Tag: writingcommunity

Vincent Ehindero Blogger Award

What are the award’s rules?

  • 1. Thank the person that nominated you with a link to their blog.
  • 2. Make a Post of the award [with photo].
  • 3. Post the award’s rules.
  • 4. Ask 5-10 questions of your choice.
  • 5. Nominate 10-30 other bloggers.
  • 6. Follow Vincent Ehindero @ vincentehindero.wordpress.com [to qualify for a free blog promotion and shoutout] and more blogging opportunities.

******************************

Thank You, girrrrl_of_two_worlds, for nominating me as a contender for the Vincent Ehindero Blogger Award! I appreciate your recognition of my blog pages. What an honor!

Many Thanks to you as well Vincent Ehindero @vincentehindero.wordpress.com! This award is a great idea! You are to be commended! Everybody, check out his blogsite and thank him for recognizing fellow bloggers in this way!

Then, I recommend that you check out girrl_of_two_worlds blog site, Science-tastic: In Science We Trust. She is very good–a scientist in the making!!! https://juniorblogs.science.blog/2020/03/25/vincent-ehindero-award-and-50-followers/.

My Questions from girrrrl_of_two_worlds at Science-tastic:

  1. What’s your favorite unrealistic eye color [eg. purple or orange]?

purple

2. Growing up, what was your favorite story?

Anne of Green Gables

3. Which song is currently stuck in your head?

"Angry Words"
by: Horatius R. Palmer

Angry words! Oh, let them never
from the tongue unbridled slip:
May the heart's best impulse ever
check them ere they soil the lip.

Chorus:
"Love one another," thus saith the Saviour;
Children obey the Father's blessed command;
"Love one another," thus saith the Saviour;
Children obey His blessed command.

Love is much to pure and holy;
friendship is to sacred far,
for a moment's reckless folly
thus to desolate and mar. [Chorus]

Angry words are lightly spoken,
bitt'rest thoughts are rashly stired;
brightest links of life are broken
by a single angry word. [Chorus]

4. Which chore do you absolutely hate doing?

When company is here: Cleaning up after a meal.

5. If leaves were any different color–which would you like them to be?

Varying shades of blue.

6. If you had the chance to learn any language, minus the hard work, which would it be?

Greek

7. According to you, what was the last experience that made you a stronger person?

The coronavirus pandemic.

8. Do you believe in afterlives and reincarnation?

Yes, I believe in the afterlife, definitely! I am not so sure about the reincarnation — maybe?

9. Let’s say you were doomed to speak only one word for an entire day, what word would it be?

Hello! [Once I have the person’s attention, I could try to communicate with my hands.]

10. What’s your favorite kind of workout?

Walking or Strength Training

~~~~~~~~~~

My Nominations for the Vincent Ehindero Blogger Award:

  1. Sonal Mishra at https://ouractionisourluck.wordpress.com/
  2. Kamya Seervi at https://keepupwithkamya.wordpress.com/
  3. Saania Sparkle at https://saania2806.wordpress.com/
  4. Anurag at https://feelitnwrite.wordpress.com/
  5. Jul | bandito10059793 at https://the-flood.com/
  6. Ayesha at https://themindofayesha.wordpress.com/
  7. Rising Star at https://idealinspiration.blog
  8. Kingston S Lim at https://kingstonlim.com/
  9. Alltheusernameareout at https://studywys.wordpress.com/
  10. Shravanthi at https://shravanthiwrites.home.blog/

~~~~~~~~~~

My Questions for My Nominees:

  1. What would you like to accomplish, over time, with your writing?
  2. When you need to ‘refuel’ (so to speak): Do you prefer to be alone for a while, or do you want to be with other people?
  3. What is/was your favorite subject in school, and why?
  4. If you could have one wish fulfilled for the world, what would that wish be?
  5. What have you done ‘for yourself’ during the coronavirus pandemic?
  6. What have you done ‘for someone else’ during the coronavirus pandemic?
  7. What is your favorite color rose, and why?
  8. Who is your favorite author, and why?
  9. What is your favorite quote, and why?
  10. If you could remove one thing from the world, what would it be?

~~~~~~~~~~

Again, Thank You, girrrrl_of_two_worlds, for the nomination! I really appreciate it! Everybody, if you have not checked out her blog, you must do so! You are in for a treat! https://juniorblogs.science.blog/2020/03/25/vincent-ehindero-award-and-50-followers/.

Stay Safe and COVID-19 Free!!!!!

~~~~~~~~~~

AWESOME BLOGGER AWARD

I consider myself Blessed far beyond any expectations I could ever have imagined. I have been nominated for the AWESOME BLOGGER AWARD by Sonal Mishra! She is an avid supporter! Many, Many Thanks, Sonal Mishra, for being such an Awesome Supporter of my blog site!

I cannot say enough to adequately express My Thanks! You are wonderful! And, you are talented to go along with it! Your artwork (sketches and paintings), your writing (poetry and blogs) are all from the heart. I have no doubt your singing is from the heart too! You have a special talent for expressing what you feel and see!

Please visit Sonal Mishra’s blog site: https://ouractionisourluck.wordpress.com/. She is a very talented up-and-coming artist, author, singer, and poet who has a very big heart. Please support her work. I am sure we will be hearing a lot about Sonal in coming years! Her talents are many and varied!!

~~~~~~~~~~

Rules for the AWESOME BLOGGER AWARD:
--  Thank the person who nominated you.
--  Tag the post with #awesomebloggeraward.
--  Answer their questions.
--  Nominate up to 5 bloggers and ask them 10 new questions.
--  Inform them of their nomination.

~~~~~~~~~~

Sonal’s Questions to me:

Favorite place to visit?

Mountains — When I am in the mountains, I feel so very close to nature and to our creator! It is an awesome feeling!

Describe life in three words?

Choices — Consequences — Experience

Describe love in three words?

Admiration — Respect — Understanding

What advice would you give your teenage self?

If I could go back in time, I would tell my teenage self to “always hold to your moral values, and live the life they instill in you. Do not give in to pressure from others to forsake those values!”

How does it feel when you get ‘Likes’ or ‘Comments’ from bloggers?

I treasure the ‘Likes’ and the ‘Comments’ I receive from other bloggers. They give insight into how others respond to my writing. I know I will never please everyone with my posts. I would never want to please everyone, because to do so would be to give up who I am in order to be ‘a people pleaser’. The problem with this is, I may end up not liking myself in the end. It does help, however, to receive input as to what is liked and disliked. The comments give me food for thought.

What kind of books or blogs do you read?

I read a mix. I enjoy reading both nonfiction and fiction–if it is not vulgar, full of cursing, or obscene. My favorite fiction would be a very well-written historical fiction, but I read many genres. My nonfiction reading runs the gamut of the Dewey Decimal System. I just enjoy reading!

A memory that is closest to your heart and what did it make you feel in that moment?

I was walking with my grandson. He was not quite one year old. As we walked, he held to my finger, and I allowed him to set the pace. One day, he heard music and looked around to see where it was. I pointed to the pipe wind-chimes on a second-floor balcony. The look of awe and amazement on his face was precious. I will never forget it! Seeing the world through the eyes–and ears–of a toddler is like no other experience.

Few words for art?

Art comes in many forms. One might say it comes in as many forms as there are artists. I would say: Each artist may posess talents in many artistic areas. Thus, it comes in as many areas as the sum-total of all artists’ varied talents–because each artist expresses each form of art differently. Art is portrayed in photography, sketching, painting, sculpting, singing, authoring both prose and poetry (both of which are wrought in many forms), needlecraft of wide and varied options, even science is a form of art (when you think on it). So, choose your art, hone your talent. As a result, you will develop skills in a new area. When we utilize one talent to the best of our ability, we develop diverse artistic skills, because we begin to see the world with artistic eyes.

What were the challenges before you started blogging?

I was on Twitter long before I set up my WordPress page, and I was on WordPress for a year or so before I began actually blogging. I did not actively engage Twitter until I set up my WordPress page, which I did not feel comfortable imprinting with my blogs. I was afraid what I would write would not be liked. I had to get past that one fear. Finally, I decided the fear would not leave until I jumped in with both feet, and I was right. It took a bit after I began posting blogs to be comfortable in so doing. The more I wrote, the easier it became. Now, I post both inspiration and projects I assign myself. The more I write, the more I enjoy writing, and I write much that is never posted because I hope to publish it in physical form.

What is something that you want to learn?

Everything — lol. I have always loved reading; the more I read, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I discover I want to learn. Probably, the one thing I would like to have learned–and put into practice–would be neuropsychology. It is a relatively new area of study. The more we learn about the human brain, the more we see there is yet to be learned about it. To me, it is fascinating.

~~~~~~~~~~

My nominees for the AWESOME BLOGGER AWARD:

https://capputino.wordpress.com/.

https://millenniallifecrisis.org/.

https://peblogs.com/.

https://shadowsofrinum.com/.

https://thewombwellrainbow.com/.

~~~~~~~~~~

My Questions to my nominees:

In what form(s) of artistic expression do you engage?

How much of what you write is inspired versus assigned?

Do you have one physical location where you are most able to express yourself artistically? If so, where?

One becomes an author / poet by setting pen to paper whether or not he / she is ever published. Do you agree? Why?

Is there an area of artistic expression you would like to try, but have not yet engaged? If so, what? Why?

How much do you rely on social media?

In which brands of social media are you engaged, and why?

How much has the coronavirus pandemic affected your artistic expression, and in what ways?

~~~~~~~~~~

Again, Thank You, Sonal, for nominating me for this award! Your awesome support is Much Appreciated!

To those of you reading, please go visit Sonal’s blog at https://ouractionisourluck.wordpress.com/. She is an up-and-coming author, singer, poet, artist of many forms. Check out her many talents! I have no doubt, you will be amazed.

I hope you have enjoyed reading as much as I have enjoyed creating this post! I look forward to you stopping by again soon! Blessings!

~~~~~~~~~~

Ideal Inspiration Blogger Award

I have been nominated for the Ideal Inspiration Award by Sonal Mishra @ https://ouractionisourluck.wordpress.com. I am honored, humbled, and happy Sonal saw the qualities in me and my posts to deem me worthy of the Ideal Inspiration Award. Thank You, Sonal! Words cannot express my thanks as I humbly accept this magnificent honor!

Sonal is an up and coming poetess, writer, author, artist/illustrator who strives to encourage other bloggers along creative paths shared on this, our journey through life. She is proficient at voicing praise and love for those of us with whom she comes into contact. I feel especially Blessed for having made Sonal’s acquaintance here in the blog posts of our WordPress pages.

I am doubly Blessed by her because she also nominated me for the Liebster Award. I was so surprised and humbled by her generous spirit and by her nominating me for these two awards, I actually had to sit back, collect my thoughts, and look at what I do for a couple of days. My goal is always to impact the lives of others by encouraging acceptance of the paths that others choose to take without allowing that acceptance to negatively influence my own response to life and others in it. Sonal seems to have picked up on my acceptance and love of others sharing my journey in life.

Be sure to visit Sonal Mishra’s web page @ https://ouractionisourluck.wordpress.com. Bask yourself in the beauty of her creations.

Sonal Mishra, Thank You so very much for deeming me worthy to be nominated for the Ideal Inspiration Award. I am honored, elated, happy, and humbled by your nomination. I strive with all I do to be a positive influence on others. Thank You for seeing that quality in me!

The Ideal Inspiration Blogger Award is a non-official award created by the members of Team Ideal Inspiration and is given to bloggers by bloggers as an acknowledgment of the inspiring work published on their blogs. The award reflects the positive impact people can have on one another in life. It is a recognition of bloggers by bloggers as a means of inspiring aspirations to positively impact the artistic expression of other bloggers.

The Ideal Inspiration Award was introduced by Rising Star from “It’s all about inspiration” @ https://idealinspiration.blog. Thank You, Rising Star for seeing the benefit of such recognition being focused upon other bloggers. I am especially honored to be nominated by Sonal Mishra @ https://ouractionisourluck.wordpress.com. In the short time I have known her on here, I have developed a respect and admiration for her work and her attitude toward others whom she meets along the way. Bloggers, do not forget to Thank Rising Star and provide a link back to his blog @ https://idealinspiration.blog.

Here are the rules:

— Thank the person who has nominated you and provide a link back to his/her blog.

— Answer his/her questions.

— Nominate up to 9 other bloggers and ask them 5 new questions (maybe you’ll see your name down)

— Notify the nominees through their blog by visiting and commenting on their blog

— List the rules and display the “Ideal Inspiration Blogger Award” logo.

— Provide the link to the Award Creator, Rising Star from Ideal Inspiration https://idealinspiration.blog.

~~~~~~~~~~

As I noted above, my nomination was put forth by Sonal Mishra at https://ouractionisourluck.wordpress.com/2020/05/23/ideal-inspiration-blogger-award/. Be sure to visit her blog site and let her know we appreciate the inspiration she provides toward the continuity of inspiration in the blogging world. When you visit her blog posts, take note of the writing and of the illustration–both are her creation. She creates wonderful artwork to illustrate her writing. She is an up and coming poetess, writer, author, and artist/illustrator. Encourage her to continue creating, because she excels at both writing and paint/sketch art. I believe she will continue to excel at whatever paths she might choose along life’s journey.

Sonal’s Questions for me:

What was the first inspiration you got in your life?

My first inspiration came at an early age. I participated as a singer in local talent shows as early as age three, and I wrote my first poem at about the age of five. I had been learning, in Sunday School, of Jesus’ love for us. So, I wrote a poem about Jesus. I do not remember the words, and I no longer have the poem; but I do remember the topic.

From there, I wrote several poems during my teen years with one being published in my High School Newsletter my Junior year. I continued to write sporadically through my children’s growing-up years. My most proficient writing period, though, has been the past ten years. My inspiration comes at all hours, and I have learned to listen and write when it occurs.

Have you ever done any good for anyone?

Yes, I have always tried to do good for others, even from an early age. I was a Sunday School teacher of five students, ages 5-12, when I was only fourteen. I was much more mature than most young people my age, thus I was asked to fill the position.

From that, I became an advocate for children with special needs when my own children were quite young. That developed into advocacy for childhood public education as an officer in my children’s school PTA organization. I also coordinated efforts with the District and State offices of PTA.

I then moved into advocacy for community members with special needs, serving as a volunteer for two-and-a-half years before being paid for part-time hours and volunteering hours to supplement paid time. By then, I had realized my own natural abilities as both social worker and counselor. I pursued an education in the latter.

My greatest hope is: When my time on earth has ended, I will have left a warm spot in more than one person’s heart–because that is what life is all about, I believe. I try to ask myself: “What Would Jesus Do?” and pattern my life after Him.

Do you live to eat or eat to live?

I eat to live. Do not get me wrong, I love to eat–good food–but I daily research my health’s nutritional needs and design my diet accordingly. Health concerns have presented the need for this–in the past decade especially. I have always eaten a healthy diet, but it is now much more prevalent in my planning of what I will eat. There are days when my writing might make me forget to eat, if I did not need to eat nutritionally for my health. So, I do both.

How important do you think modernity is?

It depends upon the person and his or her lifestyle. I believe modernity is important in that many would not know how to live without it. The pandemic, I believe will lead some to learn more of the old ways just to ensure survival, but many will ‘fight’ if you will, to keep the modern ways–and that is ok–because they need the modern ways to be all they can be too.

I grew up old-school, and I know the old ways–live by them to a large degree–but I embrace modernity too. I enjoy learning new tech skills. As my poetry, my novel, my essays, blogs and painting skills grow, I hope to publish and branch out from there. I plan to create an author/artist web page in the near future and would like to be able to do my own upkeep and IT work.

What would you choose from both modernism and traditionalists?

From modernism, as I said above, I want to create a web page for my authorial endeavors and for my painting and sketching. That will involve a lot, so I will need to embrace modern phone technology and continue to grow in other technologies as the need arises.

From traditionalists, there is nothing and no one more important than my children and grandchildren. They are gifts from God, and I treasure them more than they can possibly know.

I also love to garden, preserve my own foods through canning, freezing–and want to begin dehydrating–in order to limit unhealthy additives. I love the process of doing the old crafts of knitting, crocheting, sewing, quilting, etc. There are not enough hours in a day to do all I would like to do–but I try!

My Nominees are:

Arlene Somerton Smith

100 Country Trek

ajeanneinthekitchen

Amouri Mohamed

Themba-Katlego

Earthwalking13

Questions to My Nominees are:

  1. What inspires you to create?
  2. How do you determine what you create with a specific inspiration?
  3. If you could visit face to face with the one person of all time by whom you have been inspired, who would that be?
  4. During this pandemic, what have you done to kindle inspiration in its midst?
  5. With what one inspiration would you like to impact society today?

~~~~~~~~~~

Again, Thank You so very much Rising Star @ https://idealinspiration.blog for creating the Ideal Inspiration Award. I am honored to be nominated for it by Sonal Mishra @ https://ouractionisourluck.wordpress.com/. Thank You again, Sonal! I treasure your recognition!

Keep creating inspiration in yourself and others!

~~~~~~~~~~

Today in History: 24 May

1944: First Telegraphic Message Sent

Samuel B Morse, on 24 May 1944, sent the first telegram from the U.S. Capitol to his fellow researcher–Alfred Vail–at a railroad station in Baltimore, Maryland. The historic event, witnessed by members of Congress, messaged — ‘What hath God wrought.’ The words were taken from the Bible.

~~~~~~~~~~

Source:

Eds. Today in History. (24 May 2020). “Today in History: May 24.” Microsoft News @msn.com. (24 May 2020). https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/today-in-history-may-24/ss-BB1430Te?ocid=msedgdhp#image=2.

~~~~~~~~~~

Image above: from “Today in History.” Copyright: Authenticated News/Getty Images.

~~~~~~~~~~

Today in History: 15 May

1930 – First Female Flight Attendant Takes to the Skies

Today in History shares several important events that occurred on various years throughout the 20th century on 15 May. “In 1930, Ellen E Church and seven other women became the first female flight attendants in aviation history.” Ellen had convinced men in charge of aviation to employ women as flight attendants. She said, “Don’t you think it would be good psychology to have women up in the air? How is a man going to say he is afraid to fly when a woman is working on the plane?”

Copyright for photo above: Bettmann Archive/Getty Images

~~~~~~~~~~

Copyright: Bettmann/Bettmann Archive/Getty Images
15 May 1942: Start of Gasoline Rationing

On this day in 1942, Gasoline rationing was implemented in the United States to free a portion of the supply to provide for the needs of World War II. As the year progressed, all 50 states mandated gasoline rationing (Eds. Today in History, 15 May 2020).

~~~~~~~~~~

Copyright: Galerie Bilderwelt/Getty Images
15 May 1942: Women’s Army Auxiliary Corp Becomes Law

Also on 15 May 1942, “President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a bill for the creation of the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps.” This was done in order to utilize knowledge, skill, and special training of women in projects embarked upon by the nation’s armed forces (Eds. Today in History, 15 May 2020).

~~~~~~~~~~

Source: Eds. Today in History. (15 May 2020). “Today in History: May 15.” Microsoft News. @msn.com. (15 May 2020). https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/today-in-history-may-15/ss-BB13jUPh?ocid=msedgdhp#interstitial=3.

~~~~~~~~~~

Jesus is Introduced to the World

Scripture is from the Holy Bible — New King James Version (NKJV)

Notes on Scripture (below) by tkbrown

Matthew 3:13-17

13 — “Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.”

14 — “And John tried to prevent Him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?'”

15 — “But Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he allowed Him.”

16 — “When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water: and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.”

17 — “And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.'”

Isaiah 11:1, 2

1 — “There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots.”

2 — “The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Luke 3:21, 22

21 — “When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized, and while He prayed, the heaven was opened.”

22 — “And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, ‘You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.

~~~~~~~~~~

John 1:29-36

29 — “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!'”

30 — “‘This is He of whom I said, after me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.'”

31 — “‘I did not know Him, but that He should be revealed to Israel. Therefore, I came baptizing with water.'”

32 — “And John bore witness, saying, ‘I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him.'”

33 — “‘I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.'”

34 — “‘And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.'”

35 — “Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples.”

36 — “And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, ‘Behold the Lamb of God!'”

~~~~~~~~~~

Mark 1:9-14

9 — “It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.”

10 — “And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove.”

11 — “Then a voice came from heaven, ‘You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.'”

12 — “Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness.”

13 — “And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.”

14 — “Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Notes on Scripture: by tkbrown

Reading through the scriptures above, we see that John had not met or seen Jesus prior to this event. God had instructed John that His Son would be The One upon whom the Holy Spirit descended in the form of a dove — and remained upon Him. By this, John would recognize God’s Son.

When Jesus came to the Jordan River to hear John preach, there was a specific purpose for His appearance. This would be the beginning of preparing the public for Jesus’ ministry. When John saw the Spirit descend as a dove and remain upon Jesus, he knew this was the Son of God for whom he was sent to clear the way. He first mentioned Jesus’ presence without introducing Him. After this, Jesus approached John and asked John to baptize Him.

It shocked John to be asked such a thing of the Son of God. He pointed out his need to be subject to, and baptized by, Jesus rather than the other way around. John asked, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?”

Jesus reminded John of the need to fulfill prophecy, and then was baptized by John. Upon coming up from the water after baptism, God recognized His Son publicly when His Voice from heaven said, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased!” Thus, Jesus’ introduction to the world was complete.

Rather than confuse the message presented in this lesson by including Jesus’ lineage now, I will cover His roots in the next lesson. Both this lesson and Jesus’ lineage are long enough to cover separately . . . and each has specific value separate from the other. As I develop these lessons, I am listening to my heart song when I am urged to ‘stop here.’ I had intended to cover these lessons more quickly, but Jesus’ life, ministry, death, and resurrection are too important. It is necessary to limit the lessons to specific subjects rather than a cumulative presentation. The reason for this new approach is to aid those who choose to study in being able to ‘rightly divide the word of truth.’ While the reasoning may not make sense now, it will after the study is complete. Thank You for stopping by, studying, and listening with ‘your’ heart. Have a Blessed Week!

~~~~~~~~~~

Week One -- Scripture: Zacharias to have Son . . . 
Week Two -- Scripture: Jesus' Birth Foretold . . . 
Week Three -- Scripture: Zacharias' son, John, is born . . .
Week Four -- Scripture: Jesus is Born . . .
Week Five -- Scripture: And Jesus Grew . . . 
Week Six -- Scripture: John Begins His Ministry . . .
Week Seven -- Scripture: Jesus Is Introduced to the World . . .

~~~~~~~~~~

Kwcht! Kwcht!

Short Shorts
~~ by tkbrown

Hurry! This offer expires 20 December 2001!

“Whoooaaaahhhhh! I can’t get there fast enough! I can’t run that fast!”

Chug-chug! Chug-chug! Kwcht! Kwcht! Kwcht!

RRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

“It was screamin’ in the night! I saw it! I heard it! buuuuttttt, I couldn’t catch it!”

“I saw it go past! It flipped my head around–it was going sooooo fasssstt! I can’t run fast enough to catch it! I just know I can’t!”

“OOOoooOOoooooohhhhhh! NNNnnnnoooooo!” echoes off the opposite canyon wall.

“Whoooaaaahhhhh! I can’t get there fast enough! I can’t run that fast!”

~~~~~~~~~~

Photo above: by Andrea Ferrario on Unsplash.com.

COVID-19

~~ by tkbrown
Dropping . . . dropping . . . dropping --
economic indicators keep dropping --
GDP drops 9% -- then 35%,
the DOW plummets,
one-day losses greater than ever recorded,
one-third of their value -- lost
to COVID-19.
Unemployment skyrockets,
layoffs and furloughs,
rising . . . rising . . . rising . . .
midst businesses thriving--
just weeks ago.
The businesses did not fail,
the plague is killing them
one . . . by . . . one
as the number of COVID-19 cases keep climbing
and the death toll keeps rising,
as people finally begin to realize
this is not going away
anytime soon.
Death, illness and dying
testing our faith, strength, resolve,
taking much from the picture society had made,
reversing life -- in many ways -- to days of yore . . .
but, in many ways, advancing it to another level.
Living . . . and working . . . from home
over the 'net --
a concept never considered before
by most.
Now,
learning how to be lonely alone
becomes the painful new saga.
I learned this long ago,
I would rather be lonely alone
than to be lonely with someone.
At least, being lonely alone --
I know I am alone in this endeavor.
When I have a spouse/partner,
but am still lonely --
something is missing,
and it is harder to do
a-n-y  t-h-i-n-g.
Loneliness,
or alone time --
you can choose
to have the latter
and fill it with hobbies
that you love doing . . .
or love learning to do.
Loneliness does not have to exist,
just because
you are alone.

Get to know Y_O_U!
I know,
that is a really strange thing to say,
but all too often
we stay so busy doing
THINGS that need to be done -- 'til
we have no time to know ourselves.
We all change as time passes
whether we want to -- or not.
These changes may not be to our liking
when we really take the time to know ourselves.
It is not an easy task --
getting to know yourself --
but . . . it IS a necessary task.
So, spend some time alone
. . . with you . . ..
You might just learn to like your own company!

Zacharias’ son, John, is born . . .

old antique bible as an open book with sunlight bursting from the pages

Scripture is from New King James Version (KKJV)

Notes on Scripture (below): by tkbrown

Luke 1:57-80

57 — “Now Elizabeth’s full time came for her to be delivered, and she brought forth a son.”

58 — “When her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had shown great mercy to her, they rejoiced with her.”

59 — “So it was, on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child, and they would have called him by the name of his father, Zacharias.”

60 — “His mother answered and said, ‘No, he shall be called John.'”

61 — “But they said to her, ‘There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.'”

62 — “So, they made signs to his father–what he would have him called.”

63 — “And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, ‘His name is John.’ So, they all marveled.”

64 — “Immediately his mouth was opened, and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God.”

65 — “Then fear came on all who dwelt around them; and all these sayings were discussed throughout all the hill country of Judea.”

66 — “And all those who heard them kept them in their hearts saying, ‘What kind of child will this be?’ And the hand of the Lord was with him.”

67 — “Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:”

68 — “‘Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people,'”

69 — “‘and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David,'”

70 — “‘as he spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, who have been since the world began,'”

71 — “‘that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us,'”

72 — “‘to perform the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant,'”

73 — “‘the oath which He swore to our father Abraham:'”

74 — “‘To grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear,'”

75 — “‘in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life,'”

76 — “‘and you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways,'”

77 — ‘”to give knowledge of salvation to His people by the remission of their sins,'”

78 — “‘through the tender mercy of our God, with which the Dayspring from on high has visited us,'”

79 — “‘to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.'”

80 — “So the child grew and became strong in spirit and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Notes on Scripture: by tkbrown

Here, in Luke 1:57-80, we are told of John’s birth. His mother, Elizabeth was well-advanced in years. Thus, when the neighbors and kinfolk ’round about heard of John’s birth, they spoke of it often, speculating as to the child’s purpose in life. In other words, they viewed John’s birth as a miracle and were certain he was a child with special purpose.

If you recall, when we covered — in Week One–Luke 1:5-25 — the angel’s visit to Zacharias. Gabriel informed him of John’s impending birth. However, both Zacharias and his wife — Elizabeth — were advanced in age. Having never had children, Zacharias did not believe this could happen and said as much. For this disbelief, Gabriel informed him he would be unable to speak until the child was born.

When Elizabeth’s time came, the babe was born. According to Jewish custom, on the eighth day when the babe was to be circumcised, those in attendance wanted to name him Zacharias because that was his father’s name. Elizabeth informed them the babe’s name should be ‘John’. They expressed concern about this because no one in the family had the name, ‘John’.

Zacharias was brought in, and he confirmed that the babe’s name would be ‘John’. Then Zacharias was able to speak again, and he praised God for the blessings bestowed upon him. From that time, Zacharias taught John the reason for his special birth — that he should go before the Lord to prepare the way for Jesus and His ministry.

Last week, I said we would also look at John’s life in this lesson. However, John’s life ministry is covered in sufficient manner, I believe, to warrant studying those scriptures in a separate lesson. Also, I believe it is important to cover it in the order it occurred. Therefore, we will next study the birth of Jesus and His childhood — since that is the order in which they occurred chronologically. Then we will study John’s ministry just prior to Jesus’ ministry. Thank You for following our study of the scriptures. God Bless!

~~~~~~~~~~

Extra Note:

These are harrowing times in our world today. The coronavirus, COVID-19, is marching across our lands with a virulence that most alive today have never witnessed. It is a time to engage in fervent prayer to our God in heaven, that this time of tribulation might be brought to an end.

My mother was born in 1918 — when the Spanish Flu ravaged the earth and devoured the lives of many. She was too young to remember the quarantines and other measures put into place by the government, but my grandparents, great-aunts, great-uncles and great-great-grandparents remembered and talked about it from time to time. She spoke often, to me, of the stories they all told.

It is imperative that we adhere to the self-quarantine and social distancing measures put into place as well as any other measures recommended. Let us all join together in these prayers, that the suffering wreaking havoc in our world might be drawn to a close.

Thank You for taking the time to read my posts. If you have questions or comments, please note them below. Have a Blessed Week!

~~~~~~~~~~

Week One -- Scripture: Zacharias to have Son . . . 
Week Two -- Scripture: Jesus' Birth Foretold . . . 
Week Three -- Scripture: Zacharias' son, John, is born . . .

~~~~~~~~~~