Hollie's Poem

Passing by
something catches his eye
He stops to glance
and then to look
He lingers here
His eyes appear
to be taking in
something sincere
He's drawn in now
really somehow
taken to a place
a different time and space
The colors are rich
breathtakingly real
it's almost as if
he could reach out and feel
the textures,the edges,
the scenic surmise
And yet it's only
a play on his eyes
For he stands now transfixed
on a remarkable pic
that he's so grateful
he didn't miss.

Hanging there
how could one not stop
and stare?

Jaime's Vision

Background:
God has placed me in a position that I’ve been wanting. I’ve been wanting to be challenged in areas of public speaking, sales, and meeting people. These are all out of my comfort zone. When this job opened up, it was the perfect opportunity for me to take. I get nervous and anxious when I talk in front of groups, I am not the aggressive sales type and I hate bothering people, and I’m very shy when it comes to meeting people I don’t know. God has been working with me and telling me to trust him and to put myself out there and meet as many people as you can. He doesn’t want me to be afraid anymore. He’s telling me not to worry about who’s in the audience. Just be me and he’ll take care of the rest.

When it comes to my presentations, I want to be a motivator, encourager, and influencer. I want those students to feel empowered and moved when my presentation is finished. I want them to feel like anything is possible. I want them to feel the exact way God makes me feel!


Vision:
The bell rings and students begin to fill the room going to their assigned seats, looking around as if something is out of place or something is different. Yes, today is different. They ask themselves, “who is this stanger?” up in the front of the room. “Do we have a sub today?” More and more students begin piling in as it’s almost time to start. Still students are sitting at their seats wondering what this stranger is doing in their classroom today. They can’t help but feel he means no harm and has a calm, pleasant demeanor about him. Even though they don’t know who he is, they feel comfortable.

The final bell rings and it’s time to begin class. The teacher takes role and introduces the guest speaker, “class, this is Jaime Cortes” and explains why he is visiting their class today, “it’s about your future”, the teacher explains. I begin and as I talk about the possiblilities of their future, it’s as if they are transported to the future. Having glimpses of what it will be like in a career they love and are passionate about. A career that allows them to travel, have freedom, and enjoy the things they’ve always wanted. They feel like they are in a story. A story of their future. A future of infinite possibilities. Their eyes light up. Smiles and laughter fill the room. They are having the ride of their life.

Amazed at what they have heard, they want to learn and hear more. They don’t want it to end. They want that future that I have explained. 40 minutes have gone by and it’s time for me to wrap it up. “Okay class, now it’s your turn to make that dream become a reality! It’s time to take the first step.” The room is filled with hands raised in the air. Hands raised with questions about “how can I get that?” “How can I get what you just explained?” “I want it all!” “What do I have to do?”

I can’t help but smile on the inside and think, “Man, God is good!”

So Life is fun

Today will be fun. Challenging, scary, a lot of hard work, but fun. It is the opening of my show room and is marked by the production of Symphony Street, a runway show of this season’s line. Looking over the styles I am please and proud of the outcome. Simple reverence to the human body with the perfect about of flair. Um how pleasant.
I tackle the task of dressing myself for the big event. I commonly feel like if would be easer to orchestrate a whole runway show then build a personal ensemble. Perspective is the key to everything,
Soon I will step out of this house and invite a challenging, scary, fun day. My fine team of five and I will wow our visitors with on experience. An event. A moment. And a picture that will become a part of who they are. This is our chance to show our creations, a bit of ourselves and an atmosphere that is pure, holy and spirit inspired. Clothes are a brand and an image, just something that you wear, but they become something you use to communicate, something you “buy into”, something that defines your identity. This is what I live life for. An atmosphere to command for Jesus, an industry to redefine, a day to enjoy. Breezing thought the details of models, lights, colors, musicians….this is a day to remember and live.
So, I step out, reaching and commanding what is to be, doing what I see and feeding that hunger in the middle of me that calls unto deep.

Long time ago, comes a time so far away

I remember the wood grain to be bit of a light color. It was stained with a very heavy coat of lacquer. I am not quite sure if I remember it being beautiful then, maybe its just now years later I realize how beautiful it was. The wind had quite a cool breeze, but more refreshing then anything. It was autumn. The clouds were gray, almost ready to rain. In fact maybe it was even misting, but so light of a mist it made it kind of delightful. We were rocking back and forth; I heard something flapping in the wind. There were loud noises and people around. But I had a moment; a moment where everything stood still, and there it was, captured, I had achieved perfect flow of the mind. I was fully immersed in this moment. I had an energized focus. It was beautiful and never forgotten.

As I stand here I find my self so fascinated with that capture. I am always reminded of it. Anyway, I must keep packing; we have a long journey ahead. So many years have past, not one part of that image has faded. So we set sail. Ready for months ahead with nothing but the world to sea.

After three months it’s been amazing journey so far. We are just making our way around the north tip of France, heading into the English Channel. A night passes, and here we are the North Sea. We make our way up the cost of The Netherlands and enter the canal passage that brings us into Alkmaar. What a beautiful sight. The water was choppy; it had a strong current flowing out to the North Sea. Wind was very strong. I will say it was very calming though. I could see on the edge of the land people riding their bikes, It was like I was going back in time. The windmills were still turning full speed with the brisk air. Up ahead I see an open body of water. As we approach the wind died down a bit. I call down in the cabin, “hunny please take the wheel.”

I turn around and I quickly became highly focus I get this senseless case of déjà vu. Its very strong, I drop me to my knees. I immediately close my eyes to refocus. I notice, still on my knees, that I am grabbing the back of the boat. I look up out into the water. What an amazing moment, it was so surreal. “Wait, this is the moment”. I realized I was here, and the moment I realized I made it. Yes a moment I have never forgotten.

Mary's Story

Once upon a time…there was a princess who loved to be in God’s house. She was single with a job that was very flexible that allowed her to be in God’s house and volunteer a lot, but her desire was for a source of income that would no longer restrict her from being there. Even though she had lot, she knew there was more.

So she started praying for a source of income that was not a job and would not take up her time. She prayed for about a year and God gave her the idea to start a nanny agency. She procrastinated for about another year, until God kept opening doors and putting nannies and parents across her path that she could no longer procrastinate any longer. Soon a good friend told her that she had, had this idea for over a year and she needed to put some action behind it. The final push was when she went to research nanny agencies and found a ‘Nanny Agency Conference’ (who would thought those existed) right in her own city. Sooooo there began the journey…

She continued to pursue this idea, laying a foundation, learning patience and diligence, but most of learning to rest in God even in the midst of busyness. When finally the idea had come to fruition, she had more parents and nanny matches than she could process and lots of employees were hired in the office. From the beginning she was able to delegate positions in the office of the agency to bless, not only nannies, but wonderful employees she could provide with amazing jobs. These employees loved their jobs and had a heart for what they did. There was order in the business in every area spiritually and naturally. Each employee and nanny was in the right position at the right time, with the right heart.

God prospered her and allowed this business to be run so efficiently and so well by her employees that she rarely had to be there. Her nannies loved their jobs and families were coming to the Lord as a result of these nannies influences in these homes.
As a result of this idea from God, many people were blessed with wonderful jobs that they prospered from. As a result the princess was prospering not only in her finances, but also her time. This allowed to pursue her real passion to be in her Father’s house and beyond that she was finally able to take a real vacation to Italy to lay by the Mediterranean and eat lots of pasta and gelato.

And there is a happily ever after…she did finally meet her prince who was amazing. He was very prosperous himself, however this prince was not her source, her Heavenly Father was. …And this was just the beginning of one of the many billion dollar ideas God would put in their life…

Poem

Oh what joy!
Jumping, Leaping
To fill that hole in someone's life.
To solidly anchor down that stone.

Karie's Short Story

The little Deerguin was a curious sight. She was quite rare and hard to find but she had one gift that made her worth the hunt. Common things that never would relate in the minds of most became a thing of inspiration and beauty after Deerguin was done with it. It seemed so obvious to her and yet when asked how she does it she says "I was born this way." She doesn’t like to bring too much attention to herself for her joy is in the creations that are birthed. Each one is completely unique – sometimes it’s a new relationship between people who didn’t understand each other or a new design that unleashes an undiscovered fountain of personality. Her methods are peculiar for she is a quiet and easily distracted artisan. A woosh of her antlers whittles something in the ice. “Interesting,” she says. Then she’s off to go watch her friend Otter (whom she likes to call a water squirrel) play in the water. After some coaxing she joins her friend in a game for she knows that play is the spring from which her creations flow. Finally she sits down to continue her work and in a momentary burst of smartness stumbles upon the solution. She presents the finished work to her client and they gasp, “why it’s so simple yet obvious.” With that she slides away and determines to teach people how to tap into their own springs of originality for she believes everyone has been born with this power. Her students are always amazed at the simplicity of the methods. “Is it really that simple,” they exclaim. “Pretty much,” proclaims Deerguin, “pretty much.” Then she slides away on her warm little belly, aglow from the joy of helping someone discover their own creativity, to go find a new game to play. Eventually her creations allow her to flee the annoying polar bears of Alaska to snowboard all day in the swiss alps where she'll be found by a creative, cute deerguin boy to play with. THE END

A Revolution by Parker Benthin

A revolution: from me to you
Change the way you see
yourself – selfless
others – focused
Change the way you act
selfish – give all of you
destructive – build it up
Change the way you are
deaf, dumb & blind – aware of surroundings
full of hate – love others as yourself
Change the world.

A Revolution by Parker Benthin

A revolution: from me to you
Change the way you see
yourself – selfless
others – focused
Change the way you act
selfish – give all of you
destructive – build it up
Change the way you are
deaf, dumb & blind – aware of surroundings
full of hate – love others as yourself
Change the world.

here's my short story...

one october day, a girl sat in her office on the 12th floor of the office bldg she’d given her life to. the phone rings, and the front desk says her mom is on the line. her mom says the girl’s dream had died, her vision had died, her purpose had died. the funeral was in three days. the girl got up, walked to the elevator, and found herself on the sidewalk, waiving down a taxi.

he asked “where to?”. the girl said “drive east.”. after 3 hours of picking people up, and taking them where they wanted to go, in an eastward direction, the taxi asked her again “where to?”. the girl numbly revealed that she’d just found out her dream, vision, purpose had died. she had no idea it was even sick. she’d been meaning to live it for so long. she’d thought about it… but her job had always taken up so much time. and now it’s all dead. the girl was now letting tears drop onto her knees. she said to the taxi “i just have to get out of here. life does not make sense anymore. can you just drive?”. the taxi felt for this woman. he could almost feel himself mourning the loss along with her. he agreed “i will drive east.”, and they continued on.

along the road the taxi and girl picked up and dropped off many different people. some old, some young, wise, dumb, confident, quiet. the girl sat, and contemplated why. the taxi comforted her, by driving.

leaving a south dakota rest stop, the girl thought about missing the funeral. she reached down in the back seat of the taxi to inspect a brown paper bag. what she saw inside shocked her. the taxi said to climb up front so he could take a look. they peered into a lunchbag full of rolled-up $100s, held together by rubberbands. the girl said “here, this is for the ride.”, and they smiled. she rode in the front from then on.

the girl’s mind whirred while she talked with all the people who got into and out of the taxi as they made their way east. some of them she could trust, some she felt were giving her ill advice. she thought about where she failed her dream, vision, purpose. the girl thanked the taxi and explained she was beginning to feel like she could still live.

as they pulled into long island, new york, the taxi said they were making a pit-stop. the girl read the sign as they parked… “skyline city church”. “kind of akward to pit-stop at a church, isn’t it?” she asked the taxi. “let’s go to church.”, he said. inside she learned of a truth based on perfect love. she learned her dream, vision, purpose could be born again. she desperately cried in the taxi’s arms, and was never the same.

today she lives down the street from that october day office bldg, but has not stepped a foot in it since then. she lives her dream, vision, and purpose.