Mark 9:23

 

Mark 9:23

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“…If you can believe,

all things are possible

to him who believes.”

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Alone

 

ALONE

by

Anthonystjoseph

 

     A new associate of mine recently text me that three percent of Americans who live alone end up developing their ‘oddities’.  This associate is on a campaign for me to include him in my very small circle of friends.  I have always innately known the benefits of a small circle, but I feel like stating what I feel is the obvious for some of those who haven’t caught on… 

     You might call someone who ‘develops’ their individuality odd, but I don’t.  I think looking at someone who is a true individual is not odd but enriching.  I think believing of someone’s individuality of thought as odd is thinking the glass is half empty. I choose to think in the glass is half full terms of at least they’re not pretending to be what society and YOU want them to be…  I think developing your ‘oddities’ is learning to NOT pretend for those around you.  And in the words of Oscar Wilde, “Be yourself, everybody else is already taken”.  I have found that no matter how close you get to anyone, somebody’s always hiding something.

     I will also add, when you spend time alone it is easier to learn to stop pretending for those around you and become the person you were intended to become.  There are far more benefits of time alone than being able to dig in your drawers and your nose at the same time, of course with different hands…  A small circle is always much easier to defend with fewer fronts to be attacked which is why I love to keep my circle small and will never change.

     I appreciate, respect, honor, and love the people in my circle and from me they know no fear, lies, deception, or disloyalty, and I expect the same…

by

Anthonystjoseph  

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Luke 10:19

Luke 10:19

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Behold, I have given unto you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and NOTHING shall by any means hurt you.

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Soul Music

 

SOUL MUSIC

by

Anthonystjoseph

     A friend recently announced how much music meant to her and it was very touching…  I was moved because she seemed to love music as much as I.  My longest and most supportive best friend in life has been music.  Music is there come rain or shine to help me sing song into my moments and realize that without a musical score my life would be very dull.  I decided a long time ago that I would redefine the term ‘soul’ music for myself because MY ‘soul’ music seem to be coming from all different genres.

     Even as a child I loved music and would take every opportunity to listen to the ‘good stuff’ that would take my mind and cuddle it’s emotions and rock me to a place that I wanted to be.  My music could always be counted on to ‘be there’ when I needed it.  I always loved to go to White Castle's restaurant as a child because they had the individual jukeboxes on each table and I could get some of my legal panacea called music for only ten cents from a ten year old who needed his ‘stuff’. 

     Aside from the music, the lyrics to a song can also hug your brain and ease your pain…  As a child I listened to Michael Jackson disclose my relationship with music when he, as a child, sang ‘Music and Me’; it is and will always be one of my favorite songs.  I love the lyrics in ‘Songbird’ by Steve Nelson and David P. Wolfert which say:

‘…Songbird sings from the heart
Each word can tear you apart
I sing - you sing along
You find your life in my song
When you need the strength to carry on
You've got me to turn to
With the songs that I sing
And the magic they bring
They've helped you be strong now
The song sets you free…

…I can touch your secret place inside…”

     Music has always touched ‘my secret place inside’.  So as a child and hearing all the talk about ‘soul’ music, I pondered.  I decided after years of enjoying all types of music, that to me, ‘Soul’ music would be defined differently.  The songs that really struck my heart and soul were songs that the first time I heard them I knew where they were going to go, I knew almost every mountain top the song was going to take me and almost every valley it was going to show me…  I came to understand that true ‘soul’ music speaks to your soul and your soul says, “I know this song”.  Your soul says this song is from a long time ago and takes me to a ‘temple of my familiar’.

     After a few notes, real soul music can walk up on you like a pretty girl in a dress or a sharp guy in a suit; whatever your taste and desires are it will display because it’s talking to your soul…  Soul music will walk up on you and say, “Hey baby, how you doing?  You ‘feeling alright’?  Let me take care of you.  ‘Don’t you worry about a thang’.”

     So whenever you think your soul could use a little boost, or maybe it just wants to hang out with an old friend, just turn on the music…  Turn on the music and let it whisper in your ear, “I got this”.

by

Anthonystjoseph

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Psalm 23

 

Psalm 23

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A Psalm of David

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THE Lord is my shepherd;

I shall not want.

He makes me to lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside the still waters.

He restores my soul;

He leads me in the paths of righteousness

for His name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil;

For You are with me;

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

You anoint my head with oil;

My cup runs over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

All the days of my life;

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord

Forever.

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Little Shoes

 

LITTLE SHOES

by

Anthonystjoseph

 

When you’re feeling down

     and ya’ got the blues

Just remember what they say

     about the shoes

Compared to my ancestors

     whom toiled and toiled

Mine is the life

     of one who’s spoiled

Our battles are little

     our wars are small

One must remember

     the scope of it all

by

Anthonystjoseph

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Psalm 3

 

 

Psalm 3

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A Psalm of David

~~~

when he fled from Absalom his son

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Lord, how are they increased that trouble me!

Many are they that rise up against me.

Many there be which say of my soul,

“There is no help for him in God.”

                                                        Selah

But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me;

My glory, and the lifter up of mine head.

I cried unto the Lord with my voice,

And He heard me from His holy hill.

                                                        Selah

I laid me down and slept;

I awaked; for the Lord sustained me.

I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people

That have set themselves against me all around.

For You have struck all my enemies on the cheekbone;

You have broken the teeth of the ungodly.

Salvation belongs to the Lord.

Your blessing is upon Your people.

                                                        Selah

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Losing weight

 

 

 

 

LOSING WEIGHT

by

Anthonystjoseph

     I am preparing myself for a photo shoot and I have realized that I have gained thirty pounds since my last appearance before the professional ‘recorders of time’ known to you now as photographs…  I didn’t think anything of it until I recorded a video on my phone and saw jowls on my face, when I made certain facial gestures, that belonged to ME!  Wait a minute, number one, I was skinny when I took those last professional photos for my album and number two, I’M STILL SKINNY!

     Well, truth be told, I’m not that skinny…  I lifted my shirt in the bathroom mirror after the self discovery of the jowls on my face and yes indeed I did have a gut.  In actuality, I had a gut that could have been harboring a set of kangaroo twins that just got home from kindergarten and still had their backpacks on when they jumped in my pouch!  I immediately sucked in my gut and then I saw it!  There it was right in the mirror standing before me, MY OLD BODY!  RUT-ROW!  Photo shoot scheduled for when.

     I lose weight fast but I can’t stop eating.  It’s not like in the old days when I could just go out partying and drinking and just say, ‘I don’t need food’ or ‘I don’t want food’ and grab the occasional Carne Asada Burrito…  Now I’m a wise individual that rarely drinks alcohol, if at all, and I also committed a felony act against a slim waist a few years ago and quit smoking cigarettes.  It is true what they say about cigarettes being an appetite suppressor because when I woke up and smoked a cigarette in the past, I wouldn’t need or feel like eating breakfast.  Now I spend my first waking moments planning my breakfast and then wondering what’s for lunch while planning my evening snacks and NEVER forgetting DINNER!  This is not as bad as it sounds, thanks to my genetics, because I do have a very fast metabolism but I even put that to the test… Hold on, I dropped a gummy bear, “God kissed it, Devil missed it”, I’m back.

     Every time I have a good day and lose a few pounds, because I can lose a few pounds a day with this metabolism, but every time I have a good day I start to think about the individual servings of ‘Private Select’ Upside Down Pineapple Cakes I have in the refrigerator that only take FIFTY SECONDS to heat up and then they need just TWO MINUTES to cool down, which they rarely get in my haste, before you turn the individual container over and dump out the ready to eat HOT cake that is dripping in syrup and begging to be consumed very slowly as you savor the warm delectable soft sweetness with a piece of pineapple in each bite…  That was a long sentence but I’m sorry, I can’t pause when I talk about those CAKES!  If you’ve never tried them then DON’T!  Another enemy in this battle against the bulge is Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream, the strongest foe I face.  You can talk about Butter Pecan but there really is none better than Mint Chocolate CHIP!  It’s like CRACK to a Crack Head for me…  If it’s in the refrigerator, I think about it…  I try to buy different flavors to curb my need but then I fall in love with them too.  Like the Kroger brand of Orange Scream which taste exactly like the orange covered ice cream filled popsicles of my youth; I can eat a whole half gallon of Orange Scream in one sitting and I HAVE!  Although I’m monogamous in love, I’m a COMPLETE polygamous TRAMP when it comes to ICE CREAM!  Mint Chocolate Chip and I have decided to have an open relationship, I voted for that while Mint just smiled!  We communicate.

     The bad news about losing a little of this new poundage just for the sake of vanity is that I LIKE the new poundage… I sometimes finish a good meal like the dinner I had tonight and just feel absolutely satiated.  Tonight I made some Au Gratin Potatoes with homemade hamburgers smothered in Provolone Cheese.  No vegetables because I’m on a diet, I have to start somewhere. After I finished eating I stood up and rubbed my belly…  I don’t know about you but when the food is real good I have to rub my belly, and when it’s really good then I just go to rubbing EVERYTHING and humming to myself…  I rubbed my butt after this meal and my left eyebrow went up as to the acknowledgement of the clear change in said butts size and a noticeable increase in its normal lack of vastness.  It happens that fast.

     I know exactly what Christina Aguilera is talking about when she says she just got tired of being skinny…  Sometimes I rub my NEW curves and say, “Hold up now, that feels like a booty!”  A booty is new to this skinny person too so again I know how Christina feels when she says she likes her new curves.  I’ve always had an athletic build but now my butt is bigger, my chest is bigger, my biceps are bigger; problem is, MY GUT IS BIGGER!  All in all, I think losing just twenty pounds will deal with the aforementioned jowls…  Sit ups, which I have never had to do outside my time in the Army, will handle the gut; and all else will fall into play with God’s assistance…  Did you see how I committed him there…  It’s Anthony’st’joseph, not Anthony’st’stupid!

     So let it be written, so let it be done!

By

Anthonystjoseph

All works copyrighted  and protected by law

Reconnected

 

 

RECONNECTED

by

Anthonystjoseph

 

     Recently, mankind has entered a new era with the advent of the internet, Facebook, and other computer networking sites.  In the past, due to travel and the mutations of people’s lives, most humans rarely met childhood friends from long ago.  In this new era, all one has to do is remember your name and pop it in to Google.  Some of the searches on Google can even give you a phone number of that third grade crush or that fourth grade arch rival.   I myself have looked up friends and foes.  Some people have no use for looking up old acquaintances and say that if they don’t know your contact information now, and you lost touch, there was a reason for it!  I myself believe there was a reason for me knowing you back then and maybe I didn’t get all that ‘reason’ so I will reconnect with you just to make sure I got the right ‘reason’ and ALL of the ‘reason’ I was suppose to GET!

     I do have to add that I do know and am very aware that some folks, in order to protect one’s self, should never get a ‘reconnection certificate’ because it was very healthy and intelligent to ‘disconnect’ them in the first place.   Everyone in my family will tell you that I am Quick-Draw-McGraw when it comes time to DIS-CONNECT some drama from my life!  I will drop you quicker than a bowl of hot molten lava if I detect that you are not a true friend and don’t have my best interest at heart. 

     I have received several gifts from looking back into my mental phone book and using this new friendship time machine called the internet.  One of the best gifts is seeing the overall caliber of friends that I chose back then when I was a child and pondering what that meant to me and about me as a person.  I found that every single one of my close childhood friends has become very close to God or some sort of strong spirituality has manifested itself in them.  All of my old friends seem to not be able to get enough of this God thing.  Even my drinking friends from the club or the ones I use to ditch second hour lunch with in high school and play handball with seem to be extremely close to God now.  I eventually found myself in what one would call a spiritual college and realized that all my friends and foes throughout my life where nothing but wonderful teachers who helped me on the spiritual path that God had placed me. 

     Often in the past I have looked back on my life and thought of those who have unknowingly assisted me in becoming the creature I am today and wondered what were they doing with their lives now and what has become of them.  The internet has allowed me to reconnect with several of these childhood friends and it has been a rollercoaster of ‘oh yeah’s.  It can be a wonderful feeling to reconnect with an old friend and find out how their story has and is playing out. 

     The only down side to this whole ‘reconnection’ thing is when the old friend leaves you wishing you hadn’t ‘reconnected’ at ALL!  One bad ‘reconnection’ I recently had I can’t even blame on the internet.  Last year I found an old letter from one of my friends in the Army who was loads of fun.  During our Christmas vacation in the Army some twenty or th*rty years ago I even went and spent time with her and her family and had a great time.  I decided to ‘reconnect’ with her and sent her a Christmas Card.  That was a mistake.  After making contact with her I wished I had chosen to remember her as she use to be.  She has now become a silly, loud talking, drunk, who makes poor choices that she sprinkles with cocaine.  The last time I spoke to her she was regretting her decision to continuously snort cocaine the night before she started her new job that we both prayed she would get to save her house from foreclosure.  Oh, she got fired.  She still had God though.

     This is where the reconnection process loses its appeal and luster.  I had another friend from my early childhood in Minnesota contact me last year who had me running for the hills and putting her number under the DO NOT ANSWER listing in my telephone.  I have three versions of DO NOT ANSWER in my telephone!  One for friends, one for family, and one for telemarketers!

     This particular friend in Minnesota was an older girl who found me attractive and decided to groom me for future swallow and chose to adorn me with money and gifts at a very young age.  She kept me and my younger cousin happy with Red Licorice and Slurpees.  We were cheap concubines and she was just a young Popsicle pimp anyway, so it was a good match.  I had moved to Arizona but my cousin told me later that as soon as he sprouted pubic hair she jumped him and took his flower!

     Now I had known for at least twenty years now that this young female Popsicle pimp had become a prostitute with a crack habit but I also knew that she had had a child and many years had passed.  I must admit that I find it hard to believe that some people don’t LEARN their lessons no matter how much time has passed and no matter how much in intensity the lessons increase themselves.  My old female Popsicle pimp is one of those that DOES NOT LEARN.  Due to crack, this woman has had two strokes, one aneurism, lost all the toes on her left foot, and her right eyelid no longer WORKS!  BUT SHE STILL DOES CRACK!

     The cold hard fact is that this particular ‘reconnection’ with her provides too much pain and sadness for me to maintain the line.  I have enough sadness on my own plate to deal with so if you’re bringing a Thanksgiving Dinner full of Unnecessary Sadness, I’ll claim anorexia and BOUNCE ON YOUR FEAST!  The good news is that I’m only sad because I care…  I care too much to join you in discussion of your self-destruction.  It really was physically painful for me to listen to this friend from the past laugh and destroy her life at the same time.  All I could think about was her telling me how her eye didn’t open anymore because they had to go in through the eye socket with the scope…  She told me in the old days they would have to remove the scalp with the top of the skull but now they go through the eye socket to relieve pressure on the brain.  This process can commonly cause the eyelid to no longer work.  With all this she had to go make a ‘run’.  This story was provoked by her calling me, from a different number, and saying into the phone after I answered, “Are you mobile?  I’m on the Midway.”  She had called the WRONG Tony in her new phone.  She has done that in the recent past and I have realized that this OTHER Tony in her phone is her ‘lets-get-it-and-smoke-it’ friend.

MANY ARE CALLED, FEW ARE CHOSEN!

by

Anthonystjoseph

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