Jane says…..

When choosing a poem or verse for a life celebration, funeral or memorial service you will first want to consider where you plan to use the poems and verses. Today, many people are going beyond just prayer cards and bookmarks and creating memorial service folders and various memorial favors. You also may wish to print the same poem or verse on thank-you notes that you will send out. If you are using the verse on a small size card obviously you will want to choose a shorter poem or verse.

Next, you will want a verse that most closely captures the essence of the person. Sometimes this may even come in the form of musical verse from the person’s favorite band or singer. You may want to peruse their music selection to see if you can find some song lyrics that might be appropriate. Perhaps a family member or even a young family member could write a poem. Experts recommend writing as an effective form of grieving. Children, although very simple in their thoughts can often write very moving words.

Consider that the poem does not have to be about death but instead how they lived their lives. For example;

“To love for the sake of being loved is human,
but to love for the sake of loving is angelic.”
By Alphonse de Lamartine

Not all horses were born equal.
Some were born to win.
By Mark Twain

To laugh often and much;
to win the respect of the intelligent people
and the affection of children;
to earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;
to appreciate beauty;
to find the best in others;
to leave the world a bit better
whether by a healthy child,
a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition;
to know that one life has breathed easier
because you lived here.
This is to have succeeded.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Love is also a common theme;
To Those Whom I Love and Those Who Love Me
When I am gone, release me, let me go
I have so many things to see and do
You must not tie yourself to me with tears
Be happy that I have had so many years
I gave you my love, you can only guess
How much you gave me in happiness
I think you for the love each have shown
But now it is time I traveled on alone

So grieve a while for me, if grieve you must
Then let your grief be comforted by trust
It is only for a while that we must part
So bless the memories in your heart

I will not be far away, for life goes on
So if you need me, call and I will come
Though you can not see or touch me, I will be near
And if you listen with your heart, you will hear
All of my love around you soft and clear

Then, when you must come this way alone
I will greet you with a smile and a
“Welcome Home”
Mary Alice Ramish

Love Lives On
Those we love remain with us
for love itself lives on,
and cherished memories never fade
because a loved one’s gone.
Those we love can never be
more than a thought apart,
far as long as there is memory,
they’ll live on in the heart.
If the person was religious, the most common or traditional verse for Catholic and religious services has been the 23rd Psalm.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the path of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
King James Version

The following poems and verses are more focused on death;
I Wish You Enough
I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.
I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger.
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
I wish you enough “Hello’s” to get you through the final “Goodbye.

Death is Nothing
Death is nothing at all
I have only slipped away into the next room
I am I and you are you.
Whatever we were to each other
That we still are.
Call me by my old familiar name
Speak to me in the easy way which you always used
Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow.
Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes
We enjoyed together.
Play, smile, think of me, pray for me,
Let my name be ever the household word that
It always was.
Let it be spoken without effort,
Without the trace of a shadow on it.
Life means all that it ever meant
It is the same as it ever was
There is absolutely unbroken continuity.
Why should I be out of mind because I am
Out of sight? I am but waiting for you
For an interval
Somewhere very near
Just around the corner.
All is well.
Canon Henry Scott Holland (1847-1918)

I turn my head and look towards death now.
Feeling my way through the tunnel with the space of
emptiness and quiet.
The shimmering silence that awaits me.
This is my direction now; inward to the green pastures…
The cares of the world concern me no longer.
I have completed this life. My work is done, my
children grown.
My husband is well on his hero’s journey.
I have loved much and well…
Those I leave behind, I love.
I hope I will remain in their hearts as they will
in mine…
Thank you for taking such good care of me…
And all of you who have been my friends, thank you
for teaching me about love.

Karen Vervaet from “Karen’s Journal, 3 April 1993

In closing, memorial services and life celebrations are about the person that was lost and the life that they lived. It is up to you to decide what will help you and the people who attend to best remember and celebrate the life of that person.

To find many more funeral and life celebration poems visit http://nextgenmemorials.com/memorialverses.html

Mary Hickey is an urn designer and thought leader in the funeral industry. For some drastically needed new life celebration ideas, contemporary memorial poems and verses visit her site nextgenmemorials.com She is co-founder of Renaissance Urn Company, based in San Francisco. Hickey can be reached at hickey_mary@hotmail.com.

You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are included. A courtesy copy of your publication is appreciated. Every article published MUST include the author’s bio, including the link to the author’s Web site (at the bottom of this message). http://www.nextgenmemorials.com

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‘Mainstream’ - a principal current of a river, 1667, from main (adj.) + stream, hence, “prevailing direction in opinion, popular taste, etc.,” a fig. use first attested in Carlyle (1831).

I propose that the concept of ‘the mainstream’, be it music, art, ideas, politics, entertainment and all other social constructs, is and has always been a social myth.

The key to this argument lies in the cyclical nature of the market economy, political thought, and technological advancement. For sake of simplicity, I shall concentrate solely on the development and eventual disintegration of the concept of the ‘mainstream’.

What came before the MP3? The CD.

And before that? Vinyl.

And before that? Shellac and wax drums for musical boxes.

And before that? Sheet Music. Musical Scores.

As funny as it sounds now, at the very dawn of ‘Popular Music’ or pop, a ‘Hit’ technically accounted for the total sales of a sheet of music, a musical score. The expectation and reality of the market was solely reliant on availability of current technologies at the time (namely music boxes and pianos) and the musical ability of the consumer.

For the main part it was more economic to purchase an upright piano rather than a the musical box, purchasing songs for a music box was a privilege of the rich. Imagine paying $500 for an mp3 track? No one in their right mind would, yet the physical nature of such devices meant that supplying a range of music for any device would be beyond the reach of the masses. The ‘Player Piano’ moved things along somewhat, creating rolls of punch paper reduced the costs considerably. For many this was new technology was still out of reach of the average, or even middle income family.

For most, instead of an Ipod, there would stand, pride of place in the Sitting Room or Parlour, a basic upright piano, of which at least one member would be able to read and play music, and the others would at the very least need to hold a whole gamut of decent notes to make the performance painlessly entertaining. The more savvy music publishers (yes they were printers and nothing more), realized early on that if they wanted to increase their sales they’d need to expand their market.

A few seemingly harmless pointers to publishing a popular ‘hit’ led to a series of hard and fast rules that held back the creative growth of the music industry for over a century.

Family friendly. Their market was the Middle-Class Family, they had money, Sunday Evenings with little to do, a strong moral and religious upbringing and a very definite idea of what music should do.

It shouldn’t offend, anyone, anywhere, anyhow. It cannot include any mention of any controversy. The melody must be light, instantly engaging and simple to follow. The whole family must be able to join in and not feel awkward or embarrassed in anyway. Basically hymns.

The market began to fracture eventually, songs for the kids, religious, risque ditties for young lovers and dirty old men, then came style… jazz, blues, big band. Finally wax rolls for musical boxes gave way to shellac and eventually Vinyl discs and as the sound quality improved, and the availability increased and prices reduced, finally those that played the piano instead of a Gramophone, were the rare exception.

The World has changed a lot since then, but as with all things fashion has a funny habit of repeating itself. More and more iPod fans and mp3 addicts are beginning to manipulate their own collections, with the development of a whole series of cheap and cheerful music mixing software releases on the way, it doesn’t seem so far-fetched to imagine a time in the not so distant future where rather than the ‘Mainstream’ we will be talking in terms of Single Streams, or even the ‘Onestream’.

In the past the more forward thinking printers and publishers of the day decided to buy music from songwriters for a pittance, sometimes even steal them outright and make all the profit for themselves. Now things are changing beyond belief.

Anyone can make music to a point with the aid of software and electronic instruments that a child could learn and play within minutes. With the increased interactivity involved in many of the new technologies, the PC being the original focal point, most consumers are no longer purely consuming, they are now producing. Be it their own Tivo TV schedule, the play list on their iPod, the answer phone message they recorded themselves. Consumption was never a creative act, but finally it seems technology is enabling individuals to come to that conclusion by themselves.

Eventually few people will purchase entertainment in any form, simply the means to produce it. As part of my Fine Arts Degree many years ago, I specialized in Photo Montage, appropriating and aggregating a variety of disparate images, and manipulating and combining them to form a new and original work. Nowadays few would ever consider going through the rigmarole of cutting and pasting printed matter when a graphics program and the Internet can provide vast more choice in subject matter and imagery.

Technology has led our actions, or rather inaction for most of the 20th Century, in the 21st we are witnessing the slow decay of Consumerism itself, and at the beginning the first change we are all both witnessing and providing, is technological manipulation of consumer goods.

As the manufacturers of multimedia devices finally catch up with demand we will witness more and more graphic and sound interactivity to the point that most products will simply enable us to create our own entertainment, as we have in histories past. The only difference is that your Bedroom DJ Mix is now heard by the world rather than an unwilling friend or family member. Local heroes and heroines will be born, down the road from my place are the band Keane, a very successful UK pop band from Battle, Sussex. Without the proliferation of social networking technologies I doubt that their meteoric rise to fame would have been as startling.

Other more stark examples are Gnarls Berkley and the Arctic Monkeys, who via the Myspace.com service have become major players in the world music scene. This isn’t simply a technological change. The ‘Futurism’ Arts Movement at the turn of the last century was obsessed with painting fast cars and trains and planes, as much as a young boy might do these days. No one wants to draw an MP3 player, no one wants to write a poem about their Xbox. People want to ‘use’ them, and they do, all of them.

The idea that materialism can enable anything other than a show of wealth has changed, we no longer have toys, we have tools. Consumption is now lured by the idea of Production, the snake is eating itself.

Within your lifetime, your or someone you know will produce something remarkable, the miraculous is about to become commonplace and the ‘Mainstream, obsolete.

The mainstream is diverging into a billion tributaries, the concept of popularity, and eventually mass advertising will dry up, along with monolithic centralized institutions and corporations. We as individuals are finally learning to disagree with each other, we are taking informed and personal choices in our consumption, and eventually the production of our own ’streams’. We fish for ideas, we take those ideas and create our own unique range of arts, entertainment and individual understanding of the world. And when we’re bored with our own minds, we trade our goods with others, some like-minded, some not so.

Music, Art, Entertainment, conceived, designed and produced by the individual for the individual. Very much the way we began. Travelling Minstrels, visiting one village and the next, trading music, trading styles, ideas, even new technologies, but for the main part from home.

There never was a mainstream, the concept of the mainstream was conceived for the convenience of unwieldy organizations with little ability or even impetus to change. Like a vast dam, blocking and filtering the river, it is now beginning to crumble, and creative sources and flowing in from all directions, a veritable waterfall of new ideas, sounds and images are about to be born.

Paul Baines, Singer Songwriter for http://www.OneManBrand.co.uk. A UK Based Electronic Musician, Designer and Writer. Visit http://www.onemanbrand.co.uk to find out more…

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Love Poems, a great way to express your feeling whenever you feel so splendid beautiful feeling at falling in love, heartbroken, disappointed, or at any time you just want to say I LOVE YOU to someone you love in an amazing-different way.

Below are three examples of Love Poems

I am sorry

I am sorry,
I can’t write many words to you
I am out of ink
Last night, I write your name
in the sky…

(Free translation of Rieke Dyah Pitaloka poem titled ‘Maaf’)

Lonesome Wind

There would come a time when you forget, perhaps
the stories you have whispered
between the rustling of bamboo leafs

alone

There would be no more endless lonesome years, perhaps
on the night sky scattered by star lights
you used to tease

There would be no more useless season, perhaps
your desire to the dawn rest in a sprinkle of dew
which comes uncertainly

There would come a time you would understand, perhaps
it is a prairie
which has never asked more than a soft wind
that would bring your perfume to the alleys of rock mountain
when you have already afford to dance with the weeds

alone

Our Books, How are They?

It’s time for our books to be closed
Go ahead, write the new pages of your book
Don’t open your old books
since those every words written are
the desiring soul.

Write your new books with full colored dreams
Not our dreams that dark and gloomy
I myself will write my new book
with dream of a violet butterfly
whose wings are scratched.
with dream of raining tears
which drift the rainbow in the edge of the sky
when the sky is orange colored.

Remember our book of dreams
with the memory of a hope
that went down in an inability
ended with the palace burned

Your book, my book, and our book
is a journey without beginning nor ending.

Loving you, with life, blood, and dreams.

http://lovepoems1st.blogspot.com

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Over 5 million people in the US now have Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia. Countless others are affected by this. Spring is the perfect opportunity to continue to stimulate their minds and bodies Follow these tips to make the life of a person with dementia more meaningful for him/her. The relationship they have with their family will also improve.

Of course, person appropriate offerings are the best. This means matching the activity to a person’s interests and abilities, However, there are some pursuits that will make them smile no matter what.

Here are some easy fun, yet mind stimulating activities anyone can do with someone who has dementia.

Connect to nature

In spring flowers start to bloom. This is the perfect time to arrange flowers and discuss the favorite flowers of all. You can talk about flower colors scents, where flowers grow as well as any other characteristics about flowers that seem appropriate. This discussion and activity will stimulate their mind and give a dementia person a feeling of self worth

Go outdoors as often as possible. The fresh air is an elixir to creative and fun feelings. It is almost like being reborn. If you cannot go outside, open the windows and let the fresh air in.

Go to a park or nearby playground. Those with dementia love children. Let them watch the children. Perhaps their grand children can visit. If that is not possible, look at pictures of children and have a discussion about children. Even if the conversation seems one sided, talking about and remembering children is a real boost to a dementia person.

Read a story or poem about spring. You can even create a story about spring together. Give assistance as necessary

Talk about favorite fruits and vegetables that are now available in the spring. Make lists of favorite fruits and vegetables. Talk about recipes using fruits and vegetables.You can talk about making a fruit or vegetable salad. Then make a salad if these foods can be tolerated

Music is a powerful tool to use with someone who has dementia. Make lists of spring time songs. Then sing some favorite songs. You can play a form of Name that Tune. See Susan Berg’s activity blog for away to play this game that is easy to do, success oriented, mind stimulating and fun

Also check out the book Adorable Photographs of Our Baby-Meaningful,Mind-Stimulating Activities and More for the Memory Challenged,Their Loved Ones,and Involved Professionals for tips on how to do this. Then you listen to and sing some of the songs

Also you must be animated, and excited about what you are doing. Dementia people take their cues from the group leader or caregiver. In addition you must be flexible especially if things do not go as planned. Having a back up plan is a must.

Author, Susan Berg has been a healthcare professional and educator for over 20 years. She is the, activity director, of many years, at Hunt Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Danvers. While there, she has gained much dementia care and activity experience and knowledge. She has had special training in dementia care and dementia activities through the Alzheimer’s Association and other educational forums. Berg is the author of Adorable Photographs of Our Baby-Meaningful, Mind-Stimulating Activities and More for the Memory Challenged, Their Loved Ones, and Involved Professionals, a book for those with dementia and an excellent resource for caregivers and healthcare professionals. You may visit her website at http://www.alzheimersideas.com or her blog at http://dementiaviews.blogspot.com

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Part I ~Out of the Door~

Life
Life, with all its God-filled splendor,
Is worth far more than just living.
My heart, full of love and valor,
Praises God and continues to sing.
Never will I tire of His great mercy
Or working for His greater glory,
As He, by wisdom, makes me see
How He loves us eternally.

Chaos Theory
A drop in the ocean,
Tides subside;

Endless motion,
Planets collide;

A single day
Becomes the next;

A single breath,
A brush with death;

The lives we lead,
The webs we weave;

In one strand of time
All fates intertwine.

Astral Pla(i)n(e)
I silently say farewell
To the shadows of earthly vale;
I seek to paint a vapor trail
Across the lunar sky
As destiny passes me by.

Miles to Go
I stop to see a leaf swirl with the wind;
I begin again and leave it all behind,
With the whole world behind me,
With the whole world before me,
Not knowing where my journey begins or ends,
But that I can never quit
Until God calls me Home.

Future
Toward the distant horizon I tread,
Wondering what the future may hold;
I can only imagine what is ahead,
And the many sights that I will behold.

Yet, there is so much that has gone unsaid,
And so many great stories left untold;
Yet, I must keep praying that the riverbed
Keeps feeding the ocean of hope that has always flowed.

Most of what we’ve seen, heard, or read,
Whether it is modern or old,
Will one day, with this world, be dead;
It is God’s Word that we must uphold.

In Jesus’ footsteps we should walk day by day.
In knowing that He has already won the war,
We are sure that our faith will never stray.
Let us praise God now and forever-more!

Horizon
Toward the horizon
I continue to tread:
With the Eternal Goal
In sight:
To live life God’s Way:
And while we never reach
Perfection,
That ultimate horizon,
God’s Plan is
Perfection
And will work out to
His Glory
And
Our Salvation
On Earth
And Forever
In Heaven!

My Pen
My pen traces a path
To the innermost
Of my soul
And opens the gate
That leads to
My laid-up store of
Prismatic love
Inspired by
The Heart and Mind
Of the Almighty.

Fugue
Life is lines of poetry
multiple metaphor
interwoven Truth(s)
Hidden by
our lack of understanding
Lit (upon) by
God’s Great Grace,
His Never-Ending Flame,
Word of Everlasting Beauty.

(Re:) Vision
Finding the poetry
Hidden on a blank page,
Freeing the sculpture
Captured inside the heap of clay,
Polishing the diamond
Found in the rough:

Reaching beyond the horizon
To the rising Son
For divine inspiration,
Prophetic revelation,
Golden strands of
Fresh creation,
Weaving a tapestry
With God’s Great Glory.

The Enchanted Forest of Poetry
On a lonely night
And a lone rendezvous
Such as this,
My mind often departs
For the realm of living thought.

As I meditate,
And leave behind earthly concerns,
The winds of wanderlust
Carry my consciousness
To a land where
My beauteous thoughts
Are made manifest,
As verdant hills roll
Beneath an endless azure sky.

My desires and
The Enchanted Forest’s magic
Become the warp
For each other’s weft.

Each line
Of verse
Becomes
A strand
Of existence,
A blade
Of grass,
A forest
Of trees,
A mountain
Of possibilities,
A piece
Of new reality!

In the midst of
This realm of
Living Verse
Does the poet
Find himself created:

Where each
T H O U G H T
Intertwines
With a new
R E A L I T Y
To weave a
Brilliant,
Multicolored
Fabric,
Full of
The Yarn
Of a
New Reality
That was once
Only imagined.

Could this be some of the
Same attitude God had
When creating the universe
By only speaking His Word,
And Pronouncing His Thoughts?

Truly,
If an idea is a tree,
Let us plant a forest,
A new realm,
Full of rolling landscapes
Proclaiming truth and beauty!

Let us now escape
To such a land,
A land where anything
Can happen,
And ideas
Have the magic
Of Creation!

Spring
Watching the birds fly,
My mind wanders to the sky,
Searching for beauty.

Summer
Practicing under
The shady sycamore tree -
The sun still finds me.

Fall
I read by streetlight -
Solemnly the silent owl
Watches me walking.

Winter
Wintry tree limbs hang
Upside down and touch the clouds -
Wooden icicles.

June
Lightning bugs like stars
Make the summer trees look like
An early Christmas

Mystery
Thick fog creeps from the
Field and is illuminated
By passing cars

Thought
The moon leads my path
To unknown journeys, secret
Pathways between the lines

Starlit Forest
Walking late at night
I can see Orion’s belt
Amidst passing clouds

These City Streets
Riding these city streets,
Riding with the wind,
On this trusted bike,
Dreading the daylight,
On this endless night,
Seeking a nonexistent prey,
Seeking strange new enlightenment,
In all corners of the
Sparsely populated,
Dimly lit,
Night
Of a
Small town.

Riding these empty streets,
Nothing to see,
Too dark to see,
A world that sleeps
With the setting of the sun
And is covered by a blanket
Of dark all around.

Riding these empty streets,
Everything unseen,
A whole new world to see,
A world uncovered
By the setting of the sun,
A world lit by
The rising of the moon.

Nature
The sky is gray
On this late summer day
As the sun imbues
Its various hues
Upon the scene.
A sight to be seen,
A beauty to behold,
A thousand campfire stories to be told.
With the settling twilight
And the settling night
Comes the settling fog
About every log,
Every limb
As the light continues to dim.

Yet, do you hear it?
Yes, a kindred spirit,
As it beckons
To us, Nature’s patrons,
Who think deep thoughts of
All things up above
And things all around
And adventures upon which to bound.

Nature II
As I continue to tread
The well-worn path between the trees,
Many thoughts swim in my head
Of the refreshing beauties
Of the crisp, clean air
Playing in my hair,
The rainbow
That has begun to show
Over the tips of the trees,
The birds’ outspoken symphonies,
And the sun-rays that warm my face
As I pass each open, sun-lit space.
Nature has its own music,
Its own specially tuned melody.
I never want to lose it,
For what it means to me,
I can never fully express,
Even as my feelings well up in my chest.

It is here in the forest,
This place of nature and spirit,
That I feel blessed,
And ignore the old habit
Of humankind
To mind
Its own business
And forget about the wilderness.

Come friend,
Let’s walk this path again,
Before this great day can end!

Snowfall
Looking out on the field of purest white
That our peaceful neighborhood has become,
I feel wind and snowflakes so very light
Gently touching my face in the night’s cold glum.

Coming back in to warm my cold hands
In front of the old fireplace,
I look out at the winter wonderland
Painted with a sparkling layer of icy lace.

Carried on a steady eastern breeze,
This is a snowstorm like no other;
It lays a white blanket on the bare ground and trees,
And makes for beautiful weather.

Needing neither rhyme nor reason,
Children will wake to see the white glow,
Don coat and glove, and enjoy the season,
Throwing snowballs and making angels in the snow!

A robe of white has covered all that is ugly,
Like the robes we’ll wear in God’s Paradise,
When we join Him for a resplendent Eternity,
Rejoicing on the unending day of our new lives!

As the Rain Falls
On this early morn,
As the rain falls,
Before this side of the world wakes,
Invisible toothpicks
Yet seem to hold my eyes open.

Nonetheless,
My mind has
Unapologetically
Left for the world of dreams
With the rest of me in tow,
Like rain falling
With no cloud to fall from.

My mind yet wanders
Beyond sleep,
Beyond caffeine;
My heart races,
As it pumps my lifeblood
Through its course.

The rain races to the ground
As it flirts with gravity
And frolics in a
Pittering
Pattering
D
–A
—-N
——C
——–E

So alike are
My mind, my heart, and the clouds:
All saturated with promises of
Ideas, Life, Sustenance,
Which feed the fires
Of the dreams whose flames
Incessantly burn within each of us.

Nonetheless,
By nature’s rule,
What goes up
Must come down.

My heart,
The lifeblood of my dreams,
Will one day descend to the depths,
But on parting with this world,
A new lifeblood can be realized on high.

My brain,
That convoluted pathway of ponderings,
That ethereal dwelling Of dreams,
Will one day
Fully comprehend the realms of the dead.

The rain,
As it falls,
Yet sustains life;
Where rain seems to end,
It begins anew in another form.

Truly,
Once thoughts
And hopes
And efforts
And tears of happiness
Are rained upon the dream,
Do we not see
A sprouting hope
Of its original splendor
Coming to the surface?

Let it rain,
Let it rain,
Let it rain…

Dawn
Watching the sun rise
On this brand new day,
Another day to invest
My God-given talents
To bring glory to Him,
To help carry out
His great plans
To shine His Son’s light
On the world,
That everyone may know
That the Son rose
And ushered in
A Brand New Day
For mankind
That will never end.

The above poems were excerpted from the author’s online book of poetry Heaven on Earth. View this book for free online in PDF format at Johnston Arts Books.

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We all know Santa’s story by now. He was originally a bishop back in the day, and after he died he became known as Saint Nicholas, or Saint Nick for short. And even way back then, before Christmas became a major holiday, the anniversary of his death was a day to celebrate by giving out gifts. But most of us don’t know that Saint Nick actually had a bad rap for a while, and that is actually how he got all of the other names we know him by today.

During the time of great change in the Christian Church known as the Protestant Reformation, which occurred in the 1500s, the famous Martin Luther declared that all good Christians should stop celebrating saints. For the devout followers of Luther, that meant also stopping the celebration of Saint Nick, no matter how fun the gift giving had become.

But of course, not all Christians stopped celebrating Saint Nick, not even all of the Protestants. Instead of stopping the celebration, they crafted a plan to enjoy the Saint Nick holiday in secret. This is when Saint Nick became known in England as “Father Christmas”. In Germany, people referred to Santa as “Christmas Man”, and the Dutch created the name “Sinterklass.”

About this time, a large majority of Dutch settlers moved to New Amsterdam in America-what would later become New York-and brought their celebration of Sinterklass with him. Americans caught on to the idea, and tried to pronounce his name right. But instead, what came out was “Santa Claus.”

However, Santa Claus did not hit the big time until the author of “Sleepy Hollow,” Washington Irving, got wind of Santa Claus and promoted him the American press. This happened in the early 1800s, when Washington Irving wrote a story called the “A History of New York,” in which he went into great detail about a man called “Sinterklass.” This Saint Nick was fat and short, wore a funny costume, and would travel around on the Eve of Saint Nicolas on a horse.

The idea of jolly gift-giving man caught on in the American press. Another writer, the poet Clement Clark Moore, wrote a poem called “A Visit from St. Nicolas,” which is better known as, “The Night Before Christmas.” It was Moore who made Saint Nick a jolly old elf who flies around the night in a magical sleigh powered by eight flying reindeer. We all know the names of those reindeer, right? Well, Moore also included them in his poem.

Americans would get their best images of Santa Claus in the magazines of the late 1800s, when the cartoonist Thomas Nast put out his own visions of Saint Nick in Harper’s Weekly. For Nast, Santa was a bigger man with a big fat belly, who wore a red suit lined with fur and a big leather belt. Nast also started drawing images of Santa’s workshop in the North Pole, and Santa using a list to keep track of his kids who were naughty and nice.

Of course, these are all the images of Santa that we use today in the newspapers, in cartoons, and on TV. Or should we say, perhaps, images of Sinterklass?

Randy Stocklin is the co-owner of Mail from Santa Claus. Mail from Santa Claus offers memorable letters from Santa Claus that helps keep the Christmas spirit alive. For more information about Mail from Santa Claus and to purchase letters from Santa Claus please visit http://www.mailfromsantaclaus.com/.

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I attended a dead church that I fell asleep in for 20 years as a youth growing up until accidentally stumbling upon the conclusion of a Christian TV broadcast. The show called the 700 Club was led by Pat Robertson who invited viewers at home to pray with him, which I did inviting Christ Jesus to forgive me of my sins and to come live big in my heart by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Immediately I was filled with the Holy Spirit in my bedroom as an electric sensation and powerful divine visitation deeply effected me both inwardly and tangibly upon my body. Four days later I went with a Marine, whom I jogged with every morning, to a youth service at Pastor Benny Hinn’s former church Orlando Christian Center. Though Pastor Benny wasn’t there, the Presence of the Lord and His Spirit was. Again I had another supernatural visitation at the youth gathering in which a young lady spoke a word God had placed on her heart. As she spoke I felt quadruple the fire of the Holy Spirit I experienced in my bedroom.

I said all of that to say this, God can use TV to touch humanity as He did me. The vessels through whom God works can be flawed (as we all our who live in human flesh), but undoubtedly the Lord God can use people regardless of their motivation for being in ministry. Jesus anointed a rooster to crow and speak to his backslidden apostle Peter who denied Him three times. God in the Old Testament used a donkey to speak to a rebellious prophet. So know assuredly God’s Word will be declared throughout the earth by every means possible.

When ministers obtain with their magnificent ministries fame and fortune, if they are not careful along with that they can hinder people from focusing upon the Lord. That is one thing I always appreciated about Pastor Benny (as I attended his church for 2 and 1/2 years, completing a youth Bible Training with him over a 13 week period). Pastor Benny always warned us never to touch the glory, girls, or gold. He said that if our hands would not get greedily sticky, the Lord would allow money to flow through our hands to do the work of the ministry.

Certainly I have done my personal best preaching the gospel around the world, having traveled to over 50 countries as well where I have visited many impoverished third-world and war-torn nations. Sadly for me I have never had the financial wherewithal of these great ministers and have greatly depleted my own personal savings serving the Lord without taking a salary from my ministry. That being said I now have to take a job with Homeland Security to sustain myself financially.

Therefore having money is not evil, as it undergirds and sustains the work of the ministry. What is questionable however is the allocation of funds donated with sincerity of heart to ministry purposes that are alternatively earmarked and used for the minister’s own lavish lifestyle. I do believe in prosperity, though I am far from it in my own life. Moreover I believe many of these famous ministers sowed in tears in their early years of ministry and are entitled to live well for serving well.

Why should a drug dealer and foul mouthed rap singer be allowed to roll in the dough and live large, but not a minister? Certainly I realize the means by which ministers raise money can be highly questionable if such funds are not used accordingly. This is what Senator Grassley as a servant of the American people who elected him is endeavoring to remedy and account for.

“I’m following up on complaints from the public and news coverage regarding certain practices at six ministries,” Grassley said in a statement. “The allegations involve governing boards that aren’t independent and allow generous salaries and housing allowances and amenities such as private jets and Rolls Royces. “I don’t want to conclude that there’s a problem, but I have an obligation to donors and the taxpayers to find out more. People who donated should have their money spent as intended and in adherence with the tax code.”

Another point worth noting is TV is not cheap. I’d love to go on Christian TV, but can hardly afford consistently paying for such a broadcast. I can only imagine the multiplied millions that are necessary to pay to be on TV in over 100 countries, as Pastor Benny’s “This is Your Day!” program. People should also keep in mind that ministers like Pastor Benny (Grapevine, TX) make lots of money from book sales, which royalties they as authors are entitled to enjoy. As an author myself, I know writing a book is a lot of work.

Certainly Bishop Eddie Long (Lithonia, Ga.) has greatly impacted the community and nation with his politically active congregation of over 25,000. Grassley seems to have a problem with a God that blesses both financially and spiritually, but this is Bible Senator.

Pastor Creflo and Taffi Dollar (College Park, Ga.) have a thriving broadcast known as “Changing Your World” which is seen in more than 150 countries. Economic empowerment is important and helpful to people abroad as the demand for such programming is evident.

Where the controversy begins is when ministers like the Dollars owns two Rolls Royces, multiple private jets, a $2.5 million apartment in Manhattan and a mansion in Atlanta. This to some is an “appearance of evil” and excess which more conservative Christians think we as believers should avoid so as not to bring reproach upon the Lord and the God-given message (see 1 Thessalonians 5:22).

Kenneth and Gloria Copeland (Newark, Texas) have a broadcast and publish the “Believer’s Voice of Victory,” which touches and strengthens people throughout the world. Solid and fully persuaded practitioners of the Word of Faith movement, the Copelands themselves have been very generous giving to many ministers and charitable causes. They too believe in financial and spiritual rewards. And why shouldn’t they? After all the Bible says, “godliness is profitable in all things” (1 Timothy 4:8).

Pastors Randy and Paula White (Tampa, Fla.) overcome great adversity and setbacks in their personal lives to build Without Walls International Church which has mightily impacted the poor and helped the disenfranchised throughout their community. Few Pastors dare to lift those in the inner-city as have the Whites, who surely have sown in tears personally while ministering to humanity.

The Whites are being persecuted for owning a $1.9 million jet and a $3.5 million condo in New York. Owning a plane is certainly less expensive in terms of time and money spent to fly commercial airlines when you have a demanding speaking schedule around the world as do the Whites. Unfortunately in August 2007, Randy and Paula White announced their divorce. I pray somehow they can reconcile and be renewed in their marriage as they are a tremendous blessing to the body of Christ and greatly loved.

Joyce Meyer Ministries (JMM) apparently was the first to receive an inquiry letter regarding her ministry’s financial integrity from the Republican staff of the Senate Finance Committee led by Senator Grassley.

JMM continues in its desire to be transparent, and has posted its 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 audited financial reports on the ministry website. Also available for viewing are the 2004, 2005 and 2006 annual reports (above and beyond the level of accountability required by law and/or that expected by most donors).

JMM has been committed to helping hurting people for more than 20 years, and is proud to point out that in 2006, 82% of its total expenses were used for outreach and program services directed toward reaching people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When I was in India, Joyce Meyer had just left and the Indian Pastors were telling me how she was giving them bicycles and TVs for ministry purposes.

JMM also provided more than 11 million meals in 2006, and built nearly 200 freshwater wells and churches in underdeveloped countries. The ministry fully funds and operates more than 50 orphanages around the world, and presents the Gospel to a potential audience of 3 billion people every day via its television program.

JMM is honored to be a small part of spreading God’s love and His Word to millions of people around the world. The ministry strives to conduct all activities with excellence and integrity, just as it has for more than 20 years.

In his five-page letter, Grassley also asked Meyer for:

- “detailed accounting” of all her and her husband’s expense-account items, including clothing and cosmetic surgery.

- Any overseas bank accounts and deposits made outside the U.S. after international evangelical crusades.

- The tax-exempt purpose of items purchased for her ministry’s headquarters, such as a $23,000 marble-topped commode, a $30,000 conference table, and an $11,219 French clock.

- A detailed accounting of total monthly expenses for upkeep on the Meyers’ personal residence, and any vacation homes, from 2004 to the present.

- An explanation of any personal use of the ministries’ tax-exempt assets, including “jets, employees, facilities,” from 2004 to the present.

- An explanation for how personal gifts from donors, such as money or jewelry, are handled and reported to the IRS.

I’m no stranger to investigations as my new job offer with Homeland Security came with extensive background checks of my family, friends, neighbors, former employers, everywhere in the world I have traveled, income verification (or lack thereof over several years to the surprise of my investigator), and interactions with foreign nationals. Nevertheless such is beneficial and useful to keep us clean, walking circumspectly, and safeguard national security.

As the government takes on the powerful Church world, the ministers of God should simultaneously be standing up and pointing out the corruption in government.

David, a man after God’s own heart, cried out: “How the mighty have fallen” (2 Samuel 1:19). Sadly it is so, but truly God alone is Almighty and our rock of ages. In Him alone will I trust.

Truly “judgment begins in the house of God” (1Peter 4:17) after which America itself shall be judged for the hypocrisy of its own failed democracy and foreign policy - not to mention its own wasteful spending of hundreds of billions of dollars on war without end.

Pray for the ministers of God who live in flesh and blood too! We who love the Lord must keep our eyes on Christ not His followers.

Let God be true and every man a liar (Romans 3:4), particularly the “false accusers” in Congress who approve war spending without end and refuse to keep their own accountable for misdeeds (see 2 Timothy 3:3).

Paul Davis is a highly sought after professional speaker, life purpose coach, worldwide minister, and change master.

Paul is the author of several books including United States of Arrogance, Breakthrough for a Broken Heart; Adultery: 101 Reasons Not to Cheat; Are You Ready for True Love; Stop Lusting & Start Living; Waves of God; Supernatural Fire; Poems that Propel the Planet; and God vs. Religion.

Paul’s compassion for people & passion to travel has taken him to over 50 countries of the world where he has had a tremendous impact. Paul’s organization Dream-Maker Ministries is building dreams, breaking limitations & reviving nations.

Paul inspires, revives, awakens, impregnates with purpose, imparts the fire of desire, catapults people into a new level of self-awareness, facilitates destiny discovery and dream fulfillment.

Contact Paul to minister, speak at your event or for life coaching:

RevivingNations@yahoo.com
407-284-1705

http://www.PaulFDavis.com
http://www.DreamMakerMinistries.com
http://www.CreativeCommunications.TV

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To bring a piece of Sundance to Cortona: that seems to have been the aim of Robert Redford, who in August visited the town in the province of Arezzo in order to take part, with a poem recital, at the Tuscan Sun Festival. Redford, who as an adolescent studied in Tuscany, in Florence, appeared fascinated by the beauty and by the atmosphere of the places he visited: “It’s incredible how the countryside here makes me come up with ideas, - he said. - the land round here is genuine, without compromise, and genuineness is the basis of the cinema that drives my festival”. The actor then indicated a probable future location for setting up a section of Sundance: the Medici Castle at Girifalco, which was built in the 1500s by the first Grand Duke of Tuscany, Cosimo I.

Recently restored, it is now an exhibition hall in the summer months, and can be visited from April to September. From the top of the tower you can take in a breathtaking view of Cortona and of all the valley of Valdichiana.

The Tuscan Sun Festival was founded and is directed by Barrett Wissman, the head of ImgArtist, a well-known and powerful agency on the international classical scene, bringing for the last 6 years glamour and stars (from Baryshnikov to Sofia Loren) to this corner of Tuscany, with its view over Lake Trasimeno. Given the encouraging response, Wissman then also “exported” the festival to Napa Valley (at its third edition this year) and to Singapore (second edition).
The beautiful town of Cortona - immortalized in the film “Under the Tuscan Sun” - Lake Trasimeno and the wonderful countryside round here (Orvieto, Monte Sansavino) offer the possibility of a relaxing stay, in a unique atmosphere, full of beauty.

Tuscany is a perfect combination of beautiful scenery, art treasures, warmth and hospitality, and superb food and wine. We have some enchanting villas in Tuscany to enable you to enjoy this extraordinary area to the full. The Tuscan villas in our collection of Tuscan villa rentals, many of which are luxury villas, are in the most beautiful positions to enable you to experience this unique place.

Villas in Italy for rent - We have a selection of Italian villa rentals with pool available in Amalfi Coast, Tuscany, Umbria, Rome, Venice, Sicily, Sardinia and Southern Italy. A holiday in Italy in one of our private Villas in Amalfi, Sicily, or Rome is the best way to enjoy your privacy with friends or family.

Blog beauty, family, food, poem, wine

Buried love in a pirate’s chest

and then I lost the map.

Not to worry, a heart keeps best

locked deep inside a trap.

Then comes along a lad so fine

he flies across the gap.

Starts planting seeds inside my mind

of tantalizing nap.

Erased my name from cupid’s mail

allergic to his laugh.

Learned to sail a life not stale

and steer a lovely craft.

Then comes along a song so strong

I somehow catch a draft.

My senses keep on steering wrong

with every breeze turned daft.

Sealed my soul in Rapunzel’s tower

cementing up my pain.

Cut my hair in that same hour

with hopes of living sane.

Then comes along a lilting voice

that questions all past gain.

Quite suddenly I crave a choice

called dancing in the rain.

Once glimpsed my mind in Merlin’s cave

not sure of what I saw.

Ten thousand years I’ve lived a knave

assuming life on draw.

Then comes along a chance to sing

with one who teaches awe,

connecting me while wandering

through sounds not needing law.

I safely packed Pandora’s Box

and said my last good-byes;

I sought the truth of wily fox

and held myself most wise.

Then comes along a notion bold

sends quiver through my thighs,

and melts away Pandora’s gold

by seeing to her sighs.

While shinning up Aladdin’s lamp,

I found my way inside

and pitched myself a comfy camp

to lay the past aside.

Then comes along a sultry tone

awakens time denied;

pierced right in two my heart of stone

before it softly died.

Shred my invite to Cinder’s Ball

not hunting for a Prince;

I needed rags to wash the wall,

so tore my gown of chintz.

Then comes along a courtly call

divining my heart’s wince

blows right on through my weathered hall

and steals away my bliss.

Wrapped up my grin in Tin Man’s skin;

stopped delving darkened mines.

I put away what some call sin

to read between the lines.

Then comes along a touch so new

it questions all past signs.

Just how his touch has broken through

is haunting thought that binds.

By Lynn Sager, Copyright 2008

Lynn Sager has toured over two-dozen countries and worked on three continents. Author of A River Worth Riding: Fourteen Rules for Navigating Life, Lynn currently lives in California; where she fills her time with private coaching, public speaking, and teaching writing for the LACCD and Pierce College. To read more about how to Navigating Life, visit her website at http://www.navigatinglife.org/ To read more of Lynn’s poetry, visit http://navigatinglifepoetscorner.blogspot.com/

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Making love poems when expressed with the deepest of emotions are sure to make your sweetheart feel like the most adorable person in the whole world. Love is colorful and making love poems are sure to make for a very splendid day. Making love is a sexual activity that expresses the love, passion, care and other strong feelings you have for another person. It is a beautiful and emotional experience that can bring two people closer and closer together. Making love while lying on my back with my husband on top is familiar, comfortable. It’s the meat loaf and mashed potatoes of the sex manual .

Sex with my husband was different for me. He liked to be in charge, decide what positions we would be in, and there must be at least 100 positions in love making, Sex is a total gift of self. If you are saying something with your body you don’t mean in your heart then there is an inherent conflict, and in that conflict everyone gets hurt. Sex can lower levels of “arthritic pain, whiplash pain and headache pain,” according to some hormones that are released during sexual excitement and a orgasm can reduce pain thresholds.

This is two people experiencing their wholeness with each other. When men and women make love, you are much greater than the sum of our parts. Making love is complete and give the full experience of sexual intercourse. The first sentence here says ‘how do they do it, the ones who make love without love. To make love without love is impossible, This is an act between two persons. Respect is the key to maintaining a good relationship.

Making love is physical, fun and involves emotions (feelings) not just lust. This type is a different story. The words themselves tell us that we’re going to make something, we’re going to create it or build it, or mix the ingredients to get something more or different than when we began.

Author: Jared Wadel
The Secrets To Becoming An Awesome Lover.
http://love-making-secrets.blogspot.com

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