Month: January 2023

God is always wanting to come closer to us,

and in his eyes the whole of our span of

mortal life is meant to make us accustomed

to his nearness. God love us and love is always

humble and respectful; it will not force itself

upon the beloved. God cannot love us to the

full, that is, give full scope to his love, be as

lavish with us as he wishes unless we let him.

If, from his side, our lives in this world are an

opportunity for him gradually to hive himself

until we are capable of receiving him fully,

from our side they must be seen as a response

to his loving advances, allowing him to train

and fit us. There is never any question of the

initiative lying with us or of our having to get

on the good side of God in order to win his

favors. All that has gone before is and attempt

to show how, in our ordinary daily lives we

should respond to God, surrendering self.

It is not a part-time time thing; it covers

and must cover the life in heaven. It is prayer:

God incessantly giving himself, man opening

himself to this gift. Ruth Burrows presented by:

Stanski

January 31, 2023,  ^

Sunday was filled with sunshine.

It seemed brighter than usual as it was

reflecting off the frozen inland sea and

the snow which had drifted all over the

place. It was so bright that I had to wear

sunglasses to use my computer. It was also

very cold, with the windchill taking it to the

double digits below zero. If you had to go

out, you found that the cold would penetrate

you to the bone. Still, with all this it was

beautiful, and pictures would never reveal

the true beauty of it all. A few birds were

flying to somewhere and a couple of deer

showed up on the lakeside of the house.

They were having a tough time working

their way through the drifts. They no doubt

were hungry, and the pickings were slim.

Somehow, they make it through these

winters and for the most part, the severity

of the season is not always this bad. They

have two layers of fur. One is close to the

body and the other over that. The top layer

has hollow hairs which insulate them One

thinks of the hundreds of thousands of animals

and critters and somehow then all seem to

survive. Their species lives on forever.

It is interesting to think that God has a

Divine plan for all of His creatures, and

we are so indifferent even about our

fellow man. Their suffering is not ours

so it is easy to forget, but if we are ailing

we cry out as though we were the only ones.

Somehow this will balance out, and the

forgotten ones will be the prized people,

and the rest can share the embarrassment.

It would be better to tune ourselves up to

the needs of all creatures, especially man

as we proceed through this life. If you are

looking for a room in the Father’s house,

then the time to act is now.

Stanski

January 30, 2023, ^

We move along in life and now and then

come into a potentially confrontational situation

that we may not be able to handle successfully.

We are representing not only ourselves but

many around the world who have the same feeling;

along with those who went before us, who fought for

the same goals. With a feeling of trepidation

we proceed, carrying with us the goals that

they could not accomplish. When I am gone, the

younger ones will do the same for me. We do

not ty change the will of God to make things easier.

We try to align everyone with the greater purpose.

Whatever the results, whether minor success

or utter disaster, we hope to bear it well.

A book might burn, the steeple might fall, but

the light will endure at the end of it all.

So, we carry on with our task and take the journey

not knowing where it will take us, but we follow

the path and our intuition and instincts will prevail if

we do not forget Who we are working for.

You get encouraged by those who know what

you are up to and why you are doing it and at

the same time lied to by those who wish to

interfere with what you are doing because

they have a different agenda. We keep

prodding without knowing how successful

we have been. It will never be ours to know.

We can look at pictures and listen to the news

and surmise to some extent, but in reality we,

because we are growing old, have to pass

the work on to those younger who have

the same ideals. Now we sit in our chairs

or rockers and ponder. We did our best work

and may now be crying out for that distant

home knowing that our light may have been

too dim and worth nothing at all. But we

planted a grain and others have the privilege

of watching it grow. He will provide a brighter light.

Stanski

January 29, 2023, ^

The wind was wicked. When I awoke it

appeared as though we would have some

sunshine. This was not to be. It was soon

 a painting with fifty shades of gray and

then the wind came up. Gail force winds

battering at anything in its way. Our ice

field extended forty feet more out into

the lake. If I had to guess, I would say that

the speed was twenty-five to fifty miles

per hour. There was an intermittent change,

but the continuity never let up. The windows

of the house, where exposed, were becoming

sheets of ice and you can be sure that no

birds were flying. Whirlwinds of snow in

certain locations, usually encased on three

sides by buildings, were home base for

tornado-like action. The wind entered

and picked up the snow and twisted it

fifteen to twenty feet in the air. I looked

for a tinman and scarecrow. I knew the

cowardly lion would be hiding out of

sight and in danger. In one area, the whirl

left in its center a pile of snow that

kept growing. It went from two up to

about five feet high. No one can believe it.

Now I feel enclosed as I cannot see out

of the iced-up windows. The

evergreens have been emptied of any

snow left on them from the last storm.

So far, we have been lucky with no

power outages. The wind is coming

in from the south-southwest. The

waves are responding as one would

expect. No sooner do they crash when

another wave crashes on top of it. This

 adds up to more ice, but mountains are

not forming. The field is just extending.

We have had five hours of this and no idea

when it will end. We are not dreaming and

cannot click our heels and cry for Aunt Em.

The wicked witch has her way, and

Toto cannot find the yellow brick road.

We will wait, trusting that all will end well.

Stanski

January 28, 2023, ^

I often sit down to write with no idea of

what is going to come out of my mind.

I don’t worry to0 much because something

comes spewing out. I wonder how many

people read my poems or muses. I post them

on Facebook and more recently on Twitter.

I have to find out if there are other venues

to use so that more people will have access

to them. They are worth reading, and much

can be learned. I stick to the truth and wish

to offend no one, but in this life of ours, you

can say nothing and still be offensive. This

is just the nature of all men. Christ was put

 to death on the cross, and all He did was tell

the truth and instruct us on how to obtain

a place in His Father’s house when our time

here is over. Hundreds of thousands of years

before He came, men were on the earth. We

do not know what happened to them when

they died. There have been wars over land

for as long as we know. Today Christians

around the globe are being tortured,

imprisoned, and murdered. Still more are

converted every day and willingly follow

Christ and His teaching. In our country, the

loyalty to Christ is in decline. This is at a time

when we need Him more than ever. We are

suffering from an agenda that is taking us

to Socialism by our government. We cannot

depend on our schools because they have a

 similar goal. Our government seems to be

an institution where men serve themselves

and become wealthy. Our churches come up

with man rules which are offensive to many.

 Money is spent on luxury instead of putting it

to use to serve the downtrodden as encouraged

by the One Who sacrificed His life for us. He did

not like betrayers but forgave them. We must

take care of what is in front of us. The Holy Spirit

is here to help us. We should not be afraid to stand

up when called upon. We have been blessed and

must pass these blessings on to others.

Only then will life make sense.

Stanski

January 27, 2023, ^

              

I arrive with my daughter, and we get rid of our coats.

What will you have to drink? I answer, water, no ice,

no lemon. Don’t you drink any more? No, I quit alcohol.

Forever? At least until Easter. End of conversation.

I do not miss the drinking, and I still have the comradery.

I feel the same as if I were drinking. It is a simple thing

that many struggle with. It would be nothing to go

through a bottle or two of wind and then top it off

with a cognac. It is not healthy to consume too much

on a regular basis, so quitting for a while is a good thing.

Some mix a little weed into the evening, and before

you know it things can get sloppy. The noise gets louder

and no one notices. I do not condemn anyone. Each

is master of their own body and what they do is their

business. There is always food to eat and this calls for

more wine. The music plays, and the laughter goes on

as everyone is having a good time. We will see what

tomorrow brings. No two are alike, but when you are

retired it doesn’t really matter. We can pay the piper

when it is convenient. We are not influencing children

because none are around. Besides, they have enough going

on in their own lives. They still have a living to make,

families to raise, bills to pay and many obligations they

have committed to. It is funny, even now, I do not long

for a drink. I feel fine with just the water, no lemon, and no ice.

No coffee, although there was a day when we drank coffee

late at night, no more. Tea would be alright but why

the fuss when water will do. I remember asking a guest

what she would like to drink. I went through the whole

litany. This was in June and as I was ending my list of

available possibilities she asked if I had any hot cocoa.

I didn’t and was afraid to ask if she would settle for a

marshmallow which I did have. She settled on the water,

and all was well. And now, as I end this muse, I exclaim,

“Here is to Easter.”

Stanski

January 26, 2023, ^

Way back when, John Kerry, who served in Vietnam,

ran for president. His running mate was John Edwards,

who was married to the love of his life. Edwards was

a simple man with four-hundred-dollar haircuts and

a gated home on a significant piece of land.

I remember him saying, time and time again, that

John and I are going to do this or that when elected.

He believed this and still was not true to the love of his life.

He cheated on her, as the story went, and enjoyed his ten

minutes of fame. His children were a nuisance to John

Kerry’s wife, who shooed them away when pictures

were taken of the happy cohesive group. At the time of

the campaign and during the vote count and prognostications

I was doing landscape work at my neighbors. I built two

retaining walls along their driveway, replacing and widening

what was previously there. I sat down and nervously listened

to the predictions of the outcome. I could not imagine

the haughty one in the White House with a Heinz-57 flag

waving in the front yard. I was nervous. I did not particularly

like George Bush who took us to war with Iraq, but thought

 he was the lesser of two evils. Bush was the winner and the

election did not have to go to the Supreme Court. The haughty

one in the meantime or before, had his luxury cruiser registered

in Maine to avoid the taxes which would have been imposed

in his home state. He was a windsurfer and knew all the tricks

on avoiding taxes for him but was in favor of taxing everyone

else in every way he could. I would not call him a patriot.

He sustained three injuries in Vietnam, one of them supposedly

self-inflicted. He was released from duty and received some

awards. He had a love affair with money which led him to

marriage to Mrs. Heinz. I would call it a tradeoff. Meanwhile,

with gusto, I finished my work on the walls and my neighbors

upon their return were quite pleased. They couldn’t thank me

enough.

Stanski

January 25, 2023, ^

Morning

9:30 A.M.

Body aches

Sleep went fairly well

Roll my body out of bed

Take a shower and shampoo

Dress and go downstairs

The coffee machine needs water

Take care of that

Start machine

Toast bread

Add peanut butter

Go to the family room

Catch up on fake news

Didn’t check the stock market

It took a beating yesterday

Headed out for shopping

Stopped at Med-Care

Had sutures removed

Left and went grocery shopping

Headed home

Began preparing Taco soup

A real favorite everywhere

Made apple-fruit sauce

Six loaves of harvest bread

My grandma’s recipe

Had dinner, and conversation

Cleaned up

Relaxed

Watched a movie on Netflex

Headed for bed

Great day

Stanski

January 24, 2023, ^

RIGHT-WING DISINFORMATION

We hear from the haughty one

An equal, he has none

In exclaiming about the state of the world

And how we are almost done

It is pretty extraordinary that

When a select group of beings

Get together to save the planet

The courage is more remarkable than it seems

They fly their jets to talk about climate

To them, a money-making plum

Articulating self-congratulations

Assuming that the rest of us are dumb

The French-looking blowhard

Doesn’t mention the emissions of jets

His mind must be on the sex workers

Success there will win all the bets

Taking jets to a ski resort to lament

Climate change is an ongoing tradition

Few spouses, if any, were brought along

They resent this, and call it disinformation

We are improving the state of the world

Are the words of this select panel

You must trust nongovernment groups

And why our meeting has to be annual

Never mind who we cavort with

Says the man who served in Vietnam

The world’s oldest professions together

Like magic words from the book of Psalms

Stanski

January 24, 2023, ^