Uncategorized

Friday Funnies – 7/6/18

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

I don’t know who to give credit to for this joke, because I came across it in a collection of hillbilly jokes from multiple sources. I’ve told it so many times, but it is still laugh-out-loud funny even now as I write this post. Hope it lightens and brightens you day. If you’d like to take part in “Friday Funnies,”  just post your own “funny” on your blog and give us the link in the ‘Comments’ section on this post. Yours can be a joke, story, poem, or picture.

LADY IN BATHTwo hillbillies were walking down the street and they met a local nun coming down the sidewalk toward them. Her arm was in a cast, so they stopped to inquire about her.

“Sister, we’re sorry to see you’re in a cast. What on earth happened to your arm?”

“Oh, it’s the silliest thing,” she said. “I fell in the bathtub the other day.”

“Oh my. Does it hurt you much?”

“No, it’s much better now, and I should be able to remove the cast in a few weeks.”

“Well, that’s good news. You take care of yourself, now,” they said and resumed their journey down the sidewalk. When they were out of the nun’s hearing, one of the hillbillies asked his friend. 

“Did you hear what she said happened?”

“Yeah, she said she fell in the bathtub.”

“What’s a bathtub anyway?”

“Heck, I don’t know. I’m not Catholic.”

 

 

 

The Rest of Our National Anthem

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

 

U. S. FLAG

In the course of any given year, most of us hear our national anthem sung dozens of times.  But what we hear is not really our national anthem, but only a small part of it.  Every time I hear it sung, I am frustrated at having to stop singing at the end of the first stanza.  We never seem to go on to the end of the song and find out why it is that we can trust that our star-spangled banner will continue to wave, and why we can be sure our land will continue to be brave and free.

Several years ago, as a high school teacher, I was given the responsibility of creating a large production in honor of our nation and our constitution, and my instructions included making sure that the whole community was involved.  I immediately decided that this was my opportunity to include the last stanza of our national anthem as part of the program.  I realized that most people did not know the words to that stanza at all, and, in fact, some people did not even know the song had four stanzas total.

I’m asking my blog readers to stop right now and take just a few minutes to think about the final verse of our national anthem.  It has a whole lot more to say beyond the fact that we are proud of our flag and the nation for which it stands.  In fact, the last stanza makes the most important statements of the whole song.

“So thus be it ever, when free men shall stand

Between their loved homes and the war’s desolation.

Blessed with victory and peace, may this Heaven-rescued land

Praise the God that hath made and preserved us a nation.

Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just

And this be our motto: ‘In God is our trust!’

And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave

O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.”

We need to sing this last stanza every time we sing the first one, because it is only the fact that God Himself made us a nation and preserved us as such — and that He is the one who has rescued us each and every time from destruction — that allows our star-spangled banner to wave anywhere at all.

I hear a lot of people today talking about how this country is doomed.  I also hear a number of religious leaders preaching that God will judge the United States for all of its evils and allow foreign powers to come in and overthrow it.  Now, I am a strong Christian, and I am deeply troubled by the abortion, drugs, crime, child abuse, pornography, and sexual laxness of our nation. But I also spend an enormous amount of time with God — in His Word and in prayer. And I believe that the Lord has made clear to me that He created this nation for His own purposes.   Except for Israel, this nation is the only one on earth that can point to the fact that God literally called His own people to travel to these shores and found a new beginning.

He did so because he intended this nation to be so established in freedom and justice for all that it would be free to put forth the Gospel of Jesus Christ to an extent unknown in any other part of the world.  And we have done that.  True, we have not always done other things right. But the fact remains that thousands of God’s faithful people are citizens of this nation, and as such, they live Godly lives, influence others to do the same, and continue to put forth the Gospel.  As long as those people are praying and keeping the door open for God to intervene in this nation — and to fight on its behalf — we will not be destroyed.

So, even though we need to work at getting our act cleaned up in a lot of ways, we can, nevertheless, take a deep breath, put a smile on our face, and continue to lift our voices in song, singing:  “Praise the God that hath made and preserved us a nation.”

No matter how many atheists try to get the words changed — no matter how many elected officials misquote the words of our Constitution in order to try to keep faith out of our government — no matter what —- the words of Francis Scott Key still reverberate through the hearts of millions of Americans, and indeed this is still our motto: “In God Is Our Trust!”

 

If you’d like to learn the words to the the remaining two stanzas of the song, you can find them here.

 

 

~~~

Share Your World 7/2/18

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

I haven’t taken time in the last couple months to “share my world.” So this week I thought I’d make an attempt to do so. (You can share yours too if you visit Cee’s blog where she gives the details of taking part.) Here are her questions for this week.

Question # 1: Tell us about your first bicycle or car. 

Well, I never owned a bicycle. I did learn to ride one — using my cousins’ or neighbors’ bikes, but bicycling was never one of my favorite activities. I do drive a car, although that activity is not one of my favorites either. I’m not one of those people who enjoys “going for a drive.” I simply get into the car to get from one place to another more easily and comfortably than I can get there by walking. Of course, with my air conditioner on the blitz in my current car, that isn’t too comfortable.

But I’m digressing. I’m supposed to tell you about my very first car. It was a Honda — pale yellow with gray interior. I loved it. It was used, and cost me a whole $700.00, but that was way back in time — more than 40 years ago. I vividly remember my test drive. My dad went along to give me his opinion of its virtues and problems. The car was in good shape and I drove it about three years before trading it in for a newer and slightly bigger car. I’ve owned 9 different cars since then, but I’ll always remember that little Honda with love and affection.

REDBIRD CHRISTMASQuestion # 2: What fictional world or place would you like to visit?

I’d like the opportunity to visit — or maybe live in —  a place called Lost River, Alabama. Now, in general, I don’t like Alabama. And, in general, I’m not a fan of Fannie Flagg’s novels. However, Ms.Flagg did write one novel that is an absolute delight to read — in fact I read it about once a year — and it is set in the peaceful, friendly, life-affirming community settled on the banks of a clear, quiet river known as Lost River, Alabama.

Even the mail is delivered by river in this little community. Everyone living there knows everyone else — and cares about everyone else. The weather is not too cold or too hot. The flowers, birds, and other natural wildlife are pleasant company. And the whole attitude and atmosphere is one of optimism.

I keep intending to write a review of this book for my blog, but, somehow, time just keeps getting away from me. But in case I’ve whetted your appetite for a visit to Lost River, I’ll tell you that the title of the book is A Redbird Christmas. And if you enjoy reading about second chances and happy endings, you’ll love it.

Question # 3: If you could have someone follow you around all the time — like a personal assistant — what would you have them do?

I’d have them stop following me around.

 

Question # 4: What did you appreciate, or what made you smile this past week.

Three things made me smile this past week. One was my hairdresser, Scott Brown. Scott is one of the most pleasant, courteous people I know personally. He really cares about people. He chooses exactly what is right for my hair every time a decision has to be made about it, and he genuinely enjoys making people feel good about themselves. When I’m in the mood to change my style and I’m being super picky — which I almost always am — you know — I want this cut, but I want the back a little different — and I want the top a little different — and I want more of this and less of that — he takes it all in stride, gives me what will actually work, and tells me honestly when something is out of the question. I really like this guy.

The second thing that made me smile was some videos of the old Mary Tyler Moore Show from the 1970’s. That was a time of several important decisions and events in my life, and that whole decade has a very strong place in my memory — in mostly happy ways. One of my favorite memories is watching that show every week. This week, as a way of relaxing, I watched several hours of those old re-runs, and I was amazed at how much I laughed out loud at some of them. It was a fun experience.

The third thing that made me smile was getting back into the book I wrote for my great-nieces and nephews about 4 years go. I wrote the original story just for them, using all four of them as the main characters of the book: Taming The Dragon of Calvert Kingdom. I’m getting ready to let the book go into the marketplace now, and as I re-read it and remembered how thrilled they were to have a whole book written about them, it made me happy. I hope it make them as happy when the book is published for the rest of the world to read.

 

 

 

Psalm 23 Poetically Paraphrased

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

Posted this on my AHYOKA site, but thought you might enjoy it too. You’ll have to follow the “view original post” link to get the complete poem.

Ahyoka's avatarPOETRY BY AHYOKA

GREEN PASTURES -- ALPINE LAKE -- Tommy_Rau -- PX

I am resting in green pastures,
Quiet waters at my side.
There are enemies surrounding
But I rest here satisfied.
For my Shepherd never leaves me,
Always watchful and prepared;
With His rod and staff at ready,
All my foes need to beware.
And my Lord’s prepared a table
Laden with my heart’s desires,
And my cup is running over;
There is nothing else required.
Every path on which He leads me
Is encompassed with His grace,
And if ever I am fearful,
I just look upon His face.
With His goodness and His mercy,
Daily He restores my soul,
And the oil of His anointing
Heals and makes me fully whole.

Reference: Holy Bible, Psalm 23

photo: Tommy_Rau @ pixabay.com

~~~

View original post

Weekend Coffee Share 6/24/18

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

cropped-hot-coffee-window-free-wallpaper1.jpg

Hi, Everyone.
If we were having coffee together today, I’d probably tell you that it’s been a  pretty busy and a very stressful week. I did manage to get several things done that needed doing, so I feel good about that. Today was a super busy day with church work. I preached at this morning’s service, and after the evening meeting, a few of us counseled with a young man who has had very serious problems with addictions and all of the attending horrors that go along with that lifestyle. But he gave his heart to the Lord tonight, and I expect he’ll see a great difference in his life from this point on.

This week has been my last week to prepare for my two creative writing classes coming up this term at John A Logan College. I’ll be teaching a writing fiction class and a writing non-fiction class. We always have more people sign up for the writing fiction classes, but I enjoy teaching both equally well. I think a lot of people just don’t have any idea how much fun and creativity is involved in writing non-fiction — or how wide and vast the arenas are for that kind of writing. I wish more people could get excited about it.

I also received a surprise gift of See’s Chocolates this week. Wow. That’s some of my favorite candy, and boy did I need it — with the stress and all.  After all, chocolate is the best antidote in the world for stress. And, of course, when you add a great cup of coffee with the chocolate, I am immediately transported to my “happy place.”

I did, however, do one other thing to relieve some of the stress. I often pick up a good book — one that doesn’t require me to get too involved emotionally — to destress, but this week I was in the mood for some old classic science fiction movies. You know the ones I mean — those that came out in the 1950’s and 60’s. They’re the ones that look so artificial now — after all of our real-life space travel and the high-level technology in movie making these days. But there’s something about the artificiality of those old films that re-captures my imagination. Most of them are fairly predictable, of course, but for me that’s part of their charm. I did get onto the edge of my seat once or twice while watching a few of them, but for the most part, they just did a good job of getting my mind off everything else and taking me away from troublesome ‘real life.’

That’s about it for my week. Hope you all enjoyed the coffee and that you have a great week coming up.

 

Thanks to Eclectic Ali for hosting the Weekend Coffee Share.

 

 

~~~

Friends???

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

solitude-stickpins

Alas, I’m at odds and at ends.
I’ve upset all my liberal “friends.”
I’m a stickler for truth;
Liberals hate it forsooth.
Only lies will accomplish their ends.

Liberal friends believe every tale told
By the media, brutal and bold
In its efforts to slay
All but Muslims and gays.
And they choose to wear moral blindfolds.

Well, I know that our friendship’s at stake.
But there’s no other stand I can take.
They’ve been drugged into sleep
With the guile and deceit.
But I pray that some day they’ll awake.

 

 

 

Weekend Coffee Share — 6/16/18

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

Thanks to Eclectic Ali for hosting the weekend coffee shares.

cropped-coffee-being-poured-w-spoon-pdpics-px.jpg

I’m so glad I have some time to share coffee with you guys this week — because I am really excited to share with you about my newest venture. I have recently created a brand new poetic form. At least, I think I have. With all the searching I’ve done, I’m fairly certain no other poets have this form out there. I’m excited, not only because I loved the challenge of creating a unique form, but also because there is only one poetic form that is generally recognized as being ‘American’ by the poetry world. So this new form that I’ve created — being American myself — will be the second.

And to make it even more truly American, I borrowed from my own Cherokee culture to give the form a name. I’ve called it Tso’i. That word is pronounced “cho-ee,” and it is the Cherokee word for the number ‘three,’ and I chose it because the syllable count for the 5 lines of the poem are in multiples of three. I’ve posted about the form — along with examples of poems that follow it — in more than one post on my author’s site and my poetry site. So I don’t want to be too repetitious here. But I know there are a few people who read the “Coffee Share” posts who don’t read my others.

That being the case, I want to tell you the details of my new form so that any of you out there who enjoy writing poetry can try it if you’d like. So here’s the scoop:

A Tso’i poem must meet the following guidelines:

It must have 5 lines
Lines 1, 3, and 5 must have end rhyme.

Syllables:
Line 1 has 3 syllables.
Line 2 has 6 syllables.
Line 3 has 12 syllables.
Line 4 has 6 syllables.
Line 5 has 3 syllables.

Lines 1 and 5 follow a dactyl meter.
Lines 2, 3, and 4 follow an iambic meter.

Subject matter and theme are open to the poet’s imagination and preference.

Here’s one example from my own work:

PARAMOUNT KNOWLEDGE

Knowing God:
Oh, what a wondrous thing
To comprehend such pure love; I’m completely awed,
Learning I am priceless
To my God.

If any of you poets out there would like to try this form yourself, please do and leave a copy of it — or a link to it — in the “Comments” section below.  And have a great weekend!

 

 

~~~

Tso’i: New American Poetic Form

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

QUIL PEN AND INK -- LunarSeaArt -- PXWell, I think it’s time to name my new poetic form. I thought about a few possibilities, but since one of the predominant — and most noticeable — aspects of this new form is that the syllable count for the five lines of verse is calculated in multiples of three, that number seemed a good choice to focus on for the name. Also, wanting this form to stand out as a truly ‘American’ creation, it seemed like a fun idea to look to my Cherokee heritage for the proper word. After all, how much more ‘American’ can we get than one of the original tribes of people who inhabited this continent long before any white men set foot on it?

So, borrowing the word for ‘three’ from my Cherokee culture, I am christening this new poetic form with the following name:
Tso’i — pronounced “cho-ee”

`
And now for one more example of Tso’i. Just a little something relating to this task of choosing a name.

CHOOSING A NAME

Giving birth
To a new form of verse
Requires a unique name to convey unique worth:
One kind to themes of hope,
Love, and mirth.

I’d also like to extend the invitation again to all my readers: If you’d like to try your hand at writing a poem in this form, please come back here and share it — or the link to it — in the “Comments” section below.

Here are the particulars once more:

The form has 5 lines.
Lines 1, 3, and 5 must have end rhyme.

Line 1 has 3 syllables.
Line 2 has 6 syllables.
Line 3 has 12 syllables
Line 4 has 6 syllables
Line 5 has 3 syllables

Lines 1 and 5 use dactyl meter.
Lines 2, 3, and 4 use iambic meter.

Subject matter and theme are open to the poet’s imagination and preference.

I still find Tso’i a little difficult, even though I created it, but it’s been worth the challenge.    It’s definitely worth a try if you love writing poetry.   So, come on: try it and have some fun with me.

You’ll find more examples of Tso’i in these Related Posts:
Introduction of the Form
Second Demonstration of the Form

photo: LunarSeaArt @ pixabay.com

 

 

~~~

Experiment # 2 in New Poetic Form

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

I’ve composed a second poem in my new form — as yet un-named. I’ve searched to find any indication that this form has been used by any other poets, but I know I haven’t unearthed all the information. So, as I mentioned in my original post when I introduced this form, if anyone out there knows of it’s being used previously, please let me know in the comments below. Once I’m convinced it truly is a new form, I’ll need to give it a name. So if you have suggestions for that as well, let me know.

Just to review, the form is as follows:

5 Lines.
The first, third, and fifth lines have to rhyme.

Line 1 has 3 syllables
Line 2 has 6 syllables
Line 3 has 12 syllables
Line 4 has 6 syllables
Line 5 has 3 syllables

Meter for lines 1 and 5 is dactyl.
Meter for lines 2, 3, 4 is iambic.

I’m still finding this form pretty difficult, but I like a challenge once in a while. If you want to try it and write your own poem in this form, please share it in the comments section or by a link to your own blog.

Here’s this newest effort:

HEALING HAND - DARK SEPIA - FEATHERED

PARAMOUNT KNOWLEDGE

Knowing God:
Oh, what a wondrous thing
To comprehend such pure love; I’m completely awed,
Learning I am priceless
To my God.

 

 

 

NEW KID ON THE BLOCK

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

`
BILL LEWIS PIC - LIGHTENED - CLOSE CROP - 355Bill’s his name. Talking ’bout Jesus is his game.

Hey, everyone, I’d like to introduce you to a blogging student and good friend of mine: Bill Lewis.  He moved into the WordPress neighborhood a short time ago, and he’s about to get the hang of blogging. He is a minister of the Gospel, and he likes to post about Jesus and His love for people. He talks about a few other things on his site as well, but his focus will be on sharing things from God’s Word that will, hopefully, help people in their everyday lives.

I hope you’ll hop over and see him when you get time. He’s still learning some of the ropes, so if you comment on his posts, please don’t feel bad if it takes him a while to answer, since he’s just now getting into that part of the process. But he will appreciate your visits and the chance to get to know you and to visit your site in the near future.

He’s also recently published his first book, which he’ll be talking about on his blog soon.

I’ve told him about how friendly the WordPress bloggers are, and how it’s easy to become sort of a family with a lot of people from all over the world when you blog. So I hope you’ll help me welcome him into our community.

Here’s a link to his site: Sharing Jesus With The World.

 

 

 

Six-Word Saturday – 6/9/18

| Sandra Pavloff Conner


Wishing you a happy dandelion day!

DANDELION

 

photo: Visions Seen Photography
~

I’m not sure who the host of this challenge is now. The old link doesn’t seem to work, but I can’t find any Six-Word Saturday posts on the new link either. So I’m winging it in the mean time.

 

 

~~~

New Poetic Form???

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

QUILL & BOOK - SEPIAI’ve been experimenting with some unusual, new (I think) poetic forms. The following form is one of my experiments, and I haven’t found any indication that the form has been used previously by any other poets. If readers are aware of this exact form already in use somewhere — anywhere in the world — I’d appreciate your letting me know. This particular form is difficult for me, but I’m working with it as a way of stretching myself and forcing myself out of a too-comfortable rut.

Here are the details of the form:
The poem must consist of 5 lines with the following syllable count:
Line 1 — 3 syllables
Line 2 — 6 syllables
Line 3 — 12 syllables
Line 4 — 6 syllables
Line 5 — 3 syllables

Meter in lines 1 and 5 is dactyl. But meter in lines 2-4 is iambic.
Rhyme scheme:  Lines 1, 3, and 5 must rhyme.

Following is one example of a poem using this pattern.

TAKING A SNOOZE

Lullabies
Encourage babies’ sleep.
But often as I sing I also close my eyes,
And sleep myself until
Baby cries.

_________________________________________________

If you’ve come across this pattern previously, let me know.  Or if you’d like to try it yourself, leave your own poem in the “Comments” section below — or leave a link to your own site with your poem in a post.

 

Also posted this on my ‘Ahyoka’ site.

 

 

~~~