http://i-am-grateful.gather.com Recent Articles on Gather by I Am Grateful en-us Copyright Gather Inc 2009 Fri, 01 Jan 2010 06:06:38 GMT 2010-01-01T06:06:38Z en-us Copyright Gather Inc 2009 http://www.gather.com/images/header/logo_gather.gif http://www.gather.com/ http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977971028&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace It's about 10am here in Missouri. Two hours until the ball drops and rings in a new year. My kids are at their grandparents until Saturday, so my husband and I could get a much needed break for a . . . Fri, 01 Jan 2010 04:13:02 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977971028&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace Monica H. 2010-01-01T04:13:02Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977970993&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace We have a tradition here of photographing the last sunset of the year and the first sunset of the new year.  So, tonight we captured the last sunset of the calendar year, 2009.  We look forward . . . Fri, 01 Jan 2010 03:31:31 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977970993&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace Madame Donna C. 2010-01-01T03:31:31Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977970626&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace The house was quiet today, Christmas Tree unlit, shortly before 2:00 PM on New Years Eve, The fireplace going. Tootie  on the footstool in front of me. Tucker in his chair. Frosty mozeyed over . . . Thu, 31 Dec 2009 20:15:34 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977970626&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace anna g. vanwinkle 2009-12-31T20:15:34Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977970262&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace     A thousand stories, koans, and teaching tales Trace through my mind and yet I cannot put even one to paper   Beset by what I will always think of As the Decade of . . . Thu, 31 Dec 2009 15:15:15 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977970262&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace John Doyle 2009-12-31T15:15:15Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977970118&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace     A cold gray dawning Snow is falling, wind howling A winter morning   12/31/2009 8:01 AM Thu, 31 Dec 2009 13:07:32 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977970118&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace John Doyle 2009-12-31T13:07:32Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977969963&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace   Wishing all of my Gather family the Happiest, Healthiest and most Prosperous New Year ever! Love you All! ~Esther Thu, 31 Dec 2009 11:13:14 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977969963&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace Esther IS Flesh and Blood S. 2009-12-31T11:13:14Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977969210&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace     Unless you have explosives In your shorts Or a bomb in your bra Why should you object To a full body scan Especially when for many Taking off all their clothes Is phase . . . Wed, 30 Dec 2009 21:49:54 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977969210&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace John Doyle 2009-12-30T21:49:54Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977968840&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace As winter’s icy grip settled in The Bard Sat alone, The staff of power across his knees   As he half dozed he felt the staff Begin to vibrate and then to throb And a vision . . . Wed, 30 Dec 2009 16:49:06 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977968840&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace John Doyle 2009-12-30T16:49:06Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977968198&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace     If all religious literature and discourse Was stripped bare of metaphor, slimily Speculation, inference and conjecture What would be left? The naked truth perhaps?   . . . Wed, 30 Dec 2009 05:36:55 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977968198&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace John Doyle 2009-12-30T05:36:55Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977968183&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace     Much is preached of Emptiness But how can a discourse on the subject Have any value when it is filled with sounds?   12/30/2009 12:13 AM Wed, 30 Dec 2009 05:20:26 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977968183&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace John Doyle 2009-12-30T05:20:26Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977967981&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace Thanks everyone for your views and comments, and I have reached the cash-out goal.  Sophie you are right!  There's no PayPal option for $10 but I got a CVS card.  I go there every week . . . Wed, 30 Dec 2009 01:34:21 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977967981&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace Selene N. 2009-12-30T01:34:21Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977967731&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace       For those who live alone Especially at holiday time There is a temptation To write sad verses about loneliness But that is really stupid Not because they are not . . . Tue, 29 Dec 2009 21:47:15 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977967731&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace John Doyle 2009-12-29T21:47:15Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977966543&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace The Bard Speaks   As the winter closed in And the people gathered around the harth The Bard rose to speak   “If we had the ears to hear to hear What stories would the . . . Tue, 29 Dec 2009 05:11:07 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977966543&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace John Doyle 2009-12-29T05:11:07Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977966321&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace   Holiday rains on a reserve forest A winter rain passes; I pick up a deer with a broken glass curse cast under its feet. The rivulets of muddy blessings run as I coax, . . . Tue, 29 Dec 2009 01:01:01 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977966321&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace Kushal Poddar 2009-12-29T01:01:01Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977966304&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace The snow had stopped falling And as the Bard walked along the path He noticed something, A wax wood staff and a begging bowl   He picked them up And tenderly brushed the snow away . . . Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:44:33 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977966304&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace John Doyle 2009-12-29T00:44:33Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977965779&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace   The Old Monk plodded along through the snow storm His only possessions the begging bowl Symbolizing his total dependence on God The wax wood staff symbolizing The strength of his Faith . . . Mon, 28 Dec 2009 17:24:19 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977965779&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace John Doyle 2009-12-28T17:24:19Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977965095&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace I finally did it! Back in April when I was getting ready for yet another move, I thought that I would be smart and get a perm in my hair.  Not an easy task as my hair was down past my waist.  . . . Mon, 28 Dec 2009 02:54:34 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977965095&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace Esther IS Flesh and Blood S. 2009-12-28T02:54:34Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977964927&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace     Since first brought to the Isle of the Mighty* By Joseph the tin merchant   Enshrined in a tiny chapel of sticks and mud Only to be lost and found and lost again   . . . Sun, 27 Dec 2009 23:49:37 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977964927&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace John Doyle 2009-12-27T23:49:37Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977964526&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace     As the Old Monk walked the highways And byways of the towns and villages Seeing the Christmas lights and hearing the carols The question crossed his mind unbidden “How . . . Sun, 27 Dec 2009 16:40:32 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977964526&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace John Doyle 2009-12-27T16:40:32Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977964362&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace     He sat straight and tall in the saddle As he had for sixty years But now the pain in his belly Filled his eyes with tears.   He topped the ridge and looked down . . . Sun, 27 Dec 2009 13:21:20 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977964362&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace John Doyle 2009-12-27T13:21:20Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977964104&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace Once there was a bucking horse That they said no man could ride. He was big and strong and his eyes were keen. He was the color of rawhide. The bareback riders . . . Sun, 27 Dec 2009 04:05:31 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977964104&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace John Doyle 2009-12-27T04:05:31Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977963843&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace     In a rainstorm that seemed to whisper “Build and Arc”   With food shopping that demanded to be done I hate shopping   With a back aggravated by . . . Sat, 26 Dec 2009 21:42:04 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977963843&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace John Doyle 2009-12-26T21:42:04Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977963568&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace     There are droughts when the rain is withheld And people, animals and plants wither And grow weak and some pray for death   Yet there is another kind of drought, a drought . . . Sat, 26 Dec 2009 15:08:10 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977963568&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace John Doyle 2009-12-26T15:08:10Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977963216&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace     Many claim to know the true meaning of Christmas And preach lofty sermon explaining it to other Willingly enter into sometimes acrimonious debate With anyone who sees it differently . . . Sat, 26 Dec 2009 05:25:45 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977963216&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace John Doyle 2009-12-26T05:25:45Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977962797&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace     Reflecting on the Incarnation Someone in the second century wisely wrote “God became man so that man might become God”   Isn’t a pity That so few . . . Fri, 25 Dec 2009 16:57:37 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977962797&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace John Doyle 2009-12-25T16:57:37Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977962691&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace     On Christmas Eve he looked at a very special bottle of brandy Given to him by a very special lady, in what might be called better times.   It was still unopened although . . . Fri, 25 Dec 2009 14:37:17 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977962691&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace John Doyle 2009-12-25T14:37:17Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977962520&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace Last night my parents arrived to our house, and we all got dressed up to go to Mass. The service was beautiful. There was a childrens choir, and a beautiful manger all decorated in the front. The lights . . . Fri, 25 Dec 2009 08:50:12 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977962520&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace Monica H. 2009-12-25T08:50:12Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977962423&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace       Wind sighing through the bare trees Snow crunching under foot Snowflakes drifting in the air First quarter moon rising No poem from this Bard No wise word from . . . Fri, 25 Dec 2009 05:43:50 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977962423&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace John Doyle 2009-12-25T05:43:50Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977962134&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace     There will be many empty places At many dinner tables this Christmas   Amusing and sad stories will be told About the ones who have gone   For many, behind . . . Thu, 24 Dec 2009 21:32:02 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977962134&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace John Doyle 2009-12-24T21:32:02Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977961949&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace With only a wax wood staff And a begging bow The Old Monk wanders The wintery world Without light or guide Except for that Which burns in his heart   12/24/2009 1:04 PM   . . . Thu, 24 Dec 2009 18:11:00 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977961949&grpId=3659174697241562&nav=Groupspace John Doyle 2009-12-24T18:11:00Z