The Hunter

Last night, Orion was poised over my house.
What was he chasing? A grouse? A mouse?
Or even a spouse?
~
Mighty hunter in the night sky.
Yes, I do mean to pry.
~
Sheave your sword.
Rest from that invisible cord.
~
Chios isn’t here.
Come and hold Merope, your dear.
~
Pleiades is at rest.
The mighty Scorpio failed his best.
~
Only the moon chases you tonight.
Let her hold you in her sight.

Winter Season

Locked up

Esther was comin’ over to help Oscar clean in the basement. He had bought a box of masks so the dust wouldn’t kill her. The plan was to bring stuff out of the basement into the garage, sort it into trash verses stuff they might could sell. His aunt and uncle had been gone for years now, it was time.

There was a small door in the basement that he had never opened. Karen made sure he had the keys. There was one for this random door and the attic. He dropped the keys in the floor. To his amazement, they slid under the bed. Great, he thought as he got down on his hands and knees to fish the keys out.

Keys in hand; as well as a big ball of dust, when Oscar tried to get up, he couldn’t. His back was locked. He couldn’t move. It didn’t hurt. But he couldn’t move. Thank God the door bell rang. He heard the key turn in the lock.

“O?”

“Bedroom,” he called to her.

“My dear, what are you doin’?”

“Ess, I can’t move.”

She knelt with him, running her hand down his back. “Can you wiggle your fingers?”

He did so, “yes.”

“How about your toes?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s roll you onto your side. Tell me if I hurt you.” This didn’t hurt. But he was terrified nonetheless. “Are you okay?”

His voice cracked, “for what it’s worth.”

She had one hand on his left thigh, the other on his calf, “flex your muscles.” As much as he wanted to have her hands all over him, this wasn’t it. He tried. “I could feel that. Keep trying to move something.”

He kept wiggling his toes and fingers. “My left leg is goin’ numb.”

“What does it feel like?”

“Ants crawlin’ down my skin.”

He kept trying to work his muscles. It must have taken a good half an hour to get his arms and legs flat on the floor. Another half an hour to raise them up again. He was able to roll over on his other side. Esther held her hands out for him as he rose to his knees. Love his heart, he looked like a duck on ice trying to stand up. She was right there for support.

Once he was on his feet, she suggested, “shake your arms and legs.” He did. “How does that feel?”

“It tingles.”

“Can you lift your legs to your chest? Slowly,” she encouraged. As he lifted his left leg, he closed his eyes, pursing his lips. “Does that hurt?”

“No but I can feel it pull in my lower back.”

As he put all of his weight on his left leg, to raise his right knee, he stumbled but she was right there for him. “Let’s walk.”

They walked around the house a few times before he felt he was back to normal.

Winter Season

Monday School

10 Things Christians Should Resolve Not to Do: Not Expect Other Christians to Live by Your Convictions

Have you ever heard a deacon cuss? Have you been beside a preacher in traffic, windows down, stereo blasting, shouting at the top of their lungs ALL the lyrics to a Marilyn Manson song? Have you seen your Sunday school teacher on the beach in a thong bikini? Or maybe you just happened to see Sister Mary Clarence’s tattoo.

Not only do we judge sinners but we judge other Christians by what we think is the proper definition of Christianity.

Matthew 7:1 KJV “Judge not, that ye be not judged.” We bat this verse around like it’s a gold baseball. Because we KNOW for a fact we are being judged by somebody somewhere for something. So let’s just get a jump on the umpire and let it fly.

Luke 17: 3 “Be on your guard! If a brother or sister sins, you must rebuke the offender, and if there is repentance, you must forgive.” The Bible tells us we are to hold each other accountable in love. The in ‘love’ part is overlooked for blunt honesty or ‘the Bible told me so’ attitude.

Have you ever had a conversation with God, “this is between me and you right, God?” WRONG! As long as people are people, nothing is between just you and God.

Jesus washes our sins away when we accept him as our Lord and savior. Hebrews 10:10. Praise God!

Mel Brookes did a movie called History of the World Part I; in this movie Dom DeLuise played Emperor Nero and Howard Morris played Nero’s court spokesman. Nero is walking to the throne with his spokesman by his side chanting in his ear, “remember thou art mortal. Remember thou art mortal. Remember thou art mortal.”

John 8:7 NIV “……. “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” How can anyone cast a stone when our own hands are full?

“The human super power, forgetting.” BBC Dr. Who – In the forest of the night – Perhaps each of us needs a spokesman walking beside us chanting in our ear, “remember thou art a sinner. Remember thou art a sinner. Remember thou art a sinner.”

“But, but, but,” you stammer, “it’s all there in black and white. It’s a sin.” It is all right there in black and white. Humanity can read the Bible daily. Pray on its word. Let the Bible combine with prayer lead us in our daily walk with God.

“Passion with incorrect knowledge is dangerous ground.”

No one on this Earth fully understands the Bible. We all struggle to find our place in God’s great order. Casting stones at your brothers and sisters hurts not only their relationship with God but yours.

The Bible

BBC Dr Who

History of the World Part II

10 things Christians should resolve not to do: Not Obsess over Anything Other than Christ

Winter Season

Poem

Oscar had left for work. Esther yawned and stretched herself to the bathroom. She noticed a notebook on the back of the commode. Oscar was leaving little things at her house. This notebook for example. Was this the proper way of easing into having someone live with you? A little at a time? Or should she shoo him out until they were married so they could just jump in with both feet?

“Why would he want to live with me? She questioned to herself as she sat down on the commode. “His house is bigger. I’m sure he has his house just the way he wants things. Why do men always have reading material in the bathroom?” She wondered, thumbing through the pages.

The page read:

Shrinking out of sight

Last night as I was laying in my bed; trying to go to sleep, I remember from my youth a dream.

It concerned me to the point of a scream.

~

I remember all the objects seemed to get bigger.

The reverse in me, trigger.

~

Shrinking always.

Objects growing. Me shrinking. Fear, explore the ways.

~

Felt weird. Strange.

Maybe I was deranged?

~

Smaller. And smaller. Shrinking out of sight.

Always I woke myself, with all my might.

~

Where was I going?

With me, my dreams were toying?

~

Multiple times over my youth this dream did appear.

Always creating in me a fear.

~

Fear of what?

I forgot.

~

Disappearing? Maybe I felt like no one cared?

Scared?

~

Maybe I felt like the world was too big?

Life was a rig?

~

A cheat?

Something I couldn’t beat.

~

An illusion?

Was this my final conclusion?

~

As an adult,I haven’t had that dream.

What could it all mean?

2022

As they sat down to dinner she said, “I owe you an apology.”

He was stunned, “for?”

“You left a notebook in the bathroom and I read some of it.”

He knew she would find it. Maybe he wanted her to? Maybe he wanted to share this part of his life with her too. “What did you think?”

“How long have you been writing poetry?”

“All my life.”

“You should start a blog. You should share this.”

“No one is interested in reading my..” What was the word? He lost it.

She said sweetly, “I know you didn’t mean to share this with me. It would give me great pleasure to read your work.”

He looked deep into her eyes. She was being sincere. She wasn’t making fun of him. “It’s another one of those things Oat uses to call me ‘one of dem homos’.”

“That’s his loss because you have talent. Have you ever entered any contests?”

“Heavens no.” He gruffed his voice, “you’re a science teacher Mr. Patterson.”

“Please tell me no one said that to you.”

He gave her a sideways grin. “They haven’t.”

“But it was a hurtful comment about something and it plays through your mind.”

“Yeah.”

“How often did you have that dream?”

“Maybe once a month.”

“It sounds like it was disconcerting.”

“It was.”

Winter Season

Waste not. Want not: I notta.

Write about your approach to budgeting.

This poem is being written in stages to highlight the things I do toward frugal living.

~

I notta.

I think it was 2019 or 20’ when I joined Ibotta.

I don’t buy a lot of name brand products.

The cost difference isn’t (typically) worth the bucks.

$20 in 4 years.

For me, this app was not as it appears.

~

I said a bad word didn’t I? In a ‘I see it, I like it, I want it, I got it.’ world of capitalism, I said a bad word, FRUGAL.

As stated in my little poem above, I downloaded the Ibotta app. A co-worker told me all about it. Showed me all the rebates she was getting. So I thought, I’ll give it a whirl. Because I rarely buy named brand products, the ‘$20 in 4 years’ is what it took me.

When my bestie and I go out shopping together; I have a saying, ‘when in doubt, don’t.’ From shoes to soap, if I have the slightest concern about a product, 95% of the time, I’m not buying it.

I did splurge for my birthday and bought myself this beautiful Patricia Nash purse. Even on sale it was a splurge. Earth Nerds unite. 😉
Waste not. Want not: gloves
Waste Not. Want not: Scary cheap
Waste not. Want not: soap