W Y S I W Y G

Photo Credit:  wintersixfour from morgueFile.com

How do you like that title?  Is that a misprint?  Is that even a real word?  Yep!  It’s a real word.  I actually found out about WYSIWYG last night.  You pronounce it like “wiz-ee-wig.”  Go ahead and say it a few times.  It’s super-duper fun to say and I won’t admit to how many times my 8-year-old daughter and I have said it in the last few hours.

I was studying some spelling bee words with her yesterday evening and we came across WYSIWYG.  We had to look it up because how can that possibly be a word, right?  It’s an acronym for “What you see is what you get.”  In 1982, a computer programmer came up with it to denote that a screen display will show the text exactly as it will appear in a print-out with all the underlining, italics, bold, and paragraph indentions, etc.

Okay!  So, if you were looking for something to learn today for the next time you are on a TV game show, there ya have it!  You’ll win the big money if you know about WYSIWYG. Ha! Ha!

I wanted to take WYSIWYG a bit deeper though.  (Of course, I do!)  What you see is what you get.  If I see with eyes of gratitude, will I get (or feel) more grateful?  If I see with eyes of appreciation, will I get (or feel) more appreciative?  If I see with eyes of love, will I get (or feel) more loving?

Many folks remember November as a time to be thankful.  I’ve seen numerous posts about counting blessings and being grateful for all the gifts we have.  I agree.  There is no better time than right now to “see” gratitude in order to “get” gratitude.  In November of 2013, I wrote a poem called, Three-Sixty-Four.  I think it’s the perfect time to share it again:

I’m thankful on Thanksgiving Day, but eager to do more.

Can I be grateful on that day, plus three-sixty-four?

What happens on those other days that fill up the year?

Do we pack them full of fret, negativity, and fear?

I’ve heard that it’s a thankful heart that welcomes lasting peace.

Once we are appreciative, our worries seem to cease.

Can we be thankful for the meals we eat that are cold?

We should because we do have food.  For some, that is gold.

Can we give thanks for laundry on the floor that is piled?

We should because we do have clothes to wrap our every child.

Can we thank God for endless lines at the grocery store?

We should because that means we have someone to cook for.

Can we be thankful for a child who never sleeps at night?

We should because we have a child to hold so very tight.

Can we thank God for troubles with the house, the car, and such?

We should because it means that we’ve been blessed with oh so much.

Can we thank God for pokey trucks and even traffic too?

We should because it gives us time to say prayers overdue.

Can we thank God for running late to where we need to be?

We should because it means we have a place to be, you see?

Can we thank God for aches and pains we have when getting old?

We should because there are some who’ll die too young, I’m told.

Can we be thankful for a house that’s messy on most days?

We should because that house is full of children that we raise.

Can we give thanks for times we’ve felt alone and so afraid?

We should because the Lord was close beside us as we prayed.

Can we thank God for times we disagree with those we love?

We should because we can forgive with grace from up above.

Can we thank God for extra pounds we just can’t seem to shed?

We should because that means for us, our family is fed.

Can we thank God for mornings that come too soon, we say?

We should because we have received the gift of life that day.

And what about those dishes stacked high there in the sink?

We’d thank the Lord for them too, if we’d just stop and think.

Burdens that we claim might be blessings in disguise.

Can we praise God with thankful hearts?  I think it would be wise.

Is it truly possible?  We can and we should,

To show our thanks for the Lord, crucified on wood.

Let’s work at being grateful for the blessings, down they pour,

On Thanksgiving Day for sure…plus three-sixty-four.

It’s been a long time since I’ve read this poem and it was a good reminder for me.  On a day-to-day basis, it’s so easy to lose our attitude of gratitude.  So easy.  Too easy.

I want to also thank the Lord above for our veterans, whom we celebrate everyday, but especially on November 11^th.  I’m excited to say that my poem, A Military Heart, will be shared with the special veterans at my children’s school during their Veterans Day program.  I hope they feel the love and deep appreciation we have for them.

A military heart is unique, it must be true,

The blood that pulses deep within is red, white, and blue.

Its love is like a fire that grows when it is shared,

For complete and total strangers, they have truly cared.

All heroes past and present, at war and at peace,

My admiration for you all will never ever cease.

Veterans who went by choice or those who had been drafted,

I feel that God took extra care with certain hearts He crafted.

He had to make them strong and brave, but tender all the same,

He knit them in their mother’s womb and knew them each by name.

It would take a special heart to leave loved ones behind,

To kiss and hug good-bye with Old Glory on their mind.

The countless sacrifice they made for freedoms we enjoy,

For every man, every woman, every girl, and every boy.

For those who have such passion for our great U.S. of A,

Who’ll stand for life and liberty, so we can speak and pray.

If you see a warrior, please give them all our love,

For the heart that beats within them is a gift from God above.

We’re thankful, oh so thankful, for that heart we have admired,

For giving so unselfishly, although it may be tired.

We’d never know of its fatigue - it’s hidden way inside,

For that heart is full of love, as deep as it is wide.

On Veterans Day and all the days that come before and after,

We thank you for allowing us a life of hope and laughter.

To wake each day knowing what you must have seen and heard,

It’s hard to find the thoughts to share - there isn’t just one word.

What can we say?  What should we say?

A debt we just cannot repay.

I think I’ll just say thank you from the bottom of my heart,

I’ll pray for you - thank God for you.  That’s certainly a start.

I’ll do my best to wake each day full of gratitude,

I’ll make a daily effort with a thankful attitude.

I’ll live to nurture peace – I’ll try to do my part,

And I’ll thank the Lord everyday…for your military heart.

I will close this poem-filled Sips with a bit of WYSIWYG.  (I can’t help it!  I just love saying it!)  This week, ponder on what you see and how you see it.  Reflect on it.  If we train our eyes to “see” things with a positive slant, I’m certain that we’ll “get” a much more positive outcome.  What you see is what you get.  WYSIWYG.

Have a wonderful week, Sunshines!