My sisters and I...oh how I miss our younger years...

You know, when my sisters and I were younger, life seemed a bit more uncomplicated. It was fun; living with no responsibilities; our feelings were simply the love for each other, mixed in with the occasional fight or two, and our lives, thankfully, we knew, were connected forever.

Now, as we’ve all gotten older, chosen our separate ways and began our lives with our significant others, I’m reminded by those feelings that we once had when we were merely children.

The playful remnants linger in my mind as if they were yesterday, and I am reminded by the connection we all share.

It doesn’t matter who comes into our lives, or who walks out, it’s the bond that can’t be broken that provides hope in the struggles of daily life; we are sisters and despite our arguments in adulthood and the political views we disagree on, our lives are intertwined; and thankfully, that’s a forever too.

(In the picture, from left to right, my sisters, Elysia, Erin, and Melissa. That is my dad too!)

Remembering Today...

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...

Perhaps that is a saying that you know, perhaps youve never heard it...nonetheless, we can all relate to what we call the best of times and what we call the worst of times...they are moments in time that seem to cover our minds, our hearts, our souls, they change our lives forever

Perhaps the sixth anniversary of 9/11 can be depicted such as this...it was the best of times, as the human spirit was truly revealed throughout that fateful day, and then months, even years after. The people who helped in time of need, running into danger rather than away from it...many people were enveloped by the support that seemed to echo throughout the nation, and really, throughout the world...the endless emotion to one another of the loss of perfect strangers; it was the love for another that seemed infinite...

After the terrorists took the lives of many that day, the nation showed them they could not take the one thing away from us that still, was so prevalent: our undying human spirit.

Sadly however, we remember the worst of times on that beautiful September day...as extremists attacked American soil, hitting our country at a vulnerable time...the lives lost was unbearable, incomprehensible, uncertain, and most of all, unwarranted. How could someone do such a thing many of us thought...how could people be so evil?

Today, six years later, that question and many others remain...however, what also still lingers, is the uncertainty of tomorrow, as nations recognize the world's most common enemy: terror.

Remembering the terrorists attacks of 9/11 should not be merely a day, but a lifetime...to honor the men and women that were lost that day, and now, the men and women who have fallen to the cause of freedom...who continue to fight for that freedom daily overseas...

...Despite your views about the war on terror, despite your views about the men who attacked our country in such a vicious way September 11th, 2001, remember that day, remember that moment in time, remember what we lost, and remember that the fight still continues...

Escape

Here is another poem for all you poetry lovers out there...

I wrote this a few years ago; and to be honest with you, I'm not entirely sure why I wrote this. I think it might have been one of those days that I just wanted to hide away, escape, and somehow, find a stairway leading to anywhere but here!

Nonetheless, it's just another 'point of interest' of where I was at, attempting to discover where I needed to go...

The escape of reality,
Your dreams; I find intriguing
Why we laugh
Why we cry, I find enlightening
The vastness of a bright blue sky,
Mountaintops drenched with snow, I find peculiar, yet marvelously created
Escaping your past
While uncovering your future;
What stimulates you to discover?
Do you dream to escape?
Do you wish to escape reality?
Dream…then escape.

Copyright ©2005 Emily R. Allison

'Sweetly Broken'

Music SO many times in my life has been extremely therapeutic. I find solace in the musical compositions as well as the words that an artist is inspired to write and then sing.

I recently heard a song by Jeremy Riddle. I’ve never heard of him before, but I happened to be scanning through radio stations and heard ‘Sweetly Broken’. I must tell you, I was amazed by the lyrics, by the sincerity of the song.

The chorus is what moved me the most. It goes something like this:

“At the cross you beckoned me
Draw me gently to my knees
And I’m lost for words, so lost in love
Sweetly broken, holy surrendered”

‘Sweetly Broken’; what an amazing thought of how gracious God is. He breaks us, but brings us to a realization that he is more powerful than we can ever imagine. He is merciful and forgiving and loves us, right where we are at.

He has called us out of death and into life and we ARE ‘sweetly broken’ because of his grace and mercy. Thank God...