tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42514754207626602952024-03-05T02:59:20.032-08:00QuipsbyAlmaAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13471056660482315065noreply@blogger.comBlogger880125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251475420762660295.post-63579576673625102592017-10-10T16:17:00.000-07:002017-10-10T16:17:28.160-07:00Last Day Hello, all. I had some glitches today with the new website so I did not get my posting done. This is the last day that I will be posting from this site. Tomorrow, I will be posting from the new site. Please join me there. I have appreciated your readership through the years and look forward to more blogging with you. Here is the new blog address http://grammyalmascorner.com/.<br />
I will be posting on there tomorrow. Probably not as early as I usually post, but definitely by day's end. After that, the early posts should resume, but on the new blog.<br />
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Be blessed and see you tomorrow, if the Lord wills.<br />
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Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,<br />
<i>Alma L. <span style="background-color: lime;">Stepping On</span> Jones</i>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13471056660482315065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251475420762660295.post-62542072099811742592017-10-09T03:07:00.001-07:002017-10-09T03:22:51.986-07:00New WebsiteGood morning to each country around this world of ours that I am reaching. It is through your reading of this blog that I can get an idea of the hearts that I touch the world over with my care and concern all for the glory of God. Bless you, for your readership.<br />
Tomorrow when I post I may be posting from a different platform from within a new blog. This is what it should look like:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9DmmJwf9LwjYHbDYkb_5yll__n6fSK9q3a3wJ2drEOMSyaYB0m8zCzPo_nyUCBGER8HyFyKMboG0h3BFqfRUeyAEE-0lRnxfZLSlDgGCfL1qM6xnkIRHQFNy9ZYRSf4dNAc9GTtQZDHzd/s1600/BWCL6872.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="1080" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9DmmJwf9LwjYHbDYkb_5yll__n6fSK9q3a3wJ2drEOMSyaYB0m8zCzPo_nyUCBGER8HyFyKMboG0h3BFqfRUeyAEE-0lRnxfZLSlDgGCfL1qM6xnkIRHQFNy9ZYRSf4dNAc9GTtQZDHzd/s320/BWCL6872.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
and this will be the new website:<br />
http://grammyalmascorner.com/.<br />
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I hope that you will be able to make the move with me and that our fanbase will become even larger. My heart overflows with gratitude as I sit at the Lord's table and drink from the cup of the bounty of His blessings. In addition to this blog, here is a list of my other literary contributions:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8W9znbQ5WLkr9BGyzU78RTs84FK3I1lVj-cZdnGP0hb3_MtDxz2oHs4tDByA6BaolUOMyo_zkUsHSlSQuYuQiwT3Vmxh62LBcbIoM8UsjOq_G84rOi3hcozRJxhqFPc2ouR-CNTLrmPsb/s1600/IMG_4318.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1196" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8W9znbQ5WLkr9BGyzU78RTs84FK3I1lVj-cZdnGP0hb3_MtDxz2oHs4tDByA6BaolUOMyo_zkUsHSlSQuYuQiwT3Vmxh62LBcbIoM8UsjOq_G84rOi3hcozRJxhqFPc2ouR-CNTLrmPsb/s320/IMG_4318.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The blessings of this book caused the setting up of a much-needed author website<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFRgGuTKPxfKvEJ1gQUJRGIU4Q-c0jEBeIs5pq5celPtHB8kVsvZD90z_VCMxJ6Y1elp63bayyhzGRoX0dWIUHxDsyecP3TAuaWy1pjdxd7NP1qjbQU4jJuYUWw40K4bUYuuwskWVxWUsW/s1600/IMG_3966+%25281%2529.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1196" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFRgGuTKPxfKvEJ1gQUJRGIU4Q-c0jEBeIs5pq5celPtHB8kVsvZD90z_VCMxJ6Y1elp63bayyhzGRoX0dWIUHxDsyecP3TAuaWy1pjdxd7NP1qjbQU4jJuYUWw40K4bUYuuwskWVxWUsW/s320/IMG_3966+%25281%2529.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The blessings of the poems in this book and the short stories led to the writing of the book above, <u>Chopping My Row</u>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv7bWlI58cVThv2MDpmmTTgRqemQEo1vyMPHykK-qPcy3pYEGjrSqvxZAXD-yJ5BXcYqaaSAdTY5-QEjgVm1XItaFVpkhyxZ0Yx4BBO4Phz8r1ML6rdxTRxCLp9KHr9hp_XkRdKZm7J9CX/s1600/IMG_3583.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1196" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv7bWlI58cVThv2MDpmmTTgRqemQEo1vyMPHykK-qPcy3pYEGjrSqvxZAXD-yJ5BXcYqaaSAdTY5-QEjgVm1XItaFVpkhyxZ0Yx4BBO4Phz8r1ML6rdxTRxCLp9KHr9hp_XkRdKZm7J9CX/s320/IMG_3583.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the lapel of the jacket that I had monogrammed for speaking engagements and public appearances as an author/poet.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh66jA73uNxSUkzBDXz2hQPgmNKJ2PKuH8LutvW6954ZGz2jMoYZaecXBekToja3jb6Z2LHT-JYSDQEy-uxwyqtifYfMHRGy7DXRxV6V9GPHP0CoSdLjQY2vXo9RVLG4B0MlPPZWMBgSMS9/s1600/IMG_2827.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1196" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh66jA73uNxSUkzBDXz2hQPgmNKJ2PKuH8LutvW6954ZGz2jMoYZaecXBekToja3jb6Z2LHT-JYSDQEy-uxwyqtifYfMHRGy7DXRxV6V9GPHP0CoSdLjQY2vXo9RVLG4B0MlPPZWMBgSMS9/s320/IMG_2827.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"The First Three" in order of publication<br />
1. Avia<br />
2. Dei Sub Numine Viget<br />
3. A Suspenseful Paranormal Event<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtHJHUfkg2l21ikTiu7Ya-8IdbjsGPc6npSEdh72K4aAiUtoRr6dSaNWROuyOIDPOqFrb3_khFNowCBTL69Kja9rsxnmDZdbSwMp4GRkevfCW7j9hU4T7ABB7WnqeoRnoysysav1mbSata/s1600/IMG_2717.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="1113" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtHJHUfkg2l21ikTiu7Ya-8IdbjsGPc6npSEdh72K4aAiUtoRr6dSaNWROuyOIDPOqFrb3_khFNowCBTL69Kja9rsxnmDZdbSwMp4GRkevfCW7j9hU4T7ABB7WnqeoRnoysysav1mbSata/s320/IMG_2717.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">To God be the glory!<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care</span></div>
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<i><i><span style="font-size: small;">Alma L. <span style="background-color: lime;">Stepping On</span> Jones (Grammy Alma)</span></i></i></div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13471056660482315065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251475420762660295.post-19106307556042697232017-10-08T02:29:00.001-07:002017-10-09T01:26:06.009-07:00Infectious JoyGood morning, world! Joy is a contagion!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYYRYF4SdVLB73h_HXDXVTtcEWhJZgHAi7lRvoRl1isGNhsORTKOUGiaLMvw9-Mm4w5kj8BUQMN1V71UpKKypxVsvsouvmdLW2SatLAZ_lIe3H1IYC1K46iATu8NxVgvN2hs51EnAl4m-0/s1600/IMG_4696.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="866" data-original-width="1300" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYYRYF4SdVLB73h_HXDXVTtcEWhJZgHAi7lRvoRl1isGNhsORTKOUGiaLMvw9-Mm4w5kj8BUQMN1V71UpKKypxVsvsouvmdLW2SatLAZ_lIe3H1IYC1K46iATu8NxVgvN2hs51EnAl4m-0/s320/IMG_4696.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Did you know it? Let me give you a brief account of what happened to me yesterday as I was doing a bit of shopping in the grocery store. If you are a fruit lover, then you know the joy that comes upon you when you see a basket of large, juicy succulent grapes piled high. The first thing that comes to your mind is how those grapes would taste as they tickled your tongue and the juice from them wrapped your tongue in the nurturing presence of the grapes after your teeth had pierced their sweetness. Ha, ha, some of you are salivating about those grapes right now. (tee hee) Well, yesterday when I saw those grapes that is something along the lines of what I was thinking. But I was in my own little graped-induced world, just thinking about how good they would taste. I was saying over and over somewhat softly to myself, "Oh my goodness, oh, my goodness." I must have had a look of wonder on my face because a man who did not know me, looked at what I was looking at and then said to me, "You know they are something, aren't they? You get all three kinds in the one basket." He had that same look of wonder that I imagine that he saw on mine. My joy in the grapes had become a contagion. I said, "Yes, sir, they are and then I got mine and went on about my business leaving him to do what he would about the grapes. Later, I saw him and looked into his cart and, sure enough, he had his package of grapes. I filed that back into my memory banks and finished my shopping.<br />
Now, look at me, spreading my joy about the grapes and my Lord to you. Yep, this little blog of mine stretches miles and miles to reach across many boundaries be they racial, political (countries), familial, economic, etc. This blog leaps from heart to heart as it traverses over hills, mountains, dells, hamlets, seacoasts, and skips across oceans to bring joy, contentment, peace of mind, and relief from stress to hearts the world over. It even manages, at times, to touch hearts thought long jaded. Ah, the stroke of a pen via a vessel of clay working for the glory of God!<br />
When I asked Lord to use me in His service, I never imagined in my wildest dreams that I would one day be writing a blog that would reach around the world. Yes, I told Him in a moment of prayerful adoration and fervor that I loved Him so much that I would stand on top of the tallest mountain in the world and shout my love for Him. I meant it then and still do now. I am just awestruck somewhat this morning because I realize the magnitude of the blessing that He has afforded me. He blessed me so that I could bless you through this blog of mine and through my books by allowing me to pour the soothing balm of assurance into some hearts, minds and /or psyches that have been wounded or beat down by the machinations of cruelty or inconsiderateness found in our world.<br />
Look at it like this. When you fix toast in the mornings, and you take that hot bread fresh from the oven or the toaster and spread butter over it, that bread drinks that butter like a rain-starved landscape does when long-awaited rain does finally come. That is the way that I like to think of my blog doing for each of you. Yes, spreading some much-needed love the world over.<br />
Going to worship this morning, Y'all and I am going to give Him praise, and yes, I will pray for you, too. Why? Well, because that is what He wants me to do because He said, "Love your fellowman as yourself." I paraphrased that, but you get my drift.<br />
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Thank You, Lord for allowing me to serve You by allowing me to serve my fellowman. Please bless each of these, my blog readers today with the assurance of your love. Please soothe out hurts, eradicate the wounds of injustice and provide from your bounty, the things that they need. Asking for a special care package of the assurance of your love for each of them. In Jesus' name, I pray, Amen.</blockquote>
Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,<br />
<i>Alma L. <span style="background-color: lime;">Stepping On</span> Jones</i><br />
<i><br /></i> I hope that my joy has become a contagion for you just like it did for the gentleman in the store yesterday.<br />
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Created a bastion </div>
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Of joy that has become </div>
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A contagion.</div>
<i><br /></i>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13471056660482315065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251475420762660295.post-19814688337381277132017-10-07T02:37:00.001-07:002017-10-08T01:24:55.733-07:00No MatterNo matter how dire a situation seems, just you remember that the Lord God is in control and He does not know <i>impossible</i>, for by Him were all things made. Sometimes, HE allows us to reach impossible so that we recognize anew Who He is and appreciate it even more.<br />
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All things work together for our good, not some things, but all things. You never know the difference a day makes so you make a difference in your own life and in someone else's today. Determine to be happy or at least, content and yes, be prepared to wait. And spread some sunshine and cheer while you wait. The world could use it, don't you agree?<br />
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Good morning! Hope you are well. Me? I am peachy keen! Why? I just saw my book trailer, and it is absolutely great! It will be on YouTube sometime today. I hope that you will take a look at it and let me know what you think. I do love it so.<br />
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Running on all cylinders this morning. I am so pumped up. The new website will be up and running by Monday. Yep, you could say that I am stoked. (Tee hee)<br />
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Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,<br />
<i>Alma L. <span style="background-color: lime;">Stepping On</span> Jones</i><br />
<i><br /></i> How happy am I? I am <i>squealing happy.</i>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13471056660482315065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251475420762660295.post-56992174582149963152017-10-06T04:39:00.000-07:002017-10-06T04:39:00.461-07:00Finishing TouchesGood morning! Hope that you are faring well. I have not had my spot of tea but will enjoy something warm and soothing after I finish posting this blog for you.<br />
I wanted to talk to you about yesterday's blog post. Did you notice the extra spaces between the lines in one of the verses of the poem that I did for you on yesterday? You did? Well, good! It means that you have grasped the way that I do things. As I have told you before, I like to make you think. So, if you noticed the spaces, then you gave it some thought as to whether or not it was intentional or if it were just a typographical error. Good for you. Will get back to you in a moment. Just hold on. Let me catch the others up to where we are since they have not yet learned to think as deeply as some of you.<br />
If you saw the spaces between the lines in the one verse of yesterday's poem and thought nothing about it, then think again. Most of the time that I leave what seems to be deliberate spacing, I do it with a purpose in mind. What I would like for you to do, is always try to figure out what I am trying to get you to see. If there are questions that you have regarding a blog piece, then ask me. I am always available to answer any questions that you might have regarding my pieces.<br />
Now, back to where we were. Usually, I repost a blog if I am going to refer back to it, and I will do that for you again, today. But I do want you to get in the habit of asking questions in your mind, at least, about what my purpose could possibly have been for doing a given thing on a given day. Here is a portion of yesterday's blog filled in with the obvious questions that should have come up in your mind. Say what? Oh, so I am starting to make your head hurt, am I? Well, take a Tylenol or whatever it is that you usually take for a headache and enjoy the fact that you, my friend are growing dendrites, all because of a blog piece of mine. Yes, you are developing thinking power or redeveloping it. (Tee hee) I do so love hearing about or imagining your moments of illumination when you grasp a point that I have been laboring to make. Enough talking, here is the piece with highlighted explanations:<br />
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<u><b>Such</b></u> is not too much</div>
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<span style="background-color: lime;">When the God is in the equation</span></div>
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<b><u>Such</u></b> is not too much</div>
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Under <span style="background-color: lime;">His masterful touch.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: red;">Grass grows under some tough conditions</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: lime;"><i>Who would even think that grass can grow under such conditions? Yet it does!</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: red;">Flowers bloom in the harshest landscapes</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: lime;"><i>No harsh conditions can override the will of GOD. With HIM, all things are possible.</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: red;">Life exists where no life should possibly be</span><br />
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<img alt="photo of ice worms and a penny to show scale" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEhz_PjXy-dDOEdLqk5SGRyll7cKkbBSOjoA9dC78JSqHzgYpOuHCcamVUZSugPPbk2T_LD-Jik5I2_aSFTKvn5L44VBhsmlCrFqi5XZscIJLV2X_IdHQAoh-ASCQFnakmgBjv_RlTHJiHqzBqAzk1VWjaNE6xQvQz0lv3uMAw5O8s-yuTF7pq6aazW3pRK8y0V-q9qu=s0-d-e1-ft" /></div>
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<span style="background-color: lime;"><i>Not possible? That is what your limitation as a man/woman thinks. Yet, these ice worms live and thrive on and in glaciers. Only with the LORD.</i></span><br />
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So goes the life of you and me<br />
<span style="background-color: lime;"><i>It's just too much</i></span><br />
<span style="background-color: lime;"><i>I cannot thrive under the likes of such</i></span><br />
<span style="background-color: lime;"><i>Nonsense! Yes, you can, too. He is putting the finishing touches in your life. He is rounding out some rough edges. He has a special job for you to do and He knows the strength and the tenderness of character that it will take to get the job done. He has His hands on you so you will be okay, but you will be a stronger warrior capable of withstanding an onslaught that would fell a lesser man (woman). You are being prepped by GOD. Wow! That is amazing when you think about it. Yes, folks, I have my moments of illumination and epiphany, too. You have just experienced one such moment of mine.</i></span></div>
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For harsh conditions make a survivor</div>
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Into a seasoned and true warrior</div>
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Oh brother, oh sister, don't you see</div>
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It's not over until God says it's over</div>
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When the stormy trials are past</div>
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Such a soldier, you will be</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
With muscles of strong faith, at last.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Move soldier, you are the leader of a phalanx</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
You are battle-hardened and made ready by </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Your God engineered climb up through the ranks.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Points for Pondering </b><i>(answers highlighted in yellow)</i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<ol>
<li>According to today's blog, is the word, "<i>such</i>" a qualitative word? How so, if it is and why not if it isn't? <span style="background-color: yellow;">Yes, it is qualitative because it suggests a degree to which something is done or has occurred. Case in Point - It would seem to the ordinary mind that conditions are just not possible or ripe for the little blade of grass to grow up through an asphalt jungle. Yet, it does grow and thrive. The GOD of heaven is keeping it alive. Same thing with the ice worms that live in and on a glacier. Life is just not possible, according to our limited way of thinking. But we must remember we serve a limitless GOD, WHO does HIS best work under the theme of impossible.</span></li>
<li>What message is being sent through today's poem? Substantiate. <span style="background-color: yellow;">The message that is being sent through today's poem is that no matter how hard, no matter how hopeless, etc. a situation may seem, HE is working HIS plan for your life. As long as you keep holding to HIS hand and asking for strength of faith and as long as you keep reaffirming that faith, GOD will bring you through. That means that through the darkest times, you hold on. HE will make your days sunny again and remember this. When you lose something that you think you cannot live without, He can give you something that you never dreamed of having. It may be that your time in the oven or furnace of preparation is over and as the cook would say, "You are done now; you are ready, soldier."</span></li>
</ol>
Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,<div>
<i>Alma L. <span style="background-color: lime;">Stepping On</span> Jones</i></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Not only can you make it through difficult circumstances, you can thrive. Just keep the Lord by sour side.</i></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13471056660482315065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251475420762660295.post-29148352796633142242017-10-05T01:57:00.002-07:002017-10-06T02:54:42.870-07:00SuchGood morning, precious. We are the recipients of another day. š Let's use it for the glory of the Lord, for there is none other such as He is. And He commands and deserves our praise and adoration.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Such is not too much</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
When the God is in the equation</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Such is not too much</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Under His masterful touch.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Grass grows under some tough conditions<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1h2jGnDmRKc1DXVmS9iu8jDvmoYvIzRscLUniekpBaSKNH4wJRvEMnes7xUEofWJFNBwMKwTBB_WLzYsBB_9g8oNp-ykAuTi6ezwia3sJYwLGFA1Qk5S3O-goVQoevhq6xnfTsbgrMKGs/s1600/IMG_4563%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1h2jGnDmRKc1DXVmS9iu8jDvmoYvIzRscLUniekpBaSKNH4wJRvEMnes7xUEofWJFNBwMKwTBB_WLzYsBB_9g8oNp-ykAuTi6ezwia3sJYwLGFA1Qk5S3O-goVQoevhq6xnfTsbgrMKGs/s320/IMG_4563%255B1%255D.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
*</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Flowers bloom in the harshest landscapes<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIrmtlmihXarEX7lV8DGXI57b8o8pqfJdRZdtaX_cusqvex0q-tSdhSy_jqa2i02fUNAmo2PmPpO4nWC-KoCBdT4unsQ8isF1nuKZsOGvcI7Uve25vY1Pm-Uuwpny6-Cy9qxGlyatDk9qe/s1600/desert-flower-9420497.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="783" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIrmtlmihXarEX7lV8DGXI57b8o8pqfJdRZdtaX_cusqvex0q-tSdhSy_jqa2i02fUNAmo2PmPpO4nWC-KoCBdT4unsQ8isF1nuKZsOGvcI7Uve25vY1Pm-Uuwpny6-Cy9qxGlyatDk9qe/s320/desert-flower-9420497.jpg" width="278" /></a></div>
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
*<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Life exists where no life should possibly be<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="photo of ice worms and a penny to show scale" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEhz_PjXy-dDOEdLqk5SGRyll7cKkbBSOjoA9dC78JSqHzgYpOuHCcamVUZSugPPbk2T_LD-Jik5I2_aSFTKvn5L44VBhsmlCrFqi5XZscIJLV2X_IdHQAoh-ASCQFnakmgBjv_RlTHJiHqzBqAzk1VWjaNE6xQvQz0lv3uMAw5O8s-yuTF7pq6aazW3pRK8y0V-q9qu=s0-d-e1-ft" /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
*<br />
So goes the life of you and me</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
For harsh conditions make a survivor</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Into a seasoned and true warrior</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Oh brother, oh sister, don't you see</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
it's not over until God says it's over</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
When the stormy trials are past</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Such a soldier, you will be</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
With muscles of strong faith, at last.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Move soldier, you are the leader of a phalanx</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
You are battle-hardened and made ready by </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Your God engineered climb up through the ranks.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Points for Pondering</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<ol>
<li>According to today's blog, is the word, "<i>such</i>" a qualitative word? How so, if it is and why not if it isn't?</li>
<li>What message is being sent through today's poem? Substantiate.</li>
</ol>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i>Alma L. <span style="background-color: lime;">Stepping On</span> Jones (Grammy Alma)</i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Hang on precious one, it is not over until GOD says, "It's over."</i></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13471056660482315065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251475420762660295.post-3450866907471401412017-10-04T03:02:00.000-07:002017-10-04T03:02:14.302-07:00Thankful and Contented Excitement Good morning! Nothing gets a writer's excitement going like a new tool to use in the writing process. I will soon have my very own website set up! It will be http:grammyalmascorner.com/<br />
I think that this is phenomenal!<br />
In the midst of turmoil, I love it when peace steals into the melee and spreads its effects all around. Sweet, perfect peace that only the Master can send...<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>For You</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
For every package crafted with care</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I thank You</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
For every simple or complex act of nature</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
That You allow me to share</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I thank You</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
For every robin and every other songbird</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
That trills from the tops of trees</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I thank You</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
For the beauty of the morning and of the roaring seas</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I thank You</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
For allowing me to just exist within</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
This microcosm of Your love</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I thank You</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
In short, I thank You, Limitless God</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
For You.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
********</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Spirit Within</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Sometimes thoughts just flow</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
As if they have a will of their own</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
As if they know the way to go</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
To reach the presence of the Holy One</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
But then, the Spirit dwells within</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The hearts and minds of faithful men</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
To help us past some perilous zones</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
So that hope is not lost, and joy is not gone.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
********</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Perpetual</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Words flow like a tireless stream</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Across the landscape of the mind</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Watering barren places and nurturing </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Progeny's thoughts to help mankind</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
In his enlightenment to find...</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Self</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Which </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Is to find</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
You.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13471056660482315065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251475420762660295.post-90612231024829303942017-10-03T03:36:00.000-07:002017-10-03T05:22:35.330-07:00And We're Off!Today, I officially get started on Book 2 of my Women's Inspirational Series, "I Like Living this "Kinda" Life." The title that you see here may or may not change. As a writer, I find myself settling on one title then to toss that particular one out for another that has struck my fancy. Such is the nature of writing, but I do love writing inspirational pieces for you, my fellowman. As always, I ask for your prayers of goodwill and accomplishment with this new book and all that it entails.<br />
<br />
Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,<br />
<i>Alma L. <span style="background-color: lime;">Stepping On</span> Jones</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<div style="text-align: center;">
A new book of inspiration I am pursuing</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Giving praise to my Father in all that I will be doing.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Sometimes struggling along as I run my race</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
At other times going so fast that it will be hard to keep pace.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Taking inspiration from wherever my Father places it for me</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And spreading its timeless tendrils across the canopy of humanity.</div>
<br />
<i><br /></i>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13471056660482315065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251475420762660295.post-15255701535492084142017-10-02T02:34:00.003-07:002017-10-02T02:34:33.089-07:00Kept by the Keeper<div class="m_-6473881921122166482p1" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; line-height: normal;">
<span class="m_-6473881921122166482s1" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Good morning. How are you this fine Monday morning? Do you have to go in to work this morning? Well, if you do, be sure and check the weather for rain and leave with enough time to get to your job safely. </span></div>
<div class="m_-6473881921122166482p1" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; line-height: normal;">
<span class="m_-6473881921122166482s1" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Here are some Sunday musings from a kept child who keeps on keeping on -</span></div>
<div class="m_-6473881921122166482p1" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-size: 12.8px;"> When folk and situations didn't turn out the way that I thought that they would, God kept me and He's keeping me still. When disappointment threatened to take me down, God kept me and is keeping me still. When diabetes invaded my body, He kept me and is keeping me still. When I thought that I was in the know in a given situation and it turned out that I was on the outside and didn't know anything, He kept me and is keeping me still. Forty years ago I left old Fulton Road Rd. to go on the ministerial field with my husband, I had stars in my eyes and relatively few bruises. Oh, but now... That is why I can stand here and tell you that not only did God keep me, but He kept me in a big way and is keeping me still.</span></div>
<div class="m_-6473881921122166482p1" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; line-height: normal;">
<span class="m_-6473881921122166482s1" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">He kept me when folk wanted to do me in or harm me just because I got a new pair of <img alt="š " class="CToWUd" data-goomoji="1f460" goomoji="1f460" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/e/1f460" style="margin: 0px 0.2ex; max-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle;" /> or when I was blessed with a <img alt="š" class="CToWUd" data-goomoji="1f697" goomoji="1f697" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/e/1f697" style="margin: 0px 0.2ex; max-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle;" />. He kept me when I was pushed into doing ladies days by the congregation where we were and folk became jealous because I seemed to do it without effort. They didn't know the hours of studying and prayer that went into the preparation of the lesson, nor did they care. He kept me when I published my first <img alt="š" class="CToWUd" data-goomoji="1f4da" goomoji="1f4da" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/e/1f4da" style="margin: 0px 0.2ex; max-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle;" /> and on through the other <img alt="š" class="CToWUd" data-goomoji="1f4da" goomoji="1f4da" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/e/1f4da" style="margin: 0px 0.2ex; max-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle;" /> that I have been blessed to publish.</span></div>
<div class="m_-6473881921122166482p1" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; line-height: normal;">
<span class="m_-6473881921122166482s1" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> He snatched me back from the certain jaws of death when at 7 years old I stuck a pin in a socket. I'm 60+ years old now and I don't know how much longer I have but I do know this. I will be working for Him as long as He allows me to because I have to continue working on the legacy that I leave for the church of the future in hopes that they will be swayed to put themselves into His keeping just as I have done</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-size: 12.8px;">.</span></div>
<div class="m_-6473881921122166482p1" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="m_-6473881921122166482p1" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-size: 12.8px;">Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,</span></div>
<div class="m_-6473881921122166482p1" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; line-height: normal;">
<i><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-size: 12.8px;">Alma L. </span><span style="background-color: lime; font-size: 12.8px;">Stepping On</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-size: 12.8px;"> Jones</span></i></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13471056660482315065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251475420762660295.post-59178843152574403822017-10-01T05:50:00.001-07:002017-10-02T02:38:41.055-07:00It's in the Green!<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Good morning to each of you. I am excited! It does not take much to get me excited, true, but I am that way right now! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I have to start this Sunday morning's blog off by saying, "Father, You have been good to me." Look at what I wrote at the beginning of my book, <u>W.O.W. created w.o.w</u>. You can see that I was thanking the Lord for His blessings for carrying me through my life to that present moment. And now I start today by acknowledging His goodness in the publication of another book, <u>Chopping My Row</u>, and in the pathway that He is making for it.</span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><i>(This was written at the publication of a prior book.)</i>This book of mine is the culmination of the hopes and dreams of a Memphis school girl who, because her mother told her to, āReached for the Starsā and dared to say, āIām <i>gonna</i> be somebody one day.ā Walk, if you will, back down Memory Lane with me a bitā¦</span></blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">As she sat in the Guidance Office of Manassas High School, taking in her scholarship letter, she couldnāt help but pick up her Memory Book and read some of the autographs that had been written by her classmates. One autograph stood out more than the rest, the one that read, āMay your joys be as deep as the ocean, your sorrows as light as its foam and may you always have the wind at your back.ā</span></i></blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">She idly wondered if the ocean had any foam. But one thing for sure, she would walk these halls no more. This would be the last day. Tomorrow they all would graduate downtown at Ellis Auditorium. She had a new dress that her church had bought for her because her Momma could not afford a new dress and all graduates had to wear white.</span></i></blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">******</span></i></blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Three Months Laterā¦</span></b></blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">She was going to college! She was going away from home. Momma was traveling on the Trailways with her. Momma would check her in and then Momma was catching the bus back to Memphis. Soon, she would be on her own. Yes! <i>(That too, is a story for another day.)</i></span></blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">******</span></blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">College Graduation, Marriage, Two Adopted Children and Thirty Years Laterā¦</span></b></blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The email that she had received that morning had made her wax sentimental. She looked back over life and thought about the big part that Jesus had played in it.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">She thought about how HE had brought her through so many trials. She reflected upon how He had held her hand when her Momma had died twelve years ago. She had thought that she would not and could not make it. But, because of the love of Jesus, she had. She thought to herself:</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">GOD (my beginning)</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Love (crafted in)</span></div>
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">A Plan</span></div>
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Care Packages (to sustain)</span></div>
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Love (gathered back with)</span></div>
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> GOD (my ending)!</span></div>
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">She thought to herself, āIf I hold to His hand, since He created me, He will sustain me and gather me back to Himself, all in His good time. W.O.W.! She sat with her head bowed as she reflected upon the various ācare packagesā that she had been gifted with throughout her life. She reflected upon the pink and green suit from her high school club days <i>(a story for another day)</i>; she reflected upon her scholarship; she reflected upon her best friend from her freshman college year, Joyce, etc.</span></blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">As she sat around and reminisced, she realized that she had been shown favor by the Lord. Then she wrote:</span></blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">When I think about the favor that GOD has placed on my life, I canāt help but marvel at the fact that the GOD, Who orchestrated the cosmos; the GOD that initiated this thing we know of as time and placed a limitation there on; the GOD that one day will usher in eternity; takes the patience and places HIS omnipotent eyes and ears on a tiny speck of dust called Alma, I am agog! āWhat am I that THOU are mindful of me?ā</span></i></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">As she continued her reflecting, she realized that she had come far from the starry-eyed teenager who went to college with one pair of regular shoes and one pair of Sunday shoes and one dress skirt. As she finished checking her email, she finished up her reverie with a perusal of the news feed on Facebook. What she saw there, caused her eyes to fill with tears that slowly cascaded down her cheeks. Several of her former students had posted on Facebook giving her an outstanding <i>shout out</i> for her work while she was their teacher. She lifted tearful eyes toward the ceiling and said a grateful prayer to Jesus.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <br /> </span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">She realized that the starry-eyed teenager had had a successful teaching career in that she had made a positive enough impact on her students that some of them reached back and thanked her. She thought about the poetry books that she had authored and about this one that she was working on now.</span></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">She knew that all of these positives in her life meant that Jesus, in His infinite care and wisdom, strategically wove the pattern of her life so that all things fell just so. Then she said,<i> āLord, oh Lord! Can You hear me? Itās me, Alma. And I just want to say Thank You!ā - (excerpt from <u>W.O.W. created w.o.w.)</u></i></span></blockquote>
</blockquote>
<br />
Y'all know how I make a habit of getting up on Sunday mornings with a blog that talks about my being excited about getting ready to attend worship. This morning no exception, but I have some added joy. No, nothing better than great has happened, yet. Here is what I read on the internet this morning about my book, Chopping My Row:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Alma-L.-Jones/e/B00SNJXP8E" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #660099;">Amazon.com: Alma L. Jones: Books, Biography, Blog,
Audiobooks ...</span></a></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background: white; line-height: 12.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #006621; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">https://www.amazon.com/Alma-L.-Jones/e/B00SNJXP8E</span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: grey; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">1.<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="color: grey; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: grey; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">6 Results - </span><b style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #6a6a6a; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Alma L</span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #545454; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">. </span><b style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #6a6a6a; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Jones</span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #545454; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">, who was born in Memphis, TN to Lula M. Carr,
makes ... "</span><b style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #6a6a6a; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Chopping My Row</span></b><span style="color: #545454; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="background-color: white;">", </span><span style="background-color: lime;">is receiving very favorable comments
and is one to watch</span><span style="background-color: white;">.</span></span></blockquote>
I took the liberty of highlighting what made me so giddy in green. That made my day. So I opened my blog with thanksgiving, and I will close it the same way. Thank You, Father, for your many blessings. You are to be praised and honored for all of Your lovingkindness. To You be the glory!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13471056660482315065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251475420762660295.post-43900336240440460942017-09-30T04:11:00.001-07:002017-09-30T04:11:11.717-07:00His GraceGrace is defined as, "Unmerited favor." When I further think of grace, I think about the wondrous love of God, the Creator, the Faithful One. I realize that I can do nothing to merit His favor, nothing! But, I am so glad that He uses lovingkindness and mercy in His dealings with me. There are several points that I want to make in today's blog, and they are:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Love the fact of knowing that I am loved by God</li>
<li>Love the fact that He had a plan in His mind before the world began and that the plan included preparations made for me</li>
<li>Love the fact that He listens to me when I ask Him to allow me to work for Him and that He enables me to do things well for Him</li>
<li>Love the fact that He allows me to get into His intricate work <span style="background-color: #f6d5d9;">plan </span>and do my little "vessel of clay," type of work</li>
<li>Love the fact that His Omnipotence, through the blood of Jesus, covers me in any mistakes that I might make in my fervor to tell the world about Him.</li>
</ul>
In short, folks, I simply love my Father in all of His grace. It is by His grace that I woke up this morning, put my foot out of my bed, etc. His grace! And I will make it through whatever else this world throws at me by the grace of God. You see, His grace brought this one a mighty long way and He does not tire of carrying me when I cannot carry myself. Because of His grace, He does not tire of forgiving me of all of my sins, which are too numerous to count. By His grace, He has not tired of wrapping me in His powerful arms when this "bit of dust" that I am, grows weary and the tears fall. What a great day for us in our struggle to remain close to Him when John Newton, through God's providence, penned "Amazing Grace."<br />
<br />
Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,<br />
<i>Alma L. <span style="background-color: lime;">Stepping On</span> Jones</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
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I love Him because He made man</div>
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I love Him because I can</div>
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I love Him because He is love</div>
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Love Him because He included His grace </div>
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In mankind's life plan.</div>
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********</div>
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The grace that saved me is amazing, and it belongs to my Father!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13471056660482315065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251475420762660295.post-21607409287800229032017-09-29T03:17:00.002-07:002017-09-29T03:17:22.671-07:00Come a Long WayI am thankful for His grace and mercy that have brought me thus far, and I trust in my Father's plans for my future by virtue of the knowledge gained from the path that I have trod thus far. Just a couple of lines for you today to remind you that since He woke you up this morning, be thankful and know that He has work, yet for you to do.<br />
<br />
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Living in God's pocket on Mercy St.</div>
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Sheltered from the storms that in life</div>
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One often meets.</div>
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Resting a while as your way is paved</div>
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In preparation for the job for which </div>
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You have been saved.</div>
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*********</div>
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Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care</div>
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<i>Alma L. <span style="background-color: lime;">Stepping On</span> Jones</i></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13471056660482315065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251475420762660295.post-66800503906215701482017-09-28T03:25:00.005-07:002017-09-28T03:25:43.291-07:00One Day<div style="text-align: center;">
This is a little something for you to think about as you carry out your activities for the day.<br />
<br />
One day the final chapter will be written</div>
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One day the books will be opened and read</div>
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And you will be called upon to give an account</div>
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Of the things that you have done and said<br />
So, try to live life so that the things that<br />
Are written will not, at the judgment<br />
Cause you to be filled with dread.<br />
<br />
In light of the verse above<br />
It is not asking too much<br />
To ask you to show love.<br />
<br />
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Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,</div>
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<i>Alma L.<span style="background-color: lime;"> Stepping On</span> Jones (Grammy Alma)</i></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13471056660482315065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251475420762660295.post-13077109766277722282017-09-27T03:42:00.001-07:002017-09-27T03:42:59.983-07:00ExamplesI went to the Paul Meek Library yesterday to leave a copy of my latest book and while there saw an acquaintance of mine on yesterday whose kids I used to teach. We had a cordial conversation about the vagaries of life and it got me to thinking. Today's poems are a result of my perusal into thought. Enjoy, but think about your life, too.<br />
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By tireless example, I continue on</div>
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As I tell my story and sing my song.</div>
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********</div>
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You are conducting classes</div>
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As by your tireless examples, you teach</div>
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Because your actions go places</div>
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That your words can't reach</div>
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And affect the masses.</div>
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********</div>
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My story is not over yet</div>
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And my song is not done</div>
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Because the final verses have not been written</div>
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And the final chorus has not been sung.</div>
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********</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
What am I doing with my life</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
What have I done so far</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Have I made a positive impact</div>
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What will the record say</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
When the books are opened</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
To display the facts</div>
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How will my record read</div>
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On that final Judgment Day?</div>
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<br /></div>
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********</div>
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Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i>Alma L. <span style="background-color: lime;">Stepping On</span> Jones</i></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13471056660482315065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251475420762660295.post-7125922738125441592017-09-26T03:39:00.000-07:002017-09-29T02:32:33.932-07:00 Living My Life<div class="MsoNormal">
"I like living this kind of life, it is the blessed <i>(best)</i> life." This sentence is the first line of a song sang by the Clark Sisters and, you know, the words ring true for me. What life am I referring to, why the life of living for the Lord, of course. I like living for Him because He allowed His Son to die for me. I like living for Him because He claims me in front of all creation. He allowed His Son to shed blood for me so that I could be sanctified and brought back to the safety of His fold. And this God, the Creator of the world, has allowed me to serve Him in His majesty. He has placed His Spirit within me so that His glory can shine through me daily, as I live for Him. Ah, this is the life. </div>
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I get joy out of serving Him as I look forward daily to the hope of glory. I get excited when I get to brag on Him to others because I know that I am carrying on with the mission that He had in mind before the world began. I get excited to think that I am being allowed to play a part in the great plan that was put in place before time. That is an awesome thought, folks. The Creator of this world has and is allowing me to help to carry out some of His plans and I like it! He does not need me to do this because He has countless others that will and are doing the job, but because He loves me and cares about my contentment, He allows me to help, too.</div>
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I like the various jobs that He finds for me to do. If you have small children or have had small children, then you know exactly what I am speaking of. You know when you have a toddler who wants to help to trim the Christmas tree but is in the way more than he is helping. But to keep him contented and occupied and feeling good about himself, you allow that little one to help. That is the part that I feel that I play in my work for my Father. I tell you, folks, I am proud to serve Him.</div>
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I like:</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Ā·</span><span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Speaking a kind word to someone in His name</span><br />
<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Ā·</span><span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Lifting my voice in praise to Him</span><br />
<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Ā·</span><span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Giving someone a smile in His name</span><br />
<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Ā·</span><span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Feeling His love in the warmth of the sunshine on a crisp autumn day</span><br />
<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Ā·</span><span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">I like trying to give back for His great expression of love for me</span><br />
<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Ā·</span><span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">I like reveling in the knowledge of His love</span></div>
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<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">In short, I love Him and all that He stands for and </span>am<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> proud to tell anybody who will listen about the majestic Worker of Wonders I serve. I know that I cannot tell it all, but I do so love trying.</span></div>
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Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Alma L. <span style="background-color: lime;">Stepping On</span> Jones</i></div>
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<br /></div>
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I like living this kind of life and I hope that my service to Him shows it. I know that there are many of you who feel the same way.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I like living a Christian life</div>
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And being claimed as His own</div>
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I like serving Him and I try</div>
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To make the fact that I do, known.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13471056660482315065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251475420762660295.post-31614399410162006882017-09-25T04:23:00.003-07:002017-09-25T04:23:51.305-07:00Not Everyone Is as BlessedGood Monday morning! It is time to hit the road for a new week at work. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, Monday morning blahs. Yuck, right? But wait a minute, not so fast. Some people did not rise to go to work this morning, others do not have a job to go go, though they would love to have one. Still, there are other people who have jobs but have to walk there and back because they do not have a car right now. There are all kinds of reasons that you can find to be disgruntled about having to go to work, but the main thing to remember is to be content and thankful for what you have and in all circumstances.<br />
If you are young, be thankful; if you have lived to a ripe old age, be thankful; if you are middle-aged and looking forward to retirement in several years, be thankful; if you have had the privilege of bumping your grandbabies on your knee, be thankful because not everyone did; if you have a place of shelter and can lie down and rest in comfort, be thankful because sleep for some, comes standing up; if you have the means to feed yourself and your family, be thankful because some folk have the provisions to feed their families only once every three days; if you have an intimate relationship with God, be thankful because in some areas of the world, it is not permitted to openly worship Him. Be thankful for the family and relationships that you have because a lot of people walk alone wishing for companionship.<br />
Be thankful and appreciate the good times or the <i>nothing</i> times in your life because the times of chaos are sure to come and in some cultures, times of chaos reign every day. When you get the chance to laugh, laugh long and hard because it may have to carry you for a while. Look for things in nature to marvel at. Look at a leaf again for the first time in a long time and appreciate the artistry and symmetry that it bears. Nature bears the Lord's handiwork and should remind us all of the attention that He pays to detail. Yes, He is particularly mindful of us because we are precious to Him.<br />
So, go be happy, positive and thankful and let the world and the Lord know about. Remember, if you display a positive light of contentment to the world, you are speaking volumes <b><u><i>for </i></u></b>the Lord, our God. As far as letting Him know about it, He already does, but in displaying a positive and upbeat attitude to the world, you make Him delighted, and you will be blessed accordingly. How wonderful it is to belong to the Creator.<br />
<br />
Making the Most of My Time Down Here<br />
<br />
I had an enjoyable time <u>in this world</u> on Saturday<br />
As I sat and had brunch with the ladies<br />
And their guests at the Sitka Church of Christ<br />
We had just finished listening to two ladies that<br />
Had been missionaries in the Orient<br />
And they blessed us with some food for thought<br />
As we had a different culture explained to us<br />
And we got to hear first-hand and see through photographs<br />
How our missionary donations caused people living<br />
In less than perfect circumstances to laugh<br />
As we got to hear of and see the expressions of joy<br />
When a shipment of Hershey chocolate bars brought<br />
That much-needed touch of home that was so often sought.<br />
<br />
Yes, I did enjoy my time with the Sitka ladies on Saturday. I was glad to be reminded of the work that goes on around the world in cultures where being a Christian is not much tolerated. It made me thankful for the grace that I enjoy and the bounty that I sometimes take for granted, and it made me think more about donations to mission work, in general. It reminded me to be thankful for God's bounty in love and care. I have a new determination to be more cognizant of mission work and to be more generous toward it while I am still in this world where I can work and do what I can, while I can.<br />
<br />
Because I Care,<br />
<i>Alma L. <span style="background-color: lime;">Stepping On</span> Jones</i><br />
<br />
P. S. - Let us remember to pray for the betterment of the cultures of this world that suffer hardship on a daily basis. Let us further practice philanthropy, even if all we can do is a small amount.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13471056660482315065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251475420762660295.post-53582677480862342152017-09-24T04:19:00.002-07:002017-09-24T04:19:21.680-07:00Do You Believe?<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">Good morning, precious ones! Do you believe that God loves you? I do. And do you believe that He always sees what is happening in the lives of His children? I do. You, too? Good, then let me strengthen that belief with a thought this morning. Then I will give you a brief snippet of a poem and our blogging session will be ended for the day. But you, my precious one, will be geared up for worship, praise and what-have-you and folk will look at you and wonder what has gotten into you this morning. Some may have the temerity even to ask you what's up with you this morning. You can simply say, "I believe." That is all you have to say to them, but in your heart, you will be saying, "I believe that if the Lord is for me, all things will work out as He decrees that they shouldā. (Romans 8:31) That means not by man's decree, but by God's decree. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><b>If the Lord has something planned for and/or tailor made for you, it will be yours, bottom line, end of story!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">Folks, when you have walked through some fire,</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">You can stand a little heat</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">Because you know that the preparation of</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">The Lordās gospel of peace shods your feet.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">You know that Your faithful Father</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">Is always standing by</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">And He sees the machinations of men</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">Against you, before they even</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">Lift their hands to try.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">You may be shaken</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">You may be rattled</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">But your belief in</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">God remains intact</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">Because of this one fact</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">He is faithful, so</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">You cannot be taken.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">You know from reading your Psalms</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">That when your "Foot slips due</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">To a trap that was set for you</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">That He will hold you up</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">And that when anxious thoughts</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">Multiply within your mind</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">Delightful consolation will come behind</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">Your doubts and drive them away</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">Leaving peace where anxiety did dwell</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">And you will be thinking, 'God is standing by</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">So, all is well.'ā</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">********</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><i>Alma L. <span style="background-color: lime;">Stepping On</span> Jones</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><i>āHe delights in me so, He lights my path and holds me fast.ā</i></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13471056660482315065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251475420762660295.post-22257963800456156002017-09-23T02:14:00.002-07:002017-09-23T02:14:14.641-07:00Kept for Keeping OnGood morning to each of you. I have a rather full day today, so I am writing a brief but thought-provoking poem for you. Enjoy and grow <b><u>dendrites</u></b> in the process!<br />
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He kept me</div>
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So, I'll keep keeping on</div>
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He never left me</div>
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So that, by example</div>
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I could show strength</div>
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To my fellowman and</div>
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Say without words, "I am not alone."</div>
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I am supported by the Power</div>
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Of heaven's Throne.</div>
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Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,<br />
A Little Ole Nobody from TN<br />
<i>Alma L. <span style="background-color: lime;">Stepping On</span> Jones</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<b>Poetry Pondering and Points</b><br />
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<ol>
<li>Define <i>dendrites.</i></li>
<li>Explain each line of the poem using a complete sentence for each line. Then tie it all together in a neat little paragraph.</li>
<li>What can be surmised about the speaker in the poem?</li>
<li>Give the poem an appropriate title.</li>
</ol>
Now, I am off to prepare breakfast and attend the Ladies Day at the Sitka Church of Christ in Milan.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13471056660482315065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251475420762660295.post-22463951772926489782017-09-22T05:27:00.005-07:002017-09-22T05:27:59.754-07:00Person of Faith<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14.49px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Good morning. Today is the day that I told you that I would provide answers to questions posed to you this week in Poetry Pondering and Points to Ponder.</span> So, let's get right to it, shall we?</div>
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<b><u><span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">On Monday, September 18</span></u></b><span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> we had questions from āPoetry Pondering.ā I have listed the questions again for you for your convenience. The answers are provided in a different color immediately following each question. The answers that I provide may or may not correspond with the ones that you came up with. But, that is the beauty of poetry, it allows for individual interpretation and/or expression.</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Questions:</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">1.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">What ties the poems together into a cohesive group? Explain. </span><span style="color: #00b050; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The poems are tied together in a cohesive group under the theme of Fall or Autumn things.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">2.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">What feeling is evoked in the second poem? Explain. </span><span style="color: #00b050; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Fear is evoked because the speaker clearly suffers from arachnophobia (fear of spiders). </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The third poem? Explain. </span><span style="color: #00b050; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Joy, awe, and wonder are expressed in this poem because the speaker loves looking at the various colors of the leaves. The speaker thinks about the Lord each time he/she beholds his handiwork through the Fall colors. Additionally, there seems to be a feeling of assurance given to the speaker concerning the power that men wield.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">3.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">What is the status of the speaker in the last poem? Explain. </span><span style="color: #00b050; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The speaker is in a state of learned contentment knowing that the Lord always takes care of His own.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">4.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Two of the poems above display a change of perception. Which two are they and expound upon the perception change. </span><span style="color: #00b050; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Time does not apparently move as slowly as the speaker once thought. The kitchen, a place where the speaker loved to spend time, has become a place of remembered terror and its peaceful atmosphere has been erased.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">5.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Write appropriate titles for each poem and give your rationale for the title you give to each poem. </span><b><span style="color: #00b050; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">First poem title</span></b><span style="color: #00b050; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> ā āTime, Why?ā was chosen for this poem because apparently, the process of time is something that the speaker had given thought to down through the years. <b>Second poem</b> ā Shiny Black Monster was chosen for this poem because apparently the spider spoken of was horrendously huge and shiny. <b>Third poem</b> ā Tableau Painter was chosen as a point of awe and reverent recognition to the Lord for His magnificent handiwork in the coloring of the trees. <b>Last poem</b> ā Whatever Time was chosen for this poem because the speaker seems to have learned that basic needs would always be met whether in a season of plenty or of scarcity.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">On Wednesday, September 20</span></u></b><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">, </span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">we had questions from āPoints to Ponder.ā </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Questions</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">1.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Is the article appropriately titled? Why or why not? </span><span style="color: #00b050; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Yes, it is appropriately titled because the reference is made to the speaker not knowing why he/she was driven to buy a journal. The speaker seems to be in awe of the fact that the Lord was working His purpose all along in his/her life.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">2.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Why is there one line in bold print? </span><span style="color: #00b050; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This line is highlighted because apparently, the speaker believes that there are blessings to be gathered soon from the prior activity.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="color: #00b050; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">3.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Why is a portion of the line in bold print highlighted? Any significance to the color? What? </span><span style="color: #00b050; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Season of blessings seems to be highlighted because apparently, the speaker believes that there is a season of plenty such as has never been known coming his/her way. The green highlighting might indicate the speakerās belief that the Creator of all things āKeeps things rolling along as long as grass grows green from season to season.ā</span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-size: 12pt;">On Thursday, September 21</span></u></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">, we had questions from āPoetry Points to Ponder.ā</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Questions</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">1.</span><span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">What is the theme of this poem? </span><span style="color: #00b050; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The theme is victory.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">2.</span><span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Give it an appropriate title. Explain your choice. ā</span><span style="color: #00b050; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Neednāt Have Worried,ā is the title that I would choose for this poem. I would choose this title because the speaker has led us through her time of mountain climbing and valley scaling to a conclusion of victory.</span><span style="color: #00b050; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">3.</span><span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Do you think that life has been easy for the speaker in the poem? Substantiate. </span><span style="color: #00b050; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This speaker has had some ups and downs in life just as most people have. The speaker has determined that things will ebb and flow, as always, but that the Lord will provide. The speaker seems to have an intuitive belief that magnanimous blessings are headed his/her way.</span><span style="color: #00b050; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><i><span style="background-color: #e4feff;">Alma L. </span><span style="background-color: lime;">Stepping On</span><span style="background-color: #e4feff;"> Jones</span></i></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13471056660482315065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251475420762660295.post-53957807797649035392017-09-21T03:43:00.001-07:002017-09-22T03:23:30.837-07:00With Hopeful Wonder<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Good morning! A glorious day it is. We woke up. God is good. Before I go further with the blog for the day, I do want to thank you for your generous approval of the poem that I posted yesterday. Your generosity is humbling and exhilarating at the same time. Now your poem for the day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">With wonder, I look back upon </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The path that was laid out for me</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">And see that every crook and turn</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">That I traversed was a crook and</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">A turn that was meant to be.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">I stand where I am and peruse</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The path over which I have trod</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">And give grateful praise to my God</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Who has given me strength to</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Follow the path ordained for me</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">As I turn forward and continue on my journey.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Full of determination and of hope</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">And knowing from my past that whatever</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Situations should arise, they will be</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Situations with which I can cope.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">You see, shouting time is on its way</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">For this little nobody who loves her Lord</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Blessings are forthcoming, folks and</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Their arrival is heralded by precursors</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Of joy, hope and gladness to let</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Me know that the cavalry has been victorious</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">And celebrations are in order, for the day</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Of victorious deliverance has come</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">And happiness galore has been won.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Poetry Points to Ponder</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">1.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">What is the theme of this poem?</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">2.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Give it an appropriate title. Explain your choice.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">3.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Do you think that life has been easy for the speaker in the poem? Substantiate.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><i>Alma L. <span style="background-color: lime;">Stepping On</span> Jones (Grammy Alma)</i></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13471056660482315065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251475420762660295.post-88011188935043303162017-09-20T06:08:00.000-07:002017-09-20T06:08:13.821-07:00 Who Knew?<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Good morning. I was thinking back to 2011 when I started on what would be a writing journey for me. This, as I look back, was one of those pivotal points that I talked about in my life that I can see clearly now. Read the poem, and then I will finish this blog for today with a sentence or two.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Life has so many twists and turns</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">It seems there is ever a lesson that </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Must be learned</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Case in point, this book in which I am writing</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Is from a store that I didnātā even find inviting.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">But the family wanted to go into the bookstore</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">And as I was along for the rideā¦</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">I had planned to wait in the car but</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The heat soon drove me inside, so</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">With a sour attitude, I was aimlessly perusing the aisles</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">When I saw this book on the shelf </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">With a unique covering style.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The covering looked like leather that</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Looked to be soothing to the touch</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">So curious, I rubbed my hand over the</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Jacket, not expecting much.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The cover was so soft and smooth</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">And attached to a spongy back</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">That I never even considered leaving</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The book on the rack.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">When I opened to the pages, and they felt like silk</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">I wondered how writing in it would feelā¦</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">I picked up some more journals to see if</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">There were others with pages of the same ilk.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">There were not. So, to me, this journal was special</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Didnāt know what it was about the book</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">That made me itch to own it</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">But obtaining that log was a process I undertook!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">All in all, I bought the book, and it is a part of me</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">And now I am writing a poem from it</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">For all the world to see.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Who knew that when I went to the bookstore</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">With a sour attitude</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">That I would find a treasure within</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">That would affect a change of such magnitude?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Now, all because of a smooth paged journal, I</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Watch the world through a different view</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Well, tell me somethingā¦who knew, did you?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">As you can see from reading the poem, I had no intention of getting a journal nor of writing in one. As a matter of fact, I had no intention of even entering the bookstore. Bookstores were a haunt of my daughter's not me. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<ul>
<li>Going into the store led to my buying a journal</li>
<li>which led to my writing things in it</li>
<li>which led to poetry being drawn from the pages</li>
<li>which led to several poetry books being penned</li>
<li>which led to a ladies inspiration book, Chopping My Row</li>
<li><b>which is leading me to a <span style="background-color: lime;">season of blessings</span>.</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
Only God knew! Wow, He works things out according to His will, even with us pulling back and squawking all of the way. I am thankful that He is faithful and does not give up on me, but molds and prods me as I need it.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Points to Ponder</b></div>
<div>
<ol>
<li>Is the article appropriately titled? Why or why not?</li>
<li>Why is there one line in bold print?</li>
<li>Why is a portion of the line in bold print highlighted? Any significance to the color? What?</li>
</ol>
<div>
<i>(Answers presented on Friday.)</i></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13471056660482315065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251475420762660295.post-24801751826676674632017-09-19T05:12:00.001-07:002017-09-19T05:12:35.948-07:00My Time<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Good morning! It is harvest time soon </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And a plentiful yield it will be</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
If you don't believe me </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Just you wait and see</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Have been traveling a long while</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Sometimes with a frown and </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Sometimes with a smile.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
But always filled with a hope</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
That refused to die</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
No matter what the seasons</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And the years would betide</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
No matter the tears that fell</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
From my weary eyes.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Hope kept languishing upon my brow</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Until no truer words could be spoken</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
"It is my time now."</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
********</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The days of listening to naysayers </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Are all done and gone</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
For she has broken out of her shell</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And her true colors have shown.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Knew she had it in her all of the time</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
She just had to have her confidence built</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And now she walks with assurance</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Because it has been decreed that</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
"To blossom and shine, this is her time."</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
"Now mind you, meddle not with her</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
For I told you long ago that she was mine</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
She has been faithful in serving me </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
No matter what came her way</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Hats off to My servant, Alma</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Her season of blessings begins today."</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Thank You, Father, for allowing your favor to rest on me.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i>Alma L. <span style="background-color: lime;">Stepping On</span> Jones (Grammy Alma)</i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Answers to yesterday's <b>Poetry Pondering</b> will be supplied at the end of the week to provide ample time for those who choose to send me answers to the questions posed.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13471056660482315065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251475420762660295.post-79608746227230654812017-09-18T02:21:00.001-07:002017-09-18T02:21:25.372-07:00This Time of the Year<div style="text-align: left;">
Good morning! I thought that I would give your brain a good wake-up call this Monday morning with some poetry. Would love to hear from you. I am going to be undergoing some changes here on my blog. I will keep you posted and hopefully won't lose any of you in the transformation. More later.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Fall is creeping upon us</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And I find myself wondering</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Where all of the days have gone</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
It was just April last month it seems</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Now, all of the days have flown.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I suppose it comes from having </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
A slip of paper, your head bent toward</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Or from pounding out volumes of work </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
On your computer keyboard.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Still, it means that several hours and</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Minutes have managed to pass me by</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And all I can do is wonder how and why</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Time has chosen this period of my life to fly</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
When, as a child the hours, days and months</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Would crawl like snails or molasses by.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
********</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Found a gigantic black spider in my sink yesterday</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And I opened my mouth and screamed</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
With volume enough that it brought my </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Husband, with his sore knee, running</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The spider just sat there for me and all to see</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
In all of his shiny black horrid cunning.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
But when my husband moved my dishpan</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
He must have felt danger on his horizon</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Because when my husband looked back at him</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
He was nowhere to be found and I</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Started shrieking again because there was now </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
An arachnid hidden in my domain</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And I don't suppose I will ever look at </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
That kitchen as a haven of peace again </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
For the image of that shiny horrid black spider remains </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Forever seared across my brain.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Later, I thought to myself, when </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Lucid thought had returned</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
You never take your eyes off of a spider</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Because they seem to glide like they are rolling</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Along on currents of swift-moving air</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And before you know what they are about</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
They have absconded to places you know not where.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
That spider owns my kitchen now </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And I can not get it back</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Not until I lay, with a heavy hand, the</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Flat of my trusty flyswat across his back</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And break his bones or cartilage with </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
A resounding and heartfelt WHACK!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
********</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Leaves are starting to fall, and I am</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Looking forward to a drive through</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The hilly, wooded area a few miles from my house</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
So that I can bask in the wonder and glory </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Of the powerful God that we serve</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Who by His omnipotent hand</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Paints this tableau across the land</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Season after season thus reminding me</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
In the process, that there is a Power that is higher</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Than the mightiest of men and of powers</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And He is Lord of All in His majestic splendor.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
********</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Have know times of scarcity</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Have known times of plenty</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
But I have a loving Father</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Who has always taken care of me.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
********</div>
<br />
<b>Poetry Pondering</b><br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>What ties the poems together into a cohesive group? Explain.</li>
<li>What feeling is evoked in the second poem? Explain. The third poem? Explain.</li>
<li>What is the status of the speaker in the last poem? Explain.</li>
<li>Two of the poems above display a change of perception. Which two are they and expound upon the perception change.</li>
<li>Write appropriate titles for each poem and give your rationale for the title you give to each poem.</li>
</ol>
<div>
Doing What I CAn, While I Can Because I Care,</div>
<div>
<i>Alma L. <span style="background-color: lime;">Stepping On </span>Jones (Grammy Alma)</i></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13471056660482315065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251475420762660295.post-59981622966078132662017-09-17T03:21:00.000-07:002017-09-22T03:25:11.853-07:00Woke Up this MorningI woke up this morning with the sniffles, but I woke up. I went to my monthly writers' meeting yesterday and the room that we met in was freezing. I was shivering the whole time. <i>Brr-rr-r!</i><br />
So, I was not surprised this morning to wake up with the sniffles. Oh well, honey and lemon and chicken noodle soup should do the job. I am getting ready to prepare some of my potato soup and cornbread for dinner for delivery to elderly an evangelist. This is a little something that I can do.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
I was gifted life again this morning</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And I want to use well this new day</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I want to do better the things that</div>
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I attempted or thought about on yesterday.</div>
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About the long past of mine that trails</div>
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Behind me far and wide, there is nothing</div>
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That I can do except to ask forgiveness</div>
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For my wrongs and work on making better strides</div>
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Toward getting to my new abode on the other side.</div>
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I have been gifted another rising of the sun</div>
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And I want to make my Lord proud, at</div>
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The end of the day, of the things that I have done.</div>
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Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,<br />
<i>Alma L. <span style="background-color: lime;">Stepping On</span> Jones (Grammy Alma)</i><br />
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<b>Thought to Remember:</b> </div>
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<li><i>God sees; He knows and He cares! Remember Romans 8:31, "If God be for us, then who or what can be against us?"</i></li>
<li><i>This Sunday morning let your heart be not troubled and burdened down with care. Go to worship today and leave your cares and concerns there.</i></li>
<li><i>Worry less and pray more!</i></li>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13471056660482315065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251475420762660295.post-35538852759849019342017-09-16T04:36:00.001-07:002017-09-16T04:36:12.104-07:00 You Raised Me UpGood morning to each of you. This morning, I feel the need to acknowledge my Father because of all that He has done in my life and is doing. Think back through your life about all of your ups and downs and victories and misses. Then think about where you are in contentment in your life today. Then give Him praise.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Lord, it is Alma L. Jones, known to some as "Grammy Alma." You shepherded me through my childhood days of losing my daddy by making me realize that You loved me. You showed me in innumerable ways that You watched over me. When my clothes weren't up to par, You were there to wrap me in the arms of Your love by telling me, "One day." When my classmates belittled me and called me names because I did not live in the best area in town, You gave me hope in my future. You had me to know that one day, You would raise me above the inconsequential chatter of those classmates. You had me to know that, though the world looked upon me as a nobody, You looked upon me with lovingkindness. You made this little nobody feel cherished enough that I could stand in front of the class and recite whatever it was that the teacher had assigned to us. You made people look past the trappings of my ragged clothes, past the area of town that I lived in, past the fact that I did not have a daddy in the house, past the fact that grass grew knee high in the summertime in our yard in the middle of the city of Memphis, past the fact that my clothes smelled like charcoal and paper in the wintertime because we had no lights, gas, and water in the house, past the fact that I had to haul water from my aunt's house in canisters, to see the little soul nestled within those trappings. You wrapped me in the cloak of, "That's okay because you will have these things and more one day."<br /> You raised me up past where men would have me stay and put me in a place where I could work for You. Now, I work from the mountain of perseverance and faith. You gave me that, Father and I thank You. For all that You have done for me, the blessings, the lessons, the care packages, the high school guidance counselor who saw something in me that she liked and other benefactors, I humbly thank You. Now, it is my time to tell the world about the God that I serve as I shine from the top of my mountain. All of the glory belongs to You, O God. In the name of Jesus, I thank You and acknowledge You for the God that you are, Amen.</blockquote>
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Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,<br />
<i>Alma L. <span style="background-color: lime;">Stepping On</span> Jones (Grammy Alma)</i><br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13471056660482315065noreply@blogger.com0