Storytime Tapestry Newsletter

The newsletter devoted to spreading love and cultural awareness around the world.

June 20, 2007

Today’s Announcements

 Happy Anniversary, Lee and Marybeth Elliott: meeee@comcast.net

Today’s Stories

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Monster-in-law

Marsha Jordan

Jacob's father-in-law, Laban, wasn’t a very nice guy. (Genesis 31) First, he made Jacob work seven years for permission to marry the girl he loved, Laban’s daughter Rachel. Then, on the wedding day, the scoundrel deceived Jacob into marrying Rachel's sister Leah instead. (This girl must have been a dandy, if her dad had to trick somebody into marrying her.) Then Laban made Jacob work another seven years to win the woman of his dreams.

Even after Jacob became part of his family, Laban didn't give him any breaks. He made Jacob work six more years to obtain flocks of his own. Then the greedy cheat told Jacob, "The speckled and streaked ones will be your wages." He kept the best for himself and gave Jacob the rejects.


Though Jacob worked diligently with all his strength, Laban continued to treat him unfairly, changing Jacob’s wages ten times. He repeatedly made Jacob bear the losses while he kept the profits. This rat was determined to give his son-in-law a raw deal.


God, however, had other plans. And when God has a plan, nothing can thwart it. He was determined that Jacob would succeed, and Laban learned you can't keep God’s man down.

God told Jacob, "I have seen all that Laban has done to you." Now, if I had been in Jacob’s shoes, I might have answered, "You mean you've been watching all this and never jumped in to help me?" I probably would have questioned why God allowed this creep to succeed in his dastardly plans instead of zapping him with a lightening bolt. God, in His infinite wisdom, however, usually doesn't act the way I think He should.

If you're a parent to teenagers, you probably understand tough love. When teaching your kids a moral lesson, you don't protect them from uncomfortable situations. Instead, you allow them to endure difficulties long enough to sweat a little and learn from the experience. We all learn best from our mistakes, when there is nobody to bail us out. God allows us to endure situations rather than plucking us out of them, but that doesn't mean He deserts us. Like the trusty Mounties in silent movies, God shows up at just the right time.

Laban decreed that Jacob could only have the imperfect sheep, but God fixed him. He caused ALL the sheep born in Laban's herd to be spotted and streaked. Jacob's herd grew while his father-in-law's herd dwindled. Finally, Laban was getting what he deserved. If I were Jacob, I might have said "That's what you get you mean, old coot!" (As you can tell, God’s not finished working on my attitude yet.)

The moral of this story is that control freaks like me shouldn't get flustered, frightened, or frustrated by calamities. Instead, we need to give up our unrealistic expectations, including the one that nothing bad should ever happen to us.

I’m working on burning this truth into my heart: Even when it doesn't look like it, God is in control and knows what I’m going through. He always has a plan in mind. And it will happen, in His time and in His way.

We usually can't see what possible reason God could have for allowing us to suffer; and we want to take matters into our own hands to correct the situation, but don't give up on God! No matter how unfairly you're treated or how heavily the odds weigh against you, if God wants something for you, it will work out.

Jacob didn't have to plot ways to outsmart his scheming father-in-law. He didn't need to take revenge. He kept doing the right thing and he waited for God to work. Just as God worked in Jacob's life, He can work in our lives too -- so that His plan will be accomplished. Trust God, follow Him, then watch Him work.

Submitted by Marsha Jordan

Creator of the  Hugs and Hope Foundation for Sick Children

Author of "Hugs, Hope, and Peanut Butter"

Web Site: www.hugsandhope.org

Email: hugsandhope@gmail.com

~**~**~

 Poor Roy
Bill Walker
missourisage@yahoo.com

I remember poor Roy, always liked poor Roy. He was just a poor man, I
don't think had much schooling, maybe he made it to the 8th grade, I
can't say. But when he talked you might learn a bit of history, you
see he had been around. I don't know just when Roy died, I had lost
track of him, but he has been gone for quite a while I know that.

Roy lived in a shack on the other side of the river. To reach his
place, you went around on  River Side Drive. The road at times was
under water, so Roy walked the railroad bridge to get to his
shack. The road goes from south 6th Street to West Court
Street here, about a mile trip. Roy's place was about middle ways, a
row of run down shacks.  Last time I was around that way shacks had been
removed. In fact I think the road is no longer there. I believe
there is a bike trail now, no cars allowed after a couple blocks. I
guess Roy's ghost may have to walk the bike trail or the railroad bridge
to get to where he once lived. Roy spent a lot of time on the bottle,
well if you had his family, you might have lived in a bottle also.

I remember one of Roy's stories of history. He worked off and on
different jobs. One he was a cook, and dad had him working when he
wasn't on the bottle. He went for a long stretch of time that he
would stay off of it, then boom, he was missing from work for a day.


One time he worked for some of the rich people that in the old days was
the builders of the railroads out this way, and on west. He told how
they picked up workers to do the hard work. Seems like the thing to
do was get labor that had strong backs, and little
 brain power. A couple wagons would go into Omaha, Kansas City,
and other large towns. Head to the local water holes. the
goon gang would find a drunk that looked like had a strong back and
drunk was now working for the builder of railroads. The drunk never
knew the deal, till he woke up out on the right of way, but there was
no return, not for a long time. He wasn't going to have any more
booze for a good long time. He would have a place to sleep, some
food, some work clothes, and a pick, big hammer, and a shovel. All
this  at so much cost to the worker. Every thing he got was so much
cost, but the good news is he got a pay check. The bad news is the
pay check never paid off the cost of hammer, pick, shovel, food, and
housing. Now there was no escape, as the goons was armed, and
carried a whip also, anyone goofing off found out what the whip
was used for. Slave labor, pure and simple. I asked Roy what was
his job. He said well he was the cook for the big shots, and the
goons. He lived pretty good in a way. He could come and go with
out any problem. Besides out there most of the time, there was no
where to go to, till you hit some small town, which later grew in size
due to the railroad. Roy was a old old man when I knew him, so he
lived those hard times.

I can't remember the last time I seen Roy. I remember the last time
I went to his shack. I had a job to do, and I didn't enjoy it for one
minute. Roy was to come to work at about 10 in the morning, work
till closing time in the evening, this was 6 days a week. One day no
Roy, the next day, no Roy, this went on for 3 or 4 days. One morning
dad came up front in a huff, got in the safe, got some money out, put in
an envelope. Handed it to me and said. "You know where Roy lives,
take this out there and give to him. Tell him he is no longer
needed." His wife came to the door, I told her what was said, I
added I am sorry.
\
I liked poor old Roy, I wished dad would have said for me to have gone,
and told him to shape up and get back to work next day.

Poor Roy, never had much in this life, I hope he got a better deal,

when he crossed the river.
Tinker and Poo; The Boys Write
http://www.iuniverse.com/bookstore/book_detail.asp?&isbn=0-595-35741-5

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Poetry Corner

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A Greeting To The Month Of June
Cynthia Groopman

June is as vibrant as a dazzling bride jubilantly marching down
matrimonial's blissful aisle,
Her radiant glory is crowned with a splendid elegant smile.
June is like a resonant musical performance basking in melodic elation,
As graduates are honored in ceremonial celebration.
June is like a sweetly scented flower garden that softly perfume the air,
That marvelously make their debut with spectacular flare.
June is sentimentally rich with thoughts of good old dad,
And my heart is full of emotion and I am glad.
For dear June gently caresses us
with her sparkling warm sunny face that is all aglow,
As the leafy treetops sprightly dance to and fro.

Cynthia Groopman
Cynthia.Groopman@verizon.net
Copyright ©2004 Cynthia L. Groopman

~**~**~

Misunderstandings
Cynthia Groopman

A misunderstanding with a friend, I did have today,
And it made both of us angry and annoyed us in everyway.
She thought that I said something that was not pleasing and right,
And she began to pick a verbal fight.
She accused me of being unkind,
And every nasty word in the dictionary she did use and find.
When I told her the truthful story,
She was no longer arrogant and basking in misunderstanding's glory.
Communication among friends is so vital as you can see,
And that is why we must use words wisely.
So the next time I speak to a friend,
Positive statements I shall convey and send.
If she does not understand what I did say,
I shall retell the story in a simpler way.
For precious is friendship's golden chain,
And friends forever despite misunderstandings, we shall always remain.


Cynthia Groopman
Cynthia.Groopman@verizon.net
Copyright ©2004 Cynthia L. Groopman

~**~**~

Greet the Day,

Cynthia Groopman

Greet the day with a smile so bright,

Praising God for His soft heavenly light.

greet the day with a kind word,

As cheerful songs of merrily chirping birds are gloriously heard.

Greet the day, with loving embrace,

Displaying a golden glow of sunshine on your face.

.

greet the day with a gratitude prayer,

Imparting tender loving care.

greet the day with a beautiful rainbow of hope,

Enabling all to handle life's problems and to successfully

cope.

Thus, dear friend, this advice, please do take,

For a happier day for all you will make.

Cynthia Groopman

Cynthia.Groopman@verizon.net

 ~**~**~

 Gentleness
Cynthia Groopman

Oh, gentleness embraces in a soft touch,
As it is free and dear, not costing much.
With smiles as bright as the rays of the sunshine's golden glow,
Oh, gentleness blossoms like the beautiful flowers ,
That majestically flourish and grow.
In a voice with tones so sweet,
Oh, gentleness, you are such a delicious emotional treat.
Oh, gentleness, as you lovingly hold my hand,
The world of peace and love, I have at my command.
For gentleness, you are the hand of the Lord dwelling high above,
Kindling my life with the soft brightness ,
Of the eternal flame of the candle of love.


Cynthia Groopman
Cynthia.Groopman@verizon.net
Copyright ©2006 Cynthia Groopman

Readers Feedback

 
Mosquitos? Try some of these south Texas mosquitos. I was down pickin'
tomatoes the other day when two of'em lit beside me. One said to the
other, "lets take him down by the river and eat him." The other replied,
"OH NO! The big guys will take him away from us down there."

Carol, we have that one about sleep paralysis too, it's like this:  there is the 'heddiela', a word that really means 'something that induces sleep' but in reality is the name given to a supposed demon (female) that likes to kill people as they sleep, a soprt of Maltese incubus and succubus, if you lkike, in Maltese folklore.
 
Tanja

Out Of The Corner Of My Eye by Sharon Bryant

Snake, snake, snake!  I hate the sneaky snaky thing.  It get me sick and unease.

I never want to see any anywhere at all.

Georgewaters Ojeigbe – gojiegbe@oregun.jhplc.com

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Here is our Storytime Tapestry Angels: Also, I would like to thank those of you who chose to be a silent angel and gave an anonymous donation to keep Storytime Tapestry up and running.

Clara Westerfer, Mark Crider, Rosanne Catalano, Paula Booher, Kay Seefeldt, Mariane Holbrook, Mary Ellen Grisham, Louise Nomani, Sharon Bryant, Angela Walker, Hart and Helen Dowd, Keith Ready, Ginger Morgenstern, Ellie Braun-Haley, Surinder Jandu, Bob Shaw, Carol Meeks