If I could be on any path I choose, then I want to be a professional Poker Player! Why? Duh… I wanna be able to bluff, wear a fake face, and take other peoples money away with the wave of my hand… wait, that’s a politician… my bad! Yeesh… no way!
Joking aside, while I do love playing cards, and would love to make a bunch of money while having fun at the same time… in honesty, I prefer using Reece’s Pieces and M&Ms so I can eat my winnings.
Besides, I’ve no intention of leaving the path I am on.
I am a writer…
A retired mom…
and a Full on Woman of Faith… potty mouth, temper, and all!
I’m all full up on a career path, a life path, and a spiritual one.
Thanks for asking though. I know as our friendly neighborhood WordPrompt, you were simply curious. I answered without being mean, even though sometimes you ask too many suspiciously personal questions.
Anyways…. here…. have a warm cocoa… it’s freezing outside.
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… here, these ones aren’t mine but they will do in a pinch…
I was going to post a picture of my plant today, but found this while searching my photo files… I figure that the plant can wait a few days. Have you ever been in a place where you see something you yourself have done, written or said… but it seemed as if someone else did the writing or saying, though you know it was you?
I guess I write so much, I occasionally find myself surprised at things I myself wrote. It is not a disappointment, nor something to be proud of necessarily, but it makes me happy inside for some reason. Perhaps I am able to see my true reflection in the words written for others…
I think all too often in life, we do and say mostly what the world will accept of us, or what we perceive the world might accept from us.
I think I like the way I write better, when I don’t care what the world thinks, but more so what I think or even better yet, what God thinks… in my opinion.
Maybe reading old writings of my work, encourages me, because it reflects a spirit of healing, growth and faith, which had not been there for so much of my life. Our human propensity to overcome, rise above and walk on, always amazes me… that comes from God folks, not us, but the one whom we were designed after. We are all made in His image, and therefore by design, are fully capable of tapping into this part of our spirit.
It comes down to Freedom… freedom of choice! God has given us all we need to get this life done, we need only accept the tools given and get it done! Will it be easy? Is it ever? Life interruptus happens for everyone.
Choices, choices, choices… what we do with what we have is what makes us who we are… Period!
When I look back over the things I have written over time, I clearly have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly of my choices, as well as the lasting scars of the choices made by my predecessors. I have also witnessed a resilience within myself, that has apparently always been there, but had been obscured by my attempts to just survive!
Perhaps I have simply arrived finally, at the cross roads of Too Damn Tired and Suck It Up Buttercup! Whatever it is, I like it! When someone came up with the phrase, “What don’t kill you makes you stronger”, I now have a full understanding of what they meant.
When I read that poem I wrote a ways back, it resonated with me, as if a stranger had written it for me to read, and not the other way around.
That folks, is growth! As I heal and grow in my walk with God, the words that begin flowing onto the page are actually quite beautiful, and I can say that without pride, as I think they fully come from God… maybe not for you, but rather, for me…
That’s right my friends… you heard it first here! My biggest risk yet to take is this… I want to drive this RV all over the states, visiting communities, churches, and hospitals giving live readings of my stories to children with all differing needs. Whether they bear physical, mental, or spiritual scars… it doesn’t matter to this soul. I wish to spin my tales in a way that brings healing and restoration where there is need.
I wish for you to see that I have not said anywhere here about not being able to take this risk… YET!
I believe that if I stay within the shadow of my God, seeking Him first… He will bless anything I touch! And… that means my dreams of things may come to fruition by default. See, it’s a win win for my plans and Risks!
Who knows… you might be on the freeway one day and see an RV drive by with big letters saying JOURNEY WITH ME on the sides. If you look carefully, you may just see an adorable Flurby on this girls lap, that my daydreams already named Gabriel.
What I do know is that my Father has plans for me, and it won’t matter if I am telling children stories in some distant city, or simply babysitting my daughters puppy here at home… it’s the living that He intends for me to do well, however it plays out!
So, here we are, well into yet another Monday… and it’s raining in fall time fashion, as usual. I LOVE IT!
I am a Beanie loving, sweater wearing, fluffy slipper donning creature that comes fully online, the colder and wetter it is outside… time for soups, old movies and dreams of what wonders the coming holidays will bring. It’s awesome! This year is bringing some added Joys with our Virtual Season of Holiday Celebrations. Each week brings us a little closer to my favorite month of the year, December! Not only is it Christmas, but it’s my birthday month as well!
The first time I experienced Christmas, or my birthday for that matter, was when I was 15 and in the first foster home that actually had a desire to help children in need. Until that time, I had either been on the street, in an abusive foster home, or in a Juvenile Detention Center. No one thought about me for the holidays, not to mention remember the day I was born.
That first year of loving celebration I experienced, sparked a love and passion for the Holiday Season that has never faded for that lonely girl. Even now, after most of my life has passed by and loved ones are mostly all gone, I still love this time of year.
This year is the first time I will be actively celebrating the season, though only in Virtual form. This will be, however, the most fun I have possibly ever had… why? Because it will be free… the sky is the limit, as we not only don’t have to actually pay money, but whatever we do stays here in the lobby… so no having to find storage for the boat I might buy you, see what I mean?
For now, we are in the season of Pumpkin Spice Lattes, red and golden leaves everywhere, and soon to be seen… tiny little adorable characters seeking goodies at our door. Kids love the collecting and eating of said goodies, while parents relish selling it off to their family dentist. Ah….. fun times!
Anyways, as far as this week goes, things are moving along reasonably well. I uploaded the next entry of My Truths in the Lobby, for anyone interested.
Aside from the usual jokes, pics, songs and such… Live Novel Friday continues, featuring BRUTUS so stay tuned.
Thursday I see the Sports Medicine Specialist about my arm, so I am praying that God oversees the process, and I will go forward in faith… I need both my eyes and my hands if I am to write, so for these reasons I understand the necessity of good medical care… not pills… just good medical care!
Though I am still unable to see out of one eye, the surgeries have been scheduled so there is no going back… just let things unfold as they may. I know you might think me strange, but I sort of look at the surgeries as a Birthday present to myself… all six appointments begin shortly before my B day and continue through the third week of December… so by Christmas I will be able to see clearly for the first time in over a year and a half. I think it is going to look spectacular out, and I will most assuredly be enlisting my hubby for as many drive thru Christmas light displays as possible.
For now, however, we will satisfy our holiday desires with some food… that always works! After Live Wire this Sunday, be sure to stick around for a Fall Festival Celebration I am planning for us all… no spoilers, its my treat… no tricks!
Looking back at the place from which I began, I want to answer honestly and without any comedic fashion this morning. This isn’t a question to just toss a witty retort at, in my humble opinion. I believe that every human heart desires to leave something good behind, something they feel proud to have contributed to those that follow. Even if we know that we may never be an Elon Musk or an Einstein, we still want better for our future generations and have many life experiences that bear remembering, for wisdoms sake.
Personally, I’ve had enough life experiences that don’t bear remembering, for wisdoms sake. It was ugly, dark, and sad… fostering a life that had to play the game with a crooked rule book! Even after all the fallout of my beginnings, after all the train wreck mistakes I made… trying to bring some form of usefulness and purpose out of my history, still holds value within my heart and mind.
My hope and prayer is that whomever looks at my life, or reads about it, takes away one small and important truth of me… I always get back up! God has given me the strength to carry on, to wipe off life’s dirt and debri… some of which I picked up and rubbed in my own face.
There may not be much worth writing about in the annals of History, regarding the valiant deeds of Wiwohka, but it will say that she refused to quit… she just would NOT stop getting back up!
My belief in the One who created me has given wings to a spirit once pinned to the ground by fear, doubt, self loathing, anger and shame. No longer does it matter who did what to whom and why… for me, what matters is the getting back up…
If you must know, I am deep in the heart of things… my book Brutus! I am currently working on finding that one perfect picture that will capture the dragon at all his different stages of growth. I am currently using a free ai generating site but once I publish, I will have to commission the artwork, I think. I tried to learn to sketch to see if I could do my own designs… in honesty, it was awful!!!
But, as some wise person or other said, Rome was not built in a day, so I carry on searching.
The problem I am seeing as an issue… none of the pictures generated will match each other! If I choose one that I love, there is no way it lines up with any of the others generated. Wouldn’t it be amazing if we, as writers, could bring our literary characters to live for just a moment, so that we could grab some quick shots with our handy dandy smart phones?
I not only need to settle on his base colors, we have the eyes to consider as well as his expressions. Things only get rougher as he grows up… here, I’ll show you…
You see what I mean… the baby went from Jim Henson’s vision to Steven Spielberg and Michael Creighton’s newest people eater, in a heartbeat!
Oh well, it will all work out in the wash as they say. Have you noticed that I seem to always be throwing out one liners of other people? Is that normal as we get old? I was only wondering…
It was very important to me, upon entering into the book of Exodus, to leave behind my memories of stories and movies that might detract from actual scripture. I read only as far as the third chapter before I realized that there are some major parts of Moses story that need clarifying.
Thankfully, Jacob or otherwise known as Israel, drew things out pretty clearly when he blessed his sons shortly before his death. From there, I was good til right before Moses birth. Pharoah’s household dynamics floored this old farm girl, as I sit here writing about it today. Life in the royal house left much to be desired.
One last insight from Jacobs life, before we delve into Pharaohs dirty laundry… is a snippet of passage I had overlooked previously, regarding the burial of both his wives. I was left pondering the subtle mention of how Rachael got buried on the side of the road, while Jacob made Joseph promise to carry his bones to where Leah had been buried. Something within him changed from that first meeting of Rachael at the well. After all those years of working to win the hand of the woman of his dreams, at the end of it all… Israel chose to be buried with Leah. Hmmm… food for thought!
Now to the juicy bits of somebody else’s messed up family dynamics… the good ole Pharaoh of Egypt and his ridiculous way of handling things both in his family, as well as his kingdom… it plays out in true soap opera form, as far as I can see so far.
One of the first things I picked up on from the beginning of my reading, was Pharaohs attitude. He struck me as someone who grew up entitled, never having to study or remember the important things that occurred to make his world what it was. It says in Exodus 1:8 that, “Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt.” Right off the bat we learn that Pharaoh was aware of who Joseph was… he just didn’t really care!
He did care, however, about his pocketbook! If he was afraid of the Israelites, as he told his people he was, why did he then instruct everyone to enslave them into forced labor. I don’t think Pharaoh was afraid for his physical safety, as much as he feared loosing Power. It still kind of baffles me how a people so numerous as the Israelites, were somehow so easily led into shackles of bondage. Something tells me that it was more like the process of boiling a frog… don’t drop em in boiling hot water or they jump out, but instead put them in cold water and slowly turn the heat up. The frog is too comfortable and complacent, to notice the subtle changes leading to its own doom.
However we look at the situation, bondage is where the people ended up. If we go back and reread the blessings Jacob gave to his boys right before his death, it is rather sobering to watch things play out pretty much note for note from Jacobs lips. I’ve no idea exactly how many years rolled out between the time of Josephs death and the predicament his offspring found themselves in, but they were in the middle of it, none the less.
This is where we find ourselves, turning the mental channel to a station featuring a full color episode of The Pyramids… featuring the Pharaoh himself, the two Hebrew midwives, his Daughter along with her Maidservants, and finally his strange looking grandson Moses, that just magically appeared in the royal house one day. Though I make light of some dysfunctional family dynamics, I wish for you to see also how God makes a way where He chooses… regardless of the plans of Man!
Pharaoh thought he had it figured out about the Israelite problem once they had the yoke of bondage firmly in place, even having two full storehouse cities built on the backs of the people. It was not long before he realized the growing number of slaves, even while under such horrible conditions and treatment. So, what does he do? He passes the buck! Thinking that the midwives would obey and take care of the issue by killing all the boys, he carries on his way. Here is the rub! While Pharaoh was willing to challenge the God of Abraham… those two midwives were not!
Pharaoh showed his ignorance, in my opinion, when he bought the story from the midwives, about Israelite woman being more vigorous than the Egyptians, and simply popping the babes out before the midwives could arrive. Now Pharaoh showed his true colors, by ordering his entire kingdom to drown all the boys. This is the place I found myself calling the king some colorful words of my own… out loud!
You would think that this was it for the people of God… that they would begin dying out. The Israelites simply continued to multiply even more rapidly than before. It was at this part of the story that I began seeing a list of, pardon the expression, absolutely ignorant, and downright ridiculous behavior within The Pyramids family members and entire household staff. I will save the dirty laundry for next weeks Live Wire, but I will leave you with something to ponder… Pharaoh made it easy for God to make a way. Instead of living a heartless and self centered life, had he paid closer attention to what was right in his own home, he might have noticed Moses early on…
I found an awesome song by Brandon Lake called Pharaoh, and it speaks to my heart of the power of God to fulfill His own promises… Not even Pharaoh could stand in the way…
Thank you to everyone who volunteered some soup ideas for this weeks Potluck Sunday! Grab a fresh bread bowl and dip in to the many soup flavors of the day. Don’t forget to sprinkle those crispy croutons across the top or maybe a bit of shredded cheese… whatever you wish! Afterwards, be sure and enjoy some fall flavors of after dinner goodies…
Journey With Me! 