grafted in and on the journey

Reposting What Are We Singing, What are You Proclaiming by David Russell Within days many North Americans will sing: -Oh Come Oh Come Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel." -Oh Little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie." -"While Shepherds watch their flocks by night." "Silent night, holy night, all is calm all is bright." "Do you hear what I hear?" "Good Christian Men (friends) Rejoice." "Away in the manger, no crib for a bed." Meantime, at present, an article dated November 02, 2015, reports some 1.77 million people live in poverty in Israel, of them more than 850,000 children according to an "Alternative Poverty Report" published by the non-profit organization Latet. (See www.haaretz.com) Then, oppression under Roman rule described life and times in Israel. All things considered: The music and lyric of Handel's Messiah may best reflect the picture of who Yeshua of Nazaret is and was. ...

Hello Grafted In Readers, First, I would like to wish Holiday Season regards to each of you and thank you for reading our blog as often as you might. Comments are always welcomed, and tell a friend about this little enclave if you think they would be interested. -Below, is another one of my fictional creative efforts. The story is titled, "Once Was Enough", yours truly, David Russell, the author. The story is set in Boise, Idaho, and about that town dealing with an incident that nearly got out of hand at the fictional football game between BSU and BYU. Feedback welcomed as comment here, Facebook, or where you can find me. Once Was Enough by David Russell Mary and Gene were embarking on enjoying the carefree golden years of life that they had most assuredly earned. Mary had taught in the Boise school system for 28 years, and Gene had worked at the Idaho Power as a lineman for Ada County for 30 years. They had known each other since high school and married after Mary...

Hello Grafted In Readers, Today is November 12 in my corner of blog-land. Windy conditions and isolated flood warnings are to be the mix, with snow flurries possible early weekend in my region. Warming up again though next week! -Today as author of Grafted In And On The Journey Blogspot.com, please join me in giving honor to National Epilepsy Awareness Month. ***** Here are some interesting starter facts: (1) About three million US residents are said to have the brain disorder, epilepsy. (2). According to www.scccmh.org, (Saint Clair County Community Mental Health), there are several types of epilepsy. (3) Each type has its own cause, symptoms, and treatment protocol. (4) Given the numbers, epilepsy is the most common neurological disorder in the US. -Salute the Epilepsy Foundation and its web site, www.epilepsy.com -Frequently updated newsletters and news items. The latter in audio form. -Host the National Walk for Epilepsy and November's National Epilepsy Awaren...

Hello Grafted In Readers, In keeping with the Fall observance of Thanksgiving in North America, the following story pays tribute to the pumpkin and other garden vegetables many enjoy. Account, places, and characterizations are fictitious, that is, they could occur in reality but may not. Enjoy as you read this tale. Destined For The Palate David Russell My name is Jack O'Lantern. I was born in a laboratory at the Henry Fields Seed Company in Iowa. My conditions were rather sterile. I was dried out and packaged with other seeds. A little while later, I was at the supermarket near Pharmington, Missouri. John Doyle, whom I understand to be a gardening eficinato purchased me and my companions. We were all O'Lanterns. "This is the second year I have planted pumpkins, and donate them to the local Woman's Shelter in October. This year they are destined for national TV and the Food Network Hunger Project." "That's very nice Mr. Doyle," said the ...

Hello Grafted in Readers, and 24 followers! Today is the beginning of a new month, October. Historically, it has been a good month for me in terms of life milestones. -My wife and I had our first phone conversation on October 31, 1995 and made plans to go out for dinner a couple days later. Still having dinner 19 years later, thanks honey! -My first job post college was a part-time gig playing piano at the former St. Clair Inn. October 1980. -Just before October 1, 2015, the editor of Thumbprint News informed me my article about the local high school robotic club will be in their November edition! The article titled, "After School Special: Serving Robotics" features information based on an interview with its overseer, teacher extraordinare, Jon Smith. -Every year October brings more NFL football, the beginning of hockey season and the post-season playoffs and World Series for Major League Baseball! Love it! -This week many of faith are observing what is known as the F...

Hello Grafted In Reader, Today is September 14 in my corner of blog land. Last week, my wife and I celebrated 19 years of marriage and enjoyed time away from town and routine. Today, I wish to share one of my stories with you which is based on the life of Moshe, Moses, Biblical character. This is a very broad overview of his life. The phrase, Fear not, be not dismayed, surely applies to all persons of faith, and is quite pronounced in this historic leader's life. Please enjoy, comment if you wish and share with friends. From The Reeds by David Russell "Moshe, hush little one don't you cry; someone will come along by and by give you the life that I cannot Hush little Moshe you won't be forgot," His mother with tear-stained eyes and perspiring said those words as she settled her 4-year-old son in a basket in a thicket of weeds near the Nile River. Her life had been hard, and her husband had left her shortly after Moshe was born. She turned away slowly...

Hello Grafted in Reader, I am taking the liberties to post an article from Zola Levitt Ministry which I hope you may pass on to serious students of the Bible. The topic deals with correct names for places in the Holy Land, and how history has distorted this action. Given the political climate today, it is even more pertinent that the following be shared. Thank you. https://platform.twitter.com/widgets/hub.56100c81297724e06acf94c7d4b00921.html http://platform.twitter.com/widgets/hub.56100c81297724e06acf94c7d4b00921.html Zola Levitt Ministries Christianity Through Jewish Eyes LEVITT LETTER Essays Palestine vs. Israel as the Name of the Holy Land Dr. Thomas McCall by Thomas S. McCall, Th.D. Dr. Thomas McCall, the Senior Theologian of our ministry, has written many articles for the Levitt Letter. He holds a Th.M. in Old Testament studies and a Th.D. in Semitic languages and Old Testament. He has served as Zola’s co-author, mentor, pastor, and friend for nearly 30 years. ...

Hello Grafted in Reader! Today is July 28 and hope you are finding yourself to be noting your freedom, forgiveness, for the fandanglement you may have gotten yourself in or perhaps not; only you and Messiah know.. Bless the Lamb of G-d who takes away the sin of the world! I am re-posting a story- "The Laconic Nap" (David Russell) that remains here from over a year ago. It is still relevant today. You and I may be the ones who give the story, the word, the smile, the song, the time, the prayer, the thought, the listening ear, the hand, the facial expression, and it leaves a lasting effect on a known or unknown someone. Hallelujah! Enjoy "The Laconic Nap" once again. The Laconic Nap by David Russell March Gold "Nap, you sure did a good job on finishing the tables in the Oak Dining room. We will keep you around here for a long time," Encouraged Mrs. OShea who managed the Dylan Hotel in Dublin City. "Thank you mam, my pleasure. I am going to r...

Hello Grafted In Readers, For those living in North America, I hope your celebrations of independence and freedom were each meaningful and enriching. I personally came away from them feeling renewed, and ready to let my life reflect that the Messiah is alive, strong, serious about us being His ambassage, children, servants, and yes even soldiers. A story group to which I belong has "patriotism" as its theme this month. I am hoping to craft a short story about being in the GASF, God's Allied Special Forces. (See Ephesians chapter 6, Apostolic Scriptures for background). -For reading pleasure, I began "Grammar for Grownups" a 1993 publication but still pertinent and not too dry. Recommend, if you can find it. -I titled this post after someone made me aware of an Australian acoustic group who has a set of musical material based on the Psalms. They are called "Sons of Korah" from Australia, and one can sample their music on YouTube. I listened to the...

Hello Grafted in Readers, Today is July 2, 2015 in my corner of blogland and rather warm and mild, just like summer should be in my opinion. A few weeks ago I was looking at the blog stats, and rather surprised to see I have had some international readers, quite a few from Germany since I began this effort 5-6 years ago. As some of you know, I am a musician by avocation, writer of content articles and short stories, and this morning wrote about an ancient form of holistic medicine called Ayurvedic medicine. This is similar to traditional Chinese medicine, but that led me on a quest to find alternative music. I chose new-age music and discovered www.trancemission.fm from Freiberg, Germany, and another station based in Brussells, Belgium. I listened to each for about 30 minutes and then decided it was time to come back to the day at hand and proceed with the "to-do list". I enjoyed the listening experience, thanks to both Germany and Belgium for treating us to listening p...

BONUS Hello Grafted In Reader, I wanted to share one of my recently written short stories with you. Comments are very welcomed if so inclined! ** Up In The Air David Russell At the outset, it could be said that one’s bad hair day may be someone else’s good hair day, or so it was for ReyAnn. It was a blustery March Thursday in metro Minneapolis and the weekend was going to be extraordinary. ReyAnn had been dating Scott for 11 months and 29 days, and he was flying her to sunny Phoenix, Arizona for the weekend. He was a sports journalist and had tickets for them to see the Phoenix Suns play the Minnesota TimberWolves. Unbeknownst to her, at intermission he was going to propose marriage. *** Thursday morning at the Sports Desk, Scott took a coffeebreak with his colleagues Ted Grey and Bob Hill. He had monitored the daily columnists who always had plenty of advice to give for professional teams. Somehow, the human factor always got minimized, and the perfection quotient over-...

Hello Grafted in Reader, Today is May 5, and fifty-four years ago today, America sent its first man into outer space. I was in the fourth grade during that historic occasion. I tite this post, "God Is Watching Us" which was a '90s hit by American Singer Bette Midler. Today, Psalm 33 verse 18 was the verse associated with a devotional I read by author, Skip Moen. Hope is not in things or a belief that things will get better, but looks toward Adonai and rests in the assurance of his control. The verse asserts God watches those and provides lovingkindness toward those who respect Him. On the reading front, I am halfway through a novel by Amanda Cross titled, "An Imperfect Spy." She is somewhat liberal in her world view and body politic, but the novel is an entertaining mystery. -Writing-wise, working on a short story for an online contest which could ultimately find a place in a published anthology. I joined a critique group, and it has been very helpful! Co...

Hello Grafted In Reader, Spring continues to roll on in my corner of blog-land, but the temperatures reflect more a sense of winter where I reside. For some of you, the fall season with its unique features is ongoing. I have been doing more writing this month, and we also moved to a condo, so the unpacking process will continue for a while. I want to share one of my story efforts with you, and welcome comment. It was developed from a writing exercise I participated in recently. My hope is to publish it one day in an anthology, or set of short stories by myself. Here is the story of three different responses to life difficulty. Reaching Beyond David Russell “Life is difficult son, you may often be knocked down but you will not be knocked out. There are other ways you can be an active young lad,” Coach Ted of Scotty’s little league team stated. “That was quite the play you tried to make. Unfortunately you broke your arm. In a few weeks though you will be as good as new, Scotty,”...

Hello Grafted in Reader, It is almost March 31 in my corner of blogland, and on Friday at sundown, April 3, 2015, begins the Festival of Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread. For a simple explanation of this season, and its Spiritual significance to people of faith, I am pasting an article from "Hebrew-streams.com" discussing this time of year. The church has ignored it for nearly 1600 years choosing instead to encapsulate it in the celebration of the Easter Season. They also ignore the time between the Resurrection and Pentecost as counting the omer. A time when people of faith prepare for celebrating the again coming of the Holy Spirit. Please be enriched this season, Kevod Yeheveh. Now the article presentation. Passover Studies In the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible, Old Testament), the Passover in Egypt (Exodus 12) was the birth of the people of Israel. Their deliverance from slavery confirmed God's earlier promises to Abraham to make him into a great people or go...

Hello Grafted in Reader, Today is Thursday March 26, 2015, and it has been quite the month for yours truly, and imagine you could say the same where you are.. Highlights include a 2-week home visit by our son after finishing his tour in the US Marines, leaving a writing group at a social media site so as to pursue other similar options, making plans to take an online course in Biblical Hebrew and writing for income - from two separate entities, starting to read "A Widow's Story" by author Joyce Carol Oates, her memoir, and received my first formal story critique from the editor of an E-zine. I welcomed his words and instructive recommendations. Of late, I have been going through the online Devotion, "My Utmost For His Highest" by the late Oswald Chambers. It presents a considerably different perspective on the faith, compared to that espoused by many today. The men and women who occupy the pulpits and seminaries in north America and adhere to a Gospel with ...

Hello and Happy Spring Grafted in Readers, This time of year those of faith turn to recall the events leading to our redemption, where we pass over from death to life, as accomplished for us by our Messiah Yeshua! I recently heard a song titled, "May You Shine" by singer Zemer Levav. A recording can be found on YouTube, not the best quality but a very quality prayer. God wants the best for us and wants his best, "that we may be one" His prayer in the New Covenant, John chapter 17. -Spring time also turns our thoughts toward outdoor days and enjoying more hours of sun-light. All given to us by our Creator, God, King of the universe! As the song requests, "May you shine like the stars in the heavens, and be clothed in all white; may you dwell like those in the Temple and eat of the Tree Of Life." Kevod Yeheveh, His presence be ever new to us! Mellow Roc -Comments always appreciated!

Making Sense of Nonsense by David Russell "You will not be pitching in the regular rotation. In fact, we are putting you on wavers," the club GM informed his star pitcher who for the previous two years had won over 25 games during the regular season. "My arm, I just don't know. I am under 30, and .. my arm," "I understand your consternation, but we are also talking dollars," the club GM responded. A few days later the pitcher was put on contractual disability, and pitched relief on occasion during the rest of that season. "I hear you were using social media during the recent college entrance exam. You will be allowed to graduate, but forget any scholarship opportunities," the school Principal told Rene as she cried openly in his office. Students were being monitored during testing by an outside service, and she was observed on social media during the test. "We count there are forty who are deceased from the bus crash," a sp...

Hello Grafted In Reader, When you were a youngster, did someone be it a parent or a teacher ever say to you, "Wait a minute." The tone of voice was probably a bit stern when spoken. Well, this morning I had a correspondence in my inbox that was from a wrtier acquaintance. He replied to my email of 1 year ago. Life conditions were somewhat different at that time professionally speaking. Then last evening, Don M who is also a writer sent me a social media site invitation to connect. Still baffled on how to accept those ovetures from others. I emailed him and expressed my thanks and hope we might do plan B on future communicating. On Sunday I left a writing group which had been a major part of my writing life for 20+ months. Technical issues were the reason, not ill-will or frustration with someone! "Wait a minute," is sure great advice when our lives feel like they are in turmoil and the celerity seems all too powerful for us to stabilize against! Reminding mysel...

Hello Grafted in Reader, Wow, has it been that long? It just seems we were here posting about compassion, and what some others had to say about it. Life and time rolls on doesn't it? Two evenings ago, I submitted a story to an online contest. The web site is on the premises.com. I won't know if my story places for a couple weeks or so, but will be sure to let you know if it does in a blog post or otherwise. There are other storiues one can read, and worth the entertainment! Our son is home visiting for a few days, and is back to being a civilion. He had served in the US Marines for the past 5 years, and we spent one afternoon laughing over some comedic skits on YouTube from A Prairie Home Companion, and the comedy duo of Nichols and May who leave their legacy of laughs with us. I am going to close with a thought that sounds simple at first, but has a considerable amount of stuff to ponder if one cares to do that. It is a statement made by Rabbi Yeshua when he gave his s...

Hello Grafted In Reader, Today remains bitter cold outdoors in my corner of blogland, and is Monday, February 23. The weekend was busy enough. My wife and I had a quiet Shabbat and made our own dinner theater of sorts, as we had French Onion Soup (homemade) while listening to the public radio broadcast of "A Prairie Home Companion" online. I enjoy most of the music and online narratives created by Garrison Keillor and the acting company along with guests that make up each two-hour show. The focus was somewhat on the winter season, and it along with all the other seasons are something humanly shared. On Sunday, I ran across an article that talked of about 1,000 Muslim youth holding a peaceful demonstration outside a synagogue in Oslo, Norway. They were quietly denouncing the terrorist activity effecting their lives and those of others in Denmark and across Europe. Norway is said to have a Jewish population of about 1300 citizens in a country of about 5.17 million. To me it ...

Hello Grafted In Readers! My blog post for Friday, February 20, 2015, is somewhat monumental. I am joining about 1000 other human beings around the world who are speaking for compassion. So as to blend with the ensomble, I present a definition for compassion, and hope we can all make that a part of our personal portfolio before others. Definition of Compassion from online dictionary: "Sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others." Synonyms for Compassion: empathy, fellow-feeling, care, concern, solicisutude, sensitivty and warmth. Compassion Quote from Brainyquote.com "If you want others to be happy, practice compassion; if you want to be happy, practice compassion." Dalai Lama "The Ruach HaKodesh (Spirit of Adonai) is upon me; because Adonai has anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted; to proclaim liberty to them who are bruised; and the opening of prison to them who are...