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Posted October 2, 2024

A Gift of Love

~A Gift of Love is out just in time for Christmas shopping and giving, an easy purchase via Amazon, Grace Publishing, Barnes and Nobles, and Books a Million. I have one Christmas story in this latest Divine Moments holiday book.~

We usually think of a Christmas gift as a tangible item. But that is not always the case. Sometimes the gift is the thought and time we put into loving others the way they need it the most.

A gift of love might not be traditional, or even eye-catching, but it's always beautiful because it's from one heart to another. Sometimes it's in the form of generosity. Sometimes it includes laughter. Often it feels like a warm embrace.

In whatever form it is offered, a true gift of love is always a reflection of God's abundant love and best Christmas gift of all--the original gift of love--His Son, Jesus Christ.

There are 35 contributers for this one. Order a copy, grab a cup of apple cider or hot chocolate when it arrives, and enjoy!

Comments anyone?

If you would like to comment or have questions about this article, email me vmoss@livingwaterfiction.com

Posted September 23, 2024

Miracles of God from Gaza

Joel Golden--a Messianic believer in Jesus the Messiah--has just returned for a day of leave from the IDF (Israeli Defense Force) in Gaza to distribute food to the hungry. Food distribution to those in need is a part of his family's ministry in Israel.

Also, Joel isn't just a keyboard warrior who only talks about fighting in the military (think stolen valor) and a reporter of news--he's a man of God and humble fighter in the IDF who has been in the thickest of fights long before the brutal attacks against his people on October 7, 2023. (Keep scrolling for another one of the battles Joel was in when a miracle occurred.) If Joel had lived in King David's time, no doubt he would have been written up as one of the king's "Mighty Men."

Since his return, he tells us of another incredible miracle that recently happened in Rafah--as retold to him by a division commander.

A regular infantry unit--not a highly trained unit with snipers or special forces--went into Gaza on a mission and as they were coming in, one of the infantryman saw two men pop their heads up in a window. The soldier immediately fired and took both of the terrorists out.

The division commander was amazed and asked the soldier, "How were you able to know so fast that they were there, a threat, and able to take them out?"

"Well, sir, God gave me a dream last night. He showed me the exact same steps we took today and he showed me the exact two terrorists at that same window getting ready to lay fire on the troops coming in and he told me I had to take them out. So I immediately took them both out."

If that wasn't miracle enough, the second miracle of the day was that the division commander visited many more units retelling this soldier's dream and this miracle.

You must remember, most of the Jewish people believe only in the Old Testament, not the New Testament. So, most do not believe their Messiah has already come the first time as a teaching Messiah who must die on the cross for the sins of mankind--One who returns a second time as a warrior King who destroys the armies of the Evil One, defeating them in the final battle before He reigns on earth. (Zechariah 14)

Though the Bible gives clues to the identity of the coming Messiah throughout the Old Testament, those who don't read and study the Bible will miss those clues. The first clue is in Genesis when God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness..." (Plural verb and plural suffix) God and the Holy Spirit have already been introduced in the first two verses of Genesis, but Genesis 1:26 is when the Trinity was first intimated in the Old Testament. The internal unity of the Trinity was not understood to a great extent until Jesus was born and lived on earth. (Jn 1:14, 18; 10:30; 14:9)

Another huge clue in the Old Testament about Jesus is in Isaiah Chapter Seven when the Lord spoke to Ahaz telling him to ask for a sign but Ahaz refused. Isaiah said, "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel (Hebrew meaning: God with us.) The Greeks, who translated the Old Testament into the Greek language long before baby Jesus was born, had no question about the meaning of almah--the word used in this case for virgin.

The pagan phraseology used at the time to announce the birth of 'gods,' "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son" was widely used and those who heard the phrase would have recognized the meaning. Isaiah wasn't suggesting that Christ's birth was like that of a pagan god. He knew the idol worshiping Ahaz would recognize the significance of the prophecy.

There are those who could read these verses and still miss their meaning. However, the Book of Joel is in the Old Testament. And there could be some Jewish soldiers who know Joel 2:28 that states, "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions...:"

Pray that more Jewish people will be encouraged to read the New Testament so they will understand that Yeshua--their Messiah--has already come. And that because of His sacrifice on the cross for all mankind, he will help his followers fight their battles.

Also, pray that the terrorists and opposing armies will also come to know Christ. There are online videos of interviews where Muslims--who believe Jesus was a prophet--are having dreams of Jesus and many have converted to becoming Christ followers after these Jesus encounters. Those who follow Jesus are promised eternal life in heaven where He has provided a place for His followers. Those who do not follow Him are destined to be sent to Hades to eternally live in misery. I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy. The fires there never stop burning. Isolation from God is forever. Even Jesus said on the cross, "Father, forgive them for they do not know what they do."

And all of you prayer warriors out there, don't forget to pray for Joel Golden and the men he leads. Also pray for the peace of Jerusalem and Israel. If you feel led to donate to their ministry so they can continue to feed the poor--the Bible says those who bless Israel will be blessed--you can donate via their website provided below.

And one last request, please pray for me--I'll be leading a new Bible study this fall--and those who will be attending. We'll be starting in Genesis and given the time and God willing, we'll continue throughout the entire Bible to the end. And oh, what a dynamite ending for the greatest Book ever written!

Jesus come quickly!

P.S. To hear Joel tell this story as he's driving back home from the battlefield visit his website www.thegoldenreport.com There are other great articles on this website written by Joel and his father Jerry. Olga, Joel's wife keeps us up to date on the local news there when Joel is deployed. Have a blessed week!

Comments anyone?

If you would like to comment or have questions about this article, email me vmoss@livingwaterfiction.com

Posted September 8, 2024

TREASURED MOMENTS

The latest Divine Moments Book--Treasured Moments--is available. Lots of good stories written by 28 writers in this one, however, each book compilation always hits the mark and satisfies. Here's a peek at the kind of articles you might find in this inspirational book.

"Throughout life, we experience good things we'll always remember. We might not even realize at the time that they're the kind of things that will stay with us. Yet whether we're young, or old, they become treasured moments we'll revisit over and over in our minds.

Whether they happen when we're alone or with others, at home or elsewhere, during quiet times or noisy fun, on vacation, staycation, or an average day, those special moments are part of who we are. That's probably why we love to tell others about them.

Perhaps the stories you read here will bring to mind your own treasured moments. And maybe, just maybe it will encourage you to jot them down for others to enjoy...because treasured moments are an important part of life." I have two stories in this issue--"Never So Thrilled to See a Toilet" and "Come What May."

If you're looking for Christmas gift ideas, check back soon--the Christmas 2024 manuscript has already been sent to the printers and will be available in another month or two.

Happy reading trails!

Comments anyone?

If you would like to comment or have questions about this article, email me vmoss@livingwaterfiction.com

Posted May 7, 2024

THE MIRACLE OF CALLING HIS NAME

I try to steer clear of writing about politics to keep my blog more about writing. However, tough times warrant tough articles. Some of the famous with huge platforms are hesitant to speak out for fear of ruining their careers. Some things must be said. Truth must prevail while we still have the 1st ammendment. Some with huge platforms don't know the truth. They're too busy with their careers or weekend distractions to learn the truth. Or their hearts have been hardened by being "stiff-necked" as the Bible says. Or perhaps, with every good story, there must be conflict--pharoahs and villains--so there can be story arcs with victory in the end. So please stick with me.

The war with Israel against Hamas is still ongoing. Paid protestors are still raging along with those who don't know what river or what sea they're talking about when chanting "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free." Only parroting what they've been told to chant. Most have no idea that phrase means genocide for the Jewish people.

Many think it's not okay for Israel to protect her people after horrific attacks. There's an election coming up in the U.S. and all of this protesting doesn't look good for the sitting President. The Bible is clear--those who go against Israel will be punished. And those who add to the Bible will be cursed with plague and those who take away from God's Word--God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in the Bible. I didn't say it. God said it via the Apostle John. (Revelations 22:18-19) So don't kill the messenger. And a word to the Pope, I recommend thinking twice about rewriting the Bible.

There's big money in wars and that's why Israel is only allowed to strike back hard, but not hard enough to rout out those trying to destroy them. If this had happened to any other country, no one would be saying one word. Those who fund wars want Hamas's pony show to continue. The war machine must make more money. We know death numbers by the Iranian proxy Hamas have been exaggerated. Thanks to social media videos, we've seen the dead move inside zipped up body bags and some kids and men leaping from the gurneys when they hear a loud noise near them. We've even seen fake blood being applied to babies and toddlers. (Someone made the mistake of publishing their videos of this on Instagram.) So a lot of the deaths are faked to gin up the numbers. And yes, we know there's been collateral damage on both sides. But that's war. War is not pretty. And Iran and its proxies love war. They'd rather spend the millions sent them for rockets and concrete for tunnels instead of using the money to put food in their children's mouths while building infrastructure and a healthy society. Take away the Jews, they would fight each other because some cultures love to bicker and fight. They've been taught from birth to enjoy a good rumble.

If only more people around the world knew the history of Israel. The bigger picture. It's all there in the Bible. And many are ignorant about what God says in His inspired Word. (God said, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." Hosea 4:6) Palestine wasn't called Palestine until the Romans called the country by that name when they took over. Before that, the Levant area was called Israel. Before that there were Nephilim (giants) in the land. Evil prevailed before Noah's flood and afterwards.

When Mark Twain visited Israel in the late 1800s, he said in his book, Innocents Abroad, that there was hardly anyone there. In some places, no one within thirty miles of each other. Nothing but barren rocky land. God had punished his people with diasporas for disobeying Him and breaking covenant with Him. They went back on their word to God that they would obey and follow Him. However, God always saved a remnant and promised to one day bring them back home to the land He gave them so the land could once again flourish and His people could be a shining light to the world. The so-called Palestinians didn't arrive in Israel until the Jewish people who'd moved back in 1948 provided jobs. Then people from different countries flooded in looking for opportunities and a paycheck. Even knowledgable Arabs on You Tube tell us this. Which explains why none of the surrounding Arab countries will take these people in as refugees. Those Palestinians who have taken DNA tests are surprised to find they are a mixture of people groups--other than Arab. Egypt has now put up three walls to keep them out. The reason? Terrorists embed themselves with the civilians--even in hospitals and schools--and use innocents as human shields. The Iran proxy groups bring down misery upon the innocent people who call themselves Palestinians--the ones who want to live peacefully--not the ones who have become indoctrinated with evil and hatred bent on destroying everything around them. These misled bad guys -- these are people who love killing Jews and Christians. They love dying for Allah and do not care for Yahweh--the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob--or God-given life. God is a God of love and not hate.

God, however, does care for life. He created life. The Bible is a history of His people breaking covenant, repenting, returning to God when their back is against a wall and they need His help, then once delivered they break covenant again. A vicious cycle and why God sent His Son--Jesus. The Book of Revelation tells us how this story ends. Looking back, before the Israelites conquered the land God had given them, the Nephilim (giants) lived there. (Genesis 6:4) David defeated Goliath. He had four brothers--the reason David chose five stones. King Og of the Bible was a giant with a gigantic bed according to scripture. The bones of giants have been found all over the world. Newspaper articles have been written along with photographs. Giant skeletons have been found in several of the Ohio mounds in America built before Native American Indians arrived. Archaeology proves many of the stories in the Bible are true. More proof is found weekly in Israel. The City of David is in the process of being excavated. There are prophecies that have come true, (Cyrus to conquer Persia--now Iran--was fulfilled so he would release captives to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the walls. Then there was the virgin birth prophesied in Isaiah 7:14--Isaiah 53 describes Jesus to a "T" letting people know beforehand what would happen to him.) with many prophecies yet to be fulfilled.

I have given a sort of Cliff notes review of a portion of the Bible to say this: Three times the Bible states that God is a God who does not lie. Numbers 23:19, Titus 1:2, and Hebrews 6:18. God is alive and well. Jesus is still performing miracles today. I know of two in my family. Many have happened during this latest Iranian proxy war against Israel.

Now for an October 7th, 2023 miracle:

When Joel Golden, an Israel Defense Force (IDF) soldier, heard the news on October 7, 2023 about what was happening near the border with Hamas, he jumped in his personal truck and raced to the base where he picked up vests, weapons, ammunition, water, and other things he and his men might need. Time was of the essence. Four soldiers sat in the cab of the truck and another four were in the truck bed. They soon came upon the horrific and savage devastation of that day. At one point, they entered the fray alongside other IDF soldiers who were fighting in an open field behind their overturned vehicle, but now they were outnumbered. Joel thought it was time to retreat, however, he saw an old man standing near a kibbutz (a small community in Israel traditionally based on agriculture). Joel then gave a command in Hebrew he hadn't given in his 25 years of military service. In English, the command was "heels to the ground!" Basically, a command to dig in and "fight to the death" because now, the life of a defensless old man was hanging in the balance.

"We fought running low on ammunition. One soldier died. Another lost an eye. I'd been calling for air support though there was no air support around. I still held my radio up, out of habit and instinct, to keep everyone informed as to what was going on. We were all ready to die." When all looked lost, Joel's next words were,

"Jesus! It's your turn!

"I heard a voice over the radio that said, 'I have one missile left--where do you want it?'" Joel replied, "In the middle of the enemy." He then gave the pilot his location and the location of the enemy. "The strike looked impossible from where I was positioned, but the missile hit a large boulder in the middle of the field. Shrapnel and shards of rock from the boulder exploded everywhere, killing every terrorist there."

Fast forward three months later and Joel was on his way back home and stopped by the kibbutz to try and find the old man. Someone told Joel that he was at the barn and he was a trusted man of their community who had stayed behind to take care of the animals after everyone else in the kibbutz had been evacuated on that fateful day. When Joel reached the barn, there were two men there. One was the old man and the other man happened to be the pilot who had fired the missile the day of Joel's battle. The pilot had stopped by a few minutes before Joel arrived. He asked the old man, "Do you know who called out to Jesus that day?"

Joel said, "I was that man. I couldn't believe you launched the missile in to where it would do the most damage--right into that boulder so it would send shards and shrapnel all over that field." The pilot shared, "I was low on fuel and was flying back to base for refueling and more missiles when I heard your call." He wasn't supposed to be in the vicinity.

And here's the miracle: The old man said, "That field is a great agricultural field not far from the sea with good topsoil and has been farmed by my family for several generations. There was no bedrock outcropping out there. And there was no boulder."

A farmer knows every ant hill on his own land. He feels every bump through his tractor tires. I used to bushhog my farm back when I had horses--trust me on this, farmers know the lay of their land.

I also aced statistics in college so after hearing Joel's story I asked myself, "What are the odds that a mysterious boulder showed up in that field at the perfect time a pilot, who wasn't supposed to be in the area, was headed back to base to refuel and load up with more missiles because he had only one missile left--and to then hear a desperate soldier call out, 'Jesus! It's your turn!' -- then Joel and the pilot drop by three months later on the same day within a few minutes of each other arriving to talk with the old man? The odds--slim to none." A bonafide miracle. God had to arrange every player to be in place for a miracle to be witnessed by many. That boulder didn't roll in by itself. If Jesus can turn water into wine...

Plus, Joel and the pilot had no other contact with each other and certainly didn't arrange a meeting three months later so they could stop by on their way home to chat with the old man at the kibbutz. God not only saved Joel and his men along with the old man by using a pilot almost out of fuel and missiles, He sent The Rock and Messiah--Jesus Christ--to help Joel get the job done. One doesn't have to ace statistics to know that God was in the details.

Zechariah 2:8 says, "For this saith the Lord of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye." And Joel says this is just one of the many miracles that have occurred so far. There were many more and the war isn't over.

Israel is the apple of God's eye. He brought his people back to the land via the Balfour Declaration of 1917 and the physical move of many Jewish people to Israel in May of 1948. There will be other wars, (read Ezekiel 38), but many of God's people are back home to stay. The last battle is Armageddon in the Valley of Meggido. We know who wins. Jesus. Satan's time is short. Read Zechariah 14. And on the Lord's day, Jesus will come to reign.

As of 2022, there were approximately 169,500 active soldiers in the Israeli army and roughly 465,000 in reserve units. Among these are roughly 450 Messianic Jews who know the Lord. Hopefully, with all of the miracles happening in the war that are just beginning to be reported, many more will soon know their Messiah, the Lion of Judah, who died for them, suffering on the cross so they could be free to live eternally with Jesus in heaven. Jesus is alive and well. He is still the Rock. The One we can call on. Joel Golden knows one trusted old man--who watched a miracle happen before his very eyes--will be telling everyone he comes in contact with about an October 7th battle. The same battle when one soldier called on the name of Jesus to help save the day for several soldiers who came close to tasting death. Hopefully, many more people will come to the Lord when his testimony is shared. Thanks for sharing!

***

I've paraphrased some of Joel's words in the story for clarity. Forgive me, Joel, if I didn't write it word for word like you told it in your video--you tell the story so much better than I could record it from memory.

To hear Joel Golden tell his story in his own words as he revisits the location of the battle near the kibbutz, go to www.thegoldenreport.com to watch the video so you can see the actual lay of the land and where Joel's battle took place. He and his wife Ola also do a great job with their news reports and video excursions throughout Israel. Thanks to Joel's parents for starting their ministry in America before moving to their homeland to help bring the Jewish people back to Israel while sharing the gospel and feeding the hungry. Jerry Golden's personal story is also riveting and available in book form: Burned Alive. I could not put this book down--a page turner, and wrote a blog about it dated January 2021. Scroll down to find it with the title, "First Sentences." Every sentence of every chapter reels you in. (The book can be purchased from the website www.thegoldenreport.com and also from Amazon.)

Please pray for the Golden family's ministry, the people of Israel, especially those who do not know their Savior--the Messiah who has already come in human form as a newborn babe who grew up to preach the Good News while healing the sick and casting out demons, and is to come again. His next grand entrance will be as a warrior king fighting against His adversaries. And every knee shall bow.

Pray simple prayers with your children. A kindergarten teacher taught my granddaughter and her classmates to pray, "God, please turn the bad guys into good guys. In the name of Jesus, Amen." For there are "bad guys" in every people group and in every culture and sadly, in every business, government, and church. Not all church goers are "the real deal." Some attend church out of habit and some attend to make business contacts. Others are there to cause splits and divisions.

Also pray for the people of Gaza who are lost and suffering in many ways. Pray for the peace of Israel. Golda Meir once said, "Peace will come when the Arabs will love their children more than they hate us." The same goes for the proxies of Iran and other peoples and organizations who hate not only Jews, but Christians. Peace will come when those who hate Jews and Christians love their children more (by teaching them truth) than they hate Christians and Jews. Jesus loves everyone and seeks out those who are lost. All one must do is believe in Him, repent of sins, be baptized and call on His name. Baptism is an outward demonstration one is a Christ follower. Believing in Him is from the heart--faith. Faith is believing without seeing. And God knows the heart of every man, woman, and child.

Again, please pray for the www.thegoldenreport.com ministry, Israel, and their IDF. Certainly pray for America. For we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Right now, things aren't looking good for Europe or Great Britain. Pray for those who struggle in communistic countries. Hopefully, we can turn America around before it's too late.

Jesus is coming soon and time is short. Ask Him if He's real. When the last breath is but vapor, eternity is forever--where will you be spending it?

Comments anyone?

If you would like to comment or have questions about this article, email me vmoss@livingwaterfiction.com

Posted April 8, 2024

LOST AND FOUND MOMENTS

This is the first time I've posted in over a year. Yes. I have been lazy, however, only with posting and my battle with dust bunnies. I haven't fallen off any cliffs though I do confess I kinda/sorta went crazy wild in a farm's tulip field back in March. There is something so extremely delicious and satisfying in pulling tulips from the ground with a plop--bulb and all--especially after a rain and when they aren't the tulips I meticulously planted in my own potager garden. (For those who don't know, potagier is a fancy French word for a potagier cook that makes thick soup or pottage.) In the summer, I grow veggies in the potager garden and often fire up the stove for soups. In spring--the potager is used to grow tulips galore.

I've actually been busy writing and gardening, planting and weeding. And more writing. I've written a memoir--Ice on the Pond--for my descendants that will not be published for market since memoirs don't sell unless you're Hollywood or Nashville famous. Serial killer memoirs seem to do okay. However, I don't fit into those categories/genres. Yet. There's still time. If traffic keeps getting worse and our illustrious politicians keep spinning their wheels and I keep hitting pot holes--who knows? That last category, well, let's just say anything is possible these days.

I've finished a poetry book with a blurb from our beloved Poet Laureate of Tennessee--Maggie Britton Vaughan--that is book cover ready. I know. Does anyone even read poetry anymore? Yet, those ancestor poems were screaming to get out and on the pages.

I've also finished a nonfiction book that needs to find a home. I've been cranking out the paragraphs. Oh yeah, I've been working on a cook book about the stories behind the recipes and I've taught a class on that subject. And this next subject, please hear me out, I've tried to keep my dahlias alive through winter--the ones I dig up, store, and spritz with water every now and then to keep them from shriveling up. I can grow dahlias, dahlings, I just struggle to keep them alive through winter--those I grow in pots. There could be a plot twist involved down the road.

And I'll confess, I've been lackadaisical about getting the publishable work out there. That part is no fun. Big yawn. I know I'm not the only one--mwahh-ha-ha-ha-ha! However, below is proof I have been stacking words together.

Two of my stories have been published in the latest Moments series book available via Grace Publishing, Amazon, and other book stores. Titles to these stories are, "A Strange Thing Happened on the Backside-of-a-Boon Dock Somewhere Near Montgomery" and "Searching for the Lost."

Here's a peek into these pages:

Lost. It happens to all of us. Sometimes more often than we care to admit. Something we value gets misplaced and we search for it until we either find it or finally decide it's gone forever.

Material possessions aren't the only things we lose, are they? Have you ever lost a person? What about a relationship? A job? Your joy? Your sense of self? Your way? Your faith?

Join these authors as they share their stories of times when they lost something important to them--whether physical, material, emotional, or spiritual.

You'll laugh. You'll sigh. You might even cry. But you'll surely identify with how The Lost becomes The Found. Because let's face it, we all have something that has gone missing...even if we're embarrassed to admit it.

Contributors: Ellen Andersen, Bob Blundell, Sheryl H. Boldt, Leigh-Anne Burley, Theresa Cates, Lola Di Giulio De Maci, Diana C. Derringer, Tanja Dufrene, Terri Elders, Carol Graham, Lydia E. Harris, Tom Hooker, Helen L. Hoover, Alice Klies, Diana Leagh Matthews, Carol Ogle McCracken, Beverly Hill McKinney, Norma C. Mezoe, Lynn Mosher, Vicki H. Moss, Janet Faye Mueller, Robert B. Robeson, Sue Schlesman, Susan Schwartz, Christina Sinisi, Laura Sweeney, Annmarie B. Tait, Ann Tatlock, Cecil Taylor, Laura Taylor.

Now, if only I could lose the extra ice cream pounds I gained anticipating the latest eclipse episode. If I figure out how to do that--that subject will be something to write about.

See you down the writing trail. Keep writing. You have at least one good book in you!

Comments anyone?

If you would like to comment or have questions about this article, email me vmoss@livingwaterfiction.com

Posted February 5, 2022

VALENTINE'S DAY BRINGS BACK THAT LOVIN' FEELING

Thanks to Rusty Wright for posting on my blog today.

February is known for cold weather, presidents' birthdays and Cupid's delight. As Valentine's Day approaches, hearts flutter, lovers sigh and Charlie Brown hopes that little red-haired girl will like the card he's been gathering up the courage to give her.

Love, sex and amorous relationships have dominated the news over the past year. Not every culture is as comfortable as ours with public displays of affection. In one Malaysian state, laws ban total darkness in movie theaters "to prevent immoral acts like kissing, cuddling and other activities," as one official explained it. Public kissing there usually rates a $70 fine.

Smooch Cops

In Venezuela, extended public kissing and embracing can get you arrested. "If you kiss for more than five seconds, the police will grab you," complained one young woman whose friends were jailed. "It's ridiculous," groused a 24-year-old man. "Whoever invented this law must not have a girlfriend."

Defining immoral kisses can be difficult admitted one policeman, but "when you see it, you should know it." (Has he been reading U.S. Supreme Court decisions?)

Kids on Love, Dating and Marriage

Kids often have unique insights into adults' urge to merge. A friend passed along from the Internet children's answers to questions about love. What do people do on a date? Lynnette (age 8): "Dates are for having fun, and people should use them to get to know each other. Even boys have something to say if you listen long enough."

Martin (age 10) sees the bottom line: "On the first date, they just tell each other lies, and that usually gets them interested enough to go for a second date."

When is it OK to kiss someone? Pam (7): "When they're rich!" Curt (7): "The law says you have to be eighteen, so I wouldn't want to mess with that." Howard (8): "The rule goes like this: If you kiss someone, then you should marry them and have kids with them....It's the right thing to do."

How does one decide whom to marry? Allan (10): "You got to find somebody who likes the same stuff. Like if you like sports, she should like it that you like sports, and she should keep the chips and dips coming." Allan may find it prudent to slightly revise that theory in a few years.

Do You Love Me?

This season pundits ponder, "What is genuine love?" Popular speaker Josh McDowell delineates three kinds of love that can inform kids' (and adults') attitudes: love if, love because of, and love period. Love if and because of are based on personality or performance: "I love you if you go out with me, if you have a good sense of humor, if you sleep with me. I love you because you're attractive, intelligent or athletic."

But the best kind of love says, "I love you period: even with your weaknesses, even if you change, even if someone better looking comes along. Even if you have zoo-breath in the morning. I want to give myself to you."

Real Love

Paul, an early Christian writer, eloquently described this unconditional love: "Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. ...Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. … [Love] will last forever...."

Committed unconditional love could probably heal many romantic rifts. Solid spiritual roots that help produce it can help undergird stable relationships. And the children have noticed that families and adult relationships can use some strengthening.

How can a stranger tell if two people are married? Derrick (8): By "whether they seem to be yelling at the same kids." And how would the world be different if people didn't get married? Kelvin (8): "There sure would be a lot of kids to explain, wouldn't there?"

Copyright © 1999 Rusty Wright

Thanks Rusty, always good to hear from you!

Rusty Wright is an author and lecturer who has spoken on six continents. He holds Bachelor of Science (psychology) and Master of Theology degrees from Duke and Oxford universities, respectively. www.RustyWright.com

Comments anyone?

If you would like to comment or have questions about this article, email me vmoss@livingwaterfiction.com

Posted January 4, 2021

FIRST SENTENCES

Here's an important writing tip to help you begin the New Year. The first sentence of a chapter is extremely important and should be riveting. That first sentence, if weighted with intrigue, horror, or humor, can either draw a reader in and keep them flipping pages, or encourage a reader to decide they need to dog-ear the page and walk away. Because you've just bored them into thinking vacuuming carpets or enjoying a day outside soaking up some Vitamin D is more important than the story you have to tell.

In Jerry Golden's nonfiction book Burned Alive, I noticed several of his chapters had gripping first sentences.

Chapter 1--"I had wanted to fly ever since Uncle George crashed his plane into the house." That line pulled me in right out of the gate. I had to discover what made Uncle George crash his plane into a house and was he flying a small plane or a Boeing 747.

Chapter 2--"Everything in my childhood led me toward Angola Prison." Me. Oh. My. I know a few things about prisons. I used to mentor prisoners at Brushy Mountain Prison in Petros, TN and I once took a long leisurely tour of Alcatraz after it was opened for tourists where I peeked into every nook and cranny and experienced what being sent to the hole meant. I lasted five seconds. I'd always read, however, Angola was the "Hell on Earth" of prisons. Or as some liked to call it the Southern Alcatraz. Angola was a place so dreaded, when hardened criminals learned they'd been sentenced to time there, they broke down. One out of ten prisoners were stabbed. In the 1950s, 31 inmates sliced their Achilles tendons to bring attention to their poor treatment. I couldn't wait to find out more. How in the world did Jerry survive that place?

Chapter 3--"Angola Prison was a garbage pile for the nameless discards of life." Jerry explains: "The fighting I had learned on the playgrounds and streets of West Virginia now served me well in Louisiana. In time, I became the top con of Angola State Prison, an operator who used violence and intimidation to control the prison's drug traffic and loan shark business." If you found the movie Shawshank Redemption to be riveting, you will also be pulled into Jerry's nightmare.

Chapter 6--"The wing tip outside my window forced its way into the ground, transforming the aluminum aircraft into an instant inferno." I ignored stomach growling. I was pressed to keep reading though it was past supper time, to see how this crash could be survived.

Chapter 11--"It was the afternoon of the eighth day, and I was screaming again." And once more, a page turner. What? Is he going to make it? Of course, he survives because he writes the book, but I had to know more about his process while sitting on pins, needles, and loose thumb tacks.

Chapter 12--"By the time I left Mobile on March 4, traces of eyebrows, earlobes and lips were apparent despite the jagged crisscross of stitches that tracked across my face." Sucking in my breath, I said aloud: "Are you kidding me? Does this even end well?" I had to finish the book in one sitting. The dust bunnies would have to wait.

This book does have a good ending and the bottom line message is--Jesus saves. And, Burned Alive is one of those awe inspiring stories you can't walk away from.

These days, Jerry Golden and his wife Connie live in Israel near son Joel and his family. They publish a weekly "Golden Report" about Israel's current events. A major plus: Joel's video tours of ancient sites with his beautiful wife Ola and children Eva, and Jerry. To learn more about Jerry Golden's stories, videos, and updates, please visit his website: www.thegoldenreport.net . It's there you'll learn about the Golden ministry's efforts to return the Jewish people to their homeland via boat and the Mediterranean Sea.

A pdf file of Burned Alive can be purchased through Jerry's website. I normally don't promote individual ministries on my blog, however, donating towards the Jerry Golden ministry by buying a book is definitely a contribution towards a worthy cause. By the time I finished Burned Alive, I was asking myself "how much is one soul worth and shouldn't everyone have an intriguing first sentence and an awe inspiring story ending?"

Keep writing fellow writers and readers and may your 2021 be much better than your 2020!
(Permission from Jerry Golden to use quotes and photos from Burned Alive)

Comments anyone?

If you would like to comment or have questions about this article, email me vmoss@livingwaterfiction.com

Posted February 7, 2020

WRITING WITH VOICE

For you writers out there, if you haven't yet had a chance to read Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens, this week's post will help you navigate through some of Owens' excellent examples of writing with voice. Previously published on the Suite T blog, I've compiled both articles here so you don't have to go searching for them. Enjoy!

Comments anyone?

If you would like to comment or have questions about this article, email me vmoss@livingwaterfiction.com

Posted October 21, 2019

THE JESUS EVENT

EPIC STAGE PRODUCTION 'JESUS'

COMES TO MOVIE THEATERS NATIONWIDE

FOR A SPECIAL EASTER EVENT

Sight & Sound Theatres® Presents: JESUS. The Inspiring Musical

Seen by More Than a Million People Live on Stage Comes to the Big Screen for Three Days Only - April 7, 9 & 11

JesusEvent.com

LANCASTER, Pa. – Oct. 21, 2019 – The greatest rescue story ever told comes to life on movie screens in a special nationwide event April 7, 9 and 11. Filmed in front of a live audience, Sight & Sound’s JESUS is the action-packed musical stage adventure that takes audiences on a miraculous journey alongside the most famous person ever to walk the earth and the everyday people whose lives he changed forever.

More than one million people have experienced the live performance of JESUS at Sight & Sound’s theater in Lancaster, PA. Now, audiences across the country will have the opportunity to witness this awe-inspiring spectacle at the Fathom Events screenings.

“After more than 40 years of bringing the Bible to life on stage, the epic story of JESUS is one we had to bring to the big screen,” said Sight & Sound Chief Creative Officer Josh Enck. “This is the man who challenged the leaders of his time, loved every person he encountered, and changed the world forever.”

SEE THE TRAILER!

Synopsis From the bustling streets of Jerusalem to the raging Sea of Galilee, JESUS is the musical stage adventure that has been seen by more than one million people.

Filmed in front of a live audience, Sight & Sound’s spectacular original production is now coming to the big screen – nationwide! Witness some of the most awe-inspiring, miraculous events as Jesus sets sail with fishermen, challenges the Pharisees and heals the hurting.

Experience the greatest rescue story of all time as the Bible comes to life in movie theaters for a special Easter event – three days only.

“This is our fourth time bringing a Sight & Sound stage production to cinemas, and with every event we do, they become even more grand," said Fathom Events Director of Programming Katie Sawyer-Stachler. “We’re also excited to bring this particular story to big screens nationwide for families to experience just in time for Easter.”

Other Sight & Sound productions to make the journey from stage to screen, include NOAH in 2019, MOSES in 2018 and JONAH in 2017.

“The theatrical productions from Sight & Sound need to be seen by as wide an audience as possible,” said Brian Mitchell, president of WTA Media, which leads marketing efforts for JESUS on screen. “Bringing JESUS to movie theaters opens the door nationwide for families to experience this great show.”

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR JESUS

Show Times:

Tuesday, April 7 | 6:30 p.m.

Thursday, April 9 | 6:30 p.m.

Saturday, April 11 |12:55 p.m.

All times listed are local. Check local listings as not all show times and dates are available at every location.

For tickets and more information, visit JesusEvent.com

From Michael Conrad of One Thirty Agency

Comments anyone?

If you would like to comment or have questions about this article, email me vmoss@livingwaterfiction.com

Posted October 12, 2019

REMEMBERING CHRISTMAS MOMENTS

"Nostalgia. It’s our link to our personal history and identity. It’s that feeling that allows us to reconnect with our childhood, recall the joys of a simpler time, feel closer to those we have lost, experience once again the delight of a cherished moment, even strengthen our faith.

"Join these 43 authors as they share their personal stories of Christmases past. Perhaps they will bring to mind your own treasured memories."

This book is available now through Amazon and Grace Publishing. I have one story in this Moments book -- "The Life Saver of my Hard Candy Christmas."

I know it's not Christmas in October, however, if you're already doing some shopping for the upcoming holidays, these books are great Christmas gifts!

Comments anyone?

If you would like to comment or have questions about this article, email me vmoss@livingwaterfiction.com

Posted September 3, 2019

VISITING THE SETTING YOU'RE WRITING ABOUT

Earlier this year I traveled to Alaska for research while working on a nonfiction book about a U.S. soldier reared in Alaska who lost his life while deployed to Afghanistan. Having never been to the state that came into the union as the 49th, I'd also forgotten much of what I'd read--other than the gold rush of 1898 of course--about Alaska in school history books.

For instance, President Eisenhower signed a special proclamation admitting the territory of Alaska into the Union as not only the 49th state, but the largest state. Why hadn't I remembered a statistic as crucial as the state being the largest? Memory is a funny thing. Some facts are retained while other facts that don't seem important at the time are not. Even though I'd known a couple of people who'd lived in Alaska and I'd been invited to go with another to visit, the state simply wasn't on my in-the-moment radar. Way off in the Northwest, Alaska would be elusive for many years.

I did recall, however, reading about the Alaska purchase being ridiculed as "Seward's Folly" or "Seward's Ice Box," but had never heard the territory called President Andrew Johnson's "polar bear garden." Nor did I recall Alaska being one-fifth the size of the rest of the lower states. Why are tidbits and information like this important? When writing a nonfiction book or even a novel, writers need as many facts as possible. Research is crucial. You might not use every nugget you dig out in discovery, however, you never know when a detail might be just the cachet for an introduction, particular paragraph, or even chapter. Again, research is paramount to good writing. Plus, travel expenses can be written off when tax season rolls around if you can prove you're more than a hobby writer.

Okay, you say, but what about traveling to Afghanistan for additional research? Since it's not all that safe to travel into countries that are still considered war zones (certain areas), the best way to research is by interviewing those with firsthand knowledge. Primary sources. Eye witness accounts are invaluable and necessary. When you've exhausted those resources, you can sometimes find online You Tube videos of the area you're researching. Then, of course, there are usually several books written these days about any destination you might care to visit.

Another scenario: What if you don't have extra money for traveling expenses and your dreams of traveling to exotic places or even the next county outrun your finances? Can you write a believable account of a place you've never been? Perhaps. If your research has served you well. But maybe no. For instance, I read about a particular Alaskan flower I wanted to include in my storyline. I found photos of the flower on the Web, however, those photos did nothing to show me how exquisite this flower is in real time. Not only is the flower one that grows as wild as the surroundings God placed it in, the flower is also used in gorgeous manmade landscapes. I had to see this flower up close and personal to study its form and essence.

If you can write a book about a setting and describe it well enough to convince readers into thinking you know the area well, fine and dandy. But if you can draw from readers words like, "Wow, I felt like I was there once again, reliving what it was like to experience that beautiful and wild country," then you've done a fantastic job of recreating a place you've never visited--difficult to do unless you're a creative writer. For an example, let's take a look at author Jack London. The settings for a couple of his books, Call of the Wild and White Fang, are in Alaska. Though London was accused by the renowned naturalist John Burroughs of being a "nature faker" for portraying animals in an anthropomorphic fashion, London was able to capture the essence of his books' settings after living in the Yukon territory during the gold rush period--with Call of the Wild selling over a million copies. Even though London was attacked as being a "nature faker" (he was also attacked as being a plagiarist on a couple of occasions) his readers willingly immersed themselves into his tales set in a part of the United States where many arm-chair readers would never chance to venture. Against all odds--becoming a traditional author has never been easy--London broke into the business.

In closing, I advise that if at all possible, visit the setting where your book takes place; especially if you're writing nonfiction. If I hadn't made the trip to Alaska, where else could I have seen salmon berries growing in a northern rain forest--waiting to be eaten by animals or made into jelly by humans. I needed to see for myself what the Gold Rush trail looked like to believe it was barely wide enough for a man to walk it, much less a pack horse. No wonder several thousand horses died along the trail and fell off the mountains into gulches below. Seeing a master carver working on his latest totem pole was helpful--I had no idea totem poles were still being carved. Also, experiencing the incredible "wildness" of the wilderness is also greatly beneficial when writing fiction. You can, however, get away with researching through books and searching for treasure troves of info online. But if all of this research is too daunting for your project, you can always concoct a fake town, county, or country, building up your story as you see fit--think William Faulkner's town of Jefferson located in the fictitious county of Yoknapatawpha, Mississippi where several of his books take place. Either way, visit or don't, happy trails to you in researching that next book!

To view more photos I shot while in Alaska, visit my Instagram gallery @vickihmoss

Comments anyone?

If you would like to comment or have questions about this article, email me vmoss@livingwaterfiction.com

Posted August 12, 2019

Rusty Wright is going to be blogging for me today -- thanks Rusty!

HBO's Alternate Endings doc; How do you want to die?

by

Rusty Wright

Got your burial plot picked out yet? How 'bout your casket? Planning on cremation? So where will your ashes go? A coral reef, maybe? Outer space?

HBO's insightful new documentary looks at novel approaches to life's end. Through stories of Americans facing death, Alternate Endings: Six New Ways to Die in America portrays families and loved ones celebrating life and honoring the deceased. It debuts August 14.

Death - especially our own - is often uncomfortable to ponder. In an aging society, Alzheimer's, cancer and more reinforce its reality.

Alternate Endings shows Leila Johnson burying her dad's ashes in cement that becomes part of a memorial coral reef in the Gulf of Mexico.

Ever wonder what people might say about you at your memorial service? Terminally ill, 80-year-old Guadalupe Cuevas enjoys a living wake, hearing friends' and relatives' tributes.

Barbara Jean arranges her "green burial," with biodegradable cloth body wrap and a shallow grave near a new tree.

"Heavenly" sendoff

Sara Snider Green provides a "heavenly" sendoff - of sorts - by launching her father's remains into space on a NASA rocket.

Five-year-old terminal cancer victim Garrett Matthias wanted not a funeral but a party for kids with bouncy houses and snow cones. Wish granted.

These five vignettes portray poignant emotion: laughter, tears, fears, delight. But a sixth segment touched me most.

Death on your own terms?

76-year-old Dick Shannon has untreatable, terminal cancer. He wants to die on his own terms. After appropriate goodbyes, he plans to drink a fatal pharmaceutical cocktail, all legal in California. His musings and interactions as his departure approaches are fascinating to follow.

Dick helps build his own coffin. At a goodbye party, his friends write notes on the lid.

Dick reflects: "When I think about my death, it's bothersome to me not knowing what it's going to be like. Is there anything after that?"

What's next?

Is there anything after that? Can we ever know?

Facing our mortality can be scary. The late anthropologist Ernest Becker argued in his Pulitzer Prize-winning book The Denial of Death that desires to avoid fear of death explain much human behavior. The summer before entering university, I wrestled with my own afterlife questions. Lacking good answers, I gave up.

Maybe death is just the end of everything. But how can we know? And suppose it's not the end, that we are still aware. Will eternity be pleasant or unpleasant?

Personal lessons

Losing loved ones over the past decade has taught me much. My siblings and I scattered our parents' ashes in the California ocean. Concerns about wind blowing the ashes back on us were moot, but we were unprepared for the seemingly tame waves that suddenly rose and drenched us - twice! We suspected our parents would have been laughing.

As my late wife's caregiver during her 3½ year cancer journey, I was sad watching her die. But we each found comfort in a lesson that, in many ways, stems from our Jewish friends and their heritage.

One ancient Hebrew book describes Job, who, despite his slew of troubles, affirmed, "I know that my Redeemer lives." That gave him hope.

Dead...or alive? <>A skeptic in my youth, I didn't believe my Redeemer lived. Then I examined the evidences for Jesus' bodily resurrection and found it one of the best attested facts in history. He said, "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die." It made sense for me to place my trust in him, and that assured me of a bright future after death.

HBO's Alternate Endings can get you thinking about your own mortality. Perhaps these comments can also help you find the answer to "Is there anything after death?" I hope so.

www.hbo.com/documentaries/alternate-endings-six-new-ways-to-die-in-america

Debuts on HBO August 14, 8:00 pm ET/PT and on partners' streaming platforms

Rusty Wright is an author and lecturer who has spoken on six continents. He holds Bachelor of Science (psychology) and Master of Theology degrees from Duke and Oxford universities, respectively. www.RustyWright.com

Comments anyone?

If you would like to comment or have questions about this article, email me vmoss@livingwaterfiction.com

Posted August 9, 2019

THE ARK ENCOUNTER

I hope everyone's been having a great summer--mine's been busy. One of the trips I took with my grandies this year was to the Ark Encounter in Kentucky. The best time to go is during a weekday, after 4:00 p.m., and preferably after school has started. Some reviews say not to take kids until they are high school age, however, I discovered even a two-year-old enjoys this incredible place. Seeing the mammoth-size boat is a great visual for kids and adults alike, and what a great way to teach about Noah and the catastrophic flood. You won't be disappointed.

On the walkway before entering the Ark, there is a replica of the stone remembrance built when the Israelites crossed the Jordan River. For a refresher of Joshua Chapter Three and Four, the Israelites were carrying the Ark of the Covenant (different ark that housed the Ten Commandments and was carried by poles that rested on the priests' shoulders) across the Jordan River which was at flood stage during harvest. I'm paraphrasing here, but as soon as the priests' feet touched the water's edge, God held back the waters flowing downriver in "a heap" until all of the Israelite nation crossed over. Once on the other side, the Lord said to Joshua, "Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan from right where the priests stood and to carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight." They were to stack up the stones as a memorial to the people of Israel forever.

Now, I don't know if those stones from the Jordan River were round stones or flat stones but the stones stacked up at the Ark Encounter in KY happened to be flat stones and this will be important later on in the story. What matters is that all three grandies ages seven, five, and two, had a good look at the stones as their Mama read the plaque explaining this story. What was important is there was a visual. And I'd never before even once wondered about whether or not the stones in the book of Joshua were flat stones or round.

Once inside the replica of Noah's ark, there were more surprises. In many of the cages, we found several replicas of prehistoric animals that might have lived during Noah's time. There were also loads of pots covered and tied with burlap to house reptiles. Water could be poured through the burlap so the reptiles could drink, not sure how they were fed because it was "On to the next exhibit!" The kids were so excited and frankly, I was amazed. The belly of the ark was cavernous and it was easy to see how all of the juvenile creatures could have fit inside. Clay pots were used to store water and on the third level were the living quarters of Noah and his family. It was here they grew vegetables in raised beds. There were explanations and examples of how the light entering the ark could be controlled after the first forty days and nights of rain.

There were even drawings to show how Noah's sons could have gotten the urine and manure from the animal's stalls out of the boat without opening hatches or doors--done with clay pots and a pulley system…I wish I'd had time to study the system in more depth. But it was on to a movie to watch part of a Noah reenactment. With children, it's difficult to read every single plaque and I missed out on a lot but that was okay, I just wanted the kids to get an overall picture of how awesome this ark was before we ventured on to riding a camel near the petting zoo. It had been a couple of years since I'd straddled a camel...yikes!

There were times the two-year-old wouldn't cooperate--par for the course. And when she ripped out her big hair bow, I said, "Fine, if you won't wear it, Lovie will," and not to be outdone, I clipped the hair bow into my hair next to my sun visor. Later, when looking at the photos of the big girls with me atop a camel, my daughter said, "Mom, did you forget you were wearing a hair bow?" We could not stop laughing. At least the kids would have a priceless photo of their crazy grandmother when they got older.

Later that night while tucked under the covers, I reread the Genesis story from a hotel Gideon Bible to the big girls. Then I asked each grandie to share her favorite part of the Ark Encounter. I thought they would both say the outside petting zoo and playground. Surprisingly, both girls loved the third level living quarters where Noah and his family slept, worked, and grew food. They were totally infatuated with the animated Noah sitting at his desk.

After the girls had fallen asleep, I pondered over the ark's waste situation. I'd never thought about that problem. Then I recalled Daddy telling me that when he was young and helped with the farm's livestock, they deep-bedded over winter months--meaning they didn't muck out stalls every day, but added fresh straw daily or when needed. This made for a toasty warm barn. When spring arrived, they mucked out the soiled straw and after decomposition, had rich fertilizer. So, I tried deep bedding one winter in my horse barn. And yes, the barn stayed toasty warm. And it was so easy to throw in fresh straw giving me more time to keep tack clean and oiled and horses groomed.

What Daddy had forgotten to tell me was this: When the barn was mucked out in the spring, it was like digging out concrete. Noah, however, wouldn't have minded. He simply walked away from the boat on Mount Ararat in present day Turkey and with his sons' help, constructed new living quarters.

Back to the waste problem, what if God put the animals into hibernation once they entered their cages? What if there weren't loads of poop to muck out because everyone rested in a sleepy state for most of the year and more they were on the ark? So many questions I'd never thought of before! So, the next day while driving through McDonald's food line, I brought up all of these questions in the car and we discussed them. After everyone had their chicken nuggets in hand, I asked the five-year-old (I'd dubbed her the goat whisperer), "The goats always love you. What do you say to those goats when you're whispering in their ears?" She replied, "I was just saying, 'I'm sorry you have to listen to those chickens bwaucking all the time."

Suddenly we heard the two-year-old interrupting with an, "I did it! I did it!" When her apprehensive mother and I turned around to check to see what she'd done, instead of her eating her nuggets, she'd piled them high like stacked stones to replicate what she'd witnessed the day before. There before her was an Israelite memorial (though made of chicken) as a call of remembrance that God had performed a miracle by holding back the flood waters of the Jordan River so His people could cross over to the Promised Land--the second time he'd held back the waters; the first time took place when they crossed the Red Sea and a memorial was left on today's Jordanian side.

Takeaway: 1) young children can definitely learn lots at the Ark Encounter and it's a learning experience for all, no matter how many times you've read the Noah story. For instance, I hadn't realized that Noah had a birthday while floating on the Ark--he entered at 600 and turned 601 and 2) if you're going to ride a camel, remember to return the two-year-old's hair bow unless, of course, you want a hearty belly laugh into perpetuity.

Comments anyone?

If you would like to comment or have questions about this article, email me vmoss@livingwaterfiction.com

Posted April 15, 2019

EXPANDING YOUR VOCABULARY

At the present I'm working on a nonfiction book about a young soldier who was Killed in Action (KIA) in the Middle East. To write a book like this requires lots of research. I have to get up to speed on the Middle East. Watch scores of video. Learn about the modern Army. Read newspaper articles. And interview as many first hand witnesses as possible.

In plodding through all of this research, I'm reminded of how our culture has changed over the last twenty years. How the "eff" word has come to rear its ugly head throughout literature and life. Listening to some of the younger generation cursing and swearing using the "eff" word exclusively gets boring and redundant after a while. To hear someone over fifty using the word just sounds ridiculous and like they're trying to sound either cool, hip, or trying extra hard to stay relative. Time to become the adult in the room.

I'm reminded of my mother and a conversation we once had after I was grown and asked her, "Why is it guys think they have to use that word all the time?" Mother's answer, "That's a man's word," said it all. Today, it's also a woman's word in many cases--depending on the caliber of the woman--and what part of the country she grew up in, and depending on whether or not her parents approved of the use of the word and used the word themselves.

The "eff" word is used so frequently by all genders these days, you'd think that it's the only word teachers and professors use to get a point across. In the past, the "eff" word was a word I never once heard my grandfather, Daddy, or my uncles use, much less a woman. Today, everyone thinks they have to use this word as an adjective to describe a hammer, or a nail, or a shoe, or a bologna sandwich or anything else they might be trying to describe or eat. They've made it into such a versatile word--because they've gotten too lazy to use the language inherent to them--and sometimes try to downplay the word to clean it up a tad in mixed company or in front of their children (many parents don't care and use the vulgar word in front of their children--therefore encouraging their kids to use this word too), by using the word "friggin" which in essence, means the same thing. Those swearing by using "friggin" have only sugar-coated the word and put a tutu on it to make it cuter--if that's even possible--and more palatable to read.

So imagine my surprise when in my recent research, I read The Road to Unafraid by Jeff Struecker and came across the subject of curse word usage when he was talking about his close friend in the Ranger reconnaissance regiment, Kurt Smith: "At one point he [Kurt] went home on leave--and returned radically changed. He had turned his life over to Jesus Christ, and it clearly showed. Right away his language changed for the better, his music choices cleaned up, and his general attitude brightened. He began telling others in the detachment about Christ and what a difference he had brought to his life. It was unmistakable.

"I had to admit that although I had been a declared Christian for nearly a decade, my daily life didn't reflect it...I began disciplining myself to speak without the usual splatter of four-letter words that are epidemic in army talk. I could get my point across just as well without them."

Kudos to Jeff and learning how to get his point across without using expletives. The "eff" word doesn't do a thing to help powerful imagery, storyline, language, or descriptions and a writer with a decent vocabulary can get his/her point across without the "eff" word. The trends to use vulgarity and profanity reflect no doubt upon the last couple of generations being influenced by Hollywood and sitcoms. And it's pretty comical that many people don't want to think they dress like someone else or are copying another's hair styles--everyone wants to think they are unique and creative but to me all hipsters and bikers and valley girls look alike and all writers who think they have to use foul language mostly write alike. Joke's on them because as King Solomon said, there's nothing new under the sun. And when it comes to their language, they all sound the same. Illiterate. Because they use the "eff" word as a noun, verb, adjective, preposition, conjunction, and probably as an adverb--and everyone knows adverbs have fallen from grace throughout the writing world these days.

So try not shocking readers with strings of obsceneties and cheap swearing riffs--no one is shocked anymore by vulgarity and the use of the "eff" word doesn't boost book sales and only shows lack of class, taste, intelligence, and talent. And you're only limiting sales because some people don't care to read profanity every other phrase. Instead, consider the vulgarity KIA and try shocking your readers with your intellect and brilliant writing skills. Slice, dice, and delete those curse words from manuscripts and get creative with word usage. Show readers you know how to "show" not "tell" by expanding your vocabulary.

And if you really want to impress me, learn how to use the Oxford comma :D--unlike wearing toboggans and brogans on hot summer days, some things never go out of style.

Comments anyone?

If you would like to comment or have questions about this article, email me vmoss@livingwaterfiction.com

Posted April 9, 2019

REMEMBERING ARETHA FRANKLIN

When I was a youngster, Aretha Franklin songs were a large part of my life. Especially her song "RESPECT" that captured the radio air waves. I use to sashay around the house singing that song, pretending I was the queen of soul with hand motions and lots of sass. I had a pretty good gig lip syncing the song as well and when my parents had friends or aunts and uncles over, they would say, "Vicki, do Aretha's 'RESPECT!' I was good for a laugh. If only I had asked for cash for my performances, my 401K might be more impressive.

So, when the world lost the talented Aretha Franklin last year, all of those childhood memories came rushing in. When Rusty Wright sent me this press release, I was thrilled to know a movie about her life was forthcoming. I'll let Rusty give you the scoop:

Amazing Grace movie: recording Aretha Franklin's best-selling album

By Rusty Wright

After the Queen of Soul's 2018 death, her family released the long-mothballed 1972 documentary about recording her bestselling album at a Los Angeles church. Mick Jagger was in Aretha's church audience. Critics are raving. What's it all about?

Franklin spent two evenings in January 1972 at New Temple Missionary Baptist Church recording Gospel songs with a choir before a live audience. Anchored by the classic hymn, Amazing Grace, the sessions included her covers of Marvin Gaye's Wholy Holy and of Carole King's You've Got a Friend, comments from her pastor father, and plenty of lively audience reaction. She had returned to her roots, and the result was captivating.

Though legal and technical quagmires kept the Sydney Pollack-directed film in the can for decades, critical acclaim continued for Franklin's best-selling Amazing Grace audio album.

Heard it through the grapevine…

The late singer/songwriter/producer Marvin Gaye called the album "Aretha's singular masterpiece… her greatest work…The musicians I respect the most say the same thing."

Rolling Stone notes that album executive producer Jerry Wexler, an atheist, believed the album "relates to religious music in much the same way Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel relates to religious art. In terms of scope and depth, little else compares to its greatness."

The movie release has brought renewed praise. "Don't bother with tissues. Bring a towel," advised Pulitzer Prize winning New York Times critic Wesley Morris of the film's emotional impact. "Everybody deserves to have Aretha Franklin take them to the moon."

Satisfaction…?

Attendees at the 1972 recording/film session included Mick Jagger with Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts. Jagger recently recalled the event fondly to the Los Angeles Times: "…a really electrifying performance…raised the hair on the back of your neck...super-charged…a different Aretha…than I had experienced before."

"You were there," Jagger continued, "you were involved. Being there in a church, you're part of the experience - you're not just a member of an audience somehow. You're not in a posh seat sitting down, where you've paid your money and you're like 'OK, entertain me.' It was not that feeling. It was a very different vibe than a normal concert … I think I was singing along."

The film shows Jagger mouthing words and moving with the rhythm. "I'm really glad it's finally coming out to the world," he remarked of the film's release.

A world treasure

Filmmaker Spike Lee calls Amazing Grace "One of the greatest concerts ever put to film. …Aretha is one of the world's treasures…." "It's a spiritual, religious experience watching that," he told Deadline. "This film is historic...part of the story of America. The church."

Rev. William Barber II, a North Carolina pastor who spoke at Franklin's funeral, says, "Her voice could help you hear God's voice."

Lost and found

Of course, the hymn Amazing Grace has global popularity. Its special resonance among African-American communities is a fitting tribute to the song's origins. Penned by John Newton, an eighteenth-century British slave-trader-turned-pastor, it encapsulates his own tumultuous journey from oppression, confusion, and despair to faith.

"I once was lost, but now am found," wrote Newton about finding faith in Jesus after a storm at sea, "was blind, but now I see." Newton mentored parliamentarian William Wilberforce, who led a grueling 20-year legislative battle that outlawed the slave trade in the British empire.

Franklin's sonorous rendering of Gaye's Wholy Holy echoes similar timeless themes. The lyrics speak of believing in Jesus; the book he left us; and that believing and following it can help "conquer hate," "rock the world's foundation," and spread love.

Relevant to today's headlines?

Yes, by all means, see Amazing Grace. Let Aretha take you to the moon… and beyond.

www.Amazing-Grace-Movie.com Opens April 19

Rated G (USA)

Rusty Wright is an author and lecturer who has spoken on six continents. He holds Bachelor of Science (psychology) and Master of Theology degrees from Duke and Oxford universities, respectively. www.RustyWright.com

Comments anyone?

If you would like to comment or have questions about this article, email me vmoss@livingwaterfiction.com

Posted February, 21, 2019

WHAT'S IN A TITLE

Everything.

A good title that sums up a novel's theme can draw a reader in on a hook that won't bend to allow a reader to get away. A bad title can send someone to another shelf in the bookstore or for a caffeinated latte.

Would Gone With the Wind sound as romantic if the book had been titled Gone with the Civil War or Gone with Granny's Silver? Another example is Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove . The title is fitting--literary perfection. The ex-Texas rangers are lonesome. And the landscape is so stark and lonesome the rocks seem to weep and a reader feels the skies will be swarmed any minute with endless clouds of mourning doves crying for Christ's second coming.

But how to find a title that hooks? For sentence one into the makings of McMurtry's 858 page novel the author writes: "When Augustus came out on the porch the blue pigs were eating a rattlesnake--not a very big one." McMurtry says, "I didn't even have a title, until, by a miracle, I got one. There was an old church bus sitting in seeming abandonment beside a Texas road I was driving along. The sign on the bus said LONESOME DOVE BAPTIST CHURCH. I knew, at once, that I had had a piece of luck; I drove straight home and wrote the novel. A good title can save a book, and the sign on the old fading bus saved mine; tragic though it is it has added some happiness to the world."

What goes for novels also goes for articles. After interviewing bestselling author Lee Smith, I sent my article in to Southern Writers Magazine's Graphics Designer, Gary Fearon, to add graphics. I'd titled the article "From Meatloaf to Magical Thinking." When I received the article back for approval, the title had been changed to one that included the word "mountains"--in part because Lee writes a lot about the Appalachian Mountains and their people. Fitting. Gary also changed the title in part because--and rightly so--he felt that an elegant lady such as Lee might take offense at the word meatloaf…in her title.

While, sometimes, two heads really are better than one and collaboration and respect for Gary's expertise is what I hold dear in working so closely with him because I value his input, I liked my title better and was going to fight for it like Sherman on his fire path from Atlanta to the big pond. My thinking: Meatloaf and "magical thinking" were written into Lee's interview because she'd shared about her piano teacher's house always smelling like meatloaf and she laughed about people wearing football jerseys on game day for "magical thinking" that their team would win if they did so. All in the article.

Almost like Lot going to God to negotiate about saving any righteous in the towns of Sodom and Gomorrah--because I think so highly of Gary's writing skills and judgment when it comes to layout and titles--I invoked the graphics guru to beseech, implore, and beg like a junkyard dog on a tethered leash trying to get a taste of an out-of-reach Sunday-supper bone, to keep my title. After a couple of emails back and forth with me saying something like, "I know Lee Smith personally. She's a gazillion articles written about her with "mountains" in the title and I think she would love my meatloaf title because it's different and meatloaf in a title is just plain funny. And I love meatloaf. Why don't we let her weigh in so she can make the final decision?"

Gary, gracious as always, agreed. Lee Smith wrote back, her humorous voice evermore shining through even in an email, "I vote for meatloaf!" That said, trying to dicker with an editor or the graphics designer on every title they might want to change isn't always wise. A graphics designer might have a certain piece of artwork in mind that compliments a different title along with making an article "pop" more.

In summation, when it comes to titles, try to find the best title for your book and keep it short if possible--the title along with the cover are obviously the first two things readers see. And if the title is worth a donnybrook when your work goes to an editor, duke it out.

Most editors know best--although some of the big city editors don't understand some Southern terminology like "chirt" roads (my experience) or why Southerners are so enamored with sweet tea--but that's when it's necessary to gently explain the often times unexplainable.

And for the tale's end of this title epistle, know that most editors have usually been in the business for awhile and know what works, what sells. So tread softly. Be flexible. No need for lacing up the gloves and fancy footwork if it's not that big a deal. Wisely choose your fights before going into the ring or heading out of Atlanta on a fiery swath. You don't want to intentionally step in anyone's meatloaf.

P.S. Gary Fearon is no longer with Southern Writers Magazine -- he's pursuing his love of radio, music, and many of his other talents and interests. Miss you lots, Gary!

Comments anyone?

If you would like to comment or have questions about this article, email me vmoss@livingwaterfiction.com

Posted December 6, 2018

THE REASON FOR THE SEASON

He's Coming

Some say He's not coming. Some say he never came. After 400 years of silence between the books of Malachi and Matthew, some didn't believe He was born as a baby in human form to a "nobody" like Mary of Nazareth after that long and silent 400 years of no one hearing from God.

Even though there were miracles when He came and plenty of people witnessed them and many believed, other than the apostles and disciples, there were others who didn't want to believe because they didn't want to lose their toe-hold on power. Others feared being ostracized from their families and communities, therefore, they wanted to keep the beliefs they'd grown up with--the beliefs their parents had handed down to them.

Today, there are still millions who believe Jesus has already come as the Messiah. Just from the stories alone. Even though we see priests and pastors and government leaders abusing their positions, we know that one day, Jesus will come back to make things right, according to Zechariah 14 and Revelation. But until then? What should we be doing? Some of His last words to his disciples (def. disciple -- one who embraces and assists in spreading the teachings of another, an active adherent) were, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." John 20:19-21

Even though Jesus no longer walks the earth in human form with us today, He passed the baton to those who believed in Him and His teachings--His disciples--so they could continue to carry the Good News forward to the next generations--the modern day disciples who would keep spreading the Word to the lost and weary. That so-called baton is His Holy Spirit. Our Comforter and Counselor.

It's amazing how the Bible is still the bestselling book of all times. Though many might own one, perhaps handed down to them or given to them as a child, they still haven't read it. Though they've read Gone With the Wind, To Kill a Mockingbird, Think and Grow Rich, War and Peace, Harry Potter books, A Tale of Two Cities, or the Lord of the Rings, the Bible gathers dust in an attic or on a book shelf. The one book that is truly a life changer stays hidden away. There are some adults in this country who still can't read and the Bibles handed down to them are treasured but stored away. And there are those who don't want to read God's Word so their lives can be changed--they enjoy living in squalor and sin until their world comes crashing down on them.

I once heard a man say he'd gone to a prison and talked with a prisoner about changing his ways. He gave him a chance to accept Christ and be baptized. The prisoner replied, "Not now, I want to wait until my little boy can be here." That was just an excuse. He wasn't ready to change his ways. He was told, "You could walk out of here and get hit by a car and it would be too late. The time is now. While you have the opportunity. You can always tell your son about it later." The prisoner still wasn't ready. He had some bad-boy-living yet to do.

In a world where Ipads, Iphones, computers, and social media have taken over our lives, we are all so distracted, constantly checking emails, the stock market, and posts, etc. The devil is keeping us busy. Until there is a major catastrophic event like 911. Then people rush to the churches and cry out to God, though their prayers dwindle down after a few days. I'm guilty as well. It's hard to stay focused on someone we can't see. Human beings are visual. It helps if the other person we're speaking with is standing in front of us. Out of sight, out of mind.

And yet, He is in front of us and all around us, even inside us through His Holy Spirit--He's everywhere, we just can't see Him. But He's still there. And He wants us to make an effort to be with Him. Not just on the day we celebrate His birthday, but all year 'round. We must make an effort to spend time with Him. He's always gently wooing. But how to be involved in a relationship with the One who died for us--such a bloody affair, who even wants to think about it--the only One who can save us so we may spend eternity with Him? Begin with a simple ancient prayer. "Show me Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths." -- Psalm 25:4 NKJV

If we are sincere and pursue Him like a lost love, He will answer. He is the Prince of Peace and He longs to be with us. He enjoys hearing about our day--the good, the bad, and the ugly. He gives us strength to carry on. He's for us, not against us. He longs for us to depend on Him. He is our Rock! Our salvation. He saves.

I pray your holidays are filled with love and laughter and lots of good food and hot chocolate. And remember that if you believe and have been nice instead of naughty, Santa will come to visit, but the real reason for the season: Jesus was born to walk the earth, to teach people how to live life, to die for us, and to set the captives free. Hold your babies close and make sure to share with them the reason you believe. One day they'll be sharing Jesus stories with their own grandbabies--until Jesus returns, and we have no clue when that day might arrive. But oh, what a blessed day that will be.

If I don't get a post out before the big birthday celebration on the 25th, from my home to yours--Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Comments anyone?

If you would like to comment or have questions about this article, email me vmoss@livingwaterfiction.com

Posted December 2, 2018

A VISIT WITH THE FAT MAN

The days between Halloween and New Year's are always a blur for me. The holiday rush begins with my two eldest grandies, Little Miss Rose Dragonfly and Little Miss Lavender Ladybug (names they dubbed themselves when working in my garden--the youngest is called Little Miss Squash Blossom) finally deciding what they want to be for Halloween. Then I get to photograph their characters. Then comes Thanksgiving right around the corner and everybody but the children know a turkey somewhere is going to lose his head. This year, it was two turkeys.

And then, after the turkey carcasses have been discarded, comes the big worry for my two eldest grandies. The Santa Claus list. Who's been naughty. Who's been nice?

I happened to be standing in the kitchen when Little Miss Lavender Ladybug (just turned five) looked at me with a worried brow and out of the blue said, "I think I've been good this year."

I laughed and said, "Really? What about two weeks ago you pulled your big sister's hair. And you kicked her and I had to get the fly swat out?"

Her face paled as she thought about her trangressions. "Here's what I think you need to do," I said. "You need to write a letter to Santa Claus and tell him you're sorry you kicked your sister and pulled her hair. That you'll do better between now and Christmas. And then, you know that double jointed elf that comes to visit?"

"Sven," Little Miss Lavender Ladybug replied.

"Yes, that's the one. When he shows up hanging upside down off the chandeliers somewhere, you need to tell him you're sorry because he reports everything back to Santa at the North Pole those last weeks before Santa arrives in his sleigh with that herd of reindeers that fly. You know good and well that elf watches you all of the time." I mumbled under my breath, "He's as bad as those oversized Orwellian smart TVs hooked up to the internet that your daddy recently hung on the walls, always listening in on everything we say." I smiled at the television in the living room, waved, and said, "Good morning cabal!"

I could see that Little Miss Lavender Ladybug was in deep thought because her face had turned alabaster white. Later, I whispered to her mother, "It's time to get that Elf on a Shelf in for his yearly visit. Little Miss Lavender Ladybug has some explaining to do."

A couple of days later, the big day rolled around. The time to visit Santa had arrived. As we stood in line for the official visit, I whispered to Little Miss Lavender Ladybug, "Don't forget to tell Santa you're sorry for being so naughty this year." No reply.

Little Miss Rose Dragonfly, the six-year-old made sure she was first to tell Santa what she wanted. She was poised. All Barbie smiley. And deliberate in her stylish black short boots and lacy long socks peeping over the top. She stood there smoothtalking Santa like she'd never had a tear-jerking meltdown in her life. Like she'd been practicing for some time and had that Santa list memorized front to back, back to front, and sideways in Apache code to keep some little people from stealing her ideas and copying her, not leaving anything out. Let's just say there were several requests. Some so lofty she had to retrieve them from her Adobe Cloud.

And then I heard, "I would like for you to bring me Tenny's banjo. Tenny is an American Girl doll." There was no mention of being naughty or nice. Santa didn't bring it up. Nor did Missus Claus who happened to be with Santa, though I could tell our warmer Tennessee weather was causing the missus to have hot flashes. And Little Miss Rose Dragonfly wasn't about to fess up about anything that might keep her from raking in a haul at Christmas. I heard Santa say, "Oh yes, another little girl asked for Tenny's banjo." I almost expected to hear, "Well, you'd better be texting your elves to make sure they make plenty Tenny banjos to go around!" But Little Miss Rose Dragonfly held onto her composure and was all prim and proper and Southern Belle lady-like and knew when to hold her peace and not unleash any Cruella DeVille tirades.

Then it was Little Miss Lavender Ladybug's turn to have the Santa talk and also, Mom thought Little Miss Squash Blossom might do better with Santa if one of her big sisters were within close proximity, so they all approached the fat man dressed in red together. While Little Miss Lavender Ladybug rattled off about wanting some of American Girl doll Julie Albright's accessories--I thought she might ask for lots of Bubble Gum since she'd just turned five and was now allowed to chew, but she didn't--Little Miss Squash Blossom clung to her mama and buried her face into her mama's bosom almost rubbing her hair clean off in her mother's cleavage. The hair it had taken her an entire lifetime of less than two years to grow. And then she blubbered, "No way! No way!" like she was wont to do when stranger-danger, or what her nineteen-month-old preconceived notion of stranger-danger might be, and like she was wont to do when having to be one inch away from her mama. As a grandmother, I knew it was only a stage she was going through, that there was nothing to fear from Santa--but then I recalled my college days and walking two miles to the mall on Knoxville's Kingston Pike in the rain with a friend named Farkle to get our photo while sitting on Santa's lap and him asking me for a date...but that's another story for another time. But anyway, Mama had to jump into the picture holding Little Miss Squash Blossom who's eyes had bigged up like tea cup saucers.

And that's when I heard Santa say, "Ahhh. Julie Albright. From the Albright family. I know that family." I leaned in closer to lend Santa my ear. I thought we were going to get the skinny on the Albright family. But what I heard next from Santa must have had Little Miss Lavender Ladybug quaking in her black patton leather Mary Jane's. "But tell me something, have you girls been fighting this year?"

I sucked in my breath and held it. Waiting to hear what Little Miss Lavender Ladybug might say, since she hadn't yet 'fessed up to Santa about the donnybrooks she and her sister had had all year, nor had she apologized for outright caterwauling like a feral cat, kicking, and pulling hair. I leaned in so close to hear what might be said next that I could smell the chimney smoke on Santa's boots from last year's escapades as the children's Dad prepared to capture the Kodak moment.

"Welllllll," Little Miss Lavender Ladybug said, bold as hot brass and full of sass, "My big sister had been wanting me to kick her for a long time." And I have to say, the child did not tell a lie. She told the truth as she knew it--in a round about rope-a-dope Muhammad Ali boxing style sort of way. There's a potential lawyer here in the making.

You know what they say, whopper truth is stranger than fiction and I'm only recording the facts ma'am, just the facts. *big grins here*

And I hope all of my readers out there have a very Merry Christmas -- thank you all for being so supportive and buying mine and Natalie's Nailed It! The Nail Salon Chronicles books for Christmas gifts! Love you all!

P.S. Don't forget the real reason for the season. A child was born..."For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace." -- Isaiah 9:6

Comments anyone?

If you would like to comment or have questions about this article, email me vmoss@livingwaterfiction.com

Posted August 20, 2018

Titanic Conference 2018

Our Story -- Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the 1998 Titanic Expedition (compiled and written by Bill Willard) has now been released and is available from Amazon.

And those of us who attended the recent Titanic 2018 conference in Pigeon Forge, TN were lucky enough to get our hands on the first available copies.

Here's the blurb from the back copy: "The 1998 Titanic Expedition, led by George Tullock and PH Nargeolet, was an endeavor its members will never forget.

"Now, their first-hand accounts and photos allow you to experience the journey with them as they broadcast the first live television programs from a ship, transmit the first live images from a submersible at the bottom of the North Atlantic, raise the only portion of the Titanic to have been lifted from the ocean's depths, conduct scientific investigations, and race to outrun a hurricane.

"It's an adventure you don't want to miss."

The back blurb doesn't include the bit about Hurricane Bonnie's 84' waves everyone on board the recovery ship had to endure.

Lots of photos in this book and if you're a Titaniac--or just have a passing interest in ship recovery--you will definitely enjoy this read.

Comments anyone?

If you would like to comment or have questions about this article, email me vmoss@livingwaterfiction.com

Posted July 8, 2018

Nailed It! It's Here!

Nailed It!: The Nail Salon Chronicles has been birthed and delivered and is now published by Grace Publishing and can be purchased at Amazon.com . And I do believe stars not only sang together during this process, they aligned so the book would get to where it needed to be. Thanks to Terri Kalfas for her fine editing skills, getting a book ready for publication is a job -- especially when your life is jam-packed full of activities already.

And thanks to Southern Writers Magazine for the advertising and help getting word about the book out there. Susan Reichert and her graphics designers have been sweethearts when working with what I send them.

Already, wonderful things are happening with this little gem. Natalie Banda, my co-author, has just recently returned from Young Life camp where many unwed mothers with beautiful children soaked up the love and learned more about Jesus, His Father, and His Holy Spirit.

Now the marketing continues. Thanks for all of you who have prayed and helped with this book project. May you be blessed for your kind and efficient efforts. And thanks to friends and family who have been helpful and supportive. Love you all!

Please continue to help get the word out about the book--thanks in advance!

To read the back cover, you can go to Amazon and do a search under the book title Nailed It!: The Nail Salon Chronicles or you can search Amazon for my name Vicki H. Moss or Natalie Banda's name.

Also, you can follow Natalie on Instagram: @n.a.banda and my Instagram is @vickihmoss My Twitter is @vickimoss

Stay cool during this humid heat wave and Happy Trails! We'll talk again and I should have another update for you.

In His Grip!

Comments anyone?

If you would like to comment or have questions about this article, email me vmoss@livingwaterfiction.com

Posted May 27, 2018

Nailed It!

I have been a slacker in my blogging life I know. I've been working on a special book so you'll know I haven't forgotten about you dearest friends and readers.

But here's the skinny: Natalie Banda and I just signed a contract with Grace Publishing and nailed it! will be published by late summer. You won't be disappointed.

Here's the pitch: "Two people pray with expectancy. Within minutes God answers. From their meeting, individual Godcident stories will be shared--amazing stories of God working in people's lives today."

When I first met Natalie in the Bay area of California in the fall of 2016, I immediately knew she was a Christian. She dared not hide her light under a bushel--no! She was lit up like a Christmas tree shining with God's love and Holy Spirit. No shrinking violet when it comes to the Word of God, Natalie couldn't wait to share what God had done in her life and continues to do in her life. And after she found out I'm all about God stories, a book was soon in the making.

If you're a Christian, you might be delighted and amazed when reading our stories. If you're an agnostic or a seeker, you might be intrigued to dig deeper into God's word to find truth. If you're totally dead set against finding out anything that has to do with a creator God and salvation/redemption, you might read nailed it! anyway and if you have any questions, Natalie and I will be glad to try and answer them. But here's some food for thought: What are the odds a believer from Tennessee (who never thought she'd be in the Bay area again and never visits nail salons when on vacation), after praying with expectancy that something awesome would happen, would meet a believer from California who was praying for clients to walk through her door--and they would then write a book together?

I aced statistics. Slim to none are those odds. No room for doubt, a mighty hand was involved in our meeting.

This is a book that could make you really think. Hopefully motivate you to seek a closer relationship with Jesus Christ. What if this book could drastically change your life?

You don't want to miss the nail salon chronicles.

I'll keep you posted on the expected publishing date. Until then, keep the faith! (Faith is believing without seeing.)

Love you all!

Comments anyone?

If you would like to comment or have questions about this article, email me vmoss@livingwaterfiction.com

Posted May 8, 2018

Looking for Fun Projects?

Then this book, or the Essential Manual for Creating Custom Natural Dyes at Home, might be for you.

"Discover the wonder of nature’s living colors and transform everyday items with The Natural Colors Cookbook, your guide to creating a spectrum of organic dyes using seasonal produce and leftover food. Now you can bring the timeless form of plant-based dyes to the comfort and familiarity of your own kitchen with the expertise of Maggie Pate, owner and designer of the naturally-dyed clothing label Nåde. Watch in awe as a few hours on the stove extracts a delicate blush tone from a handful of avocado pits, water-soaked black beans release an ashy blue hue and fennel feathers morph into an icy mint. Instead of tossing vegetable trimmings, transform red onion skins into an unexpected olive green, minimizing waste and avoiding harsh chemical dyes.

"From selecting among types of natural fibers to mordant and scouring baths, this introduction to hand dyeing covers everything beginners need to know to create a colorful custom palette of textiles. The Natural Colors Cookbook includes simple DIY projects for using your unique dyes, safety tips and precautions, advice for altering hues and instructions for collecting and cataloging colors. It’s an accessible and comprehensive resource every aspiring fiber artist needs."

Congratulations sweet Maggie Pate--our very own Chattanooga, TN Maker--on your new book. Can't wait to try out some of your recipes!

*Amazon and Barnes and Noble are now accepting preorders.

Comments anyone?

If you would like to comment or have questions about this article, email me vmoss@livingwaterfiction.com

Posted November 15, 2017

Merry Christmas Moments

I know Thanksgiving isn't here yet but just have to tell you about the latest book hot off the press in the Moments series--Merry Christmas Moments compiled and edited by Yvonne Lehman. My two stories included this year are, "Trinity's Grace," and "Sashaying Through Aunt Ruby's Red Door." And here's a peek at what's on the back cover.

51 Stories About the Wonder of Christmas

Merry Christmas!

What does that mean to you? Happiness, joy, lighthearted celebration? It does encompass all that…and so much more. It is an acknowledgment of the day set aside to remember the birth of Jesus--a time for joyful celebration if ever there was one!

The authors who have contributed to the fourth Christmas Moments book share some of their memories of Christmas Past. Their recollections range from family traditions to singular occasions--through happy times and trying times.

In its own way each story illustrates how, no matter what our circumstances, at Christmastime we find happiness and joy when we decide not to focus on ourselves or the decorations and the gifts, but choose to celebrate Christ's birthday.

If you love stories that express the wonder of Christmas, touch the heart, and stir the emotions you will love Merry Christmas Moments. Available at Grace Publishing, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.

Posted October 24, 2017

Samson

After all of the Hollywood furor this month, many are boycotting movies. One you don't want to boycott is SAMSON--coming to a theatre near you in February 2018. Yes, there are still some decent movies being made.

PURE FLIX ANNOUNCES the NATIONAL THEATRICAL PREMIERE: FEB. 16 Starring Billy Zane, Golden Globe winner Rutger Hauer and Jackson Rathbone Samson.Movie

The press release is from the creators of GOD’S NOT DEAD and states that SAMSON is an action-packed biblical epic starring Billy Zane, Golden Globe winner Rutger Hauer and Jackson Rathbone.

Samson’s journey of passion, betrayal, and redemption inspires audiences to realize that life’s failures need not define their future.

“For anyone who ever wondered if they really could do what God called them to do, this film is for them,” Pure Flix CEO Michael Scott said.

SAMSON also features Lindsay Wagner, Caitlin Leahy and Taylor James as Samson.

SYNOPSIS

SAMSON is based on the powerful, biblical epic of a champion chosen by God to deliver Israel. His supernatural strength and impulsive decisions quickly pit him against the oppressive Philistine empire. After being betrayed by a wicked prince and a beautiful temptress, Samson is captured and blinded by his enemies. Samson calls upon his God once more for supernatural strength and turns imprisonment and blindness into final victory.

PRODUCTION

SAMSON was filmed on location in South Africa, and is a production of Pure Flix, producer of GOD’S NOT DEAD, the leading faith film of 2014.

“Most people know that Samson had long hair, Delilah cut it off, and that he lost his strength,” Director Bruce Macdonald said. “But there’s so much more. Samson was an unwilling hero, and his journey to regain his faith—the whole story—Is relevant in 2017.”

SAMSON was written by Zachary Warren Smith, Jason Baumgardner, Galen Gilbert, and Timothy Ratajczak.

SAMSON was produced by David A.R. White, Michael Scott, Elizabeth Travis, Alysoun Wolfe, Vlokkie Gordon, Bruce MacDonald, Craig Jones, Brittany Yost.

(PHOTO CREDIT: COPYRIGHT 2018 Samson Movie Production LLC)

Posted July 9, 2017

TEL DAN IS TELLING

And by telling, I mean this archaeological site at Tel Dan has revealed so much information that proves the Bible is accurate.

But first, how did I get to Israel earlier in the year? The desire to be an archaeologist or an anthropologist never left me after I came to the conclusion that being a mother and rearing children was more important than galavanting around the world digging in dirt.

But of all places, the Middle East?

I know. Who wants to go there? Aren't you fearful? Attacks and suicide bombings and people who hate each other and tons of folk who despise Americans? A cruise to Santorini sounded like a whole lot more fun. And a lot safer. But Petra, Jordan. Ahhhh. A place a writer with an archaeologist/anthropologist bent had to visit at least once. But friend's and family's mouths fell open when I told them of my desire to go. They thought I'd lost my ever loving mind. "Don't you have grandchildren? Don't you have a new one on the way?"

I had all of that and more. And as for fearful--I was more fearful of being under the mysterious spell of Jerusalem Syndrome. Standing naked on a Jerusalem hotel balcony wrapped in a ripped off bedsheet shouting to the hordes below that I was the Mother Mary or John the Baptist was my biggest horror. And the next question I posed to myself was, Didn't I always leave the room in my youth when Daddy turned on the evening news to watch chaos going on in the land of rocks and deserts?

Yep. That would be me. I destested everything about the Middle East and the bickering and warring and the rocket's red flare.

All of that changed, however, when later in life I began studying the Bible with an intensity that wouldn't let up. To understand the Bible better, I instinctively knew I had to understand the people and their culture. What made them tick? What made the Arabs willing to blow themselves up to drive the Jewish people into the sea? What made the people who speak Hebrew--an ancient language that has against all odds survived--long for a land that was not all that productive before 1948 according to famous author Mark Twain, and had no oil or natural gas until recently?

Plus, another writer once made the comment, "Vicki, you're a person who could take a busload of people into the Middle East and bring everybody out alive."

Humored--and flattered--by her comment, I laughed, but then later wondered what she meant. Maybe it had something to do with me being adventurous. After all, few females she knew had jumped out of an airplane, had her own dirt bike parked in the kitchen so no one would "borrow" it and not return it, was familiar with many types of weapons, had twice rafted the Chatooga River in the wilds of South Carolina where the movie Deliverance was filmed and managed to survive a harrowing experience, and had traveled to several countries alone. I didn't have any friends who wanted to jet off to Scotland to jump horses when I could break away. It was either go it alone or stay home and have a dream die.

So when the opportunity to go to Israel presented itself, I thought of that writer's comment. Did I dare fly to Israel when things were heated up with ISIS so close to her borders? Thinking it was now or never, I decided to get this one trip checked off the top of my bucket list of things to do before I died.

Then I heard about the deaths of U.S. soldiers on a base in Jordan. ISIS was operating that deep inside Jordan? Cancel the Petra, Jordan leg of the journey. For now.

But to Israel, I was determined to go. And I began to appreciate the old timers who wrote out signs that read, "California or Bust." Israel was one place I had to see--be it safe or not--and it was on the top of my bucket list. It's like one terrorist of old I'd once interviewed--who'd changed his ways when he found Christ--told me, "Vicki, do you want to go quickly with one bullet or die on a guerney with tubes hanging out of every orifice?" So "Israel or Bust" become my mantra. And there seemed to be a driving force behind me.

Plus, I knew if it was my time to go I knew where I was going and if it wasn't my time, the dear Lord would protect me as he had done in the past and not only that--I still wondered if I could get a busload of people out of the Middle East alive.

Though I hoped I wouldn't be put to the test.

And that's how I ended up in New York City to catch a plane for one of the longest nonstop flights of my life. A piece of advice: Never borrow someone else's compression socks that don't fit properly or the night will be a "dark night of the soul" and a long one at that. And when flying to Israel, don't worry about sucide bombers and crazies. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have already investigated travelers to their country months ahead of time and know everything there is to know about you. Probably down to the shade of pink lipstick you prefer. Has to be one of the safest flights in the world. And once I arrived at the airport, the most rigorous "entrance exam" I'd ever experienced, if I don't count the time I flew into Jamaica after the U.S. had clipped the wings off one of their birds for flying in drugs.

And that's how I ended up at Tel Dan. And yes, I was surprised to see a Paradise sign on the hike in. I just kept chuckling and telling myself, Whatever. I'd hoped to wait awhile for Paradise but who knew what was in store for me on up the path. I'd fought wild critters before without a slingshot and won. There was a rock everywhere I looked and I intended to roll with the flow.

After a pleasant hike up a trail next to the Dan River which is a source of the Jordan River, there in front of me and not far from the foot of Mount Hermon were the remains of an ancient Canaanite city. (The fertility of this area was mentioned in the Bible: For we have seen the Land, and behold, it is very good. Judges 18:9). Replete with an altar to make sacrifices to pagan gods. During the Caananite period, the city was called Laish or sometimes Leshem. During the 18th century BCE, this ancient city was fortified with humongous earthen embankments which created ramparts that encircled the entire city and protected its people. Also during this period in history, the patriarch Abraham visited, after defeating the kings of The North who took his nephew Lot prisoner. Gnarled olive trees that looked like decrepid people--at least several hundred years old--stood silently guarding the secrets of a people who believed a deity name Baal--a storm and fertility god--could bring them rain for their crops. Some of the trees had holes in them where ripening olives found a resting place. Some of the trees had resigned themselves to the prospect of secrets being uncovered and revealed.

After the Israelite tribe of Dan conquered Laish, 600 members of the tribe migrated north and called the name of the city Dan after the name of Dan their father.

But here's the important part of the dig at Dan. Fragments from a large inscribed basalt stele were found in the square located in front of the Israelite city gate complex. More than likely, Jehoash, the king of Israel who battled the Arameans three times and defeated them in II Kings 13:25 symbolically smashed the stele erected there by by Hazael, king of Aram--Damascus. Of the original inscription, thirteen lines of ancient Aramaic--a language Jesus spoke--have been partially preserved. Several Israelite kings are mentioned: Jehoram, king of Israel and Ahaziah, king of Judah,





referred to as a king of the House of David. This stele is one of the most important finds in Israel because it's the first non-biblical text that mentions by name "The House of David." Before the stele was unearthed, there was a huge dispute about the Bible as a reliable source. Since the stele has been discovered, the City of David has been discovered just south of the Temple complex in Old Jerusalem and is now being excavated by archaeologists.

To stand in Israel and have the Bible come alive before you is one of the most amazing things, especially for writers.

As for traveling into danger, my thoughts before going were: I could fly to Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles, or New York City and get hit with a random bullet. Or any small town for that matter. My hometown of Chattanooga, TN had already had one attack and no one could predict the future. And yes, unfortunately there were a couple of incidents that happened in Israel while I was there. During my visit to Bethlehem en route to Jerusalem and nearby, there was an attack on a bus filled with young soldiers, male and female, traveling to Old Jerusalem for a tour. Four of them lost their lives when a large truck rammed their bus as they were disembarking.





Most unfortunate and such a waste of life. Was I frightened because I was heading into a hell terrorists feel obligated to inflict upon random people who don't think like them or worship as they do? Concerned and heartbroken are better words to describe how I felt as I recalled another writer's words and wondered just what might lie ahead--Oh God! Were that woman's words prophetic? Would I really be expected to get a busload of people out of the Middle East alive? I must admit her words gave me food for thought.

Though there were a couple of disconcerting happenings during my travels, I honestly felt safer in Israel than in a large city in America. Israel knows better than most how to protect her own. (Almost impossible to protect anyone from death by vehicular homicide though.) There are less homicides there than in the United States. So my advice is to those





who would like to travel to the Holy Land to see where Jesus and the ancients walked--don't hesitate to go. The journey will be the most exciting trip you'll ever make if you're a student of the Bible. If you're not a student of the Bible and don't believe God's Word, go anyway for the beauty and adventure. There's more to behold there than rocks. The food is fabulous and healthy. And by the way, rocks don't lie. The trip might rearrange your thinking. But only if you have no fear of believing--for some--the unbelievable. Because there could be a chance after you see the rock solid evidence that the stories in the Bible are true, you might just become a believer and believe the claims of Jesus: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6 And, "Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." Acts 4:12

When you believe Him and accept Him into your heart, that's when excitement and the radical adventures begin. Trust me, it only gets better--sometimes scarier heh-heh--but always better.

I hope to work on a book about my Middle East travels if time permits. As most who have ventured to Israel and Jordan will tell you, it takes a while to process your thoughts after returning. I arrived back home months ago and I'm still processing. So much to think about. So many discoveries to research...so little time to write truths down. And that trip to Jordan...made it there too. That's another adventurous story. Check back!

Comments anyone?

If you would like to comment or have questions about this article, email me vmoss@livingwaterfiction.com

Vicki, another good friend from Tennessee visited Israel every couple of years and I never understood why. Much like you as a youth, my eyes glaze over at the mention of the Middle East. But, as always, you drew me in with your inimitable style and made it fascinating and appealing. Thank you for helping me appreciate why this trip can be a life changer. As for Scotland, say the word! -- Gary Fearon, http://www.musingandlyrics.com.

Thanks for stopping by Gary. Let me know when you can break away for Scotland. I know my way around a couple of graveyards in Edinburgh for a great photo op!

You're a beautiful writer. I've been to Israel, and Dan twice and I agree with everything you said. ~ Lucille Zimmerman, author of Renewed: Finding Your Inner Happy in an Overwhelmed World.

Thanks so much Lucille. Dan is an incredible place! I would love to go back.

Vicki, Love this adventure post. Thank you for always educating us in such an interesting and entertaining way. ~ Suzie

So glad you liked the post Suzie! Appreciate your comments.

Posted May 9, 2017

BEHIND

Behind. Yes. I'm behind. On everything including blogging. I did manage to get novel edits back to a writer today and finally managed to grab a bite to eat since the cupboards are empty of what I call real food. Even the oatmeal box was empty. A staple. You're out of luck if you come to my house Miss Gold-i-locks. This mama bear's cupboards are bare. Let me warn you though Goldy, it's an even more cruel world when Wendy's runs out of spoons after you've already ordered a chocolate Frosty. A straw simply won't cut it until the moon is highest in the midnight hour.

But much more than fast-food blips in the fast lane has been happening in the soon-to-be-super-sultry South. In March, I had the privilege of teaching a writing workshop at the Write2Ignite Conference held at South Carolina's North Greenville University. As always, a fun place to teach, meet and greet, and catch up with what I like to call "gold" rather than "old" friends--one of whom was actor/writer/comedian Torry Martin.

More on Torry's escapades later in July.

On the way back from the conference, I visited Biltmore House for the umpteenth time--can't get enough of that place and every time I visit, I experience something new. Of course I had lunch in a horse stall as I always do when there. I promise, Girls Scouts honor, they serve delicious food other than hay, nor do the servers neigh.

The dresses on display in the manse were stunning. And tiny. (Don't actresses eat brownies and cobbler?) And the gowns are still entrancing enough to give a writer some fabulous ideas. But seriously, someone needs to throw those actresses a sandwich. Another yard of fabric to make a costume will surely not break the producers in Hollywood. Then back home from a whirlwind weekend to experience rain. Flooding even. A flush of spring blossoms from my garden. More rain. And lots of healthy, lush-looking grass threatening to outdo Tennessee kudzu if that's even possible.

Best news of all, another of my inspirational stories will be out in an upcoming Moments Series book when things get really sultry. July hot sultry. As in torrid. Coming your way next is a story in Loving Moments. "If Only By Toe-Touch" and maybe a second story that has already won a writing award, "Chasing God." I'll keep you posted.

And don't forget to purchase a copy of the latest May/June issue of Southern Writers Magazine. My interview with Marlo Schalesky was informative--her new book is Waiting with Wonder--and of course I enjoyed hearing about her Wonder Wood Ranch, a 501©3 a charitable organization that serves underprivileged and homeless kids.

In the meantime, stock up on ice, tea, riveting books, and smooth up the rockers on your best rocking chair because summer is fast upon us Southerners. When not mowing grass, stories will be told and embellished on porches that offer shade to cool-as-a-cucumber-characters and a few shady ones too. Depends on who you allow up your driveway and through the hallway of your mind to pull up a chair to sit a spell and spin a yarn.

Until next time, make sure you put up a few jars of strawberry freezer jam for me when the strawberries ripen. Or are we there yet?

P.S. If you know of a person named Linda Argosotti, tell her I dreamed about her the other night. I had a photo of her and she's a brunette with dark piercing eyes. Can't recall what the dream was about though. Nor can I find her on Facebook or on any other social media. Perhaps she's a new character in a future tale? And yes. Not only do writers get behind, writers are meant to be strange.

Comments anyone?

If you would like to comment or have questions about this article, email me vmoss@livingwaterfiction.com

Posted March 3, 2017

WHY? TITANIC MOMENTS

Announcing my latest story "Laying My Watery Ghosts to Rest" to be published in March 2017--probably close to the end of the month before the book is released. If you're like I am, you can't get enough about the Titanic. The people. Who survived. Who didn't. Why weren't there enough life boats? Why was the ship in an area full of dangerous icebergs? And the questions go on and on.

I was so traumatized from hearing the story when I was a child, it took many decades later before I could read about it. And now, I've finally been able to write about the tragedy and Yvonne Lehman included my story in her collection of stories compiled for the book's release.

I hope you enjoy!

Comments anyone?

If you would like to comment or have questions about this article, email me vmoss@livingwaterfiction.com

Posted October 12, 2016

ADDITIONAL CHRISTMAS MOMENTS

67 Stories Celebrating the True Spirit of Christmas

What makes Christmas special? Decorations, carols, food, gifts, and time spent with those we love can certainly create a memorable legacy. But for Christians, Christmas is about more than personal tradition.

It’s the day set aside to recognize the event that changed everything. It’s the celebration of the birth of Christ.

When the Magi recognized a star — a sign hidden in plain sight — as evidence of the birth of the Messiah, they went in search of him. In this third installment of Christmas Moments 55 authors hope their stories will encourage you to recognize the evidence of Christ — often hidden in plain sight — in your own life and to seek him not only at Christmas, but throughout the entire year.

Contributors: Cathy Ancewicz, Carolyn Roth Barnum, Robin Bayne, Debby Bellingham, Charlotte Burkholder, Janet Bryant Campbell, LeAnn Campbell, Rebecca Carpenter, Autumn J. Conley, Maresa DePuy, Sharon Blackstock Dobbs, Susan Dollyhigh, Kristin Dossett, Terri Elders, Susan Engebrecht, Bonnie Mae Evans, Dorothy Floyd, Gayle Fraser, Janice S. Garey, Tommy Scott Gilmore, III, Jean Matthew Hall, Kristen Harmon, Kay Harper, Lydia E. Harris, Lori Hatcher, Karen R. Hessen, Helen L. Hoover, Terri Kelly, Nancy Julien Kopp, Luke Lehman, David A. Lehman, Yvonne Lehman, Diana Leagh Matthews, Beverly Hill McKinney, Mary E. McQueen, Norma C. Mezoe, Julie Miller, Lynn Mosher, Vicki H. Moss, Marilyn Nutter, Dianna Owens, Colleen L. Reece, Alisha Ritchie, Robert B. Robeson, David Russell, Toni Armstrong Sample, Beverly Sce, June Schmidt, Annmarie B. Tait, Donn Taylor, Denise Valuk, Jen Waldron, Barbara Wells, Kathy Whirity, Debra DuPree Williams

Comments anyone?

If you would like to comment or have questions about this article, email me vmoss@livingwaterfiction.com

Posted October 4, 2016

MEMOIR: SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO REVISIT THE PAST

Pat Conroy's books had been on my bucket list of books to read for several years. So in January, I planned to make it happen, my first choice The Great Santini, a book that had been made into a movie starring Robert Duvall as Marine Lt. Col. "Bull" Meecham ("Meechum" in the 1979 movie).

When I finished reading The Great Santini, I was convinced Conroy had suffered immensely as a child because of his father's erratic and volatile behavior. The words about Conroy's life at the hands of an abusive father poured out on the pages not only as a cathartic exercise of "writing what we know"--but also as an obvious way for him to process through the dregs of his life so he could heal.

After more research on Pat Conroy, my assessment was correct: the book was thinly disguised as his terrorized life. The book was a novel, however, the novel was based on Conroy's life lived under the heavy hand of a driven father, Donald Conroy, a very violent man and verbally abusive both towards Pat and his siblings with physical abuse unleashed upon his boys. Then I read that Pat Conroy was ill. I was saddened when he passed on a few weeks later. But long before that, his mother's family--horrified at the revealing of family secrets--tried to get people to boycott his book signings by picketing his book events to urge people to stay away. His mother reportedly said, "Nice going, Pat, you stabbed your own family right through the heart." But Conroy kept writing about what he knew. What writers do.

Conroy would later say that The Great Santini had barely scraped the iceberg on the abuse in the family which was so bad (Pat recalled his mother brandishing a knife during a parental battle and his father knocking her to the floor and laughing), his mother divorced his father, and at least three of the seven children had suicidal episodes--one succeeding in leaving the world by his own hand with a sister being institutionalized. (Pat attempted suicide in 1975 after most of his life was spent battling depression and anxiety attacks.)

Even though Pat wrote, "I remember hating him even when I was in diapers," Pat asked for his father's help while writing the book--with Donald supplying technical details about military fighter planes--and this was a step in towards reconciliation. But after his father read the book, he was furious. Then he wept. Once The Great Santini was a success and made into a movie, there was a change in Conroy's father--he saw truthful tribute in his son's character portrayal and mellowed into a better man, mending relationships with his children and becoming a model grandfather. Too late for his marriage, he at least was able to reconcile with Pat and even attended book signings, signing, "I hope you enjoy my son's work of fiction,' and he'd underline 'fiction' five or six times," wrote Pat. "Then sign it, 'Ol' lovable, likable Donald Conroy.' Dear old dad also graced his car with license plates that read, 'GREAT SANTINI,' only after returning from a few days of disappearing after he'd read the novel--the family thinking he'd gone off to commit suicide."

Later, Pat wrote another book, a memoir, The Death of Santini. In it he recalls every harsh word and every beating from his father though his father is later shown as a better man in his golden years. "Love came in wounded and frantic ways to my dismaying family, but love it was." Rest in peace Donald and Pat.

Another noteworthy memoirist who has aired his dirty family laundry is Victor Marx who started All Things Possible Ministries. A sincere honest person who loves the broken people, Victor told his story in a book and in the documentary movie, The Victor Marx Story. Born in a family whose father was part of the Cajun mafia in Louisiana, a pimp, a drug dealer, and a father who denied Victor was his, Victor suffered every time his mother remarried--and she was married to six different men.

To sicken the drama, a man from a neighboring farm molested Victor at the age of five years old and locked him in a commercial cooler afterwards so he would freeze to death. Victor's life then became even more of a living hell. In later years, the PTSD and flashbacks almost drove his wife and children away until he received professional help through counseling. But today, Victor, a former marine who has taught martial arts to many--including other soldiers and SEAL Team Six members, travels wherever he can to help in the United States and the Middle East to aid and encourage those children who have suffered from trauma (and those children incarcerated because of causing trauma to others) to give them hope. To share with them that their lives matter and if he can overcome adversity, so can they. Through his pain and life experiences, incarcerated children and battle weary children learn that there is a better way and that there is hope and a better life through Jesus Christ--the One who ultimately healed Victor so he could become victorious.

I can only imagine how the hearts of tormented readers who read these books and watch these movies feel when they finish the last lines of the books or stare at the fading movie credits. Perhaps they think, "And I thought I was the only one. But there are others out there who have suffered as I have. Perhaps there's healing and maybe I'm redeemable as well."

Sharing testimonies through nonfiction and memoir or autobiography is important. Memoir is so important or God wouldn't have had his prophets and Holy Ones writing down the good, the bad, and the shameful ugly of Old Testament and New Testament nonfiction characters and sinners who eventually overcame, some to walk with and teach about their Messiah. (Think Joseph: His brothers resented him and wanted to murder him. Think Moses: His brother and sister resented his authority. Think Jacob: He stole the birthright from his brother. Think Jesus: His brothers didn't at first believe he was the Messiah--the Anointed One. The list goes on and on.)

As Victor Marx has said, "Sometimes you have to revisit the past." And writers revisit the past until that story gets written. And if one person's story, good or bad, helps one person in this world, it's a success. Writing memoir sometimes heals more than just a writer's broken heart, it heals the broken hearts of others who read about a writer's pain, see themselves in the characters, whether it is written as nonfiction or disguised as fiction, and take hope in a satisfactory ending. Sometimes there isn't a satisfactory ending, but at least a reader can say, "I'm not the only one, there are others who know my pain, and the way I've been treated isn't normal. Perhaps I can stop the generational abuse from continuing."

Which is a good thing.

So don't let anyone stop you from writing your story, which is your testimony--because your story, is yours and yours alone to write.

Happy writing trails!

Comments anyone?

If you would like to comment or have questions about this article, email me vmoss@livingwaterfiction.com

Posted September 21, 2016

JUST THE FACTS MA'AM, AND NOTHING BUT THE FACTS

This week's writing tidbit is about word choices--choosing the correct word for the occasion.

Sometimes people have a tendency to "over write" or embellish or simply choose the wrong word for the occasion or sentence. Here's a scenario: Just because one has an opinion about something or is stating truth about someone doesn't make them a racist, bigot, or phobic anything, much less a gossip. Slapping these labels on others is considered negligent, childish, immature, and using words improperly. Writers must stay factual, or risk embellishing to the point of disbelief.

If a writer is writing fiction and wants to portray their character as over-the-top sarcastic or as someone who helps move the story forward by being a bully and downright antagonistic, then that's another story altogether. But when writing truth and the occasion doesn't merit a strong over-the-top word, to stay credible, it's best not to use it. When a writer breaks this rule in journalism or a nonfiction piece, it's used either as a defense mechanism because feelings have been hurt or it's a way to attack other people. A back-atcha-buddy. Never a good idea. And this is especially the case during election years. And no, this post isn't about politics, it's a post on writing, so keep reading if you're into this subject and especially if you're a newbie at writing and haven't yet had the opportunity to attend a writing conference and learn from seasoned writers.

There are many ways to stack words against each other to form a sentence. Using a good thesaurus is always helpful unless you prefer using the internet to search for word definitions, antonyms, and synonyms. I use both.

For an example of the day, take the word, animosity. The definition means bitter hostility or active hatred. Suppose Person A has pointed out a truth about another person (Person B) to a third party (Person C). This fact doesn't mean Person A is expressing bitter hostility or active hatred for Person B. It simply means Person A (1) might be bringing facts to light to discuss more in depth in a later one on one conversation with Person C or (2) is trying to help person C learn truth to get a better picture of what's going on in certain areas of life. So, instead of Person C retaliating against Person A--perhaps in an interoffice note, email, or text, blog article, memoir, or autobiography--by saying Person A holds bitter hostility or animosity towards Person C's present day rock star, politician, or guru idol they might presently be infatuated with and supporting financially, a better word to use might be "concern," or "interest." Unless, Person C is striving for civil unrest, elevated drama, or downright vindictiveness, it's best to stick with facts and truth so that rumors, lies, and myths don't get started.

To muddy the water is simply that; muddying the water. Writers should be concise and honest at all times while writing nonfiction unless writing creative or narrative nonfiction, where the lines are a tad more blurred. (A different blog post all together.) Blunt and abrasive shouldn't come into play here. But "direct" and "to the point" and "succinct" should come into play when speaking truth. And, to quote a famous T.V. character who relied on the truth and nothing but the truth, "just the facts ma'am, and nothing but the facts."

I hope this helps many new writers venturing forth into the writing world. My advice to all is to get to a good writing conference first chance to do so. There are some wonderful writing instructors out there. Their time is valuable so if they've offered to help, be kind, considerate, respectful. And learn how to accept a constructive critique without being offended--so hard to do for new writers who haven't yet developed a thick skin. All writers starting out go through the urge to protect their written babies. "But that's how I write. I don't want to change that. Makes sense to me--what's wrong with a lotta bad grammar and a few curse words in the Christian market?" Listen with a willingness to learn. Then go back home and write. And if a busy writer or author is willing to take the time to mentor you, take full advantage without taking advantage. The help from someone who's been around the writing block a few times is priceless so consider yourself one of the lucky few because most writers are writing on deadline and too swamped to help beginners.

Learning how to write is a long process. For most, the craft doesn't come overnight. I've never heard of God instantly downloading writing skills. Perhaps He has. But to my knowledge, learning a craft takes a lot of elbow grease and time with fanny in chair. God expects us to do diligent leg work. It takes practice, practice, practice. And more practice.

Enjoy the writing journey!

Comments anyone?

If you would like to comment or have questions about this article, email me vmoss@livingwaterfiction.com

Posted July 14, 2016

BE BRAVE

When writing nonfiction--especially memoir, be brave. Dig deep to write the best story you can. Then polish, revise, polish, revise, until you can get your story to the place where it's the best it can be.

Stick with the truth which will also serve you better. Too much embellishment can find you in a law suit or losing credibility. If you haven't fought in battle, don't try to coyly give the impression you did when you only sat behind a desk pushing pencils while the fighting was happening elsewhere. If you didn't fly into a foreign country under heavy sniper fire, best leave that out so it doesn't come back to bite you on the behind. Be a writer readers can trust.

That said, the big publishing companies are only going to pick up celebrities and authors with a huge following these days. But don't let manuscript rejection deter your efforts. Get those memories and stories written down for future generations. Once you've been called home, you are obviously no longer available to be questioned about the time you climbed Mt. Everest or ran with the bulls in Spain or fought with the coyote in the backyard to keep him from killing your cat.

There are so many people with computers out there writing today that it's difficult to get your work noticed, however, jot those stories down for your grandkids and descendants to come.

And most important of all, when writing, be brave. In your stories, include your fears. Heartaches. Include defeats along with victories. People want to read about others who have been at the bottom and have pulled themselves from the muck. They long to know another human being's struggles. Loves. Dreams. Because of your mistakes, fumbles, then victories, they might see something of themselves in your story and decide that they, too, can overcome the poverty, the oppression, depression, and everyday troubles of this world.

Show your readers not only the failures, lurches, drubbings, lickings, losses, routs, shellackings, whippings, washouts, slumps, setbacks, fizzles, and flops, but show them your triumphs, wins, romps, landslides, walkaways, blowouts and the joy from turning a sow's ear into a silk purse.

Then, when the bones of the story are down, go back and be bold. Be brave. No one wants to read about a humdrum life. And if you've lived to make it past fifty, you've been through some kind of trial or tribulation. Be brave enough to write them down. Then let the manuscript sit for awhile to simmer before going back to read what you wrote to again polish.

There's always the delete button if you decide you can't bare your soul! But more than likely, you'll decide that someone could benefit from your walk through life's park--perhaps someone might also be able to discover there is light that can be found to pull a wretched soul out of the pit of darkness.

Be brave friends. And keep writing!

Comments anyone?

If you would like to comment or have questions about this article, email me vmoss@livingwaterfiction.com

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Posted July 1, 2016

UNITED AND STANDING STRONG

All photography by Vicki H. Moss

Another July 4th celebration coming up and if some people could get their way, there would never be another in the good ol' US of A. Our nation seems to be on the brink of disaster. Let me reword that sentence. Not seems--is on the brink of disaster. Like our ancestors from a couple of hundred years back, we are standing on a cliff trying to figure out how to get to safety without backing up or jumping off.

But back up we must while jumping into the saving arms of Jesus and His grace. We must go back to our roots. Back to the only God who can save us--the Jehoveh God who created heaven and earth, and everything on the earth. Evil will constantly try to change laws in republics and democratic societies to suit devious purposes, however, as Christians, we know the story's ending. Remember Psalm 33:4-12 states that the Lord loves righteousness. "For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love. By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; he puts the deep into storehouses. Let the earth fear (yare=revere, worship) him. For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm. The Lord foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God (Elohiym) is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance." (NIV)

Elohiym, Yahweh, Jehoveh, I AM--the God who is named after his many attributes, is the God who can save through the sacrificial act of His One and Only Son, Jesus Christ the Messiah. He is the only God who can turn our messes, mistakes, and sow's ears into silk purses and victories. Yahweh is the God who redeems. The God who created mankind and longs to fellowship with us. He is the God who answers. Therefore, "Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit--just as you were called to one hope when you were called--one Lord, one faith, one baptism: one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." (Ephesians 4:3-6)

This July 4th celebration, let's not forget those who fought to keep this country free. They made gi-normous sacrifices. Many sacrificed their lives. And remember that our main battle is not against flesh and blood. "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand." (Ephesians 6:10-13 NIV)

Have a wonderful and blessed July 4th and if you haven't been doing so, pray for the enemies who would love to see this great nation and others torn apart and dismantled. Pray those living in darkness will quickly see the light. God is still in control.

Let's stand our ground by standing united, therefore, strong!

Comments anyone?

If you would like to comment or have questions about this article, email me vmoss@livingwaterfiction.com

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Posted April 30, 2016

JESUS SAID IT BEFORE MAMA

All photography by Vicki H. Moss

Mama said there would be days like this and before her, Jesus said it in John 16:32-33 when he was warning his disciples that they would be scattered at first during his arrest and death. "Behold, an hour is coming, and has already come, for you to be scattered, each to his own home, and to leave Me alone; and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world."

So when trouble strikes, why the surprise face and pouty selfie lips? And as writers, we face a lot of rejection anyway. Writing is subjective. There are days when we might feel like shot putting a manuscript into the recycle bin when an agent or editor turns us down because they either don't like our manuscripts or they can't sell them in today's market.

The hard part for me is to feel peace during hard times. Writing rejection is a given. But hard times in this journey called life must come--"say it ain't so" someone has said before me. Sure, Jesus is God's One and Only Son who came to earth in the form of man to show us how it's done. "But I'm not Jesus!" I've been known to say.

After saying those words, I always recall the words of the Savior who prepared us with his message. Then I'm like, "Oh yeah," and then my coffee cup reminds me, "Mama said there would be days like this," too. If we're going through difficult times, we must hangeth the in there beloved friends. There's Light at the end of the tunnel. We can know him in our hearts here on earth but we'll meet the Light face to face eventually if we trust in Him and repent from our sins. Simple as that. Fall down…let us get back up with our double edged sword which is the sword of the spirit--God's Word--to fight another day and keep going. Backslide…love that wicked word ha-ha…but don't love backsliding…leap forward after admitting sins and mistakes and mean it--the key in a nutshell, mean it--God forgives.

The Light is rooting for us, interceding with our Heavenly Father for us to make the final slide for an eternal homerun win. But for Christians today it's doubly hard to write inspirational stories one might say. Think about this: The siblings of Jesus made a huge mistake in thinking their brother was not in his right mind when he was claiming to be the Son of God. But with all of the evidence, the earthquake, and the renting of the veil in God's house during the crucifixion, among other things like many miracles that thousands witnessed over a period of approximately three years, James, too, became a believer that his brother was the Messiah. Hard for him to accept at first I'm sure. We all would have loved to have been there when Mary told James about the angel Gabriel visiting her to tell her she would birth the Savior of the world.

Ignore what the naysayers say because here are the words that James, brother of Jesus and one who finally saw the light after living with the Light, left for us: "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does." (James 1:2-8)

There's nothing strange for a Christian when it comes to suffering because even Timothy said in 2 Timothy 3:12, "…do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you" (1 Peter 4:12-14) We are actually blessed from God when we are persecuted. Whoa. Profound statement. Who would say, "Bring it on God. May the trials and testings begin!" But if we don't have trials and testings, we have bland testimonies. Big sigh. Writers need big stories. So prepare to rejoice when the big stories arrive and stay on the path.

"Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." (Matt 5:1-12) That includes when people tell lies about us, speak evil about us, and insult us, and curse us. Tell them to stand in line. The trials and testings reveal whether or not we will remain faithful--and also reveal who is and who is not really saved. And Romans 12:12 tells us, "Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer."

Consider Paul, a man who was called the greatest Christian who ever lived by some. He said, "I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again." Suffering seemed to move him forward to even greater service. "For Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Corinthians 12:10)

When I think of Paul's prison time--who wants that--I think of Chuck Colson who worked for President Nixon and after his seeing the light and repenting of his sins and accepting Jesus as his Savior, his prison time became a platform for him to launch an incredible ministry.

Also consider that Jesus gives a last warning with parting words: "If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. Remember the word that I said to you: 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours." (John 15:18-20)

Don't foget that God has a purpose. He's working behind the scenes. And his purpose is always good for those that love Him. So whether it's a writing trial we're going through or a life trial we're experiencing, we must hangeth the in there. Think about the blind man born blind from birth. When the disciples of Jesus asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus didn't hesitate to reply back. "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."

Night is coming. And the death of Jesus put us in the last days. "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken." Just as it was in the days of Noah, it will be too late once the door on the ark is closed, metaphorically speaking for the last of the last days. When there is no more light, only darkness, it will be too late.

But who would want to worship a God who needs adoration and allows the evil one to test his children, you might ask if you're not a believer. The answer to that question is a God who wants His children to be a shining light to the rest of the world to show others how we were created to live; children made in the image of God who through trials and testing keep the faith and strive to be holy and righteous to be able to walk with God who is called Yahweh--Father of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God seeks holy and righteous children because there is an invisible war going on between the powers of light and darkness. God's creation plays a huge part in that war. Do we fail at times doing what is good and right? Sure. But we strive to be better while trying not to fail. No human being is perfect but we can't let that stop us from trying to be more like Jesus. And when on this right path in helping Yahweh battle against evil, the children of God will long to love the Father who created them and loves them back even more than they could ever love a kind and benevolent earthly father. So write what the Lord puts on a burdened heart to write, now while there's still light and the devil can only stand before God accusing us of our sins while gloating with his evil minions that a child of God has failed at something. Like Jesus, we are not alone. When the disciples scattered, Yahweh was still there with His Son, just as He is always there with his children. And there will come a day when darkness no longer laughs. As I write this the thunder roars!

Therefore, be strong and courageous when penning words to paper. Stand like a stone wall when writing for the Lord. If the birds of the air are provided for, so will all Christians be. Just like the blind man's purpose to be used of God so Jesus could perform a miracle many years after this man's birth for another sign to unbelievers of the times of Roman rule, we, my friends, might have been born to write for just such a time as this. And never forget Jesus said it before Mama--There will be days like this! Have peace about trials and tribulations. God's working behind the scenes. Claim the victory Yahweh's already promised. As my little grandie says after her big sis prays, "Amen sistah!"

Comments anyone?

If you would like to comment or have questions about this article, email me vmoss@livingwaterfiction.com

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Posted April 25, 2016

THE WRITING LIFE

For writers, there are so many distractions. The sunshine is beckoning. Springtime is urging even the laziest couch potatoes to venture outdoors. So how to keep the fanny in the chair to keep writing?

It may be when warmer weather rolls around you might have to cut down writing hours to make time for some Vitamin D and exercise. If you're an early riser, spank those keys or push that pen until noon before giving yourself a short vacation to stroll the lawn.

If you're a late night writer, just remember to get plenty of sleep and drink lots of water. Don't want to gain those extra pounds most writers do and then have to work it off along with a healthy diet. However you decide to pace yourself, don't give up writing totally. It's best to revisit your story at least once a day, six days a week. Take at least one day off. You'll be amazed how refreshed you are when you go back to work.

See you on the writing path!

Comments anyone?

If you would like to comment or have questions about this article, email me vmoss@livingwaterfiction.com

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Posted December 23, 2015

LORD OF LORDS AND KING OF KINGS

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. The day and night before the birth of Jesus Christ the Jewish Messiah and Lord of Lords and the King of Kings not only to the Jews, but to the Christian gentiles who have been grafted in because of their belief Jesus died on the cross for their sins so that they can have eternal life.

In the Old Testament, the ancient prophet of Zechariah wrote that when Jesus returns, His people will mourn when they recognize that their Messiah is the One that was crucified and speared in the side outside the ancient wall of Jerusalem in 30 A.D. Zechariah wrote: "And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. ...And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends." (Zechariah 12:10; 13:6)

How sad Jesus was wounded "in the house of his friends." But these things had to happen as part of God's plan to send His Son into the world--to die--to save it.

And woe to the people today who reject the Lamb of God -- which is the same thing as rejecting the gift of salvation--eternal life.

This Christmas season, let us ponder as Mary did upon these things, but especially let us ponder on the free gift of eternal life, a free gift for all who will bow the knee to Jesus.

And may you all have a blessed birthday celebration while looking forward to new beginnings in 2016. See you then, Lord willing and "the creek don't rise." (Okay, had to add that about the creek since tornadoes are expected all day today and thunderstorms through next Monday. *grin*)

Comments anyone?

If you would like to comment or have questions about this article, email me vmoss@livingwaterfiction.com

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Posted December 22, 2015

MORE CHRISTMAS MOMENTS

Last year's Christmas Moments stories were such a hit that Yvonne Lehman has compiled more stories for Christmas 2015.

"For many people the holiday season is steeped in traditions such as decorating, family gatherings, food, Christmas programs, parties, giving and receiving gifts, cards, carols, Christmas eve services.

"The authors who contributed to this book share their personal stories of the Christmas season. Some of their stories are about happy childhood memories, the joy of the season, the beauty and excitement of the holiday. Others depict change...the difficulty of facing Christmas, the sadness of loss and grief, the hurt of some memories.

"Yet all of their stories are encouraging and inspiring because they show how, no matter what their circumstances, the authors came to understand that in order to have a meaningful Christmas, we must open our hearts to the wonder of Christ's presence."

Once again, I'm honored to be a contributor to Yvonne Lehman's latest compilation of stories written by a dedicated group of Christian writers. Many of my friends and acquaintances are using these "Moments" books for morning devotionals followed by prayer before starting a busy and sometimes hectic day. This book will hopefully touch your heart and at times make you smile.

May God bless you and your loved ones as you hear God speak to you through the power of His spoken and written Word.

Comments anyone?

If you would like to comment or have questions about this article, email me vmoss@livingwaterfiction.com

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Posted October 17, 2015

A TRUE TENNESSEE TREASURE

I happened to be shopping with my child in Bagbey House, an antebellum home once turned into a recording studio where Amy Grant, Kris Kristofferson, Vince Gill, and Jimmy Buffett used to record, now a shopping destination in the heart of Franklin, Tennessee, when my now grown daughter disappeared. Exactly what she used to do while I shopped when she was a toddler. Searching downstairs, no daughter. Did I dare venture upstairs where a ghost from the Civil War could sometimes be heard?

Once upstairs, my child's voice drifted down the hallway with a sweet Southern lilt. She was chatting away with a gentleman I soon learned was the talented and renowned artist and poet, Robert Coleman. Invited into the conversation, I discovered Mr. Coleman--Bob, as he insisted we call him--was gifting my daughter with some calligraphy work she planned on framing. When asked if she could pay him, he refused payment, saying the Lord had told him to bless others. Intrigued about his Christian walk, I asked for more of his story.

Bob's life hadn't been picture perfect. There had been a few bumps along his road like the bumps most of us encounter before surviving a few pot holes. Some of his trials and tribulations were incredible, others heart breaking. Some victorious. Above, he's painting Aunt Ronnelle who was a character in the movie "Miss Fire Cracker" starring Holly Hunter. He'd managed, however, through life's difficulties, to live joyously with the help of his beloved Savior and he wasn't ashamed of saying so.

With the stroke of his pen, even the letters Mr. Coleman inked out, jet black onto white paper, spoke pure poetry. Poetry in fluid motion. There was love with flair in every name he penned. I had to know more about this gentle giant and bought one of his poetry books. Now friends with Bob, my daughter and I parted ways with the artist after having spent most of the afternoon soaking in his stories. Later, when I finally sat down to write this post, I took a moment to first read some of Bob's poetry in Rays of Light: Poems by Robert Coleman. Here's one of my favorites:

God Gives to Each a Part

Only God can take the flower seeds

And make them bloom in spring.

And blend them with unsightly weeds

And still make sad hearts sing.

To capture such a picture here

Where color masses spread,

The weed tinted land brings cheer

When roses' blooms are red.

A rose bouquet and that alone

Can give you change of heart.

But like the rocks around a stone.

They all share equal part.

But to see a star shining bright

Against the dismal dark,

I quickly see how weeds cast light

On roses in the park.

God gave us weeds and flowers too

And hearts to understand.

He waters all with morning dew

Throughout our lovely land.

We cannot cut the weeds away

From every clod of sod.

But we can learn more everyday

Why they were made by God.

This world would be a dreadful place

If God made all the same.

If every man had the same face

We'd all have the same name.

There are no favorites with God.

Though He has smiled upon

The rose. He has blessed all the sod.

Even where the weeds were sown.

I think that Heaven could be compared

To nature, here on earth,

For through His love, God has prepared

Each one must prove its worth.

There are people, like weeds I see,

'Most everywhere in life.

Some wished they were a flower or tree

And fill their hearts with strife.

There are a few. Like roses too.

So fair, at times self praised.

But God placed them among those, who

Are low, and must be raised.

Those ugly weeds just make me stare

At flowers, there instead,

And I thank God for roses where

There's life among the dead.

And now this scene brings greater cheer

With gratitude in heart,

I see why God holds the rose so dear,

And gives the weeds a part.

Those faithful saints in past have said,

God's love was proved when He

Raised Jesus from the hopeless dead.

He'll do the same for me.

After reading this poem, I was stunned. I recalled the day my daughter and I had met Bob, we had returned to her home where I proceeded to tackle some weeds growing along a fence line. Upon closer inspection, however, they were more like wild flowers--the most delicate shade of lavender blooms I'd ever seen. I was familiar with Goldenrod, Purple Thistle, and Queen Anne's Lace, but this was one wild flower I'd never encountered.

Since the bouquet of store bought flowers sitting in a Waterford vase in the foyer were going the other way, I decided I'd put together a fresh bouquet with what I could find in the flower beds around the house. There were those gorgeous red roses in front of my car. Hmmm. A bouquet of all red roses? Brilliant and velvety. But no. Those lavender "weeds" intrigued me and had to come into play somehow. I tackled the fencerow. Hearing laughter from the garage, I heard, "Mom, are you foraging?"

"Yes," I replied, laughing along with her because she'd caught me in the act. "From your yard and your weeds!"

Yes, I was clipping the "weeds," when my child wasn't looking, I clipped some of her coleus, okay, a bunch of her coleus and prayed for later mercy. Then a magnolia bud surrounded by waxy green leaves looked tempting. Surely she wouldn't miss just one. Then I decided a couple of red roses might also bring something elegant to the foraged party.

When I arranged the flowers and "weeds" in the Mason jar--Waterford certainly wouldn't do this party justice--I stepped back to take a look. Though the arrangement was simple in design, I thought it one of the most beautiful arrangements I'd ever put together. And so did my daughter. In fact, she said, "I even think it would be beautiful without the roses." A big score. The weeds were casting their light on the fancy roses. It wasn't until I later read Bob's poem that I realized my hands had recreated what his poetry conveyed. And all unknowingly and before delving into his book.

God surprises make my toes curl.

And the way He has such a delightful way of bringing his children closer together and in doing so, gifts us with such wonderful treats, keeps me amazed. But most of all, I'm so thankful that, "Those ugly weeds just make me stare at flowers there instead, and I thank God for roses where there's life among the dead. And now this scene brings greater cheer with gratitude in heart, I see why God holds the rose so dear and gives the weeds a part."

So nice meeting you Bob. And may our paths cross again one day soon. You're a real Tennessee treasure--by way of Mississippi--and I'm so thrilled you now call me friend and pray for me. I can't wait to frame my calligraphy gift with the special blessing written below your artwork.

To listen to Bob recite "The Stone" visit here Bob Coleman reciting "The Stone" To learn more about Bob's artwork visit Bob Coleman You may have to type in Bob Coleman in the name search box, however, the article about him is well worth the extra key strokes.

Comments anyone?

If you would like to comment or have questions about this article, email me vmoss@livingwaterfiction.com

Posted September 5, 2015

CAST IRON COUNTESSES

All photography by Vicki H. Moss

Every now and then, a moment arrives when it's time to once again season the cast iron. Not often. Just a touchup to keep rust at bay. And a duty you don't mind if you love cooking in cast iron. Putting on Dirk Powell's "Hand Me Down" CD helps soothe the soul while working--especially when cleaning up the 15" monster I used to man-handle while cooking over an open campfire flame.

Mother's cast iron skillets metamorphosed into mine, probably along with some of Grandmother's if truth be known. Because, before a loved one passes to return home, it's only the hardy of the species, who, instead of asking for fine china or the "best" of a mother's prized possessions says, "Let someone else have your diamonds. I'll take your cast iron." Though Mother loved her pearls and diamonds, she also loved her cast iron along with that of her mother's and her grandmother's--a lady who cooked on a cast iron wood stove back in the day. (Mother would later cook on that wood stove herself, when she wanted to re-create days gone by for her children and granchildren. She was one of the first of the modern-day foragers and authors of Sunday Suppers and gatherings before the word "supper" and "gatherings" came back in style.)

My ancestors weren't only cake or pie people, they were a cake, pie, and cobbler people. When their cast iron wasn't used for cooking, a skillet did double-duty as a weapon, I'm sure of it. Not quite as lengthy as an axe or as far-ranging as a black powder rifle, but perfect in close-quarter battle when a scalawag was inching his way inside a window. Not only were the women of my family steel magnolias, they were also multi-taskers, doubling down as the countesses of cast iron.

"Let them eat cake," famous words by Marie Antoinette, her declaration would have suited the cast iron countesses of my line just fine if she'd only added, "Let them eat pie and cobbler too." Sugar love. That, along with foraging for Poke Salat and rabbit, could have held them until the crops were laid by if they had nothing else.

Back during World War I, followed by the Great Depression and World War II, when blackberries could be found growing wild along with a rattlesnake or copperhead hidden among the briars, cobbler could be had for dessert if sugar could be found in the cupboards. No berries? Then vinegar cobbler would satisfy a sweet tooth just as well--without having to worry about seeds getting stuck between teeth. Those women of old looked for the silver lining in every cloud and no seeds in cobbler was cloud-shimmery.

And if you've never treated yourself to a cobbler, you're missing out on a real dish. The royal dish of all cobblers for my family at one time--cherry. The cherry cobbler was the most coveted because not only were fresh cherries hard to come by--people grew apple and peach trees but cherry trees--not so much, one had to battle the birds to get to the cherries first. Life is hard. One must hand-pick battles.

The cherry tree in my family was watched day after day--eager eyes under a cheerful delusion, gauging the day of ripening red fruit. The local birds, however, would have their day of ripening and day of reckoning as well. They "ate their cake" and cobbler too, when the cherries came into their own. For, somehow, the birds always beat the humans to the ripened treasure. Perhaps it had something to do with that verse in the Bible from Matthew 6:26, "Behold the fowls of the air; for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?" If I am better than the birds, I always reasoned, why do they get the cherries and I have to settle for something else?

"The cherries should be ready by tomorrow," Daddy would say to Mother over a cup of morning coffee. "They're almost perfect for picking." The next day, however, bright and early as dawn cracked over the mountain's top, Daddy always returned with an empty bucket.

Like Alfred Hitchcock's aviary friends in his movie "The Birds," based on Daphne du Maurier's 1952 story about unexplained bird attacks, our birds were just as maniacal when it came to cherries. Like the story line of "The Birds," I believe our birds would have blinded us with their beaks if we'd stolen their prized cherries from them.

Those birds must have had something akin to bat honing radar when it came to that cherry tree's fruit bearing season. The fine feathered ringleaders probably sent out hawkshaw waves from their flock when the "ripe" time grew closer. I can only imagine the swarms and frenetic mobbing frenzies as the birds gorged their little four-chambered hearts out on the tart red globes in murmurations that rivaled the scene on D-Day's Normandy beach landings when allied hordes clotted the sand.

When no cherry cobbler was imminent, it was as if I wore hearsecloth for days, mourning my fruit loss while the birds of the air trilled about their victory to distant borders as the crow caws--crows being the hellkites of the air--mocked our hebetude until they hectored me indoors to bristle and make bread pudding, normally another favorite of mine, or something even less satisfying--Pineapple Upside Downcake made by Mother--when I could almost taste cherry cobbler on the tongue. My cherry picking life had just been turned upside down, no need to rub it in with cake and eating it too. Besides, I was never one for cooked pineapple, however hot it may have been. Of course I'm speaking in the temperature sense, since pineapple could never hold a moonbeam to a cherry--no matter how hot, in the seductive sense, her sweet fruit might be.

From the day of the first stripping of the cherry tree debacle in my family's habitat, if I was to have cherry cobbler for dessert, the tart cherries would have to come from a grocery store can shelved on the baking goods aisle.

Big sigh just in the remembering.

I share the cherry tree battles along with my family's love of cast iron to share another story of a more modern day tale. This Labor Day weekend, I started my family out on a cherry cobbler adventure cooking in a cast iron skillet--same as in the olden days for don't we become our mothers--rather than in a regular baking dish.

Since I couldn't find the cherry cobbler recipe and Mother had long gone to heaven and wasn't around to ask, I improvised. (Later, I searched everywhere for the recipe. I found, tucked away in one of Mother's cook books, a postcard my daughter and I had sent her and Daddy while we were touring in Liechtenstein--the postcard a treasure in itself and almost as good as cobbler.)

With a recipe in hand, time to choose the proper skillet. The particular 10-inch cast iron skillet I used had never seen the making of a cherry cobbler, much less swimming butter--it had only known bacon grease for cornbread and sawmill gravy, and vegetable oil for okra, and squash--so the experience was a delightful culinary first for all. I tossed out healthy. And left off the skim milk for another day, instead using Vitamin D fortified Whole Milk--stealing from the toddler's supply. I know. Shame on me. And did I say real butter? An entire stick that had already been salted. Oh. So. Sultry. Salty. Sinful.

When you try this recipe, if that much butter isn't enough of a heart-attack-waiting-to-happen hindrance for you, toss on a healthy scoop of vanilla ice cream--we made ours in my new electric ice cream mixer given to me for my birthday--and think about hips later.

I know. If you're trying to count calories--listen to some "Songs From the Mountain" with Dirk Powell, Tim O'Brien, and John Herrmann to overcome the guilt--the countess cobbler and cream concoction placed before you will be like doing face-time with a hit squad. (More music.)

If you've never experienced cherry cobbler and think you'll substitute apples instead, please rethink your inevitable mistake. Apple cobbler may be as American as apple pie, but cherry cobbler is the head lettuce of cobbler haute cuisine. In my humble opinion, of course. Never--even under unexplained aviary attack--settle for second best.

And a last word. For those who think all of this cherry coveting is nothing more than hooey from a homuncule because hot fruit of any kind is a turnoff to haute couture taste buds, make a cherry cobbler (recipe following). Then refrigerate for breakfast later with a cup of hot coffee to help enhance the flavors that will have had time to meld, mesh, and merge overnight. (The thought of almond extract lurking and mulling around anywhere excites me to no end and curls my toes.) I promise, your day will be like no other. I don't promise hurdy-gurdy skills to be forthcoming out of this adventure, nor will you be able to crank out mind blowing novels in a day or write nonfiction that will cause the nations to align towards world peace. But I do assure a tad of euphoria, smack-dab right here on earth. Short-lived, perhaps, until the last of the cobbler disappears and the spoon clanks against the bowl followed by ear deafening lip smacking, but euphoria all the same. Home really is where the heart is.

And this is the last of the last words, I reassure you, cross my heart. If you don't have a cast iron skillet because, by the grace of God you weren't born in the South and had a few handed down to you from cast iron countesses, check out the production of iron skillets at the Lodge Cast Iron company in South Pittsburg, TN. The town is located right beneath Chattanooga on the hand towel map, close to the TN-AL State line. This will be one foraging field trip you won't regret, for you, too, can become a cast iron countess.

Happy trails and happy cooking!

CHERRY COBBLER

10 inch cast iron skillet

Heat oven to 350 degrees

Put stick of butter in skillet to melt, get skillet really hot don't leave in too long so as not to burn butter.

FILLING

2 cans tart red cherries with juice (baking section of grocery)

2 tsp cornstarch

¾ C of sugar

TOPPING

¾ healthy C helping of all-purpose flour

¾ healthy C helping of sugar

1 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

¾ healthy C helping of milk

¼ teaspoon almond extract

(When I say healthy helping - I'm not always exact but a pinch more is better than a pinch less when working fast to beat the birds or anyone else trying to steal your cherries or berries.)

In a saucepan combine filling ingredients and cook, stirring until hot and slightly thickened. Two minutes there about will do. Whisk dry ingredients, then add milk and almond extract flour. Stir. Pour mixture into heated skillet. Pour filling in on top of flour mixture. Do not stir. Slide into oven for 40 minutes or until brown on top.

Comments anyone?

If you would like to comment or have questions about this article, email me vmoss@livingwaterfiction.com

Posted August 25, 2015

HUSH PUPPY GOOD

BUT SHUT-YOUR-MOUTH-SO-MUCH-BETTER

All photography by Vicki H. Moss

Even though my Mother went to heaven to be with her Lord, friends, and family almost 15 years ago, it's taken me that long to bring myself to the point where I could go through her belongings, deciding what to keep and what to re-gift one day. For instance, her driver's license and social security card. Who would want those other than people looking to steal an identity? I couldn't toss those. Try as I might, I couldn't. Mother's signature was on them. I coveted her signature. Seeing that signature took me back. Way back.

Then there was the one and only basket she'd made with mistakes in the weaving of the reeds. The basket wasn't a masterpiece, wasn't that attractive, but there were memories within those reeds and weaving that meant more than just a beginner's work of art. A friend had taught Mother and my Dad's army buddy wives to weave baskets the Cherokee-Choctaw way while the men soaked up the sun and enjoyed Tennessee River fishing.

During that event, I was pregnant with my first child. I recalled the laughter that rose to the top of the rafters in Mother's great room. That basket weaving workshop was a mile marker of old friends and new coming together to celebrate their having lived through hard WWII war times and better lives later, while in the present looking forward to my child's future birth. A new daughter of the King was heralded into the world within a few months after our basket weaving party. How could I release Mother's basket to anyone who would not appreciate the joy that went into its making? Every time Mother touched the work of her hands she smiled and laughed. That basket was filled with love.

There was an old hat she'd giggled about. "Vicki, why do you want that hat? It's so outdated. What are you going to do with it?" Giggling along with her and loving my new, old gift, I said, "I don't know what I'm going to do with it but I want it because of its feathers. It's unusual. And I know it's ancient and outdated, but it's the coolest hat ever. Vintage. It will not be going to Goodwill or for someone to throw away. It's mine. All mine." I coveted that hat not only for its feathers, but because Mother had worn it during a time when women wore hats and gloves to church. When times had been more genteel and twerking unheard of. She'd also worn the hat when she was young and healthy, in the prime of her life. I coveted the chapeau star because it carried me back to better days and finer times when a man's word meant something and a man's better half--even if her name wasn't Ruby--was considered "…more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her." Those long ago days held sweeter memories. Times when Mother and I both had our youth, and death seemed so far in the distance we could shrug our shoulders at its inevitable dust gathering stormy coming and live life with no fear of fading away in life's rear view mirror.

Not only that, I simply couldn't bear to give her belongings away. She was my Mother. I loved her to the end of her days with every ounce I could muster. To think of her leaving me shook me to the core of my being. After Jesus Christ, she was my main rock and one of the most vivacious and energetic women I'd ever known. She always had my back, no matter what the circumstances. We had a mutual trust. She was fun. She loved Blue Grass music along with Country and Big Band, Dean Martin, Perry Como, Nat King Cole, and Elvis. And I felt I had to be a protector of her's and the other elders' stuff. Stuff had a way of appearing in flea markets or at Unclaimed Freight or even over the bluff.

But even though Mother and her treasures were special to me, most people wouldn't want several of the things I treasured. They certainly weren't considered valuables in the eyes of some. Even I couldn't understand why I held onto items that no one would want taking up space. But to some, one woman's trash is another person's treasure. I spent weeks shredding bank statements that had been kept since the beginning of time, other useless documents, and old checks. And with every check that disappeared, I watched Mother's handwriting disappear, one of the last things I had left of her. Her name on paper in cursive writing. Gone the way of last year's Easter egg. Lost. Somehow her name on paper was as precious to me as moonlight in May.

So one day, I began to put together some of Mother's belongings for a photography shoot using my Great Aunt Willie's table that Mother had sheltered and cherished after Aunt Willie left to join Uncle Alec and others in heaven. A table Uncle Alec--a man who was a teamster in the Spanish-American War of 1898--had himself handmade. It was a table that Aunt Willie had served many a preacher Sunday noon dinners on, no matter what his religious affiliation. Aunt Willie never held anybody's beliefs against them, it seemed. She simply wanted to do a kindness, be a blessing, and fill their bellies and while they had their feet beneath her table, talk a spell. And she certainly could do that. She was the type of woman who could organ out a hymn that would make a sinner's eyes rain and talk a water spout into being then tell it to "peace be still" so someone in the congregation could find their way to the Amen bench and Jesus.

Her treasured table later became Mother's coveted treasure--the same table Mother would serve many a biscuit on along with ham, bacon, eggs the way you liked them, and sawmill gravy that sometimes lapped over a cathead biscuit's edge to love up on some homemade strawberry freezer jam lurking next to the cast iron skillet fried potatoes. That table was the focal point before the family room floor-to-ceiling window that looked out over a bluff that had the kind of wind blasts that sucked the mountain stone chimney's smoke to the cove in downdrafts while the boulders and brambles and mountainside vegetation harbored all kinds of wildlife that made stories from days gone by riveting. Stories that included some of the ancient Native Americans who walked and hunted for game over the trails of the foothills of the magnificent Appalachian Mountains.

Aunt Willie's table was the centerpiece for that annual breakfast ritual that became known as the Cousins' Breakfast. For the rest of the year, when an overflow table wasn't needed for holidays, Aunt Willie's table held family photos and other treasures. So with a photography project in mind, when I began the hunt for Mother's things, I also found an old blue three-ring binder. It was there she'd kept recipes from magazines like Southern Living and Southern Country Living--recipes she would one day either cook or experiment with until she had developed a concoction she could live with that was worthy of her culinary standards, cooking time, and Southern taste buds. One of those pages with white hole reinforcements would go on the table.

After placing Mother's handcrafted basket on the table, the basket with several mistakes, along with Mother's absolute best hush puppy recipe find--her puppies floated to the top and weren't the least bit soggy when it came time for the fish to come out of the fryer--one of her many rulers, buttons from her button jar, her cooking measurement chart with its yellowed and cracked Scotch tape that had been twice reapplied, I decided flowers would be the coup de grace. Taking my pruning shears outside, I snipped delicate Vinca blooms to bring in. After taking the buttons out of the jar, I realized the buttons were really old. They had to have been Grandmother's buttons, not Mother's buttons which had always been kept in a different jar.

Then it dawned on me that in front of me were items belonging to three generations. Great Aunt Willie's table, some of Grandmother's buttons, Mother's basket, recipe and ruler, and my flowers and pruning shears. Aunt Willie was in the same generation as Grandmother so she didn't count as an extra generation. The project was gaining momentum that somehow seemed to be reaching Alpine snowball rolling speed when it came to the flooding in of memories.

The search for Mother's hat of feathers commenced. That fine feathered friend must finally dust its feathers and be of service and was a must for this photo shoot since there were red buttons along with white and cream. While searching for the hat, I found a tucked-away note that was typed on an old family typewriter when my family had first moved to my present home. Wrinkled now and yellowing, my six-and-a-half-year-old child (she recorded her age on the note-"age6anahalf") typed, "I am moving to anoo house in my room it is big I must be neter thin a pig…wer gowing to by som horsis. Harayueharayue."

The wrinkled note had to go in--why had I kept that? More to keep up with. Okay, it was more darling than a cutie-patootie. I wish my mother had kept some things I'd written when I was sixanahalf. And there was some empty yellow space on the paper. Never know when I might need the extra white space for scrap paper. Now I was beginning to think like my Mother and Grandmother who hardly ever threw anything away, holding onto any loose string because they'd lived through the Great Depression and never knew when they might need a loose string again. But presently, I realized I had four generations represented on Aunt Willie's table. Could I make it five and keep the context within my initial theme of Mother's things that had now turned into "Generational Things?"

I knew the only item I had that would be appropriate to represent my Grandies that would fit with the theme were photos. Ahhh. There at my desk was a representation of the fifth generation. And she was wearing her sister's hand-me-down dress and a bonnet. Perfect. Through the hand-me-down dress, both Grandies would be represented. I could have made the project go six generations but the only thing I had that belonged to my great-grandmother was a wood stove and alas, it wouldn't fit on the table. Five generations would have to do. Only one thing was lacking.

Flipping through one of my Bibles, I searched for a keepsake from the daughter of my Grandies. There was a paper dove she'd made when a child that represented the Holy Spirit. I gasped when I found this and the realization hit me that finding this dove was no coincidence. My entire project now felt scripted by a higher power. No brainer putting in the dove as the Holy Spirit's representation. The five women and children represented on the table had all been born into Christian families--all believers. Even one of the Grandies who was already praying and singing about Jesus living in her heart. The other beloved one would be singing about Jesus eventually, as soon as she could put her words together. That white dove--on which I'd made notes about my children's little Sunday School songs, "Take your little hand and pat, pat, pat" and "I'm the little Holy Bible"--was a must for the photo.

Time was of the essence and I had to hurry and position last minute buttons before the Vinca blooms "went the other way" as Grandmother Mary Kate used to say, looking limp and lifeless. Once I had everything in place, I…click, click… noticed…click, click, click…one last thing when looking through my camera's viewfinder. Whatever else was typed on the dove would have to wait. The Vinca was no longer vivacious. Click, click, click.

When I finished, the blooms were already looking like two-day-old banana pudding slow-sliding down the sides of a bowl for home base. At least I'd gotten my photos. Bending over the table, I picked up the dove. There was a typed Bible verse on its body from Isaiah 40:8. I missed it by reading my words and what I'd penciled onto the dove instead of God's words. "The grass dies and the flowers fall, but the word of our God will live forever."

I couldn't help but laugh! We writers and photographers and all else who are busy with our work sometimes get caught up in the "busyness" of our own words and "our moments" and sometimes get too busy for early morning devotionals with God and His Word. Now, He reminded me that not only had His Spirit lived through at least six generations, and no doubt more of the women and men in my family, he was also reminding me that I needed to catch even more of the small things in the details of the big picture and those details are: no matter what I'm hanging on to, no matter what I can't part with, material things rust, rot, and decay. Memories are sure to fade. I can cherish what few things I have that belong to my ancestors for comforting reminders, however, I can't take anything with me. Those treasures are only for worldly and joyful remembrances at times, and for comfort during stressful times at best.

In closing, I'll leave this one thought with you: There was a man in Dr. Maurice Rawlings'--a Chattanooga, TN oncologist and internist and doctor to President Dwight D. Eisenhower--book and video "Beyond Death's Door" who died in surgery and claimed to go to hell first before being shocked back to life. In the interim, before dying again, he begged Dr. Rawlings for help while yelling, "I'm in hell. Don't let me die again!" Dr. Rawlings, who at the time was an atheist, knew enough to walk the deathly ill man through a sort of sinner's prayer, before the man died again. The last time he died, he claimed to have gone to heaven instead of hell. Dr. Rawlings--at one time Mother's heart doctor--and this man came to mind as I finished up my photography work.

He'd said (and I'm paraphrasing), The first thing I noticed about the people in heaven was their garments. I looked for pockets because I'd always been told you can't take anything with you. No one's garments had pockets in heaven.

With that story told, there are a few treasures I will hold onto for awhile--I'm after all, only human--but I would like to share Mother's Hush Puppy recipe with everyone who reads my blog. And I can hear Mother in heaven laughing now and telling all our kin and friends up there with her--can you believe Vicki's still got that handwritten Hush Puppy recipe--wait 'til she takes a bite out of the Hush Puppies concocted for us in our heavenly mansions!

I can only imagine that whatever is waiting for us in heaven, when it's our time to leave this earth, will be something we never could have imagined; Hush Puppy good but shut-your-mouth-so-much-better.

Enjoy!

Mother's Hush Puppies

(she borrowed the recipe from Riverside Restaurant and probably changed it up a tad at times)

1 C Flour S.R. (self-rising)

1 C Corn Meal S.R.

¼ sugar

1 egg

1 t. salt

½ C onion

Enough sweet milk to [become] drop consistency.

Cook in hot fish oil.

Then shut yo' mouth and eat while hot!

Link to "Beyond Death's Door" video "Beyond Death's Door"

Comments anyone?

If you would like to comment or have questions about this article, email me vmoss@livingwaterfiction.com

"I loved it. Once again, you catch the heart of the people. You are a fantastic writer. Keep it up. We need you in our generation. Cheering you on." ~ Jan Priddy

Thanks for your kind remarks Jan!

Very good. Enjoyed very much! ~ Kathy

Thanks for stopping by Kathy. Glad you enjoyed!

Posted July 30, 2015

GRANDMOTHER WAS A PEACH

All photography by Vicki H. Moss

Summers in the South are notorious for being brutally hot and skin-wet muggy. Especially with no air conditioning. Back in the day when many folks had window fans or stand alone fans that oscillated to move the air around, trying to sleep on an especially hot summer night was like living in a perpetual sauna with an occasional oven blast. The dogs lay out on the front porch with their hind legs stretched behind them probably wondering when they'd drift off so they could ferret out a rabbit if only in the recesses of their minds. Babies were drenched with sweat, tossing and turning trying to dolly-up a dream. Adults slept on their side of the bed trying to find a cool spot for their hands beneath a pillow case not yet heated by warm hands.

Then finally, almost magically, the air cooled--nothing like meat-hanging-cool temps but cool enough to pull up the top sheet that had previously been kicked into a damp wad to the footboard. When that breeze began to gently blow, sandman babies turned their heads and nestled down, at last content. Adults sighed with relief and drifted off into a deep sleep, readying themselves for what crops awaited their immediate attention in the morning or for a heifer needing help dropping a calf into the world in the middle of the night. If there was hay to bale or cattle to feed for the men, there was also jams and jellies to gel or butter to churn or flowers that needed pinching, babies that needed patting, and gardens that needed weeding--all work for the women until their husbands drove in from the fields to bounce their offspring to the tune of "She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain When She Comes."

Grandmother stirred every morning at the crack of dawn to beat rattlers and copperheads to her garden plot of Eden. In her lush jungle of runners and green topped onions she gathered fuzzy okra, waxy-skin tomatoes, frog-bumpy cucumbers, crooked-neck squash, and red-hot peppers while Kentucky Wonder pole beans took their own sweet time fattening up their pods for another day's picking.

While Grandmother rustled around in the kitchen sliding out cast iron skillets for bacon and gravy and later fried chicken along with fried okra and squash, the deep pots waited for her reach so she could boil pounds of pintos and corn for dinner--a term used in the city for the evening meal. On late July month mornings I lazed in bed watching the curtain sheers sway and every now and then blow inward as a breeze cooled the grass, the flowers, and a final die-down kiss seemingly just for my room. I could have stayed in that mellow, sleepy state all morning.

But no. Summer break with Grandmother was no walk in Gramercy Park. In the country, there is no rest for the weary nor those thinking they're going to have a "cool" summer. I could ride horses and fish in the pond and play in the hay barn in the fall and winter when the crops were laid by. Southern summertime was a time when chores seemed to never end until the weekend or a blessed mighty rain. After dinner, the march was on. If a neighbor's green beans needed breaking, we paid a visit and everybody either held a week-old newspaper over the lap or balanced a dishpan on dresses covering modest thighs because most women of the time didn't own a pair of slacks, much less a pair of shorts. I was the exception that day being the only youngster. I balanced a pan on top of the brown-as-a-biscuit skin that showed above my knees and a few inches below where my wheat jeans rolled to a stop.

Then the chatter commenced. The grandmother women-talk sometimes sounded like a slow river running when the conversation angled around something sad and ominous or it took off like a babbling creek rising when the news was about good cheer, quilting bee plans, and whether or not someone got saved after last Sunday's sermon. Chatting and catching up on the local news and health issues--ailments or healings--in the cove was sort of like working in a stockinette stitch on a circular pair of knitting needles.

When one little old lady finished verbally knitting a row, the other took her turn purling a row of her own prime time news. I mainly sat and listened and nodded when spoken to--waiting for my chance to sneak a few of whatever we were breaking or peeling into my mouth before heading back home to lap-swing a puppy on a wide porch that faced a long dirt-hard road if the clouds had recently been stingy.

But one day, the work waiting around the bend seemed insurmountable. Up the road…at the end of the road…back behind the furthermost back forty and just before what I envisioned as no man's land, lived a neighbor who had announced, "My peaches have ripened and I'm going to need a bushel of help. Ya'll come." For Grandmother, it was nothing more than a good excuse to work in a visit. After breakfast, then dinner, we trudged through the sweltering heat and finally arrived at our destination. What I saw was scandalous. Surely no one in this lifetime deserved that much to do.

I'd never seen so many bushels of peaches that needed a good skinning in all my young life. There were hills of peaches. Mountains of peaches. That woman had gathered the entire Andes Mountain range of peaches. Her peach trees must have produced a bumper crop before giving up the ghost to croak and die from fruit-birthing pangs. Grandmother wasted no time in handing me a sharpened paring knife, to my surprise, since I was a deadly nuisance with a half-way sharpened hoe. I peeled. And I peeled. I got so efficient at peeling--maybe that's a tad of embellishment--without stabbing myself that even the grannies were surprised.

I peeled my thumb right into a disgustingly huge weepy blister. Never fazed the verbal knitters and purlers. They kept Band Aids for wimpy city-grandkids like me. My hands peeled with the paring knife as long as I had encouragement from the little old lady peelers. Encouragement was something they had a bushel-plenty of. The memory is faded, from so long ago, and I can't recall how much of a dent we made on those peach bushels though I think we knocked off the biggest part of the job before it came time for Grandmother and me to trudge home for supper--the last meal Southerners eat after a hard day's work. I vowed and declared to never eat a peach again. Much less touch the fuzz off one. Grandmother "land-sakes-alive" 'd at that revelation. That vow lasted until supper and a steaming hot peach cobbler top-heavy with vanilla ice cream; ice cream so cold I wanted to hold the spoon against my cheeks until the sun went down.

The blistered thumb has long since healed and faded from memory as well, but the memory of the monumental task of peeling those beautiful fuzzy peaches with their juicy sweet smell still lingers. Making me ache with a longing to listen to those verbal knitters and purlers once more. If only through the foggy mist of time. "Well, I will de-clare," I can still hear Grandmother say when surprised at something shocking or downright unnatural or mildly-to-middlin' aggravating. If there was any way to capture those soft Southern drawls and can them in fat Mason jars, like so many of those peaches that were canned after the peeling fest, I'd do so in an Alabama minute.

Even bunion talk and thumb blisters would go down easy if I could only listen to those precious souls one last time before heading back to the present-day part of my Tennessee. I'd even make do with no fan at all if I could recreate some of those old-time hot July-muggy days. Funny, the kind of muggy we might bear to be able to chat with the old folks once again. I might even be talked into holding a paring knife and peeling a peach. Or two. Or three.

Because Grandmother--well, she was a true peach.

Comments anyone?

If you would like to comment or have questions about this article, email me vmoss@livingwaterfiction.com

Posted December 19, 2014

THAT CHRISTMAS TIME OF THE YEAR AGAIN

I recently discovered that twelve of the top twenty-five Christmas songs were written by Jewish composers. Hollywood and Broadway needed music to help celebrate the most wonderful time of the year. Those songs weren't Christian songs since the Jewish people don't celebrate the birth of Christ--but songs of observation. Some of the lyrics written are about the silver bells jingle-jangled by workers trying to raise money for the Salvation Army so they in turn can help others during the holiday season. Some lyrics are about Jack Frost nipping at noses and people roasting chestnuts before open fires while yuletide carols are being sung. And I can't forget about "Santa Baby" and his coming to town. Santa, one of the biggest draws in history, also helps money-makers. Those are all pleasant distractions, but at the same time distractions taking us away from the true meaning of Christmas.

And those songs just mentioned weren't the songs sung during church services of old. Choirs and fellow worshipers historically rang out, "O Little Town of Bethlehem," "Away in a Manger," "We Three Kings," and many more celebrating the birth of the Savior of the World.

With all that in mind, when I began taking photographs after Christmas decorations were up, I had placed a plate of cookies next to a Nutcracker Mouse King and the Three Wise Men of the nativity scene. And I began looking at those cookies and cupcakes while my mouth watered. I was already distracted from the job at hand. And I couldn't help but wonder about the Magi, or Wise Men who followed a brilliant star to try and find the Christ child. They had either purchased their gifts or found them in their homes, mounted their camels, and weren't distracted on their way to find the baby.

Had belly dancers of the night tried to lure them into staying at the oasis longer? Had they been plied with delicacies and comfortable beds in tents luxuriant enough for kings? Had they been offered cupcakes of their day if they would only visit a few days more? According to the Bible, the Wise Men progressed on their journey to King Herod and began asking him where the newborn might be. When their questions couldn't be answered and they smelled a rat thinking Herod might use them to later destroy the child, the star began moving once more, leading them to the stable where the babe lay wrapped in swaddling clothes.

Swaddling clothes were something a shepherd wrapped newborn lambs in to keep them warm on chilly nights. The Messiah was adorned with clothing meant for animals. I recall choosing the perfect outfit for my babies when I took them home from the hospital. I can't imagine not having something beautiful, yet simple, to dress my newborns in for their trip home.

But even without a fancy baby layette, all went according to plan for the child called Emmanuel. God is with us. He didn't need something blue or something with lace and frills. Then the shepherds left the hills to find the Christ child his parents would name Jesus and discovered him about the same time the Wise Men did, all hearing the hark of the Herald Angels while they sang.

Why smelly shepherds? They were drawn in because they roamed the hillsides looking to pasture their sheep and would spread the word far and wide about what they had witnessed. And Wise Men brought the gifts needed to help the young family escape to Egypt to prevent Jesus' being killed according to Herod's black-hearted plans. Gold for the trip--traveling is costly. Myrrh to mix with water or wine for pain--I wouldn't think Mary had time enough to recover completely before easing onto a donkey to flee a vengeful leader who wanted to hold onto his position. Also, Frankincense was brought and was used in anointing oil. We now know the essential oil helps improve digestion, helps wounds heal faster, is effective as an antiseptic and helps reduce stress, lowers blood pressure, and is good for uterine health. And somewhere in the Middle East, on fragile papyrus, there's probably a record written by the Wise Men about their trip and their findings in the little town of Bethlehem.

Again, the appropriate gifts were brought so all would go according to plan.

And of course, when all was said and done, "God in his wisdom chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong..." 1 Corinthians 1:27

The job of a shepherd--not the most favorable. Sheep still smell bad last time I checked. And no one at the time would dare think their King and Messiah would be born in a stable with lowing cattle and baaa-baaaaing sheep. Kings wore purple robes--costly to dye--and could afford extravagance. Why would God keep this information hidden from his own people--the Jews?

Why would he make it so hard to discover the truth? Why the mystery? I believe God wants us to stay on our toes until as many people who will believe--will come to him for salvation. He's said as much in his word. "For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in." Blindness in part--some of the Jewish faith have discovered the truth already. Then again, many have no desire to dig deeper for understanding.

No matter, however, because the "fullness of the Gentiles" is the completion of the purpose of God in this age. When all of the Gentiles who are going to believe are in the fold, then the scales will be lifted off the eyes of God's chosen people--chosen because they were to be perfect examples to the other nations of the way God wanted his children to live. He wants all to be saved, why he gave his only begotten Son. The answers are there for those who choose to seek them out.

"Therefore keep watch. Do not be blinded. Because you do not know on what day your Lord will come." Matthew 24:42

The Wise Men were watching for that star they knew was supposed to appear. The shepherds kept watch over their sheep and could easily see the star in the inky jet sky as they were vigilant during the night.

I'm going to try my best to stay vigilant and not become distracted by the cookies and cupcakes along my path as I continue my life's journey. And I pray my readers will do the same.

Merry Christmas to all! And to all a good night!

I'll see everyone in 2015 and may the new year be a blessed one.

Comments anyone?

If you would like to comment or have questions about this article, email me vmoss@livingwaterfiction.com