Author Archives: fromareportersnotebook

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About fromareportersnotebook

Former reporter and city editor at The Tribune, Welland, On. Active in various community groups and initiatives, married with two grown children, interested in roses specifically and gardening in general. A collection of previously-written columns was published in book form in the fall of 2013 and is available by contacting the writer at: fromareportersnotebook@gmail.com. It sells for $20.

Morning Offering: 06. 06. 24

Today’s Reflection: God, lead me along the paths that refresh my heart and nourish my tired spirit. I may often feel lost, but when I turn to you, my guide, you show me the way of truth. — from The Sacred Garden, Soil For The Growing Soul  

Morning Offering is a daily post by Joe Barkovich who lives in his hometown of Welland, Ontario. Daily photo by Joe Barkovich.

Morning Offering is posted by 8 a.m.

Morning Offering: 06. 05. 24

Today’s Reflection: Pure prayer begins at the threshold of silence. It says nothing, asks for nothing. It’s a kind of listening. The deeper the listening, the less we listen for, until silence itself becomes the voice of God. —  Stephen Mitchell

Morning Offering is a daily post by Joe Barkovich who lives in his hometown of Welland, Ontario. Daily photo by Joe Barkovich.

Morning Offering is posted by 8 a.m.

Morning Offering: 06. 04. 24

Today’s Reflection: Dear Lord, Keep working on me. — Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration  

Morning Offering is a daily post by Joe Barkovich who lives in his hometown of Welland, Ontario. Daily photo by Joe Barkovich.

Morning Offering is posted by 8 a.m.

Morning Offering: 06. 03. 24

Today’s Reflection: Lord God, in the midst of all the darkness around us, at a time when we may find it difficult to see beyond the fear and uncertainty in our midst, help us to fix our eyes on you, knowing that you are here with us. Amen. — Jesuit Prayer team

Morning Offering is a daily post by Joe Barkovich who lives in his hometown of Welland, Ontario. Daily photo by Joe Barkovich.

Morning Offering is posted by 8 a.m.

Morning Offering: 06. 02. 24

Today’s Reflection: Patience is a form of wisdom. It demonstrates that we understand the fact that sometimes things must unfold in their own time. — Jon Kabat Zinn

Morning Offering is a daily post by Joe Barkovich who lives in his hometown of Welland, Ontario. Daily photo by Joe Barkovich.

Morning Offering is posted by 8 a.m.

Morning Offering: 05. 31. 24

Today’s Reflection: Slow Me Down, Lord!

Slow me down, Lord!                                                    
Ease the pounding of my heart
By the quieting of my mind.
Steady my harried pace
With a vision of the eternal reach of time.

Give me,
Amidst the confusions of my day,
The calmness of the everlasting hills.
Break the tensions of my nerves
With the soothing music
Of the singing streams
That live in my memory.

Help me to know
The magical power of sleep,
Teach me the art
Of taking minute vacations
Of slowing down
To look at a flower;
To chat with an old friend
Or make a new one;
To pet a dog;
To watch a spider build a web;
To smile at a child;
Or to read a few lines from a good book.

Remind me each day
That the race is not always won by the swift;
That there is more to life
Than increasing its speed.

Let me look upward
Into the branches of the towering oak
And know that it grew great and strong
Because it grew slowly and well.

Slow me down, Lord,
And inspire me to send my roots deep
Into the soil of life’s enduring values
That I may grow toward the stars
Of our greater destiny. —Orin L. Crain 

Morning Offering is a daily post by Joe Barkovich who lives in his hometown of Welland, Ontario. Daily photo by Joe Barkovich.

Morning Offering is posted by 8 a.m.

Morning Offering: 05. 29. 24

Today’s Reflection: Creator, help me have the wisdom to grow old gracefully and to accept the changes that come, with as much peace as possible. The Sacred Garden, Soil For The Growing Soul 

Morning Offering is a daily post by Joe Barkovich who lives in his hometown of Welland, Ontario. Daily photo by Joe Barkovich.

Morning Offering is posted by 8 a.m.

Morning Offering: 05. 28. 24

Today’s Reflection: Disturb us, Lord, when
We are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wider seas
Where storms will show your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.

We ask You to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push into the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love. — Attributed to Sir Francis Drake, c. 1577

Morning Offering is a daily post by Joe Barkovich who lives in his hometown of Welland, Ontario. Daily photo by Joe Barkovich.

Morning Offering is posted by 8 a.m.