Mother-To- Be Lament

I don't  know what to do! Where did the nine months go??
There are lots of things about babies that I just don't know!
I've never had a babe in arms or dealt with baby tears...
that, in part, my little one, is why I have these fears.

            Will I bathe you properly?
             Handle crying tenderly
             Daddy says most probably
             But I just don't know!

I don't know what to do! These nine months went so fast!!
I thought I'd have time to prepare but 9 months now are past.
I've never been 'round lots of kids, I've never babysat,
Now you'll be here any day, what do you think of that??
  
              Doctor checkup's have been unnerving
              Which car seat is most deserving?
              OH! My courage is retreating!
              I just don't know!

I don't know the in and out's, like which diaper is the best,
or how long I should let you sleep when your down to rest.
how 'bout colic and the croup, what happens should you get these?
I don't have ready answers and would like them if you please.

                Will my life change drastically?
                 or will it change most magically?
                 Dad says it  will change perfectly-
                 But I just don't know!

So you've decided to come today; my labors almost done.
Your Daddy and I wonder if you're a daughter or a son.
At last they see your little head and then comes all the rest.
They've cleaned you up, swaddled you and laid you gently on my chest.
             
                   You look at me so trustingly
                    I clasp you to me lovingly
                    I'm ready to Mother fearlessly;
                             Because,
                           all at once,
                             I know!
                                                                   JDB
 
  ☻Do not reproduce or copy without permission

Prayer of the Future? Heaven help us! No.. literally!

. 1. A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit that sought to stop Gov. Rick Perry from sponsoring a national day of Christian prayer and fasting, ruling Thursday that the group of atheists and agnostics did not have legal standing to sue. "The governor has done nothing more than invite others who are willing to do so to pray," Miller said. "...said Kay Staley, one of five Texas residents named as plaintiffs in the suit, "I think the governor needs to keep his religion out of his official duties."


2. A group of atheists has filed a lawsuit claiming the display of the World Trade Center cross at the 9/11 memorial in lower Manhattan is unconstitutional, calling it a "mingling of church and state." The cross, which consists of two intersecting steel beams that were found intact in the rubble at Ground Zero, was initially constructed on a side of a church in lower Manhattan. The cross was then placed inside the 9/11 Memorial Museum during a ceremony over the weekend.


3.Texas Lawmaker Calls for Congressional Probe Into Ban of Christian Prayers at Military Funerals


A Texas lawmaker is calling for a congressional investigation of the Houston National Cemetery after he went undercover and determined that cemetery officials are still preventing Christian prayers at the funerals of military veterans.
“The Obama administration continues to try to prevent the word ‘God’ from being used at the funerals of our heroes,” said. Rep. John Culberson (R-Texas).


The cemetery is already the focus of a lawsuit filed on behalf of the VFW, an American Legion post and Houston’s National Memorial Ladies. They claim the VA banned members of the organizations from using the words “God” or “Jesus” at burial services. Controversy first surfaced nationally at the cemetery during a Memorial Day event when a Houston pastor was ordered by the VA to remove the name of Jesus from his prayer.

Google religious freedom, prayers or Christianity and read for yourself the scores of news reports that have chronicled the demise of religious freedom for Christians while at the same time lauding more religious tolerance and freedom for other religions or groups.  From removing nativity scenes, prayer from schools, federal funding for any public school allowing religious groups to meet  therein after school hours,  these are just a few of the pages of stories  you will find across our nation that  try to subdue the Christian spirit.The list goes on and on.

Why aren't we as Christians, just as vocal, just as committed in preserving our right to display, wear, pray as  symbols and symbolic attributes of Christians, as the liberals and atheists are to their cause of deleting God from the vocabulary of our lives??
 Can one search the hallway of history and not see  door after door slamming shut, closing us off from  what  was once a given- an expectation to acknowledge God's hand and,  in humility, seek His guidance? Behind those closed doorways are bookshelves lined with journals, rulings, writings, examples of good men & women admitting the spirit of God inspiring, guiding and  directing them; from Christopher Columbus to the founding Fathers.. from presidents to  religious leaders; from hero's, whose names we know to the unnamed Christians who acting with courage in their beliefs molded this country. Those  shelves are lined with inarguable facts that God  was and should still be, an integral part of this country and it's people; from the pledge to patriotic songs, from our money to our flags- the truth is there and all the advocates for abolishing God can't destroy the evidence. Hide it- yes! Try to rewrite history- yes! Make is increasingly harder to  teach and seek the truth- yes! Howevere, the truth is still  there to be found if we look hard enough and carre deep enough ot find it. Athesists would  have us believe that man created God and by doing so can destroy Him, when in truth, God created man and has the power to destroy us in our wickedness.

How can we be so complacent about  our  being robbed of our religious rights ? How have we let  the brainwashing under the guise of tolerance and political correctness guilt us into accepting less and less  leeway to obey and to worship as God expects?  Will our homes be the last refuge for worship when the goverment and groups that would destroy our rights, keep passing laws that will dictate what can be said or taught in our churches?

The separation of church and state has morphed from a simple idea  that allowed for  religious freedom undisturbed by government into a government that controls religion- a monster that devours every semblance of worship!

How  will our prayers  sound if we don't fight for our rights to practise Christianity. Perhaps I can offer a sample:

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:
I have hidden in my closet where no one can  slap an injunction upon me for  speaking  to thee. I thank thee dear Lor.. I mean Sir, for the many blessings thou may or may not have seen fit to bless me with. Help me to live as Thou would have me live  all while trying to accommodate all those who are bothered or inconvenienced by my beliefs in thy doctrine and in thy word.

I would plead for thee to  help and guide our politically leaders through the  tough decisions they must make for our people and our country but that would violate the separation of church and state.

 Help me to love  the person  but eschew the sin, even though it is now popular to accept sin as life choices, faults of parents, mental or emotions hang ups. Though I have tried  to be compassionate and understanding  help me to forgive those who call me names, or slander my beliefs. 

Help me  Heavenly... being ... who might have created  heavens and earth or else watched as  all the Cosmo's came together in a scientific bang...avoid   the temptations placed  before me unlike so may of our elected officials who, because they shouldn't mix religion with their political duties, fail to live up to the morals they claim to believe in.

Please forgive me for not being able to sing about Thy son at Christmas time during the school's "Winter Concert" that used to be Christmas concert.. and I fought  the subdivision committee again but lost so, no nativity scene in the yard again  ( thought to spite them I set it up discreetly in the backyard) and did you notice that I whispered  "under God" during the pledge even though I wasn't suppose to?  Felt  like a rebel and it felt good!

Well I guess I better close for now.. I say all this in the ONE who shall not be named, thy Son,
Amen

Satirical or  are  we just about forced  to  have this be our reality?

 I am  scared and angry by the advances Satan has made  to truly be the Lord over this world and making us miserable like he is, by making a mockery of Religion, by using organizations like ACLU and other like minded groups,  to move against any and  all religious strongholds and expression.  However, I am not so scared that I shrink from bearing testimony and more importantly, in living my beliefs!

 I know God lives! I know His commandments are just that , commandments not suggestions. I know that God's laws do not  fluctuate with times and do not mold themselves to fit around  a person's desires to live contrary to His laws. I know His Hand is upon us and if we don't start fighting  for Him and our rights to worship Him as we see fit, His hand will be stayed from blessing  us and this land!!

I know He has a Son, His only begotten Son who is Christ, my Lord and Savior. He  suffered in Gethsemane for my sins that I might, through His grace and my repentance, be made whole and sinless at the last day. He died on the cross that I might live again. He has restored His priesthood ,that worthy men might once more, act in God's name to,as Peter did, seal on earth and in heaven. I know with no doubt He loves me, He knows me by name.

 He lived, He LIVES and HE will come again. I testify that no matter how hard  or how temporarily  successful the world may be  in curtailing the Christian predominance in this nation, a nation founded by and with His help, that the world will see the fulfillment of the prophesy as told in the scriptures: That EVERY knee will bow, and EVERY tongue confess that He is the Christ. My faith in firm and I will not apologise for my  unshakable belief in  God! I need God more then I need the approval of the world!

Now I don't care if you believe or not.  You don't have to. Whether you believe in Christ, Buddha, Allah, whether you are Muslim, Hindu or any other group,  Religious Freedom is just that: the freedom to worship as you see fit! All I ask  is that it  be true for Christians too!
Stop trying to take away my rights!

I will worship
I will pray
I will read Holy scriptures
I will  testify
I will sing
I will praise
I will teach
I am a Christian  and I  won't allow my testimony to be placed on  those bookshelves behind locked doors gathering dust.
I am a Christian and no matter how many laws the men of the world pass I will remain so and will worship as such!

Legacy of Letters

There  is a treasure each of us possesses in some quantity. It is a treasure we keep safe. One that might be bundled and tied with a ribbon. A special treasure that we might keep in a special box in a special drawer.
It is a rare treasure that we keep in it's original "wrapping" and never loses it's value though yellowed and faded. A treasure we all possess that is so dear, that often before we peruse it  for the hundredth time, we press it to our hearts for a brief second, close our eyes and sigh.
The treasure common to us all is  the legacy of letters.

 It is a singularly unique treasure for  it can send us back in time or  encourage us in our future, feel arms around us from love ones long gone or invite new embraces to be discovered. It can pierce the heart in sudden pain or burst the heart in joy and pride.

The treasure can have many givers:
A parent's loveletter to their child, a lovers declaration to their  matching soul,
a friends cry for help or a friend's lifesaving reply,
 a son in a battlefield, a daughter homesick at college,
announcements of births, of deaths, of engagements, of divorce  and back to births again making a mommy a grandma,
crayon drawings from grandchildren,
 a schools acceptance  or a publishers rejection, for even  the harshest letters have formed who we are and marked decisions for our lives.
Givers of treasures can be anyone at all! The giver is half of the worth, the words on the page the rest.

Reflect with me, in your bundle of letters, which have meant something to you?
Who was the author?
How does it stir the heart to see the handwriting of someone dear?
Which of your treasures molded your person, your future?
Where do you keep them?
How often have you taken them out and re-read them?
Why do you cherish them?

 May I suggest some reasons why we cherish these treasured letters?

"Letters are the doors by which the soul's intimacies walk through and present themselves." JDB
"Letters are not only snapshots of life and times but are the reflections of heart and mind. "   JDB
"The pen is  the tongue of the mind."  Horace
"Letters are among the most significant memorial a person can leave behind them."
 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
"More then kisses, letters mingle souls." John Donne

There is no substitution, despite all the technological advances, for the excitement of running to the mailbox to find a letter addressed to us and finding a quiet place to  devour the contents. There is no greater stretching of the soul then to sit in a quiet place and compose a letter, putting pen to blank page.
"You cannot see the tear stains of joy or heartache on an email." (jdb)

Facebook, emails, tweeting , to me they are  the readers digest condensed version of letter writing.They only  leave one  unsatisfied and yearning for more! They have their place  as does cotton candy at  the fair grounds. But  both are momentary pleasures of empty nourishment. Imagine if all the letters the Apostle Paul wrote  to the early saints were tweets! Corinthians..do the right thing! Hebrews: faith is powerful!
 you get the idea! Imagine Thomas Jefferson on facebook: Hey thought of a great way to govern! If you agree then "like" this!

How sad! How unacceptable that  this generation and the generation after, might,  because of societies laziness and  acceptance of that cotton candy correspondence, have no legacy of letters to treasure!  No thick bundles of envelopes tied with ribbon.
 How repulsive the idea is to me that we value family and friends so little that we do not give each other the gift of our time to take  the hours if necessary to share our hearts and lives with them through  treasures of letters. No special  letters kept in a special box in a special drawer!
How empty without new letters to offer snapshots of life and times or reflections of heart and minds.
Nothing  to press against  their hearts for a brief moment, with their eyes closed and an offered sigh.

May I beg any reading this to write a letter!!  Decide on a worthy recipient, then find a good pen, a flat surface, a sticky stamp and write them. " Fill your paper with  the breathing's of your heart" William Wordsworth
 I vow, in return to write any and all who will leave me their addresses in an email: Jbrad1960@gmail.com

For, if we don't continue the legacy of letters, no one will and  the world will have lost a treasure without equal. Let us leave an inheritance more valuable then money or goods.. let us leave an inheritance of love that letters will verify and guard as truth!
Julianna

The Worth of Weeds

Every morning  I go for my walk around the back side of a abandoned sub division. Growing along the perimeter of the curbs, like spectators at a parade are numerous weeds. Like spectators at a parade, the weeds vary in size, type and kinds. They grow unchecked. I've often thought  how ugly they are, how useless,  grateful they didn't invade my yard! Then, after awhile  I didn't think of them at all. I was so used to seeing them that they in essence became invisible to me.

Until two days ago, when walking my route, my eyes spotted a brilliant purple something! I was admittedly confused. What was that purple doing here and what was it? I quickened my steps to hurry toward that eye catching color. It was a blossom! The weed had sprouted a blossom so brilliant, so gorgeous! I was shocked at how such an ugly noxious weed could have that kind of beauty within it's power! Then I noticed more purple. Again , I saw a unique royal purple flower atop a different weed and then again!!! Three different wonderfully lovely flowers atop 3 different ugly prickly weeds.

          As I marveled at this unlikely miracle of the Flowering of the Weeds, the spirit spoke to me as He tends to do when wanting to teach me humility and a life lesson. The thought came to me that  while I had written off these weeds as nothing more then growth to be mowed down, the Lord still sent the sun  to nourish them, sent the rain to quench their thirst and winds to strengthen their roots. The lord knew what I failed to appreciate all along: that inside these weeds laying dormant  was the potential for beauty. He knew  something I didn't allow myself to  contemplate: that in each ugly, prickly, sticker weed there lived a totally unique flower special to that  specific weed.

 At that point I could almost hear the Lord whisper, " How many people  have you looked at as weeds? How many sisters or brothers have you discounted because of their prickly natures, or ugly appearances?"

 It hit me so hard that I had to stop in my tracks.  As tears streamed, I saw faces of individuals that,  passing them for so long, had become invisible to me. I heard my inner judgements based on what I thought of their worth. I marveled that I could be so self- righteous as to  withhold the light of Christ to nourish them. That in my ignorance I failed to share with them  knowledge of the living waters to quench their thirst! That I failed to help them stand tall in the winds of adversity. All because I thought  or rather, didn't think they had  the power within them to blossom into something  beautiful.  That each person could blossom in such a way that they would catch my eye and take my breath away!

I began to see, I began to notice along this route in the early  July morning how all the weeds of every kind had somehow  unfolded within their ugliness some blossom!! Each had a bit of  beauty! 

Maybe when the Lord told Adam "... cursed is the ground  for thy sake...thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee..."   maybe,  just maybe,  the  " for your sake " was the lesson we can learn from the weeds. Perhaps they remind us  that "... the worth of souls is great in the sight of God"

It is a lesson I needed and one I will take to heart.

When the piano is silenced...

    There are all kinds of sounds I hear within  my home. The quiet humming of the ceiling fan, the concerts the songbirds give each day outside my windows, the dishwasher chugging, music from I-Tunes playing over speakers, the phone ringing, the dog barking, cat meowing, the loud motors of trucks passing by on  the road out front and many more.  By far my favorite sound is when Justine plays her piano.
      I am regaled with a variety of music all so expertly played!! In the mornings, if there is enough time before catching  the bus, I am delighted by the playing of favorite hymns. I catch myself singing along and find my mornings so much more pleasant even after the echos recede.  Sometimes I hear the sound of our favorite Final Fantasy music. "Eyes On Me". It is so beautiful!   I hear the many pieces she loves and desires to play; pieces she will research, buy sheet music for and work long and tedious hours to  learn. 
        She composes her own music and has created a song that rivals any I have heard. Her piece  is of such meloncholy beauty, it makes me cry! It does more then tug at the heartstrings, it brands it with the searing fire of emotion.  Unless she is gone overnight at a friends or at camp.. there isnt a day that goes by that  the most anticipated sounds  I wait for is her piano music.
       The piano itself is such an old thing! An antique!  Some of the keys don't work, the petals don't work, but it was free and it is hers. She has a gift! She is a keymaster! She makes that old broken piano sing! She coaxes from it excellence! Any spare minute she has, she will be found at her beloved piano plucking the keys, each key itself unlocking a world of music that invokes so many emotions! And I no matter where I am in the house when I hear her, I smile as I listen and soak up the songs she plays.
        One day she will be off to college. I'll be left with the quiet humming of the ceiling fan, the concerts the songbirds give each day outside my windows, the dishwasher chugging, music from I-Tunes playing over speakers, the phone ringing, the dog barking, cat meowing, the loud motors of trucks passing by on  the road out front and many more sounds.
     But when her piano is silenced, there will be a silence none of those daily noises can fill. It will be a silence so profound and deep that my heart will ache. Until  that day comes, play for me daughter of mine! Play for me!

...as God is, Man may become.....

{The subject I am about to embark on  is true  on many levels with  the other gender but I want to focus on this particular point} 

For a long time now I've noticed a prevalent theme in so many of the ads on TV, a theme that has outraged me and I find that I can no longer sit back and fume about it  but must speak out!
It is the depiction of men, in their roles as a man,  a husband and  a father, as being complete idiots.

Let me set up the commercial I witnessed last night  for TIDE laundry cleaner as merely ONE of countless that has demeaned or devalued man.

On the laundry line hanging to  dry is a very short, immodestly so, white skirt. The dad  wants to stop his daughter from wearing  it so he gets his hands filthy  in grease or dirt  (I didn't catch that) then wipes his dirty hands on the apparel in hopes it would be ruined and hides it down deep in the laundry basket where his  teenage daughter finds it  and in distress goes to her mother. The mom then uses Tides stain fight power to clean the garment.  We then see the daughter ready to leave the house for the night in her inappropriate and immodest  outfit including  said skirt. Both the mother and daughter look at the poor bemused father sitting in his lazy boy with looks of triumph mixed with disdain.

I tried to find  a link to this commercial to  allow viewing but couldn't find it.

IN this particular ad, we see a lack of leadership; a sneaking about to exert his wishes for a more modest outfit to be chosen. We see his being treated as a fool by wife and daughter who have outsmarted him again!  and further that the mom is "cooler"  because she aids in the desired planned outfit.
However,  this is the theme repeated over and over in car commercials, cell phone commercials computer commercials, food commercials... and many many more!

 Why if I  had to base my opinion of man by ads alone I would think they were hopeless, helpless, ignorant, mindless,spineless and totally dependant on a woman for any common sense. (well -that last part may be partly true)

In a society where most of the children are growing up with no Fathers in the home and  the experts are agreeing across the board that it is the major contributing factor to, oh my heavens- a whole list and litany of ills, ( I do not have the room to enumerate all of them) how can society expect  boys- teens- young men- men, to feel confident in that important role they play when  their roles are mocked, devalued and in short, made cartoonish by the advertising media.

How can we expect girls- teens- young ladies- women, to respect  men in their roles as providers, leaders and  protectors when they see  this erroneous depiction played out over and over. A subliminal message repeated time and time again that men have no idea what they are doing and are in fact, according to the implications of these ads, complete buffoons.

This offends me greatly as a woman who honors her husband for  the very values these ads are eliminating. A man who leads, a man of faith, of character, who is intelligent, wise, loving and a man I respect with all my heart. 
This offends me greatly as a woman who honors her father for the very  values  these ads mock. A father who leads his family, a man of faith, of character, whose example has been a light to me. A man who is loving
and a man I respect with all my heart.
This offends me greatly as a woman who honors her God for the very attributes these ads insult. A God who leads His people, who rewards our faith, who shapes our character. A God whose intelligence created all things and rules all things. A God who is loving, sacrificial, stern  yet "..His arms are outstretched still." A God whose pronoun is HE, HIS, HIM, masculine. A God I love with all my heart.

Let us never forget that God created MEN (and women) in HIS image.  In men, as well as women, HE  has placed  a part of His divinity, and, for all  men that accept it, has entrusted His power and authority through His priesthood.
If God has put that much time, love, hope, value, trust and  expectations in His Spiritual sons
how can we dare to do differently!
The Family: A Proclamation to the World

Please check out my related Song highlight and quote.  The song as a interesting  background story. It is available on I- tunes and is very worth listening to! "Lead Me" by Sanctus Real