A Mother's Worth

With Mother's Day just around the corner, my thoughts began to turn to all of the things I do and have done for my children and family in general as a mother. I see all of the fuzzy feelings and tender hearted commercials trying to tell children what would be the perfect gift for mom. But is there an appropriate gift to give the one who gives their all.

I thought about Jesus and how he laid his life down for humanity so they could have a shot at eternal life. The giving of self so fully for others - others you have never met, yet was willing to die for. Moms are not up there with Jesus, but there is no other example of giving their all, including their life for someone they love, as a mother.

I must admit there are some terrible mothers out there. It isn't an easy job. but, even with their imperfections; their children love them deeply. So, for me to say 'there are some terrible moms' would be too flippant, judgemental, and down right horrible. So I separate the less than perfect mom, my category, from criminal moms.

I love listening to the commercials encouraging people to adopt. They target in on the fact that you do not have to be cool, a rocket scientist, or child psychologist to be a loving person willing to adopt a child needing to be loved.

I wanted to take the time to appreciate those who are in this institution of motherhood. Sometimes it is a thankless position of late hours and few seeable benefits. But, upon reflection it turns out to be filled with benefits. Nothing can ever compare to that first whiff of innocence-newness I inhaled the first time I held each of my daughters for the first time; that was priceless. All of the funny faces they made at new discoveries. The laughter that tickled my ears at the simplest of things they found to be hillarious and I had long ago took for granted. If I were offered millions for my mother memories, I would turn it down. So to all of the mothers out there; happy mother's day.

So how much is a stay-at-home parent's work really worth? According to Salary.com's 2010 Mother's Day Paycheck for Mom's Job, the time mothers spend performing 10 typical job functions would equate to an annual salary of $117,867 for a stay-at-home mom. Not too shabby eh?

Heather Chrudimsky states that a stay-at-home moms perform many necessary duties, have important responsibilities that serve as the glue in a family/household that keeps it together and running smoothly. Their duties don't run on a 9 to 5 schedule and there is no punch out time. Below is her listing of a mother's duties.

10. Administrative assistant: run errands, answer the phone, pay bills, fill out paperwork, organize and schedule activities,
9. Chef: whether it's breakfast, lunch or dinner. Cooking responsibilities are on the shoulders of the stay-at-home - all while taking care of the kids.
8. Tutor/teacher: Time to bring out the math, science, spelling, etc. skills back out. No matter what the age, homework help is a staple in a stay-at-home mom's day.
7. Chauffeur: Whether it's to school, choir, dance, sports practice, dentist, doctor, friend's house, park, grocery store, etc., stay-at-home moms spend just about as much time in their vehicle as a truck driver.
6. Daycare provider: Kiddos are obviously a stay-at-home mom's top priority. Making sure they are busy, safe and engaged is a constant.
5. Referee: Literally and figuratively. Children fight and it is the job of mom to make sure no one is hurt and lessons are learned.
4. Doctor/nurse: Band-aids, ointment and mommy kisses - nothing cures a boo-boo better.
3. Psychiatrist: Whether is it helping little ones understand their growing emotions or healing a first broken heart - mom is always there to offer a shoulder to cry on, and give advice of course.
2. Maid/homemaker: Just call them domestic divas - name the cleaning chore, stay-at-home moms have done it.
1. Family mascot/boss: Regardless of a faimly's makeup, moms are the family centerpiece, keeping the family together, making sure everything runs smoothly and keeping everyone happy.

Seems like mothers might need regular vacation time.

What ever you decide to give your mother for Mother's Day; expensive or not, make sure you smother her with 'thank yous' and 'love yous' because this is music to a mother's ears.

Women of worth stand proud

Today is International Women's Day. I have been alive for some forty odd years and never heard of this day until today. I am not one that can be described as living under a rock, but I never knew there was such a day.

the reason this international day; holiday for others in other countries, is being heralded is because of the assault on women in the United States and because of the many pictures we recently viewed of women in Egypt protesting openly with their male counterparts.

No matter the reason it is now being announced over and over on the news cycles, it is amazing to know there was a day set aside to celebrate women before they were even allowed to vote in the U.S.

Every great movement of change was made necessary by a great injustice. I don't believe women discuss with their daughters and sons that the freedom their mother enjoys came from protests, pickets, and jail time by other brave women. Just as I encourage women to teach their children how and why God created them 'female' I hope we continue the dialogue to contemporary times. People have been trying to repeal equal employment opportunity laws because they feel they are only for minorities i.e. blacks and Hispanics. People, and shamefully women, forget that they are also a minority and the gals ceiling and the good old boys club don't want them in the work place either. The governor in Wisconsin is trying to piggy back a law where birth control will not be covered by insurance while Viagra is. When prostate cancer began taking out men, a quick, painless test to detect it early was found in record time while we still have relays for breast cancer.

So today on International Women's Day I ask you to stand proud and knowledgeable on what it means to be a woman. As always read my book "When Will Eve Be Forgiven?" to help you uncover or rediscover womanhood in all of its glory. Below is an article I found explaining this day. What a great day to be a woman and don't just celebrate womanhood one day, but celebrate it every day.

International Women’s Day began as National Women’s Day in the US in 1909 and has its roots in the now defunct Socialist Party of America. The following year, a German woman named Clara Zetkin proposed the first International Women’s Day while at the second International Conference of Working Women, held in Copenhagen. The day was first celebrated internationally in 1911 and has been observed in many countries every year since then. It was moved from its original date in late February to its current date, March 8, in 1913.
The United Nations began honoring International Women's Day in 1975, the UN-proclaimed International Women's Year. In 1977, it went a step further, adopting a resolution recognizing International Women’s Day. Since its first celebration, the UN has hosted four international women's conferences and in 2010, it created the UN Entity for Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women – also known as UN Women.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-Issues/2011/0308/International-Women-s-Day-What-s-it-all-about/What-are-its-origins

RED MOON FEVER

Many people will be focused on the heavens this night. It makes you think of those shepherds who were looking up into the sky as the aNgels sang "Peace on earth. Good will towards man" thousands of years ago.

Their hearts were probably filled with fear when their eyes first beheld the wondrous sight, but just as quickly they were comforted with news of the birth of the Saviour.

The book of Revelation tells of a time when the moon will turn red. Many may be thinking - is this what Revelation was foretelling? And if it is - am I right with God?

Along with sky searching and gazing I hope there will be soul searching and gazing. Fear inspires people to rethink choices, but God has never wanted us to live in fear. He has said we were not created in fear but in power, love and a sound mind.

So as RED MOON FEVER rages have the peace of the Lord with you in this season of miracles and enjoy the wondorous sight the Lord has created as signs for His creation.

WHAT ALL THE BUZZ IS ABOUT

For the first time in 372 years, the winter equinox and a total lunar eclipse happen on the same day, and North America is one of the best spots to view the show. NASA eclipse expert Fred Espenak of the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland predicts the moon will appear bright red or orange. Unlike solar eclipses which require protective glasses, lunar eclipses are safe to watch with the naked eye. According to NASA, this is the first time in 372 years that a lunar eclipse will occur on the winter solstice and the next one on winter solstice won’t occur until 2094.

"LOOK TO GOD FOR SECURITY IN LIFE"
enjoy what astrologers are saying

In astrology, we look to the Winter Solstice as a time of high energy and focus. The trick is to harness these forces and make them work in our lives. Take stock of what you're working on, and find ways to make your projects even more exciting and fabulous. Study your relationships, and resolve to make them better, too. You might even make changes in the way you look or in your personal habits so you can improve your image and become a new and improved person.

In astrology, the Lunar Eclipse is infamous for bringing certain matters to a head. You can expect the results of all the things you've been expending effort on to come in, for better or worse. At work, it could be good news about an end-of-
year bonus, or a call for the interview you've been waiting for. In your private life, it could bring a decision about where you'll live, and with whom. It might even mark the day you finally realize you're done with holiday preparations, or in your love life, it may bring the warm and wonderful feeling you've found "the one", or are more enamored than ever with the one you've been with for years.

There are plenty of reasons to "pop the cork," so to speak, and it is probably true that most of the events related to the eclipse will be happy ones. That's because it takes place in the hard-core celebrating zodiac sign of Sagittarius. The sign of
the Centaur can also bring some less-than-happy truths to light, though. Look for some embarrassing behavior on the part of politicians and other celebrities to be revealed in the news, along with increased possibilities of nations fighting over
their core belief systems, particularly religion and the laws that are derived from it. Also, if you're in a personal legal entanglement, and looking for opportunities to let it come to an end that allows all parties to walk away without regret, the
Lunar Eclipse can help you with that.

SO ON THIS NIGHT OF BEAUTY AND SLIGHT APPREHENSION TAKE TIME TO MARVEL AT CREATION. REMEMBER YOU ARE ALSO A PART OF CREATION AND A ONCE IN A LIFETIME OCCURANCE. RENEW YOUR MIND AND BODY FOR KINGDOM PURPOSE AND PUT ALL TRUST IN GOD

Veterans Day: reminder to pray for leaders

The following post is an excerpt from my yet unpublished companion piece to "The Politics of Prayer." It is a daily devotional where you can actually write down leaders from various positions in your church, community, state, and nation to pray for daily. I am waiting to see how many people purchase the book "
The Politics of Prayer" before releasing the daily devotional booklet.
This is SECTION ONE entitled PRAY:

There is not a tried and true way to pray. Many suggestions have been given as to how a person should pray, but the technique will vary from person to person. The “how” to pray is not as important as the “you should” pray. I found a suggested pattern of prayer that has been helpful to me that you may want to use as a guide in helping you clear your mind and focus on prayer.

Ten simple rules on how to pray by Deane Edwards, President of The Hymn Society of America (published in 1958):
1. Pray where you are. God is present everywhere and ready to listen.
2. Pray when possible in a quiet spot where you can be alone. It is well to fix your mind deliberately on God, apart from confusing distractions.
3. Pray to God simply and naturally, as a friend. Tell him what is on your mind. Get help from the prayers of others.
4. Pray remembering the good things God has done for you. Reckon up your blessings from time to time and give thanks for them.
5. Pray for God’s forgiveness for the unworthy things that you may have done. He is near to a humble and contrite heart.
6. Pray for the things that you need, especially those that will make your life finer and more Christlike.
7. Pray for others, remembering the situations they confront and the help they need.
8. Pray for the world and its need, asking God to bring better things and offering your help to them.
9. Pray above everything else that God’s will may be done in you and in the world. His purposes are deeper and wiser than anything we can imagine.
10. Pray, and then start answering your prayer.

I love reading quotes about prayer and I found a few to share with you:

“God does nothing but by prayer, and everything with it.”
John Wesley

“Most men pray for power, the strength to do things. Few people pray for love, the quality to be someone.”
Robert Foster

“The greatest tragedy of life is not unanswered prayer, but unoffered prayer.”
F.B. Meyer

“Prayer does not fit us for the greater work; prayer is the greater work.”
Oswald Chambers

“Seven days without prayer makes one weak.”
Allen Varlett

“Every great movement of God can be traced to a kneeling figure.”
D.L. Moody

“Work as if you were to live a hundred years. Pray as if you were to die tomorrow.”
Benjamin Franklin

“Our prayers must mean something to us if they are to mean anything to God.”
Maltbie D. Babcock

“To pray in Jesus’ name means to pray in his spirit, in his compassion, in his love, in his outrage, in his concern. In other words, it means to pray a prayer that Jesus himself might pray.”
Kenneth L. Wilson

Studying men of the Bible in which God favored reminds us of our own stregnths and weaknesses along with God's mercy, grace, and love for us. Let's take a look at a man whom God loved:

King David

“And David realized that the Lord had established him as king over Israel, and that He had exalted his kingdom for the sake of His people Israel” (II Samuel 5:12).

When David took the reigns of Judah and later became king of all of Israel, the territory he ruled over was not a kingdom of peace, it was fractured. David would turn the divided kingdom into a strong united power. He took independent tribes and joined them into a centralized government. The territory David reigned over would go from a people without a centralized place of worship to having Jerusalem as their place of worship. This growth and change did not come without struggles.

David was “a man after God’s own heart” (I Samuel 13:14). He governed God’s people by God’s principles. Even though he possessed strong leadership abilities and a willingness to obey God, he was still human. He struggled with lust, adultery, and even murder. He had problems with a son trying to entice an entire nation into rebellion against him, the king.

When David repented to God for his sins, God showed him forgiveness and his fellowship and peace with God was restored. Though God forgave David, he had to live through the consequences his sins had set in motion (II Samuel 12-20), such as the death of his child with the woman he committed adultery with, Bathsheba.
We see David as an ideal leader of an imperfect kingdom. Then we see an ideal kingdom and an imperfect leader.

REFLECTION
I encourage you to incorporate prayer for your national leaders into your daily prayers. Galatians 5:22-23 gives you qualities every person should long to have as part of their character and are the by-products of living for God. These qualities are called the fruit of the Spirit and include: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Paul says there is no law against the gifts of the Spirit. We should prayerfully ask God to help our leaders to have these qualities when we pray.

Make your own prayer list of local and national leaders to pray for.

HE IS RISEN

HE IS RISEN!
This is the history changing proclaimation. The world has not been the same since those first century Christians saw the resurrected image of a crucified savior. The testimony began with two women and later was given credibility by more than 500 witnesses. Triumph over death was accomplished by Jesus Christ of Nazereth.

So why are there so many bunnies and eggs seen on this resurrection Sunday? Our old standby explanation of things we cannot control is hard at work. How do we make heads and tails of the unexplainable? We turn to superstition and folklore.

Do you know why eggs and bunnies are associated with the Easter celebration. It is because both the egg and bunny are symbols of fertility and for that reason were an important part of European Spring festivals. After Europe became Christianized these symbals of Spring and fertility were transfered to the Christian Easter celebration, a holiday that celebrates renewed life.

There are a number of superstitions relating to Good Friday:

A child born on Good Friday and baptised on Easter Sunday has the gift of healing.

Many fishermen will not set out for catch on Good Friday.

Bread or cakes baked on this day will not go mouldy.

Eggs laid on Good Friday will never go bad.

The planting of crops is not advised on this day, as an old belief says that no iron should enter the ground (i.e. spade, fork etc.).

Hot cross buns baked on Good Friday were supposed to have magical powers. It is said that you could keep a hot cross bun which had been made on Good Friday for at least a year and it wouldn't go mouldy.

Hardened old hot cross buns are supposed to protect the house from fire

Sailors took hot cross buns to sea with them to prevent shipwreck.

A bun baked on Good Friday and left to get hard could be grated up and put in some warm milk to stop an upset tummy.

Having a hair cut on Good Friday will prevent toothaches the rest of the year.

Giving Easter Eggs goes back to the Egyptians and Romans whom both used egg-giving as a symbol of resurrection and continuing life.

Christianity later adopted the egg as an emblem of the Resurrection of Christ.

Infants were given hard-boiled eggs dyed red (the blood of Christ) to keep them healthy for the coming year.

Children born on Easter Day are considered fortunate.

Ancient German superstition states that Rabbits lay eggs on Easter Day hence the Easter Bunny.

Pagan origins of Easter:
Many, perhaps most, Pagan religions in the Mediterranean area had a major seasonal day of religious celebration at or following the Spring Equinox. Cybele, the Phrygian fertility goddess, had a consort, Attis, who was believed to have been born via a virgin birth. Attis was believed to have died and been resurrected each year during the period MAR-22 to MAR-25.

Gerald L. Berry, author of "Religions of the World," wrote:

"About 200 B.C. mystery cults began to appear in Rome just as they had earlier in Greece. Most notable was the Cybele cult centered on Vatican hill ...Associated with the Cybele cult was that of her lover, Attis (the older Tammuz, Osiris, Dionysus, or Orpheus under a new name). He was a god of ever-reviving vegetation. Born of a virgin, he died and was reborn annually. The festival began as a day of blood on Black Friday and culminated after three days in a day of rejoicing over the resurrection." 3

Wherever Christian worship of Jesus and Pagan worship of Attis were active in the same geographical area in ancient times, Christians:

"... used to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus on the same date; and pagans and Christians used to quarrel bitterly about which of their gods was the true prototype and which the imitation."

Many religious historians and liberal theologians believe that the death and resurrection legends were first associated with Attis, many centuries before the birth of Jesus. They were simply grafted onto stories of Jesus' life in order to make Christian theology more acceptable to Pagans. Others suggest that many of the events in Jesus' life that were recorded in the gospels were lifted from the life of Krishna, the second person of the Hindu Trinity. Ancient Christians had an alternative explanation; they claimed that Satan had created counterfeit deities in advance of the coming of Christ in order to confuse humanity. 4 Modern-day Christians generally regard the Attis legend as being a Pagan myth of little value with no connection to Jesus. They regard Jesus' death and resurrection account as being true, and unrelated to the earlier tradition.

Wiccans and other modern-day Neopagans continue to celebrate the Spring Equinox as one of their 8 yearly Sabbats (holy days of celebration). Near the Mediterranean, this is a time of sprouting of the summer's crop; farther north, it is the time for seeding. Their rituals at the Spring Equinox are related primarily to the fertility of the crops and to the balance of the day and night times. In those places where Wiccans can safely celebrate the Sabbat out of doors without threat of religious persecution, they often incorporate a bonfire into their rituals, jumping over the dying embers is believed to assure fertility of people and crops.

So today we celebrate with a mixture of the pagan and Christian tradition. There are those Christians who rail against the notion of the Easter Bunny and his appearance along with his colorful eggs. But, as Jesus drilled into our minds through the Scriptures, it is the content of a person's heart that he is concerned with. Are you a pagan who worships some goddess or are you a Christian who knows the truth of Jesus' life, death and resurrection who happens to enjoy coloring and hiding eggs for little children to find? It is the heart that will be judged.

It is not the history of the Easter Bunny or a pagan goddess that many people celebrate on Easter. I say, just remember why we celebrate the day and enjoy it as a celebration of life.

Happy Easter

Good Friday?

Today is a day of remembrance. A time in which Christians reflect back to a day of torture and torment for one man proclaiming a new way of life; a new life after death.

He began a ministry to the poor, the rejected, the disabled, the ostrasized, and included women in a way society had never allowed. He railed against those religious leaders who misused their position of power (Matthew 23:13-29):

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.”

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.”

“Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind fools! Which is greater; the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath. You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or he altar that makes the gift sacred? Therefore, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwell in it. And he who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.”

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law---justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.”

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisees! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.”

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.”

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your forefathers!”
“You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?”

Jesus' ministry was a ministry of life, of everyday living. It was not something adorned every morning or displayed in the presence of others; it was who you were day in and day out, a life style.

We say on this day that it was 'good' such a man came, gave his life to show us a better way. But many of us do not choose to live the exampled way of salvation. We pick and choose what we want to do as it fits into our chosen life style. We adjust the ministy of Jesus to parallel our lives instead of adjusting our lives to parallel Jesus' ministry. This is why and how we have so many interpretations of the Bible and so many different denominations.

On this day of the ultimate final blood sacrifice we should reflect on what we. as Christians. have gained through the death and resurrection of Jesus.

1. We have been freed from the excuse, "It is too difficult and impossible to live a Christian life on earth."
2. We have gained the knowledge and joy that true persecution isn't a couple of people talking about you or sneering at you when you pray or worship God, but persecution is the ultimate price of death; which we do not encounter in the United States.
3. We have the assurance that this life does hold its pitfalls and sadness for all who inhabit it, Christian and non-Christian alike, but Christians awake to a brighter day after death of splendor and glory.
4. We have learned that with righteous choices in life, comes great opposition and fear. You can be heralded on one day and dispised by the masses the next day. It is the heart of forgiveness that enables compassion and peace. Jesus and Stephen uttered powerful words as they were murdered by the masses: "Forgive them Father for they know not what they do."
5. Finally, you have a clear purpose for your life above all other purposes. You have been given the task and ability to show others the way to salvation. This is an honor and priveledge which unites all Christians in brotherhood. All other purposes pale in comparison to this purpose.

It was the willingness of Jesus and his followers to choose an unpopular life style, to endure the threat of death, and to say: "no matter what is going on around me, I choose God," this stance allowed Christianity to grow, flourish, and last for centuries. Justice, mercy, and faithfulness in everyday living is more effective than any speech given by today's Christian.

As everyone prepares their Easter finest suit, dress, and hat; as Easter eggs are dyed and meals are prepared, as church building fill to over flowing, it will be the daily life style lived by the individual that will speak to all the on-lookers.

Will their response be:"Woe to you, you blind guides, you hypocrites?"

APOCALYPSE NOW? 2012 is drawing close

Yes, it is that time of the year; the New Year.

As with each new year, we ask ourselves: is this the year that the world will end? Apocalypse seems to be the word of choice for 2009. I myself have found myself checking out the history channel to make sure that I can identify the tell-tell signs of the end of the world.

I even googled "Predictions of 2012." One of my daughters said that she is just now getting her life together and it would be unfair for the world to end on her career. Whatever one may believe (by the way, I think that we are living in those imfamous last days) I hope that we all are reflecting on the life that we are living now and the life that we intend to live eternally.

I consider myself as a nice person, but we all know that it takes more than just 'niceness' to secure a place in eternity with our Creator. So, instead of sitting and sulking about the approach of 2012 which seems to be plagued with all kinds of bad stuff, I will thank God for today.

I will thank God for this flooding rain that we are having, because there is a promise of sun. I will thank God for these quivering stubborn pounds that I am on my 6th attempt to shed, because I have been told in Scripture that I am awesomely and wonderfully made. I will thank God for each of you who have stumbled onto my sporadic blog site, because you help me to strive to be more interesting and disciplined.

Enjoy the New Year
2009 will be the greatest year yet to be a child of God.

An ode to halloween

This my favorite time of year. I am a Christian and I am surprised with the stance of other Christians regarding halloween. There are so many other vices that are indulged in throughout the year that deals with pagan rituals and beliefs that have become so common place that the acts are not even noted. Household pets such as cats and dogs were domesticated in Egypt for their use in having direct contact to the god or goddess that the animal represented. The Pharoah would have the represetative figure (i.e. dog, cat, falcon, etc.) brought into his presence so that his requests were sure to be heard. IS THIS FACT OR FICTION? Can your innocently domesticated animal be a representative of a pagan god or goddess? Is it your intent that makes your association with the animal pagan or not? Check out the history of all that you do to make sure that you are not dabbling in unsavoury activity. As for me, I will continue to enjoy the laughs and boos of halloween. TRICK OR TREAT!!!????

I am so happy to have found what I was told a Mexican Petunia. I have admired this plant in other people's yards for two growing seasons and I found seven of them at a local nursery in Jackson, MS for $1.00 each. Talk about a blessing. I can't wait until next year to see them in action. ARE CARDS PAGAN TOO? I found them a wonderful tool to teach my little ones their number when I had little ones.

Oh halloween, the night of dread,

the favorite night of the dead.

I see your moon, its fullness shines,

The dogs are howling in the distance,

My heart beats faster in an instant.

The scary figures, shadows defines.

My feet go fast in a hasty retreat,

I hear the giggles of Trick or Treat.

Is this a game, a trick played on me?

I see no grave nor empty tomb,

But, I feel the presence of my doom.

I feel the anxiety of catastrophy.

Ghosts and goblins and withches ride,

I search ahead for a place to hide.

I run, I jump, to a bush that will do,

Imagine my surprise to find you hiding too.

IT WAS YOU!