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A Study in Light
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Daily Post Prompt: Sky – ‘Take Me to My Galaxies’
Today’s Daily Post Prompt is ‘Sky.’ While considering a possible post on that subject, one of the first things I thought about was a program I listened to last week on National Public Radio concerning the night sky. The hosts shared that scientist now say the universe is so big that there are actually 13 galaxies out there for every human being on the face of the earth. Wow! I’d certainly like to visit at least one of mine. How about you?
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My Quirky Take on “Wordless” Wednesday
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$.99 Sale – Two More Days
Don’t forget. My inspirational novel A Quiver Full of Arrows is on sale for $.99 at the Amazon Kindle store for two more days only. On Friday morning, it goes back to its original list price of $2.99.
What’s it about? Check out the description below. It will give you the picture in a nut shell — a peanut shell to be specific.
Peanut Shells! Piles of them around the front steps! Three days in a row! Where can they be coming from? Lawson Wainright isn’t sure, but he has a gut feeling that those shells, and the two sleeping bags he finds rolled up under his front porch, are somehow connected with four run-away children who have been in the news. And if he’s correct, his quiet, orderly life as a forty-year-old bachelor may be on the verge of being turned completely upside down.
Take a cast full of characters that will make the reader’s heart melt. Add a miracle or two from the hand of a loving God. And readers end up with a story that carries them through the troubles and struggles of life in an imperfect world and right into a somewhat surprising, but well-deserved, happy ending. The lesson learned by the end of the story: Sometimes trying too hard to do things according to accepted protocol can just get in the way of love.
An inspirational read for the whole family.
You’ll find the book at this link, and if you don’t have a Kindle, don’t let that stop you. Amazon offers a free Kindle app for any of your devices, and you can download it free right from the same page where you order the book.
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Daily Post Prompt: Circus
I detest circuses!!!!! Maybe I should add a dozen more exclamation points, because I don’t think the five used make the point effectively. Have I been to circuses? Yes, but mainly because my family and boyfriend wanted to go. I’ve been to amateur party-entertainment circuses, I’ve been to moderate-sized professional circuses, and I’ve been to what is supposed to be the epitome of the circus world: the Ringling Brothers/Barnum & Bailey circus.
All of them are dirty, stinky, deplorable, detestable, and detrimental to my peace of mind. The acts presented are ridiculous — some of them even asinine — and the only thing in the “so-called entertainment world” that is more asinine is boxing. (I mean, come on: grown men spending their lives learning how to beat up other human beings, practicing until they are good at beating up other human beings, and then making their living for decades by beating up other human beings. Sheeeeesh!)
And what about clowns???? I hate clowns. They are one of the worst parts of the circus. I have never, in all my 60-plus years, been able to figure out why grown men and women actually want to put on abominably grotesque make up and clothes and go out in public for the purpose of acting like they are mentally deranged. And even in the Christian arena, I find clowning detestable. I have friends who think that if they dress up in some abominable clown costume, it will somehow help them spread the love of Jesus Christ to people. For the life of me, I cannot understand that thinking!!! In fact, many children are actually afraid of clowns. That fact should tell us something ……….
My detest of circuses has nothing to do with the animals, however. I love animals — wild and tame — but I don’t like the way they are treated or used at a circus, and I’d much rather see them in a responsible zoo where they can at least live with some measure of dignity in something close to their natural lifestyle. Of course, I’m sure there are some zoos that don’t treat animals well, but all the ones I’ve visited have been places where the animals are well cared for and presented in a habitat as close to what nature intended as possible.
I like visiting zoos, but will I ever go to a circus again? Never. I repeat: Never. In fact, I haven’t been to one since I was 21 years old — thank God.
So —– there you have it folks. My two-cents worth on the subject suggested by the Daily Post Prompt today. My apologies to anyone who performs in a circus if I hurt your feelings, but if you feel the circus is a worthwhile entity, then today’s prompt is your opportunity to sing its praises and share your side of the story.
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Because I’m Still Free
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Prompt Nights 16: Rain
Visit “A Dash of Sunny” to get the details about participating.
RAIN
I love rain:
The showers of spring that stir up life and its delightful scents.
The soft, warm summer rains I can walk in,
The cooling, freshening rains that end a scorching July drought,
The thundering, pounding rains of a sudden summer storm,
The steady, two-day autumn rains that intensify the unique scents and colors of my favorite season,
The gray, quiet winter rains that, thankfully, melt away the unwanted snow.
I love rain:
Rain moving in heavy curtains across the mountains,
Rain dripping from the roofs and trees all along my quiet street,
Rain gently soaking thirsty fields and gardens pregnant with seed,
Rain pounding the roof of the empty church where I pray alone,
Rain sweeping in gusts across my front porch where I stand delighting in its feel on my skin,
Rain in the city, blurring the ugly and adding an extra glisten to the lights and colors.
I love rain!
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Hey … There’s a Book Sale Going On!
My novel A Quiver Full of Arrows is on sale this week at the Kindle store on Amazon for only $.99. That’s a savings of $2.00. It will go back to list price in 6 days, 10 hours, and 51 minutes (from the time of this post).
It’s a story packed with delightful characters, God’s goodness, and a very satisfying ending. (And I’m not prejudiced …… honest. )
Check out the more detailed description and make your purchase HERE.
And don’t forget: if you don’t own a Kindle, you can download a free Kindle app onto your computer, your iPad, or your iPhone and enjoy the story anyway.
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Along The River — a repeat post
I have posted this poem a couple times over the years, but today I found myself reading it again and being inspired by it. It is one of my own personal favorites of the countless poems I’ve written during my life, and I just decided I WANTED to post it again.
ALONG THE RIVER
The sun is playing hide and seek with clouds
Along the river.
The clouds are gray, but friendly, soft, and free
Along the river.
I move unhampered by the flirting breeze
Along the river
Breathing deeply of the moistened earth
Along the river.
Quiet now invades my mind and soul
Along the river.
I’m letting go of tumbling, troubled thoughts
Along the river.
My past recedes; my future quiet rests
Along the river,
And water speaks to waters deep within
Along the river.
I sit and contemplate historic past
Along the river
The generations served by this same stream
Along the river.
And sense that I belong to something great
Along the river
A part of something bigger than myself
Along the river.
And far beyond my power to understand,
Along the river,
An elemental knowing I am known —
And I am loved —
By the Creator of the river.
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Daily Post Prompt: Countless
Visit the Daily Post to find out how to participate in today’s prompt.
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THE DECISION
`I’ve thought about you countless times this past year. I sometimes wish I hadn’t been so hasty to make the decision. There are days when I wake up thinking how good it would be to still have you beside me for a few hours. And, of course, every time I make the curried chicken casserole I think about you. It’s downright lonely in the kitchen these days. And I don’t even cook most of the time. I do carry-out.
I don’t order from our favorite Chinese place, though, and I don’t go in there anymore because they almost always ask me, with sadness in their eyes, how I’m doing now that you’re gone. That gentle couple who own the place really got to like you. I think you were probably their favorite customer during the three years we ate there. I miss the Chinese place, and some of the other haunts we made our own. But I’m finding new interests and new friends, and things will work out.
But — sometimes — on a summer evening — when the windows are open to the gentle night air and someone’s laughter floats across the breeze, it reminds me of your laugh. I think that’s one of the things I miss most about you. You were so abandoned when you thought something was funny. You never held back.
But then, as well as I can remember, you never held back on any emotion. And that fact, of course, is what finally led me to make my decision. You just couldn’t seem to hold back on your feelings for all the other men in your life — even my best friend — a man who I’d thought would have my back through thick and thin — especially after all we’d been through together in the war. But you were just too much for him. He fell just like all the others. And so I made the decision.
Yeah — as I consider it all again now — I know it was the right thing to do. It put a stop to the hurting for me and for all the rest of ’em too.
The only thing is that — on nights like tonight — with the fragrance of the roses you planted drifting in from the garden — and the radio playing an old song we used to dance to — well — I have to admit to myself at least — I do feel just a little sorry that I poisoned you.
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Prompt Nights: Imperfection is Beautiful
Visit Saana at “A Dash of Sunny” to find out how to participate in this challenge.
Well, I just had to have some fun with this week’s challenge. When this idea popped into my head, I knew I’d give in and write it out.
SONG OF THE ELEVATED EGO
I find it oh so easy to detect the faults in you.
It doesn’t take much effort; quite a simple thing to do.
And the guy who stands beside you, and the girl from down the street —
Well, it’s clear that not a one of you could my high standards meet.
But I balk at your suggestion that I may myself have faults,
Or that I come short of perfect due to imperfections caught.
No, it just seems quite impossible that problems you could see,
For I’m the measuring standard: there is nothing wrong with me!
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WP Weekly Photo Challenge: Jubilant
Visit the Daily Post to learn how to participate. I’ve fudged a little by using a graphic rather than a photo, but I created this piece specifically for this prompt, so it seems fair to me. 🙂
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WP Discover Challenge: Apology = ‘Sorry’ (a short, short story)
Today WP has challenged us to write a post that relates to an apology. One of their many suggestions for ‘how’ to respond to the challenge was to write a story about an apology gone wrong. I decided to take that direction just a tad farther, urged along by a couple episodes I’ve known about in real life that gave me the basis for this tale. (All names have been changed.)
One of the sad realities in this life is that not everyone who hurts another person can even comprehend that he/she is actually responsible for inflicting wounds and damaging lives. For those self-focused, clueless people, the word “apology” has no significant meaning. I’m grateful that the vast majority of people I know in this world do understand and practice making sincere apologies when they are warranted.
On to the story:
SORRY
“Get out! Get out! Get out!” Marcy’s voice bounced off the walls of the living room and echoed down the hallway to the front door, where Ryan stood, putting on his coat. Sadness overwhelmed him. He was beyond using words. They wouldn’t do any good anyway because she couldn’t hear them now. Her mind was so filled with her own pain and her need for revenge that it couldn’t receive anything from outside.
Ryan knew, in the objective part of his brain, that he couldn’t deny he was partly responsible for things coming to this point. But even as he accepted that truth, he also realized that he was more sorry that he had told her than he was about having committed the acts themselves.
He was a man, after all. Even the pastor of the church he occasionally attended had acknowledged that sometimes a man had needs that couldn’t be ignored. He’d heard him talking to another member, and he’d said that if a man couldn’t get those needs fulfilled at home, it was understandable that he’d feel driven to look elsewhere. That had surprised him a little, until he remembered that the whole reason the congregation had hired that particular man was because of his loose, liberal leanings where scripture was concerned. Ryan liked the way the guy explained scripture. You weren’t supposed to take it literally for every single situation in your life.
Ryan had told Marcy what that pastor had said and even offered to go with her to meet with him and let him explain it all to her. She’d refused, shouting, “Pastor! He’s no pastor! No man of God would condone what you’ve done! He’s nothing but a hypocrite the rest of you hypocrites voted in so that he’d tell you what you want to hear. His brains are probably the same place yours are, and I won’t lower myself to describe where that is.”
Ryan shook his head from side to side in obvious expression of his befuddled thoughts. Women! Who could figure them? It wasn’t as if he had left her and committed himself to some other woman, after all. He’d just had sex on several occasions. What was the big fuss about anyway? Marcy hadn’t seemed too interested in that part of their marriage lately, so why should it bother her if someone else took care of that part of his life?
He shook his head again in disgust as he opened the door and stepped out into the 0° chill factor. He pulled his coat up around his neck and hurried to unlock his car and get in. He was angry at himself for not at least waiting until warmer weather to get kicked out of the house. He guessed he’d have to bunk down in a motel for the night and see what tomorrow brought. Maybe during the night he could think up some kind of apology that would work on her. Confounded women!
Yeah … he was sorry all right – sorry he’d told her.
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Share Your World 2016 – Week 20
To participate in “Share Your World” visit “Cee’s Photography”.
Question # 1: When do you feel most connected with others?
When I’m teaching them. It seems to be true whether I’m teaching the Word of God or a writing class or a blogging class. Any period of time when I am sharing with people some part of knowledge that will make their lives better or that will help them to grow and do something important to them, I feel very closely connected.
I relish those times because so much of my life is lived in a solitary state. Because I’m in ministry, I spend a great deal of time studying the Word of God and praying. Both of those activities are best done alone. When I’m preparing a lesson — regardless of the subject matter — I need to be alone in order to concentrate and give it my best work. And since one of the biggest parts of my life is writing, that, too, requires total solitude. I’m not the kind of person who goes to a coffee shop to write my books. I’m able to do some writing even when I find I have to sit in a restaurant or library at times, but I do my best writing when I am totally alone and with no noise.
I enjoy sitting and visiting with friends and family, and I do manage to connect with them pretty well during those times, but it’s when I’m actually teaching and interacting with someone to whom I’m imparting knowledge that I “feel” most connected.
Question # 2: What daily habit would you like to introduce to your life?
Returning to a pattern of cooking and eating more regularly. Because I have the freedom to do as I please where most meals are concerned — and because I am generally doing much of the solitary work that I spoke of in question # 1 — I often eat at erratic hours and seldom put the time and effort into actually preparing food the way I did 10 years ago. But I always enjoyed cooking. I guess it just can’t compete with the writing and the teaching these days.
Question # 3: What one mini-little-adventure would you like to have in the coming week?
I’d like to fall in love. It’s been a long time since I was really in love, and it’s such a great experience. Of course, it has it’s up’s and down’s — as all things do in real life — but all the joys are worth the aggravations ——— well, at least that’s how I remember it. Maybe this week, if my adventure comes true, I’ll find out if I still feel that way. I’ll let you know.
Question # 4: List at least 5 things or events that changed your life.
- Accepting Jesus Christ as my Lord.
- Being baptized in the Holy Spirit
- Marrying my husband
- My husband’s death
- Writing my first novel
Bonus Question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?
I’m grateful that I FINALLY finished a novel that I started 4 years ago and have struggled to get finished. During that four years I completed two other novels and saw them published, but this one kept getting away from me. I don’t feel I am required to finish every story I start, but I felt this one had real merit, and I didn’t want to give up on it. But whew! I thank God it’s done! (A lot of my readers won’t like the ending of this book, because it’s different from the norm in my novels, but I believe the ending is what it’s supposed to be, so that’s what counts.)
This coming week, I’m looking forward to basking in the joy of not feeling guilty and not mentally beating myself up because I didn’t write another chapter in that book. It’s done, it’s done, it’s done!
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Sunset Rest
Sunset:
Tomorrow waits.
The problems of today
Are forced into submission while
I rest.
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The Happy Wordcrafter 