WHERE HORSES RUN FREE
Written By Linda A. Knowles
Lush green meadows
as far as the eye can see.
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Wild flowers springing up all about;
Fragrance filling the air,
after the wind-driven rain of the night,
where horses run free,
where they gather to graze.
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That I should run so so free,
With no fear of what is ahead,
Or what lies beyond the tomorrow.
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Wildly free,
Like the way horses run,
And then to rest;
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And enjoy places such as flower-filled meadows,
where horses run wild and free.
SILVER GRAYED WOLF
Written By Linda A. Knowles
Plucked out from forbidden pleasure,
The silver grayed wolf showed his face,
Ghastly color of sin and death displayed…
Across his face.
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Having come out from his wooded home,
He growls only to find a lamb wandering;
He nears the lamb who comes up to him,
And the silver grayed wolf pounces,
Holding the lamb down,
His teeth piercing the lamb.
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Badly injured,
Lamb laid out before him,
And the silver grayed wolf looks up,
Drunk on the blood from the wounded lamb.
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Zoning out,
Silver grayed wolf just stares ahead,
And upon the branch of a tree nearby,
Now hangs his uniform,
Until once again he needs to dress as a lamb.
LET ME LIE
Written By Linda A. Knowles
Let me lie
where poppies grow
where I can be covered
by a blanket of fresh fallen snow
where dreams can freely dance through my mind
A place where there’s no need to keep time.
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Let me lie
in fields of green
where I can see jewels growing on trees
were clouds are cotton-candied shaped
where curtains of reality are no longer draped.
I find it disturbing how many of those that claim to be Christians want to push the blood of Jesus Christ aside as if the blood doesn’t matter. The fact is Christianity is a ‘bloody’ religion (there’s no getting around that) because we believe in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, because of His death, burial, and resurrection which is the core and crux of Christianity.
“And without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.”
Hebrews 9:22
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Christ considered us very valuable, and we are told by Him, in John 10:18, “No one can take My life from Me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what My Father has commanded.” To know you are so valuable He would lay down His life to die for you is not only thought-provoking but also an awesome thought; to know God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for our sins, shows us how much God loves us. We are told in Romans 5:8, “But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.”
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I’m so grateful and thankful because it is by the blood I have been saved, sanctified, healed, and delivered from sin. And Jesus is still saving and healing and delivering today. If we continue reading Romans 5, we see in verses 9-10, “And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, He will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of His Son while we were still His enemies, WE WILL CERTAINLY BE SAVED THROUGH THE LIFE OF HIS SON.”
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This is the Good News of Jesus Christ. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He died for us, was buried, but He didn’t stay buried. He conquered death, hell, and the grave; and He has made us victorious. He is alive, and He still changes lives today. We have forgiveness for our sins because Jesus paid the ultimate sacrifice.
DASHANA
Written By Linda A. Knowles
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Running as fast as she can,
Needing to run…
Dashana’s world is one of slavery.
A thankless task,
Underpaid,
Overworked.
Dashana’s plantation,
Where she labors is Pressureland Plantation,
Aptly named,
And though she runs,
The plantation does not outrun her strides.
The Taskmasters…
Tears she shed were countless,
And on so many occasions,
She broke down.
Her tears seemed endless,
And to the Taskmasters,
the tears were another reason to beat and flog her;
To the Taskmasters her tears were insignificant, meaningless, pointless.
To them,
Dashana would always be a slave,
Responding to their every whim,
Surrendering to the point of literally bringing her to her knees.
Yet only one sees her heart as she breaks another run,
And as she lets loose another flood of tears.
Can anyone hear her screaming?
The silent scream that pierces through the darkness…
To reach other horizons,
Where the sunlight is found,
And she wonders will she ever find the freedom she yearns for.
I absolutely love my country, but the people in my country… We hold to our Constitution. We have rights that are given to us as citizens of the United States of America, and as citizens, we exercise those rights; however, we should exercise those rights responsibly. While exercising those rights responsibly sounds like a great idea or something we should already be doing, many times we fail in the responsibly part.
Write your little heart out. Blog your little heart out. Speak your mind, and freely speechify or grandstand as much as you want. Don’t hold back. Just remember words uttered without thought to your fellow man or woman, in other words without an ounce of consideration or courtesy, will be held against you no matter whom you are addressing and by those who are merely spectators.
Freedom of speech does not allow for us to scream “FIRE!” in a crowded theater scaring the living daylights out of everyone to the point where they are stampeding out the door. Freedom of speech does not allow for us to breathe death threats or threats of bodily harm to another. In both those cases, consequences are sure to follow. Admittedly though, people have the freedom to act as stupidly as they want because it’s a free country. They should know they need to own the garbage they created and now have to pay the consequences. Consequences are not something we choose. Consequences happen.
It’s always good to refresh your mind on what your rights are as a citizen. So I got this quote from the site http://www.usconstitution.net: “Amendment I FREEDOM OF RELIGION, SPEECH, PRESS, ASSEMBLY, AND PETITION. Passed by Congress September 25, 1789. Ratified December 15, 1791. The first 10 amendments form the Bill of Rights. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for redress of grievances…”
…but Political rallies bring out the worst in people. I get it. All of us are passionate about what we so strongly believe as individuals, what we consider important and moral, concerned how whatever happens affects us and our families, the communities we live in. The reality is though there will always be disagreements and lack of unity. And there is only one race: the human race; but I digress.
People make choices as to what they say or how they’ll react. <> I had a pastor who taught me never make decisions in the heat of emotion, and refrain from speaking in the heat of emotion. He taught me to step back immediately, to wait until calmed down, and then THINK about what to say or what to do. Yeah, admittedly, I have not always taken to that wise advice even though there are times I do.
Peaceful assembly?… How can an assembly be peaceful when speeches (words spoken) incite violence? I would like to believe the ones making the speeches would consider their words carefully before spouting them. How is the crowd going to react? But then again, those protesting also use words. The responsibility of words falls upon anyone who speaks. “If I say this, will it incite violence?” “Do my words convey hope?” “Am I going to regret these words later on?” “Should I calm down before I say what I can’t take back?” “If I say these words, is there a possibility I could end up in a full body cast or end up dead?” “If what I say infuriates the person and that person responds with an attack, will I end up retaliating or do I just keep my mouth shut?”
Lord, please let election time get here really fast
so the madness can end.
*Sighs*
Much love to all, Diamond In The Rough
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I’ve always loved this poem;
and for some reason, this poem has stayed with me.
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There are so many times I wanted to do things my way, but in the end, I ended up doing what is right. I have this thing with sleep; I like it, and it likes me. So when I do the right thing, I sleep well. I can lay my head down at night and sleep away.
I believe in absolute truth, and taking a road that not many take (that road less traveled by) and my conscience is clear. God is my final authority, and therefore, to me, the opinions of others and their approval of me is not needed. God will hold me accountable for the things I do and the things I say. He is my Judge, and when I do self-examinations and search my soul, I’m my own worst critic. God is more merciful to me than I am to myself.
My faith is important to me, and I enjoy being able to live my faith and meditate on verses from the bible. When I meditate on bible verses, I find it helpful, and it keeps me focused on what’s important – Doing the right thing, loving God, and helping my neighbors.
Yes, the road less traveled isn’t always easy, but it’s worth it in the end.
🙂 May your dreams be tranquil and may they be sweet.
Much love to all….
Diamond In The Rough
Stained Glass Confessions 