Wish You Were Here

                     Wish You Were Here

The Parable of the Sower

     That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea.  Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach.  And he told them many things in parables, saying:  "Listen!  A sower went out to sow.  And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up.  Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil.  But when the sun rose, they were scorched, and since they had no root, they withered away.  Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.  Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.  Let anyone with ears listen!"
     Then the disciples came and asked him, "Why do you speak to them in parables?"  He answered, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.  For to those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance, but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.  The reason I speak to them in parables is that 'seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand.'  With them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah that says:
     'You will indeed listen, but never understand, and you will indeed look, but never perceive.  For this people's heart has grown dull, and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes, so that they might not look with their eyes, and listen with their ears, and understand with their heart and turn---and I would heal them.'
     "But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.  Truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.
     "Hear then the parable of the sower.  When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart.  This is what was sown on the path.  As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away.  As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing.  But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty."   (Mathew 13:1-23)

"Long Hot Summer Night"

                                       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZwk1T_5-kM

WLS Photos 3

"Ain't Seen My Best"

                                       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8smZMW-i7KM

Flannery O'Connor

* posted as part of the International Authors' Day blog hop hosted by Debdatta Sahay, http://www.b00kr3vi3ws.in

     One of the most beloved literary voices of the 20th century, Flannery O’Connor was a Southern writer and devoted Roman Catholic born in Savannah, Georgia, in 1925.  She wrote two novels and two books of short stories, often examining questions of morality and ethics, in a style classified as Southern Gothic.  Faith and the Gospel of Jesus Christ are also prevalent subjects of her writing. 
     O’Connor’s father passed away in 1941, when she was only fifteen years-old, and the following year she went to Georgia State College for Women, where she earned a social sciences degree.  She was accepted by the Iowa Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa in 1946, and published her first novel, Wise Blood, in 1952.  
     In response to remarks about her emphasis on “grotesque” characters in her stories, she replied, “anything that comes out of the South is going to be called grotesque by the northern reader, unless it is grotesque, in which case it is going to be called realistic.”  She faced some fairly harsh criticism from some of her critics and contemporaries, but she endured it gracefully, and much of her work portrays troubled people who experience God’s divine grace.  
     Prior to publication of her first novel Ms. O’Connor was diagnosed with lupus, a cross she would have to bear for the next thirteen years until her death in 1964.  Flannery was 39 when she passed away, and laid to rest in Memory Hill Cemetery in Milledgeville, Georgia.  
     An interesting fact about her, she was fascinated by birds of all kinds and raised ducks, ostrich, emus, toucans, peacocks, and “any sort of exotic bird she could obtain,” according to Wikipedia.  Among her close friends were two other famous American writers, Robert Lowell and Elizabeth Bishop.  She also maintained a close relationship and correspondence with her mom throughout her life.  Rest in peace, Ms. O’Connor.







Book Giveaway
If you'd like a free copy of my new book, Fits of Tranquility, please leave a comment with your name and e-mail address.  I'll be giving away 10 books on Saturday, 07/18.  Thanks for reading.   - Robert

Rejoice Always

     Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.  (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

Eternal Life

     "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
     "Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.  Those who believe in him are not condemned, but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God.  And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.  For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed.  But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God."  (John 3:16-21)

Lulu the Dog

The people at Wilderness House Literary Review were kind enough to publish my nonfiction piece, "Lulu the Dog," in their summer edition.  Check it out here on their website, under the Essays tab:  https://www.whlreview.com

Do Not Worry

     Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear.  Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air.  They neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not of more value than they?  And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?  And why do you worry about clothing?  Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow.  They neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.  But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you---you of little faith?  Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear?'  For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things, and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
     So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own.  Today's trouble is enough for today.  (Matthew 6:25-34)

Challenge the Sun

                                        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyBieZoMNm8

The Race

     Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.  (Hebrews 12:1-2)

Risen

     But the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid.  I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified.  He is not here, for he has been raised, as he said.  Come, see the place where he lay.  Then go quickly and tell his disciples, 'He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee.  There you will see him.'  This is my message for you."  (Matthew 28:5-7)

Happy 4th of July!

         
                                                      https://youtu.be/hSczLOOm59A

Let It Be

https://youtu.be/0714IbwC3HA

WLS Photos 2

WLS Photos