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dioles-writes · 11 months ago

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DIOLES PLAYLIST

EVERYONE

My Time - Bo En

The Phoenix - Fall Out Boy

The Last of the Real Ones - Fall Out Boy

I’m Still Standing - Elton John

My Alcoholic Friends - The Dresden Dolls

Burning Pile - Mother Mother

A Pearl - Mitski

Wrecking Ball - Mother Mother

Hayloft II - Mother Mother

Fourth of July - Sufjan Stevens

Young - Vacations

Mind Over Matter - Young the Giant

Karma Police - Radiohead

Non-stop - Lin Manuel Miranda

4:00 A.M. - Taeko Onuki

I Hear a Symphony - Cody Fry

Just Take My Wallet - Jack Stauber

Christmas Kids - Roar

Black Sheep - Metric

Young and Menace - Fall Out Boy

Just - Radiohead

Exit Music (For a Film) - Radiohead

Backdrifts - Radiohead

Safe & Sound - Taylor Swift

KICK BACK - Kenshi Yonezu

Centuries - Fall Out Boy

Duvet - Slowed Down Version - Bôa

My Body’s Made of Crushed Little Stars - Mitski

THE HEROES

Good 4 U - Olivia Rodrigo

Body - Mother Mother

Change Your Mind - Steven Universe

That Funny Feeling - Bo Burnham

Over & Over - Rio Romeo

Malmo - Mook

From Underground - Mook

Home Where - Sir Chloe

THE BOARD GAME CLUB

Counting Stars - OneRepublic

One Normal Night - Company

Freaks - Surf Curse

Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana

First Rate Town - Good Kid

Blame It On The Kids - AViVA

The Adults Are Talking - The Strokes

Undercover Martyn - Two Door Cinema Club

Are We Still Friends? - Tyler, The Creator

FELIX

Boys Don’t Cry - The Cure

I Can’t Handle Change - Roar

First Love/Late Sping - Mitski

The Main Character - Will Wood

Brave as a Noun - AJJ

First Rate Town - Good Kid

Action Movie Hero Boy - Lemon Demon

Punk Tactics - Joey Valence & Brae

Shame - Mitski

Motion Picture Soundtrack - Radiohead

Look Away - The Dear Hunter

New Magic Wand - Tyler, The Creator

Boy - Alex G

Forwards Beckon Rebound - Adrianne Lenker

Remember - Alex G

Harvey - Alex G

WINOLA

Bugbear - Chloe Moriondo

No Surprises - Radiohead

Monet Issues - Chase Petra

The Deal - Mitski

Half Return - Adrianne Lenker

JANUARY

Everybody Loves Me - OneRepublic

Can I Get a Witness - SonReal

Say It Ain’t So - Weezer

Romantic Homicide - d4vd

Family Line - Conan Gray

Seventeen - Marina

Remember My Name - Mitski

Hansel - Sodikken

When Will My Life Begin? - Mandy Moore

When Memories Snow - Mitski

My Shot - Lin Manuel Miranda

This Is The Life - Son Lux, Mitski, David Byrne

The Ultracheese - Arctic Monkeys

MADDOX

Afraid - The Neighbourhood

Boys Don’t Cry - The Cure

First Love/Late Spring - Mitski

Blue Hair - TV Girl

The Grudge - Olivia Rodrigo

AKALI

First Love/Late Spring - Mitski

First Rate Town - Good Kid

Blue Hair - TV Girl

Rises the Moon - Liana Flores

BLISS

First Rate Town - Good Kid

The Soccer Journals - Everybody’s Worried About Owen

Daughter of a Cop - TV Girl

AVIL

Other Friends - Steven Universe

Oh Klahoma - Jack Stauber

Aimed to Kill - Jade LeMac

Blue Hair - TV Girl

My Love Mine All Mine - Mitski

ALZENA

I Bet On Losing Dogs - Mitski

Woman - Doja Cat

Poison - Bell Biv DeVoe

Toxic - Britney Spears

Back to the Old House - The Smiths

I Wait For You - Alex G

NYSSA

Better Than Me - The Brobecks

ASTLEY

People I Don’t Like - UPSAHL

Neutral Spirit Hotel - Local News Legend

Honey Whiskey - Nothing But Thieves

A Song Dedicated to the Memory of Stormy the Rabbit - AJJ

Mama’s Boy - Dominic Fike

Bug Like an Angel - Mitski

Crab - Alex G

She’s Homeless - CreepP

RORY

The Dismemberment Song - Blue Kid

Princess - TOPHAMHAT-KYO

Outliars and Hyppocrates: A Fun Fact About Apples - Will Wood

Laplace’s Angel (Hurt People? Hurt People) - Will Wood

2econd 2ight 2eer (That Was Fun, Goodbye.) - Will Wood

Suburbia Overture / Greetings From Mary Bell Township! / (Vampire) Culture / Love Me, Normally - Will Wood

Memento Mori: The Most Important Thing in the World - Will Wood

Marsha, Thankk You for the Dialetics, but I Need You to Leave - Will Wood

BlackBoxWarrior OKULTRA - Will Wood

I/Me/Myself - Will Wood

Love, Me Normally - Will Wood

Nunemaker’s Parable - Everybody’s Worried About Owen

Sandy - Alex G

WILDER

Creep - Radiohead

Time/Space - Alex G

You - Radiohead

Real Men - Mitski

Weird Fishes/ Arpeggi - Radiohead

Fake Plastic Trees - Radiohead

KUALI’I

Fog (Again) [Live] - Radiohead

Time/Space - Alex G

Boy - Alex G

Dreams Fall Hard - Car Seat Headrest

GUNTHER

Sharks - Imagine Dragons

Sky Like Dreams (SU) - CNML

Step On Me - The Cardigans

Back In School - Mother Mother

GOSSIP - Måneskin

I Don’t Smoke - Mitski

Sportstar - Alex G

Anyone Can Play Guitar - Radiohead

My Brave Face - Paul McCartney

MR PRADER

History Has Its Eyes On You - Christopher Jackson

I’ll Make a Man Out of You - Donny Osmond

PARADISE

Mad Hatter - Melanie Martinez

I WANNA BE YOUR SLAVE - Måneskin

Just a Man - Jorge Rivera-Herrans

The Man Who Sold the World (Live) - Nirvana

Problems - Mother Mother

Stick Up - Grandson

Istanbul (Not Constantinople) - They Might Be Giants

Seven Nation Army - The White Stripes

Crossfire - Stephen

Where is the Justice? - Jeremy Jordan

INDUSTRY BABY - Lil Nas X, Jack Harlow

6up 5oh Cop Out (Pro / Con) - Will Wood and the Tapeworms

Starman - David Bowie

FightSong - Eve

Belly Up - Return to Dust

GOSSIP - Måneskin

2+2=5 - Radiohead

Little Dark Age - MGMT

Backlight - ADO

Hate Me - DED

The Principal - Melanie Martinez

Stained Glass Eyes and Colourful Tears - Pierce the Veil

Digital Silence - Peter McPoland

Gangsta’s Paradise - Coolio, L.V.

What’s Up Danger - Blackway, Black Caviar

Filth and Squalor - The Dear Hunter

We’ve Got a Score to Settle - The Dear Hunter

Stranger Than Paradise - Mook

Hollow Moon (Live) - The Crane Wives

VINCENT

Feeling Good - Michael Bublé

Kiss Me, Son of a God - They Might Be Giants

My Ordinary Life - The Living Tombstone

Ruler of Everything - Tally Hall

Belly Up - Return to Dust

Stained Glass Eyes and Colourful Tears - Pierce the Veil

HAVEN

Belly Up - Return to Dust

Ribs - The Crane Wives

Stained Glass Eyes and Colourful Tears - Pierce the Veil

Castaway - The Vanished People

Hollow Moon (Live) - The Crane Wives

MANON

Mama’s Boy - Dominic Fike

& - Tally Hall

Jerry Was a Race Car Driver - Primus

BORISLAVA

Mama’s Boy - Dominic Fike

Duvet - Bôa

EINAR

Just a Man - Jorge Rivera-Herrans

Stick Up - Grandson

Oh No! - Marina

SHEHANI

Oh No! - Marina

Class Fight - Melanie Martinez

ATIAH

INDUSTRY BABY - Lil Nas X, Jack Harlow

Oh No! - Marina

Murder on the Dancefloor - Sophie Eliss-Bextor

UNA

Oh No! - Marina

Over & Over - Rio Romeo

PRESSURE BOMB 3?!?! - Jhariah

HIRAYA

Six Shooter - Coyote Kisses

Show & Tell - Melanie Martinez

Brutal - Olivia Rodrigo

Dollhouse - Melanie Martinez

Oh No! - Marina

Teen Idle - Marina

PAISLEY

Brand New City - Mitski

Well, Better Than The Alternative - Will Wood

Vampire Empire - Big Thief

I’m Your Man - Mitski

Lover, You Should’ve Come Over - Jeff Buckley

Meant To Be Yours - Ryan McCartan

Twilight - Bôa

REAGAN

I Bet On Losing Dogs - Mitski

I Want You - Mitski

I Don’t Like My Mind - Mitski

I Will - Mitski

Drunk Walk Home - Mitski

Rape Me - Nirvana

PAISLEY & REAGAN

Full Disclosure - Steven Universe

There is a Light That Never Goes Out - The Smiths

Two Slow Dancers - Mitski

Star - Mitski

Heaven - Mitski

VENUS

Peace and Love on the Planet Earth - Steven Universe

The Fox (What Does The Fox Say?) - Ylvis

TINDRA

Escapism - Steven Universe

HARU

Love Like You - Steven Universe

Cop Car - Mitski

REESE

My Alcoholic Friends - The Dresden Dolls

Sugar Pills - I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME

Mary - Alex G

OLIVIA

Never Love an Anchor - The Crane Wives

BARBARA

Femininomenon - Chappell Roan

#Spotify #dioles tag #my ocs #ocs #character playlist

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forthedancingandthethriving · 9 months ago

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(TW: Death)

King Umbra wasn't sure if he regretted the deal he made with that.. thing. On one paw, he was able to live without care. Sure, he had no attendants, but it was something he could live with. The pressures of being a king weren't on his shoulders. However..

He felt an impending sense of doom. Something was on the horizon, and he wouldn't be able to stop it.

"There you are."

King Damien jolts as he turns around. There was the.. thing he made a deal with. Disc was his name, and yet he wore the body of.. his son.

Umbra stares, confused. He.. had no son. He knew this was a ruse Disc was doing, and yet.. why was he.. Umbra didn't have a son..

This didn't make sense. What was happening...?

What were these memories?

"Umbra, please.." She grabbed his paws, tears screaming down her face. "Take him in. If not me, then him!"

"What.." Umbra's ears flatten.

"Confused?" Disc asks as his 'Damien' appearance falls, his expression one of sick amusement. "I would be too, so I don't blame you."

Disc reaches into his cloak, the sound of things clinking coming from inside. Umbra takes some steps back. "It's almost comical, how easily you trust me. How easily you trust me to right your wrongs and to make sure your sins are never seen." Disc's expression slowly changes to annoyance. "You have no right in a deathless world.."

His legs fail him, and Umbra falls back onto the ground. "Wh-what? A deathless world..?" He shudders. "You've.. You've wanted a deathless world?!"

Disc smirks. "It took you long enough to realize." He walks closer before crouching down in front of Umbra. "But first, I must tell you... that this world isn't a true world." The Program's smirk turns to a grin. "You are mere lines of code I can manipulate. And manipulate I did."

Umbra felt sick. "Wh.."

Disc chuckles. "Truthfully, you did have a son. You did have a lover. And yet, I took those memories from you because they weren't of any use to my plan."

The king fell slack with shock. The program took the opportunity to take out a vial filled with sparking, green liquid. In a swift motion, the liquid was forcefully poured down King Umbra'a throat.

The king sputters, his heart stuttering.

"That body was his, too. But I needed a body so.. I took it." Disc looks down at the choking king. "According to the game's files, there was an event where he would rebel against you, kill you, and become king."

Disc chuckles. "So, there's really no way you would have survived. I just let you live longer." He watches, amused, as the king collapses.

As he turns on his heel, King Damien slowly takes Disc's place. Leaving behind Umbra Devos.

○●○

'To those who received this letter,

Former King Umbra of Devos has passed due to complications regarding his coma. A small funeral will be held. Those who wish to attend are allowed to.

Sincerely, King Damien'

#king damien #program: disc #oc: king umbra #fanfiction: my writing!#!posts!#tw death #Disc being a hypocrite hours!

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bigshot · 1 year ago

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REPOST & LIST 6 SONGS THAT INSPIRE YOU TO WRITE YOUR MUSE.

2econd-2ight-2eer || Will Wood

My grip on my secrets slipping while I'm speaking in tongues Screaming at the top of my lungs in the confession booth Take it with a pillar of salt, H.A.L.T., it's not my fault The devil made me do it, but I also kinda wanted to I'm cut from a different kind of meat More than you can chew, hard to swallow me Forget bored stiff, I got rigor mortis, call it morbid curiosity how I Cannot commit to reality, when my third eye's open and I like what I see Baby, I may be crazy but I didn't lose it, no I set it free

Puppet Boy || DEVO

Get up puppet boy You've got a job to do Even so you're free to go Where your master tells you to Listen puppet boy Before you disobey Consider that the strings attached Could make a big change in your ways Puppet boy It's the little things add up Getting bigger pull the trigger Little things like you

4.99 || Jack Stauber

Love, touch 911, what's your emergency? I can't seem to breathe or f—$4.99! Love, touch 911, what's your emergency? I can't seem to breathe or feel anything! (Whoa!)

One Weird Tip || Lemon Demon

I'm offering to you a business proposal My new weight loss methods are at your disposal For pennies a day get your college diploma And miracle pills found to cure melanoma So tell me if you are a small business owner Because I am offering free ink and toner I've got Oxycodone without a prescription And replica watches with custom inscriptions

Charlie's Inferno || That Handsome Devil

You can run from your demons until you are exhausted One day, you will have to stop and find out what they wanted Keep on running from those demons 'til you are exhausted You can run to those angels until you are exhausted One day, you will have to stop and question what they wanted Keep on running to those angels 'til you are exhausted

Kiss Me, Son of God || They Might Be Giants

I built a little empire out of some crazy garbage Called the blood of the exploited working class But they've overcome their shyness Now they're calling me Your Highness And a world screams, "Kiss me, Son of God" I destroyed a bond of friendship and respect Between the only people left who'd even look me in the eye Now I laugh and make a fortune Off the same ones that I tortured And a world screams, "Kiss me, Son of God"

#repost meme #fun fact: somebody figured out spamton NEO's laugh is a bit from puppet boy sped up and down :3

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saraannsworld · 4 days ago

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The last two years have been a constant battle of one thing to get through after the next. For years I have said to myself, “We will get through this! Everything will be Ok.” But at some point these just became words. Words that once had so much hope behind them. But after telling myself this and my son for so long it has become hard to find the hope in them now. I know somewhere deep inside me that that everything will work its way out and this too will pass and we will move on.

My son has been very sick. For a long time he would get this excruseating pain in his legs and would cry to me how he just wants it to stop. His white blood count keeps being really high and then dropping back to normal. His anxiety would get so bad I started to wonder if he had other mental illnesses going on. But where I live to get into a phycologist it is a year wait. About two weeks ago now he had one of these events adventualy it got better and he fell asleep either because his body could not take the pain anymore or because he was so wiped out from the whole thing. About 30 min after falling asleep he got up and when to go to the bathroom and clasped on the floor. He yelled for me. I had to move his arm and push him back a little bit to get the bathroom door open. He pointed to his belly and I knew this meant he was going to throw up. I knew I could not get him up to the toilet in time so I ran to get a bowl. By the time I got back to him he was throwing up on the floor. Lying on his side. I pushed my way in and held his head so he would not choke on his vomit. He could barely keep his eyes open. I pulled a towel down and used it to push the vomit out of the way so we could walk out of the bathroom. He was sitting up now leaning in a corner. I asked if I could help him get up and he said you can’t touch me. I said Ok but you need to move to a bed. You can’t sleep here. He chose to move to my bed he made it about 10 steps and fell to the floor again. He wanted to sleep there but I told him he could not. It was the top of the stairs. I convinced him to get up and walk to my bed. I walked with my arms out around him so not to touch him, but also in position to grab him so he would not hit his head on the counter. He collapsed on the end of my bed. Slowly slid to the floor and went back to sleep. He slept on my floor for about 30 min. I was able to convince him to let me put a pillow under his head.

I sat on my bed and took deep breaths and told myself what I had been telling myself for so long. “ We will get through this. Everything will be fine. “ But I knew everything was not fine and we have been testing so many things trying to figure out what was going on but having no answers all the while he kept getting worse. I knew that I hated the emergency room in our town and would only go there if it was a life and death situation. I decided that I would let him keep sleeping and then would drive him down to Helen Devos children’s hospital in the morning. I hardly slept at all. Waking to feel that he was still breathing and would then fall back to sleep. At some point I got up. Tired of trying to convince myself it was Ok to sleep.

He awoke a few hours later and just sat on the couch crying telling me he just doesn’t feel good. I said “I know you don’t. I am going to go pack a bag and drive you down to the Grand Rapids Hospital” He said OK which I knew that meant he didn’t feel good. It was just over a two hour drive down. When we arrived I told them what was going on and they got us in right away. A Dr came and talked to us and with in a Hour they had Diagnosed him with Rheumatic Fever and prescribed him antibiotics. I had no idea but from what they told me it sounded like we finally had the answer.

The next few days were the hardest yet. He threw up about every hour or two. He slept for days. I had to wake him every few hours and hold his head up so he could drink something. We had gone to the hospital on Sunday and by Wednesday he was doing better. We went to see his Dr who told us there was no way that he had Rheumatic Fever and why. Once again we had no idea what was going on and the since of relief we now carried slowly left our body’s as we realized we had no answers.

He ended up staying home a whole week. He went to school the next week, which went great. He got through all of school and went to a friend’s birthday party. I was a little hesitant because we still did not have answers. He had been doing so well that it seemed like a nice change for him. That night he went to bed early and the next day he woke not feeling good once again. I decided to check to see if all the bloodwork came back we had done on Tuesday. It had all come back and he had tested positive for Mono. Which having it myself knew all too well how horrible you feel, and the long road ahead of us.

We once again have a sense of relief because we had some answers, but we now had so many more questions. We were spending another weekend of trying to make it to Monday when we could see a Dr we trusted. Where we would hopefully have answers and a plan and could stop living our lives in a survival mode. I don’t tell myself it will be Ok anymore. Now I just ask myself what I need to get through this day. I have to take care of myself so I can always be ready to help my son. We never know what is next. But hopefully getting closer to some answers. Some order. So restful nights and joyful days.

#staystrong #singlemother #sick #another day

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vinceleemiller · 21 days ago

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Stop Drifting & Come Home | 1 Samuel 26:14-16

Stop Drifting & Come Home

GET THE JOURNAL FOR THIS STUDY

THE VINCE MILLER SHOW

Do you feel like you are drifting spiritually? There is something and someone that could help.

Welcome to the Daily Devo. I am Vince Miller.

At this point, David and Abishai sneak into Saul's camp, swipe the spear and jar of water, and position themselves on a hill far from Saul. Here is what happens next in verses 14-16:

And David called to the army, and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, “Will you not answer, Abner?” Then Abner answered, “Who are you who calls to the king?” And David said to Abner, “Are you not a man? Who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not kept watch over your lord the king? For one of the people came in to destroy the king your lord. This thing that you have done is not good. As the Lord lives, you deserve to die, because you have not kept watch over your lord, the Lord's anointed. And now see where the king's spear is and the jar of water that was at his head.” — 1 Samuel 26:14-16

Have you ever found yourself drifting? Difting from responsibilities that you know are yours alone?

We all drift. We get tired, possibly lazy, and drop the ball.

That's precisely what Abner has done. He has dropped the ball. The one thing he was responsible for doing was protecting the Lord's anointed, but in this story, he is found sleeping on the job rather than doing his job. This puts everyone at risk, but especially the "Lord's anointed"—Saul!

So David literally calls Abner out in front of everyone, which I assume was rather embarrassing for Abner, and Saul, and the entire army of 3000 men.

No one likes this experience, especially when it happens publicly.

But the truth is sometimes we all need it.

So maybe today, if you are drifting, it's time to be vulnerable instead of made vulnerable. Be vulnerable about your spiritual drift. Get honest with yourself about it. Find a believer to help who is through the same drift and who can point the way out. If you can be vulnerable and vigilant, it will save you shame and a lot of public embarrassment.

If this hits home today and you have been drifting and feel it's time for a more profound change, you need to know that sometimes the drift we experience isn't just about everyday slip-ups. It's the slippery slide of sin that separates us from God. It reveals a more prominent and deeper longing that can only be satisfied by God.

The good news is that no matter how far you’ve drifted, God has not moved. He’s right where he’s always been, ready to welcome you home, no matter the distance of your drift. God invites you into a relationship where you don’t just survive your spiritual drift—you thrive in a spiritual relationship with him.

If you’re ready to stop drifting and begin new, you can make a choice today. Choose to surrender your ways, will, weariness, and wandering and accept His salvation and leadership in your life. Jesus's life, death, and resurrection are the only solution to your spiritual drift. If you are ready to do that, you can choose Jesus right now.

If you are ready to do that right now, write "I choose Jesus" in the comments below.

Let me pray for you:

“Jesus, I know I’ve been drifting, and I want to come back to You. I’m done wandering, and I’m ready to surrender my life to You. Forgive me, guide me, and help me walk with You daily. Amen.”

#SpiritualDrift, #ChooseJesus, #ComeHome

Ask This:

Where in your life do you sense a drift from God’s purpose, and what steps can you take to refocus?

Who could you reach out to for accountability and support in restoring your spiritual walk?

Do This:

Stop Drifting and come home.

Pray This:

Lord, I admit I’ve been drifting and need Your guidance to return to You. Help me surrender my heart fully and walk closely with You each day. Amen.

Play This:

Broken Together.

Check out this episode!

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christinaroseandrews · 3 months ago

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They've been pushing the app for the past few years--even before the city of Grand Rapids took over art prize from the DeVos son. To a degree, I understand why they're doing this. In past artprizes, several artists encouraged people from where they came from to vote for them when the people didn't come to Grand Rapids whatsoever. This included people from other countries and states. Several artists complained -- particularly smaller artists who didn't have a large following. But, more importantly, the venues and partners footing the bill for the prize money and various grants/awards complained.

The whole goal of artprize is to get people to come to Grand Rapids. It's why the city of Grand Rapids took it over from the DeVos kid. It's why venues are so willing to host literal thousands and thousands of people trooping through their space and sacrificing valuable floor space is so that people will come and utilize their facilities. It's why local businesses and churches and universities a museums award additional prizes or donate to the big prize pool or both. Many businesses see artprize as a good investment. While others see it as a good way to generate positive press. In their eyes, people Mass voting because somebody is popular without coming to the city itself doesn't get done what they want to get done. And if they stop funding the prizes or if the venues say this isn't worth it for us and stop being willing to host artworks then artprize diminishes.

And this isn't just me Doom forecasting. I live in the Grand Rapids area and this is literally shit that has been on the local news. I've attended pretty much every art prize since the second one and I can state that there have been fewer venues in more recent years. There are fewer grants. There are fewer prizes. And a good chunk of that is due to businesses not feeling like they're getting their money's worth. I mean in past years we used to have the Frederik Meijer gardens, the local airport, and the public museum hosting artwork. In the last few years, not so much.

So making people download an app and forcing them to cast their first votes in one of the approved of areas were a couple of things that previous artprize planning committees tried to do to maximize the number of people actually coming to Grand Rapids.

I don't like it. I hate apps. I hate putting apps on my phone. And for a time I had a phone that I literally could not put apps on without the express written permission of my employer.

But I do understand why the planning committee is making people do this.

If people don't come to artprize and instead just vote online for what they like, then there won't be an artprize in the future. Because it won't be worth it to the people who make it happen to let it continue.

Aw gross, they're making people download an app in order to vote in ArtPrize. No wonder their audience to vote ratio is atrocious, everyone hates that.

I'm going to ask you to do it, dearly beloved, but know that it pains me.

#artprize #grand rapids #look I hate being that person #but I think it's important to consider the other side of this coin #if you want something to exist then you have to support it #I hate apps #but I will find a way to vote for the shit that I like #a couple of years ago they let us go to the art prize main booth and cast our votes #they might have that again this year

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ekgpurplemom · 1 year ago

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Koa 10 Hour IVIG

June 6th, 2023

Koa Green ITP 10-hour IVIG treatment

My day began pretty bright and early. I woke up at 7 am and left my room with my husband and baby still sleeping. I walk into the living room and my mother is laying down on the couch. She asks me if she woke me up and I say “No Mom, you’re fine. I just wanted to get up early for Koa’s treatment today and get some stuff ready.” She continues to sit for a few minutes more in an upright position. I know if I’m up she will be too because that’s just the kind of helpful woman she is. I begin to get myself dressed and cleaned up. I prepare a bottle of milk for my son. I pack things along the way…bottles, clothes for me and the baby, a bathroom bag, diapers, snacks, and toys.

My son Koa has been diagnosed with acute (so far) ITP. Idiopathic Thrombocytic Pupura, but I have yet to hear a doctor say the long form of the disorder 😀. He is 1 year and 6 months old, he was diagnosed at 1 year and 4 months.

The treatment that he needs today will last about 10 hours. This will increase his platelets for about a month and a half before he needs this same treatment again. That’s two hours longer than my husband's work day, I think to myself. However, I won’t be there alone with my child, my mother has come to help, and my husband will stop by at lunch and come back after work to finished treatment with mom. Once he’s out of work I usually tutor online for 1-3 hours each evening. For the last emergency treatment, I did cancel tutoring but this time, I will work around it.

The IVIG treatment is gamma globulins, pharmaceutically made to increase the amount of platelets. This will be administered through an IV in his hand, arm, or foot. It can cause nausea, headaches, and irritable behaviors as well as fatigue. Also, my one-year-old can’t tell me if he feels any of that yet, so it sucks.

I finish loading up the car. As I do so I think to myself it would be nice to have my husband there to help set up at first. But how could I ask him that? He usually arrives late to work from Koa’s blood draws which are each week, two last week when Koa’s platelets got so low. Then he also missed a day due to Koa’s emergency/initial diagnosis hospital stay. That first scare lasted three days and he received his first IVIG then.

Plus my mom is here to help. However, by the time you park, unload, cross the Helen DeVos bridge, get your pass from the security desk (sometimes there is a line of people there, also waiting for their badges too), and arrive at the hematology/ oncology floor you are already 15-30 minutes late on a good day. So Mom and I leave and once in the car, she asks to stop for coffee and get me donuts for breakfast. I didn't budget time for this but oh well (7:45 am, we need to be there 8:30 am). She is helping and I’m pretty sure as a mom with a toddler that late isn’t bad. Once in the parking lot, we decided to take what we can carry + the child also needs carrying, and get the rest with the Ozark wagon later.

As I said we have to figure out where we are going and then get the badges before checking in at the Hematology floor. Once there at the check-in we have to put cream on Koa’s arms to prepare for the IVIG and add bandages so the cream stays on. (In hindsight they go for hand or foot for treatment because the arm veins are usually so bruised after multiple blood draws. I will have to remember to do the hands and feet next time. So I don’t think this helped at all.)

We wait a few minutes and then they call his name. We get vital done and then they show us his room for treatment. I am really happy when I walk in because 1. He’s needed this treatment for a while now. 2. He has significantly bad bruising and has 12k platelets (below safe level). 3. The nurses have put not one but two gym mats on the floor for him to play on! (I never knew I could ask for gym mats at his previous stay which lasted 3 days. The rooms and playroom are hard flooring and my son was just described as a fall risk)! (Ahh!)

However, from an online IPT Parent group I met the only other ITP mom in my city. She helped me advocate for my child. She told me about the cream and bandages and his play area by having me ask for the gym mat.

The day before I was on the phone for about 13 minutes with the nurse talking about the specifics of his room and the layout to keep my hooked-up (IV) toddler safe. No easy feat.

I do highly recommend getting into an FB parent support group if you have a sick child. Don’t take everything online there seriously but if you can connect with another parent it helps tremendously even over messenger.

While we are waiting for IV time Child Life come in to introduce themselves and suddenly we have a ton of toys between the ones we brought and the hospital toys. (Child Life workers are amazing hospital staff that helps advocate for sick children by being a support to parents and children.)

FYI if you have a sick child in your family like this, ask the parents if you can stop by 30 minutes to an hour, it helps. Mom and baby/child see someone new and you don’t have to buy them anything. Just ask a nurse if you can bring the child some toys from their play area. Anything new to the child helps during a 10-hour treatment!

After 15-20 minutes it’s time to set up the IV. We are taken to another room Koa and I. Grandma doesn’t wish to see this part and I understand why. It’s not fun and it hurts. I find myself in this small room with my child and four other ladies. One is our outpatient treatment nurse, the other Child Life, and two are nurses or maybe phlebotomist, I’m not sure. Koa is on my lap and I hold him there while his arms, hand, and feet are checked for the best vein. He squirms and of course, detests this whole process. I have to continually put him back on my lap as he slides down. The first time they try to insert the IV the vein blows as they said and they have to try again somewhere else. Right away, petechiae appears on his arm around the site of the failed attempt.

They finally establish the IV in his hand and the nurse puts medical tape and a shield around his hand. This took a book and two songs on the IPad to entertain my child. The Child Life worker helped keep him entertained. Still, he cries because an IV is much harder to establish than a blood draw. I asked the nurse why IV is so hard and she explained to me a little. A blood draw is just to take blood out of course but an IV enters a vein to add contents from the IV to the blood stream. So it needs to sit well and stay in. It’s hard as as mom when they are poking and prodding your child. Also a nurse had most of ther arm weight down on my child and it felt like she was pressing down hard on him to stay still. I told her not to forget that he bruises easily. ITP is rare they only have one other patient that lives in the city although more might come to DeVos for treatment. She listens as I speak and says “Oh yes” and then she lightens her arm on Koa. As a rare disorder mom you have to be a spokesperson for your child even amongst nurses. We get back to the room with nana. She talks to him. Then the nurse hooks him up. She gives him medication as well and says he will be asleep in 5-10 minutes due to the drugs. He falls asleep, but it takes quite some time the nurse enters and exits so many times. Child life stops in as well to see when we wish for music therapy to come in. We say later since he starts napping. As he sleeps I thank God for my child and plead for him to get well soon . Yet I’m also thankful that he is finally receiving the treatment he needs. It was a long battle to get approved from insurance but maybe more on that later.

As he naps my mom is on the phone with my mother in law explaining what the treatments looks like and everything. She goes to the restroom to talk so she won’t wake up Koa. After her call, we eat some sandwiches and snacks from the nourishment area as he sleeps. When Koa awakes we are still going strong with the IVIG. He plays a little on the floor and we give him snacks. I place an online order for Zoup soup. My mom goes to get it in the few minutes the order takes. Dad visits on lunch to play with him and visit. I share my soup and treats with husband. Child Life comes in and decides to send someone later after family time. I crave in a snack because of the stress of it all and give Koa some snacks too. The nurse comes in to check on us and give more medicine. Koa acts a little suirmy and grandma holds him in the chair. Once his dad is gone I go back to Zoup because my mom didn’t realize she’d have to pick up my sweet tea from the cooler. Then I come back and see that Koa didn’t like me leaving but is happy I am back. I use the restroom and hear my mom reacting to Koa who has just thrown up. As I exit the restroom I see Koa has thrown up all over mom. She and him are both a mess. I hold Koa so she can clean up. He cries as fusses because he is messy and of course uncomfortable. She picked her shirt up so she wouldn’t drop all the gross stuff. She uses the restroom. I look at Koa and it is in his hair and on his IV and his clothing. What a mess! Mom changes shirts and I use the sink in the room to rinse his hair. We called the nurse of course to help clean nup. She has to change his medial tape and clean off his IV shield. Note to ITP moms, everyone needs a change of clothes that comes, just in case!

We get him all cleaned up and then Music Therapy with Child LIfe comes in. He is a little shocked at her at first, but seems interested in her guitar and musical instruments. I sing along as she starts with his favorite Wheels on the Bus. My mom has to leave as she cries a little after the first song. She comes back to sing and thank them. Then the nurse has to finish giving him the rest of his liquid medicine he refuses this terribly. The nurse tries, I try, then grandma tries and gets it down! He was screaming, crying and turning his face away every time we came with the little syringe. Towards the end Koa seems really irritable and crys/fusses a lot. We assume he’s going back to sleep with the medication the nurse gave him. He fights sleeping plays some more and then falls asleep. By time my husband comes back after 4:45 he is still asleep. My husband and switch off holding him, so I can go home to tutor online. We told the nurse ahead of time that I would switch with my husband. She asked if I could call the sessions off since Koa is in care. I said maybe but didn’t really want her making decisions for my personal life. Plus my mom and husband watch him while I tutor any other evening. I was there 100% of the time for the last one. Mentally I think it’s good to take a break. Let the other parent take some of the burden. I did 8 hour and husband did 2 or less. No that I’m comparing but having shifts just like the nurses do really helps out. Koa has two adults and that’s enough.

Then I drove my husband’s car home which was an experience by itself and I taught online. An hour and a half later husband, Koa, and grandma arrive home.

Once we are all home together we are beyond exhausted. Then my husband assembled Koa’s Cocomelon bed together the same night. Kudos to him!

Post Care

The post care for Koa included taking pills for 3 days. Two sets of pills twice a day, one in the moring and one in the evening. It was also very rough getting the medication from our local Meijer Pharmacy because one was ready and technically he needed the unavailable one first. Then I call and tell them this and explain if he needs it twice a day he should get at least one dos by noon. The other medication they are out of and it’s clear there is some confusion about it in general. So the pharmacy and the hematology/ oncology team goes back and forth several times. Then I’m at the pharmacy and Koa can’t sit still. Then they inform me that the last medicine comes in a liquid but it’s too late the change it now. So yeah totally don’t recommend Meijer Pharmacy but what are you going to do. You still need the medication at the end of the day.

That’s a wrap. Or an unhooking as we could say.

PurpleMom

#ITP awareness

Elyssa Green

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ramblinganthropologist · 2 years ago

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Im trying to get through the beginning of the auction with them all beefing their rolls but the secondary embarrassment is painful.

#zooks you are a brimar what do you know about hair #devo my son stop #at least amber is having fun with her shit wine #the adventure zone ethersea

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missingphi · 2 years ago

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Devo I love you dearly but I swear to fucking God PLEASE.

#taz ethersea #taz ethersea spoilers #devo la main #STOP GIVING ME DEPRESSION THIS EARLY MY SON

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amarretto-cowboy · 4 years ago

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Few people on this planet hate Trump as much as my mother. She worked for him at Trump Plaza in Atlantic City for well over a decade. She marched in a union protest against him on the boardwalk in hurricane. She hated him long before it was hip. She refused to watch the Apprentice and such. She was actually a little irritated by the people who suddenly began to hate Trump overnight 5-6 years ago because the media told them to.

My mother has only voted for Democrat presidential candidates but overall was never all that political. She rarely watched news networks when it wasn't an election year. Wasn't her thing. She would sometimes watch a news program here and there just to keep abreast of the goings on but that's about it. She would actually get annoyed about me being too political at times when I was an Obama fanboy.

Then Trump became a presidential candidate. From that point on, my mother was glued to CNN. Every damn day. CNN CNN CNN. Occasionally, she would switch to MSNBC and pat herself on the back for doing so as she saw it as a "different opinion". When I would drop off my son in the morning. CNN. When I would pick him up later. CNN. Whenever I would stop by, you guessed it. C. N. N.

It was at least half of what she talked about. Trump this, Steve Bannon that. Kellyanne Conway this, Betsey Devos that. Oh and especially Russia! Russia! Russia!

She completely bought into the whole "RUSSIA!" Nonsense hardcore. She swore all up and down that Trump would be removed for his Russian ties. She suddenly cared about cabinet positions which she never did before. Everyday was the same thing. "Orange Man Bad". Even after it was proven that story after story being pushed by CNN was bullshit she stayed glued.

A week after Biden was inaugurated, my mother pretty much stopped watching CNN.

It was all in her head.

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dreaminginthedeepsouth · 4 years ago

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Segregating public schools by race has been, at least effectively speaking, illegal since the Supreme Court decided Brown v. Board of Education 67 years ago. Oh, there were knock-down-drag-out fights to make it happen, especially in the Deep South, and an argument can be made that what you might call perfect integration of public schools has never completely been achieved. But the law made by that Supreme Court decision has never changed.

What we have seen recently from the Republican Party leads me to believe that segregation is not behind us, either legally or practically. I think the Republican Party, as it is currently constituted, would be perfectly happy with making segregation legal again. Up is down with these fools. Why wouldn’t they attempt to return segregation as the law of the land?

Look at what they’re doing today with the bipartisan commission to investigate the assault on the Capitol that will soon come to a vote. They don’t just want to sweep the whole thing under the rug. They are denying not only that Donald Trump instigated the assault on the Capitol, but that the insurrection happened at all.

Mitch McConnell took to the floor of the Senate this morning to announce that he will oppose formation of a commission to investigate what he called “the events of January 6.” Kevin McCarthy came out yesterday with his opposition to the commission. Republican senators who only yesterday had announced that they supported a bipartisan commission are today saying they will vote against it. Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina is one. Senator Jerry Moran of Kansas is another. Both men supported the commission to investigate the assault on the Capitol less than 24 hours ago. Today they are both opposed.

The Republican Party is prepared to do literally anything they think they can get away with. They are going to attempt to go into the mid-term elections next year denying that their party, or the man who they recognize as their party leader, had anything to do with the attack on the Capitol, or with attempting to stop the certification of the ballots of the electoral college. They are engaged in a massive campaign of voter suppression in a naked attempt to make it more difficult for Black and other minority citizens to vote. They’re not even trying to hide it. Their intentions are right out in the open.

So is their racism. For some reason, I was thinking about Jesse Helms the other day. A senator from North Carolina for 20 years, from 1973 to 2003, he was a figure of derision practically everywhere in this country except his own state, and even within the state of North Carolina, he faced stiff opposition. He won his last two campaigns for reelection, in 1990 and 1996, with only 52.5 and 52.6 percent of the vote against a Black Democratic candidate in both races, Harvey Gantt.

The tendency back then was to write off Helms as something of an aberration in the Republican Party, a throw-back to a kind of coarse nativism and racism that most Republicans did not countenance, at least not then. His famous “hands” commercial, that many said was responsible for his victory in 1990, showed a white man’s hands crumpling up a job application after losing the job to a “less qualified” minority applicant. It was criticized at the time for its “racial subtext.” The ad was a nakedly racist appeal for white votes, and Helms was known in his state and in the Senate as racist. He led a 16 day filibuster against creating a federal holiday in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. He voted against the Voting Rights Act whenever it came up for renewal.

But Helms wasn’t a lone wolf within the Republican Party. Looking back, we can see that he was its heart and soul. It was Republican appointed Supreme Court justices who voted to disembowel the Voting Rights Act in 2013 in Shelby County v. Holder. A recent proposal by Democratic Senator Joe Manchin and Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski to reauthorize the Voting Rights Act has been met with silence from congressional Republicans. They don’t want to empower the federal government to oversee how states run their elections for federal office. They don’t even want officials like a secretary of state to have the authority over elections. They want Republican-controlled legislatures to control the counting of ballots, and in presidential elections, the awarding of electoral college votes. They don’t want more people to vote. They want fewer. They don’t want fair elections. They want to win. Period.

When Brown v. Board of Education was decided, southern states did everything in their power to prevent the integration of their public schools. In 1964, a decade after Brown, 98.9 percent of Black students in 11 southern states were still going to school in segregated all-Black schools. Whole school systems in at least one southern state were closed rather than integrate. Eventually, court decisions led to integration in one school system after another around the Deep South. In response, many white parents pulled their children out of integrated schools and established private all-white “academies” to educate their children, leaving only a smattering of low income white children to go to school in integrated systems with Black children. And then they fought for years to try to use public tax dollars to fund their private all-white schools. Donald Trump and his secretary of education, Betsy DeVos, were still fighting to use so-called “vouchers” for private segregated schools when he left office.

I remember what it was like in 1964. That year, I went to a high school in Virginia that was partially integrated only because the federal government was able to force the school system in Fairfax County to accept the sons and daughters of Black members of the military. But every morning, several school buses filled with Black children whose parents were not in the military drove past my school on their way to a high school ten miles south. Schools in Fairfax County were not fully integrated from kindergarten to 12th grade until 1974.

The Supreme Court this week accepted a Mississippi abortion case that many legal experts say could lead to a weakening, if not totally overturning, of Roe v. Wade. With six justices appointed by Republican presidents, three by our last disgraced and twice-impeached president, the court is poised to overturn anything they want. They could overturn Roe v. Wade. They could overturn the clause in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that barred federal funds from going to segregated schools on the same basis they did away with the clause in the Voting Rights Act that mandated the overseeing of southern states voting laws by the Department of Justice. In that decision, they found the law interfered with the “sovereignty” of the states covered by the Voting Rights Act. The Roberts court could use the “sovereignty” basis to overturn federal court decisions that have outlawed so-called “voucher” programs that were passed to allow the use of local tax dollars to find private schools that discriminate on the basis of race.

The Supreme Court can do whatever they feel they can get away with. So can Republicans in congress, especially in the Senate, so long as they have the power of the filibuster.

The Republican Party is trying to bury the assault on the Capitol on January 6. They are trying to prevent the investigation of that assault so that another assault just like it can happen. They are not going to risk losing at the ballot box again. They are doing whatever they can get away with to fix it so they can’t lose, even if that means we lose our democracy.

#substack #Lucian K Truscott IV #corrupt GOP #criminal GOP #Civil Rights #racism #sexism #power corrupts #poltical

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coldflasher · 4 years ago

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2020 is almost over (thank GOD) so let’s talk about where im up to with fics, my fic plans for 2021, etc etc. obligatory disclaimer that i’m making a determined effort to focus on original work this year so i can’t make any promises about when any of these things will see the light of day, but hey, accountability and all that

okay okay so. current wips include:

aftermath: one shots

- one that’s set during season 4, after barry gets framed for devoe’s murder and gets sent to iron heights. len is like ‘there’s no way you’ll survive prison without me, for fuck’s sake barry, i’m coming in after you’ and basically he deliberately gets locked up alongside him. they share a cell, it’s great. basically just an excuse for prison smut, honestly. this one’s like 70% drafted and won’t need many edits, but probably won’t post until i have ALSO written:

- the second aftermath one-shot, based on 4x01 when barry comes out of the speedforce with a scrambled brain from experiencing his whole life on loop for months. the angst!! i need it!! i’m gonna write this one first bc it makes no sense to post a one-shot from mid s4 and then go back to the first episode, so. i have pretty clear plans for this one, it’ll be a little longer, but gonna try and keep it fairly tight, preferably no more than 10k. (you: helen, that’s not tight. me: IT’S TIGHT BY MY STANDARDS, LEAVE ME ALONE.)

- i’ll probably do more of these one shots as things come to me, i know people wanted me to do the whole zoom-breaking-barry’s-spine ep and len’s reaction, but honestly i am not emotionally equipped to rewatch that ep any time soon, so it’s on the list but when i’ll get to it, who knows

aftermath: sequel (michael snart)

- because over 500,000 words of content wasn’t enough for me, apparently!! len and barry’s son comes back from the future to save barry from an unknown crisis and inadvertently brings crisis with him. this is the fanfic equivalent of a strongly worded letter to the flash writers bc crisis sucked so i decided to do it my own way. current word count: 32k, aiming for around 50k. maybe 60k but please GOD no more than that. features len being a bad father but trying not to be, lots of teen angst, and dual timelines, cos i hate myself apparently.

vegas wedding one shot

- i wrote a terrible first draft of this for camp nanowrimo a few years back, revisited it during the march lockdown, rewrote about 80% of it and then... stopped. but im gonna finish it, i swear, cos i really love this one. in a nutshell, barry and len get whammied by a meta who convinces them that they’re in love and they have to get married Right Now, Actually. they run off to vegas, team flash has to chase them across the strip and try and stop them from getting hitched. super chaotic, around 20k. this one’s high priority cos it is SO close to done that i have no excuse.

coldwestallen hades/persephone fic

- hoo boy, strap yourselves in cos this one is gonna be a Long Boi. i responded to the feeling of emptiness that came with finishing one hellishly long fic by diving headfirst into another, because that’s healthy. very loosely inspired by the hades/persephone myth, with persephone spending six months with hades in the underworld and six months with her family aboveground. barry makes a deal for len’s help in a sticky situation in exchange for six months working as a member of the rogues. it turns out better than expected, so they keep making the same trade off - six months with team flash, six months as a rogue, with lots of angst as barry struggles to reconcile two very different, entirely separate lives, and two very different loves. enemies to friends to lovers between barry and len, friends to lovers between barry and iris, enemies to lovers between len and iris, it’s a lot. super slow burn, split into four parts, which will each probably be around 50k. at least, that’s what i’m aiming for. it’s also gonna be kinda Problematic, there’ll be some infidelity which i know isn’t a lot of people’s jam, so there’s a strong chance no one will read it, but bold of you to assume im writing this for anyone but myself. im deeply in love with this thing. i reckon i have about 50k for this already and it’s my new baby. god, i love it. no idea when i’ll ever show it to anyone though. see you in a few years maybe lmaooo

other than that, this year had one big casualty that failed before it really got off the ground: the devil wears prada au. i watched DWP during lockdown, got obsessed for about two months, wrote 25k of an AU with len as miranda and barry as andy, and then suddenly lost all interest. tragic, cos i really like what i wrote for it, but i have so many wips that i can’t make myself cling to one that i know in my heart of hearts i’m not really invested in any more. now i really don’t know what to do with what i already have. i’m tempted to post it, in case anyone’s interested, but also don’t wanna get anyone’s hopes up or have anyone get attached to something i won’t ever finish. i might post the bits i have with a clear caveat that this is all there’ll ever be, idk, if anyone’s interested in that let me know. saves the time i spent on it from going to waste, i guess

ANYWAY that’s where i’m at with fics right now, there’s a lot going on, and this is JUST the fics im working on and not original stuff. hoo, boy. save me. we’ll see what happens in 2021, but i hope to at least finish all the one shots i mentioned, and preferably also finish michael’s fic as well! optimistic, maybe, but hey. manifest, and all that.

#long post for ts #my writing #my fics

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heavenward-blog · 4 years ago

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10 Signs You Might Be a Lukewarm Christian

Do you ever wonder if you are truly saved? Do you feel distant from God? Do you look, talk, act and think just like the world? This may be because you are truly not 100 percent on fire for Jesus and that you are on the fence about your walk.

The term “lukewarm Christian” derives from the idea of lukewarm water, which is no good taste-wise, is bland and is not useful in some ways. This term is referred to by Jesus in Revelation (Rev. 3) when He mentions many so-called “Christians” (Christ followers) or believers will cry out and not understand why they cannot enter into the Kingdom.

The answer is that they simply believed but did not follow Jesus. They believed enough to scrape by, but remember the demons even believe and they shudder (James 2:19). YES, it is by FAITH you are saved, not of yourself, but if you lack spiritual fruit (Galatians 5:22) and evidence of your spiritual walk (not by outward performance) and a life of worship, it leads you to be a stranger to Christ. Why do some people expect to be in eternity with God when they never served Him or communed with Him? Scary thought.

Many will say to me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?” (Matthew 7:22)

So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. (Revelation 3:16)

This idea is the same as if you answered a knock on the door of your house and someone said, “Can I come in?” If you never spoke to this person, spent time with them and they weren’t in your family or circle of friends, you would say, “No, I am sorry, I cannot let you in.” Maybe out of the kindness of your heart you would, but deep down, you would know that this person is a complete stranger.

It is the same with Jesus. When people want to come into heaven’s gates one day when they enter into eternity (outside of the flesh and outside of time), it will be TOO LATE to go back to earth and say, “I profess Jesus Christ as my LORD, my GOD, my KING.” You cannot live a double life. If you do, I ask you to repent (turn around the other way) quickly, stop acting worldly and decide who is King of your life.

You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. (James 2:19)

And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. (Matthew 7:23)

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Signs You Might Be a Lukewarm Christian

1. You never read your Bible (or Bible app, for that matter): You must read the Word to remain in the vine of the life, giving words of the Lord. Like a plant not connected to the vine if you don’t read your Bible, you will become spiritually dry and withered, and will feel isolated…this could lead to spiritual death. Refresh with the Word of God DAILY (Psalm 23—daily bread) to stay strong spiritually with the living water filling you every day (John 15). We need food and water to live, correct? Same goes for our spiritual walk with God…we need to feed it good food, which is the Word of God, the Holy Bible.

He answered and said, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by EVERY word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4)

2. You are not plugged into fellowship regularly: You flow in and out of churches and don’t have your roots down deep.

3. You only read positive Christian books: Also known as “feel-good” Christian books that don’t discuss sin, hell, death and consequences of poor decisions. Devotionals and Christian books are good to read, but don’t only have this as your spiritual food. That is like eating vitamins for dinner. Christian books and devos are “supplements,” as I call them, but the Word of God (the Bible) is the main-course meal.

4. You look like the world: Your speech, attitude, lifestyle and even social media LOOK like the world. You can be in it, but not of it. There is a way to be salt and light and still be relevant. Don’t copy people to try to fit in. Only God’s opinion matters. Do you agree?

5. Your role models are celebrities: Who are you looking to for advice, dress, speech or even someone to walk behind in life? Is your role model someone who is seduced by this worldly system or is your role model a godly youth leader or mentor in your life? Evaluate this and write down people who help you draw closer to God. These people are usually rare, but pray God shows you who to walk and model yourself after. (I understand it is difficult to not want to copy celebs, but really guard your heart and mind ask yourself: “Is this someone I want to be like?” or do you want to be like a Proverbs 31 woman?)

6. You only listen to secular music: Music is powerful and influences your thoughts. It doesn’t feed your spirit and can cause you to stumble into worldly thinking and behavior. (For example: When I listen to certain music, it makes me want to go dancing at a club and or sometimes brings up the fleshly desires…if you want to be on fire for Jesus, fill your mind with worship!) You can have a balance, but it just depends…do you want to be hot or cold? An example of a good worship album is Hillsong United’s new Empires album; go to iTunes to listen to it if you need ideas for worship.

7. You don’t have a filter on your social media: You try to copy what other people are doing, constantly doubt your God-given beauty and talents, and try to lower your standards when posting pictures for attention on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Don’t worry about who’s following you, but who YOU are following. Remember, Jesus only had 12 followers!

8. You are embarrassed and ashamed to talk about Jesus or your faith: Now, if you are a new believer or are shy, I am not saying this means you are lukewarm. (None of these define you as lukewarm, but it could mean it if you fall into a lot of these categories, if that makes sense.) Also, Jesus mentions in the Bible that if you are ashamed of Him on earth, He will be ashamed of you in front of God the Father and the angels. (Yeeks! That means Jesus wants us to be BOLD or on fire about our faith!) Yes, everyone is in different seasons and everyone has their own relationship with God, but we need to remember people’s souls are at stake. This is a serious matter in sharing the Gospel. God says, “GO and make disciples”—not try to go, but gives us a command “go.” God also doesn’t say this is the great mission, but rather He will be with us in our co-mission, amen?

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. (Matthew 28: 19-20)

9. Your beliefs contradict the Bible: You may say, “Oh, it’s okay to sleep with someone if you LOVE them…” which is the opposite of what God’s Holy Word says. Love is great, but it’s no good if it’s not under the umbrella of the protection of God. His Word is infallible, and is inerrant (the word inerrancy means “freedom from error or untruths”) and is the FINAL authority in heaven and on earth. You cannot argue with the Word of God. The Bible clearly says that fornication (sex before marriage) is not of God, and that marriage (a union between a man and a woman) is HOLY. God instituted marriage and His Word is eternal. Man can try to change God’s Word, but it won’t be altered. His Word is to help us, to protect us from disease, illness, harm, unwanted burdens and so forth.

Do you want to believe what feels good or sounds cool? Or do you want the TRUTH? With REAL love comes tough love, and truth. It isn’t easy, but truth sets you free. This is REAL love. In eternity, many people will wonder why people didn’t share the truth with them…let’s be the church, God’s bride and be REAL with people. Stop lying to people to make them feel good. This flesh is dying and the only thing that matters is their soul. Please…really love people in Jesus’ name.

God’s Word = Inerrancy. God’s Word = Truth. Truth = Gives LIFE.

…and the scripture cannot be broken… (John 10:35)

For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book: If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the Book of Life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. (Revelation 22:18-19)

10. You have religious actions, but no real relationship with Jesus: You can act like a believer and do “good” deeds to increase your self-esteem, but unless what you do GENUINELY comes from a place of REAL worship (not seen by men), then it is somewhat not WHOLE-hearted. God wants a real relationship with us, just like you want one with your best friend, parents and peers, amen? When I say you are “on fire” for Jesus or cold, I mean you are in love with Jesus and your life emulates this daily (not that you are perfect.) When I refer to being cold, it means you are anti-Christ. Do you seek the Lord with your heart or to impress people?

Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. (John 4:23)

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vinceleemiller · 2 months ago

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The Deceptive Dangers of Doegs | 1 Samuel 22:9-10

Are you friends with too many deceptive opportunists?

Welcome to the Daily Devo. I am Vince Miller.

This week, we are in Chapter 22 of 1 Samuel. I've titled this chapter "From Caves Of Distress To Community Connections."

Yesterday, we discovered King Saul pouting in Gibeah. If you remember, Saul threw a tantrum, leaving his servants, who were mostly his family, in shock. Then, we assume this outburst was met with silence until one man breaks the silence. I wonder who that man might be? Let's read 1 Samuel 22:9-10:

Then answered Doeg the Edomite, who stood by the servants of Saul, “I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, and he inquired of the Lord for him and gave him provisions and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”— 1 Samuel 22:6-8

The man is Doeg. He was herding in Nob days before when he saw David, and he just happened to be here at Saul's outburst. Therefore, since he is an enemy slave, he will leverage an opportunity. He takes advantage of the silence and sells David and the priests out, leveraging his knowledge against Saul's people.

You will see tomorrow that Doeg's opportunism will strike a deadly blow to Israel and its spiritual community. And it's not good.

We live in very suspicious times. We are less trusting of legacy media, political messaging, social media, news propaganda, educational institutions, drug providers, and corporate policies than ever. While I don't think we need to embrace every conspiracy theory, I think it is good to be skeptical and to trust institutions and people less without abandoning them.

Doeg is merely a sleeper opportunist. He is a foreigner who has infiltrated Israel because Saul has allowed it. Doeg is a skilled herdsman and will use his skill to herd the people of Israel against one another. He intentionally retained information and saw an opportunity to sell David out for his own benefit, turning the priests against Saul and his servants.

Watch out for oppositional opportunists like Doeg in your life. These are people who do not care about you and will take advantage of your willingness to trust them, using that to their advantage at the cost of something in your life. They will sneak in, spy you out, and then sell you out and it is never an enjoyable experience. This occurrence here is going to turn deadly, ripping apart the house of God, as we will see tomorrow.

Here is my advice: Go to a Bible-preaching church. Join a small group or form a close relationship with other believers. Marry a believer. Do business with people who are believers. Build lasting, trusting relationships with believing men and women. Stop spending time with so many Doegs, those who do not share your values, beliefs, and faith in God. Over time, they slip in and tear friendships apart, churches apart, marriages apart, and businesses apart.

#CommunityMatters, #BewareOfOpportunists, #FaithfulConnections

Ask This:

Who are the “Doegs” in your life, and how can you better identify and protect yourself from their influence in your relationships?

In what ways can you actively seek out and cultivate trusting relationships with other believers to strengthen your spiritual community?

Do This:

Decrease your Doegs. Increase disciples.

Pray This:

Father, please help me discern the intentions of those around me and build trusting relationships with fellow believers who will encourage my faith. Strengthen my community connections so that I can grow in my walk with You and support others in their journey as well. Amen.

Play This:

Relationship.

Check out this episode!

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hopeaterart · 4 years ago

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The shittiest family reunion in the history of ever: Chapter 4

Sadao vs Devo.

Aka Imagine being a professional assassin and Stand User since birth and getting your ass kicked by a 152 cm (Just a bit shorter than five ft) tall, slightly underweight, Standless 48 years old man who hasn’t gotten in a fight in over twenty years.

Noriaki slowly made his way through the house, supporting himself on a wall and occasionally wincing in pain at his wounds. He continued taking deep breaths, thinking of how he needed to get out of this house fast. He didn’t want to be around when Dio’s men came to collect their heads-

And he just stumbled into the kitchen. Kujo Jotaro was sitting here, sitting in a tank top and shorts while he ate the ungodly amount of pancakes on his plate, and his father Sadao was currently making coffee, standing in his pajams with his long hair up in a bun. The shorter man turned toward him. “Oh. Kakyoin-san. Hungry?”

“I... uh...” The teen decided to nod, coming to sit down and trying not to let his pain show. Sadao nodded back, taking a plate out of the cupboards and, setting a few pancakes on it, and giving it to the redhead along with utensils. “Th- thank you.”

“Don’t worry about it.” The shorter man reassured him, before pouring himself a cup of coffee. “Jotaro, do you want some?” His son nodded, his mouth full with pancakes. Sadao nodded back, pouring another cup of coffee and putting some sugar and milk in it before giving it to the teenager. “There you go.”

Jotaro swallowed, taking the cup of coffee. “Thanks, old man.” Sadao nodded.

“Are either of you panning on going to school today?” He asked. “I know it’s just a half-day today, but... well, Jotaro, you came back early, and Kakyoin-san, you spent your afternoon trying to kill us.” Noriaki winced. “Sorry.”

“Fuck that.” Jotaro muttered. “I’m gonna stay here with Kakyoin to figure out whatever this... Stand thingy is.”

“And I’d rather avoid people for now.” The redhead admitted. “My face hurts...” he then added in a small voice. There was some movement out of the corner of his eyes, and two bags of frozen vegetable slid across the table to him. “Uh?”

“For your black eye and broken rib.” Sadao explained. Noriaki hummed in understanding, taking one of the packs and applying it to the bruised side of his face.

“Thank y-”

“Stop thanking me for basic decency.” Sadao cut him off, frowning in confusion. Noriaki blinked, then nodded, averting his eyes from the shorter man and landing on Jotaro instead. Who was looking at him.

He frowned. “What?”

“Are you gonna eat your breakfast, or...?” The taller teenager asked Noriaki, who turned toward his plate. A few seconds passed, before he put down the frozen bag and took the utensils in hand, cutting into the pancakes before bringing up a piece to his mouth.

The redhead immediately lightened up, humming in pleased surprise at how good the pancake was. He quickly ate the rest, Jotaro and Sadao watching him intently. He slowly slowed down, his self-consciousness catching up to him. “Sorry.”

Sadao frowned. “What are you apologizing for? You need the food.”

“Yeah...” Jotaro started awkwardly, looking off to the side and avoiding eye contact. “I’m the one who carried you to the bathroom, and you’re light as shit. So eat up.” Noriaki blinked, before turning back toward his plate and eating what was left on it.

“Thank you for the meal.” He said as he finished it, Sadao nodding in satisfaction.

“You’ll tell Holly that when she comes back, ‘kay?” The older man asked him, the redhead nodding in acknowledgement as he continued eating breakfast.

“Where did mom go, by the way?”

“Your uncle told her he’d be there as soon as possible, so she went to pick him up at the airport.” Sadao reassured Jotaro, sitting down at the table and sipping on his coffee. “Where are you two planning to... do whatever?”

Jotaro blinked at his father slowly as Noriaki choked on his food at the wording. “Don’t- don’t put it like that.”

“What’s wrong with the way I put it- oh.” Sadao looked off to the side. “Okay, yeah, I see it now- I mean, if you’re into guys it’s okay, your mom will still love you and I... kind of don’t care, but I meant the whole evil spirit business.” Noriaki frowned in confusion as Jotaro pulled a face.

“Evil spirit? Do you mean Stands?” Noriaki asked only to be promptly ignored.

“Yeah, we’re gonna go in the backyard.” Jotaro answered his father before turning toward the redhead. “Finish eating, then follow me.” Noriaki stared at the taller teenager for a moment, before sighing. It’s the least he owed them.

Sadao entered his office, tying his hair up in a high ponytail as he neared his piano, a half-done music partition on it. He sat down, fingers gently splaying over the keys as he looked over the sheet, frowning. He had the bones of the melody, but that was it. He cracked his knuckles and gently brought them to the keys, playing the notes, music filling the room for a few seconds.

He opened his eyes, turning toward the closet in the room. “You know,” he started, turning around on his seat. “I usually don’t mind having an audience, but I do prefer it when they’re not spying on me.” He narrowed his eyes, getting up and opening one of the drawers in his desk.

He heard the door of his closet open, and turned back around as he closed the drawer, pocket knife in hand. There was now a heavily scared man hunched over, long black hair covering his face. He turned toward Sadao, raising an eyebrow. “How did you know I was in the closet?”

Sadao raised an unimpressed eyebrow, gesturing at the boxes on the floor. “Those were inside of my closet,” he then pointed the opened chain lock. “I keep my closet locked at all times,” and he picked up the doll on his desk. “And that wasn’t there before.” He put the doll back on the desk, glaring at the man. “Now, get the fuck out of my house.”

The man just laughed, infuriating the shorter one further. “And who are you to order me around?”

“The guy who 1) owns the house and 2) got a knife.” Sadao snapped back. “So why don’t you just get out without starting any shit before I make your face look even worse, hm? I mean shit, you look like you throw yourself out of glass windows on a regular basis.”

The man simply laughed further. “You? Hurt me? You’re just a little man without a Stand, what could you possibly do- AUGH!” CRACK! Sadao had reacted faster than lightning, his free hand taking a hold of his nose and twisting, the sickening noise of bones and cartilage breaking resonating in the room.

Sadao used his hold on the stranger’s face to throw him over his desk, before jumping on his back, wrapping his legs around his torso, took a fistful of his hair and bashed his head in on said desk. “I might be small and not have an evil spirit following me, but that doesn’t mean I can’t fuck your shit up!”

“Get off of me, you-!” The man screamed, reaching at his back, one hand taking a hold of Sadao’s hair. The lighter man gave a shout of his own before biting at his shoulder, feeling blood in his mouth. One of his hand came up to hold the arm in place, the other one stabbing in the shoulder.

The enemy let go with a shout, and Sadao moved his legs so he was able to kick him away. The man now had his back turned to the open door, usually open when Sadao was in his office. He suddenly started giggling, confusing Sadao further. “What’s so funny?”

“You fool!” The man suddenly exclaimed! “How dare you do this to me!? Now, now I can hold a grudge against you!” He laughed further, Sadao backing away for a moment, disturbed. “It hurts! It really hurts! Curse you... how dare you! How dare you do tha-”

The shorter man grit his teeth just as he started advancing again. “Alright... so now, for the last time...” His leg suddenly shot up, knee connecting with the guy’s junk and making him scream in pain just as Sadao’s face switched from frustration to pure rage that wouldn’t be out of place on his son’s face. “GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HOUSE!!!” He then kicked him in the face, sending him flying backward into the corridor just as Sadao slammed the door to his office closed.

He then felt a pain in his calf. He looked down, a cut that wasn’t there before bleeding abundantly. He tch-ed under his breath, heading for his closet, taking out the first aid kit he kept in there to bandage his wound as he texted Jotaro about this recent .

u and kakyoin stay caerful

*careful

some crazy dude broke int he house

i dont want u 2 to get hurt

*in the

Got it Sadao

Sadao sighed, his elbows hitting the desk as he sighed. He turned toward the doll on it, frowning. He’d have to find a way to get rid of it. Maybe give it to Yuichi? He was into that kind of creepy stuff, with it’s worn down wooden texture, weird red gems encrusted in it and beady green eyes-

Wait.

It’s eyes weren’t open before.

And sure as heel didn’t have a creepy smile with pointy teeth.

Before it could do anything, however, Sadao threw it far away from him. The doll landed on the wall with a heavy sound and a pained yell, which confirmed his suspicion of fucking haunted. He grabbed the closest object he could easily swing (a spare microphone stand in the closet) and pointed it in the direction of the doll, a string of profanities leaving his mouth.

[How dare you!] The doll suddenly suddenly screeched, getting up and waving what looked like a very sharp object at Sadao. [How dare you destroy one of my shoulders!]

“... Oh, what the fuck.”

[At least, you gave me enough of a grudge to- ACK!” The doll was cut off by Sadao as he wacked it on the head with pole, the sound of metal hitting wood echoing in the room.

“I said GET OUT!” The japanese man yelled, attempting to hit the doll again, this time to no avail as it dodged it. The doll then proceeded to jump onto the improvised staff, cackling all the while as it ran up it. Sadao screamed in surprise, but was able to dodge at the last second, ending up with a cut on his cheek rather than wound in his forehead.

The doll cackled further, dashing at Sadao's side and cutting into his hip, the short man yelping in pain and surprise as he jumped out the way. [Are you really planning on defeating me with a random metal pole you found in your closet!? You'd be better off twisting yourself on it!]

"And you," Sadao hissed, "would be better off if you never came here in the first place!" He then threw the stand at the doll, knocking it on the ground. The staff then flied off in the air for a few seconds, before landing onto it. Sadao then calmly walked to it, taking a hold of it's throat. "Now, time to get rid of you."

The doll looked at him for a few seconds, before smiling creepily. It then bit him, making him let go with a yelp as it laughed, running toward the door. [You fool! You think a Standless user like you can hurt me!? Once I'm done with the brats, I'm going to kill you!]

Brats?

Jotaro.

Sadao gasped in realization, before feeling rage overpower him as he ran toward the doll in the corridor, jumping onto it. He took it's head in one hand, it's neck in the other one, ans twisted.

“KUTABARE!” Sadao screeched as he wrenched the doll’s head from it’s neck. It’s shortly after that he heard two screams. He ran toward the source, only to stumble upon Jotaro and Kakyoin in the kitchen, screaming their heads off. In the air, the headless body of the man he had been fighting was suspended, and his head had rolled not too far away.

And it is with a strange sense of numbness and a complete lack of regret, that Sadao realized that he just killed a man.

The door suddenly opened. “Boys, I’m baaa...” Holly trailed off, the scene of the two screaming teenagers, the headless body floating between green strings, and her frazzled and wounded husband looking at her like a deer in headlights.

“Alright sis, I’ll admit it.” The man behind her started, pushing his sunglasses up to his forehead to reveal beautiful blue eyes. “You weren’t kidding when you said you guys were in one bizarre situation.”

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