Happy Friday the 13th to you! Using the prompts from @sanctifiedart, I am enjoying the opportunity to share the “Words for the Beginning” each day with you during this Advent season.
Today’s Word is:
When I put the prompt in AI, it generated the word above. What image would you display if you were depicting enough? Here is my choice:
Bob Perks wrote that poem Unfortunately, he often doesn’t get credit for it. He has a book by the same title, but it is no longer in print. I love this poem… and Bob Perks!
Several others have used his theme and written their own “Enough” poems. Here is another.
This poem was posted on New Years Eve 2013 Posted by blogger, Doina , at 11:11 PMÂ
I want to join the bloggers who are wishing you enough. May you live with a sense of “Enough” by: 1. Counting your blessings 2. Knowing you have more than 99.9% of all the folks on earth 3. Focusing on your can’s, not your can’ts 4. Appreciating your HAVEs and not worrying about the HAVE NOTs 5. Reaching out in love to those who have less 6. Prioritizing your needs – and allowing your faith to guide you
My office used to look a little like this:
Obviously I had more than enough “stuff.” Getting rid of the excess, Clearing out the clutter Helped me receive that sense of ENOUGH.
My desk will never look as clean as these:
If I had to maintain that level of cleanliness, I would be fired in a nano-second! So, there is a middle ground on this sense of “enough.” God does bless us with “stuff.” It’s not all bad. But the key is moderation, don’t you think?
Share what you have. Reach out to those without. God will bless your generosity. Ask for what you need. That’s okay!! And remember, YOU are enough, too!!
If you have “enough,” make your requests on behalf of others’ needs!
God bless you, dear blogging friends. May this be a day of “Enoughness” for you. Friday the 13th can be your lucky day!
Using the Advent devotional from @SanctifiedArt, I am posting the Word of the Day between now and Christmas. These are “Words for the Beginning” – beginning again – looking forward to the coming of the Christ Child – finding daily inspiration
Today’s word is:
That’s the image AI generated when I gave the word to Artificial Intelligence.
If I go to my WordPress photos, here is the one I would select:
When I think of the word “journey,” I think of this life I am living… and I realize it is a journey of major proportions. One worth savoring.
To savor this life’s journey, We must slow down. To get the most of of it, Wipe away your frown.
Travel each day with a smile, With positive expectations. Open your heart and your hands To all God’s glorious creations.
Journey with your loved ones. Embrace every endeavor. Travel with the assurance that Every step is sure and clever.
Don’t try to go it alone. We’re all in this together. Journey with a song in your heart And dance in every kind of weather.
What images might you imagine for each of these words of the day? Words of the Day: Dec. 1- Begin Dec. 2 – Bless Dec. 3 – Courage Dec. 4 – Possibility Dec. 5 – Remember Dec. 6 – Marvel Dec. 7 – Go Dec. 8 – Together Dec. 9 – Embrace Dec. 10 – Journey
At our Bible Study yesterday, Rev. Mary Grace Reynolds shared a prayer she found on the internet somewhere. It was inspired by Jeremiah 2:13 “They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”
The prayer was part of our Lenten Study last Easter. It meant a lot to me then… but is even more meaningful today. Today I am reaching for answers to the endless wars and the destructive climate change and the hurricanes that are so terrible. Reaching for answers… But they escape me like birds that take flight… just out of reach!
for when you’re tired of broken systems
Oh God, I am done with broken systems that break the very people they are meant to serve.
Harness this anger! Channel it into worthy action and show me what is mine to fix and what boundaries to patrol to keep goodness in and evil out.
Blessed are we who are appalled that brute ignorance can so easily dominate over decency, honesty, and integrity.
Blessed are we, who chose not to look away from systems that dehumanize, deceive, defame, and distort. We who recognize that thoughts and prayers are not enough. We who stand with Truth over expediency, principles over politics, community over competition.
Oh God, how blessed are we who cry out to you: Empower us to see and name what is broken, what is ours to restore. Guide us to find coherent and beautiful alternatives that foster life, hope, and peace. Help us to use our gifts with one another in unity.
Blessed are we who choose to live in anticipation, our eyes scanning the horizon for signs of Your kingdom – heaven come down – as we wait.
The prompt for today asked me to identify my favorite pastime… I am doing it: writing. Especially writing on my blog, but also writing text or e-mail messages to family and friends and sending greeting cards for all kinds of occasions ie: Birthdays, Anniversaries, Get Well, Thinking of you…
Writing poetry is another favorite activity. If you’ve read my blog for awhile, you know I like to take sermon notes in church on Sundays. Sometimes they rhyme… but more often lately they are free verse. It’s my way of capturing the main message as I hear and understand it.
Rev. Mary Grace Reynolds used Matthew Chapter 5:13-16 as her springboard for today’s message. Here’s what the sermon said to me today:
Be Salt and Light
Salt preserves. As Christians, We, too, must preserve What is right in the world.
We must become Salt and Light. Salt that exists For a specific purpose.
Light that shines As a witness to Jesus. Salt that creates A thirst for what is Good.
Fight for each human’s Right to live in The light of Torchbearers – Lighting the way for others.
Blessed are the merciful. Blessed are the peacemakers. Think first to help someone else. Be a light who blesses others.
Don’t lose your saltiness. Don’t cover your light. Create pathways to Wholeness in this world.
Amen? Amen!
Are you Salt for a specific purpose? Does that influence your choice of Favorite Pastime? Does your purpose shed Light on your pathway? Is it peaceful?
What is your favorite pastime? Don’t tell me you don’t have one!
Do you belong to a Writers’ Group? If not, is there one in your area? If not, how about starting one?
We had Writers of Madison County alive and well when Bob & I moved here back in 2006. I joined in 2007. We published an anthology each year.
Over the years members moved away or some of the older ones left this earth. By the time of the Pandemic, we were no longer publishing – and so the group disbanded.
Then this year a friend asked me, “Why don’t you start the group again?” I contacted our local bank where we’d been meeting and they graciously gave us their Fireside Room to use twice a month.
I contacted the local newspaper and they put our meetings in the news calendar every 1st & 3rd Friday. Our group is small (averaging 4 to 6), but we hope to grow… and we are enjoying the sharing.
Last week there were four of us. We began with a 15 minute “Free Write” on a topic suggested by a new member: “Getting Ready for Winter”
We wrote for 15 minutes and then shared orally what we had written. Feedback was spontaneous and encouraging. The others wrote fictional short stories or personal reflections. I wrote this poem:
Winter Comes Too Early
Winter comes too early And it lasts too long. When God created seasons, He got it all so wrong!
The seasons should be equal: Spring summer winter fall. Each has its own beauty. I really love them all.
But here in Montana Winter comes too soon. We barely get a summer When we see the autumn moon.
The leaves turn gorgeous golden. The wildflowers die on the vine. The frost kills the mosquitoes. But what joy is left is mine.
I take joy in getting ready For winter’s cold but glorious snow, Begging neighbors to be willing To plow us out, you know?
Winter boots and jackets Come forward in the space Where sandals and sundresses Once occupied that place.
Family in California Invite us to take a break. Prepare for winter travel. Call – and reservations make.
So, enjoy what little autumn We are fortunate to see, Because before you are ready, Winter’s here for you and me.
Sleigh bells ring and children gather Near the fireplace to hear Reindeer bells and Ho-ho-ho’s. Are you ready? Winter’s near!
… Jan Beekman, 9-20-2024
My friends complimented my ability to produce a poem in that brief fifteen minute period. But, for me, writing poetry is as easy (if not easier) than prose. I thank my mom for that. She loved poetry. Even though she didn’t write it, she collected it, memorized it, shared it. And I was the grateful, eager recipient.
Where did your love of writing originate? What kind of writing is most fun for you? Do you have a group with whom to share it? If so, good for you! If not, why not start a writers’ group in your neighborhood, town or city?
