Photography – Page 15 – Poetry, Short Prose and Walking

Ovi Poetry Challenge: Release

The grave is empty. Risen King,
the One Who saves, to Him we sing.
There isn’t a more joyful thing
than walking where He leads.

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Ronovan Hester offers the inspiration “release” for this week’s Ovi Poetry Challenge. The grave could not hold Him captive. Also posted on Poet’s Corner.

Matthew 28:2-7 KJV – 2 And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.
3 His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:
4 And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.
5 And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.
6 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
7 And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.

Six Sentence Story: Rattling the Brain

“I know the Bible better than you do,” Brian taunted trying to rattle Mark’s brain.

“Even the devil knows the Bible better than I do,” Mark quickly countered unsure just how much the devil actually knew about anything.

“I am – NOT – the devil 😈 😈 😈!”

“How do you know the devil’s not running your month?” Mark wondered -unfortunately out-loud.

“How do – YOU – know 😠 😠 😠?”

Not having a good comeback for this, Mark wondered if perhaps the devil does know the Bible better than he does having heard it from every Tom, Dick and Harry he unsuccessfully tried to harass – not that such knowledge could ever, any more, do the devil any good.

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Denise offers the prompt word “rattle” to be used in this week’s Six Sentence Stories.

Matthew 4:5-6 KJV – 5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,
6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

Cosmic Photo Challenge: Up, Down, Sideways

Dale offers the prompt, up, down, sideways, for this week’s Cosmic Photo Challenge.

For the up direction, I chose clouds during a sunset.

For the down direction, I chose an ancient pavement which was so far down it was below the normal walking surface.

For the sideways direction, while waiting for a sunrise, I noticed the moon which thankfully my phone was able to capture clearly enough.

LOOKNG DOWN: Ancient pavement in Jerusalem somewhere below the Western Wall

LOOKING UP: Colorful clouds during a sunset over the Intracoastal Waterway in Florida

LOOKING SIDEWAYS: Although there will soon be a sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean, look sideways to see the moon

Six Sentence Story: Speculations Upon Nothing

Simon leased a room above the cafe a block from the Charles Bridge. He told them he was a tourist and they told him how to get to Prague’s Old Town. Since they didn’t understand why he was alone nor why he tipped so well in the cafe, some speculated that something was going to happen.

However, while Simon was there nothing happened. Even after he left nothing much happened and nothing at all happened that could be linked back to him.

This story is a tale of what happens when nothing happens – or, look at it this way – from nothing you get nothing unless you have the ability to speak the words (which most of us unwittingly do) to curse or bless the unexpected into existence.

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Denise offers the prompt word “lease” for this week’s Six Sentence Stories.

This is my second story for the week. Those who speculate that I have nothing better to do may be right.

Genesis 1:3 KJV – And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

Early evening in Prague from the Charles Bridge

Ovi Poetry Challenge: Strength

It strengthens us when we obey.
He guides us on the narrow way.
He leads us on that way today
and His voice I will follow.

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Ronovan Hester offers the inspiration “strength” for this week’s Ovi Poetry Challenge. Also posted on Poet’s Corner.

Matthew 7:13-14 KJV – 13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

Six Sentence Story: Gifts

After hearing that Thomas’s lease was terminated the minister gave Thomas $1,000 in cash with no strings attached.

Thomas refused it.

Then the minister gave Thomas a check for $100,000 with no strings attached.

Again Thomas refused it.

Finally the minister came back with a cashier’s check for $10,000,000 which he personally placed into Thomas’s hand all with no strings attached.

Once again Thomas refused to give the devil any grounds to say that the devil made him rich knowing that there was no gift from the devil, the father of lies, without a string attached.

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Denise offers the prompt word “lease” for this week’s Six Sentence Stories.

Genesis 14:21-23 KJV – 21 And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.
22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth,
23 That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:

Cosmic Photo Challenge: Here’s Some Cool Stuff I Found

Dale offers the prompt “here’s some cool stuff I found” for this week’s Cosmic Photo Challenge.

One of the places I walk to in order to take pictures of the sunset is a small park.

The photos show my walk to and from that park as the sun set recently.

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As I crossed this bridge I could see the sun setting and reflecting in the clouds.

Here is a view of the park, but I was attracted to the shadow of the bike on the wall.

Looking away from the sun the cloudy skies stood out on the water.

On the way back it was dark enough for the bridge lights to be on.

Stardust

Our words affirm who we think we are.

Beyond their truth values, they are powerful spells. They bless. They curse. Though others might get in the way, we ourselves are the ones who are blessed or defiled by what comes out of our own mouths.¹

A song written by Joni Mitchell called Woodstock² in 1969 influenced me through the early 1970s. In the final refrain is a declaration of what Mitchell thought we were.

We are stardust
Billion year old carbon

However, as I’ve come to realize, there is no natural way that we could be stardust and as a metaphor the idea is sentimental nonsense.

There are those who fantasize how that stardust to man might have happened, but the only thing they proclaim is their rebellion against a Creator. Dust from a supernova cannot get back together again no matter how often one waves a magic wand – or a professor’s hand – insisting on billions of years of evolution.

And yet, back in the 1970s, I had no problem believing such mythology. I had no more problem with it than an ancient Greek would have had with Zeus or a Hindu with Krishna. Those were the words spoken to me and those were the words I chose to listen to. Today, I repent of that misleading idolatry.

That our bodies come from the earth is true.³ However, the dust of the earth has never been stardust no more than it has ever been pixie dust.

The words we speak and the words we listen to matter. I can testify – first hand – that God is not mocked. What we sow we shall reap.⁴

I can also testify that repentance brings more joy than delusion, rebellion and disobedience⁵.

Matthew 15:17-20 KJV – 17 Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? 18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. 19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: 20 These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man. ↩︎
https://jonimitchell.com/music/lyricsprint.cfm?id=75 ↩︎
Genesis 2:7 KJV – 7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. ↩︎
Galatians 6:7-8 KJV – 7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. ↩︎
Luke 15:10 KJV – 10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. ↩︎

Biblical Prayer

Matthew 6:10 KJV – Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

Biblical prayer is a command spoken to the earth that the Lord’s will be done throughout it.

That includes not merely the problems we face, but ourselves as well.

Matthew 6:7 KJV – 7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

Prayer is not a powerless, showy, vain speaking.

Prayer is our thoughts and words confirmed by our actions conforming only to the Lord’s will, not to our own.

When we get our thoughts, words and actions in line with the Lord’s will we pray effortlessly and without ceasing, because we then no longer know how to do anything else but insist that the Father’s kingdom come and that His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.