When I was a little girl, I had my favorite hiding place.  It was at the back of our property in an overgrown tree stand near the fences.  There was a wonderfully old stump in there that looked much wiser than me!  This is where I could go to think, to breathe, and rest a few moments away from the real world.  I could dream of my life to be with all its adventures!  I could just admire all the other inhabitants of this Earth that share this space with me.  I could mindlessly let my eyes wander across the field in front of me, floating far off with the butterflies on top of the wildflowers.  I watched the colorful leaves swirl and float to the ground in the fall, and I could sit bundled in the chilly, crisp air of winter.  That experience taught me to always find my hiding place, no matter the time of life I am in and no matter where I call home.  This week’s piece describes the perfect Fall hiding place.  Take out time from your rushed schedule and busy world this week to find your favorite hiding place.  Your hiding place may include a big chair in the corner of comfy room.  It may be a park bench.  The hiding place might be a rocker on the front porch.  Go there alone to think, breathe, and rest!  It does not matter where as long as you give yourself permission to find your hiding place for one short moment in this chaotic world!

Fall Hiding Place

I saw the path.

It laid between two big oak trees.

The path drew me in.

The colorful trees took my hand and led the way.

The orange and gold of the oaks,

Made the path warm and inviting.

The path itself said follow me for joy!

The many-colored, sacrificed leaves cushioned my steps.

Down the path,

All was very still.

Except for the scamper of a squirrel searching for delicacies,

And a golden leaf that floated down.

Once I was down the path for a little way,

The hidden world started revealing itself.

The ghost trees, the white birches, stood tall and stately.

The dogwoods danced in their reds and greens.

The rough bark of the elms gave me a grip to continue my walk,

Providing me strength to move forward.

I knew warmth could be had if I needed,

By the dark sticks in perfect piles amongst the leaves.

Occasionally I could hear the chime of an acorn that jingled to the ground.

And them startling me,

A doe lifted her head with ears in attention,

Hearing me encroach on her territory.

In a distance, I could see a small patch of red lanterns, blackberry bushes,

Trying to make their bed amongst the edges of the trees.

Fungi and mushrooms found their protection on the dead trees lining the forest floor.

Their dusty colors settled into the bronzes, golds, and greens of the tree leaves.

The smell of musk and sage filled the air,

Because the air was crystal clear.

The light made its way through the various windows in the canopy,

Bringing all the inhabitants to life in their own right.

As always, my path ran out into a field of goldenrod and ironweed.

My Fall hiding place was gone,

But I knew,

Another day, another way, my hiding place would explode again with its many colors!

I knew the hiding place would lead me on a path of gold once again,

Giving me joy inside my soul,

Warming my heart with comfort,

And rescuing me from a harsh world.

Lori Rennae Hickman Chapman

What better time to discover your hiding place than during this Fall season!  Breathe.  Think.  Rest. Enjoy all that nature offers during this amazing season!  Get in that hiding place and take a little time out for yourself.  Happy Fall Ya’ll!

Love,

Rennae

Blessings

These days in our world, there is a lot of blame shaming.  It is much easier to blame someone, something, or some entity for our free will choices than be responsible for ourselves.  From the beginning moment of our lives, we have free will.  The free will to choose, decide, and make our own directions.  I know for me I have by my free will made some good choices in life, and then there are the negative choices I made that gave me results I would rather had not gone through.  However, I accepted what happened from the negative choices and learned a lot!  No one forced me.  No one led me that direction.  The bottom line is that my free will and I made the choices.  One of the best things you can do this week is understand and accept your free will, but most importantly own it!  Own your decisions and your circumstances!

Free Will

We come into this world,

No preconceived thoughts.

Free to think as we wish.

Free will!

Free will is a magnificent thing!

Choices, decisions, directions,

All made by you,

Not by or from someone else!

We can allow others to hold us down.

Or we can allow others to lift us up.

The choice is ours,

Because of our free will.

Some of us use this free will,

For good, love, and tenderness in this world.

Others use their free will,

For evil, hate, and selfishness.

We all make decisions,

Or examine our free will,

That leads to positive results for our lives.

Or we use free will for negative results in our lives.

Negative results are what we consider our learning moment!

Or we may hold regret and be a cynic because of our negative choices.

We forget to step outside,

And see what a blessing free will can be.

Free will.

No one makes a choice for me or you.

Those that love you,

Say you are free now!

Free will should be your most prized treasure!

The freedom for your mind to think what it wants to think.

The freedom it gives your heart and soul to act.

The freedom that can provide peace by your choices.

Go before your God.

Demonstrating your free will to make the hard choices.

Go before your Mankind.

Showing a free will completed with love.

Use this gift wisely.

See it for the treasure it is.

Never fear using it,

Because you were born to be free if that is your will!

Lori Rennae Hickman Chapman

I pray this week that you can see clearer your free will choices, what they have been and what is ahead.  Use discernment on your options with peace and joy, accepting you are doing your best.  If you are not, then my prayers are for you to improve and move forward with a better attitude.  Be responsible for those free will choices!  Enjoy your week of freedom!

Love,

Rennae

Grace

19 years ago our America as we knew it would never be the same again.  We promised we would never forget what sacrifices were made that day.  Souls from many different nations, cultures, and beliefs, all American Souls, were lost due to the evil and hatred in the world.  America showed this evil and hatred how a loving country can rise to fight back.  Whether these Souls were in Pennsylvania, Washington DC, or New York City, they showed American bravery at its best.  These Heroes, American Heroes, can never be dismissed or forgotten.  We continue to offer our love and prayers to the families and friends of these lost Souls.  And we give thanks for their sacrifices.  We do need to remember as nation that we can come together in prosperity, as well as in tragedy.  We are only as strong as each of us coming together as a whole. 

We Will Remember America Will Always Be Whole and United.

Love,

Rennae

I know all parents have experienced the feelings and the emotions that go into letting a child go.  Over the last several weeks, many parents have sent children off to pre-school, kindergarten, college, or into the world of work.  You may have done this years ago or you may have not been through this just yet.  It may even be your sweet niece, nephew, or cousin.  All, no matter the circumstances, it is a very hard job and task to do, especially considering what the world has presented us with lately.  You have taught, nurtured, loved, and cared for a soul that has to now find their own ways to teach, nurture, love, and care.  Our faith and trust has to grow leaps and bounds during such a time.  You have to rely on God.  We often forget that these souls were loans to us from God.  He loaned them to us, trusting that we would teach, nurture, love, and care for this soul as He would.  Even though this act of letting go is so very difficult, we must.  We must trust that God has them covered!  We must set them free just as our own caregivers set us free!  Increase your faith through this time, because God never loses sight of His children—you and your special ones!

Set Them Free

The Mother and the Father have to part.

They part with something that is so dear to them.

They knew the day of birth would lead to a day of freedom.

A day of freedom for this soul in a physical body.

 

They were strong and loving and caring to this special one,

Because they knew God’s grace was so far beyond their own.

They also knew God’s destiny for this soul was greater than they could ever be imagine.

Their faith would continue, but it would be hard letting go.

 

Anticipation is always the creature of emotions.

It causes people to wish and hope and dream.

Sometimes with too much excitement,

And sometimes with too little.

 

Although the goal all along is to free a man or a woman,

The release of the parent’s love is so tight.

It takes faith—great faith,

Because they know these gifts were on loan from God.

 

It is always about freedom.

Freedom from the holds of love,

But freedom by the grasps of love.

Freedom toward God’s plan.

 

Set them free.

On their own path and their own journey.

Keeping your bond of love,

Trusting them to live freely.

Lori Rennae Hickman Chapman

I pray and hope the writing this week has brought you comfort if you are setting free some of your special souls.  May your trust and your faith bring you peace.  Recognize that you have done your job and now it is God’s time to do His!  We all want to give thanks that God gave us these loved ones!  Open that hand, unlace those fingers, and release a blessing into the world!

Love,

Rennae

 

Journey