Monthly Archives: December 2012

Blog of the Year – 2012

I thank Nizy at Nizy’s Life Copendium and Cristi at Simple.Interesing for nominating my blog for “Blog of the Year 2012” award. I am grateful for this generous honour and the people who follow Teacher as Transformer.  It has been a reflective, creative, and transformational journey for the blog and this blogger. This is a result of the wonderful blogs I discovered along the way, the support I receive from that community, and from the more immediate community of my day-to-day life.

I know I will miss some bloggers who deserve this award and I know others do not accept awards. To the first group, I apologize and, to the second group, I am deeply grateful for your contributions.

The ‘rules’ for this award are simple:

  1. Select another blog or other blogs who deserve the ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award;
  2. Write a blog post and tell us about the blog(s) you have chosen – there’s no minimum or maximum number of blogs required – and ‘present’ them with their award;
  3. Include a link back to this page ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award at the Thought Palette and provide these ‘rules’ in your post (please don’t alter the rules or the badges!)
  4. Let the blog(s) you have chosen know that you have given them this award and share the ‘rules’ with them
  5. You can now also join our Facebook group – click ‘like’ on this page ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award Facebook group and then you can share your blog with an even wider audience
  6. As a winner of the award – please add a link back to the blog that presented you with the award – and then proudly display the award on your blog and sidebar … and start collecting stars…

This next part I am unsure about, so I hope you will be able to follow better than I did.

There are stars to collect! Yes, there are stars to collect!

Unlike other awards which you can only add to your blog once – this award is different! When you begin you will receive the 1 star award, and every time you are given the award by another blog, you can add another star!

Blog of the Year Award banner 600Blog of the Year Award banner 600Blog of the Year Award banner 600

There are total of 6 stars to collect.

You can check out your favourite blogs, and even if they have already been given the award by someone else, you can still award them again and help them to reach the maximum 6 stars!

For more information check FAQ on The Thought Palette

The blogs I follow are an eclectic group, but they share one thing: they bring joy into my life on a daily basis and I am thankful for that. Here are the bloggers and their sites I would like to nominate:

Poetry Blog of Mine

Francine in Retirement

4 Writers and Readers

Ralphie’s Portal

Lizzie Joy’s Photo Suite

Who is Bert?

My Own Heart.Me

Writing Between the Lines

I Am for Change

Positive Boomer

Waiting for the Karma Truck

Cindy Knoke

Elizabeth’s Ramblings

The Future Is Papier Mâché

Violet Gallery

Lyrics, Sentiments, and Me

Sage Doyle

Living and Loving

Global Grazers

Lvsrao’s Blog

Heart Flow 2012

The Other Side of Ugly

Laurie McDaniel

And Life Smiles

Tiny Lesson’s Blog

That Dude Eddie

Add Grain on Earth

Settled in Heaven

Free Your Mind

Gary Schollmeier

Deep and Wonderful Thoughts

Simply Simple Complexities

Marsha Lee

Russell Ray Photos

Justice for Raymond

Bela’s Bright Ideas

Notes from the Bluegrass

Lead, Learn, Live

What I See, What I Feel, What I’d Like to See…

ABC of Spirit Talk

Leanne Cole Photography

Tracie Louise Photography

One Hot Message

Tea with a Pirate

Practical Practice Managment

Stay human friends. I find great inspiration in all the blogs I visit each day.

I mentioned in Saturday’s re-blog of Yaz’s 30 day commitment about how much I admired the dedication and am inspired by people who take on a theme. Rob did a similar thing as he wrote about his thankfulness for an entire month. I think it is an example we might try to carry into our daily lives. What am I thankful for today? Thank you Rob and Yaz.

Rob Barkman's avatarSettled In Heaven Blog

Let Us Thank The Lord For His Forgiveness When We Fail To Recognize His Great Blessings

Ps 106:1-2 (KJV)   …  Who can utter the mighty acts of the LORD? who can shew forth all his praise?

http://wp.me/pU88A-1C7

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Winter Nights

It is December 1 and Christmas is just around the corner. The last few days I recalled what it was like in rural northern Alberta at this time of the year. We used to sit upstairs and look out the window on cold, cold nights shimmering with white. What caught my eye and ear was the magic provided by the Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis. They don’t appear in Edmonton as I recall them from my childhood memories. What message was in those celestial colours and sounds?

Small children–

Breathlessly wait,

Peer through frosted window

Soak it in.

Heavens ripple–

Lights undulated;

A celebratory fury

An indisputable guide.

This old house speaks;

Nature answers–

Crackles from the heavens

Sweet symphonic sounds.

Earth’s floor–

Blanketed in white

Celestial colours shimmer

Captures young eyes.

A vivid winter scene,

A sensual, sensory palette,

Reminds me–

Christ’s Mass draws near.

pic_wonder_northern_lights_lg

The photo came from Seven Wonders of Canada.

The Bodhistattva Prayer at the bottom has universal meaning. As we move into this time of the year, I need to ask, “What can I do for those who need my help and my protection?” I follow Yaz’s blog and her dedication in November to posting each day about an important health issue is an inspiration.

Life’s Purpose

Professional development days at school leave me wanting so much more. It is a pretense of doing something, but is busyness personified. I am left tired, unsatisfied, and with a bit of headache. I just want a choice. What fuels my spirit?

Day’s end arrives,

Quiet seeks me out–

Busyness dissipates;

A frenetic pace abates–

No hurry,

No frantic pursuit of something;

Whatever that thing might be

Remains uncertain…

Unclear,

Lost in a mist

Focus a little off–

I remain unsatisfied

Until, I wonder aloud:

What is life’s purpose?

Or is life its own purpose.