STORYTIME
TAPESTRY
The Newsletter
devoted to spreading love and cultural awareness throughout the
world
June 6,
2005
Happy
Birthday Roy Seefeldt
Now on to
the good stuff..........
Animal awareness
series endorsed by Shiloh and Hank our
mascots; all stories must receive their approval.
Aimee, the
Attack Dog
Bob
Shaw
It was really nice to get to sleep in this morning. It was almost
Six
O??™clock before I was
brought to consciousness. Ronni was up, making coffee, and I could hear her
laughing, and Aimee trying her best to sound mean. She had found her shadow.
With much barking and running around at every movement, she was trying her best
to protect her Momma from this strange intruder. Our little guard
dog.
About an hour later, she found a spider. I was wondering what all the commotion
was about, and found her laying on the floor in front of the dishwasher. Every
once in a while, she??™d bark and make a jump toward something, being careful not
to get too close. I took off what was left of my house shoe, (chew stick), and
sent the poor bug to the Happy Hunting Grounds. She soaked up all the petting
and ???good dogs???, and went off looking for some more dangerous stuff.
Someone asked me about the Beware of Dog sign out by the road. It was here when
we bought the place, and I just figured it wasn??™t hurting a thing to stay there.
I told them we had a two pound attack dog. She??™s hard on toes and
ankles.
She found some wildlife in the front yard. A little Butterfly landed on one of
???her??? flowers, and she went in to the stealth mode. She snuck up pretty close,
and leaned her little flat nose up behind it, and it took off. She snorted, sat
on her butt, and just watched it leave. Then she turned, looked at me with a
very disgusted look, and snorted, like she was saying ???WELL !!???
As soon as she was over that, she trotted over to see what Ronni was up to.
She??™d dug a pretty good sized hole to put a potted plant, and ???ol nosey just
couldn??™t resist checking it out??¦and fell in. Aimee looked at up her and yipped
wanting to be pulled out. Ronni laughed and said ???some
gardner you are ???!
She lifted her out of the hole and gave her a big hug, and Aimee reached up and
tried to pull Ronni??™s hat off. Ronni figured if she wanted a hat that bad, then
she??™d just have to find one, just her size. Yup, back to the Wal mart craft
department, doll clothes. Ronni said ???well, she IS a little doll !???
She??™s a busy little pup. Curious about everything. And sometimes she??™s a little
too smart. We usually bring her a few toys from our shopping trip. Ronni said
she was getting so many, it was hard to keep everything put away, so we left one
in the shopping bag, and left two more in the car. We set the grocery bags on
the floor, and Aimee started going through them, looking for her new toys. She
went through the first two bags, and finally found her squeaky toy, dragged it
out, then sat looking at us, waiting for the rest of her toys. It was like she
was saying, ???Hey, I??™m not dumb??¦I can count!???
Yeah, you guessed it. I went back out to the car and brought in the rest of her
presents. She looked them over and picked out her new favorite. But sometime
through the day, they??™ll all get played with. Ronni puts them all in her little
bed, and she??™ll get them all out, one by one, and put them just where she wants
them, usually lined up against the wall in the hall way. I won??™t be too
surprised if she starts lining them up alphabetically.
Written by Bob Shaw CapeRabbit@semo.net
Today's Queue
Stories
~**~**~**~
It's All In Our
Minds
Sharon
Bryant
At my age, I've seen many
things invented in this world. I remember when I saw the first pair of
panty hose. I was ecstatic. Imagine, to be able to wear "nylons" and
not have belts, clips and snaps gouging my legs to keep them up!!
I went literally nuts when
hair curlers came out that didn't have wiry bristles that gouged your head when
you tried to go to bed. No wonder we wrapped our heads in toilet
paper at night back in the 60's to "ease the pain of the stabbing
curlers!" (I won't tell you what my dad used to tell me I looked like when
I did that!)
Electric typewriters, now
THERE was some fine invention. When I went to school we had manual
typewriters. Rotary calculators in business machines. Comptometers,
machines unheard of today.
Little tiny radios, unlike
that big brown box my grandparents had that we sat on the floor and listened to
each night. And the most amazing invention I saw was a television.
And then in the 60's a COLOR one. WOW!
It was really tough watching
"Dr. Kildare" and moving that magnetic red, yellow, green and blue sheet over
the screen. I knew Dr. Kildare wasn't those colors......but in those days,
that's all we had for a color TV. I knew RIN TIN TIN wasn't
either.
I could list a hundred
things off the top of my head but yesterday I bought another one of those funny
new inventions.
Salt. Sea salt.
In a little bottle. With a funny little lid.
Ok, I admit it, my eyesight
is getting weaker and I don't wear bifocals YET, but I figure I'm ok as long as
the magnifying glass works.
Well.......I decided I'd let
my husband figure out how to use that new little bottle of sea salt, so I put it
on the table at dinner last night. I hid the regular salt shaker and
announced from now on, it's going to be sea salt for anyone who wants
salt.
I feed an elderly man every
night, so we three sat down to a good old homemade roast pork dinner, mashed
potatoes, gravy, veggie, and a couple extra things......that's when I announced
we were using sea salt from now on. I don't eat salt myself, and neither
does my husband but the elderly man, Allen, does. Since he's had heart
trouble, I decided it would be better for him with the new salt.
Hubby picked up the new salt
bottle with the funny little lid and said, "How do you work this?" I told
him I had not read the directions on the side of the bottle yet. (I just didn't
want to admit to him that I couldn't SEE the tiny print)
So he picked the bottle up,
tried twisting the top, pulled the top off, played with the top, then announced
to Allen, "I'll let you go first." I watched as he shook the bottle over
Allen's plate. Then he repeated the same to his own plate.
I watched as both took their
first bite of food, and then I said, "Well, how's it taste?"
Allen replied, "It's
wonderful, I really like this." My husband said, "Man, this is some good
salt, I'm glad you got it." They kept saying as they ate how good it
taste, how much more healthy it is than regular salt, etc.
Today I was making lunch
when my husband came in the house and was laughing so hard, trying to speak, I
started laughing. He was bent over, his voice was squeaky, and I STILL
couldn't make out a word he was saying. He sounded like a
mouse.
After a good three minutes,
he pointed to the sea salt shaker. I looked at the shaker, but honestly, I
sure didn't see what was so funny about the shaker, and I thought he'd lost his
mind.
He then squeaked out, "THE
SALT, THE SALT." I asked, "What's wrong with the salt?"
(He was getting to where I
could finally understand his words) when he said, "Last night, when Allen and I
thought the salt was so good, we didn't get any. Nothing was coming out of
the shaker.
I started laughing and
asked, "How come?" He told me the safety lid was still on it, plus we
weren't even working it right. I grabbed my magnifying glass and read the
tiny directions, and I burst out laughing all over again.
So you see, there's two
grown men, one doesn't care for salt, and one loves salt. They ate a meal
without any salt on it, and yet, claimed the new salt was delicious.
Funny how our minds work,
isn't it?
Tomorrow I will fix them
salmon patties and tell them it's country fried steak. I doubt they'll
know the difference, do you?
Sharon
Bryant
1946
@bellsouth.net
About Me:
I am Sharon
Bryant, 59 years old and reside in Alabama.
I lost my child in 1977 when he was five and
I write
articles on bereavement often.
I am a chocolate/candy maker and also a wood
crafter and knitter.
I am married to a wonderful man, and have two
remaining children, a daughter 25,
Amy, and a second son, Randy, age
22.
My main goal in life is to help those who
have lost a child. My
website is: www.angelsremembered.tk
~**~**~
Hi
Carol,
My prayers are that the
experiences that I have had will bring
peace and joy to the lives of
others.
Stress Reduction
Bob Raines
This letter or lesson is not a piece of literature that is
absloutely
gramatically correct but simply a lesson on how to relax and
enjoy life a
little more stress free. I know what it is to live with
stress and I
know how to live and enjoy life with reduced stress. Stress
life fear
is a fact of life. Both are essential ingredients in moving us
to more
prosperous and productive living. The key is learning to live
with them
to our advantage rather than letting them drag us down.
Several years back I
met a lady that wanted to quit smoking. Due to the
fact that I had smoked for
many years and then found victory. My personal
recommendation to her was to
quit trying to quit. From my perspective I
could see that the source of her
problem was not the habit of cigarettes
that she needed to work on. Her
addiction was in itself a stress reducer.
I urged her to use the cigarettes
at will. At the same time, please take
the Bible and begin allowing God to
help her by granting her a greater
knowledge and understanding of
Scripture.
Many people put the Bible down when they should pick it up
allowing it to
be a daily part of their lives. One of the main reasons that
the Bible is
so easily discarded is due to lack of understanding it. They say
it is
too hard to understand. Then they try a modern version and run into
the
same difficulty. Next comes the sense of defeat. We begin thinking we
are
too sinful or too dumb and God has no use for us. None of this is
true.
God loves all of us equally.
The Bible is God's Word that will give
us wisdom in living our lives
daily in a victorious manner. The Bible is in
some ways like medicine. We
do not take the whole prescription all at one
time, we take in in
prescribed doses over the course of time and allow it
opportunity to do
its work in our systems.
My wife and I have been married
for over thirty-eight years. Our what
seems to be a short time together has
been mostly stress free. We give
credit and praise to God and His Word that
we know has made the
difference. Our house has never been a maze of mass
confusion. We have
had challenges and obstacles to overcome but have never
resorted to
violence. We have never cursed each other. Having a sweet
relationship
has been a great source of stress reduction medication.
The
Bible will give us valuable information in stress reduction. In our
home we
get up on time and read the Bible daily. We select a Book of the
Bible and
begin daily reading five verses and try finding a simple
practical
application from it that will help us during our days ahead. We
have
purchased song books from the publishers of our church hymnals and
sing a
song after our Bible reading. Our Family devotion time consist of
"Prayer,
Bible Reading and a Song"
every morning before breakfast. Our
Family Devotion time may last as much as
fifteen minutes.
From my personal file of convictions if you do not have
fifteen minutes a
day to have a time of dedication and devotion to God then
your priorities
are wrong. In many cases the lack of a time of devotion is a
simple case
of being too lazy. I quit depending on the alarm clock
almost
thirty-eight years ago. I learned early that a snooze alarm was a
curse.
When I did use an alarm clock that had the benefit of the snooze alarm
I
found it to be more hindrance than help. I learned that I was far
more
alert throughout the day when I immediately got out of bed as quickly
as
the alarm goes off.
One of many causes of stress compiled on top of
stress is running late.
Trying to beat the deadline is a major cause of
stress. My day today will
be better because I did the best I could yesterday.
My life is to be
lived one day at a time. That time includes some serious
consideration
and plans for tomorrow. For more years than I can remember my
wife begins
our Sunday Noon Meal on
Saturday afternoon. When we return from
Sunday
Morning
Church Services we
can sit down for a meal that is fit for
royalty within twenty minutes.
In
this day many have the idea that we need a new modern version of the
Bible so
they can more easily understand It. The Bible should be read
daily as a
regimented duty. We should be as faithful in our Bible reading
as we are
about food. We eat for physical benefits. We need good
nutrition. At the same
time we need Spiritual Nutrition. There are many
Bible references to support
these facts. The beauty of my convictions are
the facts that I cannot
personally convince anybody of these truths.
Modern revisions of the Bible
create far more confusion than help.
Let's let The Bible to speak for
Itself:
Josh 1:7 Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou
mayest
observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant
commanded
thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou
mayest
prosper whithersoever thou goest.
Josh 1:8 This book of the law
shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou
shalt meditate therein day and
night, that thou mayest observe to do
according to all that is written
therein: for then thou shalt make thy
way prosperous, and then thou shalt
have good success.
Josh 1:9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a
good courage; be
not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God
is with thee
whithersoever thou goest.
All three of these verses are
important. Each word is vital to the other.
Look at the following words.
"...thou shalt meditate therein day and
night..." We can be courageous. That
does not mean we will go to war and
it surely does not mean that we will be
without fears. In fact when we
have the least amount of fear we are in a far
worse danger. The enemy is
always trying to catch us off guard. The enemy
likes surprise because we
are then unprepared. Fear is a vital asset that
keeps us better informed
and armed for the potential attack.
When I went
to college after sixteen years of being out of school, I had
the fear of
failure. I did not graduate from High School but later earned
a GED. As a
student from first through tenth grades I earned C Grades
with little effort
so I never got serious about study. I didn't learn how
to study nor prepare
for test. I feared being ask to leave college my
first year due to poor
grades. I was thrilled and amazed that I actually
graduated three years later
with THG Degree and a B+ grades. Then twenty
years after graduation from
college I was granted an honorary doctorate
degree.
Fear motivated
me.
Joshua had every reason by human standards to be extremely stressed
out.
Instead of stress, he was motivated by God and the powers of God
that
were available to him. When Joshua entered into the land that
God
appointed for the descendents of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob to live he
was in
awe of the land. There were giants that inhabited the land but Joshua
and
Caleb saw only the Grace of God and work. They were excited about
their
future and the marvelous dwelling place that God had granted for them
to
grow, prosper and raise their families.
If you have read the account of
the twelve Israelites that Moses sent
into the promise land that God had
preserved for Israel to dwell in
then
you know that ten men came back with a defeated attitude. They saw
the
giants and returned with a defeated attitude.
We have choices to make.
We can look on the positive side of life or we
can allow ourselves to dwell
on the impossibilities. Joshua and Caleb
remembered how God delivered them
from Egyptian bondage then destroyed
their enemies before their eyes. They
remembered how God fed them with
manna for forty years. They remembered how
God delivered them from the
enemy as they journeyed from
Egypt to the land of promise.
It is a fact that we
are not here to live trouble free lives. Job 14:1&2
Man that is born of a
woman is of few days and full of trouble. 2 He
cometh forth like a flower,
and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow,
and continueth not.
Job is a
prime example for us to view. His story shows us where man's
trouble began
and how the enemy is working to destroy us in his effort to
destroy God. We
can be delivered just as Job was delivered. We can be
delivered just as
Joshua and Caleb were delivered.
The real truth is that it does not matter
what is happening in our lives
that we call problems. The real solution can
be found by looking to the
source of creation. God has the answer and He will
lead us to the
solution if we will take time to consult Him and are patient
to wait on
Him to supply the answer providentially at the right time. He will
never
be too late.
In John 11: both Martha and Mary thought Jesus had
arrived too late.
Though some may disagree, Jesus was on time. These ladies
learned an
invaluable lesson. John 11:21 Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord,
if thou
hadst been here, my brother had not died. John 11:32 Then when Mary
was
come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying
unto
him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
Isaiah
40:31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall
mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be
weary; and they
shall walk, and not faint.
These ladies had reinforced their faith. They had
additional strength
that they never imagined possible.
The Bible shows us
how we can reduce stress and use our fears to our
advantage and for God's
Glory.
Philippians 4:
Phil 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I
say, Rejoice.
Phil 4:5 Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is
at hand.
Phil 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer
and
supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto
God.
Phil 4:7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding,
shall
keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Phil 4:8 Finally,
brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things
are honest,
whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure,
whatsoever things are
lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if
there be any virtue, and if
there be any praise, think on these things.
Phil 4:9 Those things, which ye
have both learned, and received, and
heard, and seen in me, do: and the God
of peace shall be with you.
A major source of our problems are our thoughts.
Too many of our thoughts
are self serving. They are induced by a personal
desire for personal
gratification. God's Word admonishes us to "...think on
these things..."
Philippians 4:8. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are
true,
whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just,
whatsoever
things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things
are of
good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any
praise
"...think on these things...":
1. Truth
2. Honesty
2. Just
& Justice
3. Pure & Purity
4. Love & Lovely Things
5. Good
and Good Reports
6. Virtue & Virtuous Things
7. Praise & Praise
Worthy Things
Life can be simplified or as complicated as we allow it to be.
My prayer
is that the few things that I have experienced will be a help and
a
blessing to you.
I am grateful and thankful that my life is not about
money and or
multiple possessions. My life is for others. I do have time to
reply and
respond in a positive manner in helping others.
You may contact
me at: drbobraines1@juno.com. I will pray for you and
will answer your questions after prayer. I
will not promise that I will
have an absolute answer to all your questions
but I will reply.
Poetry
Section
~**~**~
Trusting In The Lord And I Am Doing
Alright
Leona
Ebling
It was in the morning and the year of May
1969
I answered my phone a little before
nine,
The words I heard almost shattered my
will,
My whole world crashed and time stood
still.
The week before I had had some hospital
tests run
And I came home after a biopsy was
done,
Trusting in God while fasting with
prayer
I believed that no sign of cancer would they
find there.
My best friend also fasted and prayed for me
Along with the church and friends and
family;
I went back to work driving the big old
yellow school bus
With a lot of faith as in God I did
trust.
The ringing of the phone that morning
brought fear
???full of cancer, immediate surgery??? I did
hear,
I did not know how that could possibly
be,
I had believed in God and trusted him ,you
see.
To my best friends home I ran , she lived
down the street
As she opened the door I walked in and began
to weep,
Her answer to me was also heart felt and
with tears
She began to pray and then these words I did
hear.
???Sister Leona, I don??™t really understand
why,
We trusted the Lord??? and she began to
cry.
Then she said ???God says to tell
you
We can have what we believe him for??? oh
that was so true.
Well with five small kids all under 12 years
of age
I had no choice then but to go, my decision
was made
The surgery was done and I suffered a lot of
pain
Had other complications the doctor did
explain.
Then three days later the doctor came in the
room
He was smiling from ear to ear, his face
held no gloom
He
said, ???I don??™t understand this, I saw it with my own
eyes
Cancer was all through you and the biopsy
said so twice
But this last one I sent it showed clear as
day
There is no cancer, no where, so I??™ll just
write this way
Cured on the chart was what he did write
And I knew then as I also know
tonight
Many things we do not understand in this
life,
But I??™ve kept my faith in the Lord and I am
doing alright!
Leona
Ebling
wwjdleona @aol.com
~**~**~
Growing
Leona
Ebling
Please be patient with me I was created many
years ago
But I am not perfected yet you see my
growth is mighty slow
I have trouble with my ???diet??™ it??™s what??™s
inside of me
That causes me the troubles that a lot of
people see
My faults, my doubts, my fears are many
through the years
I have shared a lot of laughter but also a
lot of tears
Were shed mostly alone as I struggled and in
strife
I??™m trying to perfect myself ???growing??™
through this life.
There is no way I have found to grow all by
myself
I need all kinds of people and things to
help me gain this wealth
I need love, hope, peace and joy from HIM
who lives on high.
As well as critics, and encouragers who in
this life pass by.
But most needed is the help I receive from
God then family,
Then words spoke or looks given from folks
like you I see;
And as I walk, I sometimes run ahead and
lose my way
And I have to go back and try to find the
path where I lost my way.
You see every day is a lesson, and every day
we grow.
Sometimes we do it fast sometimes it is so
slow
I??™m glad my teacher is one of love and yet
strict enough to be
One who will help me live down here and grow
to live in eternity.
Leona
Ebling
wwjdleona @aol.com
About Me:
Leona Ebling I have five
children, 18 grandchildren and 18 greats going on 19
and more to follow I am
sure. I have been for soon to be fifty years a full
time wife, mother, gramma
and worked as personal companion and caretaker for
over thirty years. I write
as a loved hobby and I am in the process of two
books being published and
another to follow shortly I hope.
I write fiction, non-fiction,
inspirational novels and short-shorts. I also
write children books and love
writing poetry.
~**~
The
Locket
Pamela
Blaine
Wisp of silky
curls
Inside the gilded box
Encased like strands of time
Sweet love
enclosed in locks
Clasped within a locket
Striving to contain
All
of love's devotion
And separation's pain
A keepsake to
remember,
For tresses whisper love
The fragrance of you lingers
Like
perfume from above
And just for fleeting moment
My heart draws near
to you
I clutch the silver locket
For 'tis all I have of
you!
By Pamela Blaine
?© October 22, 2001
About Pamela:
My husband and I live in Missouri. We have 4
children and 5 grandchildren. I enjoy writing, music, and country
living. I write "Pam's Corner" for the local newspaper and many stories
have been published on the internet as well as in several books. I have
loved music and writing ever since I can remember. I play piano at church and
I'm an avid reader. One of my goals is to be able to write for my children and
grandchildren so special memories will not be forgotten. We have recently
made a new CD entitled "I'll Walk You Home". If you would like one, they
are available by freewill donation. More information as well as a clip
from the CD is on the website at:http://blaines.us/PamyPlace.htm
Send
Pam an e-mail and let her know what you thought of her story. pamyblaine@blaines.us
SENIOR WRITERS
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Sharlette;
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Jenkins, Pamela;
Liles, Norma;
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Georgewaters;
Petry, Dianna Doles; Roberts, Susan;
Shaw, Bob; Sims, Richard; Swarner,
Ken; Vaknin, Sam;
Walker, Bill;
Walker, Joe; Warner, Gorden
K;
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