It was wrong for a long time…

But what if we got to it sooner, at the start, at the source? Why must we always sit to the side, and let things happen, both to ourselves and to others? Why must we ignore those signs and feelings of something being wrong, and just let them slide? Why are we so afraid of speaking up… again, for ourselves and for others? Why do we let love disappear, and allow instead a rule by fear?

God, help us, please. Give us the strength for those uncomfortable yet invaluable conversations, even confrontations. Bless us with your love, please. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2022

Food for thought

Do you know that feeling
of when your body needs you
to eat some more
protein?
The belly has a slight hollowness,
various muscles ache a bit,
everything feels fatigued,
and there is an undeniable
craving of necessity
pulling clearly
from somewhere indistinct within…
and possibly all over your skin?
All such that you can just tell
that you need to go ahead
and have some protein already…

Yeah…

That’s basically how I feel about you…

Wherever you are,
however you are,
forever as you are…
You are my protein
for life…
for life…
forever and ever, Amen.
Post-a-day 2022

Bluebonnets, Baby

Today, we drove out to a small town northwest of Houston in search of bluebonnets. We stopped at a large gas station for a bathroom break after about SJ hour, then turned off on a local road and headed away from the highway. Within minutes, we found a lovely spot along the side of the road, and hopped out for some family portrait fun. And, truly, it was a lot of fun.

My friend and I both loved the photos I’d gotten of them, dog solos included, as well as the few photos she’d snapped of me with the baby – they were gorgeous and adorable photos. And I ended up looking like both a goddess and a mom, which was new and, in its lack of surprise, surprising – it just looked natural and right…, which was awesomely bizarre.

When we first hopped out of the car to get things started

Thank you, God, for that unexpected blessing, and for the wonderful ‘family time’ we had today. In your name, I pray with gratitude. Amen.

Post-a-day 2022

Heart and soul

Tonight, my mom and I continued our tradition of going to Shake Russell concerts. It was amazing, wonderful, so many good words and feelings. The venue was an adorable old barn-type place in town that we had never before noticed but that has apparently been a music venue for small events since 1969. Lyle Lovett and Shake Russell and many other known names apparently played there all throughout the years. And it was palpable in the space. Also, the sound system was awesome – the kind where you don’t even notice there’s a sound system, because it just works so beautifully and effectively.

Uh… it was just wonderful, y’all…

God blessed this night.

God, thank you for such an amazing and wonderful and heart-filling night tonight. Thank you for the absolute blessing that is Shake Russell and his music. And thank you for my family and all of the love that surrounded me tonight. I love you. Thank you. Please, guide me to fulfill your will in all things through my life. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2022

Arise

‘Arise,’ they told her.
‘Do it like this,’ they said.

‘It’ll be perfect,’ they promised.
But these were lies they said.
And so, instead of stepping up to being who they expected her to be, she stood up for who she truly was made to be.
And the world never was quite the same,
Once she’d set it aflame
With all that she truly was.
Post-a-day 2022

No doubt…

… that was an awesome concert.

Gwen Stefani is another one of those artists who played an important role in my childhood. I remember singing the choruses to two of No Doubt’s songs while dancing around in the living room at our original house when I was only about four years old. They were “Spiderwebs” and “Don’t Speak”. I didn’t know what most of the lines meant, and I even had a few words wrong (“I gotta scream my phone calls,” instead of screening them, because had no idea that screening a call was something that existed), but I loved those two songs. To this day, I can still see the image I had in my mind of this woman climbing around and walking inside this massive spider web, while her landline phone was ringing in the distance. The phone was yellow, by the way. I genuinely thought she was telling a story of how she was doing crazy stuff, like walking in an actual spider web – she was out living life – instead of sitting around, waiting for the phone to ring, waiting for calls. I’ve related to it that way ever since it came out almost 27 years ago, and I have no expectation of that changing at his point – if it hasn’t changed already, I think it won’t at all.

So, all that being said, Gwen Stefani is kind of on par with Ricky Martin in terms of how it played a role in my early childhood. Naturally, when she sang “Don’t Speak”, therefore, I cried a bit.

And then, for Spiderwebs a coupe songs or so later, I went nuts jumping around and dancing.

I did that on several songs, of course, many of which I had either forgotten had been Gwen Stefani’s songs or that I had never known were Gwen Stefani’s songs.

Of course, she ended the concert with “Hollaback Girl“, and I then discovered that it wasn’t, “Mmm this much. Mmm this much,” but “Mmm this my sh**. Mmm this my sh**.” Rather different lyrics, yes, and the real ones don’t actually fit musically as well as my version of them. So, I’m sticking to my original understanding of the lyrics on this one.

All in all, it was a great and fun concert. And she even declared, “Praise Jesus!” at one point, which was baller in a whole new way. And no, Blake Shelton did not show up. She said early on that he was “babysitting” her kids… and my friend said, ‘I believe that is just called ‘parenting’.’ 😛 But the concert was filled with songs, and she even went over by about ten minutes, she had packed so much music into it. It was great.

Thank you, God, for the absolute blessing that was tonight and today on all levels. Please, especially, bless those who showed love to me today in particular, that they feel your love more fully tomorrow. Please, guide us all to be your love through our lives. Help us to be who you made us to be. And thank you for this opportunity of life. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2022