Shopping For Food

Pss. 105:35 “And did eat up all the herbs in their land, and devoured the fruit of their ground.”

Shopping For Food

Shopping for food has become quite an adventure. In the beginning of my diagnosis with this dreaded disease, I would leave the food store in tears. Well, our food store is really a Super WalMart so there is more than food I’m contending with there.

I stopped food shopping completely a few years ago because of my arthritis in my back and the inability to walk very well. Since I’ve been diagnosed with my THIRD illness, my exercise and supplement intake have been upped, relieving a lot of my arthritis pain and slowly healing my psoriasis. Is what I’m doing healing all three illnesses? I have no idea and can only watch and listen to my instincts and what my body is telling me.

WalMart is filled with scooters, in-a-hurry people, a me-first society, and the unhealthy foods that line the grocery section of the store. Why would anybody struggling with an illness put themselves through the torturous experience of wading through a store like that? Me, I like to challenge myself so I can physically feel and see the healing that needs to take place. Sitting at home on the computer sure isn’t going to have me find a healing place in my life.

The first days of my diagnosis I kicked into a life-saving mode and altered my diet immediately. My niece had told me no sugar, carbs, dairy, grains, so those elements were eliminated immediately as I researched the why’s of the no sugar, no carb diet for the C. She could only tell me so much via messenger. While I went into life-saving mode she started the fund to help me with the supplementation I would need over, basically, the rest of my life.

These were the days filled with tears for obvious reasons and at my food shopping excursions. I couldn’t find anything healthy to eat so I just grabbed organic fruit and carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower. My friends kicked into save-Joni’s-life mode and were sending me money to help with supplements. (so grateful) 

Looking back, I started off with minimal supplementation of two or three and now I’m taking twenty supplements a day. For those concerned with the toxicity of my supplementation intake, nothing is more toxic than chemo and drugs, and the vitamins I’m taking are only toxic when combined WITH pharmaceutical drugs. I take nothing from pharma so I’m good! I have done my research on every single vitamin in my arsenal and ALL are used to combat the Big C along with the drastic change in diet. I am working on a post of all my supplements and I want to provide links to them so you can imagine what is taking so long in putting THAT post together.

This week when I went to Wal Mart, I not only had to contend with food purchases I had to buy me shorts and shortie pajama’s because NOTHING fits me anymore. I now fit into a small (Wally World caters to the 2x and 3x crowd) and that was hard digging through to find something that fit. Many of my summer clothes are from my days in Texas well over eight years ago. As for my jammies, many were brought from back home fourteen years ago and to my surprise (not really) after not being used for such a long time, I found them quite brittle (dry rotted) to the touch.

I was at a comfortable 147 lbs. (size 7-8) on Jan. 25 and am now weighing in at 115 lbs. (size 4)! Who knew exercise and eating right could shed pounds like flaky dry skin? Oh and I’m shedding THAT too! 

I now look forward to food shopping as I scan for the frozen berries to make a morning smoothie, or dig through the tiny organic produce section, I use coconut milk for my smoothies and coconut oil for cooking my food. I now allow grass fed chicken and eggs, (hubby’s work has a grass fed oregano chicken sausage), salmon topped with onions, peppers and sauerkraut, fruits and veggies galore and I also allow a low carb gluten free flatbread to make me chicken wraps! I’m feeling the best I have in years!

I’ve recently learned of the healing qualities for my psoriasis in Tea Tree Oil. I’ve had to purchase (costly to me) new shampoo and conditioner and just after the second day of use I could see and FEEL the difference in my scalp. It isn’t only the Big C I’m fighting using supplements and diet, I also need to tend to my psoriasis and arthritis so that meant a change in EVERYTHING. I now use Aloe Vera body wash, I’ve changed my deodorant to a chemical-free variety, and my drinking water is now the purified variety. The water is only .39 cents a gallon so that isn’t too costly. V-8 Berry Bliss for a sweet morning drink and green tea as a nightly regimen.

I’m slowly eliminating all stress in my world. One step was I eliminated over a hundred emails I’ve already read through as they started to cause a wave of confusion in this battle as I’m learning something new every day. The do this, do that, try this, try that days are calming down and now I’m just coasting with what knowledge is in front of me.

My husband wanted to buy me a cute shirt with the American flag on it and I said, “No, I’m not really proud of my country right now at this time.” Apparently, Flag Day went unnoticed by the majority of my Facebook friends who normally flood the walls with pride in their country. With so many holidays, you never know WHAT to celebrate these days.

As of right now, I celebrate LIFE and the love of God. I cling to hope of a future. I don’t see myself as sick, I always see myself as HEALTHY and AWARE and maybe with that mindset, that is my saving grace. I WILL obtain the Sacred Plant when God is good and ready for me to have it, right now, God and I are happy with my health and supplements and moving forward to healing pastures. 

Matt. 13:32 “Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.”

I am grateful for friendships old and new. I am gratified for the chance to work with God in healing myself. I am honored to be a part of a Spiritual community of love surrounding me and I will never forget the endearing love they exhibit toward me as I go on. 

Thank you all and God Bless!

Isa. 18:4 “For so the LORD said unto me, I will take my rest, and I will consider in my dwelling place like a clear heat upon herbs, and like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.”

Honor Thy Mother

Ex. 20:12 "Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee."

Honor Thy Mother

This weekend coming up is Mother’s Day. I don’t usually celebrate these days but Mother’s Day has some importance since mother’s all over the world will be celebrated for giving birth and being a mother. Think about it, you would not be here without your mother.

Like any other inquisitive person I had to find out why we celebrate mother’s day in the first place. I was wrong in my assumption that we celebrated the day because we were celebrating Mary giving birth to Jesus or some other religious aspect. I learned something new today and want to share what I learned with you.

Info from my google feed:

Where does Mother’Day come from?

It is celebrated on different days across the world but is generally observed between April and May in the northern hemisphere. The modern holiday of Mother's Day was first celebrated in 1908, when Anna Jarvis held a memorial for her mother in Grafton, West Virginia.

Why do we celebrate mother’s day?

Celebrations of mothers and motherhood can be traced back to the ancient Greeks and Romans, who held festivals in honor of the mother goddesses Rhea and Cybele, but the clearest modern precedent for Mother's Day is the early Christian festival known as “Mothering Sunday.”

Who came up with the idea of Mother’s Day?

Mother's Day started as an anti-war movement. Anna Jarvis is most often credited with founding Mother's Day in the United States. Designated as the second Sunday in May by President Woodrow Wilson in 1914, aspects of that holiday have since spread overseas, sometimes mingling with local traditions.

Interesting facts about the Dark History of Mother’s Day.

When did Mother’s Day originate?

In 1914, Woodrow Wilson signed a proclamation designating Mother's Day, held on the second Sunday in May, as a national holiday to honor mothers. Although Jarvis was successful in founding Mother's Day, she became resentful of the commercialization of the holiday.

***

I think you get the idea. Mother’s Day was all about honoring mothers and here in America we chose to see the almighty dollar and commercialized the day to the hilt. 

I have always just written my mother (and father, Father’s Day) a card on this day honoring them with respect with words from my heart. I think that meant more to them than any money (that I never had) to give them.

While my siblings showered my mother and dad on their respective holidays with money ($100 or $50 with an expensive Hallmark card), flowers, or food (A dozen steamed crabs excited my mother and are always pricey), my mother and father always looked forward to the poem I would write that would either make them laugh but more often than not, make them cry. 

As my mother was going through the personal belongings of my dad after he passed she found poems of mine that my dad had in his drawer, his wallet, or used as a bookmark throughout the years. I cried tears of joy and tears of sorrow when my mother told me that my dad kept many (if not all) of my poems close to him. How much of the money, food or flowers did they still have, none, but my poems held weight, my words had meaning!

So as you celebrate this upcoming Mother’s Day, don’t think of the flower, money or card you can give her, think of the words you’d like to say to her, (it doesn’t have to be a poem) and write to her. Whether your mother or mom, or significant mother is alive or deceased, write to her. Trust me on this one, your words will mean more than anything to you AND mainly to HER, the mother you’re honoring. And maybe one day in the future you’ll find your words tucked in a special place of hers that she cherished.

If your mom is deceased take the words to her gravesite or read them aloud to her. Let her know that these are the words you wished you had said while she was alive basking in the gifts but not your words. Don’t let Hallmark be your words this Mother’s Day let YOU be your words this Mother’s Day!

Have a most BLESSED week my friends!

2 Sam. 22:50 “Therefore I will give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and I will sing praises unto thy name.”

Holy Week - The Multitudes Shall Eat

Matthew 21:9 And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.

 The Multitudes Shall Eat

Wayward legs they followed Him,

into the desert they strode.

Not for care of food to eat;

the pace was surely slowed.

Compassion for the multitude

He raised a hand to speak.

“Feed the hungry as they come

for all the ones that seek.” 

Five loaves of bread to feed the many,

two fish to fill the crowd.

Gathered were the faithful, 

now sitting all heads bowed.

“Bless this bread, I give to thee,”

He broke the loaves in two.

Dispersed to his disciples,

with divinity, it grew.

“Fill not only with food you eat,

but also with my Word.

Remember My Father blesses thee,

with all that you have heard.”

Matt.14: 14-21 "And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick. And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals.

But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat.

And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes.

He said, Bring them hither to me.

And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.

And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full.

And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children."

In honor of National Poetry Month and my very spiritual Holy Week, I will share a worthy reposted poem each day ending with Resurrection Sunday!

May God bless you all as you move through this week

remembering what was sacrificed for you.

May you do just a morsel for Him! 

My love to all!

Poetry Sunday ~ Hosanna! Hosanna!

Matt. 28: 19 - 20 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Hosanna! Hosanna!

***

He gave life to the dead, cleansed the impure

healed the sick, became all lepers cure.

Fed the hungry, gave sight to the blind,

revealed the innocence of a child’s mind.

If you were thirsty, He gave you to drink,

Washed away sins with nary a blink;

Of His eyes we shined while light was dim

righteousness filled our cup to the brim.

Turn your cheek from the one that maims

seventy times if you burn with flames

Forgive, forget, move on I say

I’m reaching out to show you the way.

Disciples slept while Jesus pleaded

to let him live unless he was needed.

Crying out He returned to die

while all looked on, not batting an eye.

They rejoiced and sang; praised his name

Hosanna! Hosanna! Into town he came.

Fronds of palms were laid at his feet.

All glory to Jesus our Savior we greet.

But lo and behold this man betrayed,

was scourged and beat but never swayed!

“My Father, My Father why have you forgot,

I gave them all that you said they’d have not.”

With one last breath, he gave up the ghost,

shedding blood where man needed it most.

Our sins are forgiven our God came as man

In a wondrous fete, generations will span.

Will we remember the sacrifice made?

Can we ever honor the price that was paid?

Do we respect all things that He taught

our souls are free for sin His death bought.

My Glorious redeemer, Savior and King,

I bow with honor my soul shall sing.

We're Married

Matt. 19:6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

It took some time getting here but we finally did it, we got married! I went over some of the things we’ve endured over the past thirteen years in an earlier blog post so I won’t go on repeating. I will say that after Steven got his sight back that is when things started to shift for us.

When I chose the date for when the marriage would take place, I had to have the numbers align. I know, I’m crazy, but just any old day was not good enough. This is a wedding, a marriage that will last a lifetime if we’re lucky so the date had to have SOME significance to it.

I chose May 13, 2015 for a reason, here goes: We’ve been together 13 years. My grandmother (and grandfather) who passed away when I was eight lived at 1313 and my Great Grandmother lived at 1315. 5-13-15 seemed significant. 13 years, 13 13, 13 15, the numbers just all looked right, so I picked that day. My grandmother died in March and my grandfather in May, May 22^nd to be exact but a friend of mine already had that as a wedding day. My other grandmother passed away on 3 15, so there you have it, all the numbers lined up for me.

Unbeknownst to me, when I told my niece of the day she said, “That’s cool, that is the day Matt and I got married!” I wasn’t back home when my niece got married so I didn’t remember her specific day of marriage but it made mine all the more significant.

The courthouse held significance because of its historic beauty. When we first arrived in Nebraska that was the courthouse we had to go to get my license changed over and Steven was having his put to sleep for a few years until his sight would be restored. The wood aroma that clung to every nook and cranny of the place was reminiscent of my childhood vacation Bible School. Isn’t it funny how those old smells will revive an old memory?

It is also the courthouse where I would file and be granted my divorce. Minden was now a part of my life. My marriage to Steven in the Minden courthouse would be planted permanently in my history book.

The judge asked if we wanted the marriage to take place in the courtroom, but I wanted it in between floors in front of a picturesque window. We had been there almost an hour and had only seen one person walk the stairs, so yes, in between floors was the perfect spot! My sister-in-law would take the pictures and my son and mother-in-law would be our witnesses.

The ceremony went off without a hitch (no pun intended) and we signed the legal documents and were on our way. Mom-in-law was treating us all to a meal at the place of our choice. I chose Applebees a lovely restaurant neither Steven nor I had been to before. The menus were served as were drinks and we had a most delicious meal, Steven with his steak and taters on the side, I with my chicken and shrimp smothered in garlic sauce with mushrooms and onions on the side. WOW! Then onto dessert; I think I gained ten pounds from that one meal! One meal that was SOOOO worth it!

The desserts were not of the normal cake and pie stature. No, this place had fancy-schmancy desserts. Steven had deep-fried battered pretzels, drizzled with caramel and an icing dip on the side! He had about ten to fifteen bites on the plate and I tried one and it was AWESOME! Me, I had a strawberry shortcake cheesecake with whipped topping! It was a small cup filled with delight. That is why I ordered it after eating such a hearty meal; I never eat dessert but this was too hard to resist.

We ate, laughed, giggled and chatted then we all parted. The in-laws brought Adam home and Steven and I went for a ride. Where to? I chose the cemetery where his father and grandmother are laid to rest. Steven hasn’t been there since we returned to Nebraska and I made a promise to his deceased father that I would see to it that Steven would be there when we got married. It seemed fitting to include his dad in the day in our small way.

Without all the intimate details, we ended the day with a movie. I chose You’ve Got Mail for obvious reasons to those who know our story. And today the 14^th we will venture out and see the movie that has been most anticipated to see on his list, The Avengers:Age of Ultron. I’m not a Marvel fan and The Avengers was a so so movie to me, but this is where the art of compromise comes in, in the marriage. I’ll go see it because he loves it! He’ll go see The Minion movie when it comes out in July. hahahaha

We woke this morning and I said, “Good morning, hubby.”

When he woke he said, “Morning Wife!”

And the story that doesn’t end… goes on and on my friends. 

*names/places changed for protection

Quotation Saturday ~ Love and Marriage

Rev. 19:7 “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.”

MARRIAGE

“It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages.”
~ Friedrich Nietzsche

“To be fully seen by somebody, then, and be loved anyhow - this is a human offering that can border on miraculous.”
~ Elizabeth Gilbert

“The essential matrimonial facts: that to be happy you have to find variety in repetition; that to go forward you have to come back to where you begin.”
~ Jeffrey Eugenides

“Maybe you expected marriage to be perfect - I guess that's where you and I are different. See, I thought it would be all about making mistakes, but doing it with someone who's there to remind you what you learned along the way.”
~ Jodi Picoult

LOVE

“You've gotta dance like there's nobody watching,
Love like you'll never be hurt,
Sing like there's nobody listening,
And live like it's heaven on earth.”
~ William W. Purkey

“We accept the love we think we deserve.”
~ Stephen Chbosky

“Only once in your life, I truly believe, you find someone who can completely turn your world around. In their presence, there’s no need for continuous conversation, but you find you’re quite content in just having them nearby. Things that never interested you before become fascinating because you know they are important to this person who is so special to you. You think of this person on every occasion and in everything you do. Simple things bring them to mind like a pale blue sky, gentle wind or even a storm cloud on the horizon. You open your heart knowing that there’s a chance it may be broken one day and in opening your heart, you experience a love and joy that you never dreamed possible. You find that being vulnerable is the only way to allow your heart to feel true pleasure that’s so real it scares you. You find strength in knowing you have a true friend and possibly a soul mate who will remain loyal to the end. Life seems completely different, exciting and worthwhile. Your only hope and security is in knowing that they are a part of your life.”
~ Bob Marley

HONOR

“Courage. Kindness. Friendship. Character. These are the qualities that define us as human beings, and propel us, on occasion, to greatness.”
~ R.J. Palacio

“When you find a guy who calls you beautiful instead of hot, who calls you back when you hang up on him, who will stand in front of you when other’s cast stones, or will stay awake just to watch you sleep, who wants to show you off to the world when you are in sweats, who will hold your hand when your sick, who thinks your pretty without makeup, the one who turns to his friends and say, ‘that’s her’, the one that would bear your rejection because losing you means losing his will to live, who kisses you when you screw up, watches the stars and names one for you and will hold and rock that baby for hours so you can sleep…..you marry him all over again.”
~ Shannon L. Alder

“The most tragic thing in the world is a man of genius who is not a man of honor.”
~ George Bernard Shaw

“The greatest way to live with honour in this world is to be what we pretend to be.”
~ Socrates

CHERISH

“Cherish every moment with those you love at every stage of your journey.”
~ Jack Layton

“But for the most part, love is a recognition, an opportunity to say, 'There is something about you I cherish.”
~ Raymond E. Feist

“I remembered every moment between us, and every moment felt more precious as time passed.”
~ Shannon A. Thompson

“Never let the little things, disrupt the biggest things you cherish in life. The smallest mistake, can cause the biggest regret and hurt to your closest companion.”
~ Unarine Ramaru

“I now pronounce you man and wife. These are the words I will be hearing this week as I embark on a new leg of this journey called life. My soul mate and I are going to ride off into the sunset of marriage. Will it be a blissful lifetime? I think it will be more on the lines a challenge. Marriage is a lifetime commitment to bring a new challenge, a new love, a new strength into every single day and grow. ~ I DO!”

~ Joni Zipp

Matt. 22:9 “Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.”

 

 

Quotation Saturday

A candle and rose for Eyrline Morgan

Pss. 48:14 For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death.

DEATH

“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.
"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien

“Life is for the living.
Death is for the dead.
Let life be like music.
And death a note unsaid.”
― Langston Hughes

“When he shall die,
Take him and cut him out in little stars,
And he will make the face of heaven so fine
That all the world will be in love with night
And pay no worship to the garish sun.”
― William Shakespeare

“That was the thing. You never got used to it, the idea of someone being gone. Just when you think it's reconciled, accepted, someone points it out to you, and it just hits you all over again, that shocking.”
― Sarah Dessen

GRIEF

“So it’s true, when all is said and done, grief is the price we pay for love.”
― E.A. Bucchianeri

“Tears shed for another person are not a sign of weakness. They are a sign of a pure heart.”
― José N. Harris

“The darker the night, the brighter the stars,
The deeper the grief, the closer is God!”
― Fyodor Dostoyevsky

“God, but life is loneliness, despite all the opiates, despite the shrill tinsel gaiety of "parties" with no purpose, despite the false grinning faces we all wear. And when at last you find someone to whom you feel you can pour out your soul, you stop in shock at the words you utter - they are so rusty, so ugly, so meaningless and feeble from being kept in the small cramped dark inside you so long. Yes, there is joy, fulfillment and companionship - but the loneliness of the soul in its appalling self-consciousness is horrible and overpowering.”
― Sylvia Plath

MOURNING

“The only things I regret, and the only things I'll ever regret are things I didn't do. In the end, that's what we mourn. The paths we didn't take. The people we didn't touch.”
― Scott Spencer

“The size and height of the tree determines how heavily the ground will shake when it falls. The cassava tree falls and not even the pests in the forest are aware. The baobab tree falls and the whole forest looks empty! Such is human life!”
― Israelmore Ayivor

“Each of us has his own rhythm of suffering.”
― Roland Barthes

“During the prayers of the day, there was one less “amen”.”
― Phindiwe Nkosi

My dear friend Eyrline Morgan passed away on January 16, 2015. After struggling through many illnesses she finally succumbed and went home to be with our Heavenly Father. The writing community (WVU, F2K) and the world look a lot dimmer today without her shining soul.

A post from Eyrline nine months ago in our Inspirational group:

A PRAYER
Be still my heart, God's in the sky. He has the answer To your cry = = = Be still, my heart.
Dear Lord,
Please give me strength, to find His way.
Please build me up from day to day,
That I might help someone to find His way,
 
Grant me the strength and courage, too,
To live a life, Sincere and true.

Rest in peace, E! We love you!

Quotation Saturday ~ Happy Father's Day

Exodus 20:12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

In honor of Father’s Day, I give you quotes of love, honor and respect. If you have a father, then you can relate to all of these. To every father out there, have a blessed day tomorrow and honor and respect the gift you’ve been given, your children!

FATHERS

“I believe that what we become depends on what our fathers teach us at odd moments, when they aren't trying to teach us. We are formed by little scraps of wisdom.”
~ Umberto Eco

“The heart of a father is the masterpiece of nature.”
~ Antoine François Prévost

“Listen, there is no way any true man is going to let children live around him in his home and not discipline and teach, fight and mold them until they know all he knows. His goal is to make them better than he is. Being their friend is a distant second to this.”
~ Victor Devlin

“Children are gifts. They are not ours for the breaking. They are ours for the making.”
~ Dan Pearce

HONOR

“Be strong. Live honorably and with dignity. When you don't think you can, hold on.”
~ James Frey

“I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to
succeed, but I am bound to live up to what light I have.”
~ Abraham Lincoln

“Courage. Kindness. Friendship. Character. These are the qualities that define us as human beings, and propel us, on occasion, to greatness.”
~ R.J. Palacio

“Our own heart, and not other men's opinions, forms our true honor.”
~ Samuel Taylor Coleridge

RESPECT

“Above all, don't lie to yourself. The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others. And having no respect he ceases to love.”
~ Fyodor Dostoyevsky

“How would your life be different if…You stopped making negative judgmental assumptions about people you encounter? Let today be the day…You look for the good in everyone you meet and respect their journey.”
~ Steve Maraboli

“This generation has lost the true meaning of romance. There are so many songs that disrespect women. You can’t treat the woman you love as a piece of meat. You should treat your love like a princess. Give her love songs, something with real meaning. Maybe I’m old fashioned but to respect the woman you love should be a priority.”
~ Tom Hiddleston

“Respect yourself and others will respect you.”
~ Confucius

LOVE

You've gotta dance like there's nobody watching,
Love like you'll never be hurt,
Sing like there's nobody listening,
And live like it's heaven on earth.”
~ William W. Purkey

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”
~ Martin Luther King Jr.

“Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.”
~ William Shakespeare

“Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.”
~ Robert A. Heinlein

Quotation Saturday ~ Memorial Day

The flag at Fort McHenry, Baltimore Maryland, war of 1812

Luke 4: 18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

In honor of Memorial Day, once known as Decoration Day when the graves of those who fought in the Civil War was decorated in remembrance of their service to our country.

Last night we watched the movie Patriot and you really get the feel of the bloodshed of the early 1776 war, as I imagine all wars. So in honor, memory, and respect for ALL who have died fighting, I give you my Quotation Saturday.

Honor, Courage, Patriotism, Hero

“They hover as a cloud of witnesses above this nation.”

~ Henry Ward Beecher

“A hero is someone who has given his/her life to something bigger than oneself.”

~ Joseph Campbell

“Courage. Kindness. Friendship. Character. These are the qualities that define us as human beings, and propel us, on occasion, to greatness.”
~ R.J. Palacio

“For love of country they accepted death, and thus resolved all doubts, and made immortal their patriotism and their virtue.”

~ James A. Garfield

“We come not to mourn our dead soldiers, but to praise them.”

~Francis A. Walker

“And they for who their country die shall fill an honored grave, for glory lights the soldiers tomb, and beauty weeps the brave.”

~ Joseph Rodman Drake

“The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure.”
~ Thomas Jefferson

“Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are stiffened.”

~ Billy Graham

“It doesn’t take a hero to order men into battle. It takes a hero to be one of those men who goes into battle.”

~ Norman Schwarzkopf

“They are dead; but they live in each patriots breast, and their names are engraven on honor’s bright crest.”

~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and success of liberty.”

~ John F. Kennedy

“And I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free. And I won’t forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.”

~ Lee Greenwood

A Message to Convey

1 John 1: 5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

A Message to Convey

I rise up in the morning

What to do today?

Lord you’ve given life to me

Please tell me what to say.

The words they flow like currents

Of energy in my soul.

God places on my heart

Some words to make you whole.

The rhyme is always easy

The rhythm soon to follow.

I fill your heart with messages

The truth is hard to swallow.

The world is full of hatred

Your anger feeds the flame.

Satan’s very happy

That you help him play the game.

Demons linger the hollow street

That man will never see

People become too busy

You’ve asked them not to flee.

By allowing anger free reign

You diminish your own light.

You’ll never know peace within

Diminished is your sight.

Hear the words I offer

He’s asked me to convey.

Give to Him all Glory

On bended knee to pray.

1 John 3: 11 For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.

Oh Praise Him

Oh praise Him

Pss 50: 23 Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God.

Praise, praise the Father praise the Son

Praise, praise to Him the holy one

We should praise Him

Always praise him.

There in the darkness I feel small

To the king my Savior do I call

I shall praise Him

Always praise Him.

Sing in the morning praise the Lord

Triumphant angels in accord

We all praise Him

Always praise Him.

We turn to Him when we’re in need

He answers us within Godspeed

Now we praise Him

Always praise Him.

Praise, praise the Father praise the Son

Praise, praise to Him the three in one

We should praise Him

Always praise him.

Alleluia

Alleluia

Alle-u-ia!

Pss. 51:15 O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.

I Bow to Him

Ps. 31: 2 Bow down thine ear to me; deliver me speedily: be thou my strong rock, for an house of defence to save me.

 I Bow to Him

I bow my knee; I sing praise

To you my God for glorious days.

Is it just me or is it them

I bow my knee to the Great I AM!

I bow my knee; I sing praise

The God of All lightens my ways.

I have seen and I have heard

I bow my knee to His holy Word.

I bow my knee; I sing praise

The Rock in me shines through the haze.

I know He sees; always hears

I bow my knee through the tears.

I bow my knee; I sing praise

It is to Him my hands I raise.

Always near; never far

I bow to Him, my Shining Star.

11-11-11 Thankfulness and Glory

John 8:7 So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said to them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
***

We’ve arrived at the last day of the week which is 11-11-11. A culmination of Help the Less Fortunate Week. All those ‘ones’ in the date, makes me think of the number one front and center force in my life and that is the Lord God. Throughout this week I’ve given you a window into the world in which you live and perhaps maybe sit in judgment of innocent human beings. Have you hung pretty curtains at the window, so the low-life outside doesn’t look so clear. Have you put up shades on your window so their tattered and torn smelly clothes can’t be seen or inhaled? Have you turned your nose up to the needy?

This is what you have done in the season of Thanksgiving? Shut yourself off from giving and absorbed yourself in YOU. “I have all my Christmas shopping done! Aren’t I great?” “I dropped a five dollar bill in the Salvation Army bucket, instead of my usual one dollar!” Wow, don’t you just feel so good about YOU? I have not written this week to guilt you into anything. If you can not act of your own fruition then acting at all will be futile.

I’ve helped you to open your heart and mind into the world of compassion so that maybe when you see a person in need, you won’t turn away from them, out of disgust, maybe you’ll humble your heart, and go to them and see what they need and how you can help. Maybe they just need a cup of coffee, not a whole order of food, maybe the car behind you in the Wendy’s drive-thru could use a spontaneous act of kindness, maybe an elderly person in your building, complex, neighborhood could use a visitor. Maybe someone in the hospital where you’re visiting a friend or loved one, never gets to see a friend or loved one, why not go in and say, Hello?

Instead of gossiping behind peoples back who are not as fortunate as you, why not reach out to them with an arm of compassion. Why not bend in a different direction this holiday season and better yet, why not do it year round? Why wait for the holiday to begin?

Heb 13: 1-3  Let brotherly love continue.
Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.

As we entertain ourselves in the company of like minded people, our hearts will overflow with the compassionate nature that Jesus had intended for us. When we surround ourselves in the body of lust, greed, perversion, we get lost in the mire and can never see clearly what God has intended for us on this Earth.
 
As I sit here in farm country, watching the harvesters reap what they sow, I look out into a nation who is being swallowed by earthquakes in divers places, fires, storms, unearthly behavior. Remember, we’ll be protected, because we as Christians will see the signs and wonders and won’t be caught unaware. We’ll have our arms wide open, and ears wide shut to all the naysayers who wish to drive us away from our innocent intent, and that is to help someone in need, without once asking for praise in return. Can you do that?
 
Why a person shuns people in need, is really beyond my comprehension. How can you neglect looking out the window and not SEE what is going on around you and how can you not care unless there is something in it for YOU? Have you ever just given, to give? Have you ever went above and beyond YOU, and thought of someone else, not for gain or recognition just for the sheer warmth that it left lingering in your spirit?
 
Feel that warmth of a giving heart. It is the rainbow of God lighting your soul. Don’t deny it when it happens to you, embrace it and do something because of it.
 

May the joy, peace and compassion envelop you this glorious season. Bring a miracle to life. All you have to do is...PRAY! Godspeed my friends...

“Remember this, what you do in secret, God sees it. What you think silently, God hears it. What you post publicly, would your mother be proud to call you hers? What you think is innocent, would your Father, think so too?” Joni Zipp

***

Before you act, listen.
Before you react, think.
Before you spend, earn.
Before you criticize, wait.
Before you pray, forgive.
Before you quit, try.”
~ Ernest Hemingway

***

 

to all the veterans in

the world

I salute you.

Poetry Sunday ~ Hosanna! Hosanna!

Matt. 28: 19 - 20 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
***

Hosanna! Hosanna!
(c) Joni Zipp

He gave life to the dead, cleansed the impure
healed the sick, became all lepers cure.
Fed the hungry, gave sight to the blind,
revealed the innocence of the childrens mind.

If you were thirsty, He gave you to drink,
Washed away sins with nary a blink;
Of his eyes we shined while light was dim
righteousness filled our cup to the brim.

Turn your cheek from the one that maims
seventy times if you burn with flames
Forgive, forget, move on I say
I’m reaching out to show you the way.

Disciples slept, while Jesus pleaded
to let him live unless he was needed.
Crying out he returned to die
while all looked on, not batting an eye.

They rejoiced and sang; praised his name
Hosanna! Hosanna! Into town he came.
Fronds of palms were laid at his feet.
All glory to Jesus our Savior we greet.

But lo and behold this man betrayed,
was scourged and beat but never swayed!
“My Father, My Father why have you forgot,
I gave them all that you said they’d have not.”

With one last breath he gave up the ghost,
shedding blood where man needed it most.
Our sins forgiven; our God came as man
In a wondrous fete generations will span.

Will we remember the sacrifice made?
Can we ever honor the price that was paid?
Do we respect all things that He taught
our souls are free for sins his death bought.

My Glorious redeemer, Savior and King,
I bow with honor my soul shall sing.

All rights reserved: copyright © Joni  Zipp

On Writing...

Ex. 23: 7 Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked.
***

A writer’s life is a world in which reality and fantasy collide. Imagine if you will, your real world has everything you could possibly have imagined; a luscious home, a fancy car, friends ‘to die for’ and a perfect little family; everything moving along at a pace of normalcy.

Now imagine if you will the writer’s life/reality. Your home is lost, your car runs in a ditch, family is so far away the only contact is from a facebook message or email, and friends? Friends can be counted on one hand, minus the fingers.

Writer’s need to add to their writing many twists and turns; hills and mountains, sunny days amid the stormy gray days. That is what builds a story and wouldn’t ya know, it is diversity that strengthens your reality.

If I asked you to define me, normal would not be your first choice of words. When I’m writing, I don’t want my words to say ‘normal’ either. I want their to be as much conflict and bumps in the story, well planned I might add and well written, but not normal. Normal is almost an ugly word these days.

I want my writing to emulate my life, but I don’t want the facts to be so close to reality, that family members are screaming at you to take their character out of that story. Or to stop it right there.

We writer’s need to know where the line of fiction is. If we want to tell a bit of our brothers story, make the character a distant friend and toss in some grand fabrication and hopefully our brothers won’t see themselves in the character!

Now if it is non-fiction, then you better well be on another continent, so when your family reads it, there are no lines of communication open so they can lambaste you for all your ‘lies’ that you told about them.

It’s ironic, I’m putting together my memoirs, and even I think it is far fetched and I lived the darn life! Life is stranger than fiction is a quote I often think of as I continue the memoir. I have to keep in mind what reality has done to me, how it affected me, and the atrocities that entered my life, shaping me to who I am today.

I’d much rather shape a world of fiction, write out the highs and lows of a character, have her/him face challenges and hopefully in the end, triumph. Now that’s another question to ponder, should you always have a happy ending? I don’t know if a happy ending is what sells a story, but a complete story with a believable ending, one that fell into your lap and just had to do to make the story whole.

Not all endings are happy...just as in reality...not all decisions result in a happy ending. Writing is never cut and dry. It is write and write some more...

Job 21:34 How then comfort ye me in vain, seeing in your answers there remaineth falsehood?

In a rut...

Matt. 17: 20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
***

Ever hit one of those bumps in the road where your writing takes a back seat to your reality? I’ve hit one of those. I want to write but the rut is keeping me from doing so.

With dental visits for my beau, an impending eye doctor’s visit in Omaha, the tension that the Lion’s Club is putting us through, Adam being bullied at school, all of these instances in my reality is keeping me from writing anything with substance.

I was going to say writing is like a river, it just flows on and reaches no end. That isn’t necessarily true. It flows but then sometimes it finds itself washed up on the beach sinking into the sand absorbed or evaporated. What’s up with that?

Maybe writing is like a pool. You know, a pool that sits there and awaits a refill upon evaporation? You need to keep refilling to get any pleasure out of the fullness of the pool, right?

Then there is the analogy, writing is like a tree, it grows and blossoms each year with new life and fervor, only hindered by say, a wildfire?

These are not good metaphors. Maybe it’s just a peek of negative things that have been going on that are trying to weedle its way into my writing. I’m always a positive thinker so I know this is just what it is, a rut. The jagged little ugliness that wants to hinder my life when all I really need to do is pull out a shovel and bury the pebble in the road. And a little pebble is all that it is.

Did you ever notice that these little pebbles can really hurt when tread upon? It’s not like a boulder, hindering my path. This is a daggum pebble that I will toss in that river and watch it make ripples for a ways out. Flee you pebble! Get out of my life and give me back my sanity!

The Lion’s Club, who said they’d pay for my beau’s operation to see again, has now backed out. The Lion Lady is going to approach a different chapter and ask them to help. Why is it so hard for compassion to overflow so one man can see again? Pebbles are not only in MY path, they seem to be making their way across the paths of many, hindering them in the way that they want or need to go.

When God said that we have the power within us to move a mountain, I have to say, I feel like a living breathing testimony to that fact. Every mountain that stands in my way, I tell it to MOVE and other opportunities open up before me. Not just me, this isn’t a me factor, this is for EVERYONE!

So dip into the pool of words and pull out your sword and breastplate and armor yourself for a battle like no other. And when you need to get out of a rut, you stand firm in your belief that this pebble,  this mountain will move out of your way, and it will be so. All in God’s time! Remember that. This isn’t about our plans, this is about God’s plan and HIS time!

Even in my rut I produced five hundred and some words! Hmm... the mountain has moved. *deep sigh*

Words for Wednesday

Runs into thoughts for Thursday...

Psalm 9: 1 I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works.

***

Today I was going to write about my friend and her poetry book, The Vines of Life . Julie Jennings is quite the inspirational woman with inspirational poetry to back her up!

I met her through WVU, Writer’s Village University, she’s stopped by and visited me here a few times, and whenever someone from WVU needs a little support, I’m there for them! It’s what I do. I’m a true friend. I love all people! But most of all, I love helping people.

I keep telling my fiance’ that I could never be a rich person because I would give my money away to those in need before I ever helped myself, that’s just the way I am. :)

So today, I got sidetracked with thinking of my father. He was put in the hospital on Monday, bleeding internally and whenever someone calls me crying, especially my mother, my heart aches to be there for them, her in this case.

My mother and I, when I lived back home in Maryland, were extremely close. I lived next door to her for thirteen years and when I moved a mile away, she sold her house and moved right around the corner. We were inseparable.

My dad was always the loner type guy, but my mother and me, like two peas in a pod. Funny, caring, loving and would bend over backwards to see someone else happy, and forget about ourselves. This made leaving home the most difficult thing I had ever done in my life.

Once I moved, I realized it was the best thing for me spiritually and physically because I knew, I had never really grown up, I always had my mother taking care of me no matter what situation I got myself into. And believe you me, there were many situations. (long story, read my autobiography when it finally gets published.) *wink*

I’ve been away for seven years come May 18, only returning home once, when my mother had a stroke. My sister is not as supportive and close as I was with my mother and my brothers (I have four) are all in dysfunctional stages of their lives. And keep in mind, I’m the baby of six and my eldest brother is 54. I’ve been diving into writing for the past seven years and my world has taken on new shape and meaning. What can I say, now I help writers write right! I’ve been a writer all of my life but the past seven years, I’ve taken life and writing more seriously!

My dad is home now and I knew when the phone rang that it was my mother, going to tell me my dad was safe at home, and sure enough it was her. After fifty-six years of marriage, those two are inseparable. Maybe my leaving was intended for them to get closer, because I know that since I’ve left, they’ve knitted themselves together like never before.  Sickness and health, richer and poorer takes on new meaning.

With this Sunday being Mothers Day, I think of all the great mothers out there, hopefully myself included, and I think of the people whose mothers have passed on and are now alone without that best friend there to guide and care for them. In some way, I take on that roll and nurse all the kids, whether young or old into the path they were meant to be. I’m a shepherd and all of you are my sheep. :) What a wonderful gift.

On that note...I am rich beyond belief!