SHE STANDS

After she extends her long arm of servanthood

SLASH! Blood.

She withdraws quickly,recoiling in pain
severely stinging
She had laid out
her body naked. out.
on the floor.
To be given
to those who need it.
Who hunger for it.
A simple sacrifice
of profound proportions.
She saw the angry faces
the hurt the lost
the BROKEN.
and gave.
'Is it worth it?' she mutters
inside her head.
As her arms now shortened by the pain, hold her knees
close to her chest.
'Can I do it?'
Tears slowly pouring out
in bittersweet streams
'Spend my life, open, naked, bare,
bleeding'
It felt so good at first
To be used of Him.
but after many turned cheeks
and bruised heartbeats
she is on the edge, the slippery slope

Her mind drifts to a time ....
of mountaintops & go-getter thoughts
Of invincibility
Of "I will take up my cross and follow Him"
"Nothing will hurt me...'
"Nothing will detour me.."
"Make me doubt."

Times have changed.

Many days of crossbearing
makes the soul feel heavy.
But the voice of hope
yanks at her soul.

She remembers Him...
His cross...His sacrifice.

She kneels.

Pouring her heart out.
All is well again.
She stands.

Clothed in humility and gratitude.

She smiles a sigh of weightlessness.

The pain is gone.
No blood to be found.

She lives to face another day.

To bare her cross and
Lay down her naked life.

So others my find the sweet surrender.

She stands.

Summer Breeze

Took this on one of my many trips to Florida! AWWWW, the beach! Love it! This was my first trip to Port St. Joe....great place....summer and seclusion are two things I think of when I think about that small town....peaceful...so great...

________________________

SUMMER and SECLUSION

________________________

________________________

You brought blue skies

and sunny highs

Water waves

like summer handshakes

We walked the sandy road

to find our respite

Slow walks ....

long talks...

Hand in hand

we found peace from man

Ocean breezes of sweet saltwater

smells

Sand that glistened in the sun, white as snow

We stood on the edge overlooking our vast escape

Water tickles between our toes as we grabbed hands

and stole kisses to grasp Love's Hold...

Come again we may to our

abyss of calm peace

Overlook our land...

Hand in Hand.

Written by: Michelle Cataldo June 23rd, 2009

Soul's Chosen Gain

When sunny days are fleeting and the rain that must come ..comes, look up cause the sky will surely change and the outlook will not remain the same..optimism, in the waiting, is the soul's chosen gain...

Raindrops fall
Like soft diamonds to the ground
Bursting into a million pieces
As they land
Scattering their brillance
to the surround to glow
As glitter
Or a light dust of shimmer
On a cheek
Not so much like a teardrop as
When it falls and makes
A jagged line down
Its hilly road
But smooth
And shiny, spread all over
Like the mother of all fairies
Took her pixie dust
And released it to the wind
With the promise to change
All around her
To make it SHINE
To glow
So
That when our heads hang low
Our minds may see
The silver lining
Of the dark & dreary
To bask in the glow of a new day.

Michelle Cataldo

(Written March 31st, 2009)

The Red Red Rose

Sometimes there's just nothing better than RED. Even as a purple girl myself I can't miscount the effect red has on me and others. It catches your eye and pulls you in when nothing else does sometimes...maybe that's why God chose to make the blood that flows threw our veins red ...hmm. Worth a thought I guess.

Red & The Empty Pocketbook

There you stood looking at me

oh so boldly

you said :

"What are you waiting for?!"

Pick me up, Pull me close

Feel my touch...

So I did.

Velvety soft, brillantly RED,

the warmest of all the warm embraces in the world

was yours..

You left me not alone so

I left you not alone..

I tried you on for size

was this gonna work?

will you fit?

can we make it together?

All the time thinking THIS IS IT!

Its perfect.

Its gotta be...

But twas not to be ...

you left me

as quickly as you came..

was the price tag to blame?

For me and my empty pocket book

Could not your cost overlook.

I felt as though I had been cut

And all my blood had spilled out on you

stained every thread..

for when I left, I was oh so pale

We together could not make the sale.

Written March 14th, 2009 Michelle Cataldo

(Just a funny little poem by me..hh...hope you got a laugh if nothing else out of it)

The things that make Valentine's Day great...

So its a little late from February but Love always keeps going and sharing so here I am.
I love those unexpected surprises like when your husband brings home roses and a box of special chocolates and a little gift with just u in mind...especially when he was an adament non-valentiner. Well hope all you enjoyed your V-day ....may your love continue to blossom and bloom into the spring of 2009.

#4

Well this probably isn't what you expected Irene when you asked for my 4th photo from my 4th file, but it brought a smile to my face when I realized it was YOUR BROTHER!!! How ironic is that!? There's gotta be a message there somewhere....

To all those who read my blog, Irene (http://www.wordloversunite.blogspot.com ), who by the way is an EXCELLENT poet and writer, asked me to play along and post this for fun! Hope she is pleasantly suprised.

I agree with you , Irene, LISTEN is a perfect word for 2009. I think a #2 word should be added. I think it should be "Surprise!" b/c :

When we listen, we never know what we might find. Michelle

Time to Still

There's a time for change

A time for complacency

for not for the routine

would we not hunger for

the change

stirring of the embers

I stand still...

In my own skin

can I peer out

of the black ash

of what was

holding me down

mainitaining my frown

I never know what

change You will bring

where the fire will stir

All I know is You

You will enlighten the way

I stand still...

"He restoreth my soul"..

He my calm makes whole..

"He knows what I have need of before I ask"..

how can I bask

in the glow of His Hol'

I stand still...

Pondering in amazement

the Love that knows no limits

that cannot be held

My thoughts, my wishes, my wonders

were more than just little lip flutters

You took to Heart

the matter for which I laked tears

trying to stay awake to hide the pain

behind the fake..

Make no mistake..

I stand still..

I stand still..

I STAND STILL!

Written: January 23, 2009

(Words in quotations were taken from the Bible)

Relevant Witness

IS it relevant or relative?

To ponder
To wonder on those things of a higher nature..
A higher power..

Relevant to you
To God or
To me?

We are all connected

U see

To contemplate
To imaginate
All the things
I should do

All the things
I fall short of

Must not let go
Of the ole’ heave ho
The workin’ man’s motto
Is a good intro

To keep on the ole
Straight n’ narrow

Keep on walking
Keep on praying

To God keep on relatin’
Not always easy you see

A God-seeker to be
Hard-work
To be kneelin’
To be stillin’

On God to be yieldin’

Relative to you
Relevant to me

Is my walk with God
Cannot stop
The impact of it all

When I fall
When I stray

Your eyes can pierce
And remind me of how fierce
I must remain

Determination

From a Higher plain
I cannot

Separate from you
Or Him be

B/c we are all entwined

In His Love oh, so sublime

You touch me
I touch you
You see me
I see you

The legacy of a God-fearing soul
Must we make
Must we mold

So others can
Without shame
w/out remiss
Our story unfold
　
We are all relevant you see,

To God
To you
To me.
　
Written by: Michelle Cataldo 7/21/08

To A New Year and New Beginnings

This year will hold alot of changes for me and new challenges. I posted this pic to remind me as I face these new challenges to:

1. Keep my chin up and my face towards the Son

2. To grow inside and out

3. and to continue to surround myself with beautiful people and beautiful things

Those are 3 of my goals for 2009.

"Ask and ye shall receive" The Bible