Although I have considered from time to time

     discontinuing this blog

   I long to give you a glimpse today of someone who knew what it was to live

       within the shining moments

        brightly creating thousands of moments for others.

Yes, Emily Ann Black was a one of a kind.

Our relationship began more than 20 years ago when she wrote me

    Having seen an article of mine published in Decision Magazine.

I wrote back

    somewhat amused that she lived in Fredonia

         the community where I had gone to college.

Her letters kept coming

    filled with encouragement and little bits of news.

She bubbled about her quiet life

    talked about the colored leaves falling on those old slate sidewalks

    that I used to walk back and forth to class.

She was interested in people

   and I became one more for her to care about.

She had never read a book or a blog about living a satisfied life

  or how to develop a life of purpose, peace and passion.

No, she didn’t need to.

Emily Ann was a lover

   of her Lord and

     all her family and friends.

She gave herself away in so many ways.

A note here

   A phone call there

     Always interested in what I was doing.

 She did not preach it

   she practiced the art of living

  one day at a time.

Then a few years ago her health began to decline.

I heard the pain in her voice when we’d talk

   but she never complained.

Always thankful.

But I knew that fall was turning to winter.

She continued to remember birthdays

   mine, my daughters and even asked about my dog Savanna

 and even though our lives were separated by many miles

   and we had never met

 she was such a very special friend.

So when I discovered early this morning that she was gone

 my heart drooped with sadness and grief.

My life will be different without her.

But then I think of all those many shining moments we shared.

The sound of her sweet voice on my answering machine.

The curve of her handwriting on each note she sent.

The joyous laughter and sweet friendship over the years

 I realize that she lived out

   life at its best. She discovered it.

Yes, she was a shining example of a life well lived.

She not only experienced many shining moments wherever she went

   but she created them for others.

So…

do you long for a life that shines with brightness?

do you long to really make a difference in others lives?

Don’t wait another day. Contact me.

You can not only experience shining moments but you can learn the art of living them.

It can’t get any better than that.