Sharon Peeples is a Associate Member of The Academy Of American Poets. Her work has been published in Poetry Sharings Journal, where she was the featured poet in September of 2004, in the Everglade Kite magazine of The Audubon Society of the Everglades in October of 2004...a collaborative write with her daughter Tammy Peeples, and in a Memoial Issue of Distant Echoes magazine, edited by Starlite's own E.W. Richardson. Her work has also been published in an on-line magazine, Short Stuff, appearing in the November and December 2002 issues and the March and April issue of 2003, and also in Cowboy Poetry magazine. She is currently working on a book-length manuscript of poetry and also hope to submit short stories to a local magazine, Prairie Times, in the near future. She has hosted a poetry workshop called The Poet's Muse, at our local establishment, Borders Books and Music, and hope to resume those classes after the end of this year. She also leads a writer's group called The Write Bunch, once a month in her hometown, located near Denver, CO.

She has been teaching piano for over 28 years and she says it's a joy to help nurture a love of music in children and adults of all ages. She loves to read, write, sew, do crafts, hike in the beautiful mountains of Colorado, and of course...play and teach piano!

Her favorite poets include Edgar Allan Poe, Ralph Waldo Emmerson, Robert Frost, Maya Angelou, Edna St. Vincent Millay and Emily Dickenson .

A few of Sharon's favorite quotes:

A beautiful quote by my favorite poet, Edgar Allan Poe, is "Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream by night." Hold on to your dreams, whatever they are!

and

Focusing on all you have and all of your blessings will make you feel upbeat. Focusing on your problems and what you don't have will make you feel beat up.

You can read more poetry by Sharon Peeples by clicking on this link!

PROVISION OF SURRENDER

As apprehension bordering on fear drops its flowing skirts
around me I'm reminded of the Book of Job. The story
is about a man whose faith was tested far and above
what I pray will ever befall me. Job was a righteous
God-fearing man. He lost everything he had in this world.
His health, possessions, family...even his closest friends
turned against him and told him to curse his God and die.

But Job held on to his faith and even though he did become
discouraged (an understandable human reaction) he never
turned his back on the God he knew loved him and cared
for him. In the end, Job passed his test and all that he had
was restored to him two-fold.

I'm not sure I could be as strong if I were tested so severely.
To lose everything? Everything? And not become bitter, angry
asking why me and turning my back on my faith and my God?

But I've come to realize something about this kind of testing.
All God is asking me to do is be willing to lose everything,
releasing my attachments to this world, because in actuality...
HE is all I need! If I can come to the place of trusting Him
enough to give back everything He gave me in the first place,
I believe this is the KEY that will open the door of heaven's
floodgates and I will be blessed beyond my highest hopes
because He has promised to meet ALL of my needs. Good measure,
pressed down, shaken together and running over!

Luke 6:38
~~

By Sharon Peeples

© 2007 Sharon Peeples (All rights reserved)