Daily Prompt: Fleeting

SONY DSC

Today’s prompt was to use the word fleeting in a post.

This topic reminded me of all the times we are left with a fleeting glance.  In many cases, the memories of these momentary glimpses are anything but fleeting.

Mom’s waving hand as you embark on your first ever bus ride

The emotional, yet proud look your mom or dad gives you at graduation

The bob of a little blonde ponytail as it retreats the first day they walk to class alone

Her tail lights the first time she drives away from home with bags packed

The crestfallen little face from the car seat when the visit is over and she has to go home

There are many more memories like this; sometimes romantic and sometimes sentimental.  They are good material for stories and poetry and backdrops to some of our  most memorable events.

Daily Prompt: Flow

Today’s prompt was to represent the word flow.  My offering is a photo and a poem.

DSC03925.JPG

You let the words flow as the ink meets the paper

Scribbling a story your heart holds so dear

You’ve crafted the characters and finished your tale

Now you hope and you pray someone else wants to hear

By:  Lisa

SONY DSC

My rant about nude selfies

What you do

The last two daily prompts were to write about the words Object and Legacy, so I thought I’d kill two birds with one stone.

What kind of legacy is this generation leaving to the next when we have “famous” people posting nude selfies on social media which any teenager in this country has access to?  Bodies are treated like mere objects to attract attention.  I am a woman and I want to be treated like a woman; all of me, for all of my attributes; my personality, my sense of humor, my compassion and gifts of love.

The sidebar on Facebook, you know the one that alerts inquiring minds to what is currently “trending” often makes me cringe.  The very word trending implies that these topics are getting the most attention.  Sadly, this reminds me that the reality is, the more immoral and depraved the topic, the more attention it gets.  Of course, I must say in all fairness that it is possible and even likely that much of the attention towards some of it is negative.

Normally, I prefer not to give a second thought to the subjects that evoke negative thoughts, but what I have noticed over the past couple of days has angered me and I can no longer remain silent.  I couldn’t allow fear of the opinions of the “anything goes” crowd to dissuade me.

First and foremost, my number one responsibility as a Christ follower is to pray for the women to whom I allude.  I have and I will continue to.   Instead of calling names and bashing individuals, I would rather talk about the behavior.

With all that said, what compels someone to stand in front of a mirror, nude and take a selfie to be posted to social media for the entire world to see?  Is it vanity, an uncontrollable desire for attention, a publicity stunt?  Maybe it’s a combination of all of those things.  And do others imitate “in support” because they truly care about the first offender, or because they are jumping at the chance for self-promotion or attention as well?

Of course, and I’m speaking generally here, we as a nation are at fault because if we didn’t create the demand, it wouldn’t be supplied.  We watch it, we buy the books and magazines and upload the songs and then wonder why morality is at an all time low.

What does it say about us as a nation and as a generation of women who tolerate and at times agree with such ludicrous behavior?  I think many of us have become fearful to speak out against it because we can rest assured that we will be attacked, deemed judgmental and called fanatical conservatives.

If you really care about other women, why would you help to cultivate a mindset that promotes the belief that we are just sexual objects?  What about the girls, and women who have self-image problems; the ones who don’t have unlimited resources and a personal chef?  You send a message that isn’t realistic or responsible.

Unless we buy more time at a plastic surgeons office, our looks will fade.  We need to focus on the qualities that remain; the qualities that actually increase as we grow in wisdom and experience.  Ask yourself if you are growing in goodness and mercy, in kindness and compassion.  Are you increasing in discernment and empathy?

It’s not just the fact that as a Christian, I see my body as the temple of the Holy Spirit; it’s the fact that as a woman, wife and mother, I want to be a feminine woman of dignity.

Ladies and gentlemen, please stop lining the pockets of people who are sending this type of message to the masses.  Let’s teach our young women to have self-respect and to be women of honor.  We can be part of the solution.  We can help influence this generation of impressionable young woman in a more virtuous direction, a direction that won’t leave them dying (sometimes literally) to fit a standard that isn’t real.

We were created in the image of God and for His glory; now that’s a standard to live up to.

Blessings!

P.S.   This isn’t my typical post and I sincerely hope my words are received as intended; from a woman who is very grieved with the trend towards depravity in society and truly hopes and prays for change.

 

Lessons from a mockingbird

You may have read some of my other posts where I talk about how God always teaches me little lessons or shows me things if I just pay attention to His creation.

My husband and I, now that we are getting older, love to watch the various birds that frequent our back yard.  Since he is a fishing guide, the pelicans follow him home, but his favorite is a little blue heron that comes to visit every afternoon.  If the little guy is fortunate, he gets scraps as the fish get cleaned.

My preference though are the cardinals.  Since they live here year round, I always keep food in their feeder.  There are several pairs that live in the dense mangroves across the creek from us, so you can find them almost any time of day near the feeder in the winter and spring.  In summer, it seems like they are a little more elusive.  I am sure the intense heat has something to do with that.

Recently, I have become acquainted with (the best I can anyway) with a fat little mockingbird.  She sits on our fence or atop the stalks of red berries on our Christmas palm tree.  The photo below only shows one stalk and there are currently four on this tree and two on the tree in our front yard.  My point being, she has plenty.

FullSizeRender (14)

She pecks at the berries until one falls to the ground and then she quickly grabs it and runs into a more sheltered area with it.  She constantly watches for other birds and chases mostly black birds and mourning doves away all day long.  They aren’t allowed to land within about a five foot perimeter of “her” tree.  Don’t tell me it isn’t fun to bird watch, although my youngest teases me about the pleasure I derive from my birds.

Anyway, to get to my lesson.  The other day, as you can see in the video above, she had her berry and was enjoying a feast.  If you look closely you can see a cardinal hiding in the bush behind her and a black bird walks by behind it.  The cardinal and the black bird are merely after the bird feeder which is to the left of the greedy little mockingbird.  They do not appear to be remotely interested in her berries and they don’t eat them when she isn’t around.

However, you can see in the video at the very end, she chases them away.  She wastes effort getting stressed, and chasing them away from what is hers.  She covets her berry and thinks everyone wants what she has.  She misinterprets their motive and gets it all wrong.  Can you see the lesson?  Aren’t we like that sometimes?  We think everyone wants what is ours and we get in defensive mode and get our blood pressure up for naught.  And for what?  There were enough berries for everyone and no one else was interested in them anyway.

I love God’s little lessons in nature and I love to watch His glorious creatures living out their roles in His magnificent creation.

 

 

 

Daily Prompt: Contrast

1072040_10151755131621763_822502036_o

The Daily Prompt was to write a post in response to the word “contrast”.  Here is my humble offering. (and this isn’t about anyone I know, just made it up)

He could be unpleasant, but she was a dear

How they ended up united remained quite unclear

She was charming and gracious, always polite

He was quiet, and none too appealing by sight

But oh how they loved and no matter the weather

Contrasting characters but together forever

Daily Prompt: Inevitable

12670259_170175586688623_6516952917764536278_n

The Daily Prompt was to use the word “inevitable” in a post.

I look at her tiny little body with it’s protruding little belly, the glow of pending motherhood shining on her face.

Wasn’t it just yesterday, I sat in this same living room with her dad in domestic bliss ooing and ahhing over her gymnastic abilities already apparent as my swollen belly jumped and heaved with her somersaults?

In a mere matter of a couple of months, my baby will bring her baby into this world.  My blonde smiling, whimsical cherub will be a mother.

But I guess it was inevitable.

Daily Prompt: Longing

SONY DSCThe Daily Prompt was to write about Longing

Longing implies an intense craving or ache for something or someone.  From a temporal perspective, the most poignant experience I’ve had with longing is for my mother who passed away in 96’.  There have been times especially early on, when I would have given almost anything for her advice one more time, or to hear her call me “sugar”.    I could say the same about many friends and loved ones who are dearly missed.

The second example that I’m familiar with are the times I’ve had the intense longing to see my children.  Both of them moved away after high school.  One of them has since returned and lives nearby, but my eldest is still too many miles away to meet for lunch or just stop by.  As a mother, it’s not even that you just desire their presence, you often long for the way things used to be.  We want them to grow up and become their own person, but at the same time, we want to hold them forever.  It’s an emotional quandary at times.

As the years roll by, another longing becomes apparent to me.  It’s one that I was never too familiar with in my younger days; a longing for the past.  As we grow older in a world that grows more violent and a society that seems to degrade by the minute, we long for simpler times, for peace and for the way things used to be.  We long for the people we miss, a chance to do some things over again and as our thoughts drift to our own mortality, we long to know we have done the best we could do.  For those of us who are Christ followers, we long to see the salvation of others.

However, speaking from a spiritual perspective, the first thing that came to mind when I read the topic for today’s prompt was a C.S. Lewis quote which it one of my favorites.  It says, “If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.”

Although I have experienced longing in this life, there is something deep inside that is never fully satisfied and I know it won’t be this side of heaven.  This is a longing for my heavenly home when God has fulfilled His divine purpose for me on this earth.  It’s His call, in His own timing and I don’t worry myself about it.  I do believe that when I get there, I will never again long for anything.

 

 

Daily Prompt: Divide

IMG_4138

After work today, when I clicked on the Daily post and saw that the Prompt was to write a post using the word Divide, I headed outside.  I wanted to park myself in my chair and enjoy this already spring-like SW FL weather and meditate on the topic and see what transpired…..

In this season of political uncertainty, amidst the myriad major issues facing not just our beloved United States, but the entire world, can we just stop for a minute?

Can we take a moment to remove our focus from the voices telling us the numerous reasons we should be divided and instead remember all that we have in common?  Social media and the news media are ripe with ideas on how to tear each other apart, but who says we have to buy into the hate and the drama?

We are all humans; we have a heart, mind, body and soul, with warm rich blood flowing through our veins.  We all have feelings, even though we may express them differently.  We were all created in the image of God, our Divine Creator.

Let’s love one another.  Who knows what tomorrow will bring?

This may seem a little too maudlin for some, but it’s what’s on my heart.  Peace.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.  I Corinthians 13:4-8

Daily Prompt: Secret

SONY DSC

Today’s Daily Prompt was to write a post in response to the word secret.

Do you promise not to tell?  Of course, I promise, I won’t tell a living soul. 

How many times have you been told that only to have your dirty laundry or even your clean but private laundry shared all over town?  Why is it so difficult for people to keep a secret?

We love to know things and we also love to tell them.

There is something that makes us feel special when a secret is finally revealed and we can say with a big grin on our face, “Oh yes, I already knew that.”   This gives us the feeling that we were special enough to know it before others and I guess that’s true, unless there is a significant reason for your knowing.

Although I am pretty special, I had to keep a secret for my daughter recently and it was only to ensure that her friends and I could pull off the party and buy the appropriate supplies.

She made me keep a secret that was a tough one; the gender of her baby, who will arrive in June.  A few years ago I had never heard of a gender reveal party.  Now, they are THE trendy thing to do.  Creative people all over the world have figured out unique ways to reveal their secret.  We just did the pink candy in the middle of a cake, but I recently saw photos on Facebook of someone shooting pink paint balls and another where blue confetti burst out of a piñata.

Whatever type of secret you’re entrusted with, keep it.  Otherwise, you ruin your chances of ever being told another one, and that’s only fair.

“Debate thy cause with thy neighbour himself; and discover not a secret to another:” Proverbs 25:9

Daily Prompt: Leap

10678800_10152709355962354_7539921771074696389_n

Yours truly at the White Cliffs of Dover

The Daily Prompt is Leap.  I racked my brain to come up with a story, but I had to settle for a silly little poem.

 

A fancy word for jump; that’s what leap is to most

But you should look before you do it or you might be toast

Whether playing leap frog or clearing a fence

Whenever you leap, please use common sense.

Perhaps you are thinking of taking a leap

The kind that you fear may leave you to weep.

A leap of faith out of your own comfort zone

Should you risk it or should you just leave it alone?

Well, you never will know unless you at least try

So, leap, there you go, up, up, up, you can fly.

Mitch Teemley

The Power of Story

The Godly Chic Diaries

BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH

The Anonymous Writer's Notebook

Create, Share, Inspire

Jo Ann Maxwell

How a diagnose of a chronic disease turned my world upside down.

The Meat & Potatoes of Life

By Lisa Smith Molinari

The Shepherd's Presence

Living under the guidance of the Good Shepherd. All of living should be lived in light of God's Word. I enjoy taking life's litte parts and making them practical, yet have spiritual depth.

Laura's Lens

Taking a look at the beauty around us

Trailing Ellipsis...

Pausing Every Day To Find Jesus On The Trail

Believe.

Let your children believe.

Artsy Wanderer

a stroll through life

Austenprose

Your online source for Jane Austen and her legacy

average2athlete

EAT like an Athlete, TRAIN like an Athlete, THINK like an Athlete...BE an Athlete.

THE RIVER WALK

Daily Thoughts and Meditations as we journey together with our Lord.

Storyshucker

A blog full of humorous and poignant observations.

Long walks and dark chocolate

Life as a mom, nana and follower of Christ; hoping to share from lessons learned

This Caring Heart

From a heart that cares ... sometimes too much