Charlie was just a young puppy when he chased just first car. Charlie loved the thrill of chasing cars. Charlie wondered what would happen when he caught one.
Charlie grew bigger and faster. Charlie ran every day to build up his strength to catch a car. Charlie didn’t have time to play with other dogs. Any dog that tried to get close to Charlie, Charlie would run over on his way to try to catch another car.
Then one day, Charlie was chasing a car when he saw Bella. The world stopped for Charlie. Charlie didn’t think about chasing cars as much.
Charlie and Bella fell in love. Charlie and Bella started having puppies. Charlie and Bella were happy. Charlie started to worry about how he could provide for them.
Charlie started chasing cars again. Charlie ran and ran. Charlie would stay out late chasing cars.
Charlie and Bella started to fight. Bella was left all alone while Charlie chased cars. Charlie’s kids wanted him to be home more. Charlie’s kids wanted to spend time with their dad. Charlie kept chasing cars.
Then one day it happened. Charlie caught a car. Charlie was so happy. Charlie thought I finally did it. But in that same moment, Charlie had another thought.
Now what?
Charlie realized he had made it to the top but that he had destroyed his life. Charlie had no friends. Charlie and Bella didn’t talk anymore. Charlie didn’t know what his kids were like.
Charlie was miserable at the top. All the long hours, all the sacrifices, all the birthdays he missed to get there.
Charlie wished he didn’t want to chase cars. Charlie wished he could do things differently. Charlie wondered if they would ever forgive him.
I heard the doors open and shut. Another person walking into church late.
Seriously?
C’mon lady, the church is half empty and you come and sit right beside me. Hello? Have you not heard of personal space?
She gave me a weak smile, and I gave her one back. Not my first thought to do but we were in church.
A few minutes later tears started to stream down her face.
Oh no God, not today. I do not want to deal with this today. I just came to worship you, not talk to someone else.
Ask her if she is okay!
No God! I told you I did not want to do this today.
Reach out for her hand!
Are you serious? I will not do that. She will probably think I am hitting on her or something. From the way she is crying that is the last thing she needs.
That is what she needs. She needs a friend. She needs you.
God, in case you haven’t noticed, I don’t have any friends. I’m not exactly the kind of friend people want. I don’t have time for people in my life.
Offer her a tissue!
I don’t have one on me.
There are some in front of the church!
You want me to get up and walk to the front of the church, right in middle of the sermon?
Yes!
I exhaled softly. Maybe it was loudly.
“Excuse me, let me go get you a tissue.”
“Thank you but you don’t have to.”
If only. “Yes, I do. God is telling me to go get you a tissue.”
She looked at me weird. I could hear her thoughts. This guy is crazy, thinking God is talking to him.
I came back and gave her the tissue.
We listened to the rest of the sermon. At the end of the service I sat there, waiting for her to get up. She didn’t.
C’mon God. Seriously, I have so much to do today.
Nothing more important than my daughter!
I looked at her and could tell she had a lot on her mind. Tears started to flow again.
“Are you okay?” Duh. Of course she isn’t okay.
I reached out and touched her hand and she looked at me with such sadness.
She started to talk. Opening up more and more as the minutes past. Everyone else had left the church and it was just her and myself. Well, and God.
She talked about her mistakes and her pain. Tears would come and go. I listened and tried to lighten the mood when the opportunity arose. I tried to offer encouragement where I could. The more I listened, the more I realized she was a lot like me. I forgot about all I needed to get done and just sat there and listened.
That’s when I heard God tell me to look up. I did and that’s when I saw the light shining through the stained glass window. How had I never noticed the stained glass window before? Maybe I had and just let it slide to the back of my mind. If I had noticed it before, I do not remember it being so beautiful.
That’s when I remembered something I had read about how stained glass windows were made.
I asked the woman to look up.
“Look at the stained glass window. See how beautiful it is. It’s beautiful, just like you. Just like me. In order for it to be made, it has to be broken. All the broken pieces are put together just so by its maker. You can’t see how all the broken pieces will turn out, just like you can’t see what next year or even what tomorrow will be. Then one day, presto. You see this beautiful, completed work of art. One day you and I will be a completed work of art. We just have to keep picking up the broken pieces and putting them together until we are complete.”
It was like a light went off behind her eyes.
She thanked me and got up and ran out of the church. I never even got her name.
She came back the next Sunday and we talked more and wouldn’t you know it, we became good friends. So good, in fact, that we are now married.
Our stained glass window is not complete. God is still putting more broken pieces together but I can see the picture. I can see how all the past mistakes, all the broken pieces are making a beautiful window. It would not look how it looks without all the broken pieces of glass. One day, our window will be complete and it will be more amazing than I could ever imagine.
The character in this poem leaves to find himself, but in reality, it could be about each and every one of us who have “checked out” of their marriage. Those who are there but are not there. Don’t think they will always be there waiting for you to come back.
It could be for you, my readers, since I have not posted in a month. Has it really been that long? I never meant for it to be that long but sometimes I get caught in a tornado and I wait to land in OZ.
I remember the first time I saw her. Standing all alone in the water. I stood in awe at how beautiful she was. A true work of art. It was love at first sight.
It was our first vacation together to the beach. Our first of many.
I remember the first time I walked out on her, I stood so far out into the ocean. The beach looked so far away. I was so far out all the people on the beach looked like ants.
I learned all about her. From the beginning when she was first being made until now. All the storms she had been through, everything that made her into the beauty she is today. I couldn’t help but wonder if other people looked at her the way I did.
How many sunrises and sunsets have we seen from that pier? How many long talks have we had walking the beaches and that pier while holding hands?
Every year, before we would go back, I would look at the old photos of us taken on that pier. The first one taken when we’re just dating, the first one taken as a married couple, the first one with our daughter as a baby and all the ones through the years as she, and we, grew older.
Throughout the years, I always knew the pier would be there when we were. The times when we would walk early in the morning and the fog was so thick we could barely see our hands in front of our face. But somehow, I knew the next step would land on the next plank. On the dark nights when we could not see the end of the pier because of the darkness, I still knew it was there.
Then I looked at the last picture, the one from last year. The pier was showing her age but she was still so beautiful to me. Our daughter had grown so strong and beautiful, ready to go out on her own. There was something off about the picture though. There was a light missing from your eyes. Maybe the smile wasn’t as big as years past.
Maybe it was just my imagination. I couldn’t get the thought out of my head.
Do you believe in coincidences? As I was staring at the picture there was a breaking news alert. The hurricane hit the pier and she was gone. I couldn’t believe it. All those years of storms and sunshine, cold winter nights and hot summer days, all the things the pier had been through and now she was gone.
A tear came to my eyes as I stared In disbelief. Was it real or was I dreaming? Was she really gone? All these pictures, all the memories, all of it gone. No, they were still there but as I looked at the empty space in the ocean I knew things would never be the same.
I couldn’t help but look at the last picture again. The one where the light in your eyes was gone and your smile wasn’t as big. All the storms we have faced and survived. All the good days and the bad days. I couldn’t help shake the feeling that a storm was coming. A storm bigger than we have ever faced before.
The signs of spring are here. Spring training baseball, Nascar had its first race yesterday, people are talking about March Madness, and we had five blue jays in our yard yesterday. That is good news for us that do not like winter, but that is not good news that changes people or the world like the following stories.
Alyssa Kamm thought she had more than two years to plan her wedding. But she found her prep time cut to three weeks after learning her father had cancer.
The abbreviated schedule came courtesy of more than a dozen strangers, business owners and managers throughout Rochester, New York, who donated flowers, a venue, photography, music and numerous other services to help give the bride and her groom their dream wedding on Feb. 4.
Just three weeks earlier, on Jan. 13, Alyssa learned her dad had been diagnosed with advanced multiple myeloma, which affects the bone marrow and quickly weakens the bones. Her dad began chemotherapy treatment immediately.
One of the women shared her family’s story and sought advice about nice but inexpensive venues and services on a Facebook page for Rochester-area wedding vendors.
“It touched my heart and I knew I wanted to be a part of this,” she told TODAY. She immediately began messaging with a good friend of hers who is a DJ and the two “started chatting about who we needed to ‘tag’ in the post and how we could really make this happen for Alyssa and her family.”
Colburn, who donated a full wedding photography package, said she was excited to see the event come together so effortlessly.
“We are surrounded by negativity and sad stories and sometimes it’s easy to forget that there are still good people in the world,” said Colburn, who hopes vendors in other cities “continue to spread the love” by helping others in need.
Alyssa’s dad, Karl Jones, 55, said he was amazed at how so many people he didn’t know coalesced to help his family.
“All the vendors — we call them our fairy god dream team. They didn’t know us, and they just started offering their services and the ball kept on rolling. It shocked me,” he said.
“This is something that makes him happy, to let people know that there are good people in the world we live in,” she said. “This story, even though it’s rooted in something that’s really sad, and it stings for us, it has such a happy ending, and that gives him something to live for.”
source: Eun Kyung Kim -TODAY
February 3 was a big night in Norman, Oklahoma. The Norman High School Lady Tigers basketball team was facing its rival, the Timberwolves of Norman North. By the end of the fourth quarter, the Lady Tigers had a comfortable lead of 57-35 — for all intents and purposes, they had won the game.
But when the coaches sent in one player who had sat on the sidelines all night, everyone in the arena shared a victory.
That player was Lainy Fredrickson — a special-needs senior whose epic basket at the game’s close had the crowd (and the internet) going wild. Detrick Watts, a special education TA and assistant girls’ basketball coach, told TODAY that having Fredrickson on the team is “a blessing.”
“She always puts a smile on everybody’s face,” he said. “You know your day is going to be better just from coming into contact with her.”
“As coaches, you try not to show your emotions, especially during the game,” said Watts. “But the reality sets in that this is something more than basketball … it’s fulfilling a dream. For the coaches, and I think for the players, it’s something I’ll never forget.”
It made a similar impression on Michael Vanderburg, the alum who took the video. “It is a testimony to the awesome community of Norman, Oklahoma, and my alma mater Norman High School, and how there is still hope for humanity out here in this world,” he told TODAY. “If we just focus on the good instead of the bad, we could come together and really make a difference.”
source: Embry Roberts – TODAY
When Todd Steinkamp was told that his car wouldn’t make it all the way to a Wisconsin funeral he wanted to attend, he believed it was the beginning of a terrible day—but he hadn’t yet met the man who would turn it around.
The driver was forced to pull his vehicle into the closest auto repair shop after it started making a dreadful grinding sound midway through his route from Iowa.
The mechanic, Glenn Geib, told Todd that his car would not be able to travel the remaining 70-mile distance to the memorial service.
Things looked bleak, but after seeing Todd’s reaction, Glenn offered up his own wheels as a substitute.
“I must have looked pretty stressed-out at this time because Glenn then reached into his pocket, pulled out the keys to HIS own vehicle and said ‘Take my truck. Fill it up with gas, don’t turn on the emergency lights and get going’,” wrote Todd on Facebook.
Not only was the younger man able to make it to his funeral, but his would-be terrible day was totally turned around.
“We sat and talked for a while when I got back as I thanked him and he told me more about himself. The 74 year-old mechanic with a grip of steel turned a terrible day into a good one with a great lesson… ‘just be kind and help if you can’.”
source : McKinley Corbley – Good News Network
A waitress who did a good deed for a pair of firefighters was overwhelmed when they returned the favor—for her father.
Instead of a bill for their breakfast, Liz Woodward brought a pair of New Jersey firefighters a thank you note. They’d just spent 24 hours battling the blaze at a local warehouse, and the waitress wanted to do something nice for them.
“Your breakfast is on me today,” the note read, along with little drawings of a fire ax and helmet. “Thank you for all that you do.”
Firefighter Tim Young posted the story and a photo of the note to Facebook, urging people to eat at the diner where she worked. But then, he found out the waitress had a GoFundMe campaign that she was using to raise $17,000 to buy her father a wheelchair-accessible van.
Turns out, the young lady who gave us a free meal is really the one that could use the help,” Young wrote in another post.
The firefighter’s plea spread like wildfire. His posts were shared thousands of times and 1,000 people donated more than $67,000 — $50,000 above her goal.
“This is just one example of how so many people in this world have incredible hearts and they pay it forward, so the circle keeps on moving,” Woodward told TODAY.
source: Terry Turner – Good News Network
Of course, there are much, much more but did not want to get this into 2000 words so hopefully, other bloggers joined in today to give us more #goodnews stories.
Check out www.goodnewsnetwork.org, www.huffingtonpost.com/section/good–news, www.sunnyskyz.com/good–news, www.today.com/news/good–news, https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/good-news, abcnews.go.com/US/Good_News as well as many others.
When I first started this I was thinking it would be about old friends or old relationship, like Adele’s Someone Like You song. Then I heard RaeLynn’s Love Triangle and it went a different direction. Hope you like. Dads, be there for you kids, no matter what. They need you in their life. The statistics of how children turn out without a father in their lives are not good. Be there. Be thankful for them. Love them. Be thankful for forgiveness. One of the most important things you can do as a dad is to love their mom. Show them what a real man and a real father and a real stick it out, work it out relationship should look like.
When I left it wasn’t your choice
It must be strange to hear my voice
After all these years
After you cried a million tears
“I’m sorry I was wrong.”
“I should never have left you for so long.”
“I’m sorry I decided to leave.”
“I know that must be hard for you to believe.”
“I felt like there was no other way.”
“When I packed my bags and left that day.”
“Your mom has raised you well.”
“You’re beautiful inside and out I can tell.”
I could also tell I had scarred her
Her first question, “Why didn’t you try harder?”
“Wasn’t I worth trying?”
“Do you know how many nights I spent crying?”
“I promise daddy, I could’ve been better!”
“Don’t you think I was worth one call, one letter?”
“I know you and mom had your troubles
But why did you keep me outside your bubble?”
“Do you know many nights I yelled into my pillow at you?”
“Do you know how many days I wondered what did I do?”
I just stared at her, how could I cut her out of my life?
There was nothing I could say, she was right
She had so many questions that hurt me so
But nothing like the pain I caused her I know
I cried my first tear
I let go of all my fears
All the times I could’ve
All the times I should’ve
I let them all go, left the past in the past
Here she was in front of me at last
I asked, “Will you ever forgive me?”
“I did dad, a long time ago can’t you see?”
“I prayed for you!”
“I waited for you!”
“I did have so much anger and hate
But God taught me that love was the only way.”
“As hard as it was I slowly learned to forgive
So that I could learn to live.”
“I opened up the walls surrounding my heart.”
“Here I am dad, willing to give us another start!”
I lost it all, I crumbled in her arms
I promised her I would never again harm
If God could help us reunite
Then I knew I had to give Him my life
Thank you for mended relationships
Thank you God for fixing this
Never again will something come in between
I will spend the rest of my life letting her know how much she means
Love Triangle by Raelynn-
Perfect Story by Idina Menzel –
Every Other Weekend by Kenny Chesney and Reba McEntire-
This didn’t turn out like I wanted but you can get the drift.
Ghosts and goblins don’t scare me.
Werewolves? Nah.
Vampires don’t either.
What about bears and lions you ask? Not in the least. Most of the time if they attack they are only protecting their territory or their young. Now I must say I have never been in front of a ten foot tall, mad mama bear but sitting here in the comfort of my home I am not afraid.
What about snakes? I will admit they get my heart going but not really afraid of them. Again, I have never come face to face with a black mamba or a king cobra but, for now, I can say I am not afraid.
Spiders? Not at all.
Most animals are the same. They wake up, they search for food and water, they sleep. Add breeding when it’s that time.
Monsters don’t scare me either. I mean if you can’t outrun Frankenstein or the Blob then shame on you. Yes, I know there are faster monsters out there but I am not scared.
You want to know what really scares me?
People.
People scare me more than anything else in this world.
They are unpredictable.
They can look you in the eye and lie to you.
They can say they will never let you down and two seconds later they let you down.
They can be your best friend one minute and your worst enemy the next.
They can take you for granted.
They can say they will love you til death parts you and then leave for someone else six months later.
They can do unimaginable things when they feel desperate. Back then into a corner and they can be worse than a king cobra.
They can hate you for no other reason than the way you look.
Yes people scare me more than ghosts and goblins. Yes they scare me more than any other thing in this world. But I have seen some hope.
I have seen people jump in front of a bullet to save a total stranger.
I have seen people spend hours in a hospital room holding a loved ones hand.
I have seen people give so much of their time to help the least of them.
People scare me. But I have hope. I have a dream that people will love more than they hate. That they will stand by their word. That when they commit they understand what that truly means.
People can be more unpredictable than any animal I know. But, unlike animals they can also do more good than they can imagine.
My God, My Music, My Life 