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 I will be adding stories & reflections as time marches on. Take a gander today! |
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Contest Entries: "The Contest Challenge"  Participant"I Write in 2018" Participant"I Write in 2019" Participant"I Write in 2020" Participant2021: Independent Writing 2122: "I Write: Enter the Second Decade" Participant2123: "Twenty-three in Eleven " ParticipantThis mixed collection contains fiction, non-fiction, prose, and poetry. Entries vary in length from very short to one that is over 3000 words. 53 entries written in 2018: ▼ 53 entries written in 2019: ▼ 43 entries written in 2020 ▼ 2 entries written in 2021 ▼ Entries written in 2022 ▼ NOTE: All Titles with ~ ~ are either non-fiction or based on a true story. |
| For the back story, please see "~ A True Story ~" . Alone in her living room She knelt by the sofa. Tears flowed As she bowed her head And prayed. She was so unhappy. She felt so hopeless. She felt unloved. She felt alone. In an empty marriage. "God," she cried, "I feel hopeless." As she sobbed, A Bible verse Came to her mind. My people perish For a lack of... Vision. She was perishing Without hope. "God, I have no vision. No hope For a brighter future With this man. Please help me." She asked for Hope. She was given A vision A hope-inspiring vision... Eyes still closed In prayer She saw a scene Unfold on a stage Behind her eyelids. Her husband was On that stage. He stood before A congregation Of young people. The group Watching and listening Were seated On folding chairs. Before the stage. Her husband Speaking to them Held up A book A special book. It was a Bible With a special binding Sewn in such a way That could be folded Completely inside out. He held up that Bible As he declared, "The answers to all Your problems Are in here." And then He turned And summoned her To join him On that stage. He put his arm Around her waist And said to the crowd, "I thank God For this woman." He then went on Thanking God for The fruit of The Spirit He saw in her. Lost in the Spirit, She had to admit This fruit was Not yet fully Manifest in her. The vision ended. What did it mean? Drying her tears, She embraced it As a promise of hope. She believed God had shown her Something precious: A loving husband And happiness ahead. She held onto That vision. She never let go Of the hope It would come to pass. Even now Years later Promise unfulfilled She remembers Her vision of hope. Written for: "A Story-Poem Contest!!!" Line Count: 100 Lines NOTE: The verse referenced is Proverbs 29:18 ~ ~ ~ JESUS is LORD! ~ ~ ~ |
As I have walked the path of life, I have stumbled upon a few things that have made my life a better place to be. Some may sound silly. Others are more serious. All of these strategies work for me and might just work for you, too. Let's start with a silly one: smile. It sounds simple enough, eh? "Smile, it releases endorphins." is a saying my kids have heard me say hundreds of times. Why? Simply because it works. The act of putting my facial muscles in the shape of a smile releases feel-good chemicals into my system and helps me to feel good! Another action that has consistently helped me to feel better is: to be quiet—inside my head. The Bible tells us to take every thought into captivity. I have learned I can better control my thoughts when I take time to regularly be quiet. Some might call it meditating. I just see it as exercising the ability to choose what I think about. Focusing on my own thoughts, my own words and my own actions versus what other people are saying and doing has been one of the most freeing things I have done in my life. I get to choose to act rather than react. It helps me to function within the principles of the Serenity Prayer—recognizing the difference between what I can change and what I can't. Serenity comes to me every time I choose to practice these three things. Peace that passes understanding is mine because the three stategies actually serve to put a real smile on my face. It is more than an exercise. It is a way of life. Written for "Write An Essay About..." .Prompt: Write an essay about YOU. Three Things: 1. Smile 2. Be quiet inside my head. 3. Focus on my own thoughts, feelings and actions. ~ ~ ~ JESUS is LORD! ~ ~ ~ |
The King and the Prince looked over their kingdom. They longed to bring everyone in the kingdom into the fold. Most of the people did not even know the King and the Prince. An evil ruler had blinded their eyes. The King and the Prince had a secret plot to thwart the evil ruler's plans. It would require a major sacrifice but would be well worth it in the end. They were in total agreement and began to put things in play. The Prince looked around at the opulence and abundance surrounding him and the King. Love was what motivated the Prince to temporarily walk away from all of this. He knew the momentary loss would be worth it. He could see down the road when He would return to His throne with clouds of followers perfected in love. With this in mind, the Prince took on the role of one of his subjects and experienced first hand what life on this mortal coil was like. And what death was like. The pinnacle of their plan was his death. The evil ruler would think he had won but the King and the Prince had an ace up their sleeve. The Prince held the keys of life and death. His life was not taken from him. He willingly laid it down as a sacrifice to ransom the people who would come to love him in return. He willingly laid down his life knowing he had the power to take it up again in victory—the ultimate victory where love triumphs over death for all eternity. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. Love wins. ~ ~ ~ JESUS is LORD! ~ ~ ~ Written for "Invalid Item" Prompt: Love Word Count: 285 Words This is a mini-version of what the Bible tells us about Jesus giving his life as ransom for us. |
| As I contemplated this question, a song came to mind. You can find it here: ~ Psalty & The Butterfly Song ~ Here is the chorus of that song: But I’d just thank you, Father, for making me Me! ‘Cause you gave me a heart, And you gave me a smile You gave me Jesus, And you made me your child. And I just thank you, Father, for making me Me! I am His workmanship.  God, in His mercy has authored every good thing in me. The best thing in my life is my relationship with God through His only begotten Son, Jesus. He forgives me and empowers me to forgive others. He loves me and empowers me to love others. As my relationship with Him grows, I become more like Him. He changes me. My external life is not full of riches and abundance but my internal life is. He has given me (and continues to give me) peace in the midst of storms—peace that passes understanding. In this world, I will have tribulations but I can be of good cheer for He has overcome the world. His mercy endures forever. Even when I am unfaithful, He is faithful. He is and always shall be my all and all. What makes me me? He does. I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in me will carry it on to completion it until the day of Christ Jesus. He gave me a heart, And He gave me a smile He gave me Jesus, And He made me His child. And I just thank you, Father, for making me Me! ~ ~ ~ JESUS is LORD! ~ ~ ~ Written for "Philosophical Musings" Prompt:"For the sixth round, let's consider what makes you you." Word Count: 286 Words |
Mommy died one New Year's Eve. As I whispered in her ear, I quietly took my leave. By the closing of that year, She had passed on... Author's Note: ▼ ~ ~ ~ JESUS is LORD! ~ ~ ~ |
I grew up in Wellsville, New York. As a child, I remember Sunday dinners at Grandma's house and attending "~ The Little White Church ~" as a family. I remember going to the drive-in and us kids trying to stay awake for the whole movie.We did not do many other things as a family but we did always go to the golf course on the 4th of July. The course had rolling hills where we went sledding in the winter. I used my first skis on those tiny slopes. But on the 4th of July those slopes were not covered with snow. On the fourth, they were covered with blankets. There must have been plenty of room because I don't remember any stress about getting there early to find a good spot or good parking. My dad just parked with everyone else on the side of the road and we walked to a spot a ways out and spread out our blankets and excitedly waited for the main event. We all got there at dusk and waited for the last rays of sunlight to disappear. We knew a dark sky made for a better show. We chatted and laughed while we waited. Then there would be a flash and a boom letting us know the celebration was about to start. We would all lie down and gaze at the sky ready to be amazed. We were never disappointed. One colorful splash after another filled the night sky. A multitudes of oohs and ahs would be our applause. One after another the amazing color designs would come until there was a pause. Then the finale with lots of colors, booms, whistling sounds—and then silence. Slowly we would gather our things and make our way back to our car. It was a wonderful family night. We would always remember our hometown 4th of July celebration. Yay for the Independence Day Celebration on the golf course in my hometown. ♡ Written for "The Taboo Words Contest ~ On Hiatus" Prompt: Firework Display Taboo Words: fireworks, rockets, sparklers, display, bonfire Word Count: 326 Words ~ ~ ~ JESUS is LORD! ~ ~ ~ |
Teedy loved the little white church. Her grandpa took care of the building. Her grandma was the church secretary and played the piano on Sunday morning. Teedy loved sitting in the pew by her grandpa and her folks while her grandma played and every one sang the hymns she was already beginning to learn by heart. She shared this part of the church service with the grown ups but her favorite part was "Children's Church". After the singing, the preacher would have all the kids come down to the front of the church. He would sit on the steps of the alter and have the kids gather around. He would talk to them a bit and then tell them a story from the Bible. Then he would say a prayer with them and send them off to their own special service. Teedy would walk with her friends past her grandma at the piano, wave bye to her family and go through the door to Miss Simons room. Miss Simons really loved Jesus. She talked about Him all the time. She said He was God's Son and died on the cross for all of us. She said God loved us very much. Miss Simons always smiled and she looked so happy to be in Jesus. Teedy wanted to be like her when she grew up. Teedy wanted to love Jesus like Miss Simons did. Written for: "Share Your Faith" Prompt: first memories Word Count: 238 ~ ~ ~ JESUS is LORD! ~ ~ ~ |
The title of my talk today is: "Confessing Our Sins". Did you know there are at least three Bible verses that couple the idea of confessing our sins with a promise? Two of them have been a part of my life for a long time. The other, although I am sure I have read it before, did not really register for me until my son pointed it out recently. I will start with that one: In Leviticus 26, we find God promising the Israelites if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, He will remember his covenant with with them, and will remember the land. This old testament promise talks about God's people confessing not just their own sin but also the sin of their fathers. Is there a connection between us and the sin of earlier generations? There might be. In modern counseling, they speak of "generational transmission". In Christian circles, they speak of "generational curses". Does the act of confessing both our own sin and the sin of previous generations afford us a blessing? Perhaps it does. As I mentioned, this is a new idea to me but one I want to add to my arsenal. Why? Because I've had good results when I've acted on two new testament verses that tell us to confess our sins. One of these is: James 5:16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The idea of confessing our sins to each other can be scary. When I suggested doing this to my sister, her reaction was, "I could never do that!" There was a time in my life I was afraid if people really knew me, they would reject me. Then came the day I did a thorough moral inventory of myself. After I shared it with God, I shared it with another person. An amazing thing happened: they did not reject me. A second result of that experience was I found myself, for the first time, truly able to love myself. Of course, wisdom would dictate choosing a person you can trust. The verse indicates choosing a person who will pray for you. One thing I know, confessing my sins to others has given me a freedom and a transparency I did not have before. Admitting our failings is the first step to victory over them. And, who gives us victory over sin? God does. Which brings me to a very important verse in the life of any Christian: I John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness How do we change? How do we become more like Jesus? This verse holds the key. We confess our sin to God and look to Him to change us—to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So, what is sin? As I have relied on the truth in this verse, I have come to call anything outside of God's will for me "sin". By doing so, God is given free reign to change me and make me more like Him—and He will. What if there is something in my life I don't want to give up, something I don't want to confess? Well, I start right there and admit to God. "God, I don't want to stop this." As I have done that, guess what has happened? God has moved on my behalf and changed my heart. Where I could not change myself, He did. As I confessed my sin, He forgave me and cleansed me... Confessing our sins to God and to one another and praying for each other is the secret to spiritual growth and revival. Amen? ~ ~ ~ JESUS is LORD! ~ ~ ~ |
| When I was around two years old, our preacher came to visit. For some unknown reason, he asked me if I knew why my mom and dad got married. I confidently declared, "Grandma said it was for immoral purposes." Click here for the reason I said this... ▼ Written for "Keenest Joker" |
| "Your new client has autistic traits." "What does that mean?" asked the job coach. "He is not diagnosed with autism but he exhibits some traits like a person on the autism spectrum." As she left her supervisor's office, the job coach thought to herself, "Time to ask Google for more information." As she read through the information she found, it was as if she was reading about her grandson. He was sensitive to loud noises. He also had a heightened sense of smell and touch. She thought back to dealing with his strong reaction to the sound of lawn mowers at the apartment complex where he lived and hand dryers in restrooms. She had worked with him to help him to be able to be around those sounds without freaking out. And his sense of smell—he tended to use his nose before his vision when she decorated a birthday cake for him. He wanted to smell everything. He liked to smell her feet. He was a strange child. Perhaps he had autistic traits. What else was different about him? Well, she had noticed early on that he did not engage in conversation in the way his sister and cousin did. They were a bit younger than him but they had back and forth conversations with each other whereas, although he was able to talk, he talked at people rather than with them. His comments were random and were not in response to what other people said to him. It was hard to even get him to answer a question. He would speak but his sentences were usually off the wall things not answers. Realizing all this, the job coach began to talk to her daughter about these things and together they began to explore the idea that this little boy was also exhibiting autistic traits. It was years before they finally found someone to do some testing for them to determine what was happening. Eventually, the child was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. The name of the disorder was later changed to Autism Spectrum Disorder but the grandmother would always remember that first day of testing and the psychologist sharing the results with her and her daughter. One particular part of the testing sticks in her mind to this day. The examiner had shown her grandson a picture like this:  She asked the little boy to tell her about the picture. His response was unique: "It is a cheap umbrella. She probably made it herself." Yep, he definitely saw the world in his own very special way... Created on : Apr 29, 2019 at 9:44am. Written for "The Bard's Hall Contest" Picture Prompt:  Word Count: 427 Words ~ ~ ~ JESUS is LORD! ~ ~ ~ |
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