by Randal Matheny

The shadows slowly sweep the sundial's face,
a foe to some; to me, a family friend.
Their calm, relentless march keeps cares apace
and makes me look at life's decisive end.

I wrote the above as a poetry challenge on a forum I
participate in. A timepiece had to be included as well
as the following words: cares, life, relentless, look,
friend. Getting those five words in four lines took a
bit of brow-furrowing. Maybe it'll say something to you
today. Smiles!

Here's the couplet I wrote for our 23rd wedding anniversary. Very original title.

Happy 23rd Anniversary

I liked you when we said our wedding vow;
I like you just the way you are, right now.

Taking off tomorrow for Salvador to give the Total Transformation course there. Will be back Sunday. Be sure to miss me while I'm gone.

Last Saturday (Aug 3) was our 23rd wedding anniversary, so I took Vicki up the mountains to speak a night in a chalé next to a gurgling brook. (We stayed in the middle chalé.) The rain kept us from hiking up to a waterfall, but we did do a 30-min. tour of the whole vila. It was a short trip, from Friday afternoon to Saturday, but it only took an hour and 20 min. to travel, so maybe we'll climb the Serra da Mantiqueira again sometime.

Here's a panoramic shot of the area. And this page is in Portuguese, but click on the cameras for shots of the mountains and waterfalls around the town.

by Randal Matheny

A holy thought and word, a righteous deed
Are each, for richest harvest, hearty seed.

by Randal Matheny

Endure the darkness of your soul's dismay
Until the dawning of God's brighter day.

Oswald Chambers prompted this couplet, "When the
darkness of dismay comes, endure until it is over,
because out of it will come that following of Jesus
which is an unspeakable joy."