As there is such a vast difference between comfort and actual physical survival, how can one even answer this prompt correctly?
If it’s a luxury…. you can live without it, silly!
Now, if I cannot live physically live without something, that limits our list to water, caloric foods, sufficient shelter and protective clothing from the environment… oh, and love! Who can live without love? I know that I can’t!
Since I have all that I need, everything else can come or go… most of it already has, and I’m still alive.
The only thing that I consider a luxury would be my freedom! The freedom to speak my mind, to speak my faith, and to share the love of Christ. So, I guess that I discovered my answer, right in the middle of my excuse for not coming up with one… go figure!
When I first saw this mornings prompt I thought it was going to be a walk in the park. However, once I sat down to answer the question it became clear that it wasn’t going to be such a simple task.
You see, I don’t really know what I would give as my tagline. At first, I was going to come up with a snappy add-on to Wiwohka, but it became apparent that what I came up with wasn’t a tagline, at all! All I was getting accomplished was to give myself a rhyming last name… not what I think that the prompt was asking us. So, I did a quick check on Google for a clear definition of what a tagline actually looks like.
After looking at the examples of some taglines, I again tried to select an appropriate phrase that captures what others might think of when they hear the name Wiwohka. I’ve now sat in this chair for over an hour, going back and forth on several different ideas. Who’d of thought a WordPress prompt would cause such an uproar?
I tell stories, I bake virtual cookies, I overshare my personal business far too often, and I’m quick to talk about Jesus or the bible or God’s forgiveness or love or grace or mercy. According to the definition of tagline, the answer to the prompt shouldn’t be more than two or three words… huh? That’s entirely unfair, I think. Are they really asking me, the oversharing, novel length explanation giver, to choose only two or three words to describe myself… sheesh!
Ok, fine! Let’s give this a try…
I’m going to settle on something simple like, oh, I don’t know,
I think we’re all grown up enough to admit that our answer could and would change, depending on the one asking this kind of question. Say for instance that you’re in the middle of a job interview when this question pops up… maybe not the moment to share the love of Jesus. Or maybe it is!
Why can’t I say what’s in my heart, whether I’m at church, in an interview, or at a gathering of complete strangers? My desire is to have the boldness of Christ, no matter what my circumstance! No fear, no shame, nor arrogance. I wish to bear only truth and love, which are THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS NEEDED TO LIVE A GOOD LIFE!
I’ve a quick little story to tell you that is both funny, and a great example of both the truth/love part, and the boldness of Christ that I mentioned…
I’ve been having a bit of issue with my health, of late, probably due to the environment we’d been surviving in for so long. Unfortunately, I’m not bouncing back as quickly as I’d hoped. Anyway, I went in for some tests and things the other day. My dutiful and doting husband was by my side, as per usual. The wait wasn’t very long before they called my name and we followed the nurse down the hallway toward the exam room. As they normally do at the beginning of a visit, the nurse asked me to stand on the weigh scale. When I stepped onto the scale it climbed all the way up to 203lbs… no joke! I stood there for a second, just staring at the number… how could that be right? Retaining my peaceful, child of God attitude, I acted as if I’d always weighed that much… but I was totally shocked, and rather dismayed! Had I really gotten that far without realizing it?
Just as I stepped backward off the scale, I hear my husband say to the nurse, “Please don’t write that number down… I had my foot on the scale while you weighed her.” No Joke!
Now, I suppose that I could have gotten angry, but as I’m fully aware of my partners shenanigan’s, I know that he loves me to the moon and back… and, I was so grateful that I wasn’t that heavy, allowed me to burst out laughing at his antics! There are no lies between us, we both have heartaches, hurts, and both share bad memories filled with the lies of others. This is the part to explain my answer about Truth and Love, but the next part brought about my thoughts on the boldness of Christ.
Once my doctor had completed the exam, asked all of her questions, and discussed what we needed to do going forward, she did something quite unexpected. She looked me straight in the face and asked, “Can I pray for you? You may say no, if you aren’t comfortable.”
Oh, My, Goodness! What are the odds of little ole me getting a physician that prays to the Ultimate Healer… Praise God! Hallelujah! Having someone actually take my hand in a doctor’s office, of all places, and pray for my needs?
Wow! I want that sort of boldness, day and night, winter spring summer or fall, and in good times or bad. I’m fairly certain that it was that woman’s faith in God and His love working through her, enabling her to speak out with such boldness. This is all just my impression about things, of course.
Now, maybe this story will help you understand my answer for the prompt, maybe not. But, I do still think it was worth the telling… just sayin!
I know it’s shameful… I really shouldn’t… but… Ok! You twisted my arm, here. I feel a dream rising from the depths of my sweet, sweet, slumber…
… I knew it was a dream, only a dream…
But to indulge, just this once! Oh that I could melt into this dream, floating away down a smooth and silky chocolate river, toward oceans of sticky caramel…
Oh, wait a sec… back that up! The prompt is only asking about the bar, itself, so we’ll have to reschedule that dream for another time. Let’s try this again…
Ladies and Gentleman, today’s your lucky day! Every visitor is a winner! Now, I know you usually get a cookie for showing up to this game, but today is a special day and you have a once in a lifetime chance to pick a different prize!
**Disclaimer** You only get to pick one. No returns or exchanges once you touch it… duh! And, I shall not be held responsible for any Dentist or Orthodontist charges.
On with the show…
Now, if parties are your thing we’ve got just the right bar for you, my sweet friends…
We’ve got a glorious blend of white and dark chocolate, crafted by the finest artists from the distant isles of Partydom. It’s bar is designed for large gatherings. If the chairs get in people’s way, you can just eat them!
Door number two is for those who like it on the quieter, and more intimate side. This next bar should satisfy your chocolaty cravings…
Minus this strange man, of course!
There, that’s much better! Since the booth is made of the finest of caramels, it won’t melt when you sit on it.
Ahhh, door number three…
This is the perfect bar for the lounger, the slipper wearer, the midnight movie muncher! Its booth is of the finest marshmallows that only get fluffier when you sit on them.
Now, you’ve seen the three different Chocolate Bars to select as your prize, today. What shall you choose?
Will it be door number one, two, or three? Or, perhaps you’d simply like to stick with our usual cookies. I don’t know about everyone else but my teeth hurt from all that sweet chocolate bar stuff.
Sometimes it’s best to keep your dreams simple! Too much of a good thing tends to spoil the dream…
Before you get irritated at me for not telling you the title of my favorite childhood book… blame the prompt! Today’s question simply asked me if I remembered the book, not what the title was. I’m a stickler for details!
Taste one of these flower cookies and see if you can guess the title…
Now, I know you might think that I’m going to say ‘the bible’ for my first choice, here… but you’d be wrong! Ok, not entirely wrong.
When I saw this mornings prompt, I did plan to give that as my first answer, at first! But, here’s the problem I encountered when I sat down to write out my response to the above question… the why part!
First of all, do you realize how many books I’ve read over the last 56 years? I wouldn’t be able to answer that question, myself. Goodness! I’ve read and re-read so many books over the years, whether they be fiction or non-fiction. The sheer number of adventurous stories I collected and filed into my memory banks must be staggering! Where do you think my love of writing was born? Dreaming! What filled my dreams? Those fictional adventures brought my imagination to life, I think.
Unfortunately, life has a tendency to suck all the fun and adventure out of things, so survival called for moving beyond fantasy toward the pursuit of the truth. Endless hours were spent pouring through all manner of Christian and/or Secular volumes of self-help, self-improvement, and self-validation books. Some helped and some didn’t. One particular book did, in fact, help. Yes, this is the place where you can say, “see, we knew you were going to say the Bible.”
But did I? Can we even do that? Well, I suppose we could, but the real question here might be… should we?
Did you know that the Bible, itself, is not really just one single book? Technically, it’s a collection of 66 different books, some quite small and others quite lengthy… but still!
Of all the differing books I’ve read over these many years, those 66 books have been invaluable to me at one time, or another. I’m fairly certain that if you were to ask me this same prompt question at a different time, my answer would be different. Well, ok, I confess that the Psalms will always be in my heart, so I guess that one will always be on the list, though I cannot say whether it would be number 1, 2, or 3. As I said, it would probably depend on when you asked me the question.
Since we know that one of the three books has already been set in stone, so to speak, now what? How can I not go straight to the gospels? But, how am I to decide which of those books impacted me the most? Matthew, Mark, Luke or John… can one actually decide between the four? Well, I couldn’t… I can’t… in truth, I don’t want to!
It didn’t even help trying to pick the Old Testament or the New Testament… way too much valuable stuff in both!
Personally, I look to the entirety of the old testament for our history, as it’s important to remember. We all want to know who we are and where we came from, don’t we? Aren’t there currently a number of DNA mail in organizations out there that make a ton of profit from those wanting to know their family’s genealogy? My point here is that we all find our history important! The old testament has 39 books to choose from, and I’ve already said that Psalms is on my list of three, so there’s still 38 more books to pick and we haven’t even begun to talk about the books in the New Testament. What about Paul’s writings, or Timothy’s, or James, or John? See my problem?
If I were to actually take even one of these books and write an explanation of how it impacted my life, we’d need a lot more time and a lot more cookies!
It seems like wherever we look these days, there are plenty of things to fill us with fear. Wars, famine, worldwide environmental changes, and constant political battles that carry unavoidable fallout!
My point here, is not to cause you more fear or discomfort than the prompt has already done, but to reflect on how easy it can be for one to choose a fear to write about, talk about, or simply obsess over.
Forget that! I don’t know about anybody else, but I have a whole lot of other things to put my energies toward… other than to sit and think about things I have no control over. Fear is a nasty beast to battle with and trust me, I’ve had some real doozies!
Honestly, I quite trying to use my own strength to fight my fears, and instead, began walking by the strength of another… One much stronger than I!
For some, trusting in another can bring any number of fears to the table. This world is filled with dangers, pitfalls, and paths we wish we didn’t have to travel along. One life, one chance to walk through it, and with no guarantees! It’s like a recipe for disaster just waiting to be created, right?!
I don’t know about any of you but I don’t plan on spending my remaining years hiding in fear over things… no thanks! Besides, I can’t begin to recount all of the times that I showed up to a fight with faith on my side, only to find out that fear was nothing more than a bully… and never even showed up to the battle… what a coward!
From the place in life that I’m currently at, I’ve come to adopt an old fashioned saying,
“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. we have only today, let us begin.” Mother Teresa
I can learn from what has come from my yesterdays but I cannot undo them…
I can think on tomorrow, plan for tomorrow, and expect for tomorrow, but it isn’t here yet. No amount of fear about any of the possible outcomes will do me any good, really. Yes, fear can have it’s place in keeping us from common dangers, accidents, and/or hairbrained ideas about drinking the acid out of a car battery… just sayin! I think today’s prompt is referring to obsessing about something that frightens us, whether it’s founded or unfounded. At least that’s my understanding, but I could be wrong.
Whatever your fear might be, everyone has to choose a method for dealing with, overcoming, and letting go of that which does not bear good fruit. Personally, I have chosen to walk by faith in God. That’s how I choose to live!
No, I haven’t come to a magical place where I don’t experience fears or doubts, just in case you were at all wondering. I’ve just been working towards giving my fears to God, trusting that I am in his capable hands. The giving of those fears is the easy part. The part that’s not so easy? Well, that would be NOT taking them back just to worry over them some more… I fall for that more times than I care to admit!
I guess that’s why I say that it’s a walk of faith… a walk, a journey, or lifelong adventure, if that sounds better. We all know that Life changes, and our fears will change from one day to the next. Success is determined, not by the obstacles one encounters along the way, but by the way in which one overcomes said obstacles!
Overcomer is a powerful word! The actual definition on Google is as follows,
someone who prevails despite facing opposition, difficulties, or weakness. Essentially, it’s a person who successfully overcomes challenges and emerges victorious. This can be seen in various contexts, including personal struggles, spiritual battles, and overcoming societal obstacles
I went a bit further and looked up what scripture says, according to Google:
In the Bible, an “overcomer” refers to a believer who, through faith and perseverance, successfully withstands trials and temptations, ultimately achieving victory. This victory is not just a one-time event, but a continuous process of resisting the world’s influence and living a life aligned with God’s will.
As everyone knows, you should not only cite your sources but also check at least three differing sources for comparison, confirmation, and clarification… so I did just that!
Above, there are two offered from the internet, and below is from my own bible. I use an NIV translation but you can use any you wish. There are a number of references in scripture using this word but my favorite is in the book of John:
“In this world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
I shall do just that! I will walk by faith in the words spoken by my lord, so long ago!
You might expect me to say that my bible is the most dear personal possession, but as scripture is the living breathing word of God, I can’t really say it’s mine, can I?
What about my children, aren’t they mine? Nope! They were each a personal gift of God, meant only to be watched over, guided and prayed for… but not really mine if you think about it.
Beings as I’m fresh off the homeless train, my list of personal items is fairly scant. All the pictures, keepsakes and special belongings… all gone!
In scripture it says that if we delight ourselves in God, he will give us the desires of our hearts. I suppose that it means something different to whomever is reading that passage. As for me, well I’ve got quite a collection of personal belongings stored up in heaven, where my eternal home awaits me… God promises in scripture that a place is being prepared just for me when I get home.
The glorious thing about things of the spirit… they cannot be taken from us, ever! My name was written in the book of life before the world was even created!
I’m clinging to the promises held deep inside my heart… a place where God dwells!
Instead of thinking on what possessions I can hold dear, instead, I shall dwell on being the possession that God holds most dear to His heart… ya, I’ll go with that.
I’ve scads of literary collections within my archives, some memories, some anecdotes, and a great deal of recipes. Well, I have to keep everyone satisfied with delicious things to eat, don’t I?!
Life hasn’t really offered the space to keep collectable anything, these days. The wonderful thing about technology is that you can fill a tiny little piece of plastic with loads of virtual collections. Everything from visual collections (pictures), written collections (books and letters), and tons of musical playlists can be tucked away in the drawer of your desk.
Early on, I began writing things down in a journal. I suppose that I was drawn toward being a writer from the beginning. When I was small, I would write letters to myself, pretending to be whoever my hero was at the time. I think I needed to feel seen, you know? Later in life, I started writing down memories, letters and thoughts to my daughters from the time of their births.
I didn’t realize the importance of those journals until years later, when my daughters were grown, becoming mothers to their own little ones. I realize it now!
If you look within the archives, they will be filled with some of the most precious of those memories and stories. I’m so thankful that I wrote down so many things over the years, tucking them away in my bedside drawer… and also my heart!
It’s now more important than ever that I keep writing out the stories and memories, since those journals were all lost or destroyed in the getting here… the journey has been arduous, to say the least!
God bless those little plastic chips, as I’ve a drawer full of my life’s most precious collections.
Being a light in the darkest of places requires a powerful source… and it ain’t mine!
Walking in shadows to find the lost calls for strength and courage that only comes from my creator!
My own light is quite weak when I try to fuel it without the proper oil… Holy oil, that is!
I, myself, have gotten lost repeatedly when trying to traverse the shadows by my own strength… and my courage always failed me when I sought to do things on my own.
The only legacy that should remain in my absence? It was never mine to begin with, as I am merely His vessel!
When I was given grace, it blossomed into something much more than I shall ever be… true forgiveness, purpose, mercy, love, and a desire to further His kingdom!
You want a legacy? Here’s one that should last into eternity…
“With what shall I come before the lord
and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
Journey With Me! 