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Love and marriage are the greatest adventures in life, and they point they way to our relationship with the Almighty.

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Thursday, July 17, 2025

So God Sent An Ant


 An ant carried a popcorn piece 
('twas much bigger than he),
and as I watched I got release 
from what had troubled me,
the thought that aspirations 
had now outstripped my strength,
that these miscalculations 
could not endure at length.
But the ant went out the door 
to cross the vasty yard,
telling me I could do more
although it might be hard
while singing that old glad refrain
that nourished High Hopes in my brain.

And, of course, the song, courtesy Frank Sinatra.

Sylvia has high hopes for more ice cream.



Tuesday, July 15, 2025

Psalm 2 : Don't P*** Off God And His Boy (Tell His Story)

 

1 Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,
3 Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.
4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.
5 Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.
6 Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.
7 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.
8 Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
9 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou
 shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.
10 Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be
11 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in
 him.

This Psalm isn't very subtle. Human bigshots are wanting to cut ties to God, and God's just laughing, because He knows what's coming (and have you ever thought that a laughing God could be scarier than a wrathful one?).

God has a Son, and the Boy is going to judge. He's not coming to give a pass, or relate to the scoffers...and there's no jury of peers.

HE is judge, jury, and executioner.

And once He's done with the kings and presidents and prine ministers, He'll turn His attention to those who seek to rule their own souls.

People like us.

Sylvia, being a dog, has already surrendered her heart and soul for ice cream, which, she is sure, comes from the Lord.




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Thursday, July 10, 2025

King Of The Yellow Brick Road


 Man, it's gotten brutal,
this Symphony Of Pain,
and though it might seem futile,
I'd do it all again 
to grow past that old carnal man
into what today is me,
though what, exactly, I now am
is just a great bright mystery,
but the puzzle has an answer 
that I don't need to know,
as arm in arm with my friend cancer
down the road I go
skipping over yellow bricks,
once the reigning King Of Pricks.

The Five Minute Friday prompt this week is PERHAPS.

Perhaps I shall not die today,
or perhaps I will.
Perhaps cancer will have its way,
perhaps I'll be here still 
to endure until the sun
rests behind the hills;
not up to me, but to the One
Who in His Heaven wills
the parsing of our every hour
to form that which is best.
I am not angry, bitter, sour
that I must face this test,
but stand contented in the trust 
that I serve a God who's just.

Sylvia says I stopped being a prick when I learned to share ice cream. 



Tuesday, July 8, 2025

Psalm 1: It's Not The Company You Keep (Tell His Story)


 1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

6 For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

This is a little surprising on a quick read, because, after all, didn't Jesus spend time with some of the worst sinners around? We're supposed to be like Christ, but hey, here's the Psalmist telling us to not walk with the ungodly, stand with sinners, or sit with the scornful.

Well, not quite. Look how it's phrased.

We shouldn't walk in the counsel of the ungodly...in other words, don't let them read the map to you.

Don't stand in the way of sinners really means don't be 'like' them. Don't imitate them, even if they're cool.

And since hospitality is defined by the dude sitting at the head of the table, so too is scorn. Taking that seat defines you.

So as long as you're grounded in The Word, you don't have to flee the sinners (you are one too, of course, but you don't... I hope... happily wallow in that role) or the unrighteous. You can be a lens of Grace for them.

Of course, if you feel tempted to their sins, to their mockery...then, yeah, run.

Fast.

Sylvia will run interference for you. She's only tempted by ice cream.






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Thursday, July 3, 2025

Freedom!


Soft pretzel time for Peanut.

Freedom is a brand-new home,
with my human near.
No longer do I have to roam
the streets in pain and fear.
Freedom is my spacious crate
in which I get my food
which is always really great
(those French Fries sure are good!).
Freedom is my doggy friends
with whom I chase and run,
a play-date that just never ends,
and every day is full of fun
since arrival at this awesome place
to which now's added PEANUT GRACE!

The Five Minute Friday prompt this week is TRANSFORM.

I sure am not Optimus Prime;
I'm really more like Bumblebee,
but I transformed on God's owndime
into another, better me.
Last week life was on repeat,
cancer this and cancer that
to a lugubrious beat
that left living really flat,
and so Bull took me by the horns,
twisted my head to look away
from my boring crown of thorns
into a new and brighter day,
and I bet that God's joy is full
that He has just been nicknamed 'Bull'.

Sylvia approves, but still won't share her ice cream.





 

Tuesday, July 1, 2025

Really Tired (Tell His Story)

 

Guys, I am really tired, don't know what to say. Please link up, and maybe I can offer more next week?

Meanwhile, here's a quote from Gilda Radner.

"I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next."

Have to confess that I edited the quote by leaving off the last words, "Delicious ambiguity." To me, it's not delicious. It's just life.

Sylvia says hi.

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Thursday, June 26, 2025

Rain On The Moon


 


It looks a little like the moon
after a hard desert rain,
and perhaps a bit too soon
the water into sand did drain,
but its passing left its sign
to be remarked appreciated;
something of the great Divine 
that sere land won't leave defeated,
for down and down the water goes
to join the great broad aquifer,
and then upward through wells it flows,
cool and fresh and clear and pure
like the part of God within
that never will be touched by sin.

The Five Minute Friday prompt this week is FACE.

Go out, and look up in the sky,
and look for evening grace
that is going to tell you why
the ol' Moon has a face.
It's not the shape of hills and seas
that form that Man who's in the Moon;
nor imagination that we seize 
like Burrough's far Barsoom.
No, our grand Moon shines on us
through reflected light
that makes neither demand nor fuss
in the quiet,
but simply lets us know that we
are lighted through Eternity.

If you have a chance, please visit the Etsy shop of our friends Pam and Tony. It's called New Morning Studio, and offers lovely faith-based crochet patterns.

Sylvia likes the taste of fresh rainwater. She also likes to splash in puddles.