#AtoZChallenge – “N”
With this week being Holy Week, this post is just a simple reminder that we are Not Home Yet!! Please enjoy the video by Steven Curtis Chapman, who has been one of my favorite artists for over 20 years!!
With this week being Holy Week, this post is just a simple reminder that we are Not Home Yet!! Please enjoy the video by Steven Curtis Chapman, who has been one of my favorite artists for over 20 years!!
I am behind this week and that is okay because I am okay with playing catch up on my posts for a challenge. This week is Holy Week and I will have to miss Mass for the majority of it because on today 4/17 I am having the remainder of my teeth removed to make room for some brand new pearly whites in the form of full dentures. I am okay with missing the most important Masses this week because I know my God has MERCY!!!! I recently discovered a new artist for my catalog of music, Anthony Evans. Please enjoy the video for his song Mercy Tree.
I am so blessed during this Holy Week that in every time of trouble, I just need to run to My Father’s Arms!!! Jeremy Camp – My Father’s Arms
Another one of my favorite new artists is Jordan Feliz and continuing with my theme for today,- I know that I will always be able to seek shelter in My Shelter by Jordan Feliz!!!
Everyday is a reminder that EVEN WHEN I stumble, fall and get back up that my savior Jesus Christ is always here with me!! I tried very hard to find an official video for Jeremy Camp’s “Even When” to no avail. I was able to obtain the lyrics and below is the song itself for your enjoyment.
You know and you see, the times of my defeat
When I fail to realize your kindness reaches
Through all my fragile fears
Of wasting any years
I see you go beyond my silent feelings
Even when I wrote my life away
You still receive me
Even when I wrote my life away
You still receive me
You took this fading head and softened
Every part
I’ll rest in light of what you’ve promised to me
Even when I wrote my life away
You still receive me
Even when I wrote my life away
You still receive me
I’ll always stay strong because I feel you holding on now
To you I belong and I know
And you heal me (3x)
Even when I wrote my life away
You still receive me (3X)
© 2004 Bec Recordings / Emd
Christian lyrics – EVEN WHEN LYRICS – JEREMY CAMP
I bet nobody can guess what my post for the letter “D” will be about. Of course you can!! Today’s post is of course going to be about two of the five of my most favorite creatures in the world, my four-legged babies, that most humans would just call DOGS!!! Please enjoy the video link below.
On Monday April 1st our youngest Sadie and Stitchy, sister and brother, turned 2 years old. One of my favorite pictures is when they were babies and they wanted to eat my Oscar the Grouch puppet.
Every year on their birthday or around the time they came into our home our dogs receive their own birthday cake meatloaf that they share with there pack mates. The only ingredients are ground beef, unsalted crackers, eggs, peanut butter and milk. After cooking it is iced with white icing and then decorated with ketchup. I have been doing this for years and they love it!!!
The last picture is of course our Crissy, Stitchy, Sadie, Zailey and Little Bitty!!
Of course yes I do have a song. The very first song released by Cat Stevens in 1967 – I Love My Dog for your enjoyment!!!
I will tell you that in the course of everyday, I definitely will fall into any one of the categories of the positive words that start with “C” in the image below, especially eating those CHOCOLATE COOKIES!!!!
While I may be all of those categories I must also remember to remain CALM and always ask Christ and my God to give me a clean heart on a daily basis!!
As many folks know, I am an open book about every aspect of my life. I am willing to share my EXPERIENCE, STRENGTH and HOPE about my struggles with chronic relapsing and returns to recovery from alcoholism and addiction to cocaine. I freely discuss my struggles with being bipolar and the depression that can be debilitating and baffling at times.
I gladly discuss my being a very proud, open and out gay man that has been with his partner for over 18 years (yes, someone has put up with me for that long besides my family). We have our struggles but that is life. I love talking about and sharing pictures of our five beautiful four-legged babies Crissy, Little Bitty, Zailey, Sadie and my boy Stitchy!!!
I am never a hesitant to discuss the fact that I have been thriving not just surviving with HIV/AIDS for over 22 years and all of the issues I have had with medication regimens and how I have been able live openly with the disease and never be ashamed to share that fact because it is not what makes me who I am. All of these are things that are part of who I am.
Here is a where the word BRAVE comes into this post. All the time, I hear people tell me that I am so brave to be so open and honest as an open book. I do not see it as being BRAVE, I see it as being my authentic self!!
I am excited to be returning to the Blogging from A to Z challenge, celebrating its 10th Anniversary. My first foray into this challenge was in 2014. Many of my posts through this journey may include a video of a song associated with the words. I am a little late to the party because this week I have been dealing with a lot of chronic lumbar spine and dual hip pain issues. Which in turn is causing a bit of depression which of course both of these things are triggers for my alcoholism – or as my chemical dependency counselor would say – a reason to drink. The good news is that I have not drank and I am just about to 90 days.
Abracadabra, what a great word. We think that if say abracadabra and wave a wand of some sort, then whatever we are wanting will magically appear. Especially when we are dealing with any type of illness, pain, mental health issues or addiction to alcohol or drugs. We hope everything will disappear if we wave that wand. Well that does not happen, often we have to work for the magic to happen and sometimes the magic cannot even happen.
But the important thing to remember is that if we are willing to do the work and follow our physician’s orders then perhaps the abracadabra will happen. One of my favorite songs associated with the word abracadabra is the Steve Miller Band song of the same word “Abracadabra” from 1982. I have included for your enjoyment.
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