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I've added a new entry to my book, "These Are My JOTtings, Part #2"  : "Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur" Today's poem has been created for the
I've chosen to write about Topic #2 - Jewish Holidays. I hope you enjoy my offering. Blessings, Everyone, especially to those who know the Lord.     |
| I've added a new entry to my book, "These Are My JOTtings, Part #2" : "God's Peace" It seems that just about every day, now, when I go online, I find some new cause for grief. The sheer volume of the news and the grief is like trying to drink from a firefighter's hose. I process such a small piece of grief, before a "72-ounce steak dinner" would have me slice off a new piece, just to get it free, because I ate it in one hour's time at the Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo on Route 66. My heart is deeply compassionate, but I am starting to feel overwhelmed, and I'm very sure I'm not alone. Another terribly sad event today has given rise to my latest poem as I deal with the grief attached to the event. I didn't know about it before I read ruwth  's and Gothic Spud  's posts. As I've said before, and I'll probably keep repeating myself, I process grief often in the form of poetry. I hope and pray that this poem can help somebody else, too. “But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.” (II Timothy 3:13, KJV) Reading this verse doesn't change the pain we all feel, regarding this and other recent events, but it is amazing that the Lord gave the Apostle Paul the ability to see these days all of those approximately 2000 years ago. Ultimately, there will be Blessings, Everyone, to those who know the Lord. |
| I've added a new entry to my book, "These Are My JOTtings, Part #2" : "Caught Up" The joyful days of Earth often surround the times when we are all caught up in our work and personal tasks. We have time to relax, enjoy a nice piping hot cup, and read a good book (or write one.) One day, maybe soon, the Christian's life tasks will be accomplished, that we may be caught up into the clouds to meet the Lord to be forever with Him as His honored Bride. He praises not for perfect service, but for faithful service, founded upon His Own Perfect Merits. Isn't this the Glory of Mercy and Grace? We receive not the punishment, that has been so wholly earned by our sin, (Romans 6:23) while receiving the Gift of Salvation we could never earn. (Romans 6:23) God grant you a receptive heart this very day. (John 3:3; John 6:37,44; Romans 9:15-16; and Romans 10:9-10,13, KJV) Blessings, Everyone. |
| I've added a new entry to my book, "These Are My JOTtings, Part #2" : "The Rapture? What Happened?" Since I was a teenage boy, I have been looking for the Lord Jesus to come in the Rapture (or "catching away") of The Church Universal (or World-wide), His Bride. He hasn't come yet, but I'm still watching for Him every day. However, I am not by myself in waiting a long time for the Lord's imminent Return. The eleven disciples who remained wondered about the same thing. "7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. 8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. 9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. 10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." (Acts 1:7-11, KJV) The mass exodus of the Rapture did not happen on Rosh Hashanah (September 22-24, 2025,) but I have already learned this year of three personalized raptures of men, who have been speaking for the Lord, since the 20th Century. These three are men I greatly respect. They are Dr. John MacArthur, James Dobson, the Founder of Focus on the Family, and Pastor Voddie Baucham. It remains to be seen if I will be granted the honor to go up in the Rapture of the Church, but due to the Merits of Jesus, who paid for my sins, and Who lived the perfection that I could never live, I have a personalized rapture waiting for me when I breathe my last. “And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.” (II Peter 3:4, KJV) The God, Who can hear scoffer's words 2000 years in the then-future is the God I want to worship, to serve, and to follow. Blessings, Everyone. |
| I've added a new entry to my book, "These Are My JOTtings, Part #2" : "Starting Over" This poem is an update on the first week of my retirement. It's certain that I won't need to worry about retirement being boring. I mowed the lawn with a push mower yesterday, and my Pacer app measured 4-5 miles as I recall, just in my yard. Tonight, I need to prune the elm tree to make room for a job my wife wants accomplished tomorrow. Then, there's the upcoming trip to the recycling center. Here is the first couplet of the second quatrain. "When starting over, give it time to find its rhythm, new." I'm quite sure I should be dancing the new dance quite well in about 2-3 weeks. My job was mostly indoor cleaning. Now, I have outdoor cleaning jobs to look forward to. That will be good. I love fresh air. To any of my praying friends, today is the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Helene. The Weather app shows three hurricanes or tropical "dancers" making their presence known off our Atlantic coastline with a "Wait and See" of potential interplay. More high winds and flooding for the same areas affected by Hurricane Helene? Unknown, but possibly. Ryan Hall, the YouTube Weatherman seems to think it will be only a quarter of what we got last year. As he is wont to say, "Don't be scared. Be prepared." We got more bottled water today, Ryan. Are you proud of us? Please, pray with us, and for us. After a relatively quiet hurricane season through most of September, we must now get up to speed quickly. Most of the month = 0 hurricanes. Now potentially three hurricanes or the like. Big transition. I pray that "Starting Over" won't be a lot. You good, Dave's trying to catch up  ? Looks like Imelda is headed right at you, and she's not even officially named, yet. Blessings, Everyone. |
I've added a new entry to my book, "These Are My JOTtings, Part #2" : "Prepared for the Future" Occam's Razor = God is above everything in the physical Universe in every way, including Man's ability to comprehend God. Blessings, Everyone. |
| I've added a new entry to my book, "These Are My JOTtings, Part #2" : "When You Hit the Wall" Well, yesterday, I "hit the wall," emotionally, so to speak, like when running a marathon. I pushed through the wall, but sounded slightly unhinged in the review that I wrote. I would like to apologize for any offense that may have come from me "pushing through the wall", emotionally. I probably should have taken the day off from writing, but I have a streak of more than 30 days going, regarding the Daily Five. So, I pressed on. Today, I realized, that for the past three years I've been running an emotional marathon with my most recent career, and retiring on Friday released that flood of emotions this weekend. Jeff  just happened to be the catalyst for my processing of Life. Thanks, friend. You're response was most gracious. Running a marathon is a good thing if you are properly trained for it. However, even with proper training, running a marathon is even more of a mental feat than it is a physical one. "Hitting the Wall" in the early 20s of a 26.2 mile race is an intense experience. The first marathon I finished was when I was in my late twenties. I pushed through the wall and finished the race, but a big, burly dude had to literally carry me by the shoulders to the medic tent. I was walking but barely. There, I was measured to have a 93 degree F body temperature, and I lay on a cot under a space blanket for 20 minutes, shivering myself warmer. It kind of felt like I "hit the wall" in my career, knowing with greater and greater assurance that I needed to retire in order to start over. Thank you, Writing.Com, for being "the cot and the space blanket in the medic tent where I can shiver" emotionally for a few minutes to get better. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, "Writing is a healing ointment for my soul." I still want to write as a career, and when I get there, Writing.Com will be the University that trained me. Words are my love, but at the moment, words don't do justice to the gratitude I am feeling about being helped by Jeff this morning when I was really feeling down. I hope this poem gives greater insight into the healing process of my much-needed retirement. Blessings, Everyone. |
| I've added a new entry to my book, "These Are My JOTtings, Part #2" : "Certainty" This poem was written for the
The form is an English Sonnet. The theme is connected to a rather long review I did today on a blog post. My family has been dealing with a lot of grief lately. I think that grief has opened some wounded memories that I thought were mostly healed. It would appear they still need tenderness and compassion applied. The act of writing poetry is such a healing ointment. Blessings, Everyone. |
| I've added a new entry to my book, "These Are My JOTtings, Part #2" : "Knots of Joy, Lots of Joy" Poetry is a gift that was both given to me by the Lord and then engendered to action by my dear English Lit. teacher in high school when the time was right to begin writing poetry. The Lord is so kind to use the kind words of others in our lives to spark and fan into flames the gifting He has placed in our hearts. "If you find a poem form that is natural to the way your mind thinks, then you can write a poem as easily as you can write a friendly letter." (My Teacher) With these words, I have decades of poetry in iambic trimeter, tetrameter, and pentameter. I would say well over 90% of my poetry comes in one of these three forms because it is most natural to my speaking style (aka thinking style.) In the past few months, when I've gotten stuck regarding what to write on a given day, I have begun to bring out a craft project, starting to tie knots, where I last left off. Repeatedly, the action of crafting with threads draws out the subject and words I want to write in a poem for that day. Maybe that idea will help someone. One form of artistic expression can help to break through a barrier in another form of artistic expression. The action of pulling the thread through the hole of a knot seems to pull the words out of my mind and onto the page. At least this makes sense to me. Blessings, Everyone. |
| I've added a new entry to my book, "These Are My JOTtings, Part #2" : "When the Moment Finally Comes" Tonight is the night of my last shift, working a retail job. I'm sure many here will be glad to hear the last of that. I'm sorry if I've repeated myself too often. I guess I'm just out loud processing. I don't think I've ever been able to go anywhere or stay for any length of time without leaving some of my heart behind. Some may be able to make a decision, turn on a dime, and walk out the door without ever looking back. Even though I know it's time to get a change of scenery, moving on into a new chapter of life, my heart is concerned for the lives and emotions of those I will be leaving behind, still working in the place that I am about to leave. I've lived in so many towns and cities during this life. If I were to meet anyone from those chapters of Life, I would be drawn to spend at least a few moments reacquainting myself with those friendships. Sometimes, I feel like such an anomaly, the social neuro-divergent. I care about people, especially my friends on Writing.Com. Thanks for a place to feel at home, Viv.
Blessings, Everyone. |
| Thank you for being a member of this community because each of us has something to offer and gain. together, we can do much rather than struggling alone. I appreciate everyone here. We learn from each other and help each other. We lean on each other and lift each other up. Together we read and write and fellowship. When it seems a door is slamming shut look around and you'll find an open door waiting for you to enter and explore a new adventure and enjoy the journey. Change is a way of life and with it we grow and become who we are supposed to be. Life is one step at a time one day at a time, here a little and there a little, but life most of all is a precious gift we share together. |
| I've added a new entry to my book, "These Are My JOTtings, Part #2" : "Trois-par-Huit: "Retired Day"" For quite some time, I've played around with the word "retired." I would tell my friends at work, "I was tired last week, and I'm tired again today. I guess that makes me retired." Other than being a very poor example of a Dad Joke, after tomorrow, I will be retired for real. At least I plan to make it a permanent retirement from the world of retail sales. I hope to find a work-from-home arrangement as a writer. However, leaving retail before the holidays begin will be a true gift in itself. There is something on the horizon for me. Maybe you'd like to come along on this journey.
Even if I haven't pegged down my new career in the next two weeks, I've got a place to start expanding my writing journey with people I already know and enjoy working with. Blessings, Everyone. |
Kenzie  - Thanks, Kenzie. It’s good to know I’m getting the timing right. Your experience I would not want to duplicate. 😃 |
I've added a new entry to my book, "These Are My JOTtings, Part #2" : "When the World Is Moving Too Fast to Keep Up" Sometimes the world seems like an unwanted mount. 'Tis better at that moment to dismount, unbridle the "horse", releasing it to its own devices, while finding a safe little nook with "an old coffee cup." Sip the cup slowly. The time will do you good. SHALOM, Everyone. God's Peace. (John 14:6; Colossians 1:16-17) |
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