Each Day is a New Beginning

Each Day is a New Beginning

The darkness fades and the dawn appears

A brand new day is here for you

Yesterday’s mistakes are laid to rest

And the Lord’s mercies are fresh and new

Yes, mercy and grace, sufficient for each day

Thank the Lord, bow your head, and humbly begin to pray

Count those blessings, and ask Him for strength

He’ll lead you to still waters where you can freely drink

He is the Living Water so why do we refuse

To drink Him in and be refreshed, and have new tools to use

He supplies our every need, gives us above and beyond all we can ask or even think

Yet some of us are stubborn and refuse to take a drink

He fills us with His Spirit, our comforter and friend

Someone who is with us until the very end

So do not be discouraged…each day is a new beginning

We can bury all those failures and get on the road to winning

He does give us the victory when we run the race with Him

Say good-bye to yesterday and let the new day begin

Because each day is a new beginning!

Written by Linda Hogeland

March 2014

Daydreams

                              Artwork by Abigail Kraft...(my granddaughter)

Daydreams

A daydream is that place somewhere between awake and fast asleep

The place where your mind plays out the scenes until you get the ones you want to keep

A child in school who’s staring out the window, looking at the sky

He sees a bird and wonders how it would feel to fly!

The teacher calls his name out loud…but he doesn’t even hear her

A cat has focused on the bird and is inching very near her

Then the next moment… when the cat is about to pounce upon his dinner

The little bird just flies away and declares herself…the winner!

A wandering dog comes in the school yard and chases the cat up a tree

The little boy still watching… wishes he could set the feline free

He sees himself as a fireman saving that meowing kitty

He’s watched that scene play out before at his Aunt’s house in the city

His dream moves on and he’s now rescuing a woman from a blazing fire

She’s upstairs at the window yelling for help as the flames are climbing higher

The ladder swings up to the home’s flaming second story

He picks her up, carries her down, and the onlookers applaud, and shower him with glory

The bell now rings, and the little boy’s dreams must abruptly come to an end

It’s three o’clock and teacher’s chalk writes the homework assignment out for them

He heads to the bus where he takes his seat, and he’s ready for a new adventure to begin

As the wheels on the bus go round and round…his mind also takes a spin

On the way home, although not alone, he’s in a world all his own

For the daydreams he is staring in may put him as a king on his throne

Or maybe as a pilot in the cockpit of his very own airplane

Or as a skilled emergency room doctor…helping his patients manage their pain

Whatever the daydream he is the star…and there are so many scenes

As the king on that throne he may be fighting a war…or looking for potential queens

No… girls are not really his “cup of tea” at this time of his young life

He has too much daydreaming to do…and he doesn’t have time for a wife!

Written by Linda Hogeland, April 2013 

I Miss the Ocean………Poem By Linda Hogeland April 2012

I miss walking on the shore
And hearing the mighty ocean roar
Watching the seagulls soaring above
The ocean reminds me of God’s love

As a child I played in the sand and the sea
I took it all in at my mother’s knee
She told me of the God above
Who held the ocean’s bounds in His hands of love

I picked up seashells and starfish too
Because when you are a child, that’s what you do
I splashed in the water and laughed with glee
Oh how I miss the sparkling sea

The sound, the smell, the ocean tide
All with my mother by my side
I miss my mother and all we did
When I played in the ocean as a kid

As an adult it is even so much more
I dream as I stand at the ocean’s floor
I feel its power, I see its grace
And I imagine I see my mother’s face

I say a prayer, I sing a song
I could behold the ocean all day long
It brings a peace I can’t explain
It holds my memories of both pleasure and pain

When I am there it all comes alive
The suntanned girl at the ocean’s side
The loving mother sitting on the shore
Watching the daughter that she’s come to adore

The magic from those days of old
Is something I treasure more than gold
Just a visit to the ocean now and then
Is all it takes to begin again

Oh how I miss the ocean so dear
I hope for a visit sometime this year
To sit and to drink it all in with my eyes
Is a desire my heart can no longer disguise

In The Still of the Morning

I woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep because my husband was snoring, so I got up and had quiet time and wrote a poem. It is funny how I was annoyed because it was still dark outside and I couldn't go back to sleep...but then God brought me some very special moments and then gave me a poem! I love it when that happens. (:>)

I hope you will have a good beginning to your morning too...and that you will have a wonderful day!



In The Still of the Morning

In the still of the morning when the world is still asleep
And you listen so intently but you cannot hear a peep

And the sun has not awakened, or made its first appearance
And you gaze at the horizon and you see no interference

Everything is mute and quiet, and you feel a sense of calm
And the cup that you are holding feels so warm it’s like a balm

So you sip the warm dark liquid and you bow your head to pray
Then you read a Psalm and meditate on what it has to say

There is nothing to disturb you so you soak in every word
And there is a new excitement as God’s voice is being heard

Yet you sit there in the silence and He speaks right to your heart
And you wonder why each and everyday can’t have this kind of start

It’s because we often hurry through the routines of our day
Or we get up late and worry that the time will get away

But in the still of every morning He waits there silently
Waiting for you to acknowledge Him in everything you see

For without Him there is nothing just a vast and empty void
But in His glorious presence we can never feel annoyed

There is peace and tranquil splendor, and it’s all so very real
We can never quite explain it, or describe how it makes us feel

It’s more like, an awesome “knowing” that He is there with us
And our spirit has assurance, and in Him we place our trust

And to think I almost missed it…this blessed time alone with God
But the stillness of the morning beckoned me with a gentle nod

Now the sun is slowly rising and the dawn has brought the day
And my hope is that tomorrow can begin in this same way

In the still of the morning!

Written by Linda Hogeland
October 2011



Psalm 92: 1,2,4 NLT
It is good to give thanks to the Lord
to sing praises to the Most High.
It is good to proclaim your unfailing love
in the morning,...

You thrill me Lord with all you have done for me!



Join in the blogging fun...link up with my friend Jenilee for her "Just Because... Blog Party" by clicking on the button above! You will have fun meeting new people and making new friends!

Walk A Mile In My Shoes!

Walk a Mile in My Shoes ...Linda Hogeland…June 2011

Some people say…walk a mile in my shoes… before you judge me today
And before that walk you take in my shoes…please take a moment to pray

Before you reach out…to remove the small speck… that you see so clearly in mine…
Ask the Lord to help you… remove the big plank… that distorts your vision sometimes

As you walk in my shoes, and the obstacles fall, across your path at every turn
Take a moment to pray for some grace in your day…use it as an opportunity to learn

Learn to be thankful for all that you have… and don’t covet what I might obtain
For the grass is not greener on this side of the fence…and my life has often held pain

If you jog… don’t get blisters…cuz my shoes are quite small, and I can’t afford to buy new
You may wish that you had not walked in my shoes at all…but the ones that fit better on you

And if I’d turn it around, it might just be found, that your shoes would be hard to fit too
So the mile that we walk, let’s take time for a talk, and be friends and decide what to do

Life is harder than it seems… and we all lose our dreams… and a shoulder to lean on is nice
So next time you hear, “walk a mile in my shoes”…may I give you a little advice?

Have compassion and care…take the time just to share, and to listen to what others say
But first and foremost…don’t ever boast…there’s plenty more trials on the way

Yes, we all need to care…when we see such despair and we need to help where we can
There once was a King who walked under a cross…shouldering that burden for man

He took our place upon that old rugged cross as He hung there in sorrow and pain
Yes He died in our place for our sins and disgrace so that we could be free from the shame

Talk about walking a mile in our shoes…He forged on to Golgotha for me
And for us He endured all the things that He heard as they mocked Him as He hung on that tree

What a blessing it is that He walked in our shoes to the death that we all so deserved
From now on I will talk of that life giving walk…and try not to be so reserved

Lord…may I walk in their shoes… and give them Good News… that you lovingly gave to me
And like you… may I give of myself everyday…to all the burdened people I see!

Frustration

Why did I add a buffalo picture to my post today? Well I think this old buffalo was frustrated as we all slowed down and took pictures of him as he was walking down the road. I think he was just trying to get where he was going! That's how I felt when I was having trouble with my computer,...I just wanted it to work so that I could get where I was wanting to go! It was such a FRUSTRATION!!! But I did have fun writing this poem, and it kind of helped me to put it all into perspective!


Frustration

As I sit at my computer I cannot find a connection
And it is a source of anger and it brings to me frustration

How can I read my email, or check Facebook, or my blog
When this stupid old computer sits here like a sleeping dog!

I’ve tried everything I know of to get this old dog on its feet
But I haven’t found the answer, so I’m ending in defeat

I guess I’m writing this here poem to vent, and simply bide my time
Till my hubby can wake up and get his honey back online

Connectivity is low!… It kept saying as I clicked
So I gave up in frustration, guess I know when I am licked

Do other people have this problem? Or is it only me?
I wish I knew the answers, and could find what the problem be!

But I’m kinda having fun putting my frustration into words
It’s a therapy of sorts,…cuz I’m no computer nerd

I could really use the “Geek Squad”, if I had the 80 bucks
I won’t see that little beetle bug and to that I just say,…shucks!

It wasn’t very long ago that I didn’t have this laptop
But now that I am into it I find that I can’t stop

Can’t stop clicking, can’t stop scrolling, can’t stop typing, reading, rolling
Someone help me, I’m addicted!….. (Hey this poem is really growing)

Ok, I will stop now,… I really need to get a grip
I will stop my whining and complaining and have a stiff upper lip

Thanks for listening to my story,… it helped me just to vent
Vent about all my frustration,…and about how my morning went

You should try this kind of therapy next time you feel frustration
Either that or to the funny farm,…I’ll meet you at the station! (:>)

Linda Hogeland September 2009