How on earth am I supposed to choose…
Everyone that knows me, has seen me own or at least care for any number of cats and dogs… it has always been in my nature, maybe.
Instead of filling this page with a bunch of words, trying to convince you of my dilemma, I will just show you…
Yes it’s a Pug butt… Your lucky I have not finished my first cup of coffee… it could have been worse… much, much worse…
I thought you might like a change from the usual cookies… Here, have a strawberry scone…
Just a Bag Cont’d 2
I have been tasked with a journey of great importance, and I am hoping you will share a desire to come along. If you were wondering the reason for my invitation, I will do my best to explain. The giver of the bag I carry is in need of a courier! Originally, it had been intended that I accompany another to deliver an important artifact. We were to carry said artifact to a small village along the edge of the wilderness, resting near the shore of a great sea. I know it is not a lot to go on, and I am asking you to put your trust in someone you don’t know. You may feel better knowing that I am putting my trust in you, just as much as I am asking you, in essence, to trust in me. Since you know me, it is my hope that you will at least put a bit of trust there, for now. If you might be brave, for me…
I am just as curious as you are, as to the identity of the item in which I now carry, as I was unable to ascertain what it was before it was placed within my bag. Due to my companions unexpected absence, the task now rests with me for delivery. I would be ever indebted to you for company, while the owner of the artifact feels it imperative to locate my missing friend. Though it is painful for me, as my companion and I do not travel separately under normal circumstances; I trust fully in the one seeking them out.
This frees me up to deliver whatever is within my bag, with great speed! That is, if you are with me? If it gives you courage to know, I have been given full authority to speak for One much greater than myself! Whatever I carry must be of great importance to the one leaving it in my care, as we will be accompanied by an unseen army of guardians; to be called upon at any time we require assistance. I could ask, as you probably are, why couldn’t said army deliver said package without a mortal’s assistance?
Apparently, my willingness to take up this task without questioning, was the very reason I was called up from within the ranks! My immediate response to His call, blessed me with the gift of inviting YOU! Why do I need you? I am anticipating that what I carry within my bag is something of great value, and of great importance to the sender; therefore, sharing it with you fills me with happiness.
If you choose to continue along with me, I will be waiting for you further down the path a bit. Look for a lantern shining brightly from a post, not far from my tent. I hope the smell of cocoa and blueberry scones helps encourage you to quicken your pace, as I am eager to start out! I pray you feel excitement, and not apprehension, as I will fully prepare you with more specifics that will build our groups strength and confidence for the journey ahead. I will look for you…
P.S. I have been instructed to encourage you to correspond with me through your bags… I discovered that when we are out in the wilds, we may either send or receive connection with one another from any distance. Simply reach within for any encouragement or directions needed… and to send your message, you need only trace the line of stitches etched upon your bag. I know, right?! BONUS!!!
Books…
I know that a book is a thing, not an activity in the sense of the word. Now that I know that you know that I know that you know, we can continue on…
Though a book is just an object, what is within its pages draws us inward. Once there, one can disappear into any number of activities that will make one lose track of time. I did not have an easy childhood, and reading became the only safe place I could find to survive things I was not equipped to experience. I began reading as early as I can remember; reading books from authors like Louis Lamour when I was only seven or eight years old.
The beauty of books lies in the sheer number of different available choices… from adventures, histories, poetry, and music, our adventure (activity) can take us anywhere we want to go. I clung to books for all of my younger years, and as I grew and matured into the woman (writer) I am today, I have continued to read. I don’t read so much to get lost anymore. Instead, I am now reading to get where I am going.
Though I only have one good eye that is willing to cooperate with me at the moment, I still spend at least half my day reading…
Reading blog posts…
Reading comments…
Reading the weather report…
Reading my own blogs or projects that must be edited…
My favorite book, as you know, is the Bible. I say this because, as I have grown into my own skin, I discovered that among all the books I have ever had the pleasure of reading, this one is the only one that gives me comfort when I need it the most. When people do and say things that make absolutely no sense at all, I take solace in the word. When the ugliness of the world pushes me down, I discover strength within its pages. When I find myself in fear and doubt of how things might turn out for us, I shelter within the pages of the only living breathing Book I know exists.
I know, I know, it got a bit deep there for a second… see what I mean, I can even lose track of time talking about the Bible. I will not ramble on any more, but I will leave you with this…
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Here, have a cookie…
If you are wondering what to do when you are bored, here is a great way to waste an hour or 3…
I take a good many pictures of things outdoors while I do my morning wanderings. When I am bored, I will take a random photo from my stack and open it in the free app on my computer, randomly letting it try to fix all the errors, and remove everything I did not see with my one good eye…
I am always wondering if it is because I cannot see well, or if the pictures do look better after some fixin? I will let you guys all select your favorites, and then I will let you know what the overall stats ended up being. I numbered them for you, and after you pick which is your favorite, there is a dish of candy for your time…
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
Awesomesauce…
I was hopeful to have enough selection here for all to find one they liked… my fav’s are the sour stripey thingies…
I know that the prompt wants me to purge my bothersome emotions, in a way that might make me feel better…
Thank you WordPress, for caring enough about my day to day life to ask me intimate questions, like a bestie…
I know that it might seem that you are a bit creepy, weird, or are in need of content. Though you might simply be attempting to come up with some nefarious plan to replace me with a robot, I will play along and think it’s because you like me to some degree.
Admit it, you know you like me! You always ask questions that a caring friend might ask… what are my fears, what I like, what I don’t like, and how I feel about so many different things. At first, I thought you were stalking me… taking my measurements for a skin suit, or something. But now, after today… I think you are so nice to ask such an intimate and personal question as I sit here in pj’s with my coffee still brewing…
Since you asked, I will admit that my morning started off with missing the garbage man… He looked right at me as he passed by, not making even one attempt to stop and give me a sec to get it to him… nope!
Oh yeah, and I smacked my forehead while holding the cupboard door open while retrieving the coffee to brew… the latch that holds it open is broken… has been for several months. I am still tired, I feel crabby cause my arm is killing me, I have no intention of walking in this ridiculously hot weather, nor do I plan on cooking, cleaning, or doing any constructive anything today… Waaah Haaaaaaa… Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…
BEEP…
Hang on…
Oh hi peeps… man, this coffee is sooooooo good!
Now… WordPress, this should teach you a lesson about asking such personal questions… BEFORE my first sip of coffee… shame on you.
Now, go look up bestie protocol so you do not do that again…
Here, have a cookie… and a cup of my fresh coffee… that’s how I roll…
As in the words of Castle, “It’s what I do”…
Grange Hall Days…
As I was walking this morning, I found myself pondering a few of our previous daily prompts, one of which was the one regarding fears. For whatever reason, my mind wound up remembering a fear I had as a child that was a very well-founded fear, thanks to the grown ups of the time. This story is a shout out for all of the others out there who were scarred along with me… this is for you my fellow comrades in the old school vaccine lines…
How many people here remember being marched into your local grange hall, to await your annual vaccines. Remember the walls lined with folding chairs that began at the door and went all the way around the hall to the closed door at the other end?
We were forced in the doorway by unhappy parents, who had to sit with us for the entire waiting process, lying to us the entire time, saying “It’s not that bad, it won’t hurt, it will be over before you know it, and you get a sucker when it’s over”. There we had to sit for at least 2 hours, moving forward one chair at a time, slowly, always watching the door with the frosted glass that did not allow you to see more than an ominous shadow on the other side.
We had to watch the kids closest to the doorway get more and more frightened, and slowly starting to cry. We watched as the door opened, a hiccupping teary-eyed boy or girl would exit with a stupid sucker in their hand, and then watch the child by the door completely loose it and claw for the exit, only to be drug into the scary room screaming NOOOO… Then the door would close, it would get loud, then quiet, then really loud, and then they would exit with that stupid sucker, and we would all advance one seat closer…
Ya……….. whose ridiculous idea was that??? I am certain that it played a large roll in my fear of needles, to this day! Sooooo… for all of you that were there… this will make you feel a little better…
I think there should be a special kind of retribution for us test subjects, I mean kids. For those that took part in putting us through this very dysfunctional process, I think it would only be fitting if they were asked to sit in one of those chairs by the door. But they have to give their banking information to the attendant who takes it to that silly room.
Now, they have to sit for the next several hours watching all of us in line in front of them, and here is the fun part… Instead of people crying when they enter that room, they will wave and smile as they shut the door behind them. They are for sure laughing when they are in there, and when they come out, they smile and wave as they leave… no way to have any idea how much they spend of that money until the perp (nightmare maker) gets to the room… but they must look on the bright side, there will be a whole bag of stupid suckers for them to make it all better…
I am so nice, though, cause I only have cookies in my lobby and they are only for us!
Birth…Birth is a thing… so is death… but are there eight between the two?
Hunger… Hunger is for sure a real certainty, and I know that if I put food in my mouth, it gives me energy to get me through the day, so that gets me to another certainty… sleep, eventually…
Tears… Tears are a certainty, as they absolutely do come out of my face and fall down my cheeks… but the thing to remember about tears, they are a result of differing causes… happiness, sorrow, pain, or fear. I will still only consider tears as a single certainty.
The other side of this one is Laughter, which is also a certainty with multiple causes.
Sweat! Yes, it is too a certainty! We sweat from the heat, from hormones, from exertion, and from screwing up and being called out for it. It’s a thing…
Blood… Blood flows in our veins, keeping us alive by delivering oxygen throughout the body. It has been pretty certain for a good bit now, that you need blood to live. We all have a heart to pump this blood, so that is a certainty, though whether the heart is good or evil, one cannot say.
CHOICES… Choices are a certainty… every human soul has free will to choose each step they take in life, from start to finish. Sure, the world can effect us, but we still get a choice as to how to react or respond.
Well, that was 9… I do have a 10th certainty, but really it overrides all of the others… I am certain of where I am going when my body gives… I am certain of where HOME is…
I know that these cookies are ugly, but somebody has to eat em. Come on, you know you want the one with the runny eye…
I have been reading in Luke recently and I thought I would share a few verses that I am still pondering over…
Parable of the lighted lamp
No one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, he puts it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light. For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be know or brought into the open. Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him. Luke 8: 16-18
I am not planning on teaching or preaching anything… I seriously just wanted to share the part where I am currently pondering… you are welcome to do your own investigating, or not…
Cause they were so cute and Ghosts little toe beans were sticking out… DERR SOOO SQUISHY…
I know you might think I am going to say Jesus, and yes, for a moment I almost did…
I wonder what it must have been like in the time of Jesus and His disciples. Throughout His years of ministering to people Jesus, as well as the disciples, lived by the charity of others… no homes of their own, no beds of their own, and no belongings. There were places that welcomed Jesus and his disciples, and there were places that Jesus shook the dust off of his feet as he left… ummm… trust me, you do not want the lord or those who He sent ahead of himself to shake dust at you… its not good!
Anyway, living on others charity could not have been easy for them, especially after Jesus was crucified and then risen from the dead. The reactions were profound! Some were good and some were bad!
Sure, there were churches beginning to form, due to the dedication of the apostles and all the others who followed and believed in Him. These churches, however, took a lot of time to grow, both in faith and spiritual maturity. I do not envy Paul and the others who sought to teach everyone what God wanted. Sometimes I wonder if it would be more difficult for me to live like the disciples back then, relying on charity and mercy of others for my every need. Then I wonder what it would be like on the other side of things… to be the one offering my home and belongings to them, Jesus and the disciples I mean.
Here is where I found myself after a few moments of pondering the prompt question. Right here, and right now, if a complete stranger came to my door in need, would I let them in? This is a question that can take off down many rabbit holes of what if’s!
Instead, I want you to go easy on yourself, and me for that matter, as I am not about to ask you to bring in some guy off the corner. We do not live like the apostles did. We live in a time where our doors need to be locked, so its not so easy to let a stranger in without sacrificing our personal health and safety, I get it!
So after my ponderings over the prompt and what my answer might be, I thought …
If I could host a dinner, and anyone I invited was sure to come, I would invite everyone who tried to help us when the shut down cost my husband his job, allowed us to be evicted, and left us empty handed and homeless. In the last 3 years, there have been those that reached out to help my husband and I survive, pulling resources that they did not have to give, but they did it anyway. Strange as it might sound, there would be a packed house at my dinner party, but most of them I would not even know personally.
Don’t feel sad… My party is going to be awesome, and there will be so much hugging and laughing among us… whether stranger or friend, God uses us all in different ways to help each other. Sometimes, we do not even know that we did it… it comes down to a matter of the heart. God just wants us willing and able to love and serve others with grace and mercy. He will take care of the rest! I got all the way to the end of this and realized that I guess I DID invite Jesus to dinner… hmmm…
Journey With Me! 