STORYTIME TAPESTRY

The Newsletter devoted to spreading love and cultural awareness throughout the world

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Aug 28, 2005? 

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Now on to the good stuff..........

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Today's Queue Stories
~**~**~**~

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? WHY?

? Sharon Bryant

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As I walked down the hall, I couldn't help but notice the crowd of people gathered near the end of the aisle.?  It didn't hit me as to why so many were standing outside the room, but as I got closer, I knew.

I had my hands full of stuffed animals.?  Someone yelled out, "She's here," but I didn't think it was me they were talking about.

Suddenly a man walked up to me and said, "We need you in this room immediately."?  I saw children in the hallway crying.?  I saw grown women and men crying, and then I knew.?  The crowd moved and made a path for me to walk into the room.

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My first thought was, "This is an angel I'm looking at."?  Golden blond hair streaming down the side of her face, eyes shut, the bed made her look much smaller than she actually was.

A man who was sitting in a chair broke out in a big sob and I knew, he was the father.?  I looked up and saw him put his arms around the woman next to him.?  She was softly crying.

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Someone else walked up behind me and said, "She doesn't have much time left, it's cancer of the stomach."?  My heart went out to the little girl and her parents.?  I knew their pain.?  I knew how their hearts were breaking.?  And I knew how their lives would be changed forever once they lost their precious little girl.

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I felt at a loss for words.?  Yet, in my arms was a white angel teddy bear, and I knew, this couple needed an angel more than anyone in that room at that moment.?  I walked up to them and choking back my own words, I said, "I've got an angel for you."

The father stood up and hugged me and said, "I know you've lost a child.?  They told us you'd be in the hospital today.?  We don't know.........can't..........." and I replied, "I know."

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The mom stood and told me their little girl took sick just a few weeks back.?  She kept saying her stomach hurt.?  Only five years old and that little angel's parents were told, "Your daughter has cancer, it's aggressive, there is nothing we can do but make her comfortable."? 

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I bent over the bed to look at this beautiful child.?  Tears rolled down my own face, remembering my little angel who was the same age as this one.?  I looked up towards the ceiling and silently asked, "Why??  Why do these young children have to suffer, have to lose their lives so young?"?  "Why do parents have to know this pain that I know??  Why?"

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When I go to Children's Hospital and give away stuffed animals, I do it for all those who donate animals in memory of their child.?  I do it because I promised myself many years ago I would do anything I could to help another parent who has to suffer with the pain of losing a child.?  I do it for my own son.?  I do it because I love my? child.?  Death has never taken away what my heart feels.

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I left the floor the little five-year-old was on.? ?  I found out she died later that evening.?  For days I thought about her, and her parents.?  I thought about how many children I have met when I go from room to room to meet them and give them a stuffed animal.?  I've never forgotten any of them.?  Nor have I forgotten the parents.

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I wish I could take their pain away.?  I wish I could promise them a better tomorrow.?  I wish I could bring their child back.?  But I can't.?  I can only do what I do, which isn't much.?  But I can let them know.....they are not alone.?  I can let them know there are others who have walked this road.?  I can let them know someone cares and understands.?  And maybe I can give them hope when I say, "I lost my child many years ago.?  I've survived, and one day you will be where I'm at, and you will reach out your hand and tug along another who is facing what you are now."

Every eleven seconds, somewhere in this world, a child dies.?  Every eleven seconds, somewhere in this world, parents are dying inside.?  I can only pray for them and hope they know a stranger somewhere in this world cares.

Sharon Bryant

1946 @bellsouth.net

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About Me:

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? 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

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~**~**~? 

? ValueSpeak

A Weekly Column

By Joseph Walker

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THE SOUND OF EGO

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  Listen ??“ do you hear that sound?

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  There it is: plop.?  Ploop.?  Drizzle.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  You may think it sounds like water dripping into a bucket ??“ a bucket that sounds as thought it is becoming alarmingly full as we speak.?  And it is indeed the sound of water dripping into a rapidly filling bucket.?  But it is so much more than that.?  It is the sound of laziness.?  It is the sound of procrastination.?  And it is the sound of ego.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  Mine.

Run amok.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  Plop.?  Ploop.?  Drizzle.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  It all started about a year ago, when some fairly violent spring wind storms made a mess of the shingles on my roof.?  Thankfully, my father-in-law can fix anything, and it only took a couple of plates of Anita??™s chicken enchiladas to lure him down here to teach me how to repair the shingles.?  He taught me how to clear away the old shingles, to cut and place the new shingles, to nail them in securely and then to fix them in place with tar.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  ???If you do it right,??? he promised me, ???your shingles will stay in place through anything.???

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  Well, ALMOST anything.?  A couple of months ago a fierce late winter storm blew a few of my recently repaired shingles out of place.?  It was cold and slippery on the roof, and I didn??™t dare go up on there to fix them again.?  Then an unusually wet spring made it difficult to clear away, pound and tar.?  When I finally had some time on a sunny afternoon, I took my roofing tools up to make the needed repairs ??“ again.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  Only I didn??™t take any tar, because I didn??™t have any.?  And the hardware store is a good half-mile away, and dinner was almost ready and I didn??™t want to take the time it would require to drive all the way down there to pick up some more tar.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  ???It??™ll be OK,??? I reasoned.?  ???I??™ll just put a few extra nails in these shingles to hold them in place until I can get some tar.???

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  ???But what if we have another wind storm???? Anita asked when I came down from the roof much more quickly than she expected.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  ???Oh, I don??™t think that will happen,??? I said.?  ???How often do we get storms like that????

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  ???Often enough,??? she said.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  ???Well, even if the wind does blow a little, I??™ve nailed it down tight,??? I assured her.?  ???We??™ll be fine until I can get some more tar up there.???

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  And we WERE fine ??“ until last night.?  I won??™t say last night??™s storm was ???the perfect storm,??? but it was enough to blow my well-nailed shingles into the next county.?  Anita and I looked outside and noticed that while our neighbors??™ shingles were laying down flat in the storm, our shingles stood up in the wind like hair on the back of an angry dog??™s neck.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  ???Why . . .??? she started to ask, then thought better of it.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  But it was too late.?  I already knew her question ??“ and the one-word answer: ???Tar.???

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  To her credit, Anita didn??™t boast about how she and her father were right and I was wrong.?  She didn??™t say a word about it as I gathered towels and buckets to catch the water that is even now running down our roof, sloshing through the unprotected area where the shingles used to be and cascading into our living room ??“ a plopping, plooping, drizzling testament to laziness, procrastination and ego.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  Mine.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  Run amok.

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? ? ~**~**~

Ice Cream Anyone?

By Robyn Cavalera

Oh boy Robyn, now you have really lost it. Are you going to try to compare God to ice cream now? "No," actually I am going to compare you, and I, to ice cream! Is that better? I have a real "need" for the sweet confection "ice cream" and any thing to do with it. I love cones, sandwiches, sundaes, sodas, etc. Actually, you name it; I will eat it. Especially if it has chocolate in it some where! I was thinking about this, and came up with the following thought or "parable" perhaps. I guess it depends on how you look at it.

The first ice cream was vanilla, per-se, with fruit or nuts added to it. It was nothing more than frozen snow actually. Time and the inventive nature of man created our well loved delectable flavors of today. We have gone from Vanilla, to an extraordinary array of flavors and added ingredients. They put, candy, nuts, cookie dough, cookies, syrup, fruit, or what ever you can imagine into ice cream today. Then add up all the crazy flavors out there. Vanilla is only one; there is chocolate, strawberry, coffee, butter pecan etc. The list goes on and on. Now add the extras to the flavors, and you have an endless supply of wild treats to tantalize the pallet. That my dear sweet Beloved is us!

God started out with one flavor. He produced it very carefully. Full of flavor and body. Then He realized it was lonely, so He created another flavor to complement the first. As time went on, the flavors became increasingly diversified, and so did the added ingredients. Now, I, just like so many others, tend to have preferences as to the flavors I will try. I am open to some stuff, and willing to try new taste experiences, as long as they are not too extreme. Problem with that is, I do not always have the best taste bud experiences I really could have. By picking and choosing the "right" flavor and additives, I narrow myself to only certain savory tastes. I actually cheat myself, so to say, of all that God has for me. If I don??™t like the way something looks or smells, I will not even try it. Later I may find it was an exquisite flavor that I missed out on. Once in awhile, I??™ll have the chance to try it again. Usually I will the second time, if only out of curiosity. Most times, I find it is wonderful, and I kick myself for being afraid to try it sooner. Hey, the thought of "bubble gum" in my ice cream did not thrill me, but the taste I found was wonderful, once I got past the eye gate to the mouth gate. Well friends, we are all ice cream that God has created. Some may be plain vanilla, but to God, they are "Primo," deluxe vanilla! I think the main thing we need to keep in mind is that no one is the same flavor. No one. We all have different things added to us or mixed into us. However, we all started from the same source. If we turn to the chocolate and say, "I am not about to accept that flavor at all," we rob our selves of the wonderful diversity/unity of the body of Christ. If God had wanted us to all be Vanilla, we would have. However, He choose to produce many varieties and flavors through out the body, to give us each, a taste of the wonderful variety, of another??™s different flavor. It is the differences that make us unique and so wonderful. The differences of opinions and ideas. The differences in speech and actions. The differences in personalities, colors, backgrounds, and heritage, are what make us strong, not weak. We are all of the same Spirit. Next time another believer in Jesus rubs you the wrong way, or acts differently, try to keep ice cream in mind. God made that flavor just the way it is! It has no right to try to be any other flavor or mixture. In addition, we have no right to try to add our own ingredients to it, to "improve" its taste. Let??™s welcome the differences and flavors of each other as God intended us to be. Maybe if we do, we just might finally come to that "Unity" of the Spirit that God so wanted us to attain.

Robyn Cavalera
Prayer Warrior/Demon buster
robyajesusfreak@bellsouth.net
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Poetry Section

~**~**~

The Lords Promises

Tammy Clark

Bring to me your troubled soul,
that I may begin to comfort and console;
You'll suffer no more when I'm in control.

I will wash away your sin stained past;
And give you life of royal vast,
A Holy inheritance you shall have a last.

My promises are true you'll see;
If you give your heart over to me,
obedience and loyalty is all I expect of thee.

I will mold you and shape you;
to be a vessel I can use,
If I am the master on this day you choose.

I will be your God and you shall be my children;
I won't just be your savior, I'll also be your friend,
Soon I will come to take you to my home in heaven.

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Tammy Clark

tambo768@yahoo.com

My name is Tammy Anne Clark, I'm a mother of 5, and
I'm married to a wonderful man. I love to write poems,
short stories, and kids stories about faith.?  My
favorite quote is "If you don't stand for something,
you will fall for anything".?  I live in Kentucky (Gods
country), as we call it down here, and I'm blessed to
have a wonderful view which inspires my much of my
writings.?  I have been writing for the last 8 years,
most of my papers are inspirational real life stories.

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? ~**~**~

Things Change

Jody Flesberg Lilly

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Things change, then they change again.
That is the nature of things
Feelings grow more fluid and flow
Freely from belly to breast.
From throat to eyes
Clarifying,
Purifying a moment in time
Long held
Long believed
Now released
Leaving in its wake
A new way of seeing,
Of saying,
Of being

Things change, then they change again.
That is the nature of things
We hold on
We hold tight
To the things we think will save us,
Things we hope will prove us,
Things that make us other than
The one we were born to be

We are meant to
Live and love
At every fork in the road
To open up
To let it go
To trust our heart to know

The things we thought would save us
Won??™t
The things we thought would prove us
Don??™t
The things we thought would make us--
Break us, in the end

Time and tide will show us
Every thing will pass
Love is the truth of who we are
Love is the thing that lasts

Copyright ?© 2005 Jodi Flesberg Lilly

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Diving Lessons

Jodi Flesberg Lilly

Dive deep into the darkness
Beyond dark to the light
Where everything you see
Is clear
Clean
And bright

Here you find your Self
Waiting unscathed, serene
Flawless
Unique
And brilliant
At peace with what has been

Ready to claim the life
You couldn??™t imagine
Or dream
'Til you entered
The sacred darkness
Where the light
Of awareness gleams

Copyright ?© 2003 Jodi Flesberg Lilly

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lightinmotion@yahoo.com

Jodi Flesberg Lilly is a writer and intuitive astrologer living in San Ramon, CA.?  She founded and leads the Creative Writers Network at www.Ryze.com (an online business networking site), as well as offering intuitive astrology readings, leading workshops, and teaching classes in spiritual and personal awareness.?  To subscribe to her monthly Light In Motion, intuitive astrology newsletter please send an email to info@lightinmotion.net and write "subscribe" in the subject line.

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Writers Feedback

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Can't believe you haven't had any feedback so far on the dog drowning issue. I know you've got a buncha pet freaks like me that subscribe. Think most of us freaks got the news early and had already got our BP through the roof and were trying get it down before we blew a gasket?

Mark.

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Both special treats tonight, from Debra and Maria,? were simply beautiful!

Kathy Baker

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Prayer Requests and Updates

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? Please pray for Janet, who has suffered a major stroke and is not expected to live.

Debra Shiveley

? SENIOR WRITERS

Chief Writer: Sharon Bryant

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? Agee, Vance;?  Apted, Violet;?  Baker, Kathy;?  Batt, Al;?  Berry, Nell;

Boda, Ginger;? ?  Buhagiar, Victor; Cassady, B.J.;?  Cavalera, Robyn; Crider, Mark;? 

Deming, Barb; Goodier, Steve;?  Halley, Ellie Braun; Harris, Kathy Anne;? 

Hunt, Sharlette;? 

Jacobson, Gary;?  Kiser, Roger Dean; Kerens, Claudia; Jenkins, Pamela;

Liles, Norma;?  Mazzella, Joe;? Ojeigbe, Georgewaters;

?  Petry, Dianna Doles; Roberts, Susan;?  Shiveley, Debra; Shaw, Bob; Sims, Richard; Swarner, Ken; Vaknin, Sam; Verhoeff, Jan

Walker, Bill;?  Walker, Joe;? Warner, Gorden K;

Whirity, Kathy;?  White, Robert;

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STORYTIME TAPESTRY STAFF

Publisher: Carol Roach-founder

Moderator: Thelma Hartselle-co founder

Moderator: Clara Westerfer

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