Memories Of Mom

By Joe Mazzella on September 04, 2012 / 7,652 views

Memory is often the source of our greatest joys as well as our deepest regrets. I cherish every memory I have of my Mom, but at the same time I regret no longer being able to create new ones with her. My Mom left this world when I was only 25 years old. I was far too young and foolish then to realize what a blessing every moment with her was. I never got a chance to say, "Thank You" to her for all of them. All I...

The Secret Ingredient

By Joe Mazzella on August 29, 2012 / 7,978 views

My Italian Grandmother's spaghetti sauce was a wonder to behold. After church on Sundays our family would always gather around for a huge dinner that was more a feast than a meal. For hours before the smell of the simmering sauce would fill the house and I would breathe in deep with delight. My Nana would slowly cook Italian sausages, meatballs, potatoes, and pieces of chicken in it too. Then she would boil...

A Tiny Wave

By Joe on August 21, 2012 / 1,547 views

Life is full of miracles. They come in all sizes too. Most people only notice the big miracles, but the tiny miracles surround us everyday. They are gentle reminders of how much God loves us and how much we can love too. I got one of these miracle reminders just the other day as I was driving my...

It's Better To Give Than Receive

By Chris on August 21, 2012 / 3,950 views

I had been coming to work with hard boiled eggs in the morning for myself every day this past week. My co-worker at the desk next to me noticed and kindly asked if I could bring in one for her one day. Naturally, I agreed. A couple days go by and I forgot to bring her an egg. It was the last egg too, I had no...

One Kind Act Starts A Lifetime Of Love

By Joe on August 14, 2012 / 7,179 views

I was sitting in a chair, sipping iced tea out of a thermos, and trying to stay awake. The group of adults around me were trying to do the same. We were all there to renew our first aid cards for our jobs working with the handicapped. The room was an old converted day treatment area and wasn't meant for so many people. Even with the air conditioning it felt hot and stuffy. All of us there had taken the class many...

It's Worth It

By Matthew on August 07, 2012 / 1,686 views

The mattock cut into the ground again and again. Every time I raised it I slammed it down even harder. It felt as heavy in my arms as my broken heart did in my chest. Still, I powered through the pain and finished loosening up the dirt. I tossed the mattock aside, picked up a shovel and began to dig. Sweat and tears burned my eyes but I didn't stop. I kept going until the aching in my arms and back matched the...

Ode To Dolly, And The Jar Fly

By Harold Scott on August 06, 2012 / 8,048 views

I, by no means, am, as wealthy, or as famous as Dolly, but, I, like her, grew up in a rural part of Tennessee, as a part of a rather large family of six siblings, along with my parents. Eight people in a small house, made for some creativity on the part of my Daddy and Mom. It was also a home with a front porch, and, I even recall a few straight back chairs. (We used them as sleds in the snow, talk about getting...

You Can Change The World

By Paul on August 01, 2012 / 8,243 views

I changed the world today. It happened while I was driving home after going to the store with my son. I was just about to pull onto the side road that leads to my house when my handicapped son laughed in the back seat. I glanced in the rearview mirror to see his smiling face and then made the turn a little bit faster than normal. As soon as I did I saw a big dog walking down the road in my lane. Not having time...

The "Teresa Project" My Birthday Wish

By Harold Scott on July 29, 2012 / 1,805 views

Send a Birthday Card to the "Teresa Project" and Fulfill Brother's Wish My sister, Teresa has lived with cerebral palsy her entire life, and, was also diagnosed with lupus some years ago. She is mostly wheelchair bound these days, but continues to enjoy watching and feeding the hummingbirds, growing flowers, playing with her dog, and doing some painting. I have tried to imagine my life as hers, in that she...

God Loves You

By Joe on July 25, 2012 / 11,596 views

There are stories that find their way into your heart and stay there forever. This is one that found its way into mine. There was once an elderly woman who lived in a violent, drug-ravaged, crumbling neighborhood in an old city. Her children had died before her. Time had left its mark on her too. She was no longer pretty in the eyes of the world. She had become wrinkled, stooped, thin and hollow-eyed. Her...

One Miracle After Another

By LoriAnne on July 21, 2012 / 2,037 views

Morning filled with one Miracle after another. I just got back from a Book Authors conference in Philly and this was my experience trying to get home after massive air delays! My Flight got cancelled on Wed. night and I was just going to sleep on the floor at the Marriott. A very young African girl came strolling by with her 9 mo old baby and asked me why I was sleeping on the floor. I told her about my...

Be A Donor

By Joe on July 17, 2012 / 8,147 views

My children gave me a new wallet as a Father's Day present this year. It was the perfect gift choice considering the moldy, worn, lump of leather I had been using was well past its prime. I took the opportunity as well to toss out any cards, notes, or scraps of paper in it that were no longer needed. As I emptied out the old wallet I was amazed at how much it held. Gingerly I went through its contents piece by...

Plant Week Surprise

By Katherine on July 13, 2012 / 9,532 views

During Plant Week, my Kindergarten students learn all about the importance of plants in our lives, the different kinds of plants in our area, and (their favorite) how plants grow. Each student got their very own little terra cotta planter and were shown how to fill them with dirt, plant seeds, and water them. So we did our activity in the classroom, they filled them up with dirt, they had so much putting the...

One Page At A Time

By Joe on July 10, 2012 / 10,112 views

I have the bad habit of skipping to the last pages of a book to see how it ends while I am still in the middle of it. This habit annoyed first my Mom, then my friends, and finally even my own daughter. Often my impatience wouldn't be confined just to the books I read but also to what they were reading as well. Finally one day my daughter told me in exasperation, "Dad please just read a book one page at a time...

Bringing Out The Best In Us

By Joe on July 03, 2012 / 1,886 views

My community and state are still recovering from the catastrophe that struck recently. A wall of storms with hurricane force winds struck late on a Friday evening knocking down trees, blocking roads, damaging homes, and destroying power lines. Hundreds of thousands of people suddenly found themselves in the dark without water, electricity, air conditioning, telephones, internet, and television. They found themselves...

"Do-er" Or A "Let-it-be"

By Ileana Ensinia on June 29, 2012 / 10,493 views

Today more than ever, I have come to realize how short life can be. And the two types of people in the world. The ones who take action and make things happen, and those who go with the flow and leave it up to destiny and the universe to give them what they want. So it made me question? Which one are you? Do you take control, or do you let it fall in place? I have come realize that, money is not important. You can...

The No Name Resting Place

By Anna Ray-Jones on June 29, 2012 / 11,572 views

The No-Name Resting Place by Anna Ray-Jones Word Count: 1,281 My father and I had been enemies since my feet first hit the floor. And I was not the only one in the family that made him mad. He never got along with my Mom or my older brother either. When he and Mom would argue, they made the house a scary place. They would quarrel for hours over the stupidest things and even take their fights from...