Maybe I’m just overthinking things, but didn’t we just answer a prompt about having collections? Perhaps I’m confused here, but I would consider a collection to be a personal belonging.
I’m fairly certain that as a child, I considered my easy bake oven to be a personal belonging that I held very dear, and the same could be said throughout the years, regarding my collectible horses, tea cups, and books.
Honestly, all these questions are doing for me personally, is reminding me of all the belongings, keepsakes, and memories destroyed when the Government shut the country down, due to Covid. It’s rather painful for me, as I remember all the photo albums, baby treasures, and belongings that we had to abandon when the Sheriffs department escorted us off the property we’d nearly finished purchasing.
In an effort to forgive, let go of, and move on from such a tragically painful part of my journey, I’m choosing not to further answer these types of prompts, as they are difficult for me to do with a positive attitude… not WordPress’s fault, not your fault, and not worth reminding myself that it wasn’t my fault either!
It’s Thursday, God is so Good, and I am blessed to walk these roads I walk…
All morning I’ve been feeling somewhat like Winnie the Pooh, with my head all full of fluff! Lately, my writer’s brain has been burning the midnight oil, firing up at all hours of the night. Ever since last week, when the Big Guy gave me the go ahead, to finish my fantasy/fiction book, it’s all I can think about 24/7!
Why I ever thought that I might lose the story, by taking a break from it, is rather funny if you think about it. It’s like a really good movie one watches, after years have passed since viewing it for the first time. You might be surprised by a few small things that you missed or forgot, but not the important stuff. I’ve been discovering this over the last week. All my waking moments are consumed with scenes to be written down, as well as, the numerous tiny details needing to be included, while my dreams are filled with the lives and experiences of the characters I observe within the story.
Though I don’t profess to exhibit nearly the same high level of writing skills employed by the Big Dog authors out there, I’m learning to appreciate the efforts it must have taken them to produce such in-depth stories; envisioning and writing about events and experiences that never actually occurred. It’s a brain burner, to say the least!
It’s like seeing a really good movie for the very first time, and then trying to sit down and rewrite a word for word, play by play, retelling of what you watched. You have to take the time to remember all of the tiny details and conversations that made the movie so good! I dare you to try it! I guarantee you will be spending a good deal of time trying to re-watch all the good parts, so that you get it just right for whomever might read your version of the movie.
Being a writer by nature, I catch my brain running in circles trying to make things just so, in an effort to ensure my readers can see what I see, hear things the way I heard them, and feel what I felt. My desire is for the reader to cry at the places where I cried, laugh at the things I thought were so funny, and be drawn to love the characters as much as I do.
While one might think this to be stressful, it’s actually pretty fulfilling to me, as I excel at taking a yes or no answer, upending it and creating a 15 minute dialogue that causes my husbands eyes to glaze over. I’m just good at it! This girl is proficient at making mountains out of mole hills, as they say!
Perhaps one might say, I’ve never lost the overactive imagination I had as a child, and I’m finally putting it to good use. I’ll gladly take my time with this first story, as it has to lay the groundwork for all the others to follow. I may be sitting at 55 years old… but I’m just getting started!
I hope you all appreciate how far back I had to travel down memory lane, in order to pull up the answer for this daily prompt.
I do hold memories of my favorite childhood collections, such as pretend babies, Barbie dolls and ceramic horses. Eventually, I grew out of those, moving on to amassing stacks of Louis Lamour novels, among a large list of other favorite authors.
With adulthood came actual babies to replace the pretend ones of childhood. Babies brought a large amount of stuff, pushing my collection of books into boxes, and later to the donation bins.
Changing up collection categories from the childhood versions to the adult form, resulted in a rather large collection of Ceramic Tea cups. At one point I had a lovely Oak China Hutch, filled with the cups, along with other special keepsakes that I’d added over time. When Seattle had the earthquake some years ago, the hutch was thrown forward and most of what was inside came crashing down.
While I tried to hang on to whatever was still in tact, it ended up looking like a rather pitiful example of any sort of collection. I finally gave up, as my wild lifestyle always seems to wreak havoc on anything I own.
Oh well, or as the French say, Ce La Vie. Where I’m going, my room is already decorated and fully furnished, so there’s no need to try taking anything.
Rather than looking back over my collections of useless trinkets, now lost in the past, I practice a lifestyle of investing in my future. I am storing up treasures in heaven, the kind that are worth keeping… these are the gifts that my heavenly father has bestowed upon me, such as Joy, Grace, Hope, Mercy, Forgiveness and absolutely unconditional and eternal LOVE and Fellowship!
So, in answer to the prompt, I’ve no collections to focus on, as I’m now into future investments, and SIR’s or Spiritual Investment Rates.
As it says in Matthew 6:19-21, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
I’m really hoping that my room comes with horses, just sayin…
Eustace brought his cell phone to the staff meeting, for scientific purposes only! He’s paying attention… really… ok, maybe… fine, let’s just say he’s multi-tasking!
For whatever reason, when I saw the prompt question this morning, the book Where’s Waldo? popped into my head. You’d think that one could spot him a mile away, what with the bright red and white stripes on his shirt. Throughout all the books pages, the environment and all the people are different, but Waldo hides in the middle of them, unchanged… still wearing his silly hat and brightly colored shirt. No matter how hard we try, Waldo just vanishes into the crowd. Once we locate him, it seems as if he sticks out like a sore thumb, as they say.
Why is that?
In the real world, some folks will try to be new and different, in order to boldly change the world! Other folks make active daily efforts to disappear into the woodwork, going unnoticed and/or unbothered by the world around them. The question we often ask ourselves is, do we want to be Waldo or the crowd that hides that silly red and white shirt.
As a human being, I strive to do good and make a difference in the world around me, but as a Christian I’m also compelled to become more like Christ and less than myself. What if Waldo was like Jesus, and the crowd surrounding him were like the world, or US?
Anyway, I know that might seem a strange way to explain how I feel about leaving a legacy behind. If I wish to leave anything behind, it would be a reflection of Christ within me, looking back at you from my eyes. I desire to have the fragrance of His love assault your senses, as I pass you by. I hope that the sounds of God’s truths would be ever escaping my lips, and His eternal hope might flow from my fingertips, as I write.
I don’t wish to leave my legacy at all, but instead let my life leave only evidence, of the one who chose me first… the one who calls me His own!
If you were at all curious, our tiny turtle did indeed make it to the sea! Thanks to the kind-hearted old man, she was successful in crossing the sands, without a flock of Gulls or crabs chasing after her for an easy meal. While the last few episodes may have been cute, the importance of our oceans wildlife is not! I’ve spent the last three weeks watching documentaries about our ecosystem, reading informative articles about conservation, and looking at the different species of wildlife affected by our planets warming trends.
Turtles are like our oceans gardeners, keeping our coral reefs and ocean grasses healthy. I watched one documentary that showed how turtles have been known to tend great lawn size patches of sea grass for several months at a time, before moving on to other grassy areas. The more the turtle mowers keep the grass clipped, the faster it grows, making it easier for other sea life to populate the area. Also, I know this might sound gross, but their poo gives vital nutrients to the entire reef environment.
I found a website called SWOT, The State of the Worlds Sea Turtles, and found it to be a very educational site. All the turtle photos you see in this article, by the way, came from the above mentioned organization. This website gives information about the 7 types of sea turtles, what their status is, in terms of the level of danger to becoming extinct in the wild, and what each species is currently facing. Among all the other sites out on the web, this particular one made it very easy to navigate and read through, offering ideas for volunteering, donating or adopting, as they call it.
Surprisingly, many of the turtle species are affected, more so by pollution and global warming, than by overfishing… though fishing in certain waters has done damage to the turtles numbers, due to the fishing nets. Sadly, the Hawksbill turtle is nearly extinct, not from environmental pollution, nor global warming, but from the illegal trade of their beautiful shells… that one’s definitely on us! I am comforted by the ever growing efforts being made globally, to clean up our waters, mending some of the damage done to our oceanic neighbors.
While there is still so much yet to be done, healthy change takes time and energy, which starts with awareness. Knowledge is power! So, starting with a tiny turtle, maybe writing each week about different endangered species will help in some tiny way. At least that’s what I’m telling myself, so I’m making Tuesdays my nature and wildlife awareness days. While I may not have actual dollar bills to hand out to folks, this nature series is my active way of trying to Pay It Forward!
If you hadn’t picked up on it yet, animals and nature are a huge passion of mine… they have been since I was small. My childhood was filled with memories of Wildlife Safari on Sunday nights, right before Walt Disney. Even Disney offered shows featuring some form of wildlife in need, be it a cougar, a bear, a space monkey, or even a talking cat… just sayin.
If you like reading this sort of stuff, that’s great cause this 55 year old brain is chalk full of it! If not, well that’s too bad, so suck it up Buttercup! Sorry, but I just love saying that phrase whenever the opportunity arises!
First come the shivers, then comes a cold nose, and cold fingers and toes are soon to follow suit.
Externally, my body has some pretty basic responses to cold weather. Internally, I suppose different folks experience a range of feelings, as no human is alike. Personally, I enjoy putting cocoa and marshmallows into coffee that already has French Vanilla creamer swirling around in the cup.
Seasons come and go with some regularity, fluctuating in both duration and climate. Some winters are quite cold, while some summers feel like the Sahara Desert. Some years we feel like Spring and Fall are nearly non-existent. While I do enjoy the summer heat, my river walking tends to go better in the colder climates.
My favorite part of the song is when he says that God called me by name, and He doesn’t make mistakes. It brings great comfort and encouragement in the midst of life’s difficulties.
Who hasn’t? At one time or another, dinner tables across the country, possibly even the world, have had eager hands reaching to snap that ole Wish Bone!
This prompt doesn’t really give me a lot to work with today, as no one really wants to know about each others injuries, unless you’re a doctor. In honesty, knowing about someone’s past injuries doesn’t really draw my interest, no offense. The odds are also very high, my bone history won’t be filling your day with oodles of insight, either.
Even if I take the prompt seriously, putting forth my best effort in answering with sincerity, all I got for you is YES. The prompt didn’t ask for any of the pertinent information needed for a complete answer. We weren’t given a when, where, how, or why to the daily query… just “Have you?”
Since I’ve answered the question, thereby fulfilling my commitment in offering a response to each daily prompt, I’m out!
Sometimes I feel like I show up for a thing, only to discover that I’m the only one that actually wanted to be there… point in fact, no one else felt like showing up.
I suppose that it’s somewhat like telling a joke you think is really funny, but nobody else really laughed at, leaving you to try explaining the details. You finally come to realize, if you had to explain it, well then… as they say, it must not have been that funny.
When I first started writing these Live Wire episodes, I felt sure that others would enjoy hearing about what I was currently studying in the bible. Over time, I’ve discovered that I put a great deal more effort into writing than was useful… when a thing no longer works, it’s time to move on. I’m not sure of what Sundays writings will be from here on out, but aside from mentioning where I may or may not be reading, I’ll leave the rest for your imagination.
In no way am I offended or put out, rather, I’m choosing to put my literary skills somewhere else. In a way, this is a good thing, as I can now run wild and free through the word of God, at whatever pace I wish.
I did finish the book of Judges, which was incredibly aggravating to read, by the way! Over and over again, one bad decision after another, the Israelites just left me feeling sad. I tried to console myself, by reading through both Acts and Romans, but Paul was just as saddened as I was, based on how he wrote about their behavior.
Starting tomorrow, I will be reading through and studying the book of Ruth. Hands down, this has to be one of my favorite examples of such deep, love and faith!
Journey With Me! 