Today was a slow day on the news wire
Nothing at all going on
The people and things that cause trouble in life
Must have decided to call it quits and stay home

No earthquakes or tornado's to speak of
No mudslides or fires to ravage the land
All the people who bring us the bad news
Stood around just scratching their heads

Not a person was murdered or robbed
No kidnapping or spousal abuse
Nothing much exciting to speak of
That we've grown to expect in our news

No bombs in the Middle East went off
No politicians were caught in a lie
No Hollywood Star said something stupid
No one famous or not even died

Yes today was a slow day on the news wire
Nothing at all going on
Which has the rest of us wondering
If this is the calm before the storm

Have you got time for another story
Of life lessons and of love lost
Of fighting a war where no one keeps score
Being afraid of counting the cost

With men sitting around in a board room
Pin striped suits mixed with power ties
With no conscience in the stroke of a pen
Changing many young lives

At 18 years old what's your hurry
In killing for what you're told to believe
When a bunch of old men take you by the hand
Helping to plant hates deceitful seed

You've watched your buddies die in the jungle
Seen body parts fly off in the sand
Where tempers once flared now you don't even care
You'll just keep shooting till nobody's left

Back home is where you keep the memories
Of your girl but who's keeping her
As you battle for freedom cause you still believed them
When they told you, you could save the world

This has gone on for years now too long
When will we stand up and let go of the hand
Of the men at the top who want more than they've got
And will strive to get it till there's not a one of us left

Is it too late to trade my kids in?
They don't do a thing I ask of them
All they do is eat and ****
They need a change in their attitude

Is it too late to sell my kids out right?
To some unsuspecting couple out of their minds
With no idea of what they can do
Once the Duct tape and Super glue is removed

Is it too late to take them someplace ?
Drop them off then drive away
Hoping against hope they won't find their way back
Pack up and move before they get the chance

Is it too late to give my kids back?
Before I lose what little sanity's left
If I could somehow loosen these chains
As their domestic slave I'd run away

Is it too late too rethink this again?
Open the womb, shove them back in
Call it a day on this mistake
What do you think...is it too late?

The Gospel. Not an easy message to state or hear. Who wants to repent? Hardly anyone these days. Who wants to believe in a God who many believe irrelevant to modern life? Hmmm?

A God who preordained a Messiah who tells people they must DIE TO LIVE. Well. That's the message. Luke 14. Look it up. Jesus has attracted thousands of followers. He turns to them and says YOU must hate your mom, dad, sis, bro... everyone! YOU MUST DIE TO THIS WORLD TO LIVE!
They must pick up their cross and follow him. Thousands left. All who remained were twelve men. Jesus asked if THEY also wanted to go. They said, NO. You alone hold eternal life.

Folks, I LOVE YOU. So i am simply going to say this...

REPENT. BELIEVE. TRUST.

That's all God asks. He wants to reconcile you, A SINNER, to Himself. YOU ALL ARE NOT RIGHTEOUS. Only Jesus, who was born of a ******, NEVER SINNED IN HIS LIFE, preached the Good News of the Kingdom so boldly he infuriated a lot of self- righteous people, was brutally beaten, then crucified, DEAD. BURIED. ROSE AGAIN ON THE THIRD DAY TO A NEW LIFE. He CAN take your place as sinful flesh, so YOU can GAIN HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS. Only then can you be reconciled to a Righteous God.

I'm saying all this because

I LOVE YOU.

I just died today. Care to join me?

♡ Catherine

She paints freely
Whenever she is around
Then draws briefly
Either a smile or frown

She's good at building texture
Less is more where it counts
She paints by numbers
When she's out and about

She wears a smock
So there's less of a mess
But when it comes to abstract hearts
No promises are kept

Mistakes are hard to erase
When using an angry oil base
She paints by numbers
Helping to cut to the chase

She makes you feel
Life is but surreal
With you as her medium
Nailed to her easel

Using you as her landscape
In her brushstrokes of give and take
She paints by numbers
The only way she can keep life straight

You can scream and demand it
Come in open handed
In all your daily affairs

You can swoon to the moon
Or reach for the stars
Ones that are not even there

You can take all you're given for granted
Count all your blessings in place
But if it's peace that you seek you'll never reap
Until you see love show its face

You can calculate, count
Turn inside out
Breath in the fresh morning air

You can cry you can laugh
Over what little is left
When after all it's only you that cares

You can take this and that all for granted
Lay all your blessings face up
But if it's peace that you seek you'll never reap
Until you see the face of love

leaves on trees
wait for a breeze
so they can blow
where'er they please

yet patiently
not always seen
when angry red
replaces envy green

some don't dare
being yellow scared
take the leap
to go somewhere

on the ground
all find out
the short trip down
turns deadly brown

where the time spent
on falls lament
the leafs life
came and went

The older I get the less that I fret
With my ******* wadded up in a tizzy
As anyone could see I used to be
A mini-me of Dizzy Gillespie

I'd huff and I'd puff when I'd had enough
Like some Big Bad Wolf  in a fable
Then let it all fly as the steam in me would rise
Right on time, here comes Old Faithful

No one hanging around at the bubbling sound
As it came close to the rim
No need to wait for the show, see you later gotta go
Afraid by flying debris they'd be hit

Thankfully those years are long gone as I've learned to calm down
Although I still have my moments
My family looks at me quite suspiciously
When I turn on the news at 6

Texting is the modern day wonder
Never having to place the call
You can laugh you can joke, anger evoke
While showing no emotion at all

Although I confess sometimes you must guess
What the other person is trying to say
Maybe where they are heading on the phone they're sitting
And their left cheek is typing crazy away

You can scream you can cuss throw your hands up in discust
Then calmly type out your answers
As fast as your fingers can fly you can quickly replay
Like a 70's leisure suit disco dancer

Or you can sit there and wait, take umpteen number of days
Before you get back with that
But the best part is the lesson of no personal interaction
After all why get that involved

Yes texting is the modern day wonder
From mine to your finger tips
I hope all this you can see without the help of emoji's
And the fact that I forgot to spell check