%%USERNAME%%    %%ACCWORDS%% %%ONOFF%% |
 |    I will be adding stories & reflections as time marches on. Take a gander today! |
|
Contest Entries: "The Contest Challenge"  Participant"I Write in 2018" Participant"I Write in 2019" Participant"I Write in 2020" Participant2021: Independent Writing 2122: "I Write: Enter the Second Decade" Participant2123: "Twenty-three in Eleven " ParticipantThis mixed collection contains fiction, non-fiction, prose, and poetry. Entries vary in length from very short to one that is over 3000 words. 53 entries written in 2018: ▼ 53 entries written in 2019: ▼ 43 entries written in 2020 ▼ 2 entries written in 2021 ▼ Entries written in 2022 ▼ NOTE: All Titles with ~ ~ are either non-fiction or based on a true story. |
Teedy loved the little white church. Her grandpa took care of the building. Her grandma was the church secretary and played the piano on Sunday morning. Teedy loved sitting in the pew by her grandpa and her folks while her grandma played and every one sang the hymns she was already beginning to learn by heart. She shared this part of the church service with the grown ups but her favorite part was "Children's Church". After the singing, the preacher would have all the kids come down to the front of the church. He would sit on the steps of the alter and have the kids gather around. He would talk to them a bit and then tell them a story from the Bible. Then he would say a prayer with them and send them off to their own special service. Teedy would walk with her friends past her grandma at the piano, wave bye to her family and go through the door to Miss Simons room. Miss Simons really loved Jesus. She talked about Him all the time. She said He was God's Son and died on the cross for all of us. She said God loved us very much. Miss Simons always smiled and she looked so happy to be in Jesus. Teedy wanted to be like her when she grew up. Teedy wanted to love Jesus like Miss Simons did. Written for: "Share Your Faith" Prompt: first memories Word Count: 238 ~ ~ ~ JESUS is LORD! ~ ~ ~ |
The title of my talk today is: "Confessing Our Sins". Did you know there are at least three Bible verses that couple the idea of confessing our sins with a promise? Two of them have been a part of my life for a long time. The other, although I am sure I have read it before, did not really register for me until my son pointed it out recently. I will start with that one: In Leviticus 26, we find God promising the Israelites if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, He will remember his covenant with with them, and will remember the land. This old testament promise talks about God's people confessing not just their own sin but also the sin of their fathers. Is there a connection between us and the sin of earlier generations? There might be. In modern counseling, they speak of "generational transmission". In Christian circles, they speak of "generational curses". Does the act of confessing both our own sin and the sin of previous generations afford us a blessing? Perhaps it does. As I mentioned, this is a new idea to me but one I want to add to my arsenal. Why? Because I've had good results when I've acted on two new testament verses that tell us to confess our sins. One of these is: James 5:16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The idea of confessing our sins to each other can be scary. When I suggested doing this to my sister, her reaction was, "I could never do that!" There was a time in my life I was afraid if people really knew me, they would reject me. Then came the day I did a thorough moral inventory of myself. After I shared it with God, I shared it with another person. An amazing thing happened: they did not reject me. A second result of that experience was I found myself, for the first time, truly able to love myself. Of course, wisdom would dictate choosing a person you can trust. The verse indicates choosing a person who will pray for you. One thing I know, confessing my sins to others has given me a freedom and a transparency I did not have before. Admitting our failings is the first step to victory over them. And, who gives us victory over sin? God does. Which brings me to a very important verse in the life of any Christian: I John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness How do we change? How do we become more like Jesus? This verse holds the key. We confess our sin to God and look to Him to change us—to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So, what is sin? As I have relied on the truth in this verse, I have come to call anything outside of God's will for me "sin". By doing so, God is given free reign to change me and make me more like Him—and He will. What if there is something in my life I don't want to give up, something I don't want to confess? Well, I start right there and admit to God. "God, I don't want to stop this." As I have done that, guess what has happened? God has moved on my behalf and changed my heart. Where I could not change myself, He did. As I confessed my sin, He forgave me and cleansed me... Confessing our sins to God and to one another and praying for each other is the secret to spiritual growth and revival. Amen? ~ ~ ~ JESUS is LORD! ~ ~ ~ |
| When I was around two years old, our preacher came to visit. For some unknown reason, he asked me if I knew why my mom and dad got married. I confidently declared, "Grandma said it was for immoral purposes." Click here for the reason I said this... ▼ Written for "Keenest Joker" |
| "Your new client has autistic traits." "What does that mean?" asked the job coach. "He is not diagnosed with autism but he exhibits some traits like a person on the autism spectrum." As she left her supervisor's office, the job coach thought to herself, "Time to ask Google for more information." As she read through the information she found, it was as if she was reading about her grandson. He was sensitive to loud noises. He also had a heightened sense of smell and touch. She thought back to dealing with his strong reaction to the sound of lawn mowers at the apartment complex where he lived and hand dryers in restrooms. She had worked with him to help him to be able to be around those sounds without freaking out. And his sense of smell—he tended to use his nose before his vision when she decorated a birthday cake for him. He wanted to smell everything. He liked to smell her feet. He was a strange child. Perhaps he had autistic traits. What else was different about him? Well, she had noticed early on that he did not engage in conversation in the way his sister and cousin did. They were a bit younger than him but they had back and forth conversations with each other whereas, although he was able to talk, he talked at people rather than with them. His comments were random and were not in response to what other people said to him. It was hard to even get him to answer a question. He would speak but his sentences were usually off the wall things not answers. Realizing all this, the job coach began to talk to her daughter about these things and together they began to explore the idea that this little boy was also exhibiting autistic traits. It was years before they finally found someone to do some testing for them to determine what was happening. Eventually, the child was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. The name of the disorder was later changed to Autism Spectrum Disorder but the grandmother would always remember that first day of testing and the psychologist sharing the results with her and her daughter. One particular part of the testing sticks in her mind to this day. The examiner had shown her grandson a picture like this:  She asked the little boy to tell her about the picture. His response was unique: "It is a cheap umbrella. She probably made it herself." Yep, he definitely saw the world in his own very special way... Created on : Apr 29, 2019 at 9:44am. Written for "The Bard's Hall Contest" Picture Prompt:  Word Count: 427 Words ~ ~ ~ JESUS is LORD! ~ ~ ~ |
It was 1978. I have a lot of good memories from my walk with God that year. This one still amazes me. It was a normal day, normal lay of the land kind of thing. I was pregnant with my fourth child or it was shortly after her birth. This event happened in the livingroom of a little three bedroom house we rented on Knollaire in Sunnyland between East Peoria and Washington, Illinois. The first thing that happened was a realization. I was praying and had the sudden insight that several of my neighbors did not know Jesus—and I did not care. At least, prior to that moment, I had not cared enough to even pray for them. I confessed this to God as sin and asked Him to give me a heart for those around me that I would pray. A surprising thing happened after that. I was lying on my tummy on the livingroom floor praying and I had a kind of vision: I literally saw myself. I saw myself lying there on the floor but I did not see myself exactly how I would have appeared to an onlooker. I did not notice my clothing. What I saw was my body covered with open, runny, putrid, infected, puss-filled sores. It was a bit like what I might have imagined leprosy to look like. It probably was not actually what it looked like but it was nasty, gross and disgusting. I was absolutely covered with puss-oozing sores all over my body. The thought came to me "our righteousness is a filthy rags" and I knew the yucky sores represented my sin—not my sins but rather my SIN. Then another amazing thing happened. I perceived Jesus standing above my head, off to the right. I use the word "perceived" because I did not see Him with my eyes as much as I discerned He was there. That was the moment I first learned the true meaning of the word PURE. I was aware of white light and an over-powering holiness and essential purity. Jesus was the epitome of pure. He was so clean, so holy. The word pure took on such an expanded meaning for me that day I do not have the words to express it. But I do remember it. What a contrast: Jesus, pure and holy and me, covered with puss-oozing, putrid sores. Sinless versus sinful. And then He started to reach His Hand toward me! No! No! I could not allow it. I could not allow Him to soil himself. I was too filthy and He was too clean. I physically shrunk back from His extended Hand. And He reached further and laid His Hand on my head and Love flowed through my entire being—His Love, His Holiness, His Cleansing Power. He healed me and made me whole... Written for "The Taboo Words Contest ~ On Hiatus" FEBRUARY PROMPT: TOUCH Taboo Words: touch, sensation, feel, contact, handle, tactile or any derivatives of these words. Word Count: 476 Words. ~ ~ ~ JESUS is LORD! ~ ~ ~ |
| "Father-God, It is New Year's Eve again. It has been four years since Mommy died but I still miss her so much." "God, why did she have to die on the one holiday I used to celebrate?" "I don't know what to do this year. I just know I will likely never celebrate New Year's Eve again as long as I live. For me, it will always be the anniversary of the day my mother died." "God, What can I do this year to help me cope with the lingering feelings of grief?" "What can I do?" "You remember, the first year after her death I visited her grave back in Wellsville." "The second year, I stayed up all night making five slow-cookers full of corned beef and cabbage—one of each of my kids' families." "Right now, I can't remember what I did last year." "I think I was at Matthew's, wasn't I?" "I know I didn't get together with family but I think my camper was parked on his property." "What can I do this year?" "Move into the dilapidated house you bought" "I could do that. I could buy something to sleep on and a table." "I have those jigsaw puzzles Glenda gave me. Mommy and I used to work jigsaw puzzles all the time." "And I have her poetry books—the ones we used to read together. I could read poetry and remember all the times she and I read poems together." "I remember..." "I re..." "ring—ring—ring" "Uh, Uh, Hello?" "I love you, ruwthy." "Mommy, Mommy, Is that you?" "ruwthy..." "Oh, Mommy!! I miss you so much!! I love you, too!!" "I dream about seeing you again when I get to heaven." "I love you, my darling girl..." "Mommy—oh, Mommy, I love you so!!" "Is this really happening? Am I dreaming? I don't care if I am, I am so glad to hear your voice even if it is a dream, I love you!" Written for "The Dialogue 500" Prompt: You receive a phone call from a dead relative. Word Count: 332 Words ~ ~ ~ JESUS is LORD! ~ ~ ~ |
My Children... My children are grown, With kids of their own. My children... Dear to my heart, Though we now live apart. My children... I remember each birth and their days on this earth. My children... Five lives intersecting and sometimes connecting. My children... There is no one alive That means more than these five. My children... Written for: "Invalid Item" "Open Expression: A Poetry Contest" by Sally This is "a prompt-free contest for all poetic styles". Style: I have aimed for rhyming pairs with a poetic feel but no set rhythm. This entry was originally created on : Jan 6, 2019 at 9:53pm. ~ ~ ~ JESUS is LORD! ~ ~ ~ |
| I choose JOY! What wonderful words. Let me tell you a story about choosing joy! It was my sixty-fifth birthday. I had wanted to do something special but, due to family issues, my plans fell through. I still wanted to make my significant coming of age birthday special. I opted to go off by myself—just me and God. I will never forget what happened when I awoke that day: PERVASIVE PEACE AND CONTENTMENT It was amazing. I woke up with an overwhelming sense of peace—peace that was completely independent of the things transpiring in my life at that time—the peace that passes understanding. What a wonderful birthday gift! I spent the entire day luxuriating in that warm wonderful feeling. I was so grateful to have one day of this magnificent sense of peace and contentment. Then came the day after my birthday and the day after that and the week after that and another week... What was happening? Why had this wonderful thing happened for me? Why was it lasting and lasting and lasting? Then came a big conflict with one of my adult children. I was upset. My feelings were in stark contrast to the wonderful sense of peace I had been experiencing. What was I to do now? Here's the thing: The time had come to make a choice and I chose joy. The two feelings were so sharply contrasted! The yucky feeling simply was NOT one I wanted to maintain. The wonderful warm, luxurious peace and contentment was not a feeling I wanted to lose. But, what about the conflict? Well, would staying in the miserable feeling fix or help anything? No. I did choose JOY and have never regretted it. I felt a little guilty at first. It was almost as though it was some kind of obligation to feel like crap when folks in my life were having problems. It felt almost disloyal to feel peace and contentment when others were struggling. Ya know what, I still chose JOY. Then came some of my own personal hurdles. I was rejected. I got ill. My home was in need of repair. I made mistakes. Different circumstances elicited different feelings. Fortunately, I had been telling people about this wonderful experience. I had been demonstrating to others that stepping into God's peace was like stepping from one room to another. Almost every time I shared this idea with someone, a storm hit in my own life and the time had come to make a choice and, thankfully, I consistently chose joy. I pray I will continue to make that choice one moment at a time for the rest of my natural life as I look forward to spending eternity with the God who gave us this wonderful gift: the peace that passes understanding. God will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is staid on HIM!  Written for "Jesus Praise" Word Count: 480 ~ ~ ~ JESUS is LORD! ~ ~ ~ |
| Many years ago, He had formed man out of the dust of the land. Man was His finest creation. Man was an animal but was also so much more. God had made so many animals before the day He made man but man was different. Man was created superior to all the other creatures God had made. Man was made in the image of God Himself. There came a time God repented of having made man. He had given man the power of choice. He had not initially given man the knowledge of good and evil but man had used his power of choice to gain the knowledge for himself. Man had chosen to disobey God. In essence, man chose not to trust God and acted against the only limitation God had put on man. Things have not gone very well since man made the decision to defy God. Evil was turned loose on the earth as a result and it broke God's heart to see so much wickedness on the face of the earth. The wickedness of man was what had caused God to regret having created man in the first place but, just when God was thinking of wiping out His creation, He called on one of the men He knew loved and obeyed Him. God offered Noah an amazing chance to save mankind—and Noah acted on God's instructions. Noah built an ark, a very large boat, and took his family on board along with a lot of animals. God then shut them up in the ark and caused the world to be flooded. Life outside the ark was destroyed by the flood. When the waters of that God-sent flood receded, God promised not to destroy life on earth with a flood ever again. He created the rainbow as a sign of His promise. The rainbow was an indication that summer and winter, heat and cold, day and night would continue for as long as the earth endures. The earth was then repopulated by the descendants of Noah and his family. Animals of every species repopulated their own areas of the earth as well. But the destruction of life had not destroyed the evil and wickedness that grieved God's heart. Soon, it was an rampant as ever. It was time for Plan B. Actually, Plan B was probably the plan the whole time. God was not going to use a created man to save His creation. The plan that would work was for He, Himself to come to earth in the form of man. God worked through other men to establish a pattern, a pattern of a blood sacrifice to cleanse man of sin. He called a people to be His chosen people. It was through the Israelites He was going to work His plan to walk among them in the form of man. He was with them in a body of flesh and blood—a body prepared for sacrifice. He made His entrance as predicted by being born of a virgin. He grew in stature and faith and became a man. Then the time came for His blood sacrifice. This time, it was not the blood of lambs that was to cleanse mankind of their sin. This time it was His Blood, His Precious Blood. He allowed Himself in the form of His Only Begotten Son to be condemned and die on a cross. Three days later, He rose from the dead and the final phase of His Plan for the salvation and restoration of man was in place. After the resurrection, He went away to create a place for them. When the allotted time had passed, He would come again and gather in His faithful followers and they would live with Him in peace forever. Written for: "No Dialogue Contest-CLOSED" July 2018 Prompt: animal Word Count: 630 Words ~ ~ ~ JESUS is LORD! ~ ~ ~ |
| As I'm trying to tweet a story, my grown son keeps talking to me. Ultimately, I surrender to the moment and this becomes the story I tweet! Click Here If You Are Reviewing My Tweet ▼ Written for "Invalid Item" 140 Characters ~ ~ ~ JESUS is LORD! ~ ~ ~ |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
