All posts in category Remember–You Are Loved–No Matter What

Christmas Reflections

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“Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time.” ~ Laura Ingalls Wilder

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“Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful. ” ~ Norman Vincent Peale

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“He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree. ” ~ Roy L. Smith

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“Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love.” ~ Hamilton Wright Mabie

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“I know it doesn’t make sense, but since when is Christmas about sense, anyway? It is about a child, of long ago and far away, and it is about the child of now. In you and me. Waiting behind the door of our hearts for something wonderful to happen. A child who is impractical, unrealistic, simple-minded and terribly vulnerable to joy.” ~ Robert Fulghum, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten

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“Never worry about the size of your Christmas tree. In the eyes of children, they are all 30 feet tall” ~ Larry Wilde

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“God is here. This truth should fill our lives, and every Christmas should be for us a new and special meeting with God, when we allow his light and grace to enter deep into our soul.”  ~ Josemaría Escrivá,
Christ Is Passing by

Hello Everyone,

I penned this post originally in 2012. And now I sit here, coffee in hand, early morning seven years later.
Christmas morning, and four grandsons later, marriages that added more ”children”, and I am reveling in our Christmas this year. It was indeed a beautiful sight.

I am exhausted! But …
happy!

I gaze at the empty boxes strewn at the foot of the tree. (Note: I downsized the tree but still try to stuff it to the max! 😊) And I thought I would share this moment with you. No fancy camera, just my phone, so I snapped a photo of the sight. And I recall all the smiles and laughter, especially two four-year-olds who had more fun, I think, throwing tissue paper at each other, forgetting more presents to open. Oh yeah, and ring pops!! In their little world, ring pops rule!

Then there’s the 12-year-old, the age so hard to buy for. What to get??? And what sheer delight when he received an oil paint set and easel, which far surpassed his expectations. A quick run across the room, a great big hug followed, and so many thanks.
Wonderful!

I could write so much more but I’ll stop for now and continue to enjoy the moment! My coffee needs attention!

“For all our high and lofty talk,
We are but children heart-to-heart,
Seeking shelter from the storm,
Places safe and warm,
And love … Outrageous, messed-up, joyous, crazy love.
Just plain love. (Presents under the tree helps a lot, too.)” ~ Alexandria Sage

Merry Christmas everyone!
Peace,
Alexandria

2 Comments
by Alexandria Sage on December 26, 2019  •  Permalink
Posted in Enjoy Life, Remember--You Are Loved--No Matter What, Stay Close with Those You Love, Weekly Photo Challenge
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Posted by Alexandria Sage on December 26, 2019

https://simplysage.org/2019/12/26/christmas-reflections-3/

Joy in Weathered Space


November 2011

“There comes a time when the world gets quiet and the only thing left is your own heart. So you’d better learn the sound of it. Otherwise you’ll never understand what it’s saying.” ― Sarah Dessen, Just Listen

When I started this blog in 2011 I had no idea what I was doing. But I had a lot of things going on in life. A lot of sadness. Not due to anything done to me personally. But a lot of circumstances affecting my dearest loved ones and, I guess you could say, the way I hurt for them and tried to help them resulted in my own deep, deep sadness. Hence, I started to write.

December 2011

Every year some new tragic circumstance hit. Numerous things. Fractured relationships, unusual illness, untimely deaths, even a destructive tornado I found myself right in the middle of.

May 2013

Loss, loss, loss. Each year I prayed for quiet and each year the tsunami’s came. And all this is just a fraction of everything.

January 2012

So I created SimplySage. I needed a “happy place”. A place to find joy in the midst of all the sadness surrounding me. Combined with faith and some good friends, I found an additional place of solace here. And I poured out myself to pull out joys in my everyday surroundings. Simple things, really.


February 2012

And as I looked around my eyes opened to ways that nature mirrors some of the sad times. Then, a long-buried hobby of photography revived. And suddenly I found solace in all the beauty that surrounded me. It was as if God opened my eyes to metaphors in nature. Like the one above. In the dead of winter, there bloomed brilliant orange. Wonders like these carried me to indescribable dimensions. Many of them I could not capture. A photo could never do them justice. All I could do was stand in awe.


March 2012

But I wrote and wrote and wrote. And the storms kept coming. And each year I’d wonder “what next?”


April 2012

Then 2017 hit. And guess what. It was a good year. Actually, an amazingly wonderful year. Yes, the bumps and nicks still came but it seemed to be nothing that absolutely cut you to the heart. And there was a lot of love and joy in 2017. Blessings beyond imagination! Laughter returned and filled every part of my life.

But something else happened.


May 2012

I kinda quit writing.

I guess in all the joy and laughter I was just soaking it all up, And I just kept doing that. Soaking it all in. It was, in a sense, a healing balm to me. Yes, there are some scars left from all the troubled years. Some sadness still trickles in as I ponder all the pain. But I guess I needed a break. To just rest in all of it.

It was wonderful.


June 2012

I could sit here and wish and hope for another year like 2017. But there may never be a year like that again. And if there’s not, a few big lessons stay with me as the storms blow in. Here are just a few:

  • There is no one like the Lord, God of heaven and earth, whom you can cry out to from your heart every minute of the day.
  • There is nothing like the comfort and truth in His Holy Word, the Bible.
  • There is nothing like His marvelous creation.
  • There is nothing like a few close, loving friends and family.
  • Deep down, people are fragile, and are fighting battles within and without. It’s important to understand why they act like they do; and still be kind.
  • There is nothing like the kisses and hugs and sounds of children.
  • There is nothing like gratitude for so many things we take for granted.
  • There is nothing like a nutritious healthy meal and a good, silent walk.
  • Joy can be found anywhere, anytime. All one needs to do is look; and be still enough to enjoy it.

As to writing and this blog? Of course, I will continue! Not making any promises, but I will be here. I thank you, my community of readers, for being here. I don’t take your visits lightly. I don’t equate you in terms of “traffic, stats, or bots”. You are friends. And a part of the joy in all the pain.  I welcome you always.


2017, Best Photo

And as for 2017, for now I say, farewell.  I will never forget you.

Peace,
Alexandria

Weekly Photo Challenges:

Weathered

2017 Favorites

 

10 Comments
by Alexandria Sage on January 12, 2018  •  Permalink
Posted in Be Content With Who You Are, Enjoy Life, In All Things Do What Is Right First, In All Things Do Your Very Best, Remember--You Are Loved--No Matter What, Stay Close with Those You Love, Take Care of Yourselves - Body and Spirit
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Posted by Alexandria Sage on January 12, 2018

https://simplysage.org/2018/01/12/2017/

Of Sunbeams and Rainbows, Look Up!

IMG_0282“Hold out your hands to feel the luxury of the sunbeams.” ~ Helen Keller

Be Thou the Rainbow1-DSC02109“My heart leaps up when I behold a rainbow in the sky.” ~ William Wordsworth

Summer Love 1-IMG_2063“Friendship is like a rainbow between two hearts.” ~Author unknown
Come the MornIMG_2432“The beauty of the sunbeam lies partly in the fact that God does not keep it; he gives it away to us all.” ~ David Swing

“A single sunbeam is enough to drive away many shadows.” ~ St. Francis of Assisi

“As on the driving cloud the shiny Bow, that gracious thing made up of tears and light.” ~ Samuel Taylor Coleridge

“In the world’s audience hall, the simple blade of grass sits on the same carpet with the sunbeams, and the stars of midnight.” ~Rabindranath Tagore

“The smiling daughter of the storm.” ~Charles Caleb Colton

“Rainbows apologize for angry skies.” ~Sylvia Voirol

DSC_3462“If you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.” ~ Roald Dahl

Family Tree 1-DSC_0096“Laughter is a sunbeam of the soul.” ~ Thomas Mann

“And when it rains on your parade, look up rather than down. Without the rain, there would be no rainbow.” ~G.K. Chesterton

Home Sweet Home“Never has the warm caress of a sunbeam seemed so ominous.” ~ Joel Achenbach

The Photo Challenge theme this week is “Look Up“.

It’s been a very tragic week in these United States of America. As I watch the events my heart breaks for so many, for so much, and especially for my country. It’s easy to be buried in all of this and tempted to think we will never emerge from the stain of racism. But are we really that racist? The extreme rhetoric from both sides that fills the internet would convince us that we are. But those are words. Do we really act that way in real life?

My own community of friends and acquaintances are from different races and countries. We care deeply for and respect each other. We laugh and cry together. We share life together and accomplish wonderful things; like rainbows and sunbeams that split through dust and clouds and rain.

One friend told me the story of how her tire blew the other day. She was alone on the side of the highway and two different people pulled over to help her. One was a Black man. The other Hispanic. She is White. Not one hint about skin color. Just people working together to help someone in need. Sunbeams and rainbows. They are in our very midst everyday. They don’t make the news but their actions are how most of us really are.

I’m glad God sets examples in the sky; sunbeams and rainbows. Neither can happen really well without dust and clouds and rain. Aside from the events of the past week, life is very hard just on its own. It’s tough to work and make a living, to take care of our families, to raise children. Life is filled with a lot of stress—dust, clouds, and rain. The people we rub shoulders with everyday are the rainbows and sunbeams that get us through.

Though my nation is filled with clouds, dust, and storms right now I hope we can look up and find the rainbows and sunbeams that surround us every day, just like my friend did. Just like I do.

We may never make the headlines. But we are a great story.

I hope these photos lift you up from where you are.
And remember, we are all Americans.
Let us love one another.

Peace, Alexandria

6 Comments
by Alexandria Sage on July 11, 2016  •  Permalink
Posted in Remember--You Are Loved--No Matter What, Stay Close with Those You Love
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Posted by Alexandria Sage on July 11, 2016

https://simplysage.org/2016/07/11/of-sunbeams-and-rainbows-look-up/

Best Buds |Weekly Photo Challenge: My Happy Place

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When I saw the photo challenge titled “Happy Place” the words that immediately came to  mind were “travel destinations”—places that invoke that glorious feeling of combined rest and joy, one definition known as “happiness”. I thought of places I’ve been (North Myrtle Beach).

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or places I’ve dreamed of going (Moorea).

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When I went to Acadia National Park (above) I thought, “Oh, now this it. This is the ultimate, the place to unwind, to get away.” I was happy!

However, travel can bring its own stresses, as we all know. The planning, packing, and getting to-and-from can be tiring. You’ve heard people say, “I need a vacation from my vacation!” 🙂

a rainbow in the sky."

It can feel like chasing the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow,

Moon Shadows

or trying to truly capture the presence and majesty of another breathtaking moonrise,

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or that ever elusive butterfly.

But when you’re in immediate and desperate need of joy, finding a happy place cannot always be found by thumbing through travel guides for yet another trip or even dreaming of those places.

It’s times like that I totally forget a happy place that lives right out my front porch. Most of the time I find I’m looking beyond it, rushing past it toward some goal, the “next thing”, that place called “when I finally get there, I will be happy!”

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I forget the happy place staring straight at me. It’s a place where they’re straining their necks to grab me, to get my attention, to make me stop in my haste to happiness and see that they are what I really need;

that they live, they thrive, they exist to make me happy! (I’m convinced they serve no other purpose.) They are my never-ending friends, through every season, through every joy, through every sorrow. They are constant and oh, how I take them for granted!

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They remind me that we both endure some thorny paths and sticky situations,

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that I’m not the only one out there feeling so alone,

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drowning in life’s demands,

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and kind of hanging by a thread,

First Rose

or in need of a hug;

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that while we pass each other everyday in the coming and going, we can still rise and hold our head high, together, and shine in the sun!

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You see, when you have best buds you can find happiness no matter where, no matter what. 🙂

I write this in honor of my friends and family, my “best buds”. Thank you for being just a phone call away. I always miss you.

Peace, Alexandria

 

2 Comments
by Alexandria Sage on October 21, 2015  •  Permalink
Posted in Be Content With Who You Are, Enjoy Life, Remember--You Are Loved--No Matter What, Stay Close with Those You Love, Weekly Photo Challenge
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Posted by Alexandria Sage on October 21, 2015

https://simplysage.org/2015/10/21/best-bud-my-happy-place/

Fragile, Handle With Care | Weekly Photo Challenge: Broken

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“Words and hearts should be handled with care, for words misspoken and hearts when broken are the hardest things to repair.” ~ Unknown

Ever do this? Say something then feel the immediate twinge of regret? You wish, how you wish, you could somehow take them back. But they stick like glue. Sometimes they are just casual, oh so casual, “I didn’t really mean it.”

We utter them right off the top of our head, just because we need to talk–oh, how we need to talk,  to say something—oh, how we always need to be saying something.

Sometimes they are tinged with hints of sarcasm—just enough hint to hurt.

Breaking 1-DSC_0141 (5)

Sometimes we lash out in anger. And that’s the worst kind—so far from kind.

And then there’s the so unkind kind that cuts … deep, sometimes scarring to permanence—like a car that’s been wrecked and declared totaled.  Total damage.

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If we would but look into the eyes, we would see the heart of each.

Look Me in the Eye1-DSC_0151

But no, we shrug away, whispering, “So what.”

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Our culture actually takes pride in telling someone off. We hang on to the brash words of reality television and celebrate the celebrity spewing trash-talk. Bullying is a problem among our children. It’s like we celebrate hate.

Walk Away 1-DSC_0150

What have we become?

Yes, conflict is part and parcel of life. But my mother used to say “Fight nice.” The word hate was so repulsed it was never allowed in our home, under any circumstances. Not even an “I hate brocolli!” was permitted.

Words can build or destroy. Choose them wisely—choose to soothe, heal, protect, build.

Happy

Why not declare to say, today, words tinged with, dare I say, … love?

And if you have nothing to say, it’s perfectly okay to just say nothing.

“Even fools are thought wise when they keep silent.” ~Proverbs 17:28a

Spent, or Well-Spent?

“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” ~Plato

This is my contribution to the Weekly Photo Challenge with the theme “Broken”. I chose to use the theme in the context of “words”, which can break and shatter as powerfully as they build and heal.

Our modern world is filled with an abundance of them. Sometimes even one sentence can wreak a force as destructive as a volcanic eruption. (Think Twitter with its mere 160 characters. It packs a powerful punch, doesn’t it?)

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Our WordPress community continues to be a safe haven for words, a place where thoughtful expression is wrapped in respect for everyone. I’ve found it to be thus far, and I hope it continues.

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“Let your speech be always with grace.” ~Colossians 4:6a

Peace,
Alexandria

For other interpretations of the Broken Challenge, I hope you’ll take some time and visit here. You’ll enjoy the endless creativity of WordPress photographers, both amateur and professional. Enjoy! 🙂

13 Comments
by Alexandria Sage on May 26, 2015  •  Permalink
Posted in Remember--You Are Loved--No Matter What
Tagged , , , , , ,

Posted by Alexandria Sage on May 26, 2015

https://simplysage.org/2015/05/26/fragile-handle-with-care-weekly-photo-challenge-broken/

Love, With a Twist

Morning Walk

When you look at me
What do you see?
Branches random,
Unchosen tandem?
Nothing clever.

Morning Hug

Space distress
Of leaves and mess?
Unlike attraction,
More like distraction!
Whatever!

IMG_6719

Why on earth,
of all the space,
Did God place
you here?
Wish you could just leave,
Whenever!

DSC_0194-003

But we are stuck.
Like glue, we are stuck!
Perhaps a wind may unabate
And maybe we can separate!
Forever!!

DSC_0256

I am strong
Without you.
I don’t need you.
Never
Will I need you,
Whatsoever.

{And so the big wind
It did come.
And so it did come unabate.
But it did more than separate.}

DSC_0300

Oh nooo!!! Hold tight!!!
Don’t let go!!!!
Please,
Don’t let go.
And don’t go.
Stay.
And don’t go away

Ever!!!

Ever

“Love lives in the myriad of imperfection and thrives because of its ability to prevail despite its inability to prevail perfectly.” ~ Alexandria Sage

Weekly Photo Challenge Theme: Twist  I hope you enjoyed my twisted poetry. 🙂 Peace, Alexandria

Other favorites:

7 Comments
by Alexandria Sage on May 30, 2014  •  Permalink
Posted in Just For Fun, Remember--You Are Loved--No Matter What, Stay Close with Those You Love, Weekly Photo Challenge
Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by Alexandria Sage on May 30, 2014

https://simplysage.org/2014/05/30/love-with-a-twist/

A Golden Hour Collection | Weekly Photo Challenge

IMG_2432“Nothing is more beautiful than the loveliness of the woods before sunrise.” ~ George Washington Carver

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“The grand show is eternal. It is always sunrise somewhere; the dew is never dried all at once; a shower is forever falling; vapor is ever rising. Eternal sunrise, eternal dawn and gloaming, on sea and continents and islands, each in its turn, as the round earth rolls.” ~ John Muir

DSC02872“Two golden hours somewhere between sunrise and sunset. Both are set with 60 diamond minutes.” ~ Horace Mann

DSC_0450“Someday you will find the one who will watch every sunrise with you until the sunset of your life … Just be patient.” ~ Unknown

“I like that time is marked by each sunrise and sunset whether or not you actually see it.” ~ Catherine Opie
Sunrise Bora Bora“Every sunrise offers renewed hope to carry out the reflection after the sunset of yesterday. A time to let go of yesterday and embrace the new day.” ~ Alexandria Sage

Pain Prescriptions“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness.” ~ Lamentations 3:22-23
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This week’s Photo Challenge theme is “The Golden Hour”, known as the hour of sunrise and sunset. No one can deny the colors and lighting are breathtaking. How many times has this Golden Hour stopped you dead in your tracks and caught your attention? It amazes me how God built into nature two times every single day to get our attention, to bless us with a glorious start and a reflective end. Simply captivating.

Nearly every camera captures them easily. However, it was so nice of WordPress to host the Photography 101 series to help us along. And this week we were given a lesson by one my favorite photographers, Wenjie Zhang of A Certain Slant of Light. I only have one tip to offer about the Golden Hour. Be prepared and don’t hesitate. Get that picture. If you wait even one minute it will be gone.

To end with, when I saw the challenge theme I immediately thought of a song I’ve recently heard and come to love, aptly titled Golden. It is filled with a bittersweet mixture of hope and reality that intertwines the journey of every person— the rhythms of life, the ups and downs, the fickle moments, the grand ones.

Life can become a tangled mess sometimes. But through it all, the resounding truth in the last quote above, from the Bible, offers a hope that holds us firm in the hand of God. Is it not He who chose to shout His love, mercy, and faithfulness through two glorious golden hours of each day? Though the sun sets and the day ends, His mercies never come to an end. And every morning once again He shouts His love to carry us through.

His faithfulness is constant, not because of who we are, but because of who He is.

Peace, Alexandria
Credits: Golden (youtube lyric video. song by Amy Grant).
Guest Author, Stephen Deal, for his sunrise photo.

28 Comments
by Alexandria Sage on July 19, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Devotionals, Remember--You Are Loved--No Matter What
Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by Alexandria Sage on July 19, 2013

https://simplysage.org/2013/07/19/a-golden-hour-collection-weekly-photo-challenge/

LoveSong | WPC: Companionable


“Love moves in sync with the cadence of forgiveness,

sings in tune with the melody of acceptance,

and dances in rhythm with the music of companionship.” ~ Steve Maraboli

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This is one of my interpretations for the Weekly Photo Challenge with the theme: Companionable.
I think we all love the movements of music and I thought this quote was a beautiful metaphor for love and companionship. In life we have the universal need for forgiveness, acceptance, and companionship. Our movements to find these can lead us down different paths but the need still remains. As we seek to find and receive them, may we also seek to extend them. For in extending them to others, we find they will shower upon us as well.
Peace, Alexandria

15 Comments
by Alexandria Sage on June 30, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Remember--You Are Loved--No Matter What, Weekly Photo Challenge
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Posted by Alexandria Sage on June 30, 2013

https://simplysage.org/2013/06/30/lovesong-weekly-photo-challenge-companionable/

Rise Above | Weekly Photo Challenge: From Above

Home Sweet Home Inside“Love feels no burden, thinks nothing of trouble, attempts what is above its strength, pleads no excuse of impossibility—for it thinks all things lawful for itself, and all things possible.” ~ Thomas a Kempis

No Small Matter“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places.” ~ Roald Dahl

Harmony“Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.” ~ Colossians 3:12, The Holy Bible

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These are a few of my submissions to the Weekly Photo Challenge with the theme “From Above”. The photos were to be captured with a perspective from above. I hope you enjoy the photos and the quotes. For more interpretations see the links below.
Peace, Alexandria

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14 Comments
by Alexandria Sage on May 5, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Enjoy Life, Remember--You Are Loved--No Matter What, Stay Close with Those You Love, Weekly Photo Challenge
Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by Alexandria Sage on May 5, 2013

https://simplysage.org/2013/05/05/rise-above-weekly-photo-challenge-from-above/

Home Sweet Home Inside

Inside

Inside
the place of safety
Inside
the place of peace
Inside
the place of friendship
Inside
where I am me.

Inside
the place of comfort
Inside
the place of warmth
Inside
the place of shelter
Inside
where is no harm.

Inside
the place of rest
Inside
the place I’m known
Inside
the place I’m loved
Inside
where I call home.

~ by Alexandria Sage

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Daily Prompt: Home Sweet Home
P.S. There’s no place like home.

31 Comments
by Alexandria Sage on April 1, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Be Content With Who You Are, Enjoy Life, Remember--You Are Loved--No Matter What, Stay Close with Those You Love, Weekly Photo Challenge
Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by Alexandria Sage on April 1, 2013

https://simplysage.org/2013/04/01/weekly-photo-challenge-home/

Christmas Reflections

I “Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time.” ~ Laura Ingalls Wilder
I “Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful. ” ~ Norman Vincent Peale
I“He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree. ” ~ Roy L. Smith

I“Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love.” ~ Hamilton Wright Mabie
I “I know it doesn’t make sense, but since when is Christmas about sense, anyway? It is about a child, of long ago and far away, and it is about the child of now. In you and me. Waiting behind the door of our hearts for something wonderful to happen. A child who is impractical, unrealistic, simple-minded and terribly vulnerable to joy.” ~ Robert Fulghum, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten

“For all our high and lofty talk,
We are but children heart-to-heart,
Seeking shelter from the storm,
Places safe and warm,
And love … Outrageous, messed-up, joyous, crazy love.
Just plain love. (Presents under the tree helps a lot, too.)” ~ Alexandria SageI “Never worry about the size of your Christmas tree. In the eyes of children, they are all 30 feet tall” ~ Larry Wilde

I

“God is here. This truth should fill our lives, and every Christmas should be for us a new and special meeting with God, when we allow his light and grace to enter deep into our soul.”  ~ Josemaría Escrivá,
 Christ Is Passing by
Related articles

32 Comments
by Alexandria Sage on December 6, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Enjoy Life, Remember--You Are Loved--No Matter What, Stay Close with Those You Love, Weekly Photo Challenge
Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by Alexandria Sage on December 6, 2012

https://simplysage.org/2012/12/06/christmas-reflections/

Christmas Gift Suggestions

To your enemy, forgiveness.
To an opponent, patience.
To a friend, your heart.
To a customer, service.
To all, charity.
To every child, a good example.
To yourself, respect.

~ Oren Arnold

Related articles:
Weekly Image of Life: Happy Holidays

13 Comments
by Alexandria Sage on November 25, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in In All Things Do What Is Right First, Remember--You Are Loved--No Matter What, Stay Close with Those You Love
Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by Alexandria Sage on November 25, 2012

https://simplysage.org/2012/11/25/christmas-gift-suggestions-2/

Love = Infinity + Beyond… | Weekly Photo Challenge: Geometry

“Love does not consist in gazing at each other
but at looking together in the same direction.”

~ Unknown

This is my second interpretation for the Weekly Photo Challenge: Geometry theme.

Can love be bound by lines, shapes, or circles? Mmm … maybe. Isn’t it two souls bound together toward a common purpose, a shared existence, despite the shapes, lines, and hairpin turns of life?

And let’s not forget—though love defies science, isn’t it a formula with a slight touch of chemistry?

Just one “angle” and just for fun,
Alexandria

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2012/11/02/weekly-photo-challenge-geometry/

6 Comments
by Alexandria Sage on November 7, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Remember--You Are Loved--No Matter What, True Love Is...
Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by Alexandria Sage on November 7, 2012

https://simplysage.org/2012/11/07/love-infinity-beyond-weekly-photo-challenge-geometry/

The Beauty of a True Friend | Weekly Photo Challenge: Love

“You have been my friend. That in itself is a tremendous thing. I wove my webs for you because I liked you. After all, what’s a life, anyway? We’re born, we live a little while, we die. A spider’s life can’t help being something of a mess, with all this trapping and eating flies. By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my life a trifle. Heaven knows anyone’s life can stand a little of that.”

~ Charlotte, Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

This is my second entry in the Weekly Photo Challenge for January 25, 2013. The theme is love. This is one of my absolute favorite quotes on friendship.
We’re all just a bit of a mess, aren’t we? Vulnerable and fragile? Transparent and forgiving? Filled with love, filled with faults. Yet the bonds of friendship intertwine beautifully with enduring love. We love amid the mess.

For more posts on this theme visit this link.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Love

14 Comments
by Alexandria Sage on November 5, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Remember--You Are Loved--No Matter What, Weekly Photo Challenge
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Posted by Alexandria Sage on November 5, 2012

https://simplysage.org/2012/11/05/the-beauty-of-true-friend/

Be Near, Be Close | Weekly Photo Challenge: Near and Far

“A friend can be far away, but is always near.”

~ Anonymous

O

“A friend who is far away is sometimes much nearer than one who is at hand. Is not the mountain more awe-inspiring and more clearly visible to one passing through the valley than to those who inhabit the mountain?”
~ Kahlil Gibran

“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”
~ James 4:8b

“Even if you are far away you are always close to my heart.”
~ Anonymous

28 Comments
by Alexandria Sage on August 9, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Enjoy Life, Remember--You Are Loved--No Matter What, Stay Close with Those You Love
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Posted by Alexandria Sage on August 9, 2012

https://simplysage.org/2012/08/09/be-near-be-close-weekly-photo-challenge-near-and-far/

Fragile—Handle With Care

“Words and hearts should be handled
with care, for words misspoken and hearts when broken are the
hardest things to repair.” ~ Unknown

Ever do this? Say something then feel the immediate twinge of regret? You wish, how you wish, you could somehow take them back. But they stick like glue. Sometimes they are just casual, oh so casual, “I didn’t really mean it.” We utter them right off the top of our head, just because we need to talk–oh, how we need to say something—oh, how we always need to be saying something. Sometimes they are tinged with hints of sarcasm—just enough hint to hurt.

Sometimes we lash out in anger. And that’s the worst kind—so far from kind. And then there’s the so unkind kind that cuts … deep, sometimes scarring to permanence—like a car that’s been wrecked and declared totaled. Total damage. If we would but look into the eyes, we would see the heart of each. But no, we shrug away, whispering, “So what.” Our culture actually takes pride in telling someone off. We hang on to the brash words of reality television and celebrate the celebrity spewing trash-talk. Bullying is a problem among our children. It’s like we celebrate hate.

What have we become?

Yes, conflict is part and parcel of life. But my mother used to say “Fight nice.” The word hate was so repulsed it was never allowed in our home, under any circumstances. Words can build or destroy. Choose them wisely—to soothe, heal, protect, build.

Why not declare to say, today, words tinged with, dare I say, love? And if you have nothing to say, it’s perfectly
okay to just say nothing.

“Even fools are thought wise when they keep silent.” Proverbs
17:28a

“Let your speech be always with grace.”
Colossians 4:6a

“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” ~
Plato

17 Comments
by Alexandria Sage on July 14, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Devotionals, Remember--You Are Loved--No Matter What, Stay Close with Those You Love
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Posted by Alexandria Sage on July 14, 2012

https://simplysage.org/2012/07/14/fragile-handle-with-care-2/

Weekly Photo Challenge | Love, With Borders

“Love consists in this–that two solitudes protect and border and salute each other.”
~ Rainer Maria Rilke , “Letters to a Young Poet”


“Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”
I Corinthians 13: 6-7

This is one my entries for the Weekly Photo Challenge for January 25, 2013. For more entries click on the following link. I have a new post in the works for this theme but for now I hope you enjoy this. It is one of my personal favorites. The photos were a glorious accident.
Peace,
Alexandria

Weekly Photo Challenge: Love

23 Comments
by Alexandria Sage on June 27, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Remember--You Are Loved--No Matter What, Stay Close with Those You Love
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Posted by Alexandria Sage on June 27, 2012

https://simplysage.org/2012/06/27/love-with-borders/

Pain Prescriptions

“When pain is to be borne, a little courage helps more than much knowledge, a little human sympathy more than much courage, and the least tincture of the love of God more than all.”

~ C.S. Lewis The Problem of Pain

10 Comments
by Alexandria Sage on April 10, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Remember--You Are Loved--No Matter What
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Posted by Alexandria Sage on April 10, 2012

https://simplysage.org/2012/04/10/pain-prescriptions/

CenterPeace

“Worry is a cycle of inefficient thoughts whirling around a center of fear.” ~ Corrie ten Boom

“Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? … Look at the lilies of
the field and how they grow. … And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you.” Jesus Christ Matthew 6:27, 28

7 Comments
by Alexandria Sage on March 25, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Be Content With Who You Are, Enjoy Life, In All Things Do Your Very Best, Remember--You Are Loved--No Matter What
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Posted by Alexandria Sage on March 25, 2012

https://simplysage.org/2012/03/25/centerpeace-daffodils/

Weekly Photo Challenge: Close | To Listen is to Love is to Listen…

“Being listened to is so CLOSE to being loved that most people
cannot tell the difference.”

~ David Oxberg

2 Comments
by Alexandria Sage on March 20, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Remember--You Are Loved--No Matter What, True Love Is..., Weekly Photo Challenge
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Posted by Alexandria Sage on March 20, 2012

https://simplysage.org/2012/03/20/to-listen-is-to-love-is-to-listen-2/

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