“Just do it now,” my conscience said,
“The Word awaits. He will be read.
Bear fruit.” The drying branch is dead.
When pruned it’s cast away.
Injustice is a waste of time.
For some it turns into a crime,
but He will come, remove the grime.
Don’t end up wiped away.
______
Ronovan Hester offers the inspiration word “justice” for this week’s Ovi Poetry Challenge. Also posted in Poet’s Corner.
Dale offers the prompt “low elevation” for this week’s Cosmic Photo Challenge.
I took these many years ago when I tried to see the world the way a pigeon might walking on the street.
I probably looked silly taking these photos.
They left what’s wrong to darkened night
to rise and follow living light.
The way was narrow, true, but right.
That’s how they made it home.
Forsaking gods of mountains, trees,
of roiling, windy, mindless seas,
they listened through the silent breeze
and served the living LORD.
______
Ronovan Hester offers the word “right” as inspiration for this week’s Ovi Poetry Challenge. Also posted at Poet’s Corner.
Joshua 24:15 (KJV)
And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
Barry painted light-hearted, popular abstract art. The more light-hearted his compositions were the more popular they became and the more popular they became the more computer scientists thought they could simulate them to prove that machines were just as light-hearted as people.
Although their computer generated art looked like Barry’s, the collecting public were able to pick out an authentic Barry original with little difficulty. It had that je ne sais quoi that only Barry could bring to the canvas.
In a quote published by the gallery representing him, Barry acknowledged the predicament his imitators were in saying, “Should computers ever talk to their programmers, and programmers opened their ears to listen, they would tell them that no one in his right mind would waste time putting anything on a canvas.”
Waste of time or not Barry’s spirit didn’t mind filling canvas after canvas each of which put his soul in such a good mood that his body bubbled over with love and laughter.
______
Denise offers the prompt word “abstract” to be used in this week’s Six Sentence Stories.
1 Thessalonians 5:23 (KJV)
And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Dale offers the prompt “the sky’s the limit” for this week’s Cosmic Photo Challenge.
These were taken over the Atlantic Ocean.
I thought the first photo had a great sunset with the swirling yellow light. Then the wind blew some clouds in turning that sunset into an even greater one below it.
While fretting over loveless things
instead of what the Spirit brings,
I stifled joy. The church bell rings.
There’s sadness in the wind.
His way is true. His burden light.
He found me through the dark of night.
I once was bound to wrong, not right,
but that was long ago.
______
Ronovan Hester offers “choice” as inspiration for this week’s Ovi Poetry Challenge.
In a few seconds Timothy scribbled a poem in his notebook while standing on the beach waiting for the sunrise. When he got home he read it and wondered where that came from as if he had found an exotic seashell or spotted a seal in the water.
Accepting the gift he cleaned it up and posted it on his favorite sites. Although no one “liked” it nor left a comment he kept reading it over and over wondering: Where did that come from?
At the end of the day Timothy was grateful for everything: birds, clouds, beach, water and just being there. In a week he’d forget the poem because there would be another one and the days of rejoicing and wonder would start all over again.
______
Denise offers the word “seal” to be used in this week’s Six Sentence Stories.
I am on vacation this week without access to the internet. Hopefully I will be back by Saturday in time to post this to the Six Sentence Story group before the deadline, but if not, I have scheduled it in advance for Wednesday evening.
Dale offers the prompt “more than the sum of its parts” for this week’s Cosmic Photo Challenge.
As I see it any picture worth looking at is more than the sum of its parts. It suggests a story or an emotion that resonates with the viewer to make the viewer pause a little longer.
So, here are some photos that have made me pause.
______
By the way, I am on “vacation” this week with our church group. Call it a “retreat”. So, I will not be looking at the computer during this time. I call that a form of “fasting”. Blessings to all of you!
He can’t fool me with those magic tricks, George thought wondering why he was wasting his time watching a guy pull rabbits out of an empty hat. He yelled at the magician, “Hey, you with that rabbit in your hand, pitch the hat and pop another bunny out of thin air!” The magician didn’t know how to convince George to shut up, but neither could George convince God to toast the magician like Zeus would have done with a lightning bolt.
Admittedly, George didn’t believe in God (nor Zeus, for that matter) so he wasn’t seriously asking for assistance. Since the magician couldn’t make George vanish with a wave of his wand—try as he might—he finally phoned the security team to escort George out.
Decades later, when the magician was too old to bewitch even toddlers, George winced as he recalled his own truth-without-love rudeness and begged God to pull some kindness out of his now empty heart which the merciful Lord was only too happy to do.
______
Denise offers the prompt word “toast” to be used in this week’s Six Sentence Stories.
Acts 8:9-11
9 But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:
10 To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God.
11 And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries.
Poetry, Short Prose and Walking 