeeking by, penniless... and today is PAYDAY!
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Of course I've been at school and I've no idea what was directly deposited into my bank account, yet, but I do know some (not near enough, most likely) went in there TODAY! =)
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Now, I can pay all those creditors, I gave the heads up to, earlier this month - I hope.
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Doh! Lookit da time! Back to school I go...

What seek Ye...?

I've been waiting for this. I was impressed with the final speaker's remarks at this past Sunday's worship services. Brother Hardy, a high priest, was visiting on behalf of our stake (area) council. I asked Bro. Hardy if I could have a copy of his talk. He sent it to me along with some supporting notes he said he did not end up using. (time & the holy spirit sometimes dictate edits at the pulpit) Bro. Hardy used the published remarks from 2 general authorities along with Biblical and Book of Mormon references in his talk to sustain his topic points. Here is Brother Hardy's talk:

WHAT SEEK YE……………
Good morning brothers and sisters, it’s nice to be here with you today. I would like to convey to you the love of the stake presidency. These good men work very hard and pray very often for the members of this stake. They are truly dedicated individuals.
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In John 1 35-38 we read: "Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples;
"And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God! "And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. "Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye?"
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Brothers and sisters, what seek ye?
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Your very presence here today would indicate that one of the things you seek is a closer relationship with our savior. Your presence here indicates you are seeking after eternal values. As the 13th article of faith states: “13 We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.�
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We find a world today looking for answers to the question, What seek ye? in so many different ways. Too many are sowing seeds of a fruit that will not nourish an eternal soul.
In Luke 8 5-15 we read the parable of the sower:
5 A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. 6 And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. 8 And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
The deciples inquired of Jesus what the meaning of this parable might be. This is his reply:
11 Now the parable is this: The seed• is the word of God. 12 Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.
13 They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation• fall away. 14 And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked• with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. 15 But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest• and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit• with patience.
Brothers and sisters the key here is the ground not the seed. The seed is the word of God, we know it will be sowed over the face of the whole earth and it is perfect seed. The ground on the other hand is us, the inhabitants of this world. We determine what type of ground we will be. How well do we prepare ourselves to accept and nurture this seed that it might bear fruit? Are we the “good ground�?
Those who are the ground by the wayside hear the word then allow the Devil into their lives and take the word of God out of their hearts. Those who are on the rock receive the word with joy, but develop no root and fall away when temptation comes.
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Those who are among the thorns may describe the plight of many of the world today. They have heard the word and go forth and I quote: “and are choked• with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.�
This particularly hits home with me. Now I don’t feel that I pursue the pleasures of this life to excess, but the reference to being choked with cares and riches might apply. Don’t get me wrong, I am not a wealthy man in terms of worldly possessions. I’m just an average guy, but I fear I sometimes let cares about worldly issues and the pursuit financial reward choke my spiritual progress. It is a dilemma I dare say many of us have. I realize that many of us are not wealthy. One poor man said, “I know that money isn’t everything. For example, it isn’t mine.� And another observed, “Even books on how to be happy without money cost more than I can afford.� However, the relationship of money to happiness is at best questionable. An unknown author said, “Money is an article that may be used as a universal passport to everywhere except heaven, and as a universal provider of everything except happiness.�
Once we can feed, cloth and shelter our family, how much more money do we need…..is there ever enough, and will we have to pay a spiritual price to get it?
Those who are choked with thorns of cares and riches and pleasures quote “bring no fruit to perfection.� Let us rather be the good ground and with an honest and good heart, and with patience bring forth fruit an hundredfold.
A major problem we face in preaching the gospel in many areas of the world is the general apathy toward religion, toward things spiritual. Too many are very comfortable with their present lifestyle and feel no need to do more than "eat, drink, and be merry". In 2 Ne. 28: 8 we read “And there shall also be many which shall say: Eat•, drink, and be merry; nevertheless, fear God—he will justify• in committing a little sin•; yea, lie• a little, take the advantage of one because of his words, dig a pit• for thy neighbor; there is no• harm in this; and do all these things, for tomorrow we die; and if it so be that we are guilty, God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God.�
These people are not interested in anything but themselves—here and now.
Societies in which this secular lifestyle takes root have a deep spiritual and moral price to pay. The pursuit of individual freedoms, without regard to laws the Lord has established will result in the curse of extreme worldliness and selfishness, the decline of public and private morality.
Such secular societies are described in Doctrine and Covenants 1:16: "They seek not the Lord to establish his righteousness, but every man walketh in his own way, and after the image of his own god, whose image is in the likeness of the world."
For this reason, the Lord's Church was instructed to follow the prophet and seek something different from what the world is seeking.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints provides answers to the question, What seek ye? Our Church is the means by which men and women find our Savior and His gospel.
Most people are searching for happiness.
It is obvious that since we don’t always desire that which is good for us, having all our desires granted to us would not bring us happiness.
In fact, instant and unrestrained gratification of all our desires would be the shortest and most direct route to unhappiness.
In Alma 41:3–7 we read 3. And it is requisite with the justice of God that men should be judged according to their works; and if their works were good in this life, and the desires of their hearts were good, that they should also, at the last day, be restored unto that which is good.
4. And if their works are evil they shall be restored unto them for evil. Therefore, all things shall be restored to their proper order, every thing to its natural frame—mortality raised to immortality, corruption to incorruption—raised to endless happiness to inherit the kingdom of God, or to endless misery to inherit the kingdom of the devil, the one on one hand, the other on the other—5. The one raised to happiness according to his desires of happiness, or good according to his desires of good; and the other to evil according to his desires of evil; for as he has desired to do evil all the day long even so shall he have his reward of evil when the night cometh.6. And so it is on the other hand. If he hath repented of his sins, and desired righteousness until the end of his days, even so he shall be rewarded unto righteousness.7. These are they that are redeemed of the Lord; yea, these are they that are taken out, that are delivered from that endless night of darkness; and thus they stand or fall; for behold, they are their own "judges", whether to do good or do evil.
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Both happiness and unhappiness are much of our own making.
A friend sent me this e-mail: A 92 year-old, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably coifed and shaved perfectly, even though he is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today. His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready. As he manoeuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on his window. "I love it," he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy. "Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait." "That doesn't have anything to do with it," he replied. "Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged ... it's how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it. "It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do.
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Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I'll focus on
the new day and all the happy memories I've stored away. Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from it what you've put in it. So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories and thank you for filling my Memory bank. Remember the five simple rules to be happy:
1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.
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As the Prophet Joseph Smith told us, “Happiness is the object and design of our existence; and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that leads to it; and this path is virtue, uprightness, faithfulness, holiness, and keeping all the commandments of God�
The more faithfully we keep the commandments of God, the happier we will generally be.
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Pleasure is often confused with happiness but is by no means synonymous with it.
The poet Robert Burns wrote an excellent definition of pleasure in these lines:
But pleasures are like poppies spread: You seize the flow’r, its bloom is shed; Or like the snow falls in the river, A moment white—then melts for ever; Or like the borealis race, That flit ere you can point their place; Or like the rainbow’s lovely form Evanishing amid the storm.
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Pleasure, unlike happiness, is that which pleases us or gives us gratification. Usually it endures for only a short time. We are enticed daily to pursue worldly pleasures that may divert us from the path to happiness. We are not content with what we have and think that happiness comes from having more or acquiring more or being more. We look for happiness but go in the wrong direction to find it.
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The story is told of Ali Hafed, a wealthy ancient Persian who owned much land and many productive fields, orchards, and gardens and had money out at interest. He had a lovely family and at first was contented because he was wealthy, and wealthy because he was contented.
An old priest came to Ali Hafed and told him that if he had a diamond the size of his thumb, he could purchase a dozen farms like his. Ali Hafed said, “Will you tell me where I can find diamonds?�
The priest told him, “If you will find a river that runs through white sands, between high mountains, in those white sands you will always find diamonds.�
Said Ali Hafed, “I will go.�
So he sold his farm, collected his money that was at interest, and left his family in the charge of a neighbor, and away he went in search of diamonds, traveling through many lands in Asia and Europe. After years of searching, his money was all spent, and he passed away in rags and wretchedness.
Meanwhile, the man who purchased Ali Hafed’s farm one day led his camel out into the garden to drink, and as the animal put his nose into the shallow waters, the farmer noticed a curious flash of light in the white sands of the stream. Reaching in, he pulled out a black stone containing a strange eye of light. Not long after, the same old priest came to visit Ali Hafed’s successor and found that in the black stone was a diamond. As they rushed out into the garden and stirred up the white sands with their fingers, they came up with many more beautiful, valuable gems. According to the story, this marked the discovery of the diamond mines of Golconda, the most valuable diamond mines in the history of the ancient world.
Had Ali Hafed remained at home and dug in his own cellar, or anywhere in his own fields, rather than traveling in strange lands where he eventually faced starvation and ruin, he would have had “acres of diamonds.� We feel only pity for Ali Hafed as we picture him wandering homeless and friendless farther and farther away from the happiness he thought he would find in digging up diamonds in a far-off place. Yet how many times do we look for our happiness at a distance in space or time rather than right now, in our own homes, with our own families and friends?
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In the story The Little Prince, the fox was wiser than he knew when he said, “Now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye�
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The Savior of the world taught us to seek that inner peace which taps the innate happiness in our souls. He said: “My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid� (John 14:27).
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That inner peace spoken of by the Savior seems elusive when we are preoccupied with things we have or things we wish we had. In a time when we are both obsessed and consumed with the possession and the acquisition of objects, the counsel of Moses seems more needed than ever: “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, … nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s� (Ex. 20:17).
In Mosiah 2:41 we read : “I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness�.
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Many of us are consumed with being successful.
An unknown poet has written:
Success is speaking words of praise,
In cheering other people’s ways,
In doing just the best you can.
With every task and every plan.
It’s silence when your speech would hurt,
Politeness when your neighbor’s curt.
It’s deafness when the scandal flows,
And sympathy with others’ woes.
It’s loyalty when duty calls.
It’s courage when disaster falls.
It’s patience when the hours are long.
It’s found in laughter and in song.
It’s in the silent time of prayer,
In happiness and in despair.
In all of life and nothing less,
We find the thing we call success.
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If we truly seek after Christ and his blessings of happiness through obedience there is a key element that we must embrace and that is Charity. There are many types of charity but particularly significant in these trying times is to show love, even to your enemies, “bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you�
Have you ever been hated, cursed or despitefully used?
IT IS EASY TO BE CHARITABLE TOWARDS THE PEOPLE WE LIKE. I HAVE A LOT OF FRIENDS AND IT MAKES ME FEEL REALLY GOOD WHEN I CAN HELP THEM OR GIVE THEM A KIND WORD OR A LITTLE ENCOURAGEMENT. BUT I WILL ADMIT THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE THAT ARE HARD FOR ME TO LIKE AND IN TURN I AM SURE THERE ARE THOSE THAT DON’T JUST DON’T LIKE ME. WE MAY HAVE OPPOSING OPINIONS ABOUT RELIGION OR POLITICS, OR WE MAY HAVE OFFENDED EACH OTHER OR TAKEN OFFENSE. IT MAY GO BEYOND DISLIKE. THERE MAY BE BITTER ANGER AND HATRED INVOLVED. HOW DO WE SHOW CHARITY IN THESE CASES?
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IN mathew 5: 43-48 we read
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43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy.
44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
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THE SCRIPTURES DOCUMENT NUMEROUS CHARITABLE ACTS. ONE I FIND PARTICULARLY POIGNANT IS THE LOVE AND CHARITY MORONI SHOWED FOR HIS BRETHREN.
MORONI HAD WITNESSED THE GENOCIDE OF HIS PEOPLE THE NEPHITES. HE HAD BATTLED AT COMORAH AGAINST THE LAMANITES. IN THE FINAL BATTLE HE WITNESSED THE SLAUGHTER OF OVER 200,000 NEPHITES.
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MORONI FINISHED THE WORK HIS FATHER, MORMON, HAD STARTED. HE DID THIS TO BENEFIT THE DESCENDENTS OF THE VERY PEOPLE WHO NOW SOUGHT TO TAKE HIS LIFE. HIS WRITINGS END ABOUT 36 YEARS AFTER WE LAST HEAR FROM MORMON.
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AFTER HAVING FINISHED THE ABRIDGEMENT OF ETHER’S WRITINGS FROM THE 24 PLATES MORONI SEEMS ASTONISHED TO STILL BE ALIVE. WE TALKED ABOUT LOVING YOUR ENEMIES. HERE IS WHAT MORONI WRITES.
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MORONI 1: 1-4
1 NOW I, Moroni, after having made an end of abridging the account of the people of Jared, I had supposed not to have written more, but I have not as yet perished; and I make not myself known to the Lamanites lest they should destroy me.
2 For behold, their wars are exceedingly fierce among themselves; and because of their hatred they put to death every Nephite that will not deny the Christ.
3 And I, Moroni, will not deny the Christ; wherefore, I wander whithersoever I can for the safety of mine own life.
4 Wherefore, I write a few more things, contrary to that which I had supposed; for I had supposed not to have written any more; but I write a few more things, that perhaps they may be of worth• unto my brethren, the Lamanites, in some future day, according to the will of the Lord.
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What a stellar example of charity to his enemy and their posterity.
Take note that he refers to them as his brethren.
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Our search for happiness largely depends on the degree of righteousness we attain, the degree of selflessness we acquire, the amount and quality of service we render, and the inner peace that we enjoy. Some of us may have detoured from the road to peace and happiness through transgression. Jesus has provided us with a chance to overcome that transgression. He urges us begin the process of clearing up any problem so that we may again enjoy a quiet and a peaceful conscience. When we truly repent of our sins, the Lord has promised, “I, the Lord, remember them no more� (D&C 58:42).
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“What seek ye� brothers and sisters?
May we always seek out that which is good and remember in our hearts the last article of faith we memorize in our primary sunday school lessons.
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“13 We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.�

Lead, Kindly Light

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I couldn't stand it. That dang poem is just too, icky dark, for me to leave up here for any great length of time... I don't care if it is October... and rather than just having to watch out for the normal "lions and tigers and bears, oh, my!" along the yellow-brick roadway of your life, we oughta, beware of "goblins and monsters and ghosts...eek!" right along with every other imaginable giddy-up, fixin' on trick or treating your neighborhood, this month - too.
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Today's worship services were "primo" for me. Several concepts were touched upon that I'd been turning over in my heart and mind during the course of the last week or so. I always feel so humbled and amazed, when what appears to me, to be, arbitrary, private thoughts, meandering in mid-brain... Well! When these thoughts are not only echoed - but expounded upon and further explained in the Sunday worship service talks? Dang that's down right thought affirming! =) This happens all the time, to me, with this church. I feel greatly blessed because of it - I've learned and changed so much. Makes one feel more and more like the butterfly and less and less like the worm, ya know what I mean?
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The first 2 talks were on the importance of Hymns. Speaker one, underscored how important music can be in setting the tone, in welcoming and maintaining a peaceful spirit. I think we all instinctively know how powerful, spiritually, music can be. Quoting and drawing upon the advice of a member of the quoram of the 12 apostles, she suggested (and later encouraged the membership) to commit as many hymns as possible to their memory. "You'll be amazed," she said, "at how often you'll find a tune or the words from a hymn running through your mind at just the right moment to lift you up, or to give you good comfort and cheer." I found myself nodding in full agreement. I've already done this with great success! I love that she was encouraging us all to do more with it. One of her Sons then joined with her at the podium, and they sang together, an acappella version, of this:

Lead Kindly Light
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Lead, kindly Light, amid th' encircling gloom; Lead thou me on!
The night is dark, and I am far from home; Lead thou me on!
Keep thou my feet; I do not ask to see The distant scene -- one step enough for me.
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I was not ever thus, nor pray'd that thou Shouldst lead me on.
I loved to choose and see my path; but now, Lead thou me on!
I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears, Pride ruled my will. Remember not past years.
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So long thy pow'r hath, blest me, sure it still Will lead me on
O'ver moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till The night is gone.
And with the morn those angel faces smile, Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile!
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This was SO transfixedly beautiful! To hear the voices of Mother and son weaving together in harmony - so sweet, perfectly alined within the beautiful lyrics there... and the additional background and stories she chose to give to us! Just a wonderful opening piece and a wonderful experience to soak in.
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Like the speakers this morning I love the hymns, they teach good doctrine, they lift your spirit, they invite His spirit to be with you, they are specific in their address of Diety, and loving them so, it is difficult to pick only one as a favorite.
The second speaker did a selected reading of the hymn: "Ye Simple Souls Who Stray". Charles Wesley, a founder of the Methodist Church, and prolific hymn writter (Hundreds of them!) wrote this hymn, she sighted this as a favorite, although she said she didn't recall ever singing it when she was a member of that Church, and rather than sing, as I said, she recited the words to us:
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Ye Simple Souls Who Stray - Far from the path of peace, That lonely unfrequented way to life and happiness, Why will ye folly love, And throng the down-ward road, And hate the wisdom from above, And mock the sons of God?
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Madness and misery - Ye count our life beneath, And nothing great or good can see Or glourious in our death. But thru the Holy Ghost We witness better things, For he whose blood is all our boast Has made us priest and kings.
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Riches unsearchable - In Jesus' love we know, And pleasures spring from the well Of life our souls o'er flow. As we seek heav'nly bliss, Angels our steps attend, And God himself our Father is, And Jesus is our Friend.
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With him we walk in white, We in his image shine; Our robes are robes of golrious light, Our righteousness divine. On all the kings of earth With pity we look down; And claim, in virtue of our birth, A never fading crown.
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There's more, so much more I'd love to turn you onto, but this is getting lengthy and I've got studies to attend to... .
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I'll leave you with what I consider to be a most favorite hymn of mine. It is straight scripture set to music: (wish I could share that, the music, with you right now! smiles & sighs.)
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Love One Another
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As I have loved you, Love one another.
This new commandment: Love one another.
By this shall men know. Ye are my disciples,
If ye have love One to another.
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(John 13: 34-35)
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Have a great week!!!

The Black Heart

Here's an October poem.
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It seems to fit the month and the mood.
I was a tender 22, the October these words came to me, sooooooooo... that should explain a lot.
The concept of how treacherous hearts could be was just dawning on me.
If ever one was to perform this piece of poetry, I'd suggest they do it to the sound of a live heart, beating its rhythm in the background, that's what I imagined when I wrote the thing down on paper in 1982.
There is a syncopation here of 7 & 6, (syllables per line) somehow, and I don't know why (?), that rhythm seemed as important as rhymes did for this one.
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BTW, I'm stepping away from the blogging world for a while. I've got to "tighten-up" at school, work, and home. Any of you who've ever tried to carry a full 15 hours + balance out the budget and home chores, all by your own little lonesome selves will understand why.... Meanwhile, I only wish I could find a color darker than black to write this poem in, but I'm not willing to go into that realm of outer darkness to get it.
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The Black Heart of the wicked -
outlined by falling tears,
The Black Heart of the wicked -
keep evil ever near.
The Black Heart is a dark thing -
casting shadow on your soul,
The Black Heart is a dark thing -
for whom the bell does toll.
The Black Heart pumps our sorrows -
and runs the feeling deep,
The Black Heart pumps our sorrows -
and robs me of my sleep.
The Black Heart beats a rhythm -
a heavy hearted pace,
The Black Heart beats a rhythm -
of time etched on your face.
The Black Heart is so empty -
no purity, no truth,
The Black Heart is so empty -
it has no love to lose.
And Black Hearts leave you lonely -
their coldness never ends,
A Black Heart left me lonely -
do broken hearts 'er mend?
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~

Ghost stories

. Legendary stories... Maintain that the old, all but abandoned cemetery, northeast of town is haunted. Futhermore, there is a special grouping of graves enclosed within an iron fencing out there. ...

According to the local lore, if you dare step inside of that iron gating and offend the spirits resting there... Bad stuff will happen to you.
. Back in the 1970s some Highschool boys were rumored to have braved the test and before the turn of the year was through, tragedy had in deed struck. All three were involved in a horrible accident out on the country roads.
. Tempting fate once more, they'd begun a game of ditch 'em, with some boys from Indianola (the next little village, east of here).
The Indianola kids got home fine and never knew, until the next day or so, that the game had gone deadly for their unlucky rivals!
. There'd been a hair-pin turn, you see, and the McCook boys weren't prepared for it. Fishtailing and wide-eyed, no doubt, at the very last, on that graveled road. They missed the turn completely and burrowed their hot rodding car into an embankment. Death was immediate for the front passenger. The driver, somehow impaled within the wreckage, slowly bled to death as his back seat buddy tried to come to terms with his own shock and pain, all the while keeping up the chatter and hope that help would find them soon. Imagine how he felt, when his buddy, the driver of the car - could no longer answer him... Hurt, scared, alone and in the dark with 2 dead companions...
He was weeks in the hospital - not expected to live, but live he did, suffering a pronounced limp and walking with a cane through the halls of the Highschool and into the rest of his life.
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. Our Legend has it that the dead passenger was first to hop the fence with the driver quickly following and the boy who would forever limp,(?) - he only stuck one leg over the line.
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Beware and be respectful of the dead!
Especially out at old, Box Elder!

Handpainting

Yea.
Remember those beautiful old handpainted photographs that people had done 'back in the day' before color photography became so cheap and easy?
A recent project in Digital Imaging was to create a 'handcolored' photograph using the computer and working on a photograph we were to bring from home.
(not steal from the internet - teacher being wary of copyright infringements)
I was going to "do" my Mother's graduation photo.
She actually paid to have that done back in 1950-something, but my sister got that copy. All I have is a smaller B&W version.
I decided I would do that little pix of my nephew instead.
I learned alot doing this project.
One thing I learned was that it was really good instinct on my part to go with a copy that I had color on, to refer to, first!
(That became very important in my learning curve here!)
I must have trash-canned a half dozen attempts before I realized that:
you got to go supper light in your color opasities and paint flow in photoshop & over lay colors on top of each other, just like you really would do painting, to even come close to NOT having a 'cartoon' caracter...
plus the whole idea of the project is to allow some of the grey scale to show through - that's the beautiful effect, of the handpaints, after all.
AND I learned that when you've done something you are pleased with, SAVE it.
This creates a cheap way of getting back to something you like, if you do happen to really screw up bad with your next set of choices.
AND speaking of choice, I found out that what I thought was a great color for lips and cheeks and hair really sucked!
I was soooo far off, so I resorted to flipping back and forth between my original colored photograph and the one I was trying to create.
I found that I could use the 'color picker' to select something from the cheek area, lets say... (and it would look like mud - really dark!) and then go to my project & turn that opasity way down on that color I just picked up, using the paint-brush tool, and... ureeka!
It would be much closer to what I really wanted. :P
So! That's the boring details.
Here's the Original, the grey scale, and what I finally came up with for the handpaint project.
So much fun I think I'll be doing that old photo of Mom, next...
. Original.....
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Grey-scale
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The Handpaint.
I think my sister will like it. =)
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Love and best regards to you and yours for a marvelous weekend!!!
D. ~

Autumn - Sweet!

On the desk top today <-(btw, that's a link to some great pix) :

A woodland in full color
Is awesome as a forrest fire;
but a single tree
is like a dancing tounge of flame
to warm the heart.
-- Hal Borland
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Isn't it the best time to take a drive in the country? ...maybe this weekend, I can (make a major investment / deposit, into the ol' gas tank) grab a friend and maybe a camera...

Born in Pain...

This is an old, and I think rather angelic picture of my nephew. The one we've so joyously refered to in the past as "the little lord of leaping" because he's such an atheltic, active child.
This past weekend I had a "new" visitor in my Sunday School class. (for the Youth) One of the families is active in Foster Parenting, and they have had several very young children placed with them recently. One of which is just a teething infant by the name of "Payne". Yep. Sounds funny doesn't it? Calling a sweet little baby, "Payne" - go ahead, say it outloud while you're sitting there at your monitor... knowing what you know of the big, bad world, and let your mind wonder over to how this child will be recieved with such a name as "Payne".
I've been thinking about it for a couple days now. I seem to remember reading somethings in the little book by Bruce Wilkinson, titled The Prayer of Jabez which gives me some hope for little Payne. Have any of you ever read it?
To me, the book talks about hidden treasures because it details something unique - hidden away in the least read chapters of the least read book of the entire Holy Bible. The first 9 chapters of 1Chronicles are taken up with name after name of geneology, the Hebrew tribes, then 44 names into the 4th chapter, a story suddenly breaks through:
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Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, "Because I bore him in pain." And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, "Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!" So God granted him what he requested. (1 Chronicles 4: 9-10)
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Then in the very next verse, the roll call for the tribe of Judah picks up again, as if nothing has happened. And, as Mr.Wilkinson points out, you can search the scriptures, front to back for more information on Jabez, but that is all the scribes wrote. The interesting thing is that SOMETHING about the man, Jabez, gave them cause for pause at all - to switch tactics in mid-count and pay a tribute of sorts, to this individual out of all those being accounted for (?!) it's a red flag for "remarkable" isn't it?
Wilkinson also does a great service to his reader in reminding them how important a name was in ancient Hebrew Culture; a fact still holding true, around the globe, when you think about how much time, attention, and $$$, image is given.
Could Jabez have been hyper-sensitive, and adverse himself, to the possibilities of inflicting pain - solely by virture of the name he'd been given? Was his character and sensitivity maginfied by what his mother had to say about him and his arrival into the world?
As a sunday school teacher I'm constantly looking for ways to make the lessons of the gospel stand up and live for the youth, so that they might 'liken the scriptures unto themselves'.
So I found it interesting that I was presented with baby Payne this Sunday. . . and the brief biblical note on 'Jabez' sprang to mind.
I hope and pray she learns to walk as honorably as scriptures say Jabez, of old, did and that God grants her every good blessing she may have need of and requests for, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

2 Portraits

1977? 1978?
I decided It would be cool to take a pix of myself in the mirror and then, I drew the pix. I thought the flash was great! Even though it wiped out my face. [Insert smilie.] :) Goodness, I forgot how long my hair was! This other is an abstract and a preliminary thumbnail of sorts. I did it as a watercolor once. Now I'm thinking of changing an element or 2, and doing some digital work with it. Meanwhile, I'm working on something new to put here! I am, I am!

Reality check

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Someone does something, directly to you, that causes you serious discomfort, even physical pain.
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You defend yourself, declairing your pain.
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Someone then denies they've hurt you and repeats the original action - that is, in fact, hurting you.
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(Hint: This is not the first time, nor is it the second time, you are beginning to see a pattern and it's deffinately NOT repentance. lol!)
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I know what I would do.
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What do you do?
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Bloggers?

(Happy Wednesday!)

Note to self:

Listen to the conference talks, this week!
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Explanation to any & all of you:
This passing weekend marked the 175th general conference of my church.
I always look forward to 1st listening to the church leaders talk and then, reading each talk, as they are published in the church magazine, the Ensign. (April's, talks are published in the May edition, October's talks are published in the November edition.) Those are the only editions I make a point of reading cover to cover. They are like that living water to me, my soul just drinks them in.
My blog, my topic, so ...since I did not attend the conference, due to work and study concerns this weekend, I'm reminding myself here, and now, to listen this week to what the Apostles had to say.
I spent more than a few moments yesterday getting the proper player installed so that I could listen and study at the same time. (HA! If only I had more trial and instant success with all things digital rather than my standard, trial and error!)
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Why the importance, why the note to self?
>Draws me closer to the Savior.
>Love the edified feeling I always come away with.
>Always facinated over how much of what is said, hits me like they are talking directly to me, (even though they are addressing the entire body of the Church of Jesus Christ).
>This gives me a major lift in the proper way of dealing with 'whatever' will be coming into my life in the next 6 months.
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Cheerios2U all!
I'm off to class (again!)
D. ~

Chain e-mails

I almost always trashcan them!
I just couldn't do it with this one.
I liked the ultimate message way too much.
So it's a post here now.
Hope you like it too:
Let's see if you send it back. We all know or knew someone like this!!
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One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school.
His name was Kyle.
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It looked like he was carrying all of his books.
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I thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday?
He must really be a nerd."
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I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.
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As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him. They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt. His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him. He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes. My heart went out to him. So, I jogged over to him, and as he crawled around looking for his glasses, I saw a tear in his eye. As I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks. " They really should get lives.
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He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!"
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There was a big smile on his face.
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It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.
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I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived. As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before. He said he had gone to private school before now. I would have never hung out with a private school kid before. We talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books.
He turned out to be a pretty cool kid.
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I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends
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He said yes.
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We hung out all weekend and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him, and my friends thought the same of him.
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Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again.
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I stopped him and said, "Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday! "He just laughed and handed me half the books.
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Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends. When we were seniors, we began to think about college. Kyle decided on Georgetown, and I was going to Duke. I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem. He was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a football scholarship.
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Kyle was valedictorian of our class.
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I teased him all the time about being a nerd.
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He had to prepare a speech for graduation.
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I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak.
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Graduation day, I saw Kyle. He looked great. He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school. He filled out and actually looked good in glasses. He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him. Boy, sometimes I was jealous. Today was one of those days. I could see that he was nervous about his speech. So, I smacked him on the back and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll be great!"
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He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled.
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"Thanks," he said.
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As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began "Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years. Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends... I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them.
I am going to tell you a story."
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I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met.
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He had planned to kill himself over the weekend.
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He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home.
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He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.
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"Thankfully, I was saved. My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."
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I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment.
I saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile. Not until that moment did I realize its depth.
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Never underestimate the power of your actions.
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With one small gesture you can change a person's life.
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For better or for worse.
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God puts us all in each other's lives to impact one another in some way.
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Look for God in others.
.................................
You now have two choices, you can:
1) Pass this on to your friends or
2) Delete it and act like it didn't touch your heart.
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As you can see, I took choice number 1.
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"Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly."
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There is no beginning or end:
Yesterday is history.
Tomorrow is mystery.
Today is a gift.
That’s why they call it ‘the present.’
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It's National Friendship Week. Show your friends how much you care.
Send this to everyone you consider a FRIEND.
If it comes back to you, then you'll know you have a circle of friends.
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WHEN YOU RECEIVE THIS LETTER, YOU'RE REQUESTED TO SEND IT TO AT LEAST 10 PEOPLE, INCLUDING THE PERSON WHO SENT IT TO YOU.
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Sam Fisher
303.861.2833
Sam.931@Comcast.net

I have no earthly idea who Sam Fisher is. I'm guesssing he originated the e-mail. He must be somebody's friend... Who knows? Maybe he has a buddy by the name of Kyle and went to Duke on a Football scholarship....

Claranet 1978

Again, High School stuff - but since I'm late posting an art piece I thought it'd be nice to post twice. The last one was fantasy, she come out of no where, this one is life drawing, still life that is. Any woodwind people in the house? Have a great week end everyone!

Carbinated

E-gad!
Will I ever post a more contemporary piece?
Busy is good. However I hoped I'd have been able to post something newer, sooner. *sheesh!* someday... meanwhile I just scanned and shaped up this old "doodle". I named it carbonation, because the woman looked a little smashed when I'd finished it out. I have no idea who she is. Same story as "poochee" - she just 'appeared' on the page and I drew her in. There is no date or signature, but I'm guessing early 80's (1982 - maybe?) note the blue, purple, green hair and bright orange lip gloss mixing it up with those slightly crossed blue-green eyes. LOL! Gee-whiz. Here's another one for Op to speculate on... what was I doing when I drew this up!