PANCAKE DAY IS HERE

By A Friend on September 21, 2020 / 269 views

By A Friend on September 21, 2020 / 269 views

This is a post we found on Facebook that warmed my heart so much. It was posted by a father who was so excited about his daughter's first sleepover. "Y'all, Nora is having her first sleepover tonight. Her best friend Faye is coming over and that means one of my biggest dad goals is gonna happen tomorrow morning. Making pancakes for them in the morning. The moment I...

Royal

By Lettie on September 18, 2020 / 380 views

One afternoon transformed me! In a moment, every word I'd ever learned about love was translated into flesh and blood and pulsated with life! I'd flown across the country to attend a special ceremony at Fort Benning, Georgia, and for the weekend my son and I spent hours and days together in Columbus, the small town there. Being a vegetarian, I'd prepared a list of cafes and...

I Woke Up This Morning In A Fit Of Slobbering Tears

By A Friend on September 16, 2020 / 511 views

It's as if 20 years of living a misdirected life finally came to a head in the wee hours of September 13th, 2020. I'm not sure why *this* morning was the morning that the world chose to reveal this epiphany to me, but here I sit. Gobsmacked. Flummoxed. Piteous. Broken. Life has decided that it has had enough of me living for myself. And, life has made this...

Equal

By Joseph J. Mazzella on September 15, 2020 / 505 views

I was 16 years old and on a week long trip to visit a Seminary college in Iowa. On the way our group had stopped in Chicago for a few days. We were staying in a building owned by the church on the south side of the city and had been warned not to go out alone. It wasn’t long, though, before I was feeling cooped up and decided to sneak out for a short walk. I was going down a street when I saw other...

10 Bad Mental Habits That You Should Let Go

By A Friend on September 10, 2020 / 806 views

1. Thinking the world owes you a cosmic reward, especially as a result of your actions. 2. Blaming other people for your lack of achievement. 3. Wallowing too much in the future that you can't focus on the present. 4. The need to compare yourself to others to measure your success. 5. The habit of telling self-deprecating words to yourself. 6. Putting...

I'm A Gambling Man

By A Friend on September 09, 2020 / 1,085 views

By A Friend on September 09, 2020 / 1,085 views

Group of young kids caught me on my way into the store. Asked me if I wanted to make a bet. I replied "I'm a gambling man" Older kid said he could ride a wheelie on his bike stop sign to stop sign. I said no way.. and how much? He said $10. I said why $10? He said they wanted a large pizza at Dominos... I said deal. He came very close but couldn't hold his...

The Generosity Of Neighbors

By Carleen on September 07, 2020 / 851 views

I recently posted a message (on Next Door) asking if anyone had furniture they could donate to my son’s class at Piney Woods Boarding School to create a homey environment for his students. The outpouring of generosity was incredible. He has enough pieces of furniture to create a wonderful space in his classroom as well as another teacher’s classroom. He is excited for his students to see...

A Pint Of Blood

By Joseph J. Mazzella on September 05, 2020 / 863 views

I was sitting at a table eating a chicken salad sandwich. I wasn’t really hungry but I was supposed to sit a bit and eat something to replenish my strength before heading home. I had left early to be first in line at a blood drive being held 15 miles away from my home. I knew that the changes due to Covid-19 would make the donation process even longer than it was before and I was right. I stood at the...

Homeless Man Helping His Friend

By A Friend on September 04, 2020 / 1,159 views

Today I brought some hot dogs to this group of homeless guys that sit in the shade next to a gas station down the street from where I live. I only had 5 buns so I could only bring 5 hot dogs and some sodas. When I got there and told them I had some hot dogs for them i just saw a couple of their faces light up and that made me so happy. But what this post is all about is after I...

Riches

By Lettie on August 27, 2020 / 1,286 views

The summer before my 10th birthday my father and mother moved our family of nine children to a farm! We had always lived in a small city, in the house my dad bought from my grandparents. But he wanted fresh air, healthy food and lots of room for his children to play. He'd worked multiple jobs at a time and saved for many years...and could finally afford a place in the countryside. Now a minor concern: the...

Looking Ahead

By Joseph J. Mazzella on August 26, 2020 / 1,123 views

When I was a young boy our whole family lived in my Nana’s old house right beside a set of railroad tracks. I can remember the whole house would shake when the trains rolled by. These trains hauling coal cars were few and far between, however, so I often spent my Summer afternoons walking down the tracks. I can remember the first time I tried to balance myself and walk on a single rail. The steel rails...

Two Bills

By Joseph J. Mazzella on August 19, 2020 / 1,715 views

It was a few years ago. A friend had sent me a restaurant gift card for Christmas and I had picked a pretty, sunny Sunday afternoon to use it. It felt good taking my two grown sons and daughter to a nice sit-down restaurant instead of the fast food places we usually ate at. The meal was delicious and we all had a good time just being together. When the waitress brought the check I looked down at it. The gift...

'I'm Not Broken?' A Conversation With God

By Sunny Skyz on August 13, 2020 / 2,265 views

By Sunny Skyz on August 13, 2020 / 2,265 views

Me: Hello God. God: Hello... Me: I'm falling apart. Can you put me back together? God: I'd rather not. Me: Why? God: Because you're not a puzzle. Me: What about all the pieces of my life that fall to the ground? God: Leave them there for a while. They fell for a reason. Let them be there for a while and then decide if you...

Saved By Beauty

By Joseph J. Mazzella on August 10, 2020 / 1,329 views

A dear friend sent me a letter and handmade card in the mail today. On the outside of the card was a cut out picture of a hummingbird in mid-flight. Its wings were a blur while its little needle shaped beak plunged deep into a flower. Below it was a quote by Fyodor Dostoyevsky: “The world will be saved by beauty.” I smiled when I saw it both with my face and my heart. Looking at it...

Dictionary Prayer

By Lettie on August 03, 2020 / 1,268 views

There are chaotic political scenes in my city these days, the spread of a highly contagious and deadly disease, and finally, I suddenly lost a beautiful, sweet, most amiable 9 yr-old husky (rescued at 9 months old). To slow myself down and allow myself to open up to clarity in all this "mess", I went to a big, old, red book - Webster New World Collegiate Dictionary! Certain tools are...

The Most

By Joseph J. Mazzella on July 30, 2020 / 2,865 views

You can learn a lot sitting in a parking lot. The other day I was sitting in my car with my sons reading a book while my daughter finished grocery shopping. From time to time, though, I would look up and observe what was going on outside. One of those times I saw a huge, new, bright red, Cadillac SUV pull up in the parking spot beside me. Out of it stepped a well-dressed young woman in high heels. She seemed...

Letter To The Angel Who Saved My Life

By A Friend on July 30, 2020 / 1,832 views

In 2016 I tried to jump off the Golden Gate Bridge. People were photographing me in their sick, morbid, selfish curiosity as I was preparing to jump. Tears filling my eyes and... it was guttural. When they started to take pictures of me I knew in that moment that nobody gave a shit. No one. But there was one heaven sent angel, if you will, who approached me. I was...