Bloom where you are planted

We struggle in our day to day life, we try to be better people but find ourselves mired down in the muck of our daily existance. We fail to realize that our goal is to bloom and be the best person we can possible be right where we find ourselves at the current moment. It is by doing this that we are able to move on and become closer in our existance to our creator. However, we often find ourselves complaining and bitter about all that goes wron in our lives instead of leanring from those experiances, and we tend to take credit personally for all that goes right instead of shiwing gratitude. I struggle with this on a daily basis but am learning that not only should I show gratitude for those things that go right for us, but for those things that go wrong, for it is in the trials and tribulations that we gain the most learning and growth in our spiritual lives. You can learn more about my journey both on here and on my Facebook page A Spiritual Journey: a common man's reflections found at https://www.facebook.com/spiritualjourneyacommonmansreflections. Please join me in this phenominal journey we call life.

The Walking Stick

Alost noone uses old fashioned wood walking sticks anyore, but if you look out on my porch, you will see four or five of them leaning up against the railing at any given time. There is something about the feeling of of the wood in my hand, as I swing it back and forth while I walk. It is comforting and familiar.

Oh sure people use the new high tech poles that resemble ski poles with the impact absorption tips, and at one point I thought I would like a set of those, but once I tried a set they felt foregn and out of place in the woods.. The people I see using them always seem to be rushing someplace, as if the walk is a chore to get done before they go someplace more interesting. To me the walk is the interesting thing.

To me the walk is part of the journey, a chance to get out in nature and see what mysteries God wishes to reveal to me at that time. In my journies out in the back forty, I have leaned against my walkign stick and gazed back over the field at a mist shrouded Green Mountain. I have looked down at amazement at moose prints, or coyote tracks. I have seen bear, deer and moose. I have used it as a brace while I have watched squirrels and chipmunks scurrying across the leaves. My walking stick is like an old friend, it fits comfortably in my hand. If you stop by the farm for a visit, chances are I will offer you a walking stick. I walk in the woods in search of the perfect sapling, and cut it by hand, and rough size it right there in the spot. I then bring them down tot he house to work on, and usually sit in the driveway while i strip the bark off with a knife I had bought in Norway many years ago.Once the bark is off I'll sand down any rough spots that could possibly irritate the hands, and give the stick a nice smooth finish where your hand could possibly rest. I will also burn in a quote such as "Walk Daily WIth God" or "Life is a journey not a destination". After that is done, lately I have taken hand rubbing a tung oil finish into the stick to help keep it looking nice as long as it can.

My favorite stick say to Walk Daily with God", which is taken from a poem I have written, for it reminds me to be with Him always, and to give thanks for all the little blessings in my life.

So the next time you take a walk, hang up the high tech poles, pick up a trusty wooden staff, fit it to your hand like a glove, and really take a walk in nature, and notice truly notice what it has to offer.


Walk Daily with God


When life has you down,
And hardships pile up.
When the world is blue,
And you are depressed.
This advice I give to you,
Take a walk with God.

When you feel forsaken,
And the mountains high.
When the path you are on,
Seems to lead nowhere.
Heed this advice,
Take a walk with God.

When times are good,
And life is happy.
When the sun does shine,
And the birds are singing.
Give your thanks,
And take a walk with God.

Share with Him,
All your sorrows.
Share with Him,
All your fears.
Talk with Him as a friend,
As you walk with God.

Laugh with Him,
As the jays do play.
Give thanks to Him,
For the tranquil sunsets.
Do all this my friend,
As you walk with God.

Remember this, that God
Is here from start to end.
And we are but a dash,
between two years.
So take the time,
And walk with God.

He has the time,
To spend with you.
He has the desire,
To commune with you.
My friend in good and bad,
Remember to walk daily with God.

Paul Bartoswicz

A Matter of Perspective

It has been said that a weed is a desirable plant that has just grown in the wrong place. This is very true in many cases. During the summer I was working out in the field and my wife made the comment to me, that she wishes we could get rid of the milkweed that grows in places around the field. Ilooked at her and said I would like to see a half acre of the field covered in nothing but milkweed. Janet asked me why, and I told her, when I look at milkweed I can smell the sweet aroma of the flowers as they bloom in the summer. I look and I can see the monarch butterflies flitting from flower to flower as they feed (Monarchs love milkweed and it protects them from many predators as the predators do not like the taste of the monarch as it takes on the flavor of the milkweed) Ialso see my children standing in the field as youngsters picking the pods and pulling the seeds out and blowing them into the wind and then saying "Look daddy angels floating over us" Yes when some people look at the milkweed they see a noxious plant that seemingly has nothing to offer, but they don't look beyond the plant to the beauty it brings with it, and the wonderment of children at play. What a boring world it would be if we didn't have children watching the "angels" floating on the breeze. Yes things may appear as weeds in our lives, noxious and unneeded, but if you dig deeper and look at them deeper you may see the beauty they put into your life because they are there. An illness or medical condition may be a pain, but it may make you slow down enough in your life that you actually take time to smell the roses. A layoff from work may give you the time to lay on your back with your children and see the animals that float over head in the clouds. These weeds, may also be God's way of leading us on to greater things and becoming more elegant and beautiful humans as the milkweed helps create and protect the monarch butterfly. Life is all a matter of perspective, and hwo we look at it determines how we react to it. Be positive and understanding and life becomes positive and understanding to you.

Bandaid for the heart

In the town of Stapleton Nebraska is a lady by the name of Monica Harvey, affectionately known by many as "Lil Sis" She is an unassuming lady with a beautiful soul. In 2001 she assumed a ministry that has evolved into the Veterans Music Ministry. She travels from place to place visiting Veterans Homes,Hospitals,and get togethers such as moving walls, and the such. She sings and brings hope to a forgotten generation of warriors. When the World War II vets were welcomed home as the heroes they were, Korea a littel less so, and then a war broke out in some little god forsken corner of the world that very few could locate on the map. We shipped load after load of Sailors, Marines, Sldiers and Airmen, as well as Coasties to that remote place in Southeast Asia. During that timesome 58,000 did not return home, and those who did found a whole different war going on in this country. Those coming home learned to ditch their uniforms, hide their medals, and disguise their outside wounds and just try to blend in. However the wounds that were born on the inside never healed. the ound of the soul and the heart given by a country that they came from, given by their neighbors, school mates, and old friends. These wounds hurt far more than any bullet ever could. They were spat upon, called names and made to feel shame for what they did. As I said these wounds sat and sat day after day, month after month year after year. Many of these men vowed never tolet this happen again, to make every returning warrior feel welcomed when they returned, yet it did not really do anything for the internal anguish that they felt. Then along comes Lil Sis in her little corner of the world, singing to them, hugging them, caring for them, and welcoming them home. In addition she came up with a little trinket she called the healing heart medal. A little pin to be be attached to the hats, vests, and shirts of these mighty men. much beyond her control the name transitioned to the Band-aid for the heart, as that was what it is to these warriors who answered their countries call, adn gave unselfishly of themselves. It was a symbol of a gap being bridged and the wounds of the psyche being pulled together. It is a symbol of caring, and sharing of the pain that they feel. Many wear it proudly, probably more proudly that any medal they received. they wear it with honor and dignity. To them it is the trinket that shows someone really does care, and remembers the sacrifice they made.
From that Ministry sprang hope, love, and trust of a quiet unassuming lady who just wanted to express her gratitude. From her example has sprung the Healing the Heart Ministry ~ Vietnam & Veterans of all Wars and Ann Marie Hatchell, and has inspired me to transform my own Gale Farm Ministry to the Gale Farm Veterans Ministry, reaching out to all our Veterans, because as I personally know, the wounds on the outside will heal and fade, but the wounds on the inside never really do. So welcome home to all my brothers and sisters in uniform welcome home.

Change The Channel

Has life got you down?

Do you drag yourself out of bed?

Does it seem the world is against you?

My friend it is time

To change the channel of your life.

Change the channel of your life!

Face the life from the positive,

And see how your outlook does change.

Turn off the negativity,

And instead of dwellin in the wrongs,

Count the blessings,

God has bestowed upon you,

For even when it appears,

Bleak and darkest in our lives,

God is raining blessings,

Down upon you.

So I say unto you,

Dwell not on the pitfalls,

But call upon possibilities.

So wake up my friends,

Change the channel on your life.

All is not doom and gloom,

God is with us all our days,

Wanting the best inour lives.

Change the channel in your soul,

Face the day in a whole new light,

Let us look at what we have,

Instead of dwelling on that which we don't.

Change the channel of our lives,

Form darkness and despair,

To that of light and hope.





Paul H. Bartoswicz