(2024) Me, Pay?

Daily writing prompt
How much would you pay to go to the moon?

They’re joking, right?!

Why would I pay someone money, if I had any to throw around, to get flung into outer space, with the risk of running out of oxygen… or better yet, simply implode?!

The mere thought of either scenario, makes me feel a bit ill. However, for the sake of adventure and all that, I’d consider the mission if someone wants to pay me to do it.

I’ll fly to the moon for no less than a thou… a hundred tho… ONE BILLION Dollars… yup, that feels about right!

Here, have a space cookie…

(2017) Who Am I?

I know that we all, at some point, ask ourselves the question, “Who am I?”  The easy answer would come from looking at the past and adding up all that we have done to date, right?!

  I am sure that  if I were wealthy with a following of friends that adored me, I might feel quite accomplished… 

 I suppose it would be easier to justify mistakes and costly losses, reassuring myself that it has made me who I am so it was worth it.  

How much money would it take for me to be OK with that last comment?

 How many friends would it take for me to not feel regret over any hurts that I have caused due to my selfish mistakes in life?  I am not saying that I want to walk through my life in misery over my past failures, but they are there all the same, always floating in the shadows, seeking to pull me down into the depths of despair.  

Being a human with faults and imperfections embedded in my nature is quite daunting, and yet God sees me as a precious treasure…go figure.

 Rather than dropping a rock on my head, He lifts me up, and always seeks to reassure and encourage me with His grace and mercy.  It seems that my brokenness and failures are where God teaches me the most about who I am.  He does not seek me and love me because I am so good, but rather, because I recognize that I cannot do anything without Him.  

I am not expressing my feelings to teach some big lesson, nor am I judging anyone else who may have an easier life than mine; I’m simply sharing my heart in regards to my relationship with Christ.  

I am on a journey of self discovery and what I have found is that Who I am is Christ in me!

 I have accepted that I cannot do anything without Him.  I have spent nearly 50 years trying to do it on my own strength and have left a path of mistakes and regrets that I will carry to my grave. 

But the difference now is that I do not carry them alone, but with the strength, forgiveness and love of my Heavenly Father, who walks before me, behind me, and beside me…often carrying me.  

Who am I?

I am Redeemed, Reborn, Renewed, Forgiven, Cherished, and a Child of the Risen King!

(2024) Why?

Daily writing prompt
What alternative career paths have you considered or are interested in?

As I’m soon to be looking back at 55, I think my path is pretty firmly set in one direction… God’s!

We’ve recently answered a prompt, regarding taking a risk at something new, and another prompt asking if we were guaranteed not to fail, what would we attempt… so I’m not sure how many more times the prompt can try to beat a dead horse, as they say.

Still, I realize that not everyone has seen these questions before, so I shall do my due diligence at answering with something decent, for those that are new to the daily prompts.

So, in the words of Shakespeare, “once more unto the breach.” I got this…

While I have pursued multiple different careers throughout my younger years, I’m no longer interested in any of them. Add to that, the fact that I’m not considering any new directions at all, aside from the path I now follow… this one’s a deal breaker on any other pursuit I’ve ever chased after!

My career pursuits involve following only One CEO, One Leader… One! How boring and confining, you might be thinking. On the contrary, my friends. This career path has me fully engaged, at every moment, and in every action or thought. I walk with a magnificent Leader, who has me in the word, on my knees in prayer, feet on the ground out here in the trenches… and fully sustained, at all times!

My life is full of joy, adventure, action, suspense… and He has me constantly on the move… and with Him, at all times.

In all my years, never have I been hired by someone who knows me better than He does… and I’ve not been fired yet!

Before you start thinking that I’m lazy or something, maybe living the posh life, and too comfortable in my current position… you might consider my resume before being too quick to form an opinion on this matter:

0 to 13 years of age, severe childhood trauma

13 to 18 years of age, ^#$%^&^

18 to 34 years of age, pregnant 9 times with only 3 born to me, divorced, denied by the church, disowned by my family, and abandoned by those I knew as friends.

Lost and running in the wastelands for 16 more years… 16!

The rest of my career credentials, as well as my production timeline, will be within the archives of My Closet. I’ve already shared far more of my job description than anyone should have to wade through… and no, there won’t be a cover letter to accompany this Responsume…

But I did make cookies…

Honestly, I don’t know how these exec’s are going to get anything accomplished, with their mouths stuffed with cookies… sheesh guys, slow it down!

(2016) The Journey!

** I don’t know about anyone else, but I often write letters to God. This was from one of my old journals, I believe. Back when I first started writing on WP, there were a number of posts in which I shared pieces from my prayer journals. This one is a bit rough around the edges, but still worth reading in its original form.**

Prayer Journal Entry November 2016:

“…I will trust you Father.  I choose to trust You. 

I know that You are working for my good.  I know that You love me.  I know that all You ask is that I follow you, that I let You lead me, and to be obedient to You.  If you called me home today, would I be excited or would I be ashamed of my attitude.

I have been asking You to change me and that is what you are doing.  You are constant and unchanging but I am not.  I need to be soft and moldable so that You can shape me into more of Your image…loving, peaceful, patient, kind, gracious, full of mercy, compassionate, gentle, and giving.  You don’t sit in Your Holy Mountain basking in Your own glory and wealth, rather, You are constantly, and forever pursuing Your children, delighting in them, helping them, teaching them, protecting them and blessing them.

You are a mighty God, a jealous God who craves His children’s love and obedience.  You do not want us, Your children, to place anything above You.  I do not wish to love my life so much that  I seek to satisfy my own desires more than I seek to please You.  When I am called home, I will not be bringing a house or car or a bank account full of money.  What I will be bringing with me is my heart and my mind.  My memories come with me, the choices in my life come with me, both the memory of consequences and the memory of blessings and obedience.

I want my heart to be filled with joy and laughter and love, not resentment and self-pity or jealousy.  It’s funny how a suitcase or even a U-Haul has only so much physical space available, but a human heart, small as it is, has the capacity for an endless supply of love and emotion and passion.  I choose to pack my heart for the journey home to you…”

(2023) I’m a Cookie Monster at Heart…

Daily writing prompt
What food would you say is your specialty?

While I can make a pretty mean chili, salsa that can melt the paint off a house, homemade soup bowls to fill with dreams, and a good many other dishes I picked up along the way… baking is my passion!

Not just baking, but desserts mainly… and not just desserts… I LOVE COOKIIIIEEEESSSSS!

I am well versed in baking most types of cookies, but my most highly prized handheld delight would by my secret recipe of ………………..

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are not just anybody’s cookies, but my own twisted version. While I won’t tell you the exact recipe, I will say that it mostly has to do with HOW I bake them, more so than all my secret stuff I throw in before baking the dreamy mouthfuls.

Let me just say that I have perfected the art of perfect oven temperature, yummy ingredients, and a sore back from standing bent over in front of the oven, and watching for the perfect moment to pull em…

They come out golden brown and crispy on the surface, but when you break them open they are perfectly ooey gooey on the inside… A tall glass of milk is a must for these, as I forgot to mention that I make them about the size of an open hand, not a child’s hand, no no no, but a grown up people size hand…

They were Huge!

When my girls were small, we spent a great amount of time involved in church. Every spring the church would do bake sales to raise funds for our Children’s Ministries. I would make a triple batch of my cookies, wrap them individually in colored cellophane and ribbon, set up a spot on the church bake sale table, and watch the cookies disappear within less than a half hour. That’s a lot of cookies people, A LOT!

When I refused time and again to give up my recipe to some of the moms, I seriously worried for my safety a few times… lol… just kidding!

I did often jokingly say that my recipe was a Government Secret and if I told them the recipe, I would have to make them disappear… that always got some laughs.

So there you have it folks, hot off the press… we can bake cookies pretty good!

**The original cookies had mold all over them, so, as per my commitment to quality… These are fresh!

Wednesday Words…

If you hadn’t already noticed, my writing has been rather ping pong like, of late. The lack of nutrition, lack of proper medication, and lack of any urgency by my doctor, has begun taking a toll on my ability to concentrate fully… not to mention the mental and emotional toll.

The soonest the surgeon could see me is November 6th, due to his being on vacation. Apparently, when a doctor takes time off, the world has to stop getting sick til they get back in the office. I’m rather surprised that a fully functioning hospital only has one specialty GI surgeon on staff. Anyway, they were going to make me wait until December 18th until I began to sob uncontrollably and beg them to see me sooner. According to the surgeons scheduling nurse, my referring GI doctor has at no point, made mention in my chart notes of any urgency in things. I don’t think doctors want to doctor any longer.

At least they moved my appointment closer, but that means I still have to make it another 2 more weeks, just for the consultation. I’ll still have to wait for him to agree that it’s medically necessary, let alone schedule a surgery.

I’ve been surviving on a bowl of oatmeal, and a chicken/rice/vegi bowl thing I’ve concocted for optimal caloric and nutritional needs… I can’t get beyond about 650 calories per day. This has been my meal plan since the beginning of July.

That means no coffee, gluten, dairy, chocolate, and absolutely everything outside of a list of about 8 safe items to meet my needs daily. I am slowly starving to death, but at least it’s SLOWLY, which buys me time.

I am fully in God’s hands, so no worries. Like I’ve mentioned in the past, writing out my feelings on WordPress, is really my only outlet. I often share my journey with you, not for pity or pocket change, but to remind myself that I exist, and am called to continue forward in faith… even when my strength is gone. Thankfully, that is where God shines the brightest!

The reason for all this TMI is simply this,

For the next few weeks I’ll be posting articles solely from the archives. As I feel that my health situation has compromised my ability to write amidst this part of my journey, I’ll be relying on all the oldies but goodies, so you should enjoy it, I think.

I won’t be absent from you, nor will I stop reading and supporting you in all that you do. I simply need to get past this little dip in the road, if that makes any sense.

Let’s have some fun with these next few weeks and go wild with all the memories! I want to do a whole retro thingie, reposting some of the Do You Remember Mondays, Investigating Truths, Live Novel Fridays, Note To Self Saturdays, and even some Live Wire Sundays.

And, I give you my solemn oath that I shall bake fresh virtual cookies, even though the articles aren’t fresh. Stale cookies just won’t do…

Plenty…

Photo by LT Chan on Pexels.com
Daily writing prompt
What major historical events do you remember?

Thanks but no thanks, in regards to what historical events I remember. Let’s just say that I’ve seen some things, heard some things, and experienced the fall out from said things… and I’m still trying to unthink much of the ugliness displayed during these so called Historical Things!

I’d love more than anything to hold a list of my favorite historical events worth remembering, but since they have to be things I myself, personally observed… I got nothin!

Based on my understanding of this prompt, the events should be only those I actually remember happening… meaning, only the ones I witnessed, personally.

While I do have a memory like a steel trap, I don’t really feel much like dredging up the past, as I’m struggling to survive our current historical events… sorry, not sorry! I’m full up!

I apologize if this answer seems a bit sharp, but this girl is Hangry, this morning. The only historical event that I want to witness is the kind where a Doctor can doctor with education, skill, and compassion… and, without prostituting themselves to Big Pharma!

Cookie?

Here, Pturkey Pturkey…

Daily writing prompt
What’s the biggest risk you’d like to take — but haven’t been able to?

I suppose if I’m to think of the biggest dish I’d like to bake, it would be Baked Pterodactyl… you know, like a Turkey but bigger!

If a Turkey dinner could feed a family of 5 for several days, then why not use a bigger bird? And, as I’ve no desire to eat any of the pretty birds like Ostriches, or Big Bird, for that matter… we’re left with the Pterodactyl.

The down side is, I’ve heard that Pterodactyl meat shrinks in the oven due to being rather dry.

Maybe I should just stick with Turkey…

Yes, I understood what the prompt was actually asking, but as I’ve no risks that need taking, I went with the birds.

Oh, and don’t forget your cookies…

So which Way is it, anyway?

Now, I’m not saying someone did something wrong, or anything, but they sure made it confusing for us young readers.

Driveways, Parkways, Freeways, Doorways, and such, all share the Way part… but that’s where any normalcy ends. I get the meaning of way, because it’s describing the meaning of passing through, or

Definitions from Oxford Languages · Learn more

way /wā/

noun: way; plural noun: ways

  1. 1. a method, style, or manner of doing something.”there are two ways of approaching this problem” h Similar:methodcourse of actionprocessproceduretechniquesystemplanstrategyschememeansmechanismroutinemannerapproachrouteroadmodus operandi

There was more detail in the definition, but I’m only interested in the first part, which is simple enough to understand.

I understand the definition of Way… but that’s the only part that makes sense. It’s the other half of the word never makes much sense…

Why do they say Driveway, when we park there, but call it a Parkway if we drive on it? Have you ever been given gifts or complimentary packages while driving on a Freeway? Doorway makes sense, because it’s a door that you pass through, right? I don’t want to guess what a Highway is supposed to offer, verses the rest of the Ways… sheesh!

I think grown-ups make these word things a lot harder than they should be, if I’m being fully honest. In truth, I’m fairly certain that we all do this at times. I think it’s in our nature, or something like that…