Showing posts with label hear. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hear. Show all posts

Monday, August 06, 2018

Worship Music - My love


This is a You Tube praise and worship channel. It is one of the best I've listened to and yes, I've listened to many.

If you're hurt, in doubt, living in fear, give this a listen to, all the way through.

There is power in music.

Enjoy and be comforted and blessed!


Thursday, May 31, 2018

Which Voice Do You Hear?

The face in the clouds
Acts 14:10 "Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked."

Which do you hear?

Two voices, one of positive encouragement the other a put down, both on the same exact subject. An example? 
"Does my hair look okay?"
"It looks great."

"I think it looks like it got caught in a blender on high speed!"

When you hear (read) both, which do you hear that you'll carry with you? Do you hear how great your hair looks and you carry that positive affirmation through your day? More times than not you hear the negative comment and go on with your day with a little chip hanging on your shoulder ready to pounce on anyone that looks at you the wrong way.

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” John 10:27 (NIV)

I love this from Bible Gateway: "Jesus doesn’t tell us if we dig deep enough or study long enough or go to church often enough we’ll be able to uncover the hidden mystery to hearing His voice. Instead, Jesus lists only one prerequisite to hearing His voice: Be one of His sheep." - Katy McCown

You see, my point is, I listen to God but there are people out there muffling His words for me. I sit in the quiet of the morning, meditating on His word and His voice, listening in the still small place that He and I share in the spiritual flow of the cosmos, my soul. When I come out of this place, some negatively call it 'from under my rock', I see it as time WITH my ROCK of salvation! The negative voice hurts and puts a dent in my space but I truly try so hard not to carry it around in my day. It's kind of hard when the clamoring comes beating on your door seeking what it is you have hiding there.

It's ironic that I listen and hear his voice. I try and tell people that they too can listen and hear but I assume they have discord hammering at their door with other priorities that keep their focus away from hearing Christ in them. Yesterday, I received an email noting the distractions WE ALL have knocking on our door keeping us away from hearing HIS voice and listening to another voice that pulls and tugs at us and we often aren't even aware.

I happily live under my rock for many reasons, one of those reasons is to keep the distractions from trying to pull me into the deep end of the pool and drowning me. The other reason is that it is a cool solid place to dwell when needing a rock to lean on that actually listens and HEARS what I'm whispering. I can scream and shout outside of the rock and no one hears, and I'm okay with that too. After all, Jesus has been gently nudging people for centuries and the people smothered Him with fires and flames so they didn't HAVE to hear him.

When I was first diagnosed, the doctors circled around me like a school of sharks. They in no way offered me anything remotely helpful. This conservative state wants you to swim WITH the sharks or be eaten alive BY the sharks, you are not allowed an in-between spot on the spectrum. I am neither liberal or conservative, so basically, in a nation that DEMANDS you to choose a side or be burned at the stake, I'm screwed! I go to the doctor, they offer me drugs. I tell them my stance, they scoff and wave their hands as if blowing me off. They don't, I repeat, they DO NOT offer anything alternative! I need to cross state lines for that, and since I don't see that in my cards anywhere down the line, I stand firm with Christ and where He and He alone will lead me. HE is my safety net, my Rock! 

I CANNOT afford a chiropractor or an acupuncturist, I cannot do yoga because of my arthritis. I cannot turn to a doctor because all they spew at me is, "You need chemo chemo chemo. You don't need a chiropractor, you need chemo!" or "Here, have some drugs for your pain." That right there is the sharks I won't swim with. You too can agree or disagree with me, it is your right. I thank you all for caring endlessly for me and wanting to help. I sincerely love you all to the moon and back! 

I think I need to go under my rock for a bit and enjoy what is left of summer. Which voice is it that you hear? I hear God telling me over and over, "I GOT THIS! I GOT THIS!" All my praise and Glory goes to HIM! 

This is basically how I feel when not under my rock.

"And then! Oh, the noise! Oh, the Noise! Noise! Noise! Noise!
That's one thing he hated! The NOISE! NOISE! NOISE! NOISE! " The Grinch, Dr. Seuss

Godspeed friends, in all that you do, be BLESSED!

2 Cor. 1:3 "Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;"

A closer look at The Face in the Clouds

Wednesday, March 28, 2018

Holy Week - Strength in Scripture

Holy Week –Strength in Scripture 

Every day I wake seeking strength from the Word. A reason to go on.

Ex. 15:2 “The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt him.”

Deut. 33:25 “Thy shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be.”

Most days I feel like a copper penny. No longer in service, tossed away and unneeded. 

Josh 14:11 “As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in.”

It’s lonely fighting a war alone. It’s hard being ‘the strong one’ while everyone around you is weak. It’s challenging to want to continue for naught.

1 Sam 2:4 “The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength.”

2 Sam 22:33 “God is my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect.”

What other purpose is there to life if I don't have God and heaven to aspire to?

Job 6:11 “What is my strength, that I should hope? and what is mine end, that I should prolong my life?”

Job 39:11 “Wilt thou trust him, because his strength is great? or wilt thou leave thy labour to him?”

Pss. 118:1 “I will love thee, O LORD, my strength.
[2] The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.
[32] It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect.
[39] For thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle: thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me.”

My tears are for continued strength that only He can rain down on me. If people look back on my life and wonder WHERE I got my strength from, I get it from HIM and only Him because I’m a solid rock surrounded by a pool of jell-o. 

Pss. 52:7 “Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness.”

They are weak, while He is strong.

Pss. 71:18 “Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come.”

Pss. 73:26 “My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.”

Pss 118:14 “The LORD is my strength and song, and is become my salvation.”

Pss.144:1 “Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight:”

And I write…

Prov. 24:5 “A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.”
[10] If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.

Isa. 22:21 “And I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand: and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah.”

Isa. 35:3 “Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.”

I try to relay a message but only open ears can hear what I’m saying. 

Hab. 3:19 “The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.”

Mark 12:30 “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.”

People think it is so hard to follow the Lord. All He wants is your love. Isn’t that all that you want, is to be loved? 

Luke 22:32 “But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren”.

Where I go, you cannot go but know I am in the arms of the Lord. That is the only thing I’ve ever wanted in life… and in death. 

Rom 5:6 “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.”

2 Cor. 12:9 “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

Monday, February 19, 2018

Still Small Voice

1 Kgs. 19:12 “And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.”

Still small voice

Listen, can you hear Him, His still small voice is speaking to you, can you feel him? Maybe you hear an inner voice, maybe He’s revealed in dreams or visions. One way or another God is reaching out to you, can you give Him a moment of your time?

I need to heed my own advice. Yesterday was a pretty bad day, like a pimple everything in me burst; not physically, emotionally. When Lent begins and you alter your routine that you were so set on, you’d be surprised how quickly the Lord responds. 

I’ve said that I’m on a strict protocol but sometimes I don’t feel it is strict enough, I’m not fighting off the common cold mind you. I’ve given up so much that the task of continuing can be quite daunting and overwhelming. This week has been one of those weeks of build-up that came to a head and popped.

For starters, the weather. While everyone is out there laughing at me when I say how cold it is, they are not the ones hindered or put out by the unending cold. They're also not fighting a deathly disease. Let me remind you that last winter we had nary a speck of snow, we had one cold spell that was completely over in two weeks and on this day last year we were hitting record warmth and trees were already showing signs of budding.

Granted I know it is ‘winter’ from December 21-March 21 but for a couple of years, the winters have been mild and bearable. This one is strangely different. I say strangely because with a very dry summer we normally would have a dry winter, but this year when droughts were rampant across the country, after the wildfires in the west, something happened up there in the jet stream that changed weather across the states. 

Since December 21st, we’ve had snow or ice on the ground not allowing me my daily walks. The temperatures have been below normal meaning I’ve seen more minus zero wind chills than days above zero, or even above the freezing temp of 32. With the cold comes clouds, more clouds than sun. With ice, clouds and cold it has swept me into hibernation and that is not an allowed protocol of a vicious disease that lets me know who’s boss on any given day.

With the viciousness of the attack of this illness, I get very down, another part of the protocol that is not allowed. I know from the outside world you can’t see it, so of course, you’re going to laugh and not think of how your simple words might cut me like a knife. I do understand that life is going on for everyone else while mine has come to a complete standstill and turned around for me 360 degrees.

Yesterday I cried, a deep cry where my eyes puffed up, my nose clogged beyond decompression, my head ached and my whole body shivered and shook wanting to curl into a ball and be left alone. I told my husband I didn’t know what was happening or why I was crying like this. I just feel like I’m getting worse, not better, I’m not strong but am becoming weakened. I feel like Jesus went to pray and came back and here I am sleeping. He wanted me awake and I couldn’t do that one simple thing for Him, stay awake!

My husband told me that I used to cry like this a lot in the beginning and that I’ve been doing great. I sure don’t feel like I’ve been doing great but he assured me I was. Even with his assurance and compassion, I felt like sleeping, never to wake up again. I prayed.

Yesterday, tucked in among the frigid gloomy days was a sixty-degree day. The winds were horrendous, kind of ruining the beauty but after my cry, my dog needed to do some business and my hubby was in the shed working on a project. I rose and went to the back door, letting the dog outside, I looked around; the winds subsided. For a brief moment, I felt the sun, I drank in the warmth of my swollen face and felt a peace wash over me. God was letting me know, in His still small voice that I was going to be okay. 

Yesterday I craved everything that I haven’t had for a year. Yes, I know I can crash but I craved like never before. While shopping, I wanted donuts, I wanted pizza, I wanted everything but knew I could have nothing. I grieved beyond consolation, when I got home I crashed into a fit of tears that hurt every part of my being and there was this day, possibly the Son shining just for me, letting me know that I need to see how far I’ve come.

Luke 4:2 “Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.”

I was reminded that when Jesus fasted, for forty days He was tempted by the devil, He didn’t cave but instead said, “Satan, get thee behind me.” I’m letting you know quite bluntly, I’m not Jesus and sometimes am not that strong.  

Luke 4:8 “And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”

I caved and ate a small frozen pizza. Not just any frozen pizza, I added black olives, onion, jalapeno peppers, ham, and some turkey bacon; the pizza was a feast I haven’t seen for a year! I had two slices of bread with butter, a pickle and some green olives on the side. I ate the entire meal! I was full and it felt good to be full. Granted I’ve been eating well for a year, and yes I’ve had a day or two out of the year where I went off protocol but this winter is the real test. It is making me feel total insecurity, anxiousness, doubt, and fear all coming to a head and exploding.

I need to let you all know that the struggle is real. Appreciate every whimsical chance you get to be with the ones you love. Eat like tomorrow you might not have another piece of food enter your mouth and pray, pray your illness can be fought and won and don’t ever give up. Listen for that still small voice in your head, but most of all, HEAR what it is saying.

This week we’re back to the brisk cold, the clouds swallowing the sun whole, and me kicking myself in the butt for breaking! I need to get back into my exercise routine that winter curtailed even if it is on a bike that sits inside four walls. I need to be lifted up instead of feeling down, even if that means I need to stay away from everyone and their great food filled lives, I need to listen to that still small voice telling me to wake up, I’m not alone! I need to feel Jesus, tapping me on the shoulder telling me He is right here beside me, that He made it, He put satan in his place and we can go on from today with our heads held high. We embrace… I’m not alone. 

God is good, all of the time. All of the time, God is good!


Jas. 1:2-5 “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”

All praise and Glory to God!



Friday, April 28, 2017

Mind Over Matter

2 Corinthians 12:9  "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Mind over Matter

When I quit drinking at twenty-one, people asked me how I did it, A.A? I said no, mind over matter. You know, that hokey stuff that no one believes in? Well, how about this, I get this ‘dire prognosis’ and am told I need chemicals and drugs to heal, and I say no thank you. Some might call it stupidity, I see it as an unwavering faith in my Father and my mind. I always use my mind to deal with matters. 

Ex. 33:11 “And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend…”

I don’t know about you, but when the Lord speaks to me, I listen. He very boldly told me, “I GOT THIS!” There were more whispers in my ear but you get my meaning, God spoke, I listened. My God doesn’t play tricks and tease me into believing Him. He doesn’t lead me down dead end paths. No, He shows me success, hope, love and I, like a good servant and ever the optimist, I follow Him. Calling an optimist/pessimist a realist is like saying you can have faith in God part of the time. That is not I. It’s God all the time; hope, promise, truth, light, and love every single minute of the day. 

With this diagnosis came an instant change. It didn’t take me weeks to give up the processed foods and toxins I was putting in my body, the change came with prayer, meditation and immediately the shift to healing the very next day after the diagnosis began. I wasn’t ‘trying’ to heal, I WAS, and AM being healed every second of every waking day!

I don’t believe we’re ever done learning here on this earth or beyond, ever. It’s a process where you either walk the path or you stay stagnant and just continue living every day, sinning and doing what you want in life. Free will is amazing like that!

Apparently, I have an amazing willpower to go from a toxic lifestyle to a changed woman overnight. Some people think God doesn’t work that quick but I’m a living testimony that says God DOES work that fast. He saw that I was and am willing to change, and when I prayed He gave me an honest reply. He didn’t say, “Go and the lump will be gone when you wake tomorrow.” The honest reply was in saying it would be the biggest challenge of my life! 

When He sees you actively changing and prayerfully asking Him for guidance, He enters the scene in a spiritual wisp of vapor and you breathe him in as if you would air passing by your nostrils. It’s often hard to call on him and allow him to rule your world, what with so much to do in life and so many materials to be had, and so little time to do what you need to get done. 

Me, I find spiritual time for God first and with him, it changes my worldview from a distance to in my face. Healing comes when He’s in my face. Daily by the minute, I breathe him in and let God be the oxygen in my lungs to heal my world. It is with Him that I have the strength and willpower to do what needs to be done.

I know that willpower can move mountains. If there is an obstacle I move it with mind over matter, God over man, herbs over drugs. I learned a very long time ago that the mind is a very powerful thing to waste. Mankind is dependent chemically and he has spiritually driven the mind, body, and soul into submission to the material world. The strong mind dwells in the spiritual realm and without exercise, like your body, it becomes a wasteland. Without the sustaining nutrients, it becomes a toxic wasteland.

A google search of the definition herbal medicine led me to ---> Herbal medicine: “also known as herbalism or botanical medicine, is a medical system based on the use of plants or plant extracts that may be eaten or applied to the skin. Since ancient times, herbal medicine has been used by many different cultures throughout the world to treat illness and to assist bodily functions.”

God is the great creator of herbs and if we ignore their medicinal usefulness for us, in a sense, we are ignoring a part of the Great Healer God that He has touched us all with and the ability to see and utilize his promise.

My hubby is trying to give up his unhealthy habits. He gave up Pepsi for about two weeks and said he couldn’t do it anymore. I said, “Not everybody has my kind of willpower. I don’t know where it comes from.”
He quickly exclaimed as a matter of fact, “From God maybe?” 
“Well, I didn’t think you’d admit it,” I said with a smile and a tear in my eye.

You see, when people say they don’t have the strength to do something, I boldly tell them, put your mind into it, believe, have faith, embrace God, and you’ll have all the strength and support you need.  

“… being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6 (NIV)

Friday, April 14, 2017

Holy Week ~ I See Him


Eph. 3:3-4 “How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)"

I See Him

I see Him in the light of day
I see Him in the clouds that sway
I see Him in the breeze He breathes
I see Him in the soul that seethes

I hear Him in the songs of praise
I hear Him in intuitive ways
I hear Him in the reprimand
I hear Him in the Promised Land

I touch Him in my daily need
I touch Him in diurnal deed
I touch Him with my active prayer
I touch Him with each wisp of air

I taste Him in the scented dew
I taste Him in His words so true.
I taste Him in the daily bread
I taste Him in the cross He bled

I see, hear, touch and taste
The scent of Him in honor placed
For all I see and all I do
It is my God I share with you.

Deut. 4:29 "But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul."



Thursday, April 13, 2017

Holy Week ~ God Is Crying


Isa. 22:5  "For it is a day of trouble, and of treading down, and of perplexity by the Lord GOD of hosts in the valley of vision, breaking down the walls, and of crying to the mountains."

God is Crying

God is crying once again
The ground is wet with shame
Man can’t see the pain God’s in
Your senseless acts to blame.

God is crying can you hear
The rumbling sounds that stir.
Heaven shakes as tears roll down
The earth to Him’s a blur.

God is crying can you see
The echoes mount the sky
Signs that leak from the clouds
But man dare not ask why.

God is crying do you know
More souls ascend, He bleeds
Fear tears down our only hope
Of fruit within his seeds.

God is crying can you taste
Corroded corpses embers
Here among the righteous 
Godly earthbound members.

God is crying can you feel 
The trembling of His feet
Earth erupts in quaking stance
To rhythmic tapping beat.

God is crying feel his grief
For man has left Him lonely.
I alone will take a stand
To hug Him once if only.

© Joni Zipp

posted on: July 15, 2016

Wednesday, March 08, 2017

Rejoice! Healing Taking Place!


                                       
Pss.5:11 “But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.”

Rejoice! Healing Taking Place!

Many might not see this as a healing taking place but let me tell you, witness a HEALING taking place. As many know I had a new oncologist visit last week and also a PET scan. Read over the past weeks posts to see my take on the onc.2 and all he had to say. Once again the issue of chemo is trying to be forced on me and I’m standing with God as I trust HIS healing over mans.

On Monday the 6th of March, I got a call ‘to inform me of my doctors appointment’ on Tuesday. Last week I told the doctor and his assistant that I COULD NOT come there this week as my husband HAS to work. He only has a part time job due to his disability and has already been missing too much time. I guess it went right over their head and they put me down anyway for an appointment on the 7th of March. I called, the woman put me on voicemail where I left a message that I was NOT able to make the visit.

On the 7th, my doctor called. His message went something like, “I have your PET scan results and you didn’t show today for your scheduled appointment.” I called right back and he was supposedly in a conference, but ironically he called me back immediately. Short conference? 

“Joni, your scan shows that your cancer is only in left breast. Good news, it is not spreading. Now we treat this with chemotherapy. You make an appointment.”

I repeatedly told him, “Not now, I have to see what else it out there, I need to look into alternative treatments, are there any clinical studies out here in Nebraska I can get in on?” Twenty different statements all with him piping in, “we have chemo, it is scientifically proven to heal you ninety percent guarantee! You come in. If you knew what I knew, you would come in right now.” He has a very strong Bulgarian accent and he is very pushy as most doctors are because they believe themselves to be Gods and the owner of your soul. 

I told him AGAIN that this is MY decision, MY body, MY choice. He said, “We no can help you if it spread and go stage four.” THAT, my friend, is a bold lie! In all my research there IS help for three-hundred pound tumors and stage four cancers. He either hasn’t done his homework, or he is set on telling lies to get his patients to commit. I like to call this ‘strong-arming’! And keep in mind, he had just got done telling me that this crud I've been carrying noticeably for a year, HAS NOT SPREAD!

I went on to tell him that I’m being hit with two thousand dollar doctor bills and tests that my insurance isn’t covering. I again said I cannot come in because my husband NEEDS to work to pay for these bills! My husband is on S.S. and works part time; he NEEDS to work. Good old doc pipes in, “we help, we get you financial assistance.”
He said he’d get his navigator to call me to talk about where we can get financial assistance for these mounting bills. I said, ‘fine’, we said our good-byes and the call ended. I felt liberated; this crud IS NOT SPREADING!!! I said my peace and left it at that. I then went to spread the good news to my dear friends and my naturopathic niece who are an immense support system at this time.

Later in the day on my voicemail, there was a message, the nurse navigator lady. “Hi, we’d like to set up an appointment for you to come see the Dr.” I believe this is getting to be borderline harassment! How come what I say goes in one ear, out the other but I’m supposed to jump at their very fear tactics? I hope they know all this is being documented. 

My niece said, “If he can guarantee 90% healing through chemo, I can guarantee 100% through alternative routes!” She is a storm trooper! My friends all said, good news, keep up the good work, let God continue to heal. See there it is! It is GOD who is doing all the healing. I don’t believe for one minute that chemo can HEAL me and thus it WILL NOT heal me. I BELIEVE God CAN and WILL heal me and I’m sticking to my dedication to Him! The Almighty Healer.

Now don’t get me wrong, if you went the chemo route and it worked for you, then praise be to God that it worked FOR YOU. I don’t believe it will work FOR ME and that is the only reason I’m choosing to go a different route. 


Matt. 9:35 “And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.”

Now someone keeps asking about surgery and the size, etc.. Let me make this clear, I am not depending on God to heal a portion of me, I KNOW He will heal ALL OF ME!!! I will not go the 'butcher me up and radiate me' route. Read that again, GOD IS THE ALMIGHTY HEALER! I TRUST HIM FOR HEALING ALL OF ME!

You all might be wondering about my arthritis and my inability to walk very well? Let me tell you, I went to WalMart the other day, I usually let hubby do the shopping but Sunday I said that I wanted to go. I WALKED to the front door, went to the garden section, walked all the way to the back of the store to the car dept., then headed over to the food portion of the store, shopped, checked out and walked back to the truck. 

I asked my husband as we got in the car, “Did you see me?” He noted, “Yeah, I did, I see a difference!” He has seen my body basically deteriorate over the years and yet here he stood, seeing a difference in just ONE MONTH of my holistic healing!

Like I said, God is not healing a PORTION of me. He’s not just carrying one illness, He’s taking hold of my entire body! This my friends is what trust and faith is doing for ME!

The other day the woods too close to our home caught fire. On a 35 mph, sustained wind day with gusts of up to 50 mph carried the towering flames higher and higher but AWAY from our home. I sat in the house so as not to toxify my lungs with the strong odor that hung in the air. But the blackness could be seen too close for me. I remained calm and prayed. My newly mopped floor was covered in soot; you could feel it skidding under your feet.

Do you see the raging battle? Are you paying attention to all that I’m writing? Where something can be seen as devastating, I am turning it into a positive. Where something is trying to control ME, I control the situation. Where things around me try to dim my light, I only shine brighter and brighter!

I am REJOICING in the HEALING taking place in my body! I am moving forward not backward! All praise and Glory to Him who is Most High!


Pss. 9:2 “I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.”



Sunday, August 28, 2016

Poetry Sunday ~ My Talent

Matt. 25:15 “And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.”

* ~ * My Talent * ~ *

God asked me to use the talents
That He has blessed me with
The sharing of the Word I hear
The truth and not a myth.

I sent the Word into the world
A message delivered to me
It was a ripple on the lake
For all the world to see.

The words they entered in my ear
And out of my fingers bled
My gift of writing words to you
Is where my soul was led.

God was pleased when he saw
My talent not gone to waste
The gentle words about His Son
I fed the world a taste.

Some people sit idly by
Saving earthly treasures
Their talents, gifts and so much more
With all their worldly pleasures.

Rise up you sleeping people
For the new world that awaits
The life that’s left behind you
As you enter heaven’s gates.


Matt. 25:23 “His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Hope vs. Hopeless

Job 7:6 “My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and are spent without hope.”

Hope vs. Hopeless

I know there has to be hope out there somewhere in the crumbling world. I love searching out the good in the bad, the hope in the hopeless, the light in the dark. That is what the past couple of weeks have been for me. I took a long walk through a darkened tunnel that I knew the water drips I heard off in the distance meant that there was hope in finding a way out. 

The length and the depth of the cave I did not know but I walked on in search of something, a discovery of my inner self that often wrestles me to the ground holding me firmly in place. I would not allow the struggle to beat me into submission.

Prov. 13:12 “Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.”

Facebook has become the world mostly filled with political zombies who are out to create their own world of feeling good about themselves no matter the cost to others who just seek out a good friendly natured place where their friends frequent. So I tend to stay back so as not to get entangled in the quagmire.

I’ve been dealing with my own bubble in my own world and while I’m working on the resentment I harbor, it has been a lovely ball of yarn unraveling in the strangest of ways. As many of my readers know, I turn to God for everything and yes that means when all hope seems lost I turn to him for the comfort I need to get me through and a guided hand whose word I TRUST!

One strange instance was last week when I walked outside to watch the sunset as I normally do. There it was, a face in the sky. A face so beautiful I call to my hubby and son to come take a look! It wasn’t hidden in the white fluffy clouds shaped like a face, instead, it was sketched in the fine wispy clouds looking like an artist had used a charcoal pencil to sketch the face on fine blue paper. The piercing eyes, the gallant nose, the arc-shaped mouth and square chin were very prominent, so much so I ran and got my camera because I wanted to share this awesome face with all of you. 

The next day when I tried putting the pictures (I took three) onto my computer, I was faced with three blanks, nothing, there was no picture to be had. “Jesus,” I cried out, “where are the pictures?”  I checked to make sure the camera was working and sure enough the next three pictures I took came out clear as a bell.  Adam, of course, tried to dismiss the missing pictures by saying maybe the lens cover was on or my finger was in the way. Just so you know, you can’t click a picture with the lens cap on because it pops off as soon as you turn the camera on and I had the zoom lens out which makes it pretty difficult for my finger to be in the way. By the way, the two pics before those three were taken were there as were the ones after.

So there you have it, I’m left with MY theory of the three missing pictures. Let me first say that when I walked out the door, I gasped, I was taken aback thinking I had seen the face of Jesus himself. So much so a tear welled in my eye but didn’t spill over in my excitement of getting the camera. When there were no pictures to be seen for others to look at I realized that seeing the face was for my eyes, not for others. Not for me to send out into the viral world, not for me to make money off of, just for my eyes. To my husband and son, it was just a face but to me the face sketched in the sky was so much more that chills still run up my arms as I write this. It is firmly planted in my mind.

The other obstacles we’re dealing with are my husband’s work hours bothering us. He really likes his new job but the minimal hours had him wondering if it was time to seek out a new job. I did what I always do when faced with a dilemma and that is pray. Friday he came home, down because it was a schedule with more minimal hours. He’d like at least 25, 20 to survive, but two weeks of fifteen hours were going to hurt. I prayed.

Well, an Alleluia AMEN is in order because he got a call Monday morning, his scheduled day off and was asked to come in to work ‘a couple hours’. He said, of course, not a problem and off he went. A couple to me is two but it turned into five and a half hours! Prayers being answered.

People often wonder why I am such a God person and I tell them flat out because He has always answered my prayers! Even when I’m praying for others, He answers. They can frequently be heard saying, “He never answers MY prayers”, and that is much of the reason they turn FROM him. Me? I must be praying for the right things because He has never let me down and has always unequivocally answered my prayers.

No, I never pray to win a million dollars, a bigger house, a new car; I pray for food, sustenance and He provides. The hours of work didn’t fall out of the sky, they were coincidentally there at a time of the manager’s need and my hubby provided. And as you all well know, I don’t believe in coincidences. 

I’ll end this with saying, pray for the right things a couple of times. What are the right things, you might ask? Well, when that prayer is answered you’ll know. 

God Bless

Prov. 15:8 “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his delight.”

God of this City
Chris Tomlin

Tuesday, March 01, 2016

Message Received

2 Corinthians 6:14 (NIV) Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?

He spoke to me...

Have you ever heard someone say that God spoke to them or lay this on their heart? Have you ever wondered what they meant? I know of a story in the Bible where a dove and a raven were used to send messages to Noah. In later years we progressed to using a pony to relay a message, hence Pony Express? Nowadays we actually use airwaves to send a message. Years ago you would have thought people crazy if they said the future would look like it does today wrapped up in technological gadgets.

So what do we mean when we say God spoke to us? Did he use a bird, a pony or some other form of messenger? Did He mysteriously begin burning a bush right before our eyes?

Well, there are other parts of the Bible where God used an Angel to deliver a message as a matter of fact, the word angel is used well over 300 times in the bible, to me silencing the naysayers who say angels don’t exist and that God is done using them to deliver His message.

http://www.bible.ca/su-angels.htm

Do angels exist? Yes 
1Timothy 5:21 - “I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality.”

How many angels are there? Innumerable 
Genesis 2:1- “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the [host] of them.”
Psalms 68:17 – “The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even [thousands of angels]: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place.”
Daniel 7:10 – “A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: [thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him:] the judgment was set, and the books were opened.”
Matthew 26:53 – “Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than [twelve legions of angels]?”
Hebrews 12:22- “But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,”

What does "Angel" mean?
The Greek word angelos and the Hebrew malak. The term "angel" means "messenger."

How do angels not appear?

False prophets Jer 14:14 “Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.” 
Jer 23:16 – “Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD.”
False dreams-  Jer 23:31-32 “Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that use their tongues, and say, He saith. Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the LORD.” 
In your own heart, Prov 28:26 – “He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.”

He made angels spirits - Psalms 104:4 “Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire:” 

Luke 20:33-36 “Therefore in the resurrection whose wife of them is she? for seven had her to wife. And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage: But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain [that world,] and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: Neither can they die any more: for they are [equal unto the angels;] and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.”

Read more here about the Supernatural Spirit

Interactive Bible

When we say God laid something on our heart, what exactly do Christians mean? Are we telekinetically linked to God? Are we talking to angels? 

John 10: 4-7 “And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them. Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.”

When Children of God [sheep] hear God, we know it is His voice that speaks to us. It isn’t our own free will that speaks to us, or our vanity causing us to hear ourselves and think we’re God, we HEAR GOD! We KNOW it is from Him.

2 Tim. 2:11-16 “It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself. Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers. Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.”

As Children of God we are able to discern God’s voice from our inner voices because we live God’s word and breathe His every sentence so we’re able to acknowledge what is being placed on our heart as from God not man. 

Heb. 5:14 “But strong meat [the Word] belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”

That’s discernment in a nutshell, we exercise our senses and God [moves] us and calls us to action, plain and simple. 

Ezra 1:5 “Then rose up the chief of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests, and the Levites, with all them whose spirit God had raised [moved], to go up to build the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem.”

And don’t worry, if you’re tired of hearing people claiming God placed something on their heart you’re not alone. Please read this -- > Christian Euphemisms: read the insightful comments on that page also. 

If God hasn’t called you or whispered to you or laid something on your heart it does not mean that God loves you less than all the people hearing Him, but to me personally, I listen to Him, in other words, I’m just exercising all six of my senses. You might hear Him in another way. We’re all different, He made us that way too. 

May God Bless your heart and soul!

Sunday, February 07, 2016

Poetry Sunday ~ I See Him


Eph. 3:3-4 “How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)

I see Him in the light of day
I see Him in the clouds that sway
I see Him in the breeze He breathes
I see Him in the soul that seethes






    
                                             
I hear Him in the songs of praise
I hear Him in intuitive ways
I hear Him in the reprimand
I hear Him in the Promised Land

I touch Him in my daily need
I touch Him in diurnal deed
I touch Him with my active prayer
I touch Him with each wisp of air

I taste Him in the scented dew
I taste Him in His words so true.
I taste Him in the daily bread
I taste Him in the cross He bled

I see, hear, touch and taste
The scent of Him in honor placed
For all I see and all I do
It is my God I share with you!



God Bless you all






Friday, January 15, 2016

Thumbprint On My Soul


Acts 2: 26 “Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope:”

Yesterday my day was going along normally with me pitter-pattering around. I left to go to the store and in this small town that takes an hour or so. The drive was nice, the scenery was beautiful as the sun blemished the brown fields, and gas is a pretty low penny so the fill-up meant my day was going nicely as I silently rejoiced in all of God’s blessings. 

I returned home to see a package on my steps. Another praise Jesus moment because the postman usually takes it back to the Post Office and leaves me a note to pick up the parcel. Not this day and I was so glad because I had been waiting for this package for four whole days!

If you remember back in December when I received a box, there was some damage in the way that the Old Bay had exploded all over everything and left all of the contents smelling, how shall I say – seasonal? After all, it was Christmas and the rush to get packages delivered probably became a hurried chore and boxes got damaged.

Not this box though, no way, this was the box with my necklace that my mother purchased for me (and one for my sister) when my father passed away. It is a beautiful shiny pendant that not only has my fathers’ actual thumbprint on the front, it has my dads date of birth and death on the back along with his name. Talk about holding a part of my father in my hand. My eyes overflowed with tears as I held it to my heart and wept. 

Earlier in the day when my mother left me a message that she took her medicine, (this is my way of making sure she takes her medicine every day, because I NEED her alive) she said my father woke her up. I chuckled. So here my dad woke her up, made sure my package was on my steps, and when I called mother last evening our nightly ritual began. 

We started talking about my dad waking her up. She said, “Joni, I was sound asleep and I hear a tap tap tap on the bedroom door and I jumped up.” She went on to tell me how my dad always came to check on her by eleven in the morning to make sure she was alive? And he’d do so by tapping on the bedroom door. 

This isn’t the first instance that my dad has made himself known to her. There are just too many times to mention and no, my mother is not insane, she is in love and misses her best lifelong friend and he lets her know he is ever present in their home. I don’t judge because I’ve had my own experiences with my dad in some form communicating to me. 

For instance, I was in my laundry room talking to my mother. We were talking about the necklace and the box and all that was in the box and at that moment, all the lights on my washing machine lit up as if it was going into cycle. No, it was off, but all of the lights blinked on and chills ran up my arm and I just smiled because to me, my father was letting me know that he was there. 

I have a friend who just lost her father and I bet she has the same instances where her dad is letting her know and the rest of her family know, that he is a okay! I have a lot of friends actually who know what to look for in seeing their loved ones who have passed. I also know a lot of folks never see anything and I think it is because they’re just not believers in anything spiritual or supernatural, you know, things you can’t explain? Well, to non-believers nothing ever happens. To believers, we see everything!

My father left a thumbprint on my soul and now I carry his very thumbprint next to my heart. And coincidentally, there’s a hurricane out in the Atlantic. The first time in January since… the year my dad was born. They even named it after him, Alex! *wink wink*

God rest your soul, Dad!

Mark 8:18 “Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember?”

Monday, January 11, 2016

Questioning Everything

1 Tim 1:4 “Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do.”

When I was little I was always questioning everything from why the earth was round to why trees grow upward toward the heavens. Yeah, my quizzical mind sought God from the very early breaths of living and to this day I still question God about everything relying not on my own understanding.

Some people are a little uneasy with the winds of change, afraid of being put out of their comfort zone. While others embrace the change and actively pursue answers (not via the net mind you) to all of their questions. Some even pretend to be seeking all the while clinging to what they only think to be true when in reality they never sought the REAL truth.

Pastor Mike said, “God uses you to bring people to Him.” That really hit home since the New Year has brought about change, I can see Him working through my delicate words to reach you, my avid reader. I’m not here to judge you or change you; I’m here to reach you in places you might need to be reached. 

God is not on a lot of people’s minds these days and that is understandably so since they’re consumed in the here and now and not what was and always will be. They’re busy wondering what they’ll wear for the day, what shoes look right with that shirt, what’s happening on the net and there you have it, a world being eaten alive by the internet. 

If I had the power, I would obliterate the communications called the internet for at least a year and watch the world scramble with what to eat or what to wear or maybe be forced to read the newspaper to see what politician is doing what. I almost feel as though I time-warped from another century and was placed here and surely don’t fit in anywhere. This finds me questioning everything.

Yes, I USE the internet and I like the speed of finding answers to my questioning. Yes, I blog but do not allow the net to own me. I don’t carry the world in a palm-sized instrument or feel the need to hold one in my hand and tell the outside world what every second of my day consists of.

My niece, who is sixteen, received a $200 dollar phone for Christmas and just this weekend the phone was stolen while at a friend’s party. My sister’s logic is ‘she HAS to have a phone’, and my logic is WHY??? Why do kids NEED these phones when they’re not mature enough to take care of them or handle them responsibly?

We’re living in a generation of at your fingertip technology and it is being abused in more ways than one. While I would miss it for a year, the kids today could not even function without their phones or the net for a year. I wonder how many honestly could. The generation who never had it all of their lives will say they could function without the net for a year but I wonder, could they really?

I question why some people believe the earth is only 6000 years old while others believe it to be millions of years old. Even with the age of scientific proof we’re still uncertain? Truth at our bloody fingertips, literally tapping out the questions to find the truth and believing the answers we receive? Why hasn’t the TRUTH been revealed within you instead of the endless seeking for truth from outside sources? Because life is and always will be a mystery shrouded in our questioning. That is the secret in a nutshell, you can’t find the answers in the cluttered world of information, the truth is found within you and if you can’t physically touch it or read it in your hand, then it must not be true.

Faith is exactly the same way. You rely on what you feel not what you see or read to know what is the truth. It might only be your truth but you found it from within you not from the stirring confusion in the outside world. While that might not make sense to many, it WILL make sense to a few. We’re all given the talents to use but not all use them. Me, I’m forever questioning everything, seeking and finding. Not in the superficial realm, in the spiritual realm where all questions are answered. 

Go with God and may He be with you all!

Pss. 119:59 “I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy testimonies.”

Wednesday, January 06, 2016

The Cave Dweller No More

Luke 12:27 “Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.”

It seems like the last year I’ve been living in a cave. The world is going on around me and many things have gone on in this world that I care not to discuss because I can discuss them quietly at home and in the depths of my mind, I don’t need all of my thoughts out there for the world to see.

I stop by facebook once a day to see what people are sharing and well, it’s the same ol’ same ol’ basket full of deceit, cunning opinionated news (usually lies), abused animals, lost children and prayer. My page is full of prayer request and that is just how I like to start my day by being in prayer for those in need. 

I’ve changed my facebook page so much I no longer get the negative feed that was turning my stomach early last year. With every visit my heart hurt, my mind ached and I was left puzzled by some of the things people felt the need to share, so I climbed into the cave crowded by grief and didn’t ever want to come out and view the social world again.

Something happened along the way. God spoke to me and asked me what I was doing sulking in the cold darkened damp cave. Never one to shy away from God, I told Him the truth about what was bothering me. He set me on a straight and narrow path and I came out the other end of the cave dragged there by the light that was pulling on my shirt.

After God showed me what was wrong, I took action to change. Then the New Year erupted and I made a commitment to be more focused on my writing craft. I don’t need a best selling novel, I need to WRITE! If I write one word that changes the way people see the world, one word that speaks volumes to them, one word to encourage them, then my writing is not in vain, my gift is being used the way God intended and the positive energy that comes from my writing will light me up and allow me to SHINE!

Since I don’t believe in coincidence, what do you make from this meme that came across my feed? 

“God wants to bring you out of your cave, out of that place in your mind where you have been lost.”

Now some will say, it’s just a meme. Well, since I believe God works in mysterious ways, more ways than the human mind can comprehend, I believe I was in the right place at the right time. Has that ever happened to you? Well it clarified what was truly on my mind and that is that God doesn’t want me languishing in the cave. He wants me out here in the spinning world sharing my words that are ‘on my mind’ and words that might reverberate in other minds also. 

Also, this lovely sentiment came across my screen:
Believe it... in your mind. 
Receive it... in your heart. 
Achieve it... in your life.

I sat up, took notice and got busy working on the plan God has set before me to change the darkness into light, to take a breath, inhale and exhale the positive flow that needs release to this world of negativity. 

I know it’s a stretch but if others see me actively taking a stance to change, maybe they too will follow suit and by years end I will have changed some small portion of the world. Remember this, social media is not just a place to share pictures, memes, and what the news media wants you to believe, it is also an avenue to share the true inner you that the world has come to know and love. 

Continuing down the same path as last year, you are consciously blocking the pathway to change. The choice is up to you my friends. Live, grow and change! It is after all a New Year.

God Bless each and every one of you!

2 Thes 1:3 “We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth;”

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Do you know what I know?

 

Acts 5:11 And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.

Do you know what I know?

Said the mighty King
to the men on earth
Do you see what I see?
A world, a world
Falling all apart
Taking Jesus out of their heart
Taking Jesus out of their heart.

Said the man to his
God and Mighty King
Do you know what I know?
The earth, the earth
Shivers at the sight
Of your Son who was born on that night
Of your Son who was born on that night

Said the Son to the
People He died for.
Do you hear what I hear?
The sound, the sound
Echoes in the land
Of a voice who knows not where they stand
Of a voice who knows not where they stand

Said the King to the people down below
Listen to what I say
I will come and catch you unaware
Listen to what I say
The child, the child, that you brush aside
He will come once again you can’t hide.
He will come once again you can’t hide!


Luke 21:34 And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Talk-o Tuesday

First let me say that my Moody Monday turned into a Marvelous Monday! I worked out in the garden, planted flowers and had a wonderful time relishing the beauty that the color brought to the house.

Mom called and said, “I”m gonna bring Joni over a few flowers I had left over.” Okay, I was sitting at the window waiting her arrival. And there she was, yellows and orange, red and white. Marigolds, Petunias, and three Day lilies. With the proper spacing and arrangement, it filled the whole garden in front of my house!

Talk about gleeful? If anyone knows Joni, they know that she is a flower child. Not one from the sixties, one who was deprived of a garden in the ‘city life’ but always one with containers flourishing with beauty! As you can tell I’m still a wee bit excited and can’t wait to go check on my beautiful flowers and watch them grow. THANKS MOM!!!!

As I was working out in the garden I was thinking of what a nice thing it would be to have one of those MP3 players so I could listen to an audio book. (nice segue, eh?) Can you imaging just digging, planting, watering, pruning, mowing and tending all that stuff and listening to a great story the whole time? I can imagine how less back breaking the tasks might seem and how much more a person could get done.

Although I’m more of a “listen to nature” kinda gal, an audio book would be easy to carry around, volume set to high to get out all that bird chirping and mowing and I bet you could finish a book with one days chores.

New book reviews are popping up at Audio Book Heaven. So before I pop in a book, I might even check out this blog to see if there are any listed that I might be interested in reading. He gives good honest reviews. If he likes a book, or don’t like a book, he lets you know the pros and cons of the story and you can decide for yourself.

Sure you can go to the library and read the jacket cover, but I’m telling you, his reviews give you more than any cover. :) Okay enough talk, go click and enjoy your visit with the man behind, Audio Book Heaven!

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Talk-o Tuesday

Psalm 89:15 Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance.
***
Intel has debuted a text reading device in the UK. A friend found this interesting enough to share with me, since he’s from them parts. Thanks Q.

This text reading device, to my knowledge is not as smart as the Victor stream but still, the way I see it, is that technology is finally catching on that there are people who can’t see or have the ability to read.

We sighted people take advantage of our ability to see. Only recently have I come to understand the nighties dilemma when it comes to not being able to see.(I lovingly call my blind beau a nightie so take no offense, please.) There are also people with low-vision who can’t see the screen even with visual enhancement tools. I’m glad to read that some, in the tech world, are showing signs of developing things for the blind, visually impaired, or the dyslexic folks of society.

I’m thinking, they are not doing this for money, they are doing this for human beings and that in of itself is remarkable because how many big-wigs out there care for something other than their pockets?

Speaking of pockets, this little device is the size of a paperback book? In the picture on their website, it shows the device looking smaller than a paperback, but I’ll take their word for it since the creators know what size they made it.

I wonder also about the publishing world. When we get our work published into a book, do we have any say whether we want this made available to the blind? I see all kinds of books available for download but what warrants ‘available for the blind’ or MP3 usage of our stories?

I’m thinking we should make it a clause in our contracts with the publishers. Sure we want our work in Barnes and Noble, Amazon, etcetera, but maybe we can also say, “I want this to be made available to the blind!”

Are the techno geeks the only ones going to step up to the plate and offer devices to the blind? When can we as writer’s make a difference also?

Now there is food for thought!