A Collection of Poems and Words of Encouragement and Inspiration

By Adele McMillan

Christmas 2006, before there was A Collection of Poems and Words of Encouragement and Inspiration, I gave my mother a gift from my heart: "A Daughter's Poem."

Eight years later, my father passed away. The morning of his funeral, I woke up at 3:30, grabbed pen and paper, and wrote the poem "A Tribute to My Dad."

My parents lived on top of a mountain in the Wichita Mountain Range and Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma, five hundred miles from my front door.

Back in the day, my family and I, mom, and dad had great adventures climbing mountains, hiking trails, and watching the buffalo roam.

Most days, in the still of the early morning light, dad would take their dog, Darla, for a walk down the hill and back. On occasion, I walked with them. On one such occasion, dad said he wanted to show me something interesting. So I followed him to the front line of the property where stood an old, snarled, twisted tree. In the middle of the tree trunk was a big hole. When you looked inside the hole, you could see the trunk was hollow. Whenever you discover a hole in the trunk of a tree, the first rule is to put a secret message in a glass jar and drop it down into the hole. And that's just what we did.

When those beautiful days surrendered to evening shadows, my mom and I would sit on the swing in her garden, eat ice cream, talk about days gone by, and watch the sun slide behind the mountaintops.

Years passed and seasons changed, and I understood that my parent's unconditional love and unselfish acts of kindness were unspoken words of encouragement, which inspired this writer to collect and share her own words of encouragement and inspiration.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Aug 4, 2021
• ISBN: 9781098091491

Book preview

A Daughter’s Poem

One day, a young couple laid their petition of love before the Lord and a shower of joy rained down over their hearth and home. The seasons passed and the young couple was blessed with a beautiful baby girl.

She was a blessing, indeed, to her loving parents and a joy to her family. And when she became old enough to follow her mother around the house, you would often see her at the kitchen sink, standing on a chair. And while she balanced on toddler’s toes, she washed freshly picked strawberries or dropped blueberries in a bowl. And if you looked at just the right moment, you would see her mother smooth back the curly locks of the toddler’s golden hair, and lovingly kiss the top of her sweet head.

Time moved forward and the child became a young woman. Her beauty, grace, and love for God were a great tribute to her good and kind parents and her loving family. But a day came when she would leave home to share The Light of Christ and her love for God with others. And on her journey’s road far from her home in the green hills of New England, she met and fell in love with a man from the plains of the great southwest.

So she said goodbye to family and friends, and moved far from home to marry the man she loved. Her sacrifice was heartfelt; but her love and respect for God’s plan of life was great, indeed.

This exceptional woman is my mother. Her love for family and friends became the cornerstone for my own life’s values. (1 Corinthians 13:13)

Thank you, Mom, for being my Mother, my Friend, and my Inspiration.

I love you, Mom.

A Tribute to My Dad

March 21, 1927–March 6, 2014

I had a dad, his name was George. He was brave and strong and true. When I