Easter, Jesus, a poem, and the Shroud of Turin

I want to send out Easter Greetings to all of you, whether you celebrate Easter or not.  To me, it's a holiday, a time for family and friends; and we can never have enough holidays to share our love.  I remember waking up on Easter mornings and searching for colored eggs and an Easter basket, then getting dressed in an Easter dress and going to church.

I still color eggs every Easter.  I love seeing all the colors.  I'm wondering why we don't have colored hard-boiled eggs for every holiday.  Fourth of July - red, white and blue.  Halloween - orange, black and spidery designs.  Christmas - silver, blue, red, green.  Sounds fun to me (and an easy breakfast too).

Easter is the time Christians celebrate Jesus' death and resurrection.  I don't care if you believe Jesus existed as the Son of God or not, for I believe we are all Sons and Daughters of the Divine, so to me, Jesus is real, alive, and living with our Father in Heaven.  Many religions see Him as an Ascended Master.  I honor that.  I believe the Universe has sent several Masters to guide and help us. 

As I mentioned in a previous message, I do have some psychic-ness that runs in my family, and so I have been blessed in that I have heard His voice, seen Him and received guidance and comfort from him.  For that matter, I have been priviledged to see our Home on the Other Side.  It's glory and beauty is beyond earthly words.  My book 'Always' was written from visions given to me.

Since I love history of any kind, I must say one of my favorite subjects is the Shroud of Turin, which resides in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Turin, Italy.  In case you have never heard of the Shroud, it is supposedly the cloth Jesus was buried in and shows the outline of a man from the energy power of his resurrection.  Throughout the years, many have proven it to be false, while many have proven it to be real.  I love these contradictions in history.  Do I believe it is the cloth Jesus was buried in?  Why not?  I keep an open mind, and someday we will develop a test that will prove 100% one way or the other.  But it is an interesting subject to study.

I am posting a poem I wrote awhile ago.  It still needs a lot of fine tuning, but today seems like a good time to post it.

I was happily surprised this morning to receive an Ecard from a dear friend.  My day has been filled with love already.  Thank you, Norma!  Happy Easter to all.  Take every opportunity to celebrate and bring joy and love to the hearts of others.

LHR

Love Honor and Respect

A few years ago, when I felt the urge to write stories and poetry again, I had a vision.  I don't really talk about the psychic side of me.  It is a gift from God that I hold most precious, and a gift handed down from my ancestors to my grandmother, to me.  And truly I am honored.  Please don't ask me to contact your great-aunt Mathilda.  I'm not a medium, although I have received a few messages for friends and family.  My gift lies in my connection with the Other Side, in visions and dreams.

This is a poem I wrote awhile ago, and have now revised it to the point that I am pleased with its reading.  As writers, we all know what this means:  many editings.

While I sat in meditation one day, worried about all the hatred on earth, the answer of 'Love Honor and Respect' came to me.  I wrote this poem because of this vision.  For those who don't know or don't remember, that is what the LHR means that I sign on my posts and emails.

My daughter-in-law asked me recently if I talk much in my blog of my psychic experiences.  I said no, I wasn't sure how some people would take this.  Upon reflection, not wanting to share a gift from God is not honoring the gift.  Expect more of my openness in regards to my gift in the future.

By the way, I think all poets and writers receive psychic insight from our great Universe.

I hope you enjoy today's poem and find the meaning in it.

LHR

Geraldina Volunteers

In this Geraldina story, she almost meets her match, but she proves that she can win any argument when challenged.  Gerry shows her knowledge of the world and gets in several arguments with a young French man, who has traveled the world.

Warning:  There is a lot of swearing in this story.

I want everyone to know that in no way am I insulting any culture or country.  Instead, I am poking fun at the older middle class American woman who has never been very far from home.  Every incident in here are from my memories of things I've heard women say.  It was time to write them in a story.

I hope you enjoy Geraldina teaching Introduction to English.

LHR

Defining Characters

How do you develop your characters?  Do you define them when you come up with the idea for a writing, or as the writing progresses?

I define my characters when I come up with the idea.  This gives me a blueprint to follow as I write my stories.  All of my characters seem to have pieces of me in them.  They also have personalities of people I have met in my life.  For example, Aunt Tillie (from 'Always') and Geraldina have a habit of slapping a hand on a table.  I got that trait from my dear step-mother Ellie.  It got my attention every time.  For that matter, it got anyone's attention.

I also use Astrology to help define my characters.  This tightens up a character's personalities and traits.  Astrology, at its simplest, has good and bad qualities for each sign.  This helps me devolop certain traits assigned to that character.

As I write, I often refer to the character descriptions until I've written enough about that character to know them by heart and have a clear picture of them in my head.  Do I ever go back and change the descriptions?  You bet I do.  As the story progresses, and certain traits don't fit in, I'll redefine my character.  Funny thing, tho, I never have to give them a different Zodiac sign.

Under the tab Geraldina, you will find my character definitions of her and those she most commonly deals with.  Let me know what you think, or how you define your characters.  Or do you define your characters?  In my poetry/writing, I must always have parameters set.  I am most comfortable in writing then.

LHR

What Else Do We Need

So, my husband and I were shopping today and in the cosmetics department was a brand new item.  It looked like a pair of flip flops with brushes on the inside.  The sign read 'No More Bending Over to Wash Your Feet'.  Really?  Are we that lazy that it's tough to bend over?  There are those who are physcially challenged and for one reason or another cannot bend over.  But for the rest of us - how lazy can you get?

Next, my husband and I get to the grocery aisles and there are a couple of interesting items.  One looks like a pair of soft open toed slippers with soft yarn-like bristles hanging down.  The idea is you wear them when you need to clean your floors and ta-da! your floors are clean.  Really?  Who would fall for this gadget?  How long would it take?  My guess is it would be quicker just using the mop and broom.  The other item was a mitt that you can wear with the soft yarn-like bristles again to clean your kitchen.  Just slip it on, spray and wipe off.  Yea.  That will work well.

For years now, I've seen hardware stores sell those shoes with small spikes in the bottom.  Put them on, walk around your yard and aerate your ground. Now, think about it.  Those spikes getting stuck.  That would be some workout.

A well-known yard company is advertising a better way to take care of your yard.  Instead of having to pick up heavy bags and pour into the spreader's holder, then push it around, well, now you can buy bags made for the special spreader they just invented.  Just pick up the heavy bag, place it in the holder and push it around the yard.  Hey.  Wait a minute.  What's the difference besides the fact they can charge more for those pre-measured bags that will only fit in their spreader.

The advertisement on TV says 'this wet mop with disposable pads will pick up more dirt and stay cleaner than old fashioned mops that just push the dirt around'.  You think?  Ok.  I tried it.  First of all, it didn't stay cleaner and it streaked my floor, not to mention it takes more than one pad for a small area.  Only the manufacturer makes out on this deal.

There is a vacuum that swivels as you clean.  It only costs $300-$400 or more.  The idea here is it gets in spots your regular vacuum can't.  I wanted one until I realized I'd be carrying it up and down the stairs to clean the stairs.  No thanks.  I'll stick with my cheaper vacuum with all the fun attachments.

Speaking of vacuum cleaners, they are still selling the one that uses water to clean.  I had the demonstration years ago. Its cleaning was impressive.  Problem?  You have to keep changing the dirty water.  Sorry.  I'd rather get my vacuuming done in a half hour.

What about the dog or cat treat holder that barks or meows when it is open (it has a peddle for the pet to step on).  While we're on it, what's up with pet beds these days?  Do you think your pet knows the difference between a big plushy pillow, a warm pile of clothes from the dryer, and a real bed?  Given the choice, my dogs would pick the plushy pillow/warm clothes.  And let's not forget the pet couch which turns into a bed, or the pet stroller (btw, watch for that stroller to show up in a new Geraldina story - couldn't resist)?  We were in B&N the other day when in walks a woman strolling her dog in this pet stroller.  The dog was laying on its back surrounded by comfy blankies.  I'll admit, when my Laddie dog got arthritis, my son and I thought of using a stroller.  In the end, we let him have his dignity to walk as far as he wanted, as fast as he wanted.

Don't get me going on skirts, jogging suits, hats for dogs.  There are some dogs who do require sweaters, but changable outfits?















This is the land of inventions and I'm grateful for that.  There are many things I can't live without anymore, like the internet, net/notebooks, the book holder for my books, my Nook, Oxy Clean, make-up remover pads, my alarm clock that sounds like birds singing (hey I can't stand the noise from traditional alarm clocks - beeeeeep beeeeeeep beeeeeep), microwaves, tv remote.


I just think there are too many companies who use great advertising to trick the consumer into buying unnecessary products.

Walk through any super store and you'll find more items like this. They're selling, so someone's buying.   And we wonder where all our pennies are going.
LHR