Beyond This Now-Here

Wake up heartbroken
On a Saturday morning –
Trying to recall
How life has gone away from
Everything ever wanted.

Thinking of past joys,
How nothing is long-lasting;
Who can sudden break
From a life without focus
Into a moment stronger?

Such a task becomes
Heroic, overshadowed,
Photographs failure
The glass breaks, whole frames shatter –
Bursting forth these new edges.

In all the world, still,
A lost stranger, rearrange
The doubt, fear, and hope
So someone better steps up –
Able to revive this heart.

Defeat is over –
Rising from a warm whisper
Being made complete
To find another method,
An equation for success.

The forgiven soul
Never beaten, newly bold –
Discovers new goals
To serve what- how- ever can
To build more Love for others.

A songbird singing,
The day awakening bright;
Courage casts this time
As an opportunity
For fresh creativity.

Life changes, we grow, never static. There is yesterday, but even with our memories, it is over. We cannot tug the bygone into the present. Today is active; we are creating from the minute we arise until day’s end. If we are wise, we Love, expressing it in word and deed. This is where compassion and kindness can have influence. We build treasure in such time we invest. Tomorrow is a question, also an answer. We may plan, but cannot know. Our hopes and dreams we may place in the future, but we cannot ascertain what will come of our dearly born lives.

Today, there is hope you will find joy and many blessings. The world needs optimism in these turbulent times. We are answered prayers given to enrich others we interact with daily and in passing. God is with us as we go. We can Love even in the simple things we do. Grand gestures are beautiful, but little actions and kind words also leave lasting impressions.

As we look toward a new year, may our hope be that we build each day up with a spirit of togetherness, a willingness toward understanding, and an openness to each individual. None of us stands alone. We are all a family that needs one another.

Prompt: Find a positive outlet for your creativity today. Leave something lasting of this day.

May God richly bless you and yours. Happy Holidays!

Thank you for visiting Haphazard Creative. Please leave a like, comment, or share this post with someone you think might enjoy it.

Always & Evermore, Jo Ann…

Journal Snippet

Do you struggle with this? I admit I do. Anything I post that suggests an action or reads like an injunction is aimed at the first person, myself, before anyone else, like you.

Among the changes I have lately endured, I became separated from most of my possessions. I am learning to hold on lightly.

I struggle with trust, but I believe God abides with me. I know the Holy Spirit can go before us and prepare our paths. I believe there has been leading in the house being available to Alex almost immediately, some guys in a truck letting us know the tow rig for the Explorer came loose and was held only by a chain on our way from the hotel to this house, my finding a church home for us on the third try, and now having someone who helps me with things I cannot handle.

I am excited that I am not left strictly to my own devices because I can mess things up badly. God is in control, I thank Him for it.

I have begun reading a book titled Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem. I did not realize it was a textbook until Amazon alerted me. I mentioned it to Alex today, and he commented that it sounded like something he might study at ACU. I guess it will be a long read because I want to look up the verses it gives when expressing a Biblical truth.

I am also reading Shadows of Winter by Lindsay Buroker, which is a sci-fi novel. It is a much easier read; well-written, and fast-paced. I also have some reads I neglected to finish that I need to finish up.

I wonder if you are ever set upon by AI and have to ignore it to retain your voice. It makes it such that I rather write longhand. I am also abysmally slow as a typist or texter.

I hope you have an awesome rest of your day. May God’s blessing be upon you all along your way.

If you enjoyed your visit here, please comment, follow, like, and share as you may.

Enough said. Always and Evermore…

Catching Up A Little

I am sharing journal pages written over a few days.

There are pages in between these I open to you, Dear Born. Some of them are too negative to allow here. Things have been in turmoil.

Prompt: I have been experimenting. Your turn, try out something new. If you wish, 😉 share it with the world. I did, and you can, too.

Someone invited me to write a book with them, stay tuned, and we shall see what happens. Fear, with some of my paranoia, comes calling when I think of the project.

Gratitude List

I am thankful:
1. I have supportive friends and family.
2. Love exists.
3. The Lord God created such an exquisite world.
4. We are creative.
5. There are safe harbors to be found in times of desperation.

Maybe you have things you are grateful for as well. When we look around, there are so many things we have now that were once only dreams. Perhaps you can make a list.

Thank you for the generous gift of your time. If you found something here that touched your heart ❤️, please follow, like, mention, and share.

May Love be your chaperone wherever you go and whatever you may do. God be with you eternally.

Always and Evermore,
Jo Ann

Some Reflections – Creativity Project 2023

When I was a kid, Daddy and I used to go to the baseball games of the Atlanta Braves at the Atlanta Stadium. I won tickets by making straight As at school. We likely would never have gone otherwise because money was limited for such things. I saw Hank Aaron hitting his homers.

I watched lots of teams over those years. The Reds, the Dodgers, and the Yankees were all excellent. Sorry, I cannot name them all. You know the names better than I do, probably.

In school, I was seldom picked for teams when we did sports things like softball, even kickball, or dancing.

I played basketball with the neighborhood kids at my hoop on the tree that Dad measured to league specs, often with my ball. The boys were great with their prowess. I was short and I seldom got to shoot as a guard. We did play Horse and I shot then, like free throws. We played a variety of basketball I called Tag Basketball; it was not regulation.

The Globetrotters came to my school once and probably to another school, too, as I grew.

We, kids, played croquet with the set I got from Santa one year. My parents taught me, and they played sometimes, but it was often us kids.

The funny thing about the croquet set was I did not find it at Christmas. I am diverging from the main theme I meant to have here. I have to let you know something though. I was that kid who would not go to sleep on Christmas Eve, or ever really, early enough. My brothers were years older than me and they must have helped with how things were done. We would go on a ride on Christmas Eve to see the lights while Mom and Dad told me The Christmas Story of Jesus being born of the Virgin Mary and how He came to save the World. When we returned Santa would have visited our home. I believed in Santa, even as I believed the Christmas Story. I gave my life to Jesus as a child. I sinned a lot since then and it preys on my mind that I was not well enough surrendered. I have asked for forgiveness, but I worry.

Back to baseball, we watched it on television when it came over the airwaves. It was before you had to pay for all that was on TV. Back then, it was a right to be entertained as you relaxed after hard days of working, making money, or learning work, at school. I suppose commercials paid for it, then.

I always hated the commercials, because they were louder and I was in charge of the volume, which meant I had to turn the sound down, then back up. No remotes guys, it was a physical knob on the facing of the set. Channels had to be changed by someone walking to the set too. Commercials interfered with watching the games but gave us time to grab a drink or go potty.

Through a fortunate circumstance this year I have MLB. I have not watched my Braves in many years, partly because of the extra cost, and partly when I pay attention, they often seem to lose. Usually, I check on sports rarely cause I want all my teams to win. It is exciting having MLB cause I want to know what the athletes do.

I was Pep Club Captain in High School. We designed and did the artwork for the teams’ signs by hand. We were at the ball games to cheer, but we were not cheerleaders with all their charisma and athleticism. What we made, like the banners the football team ran through and decorative signs in the gym. We were supposed to encourage school spirit and were not allowed to brush our hair in public places.

Again, I digress. The Braves won. I only saw the scores for Thursday because I had to sleep. But replays I saw of some players were incredible.

Go, Braves, Go! I am for all of MLB that the players stay safe from injury and do well.

Go, Braves, Go! Win it!

Saying Hi

Entry Sixteen – Creativity Project 2023

Some people are concerned about me on Facebook. I apologize for not being on there much anymore. I do not belong there since they took my original account from 2010 to 2021. I had much original content that I created and kept copies of nowhere else. They also locked me out of my Haphazard Creative page on their service.

The account I have now on Facebook will not allow me to change the password, so my Messenger is disabled because I forgot my password. Eventually, I will lose that account, too, since I can only reach it on this phone.

I do still have my original Instagram account with Messenger, Twitter account, Pinterest account, and both haphazardcreative.com and hopefuljo.com.

Due to the concern shown, I am posting a photo I took just before I began this post.

I cut my hair myself again in case it looks ragged to anyone.

I have my two dogs and Alex’s dog, Maui, who is mine for a time.

I am not treating this as a standard post with all my creations, prompts, and such. Mostly this is a proof of life thing.

I must however do a Gratitude List:

I am Thankful:

1. God saved my soul.
2. I still have friends who are watching out for me.
3. I have this haven on the web.
4. Books that keep me company.
5. The gift of creativity allows me to write.

Please all of you remember you can find me here.

May God’s Love be rich and abundant in your lives. May He who is over all watch over each one of you and keep you until we see Jesus face to face in all His Glory. May you prosper in every endeavor. God Bless You and Yours, Forevermore.

Always and Ever,
Jo Ann