Fairytales

From time to time, I will invite others to share here at thegleanse. Meet my first guest blogger and writing accountability partner, Latoya Hagler: Mom, Poet, and Procrastinator. Look out for her book of poetry soon!

I can remember stories, those things my mother said

She told me fairy tales, before I went to bed
She spoke of happy endings, then tucked me in real tight
She turned my night light on, and kissed my face good night
My mind would fill with visions, of perfect paradise
She told me everything, she said he'd be so nice.....

-from the song, Fairytales by Anita Baker

I recently had a conversation, I dont even remember how it started, about the chances of someone getting married today staying married forever. I dont know the statistics but I think there is around a 50-60% chance of marriage ending in divorce. I began to question if forever is even the goal anymore. I have always wondered, when someone exchanges vows, do they really think this is the person that they will be with for the rest of their lives? Or did it just seem like the next logical step, or the best way to start a family. I should take a poll......

For someone who is fast approaching thirty who's relationships usually last about 3 to 4 months, I have maintained a suprisingly idealistic view when it comes to marriage. I have always believed in happily ever after and I am choosing to blame Julia Roberts and everyone like her. But as I get older I realize there is no perfect man, no perfect relationship. It seems like it just takes two people willing to make it work..... and about a million other things. I wouldn't really know so I just make educated guesses.

I guess to sum it all up, I dont know if I still believe in forever. That's a mightly long time. But I do believe in partnership, faithfulness, and yes, even love. So to all the the single men out there......just kidding. Well, I mean, you know where to find me.....again totally kidding. Unless you're serious. Until next time my little Gleaners!

 

*The views expressed in this post are not necessarily the views of the people at thegleanse.blogpost.com, essentially me. I still believe in forever. I can't afford the energy, emotions, or time for anything less*

The Pleasure Principle

              While swarms of people made their way to the circus yesterday, my young adult bible study, Bethesda fought the crowd to see the play based off of the book, The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. Lewis is the author of many popular titles including The Chronicles of Narnia.

               

             Even though this book was first published in 1942, the messages in it still ring true. The book covers war, friendship, temptation and the like.  It is written from Screwtape’s perspective who is a high official in the devil’s army.  Through letters, Screwtape gives a new recruit who happens to be his nephew instructions on how to keep an earthling from aligning with the enemy (God).

               

             In one letter, Screwtape counseled his nephew, Wormwood to keep his target away from true pleasures because that is an invention of their enemy.  Satan has not figured out yet how to offer true pleasure or a comparable product so Screwtape advised his nephew that their best offense was to pervert the one’s created by the enemy.

             

            






 

             The Christian lifestyle is often characterized by the world as oppressive, boring, and undesirable; even some Christians feel this way. In actuality, God created this world for us to enjoy and experience. We often get duped into believing all things pleasurable are prohibited in a God-centered life. The more I grow in age and in my relationship with God, I realize those other pleasures just don’t satisfy.  I’ll still be left thirsty and hungry.

Visions of The Promised Land

            I'm building me a home. . .
 

            Have you ever seen the TLC reality show, The Little Chocolatiers? It’s about a family owned chocolate shop that specializes in magnificent creations out of chocolate- like mansions and small villages.  They execute their visions with precision resulting in realistic coloring and working gutters; all for a bunch of snotty-nosed kids to crush and slob all over it at a birthday party.

When you hear me shouting, I’m building me a home. . .

             Have you ever read the New Testament scripture in Hebrews 11 regarded as the Hall of Faith? It speaks about all the great men and women of the Bible who exercised great faith, trust, and loyalty to God which greatly pleased Him. Yet, all of them died in faith; not making it to the land God promised them. 

When you hear me praying, I’m building me a home

When you hear me moaning, I’m building me a home my Lord. . .

             Have you ever heard Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech, I’ve Been to the Mountaintop? In it he said, “Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land!”
             

This earthly house is gonna soon decay
And my soul gotta have, gotta have, gotta have
somewhere to say 

*Lyrics taken from, "I'm Building Me a Home" sung by Morehouse College Glee Club (1988)

HELL, NAW!!

Not her, the one in the green, that's me

     Hello, my name is Alison S. Moore and I have a smart a** mouth (for an example see my blog post, Gratitude).  Some people may consider my brand of humor as rude, mean, insensitive or even condescending. But I say, I’m just being me.

     I get it honestly. Around Christmas time, I was in bed with my glasses on watching my brother in the hallway. He stopped and said, “Whatchu looking at? You sleep in your glasses so you can see what’s going on, don’t you?” My response- “No, actually I sleep in my glasses so I can see my dreams better.”  He walked off mumbling about how everybody in that house had a smart mouth.  He started it.

     I must admit, God has been convicting me lately about my smart mouth. One morning during my quiet time, I ran across Proverbs 2:10-11.  It states, “For wisdom will come into your heart and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; discretion will watch over you, understanding will guard you.”

Doesn’t that word, discretion just pop out at you?   

When I looked it up the meaning convicted me even more-

1.       Ability or power to decide responsibly.

2.       Refined taste; tact.

3.       Unobtrusively perceptive and sympathetic.

4.       Heedful of potential consequences.

      Ouch! There were many more definitions that equally made me squirm in my seat. So, I decided to take action. 

      I asked one of my friends who also has a smart mouth if she wanted to join me on my quest to be discreet. Her response- Hell, naw!! The way we speak to each other would make you blush. Last week, she had on a pair of pants with a huge floral print. I said,”I can’t get with those pants.” Her response- “It don’t matter if you can get with these pants. You need to worry about your shirt being on backwards. Silence.

The Lover of My Soul

Where My Single Ladies At?

     Being 31, unmarried, and childless in the South can cause many a critical stare and questioning glance.  At family gatherings, someone always asks me (actually, it's usually the same somebody) "When are you getting married?"

     When I look at my married and single friends alike, I see nothing is for certain, nothing lasts forever, and miracles don't happen when you say, "I do."  That forever, never-changing unconditional love only comes from my Heavenly Father.

     I gleaned from and adapted one of my high school classmates' facebook status updates for this prayer.

     I am so in love with you.  I even love the little things about you. Like the way you look when you're thinking about something; how your face lights up when you talk about something you absolutely love.  The way you talk to people, your facial expressions and your hand gestures even mesmerize me. 

     I love the quirky looks you give me when you’re angry and I equally love the way you smile and laugh when we are together. I love the look in your eyes when you brag about me to your friends. 

     You still give me goose bumps and butterflies when you run your hands down my arms and lock your fingers with mine. When we embrace and I feel all your muscles relax, I know in that moment, everything is utterly perfect and you are safe in my arms. When I catch you looking at me, I know what you're thinking.   

      I am not only the lover of your soul but the lover of your personality, character and every fiber of your being. Your mere existence amazes me.

Love,

God

The Lover of your Soul

your Knight in Shining Armor

In Search of Satisfaction

     Today, I have satisfaction on my mind. It's not by chance that my favorite book of all time is In Search of Satisfaction by J. California Cooper.

     I can confidently say that writing satisfies me. It grounds me and gives me purpose.  I can't not do it.  I can't afford not to do it.

     Each person has a 'thing' specific to their personality; tailor-made for them that enriches their experience on earth.  God has given me words for my personal enjoyment.  Others may have a love for dolls, horses or comic books. 

     For me, words are always there to help me get through any situation and express my true feelings.  Writing is a dependable friend; always there and sticks closer than a brother. Even if I can't write the words down at the exact moment they come to me, I can play with them in my mind, re-arrange them and speak them aloud to gauge their potential impact.

I thank God for this gift.  It may not seem like much to you just like I may not understand your fascination with the latest fashion trends but what we can agree on and connect on is the passion we have for our desired paths.

What satisfies you?

A Woman on a Mission

      See Jane Write founder, Javacia Harris Browser challenged all Janes to dedicate 31 days to improving their blog.  I decided to take on the challenge. So, I came up with a mission statement for my blog and explained my niche.

Gleaning: from The Threshing Room Floor is a blog that explores spirituality and writing through personal expression.  My blog is designed to arouse reflective thought on today’s hot topics and encourage examination of these topics from less explored points of view. I also address subjects such as personal growth and lessons learned from life.

Sundays  

The Secret Place- reflective thoughts from a spiritual perspective.                         

Wednesdays

 The Writer’s Workshop- toying with the tough issues of the day.

Disclaimer: As a Woman of God and a writer, I reserve the right to stray from this plan from  time to time in order to follow the spiritual and creative flow.

A Writer’s Prayer

Lord, keep me off the page.

When I write, I come before you desiring for my life and others to be altered through You in spite of my human imperfections. Keep me from putting together words that only sound nice but make no real impact and require no real sacrifice on my part.  God forbid I rely on my talent instead of You.  I pray I will not soak up your praise, become puffed up with pride, or print stuff just to receive the world’s admiration.  Thank you for trusting me with a gift that affords me the opportunity to reach the hearts of your people.

To God be the glory.

Adapted from

“An Artist’s Prayer” by Celita

Spoken Word Artist

Django Revisited

     The day after Christmas, my family and I went to see Django: Unchained. I purposely avoided reading any of the reviews because I didn’t want anyone to taint my opinion.

     As we walked out of the theater, my brother asked, “So how did you like the movie, Alison?  Are you going to blog about it?”  I didn’t quite know what to think of the movie and neither did he.  We agreed that it was a good movie despite our reaction to it.

     It was a good film but I still don’t know what to think of it. Is it a ‘race movie’? an old western? a comedy? an action movie?  We know it’s not a true historical narrative. I still don’t have any answers but the movie has raised a lot of questions in me.

     Even though we currently have an African-American occupying the White House, America is still far away from solving its race problem.

     I know many disagree with me. “We are all Americans,” some say, “Why distinguish yourself as an African-American, Asian-American, Native American, etc?  Why segregate yourselves with culture specific organizations, schools and conferences?   

                

               "It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability 

               to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences." 

                                                                                                            ~Audre Lorde

      What’s wrong with celebrating our culture, history, and heritage? Why are we asked to leave our past in the past? 

                 “If you want to destroy a people, destroy their story. If you want 

                  to empower a people, give them a story to share.”   

                                                                                                             ~ Jonathan Odell

                “And actually listen when they share; allow them the freedom     

                 to share.”

                                                                                                               ~ Alison S. Moore

      America has a long way to go in solving its race problem and I believe the first step is admitting that we still have one.  The election of President Obama has not been a reparation package. We can all hold hands, smile, and sing a chorus of Kumbaya followed by a verse of Lean on Me and top it all off with a shout of “Yes We Can,” but ringing in everyone’s head is probably a line from the Broadway musical, Avenue Q, “Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist.”