Rehab, the Story Continues: Santa is There

John 8:12 “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”

Three-and-a-half days! I made it. I made it to the weekend. But getting there was not without its many hurdles. This story is not all about ‘The Nursing Home’ ordeal, or the staff, this is about my journey, a fifty-two-year-old woman with stage four breast cancer, lymphedema of the left arm, radiation treatment to my bones and recovery of major surgery of my broken femur. Take for instance my Oral Chemo, it was running out, I did not have the wits about me to know how to reorder so I had to leave it up to my husband to take care of matters. The drugs I was on were pretty strong and keeping my mind busy and pretty much in a fog.

He called the Dr.s office, the nurse said she’d order it, no problem, he called back and Fay said it would be delivered Friday but needs a signature. Uh oh, hubby would have to miss work AGAIN, and miss seeing me all day to wait for meds! Not a happy gal but it’s okay, I’m tough and getting tougher by the day! Needless to say by three o’clock when the meds had not arrived hubby came to the hospital to visit me, even if it was only for two hours. He can’t drive at night, so we watched the sun (or lack thereof) very closely! A different story, the meds never arrived.

When Friday came I was happy to have made it to this day alive, although I had never wanted to give up more than I did this week. A loneliness had settled in, hubby knew it, and no amount of cuteness from Ray, or compassion from the staff could move me. It was a tough week on my spirit and soul. This was also the last day of radiation to my arm, and my son stepped up and said he could go to the CC with me. The weekend, I’d get a break, right? 

Then there was the day earlier in the week that they had to take my clothes to put name tags on them, even though we told them WE would wash them, they needed to be tagged. (I didn’t hand everything over but I stupidly gave them lounge pants, two flannels, brand new socks, and a pair of underwear. All were returned by Friday except my underwear and socks. When Kay, my occupational therapist heard this she set out on a search of my missing panties. She returned to my room waving them in her hand and said, “Hey, no wonder they wanted to keep them, they’re cute!” We both laughed but I through my tears. She hugged me!

Then there was Santa. Thursday had been a day of sunshine and warmth and I had even had a chance to open the window. Ray didn’t like the window opened because it gave her a chill. She was on the other side of the curtain between our beds and didn’t know it was open. The warmth, the sun, it was all I had to cling to. Yes, people, before you tell me to cling to God, please know, HE is the only thing that kept my breath in my lungs, He is first and foremost, but the sunshine and the warmth were for me on this day. 

Coming back from my radiation treatment that day found me in the sunshine. On the side of the entry to the hospital was a little area with a table and four chairs, lining a brick path were rocks, rocks of all shapes and sizes. Hubby and I followed the path, to the chairs and table and we sat in the sun, I in my wheelchair of course. We watched as nurses changed shift and a nurse had brought a resident outside to feel the warmth of the day. The table was back a little ways from the entry so hubby and I enjoyed the table and sunshine. I enjoyed the one monarch butterfly that landed on a rock not ten feet from me and my chair. Thank you, Jesus, I whispered out loud, as a tear trickled from my eye. 

Then he appeared, an older man hunched over his walker. He was taking tiny steps as he scooted to the path. An obvious Husker fan dressed from head to toe in his puffy red Husker slippers, his red husker lounge pants filled with the Husker team logo, all topped off with his white t-shirt with a big N for Nebraska, trimmed in red on sleeves and neck. His full white moustache and beard were reminiscent of Santa Claus. Steven softly sang… ‘here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, right down Santa Claus lane...’. I smiled.

Santa stopped at the rocks and just stood there looking down at them. One minute, five minutes passed and he moved, inching closer to where Steven and I were sitting. Again, Santa paused to stare at the rocks. He was within earshot of me now, I said, “Do you like the rocks as much as I do?” I myself was eyeing one shaped like a heart. Yeah, I draw to me these kinds of people. 

He looked up at me, then back to the rocks before he answered, “Yeah.” He began inching closer to me again, and stopped, mesmerized by the rocks. He began talking without looking up from the rocks, “They’re beautiful. Back in my shop, I take CLR to clean them. It brings out their beauty, then I polyurethane them. Yup.” He began to turn around and looked at the other side of the path lined with rocks.

As he slowly turned, he made his way right to the edge of the path. I thought he was turning to go back in the home but no, he paused to look at this side of the path, too, before heading inside. Staring at the rocks he whispered, 

“Y’know, it’s like looking at a million mountains,”  he went on, “Y’know how the rocks are made don’t ya? The rain,” he paused a moment, “the rain cuts them out of the mountains and they all wash downstream, getting cleaned up through the river until we gather them and see them for their beauty.”

By this time I had tears in my eyes and Steven and I were both looking at each other in wonderment. I knew there was a message in there for me but I couldn’t see it through my tears. Santa looked at me and smiled raised a finger to tap his nose and he proceeded to slowly walk back to the door, with one last quick pause to gaze at the rocks, he went inside.

I told Steven that it was now time for me to go back inside too, I got what I came for, a message. I picked up a rock, and we went inside the home, to my room. It didn’t seem so small anymore.

The moral of the story to me is: We are all refined by God made perfect in His image as we go through the trials and suffering of being washed downstream until we’re seen in our perfection before the Lord.

Isa. 48:10 “Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.”

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.”

Thorn in the Flesh

2 Cor. 12:7 “And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.”

Thorn in the Flesh

I come to you today friends with a thorn in my flesh. As much as I grumble and gripe I am humbled as I am being used by God. I often think of this journey I’m on and how hard the walk has been but I also think of Paul and how he must’ve felt. I know there are many people in the Bible, real human beings who felt the Lord had forgotten them, only to find that through the scorching flames of seeming hellfire, they were actually being used by God to deliver a message. 

I rise in the morning and settle down to read my morning devotion with a warm cup of coffee in my hand. I gaze out the window into the darkness and the light is yet to shine. I patiently wait, read and glean a message to write to you. Not every day do I write, some days I just sit in thought and relish my alone time with God.

When I look out into the world the hustle and bustle sometimes frightens me as everyone is scurrying around doing their own things. They have lives to busy themselves with and often the Lord is a passing thought, if ever a thought at all.

Deut. 32:5 “They have corrupted themselves, their spot is not the spot of his children: they are a perverse and crooked generation.”

I often think of how many generations have been lost to the crookedness of their path. Has any ever been in the clutch of God awakened? Are the people far and few between these days who take their role in this world serious?

We have become a world puffed up in vanity and conceit and find that serving a god, any god Higher or lower to be a chore of service that sometimes takes up too much of our time. In my affliction, my disease, I have nothing BUT time for Him because, to be honest, His world is such a pleasure to get lost in, as for this world, there is nothing but distress and disgust.

I find that here lately, there is an evil that tosses me about the shores of my walk. Every word I say is met with, ‘you’re wrong!’ or ‘you don’t know what you’re talking about!’ and with that puffiness, the waves wash away my footprints in the sand. But lo, I continue to walk.

As God is directing me in my steps, there are those that wish to push me in the water. They wish to see me disappear but I cannot go yet, my words are still required. And whether you want to read them, need to read them or enjoy reading them, please know, my path of pain is as much for you as it is for me.

I can’t give you all the answers you seek as no one is here handing me the easy answer either. But I do set for you a goal, a path that is possibly achieved if only you pull the veil from your head and let the mask of conceit be drowned. 

There is much work to be done. Change is not only desired but it is much needed during these times. There is no time to be lazy and blinded by your own ambitions.

2 Cor. 4:17 “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”

I see some out there laughing and scoffing, waving their pointed finger at me but I also see some out there scratching their heads and saying ‘I think she’s onto something’ and they grab hold and hope the airbags work in case a disaster should befall them. Not many are ready for the ride of their life.

I know I am not the only one being dipped in the flaming fire. But I am the rare one without a veil who is trying to show you how to weather these torrential storms. They might seem disastrous, noisy, downright uncomfortable, but rest assure, there IS hope on the other side.

Just because I don’t have the same search as you, just because you are wrapped up in your own conceit and think only YOU are right about everything, I’m here to tell you that you are amazingly wrong. Yes, I say that as my finger is poking you in the chest and pushing you back to your sitting down position! 

As you flop in the chair, listen up, LIFE IS NOT ABOUT YOU! Know that there is a force running alongside you building pedestals for you to stand on. Know that there is another force ready to knock you off that pedestal and plant you back into reality, whenever you’re ready.

As my spiritual nature has always known about the positive/negative energy having the ability to either drain you or lift you up, science finally agrees with me. I found another site that was on my newsfeed wall on Facebook. Be forewarned it has Native American belief system there. A people I greatly admire and respect, I might add.

Looking through the link above I may be labeled as a White Witch. Ironically, the writing group I frequent, the animal persona I chose was that of a White Wolf! Hmm… interesting.

For all of you saying, oh my goodness I can’t believe she said that she is a white witch. Maybe you need a lesson on what a witch is, a person with their Wits about them. Like marijuana, there is a stigma surrounding both. Yes, I’m off my rocker, cuckoo, crazy, insane and any other label you wish to stamp me with. And just so you know, I NEVER give myself a label. If I were to label myself, I’d say Spirit-filled, all the way!

From the link, all are true of me except for number nine, partially.

9 "They are ardent believers of the idea that just because we can’t see something with our own eyes doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. This makes them believers in the power of magic."

I draw the line with number nine. I don’t believe for one moment in the power of magic! I believe in the strength of an all-powerful God, Father of Jesus, His Son! If the label of White Witch offends, so must the God of Heaven who parts a sea, or unleashes plagues, or watches His Son die for the unmoved man. 

Our world is defined by labels that people place around so they can read people to make themselves feel good about themselves. They say they are not judgmental but use words, even if they are floating in their subconscious mind, words like fat, ugly, snob, witch, bitch, rude crude, you name it, it feels better to you if you give it a label. Have you ever wondered about the labels given to Jesus? 

As we wind down our days to the Resurrection Sunday. Think! Think of all the words Jesus said while hanging on the cross. Hold close to your heart the very reason you believe or don’t believe. Try your hardest to release the stigmas you drown in, this is a new era, a new day is dawning. Think! As the thorn in my flesh is painfully evident for all to see, the Crown of Thorns worn on Jesus’ head holds more significance. He came, He walked, He lived, He died. Now, pray.

All praise and Glory to Him who holds my spirit cupped in His hands! 

Never stigmatize the world we live. Keep your mind open!

Dolphins at work. 

Rom. 15:13 “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.”

Total Surrender

Romans 8:28 KJV “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

 “I may be down but don’t you DARE count me out!” ~ Joni

Total Surrender

Even I didn’t understand total surrender. Sometimes I think I have it down but God reminds me all too often that I am not much unlike Job, I lack patience.

Two days this week I’ve woken with so much pain, just trying to step into the shower was not an option. My legs and back were riddled with torment, cane in hand it took everything I had just to make it to the bathroom. I’ve cried a lot this week, in pain, anger, bitterness, and confusion. What happened? I was feeling good and moving right along and it was all taken away in a matter of days.

I didn’t allow fear and doubt to surface instead what arose was impatience. That to me is just as bad as insecurity, doubt and fear. One thing that I still have is my writing. Even when I just want to curl in a ball God reminds me that He gave me a talent and that I shouldn’t just use it for sharing my words with the world, it is a tool in my healing arsenal too. I don’t write for clicks and comments I write to release. 

My morning ritual still consists of reading my bible. I don’t care how much pain I’m in, the bible is like a comfortable pillow that softens the blow of a setback. I read my Encouragement For Today by Bible Gateway, then immerse myself in the scriptures that are used throughout the email. Only recently have I felt that is wasn’t enough so I signed up for a new email, Crosswalk.

“Job didn’t understand why he had to suffer so much. So, throughout the book of Job, we see him expressing heartache and anger at the pain and suffering God was allowing. We also see evidence of his impatience regarding how long it was taking God to bring about restoration." -Excerpt from Bible Gateway

Yesterday was another pain-filled day and my bible was my only source of relief. I read my Bible Gateway and there sat a message for me (all too often this happens), directed right at my soul! It was about total surrender and talked about Job and his impatience. It also spoke of endurance.

I thought nothing of it and went on with writing, not reading my Crosswalk email because I was caught up in reading the word and writing my post but I still wasn’t getting the message of Total Surrender, I thought I already understood but apparently God knows more than me and I was led to read Crosswalk. What I found there was a rare event! The same exact story by Tracie Miles – God Can Restore What’s Lost and Broken.

Here’s an excerpt, used without permission, but giving Tracie Miles full credit! 

“Yet through it all — and despite his human emotions — Job never doubted that full surrender and trust was necessary. In Job 1:21b he even says, “The LORD gave me what I had, and the LORD has taken it away. Praise the name of the LORD!” Despite his suffering, he trusted God’s will for his life and continued to praise Him. As a result, not only did Job’s faith soar, but his life did as well.” ~Tracie Miles, Bible Gateway AND Crosswalk

As a writer, I found it odd that TWO different emails would publish the same exact story on the same day! They’ve been different for weeks now, what was it about today that needed them to both be in sync? Me! Yup, that’s right! I NEEDED to understand the meaning that passed me by, evidently, of Total Surrender!

When I cried out, “What happened to me? Why am I in such pain?” He responded with Total Surrender! THAT is what I was lacking, not a vitamin or supplement, I was lacking giving it all to God and being patient in His response. I was too comfortable in my dependency on God and in all honesty I think I may have had an air of certainty, arrogance and possibly vanity.

Last night at 8:30 a knock at the door came and it was UPS. He had my neck traction device! I squealed with joy and quickly opened the package and put it to use. This morning I woke, after just thirty minutes of the device last night, I felt rejuvenated. Oh, there will be more sittings with my device, and more pain as I go along, but today after yesterday’s realization of what I was doing wrong, I woke with HOPE! Optimism that today is a new day!

With hope on my shoulder, the air of overconfidence shifted, and a new day of what Total Surrender looks like, I move forward.

May God be with you ALL!

Yesterday’s other scripture verse for me. Not coincidental!

Romans 4:18-21 (NIV) “Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be." Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead -- since he was about a hundred years old -- and that Sarah's womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.”

Gateway to Health: Spirituality

 John 4:24 KJV “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

Some people are defined by the religion they practice whether Catholic, Methodist, Baptist etc., the list goes on and on. I like to think I am defined by my spirituality, not a religion.

A healthy spirit is needed to get through the muck and mire that life deals you. Just as a healthy body gets you through illnesses attacking you and an unhealthy body has your immune system putting you on notice that, guess what, you’re not healthy.

One might ask how to obtain a healthy spirit and I can honestly wholeheartedly say, this is one thing on earth you can’t get with the almighty dollar. You can’t tithe and donate your way into a healthy spirit, you can’t buy candles or stones and think your way into a healthy spirit, you can’t get a vaccination against the evil spirits lurking the wild; a healthy spirit needs to be tended from within every second of every living day. Hard work but not impossible.

I’ve heard people call me a ‘Jesus freak’, a ‘bible thumper’ and even ‘a hypocrite’ all because I nurture my spirit in ways maybe no one else does. I like to think we’re all the same but just as this disease that has taken up a home in my body is unique to my body, no two believers are the same. We are all unique in our own way.

When you attend church, are you there to worship God or are you there to see who else is attending? Do you look at the shabby clothes one is wearing and compare the suit and tie guy to him? Are your eyes fixed on the extremely short skirt that Mildred is wearing compared to your ankle length skirt? Or are you there to praise and worship God?

Read this story and let me know if you fit in here. 

I realize I don’t fit in anywhere. I am a homeless person among onlookers. I am a leper among the unscathed. I am a fellow sinner among men. I am Spirit-filled to the end. My spirit is full of God and that is why I don’t fit in. I love all that He created, I love my fellow man even the ones who don’t seem to be wanting or in need of love, I love them anyway. My spirit is full because of LOVE. God is my breath in the morning, my lunch in the afternoon, a delectable filling dinner, and my companion at bedtime.

2 Cor. 6:17-18 “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.”

We cannot all be the same, God never intended us to be that way, we’re unique. When we are filled with the Spirit we sometimes look the same and are like magnets drawn to one another but we soon realize while we are like-minded we are all different on different paths, different roads, different purposes and different completion. God wanted us different but united by one thing… by our love!

We become children of God when we drink in His Holy Spirit. One can be an avid reader of the Bible, attend church weekly, wear the garments of being a Christian but still not be filled with His Spirit.

Deut. 30:1, 6, 19-20 “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”

Did you read that? Obey His voice, cling to Him, He is your LIFE and the length of your days. This is no small fete. He’s not asking you to passively get to know Him, He’s asking you to LOVE, LISTEN, and OBEY! He is the only one who gets to choose whether you live or die. So many humans are riddled with selfishness that we don’t quite comprehend this. We cannot hold fast to the materials of this world, the food, the books, the clothes or the money, it is not ours to cling to and if you say, “I worked for it!” Yes, you did but let me ask, when God calls you home, are you going to take your money with you and tell Him how you can’t leave it behind because ‘you earned it’?

Our spirit doesn’t know money. Money is of the materialistic physical realm. God is not money, God is Spirit! Spirituality is a connection, a relationship with God IN you not God outside of you. Meaning, God is not bits and pieces of the religious you. That is the physical you and what you’ve shaped in this physical world. That is your way of trying to connect to the Spirit of God. Remember what I said earlier, God is love? The Spirit of God is already in you and your free will allows a choice to stray from Him, embrace Him, or become ONE with Him. When your spirit is so full of LOVE that breathing hate is no longer a part of your being, you are becoming one with the Spirit of God.

You become one with everything living and breathing. Your soul opens to nature and all the natural beatings of the rhythms of the sound of the earth. The vibrations awaken in you a sight of God that you formerly never saw because you were too busy with the physical aspects of loving your Father. Spirituality is the meditations of the soul connecting with the Higher being dwelling within you that has now been awakened, God.

Matt. 22:37-40 “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Until you live and breathe these commandments, you have not soulfully or spiritually connected to the Holy Spirit. God is LOVE! Once you connect to the Father-board, boot up your system, you will feel the love course through your veins; for all those around you, your enemy, for those you formerly hated, and for those you disagree with. LOVE becomes your new way of living a spirit-filled life. You will now find yourself full of the Spirit

This is what God intended when He created us. He wanted us to be so full of love the world couldn’t view the hate. Instead what’s happened is the world is so full of hate it can no longer see the love. Sure we go to church, view people, see the steeple, hear a message but how many times in a week do you carry the message home with you, and actually LIVE the message of LOVE? Well, let me just say if more people carried the word, the world would not be the train wreck we have in front of us. You’ll find spirituality underneath the rubble.

Jer. 1:16 “And I will utter my judgments against them touching all their wickedness, who have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands.

May the Word of the Lord bless you all! 

I Am At Peace

Heb. 12: 14 (KJV) “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:”

I’m At Peace

I’m at peace with the decisions I make. While many will have a hard time seeing eye to eye with me, I will not be swayed by the force that tries to darken my days. 

I woke this morning, and upon reading my email I realized why I’m putting this windowed world on the back burner, to allow it to simmer down. I go right for my Encouragement For the Day, then to my verse for the day, then I move on to my bible reading for the day. 

There was other mail in my box and one, in particular, threw everything I had just read out the window and I was ready to respond in anger and offense. Instead, God’s hand touched my shoulder, He told me to breathe. By choice, I had been away from Facebook for twenty-four hours but my finger immediately went to the FB link and there I was on facebook at six in the morning.

I was expecting the same old-same old ‘this star is dead, oh wait, no he’s not, he’s hanging on, oh wait now he’s really dead’ posts. Instead, I was met with numerous scriptures on peace. A dear friend in Christ shares his walk with Christ and that was the first post that greeted me on FB. A friend of his posted a link to a sermon on ‘Overcoming Offense’! I sat for the next hour watching an excellent sermon that resonated with me and I felt a peace wash over me.

I went on to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving and then backed away from Facebook because it will absorb my day instead of me seeing the true meaning in the very purpose of my living day.

Two takeaways I got from the sermon was,

“What’s born out of love will never fail.”

“The way that seems right to man always leads to death and destruction.”

Prov, 14:12 “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” (KJV)

Prov. 16:11 “A just weight and balance are the LORD's: all the weights of the bag are his work.”

I am transformed not by technology; Christ transforms me daily. I live my life for Christ, not for the media, social influence, or the advancement of technology, I live for God. My life is love, which is all I care about these days is love and how love is projected outwardly from me to the world. I won’t be bogged down by offenses or past sins because I’ve been transformed. If you’ve known me over the years, I hope the one thing you see in me is God. You don’t see disease, you don’t see a distracted woman babbling, you see God in me! That is the peace I want to be projected to the world.

Prov. 16: 20 “He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and whoso trusteth in the LORD, happy is he.”

Needless to say, I did not respond to the email that angered me or to the person who offended me. After hearing the sermon I just wanted to praise and rejoice and go on with my day, balancing what needs to be weighed in my heart and soul. 

God does not call us to offend or be offended. He calls on us to portray Him and anything else you spew opposite of love is foolish pride in yourselves. God knew that our flesh was weak. He knew we would have an ego that would allow our flesh to rule over us and guide us through life. That’s the very reason He used the message of Prov. 14 and 16 scripture TWICE so we could understand the importance of putting aside our pride and ego and just let Him live in us and through us. 

Prov. 16:25 “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”

If I allow myself to be offended by every little thing, then I let satan and his work win. He’s cunning these days, disguised in Christians wearing the veil of righteousness but when exposed by the pulling off of the veil, their ugliness shows through. I will not be the person who does the unveiling, you yourself have to look in the mirror every day and who you see when you first get out of bed is who God sees. No makeup, no perfected hair, no deception, He sees right through you. THAT is the person God loves, flaws and all!

As I near Thanksgiving I am so grateful for everything in my life I can’t list it in just one post. But the thing I am MOST grateful for? God LOVES me flaws and all! HE sees perfection in me and it is up to me to show the world what perfection looks like through my flaws.

God is great, God is good, I always pray, as I know I should! 

May God bless you this Thanksgiving and may you find the light you seek in the darkness. Be full! 

Happy New Year...To My Return!

The frozen Platte River

Prov. 7:19 “For the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long journey:”

Happy New Year…to my return

Well, that break went well, except I missed writing every day. I tried and I am committing myself to pulling out some of my fiction and working on it but my blog needs me, my friends need me. 

You might think I don’t see you suffering in pain, and you might think I’ve left you all behind never to spare another encouraging word but it is that need that pulled me back. I need you all as much as you need my encouraging words.

Again I am not pinpointing anyone out here; my words are for many who see themselves in what I say. Pain. Who doesn’t relate to that one? Sickness! Who can’t say they haven’t been warding off a sickness these past couple of months (if not years); Not many I’m sure. 

I realized something the other day and am quite honored to say that people respect me and expect a certain manner and moral compass from me. They look to me for inspiring and encouraging words and will quite surely make note of when I’ve veered off track.

I posted something on facebook the other day with a negative overtone. While everyone expects the positive and encouraging words from me, they are quick to call me on anything negative. It’s kind of funny though, for an entire year I watched people day after day (and still do) share negative and hate filled posts and no one calls them on spreading hate and negativity. They just bask in the glory of feeling good about themselves by sharing the hate with the world.

That’s when I realized something, people respect me so much and have come to expect a positive energy from me that when something appears to have a negative overtone they steer me back on the enlightened path. That’s when you know your words actually are having an effect on the masses. That’s when you know that you’ve touched the souls of many.

So by realizing people miss my words of encouragement, I of course do what I normally do and that is WRITE! I think you all miss my blog because it is like I am journaling and you like peeking in on all that is going on with my life and how much like your journey is to mine. Not in a bad nosey kind of way but a good concerned kind of way as you relate. You think to yourself, ‘I wonder how Joni is doing’ and maybe wonder what I do to get through the same pain-filled days you yourself might be trudging through. I think you might need that bit of encouragement that has left your reading days empty while I was away. 

I’m back. I can’t give up writing and I certainly can’t leave you all hanging in wonder. I’ve decided to take you on this journey of discovering my medical condition so I don’t feel so alone is the process of whatever is going on with my body. 

I’ll seek a doctor, I’ll get diagnosed and I’ll let you in on the homeopathic process I hope I’m allowed to take. The only way they can diagnose MS is through a spinal tap and just reading about it made me cringe, so that is a big no! An MRI okay, if it’s an open tube (I’m claustrophobic), if not, I’ll live with my disability as I’ve been doing for four almost five years now MED FREE! 

I have some stuff to share and no facebook post is enough space, I NEED my blog, I NEED to write, and most of all I NEED YOU, my friends who CARE about me. So come along on my continuing journey of Christ and see where it is I’m being led to now. If you’re reading this, like it or not, God called you along for the ride! 

My trees awakened by the morning sun!

The Season of JOY!

Pss. 51:8 “Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.”

“If you have music inside you, you have God in you.” ~ Joni 

Define what brings you joy.

As I’m winding down my goal setting of 203 blog posts this year, I’m leading you to music, joy, and happiness all found with the LOVE of the Lord. I know this might sound radical but it is my life and the way I live on a daily basis until something negative smacks me upside the head. As you know, this year has been one of them kind of years.

I pushed through with post after positive post never relegating myself to the negativity out there taking over the world. I can only say, there is only one source to that JOY and happiness on a daily basis and that is finding the love of God in the depth of your soul and find music to be a natural healer on days that don’t measure up for you.

If you’ve read yesterday’s blog, you’ll read how music has a way of healing and I posted links to show proof that music is used in many healing capacities. I know that God is the ultimate healer and since we can’t see Spirit or soul we can only FEEL Him to get to KNOW Him, music is His way of intimately touching us through the rhythmic vibrations.

If you say that sad songs make you cry, they make you reminisce, that is all part of God’s plan to make you feel and sense the world around you and Him IN you. God does not ask us not to cry. He doesn’t order us to be stoic and never show emotion, no, tears are a perfect form of allowing God to stream down your face.

Grief is another form of God showing us that emotions are okay to express. When you hear a song, or think about a loved one you lost (often when a song is played) God is planting a seed of remembrance in your heart that has you directly touching Him. 

Joy and Love are other avenues of expressing God from within your soul. I’d like to do a musical experiment of sorts if you don’t mind. You’ll feel something with each link and I’d love to hear your feedback, if not, take to heart what you experience in the sincerest form and allow them to help you grow wherever you may need.

Click this link: bad vibrations?

Good vibrations? 

Intimacy with God - 

I can almost 100% guarantee you didn’t make it through the bad song, your heart stirred at the good vibration one, but your soul QUIVERED at the seconds or minutes you spent in the intimacy with God link. THAT my friends is the musical Healer in Action!

My mission this year was to bring about a change of heart in each and every one of you through every blog post. Whether my words solidified what you already believed or my words touched you in any way or maybe it was the brief light that you allowed in your door and it helped awaken you to a truth you’ve never known.

I’ll admit first hand that I had no intention or plans of going this far this year with my blog post, but as many of you can see with your own eyes, God had different plans, as always. Now my plans, after the 203rd post is to take a little break if God allows. Maybe I’ve given you all that He needed me to and will see that I’ve exerted myself to the extent that it is time for a refresher. 

The Advent season will come upon me and I’ll be on a quiet sabbatical of sorts as I pray and meditate on the season in my own way. Remember, Advent is not for Catholics only. I have my prayerful meditative month before the celebration of Christmas day as man sees it and it turns into what God wants from ME not what I want from Him or from man. 

Writing has been my lifelong journey since before I ever had the internet, a place to voice the words God places on my heart to convey to you, a people in need of an inspirational message. While families gather for Thanksgiving around their table with loved ones or alone, please know God is always in your heart to warm you this season.  

Pss. 51:12 “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.”

As aromas carry through the house of turkey and pumpkin pies as we give thanks, it will ring in the season of scents with pinecones and cookies. Always remember the reason for the season. Not the manmade appointed season, the real season of the Birth of Christ we read about in our Holy Bibles. Let Jesus’ birth carry you into a New Year, a new beginning a new perspective on life and the Spirit that will follow you long after you’ve left this physical world behind.

In God’s Holy name I pray that you have a Blessed Thanksgiving and a JOYOUS Christmas. Much of my time will be spent here praising the One and only keeper of my soul. 

God Bless you all.

Pss. 66:1 “Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands:”

MTOC ~ Day Three ~ Choice

“When faced with senseless drama, spiteful criticism, misguided opinions, walking away is the best way to stand up for yourself. To respond with anger is an endorsement of their attitude.” ~ Dodinsky

I have laid my past to rest and crawled out of the darkened pit with my fingernails intact as well as my dignity. While I could have lashed out at my sister for her insensitive ignorant remarks toward me, my son and my husband, I CHOSE the higher road and continue on with my life that I have built for myself. Not with the help of any blood family members who remain anchors that weigh me down. I now look to my Spiritual family to lift me up on a daily basis. 

We ALL have a choice and while some will cling to the bitterness that shapes their life, I CHOOSE not to allow anger and bitterness to define who I am now. THAT my friends is God in me. It isn’t any scientific psychological mumbo jumbo, nope it’s that God mumbo jumbo that I keep telling people about. 

I have a friend who over reacted to something she had seen. Apparently Kirk Cameron is doing a tour giving HIS testimony of Christ. While he has the star quality that I don’t have, his words are going to be faced with pretty much the same criticism I’m faced with in my testimony. Us God people are just freaks of nature. I along with millions, and possibly billions are all wrong and all freaks of this ‘God’ we speak of. 

What did Kirk Cameron say that ticked my friend off? 

He said, "Wives are to honor and respect and follow their husband's lead, not to tell their husband how he ought to be a better husband," he says. "When each person gets their part right, regardless of how their spouse is treating them, there is hope for real change in their marriage."

She raged on, (I won’t share her entire post for privacy reasons) but this is some of what she said:

“If this is what being Christian means, then I don't want any part of it.” 

What she said, loosely, is that she heard Cameron say that women are to be servant slaves to their husband. His sister Candace said that she agreed with Kirk and is submissive to HER husband but what my friend missed was the CHOICE of the entire message. I think she missed the point that we, men AND women, are to love, honor, respect and cherish one another. Not be slaves but to honor one another.

I don’t judge her for her opinion on the matter because it is what I see as a national problem with the message that Jesus was trying to convey. People mix the Old Testament with the New Testament and make confetti of the words and dish out what suits them. They dissect the word to fit into their little world, they use the words like wet clay and try to form those words into a belief system that suits or doesn’t suit them. To ME, it looks like they’ve made an ashtray out of the Word of God.

They try going to church but again, they’re met with confetti and don’t understand what is being said. They’re looked over, gawked at and made to feel like an outsider so they flee from the church never to return. They hear people TALK about the Word of God but for some reason, they don’t SEE the word of God working in people. Is that because the Bible bearers ACTIONS are not equal to what they are saying? 

It’s a fine line sure, but also, it is a matter of CHOICE. When you look at the starry sky at night lit up like diamonds scattered on a sunny beach do you see a disorderly array of stars or do you see things like Cassiopeia, Orion or the Pleiades hiding within the astrological signs? This is the same thing when people hear the Word of God or people speak of the word of God. Others hear a disorganized message or they hear a divinely orchestrated message hidden in there. 

Last year when my dad passed away, I couldn’t make it back home and it gripped me for months, the guilt, the hurt, the suffering pangs I felt. My sister in her obvious dislike for me (I’m not going to pretend otherwise) had said, “Well YOU made the choice to leave here!” I rightfully said, “Yes, yes I did, I chose LIFE over death.”

I had suffered back home and nearly lost my life on more occasions than one, so leaving my husband WAS a choice of mine, a CHOICE of survival. Those people enslaved me and kept me bound by their misfit whims of dysfunction and I just assumed that that is how life was supposed to be. I prayed often for deliverance from the hell I was entombed in. 

It wasn’t until I found freedom in the land of Texas was I able to see the outside world and after months of suffering anxiety attacks nightly, running off hyperventilating on the dark streets of Texas, I slowly got a grip on what reality looked like. My years and years of prayers were finally answered; I was free from enslavement. 

God put me on a path and only because my choice was Him did my world start to turn around and I saw the light of day. When I tell people of Christ, it isn’t from a high and mighty pedestal, it isn’t from a wealthy sculpted upbringing, it isn’t from being shaped by a defective family, no, it is from a woman who CHOSE God over living to the conformity of man. Yes, the same men who wrote the Holy Bible, Old and New Testaments. 

I live for the mysteries of God. You’re right people, the Bible is a bunch  of words, supposedly the divine intervention of God Himself, but it isn’t until you CHOOSE the Holy Spirit to live IN you will you ever grasp the meaning of one word or message from the Holy Bible. 

Acts 15:7 “And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.”

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!

A Snowflake?

A Snowflake?

There was a snowflake that fell

On my nose without a smell

Cross-eyed I did look

It trembled and shook

It found a new place to dwell.

The snowflake began to squirm

It wriggled like a worm

It began to slip

Down to my lip

A snowflake I can’t confirm.

The thing began to tickle

Feeling kind of fickle

I blew in the air

Without a care

I seem to be in a pickle.

It came down in flight

What a beautiful sight

Unlikely weather

For snowflake not feather

A message on wings of white.

“Feathers appear when Angels are near.”

This is the poem I wrote for my mother, whom just lost her husband of sixty years. This is her Christmas present. I told her I’d write one that wouldn’t make her cry and I’m hoping I succeeded. I also put in the envelope a white feather. 
Comments are much appreciated. 

Pss. 91:4 “He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.”

Have You Heard the Message?

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.

Have You Heard the Message?

Have you heard the message

Whispered in your ear?

Is your body filled with warmth

Nestled in good cheer?

Have you heard the message

Delivered to you today?

The Word that keeps you bound

To never be led astray.

Have you heard the message

Delivered to your soul?

Is it cradled in your heart

Making you feel whole?

Have you heard the message

Will you go and tell your friends?

Will you share with them the Glory

That only the Savior sends?

Have you heard the message

Do you know just what to do?

Go and tell the nation

Jesus died and rose for YOU!

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

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.

Getting Organized

Job 33: 5 If thou canst answer me, set thy words in order before me, stand up.
***

To whom it may concern, Joni is in deep need of getting organized. Last week was an emotional roller coaster ride of a week and I think the fog has cleared this week allowing me to see what I must do.

First let me say, Adam aced his first History test! YES! Proud mom! I knew he could do it, he wasn’t so certain but he did it! YAY Adam!

So I decided to dig in and look for my stories I want revised, tweaked and submitted. Lo and behold I found a disorganized mess! I’m always saying, “Organize!” June is always piping in, “Get organized.” And sometimes I hear these voices but time and clouds in the brain just were not allowing me to get organized.

This week is much clearer with cooler temps too. I looked out the window and the first falling leaves have begun their descent to cluttering the lawn. The grass is growing still and may just get its last mow this week, and my files are in such disarray I’m having trouble finding those amazing stories I had for publication! Oh my!

My files look like my lawn actually; cluttered and disarray is an understatement. So what do I need to do this week? I promised June I would get writing after Adam started school. I didn’t know I was going to be such a mess last week. But before I can get writing, I need to get organized. Why?

Organizing will get me focused on what I need to do; what I will be able to write; and where I go from here. After I find all my work I’m placing it in a priority file, then I’ll find other work and put that in a WIP file (work in progress), then I will begin submitting so I’ll have a file titled submissions with the time, date and who I’ve submitted to. This should help my clutter immeasurably.

I’m ready to move forward in my writing and getting organized is what’s going to shape the next couple of months. In life and in work, organizing can only mean that you are growing in the fact that knowing you need this organization, your leap into the crazy world will be much easier.

My house is spic-n-span so why aren’t my files? Because I’ve been too busy to even notice that they were getting sloppy. “Okay Joni, brush off the moss under your butt and get moving. Times a wasting and all you can do is sit here and write?”  Joni replied, “But it’s my blog about writing!”

Ahh... I’m glad this place is organized. *deep sigh of relief*

Poetry Sunday~ One Voice

Gen. 22:18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
***

One Voice
All rights reserved: copyright © Joni Zipp
I hear the voice in the still of the night
it whispers to me causing a fright
I toss and turn I can not sleep
this voice I hear is from the deep.

It wells within the heart of my being
sweltering my soul I wind up fleeing.
Alone in this world with nothing to hold
I straddle my fears as if I am bold.

I wallow in the shapeless city
there to smother in my own pity.
I know no one who’ll toss me a rope,
clinging here; relishing hope

The voice it says, “You must convey
your message to all so they’ll obey.”
but is my voice reaching the few
who need it the most, who haven’t a clue?

I’ll spread out my inspired word
in hopes one ear it will be heard.
Handling the message that I must give,
an awesome release of all I live.

One voice...
All rights reserved: copyright © Joni Zipp

Poetry Sunday ~ The Mystery

The Mystery
 All rights reserved: copyright © Joni Zipp
 ***
Within the snow capped dome I see
the mirror image looking back at me
Ice propels one to bliss
the wash of love I dare not miss.

The pine it lingers in my soul
fragments left to control
the gifts are but a vivid illusion
of life that struggles with confusion.

Christmas carries an air of mystery
as does the spirit throughout history.
Propels the thoughts of one who sleeps
into a place where cynicism weeps.

Allow the truth to never hide
Christmas day I will confide.
Hold out the hand of all you ration
within your heart the stem of compassion.
***
All rights reserved: copyright © Joni Zipp

author’s note: I have no idea where this came from! But read and gain what you need to. The message is there.