I keep my paint brush with me
Wherever I may go,
In case I need to cover up
So the real me doesn’t show.

I’m so afraid to show you me,
Afraid of what you’ll do - that
You might laugh or say mean things.
I’m afraid I might lose you.

I’d like to remove all my paint coats
To show you the real, true me,
But I want you to try and understand,
I need you to accept what you see.

So if you’ll be patient and close your eyes,
I’ll strip off all my coats real slow.
Please understand how much it hurts
To let the real me show.

Now my coats are all stripped off.
I feel naked, bare and cold,
And if you still love me with all that you see,
You are my friend, pure as gold.

I need to save my paint brush, though,
And hold it in my hand,
I want to keep it handy
In case someone doesn’t understand.

So please protect me, my dear friend
And thanks for loving me true,
But please let me keep my paint brush with me
Until I love me, too.
(Bettie B. Youngs)

A fire to light inside your heart,
to feel the warm embers glow.
A piece of the sun's warm rays,
to bask in it's firery show.

I GIVE TO YOU
A piece of a rainbow to color your world,
when all seems totally gray
Some roses for the sweet perfume,
to kiss your senses with its bouquet.

I GIVE TO YOU
A sprinkling of some twinkling stars,
to wish upon at night.
The morning dew to kiss the day.
To bask in it's delight.

I GIVE TO YOU
A summer's breeze to caress your face,
to show that someone cares
The sweet song of the nightingale,
to remind you that they're always there.

I GIVE TO YOU
My lasting friendship, always true.
A gift of love to hold inside,
whenever you feel blue,
or just because you need a friend.

This friend... that will always be there for you!!
(unknown)

If we could have a lifetime wish
A dream that would come true,
We'd pray to God with all our hearts
For yesterday and You.
A thousand words can't bring you back
We know because we've tried...
Neither will a thousand tears
We know because we've cried...
You left behind our broken hearts
And happy memories too...
But we never wanted memories
We only wanted You.
(Unknown)

A mother is someone who cares all the time
Even when she would rather not
She gives of herself for the good of us all
Giving it all that she's got

Without a thank you, or any accolades
She continues to brighten our day
Getting us ready to go to school
Making sure we are safe when at play

She watches us grow, knowing we'll leave
I'm sure this must tug at her heart
Still she continues to bring us up right
So, on our own, we will have a great start

Her job doesn't end when we leave the nest
She continues to love us and care
So here's a belated thank you dear mom
For always being right there.
(Jim Brady)

The mysteries of nature,
The sun rays searching spied
The drops of dew so crystal clear
Like diamonds glorified.

An angel must have cried last night,
Tears falling from the sky
Must have seeped down through the stars
In heaven, way up high.

Do angels cry the drops of dew
That grace the early morn,
Then scamper off to disappear
When dawn's first light is born?

Perhaps that dawn, while creeping forth
Upon the secrets bold...
Could tell us if those silver drops
Were touched by wands of gold.
(Mikie Davis)

Always have a dream...
Forget about the days
but don't forget your hours in the sun.

Forget about the times
you've been defeated
but don't forget the victories you've won.

Forget about mistakes
that you can't change now
but don't forget the lessons
that you've learned.

Forget about misfortunes you encounter
but don't forget the about the
Blessings you have received.

Forget about the days
when you've been lonely
but don't forget
the friendly smiles you've seen.

Forget about the plans
that didn't seem
to work out right,
but don't forget
to always have a
dream...

To accept and acknowledge ourselves
for the less than perfect beings that we are.
To honor myself for the mother
that I practice to be each day.
To acknowledge my fears and
walk forward to change.

To be mindful that the only constant
in life is change.
To judge not myself or another
for we are all the same.
To remember to breathe.
To remind myself to act and not react.
To listen with sincerity.

To create an atmosphere where questions
and solutions become self evident.
To remember to laugh.
To allow my children to express themselves, and
To recognize that expression
takes on many different forms.
To know it’s okay to cry.

To make time for the things that I love and
To spend time with those that I love.
To remember that today is tomorrow’s memory.
To bestow roots yet wings to solo in balance.
To observe my children and learn from them.

To remember that "I can learn"
rather than "I already know".
To hold my children safe from harm.
To remember that when I love myself,
I love all others.
To embrace my children as well as
the child within me.

To be thankful each and every day
for the gift we call life.
To be conscious that I am guiding these children and
To nourish their free spirits.
To remember that all children are our children and
That our children belong to the universe,
and are tomorrow.
(Patricia Kindermann)

Just close your Eyes and open your heart,
And feel your worries and cares depart.
Just yield yourself to the Father above,
And let him hold you secure in his love.

For life on earth grows more involved,
With endless problems that can't be solved,
But God only ask us to do our best,
Then he will take over and finish the rest...

So when you are tired, discouraged and blue,
There is always one door that is open to you,
And that is the door to The House of Prayer,
And you'll find God waiting to meet you there.

And The House of Prayer is no further away,
than the quiet spot where you kneel and pray.
For the heart is a temple when God is there
As we place ourselves in his loving care.

And he hears every prayer and answers each one
When we Pray in His name - Thy will be done.
The burdens that seemed too heavy to bear
Are lifted away on the wings of a prayer.
(Author Unknown)

Something greater than your mind,
your heart,
and even your love
is my love for you, my child.
(Mary Kim)

A smile; that's all I'd take.
A look; that's all I'd need.
A word, a glance of true compassion
was all required to plant that seed.
A seed of hope, of continuance,
that says, "I can go on!"
Something that would enable me
to look ahead, be strong.
It was you who became gardener,
who sowed that seed inside my soul.
And with your love as nurturer
that seed's begun to grow.
So here's to you: my thanks, my praise,
and my neverending vow
to cultivate that newfound life
no matter what, no matter how.
You gave me strength, you gave me life
and so I sow unto you
the blossoms of your gift to me.
Your soul shall be a garden, too.
(Marg Smith)

I gather sea washed shells,
storm-tossed to shore,
and ponder
the way in which they write,
in lines and whorls
so precisely placed,
the history of
another life.
As I bend to pick them up,
for dreams and awe
and memories,
I think...
perhaps...
humanity does write
its story
outside in.
A soul may be
a perfect shell,
on last breath lofted
and tossed,
with final wave
of love,
to shores of memory...
a life and love entire,
left here behind
for other minds
to read and save
and then hand down
into
eternity.
(J. Whitaker)

There is a special place
contained within us all.
Bordering reality and illusion,
it is a place of wonder
and endless possibilities.
It is our personal creation
where time has no hold on us.
It is the realm of daydreams.
A kingdom of magic,
where past, present, and the future,
flow together,
like the finest grains of sand
in an hour glass.
In this land, the regrets
and errors of the past are corrected.
The events of the here
and now are explained and changed --
to an outcome of our choosing.
A portal to the past and future
is part of this world.
Stepping lightly through it,
we see the future for all it will be,
or the past as it should have been,
and without effort,
mold it to our desires.
A love lost is always found.
A battle forfeited is always won.
Tears shed are always dried.
So many images appear to us
in a constant montage of sights and sounds.
A passionless love gives way
to passions yet to be found.
A time of regret is softened
by the spell cast around you.
Fear recedes as the soldiers of second chances
marshal to your defense.
It is all there in our world of daydreams.
Such a quiet and tender world
contained within each of us.
With a shake of our head,
we can banish this ethereal existence.
With the simple closing of our eyes
we bring it back again.
Daydreams, such a simple word
for such a destination of infinite sojourns
into the what should have been,
or the might that yet may come to be.
(Jawawin Wolfe)