grafted in and on the journey

Hello Grafted In Readers, Today is Dec. 25 in my corner of blog land. No snow outside, temperature to be near forty for today's high. So, some are dreaming 'of a white Christmas". When this blog started some years ago by me, it's main purpose was instructional and more less theological. I briefly return to that now in recommending to those interested in the Hebraic Perspective of faith, that you look for articles to read that discuss "Hebraic Perspective The Incarnation" Within that article listings are one from First Things, a scholarly Roman Catholic EZine, that discusses how Judaism, and Christianity each approach the topic of experiencing and knowing God. The article is from October 2010. The second is, Messianic Musings, Darek for Messiah, Oct. 2007. I may be err with the date but you may see it in the results. My take-away was that Jewish faith adherents study Torah to commune with God the Eternal. Christians receive a Sacrament called Communion, believ...

Hello Grafted In Reader, Today is Dec. 15, Monday, 2025 in my corner of blog land. We have very, very frigid temps at present, but some let-up predicted mid-week. Tuesday of this week, I am putting on a program for a local Woman's organization who are holding their holiday luncheon at a local church. I have a couple piano puzzlers in mind, holiday songs by request of the attendees, some Holiday facts and end with the song, Here We Come A Wassailing. On research, this word goes back to Norse and Saxon roots. It meant, Wishing you good health. It also became a holiday drink later spiced with ale in a Yuletide punch. Writing and Reading Over the past weekend, I was inspired by a prompt that is issued weekly from reedsy.com. Bone Appetit was the topic, and my story is about an aged man who does all in his power to avoid taking more medications for cholesterol and elevated blood work. The story is titled, Convenient Control Comfort and will appear on https://reedsy.com › contests › 333 ...

Hello Grafted In Reader, Today is Tuesday Dec. 9, 2025, in my corner of blog land. Up to six inches of snowfall predicted throughout this day here in my corner. Ugggg. I am 'feelin good' but took a segue from life on Monday to get some needed rest. Sometimes that cycle happens when one just wants everything to slow down to a crawl. Know what I mean? As to Reading and Writing I am about one-third through the Shirley Jackson novel, "We All Lived In A Castle". It's an entertaining story with a few twists and turns included. Most of a family are wiped out when the contents of the sugar bowl are switched to arsenic and a family dinner is the last time most will see each other. As to writing, I am working on a three-part feature called vignettes. Each is centered on a specific life stage. This is still a work in progress. My three titles: Homecoming: A Memoir Waiting for Messiah (anthology) Human Being Human Doing (short stories) are each enrolled in the ninth annual en...

Hello Readers,  Today is Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025 in my snowy corner of blog-land. The final weeks of 2025 have arrived! In less than thirty days we will be bidding goodbye to the current and hello to the forthcoming! Most of this post will be focused on writing and currently reading. I hope you will stay and enjoy our short visit! It's now official: I have a newsletter and website of sorts at Substack . It's a trimmed down version of this blog, but also has several blog posts from here at Substack. Here is the direct link: https://davidcrussell.substack.com Next week, December 8 through New Years Day, my three book titles are enrolled at the end of year smashwords.com sale, EBook only. My titles include: Waiting For Messiah: an anthology, 2017 Homecoming:  A Memoir, 2018 Human Being Human Doing, 2023, six stories of humans living out their convictions . Prices are greatly reduced for the sale! Reading:  " My Name is Lucy Barton " a novella. Lucy is depicting her hospit...

Hello Grafted in Readers, In less than forty-eight hours, the USA Holiday of Thanksgiving will be noted on calendars across North America. I believe Canadians celebrate their Thanksgiving day toward the end of October. I titled this post thanks and no thanks, because both are appropriate boundaries in my opinion. No thanks to the person who may infringe upon us by cutting in line, speaking a little too loudly, placing a little more demand on our time than we want to provide, someone endeavoring to get what we have, the list could go on for some time. What are you thankful for this year? I find somethings are that for which I am more thankful than someones. However, 'someones' are involved with the 'somethings' that make those worthwile: - Readers of this blog - Being able to participate on non-facebook groups like Reddit - A television that works and offers choice for viewing pleasure Good books and periodicals like "Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine - Companionship wi...

Hello Grafted In Reader, I feel like one who is in a sprint! Today is Monday, November 10, 2025 in my corner of blog land. A few items below: 1. First, my son, a former US Marine, tells me today is the 250th birthday of the USMC, United Stastes Marine Corp. It is also a sad day for this is the 50th anniversary of the sinking of the ship, the Edmond Fitzgerald on Lake Superior. Of interest to me, one can find a memorial service honoring the families of the deceased mariners online at YouTube, Mariner's Cathedral, Detroit. The recording is recent, November 9, 2025. I want to thank seven of you who have read my last two posts, which I checked before posting our visit. My last post, Birds Of A Feather, is an imagined story with birds as the main characters, and can be read in under five minutes. For interested faith practitioners, a couple conversational facts. Did you know that in Hebrew, Adam's wife Eve, is actually named Chavah? One of the transliterations for Chavah is "Mo...