Author: tkbrown

I believe family is a gift from God and should be treated as such. I love writing with a broad array of intent and purpose. I have written poetry virtually all my life, and much nonfiction in academia. My expanded efforts in all areas have finally taken off in retirement. I have much to accomplish now that I have the time. Other hobbies are painting, researching ancestry and myriad topics for my writing, knitting, crocheting, cooking -- always trying new recipes and always cooking for my health. I have many other hobbies, but these seem to dominate most of my time. Oh, did I mention I am the mother of three grown children and grandmother of seven. I have been blessed immensely and am the happier for it.https://twitter.com/tkbrownwriter/photo

“For God so loved the world “

~~ Notes: by tkbrown ~~
Photo by: Aaron Burden
at Unsplash.com
Source: Holy Bible (NKJV)
John 3:16-18

John 3:16 — “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.“

John 3:17 — “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him [His Son] might be saved.“

John 3:18 — “He who believes in Him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.“

The first of these three verses is probably the most “quoted” scripture in the entire Bible. It is, also, probably the most misrepresented scripture in most of the Bible. The reason being, it is typically quoted out of context, instead of continuing with the next two verses that explain John 3:16 more thoroughly. Those two verses, John 3:17 and 18, are typically ignored.

I would ask that you look at the three verses together, rather than taking John 3:16 out of context. When we read them as a unit (paragraph, if you will), we see that He is telling us: the result of Jesus coming into the world to save the world is an individual choice. Either we believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God, or we do not believe. Either we believe God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to save us from our sins — or we do not believe.

He takes this explanation one step further by presenting a metaphor. When we read between the lines, He tells us that He will deal with each individual as a parent would deal with each of his/her children individually. A parent would not punish all of her/his children for the guilt of one — would he/she?

God explains that He did not send Jesus Christ, his Son, to condemn the world, “but that the world through Him might be saved.” In verse 18, He explains that he/she who believes in Jesus Christ as God’s Son is not condemned — “but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

So, when all three verses are read, and discussed, together — we see that each individual human being decides her/his own fate. Either he/she believes in the name of Jesus Christ as the Son of God — and we are then saved — because we will follow His commandments. Or, we do not believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and we are condemned already — because we do not believe, we have condemned ourselves.

It is as a parent disciplines her/his child(ren). The child who ‘took the candy’ condemned him/her-self by the taking of the candy. No one else forced her/his hand. He/she made that choice totally apart from the other child(ren). Those who were not involved in the taking of the candy, should not be punished for the sins of the one who did. That is how God deals with people in the world. It is a program of attraction or repulsion. Either the individual man/woman is believing in Christ Jesus and doing that which is right — and will, therefore, be saved by God. Or, she/he does not believe (a personal choice) — and has, therefore, condemned him/her-self to eternal damnation.

Which do you choose? Do you believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God — sent to the earth by God to save those who believe? Or, do you believe Jesus Christ was just a man or a prophet — who died like everyone else, and was not raised on the third day? If you believe the latter, you have already condemned yourself. God is not the one who condemns the non-believer – the non-believer condemns her/him-self.

Lead: paint and other things II

~~ a Quindecim ~~

~~ by tkbrown
It took four years to devise a plan,
ten more to set it in place.
Anti-corrosive coating coursed through the pipes
for they hoped to at least save face.
A sample testing every six months
until they reached the target space.
That small random sample, selected how?
The plan did not ever specify that.
So, do they pick the few known to be safe?
Or, do they were devil's advocate hat
and pick some of both groups of ordinance plats --
then celebrate with both keg and vat?
Why then, test only every three years,
and why does it seem they allay their fears
by doing testing themselves instead of contracting 'all clears'?

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Quindecim: A Poetic Form that has developed rather naturally as I have written much regarding political and daily living events. The fifteen line stanza seems to work wonderfully by allowing twelve lines to describe the developing arena. Then the last three present some new development that throws a ‘curve ball’ into the mix. There is no specific syllabic or metric count. It is, however, rhymed with no set pattern. The patterns used should recur in a later quindecim when the poem consists of several stanzas. There is no set pattern for the recurrence.

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Photo Above: by Dhito 10 @ pixabay.com.
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Lead: paint and other things

~~ a Quindecim ~~
~~ by tkbrown
Lead paint was said to harm our babes;
we must scrape it all away.
'Twas taken to heart, and most did in spade
abide that law with dread array
of the fate to come their way
if 'twas not done as law did say.
So, homes were scraped inside and out,
then scrubbed with bleach for brand new paint.
The child of those who did sulk and pout,
'twas removed until parents' mood did abate.
Toys with lead, stores removed on that date,
but now WE learn of quite a spate.
That government did make those laws
but did not remove it from those claws
before they fed them with 'those paws.'

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Quindecim: A Poetic Form that has developed rather naturally as I have written much regarding political and daily living events. The fifteen line stanza seems to work wonderfully by allowing twelve lines to describe the developing arena. Then the last three present some new development that throws a ‘curve ball’ into the mix. There is no specific syllabic or metric count. It is, however, rhymed with no set pattern. The patterns used should recur in a later quindecim when the poem consists of several stanzas. There is no set pattern for the recurrence.

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Photo Above: by Dhito 10 @ pixabay.com.

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Lead Pipes . . .

~~ an Essay ~~

~~ by tkbrown

According to the Associated Press (Porter and Catalini), lead pipes — in cities across America — are poisoning our children . . . and us . . . via the water that is piped into our homes. Tainted water in Washington D.C. was just the beginning. Then came the Flint, Michigan water scandal . . . and now Newark, New Jersey.

The human body, our domestic animals . . . we must have water to live. What an irony that the very pipes bringing that water into our homes are also poisoning that water with lead. This water, in turn, poisons all who drink it.

Porter and Catalini cite the 1986 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ban of lead in water pipes. The reason for the ban, cited by the EPA, was “lead’s harmful effects on children’s nervous systems.” In 1991, water systems across the nation were required by federal mandate to monitor lead levels in drinking water with a limit established of 15 parts per billion.

The 1991 mandate was twenty-eight years ago. This means that every town, village, community and city in this nation should have, on record, the levels of lead in the servicing water system(s). How much lead are YOU drinking daily? How much lead is your beloved dog or cat drinking daily? Even more importantly, how much are our children — who have no protection if not by us — drinking daily?

Are WE killing our children in America, because we have omitted following up on these mandates? Are WE causing the neurological damage that our children suffer because we have blindly trusted the system to correct the problem?

It is time for US to stop allowing our children to be poisoned by the very people who create the laws for us to live by! It is time for us to stop putting the children of other nations ahead of our own children’s health, education and welfare!

It is time for US — ALL OF US — to inundate our local, state and federal government representatives with demands to purify our water systems. Is the anti-corrosive coating inside many of these lead pipes actually preventing that lead from leaching through into the water? We had better be finding out — for our children’s sake — for our grandchildren’s sake!

Passing out bottled water is not sufficient! That bottled water in no way covers all of the water ingested by our children. Food is washed and cooked from tap water, as a rule. That means the very food we are serving our children may be poisoning them. Where can our children turn for protection if we, their parents and grandparents, are not protecting them?

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Sources: Porter, David and Catalini, Mike. (13 September 2019). “Lead pipes that tainted Newark’s water are found across US.” (Accessed 13 September 2019). Associated Press (AP) on msn news. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/lead-pipes-that-tainted-newarks-water-are-found-across-us/ar-AAHfXiB?ocid=spartanntp.

Mayo Clinic. (6 December 2016). “Patient Care and Health Information – Diseases and Conditions: Lead Poisoning.” (Accessed 13 September 2019). Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (MFMER) https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/lead-poisoning/symptoms-causes/syc-20354717.

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Photo Above: by Epcor.com.

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Love . . .

by tkbrown

Love is like
the petals of a rose
soft and sweet
against your nose
with drops of dew
that actually glow.

So very slowly
the feeling grows
until you’re sure
that everyone knows
the love you feel
deep in your heart
for the one with whom
you never will part.

Written 1968 – First Love
Image by Luis Eduardo Bastias
pixabay.com

	


	


					

					

					

					



	


	
Drip!

		
			

				
							


				


	

		

~~ a Senryu ~~





~~ by tkbrown





Drip! Drip! Drip! Drip! Drip!





The sound is haunting, daunting —





Music to the ears!





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Senryu – According to Merriam-Webster (2019), the ‘Senryu’ is “a three-line unrhymed Japanese poem that is structurally similar to the haiku but treating human nature usually in an ironic or satiric vein.”





Source: Merriam-Webster: Dictionary: Since 1828. (2019). “Senryu.” (Accessed 11 September 2019).  https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/senryu. 





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Photo Above: by Mayank Dhanawade @ Unsplash.





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