STORYTIME TAPESTRY

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

Dec 8, 2005

Animal awareness series endorsed by Shiloh and Hank our mascots; all stories must receive their approval.

 Aimee the Hot Dog

AKA Sandy Claws

By Bob Shaw

    With all the hot weather this summer, Ronni was constantly fussing at Aimee because she was laying on the AC vent, soaking up all of the cool air. ???You could at least share part of it with me, she??™d say???. Aimee just stuck out her bottom lip, and soaked. Then gave Ronni a dirty look when she moved her over to half of the vent.

    Now that cooler weather has arrived, I like to keep a little heater close to my feet. Warm feet keeps the brain waves moving freely. I noticed the temperature getting a bit cooler, and looked down to check the heater. Yep??¦there was Aimee with her butt slid up to the front of the heater, soaking it all in. I didn??™t have the heart to move her. Just made a mental note to shove her to one side if she started smoking.

    We took Aimee to her home town, Scopus, for a visit. Everyone made a big fuss over her. She soaked it up like a little hairy sponge. I don??™t know why she did it, but Vernadine gave Aimee a potato chip, and she came over and laid it at my feet, like she wanted to know if it was alright. It wasn??™t anything I trained her to do, but everyone was so impressed, I didn??™t have the heart to tell them. I just handed it to her and said it was alright. She wolfed it down and went looking for more. I??™m not sure what she liked more, the vittles or the attention. She??™s never met a stranger. She loves people.

    With Christmas coming on, we decided to get her a little Santa outfit. Everything went fine. The Santa coat, belt, and the hat didn??™t phase her a bit. Then came the little gold colored boots. When she tried to walk, it was like she was wading in deep water. The front feet went as high as she could raise them, and the back feet kept waving in circles. She finally sat down and just stared at us. ???What ? have you done to me now??? !?

    We were so busy laughing at her, she just got disgusted with us and sat there giving us ???that??? look. She wouldn??™t even walk over to pick up one of her favorite treats, a miniature marshmallow. Aimee wasn??™t exactly in the Holiday mood. ???This time, they??™ve gone too far???. I??™m sure she??™ll get used to them, eventually. As friend Betty said after she saw the Santa picture, ???Boy, you can tell this child came late in life???. Well, like we always say, if we knew then what we know now, we would probably have had puppies.

    I can??™t wait till we put up the Christmas Tree. It didn??™t take long for Aimee to learn about the grocery bags. When we bring them in and sit them on the floor to be put away, Aimee discovered early that one of them usually had a new toy. She??™d take a running leap right in the middle of them, and start searching. It won??™t take her long to figure out what the packages under the tree are, and for whom. Well, it is her first Christmas. You don??™t think she??™s gonna be spoiled??¦do ya?

Bob Shaw CapeRabbit@semo.net

Bob and Ronni live in the Cape Girardeau, Missouri area. 

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

???THE LITTLE FLOWER???

Gabrielle Morgan

              ???To strew flowers ??“ it is to offer Thee my griefs,

                my joys, my little sacrifices, these are my flowers. 

                The rose, its petals strewn ??“ true image of the heart

                that would each moment immolate itself for Thee.???

These are the words of ???St. Therese of the Child Jesus,??? and they truly reflect the austere way of life she chose to live.  In 1888, when Therese Martin was fifteen years old, she entered the Carmelite Monastery in her small home town of Lisieux, in France.  After suffering an agonizing illness with tuberculosis she died in 1897 aged twenty-four.  During the nine years she spent in the Carmel Therese practiced her ???little way??? to sanctity.  She was declared a Saint and was canonized in l925.

Therese never missed an opportunity in her daily life to practice humility and sacrifice in order to enter into the heart of Jesus.  Her very existence was an offering to Him.  Every day was an opportunity to perfect herself in prayer and deed. The Prioress, Mother Marie de Gonzague, wrote the day after Therese??™s Profession:

                ???This angelic child is only seventeen and a half; 

                  yet she has the judgment of a woman of thirty,

                  the religious perfection of an old and accomplished

                  novice, and very good self mastery; she is a perfect

                  religious.???

Therese loved flowers, especially red roses and pink daisies.  She likened herself to a ???Little Flower??? gathered by Jesus.  She gave herself so entirely to Him.

     Therese wrote in a letter to her sister Celine:

                  ???I am not always faithful, but I am never discouraged;

                    I leave myself wholly in the arms of my divine Lord;

                    He teaches me to draw profit from all ??“ both 

                    good and ill that He finds in me (St. John of the

                   Cross).  He teaches me to speculate in the Bank of

                   Love, or rather it is He who acts for me without  

                   telling me how He goes to work, that is His affair

                   and not mine;  my part is complete surrender,  

                   reserving nothing to myself, not even the

                   gratification of knowing how my credit stands

                   with the Bank.???

Therese was a writer and poet.  Her autobiography, ???Story of a Soul??? has now been read by millions of people worldwide.  It has been claimed as a spiritual masterpiece.  St. Therese, ???The Little Flower??? has indeed bloomed in Heaven.  When she was dying one of the Sisters expressed what sorrow she would feel on her death and Therese replied encouragingly, 

                           ???Oh no, you will see; it will be like

                             a shower of roses.???

True to her word, roses keep appearing in peoples lives in fulfilment of prayer.  Long after her death, her work continues for the conversion of souls into the heart of Jesus.  The example of her ???little way??? has touched so many.  

Quotations from ???St. Therese of Lisieux ??“ her last conversations.???

                                  Translated  by John Clarke, O.C.D.

                               ???Thoughts??? Translated from the French ???Pensees???

                                   by an Irish Carmelite.

Copyright: GABRIELLE MORGAN

Gabrielle Nicholls Morgan
Gabrielle_Nicholls @hotmail.com

About Me:
I LIVE IN A RURAL AREA IN EAST VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA. I AM

MARRIED TO   FELLOW WRITER AND ARTIST, MICHAEL MORGAN. I

BELIEVE IN PEOPLE, IN LOVE, AND IN WRITING I FIND THIS THE

DEEPEST WAY OF MAGNIFYING IT. I LIKE THE GENTLE. I HONOUR

WHAT HAS BEEN PROVEN TO BE OF GOODNESS, QUALITY AND

BEAUTY. THE ANGELS AND SAINTS INSPIRE ME.

Poetry Section

~**~**~

 Secrets

Robert White

Is there a secret no one should tell?

So lost in the darkness,

A silence from Hell?

Is there a knowledge not to be told,

Fraught by mute hushes,

A lore to uphold?

Is there a problem too hard to fix?

Ensnared in a trapping,

A troublesome mix?

Is there a power no mortal can bear?

A fear formed in silence

Avows no one to hear?

No tergiversation or hiding avails

To redress their content,

A lone vexer prevails.

No knowledge, no trapping, no power??™s so great

As Love, Hope and Joy join to

Assail secrets??™ state.

Light forms its compass as shadows uncover

To give up their spoils,

A new life to discover. 

Robert White
poeticrob@hotmail.com

About Me:
I'm a Christian, 47 years of age, divorced with
2 children - Rachel who's studying to become a
nurse and Jonathan [Jonno] who is fast growing
into a fine young man.

I'm interested in writing - since early 2003
anyway, and have now written over 20 poems, 6
or so songs, a couple of short stories and some
other works. I love music and would love to write
songs with meaning touching on all parts of life,
from love to grief, from death to new life, from Australia to the world.

You could say that I see
the world now in ways I hadn't noticed when I was
younger and I want to leave a legacy which will
bless and build up others.

 ~**~**~

SONGS

Bobby Harris

There are songs that are born
When the heartstrings are torn,
When the pathway of life seemed weary,
There are melodies sweet
That would not be complete
If some days were not cloudy and dreary.

There are smiles like the light
Of the dawn fair and bright,
That would never be seen but for heartbreak,
There are comforting words
That would never be heard
But from such as have known pain and heartache.

Have you suffered alone?
Every sob, every moan
Is not lost on the night winds sad sighing,
God has numbered your tears
Lay aside all your fears,
Trust in Him and His promise undying.

There is mellowing grace
That alone you can trace
To the deep springs of suffering and sorrow.
There is peace deep and broad
On the bosom of God
When from Him all your comfort you borrow.

Bobby Harris

Bobby1137@comcast.net

 ~**~**~

Writers Feedback

Thank you Sharon Bryant for helping kids in A HOME. I am sure God realises all your thoughts and actions and remembers you as you remember these forgotton children-- and soldiers.

Regards

S K Jandu

Prayer Requests and Updates

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