Jude Stringfellow's Blog, page 82

Recycle, Repurpose, Restore!

 Yesterday I was in the local Aldi (OMG, I love that store) and as I was standing in line to check out the woman who was in front of me was literally buying every single package of bologna that the store offered to its customers. Now, to be honest, there was a part of me that thought inwardly, "Really, you have to take every last package?"  We do that, don't we. We judge.  Then another thought quickly replaced the original thought, "Maybe she's feeding the homeless and that's what she can afford."  I decided to ask. That's me. I do that. If you're with me when it happens, you may have to either just accept that I do that, or maybe turn around so no one will assume you're with me. I do ask. I open my big mouth, and I ask questions that some would think I have absolutely no reason or right to ask about. That's me.

    She looked at me. She in fact, took a half step back and turned to face me. She said in her very sweet and curious voice, "I am feeding the homeless. You wanna help?"  Oh my goodness!! The inner Spirit in me was doing the dance! Did she just offer me an opportunity?!! WHAT?  Yes, I want to help! Let me help!  I didn't let her see the inner joy immediately, I wanted to be sure she was going to let me actually help before I got too excited.  I answered, "Of course, what do you need?"  She said she could use more bread because she knows there's about 100 "souls", her word, and she only had enough to give each of them a couple of slices of bologna and 1 slice of bread. I asked her to hold my place in line. The man behind me didn't mind.

    I quickly ran over to the bread aisle and grabbed up what I could that would go with what she already had. I didn't want there to be a battle between men/women who may have received something a bit better than the other. While I was there I rocked over to the cheese aisle and picked up 8 packages of just plain ol' American yellow cheese, and three bottles of mustard and one bottle of ketchup. Some people put ketchup on their bologna, right?  I raced back to the check out and asked her if she could use chips.  She laughed. "Of course, we can use whatever you got" was her answer. I asked the man behind me if it was OK if I got some chips. He handed me a $20 bill and said he'd go ahead of me but he wanted to help too. WHAT A MAN! WHAT A WOMAN! I am so excited to be living near and among wonderful people.

    So yeah, I picked up 10 bags of chips too.  We checked out, we packed it up, and I asked her if she needed me to help make the sandwiches or pass them out. She said she would actually be doing that tomorrow, (which is today) and her grandkids helped her. It was a Sunday thing. Oh, a Sunday thing? So maybe next Sunday I can help again? She nodded and agreed to let me do that. Woot!  As she was leaving I asked her if she could use soap. I told her I made a lot of soap for sale, but there were dozens of bars I can't really sell for any profit really. She said she could use anything and everything, so I decided to go home, pack up the dozens of bars that I don't think will sell for this or that reason. I decided to cut them in half so they could be distributed to more people. I ended up with 58 bars. It's not 100, but it will work. If I need to I can actually just make more for them and not sell them. God doesn't mind if I give my tithe or offerings away this way. He makes it all.

    I can't tell you how awesome it is to be loud-mouthed, open, up front, blunt, honest, and out going. You can only imagine how many great rewarding opportunities are missed out on every single day by introverted people who either want to help, or wish they could muster up the courage to ask if they can. God was so very keen when He decided I needed vocal cords. I use them. I may not always be pleasant, and I may not always fit in the boxes that society has created for us to fit into, I sort of create my own moments of contingency. I don't wait for others to ask. I rarely ask for permission, it's just not in my Spirit to do that. I know when there's work to be done. Why ask if I can do it if no one is stepping up to do so? I do usually ask, but I don't take no for an answer if the person is overwhelmed or underassisted. I'm going to be there and I'm going to put my two hands out to help. 

    I am not a rich or wealthy person. No, I am not. I am not able to open up my check book and just cover any and all needs that may need to be covered. What I am is available. What I am is willing. What I am is hopeful that God will recycle me. That He will repurpose me. That He will restore me. The way(s) He does that is to let me serve. If I'm serving I'm smiling. If I'm smiling I'm making something happen. If I'm making something happen I am doing what needs to be done. I am no miracle maker, but I am trying to be like the Miracle Maker in my heart.  If I can see Him smiling you know my day is complete.

    I guess what I'm saying is there are opportunities all around us. We can see if we have eyes to see. We can hear if we have ears to hear. We can sing if we have the voice to sing. Remember God didn't say it had to be pretty. When I praise Him it usually has to be solo so I don't mess up the sounds of what others are producing. The joyful noise thing applies to me, and really, I'm OK with it. I don't have to be good at it, that wasn't the mission's goal. I just want it to be joyful and directed as worship. What I'm saying is, listen, look, watch, be there, be open, be available. You may be the one who needs the help one day, and really, there's that song again...I sing it in my head over and over again. "Lean on me, when you're not strong, and I'll be your friend. I'll help you carry on.  For, it won't be long, til I'm gonna need somebody to lean on."   Just be there. 

Photo Credit: Bar-S.com

Stirling the Snake - - Ball Python

 Not really sure when I began liking the slithery scaly friends of the wild, but I know when I was very young I would walk over two miles (by myself at the age of 6 or 7) to the department store (TG&Y) and I would stare at the snakes in the pet department.  The pet supplies were in the back, as well as the snakes, hampsters, turtles and birds.  I don't remember there being very many lizards in the store. I try really hard to remember sometimes because I often wonder why they didn't carry lizards. Maybe there wasn't much of a demand for them; the average house in Oklahoma had a few breeds or species of lizards hanging around. We had snakes too, but only the garden variety and usually the roosters kept them in their place.  I would walk to the store and literally practice staring by eye-balling a Ball python. I was very upset to find out that they didn't actually beat me as often as they did, but snakes don't have the ability to blink! Here I thought I was just  a lousy staring person; turns out I was really pretty good at it.

    So, today, as I have in the past, I decided that I needed a new Ball python. I don't often wake up thinking that I do need a new friend, but when it happens I am apt to just go out and get whatever it is that my head and/or heart is thinking would be a good remedy to fix whatever the voice inside me is ranting about.  "You really like snakes Jude, you know you do."  It's right, that voice I mean, I do like snakes. I love them as a matter of fact. I've always been a fan, and wow, look at the calendar, it's been almost 25 years since I've actually owned a Ball python, Dang.  Yes, it was time.

    I have Bob. Bob is a Leopard gecko.  He's really cute fun to handle, and he's named for Robert the Bruce who, by the way, fought in Stirling, Scotland.  The name Stirling was not an accident. I have Bob and NOW I have Stirling. I suppose I could have named the snake Wallace, but I have a guitar by that name, so it was going to be Stirling or Falkirk, and I liked Stirling.  Bob was my first reptile in a long while. I think I was really more into horses and also letting the kids have their pets. I had the dogs, the cats, and just sort of put the lizards and snakes on the back burner until I realized this morning that when I do move Bob will need something to stare at and watch.  Geckos are solo animals, you don't want to put two in the same cage, but putting something across from him to give him something to do makes sense. I get Bob out and hold/play with him, but he's not likely to cuddle and snakes do cuddle - - or snuggle, or sort of grip onto you and use you for a scratching post anyway. I like that.

    I'm that girl who has never been afraid to grab a random toad and run with it to chase the boys or make the other prissy girls scream. That's me. I can stick my hand into a hole and pull out a kingsnake, corn snake or garden snake. You won't catch me trying to wrangle a rattler, nope, Momma didn't raise an idiot. I know those boundaries. I was the girl who went to the Zoo to see the Anaconda. I was the girl who took her python to class and waited to see how long it took someone to figure out why my hoodie was moving.  Later, I brought millipedes, snakes, guinea pigs, toads, and even spiders to school when I taught - - those were the days I liked. Gone are the days you can do that now. Too many wussy parents out there freaking out because the teacher put a big furry spider on top of their kid's head! (I only did that a few times, and the kid wanted it, so get over it parent!)

    I love Stirling already. I wasn't even sure if the store I went to would have a Ball. I thought I may have to run down to the reptile sanctuary (we have them) and adopt one. I lucked out! If I really wanted to go overboard, and I may go overboard next month, I would have picked up the Blue-Tongued Skink! Oh, My, GOSH...I love those lizards. It will happen. I'm pretty sure of it, but I do have to move out first. I need more room in the house. Right now we have six lizards I think, now the snake, and tanks are big. They take up space. When I get my own place soon my living area will have a couple of good sized tanks for Bob and Stirling, and yes, I'll probably get the Blue Tongued Skink - - probably name it Falkirk.  I mean, I could name it Lewis; I like that Isle. 

    Stirling was wrapped around my wrist while I was trying to type this blog, and it became apparent that if I wanted to stop misspelling words I'd need to put him/her back into the tank. It's not impossible to do, but you really want me to be more word-accurate. Some of the concoctions I came up with were a bit....well, not even words.  I think what I appreciate about snakes, that is to say, over most other animals, is that they are absolutely different from one another. You can breed the stuffings out of the Ball pythons and you'll never get two with the same markings. It's like tigers, zebra, giraffes, really special if you ask me. I like how some of the "spots" on a Ball resemble alien heads; have you noticed? It's really rather cool. They're not scary. They're not slimey, they don't bite (they can bite) and they don't eat you. Balls don't constrict, they hug. I won't be allowing him around my neck anytime soon, but they don't squeeze the life out of their prey like a constrictor does.

    Oh, and you may ask yourself (or me) what I feed Stirling.  He/she will eat dead frozen mice but I'll defrost and warm them up before feeding. They eat one good sized "fuzzy" right now, and as they grow they'll need two or a small mouse.  Over time they eat larger rodents, but again, because the domestication process has changed for reptiles over the last 25 years (thankful) I don't have to feel live animals anymore. NOPE....all frozen, all dead, all not named and potential pets.  I can't do that. I didn't like dropping a live animal into the cage....it was sad. Made me cry a little. Stirling ate Thursday, so she/he won't eat again until next Thursday. I'll keep about 10 in the fridge so if you come by and see a little container marked "Artic Mice" you may not want to open it if you can't handle seeing dead mice staring back at you - - now that I think about it, staring down a dead mouse would be just as effective as staring down a live snake - - I'd lose that battle.

Photo Credit: Me

Prayer / Meditation

 Most of us don't take the time to fully appreciate or to fully complete a true meditation through either properly breathing (and trying to count or pay attention to the method) or maybe through prayer. We don't take the time because we tell ourselves we don't have time. Well, turns out we have more time to do this than we really may have thought.  We need to be really honest with ourselves and just say it; we choose not to do it.  We choose not to do it, and when we make that decision what we're actually doing is robbing ourselves of the healing process that takes place both during prayer and during meditation. There are key differences of course; let's go over a few of those differences, then we'll hit on the similarities.

    When we pray we have a different mindset than when we're about to meditate. Prayer is more often than not, a time to both thank God for things, but you know, and I know, that we pray for things as if we need to petition God for something.  We do. We petition Him, ask Him to be with this or that, to make this or that come about, to stop this or that, and we do it without really even giving any (or much) concern as to how it may make Him feel that we're asking in the first place. Do we not know that He knows what we need and want before we ask? He does. Nevertheless, it's still a good thing to ask for it as it makes the thing real to us. We put the effort in, and we feel that we have been communing and really that's what prayer is; it's a way to speak with and listen to God when He speaks to us. 

    Most of the time when we ask God for things we're the one talking. The times we listen, think, wait, and try to hear or feel God is more or less the time we spend in meditation. We're on the opposite side of the aisle now; we're the one being still and maybe breathing, thinking, hoping, wanting, or relaxing, and we're trying to figure out if the answer is going to be yes, no, or wait.  God doesn't say wait if He's going to ultimately tell you no. You need to know that. A wait answer is a yes answer, but it's just not time for it happen....hence the wait.  There's no way God is going to do a "psych" on you, tell you to wait, and then say something like "Just kidding!"  No, a wait answer is a yes answer, but it is not ready yet - - we aren't ready, it's not ready, something isn't ready yet, and God's time is always perfect. EVERY time.

    It takes about 10 minutes to actively run a mile. It takes me longer as I don't actually run, I jog-walk and trip into it for about 13 or 14 minutes, but I do finally get the mile in, which I usually count as the start to the workout. I don't feel like I've done anything until the first mile is finished. Saying that it takes about 10 minutes is important because I personally feel that if don't spend at least 10 full minutes in prayer during the day, I don't feel that I've started my walk with Christ that day. I guess I feel that I've put Him off, or I'm made other things more important. I used to use the time it took to drive to work to pray, and no, I didn't close my eyes when I did that. If I had to close my eyes to pray I may end up falling asleep.  Ten minutes is a good start, that's all I'm saying. If it's 10 minutes of praying or 10 minutes of meditation where I have a thought to think out, or just asking Him to guide my mind, I think it's a good start to the whole event taking place.

    I have to be honest, I've stopped watching television (I catch a few shows online) so that I can take more time in the closet to pray and talk to God about things. I do turn out the lights, and I do snuggle with my dog, pillow and rock, but I end up staying in the closet for an hour sometimes just talking and asking things, pondering, questioning, even challenging God to show me things. I've done that. I think for me, prayer is more of a two-way thing and meditation is too, but it's more me listening and waiting. If I spend 10 minutes praying I'll end up spending about the same time meditating just waiting and thinking about the prayer. I don't always ask for things, most of the time I'm talking about things and why they are the way they are; or why they can't be another way!

    Again, if I had to be honest, I'd say that lately (for about 2 and 1/2 years) I've spent much more than 10 minutes each day praying and about the same in meditation over the same topic and the same subject matter. I'm praying for someone, a specific, and particular someone, a someone that I didn't choose to pray for, but God asked me to so I do.  I didn't start out praying anymore than a quick reminder prayer. I have to say that, I wasn't going through the gambit with God, asking questions, answering questions, thinking of new ways that this particular person could find himself closer to God, but that's what it's turned out to be. God led me to know that no one was actually praying for him and God told me he needed prayer.  Though I didn't know the man, I knew he was married. Why wasn't she praying for him? I knew he had parents, why weren't they praying for him? Did he have a granny? Grannies pray! God pierced my heart with a thought; the man's granny was no longer able to pray for him, and that's why I was picked. It was her time to go home. 

    We know God's plan is God's plan, and no matter what He wants it will happen. This man needed prayer, and I was available I suppose, but we all know that God's timing and His planning aren't willy-nilly, there was a reason God picked me. I just couldn't have known it then; not sure I really understand it now. That's part of my time spent - - I keep asking over and over WHY GOD, WHY? The answer is always "Because I asked you to."  It's not a yes, it's not a no, but it is a clear WAIT.  So I wait...and I wait....

    When I'm in the closet praying I find that I end up singing something too; usually an old old hymn that I learned by memory as a kid.  I end up half breathing it and half singing it, sometimes I end up crying through it, and most of the time, because I'm such a good Baptist, I don't sing the third stanza. If you don't know you don't know, but it is true. I end up singing words like "Trust and obey, for there's no other way, to be happy in Jesus, than to trust and obey."  If I ever think I'm too busy to be in that closet I remember that He hung on a cross longer than 10 minutes and before He did that He endured hours of torture; I can give Him whatever time I have. He made that time.

    Meditation for me is not trying to cause my mind to be blank, a blank mind can be filled with demonic thoughts. I try to fill my mind instead. I fill it with words of praise, worship, or just psalms I've quoted a 100,000 times. I think of new third stanzas for songs I've sung all of my life. I even asked myself if that was allowed since there really is a third stanza and I really should go look it up. I do actually own a copy of the Baptist Hymnal.  Some people stole copies, I did the right thing you know, I bought it on Ebay! I was so proud of my little blue hymnal until one day my mother found it and took it home with her claiming she taught me to read it in the first place! I had to replace it of course, and all Ebay had was a METHODIST hymnal and it was red. Fine. Most of the songs are the same, but the page numbers are off.  HOW did I get on this tangent? Talk about rabbit holes!

    Ten minutes. That's my challenge to you. If you are on a treadmill, if you are walking or jogging outside. If you are doing something that requires you to be active and you need something to keep your mind occupied, try prayer.  Give it to God and let Him show you that you have a source of power to turn to when you thought the last strides would never be possible. If you're going for a longer walk or run, try prayer and meditation but keep your eyes open so you don't trip over a tree root or something. Give yourself the OK to turn off the television, to go offline, put down the cell phone.  You probably spend at least an hour a day on social media - - why not using Knee-Mail or Heart-Mail instead? Well, you may not agree with me, and I'm not asking you to agree with me. This is my blog, my thoughts, my opinion; it works for me and I wanted to share it with you.  You're welcome.

Ten.  Just try it.

Photo Credit:  Pure Gym 

Watch Out! (Watch Gone)

 I work out some way or another every day. There are days that I walk, ride bikes, ride horses, box, dance, or lift weights. I have been walking on my new treadmill lately since it's been below 40 degrees outside and a bit windy. I really don't like walking (power walking anyway) into the wind. It's probably going to burn a few more calories that way, but I don't like it.  I stay inside on those days and I use the treadmill. I have a standing kickboxing bag, and I have heavy weights, weight bars, and my new fangled ever-so-exciting-can't-put-them-down slam balls! I have an 8-pound ball named Finley, and a 12-pound ball named Rab.  If you know about the Kilted Coaches in Scotland then you know why I named my new work out buddies for them!  Rab is a bit bigger than Finlay so he's the 12-pound ball.

    I work out, and I like to keep track of my steps, right?  I don't know when I started keeping track of them, it was sometime in 2020 I think, but I couldn't point to the date immediately. I bought a FitBit and I was really super excited about. It was my more hefty purchase, as the trackers I had before that were either inexpensive or they were handheld and that's rather counter to what I need.  The FitBit was cool and everything but in order to do what I wanted it to do I had to join a club or service, pay a fee, and nah..that's just not me. I gave the watch to my kid and I bought a really super cheap thing online. That was, I'd say, just after Christmas 2020, so maybe January 2021.  It's been a year so yeah, I can see why the cheap thing decided to quit on me.

    Actually, it didn't exactly quit. It up and decided on its own, to keep the wrong time. I don't know how to change the time on it, and though I tried like heck to find the dang thing online where I had bought it, I couldn't. Most of my purchases are through Amazon Prime, but I guess this watch was just a slip-through-the-cogs sort of thing. I couldn't find it for anything. I tried. I thought I'll just Google that puppy and find out how to reset the numbers on it....it's digital, but it could have been easy for one of my kids, I'm sure. I couldn't find the brand. I couldn't find the purchase. I was fed up. Why? Why would that piss me off? No, that wasn't the reason I saw smoke coming out of my own ears!  The watch was set to the wrong time so when it hit midnight (its time, not mine) it reset!  My steps were GONE.  Over 7200 steps just disappeared and I can't "count" them if I can't prove them. 

    I say "prove it" but I don't really have to prove anything. I'm not doing my workouts for anyone but me. I have my phone too, but it doesn't register the steps anywhere near what I actually take. I don't know why. I think if it were in my back pocket it may register, but since I hold it, or it's my sweatshirt pocket it's not always that accurate. Anyway, I decided to ditch the watch I had after not being able to find it online so I could change the time! I really did like the way the band popped off and you just charge it in the USB, that's cool. I suppose that's a thing now, but it was new for me. I'm not that techy so anything out of the ordinary makes my eyes pop a little, and I make that "oohhhh" face. You've been there, don't try.

    I thought about getting another FitBit so I could at least KNOW how to change the time, but this time I've decided to keep the box and the manual if it comes with one. If it doesn't I have the brand name anyway, and I will write it down on something so I can promptly lose it in a couple of weeks. I do that too. You know you do too, don't try. So, what's the upside? I'm getting a new watch. Its purple too.  I got a good deal on it by going to Amazon and clicking on the lowest price feature on the right hand side. That's been a friend. I don't need to spend a ton of money on anything really. I think being average and useful ranks a bit higher than flashy and expensive. I've never really been a Ferrari kind of girl, not when VW Bugs are too cute!!  Both get me to the store. Both take me to the bank. Both drive through the drive throughs to get a Braum's shake - - I don't need shakes!! (It was just a bit of a fantasy gone wild on that one.)

    Are you that way? Will you throw something out if you can't find a way to fix it? I mean, I don't normally throw out the baby with the bathwater. I am usually the dogmatic hunker-downer who gets really into finding the reasoning and fixing the problem with every known and possibly considered solution there is, but the best idea I could come up with was to just chunk the damn thing and start over. It's $14 on Amazon, it can be delivered tomorrow, and if the time isn't correct when I get it, I can always call the 800 number on the manual if it has one, or if it's in Chinese, I can try to Google it and use the translation button! I may not be techy, but I can do that! 

    Today's workout was split again since the weather was so great. I worked out with the kickboxing first just after breakfast. You can't count steps really when you do that, just time and such. Oh, but I could buy a bag that has a bunch of sensors all over it, and count how hard I hit, how often, and how fast. That is making me think now....I'm thinking. Oh gosh, that may have to happen.  Then later on I walked about 4500 steps outside before taking it to the store to walk the aisles and stare at the people who can't decide what to buy - - it's a game. I play silly mind games to pass the time. I try to guess how many lemons are stacked, how many apples have been sold, and then for no reason whatsoever, I try to name the shrimp because at some point those shrimp were swimming in a sea of salty water wondering what they were going to do for the next few hours, when WHAM...they were scooped up. I give them names before I boil their silly guts out. (Wow, that sounded really bad...sorry. I'm still mad about my steps. I shouldn't take it out on the crustaceans.)

    Wow...tomorrow I start a fresh. I can't really claim my 12,000 steps today with any proof, but after I work out this evening on the treadmill for 28 minutes I'll have 2 more miles under my belt, and that's about 12,000. Give or take. I'll give. 

Photo Credit: Livekey Watches

Cucumbers For Me!! (More for me if you don't like them)

 Since you asked, (you did ask, didn't you?) I can be seen every (nearly every) weekend at the store picking up at least 6 or 7 fresh green cucumbers to juice on a nearly every day basis. To be honest, it's gotten to the point that I notice the difference in my joints and muscles aching if I don't. Who knew cucumbers could be so powerfully packed with such marvelous anti-inflammatory properties? Who knew? Well, God knew! He made them!

    I will go to the store and pick out a bunch of cucumbers without even going over them. I don't check them. I don't measure them. I don't see if they have bad spots; I assume they don't. If they do I cut that part out before I juice them. I literally go through about 6 or 7 cucumbers a week and I'm not even eating a single one of them. Nope. I'm juicing them all. I don't juice them by themselves mind you, no, I don't do that. I put a whole host of other things in that juicer most nights.  I start with cranberries because I think you should. If you use cranberries or carrots you need to juice them first so you can clean out the silt and use it for the next day either in bran muffins, oatmeal, or grits. It's a thang - - don't argue with me.

    I would say that on the average I will do cranberries two nights, carrots and pears another two nights, grapes and carrots one night, apples and spinach (yes, you read that correctly) one night, and then I can either do lettuce, lemon, parsley, cantaloupe. squash, or even celery (or a wild combination of these) the last night. Why do I do this? What? You don't know about cucumbers? Are you serious right now? OK, no worries, I'll let you in on the biggest secret this side of the Pecos. I say that, I don't know if those good folks in Mexico are doing this or not, I assume some are. Cucumbers just can't be overstated. 

    Cucumbers pack such a mixed bag of goody-good-stuff!  For starters there's all the really good medical reasons to do it. With enough phytonutrients to fill you us and keep you going (those would be things like triterpene, flavonoids and lignans if you're into that) and they work really hard at being one of the best homeopathic anti-inflammatory assists out there! If for NO other reasons, it's a great thing to do. Then there's all the vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that help fight of diseases including high blood pressure and blood sugar! You can literally drink cucumber juice to stay alive! It helps with hydration as they are mostly (95%) water, and because they're in the same family as pumpkins and other melons (did you think they were veggies?) they have a great amount of fiber and protein to boot! Seriously, these little green guys are worth their weight in....whatever precious metal you want to throw out there; they are awesome.

    Drinking a juice every day can and will (for me) assist with constipation, and if you know me, you know it's all about the poop folks. If you can get those pipes clean, and you can keep them clean, you're fighting off cancers!  EVERY cancer (I'm told by professionals) starts in the colon. EVERY one of us needs to keep that in mind, as our insurance actuaries tell us that just about one out of every two people are going to be diagnosed with some form of cancer in their lifetime. I don't know about you, but I don't want that. If I can fight it, and do whatever I can to make that not happen, I'm doing it. Cucumbers are just one way to stave that burden! 

    So yeah, you might say I'm a fan of the multi-purpose, multi-talented, and underrated fruit melon-cousin! I have to be honest with you; when I was growing up and I watched Barry and Maurice Gibb star in the absolutely horribly produced movie that I love and will always cherish, Cucumber Castle, I was a fan of Marmaduke, Maurice Gibb, who happened to be King of the Jelly, not the Cucumber side of things, but that's just fiction -- not real people!!  Cucumbers are and will always be a better choice than jelly! (which is like Jell-O for those of us in the States.)  Watch the movie, laugh. Eric Clapton is in it, as is Vincent Price! I have the soundtrack of course, and yes, a girl can dream - - Marmaduke!

    That's it for now, I've got a juice to blend - - today it's a little lemon to start off, maybe 1/2 of a small one. I'll add the cucumber, grapes, pears, and left over baby carrots that need to be eaten.  You can't go wrong on baby carrots either! Some days, just because I can, I juice carrots, apples and throw in a bit of cranberries and add cinnamon.  Wow...now I'm making plans for tomorrow!!

Photo Credit: Beta Healthy

BOOK UPDATE: Jude's Almost Daily Blog Book Vol. 2.

 Woo Hoo!  I'm not kidding, this is the most fun anyone can possibly have.  It's so addicting to publish another book after you just wrote and published one.  I've published six books so far, but by far, and I mean this, this experience with my 2nd Blog Book, has been so very simple by comparison. Now, don't get me wrong, I have had a bit of a bump come up and hit me in the face when it comes to folks not wanting to be included in the book, or they don't mind me talking about them, but they don't want me to say their name, use their photo, etc. OK...not what I wanted, and certainly not what everyone in the world wants (well, those who buy and/or read my Blog Books!)  People need to realize that any publicity is good publicity, and being in a book is really cool. The book may not be your cup of tea, but it's not a bad thing! I promise. I guess a promise from me about my own book could sound a bit biased....what do you think?

    So, here is the update on the 2nd Blog Book.  The title of course, is, Jude's Almost Daily Blog Book Vol. 2.  I don't spell out Volume or the number two, I make it a numeral, and it's OK. I know there are rules to these things, but I'm the writer, I'm the one paying for it, and I like it, so we'll go with that. I went with Palmetto Publishing in South Carolina for the 2nd time. They did such a GREAT job with my book Jude's Almost Daily Blog Vol. 1.  They are amazing people. When I had a snag last time, they absolutely covered it. When they created a snag, I forgave them, they made it up in a GIANT way, and well, let's just say I've found a great partner in my publishers. I really like them.

    I sent off the manuscript about two weeks ago.  If you've ever done that you know who gritty you feel thinking you've screwed up, and you just KNOW you forgot this or that. That happens, and I was no exception. I wrote to my project manager, she let me have the book back, I made corrections, I sent it back to them, and there was no charge.  I sent off about 70 of the 90 photos that will be in the book, and then today she wrote to me asking for the other photos. I had to run around taking photos, but you know what, it gave me something to do.  I paid for 100 photos so I want to be sure and give the readers something to look at every other page or so. I have 82 blogs in this book and about 18 poems, and there is ONE story at the end. The story is not a blog. It's a tale, a made-up fictional story, and it's much longer. It's not quite a novelette, but it's about 10 pages long I think.  It's really special to me, and I wanted to add it so I did.

    The photos were taken by myself and others. I give absolute and full credit to the folks kind enough to allow me to use their photo. The great and wonderful Scottish Vlogger Shaun Alexander (ShaunVlog on Instagraam https://www.instagram.com/shaunvlog/) not only gave me permission to use his photo, but I've asked to use several of his photos and I'll give him a big shout out in the back of the book, it will be the last thing folks see, so hopefully they'll take a run over to his site and catch up with him and his wild and wonderful antics. He's super cool if you haven't checked him out yet...you should.

    The book will be out in May. I've paid the money for the publishing and have been blessed enough to have pretty fast and successful turn around times so far. My cover is finished, it's shown below. The photos are being lined up today and the Forward is being written by my good friend Niki. (Hurry up, Niki, please and thank you) and I think the finished galley will be in about 2 weeks so I can go over it, through it, marking any corrections or changes that need to be made before giving the final OK. Once the final OK is given it takes about 2 months to get the entire process finished. We're looking at May 1 for a release day, and that's just about 11 months after the first book. I wanted it to be out in November/December, but things happened over the summer that precluded that from happening. 

    Will there be a 3rd Blog Book? Probably. I think I may end up doing only modern more up to date blogs rather than sneaking back into the past to drag up old stories. I believe the last leg of the series could be more about what's been happening not only in my life, but political things, religious things, friends, family, community, rescue, and work things. Work-wise I'm learning to become a trader on the FOREX or Foreign Exchange market. I'll soon (6 months) trade mainly on the U.S. markets and the London markets. I'll do a few things in the Asian market, but I'm really not sure I want to go that deep into the woods until I better understand my surroundings. At least with the London markets I can pretty much understand the language! I won't embarrass myself too badly.

    After I get the trading down, and the books out, I think the next logical step is to move to Scotland and research the deep dark secrets of Edinburgh to become the backdrop for my first murder novel. I have the murder already planned (of course) but I do need to fill in the blanks. I'll use Palmetto Publishing again, and if Shaun Alexander wants to help me murder someone - - you know, fictionally of course, he can be my tour guide!! Won't that be fun? I can trade on the FOREX while I'm in country, that way I can stay on a longer Visa, and once it expires I can extend it through a trade Visa or work Visa if I can find someone to sponsor me. It's a matter of networking - - I can do that.

    OK, so the book comes out May 1, it's got some meat on its bones now, and it's going to be ready to correct in  a matter of days. Wow.  LOVE IT. Thanks for reading, sharing, caring, and all the kindness. I really do appreciate it. 

Photo Credit: Palmetto Publishing

Sweet Valentine

 Let me ask you a question.  We're friends, I can ask, right? OK, so you find yourself walking into a pet store to pick up crickets for your daughter's geckos; this is a real thing. It does happen. Put yourself in that frame of mind. There you are, just standing around, looking at the clearance items in the alley on the way to the register where they keep the crickets for feeding. You're not doing anything special. You're not praying, you're not meditating, you're not thinking about anyone or anything in particular, when into the door, over the threshold, walks a man and suddenly your heart quickens. It just sort of stops and then restarts again. It stopped because your mind saw something that wasn't there. It stopped because your soul had a micro dream. It stopped because you wanted (if just for a nano-second) for the reality to be matched with your mind's go-to place of rest.  So here's my question; can you love someone without their permission?

    The man who walked into the store wasn't the man my mind conjures. He wasn't the man that fills my heart with immeasurable pleasure at the instant sight of his frame, yes, even just the silhouette of the man can cause my beating love muscle to pump faster trying to keep up with my soul's imagination. Is it wrong to see what isn't there? Is it wrong to feel that which is not given? Is is folly, fear, or foolishness that repeats itself at the very thought of him? Can a vapor become a stone? The man walked into the store, he was in fact and by description the very essence of a man I have strange and unrealistic desire for. Oddly my actual self knows what's right and I am in a constant battle with myself over the very question I have posed. I know better. I do. I know better - - what is better? Is it actually BETTER to not love? I don't know that it is.

    Perhaps it's the better of the two scenarios to continue the love in that while loving I am praying for the man. If I don't choose to love I would probably, most probably, not remember to draw a mention to God about him, and by not doing so I would not be loving. I would not be caring. I would not be cherishing. I would just be like everyone else in his life right now. He would go on his daily life, routine after routine, as it is, day in and day out, and he would be unprayed for (that's not a word). He is however, at least now and then, at least from time to time (daily, often) prayed over, and it's best to be so, right? Or is it better, is it more real perhaps, to just not pray for him. Not care for him. Not give a damn. Move forward.  I thought I was able to do that exact thing. I thought I had let go. I believed full heartedly that I had CONQUERED my spirit and then...a man walked into the pet store who so intensely resembled the man I pray over that reality was no longer an option. I choose to love.

    I am not going to lie. I would be a liar and a fool to say I didn't stare. I had no more business in the store, but I stayed so I could watch the man as he shopped. It never once occurred to me that what I was doing was out of the ordinary until it occurred to me that what I was doing was certainly out of the ordinary. I found myself smiling first, then I laughed, turned and I left. I didn't leave without praying for that very man in the store. First I thanked God for him. I think I thanked God for reminding me that I do have a soul. I do have a mission. I do have a reason to love, and I do have a beating heart that needs to be stopped in its tracks now and again if only to remind myself that God is who God is. I didn't ask for my assignment, he was given to me. I've fought it. I've argued, I've pushed against God and begged Him to remove the man from my subconsciousness but He refuses. I thought He had! I really really thought I was "free"... and then I was instantly reminded in the most amazing and visual way. 

    I may never be in the same room with the actual man that I pray over and that's OK. I'm not supposed to necessarily be so. I wasn't told to marry the man, and I wasn't even told to be with him in any physical or "real" way. I was told, not asked, I was commissioned to pray for him. In doing so I fell harder and deeper into a reasonably understandable communication with him through thought, prayer, meditation, and research. I know the man in a way that many would never know because they haven't watched, read, searched, and asked for information in order to understand why I am in my closet daily interceding for him. Prayer is a gift. Prayer comes from us, and is given to God. Prayer can also be a request, a petition, and that is what I do for this man. I ask God to intercede, I ask God to follow him, find him, hold him, lift him, strengthen and protect him. I just can't for the damn life of me figure out WHY I was given the assignment if God knew, and He knew, if God knew what would happen inside my heart WHY did He do this? 

    As Valentine's Day approaches I am not one to worry about receiving gifts, trinkets, or even a card from someone who fancies me. I am not even interested in finding out if there is someone who actually fancies me. I don't believe there is, and that fact doesn't bother me. I have always been the one to choose who I would be with. I am also the one who chooses who I give my time, my love, my effort, my money, my anything to. I don't fall for the flattery that spews out of the mouths and keyboards. I don't ache for companionship; I am not willing to compromise myself for a moment of pleasure. That's not who I am. So when God gave me the assignment to pray for the man now more than two and a half years ago, I never once thought I would end up with him. That wasn't the mission. I guess I thought I was safe from any falling; God has His mysterious ways. I don't mind being in the space and time I am in now. It's just that I am often reminded by humans, real people, that my words may not be appropriate and yet, my words are from a living, existent, vibrant and almighty God! How can they not be appropriate? I suppose we're not ready most of the time to understand things of a Heavenly value. That's the only answer I can come up with.

    I left the store. I prayed. God knows me. He understands and He has a plan. I don't know the plan. I could not possibly know it. I would probably reject it if He told me. I am just rather normal that way, but the fact that the heart understood and the mind surrendered all within less time than it takes to breathe, tells me that I am first a child of God and I need to remember my place. I choose to love even if no one understands it, even if no one accept it because I don't pray to anyone but God and I don't ask anyone but God to hear that prayer.  Sweet, sweet Valentine. Jesus is mine. I am so blessed that He has chosen me to fulfill just a small and simple task; I will delight in that command. I will delight in Him because Psalms 37:4 is still in the Book!  It's not going anywhere! 

Photo Credit: HD Wallpapers Pulse

Lights Out!

 It's right after 9:30 p.m. on a Thursday, and due to Winter Storm Landon our electricity went out completely. Not just our electricity, but all of the electricity on the entire city block.  One of the more interesting neighbors sharing my city hood is a large hospital complex with several offices and of course, an intensive care unit, heart and lung transplant patients, and so many others who are desperately in need of having the lights on a all times; 24/7, please and thank you!  When the lights do go out, and it's happened a handful of times since I've lived here, there are emergency back up generators for those folks, and for that I'm eternally thankful. I do tend, however, to say a prayer for them anyway, just in case something were to happen and they would actually be without power.

    I live in a complex, where, if you've followed my blog for any time whatsoever, you'd know that I have lived here just under a 100 years, and there are neighbors who were here long before me, and may be here longer than me actually. It does seem like we're all a bunch of Highlanders! Some of the folks are well into their 80s and I fear for them as well when the power shakes, rattles or rolls. Then again, it's the younger generations who can't live without a charged phone, hot coffee, or internet access. God forbid we have a real emergency come our way -- the older I get the more prepared I am mentally, and I do have a thing or two packed away for use in these types of cases. I have a battery operated hot plate. I own any number of flashlights, which for some reason I only use to find the matches so I can light the candles. You know I have a few more candles than most; I mean, I do make them to sell them, so yeah, I'm good on the candle end of it.

    My neighbor and his dog were walking outside in the two-foot snow drifts while the lights were out and I asked him if he needed anything. He smiled, waved, and said "Oh, you know, electricity if you've got any of that to spare!"  Love him. He's in his mid 70's and I think his phone is truly a flip phone, not sure if he even pulls it out to check to see if anyone's called. He still has a landline, so if I want him I do the old-fashioned thing and leave a message for him on his answering machine that's literally plugged into the wall! He said he had plenty of blankets; asked if I needed any, I let him know Quinn and I were just fine. Now, he thinks I have someone named Quinn living with me. I'm sure he'll get around to asking about that tomorrow. (Quinn is my comforter. He/she/it is big enough, thick enough, and tough enough to be given its/his/her own name.) My dog and I love Quinn.  Quinn loves us. It's all good.

    My daughter's geckos were my main concern, after making sure all the old folks were hunkered down sufficiently.  One of the things geckos are not is cold-natured. They require heating lamps, heating pads, basking areas, and the like, so Laura was wrapping each tank with clothes and duct tape to be sure they remained as warm as possible. When the lights came back on the interior temperature had dropped from 70 to 56 in about two hours. I'm not sure what we would do with the little lizards if we had been without heat much longer. We're going to find ways to fix that.  I'm thinking transferring them into smaller tanks that can be heated with battery operated lamps. That's my plan. It's a good plan, and if I think of a better one I'll let myself know. For now that's the ticket! Dogs and cats don't require such hoity-toity care....give me a dog any day!

    I was literally in the middle of listening to a podcast about mental health and the things that can cause someone to stress when the electricity went out -- talk about irony!  I'm not one to usually stress, but I do like to keep up with podcasts, articles and such about mental health awareness so I can better assist people when they have to freak out for a minute. I'm rather patient and able to defuse most situations with a hug, a talk, a hand-holding, and a prayer. When the lights came back on we had spent just over a couple of hours without heat, without lights, without television, without internet, without the ability to charge our phones, so charging them throughout the day really is a good thing to practice.  I think now that I have this sort of mind exercise going through my head, I think what I'll start doing is every week or so I'll just shut off the lights and reflect, pray, thank God for things, and just get back to the reality of what it would be like if  -- you just never know.

    God's grace is enough. I need to remember that. 

MY gecko:  Robert the Bruce!  I call him Bob

Him (A Poem)

 HIM

I could tell you that I love you

Or maybe write it in a poem

I could wrap my arms around you

Or whisper a sweet hymn

Will you ever truly be mine

Is my soul to ever rest

My joy is the hope

My happiness – your bliss

Could I mention you in passing

Would it be of any use

I’m not sure if you could love me

So why go through the hurt

I could tell you that I love you

Or let the days pass on

I could be there when you need me

If that is all you want.

I wear the mask completely

No one would ever know

I must be like a sidekick

I may even be a joke

I could tell you that I love you

Would you even hear

Could you ever understand

My heart is not my friend

Photo Credit: Me

Steph Macleod - An Inspiration

 About two and half years ago now, I was listening to my Alan Williams collection (you should do that) and I realized that what I was listening to seemed really Celtic and woodsy.  I liked it. I was having one of those moments when I wanted to listen to worship music, but I really liked the Celtic side too.  I went on a search engine and literally Googled the two words "Celtic" and "Worship".  That was easy!  What I found was a band in Scotland called "Celtic Worship", and guess what they play? You got it, Celtic worship music, or worship music with a twist and upbeat Celtic sound.  I loved it.  I think I heard the first note of the first song and thought "Yes, this is it! I like these people!"   I listened to the first words from the lead singer and my heart stopped. 

    Steph Macleod, one of the lead vocalists for the band, as well as a very talented musician in his own right, sent off an immediate alert to my soul when I heard his voice for the first time. It was weird really, because I've heard countless voices, and listened to so many singers in the past. I worked for a major concert producer for years, so yeah, hearing someone sing was normal; it was an every day event. This time it was so deeply different. I remember stopping the video to go see who this guy was. I'm not going to lie, I couldn't find the information as to who he was, and for a while I thought his name was Steve McCord.  Turns out the lead singer for Celtic Worship is Steph Macleod; short for Stephen, but he goes by Steph.  From that first song I couldn't shake him out of my head or heart. He was just there, living rent free, and I didn't mind. I listened to every song Celtic Worship had listed on YouTube, Spotify, Instagram, anywhere I could find them. 

    I realized about twelve songs in, that Steph had a solo career as well as being associated with Celtic Worship. YouTubes videos, interviews, and other searches led me to watching him give his heart thumping testimony about how he came to being a gospel singer in the first place, when in reality, he was neither a singer or a Christian. He tells the story of how he was an alcoholic by the age of 17, and how a series of events over the next few years found him living homeless on the streets of Edinburgh, but not before bottoming out in Thailand, needing to be rescued.  Words like "gut wrenching" are a way to describe his story, but so are "authentic", "raw", and "gracious".  If it hadn't been for his faith and what God did for this man, you and I would not be able to listen to his musical contributions today, nor would we know of his continued struggles to stay mentally healthy in a world that insists on calling us out for our short comings! Steph is one of those who lives in the trenches when it comes to being real about life. He's been there, recovered, fallen, retraced his steps, asked for help, and has recovered again.

    I think what I like best about the man is that he's not apt to play the victim card, but accepts the full and ugly responsibility of his own actions. He's been arrested, spent time in jail, he's been in rehab a couple of times. He's stood on his own, worked hard, relapsed, and as I said, he was strong enough to ask for help.  He is that same rock for others now, and though being someone's refuge can be daunting and take its toll, Steph's faith is grounded and his hope is dug deeply in the love of Jesus. This fact simply oozes out of his songs and instrumental talent. Besides being a lead guitarist, he was classically trained as a pianist while growing up in Edinburgh.  For years he made his way through music; he just wasn't a singer until after he gave his voice the opportunity to tell his story through the words he wrote about going through addiction and recovery.  The words were his to sing, and he sang them. 

    Today, the handsome, bearded, sultry singing, tattooed gutsy artist is focusing on more than just music. He's been ministering to the homeless, literally going to them on the streets where he once lived. He speaks with them, showing them that there is hope. He works in the prison ministry, and through a fantastic arrangement with the Bethany Christian Trust, the facility that literally brought Steph back to life, he works with sharing the Word and the life of Christ to men and women who are incarcerated, unable to make it to a traditional worship service.  Through creative practices online he and his band have managed to overstep the boundaries of being locked down through Zoom and other platforms. They bring us song, hope, joy, and worship through the magic and technology of the internet. What a way to inspire! What a means of transformation!

    Steph's music is available online through Amazon and Spotify.  You can catch him on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram as well.  Give him a look! He's easy on the eyes, I promise, and your ears and heart will thank you for eternity! That's a promise too.

PHOTO CREDIT:  www.cchh.org.uk  Isaac Bannister