grafted in and on the journey

Hello Grafted In Reader, Today is Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024 in my corner of blog land. How is your December rolling along and you with it? I like to have some quiet time for about forty-five minutes three or four week-day mornings per week. I call this post, Take A Chance On Me, for that is what life feels like this week for yours truly. The quiet time today, resulted in my curiosity over the possibility of prayers by a named associate of the Apostle Peter from the Biblical record whose name is Clement. I found this prayer, lengthy but concise, and online, assumed to be by the same named person and love its straightforwardness: Lord, enlighten my understanding, I pray: arouse my will,  cleanse my heart, sanctify my soul. May I weep for past sins, repel future temptations, correct evil inclinations, nurture appropriate virtues. Give me, good God, love for you, hatred for myself, zeal for my neighbor, contempt for the world. May I strive to obey my superiors, to help those dependent on ...

Hello Grafted In Reader, Today is Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in my corner of blog land. First, thanks to you if you read and liked my latest story, Love You Each, posted at spillwords.com this past Friday. I had over 65 readers like the story; again, thanks from all over my heart! Second, My wife and I returned two days ago from visiting our son and his family in another state. The flight was full both ways, people were generally considerate and courteous! So were we, too. It was a pleasant visit and our grandsons are alive and well! Third, my published book, Human Being Human Doing, will soon become unavailable. I am moving toward short story fiction in anthologies, and making plans to create two chapbooks featuring 2-3 short stories each in the coming two years. Stay tuned please! Finally, as December is noted to have over 20 international holidays within the 31 days, I was delighted to see this news headline in my inbox today from "The Christian Science Monitor" newsletter....

     https://spillwords.com/love-you-each/ Hello Grafted In Reader, Winter snow has arrived today or overnight in my corner of blog land. I suspect the acumulation is at the most one inch, 25.4 mm, respectively. Good news too has fallen for yours truly. One of my stories is selected for publication online, effective December 6, 2024. See below! Dear David, Thank you for submitting your piece titled "Love You Each." We are excited to share the news that your work has been scheduled for publication on 12/6/24 at 1:30am Eastern Time (ET). You can access your published piece through the following link: https://spillwords.com/love-you-each/ We appreciate your valuable contribution and eagerly anticipate the impact your writing will have on our readers. My Note:  The story is about a young child raised by folks in "the village" as it were during her formative years. Please consider reading, and leaving a like at the above URL. May The Holy One bless and keep us today! Mel...

Hello Grafted In Reader, Today is Tuesday, December 3, in my corner of blog land. This morning, I participated in a Pre-Christmas season sale and bought three writer coffee mugs from Cafe Press online. They're due to arrive early next week! How are you doing with the seasonal flurry of activity? The title to this post means a health topic is on the horizon.  I have some info, provided by the Mayo Clinic email, to share with you about a drug and supplement known as Colostrum. Evidently, it's catching on as a popular wellness option from what is noted. Here is the key excerpt from the article offered by Mayo Clinic: Research is still in early stages when it comes to how colostrum supplementation can benefit those other than newborn babies. Currently, areas of health being evaluated include immune function, gut health, athletic performance and diarrhea prevention. Colostrum is rich in protective antibodies, particularly immunoglobulin G, known as IgG, and immunoglobulin A, known a...

Extra Extra Read All About Choice           Story: Torn           by David C. Russell, Author Hello Grafted In Reader, Okay, I attribute the creation of this to: - Weekly exercise from a writing group to which I belong - Too many 'Black Friday ads" heard and it's not even Friday.  Enjoy! Exercise: Torn   I was one of many Saturday shoppers at the local box hardware store. Overhead speakers piped in music, and occasional announcements aired about saving money on a brand of paint, outdoor lights, weather stripping, etc. After adding some canned soups and hot cereal choices to my cart, I wheeled over to the clothing aisle. My son had given me my present jacket from this store a few years back; my desire was to replace it with the same exact style. The Carhartt jacket was reduced by one-third its price, and the jacket I loved was less expensive by contrast. Each would be comparably capable of keeping one toasty through cons...

Hello Grafted In Reader, Today is Sunday, November 24, 2024 in my corner of blog land.  Thursday, November 28, citizens in the United States of America will celebrate Thanksgiving or as is the fad, FriendsGiving. Perhaps that in and of itself is another topic: FriendsGiving and Thanksgiving.  My exhortation is to wish you a joyous occasion if you are celebrating this Holiday. Next weekend, many Christians and Catholics will begin to observe a period of time called Advent, which comes to an end on December 25, Christmas Day. This period looks to the Coming of Messiah both as a child, born in a guest room not a barn as is alleged, and also coming as Redeemer and King in the future. I want to challenge us with something by Jewish Rabbi, Irwin Keller. This is an excerpt from a Reflection for Shabbat email sent out every Saturday from the website, My Jewish Learning. To set the stage for R. Keller, many devout Jews adhere to the idea now that we are in the Messianic era, as opposed...

Hello Grafted In Reader, Note:  Story Snippet at the end of this post if interested! Today is November 18, 2024 in my corner of blog-land. Thanksgiving in the USA occurs in ten days; my mother passed away some years ago on November 22nd; former USA President, John Kennedy, assassinated on another November 22nd. Another Presidential and local state election occurred in early November; results somewhat satisfying for this citizen. I left Facebook before November, but have been doing more writing and taking more actions to improve and expand my writing craft. I do miss the 'online socialization' FB provided. However, posts on Reddit and exploring Mastodon are future endeavors to be carried out. What is November to you? One thing seems certain, It's a month of change here. November could be March in Reverse, weather-wise. I want to conclude with a story snippet that was a writing exercise from a group I belong too. The title is, Post Cards: Wishing You Were Here and mine featur...