A Strong Woman

A strong woman works out every day to keep her body in shape...
but a woman of strength kneels in prayer to keep her soul in shape. 

A strong woman isn't afraid of anything...
but a woman of strength shows courage in the midst of fear. 

A strong woman won't let anyone get the best of her...
but a woman of strength gives the best of her to everyone. 

A strong woman makes mistakes and avoids the same in the future...
but a woman of strength realizes life's mistakes can also be God's blessing
and capitalizes on them. 

A strong woman walks sure footedly...
but a woman of strength knows God will catch her when she falls. 

A strong woman wears the look of confidence on her face...
but a woman of strength wears grace. 

A strong woman has faith that she is strong enough for the journey...
but a woman of strength has faith that it is in the journey that
she will become strong. 

--Anonymous--

Woman

Strange are the ways that her feet have trod

   Since first she was set in the path of duty,

Finished and fair by the hand of God,

   To carry her message of love and beauty.

Delicate creature of light and shade,

   She gleamed like an opal, on wide worlds under:

And earth looked up to her half afraid,

   While heaven looked down at her, full of wonder.

Flame of the comet and mist of the moon,

   And ray of the sun all mingled in her.

And the heart of her asked but a single boon -

   That love should seek her, and find her, and win her.

She grasped the scope of the First Intent

   That made her kingdom for her, no other,

And joyfully into her place she went -

   The primal mate, and the primal mother.

Large was that kingdom and vast her sphere,

   And lightly she lifted and bore each burden.

Lightly she laughed in the eyes of fear,

   For love was her recompense, love her guerdon.

And never in camp, or in cave, or in home,

   Rose voice of mother or mate complaining.

And never the foot of her sought to roam,

   Till love in the heart of the man seemed waning.

In the broad rich furrows by woman turned

   Man, unwitting, set plough and harrow.

For worlds to conquer she had not yearned,

   Till he spoke of her feminine sphere as ‘narrow.’

The lullaby changed to a martial strain -

   When he took her travail, and song for granted -

And forth she forged in his own domain -

   Till the strange ‘new woman,’ the old supplanted.

‘Strange’ with the glow of a wakened soul,

   And ‘new’ with the purpose of large endeavour,

She turned her face to the higher goal -

   To the higher goal it is turned for ever.

Trade and science and craft and art,

   Have opened their doors to the call of woman;

And greater she grows in her greater part,

   More tenderly wise, and more sweetly human.

Brave foremothers of freedom’s birth

   Smile through space on your splendid daughters.

At one with liberty lighting the earth,

   Their torches flame o’er the darkest waters.

They lend a lustre to sea and land:

   They sweeten the world with their wholesome graces:

As out in the harbour of life they stand

   To cheer and welcome the coming races.

Brave forefathers and heroes who fought

   Under the flag of the Revolution,

War was the price of the freedom you bought,

   But peace is the watchword of Evolution.

The progress of woman means progress of peace,

   She wars on war, and its hosts alarming;

And her great love battle will never cease,

   Till the glory is seen of a world disarming.

The woman wonder with heart of flame,

   The coming man of the race will find her.

For petty purpose and narrow aim,

   And fault and flaw she will leave behind her.

He grown tender, and she grown wise,

   They shall enter the Eden by both created;

The broadened kingdom of Paradise,

   And love, and mate, as the first pair mated.

Esther Wheeler Wilcox

Don't Look Back

As you travel through life there are always those times
When decisions just have to be made,
When the choices are hard, and solutions seem scarce,
And the rain seems to soak your parade.

There are some situations where all you can do
Is simply let go and move on,
Gather your courage and choose a direction
That carries you toward a new dawn.

So pack up your troubles and take a step forward -
The process of change can be tough,
But think about all the excitement ahead
If you can be stalwart enough!

There might be adventures you never imagined
Just waiting around the next bend,
And wishes and dreams just about to come true
In ways you can’t yet comprehend!

Perhaps you’ll find friendships that spring from new things
As you challenge your status quo,
And learn there are so many options in life,
And so many ways you can grow!

Perhaps you’ll go places you never expected
And see things that you’ve never seen,
Or travel to fabulous, faraway worlds
And wonderful spots in between!

Perhaps you’ll find warmth and affection and caring
And somebody special who’s there
To help you stays centered and listen with interest
To stories and feelings you share.

Perhaps you’ll find comfort in knowing your friends
Are supportive of all that you do,
And believe that whatever decisions you make,
They’ll be the right choices for you.

So keep putting one foot in front of the other,
And taking your life day by day…
There’s a brighter tomorrow that’s just down the road -
Don’t look back! You’re not going that way!

Anonymous

Today's Quote

Because I am a woman, I must make unusual efforts to succeed. If I fail, no one will say, "She doesn't have what it takes." They will say, "Women don't have what it takes." 

Clare Boothe Luce

Galahad, Knight Who Perished

A Poem Dedicated to All Crusaders against the International and Interstate Traffic in Young Girls          

Galahad... soldier that perished... ages ago,
         Our hearts are breaking with shame, our tears overflow.
         Galahad... knight who perished... awaken again,
         Teach us to fight for immaculate ways among men.
         Soldiers fantastic, we pray to the star of the sea,
         We pray to the mother of God that the bound may be free.
         Rose-crowned lady from heaven, give us thy grace,
         Help us the intricate, desperate battle to face
         Till the leer of the trader is seen nevermore in the land,
         Till we bring every maid of the age to one sheltering hand.
         Ah, they are priceless, the pale and the ivory and red!
         Breathless we gaze on the curls of each glorious head!
         Arm them with strength mediaeval, thy marvellous dower,
         Blast now their tempters, shelter their steps with thy power.
         Leave not life's fairest to perish - strangers to thee,
         Let not the weakest be shipwrecked, oh, star of the sea!

Vachel Lindsay 

Today's Qupte

"Now that you have touched the
women you have struck a rock,
you have dislodged a boulder,
you will be crushed."

Women's Freedom Song, August, 1956

Today's Quote

"Don't compromise yourself. You are all you've got." 

Janis Joplin 

She died far too soon. 

Quote of the Day

"We stand now where two roads diverge. But unlike the roads in Robert Frost's familiar poem, they are not equally fair. The road we have long been traveling is deceptively easy, a smooth superhighway on which we progress with great speed, but at its end lies disaster. The other fork of the road—the one "less traveled by"—offers our last, our only chance to reach a destination that assures the preservation of the earth." 

  Rachel Carson