Destination—Ovi Poetry Challenge

Past reds and greens on pond or stream,
dangling from a drifting dream:
Why does that small voice ever seem
a lecture from the Lord?

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

1 Kings 19:11-13
11 And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake:
12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.
13 And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?

Milk—Six Sentence Story

The angel proclaimed that she would bear the Child.

She wondered how this could be since she was a virgin. The angel explained how, but the most convincing explanation was that God could do anything and this is what He wanted to do. If she resisted it would affirm that nothing mattered except what was of no importance, but she had no desire to resist.

Suddenly pregnant anticipating she would soon be nursing Him with milk and protecting Him with her own life, if need be, she went to see her aging cousin Elisabeth to whom the impossible had also occurred.

All generations would call her blessed.

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

Luke 1:28
And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

Luke 1:46-55
46 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,
47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
48 For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
49 For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.
50 And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.
51 He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
52 He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.
53 He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.
54 He hath helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;
55 As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.

Life in Black and White

Dale offers the prompt “life in black and white” for this week’s Cosmic Photo Challenge.

I took some pictures along the Shady Hollow Trail while at the McDowell Nature Preserve which is about a fifteen minute drive from where we live.

After converting them to black and white I added a lot of contrast and lowered the brightness to help the black stand out from the white.

Shady Hollow Trail, McDowell Nature Preserve
Shady Hollow Trail, McDowell Nature Preserve

Pitch—Six Sentence Story

In the parody of parochial schools that Nathaniel was writing he had Sister Mary Martha, his own third grade teacher, say, “No matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t get rid of Jesus.” With his tongue in his own cheek he made her stumble like a strawman through an account of the Resurrection, a belief he himself had become too smart to take seriously.

However, as he recalled the smoothness of her face, ancient from the perspective of a ten-year old, he now saw the face of someone less than half his own mid-sixties age as he let her ramble on about how the followers of Jesus would rise to sing His praises even as they were killed. Putting two and two together he calculated that she must have been recently out of her teens, close in age to his granddaughter. He found an online obituary which reported that she served at the school for fifty-five years until the very day of her death at the age of 75.

Perhaps it was due to the notice of her death or to his realization of her age when she taught him or perhaps it was simply due to him returning to his early love for her, but whatever it was, Nathaniel decided to pitch what he wrote about his former teacher and he never touched the parody again.

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

Catholic Eternal Rest Prayer
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let Your perpetual light shine upon them.
May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen.
Revelation 2:4
Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.

Yellow, Green and Blue
Yellow, Green and Blue

Over the Hills and Far Away

Dale offers the prompt “over the hills and far away” for this week’s Cosmic Photo Challenge.

The first photo is of the mountain range on the eastern side of the United State. It is a view from the Blue Ridge Parkway somewhere in North Carolina.

The second photo is of the mountain range on the western side. It was taken from a park in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Blue Ridge Mountains Along the Blue Ridge Parkway
Pikes Peak in the Distance from Colorado Springs

Beam—Six Sentence Story

When a beam of dusty light through a dirty window brightened Jerome’s face he got out of bed woke awake. As a god of his own making, resting on his own authority, he was the good guy by definition. That meant everyone else was either a bad guy or had received temporary clearance papers to remain unscathed by his condemnations.

Since he didn’t consider it possible that he wasn’t much of a god nor that the good he did wasn’t all that good, he refused to repent when his own faults became obvious like contradictions staining an otherwise pristine proof. Being his own lord, why should he call upon Someone else?

Gambling that his tale would end when it was over, Jerome let it end with that.

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

Genesis 3:5
For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
Romans 10:13
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.