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Created by the talented [Link To User poulynoe]")    I wanted to let my readers know that my new book Teatime will be available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other sites next week. It will be available in hard copy by the first week of February. The paperback editions are $9.95 and the hardbacks are $24.95. I recommend buying a hardback because they will automatically be collector's items and quite valuable. They are collector's items because they are so rare. If you buy one let me know and I will arrange to autograph it and state in the autograph what order I have signed them in. If yours is the second one I autographed there will be a statement saying so. This will increase the value.  Prompt: "I don't see a prompt from Marvelous Friend   yet so I am sending one. If you get two, choose one or both.How do you view death?" There have been two deaths from COVID-19 in the past two weeks here at the home I live in. They were quickly identified as having it and were isolated so the rest of us are okay. There are no more positives here. The two men who passed were both believers so I believe they are with Jesus now. I view death as the final judgment. It is curtains for the unsaved as they face a destiny of eternal separation from God. I see death as a promotion for the saved since I believe they will face an eternity with Jesus. Death is a sad state for those who remain as we mourn the loss. There is no hope of making that pain any easier. It hurts regardless.  Prompt: I was cruising the galaxy with Jane Way and found this planet: (334) Read this item:
Happy birthday! I view birthdays any more as both depressing and celebrations. They are depressing because they mean I am older. They are celebrations because I am still vertical! |
| image:2227275-75%} Class is officially back in session for me. While I am going to try to slow my pace a little bit this semester and will therefore have a little more time at the beginning of the semester, college and my position here at the home are my current vocation. In other words, there will be times I will be inexplicably absent without notice. "Prompt: Matthew 6:31-32 31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things."Here Jesus promises to fulfill our needs. How do you feel about trusting God’s provision? Where are areas in which you need help trusting?" I absolutely trust God's provision though I am not always the greatest at obeying God. I easily fall to temptation and am trusting God to remedy that as well since I seem incapable and have proven myself incapable of doing so. When God is ready, He will remove these things from my life. During the meantime I am to trust Him to do so. Sometimes trust means that we don't beat up on ourselves for repeated sin. We trust God to remove that sin in His way at His time. "Prompt: I was cruising the galaxy with Buck Rogers and found this planet: (21) Read this item:
Write about this in your Blog entry today." We all have our beliefs about the hereafter. I may not agree with the beliefs of another, but I respect their beliefs. |
| Prompt: "The opposite of integrity is called duplicity. The verses we looked at on the 5th, describes duplicity. Duplicity is deceitfulness and double-dealing, doubleness. The opposite of that is honesty and singleness of mind and heart, having one focus. What does integrity look like in school, at home, through activities and in relationships with others? How can we exercise more integrity into our everyday lives?" I think we use integrity when we live our words. Many of us say one thing and feel one thing and then do another. Integrity is when our actions match our feelings and our words. Prompt: "Sorry. Wrong day. Prompt: I was cruising the galaxy with Captain Kirk and found this planet:
I don't know what anybody else is going to do with a day but I consider each day to be a gift. I am going to try to enjoy it knowing that all is well. |
| "prompt: Proverbs 11:3 The integrity of the upright shall guide them: but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them. What does this verse say to you and what are your thoughts on integrity?" Integrity is doing the next right thing at the next right time. There was a time I had little integrity. I lied when it was easier to tell the truth. Dishonesty was a way of life for me. Jesus changed all of that. Today while cruising through Delta quadrant with the crew of the Voyager still, we flew by the star system Brother Nature  where we learned about autumn in
I don't like autumn because winter follows it. |
| "Marvelous Friend has not sent out a prompt yet. I do not know why but I will jump in with one. What are you praying for in 2022?" I am praying for the Lord's return in 2022. I know the Lord's return is imminent. Each day takes us closer to the end. Today while cruising through Delta quadrant with the crew of the U. S. S. Voyager, we came upon the star and found the planet
Tell us what you think in your entry today. I really don't know. This is a philosophical question much like Freud's "Why? Why not?" There really is no right answer. |
| "Prompt: May God's peace shine upon you. May he bless and keep you in safety. May every sickness be healed. May you experience his awesome power and grow closer to him this year. Happy New Year everyone! prompt Pick a verse or passage from the Bible and write about it." My favorite verse in the Bible is Philippians 3:14 "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." To me this passage means I can do anything I want in life. Jesus is my strength. I do not have to depend on my frailties to get me through. "Prompt: Last night we had a party onboard and some are recuperating. Last night we saw a star. Adherennium Dr of Phoolishness   writes
My muse is currently being evasive. It hits me once in a blue moon and when it does I write for weeks. Then it goes away. Right now I am concentrating on my career. Writing is a hobby. |
| Image #2235354 over display limit. -?- Image #1997652 over display limit. -?- Image #1971183 over display limit. -?- Image #2249882 over display limit. -?- "prompt: Write a prayer or entry about everything you want God to do for 2022 and don't forget to settle everything with God about 2021." I want God to do for me in 2022 just what He did for me in 2021. I seldom pray for myself. What people fail to understand is that God never thinks of God. He thinks only of others. I would be happy yp pray for others but not myslf. Image #2235152 over display limit. -?- "Prompt: I was cruising the galaxy with Bugs Bunny and found this planet":
"Write about music in your Blog entry today." I have come to find that I am a better singer than I thought. I rang bells for the Salvation Army during the Red Kettle season this year. I took my iPad with me and played Christmas carols in the background. I began to sing with the songs and people loved my singing. My donation rate doubled once I began singing. Image #2251074 over display limit. -?- Image #2187503 over display limit. -?- |
| image:2227275-75%} Image #1997652 over display limit. -?- Image #1971183 over display limit. -?- Image #2249882 over display limit. -?- "Prompt: How will you show God's love to others in 2022?" I will show God's love to others in 2022 the same way I did in 2021. I will do my very best to treat others exactly as I would have them treat me. I will continue to always try to do the next right thing. I know I will fall short along the way. I often do. However I have found that if I try to do the next right thing in all situations it usually works out for the best. Image #2235152 over display limit. -?- "Prompt: I was cruising the galaxy with Dr. Beverly Crusher and found this planet": tj ~ endeavors to persevere!  Read this item:
I have a very dear friend that I made in cyberspace. I have never met her face-to-face yet we have developed a very close relationship. I know she is a private person so I will not name her on here. She knows I care deeply for her. Image #2251074 over display limit. -?- Image #2187503 over display limit. -?- |
| image:2227275-75%} Image #1997652 over display limit. -?- Image #1971183 over display limit. -?- Image #2249882 over display limit. -?- "Prompt: What will you do to work on improving your relationship with God in 2022?" This is a tough question because I honestly do not know. For one thing, I have found that there is nothing I can do to change me into what God requires to begin with. My righteousness to God is like a used tampon. My best behavior is appalling to God so I am beyond human help. I must depend totally on God and He will change what needs changed. I often wish He would do so more quickly because I am an expert at self-condemnation. I know what I deserve and cannot lie to myself about that. I have sin in my life that no matter what I try I find myself entangled in. I know God will removed it in His time and His way. We have these preconceived notions that all we have to do is pray about a sin and God will immediately take it away from us. I do not believe that is how God works. At least that has not been my experience. Sometimes I struggle with sin for ages before God removes it. Does that mean the sin will send me to hell? I do not think so. I believe Christians exist in two states of being: The first state of being is our saved state. This is the state God always sees and it is the state of being covered by the blood of Jesus. Then there is our actual state which is our lives. We stumble and trip along the way and God works with us to slowly, ever so slowly grow us toward perfection. In this state He prunes us and removes this or that sprout to allow the top branches to thrive. He prunes us in His time and may allow an unwanted sprout to grow for a very long time before removing it. We often have the misconception that a Holy God does not tolerate sin. All we have to do is look around us to realize that God not only tolerates sin, He permits it to continue. Why do I say that? I say that because He lets the world continue to go on. He has allowed the world to continue on for thousands of years. He therefore allows sin to continue on. He does not like sin and absolutely never indulges in it, but He permits it. The sin in our lives is the same way. He permits it and will remove it in His time. Image #2235152 over display limit. -?- Today's star appeared out the port viewer during the third shift. Baloney Bill writes about dreams and window shopping in
My dream is to live to be a ripe, old age. I am 60 years old and just about to finish up my Master of Divinity degree and a second bachelor's degree. I will then have two associate degrees, two bachelor's degrees, and a master's degree. I plan to go on to post graduate school and pursue my doctorate degree, either in psychology or ministry. I plan to use my degrees to help others. Exactly what form that will take is yet unknown. I am guessing that I will volunteer for a substance abuse agency. I say volunteer because most such agencies cannot afford to pay me what my education is worth. Besides, as a volunteer I can carry out my pledge that started in my recovery. I was a drug addict for nearly three decades. During that time I allowed others to convince me that I was somehow mentally handicapped to the point that I could not compete with "normal people". I guess by today's standards they would have said I was autistic at best and possibly brain damaged or something. Anyway, since this was coming from people I trusted such as my mother, father, siblings, and professionals, I believed them. Since I believed them I never tried. As a result, I was on disability for nearly 30 years, during which I occupied myself by writing and doing drugs. In 2009 this all began to change. I entered recovery and the first principle I was taught there was to be brutually honest with myself. I was also taught to reexamine everything I had ever believed about myself and more importantly, I was told to start over. I eliminated all of my former circle, including limited contact with my family. I developed new relationships with new people and eliminated anybody from my life who told me I was "different and could not". I surrounded myself with people who believed I could do anything I wanted to do in spite of anything against me. My first order of business was to make amends to society for believing the lies and not trying to succeed. I also wanted to make amends for being a drain on society and living on disability for decades. Volunteer jobs allow me to give back to society. Volunteering is a part of my amends. What are my dreams? My dream is to use the rest of my life getting enough education to make a difference in the world I leave behind. Perhaps I will write some ground breaking research paper or positively change the life of a future leader. I do not know how I will change the world. I just know I want to positively impact my little niche in it. Image #2251074 over display limit. -?- Image #2187503 over display limit. -?- |
| image:2227275-75%} Image #1997652 over display limit. -?- Image #1971183 over display limit. -?- Image #2249882 over display limit. -?- "Prompt: What have you learned in 2021 that will improve your relationship with God going forward?" I 2021 I figured out that I cannot get rid of sin in my life until God is ready to deal with it. I think many of us have this delusion that becoming a Christian means we never sin again. Many preachers make it sound like that. However we all sin. I have sin in my life that haunts me every day and try as I might I simply do not have the strength to fight it. I have had sin in the past that was persistent. I prayed about it, repented of it, and went through all the "religious motions." The sin did not disappear until God took it away. So 2021 has taught me that I am totally dependent on God. I cannot overcome sin on my own and God may not be ready to remove it when I think it should be removed. He deals with it in His time and His time is not my time. I know many may find it shocking to believe that God would allow sin to continue. However God allows the world to continue and we know it is sinful. The good news is that in spite of my sin I am saved because I am covered by the blood. I know God will make me sinless in time. As long as I am in this flesh some element of sin will continue in me and God will continue to seemingly not care about it. God does care and He is slowlyworking me toward perfection. The sin I pray about and cannot overcome is in His hands and He will remove it when He is ready to do so. Image #2235152 over display limit. -?- Prompt: "Today, while getting settled in from my long furlough, I saw a star. Sarah Rae writes
I was both mother and father to my son from the time he was 3 weeks old and on. He was not my biological son or at least I was not aware that he was. His mother lived with my wife and I because she had married my wife's cousin and then the marriage was annulled. She got pregnant prior to their marriage and had the baby while living with us. She had no idea what she was doing with him and she had post-partum depression. He was virtually neglected. My wife challenged me to take him on and take care of him and I reluctantly did so. The moment I held him the first time I fell in love with him. I went on to deal with colic that kept him up and me walking the floors with him at all hours of the night. I was a writer and otherwise unemployed and uncommitted so I found that it was best to sleep when he slept. I got to the point where I could fall into a deep sleep in seconds and awake at the slightest sound from him. Parenthood is the best thing that ever happened to me but it had moments where it was a living nightmare. I still would not change a second of it. My son is grown now and I have found the old saying to be very true. "When they are little they walk on your toes. When they are adults they walk on your heart." My son and I seldom talk these days. I have called him a few times and even provided him with a phone at my own expense so he could stay in touch. When we do talk he is always in a rush to get off the phone. I have gotten to the point where I no longer try. He'll call when he is ready and hopefully his dad will be able to respond. I got angry with him for this on Christmas Day and told him that I was not forced to be his dad to begin with. I guess he felt guilty because he messaged me the next day and tried to hold a conversation. I knew it was to appease a guilty conscience so I was cordial with him at best. When he is ready to have a sincere conversation he'll call, Image #2251074 over display limit. -?- Image #2187503 over display limit. -?- |
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