Healthy soul

High School Fiction

/ jill autrey dorman / 1 Comment
Photo by Polina Zimmerman

These high school halls are not hallowed halls but they are unsurpassed in the scheme of life lessons….Truth and Fiction …

Remember that boy with the unfortunate eyebrows hurrying down the hall as if afraid or embarrassed? He was.

Remember that girl passing a note to her “steady” guy declaring her undying devotion because he said he “loved” her? He did not.

Remember when you thought a certain friend’s family seemed so perfect? They were not.

The stereo- types still linger in these tales of fiction. Fifty years later and I can name them all by heart.

We all wanted to be (well most of us) to be prettier, cuter, thinner, funnier, taller, shorter, darker, lighter, a better singer, a better dancer, the beauty queen, the sports star, the math genius, or the valedictorian.

I guess it is like the “Breakfast Club” and the “Big Chill” movie all rolled up together. (we did have the best music though). I always felt like the adults in my days of high school tried to minimize the harshness of the unspoken boundaries. There are many people that I admired from afar and would have like to have known better but there was also a nagging burden of exposure.

Ends up that about ninety-nine percent of High School Fiction left some of us hurt and even wounded and that is where reality steps in. No, we had not yet let our tender souls relax in the discovery zone of finding there is no such thing as perfect. How could we know that what lay ahead would require a lot more truth and a little less comparison?

Just saying…

Henry Bridge (We Belong to the Day)

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Photo by iPhone Photography

Sitting on the Henry Bridge watching the river run.

A little boy is skipping river rocks beneath the glitter of the Sun.

Autumn breezes gold and ruby red decorate the beaver’s dam.

A little girl hold her baby doll making sweet life plans.

We belong to the day free to be living in a symphony.

Walking of of the night no more darkness to see.

We belong to the day.

No sorrow left to see.

We belong to the day.

Sweet Eyes

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Photo by Elizaveta Dushechkina on Pexels.com

I was looking for a man just like you

but that man was not a runner.

I was looking for a man just like you

but that man was not a Film Flam man.

Just like you but did not tell lies

Just like you but wanted ties

A man like you took my heart away

A man that pretended dreams were true

A man like you who fooled us all

Yes, my sweet eyes were looking for a man

But He was never you.

Finding Courage…

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Photo by Lachlan Ross

Finding Courage…I sat by my window. It was a trial this summer with many days in distress and concern. I would love to tell you I handled it so spiritually but at times that is not the case. I cried. I prayed. I talked to the whole tribe of medical people but of course the most important thing is that I went to the Lord and God’s Word.

My heart was longing to have courage but I really wasn’t sure what Courage looks like. So, to the Bible I went. Then I went to prayer. I told God I don’t really know what courage means and asked him to help me find some.

In the many weeks I was housebound I began to read about men and women in the Bible who took and had Courage and as I read I realized that none of these people had courage of their own. They had Courage WITH them. Courage is not only a verb but it is also one of the very definitions of God himself. Courage much like grace, mercy, and love are not earned they are GIVEN and who is the giver of all thing? God of course, through Jesus!

People who have Godly Courage have it because the Holy One saw fit to send His Son to be born, live, die, and rise again, and then send His very on Spirit to live in us and give Holy gifts!. Courage is God’s gift to us as His children.

Oh, don’t get the idea that Courage is especially beautiful. This gift might be torn and tattered. It might be beaten and bleeding. It might be weeping until dawn. Courage is the opposite of Fear. Fear is never a gift from God. He does not give fear. Fear tells you God is NOT with you. Fear says you are weak and frail and alone.

I sit by my window. I am gaining my strength as summer is drifting away with a thunder in the heavens.

I sit by my widow. God’s presence abides as faithful and as sweet as ever and I have found his gift of Courage.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights” (James 1:17).

The burden of the Flesh…the two wolves

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white wolves in green grass

Photo by patrice schoefolt Pexels.com

There is an old Cherokee proverb that says there are two wolves at war within us. One wolf desires to do what is right, to choose Love every time. The other wolf is hateful and selfish and ravages everything and everyone to get his own way and the wolf that wins is the wolf you Feed.

The man said to his son,

“One wolf is evil, which is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.”

“The other wolf is good, which is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.”

I find this interesting in that this is exactly what the Bible teaches us. As human beings we can either feed our lust, lying, selfish, dark Sin nature or we can feed our Spirit. We can think on things from above.

God is Spirit and Jesus said that to truly worship and relate to God you must be given the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the only way to have a Holy Spirit.

My Mother said to me once, “if you feed your flesh you flesh will grow, if you feed your Spirit your Spirit will grow.” At the time I didn’t know she got that straight out of Romans chapters 7 and 8 and Galatians 5.

So which wolf are you feeding? It is a daily choice.

Three words…

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Photo by Pixabay

…all civilizations, and ages both on earth and heaven hinges on them
…they profoundly transform those who hear, say, and believe them
…they annihilate shame, guilt, burden, loneliness,depression, and death
…they provide supernatural joy, freedom, and hope
…they expose and destroy all lies, suffering, and evil
…they hold all the mysteries of creation, time, and purpose
…they drag “lies” kicking and screaming into the light and banish darkness
…they wreak havoc on all evil authority and authenticity
…they redefine success and sincerity and sacrifice
…they are immediately understood and leave their mark when spoken
…they hold in their meaning all beginnings and endings
Three words…
“He is Risen”

Getting “likes”…

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abstract board game bundle business

Photo by Pixabay

I am passionate about the following:  my relationship with Jesus Christ, my marriage and family, friends, my nursing career, and last but not least my writing and other arts.

It is the world of the internet and social media that has prompted me to examine the reports from the creators of Facebook and other mediums  in regards to the human need to be heard and apparently ” liked. ” These young men and women stated they they knew when they designed facebook, twitter, etc.,  they would be tapping into the actual chemical function of the human brain. There is an effect on our brains when we get likes on any media, selfies, blogs like this, twitter, instagram, and on it goes. I do not believe wanting to be liked is something to be ashamed of. It is in fact the core element in our being that connects us to God and others. However true self worth comes from our identity in Christ if we are his followers. This longing to be accepted wains as one ages so now days I am not so bothered by likes or dislikes…

To be validated about something I am passionate about, a gift or talent that I long to share is not wrong but I can see many have been manipulated by these companies which can be easily observed by the crazy things people will do to get “like”. 

Here is how I know if what I am doing is going down an ego rabbit hole. The Bible teaches us that the things from above, in other words Godly goodness is easy to recognize.  Godly wisdom, Godly gifts and “likes” are first pure (no other motive), peaceful, gentle, reasonable, full or mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere.  James 3:17

 

 

 

Did you like the snow

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  • Photo by Jedypictures










Did you like the snow when you were here or





when the harvest moon filled the atmosphere?





What about the summer sea





when you walked in Galilee?










I can see you everywhere I go





in the moon light and the snow





I see you by the summer sea





walking on the water you rescued me.


























			

	


			
				


	

							
At Street Level
						

			 / jill autrey dorman						 / Leave a comment
								

			


		

		

  • Photo by Josh Hild 





…at street level, the life of faith is always a matter of Trust. I am always reminded of this when I look around in a world I barely recognize. I desire Truth in my soul just like I need air to breathe.





…what is the power of this longing that this world cannot satisfly? It is the longing God placed in us for “paradise complete” and the “not yet”.





…at street level, the life of faith is always a matter of Trust.










“For we live by faith, not by sight.”





2 Corinthians 5:7