Books, Reviews, Short Stories, Authors, Publicity, a little poetry, music to complement...and other stuff including politics, about life... "Books, Cats: Life is Sweet..."
Yesterday I went out for the first time after the election...I had depended on something I had no right to do... God had told me that "He had this" and I began to believe I knew what was meant by his message, his response to my cries for action... So, for weeks, I've enjoyed all of the thousands and millions who have attended rallies--seeing hope, joy, and an end to all of the chaos that had been going on for almost a decade. I, along with millions, felt that the first woman president of the United States was going to be named... But, still, as I write this, there was always a bit of doubt that it really was over...
I wore a sparkly cat on my sweater which caught attention... As I was waiting for my friend and her son, a black woman with her son walked by and the child knew he would be put in the shopping cart, so he started walking and his mother said, wait until I get the cart, she said, laughingly. I smiled and said, Here, take mine... She looked at me, old, bent over a little and she said, "are you sure?" I said, yes, and she picked up her son to ride in the cart and moved on into the store.
I got another cart and decided to step inside the store out of people's way. As I started through the door, another black woman noticed my sparkly cat and commented. We talked a few sentences which I can't remember, because I was already asking my question in my mind... "I have to ask, what did you think of the election?" She looked into my eyes and said "You voted for Kamala..." I nodded and she explained that she hadn't voted but knew she should have--her and her husband's work schedules presented a problem... I cautioned her to "be careful." but I already knew that she would know that. All black people have known throughout their lives that they must be careful--of what they say, of what they do... But it's never been like this--I felt I needed to proactively speak to the black women I saw--I had to do something, some gesture to minimally replace the possible joy and security we had lost once again. Additional words were spoken with the second women, but all I remember was that each of us reached out to hug tightly to each other and she noted she had to get to work... She called out "God Bless You." I returned it... There were several other women with whom I talked after that. It was a time to recognize other people going about their daily lives, shopping, hurrying to work... I became just another, doing the same... But I noticed that there was, still, seemingly, a need to speak out to our neighbors, if only for a minute--to try to connect and hope that things will get better... even in the midst of continued chaos...
On election day, my friend helped me to get to the polling place and then we went on to have lunch together. She talked about having to get home to vote as well. I went home and turned on the television to settle back into my routine at home. But I was tired so decided to take a nap and read, knowing that no results would be known that day. Frankly, I was stunned the next day...How was it possible that a man, like our previous president, could be re-elected? I could not deal with it. Even books could not keep my mind from straying... So I wound up watching Christmas movies on the Hallmark channel for most of the week... I could shed my tears of sorrow over fictional stories that I could not find in my sorrow over the fact that a convicted felon, and more, could ever be elected OUR president! How was it even possible... Then, as I was continuing to read The Light of the World, mostly every morning, it hit me for, I believe, the first time... the crowds, the mob, the leaders at that time, also chose. To free Barabbas, a known criminal, instead of Jesus who was without sin, so that He could ransom us from any pain that grieved us... Did you know that Barabbas was guilty of insurrection, and more! Quite a coincident that Barabbas and Donald Trump were freed, though guilty...
As I thought about this more, the parallel of Christ's final years on earth are very similar to what had/is happening here in America...
InMatthew27:16 Barabbas is called a “notorious prisoner.” InMark15:7, echoed inLuke23:19, he was “in prison with the rebels who had committedmurderduring the insurrection” against the occupying Roman forces.John18:40 describes him as a bandit.
It was the religious leaders and government officials who first chose to select Jesus as a criminal and kill him. Why? Because He was dangerous to those who placed power and money first in their lives. They had no interest in getting rid of guns--give us money and we won't ever attempt to control guns... Give us power and prestige and we'll make sure your taxes are reduced or even totally eliminated... Don't worry about the old, let them die, especially if you don't do an audit to find out why social security funds are no longer earning enough to ensure coverage of what the people put in for their retirement... And, don't worry about kids being hungry...who cares about the cries of the very young or old! Education? They can learn from television or just get dumber and dumber, as we planned!
It was Jesus who went into the crowds to help all those who needed support of any kind...His power was used for good, for feeding the crowds who followed Him to hear of what He offered...And when He went into the temple, He chased out the money-makers who defiled the temple of God by their greed...
"The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. (24) "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. (25) "He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.*43 (26) "If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there my servant will be also; if anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. (27) "Now my soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, 'Father, save me from this hour'? But for this purpose I came to this hour. (28) "Father, glorify Your name." Then a voice came out of heaven: "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again." (29) So the crowd of people who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered; others were saying, "An angel has spoken to him." (30) Joshua answered and said, "This voice has not come for my sake, but for your sakes. (31) "Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world (Satan) will be cast out.*44 (32) "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." *45 (33) But he was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which He was to die. (34) The crowd then answered him, "We have heard out of the Law that the Messiah is to remain forever; and how can you say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'? Who is this Son of Man?" (35) So Joshua said to them, "For a little while longer the Light is among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes. (36) "While you have the Light (while Joshua is on the earth), trust in the Light (given by the Maker, our Father), so that you may become sons of Light." These things Joshua spoke, and he went away and hid himself from them. *43 Verse 25 provides a key teaching of Joshua of what one must do to be his disciple/follower. This key teaching is repeated in all the gospels (Matt. 10:39, 16:25; Mark 8:35; Luke 9:24, 17:33) and yet is virtually unknown to the masses who take some Christian label. Disciples must ask ourselves, ‘are we willing to do this’? *44 In this commentator’s opinion, this was fulfilled with the ransom paid at the cross (Joshua’s death – see Matt. 20:28), and thus Satan lost his strong ruler-ship over mankind – Joshua opened the door to mankind’s prison cell by paying the ransom (Matt. 20:28) and ever since, mankind (each person) is free to choose whom or what they will serve – each person must decide if they are going to walk out of the dark prison cell and go to the Light or not – a cell they have grown accustomed to and feel comfortable in. *45 He was lifted up from the earth and thus he does draw all men to himself. See Luke 24:51. Everyone who hears of Joshua has been given an invitation to come. All who have had the opportunity to hear his words have no excuse for rejecting him. Substituting bible or christian religion for him is a clever way to reject him. (37) But though he had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in him. (38) This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet which he spoke: "Lord, Who Has Believed Our Report? And To Whom Has The Arm Of The Lord Been Revealed?" (39) For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, (40) "He Has Blinded Their Eyes And He Hardened Their Heart, So That They Would Not See With Their Eyes And Perceive With Their Heart, And Be Converted And I Heal Them." (41) These things Isaiah said because he saw his glory, and he spoke of him.*46 (42) Nevertheless many even of the political rulers believed in him, but because of the religious leaders they were not confessing him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue; (43) for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God. *46 This is a good example of a saying in the scripture being wrong. The writer John quotes the Jewish prophet Isaiah who in this case says that God “Has Blinded Their Eyes And He Hardened Their Heart, So That They Would Not See With Their Eyes And Perceive With Their Heart”. The heavenly Father does not blind men nor harden their hearts, rather men do that all by themselves. Listen to Joshua, whose words are from the Father’s heart - “For I have come not to destroy men’s lives, but to save them”. See the next paragraph – “I have come to save the people of the earth” and those words are given by “the Father Himself”. All Old Testament sayings should be thought of as potentially painting the wrong picture of God unless the saying is validated by Joshua’s Way and teachings. (44) And Joshua cried out and said, "He who believes in me, does not believe in me but in Him who sent me. (45) "He who sees me sees the One who sent me. (46) "I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who trusts in me will not remain in darkness. (47) "If anyone hears my sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the people of the earth. (48) "He who rejects me and does not receive my sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day. (49) "For I did not speak on my own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent me has given me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. (50) "I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told me." *47 *47 What more could he say? He is the Creator’s Messenger. He is the Light of the world and the Life that everyone needs. There are consequences for rejecting him and his Light. Why would you reject him? What does he say that is wrong? Which of his primary teachings do you disagree with and why?
I have pondered during the last few days as I have once again began to watch "The Last Word." But key for me is that those who have chosen one way or another at the election in America have chosen what they desire--or, for giving them the benefit of the doubt, what they have been persuaded to by false prophets at various levels...
At this time of my life, I look forward never backward. I believed that, even though Harris and Walz lost the election, their promises of joy, support and more for all peoples, is what God has always provided for us, if we choose Him... You see, I now realize that it was not the election that would make the difference for each of us. Rather, it is what we do in the future to support God's plan for each of us on behalf of America... (I learned recently that over 80% of those who voted for him stated they were christian.) The words are the same but have been modified so that I may say that I will not be doing much differently here at Book Readers Heaven. God has used this site in ways that may have caused division, even within my family. But, then, that is part of how we who know Jesus/Joshua act. It is our choice...
I find that I am calm about the future... During my reading these past years... I have found the method/man who has given false information about our children, simply by giving parents what they wanted... He is now dead but the lack of concern for our children still holds sway for those who do not walk the ways of Joshua...
I have watched as the respect owed to all has been lost through the allowance of bullying by our children, which they then continue into their adult lives, doing the same to their children... I have watched and read how many have found only prejudice and discrimination by those with money, power, or simply hatred and a desire for violence...
I could go on but we all know the issues that have divided America many times in the past...which have been allowed to continue now and int0 the future. I will undoubtedly read more about them and share here at Book Readers Heaven. I have chosen to Speak Jesus/Joshua...
I found this video after I had written above...To me, this was God's Confirmation of my (your?) plan for the future...
“I am the Way, the Truth and the Life…”, and “All who are of the truth listen to MY voice.” ?
If this is so, then is it not true that those eternally valuable truths… “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, and no one gets to the Father except through me.” "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
…have been drowned out … buried … LOST.
"You have heard that it was said, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.' "But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. (Matthew 5:43-45)
(32) "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth,
will draw all men to myself."
"But who do you say that I am?" (16) Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." (17) And Joshua said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. (18) "I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock(possibly pointing to the earth) I will build my church (my Family of people called out of the world); and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. (19) "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven."*40 (20) Then he warned the disciples that they should tell no one that he was the Messiah. *40 Many religious people and their leaders use this passage to say that Joshua made Peter his sole leader or representative on earth. This view is wrong for the following reasons. First, Joshua says that binding and loosing is available to all his disciples in Matt. 18:18-19.@ Second, Joshua says that only he is to be the leader of his followers (Matt. 23:8-12).@ Third, Peter failed to do what he ought to have done several times – denying Joshua for example. Peter is not the sinless Son of Man, and thus is an inadequate leader for men’s souls as is any man or woman. Only the Good Shepherd is worthy to be the leader of our souls and only He is He represents the owner of the sheep. (21) From that time Joshua began to show his disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the leaders of Israel (religious and political), and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. (22) Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, "God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to you." (23) But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's." (24) Then Joshua said to his disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me. (25) "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (26) "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits (loses or gives away) his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? *41 (27) "For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and Will Then Repay Every Man According To His Deeds (what he has done). (28) "Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man (Joshua’s favorite title for himself) coming in his kingdom (see the following verses)." *41 Sadly, people don’t value their souls because they have been deceived into thinking they don’t have one. All of the wealth and material things on the earth will be of no comfort to a person after a person leaves their body and they see what they threw away (Life Everlasting) in exchange for what they love in the world…a few years of pleasure, material comfort or money etc. (17:1) Six days later (after the saying of Joshua regarding seeing the Son of Man coming in His kingdom) Joshua took with Him Peter and James and John His brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. (2) And He was transfigured (He changed appearance) before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light (perhaps the preview of His coming in his kingdom). (3) And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. (4) Peter said to Joshua, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three tabernacles (small shelters) here, one for you, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah." (5) While he (Peter) was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, "This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to HIM! *42 (6) When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground and were terrified. (7) And Joshua came to them and touched them and said, "Get up, and do not be afraid." (8) And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one except Joshua Himself alone. (9) As they were coming down from the mountain, Joshua commanded them, saying, "Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man has risen from the dead." (10) And his disciples asked him, "Why then do the bible experts say that Elijah must come first?" (11) And He answered and said, "Elijah is coming and will restore all things; (12) but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands." (13) Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist. *42 The great error of mankind. The Creator Himself spoke and said, “Listen to my Son”. And yet humanity goes on its own way, rejecting that plea of our Designer, and substituting just about anything or anyone – a book, the bible; Moses; Paul, pastor so-and-so, etc. – for the one true Leader appointed by the Creator, the Light of the world. “And this is the condemnation, that humans love the darkness rather than the Light” – see John 3:19.@ (14) When they came to the crowd, a man came up to Joshua, falling on his knees before Him and saying, (15) "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he acts crazy and is very ill; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. (16) "I brought him to your disciples, and they could not cure him." (17) And Joshua answered and said, "You unbelieving and corrupted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me." (18) And Joshua rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured at once. (19) Then the disciples came to Joshua privately and said, "Why could we not drive it out?" (20) And He said to them, "Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a (small) mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you”. (22) And while they were gathering together in Galilee, Joshua said to them, "The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men; (23) and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day." And they were deeply grieved. (24) When they came to Capernaum, those who collected the fifty dollar tax came to Peter and said, "Does your teacher not pay the tax?" (25) He said, "Yes." And when he came into the house, Joshua spoke to Him first, saying, "What do you think, Simon? From whom do the rulers of the world collect tolls or taxes - from their sons or from strangers?" (26) When Peter said, "From strangers," Joshua said to him, "Then the sons are exempt. (27) "However, so that we do not give them cause to arrest us, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a gold coin. Take that and give it to them for you and me." (18:1)
@Matthew:18: 8-9 Truly I say to you, whatever you [r]bind on earth [s]shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you [t]loose on earth [u]shall have been loosed in heaven. Matthew 19: “Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them [v]by My Father who is in heaven.
Matthew 23: 8 But as for you, do not be called [a]Rabbi; for only One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers and sisters. 9 And do not call anyone on earth your father; for only One is your Father, He who is in heaven. 10 And do not be called [b]leaders; for only One is your Leader, that is, Christ. 11 But the greatest of you shall be your servant. 12 Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.
John 3:19 And this is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the Light; for their deeds were evil.
The Light of the World is a book that I have been waiting for, it seems, all of my life! I don't know how many times, as I've been writing book reviews, I have thought about those that spoke about religion--of any kind. There are those who have moved into alternative experiences of a spiritual nature, which included astral projection and more of the supernatural experiences. I have read quite a few about agnosticism. I have read brilliant books by Stanislaw Kapuscinski delving deeper into the various Books of the Bible and/or moving beyond what was found there into new revelatory territories. I have also read dozens if not hundreds of fictional stories that honed in on a religious life... I have purchased a book by Thomas who recorded all of the words said by Jesus... But, as stated, it was nothing but the actual words recorded, so held little value for considering commentary in relation to those words.
The closest I ever got to finding what I wanted was How to Be a Christian without being Religious. That is, until I found a manuscript many years ago that I knew was what I'd been searching for... Quite recently, I was able to remember the name of the author and sought him out and have already read his other book, Christianity: A Successful Failure.
A God Incident where I recently woke up to hear the Holy Spirit say "Tim Speiss" was my direction to start seriously reading and sharing about The Light of the World. Given the frustration and worry that I have been going through since I learned that Evangelical Christians had endorsed Donald Trump, as you may have noticed, I've been reading a lot of nonfiction books trying to understand what happened... First, I listened to a video by Frank Schaeffer, author and son of the Evangelist Francis Schaeffer, who is now creating videos speaking out against the past president. In one of his videos I had learned that a "deal" had been struck between Trump and Evangelical leaders. It was at that point that Frank Schaeffer, who was at that meeting, chose to pull away from what had happened. Since then I've been reading many others who have written against that "Deal" and what has happened!
I began to feel better but still felt that something major had changed within the Christian and Republican Party. And I watched as my family was affected. I even told one of them that I loved her, but that I loved God more and we have not spoken since. Soooo, this seemed to be the perfect time for me to speak out about all that I have read and learned about Christianity through many different books... Some have talked about sexuality issues within the church as those individuals were being exposed and condemned. I had also watched how money was being spent within politics that literally blew my mind, especially from a Christian standpoint as Jesus spoke out against those who sought power through riches/money...
In other words, I was ready--anxious to read this book... But there was always another new book that came out that was also important to what is happening in America right now... It took a reminder from My Lord to what He wanted from me at this time...
In Part I, I talked about Tim Spiess' decision to call his movement, The Peaceful Revolution. I can understand why, and I will be joining that site after tomorrow's election when I can, hopefully, breathe a little better. You see, Jesus also conducted a peaceful revolution... Yes, since His mission was to reach all those who were lost, hurt, or estranged for one reason or another, He often told those He helped, to not talk about being healed... Of course that didn't always work, but He would continue moving on to others, never trying to gain credit for His work. Never seeking praise, thanks, or some type of payback...
I have worked with thousands of writers, authors, editors, and others who have been involved in publishing a book(s). During my early years, I fed on Christian-related books. But then, I started working at West Virginia University, where I met people from all races, religions, and sexual orientation. And, I've never saw any difference in any of them. What I mean is that, I never felt any form of discrimination or bias against anybody that I met. Even when I found a problem with somebody, I was able to move away, just as I learned Jesus did, so that disagreements would not often arise...
And, when I had symptoms of Job Burnout with high levels of stress-related symptoms, I pulled within to heal, rather than strike out in anger--at least as much as I could, which was not every time...
My point is that I and so many of us have seen more hatred and violence spewed since 2015, that we are working hard just to maintain some level of stability in our own lives... I listen to others worry and realize that I don't. It matters to me what has happened, but I must say that within my life, I have always found support from my best friend, Jesus...
Tim has bravely acted as I believe he was told to do by God Himself. What he has done was to take that final step that nobody ever has done before to say that, in toto, Christianity has indeed been a successful failure.There are millions of Christians all over the world. Many have been introduced to God through the many different sects or denominations...
In fact, having so many different sects or denominations should be your first warning, don't you think? Actually, I had not really gotten to the point where Tim had gotten before he started writing this book. So, if you hadn't thought a lot about exactly what has NOT occurred for over 2000 years, I think we all can be forgiven... But, you will find that Spiess has spotlight many of these issues that should have been questioned by this point in time...
For instance, once Jesus was born and died for all of us, shouldn't all of the old writings have gone into historical archives? Instead, all of the Old Testament was retained and a New Testament had been started. Now we do know that there were many who had already had religions so that some retention of their "religions" would have been retained. BUT, since at the point where those who had started following Jesus via his disciplines and teachings, a new testament could have been started and completed... More specifically. The Old Testament, The Life and Teachings of Jesus, and, all other peripheral writers who wrote books at that time... But only Tim Spiess, as far as I know, has taken the important and monumental step to say ONLY THE WORDS OF JESUS ARE ALL THAT WE NEED!
Tim Spiess has done the research--considerably MORE research than many of those who have written on the subject in more than 2000 years. Tim Spiess was free of bias, free of a religion that met his needs, and the drive to start asking questions and acting upon them! Again, very specifically, he pondered the issue and came up with a conclusion that should have been declared about 2000 years ago... The birth and death of Jesus and His life and Teachings should be in ONE Book... And so, he presents The Light of the World: The Life and Teachings of Jesus of Nazareth... as the One and Only book that we need to follow our Savior, Jesus Christ (better translation being Joshua. This book uses Joshua and I found in reading the actual teachings of our Lord, using Joshua actually helps in exploring our new and only book which will be used to guide our lives...
On the Other Hand... think about... Messenger
I have looked at my life and come to somewhat of a different conclusion. If indeed we have come to accept the teachings of Jesus, and since we have moved forward with so many WORLD changes during those two thousands years, would it not be appropriate that many of the parables used in those early days may need to be updated? But that's an idea for another page... The question is: Will a Quiet Revolution move us forward based ONLY upon the words of the Son of Man? I actually think so.
During the interim between 2015, and the present, when I first became involved and interested in politics, I have seen so many issues that were defined and explained in the Bible, but were ignored, questioned, or changed in meaning to meet the needs of a few; hence, for instance, the unlimited numbers of Protestant denominations...
After reading this book, I'd like to try. In fact, I have been using many of the words of Jesus in rebuttal of what has been happening in America. And, anybody paying attention, we can all clearly see that the individual running for Office who most closely attempts to respond to the words in The Light of the World, would never incite violence, hate, and division among our citizens... nor insurrection against the government of our country...
It will be my honor to continue to share with you about this book. In the meantime, I highly recommend you get your own copy and start reading. Spiess provides ongoing commentary and references to ensure you, too, begin to see all that He Spoke which was never followed... May we all find our way now, and begin our own quiet revolution...
(This author uses “Joshua” instead of the popular “Jesus” in order to refer to the person who is the subject of the first four books of what is referred to as the “new testament.” I do this because Joshua is a better translation of His name, and because of all the religious junk associated with the name “Jesus” or “Jesus Christ” or “Christ”.)
Have you ever heard somebody in the crowd around you say, "Jesus Christ!" loudly, as a curse word? I have... And I've cringed inside each time. It bothers me that so much has been lost in the centuries since God Sent His Son to All of Us...
Even His Birthday has been captured by Santa Claus and an entirely different type of holiday that, yes, includes gifts such as what The Three Kings brought at the time of His birth,
But for many, they have no idea that there is a different
Reason for the Season!
Let's face it--acknowledge it...
We've lost the Holiness of His Coming!
By merging a secular holiday
with the birthday of Our Lord
to me, is just wrong...
but that's me...if you can bring Christ into the Season and not spend much money buying, buying, buying gifts for anybody and everybody, but have not loved as Jesus asked of us...by giving to those in need...
then you have placed money above our Lord...
just my opinion...of course...
Above a month ago, I awoke and heard just two words: Tim Spiess
I knew exactly what I was to do...
I was to start reading diligently and reviewing this book...
Now is the time to rethink your thoughts about...God...
Right now in America, there are those that are using religion as a political tool, even calling themselves Christian Nationalists and claiming that religion (or their religion)
is above government and our constitution...
Comparing religion versus the Constitution is like saying
1 person equals one flea, or worse,
one man's sperm is more important than one female's life
In other words, it is not comparable!
And should not be compared!
Tim Spiess has, throughout all of this, been speaking about
and conducting a quiet revolution that has nothing to do with America
I have found the title The Peaceful Revolution quite extraordinary. How many times we learn that Jesus, in performing miracles, would tell those he healed not to tell anybody else. But they would be so excited and, since they were healed, would receive questions about what happened... It was a quiet revolution, then, as well... By word of mouth, each individual who was touched by Jesus/Joshua would spread the word about His Love. They would speak His Truth and share about the man who had been there to touch each of those who were, in some way, in need of help... All they did was ask... And, sometimes, based upon faith of the requesting person, they would be automatically healed by their faith... If trouble was heard about, He and His disciples would leave that area and move on to another. There was no attempt to convince anybody of Who He Was... It was, instead, a Quiet Revolution that has spread further and further across the world over thousands of years... In fact, Christ knew He was to die and when. He was on a Mission which ended at The Cross
I believe that, like me--and you(?), many, who are individuals who had been exposed to religion and found they had many questions, Tim Spiess was selected by God to take on a monumental task... much more of an ongoing movement that would lead people back to
The Son of God...
What you will be reading is not new...
What you will be reading forces you to recognize...
What you will be reading allows you to immediately recognize...
What you will be reading is exactly why The Son of God was Born...
What you will be reading, at the same time, is very simple to understand...
What you will be reading is that This Book does nothing but Place the Light of the World's Words Exactly Where
They were always meant to be...
Above All Other Words that were Ever Said
The Words of the Son of God...
Which Said, for instance, that all rules be set aside...
That we were to Follow The Son of Man...
Who Died for Us...
Soon you will realize that the book(s) that have been read for thousands of years, were important, but they were not The Words of Joshua...
Which provided The Truth as to how we should Live...
And we are being told that These Words Were Ours
Because God Loves Each of Us Through His
Amazing Grace...
The purpose of this presentation of the first four books of the New Testament is to try to assist in recovering something extremely valuable that has been lost. What extremely valuable thing has been lost? Before we investigate what extremely valuable thing has been lost, let us first take a small but important digression. Most people are familiar with the expression, “you should not throw the baby out with the bathwater.” It is an effective saying to teach the principle of not dismissing a true or valuable or important thing (the baby) that might be surrounded by, or associated with, false or valueless or unimportant things (the dirty bath water). I would ask the reader to please apply this principle to the person of Jesus (or Joshua) of Nazareth. In other words, before you throw the baby (Jesus of Nazareth) away with the bathwater (bible-christian-messianic beliefs and religion in his name), you ought to take a careful look at the Baby. After all, what do you have to lose by reading Joshua’s words, teaching and life story? It won’t take you long to read, and you will be one of an increasingly few number of people on the earth who actually read his words and teachings.
This author would suggest that it is unfair to throw away ‘the whole jesus religious thing’ as irrelevant to your life or as ‘a bunch of silly or hypocritical rubbish’ without first giving his words and teachings a honest and fair read. It is also irrational to deny that the person known as “jesus christ” has had a very significant impact on both human history as well as countless millions of individuals. You should be curious as to why, and as a person that might be seeking truth, it would be unreasonable to avoid his own words in order to understand the very important ‘why’ question. Even if you are a skeptic or critic, if you don’t read Jesus’ own teachings, then at best you are a lazy and poor quality skeptic or critic who doesn’t bother to go to the source of the object of your skepticism or criticism.
Please, be a diligent skeptic or critic and search Jesus’ teachings YOURSELF for the faults and errors in his person or teachings that you assume account for the mess that covers much of the planet and is known as ‘christianity’ or bible-based religious groups call ‘the church.’ OK, let’s end the first digression.
So, what extremely valuable thing has been lost? Please allow me digress again before answering that question in order to briefly address those reading who have not seriously looked into the life and teachings of Jesus (or Joshua) of Nazareth. (This author will use “Joshua” instead of the popular “Jesus” in order to refer to the person who is the subject of the first four books of what is referred to as the “new testament.” I do this because Joshua is a better translation of his name, and because of all the religious junk associated with the name “Jesus” or “Jesus Christ” or “Christ”.)
Every Person’s Basic Need Every living person has hope in something because it has been proven time and time again that a person without any hope (some self-perceived purpose for their life-existence) will seek to destroy themselves through suicide or other destructive behavior in order to try and end the inner emptiness of life-level hopelessness. The reader should ask why that is. Why is it that human’s alone (not animals) need a future reason for living (known as hope or purpose) or else they seek to dull or to end their existence?
What is your hope in dear reader? Some ‘better’ material tomorrow…a better house, car, or vacation…a more ‘successful’ career? Is your hope in a better education and thus more opportunity to accumulate wealth or influence over other people? Is your hope in some better form of pleasing yourself or entertainment? Is it in the next movie or the newest electronic device that you believe is somehow going to make your life more meaningful? Is it in sporting events, challenges, vacations, hobbies or activities yet to come? Do you find your purpose in life through the primary work that you do? Is your hope in a person, like yourself, or a spouse, friend or partner? Is your hope in your family or children? Is your hope in religious beliefs or practices? Has having your hope in any of these things ever satisfied your soul in a deeply meaningful and permanent way? Or does the pleasure of the pursuit or aurora of the lesser-hope fade as it passes, and you find yourself dissatisfied or somewhat empty until the next time? When you largely accomplish your goals associated with your hope or purpose, what happens then? Do you just pick up a new temporary one without thought to the fact that it too will end? Do you ever take the time to just sit back and ask the import questions of life like why am I here? What is the purpose of my life? What does my existence mean? If you don’t, why do you think that is so? Are those not really important matters that deserve attention? Looking at this important topic from another perspective, have you come to the sad place of believing you are nothing more than a random accumulation of molecules with no soul and little or no meaningful purpose? Or do you realize something fundamental is missing from your life? Have you come to the place of acknowledging that your own efforts to run your life are not working well? Have you come to the place of understanding that what is most important in life is relationships with other people? That whatever pain or stress or anxiety or conflict or frustration or failure you are experiencing normally has to do with how you are relating to other people or even how you are relating to yourself? Is there a right way and a wrong way to relate to people, and if so, where can I find that way or standard? Can I be rightly related to all the people that I know and thus be a nearly perfect person and have a justifiably clear conscience? Wouldn’t that be wonderful?
Everyone has beliefs about what the purpose of their life is, including atheists (those who believe there is no God) and agnostics (those who believe one cannot know if God exists). Many atheists and agnostics are physicalists, meaning they believe a person’s self-expression (or personality) can be accounted for by physics-chemical reactions alone – this author believes that is an unreasonable belief. By definition, however, a physicalists purpose for their life must end when their life ends, and thus their hope can only be in temporary things listed previously which will undeniably end. They (and we) will die. Their body will decay and return to dust. In their belief, all the events, emotions, friendships, relationships, expressions of love and good in their life, all the special experiences they had and all the good things they accomplished – all will be gone forever, and perish with their death and the death of those who knew them…there will be nothing but the black, dark, void of existential destruction…for to lose something valuable is just like having it destroyed. This is hopelessness – a meaningless-ness to life that is typically denied and buried under daily busyness, noise, entertainment and a denial of most things important – never peering over the edge of the approaching and undeniable event called death.
Most physicalists are relativists, meaning they believe there is no absolute truth. They say each person makes up their own reality. Is that true? No, because the relativist’s clearest statement, like, “No absolute truth exists” is a self-defeating statement. That means that the laws of logic demonstrate that statement to be false. Can you see it? For if the relativist makes the statement, “no absolute truth exists,” one only need ask them, ‘is that statement absolutely true’? If they answer, ‘yes’, then at least one absolute truth exists and thus their statement is false. And if they answer, ‘no’, then they acknowledge the statement to be false. It is undeniable that absolute truths exist, and it is reasonable to deduce that someone (a master Programmer?) created reason and logic to be based on absolute truth. The fact that it is undeniable that absolute truth exists - that everything is not relative according to a person’s (or even a collective culture’s) perspective or experiences - has a very significant implication. That implication is that it is possible (even reasonable) that a Creator of that absolute truth has an absolute standard of truth which human’s will be held accountable to…or from another perspective, will set their after-death destiny by. For if we do have a metaphysical part (beyond being able to sense with our five senses) to our person (often referred to as a soul, spirit or personality), and that part does survive physical death, then what becomes of us?
Dear reader, if you lost both your arms and legs and had your face badly disfigured, would that change who you really are? With medical sciences advancing, it is reasonably conceivable that if all that was left of you was your head, you could be kept alive. Would that change who you are? The reasonable answer is no, it would not. This is yet another proof that humans are more than just our physical bodies.
Is religion the place where I will find answers to these things, or can I find those answers somewhere else? What is the truth regarding these matters? To ignore those critical life questions and not seek answers is to live less than a full life…it is to refuse to take life’s most important journey. And this brings us to a person, not a religion, who said, “I am the Truth.”
No matter what you think about that claim, it is a very important claim that warrants investigation. While anyone (and many have) can make that claim, the same one who said that also defeated death, at least according to the four accounts of his life, and that makes his claim worthy of sincere investigation. No one else in human history defeated death in as genuine, authentic and validated way.
Religion in a general sense is humans attempt to understand the purpose of their existence – the whys of life. More specifically, religion is often people’s attempt to be accepted by their God or god(s) so that when they die, their existence will continue typically in a more favorable manner than their existence has been on the earth. From the student of Joshua’s viewpoint, religion is the things that people believe and do in order to answer the why questions of life or to be accepted by their god(s), by means other than what Joshua has taught. Please re-read that carefully. There are many religions and many people who hold to their religion’s beliefs and practices. But there is only one person who--in a genuine, authentic way--defeated death to prove all He said and did is true, and He is not a religion! While this person has been wrongfully used to create religion, He not only does not support that religion, but he rebukes it and its practices time and time again in His teachings. No, he doesn’t rebuke bible-based christian religion’s failures, hypocrisies, faults and abuses, but rather He rebukes the very essence, beliefs and practices which the religious leaders of the bible-based religious system build their kingdoms (or denominations or churches) on. If this is true, this should impact the reader. You have no doubt heard of the person of Jesus of Nazareth (Joshua is a more accurate translation of his name than “Jesus”), the person that the christian religions claim as their figurehead. But of all the hundreds of millions of people claiming to be some type of ‘christian’ or somehow claiming that ‘Jesus Christ’ is important to them, probably less than two percent have taken seriously the reading of his life and teachings, let alone trying to understand him or do what he says. If this is true, this should also peak your curiosity, for it certainly doesn’t make sense. And perhaps this is one of the reasons for the obvious failures and powerlessness of bible or christian or church religion to change people towards the Standard of Perfection that God has given mankind--the person of Joshua of Nazareth?
So, in your hands you have the Words of Joshua of Nazareth, the one who said, “I am the Way (Home to your Father), I am the (absolute) Truth (that eternally matters), and I am Life (Everlasting).” He not only said that (for anyone can say that), but He performed many miracles, including defeating death, to prove that all He said and did was true, including what was just quoted. No one else in history has done that. Joshua addresses the most important questions of life, directly, head on, and gives clear answers. Can I have a Hope that will last? What is the purpose to my life? If I have a soul and it survives death, what becomes of me? What is true love, and can I experience that and live that out? Can I have proper relationships with all the people in my life? Can I have inner peace and joy in my life on the earth? Where can I get the power to change myself to be the way I know I ought to be? Is there a superior form of love, and if so, how can I experience it? Joshua answers all these questions and point’s people to the source of power to change.
This author can testify to this truth. I was once chasing the American dream and all it entails, and to a large measure, I had attained it. However, that pursuit and it’s ‘success’ only left me more empty, selfish and hopeless. People viewing my life from the outside would say how successful I was, but I knew the truth. One beautiful day, however, as my life was spiraling downward (even while people said I was climbing the ladder of success), I met the Person Joshua of Nazareth. I testify that He has changed my life in a way I could never have done myself, for I had not the wisdom nor the power to fix my broken and hopeless life. Empty and circular psychological beliefs or legally prescribed emotion controlling drugs are not the answer to your problems. Alcohol, drugs, busyness, materialism, entertainment-ism or other means to try and dull or hide the hopelessness are not the answer either. So, dear reader, please don’t be afraid to read and seek to understand Joshua of Nazareth…He is NOT a religion, but rather a person like no other. And the chances are very good that the real Joshua of Nazareth is nothing like you have experienced through most christian or bible religious people…He is not the “Jesus Christ” of the christians/biblians or church people. He is not someone handing out free passes to ‘heaven’ to those who believe certain facts about him. Nor is he the God of wrath eager to punish the imperfect. Rather, he has the solution to your deepest need and is eager to provide it to you…he can clean your soul and bring your spirit alive!
Does YOUR life need fixing? What have you got to lose, and perhaps, you’ve got everything to gain? Do you want true freedom? You can have it, but it does cost something. To gain the Life which you really need, you must be willing to forsake the temporary and that which this world (and yourself) considers valuable. "He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.” "If you continue in my word, then you are truly disciples of mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." May the Words of the Rescuer, the Freedom and Life Giver in the pages to come do their beautiful work in your life!
I believe this is exactly the time to reconsider our relationship to our god... Is it God Almighty? Do you get excited about Our Awesome God? Or do you get more excited by earthly things such as a job, a football game, a song, a Million Dollars? Consider this question... If you had the chance to go to one of two concerts: Jesus Christ's Sermon on the Mount or Taylor Swift's latest? Which would you consider the highest priority... And if you had $100, would you buy a lottery ticket for a prize of $10M or give the $100 to a homeless man or women? Ponder this overnight...
You’re special. That’s all her first note from him had said. She’d found it taped to the knob of her apartment’s front door after she arrived back from her jog one morning. Given the difference in their schedules, he’d have time to leave the note and be gone for work before she’d be back from her pre-work cardio jaunt around the community, and he’d known it. She hadn’t recognized the handwriting, and no wonder. Who wrote anything down so much anymore in this increasingly paperless world? A note from an apartment-complex neighbor, jotted inside of a folded little sheet of repurposed tree and stuck to a doorknob, was a definite twenty-first-century anomaly. He hadn’t signed it, but she loved that. Not because he’d never been too wild about his name (he said the sound of it always made him feel like he ought to be tap dancing somewhere in a tux with tails, and he’d never tapped in his life) but because his leaving the unexpected, two-word message unsigned made it more intimate. Unrecognizable handwriting and absence of a signature aside, she knew right away that the note was from him. And he knew she’d know it. “Ah, Tracey,” she’d murmured over the paper as she delayed refolding it, the essence of a smile drifting over her lips. Her eyes embraced the message, or rather surrendered to the message’s embrace, as two of her fingers fiddled with the string from the hood of her hoodie, a garment often tasked with shielding her head from the early mist of the outdoors. The mist, among other things her various workout shields shielded her from. She didn’t usually address her favorite neighbor by the full first name with which he’d only come to resigned terms in adulthood...
I don't know about you, but I enjoy a little mystery with romance... And Nadine Keels who has become a friend plus a favorite author begins her lovely set of short stories with one that is intriguing... It starts with a short unsigned note left on the main character's door--two or three words just to let her know that somebody is thinking about her! Cool, right! As the story goes on, Clarion meets and begins talking to her new admirer, at least until she brings up a question she'd been wondering about: “Tray? Do you ever think you and I must look mismatched?” she’d come out and asked him one weekend afternoon...
At this time when some are trying to divide America racially, I loved Nadine's approach to this sad issue being "used" in today's politics by one party... Young people don't have those biases unless they are taught by their parents or other influential people in their lives. It certainly does not come from the church as Jesus Christ proclaims that we must love our neighbor--all our neighbors... So,
As two people who were not really acquainted began to send messages to each other, they learn more and more about the other and learning to be friends. That is, until tragedy strikes the life of Clarion and she is lost to a world where she must begin to find her own way. Can her new friend help?
Show Me Silver
It was more than a dance. First of all, she wasn’t the kind of woman for just anybody to take dancing just anywhere. Yvonne’s very essence spoke of high class, and that was more than all right. Sterling wasn’t the kind of man to take just any woman out anyway, and classy entertainment was his dating specialty. Fine dining. Theater. Book readings. Art and history exhibits. Orchestral ensembles and symphonies. Ballroom dancing. Tonight, the music was live jazz, from an excellent band that knew how to create and work an atmosphere.
There wasn’t only one couple out on the dance floor. But as far as Sterling’s consciousness was concerned for this space in time, he and Yvonne could have been the only two people on the floor at this dinner concert. It wasn’t because the band’s number at the moment was a slow one with rich tones. It wasn’t because the refined yet alluring fragrance floating from Yvonne’s skin was such a complement to Sterling’s aromatic cologne. It wasn’t even because on what was now their fifth date, this was the longest the two of them had ever held each other. No, no. The other people around faded away and the dance became more than a dance once Sterling began to realize he hadn’t stopped…looking at Yvonne. Meeting her open stare, and saying nothing. By this point in his life, slow-dancing with a woman wasn’t anything new to him. Oftentimes, maintaining a stream of light banter with a dance partner could keep prolonged staring from becoming uncomfortable. Or if Sterling had sensed any possibility that this close and quiet interlude might become at all awkward, this would be the time when he’d lean in to rest his russet brown cheek against Yvonne’s darker, rounder one. Of course, in favorable scenarios, it’d be romantic of Sterling to make such a move. Conversely, it could serve as a convenient next step for a slow dance that would stagnate or become uneasy if the banter ran out, leaving him and his partner with nothing but music and eye contact. But tonight, two or three songs ago, Sterling had lost any sense of time. Neither he nor Yvonne had spoken a word for however long on this dance floor. Neither pair of their brown eyes, his behind wire-framed glasses, had strayed long or far from the other. And Yvonne’s gaze—as soft as her full, feminine form, gently swaying in Sterling’s arms to velvety jazz—had yet to make him feel in any way that it would be best for him to look elsewhere. This was different. A different level of seeing and being seen. He should’ve known. Should’ve known that dancing with Yvonne wouldn’t be only that. He should’ve known because not one thing between him and Yvonne, from the first day to now, had been “only” anything. Every exchange on the phone and in person, every outing with her had left him sated with light, pleasure, and verve. He should’ve been prepared. Yet, how did one prepare for this? For this level of seeing. Seeing that accordingly called for knowing. Not merely the kind of knowing that Sterling could boast about if he wanted. Here while he was amazingly lost but right at home in Yvonne’s gaze, any manner of boasting couldn’t be further from his mind. He wasn’t imagining himself turning back to face all the eyes that had overlooked or looked down on him in past years. He hadn’t a notion of announcing to all the owners of those eyes, as though it would prove anything, “I know Yvonne Royale now. The Yvonne Royale.” No. That wasn’t the nature of potential knowing, here. Besides, it had never been Sterling’s style to boast about anything that daunted him. The sigh he gave then wasn’t outward but inward. And bewildered. Was it strange that, in an atmosphere saturated with music so marvelous, with a woman whose presence he found both invigorating and soothing, and with her honest gaze for him to get so lost in and to feel he’d been found there, all at once—might it be strange that some part of Sterling’s psyche could even consider something about this experience…to be daunting?
Moving Points of View between the two who are looking for love, makes this even more interesting because, at first, each would have their own opinions and background which are important to them, while at the same time, not knowing how the other might react!
Sterling was a man who spent time and money to ensure that his dates were impressed by his interest in the arts of all kinds, choosing jazz for an evening meal or a book reading--anything that would allow him to carry on a conversation to keep his date interested in him... His early life had been unhappy, never being able to satisfy, or even know, what his father expected of him. Now he carried the words he'd said each night as he went to bed: "I'll Show Them!" And even though he was now successful and met many interesting women, he was never quite sure how to ensure a longer relationship--one that would lead to their being interest enough to go on to a deeper level of the relationship.
That is, until he met Yvonne... By the fifth date, he found that they had spent time dancing, dancing, without no concern whether they were talking about this or that. It was enough just to be in each other's arms, gazing at each other... There was talk on earlier dates, about books or music, but when Yvonne would ask personal questions about his family, he tended to evade the question by moving on to another topic quickly. And then, one evening he had brought a folder, containing part of a novel he was writing and presented it to her. But her response was not what he had expected. She thought he had wined and dined her, hoping to have her review his book and help to get it published. He stumbled into an apology that it was in response to her always asking about his personal plans and that it was his way of sharing something important to him with her...
So she did read it and talked to him via video to give him her best feedback... She had to be truthful, yet helpful, complimentary yet point out problems she saw... But, in Sterling's mind, he was already whispering, "I'll Show Her..."
I'm sure every writer will totally get involved in this short story that goes to the heart of every writer's wishes for their future... For me? It was whether or not Sterling's writing was to be an obstacle for their own relationship... Can a newly developing relationship be destroyed by one misstep by one or the other?
Debbie Duo
Dream Debbie
It’s a bird! A majestic eagle, soaring high and gracefully through the skies. It’s a plane! A jet aircraft, piercing through the clouds so swiftly that not even sound can keep up with it as its onlookers from the earth below hold fast to their hats and scarves, standing in an afterglow of awe. No! It’s Dream Woman! Taking flight through the stratosphere yet again, undoubtedly on another momentous, noble mission that only she can achieve—since she, quite frankly, is the only one perfect enough to do that sort of thing. A stellar career woman, a domestic genius, a renowned icon with the striking form of a goddess beneath her magnificent cape… Groan. “Delete.” Debbie hits the backspace key to eliminate her unrelated ramblings of the past few minutes from her computer screen, and she frowns at the aging remnants of her lunch on the desk, a pasta recipe that needs an upgrade. Having told her editor that she would have her story to him a week ago, she knows that the book’s illustrator cannot resume his work on the project during such a standstill. But here Debbie sits, wasting time with word-doodles that don’t have anything to do with anything. Her tale about a bunch of neighborhood pals on summer vacation has the possibility of becoming Debbie’s best children’s tale yet. She’d seen it so clearly the month before, as the proverbial bulb had burst into light over her head one morning, yanking her out of sleep with its promising incandescence. She’d floated through the next few days, refining her new characters in her head, piecing together a lively plot that would teach developing minds an important lesson on friendship while simultaneously entertaining their young, eager imaginations. Debbie isn’t sure what became of that bulb, but currently, she can’t seem to get the end of the story to pan out in a choice amount of words. She’s been mulling over this issue for days, reworking the plot, and now (taking a look at her cell phone) she hasn’t left herself sufficient time to close up shop, so to speak, and to get ready for her date with Stuart. “Enough. I quit.” In exasperation, Debbie puts her computer down for a nap and shoots up from her desk, but she pauses to tell her unfinished story, in case it happens to be listening, “I mean, until tomorrow.” Once again, Saturday won’t be a day off. An involuntary smile of apology flashes toward her computer before Debbie rushes out of her home office, taking the scraps of her lunch along for disposal. Stuart will be on his way to pick her up soon, and she absolutely must be ready on time. Ahh. Stuart. The brilliant magazine columnist Debbie met some weeks ago in the coffee shop she frequents early on weekday mornings, sometimes just to get out of the house. She hadn’t known at first that Stuart is at the shop almost as much as she is. She’d failed to truly notice him until he’d approached her table by the windows one day, saying, “Pardon me, but I’ve been observing for some time that you never order coffee here.” Debbie had peeked up from her newspaper to see the tall stranger there. He probably wasn’t the handsomest man on the planet, but he did have a pair of kind, soothing eyes. Debbie’s friends might’ve judged that Stuart had natural “bedroom eyes,” but Debbie had immediately informed herself that she had no business thinking of bedrooms. She’d jumped into her favorite old pair of unsexy flannel pajamas that night to remind herself of the fact. Debbie had briefly glanced away from the stranger, down to her apple, bagel, and orange juice breakfast. She’d smiled, somewhat embarrassed. “I don’t drink coffee. But I’ve always revered the aroma of it.” The stranger had laughed. On the mornings since then, he’d been making regular visits to Debbie’s table to chat with her, even sitting down for breakfast with her on occasion, until he’d declared earlier this week, “To be honest, Debbie, I’d really like to see you outside of this shop. I’ve got tickets for a play downtown, this Friday night…” Debbie had nearly choked on her blueberry muffin. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been asked on a date by somebody she actually liked. “And I don’t want him to regret having asked me,” Debbie now says as she rifles through her closet, looking for her knee-length, emerald green dress. She takes the dress out and goes to stand before her long mirror, holding the garment against her delicate frame, knowing that she wants to look as nice as possible. Even as alluring as possible—without looking, well, as alluring as she possibly could. “If that makes sense.” Time is of the essence, but Debbie can’t resist sacrificing a moment for a jubilant, girlish spin in front of the mirror. She remembers the first time she’d ever consciously done that, when her mother had brought home a new, flouncy dress for her to wear to her fifth birthday party. Yes, even now she can see that imaginative little girl who’d wanted her parents to get her a space helmet when she turned five, since she was going to be an astronaut when she grew up. How she was going to fit that in with being a dentist, a Hollywood actress, and the Queen of America, she hadn’t known at the time, but that didn’t matter. Her becoming Dream Woman one day would take care of it, and she’d fit everything in seamlessly as the ultimate life planner. And Dream Woman could fly like a jet, of course, so soaring from one task to another in a timely fashion, or even swooping from one career to another if necessary, wouldn’t be a problem for her. Debbie slips into her green dress after a quick shower, a dashing of makeup, and a whirl with a curling iron through her dark hair. She looks herself over front and back, not without a tiny sigh. This isn’t quite the curvaceous figure she’d once been sure she had a chance of developing, but she’ll strut what she has to work with. She releases a chortle, recalling the first time she’d ever scrutinized herself so closely, having donned an outfit for a high school dance. She’d initially hoped that it would be her first date, but no guy had asked her to go. In the end, it hadn’t made too great a difference because she went with two of her closest friends, people who consistently stuck by her, much like her family; friends she is fortunate enough to still have. They were all there for her while, perhaps prematurely, Debbie’s vast and glittery ideas of the future began to settle around her like fairy dust, leaving her standing there, not on top of the world but atop a living pile of hardbacks, paperbacks, and notebooks. Thoughts about dentistry and Hollywood faded. Writing was what this bibliophile had grown to love, and she couldn’t help being good at it. As a teenager, Debbie started making crude little picture books for the neighbors’ kids next door. Her pictures were horrid, but the stories were delicious, and Debbie’s soul would lift in response to the light in the children’s faces as she read to them aloud. Memories of those faces carried her through college, and she gets that same feeling to this day, when she reads her books to her engrossed listeners during story hours at local libraries. Never an astronaut. Never the queen of her country. Dream Woman yet soars, nonetheless, disappearing far off into the horizon. She must still be out there, somewhere… “Hello. You look lovely,” Stuart says when Debbie opens her front door to greet him at the appointed time. She lets out a relieved breath and warms at the sight of her date standing there in a dark blue overcoat, handing her a bouquet of blossoms that could have been made of silk. Debbie thoroughly enjoys her evening out. Conversation over dinner is great, as is the play downtown. However, while their outing draws toward a close, Stuart appears to have a question in his kind eyes as he walks Debbie back to her front door. “Is there something you’re waiting to say to me?” Debbie ventures to ask Stuart. His eyebrows go up. “On the contrary. I could be wrong, but it’s seemed all evening that there might be something you’re waiting to say to me.” Debbie doesn’t bother to ask him how he knows it. It’s one of the things she likes so much about him. She shakes her head. “I’m rather out of practice with all this. I don’t want you to regret having asked me out.” “Regret asking you?” Stuart’s forehead wrinkles. “Why would I—?” “I’m just me, you know.” Debbie gives a slight shrug. “I’m not exactly what I dreamed I would be. And I haven’t won a medal in literature to make up for it. I think I burn my cuisine a bit more often than a grown woman should, and sometimes I’ll lose a battle with a stubborn stain in my laundry. But, despite all of it, when the dust settles, I’ve got my family, and my friends are still here. I am what I am, I do what I love, and my love helps people, especially little ones.” Is it silly that Debbie’s eyes are growing damp? She blinks, smiling. “I can’t fly, Stuart. But I’m happy. I’m happy, and I’m grateful to be one in probably too small a number of people who can genuinely say that.” Stuart hesitates, his look both warm and quizzical. “You are the woman I met in a coffee shop who doesn’t drink coffee, aren’t you?” Debbie wonders at his question, but before she can answer, Stuart leans in to brush a soft kiss over her lips. He lingers close for a moment, murmuring, “You’re amazing, Deborah.” Debbie blinks a few more times, her eyes now wide. She’s at a loss for any more words.
What draws another person to start paying attention to another? Is it looks, body type--are they taller than you or shorter, are they the right race or religion (if you meet them in church)... Or is it, that the other individual started to pay attention to you first?!? That's what happened to Deborah when Stuart approached her while they were both in a coffee shop... She realized that Stuart seemed to want to get to know her better, but when that happened, she worried whether or not she could manage to keep him interested... Then the question might be, will Stuart continue to be interested after knowing each other for a week or so?
Stuart had already begun to think about how his parents seemingly never were happy with even his breathing! And his defenses would arise, but without anybody to whom he could turn to get positive feedback, he had carried this fear into his adult life. Can this shy couple get past their own fears and begin to share openly and truthfully?
Tea and Cream Debbie
She never would have thought of herself as one of the most popular girls in senior high. She was too busy enjoying this time in her life with all of her upbeat, teenage friends to stop and worry about how popular she might be. She and several of her girlfriends would engage in lively chatter between classes at school, their cute and curly hairstyles bouncing, their modest but trendy and feminine skirts lightly swishing as they’d walk down the hallways in their saddle shoes and bobby socks. They’d hold their mathematics and English textbooks up close to their chests, but books weren’t the biggest thing about their high school careers. Of course, learning and getting good grades was important. She and her friends weren’t dense or daffy, and most of them would be going on to further education after they graduated. But books and homework assignments and such were more in the background somewhere, since high school was, above everything else, an exhilarating social experience.
Well, you'll have to wait and see how this story turns out! LOL
Celebrating Solo?
Wake Up Sheridan!
Dumped. Whose jolly idea was it to ever apply such a thwunk of a word to an experience that has such potential to be, well, delicate? “Dumping” rightly identifies the deeds of, say, county waste management crews at junkyards. And individuals who’ve determined that a nearby ravine or a sloping stretch of grass alongside the Interstate onramp would be the best place to desert the raggedy sofa or the busted TV they no longer have room or use for. Stuff like that. Oh…granted, it was all so romantic, really, when I thought about it. Picture tallish, chocolate-dipped specimen of charisma and a looker-to-end-all-lookers, David Franklin. David once had a high school sweetheart: a gregarious, gorgeous girl he lost to her moving family’s move to the opposite side of the country, on account of the prestigious job promotion the girl’s father had landed. David saw the apple of his teenaged eye off at the airport, vowing to remain true to her and her alone from across the miles. But after the passing of a few months, David’s sobbing sweetheart called to break the news to him. Her mother held firm that her daughter was too young to be going steady with a boy who wasn’t even around. There were plenty of other nice, young gentlemen in the girl’s neck of the woods for her to socialize with, and she had better get to proper socializing, lest her growing fluidity in social graces be stunted before she would come of age, her mother said. That phone call devastated David. He mourned the loss of his love until after high school, when, as a freshman in college, he met the first girl he’d thought to date since his sweetheart had been taken away. This new young woman was a bibliophilic sort, not unladylike but without the deepest concern for cosmetics or fashion. She was a fellow student David was thrown together with for a two-person presentation for their Introduction to World Literature course. After a couple of study sessions with her outside of class, followed by a resounding 105% score on their presentation, David decided that he liked the bibliophile enough to ask her out. Thus began a casual courtship that happened to endure for the rest of David’s four-year college career. However, before he could resign himself to plans of making the courtship something more than casual after graduation, up popped his high school sweetheart. She was local again, free from parental clutches, gorgeous and gregarious as ever, ready to reclaim what she knew to be destiny. David knew it too. Destiny won out, and off Mr. Franklin went to pursue the sun, the moon, and the very Milky Way with the girl he’d once lost but had never been able to forget. Ahh. The romance. [Insert long, breathy sigh, full of dreams.] The incandescence of it all could scarcely be dimmed by a leftover factor: the bibliophile who hadn’t known the college courtship had been but a casual one, despite the fact that it hadn’t included any affairs of a distinctly serious or fancy nature. The bibliophile had even taken the plunge into stylish jeans and trendy tops and appealing perfumes and elegant eye shadows and luscious lip colors after she’d become the (initially stunned) recipient of David Franklin’s attentions. How she’d paid through the nose for some of those lipsticks but hadn’t had the faintest objection whenever David would step in to disrupt their dazzling displays of color, asking for one of the cottony wipes from her purse. He’d take it upon himself to ease her lipstick from her lips as he’d declare, in that mesmeric murmur of his, “There, nice and bare.
~~~
Hi-ho, the Derry-o
🙀There's a number of things that I'd say to all of those involved in this threesome... But, if you don't see where this is going, you need to read it for your own oohs and LOLs! And, here's a "real" clue...
Joy to the World, Even!
I loved reading these stories, but it's always hard to do a review and give enough to allow potential readers to decide whether they want to read the book. So I've tried to be as fair as possible, but several were too short to not give the storyline away...So I added music instead! And, especially on the last story, bet you'd never guess how The Farmer in the Dell was brought into the storyline... You'll enjoy this one for sure! I can highly recommend this for ages beginning mid-teens... And check out other books by this author by entering her name in the search column on the right!
