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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. |
Be Thankful... God has given us All things—life and godliness. Let us give Him thanks. Written for "Thankful Poetry Contest" Form: Senryu ~ ~ ~ JESUS is LORD! ~ ~ ~ |
| ~ Let Patience Have Her Perfect Work ~ The words below are found in the Bible—in the first chapter of the book of James: "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." There are different definitions for the word patience as it is used here. It is often defined as endurance. The trying of our faith—the challenging things we experience in this life—those things that might cause us to question God's love for us or even His very existence—as we stand our ground, trusting the God is good, we gain the strength to stand, to endure whateve life may throw at us. We are also promised that as we wait upon the Lord we shall renew our strength. In the trials and tribulations, as we patiently wait for God to move or simply to uphold us in His mighty right hand, as we trust in Him we gain "the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset" which is the dictionary definition of patience. We are empowered to endure til the end. ♡ Prompt: Prompt:"Patience is learned through waiting. " Eyen A. Gardner Taken from: Day 2378 November 7, 2024 from Blog City Prompt Forum ~ ~ ~ JESUS is LORD! ~ ~ ~ |
God Is and He Is The Rewarder Of Those Who Diligently Seek Him I'm writing this essay in October 2024 for a contest on WdC called "Grill a Christian". This month's prompt is " what does it mean to you to say that God exists or does not exist?" My relationship with God is the most important thing in my life so for me the prompt becomes simply: "What does it mean to you to say that God exists?" The Bible says that in order to please God, we must believe that He is. There came a point in my life years ago when I had to decide what I personally believed about God as He (and His Only Begotten Son) is presented in the Bible. As I weighed the facts, I made the decision to choose to believe. Over the years since then, I have joined the father who prayed "Lord I believe, help thou my unbelief". Today, I still choose to believe. What has happened as a result? So much! More than I can say here. The Bible also says "God will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is staid on Him." I know that peace—the peace that passes understanding. It is a peace and contentment that is independent of life's circumstances. As I walk through life on this mortal coil, I experience all the things common to man: birth, death, joy and heartache. Through it all, I can turn to God for comfort. I can not imagine facing trials and tribulation without Him. I don't even want to. As I wrote in "My Psalm" , in the darkest of my nights, He has consistently been the brightest light. I can sing, "How I've proved Him o'er and o'er."Can I prove God exists? No. But I believe that, as I choose to believe, He consistently proves His existence to me. He is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. May that I be counted in that group. May I diligently seek Him today and always. God is and He is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Written for: "Grill a Christian" Prompt: "What does it mean to you to say that God exists or does not exist?" Word Count: 350 Words ~ ~ ~ JESUS is LORD! ~ ~ ~ |
~ A little something about ruwth ~ The truth is, you can find out a lot about me in my port. Today, I am gonna tell you about the first item I uploaded to Writing.Com: "My Psalm" .The Brief Description says: "Someone once suggested: Write a psalm of your own." Someone, eh? But who? Well, here is the rest of the story: It was 2004. I had just earned my Bachelor's Degree in Nursing. I had been an LPN and was on the verge of becoming an RN. I was 50 years old and had been divorced for almost four years. My "baby brother" had come to visit me from out of state. (People tease me about calling him my baby brother. He is the "baby" of the family and is seven years younger than me but at 43, he is no longer a baby.) Anyways, Baby Bro thinks it is time I start dating and he has just the way for me to do it: "Christian Mingle"—an online dating site. All I need to do it create a free profile and the fellas will line up at my door. Easier said than done. To start with, I had to choose a username. For my brother, anything will do. Not so for this big sister. I fretted over what name to use. The first ideas I came up with were already taken. The ones my brother came up with did NOT work for me. It took me days to decide on a name. By that time my brother was pulling his hair out. He probably would have given up but he really wanted me to find a nice guy and live happily ever after. The name I chose was quite fitting for me: "Choosing_the_Narrow_Road" I am pretty sure the account is still there. Something from that account followed me here to WdC. It was someone on that singles site (a guy) who suggested we all try writing a psalm. I wrote "My Psalm" over there at that fellows suggestion. When I opened my Writing.Com account later, I chose my psalm to be the first item I put in my portfolio.You can also find it here:   And that's the rest of the story... Written for: "Tell Me About Yourself" ~ ~ ~ JESUS is LORD! ~ ~ ~ |
  This is my personal photo of a burning candle displayed in a Trinket on Writing.Com. Let your light shine, too! ~ ~ ~ JESUS is LORD! ~ ~ ~ Written for: "The Prompt Me Contest" 184 Have Been Collected. |
| "Blog Week Birthday Bastion 2024" Prompt 6. Sept 6. Nothing makes us so lonely as our secrets. Paul Tournier Can you share a secret? Small or big, tell us. No? Tell us why not. Who is Paul Tournier? I don't know and a quick google search didn't help me. It kept giving me the Paul Tournier quote in our prompt for today. It also caused me to think of another quote I know: "We are only as sick as our secrets." I first heard that statement around 12-step tables. As I walked the walk, I found it to be true. I often say the 12-steps saved my life—because they surely did. I was ableto embrace myself warts and all. It started when I officially worked the first three steps: 1. I admitted Iwas powerless over food and my life had become unmanageable. 2. I came to believe God could and would restore me to sanity. 3. I made a decision to turn my life and my will over to the care of God as I understood Him. Then I was at the fourth step and I did my best to take a fearless and thorough moral inventory of myself. It was not an easy task. I cried my way through reams of paper. With my inventory in hand, I was ready to share the secrets of my failings with God and with another human being. Prior to working my firsr fifth step, I was certain that if anyone really knew me, they would reject me but, ya know what—they didn't. As I shared openly and honestly about my failings, I discovered that being real and authentic was the best way to go. I was blessed to have learned that lesson. It serves me well to this day. Being real and authentic is very high on my list of values and I am glad—relieved and glad... ~ ~ ~ JESUS is LORD! ~ ~ ~ |
| "Blog Week Birthday Bastion 2024" Prompt 2. Sept 2. Tell us about an earthshaking Life-or-Death situation in your life. What happened, how did it change you, if at all? Day 2 Blog Week Birthday Bastion 2024 I am late.  it is 1 minute after midnight as I start this entry...Being late is not earth-shattering. Life is taking a toll on me right now. I am going to write an entry anyways. How many words do I need? 300 Word Minimum.. 79 down 221 more to go... The first thing I thought of when I read the prompt was the first earthquake I ever experienced. It was August 2011. I was in Annapolis, Maryland—actually Arnold, Maryland. My dad's address was sometimes Arnold and sometimes Annapolis for some reason I don't remember and never understood... 133 Words—I am so exhausted—I am struggling to reach the minimum word count. Day 2 and I am already a failure!!!  My father died on July 29th, 2011. That was an earth-shattering event for me. My youngest sister and my con-man brother-in-law had tried to keep the news of his death from my other sister and I. That was VERY EARTH-SHATTERING. It made my dad's death even harder to bear. They tried to steal my dad's estate. They wanted my dad's money—I wanted my dad...  I need 79 more words... Well, actually the needed words become fewer as I note them, eh? Not only was that August 2011 earthquake the first for me, it is the only earthquake I have experienced. I was talking on the phone to my "good" when it happened. The strangest part of it was that the kitchen cabinets suddenly no longer seemed solid. They appeared to be waving as though the were a piece of cloth. Oh good, I am going to reach that 300 Word minimum!!! As I think back to that sad summer, memories come flooding back. The tears are gentler this time... ~ ~ ~ JESUS is LORD! ~ ~ ~ I am late. it was 1 minute after midnight when I started this entry...~ ~ ~ JESUS is LORD! ~ ~ ~ |
| "Blog Week Birthday Bastion 2024" Prompt 1. Sept 1. It's the site's 24th Anniversary. Tell us about your love or fondness of Writing.com. What makes this a wonderful place for writers? Why are you (still) here? What do I love about Writing.Com? I have mentioned this before: There is a song we sing in church that has a chorus that reminds me of The StoryMaster (no disrespect to God intended): Even when I don't see it, You're working Even when I don't feel it, You're working You never stop, You never stop working You never stop, You never stop working StoryMaster is always working behind the scenes. The best thing about this site is the couple who started it. The self-taught coder, The StoryMaster and the artist/photographer he loves, The StoryMistress My only regret is that I did not find this site sooner! From the beginning, I got to have open communication with the OWNER of Writing.Com. Our interactions started on "Technical Support Forum" back in 2009. He was kind, patient, informative and occasionally a bit cheeky.How was he cheeky? Well, there was this one time I thought I noticed changes in heading font sizes and such. I posted on "Technical Support Forum" asking, "Am I crazy or have some of the font sizes changed today. He responded, "Well, I can't say whether or not you are crazy but the font sizes did change.  "Cheeky, eh? Another place we have interacted is "Suggestion Box" . Something that has made this site super special to me has been his responsiveness to my suggestions. He has implemented several of my ideas over the years which totally blesses my heart.Another thing is the man is a good businessman! First of all, he understands the baker's dozen philosophy: when you order something from the WdC store, you ALWAYS get little extras along with your order. That's just one of his business strategies—there are others—some are done anonymously and show the same business savvy. Truthfully, I love the man and I love WdC.   And, The StoryMistress is a sweetheart, too. Years ago, I told her I would like a custom made merit badge. I wanted it to have blue daisies and be titled "Just Because". Back then, they did not offer this feature but the day came that she started using her creative talents to do just that: ![Merit Badge in Just Because
[Click For More Info]
Thank you for creating this BEAUTIFUL BADGE! *^*Heart*^*](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/general-Just_Because.gif) You can see the image I sent her here:
The StoryMistress has also made some of the most beautiful trinkets I have in my collection! You can see them here: There is much more I could say about these two but I will conclude with another thing I love about Writing.Com" YOU! StoryMaster did not just create a site, he created a community and if you are reading this, it includes you! Reading, Writing, Reviewing. and interacting with each other definitely makes Writing.Com a wonderful place for us to gather, eh? 24 Years and counting! ~ ~ ~ JESUS is LORD! ~ ~ ~ |
| Lilli's QOTD: You find yourself on a 14-hour flight, which fictional character would you like to sit beside? This question reminded me of the hours I have spent in Simon's livingroom listening to Simon and Og Mandino discuss life and Hand-of-God books. I have an item in my port about "Meeting Simon . . ." ...As I write my response here, I find myself thinking it is time to dig out a copy of Greatest Miracle in the World and visit that fascinating man again... Maybe it is destined for me to become a rag-picker—a good way for me to spend the final chapter of my life... The Greatest Miracle in the World? ▼ See: Re: QOTD: Tuesday, August 6th from Question of the Day! ~ ~ ~ JESUS is LORD! ~ ~ ~ |
| ~ Life Goes On ~ On Tuesday, my daughter and I worked in my yard. By that evening, I realized the heat had been too much for me. I went to bed—for a few days. On Friday, I had still not recovered but had a commitment to keep. I had promised my son I would care for his animals while he and his family went to the lake for a few days. I was feeling so bad, I used Google Maps to find the shortest route and prayed I would make it. My plan? Straight to his house in the country—no stops along the way. My friend's husband was not well. Actually, he was dying. He was 94 and had fluid building up in his lungs. He had been in and out of the hospital for the last couple months. His doctors had sent him home on hospice. They were draining about 400 ml of blood-tinged fluid from his lungs every other day. I had stayed with him for a few nights so his wife could get some sleep. He spent a few hours in the middle of the night telling me tales from his life and even preached a mini-sermon just for me. I had called and checked my friend and gotten updates from her each day on how he was doing. She said hospice had told her they only expected him to live a month or so. She was still hoping for a miracle but gradually coming to terms with that news. I did not intend to see them again until after my son and his family got home from vacation. Their home was not on my way—and remember, I had said no stops along the way. I called my friend to visit with her as I drove... I heard myself asking, "May I stop by for a minute?" Of course, she said yes. I turned off my planned path and headed to their home... As she opened the door to me when I arrived, I could sense the Presence of God. I hugged her and then made my way to the next room and greeted her husband. We exchanged our normal greeting, him asking, "How are you, young lady?" and me asking, "How are you, old man?". For the first time since I'd known him, he responded, "Not so good." Tears filled my eyes as I held his hand and silently prayed for him. I said some words to him letting him know how glad I was to have had him in my life. I squeezed his hand, said my good-byes and headed to my son's. The next day, he lapsed into a coma. He died two days later. I am so glad I made that detour and saw him one last time. It had not been my plan but I believe I was led by the One whose plans are above mine. He knew I needed to say good-bye and blessed me with those last precious moments. I cherish that time and can add it to the memories I have of this very special man. I am glad to have known him... Written for "SENIOR CENTER FORUM" Word Count: 535 Words ~ ~ ~ JESUS is LORD! ~ ~ ~ |
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