I would like to send a big thanks over to nocturnefirefay for nominating me for another Versatile Blogger Award. Stop by and see her wonderful blog that is loaded with inspirational content and great reads. I appreciate the thoughtful nomination firefay!

Now for the details, here’s how it works:

• If you are nominated, thank the award giver and link back to them in your blog post
• Share seven things about yourself
• Pass this award along to recently discovered blogs you enjoy reading
• Contact your chosen bloggers to let them know about the award and post the award picture

7 things about me:

1. I love to dance (when no one is watching…LOL)

2. My least favorite chore is doing dishes…lol

3. I won the 5th grade spelling bee

4. I started writing poetry at age 10, but lost all of my writings in a move…..I know, I’ve moved on…sigh….

5. Besides artifacts, I love to collect shells on the beach

6. I graduated from Cosmetology school, but I am not currently in the profession

7. I am a domestic diva, minus the apron and heels lol (I love being able to stay home and raise our son!)

And my nominations are, in no particular order:

http://eclipsingwinter.wordpress.com

http://realtruelove.wordpress.com

http://thewriternubbin.wordpress.com

http://sacrilegeofthegoddess.wordpress.com

http://ladybluerose.wordpress.com

http://adventuresandtea.wordpress.com

http://poeticjourney251.wordpress.com

http://parryelwahey.wordpress.com

http://divinerhythm.wordpress.com

CONGRATULATIONS!

Please visit these wonderful and inspiration filled blogs as soon as you are able. Thank you!

The 1-in-100 Warrior Award

I feel so very honored and humbled to receive this very special award from  bipolarmuse .

http://bipolarmuse.com/category/1-in-100-warrior-award/

She has become a wonderful friend and I am always pleased to visit her blog for a glimpse of her heart in writing.

You are such a gem, bipolar, and I cannot express enough how happy I am to have met you….I have been blessed by your beautiful spirit. Thank you from my heart for this award.

“Out of every one hundred men, ten shouldn’t even be there, eighty are just targets, nine are the real fighters, and we are lucky to have them, for they make the battle. Ah, but the one, one is a warrior, and he will bring the others back.” ~Heraclitus

Courage. Honesty. Fearlessness. Grace. Peace. Service to others. No complaints. Nothing thought of as a blessing or a curse; everything simply accepted as another challenge to be conquered.

They’re not perfect, and don’t try to be, because they know such aspirations are futile. But they do the absolute best they can with what they’ve been given. Warriors no longer have potential. They are potent! They understand that knowledge is knowing, but wisdom is doing. And they are a very rare breed: as Heraclitus once said, only one out of every one hundred is a true warrior. This award is named in honor of those words and that truth. The symbol of the sword is used to represent their courage and strength, and the symbol of the feather quill pen represents their grace, beauty and creativity.

Guidelines for the 1-in-100 Warrior Award: Warriors are not motivated by awards or fame. They see awards not as an opportunity for the ego to rejoice, but rather an opportunity to honor other warrior brothers and sisters. To acknowledge and honor the rarity of the warrior, it is recommended that the recipient passes this award on to only *one* other blogger that they feel goes above and beyond to serve and inspire others, and who maintains their grace and positivity even in the face of difficult challenges, such as health issues, tragedy, injustice or loss.

Once an author is given the award, they may continue nominating one new blog author once a week, month, year… or whatever seems appropriate. It’s like a knight’s ability to bestow knighthood onto another whenever they choose. But only one at a time. The patience of a warrior is required. 

*** And now I would like to nominate Nae’s Nest to receive this noble award. Nae is a wonderful woman with a big heart and kind soul. Nae also battles with cancer and has had numerous surgeries to try and rid her body of the infection. Although she deals with the pain and fear of her ailment, she faces it with courage, determination, strength, love and grace. She is so sweet spirited you would never know she suffers so. Her blog is full of defying unbelievable odds, inspirations, and words from her soul in her darkest hours. I have been following her from the first week I started my blog and have been immensely blessed by her warrior spirit, her will to live, and her beautiful writings and posts. More than once I have shed a tear as her words and updates have pulled on my heart.  I am so glad to have met her in this blogging universe, and I encourage you to give her a visit if you have never met her. I can assure you, you will leave with more than you entered with. 

Congratulations Nae, you so deserve this beautiful award. And as I have passed the torch to you, you may do the honor of passing it to another.

Peace and love be with you and keep you…..

Outside my window

is a magical world,

my inner child comes to life,

my imagination unfurls.

Two loving unicorns

walk together rubbing noses,

they enter into a magical garden

nibbling on the buds of young roses.

A frothy crystaline waterfall

out of a craggy mountain leaps,

the joy of it’s wreckless abandon

is enough to make me weep.

Across the way a forest looms

and a starry eyed fairy plays,

flitting about from flower to flower

weaving their magic from the sun’s rays.

I hear a sound that quickens my heart

and fastens my eyes to the sky,

a dragon colored in hues of the dawn

the ground shakes from his thunderous cries.

An enchantress floating down by the stream

with mischief on her mind,

she calls forth her lovers, trapped by her spell

her beauty has smitten them blind.

Pretty maidens lounging by a handsome bard’s feet

as he sings to them his songs,

tales of battles fought for true love

won by the souls of the strong.

A knight in shining armor

climbs onto his horse and saddle,

for his princess he rides hard through the night

to save her he will fight the fiercest battle.

At last I retreat from my window

and reality settles back in,

but the wonder and magic stay with me

Till my window I visit again.

]]> http://celestealluvial.wordpress.com/2012/02/22/outside-my-window/feed/ 4 celestealluvial afghan-woman http://celestealluvial.wordpress.com/2012/02/22/faceless-man/ http://celestealluvial.wordpress.com/2012/02/22/faceless-man/#comments Wed, 22 Feb 2012 12:14:32 +0000 celestealluvial http://celestealluvial.wordpress.com/?p=3400 Continue reading →]]> This is not one of Creed’s more popular songs, but it is still a favorite of mine. Something about it speaks to me, and it has rich message. You can read the lyrics by switching to youtube mode and dropping down the show more menu. Hope you have a minute to listen….enjoy and have a blessed day.

One of a handful of precious pearls of truth that I have learned on this life’s journey,

and that I carry,

is that I AM LOVED.

Loved by my creator.

He loved me first. He loved me from the beginning.

I was conceived and woven by the greatest of loves in my mothers womb, by the hands of the author of love.

So I have no doubt that he left something of himself in me, inside of each one of us;

the greatest love of all.

Like a painter that pours his vision and heart and soul upon his canvass,

or the musician that puts all his heart and strength into the song that he hears in his spirit,

or the writer and poet that pours out their heart and hopes and dreams onto a paper and inspires others with their words,

so we were made in the same manner,

  with the same care and attention to detail.

For what artist does not take the time to make every piece a masterpiece,

a work reflecting his vision, heart and soul?

Or what artist does not hope that his work is an inspiration to others?

Ahhh, so then it is we were meant to be.…

our spirits bearing witness, right now.

To know who we are,

and believe in the love that made us and gave us life,

is a precious gift,

and an effective tool and ally for us in this life,

and gives us a confidence to know we are always loved,

and able to love,

even in the most perilous of circumstances…..

for that is who we are,

and what we are made of. 

We are his beloved.

We cannot escape it.

We cannot change the fiber nor the fabric that has woven us together.

We cannot change it through circumstance

nor by our actions.

We cannot help but be that essence, that image in which we were created.

This brings me great comfort,

and sustains me with a mighty strength.

We are all living, breathing works of art, each of us unique,

but each of us the same,

fashioned by the same loving spirit,

the spirit of our father, our creator,

the master artist.

And we need look no further than ourselves to find it,

and receive courage to walk in it

and be it.

]]> http://celestealluvial.wordpress.com/2012/02/18/a-pearl-of-truth-a-pearl-of-great-price/feed/ 20 celestealluvial _dsc8114 images33 page59_picture0 http://celestealluvial.wordpress.com/2012/02/17/strong-enough-to-bend/ http://celestealluvial.wordpress.com/2012/02/17/strong-enough-to-bend/#comments Fri, 17 Feb 2012 14:25:28 +0000 celestealluvial http://celestealluvial.wordpress.com/?p=3360 Continue reading →]]> Another favorite. A simple but endearing love song. I remember hearing this on the radio as a child, and I would always sing along. It has a charming message….please enjoy.

I dedicate this to my rock, my best friend and love for all time, Jeremy.

My love for you is steadfast and true

a withering flicker of flame it will not snuff out

it will not turn away a heart’s despair

nor rise up to bring accusation upon thee.

My love for you is everlasting

it does not grow brittle from winter’s chill

nor bow and break under angry wind

it is not uprooted in torrential floods

nor wither under fierce summer sun.

My love for you will never fade

nor shall it be lost in endless seas

it will not faint at the terrors by night

nor lose heart and flee the coming wrath.

But my love for you shall grow stronger each day

like the promise of a budding rose in your soul

and the happiness of the red breasted robin in flight it will give you

like the first fruits of spring it shall sustain you….

And this promise I lovingly give to you

a gift to you for all eternity.

written by Celeste

May I have your attention

please lend me your ear

and hear a true story

of a night that lasted years.

Lost in a dark and dreary place

I was trapped in my own prison

I could not admit or accept the fact

this undoing had been my decision.

My eyes now glazed over

and my hearing grown dull

I waited and searched for an uncomparable gift

but my heart the deceiver had lulled.

Trying to find my way back home

on knees I crawled battered and bruised

Oh why has grace removed itself far from me,

my soul is continually refused.

Oh bright and shining, morning star

I ask you to show me the way

please help my eyes to see the light

and turn this darkness to day.

When my words had run out, I ended my pleas

and I lifted up my eyes

a beacon of light was beckoning me

and it lit up a path from the skies.

The ice on my heart began to melt

a new warmth I felt within

healing the wounds that were there for so long

assuring me I was forgiven for my sins.

Just then I heard a voice

speaking straight to me…

“Never again fear the darkness of night,

trust in my way and you will be free.

For it is in the darkness

that the light you seek burns bright,

an aide to help you along the way

to keep you fighting the good fight.”

My spirit renewed, I gave thanks in silent awe

the gift of grace had returned,

It’s roots now deeper than ever before

to preserve in me all that I’d learned.

written by Celeste