NUT GRASS

                "Ever wonder how far is away?" Tess yawned, uprooted yet another sprig of nut grass from the garden.

                "Often does the way remind, before the shadow shines the light." Grunt punctuated Ted response, while pulling yet another long rooted weed that he knew not the name of. Ted glanced over at Tess, his eyes lingered there, and he thought, "Even in the late afternoon heat, even in dirt infused sweats, even with garden soil on the tip of freckled nose neath brim of cap, my Tess rocks that strawberry blond hair and pale blue eyes."

                Like all intuition imbued women when being watched, Tess wiped speck from nose, looked up, smiled, "Less admiration, more weed pulling, ol' man." Her smile grew as she resumed nut grass war.

                But a curious Ted could not help but wonder at a certain Tess brand of peculiar behavior. "Mind if I ask why you are separating the nut grass into two separate pots?"

                "Horchata de chufa." Tess extracted yet nother nut grass sprig out of the garden.

                "Horchata de what-a?" Familiar female voice chimed in from edge of garden.

                Tess and Ted smiled at each other, chimed together, "Good morning Barrett." They looked up to see husband Grinn at her side, both wearing their signature line of Grinn & Barrett khaki knickers and tees.

                "How are our neighbor clothing moguls this glorious and blessed morning?" Tess extended greeting.

                "Now Tess, you know we love you, but," Grinn grinned, "but when you start slinging round words like glorious and blessed, you usually slip into that irritating witnessing for Jesus stuff."

                Barrett elbowed hubby.

                "Owww!" Grinn rubbed ribs.

                "Don't be rude, Grinn. Tess only witnesses to you cause she loves you. Besides, you need to listen." Barrett returned attention to Tess, "Anyhow, what is this horchata de what-a you mentioned earlier?"

                "Horchata de chufa is a delicious icy drink made by mixing water with a ground blend of select nut grass nutlets, rice, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and tad a nutmeg." Tess blinked those pale blues appretiatively up at Barrett.

                "Oh sweet deja vu," Ted eyes lit up, "that's what that creamy white drink was the other day. Fresh n cold right out a the fridge and putting the yeeeeeee back in my haaaaaaa! Tasty E-N-E-R-G-Y!"

                "More like ick, nut grass!" Grinn grinned.

                "Too proud and stuck in your ways to try something new, no matter how tasty and good for you it is?" Barrett hugged Grinn arm.

                Grinn barely noticed the ebb in time... as lightning filled the east and shined even throughout the west, but Tess and Ted knew, knew the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and the Omega, He was here...  then they were there... in the clouds with Jesus...

                At the edge of the garden Grinn sank to his knees alone... no Barrett hugging his arm...

                                    Matthew 24:27 (Jesus)

                                    Matthew 25:13 (urgency) 

                                    

                                    1st Thessalonians 4:15-18 (the rapture: "caught up together" in the clouds with                                          Jesus...)

                                                       

                                     John 4:35   

                                        

                                     John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that                     whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

                                        

                                     Romans 6:23;  5:8;  10:9 & 13 (The most wonderful of news... salvation.)

                                     Jesus loves You! Love him right back.      

                                             
                                

FROG IN THE FOG

                                                            FROG IN THE FOG


                "Wake up, Larry," Karen whispered, "Someone is at our window."

               "Ugh,"was followed by Larry roll over.

                "Larry," Karen shook him, "Larry, go see what it is."

                Larry let out mid nightmare moan.

                The unseen thumped window screen.

                "Get up!" Karen pinched his posterior.

                "Mommy!" Larry screamed, "Tha crabs are eating me!"

                "I'm not your Mommy!  I am wife, scared wife.  Someone is breaking into our bedroom window," Karen huffed.

                "What?" Larry raised head, rubbed rear, listened.

                Thump! "Brrrrooookkke!  Brrrrrrrooooookkke!"

                "Its just a frog singing and catching mosquitoes," Larry yawned, crashed head back to pillow.

                "No you don't.  If it is, just a frog, how can I sleep with that green, that thing, ripping through the screen.  Get up and get it away from me, or the crabs will eat Mommy's little boy!" Karen jabbed pincer.

                "Okay already." In the dark Larry hung legs over mattress edge, stood, felt around on night stand for flashlight, knocked it off squarely onto little toe toenail. "Ou-ou-ou-ouch!" He whined.

                "Quit goofing around, Larry!" Karen growled.

                "Lord remind me why I love this woman." The thought accidentally found path to his lips.

                "What!" Karen fumed.

                "I'm going. I'm going." Larry stepped, the flashlight rolled under foot, Larry's legs flew up over his head, head hit floor, his lungs compressed.  Silence...

                "Larry?" Karen turned on reading lamp.

                "Am I dead?" Larry gasped.

                Thump went the window screen!  "Brrrrrrrooooookkke!"

                "Larry, paaa-lease get out there and do something!" Karen seethed through teeth.

                Larry grabbed flashlight, crawled to feet and stomped out bedroom to front porch door. Unlocking, he muttered, "At least I can let Muffin back in; another thing I should-a already done." He opened the door.  Not even the flashlight penetrated the night fog.  "Great, just great," Larry complained.  He flicked on the porch light.  The fog reflected it back as blinding light.  Larry turned it off.  "I guess a little light from the flashlight is better than no light at all," he groaned.

                Something rustled in the wife's flower garden off to the right of the porch and right under bedroom window. "No doubt Muffin is stalking the wife's nemesis as well," Larry deduced.

                The frog in the fog thumped the window screen, again barked warning, "Brrrrrooookkke!"

                The rustling under the window increased.  Larry stepped off porch directly into potted begonias.  Struggling to extract foot from pot, Larry spied the black and white silhouette of Muffin in the fog.  "A stroke of good luck at last," Larry sighed, scooped up his precious kitty.  He rose, brushed the frog in the fog off window screen and headed back in. "Victory at last." He praised self. "After all, finding a black and white cat in night fog is no small feat.  So glad I found you little buddy."  Larry hugged Muffin.  Muffin hugged Larry's neck, rubbed soft furry cheek on his chin and began to purr.  "Love you too little buddy," Larry added, "Let's go cheer up your Momma."

                Triumphant and loved, Larry entered bedroom and strode up to mattress edge. "Say hi to Momma... Muffin..."

                The volume of horror on Karen's face was only exceeded by the decibels of her scream...

                It was then that the startled skunk began to spray...

                Thump went the window screen...  "Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrooooooookkke!"


                                             ...What does the frog say...

                                   ...If it ain't brrrrrrooookkke, don't fix it...

                                     ...What a deep pit, burning lips dig...        

                               ...As the shrill voice reeks,so the skunk stinks...

                                   ...Why stir up trouble where there is none...

       ...Let singing frogs in the fog sing and catch mosquitoes like the LORD designed them to...


                            Proverbs 16:21 & 27; 10:14; 30:33 and Matthew 6:33-34

                Like that old Pharaoh of ancient Egypt, as recorded in Exodus, focusing on the frog as an idol or as a plague is just misplaced focus.  Focus on what matters, The Living God and his son Jesus...