i love them sm crying rn

Dad!Harry talks to his daughter about her questioning sexuality PART 2

part one

(Thank you all for liking the last post, my heart is so full.)

More about the twins, parents' discussions, and a girl's day of insight and vulnerability.

WC: 3.5 k

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After tucking June in bed, much to her playful annoyance, Harry made his way to the bedroom where the love of his life was resting. Crossing the hallway, he smiled to himself. There was nothing he loved more than being a trusted father. Having this responsibility lifted him, it guided him to be even better. Just replaying the conversation he had in his head was bringing extra moisture to his eyes. What could he say? He was a natural softie, this (y/n) knew so it was no different with his babies.

Right before making it to his shared bedroom, he instead turned to make his way to the younger ones' room. (y/n) might possibly be crossed with him if she finds out he awoke them just for some kisses, but she didn't have to know.

Shuffling into the room, lit by a nightlight that displayed soft stars on the kids' ceiling, he noticed both of them whispering to one another. Having them share a room was the conscious decision of the parents. Although they had a few rooms to spare, they preferred the twins to sleep together, as they quickly noticed how the two reacted when apart. Oftentimes, they'll find Mick in Mazzy's bed, or vice-versa. It is clear to the parents that the twins are most comfortable with one another, and separating them seemed borderline abusive.

"Hmmm, what're you two on about? Late, innit?" Harry softly spoke, with a smile on his face to clear any seriousness in his words.

"Dadaaaa" Mazzy dragged, smiling that her father was here. She sat up on her bed, making grabby arms as to drag her father further into the room. He was so weak for his babies and quickly made his way to her.

"Mazzy meet friends today. Talk dada," Mick explained in an annoyed tone, which Harry obviously found hilarious. Pardon him for not knowing the basis of their conversations. As he smiled to himself, he wrapped his arm around Mazzy as she further burrowed himself on his side, and he extended his hand to Mick (whose bed was a very short distance away from Mazzy's). "Bedtime dada, momma said sleep" Mick said seriously to his father as he reluctantly grabbed his hand.

Harry and (y/n) could see the personalities of the two strongly already: Mick adopted the role of the carrying older brother despite being born only six minutes before, and Mazzy the clumsy, caring younger sister. The twins upheld their roles quite well, and because of their personalities, they rarely left each others' sides.

"Oh baby, I know she did but I just want some snuggies. Don't kill me, 'kay?" Harry said, pulling his arm so Mick would get the message to hug his father. Despite wanting to seem ever-so mature, loved nothing more than to hug the most important man of his life and finally succumbed to 'snuggies'.

"Mumma said to sleep for school, dada," Mazzy inquisitively said to Harry, looking up at him questioning.

"Yes baby, you two need to start sleeping more, you'll start preschool later this year, and mums' not sure if they do nappy time like in daycare." He rubbed both of their backs in unison as he saw them interlock hands on his stomach. These moments, he thinks, are the exact reason he does what he does. He wants nothing more than to support his babies (all four, actually) and be able to watch them grow. "Just wanted to give you guys some kissies. Kissies please?" He finished by puckering his lips as he looks down at the two.

They giggle and lean up to press soft kisses on his cheeks simultaneously.

"Now what's this about some friends, Mazzy?"

"Yes papa, so nice to me. Mick wants to hear if good friends."

Harry continued to rub their backs, so proud of their bond. "Good job Mick, always taking care of your sister. You know she'll always do the same for you too."

"I know dada, told me Aidan was rude to her. We not friends again." Mick stated, again making his father's chest filled with pride.

"Good, we all know we need to treat our friends nicely but if they are not kind back, we can't let ourselves be their friends. What do we do, babes?"

The kids smiled, playfully annoyed once again yet said together: "treat people with kindness." dragging it out as most kids do with very little seriousness.

"I've gotta go now, let's tuck you both in so momma will never know I was here, 'kay?" He lifted Mick in his arms and carried him the short distance to his bed, while Mazzy tucked her legs back in her blankie. Making sure Mick was cozy, he planted a wet kiss on his forehead.

"Dadaaa" Mick smiled, knowing his father's antics by now.

After placing another kiss on Mazzy's head, he placed a palm on both of the children's bellies. "I love you two so dearly. You guys, June, and your mum are the best things in my life. Rest up so we can have another fun day tomorrow babies."

He finally made his way out of their room, seeing the two burrowings further into their respective blankets with their eyes closed filling his heart. Sneaking his phone out, he snapped a quick picture and sent it to his wife so she could keep a copy of the moment. (although, through this, he effectively ruined the small secret of waking them.) Fuck it, he'll just say this is how he found them.

-----

"She wanted to talk about the Sage situation?" (y/n) guessed, as her beloved crossed the threshold and planted himself face-first on their king bed. All spread out, he moved his back to crack it, due to the stress of every day and ... well, age.

"Said she heard about my sexuality more than yours. Bet you're jealous huh?"

"Please, I know the bond you two have. Is she okay though? You gave her the good ole' 'we'll always be there' parent talk?" (y/n) never doubted his ability to be a father, but these circumstances were a bit more sensitive than other matters. She finally shut her book, placing it on the bedside table that holds Harry and her's current reads. There was no better end to her day than kissing her babies and reading alongside the love of her life.

"She's okay, I think. It's hard for her, obviously. I hate seeing her in pain but this is just one of those things she has to do. As long as she knows we're here, I don't expect it to be too difficult?" He pondered. He did mean it, being a questioning teenager is difficult as is but adding sexuality to the equation? He was fortunate enough to be so self-assured that the concept of questioning himself wasn't that turbulent. "But she wants to hear from you too, obviously. Be prepared to share your life story babe," he giggled, turning his head to see his wife who now began to stroke his hair. God, that really did it when he was tired.

"Yeah, I think I recall her saying this week was slow since she finished exams, so would you agree that we could take a girl's day in light of it all?" She pondered, wanting to assure her daughter in the best, normal way possible.

Harry finally sat up, only to cuddle into his wife's arms. This was another reason he knew the two were soulmates: she loved being the big spoon as much as he liked being held in her arms. "Yes, definitely a good idea. Mhm, what'd I do to have someone as mindful and loving as you? M'life would be incomplete without you, you're everything to me, love." Still feeling as 'lovey-dovey' as ever, he burrowed his head further into her, almost physically absorbing the love she poured out.

"I just want her to feel normal, I guess. When I finally came out, it seemed like it was the only interesting thing about me. It was the only point of conversation for a while, and I don't want June to feel like it's such a hugely different thing. She's still our baby, always will be."

"Hmm, the parenting books have nothing on us. So happy we're a team," he says, grabbing one of her hands to intertwine their fingers. "Gives me a love boner just thinking about how good we are, God."

"Narcissistic asshole. Want a bedtime handie?"

Her words make him shudder, a moan itching to be released. "M'done for with you."

She smiles at his words, knowing that the man in her arms is unlike the general population in that he prefers her hand far over her mouth. Shifting a bit, she kept one arm around his shoulders, to keep him close, and inched the other one to his briefs. They were firm believers in comfortable sleeping, which often lead to sleeping in only undergarments or less. She began to touch him softly through the fabric, already feeling how hard he was. "Oh baby, what's got you all worked up already?" It was a taunting tone, something about their position made it common sense that he'd be more submissive tonight.

"Please, (y/n). Just a quick hand, please." He shifted his hips, trying to get her soft hand to come down harder. Lucky for him, she wasn't in a mood to see him suffer and pressed the heel of her hand more firmly. "You know exactly what that does to me. Please baby, I'll be quiet."

"I know you will, you deserve this, 'kay?" She finally ended the small foreplay and moved her fingers into his briefs. Having been with her for over 15 years, (y/n) knew exactly what got Harry off the quickest. Nothing sold him out faster than a quick, sloppy hand, and her coaxing and appraisal always made him finish embarrassingly fast. Wrapping her hand around his length, she immediately began to jerk him off, wiping his precome to make it smoother. "Such a good daddy to our babies, best father out there I swear."

Her words made him shudder, even more, her touch making him extremely sensitive. Given her arm wrapped around him, he moved his head to the crevice of her neck, feeling shy from her praise. "(y/n), you're going to-" he was interrupted by her thumbing his head again, letting out a breathy moan, "god, make me cum so quick, please."

"It's okay baby, come on now, give it to me." She smirked as she felt him press soft kisses to her neck, almost as a thank you for the fucking phenomenal handie he was receiving.

His breath increased, indicating he was nearing his peak. He began to whimper ever so slightly, wriggling in place and only pushing himself closer to her. "Cumming, god m'cumming." he moaned, finally releasing over her hand.

(y/n) didn't end there though, still dragging her hand to rub his cum down his length and creating a click-ing sound. It was left unsaid that he loved to be overstimulated and milked.

Finally pulling her hand out after Harry begged her it was enough, she got up to grab a hand towel from their en suite restroom. Coming back, she found him with his eyes shut, clearly ready for sleeping.

"Budge up, or this'll get all gross in the morning."

Moving sluggishly, he allowed her to clean. "Come on now, let me do the same to you," he slurred as he flipped on his side, patting the bed.

"No baby, that's alright. Just wanna sleep with 'ya." She smiled at him fondly, noticing his eyes once again shutting in content. The two were almost annoying cuddlers, and they were practically seared together when it came to sleeping.

"Alright, in my arms 'ya go now. Come." He said faintly as she crawled into the space he made for her. Immediately squishing her face in his chest, he wrapped both arms around her back, caging her in and digging his fingers in her loose hair. "Love you," he whispered, although given his face was over her head, it was pretty muffled.

"Love you."

------------------

"Let's do three more deep breaths, and then we can go see what your mum made for breakfast," Harry indicated, eyes still shut as he sat cross-legged by Mazzy and Mick on the floor, June also sitting on one of the twins' bed.

Before the two parents gave birth to June, Harry insisted that it would be vital to teach their children meditation: a practice that would help them understand and work through their emotions. (y/n) agreed quickly, after hearing many testimonials online of increased mindfulness in small toddlers. Harry tried more often than not to do what he called "Good Morning Heart" exercises before school, but if he was out (y/n) had no problem doing it alone. Today though, the two woke up slightly later than usual and had to split up their duties.

"Okay, good. Keep your eyes closed for now, my bugs. I want you to think about one thing you hope to achieve today. Talk to a new kid maybe, or participate in class. Anything, and take another deep breath as you think of it."

"Dada, done now," Mazzy said, smiling wide at her father. Obviously having meditated her whole life (although they didn't consider it meditation, more so family time) she was used to these exercises and her father leading the group. She didn't know exactly why they did it, but being able to frame your day as positive before it even starts did boost her already positive demeanor.

"Good job baby, so proud of you. Why don't you go run down to see your mama? Not on the stairs though."

"I take her, dada!" Mick excitedly said, unknowingly to others, his positive goal for the day was protecting his 'baby' sister.

Harry smiled, dimples shinning as he saw the two siblings scurry down the hall. "Finished bug?" He asked as June and he were the only two left in the twins' room.

"Yeah, going to ask mom about everything."

"She's ready, and she's so fucking proud of you."

"Thank you, Dad, for everything. I mean it." June leaned over to give him a hug, making her cheek squish against his shoulder. He moved his head over to give her a kiss over her hair, closing his eyes for a second, basking in the life full of love he manifested.

"You didn't hear it from me, but I have an insider report your mum made chocolate pancakes."

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"Come here for your kisses, don't try to weasel out of it," (y/n) laughed, putting her arm over the center console to pucker her lips. Mick was first, giving his mom a kiss on the cheek, dimples resembling his father's. Mazzy followed with obtaining their daily kiss before daycare, both stumbling their way out of the car to meet a teacher that helped them inside. "God they're so precious, as are you," (y/n) said, as she softly pinches June's cheek.

"Mooom," June dragged, now in the 'always embarrassed by parents' teenager phase. "Could we talk about Yesterday? You know, with whatever Dad said?”

“Yes! Actually, before we start would it be cool if we play hooky?” There wasn’t a ‘cooler’ parent between the two as they usually were very lenient, but this definitely bought (y/n) some cool parent points.

“What?! Are you sure? Is Dad okay with it?”

“Of course, he encouraged it really. Just a girl's day for us, can go shopping and eat lunch? Whad’ya think babe?”

“Freak it.” Or for translation, June’s way of saying fuck it.

—————

“Can you maybe … tell me how it worked for you? How you … decided?” June said nervously, still nervous about the topic.

“Yeah, of course, baby. It’s a much longer story than your fathers, but I’ll try to condense it:

“At your age, it’s such a period of confusion, and a lot of times your family can agitate that. From seventh grade to about my senior year of high school, I had what I now call my ‘identity crisis. Really, it was rooted in sexual confusion and overall expression but at the time, it was the most dramatic thing happening since the death of mom.”

The two were sitting in the car, having stopped by a local cafe for coffee before sitting in the mall parking lot. It was an odd place, but comfortable given the two were together. (y/n) and Harry prided themselves off of being an open family and sharing details of their past, but this wasn’t something June had heard of in such detail yet. Because of this, she was extremely absorbed in what her mother was saying.

“It’s really funny to me now, because that’s how I deal with things, I guess. But at the moment, I was-“ (y/n) turned her head to look out the window of the car, needing a small moment before recalling the most difficult time of her life. “It’s ridiculous because I know I should say losing mom was painful, but this whole sexuality thing tore me apart in a different way. It was silent, and it was internal. There was no one I could tell, not until my junior year.

“Anyway, going back to the plotline, yes. I did have a close friend I liked. She is mainly the reason I began to question, that and being a little too obsessed with Stevie Nicks. Sidebar: that was one thing that your father and I initially bonded on.” (y/n) finally lifted her head to see her daughter who stared at her with much adoration. Although she was a mother, this specific conversation still made her extremely insecure due to years of denial from family. She could only hope to raise her kids in a contrasting environment. “It was really hard, and I did become depressed and, well, suicidal frankly. Coming from a background like mine, there isn’t a ‘good’ view on anyone who is gay and that combined with my father's overall conserved nature, I was terrified. Then there was the back-and-forth: am I gay? Am I straight? Am I faking it? Does it matter? And the answer, to the last one at least, is yes it does fucking matter.”

“It made you that sad? Trying to figure it out? Dad says I’ll always be the same girl, why was it such a big deal for grandpa?”

“It was hard on me that I didn’t have someone noticing this pain I was going through. I, unfortunately, did not have someone to tell me that it was okay, and it was normal. God, I felt like such a deviant,” (y/n) laughed in an attempt at raising the mood. “When I finally got around to telling your grandpa, he said that mom mentioned it to him once, before she passed. He claims that she said I was going to be different, and he would have to understand that. Mothers always know. And he did, at least, he tried. It was hard to go from always saying future husband to future partner but he got the hang of it. You’re never too old to change your views and grandpa is the best example of that. He’s also very proud of his son-in-law for being so open about everything including sexuality, says that makes our relationship stronger and is the biggest reason he permitted your Dad to propose.”

"I don't even know what to say, that's kind of insane mom."

(y/n) laughed. The pain of her past has subsided over the years, and it was relieving to be able to recount it. "So insane. What else can I say about this? Two aunts were really rude about it and dad got so angry. It made me cry seeing him fight for me. After that, things just all worked out. It's still a hard topic, it took me forever to tell your dad. I thought he was going to be grossed out," (y/n) laughed again out of remembrance, cheeks warming from embarrassment.

"Mom! How could he, I'm sure he was the same as when you two met but dad would beat himself if he ever hurt you. And, that's really nice to hear about grandpa." June was amused over the change of topic and touched her mom was letting this information out.

"No, no. He's always been so attentive and needy," (y/n) giggled, June joining. "You should ask him about it, he's such a sap but that story especially gets a few tears out of him."

"Oh, definitely will do."

-------------

After the two had strolled around the mall a bit and found a few new pieces of clothing (what could (y/n) say, she had the tiniest shopping addiction) June opened up the conversation once more.

"So, how long does it take to know know."

"Oh babe, there's no number I can give you that works for everyone. You can't really but a timeline on these things. I will say there are stages, like definitely a questioning period, but you might not spend time experimenting with labels or you will. It's really hard to say. Personally, it was like six-ish years for me?"

They continued to roam the store, June now looking at jeans with embroidered details. "Hm." She looked deep in thought, but not nearly as conflicted as Harry described her to be the night prior. "I'm thinking about it mom, and I might be sure about it."

As (y/n) moved June into her arms into a Styles' classic bear hug, she hummed in joy. "I am so happy to hear that baby. We are so proud of you, and you're still our same baby but you're developing your identity and we're just so proud to be your parents. Please, babe, don't worry about this, we're here always to defend you through anything. Although, half of our friends and family are gay or something too." (y/n) gave her a smirk, both chuckling at the situation. "Now, if we're done here maybe we can stop by your dad's fav strawberry dealer, he sent me a message he was craving some."

June followed her mom out of the store after deciding to buy the jeans, body warming at the thought of having what she considered to be the best parents in the world.

_____________________________________________________

Part two done! kinda obsessed with this storyline now, so let me know what else you want to see from this precious family. ily!

A common thread of rebirth

is interwoven throughout nature, and all of Creation itself. a most beautiful thing, considering the current state of this world and what has become of the sacred universal garden of earth.

and what we see in the nature of the Scriptures is a significant thing, to be sure. and just as tonight signifies the anniversary of the receiving of Torah “Anew” i believe it is important to see the revelation of grace in the rebirth of the heart, the eternal spirit inside. the New Covenant and its baptism.

and this metamorphosis seems to be reflected in Today’s chapters from the Bible, with my personal preference for several years now of reading a chapter from each Testament each day moving through the books in sequential ordering of the 66 contained within, with this day being Isaiah 26 and 2nd Thessalonians 1, from which is seen a picture of transformation and simultaneously Judgment, which will happen at some point. yet, the children of God should have no fear of this, save that of the reverential fear of God which is a healthy fear that forms humility.

and as it relates to seeds, in what seems the death of Winter at times, yet what is actually taking place is a state of resurrection, when things are made new, just like in Spring. and along these lines, a few years ago i typed a few lines about such in a plain & simple poem:

Book B

Chapter B [seeds]

1. (drop)

everything starts by a seed, drop a winter dream, death (or so it seems) life buried, underground wings

(january 16 : 2 grand-fourteen) dfroza

and for Today i thought i would include all of my chapters from the Scriptures so that if anyone may choose to read along with me, they may. because beyond a pair of chapters that i’ve tied Together in a way from each of the Testaments, i also read from the Psalms and Proverbs each day as well. with Today being Psalms 30, 72, and 150 for day 30 of the month, day 72 of the season, and day 150 of the year, to begin Anew tomorrow since the book concludes with number 150. and then following this set of “Songs” is Proverbs 30 for the day of the month, currently in may.

and i like how Psalm 30 was penned by David, and then 72 by his son Solomon. and to me, 72 is a number of significance because it is the alphabetic number of the word “marriage” when each letter of the word is added up as it corresponds to its position in the alphabet from 1 to 26 (from A to Z)

and a marriage proposal is the theme of the book of my heart and all of its letters with its engagement ring of instrumental music & poetry. something dear to me personally as a seed of genesis in befriending the heart of another, in the hope of paths crossing by an act of grace.

A pure Winter’s dream come True by turning the page to Spring (#2)

from Today’s reading that i did earlier from an actual book of paper pages, but then copied here on an illuminated screen to be shared:

(thank you for reading along, for however long you may be holding this gentle seed, to be…)

[Isaiah 26]

Stretch the Borders of Life

At that time, this song will be sung in the country of Judah: We have a strong city, Salvation City, built and fortified with salvation. Throw wide the gates so good and true people can enter. People with their minds set on you, you keep completely whole, Steady on their feet, because they keep at it and don’t quit. Depend on God and keep at it because in the Lord God you have a sure thing. Those who lived high and mighty he knocked off their high horse. He used the city built on the hill as fill for the marshes. All the exploited and outcast peoples build their lives on the reclaimed land.

The path of right-living people is level. The Leveler evens the road for the right-living. We’re in no hurry, God. We’re content to linger in the path sign-posted with your decisions. Who you are and what you’ve done are all we’ll ever want. Through the night my soul longs for you. Deep from within me my spirit reaches out to you. When your decisions are on public display, everyone learns how to live right. If the wicked are shown grace, they don’t seem to get it. In the land of right living, they persist in wrong living, blind to the splendor of God.

You hold your hand up high, God, but they don’t see it. Open their eyes to what you do, to see your zealous love for your people. Shame them. Light a fire under them. Get the attention of these enemies of yours. God, order a peaceful and whole life for us because everything we’ve done, you’ve done for us. O God, our God, we’ve had other masters rule us, but you’re the only Master we’ve ever known. The dead don’t talk, ghosts don’t walk, Because you’ve said, “Enough—that’s all for you,” and wiped them off the books. But the living you make larger than life. The more life you give, the more glory you display, and stretch the borders to accommodate more living!

O God, they begged you for help when they were in trouble, when your discipline was so heavy they could barely whisper a prayer. Like a woman having a baby, writhing in distress, screaming her pain as the baby is being born, That’s how we were because of you, O God. We were pregnant full-term. We writhed in labor but bore no baby. We gave birth to wind. Nothing came of our labor. We produced nothing living. We couldn’t save the world.

But friends, your dead will live, your corpses will get to their feet. All you dead and buried, wake up! Sing! Your dew is morning dew catching the first rays of sun, The earth bursting with life, giving birth to the dead.

Come, my people, go home and shut yourselves in. Go into seclusion for a while until the punishing wrath is past, Because God is sure to come from his place to punish the wrong of the people on earth. Earth itself will point out the bloodstains; it will show where the murdered have been hidden away.

The Scroll of Isaiah, Chapter 26 (The Message)

[2nd Thessalonians 1]

I, Paul, together with Silas and Timothy, greet the church of the Thessalonian Christians in the name of God our Father and our Master, Jesus Christ. Our God gives you everything you need, makes you everything you’re to be.

Justice Is on the Way

You need to know, friends, that thanking God over and over for you is not only a pleasure; it’s a must. We have to do it. Your faith is growing phenomenally; your love for each other is developing wonderfully. Why, it’s only right that we give thanks. We’re so proud of you; you’re so steady and determined in your faith despite all the hard times that have come down on you. We tell everyone we meet in the churches all about you.

All this trouble is a clear sign that God has decided to make you fit for the kingdom. You’re suffering now, but justice is on the way. When the Master Jesus appears out of heaven in a blaze of fire with his strong angels, he’ll even up the score by settling accounts with those who gave you such a bad time. His coming will be the break we’ve been waiting for. Those who refuse to know God and refuse to obey the Message will pay for what they’ve done. Eternal exile from the presence of the Master and his splendid power is their sentence. But on that very same day when he comes, he will be exalted by his followers and celebrated by all who believe—and all because you believed what we told you.

Because we know that this extraordinary day is just ahead, we pray for you all the time—pray that our God will make you fit for what he’s called you to be, pray that he’ll fill your good ideas and acts of faith with his own energy so that it all amounts to something. If your life honors the name of Jesus, he will honor you. Grace is behind and through all of this, our God giving himself freely, the Master, Jesus Christ, giving himself freely.

The Letter of 2nd Thessalonians, Chapter 1 (The Message)

[Psalm 30]

A David Psalm

I give you all the credit, God— you got me out of that mess, you didn’t let my foes gloat.

God, my God, I yelled for help and you put me together. God, you pulled me out of the grave, gave me another chance at life when I was down-and-out.

All you saints! Sing your hearts out to God! Thank him to his face! He gets angry once in a while, but across a lifetime there is only love. The nights of crying your eyes out give way to days of laughter.

When things were going great I crowed, “I’ve got it made. I’m God’s favorite. He made me king of the mountain.” Then you looked the other way and I fell to pieces.

I called out to you, God; I laid my case before you: “Can you sell me for a profit when I’m dead? auction me off at a cemetery yard sale? When I’m ‘dust to dust’ my songs and stories of you won’t sell. So listen! and be kind! Help me out of this!”

You did it: you changed wild lament into whirling dance; You ripped off my black mourning band and decked me with wildflowers. I’m about to burst with song; I can’t keep quiet about you. God, my God, I can’t thank you enough.

The Book of Psalms, Song 30 (The Message)

[Psalm 72]

A Solomon Psalm

Give the gift of wise rule to the king, O God, the gift of just rule to the crown prince. May he judge your people rightly, be honorable to your meek and lowly. Let the mountains give exuberant witness; shape the hills with the contours of right living. Please stand up for the poor, help the children of the needy, come down hard on the cruel tyrants. Outlast the sun, outlive the moon— age after age after age. Be rainfall on cut grass, earth-refreshing rain showers. Let righteousness burst into blossom and peace abound until the moon fades to nothing. Rule from sea to sea, from the River to the Rim.

Foes will fall on their knees before God, his enemies lick the dust. Kings remote and legendary will pay homage, kings rich and resplendent will turn over their wealth. All kings will fall down and worship, and godless nations sign up to serve him, Because he rescues the poor at the first sign of need, the destitute who have run out of luck. He opens a place in his heart for the down-and-out, he restores the wretched of the earth. He frees them from tyranny and torture— when they bleed, he bleeds; when they die, he dies.

And live! Oh, let him live! Deck him out in Sheba gold. Offer prayers unceasing to him, bless him from morning to night. Fields of golden grain in the land, cresting the mountains in wild exuberance, Cornucopias of praise, praises springing from the city like grass from the earth. May he never be forgotten, his fame shine on like sunshine. May all godless people enter his circle of blessing and bless the One who blessed them.

Blessed God, Israel’s God, the one and only wonder-working God! Blessed always his blazing glory! All earth brims with his glory. Yes and Yes and Yes.

The Book of Psalms, Song 72 (The Message)

[Psalm 150]

Hallelujah! Praise God in his holy house of worship, praise him under the open skies; Praise him for his acts of power, praise him for his magnificent greatness; Praise with a blast on the trumpet, praise by strumming soft strings; Praise him with castanets and dance, praise him with banjo and flute; Praise him with cymbals and a big bass drum, praise him with fiddles and mandolin. Let every living, breathing creature praise God! Hallelujah!

The Book of Psalms, Song 150 (The Message)

[Proverbs 30]

The Words of Agur Ben Yakeh

God? Who Needs Him?

The skeptic swore, “There is no God! No God!—I can do anything I want! I’m more animal than human; so-called human intelligence escapes me.

“I flunked ‘wisdom.’ I see no evidence of a holy God. Has anyone ever seen Anyone climb into Heaven and take charge? grab the winds and control them? gather the rains in his bucket? stake out the ends of the earth? Just tell me his name, tell me the names of his sons. Come on now—tell me!”

The believer replied, “Every promise of God proves true; he protects everyone who runs to him for help. So don’t second-guess him; he might take you to task and show up your lies.”

And then he prayed, “God, I’m asking for two things before I die; don’t refuse me— Banish lies from my lips and liars from my presence. Give me enough food to live on, neither too much nor too little. If I’m too full, I might get independent, saying, ‘God? Who needs him?’ If I’m poor, I might steal and dishonor the name of my God.”

Don’t blow the whistle on your fellow workers behind their backs; They’ll accuse you of being underhanded, and then you’ll be the guilty one!

Don’t curse your father or fail to bless your mother.

Don’t imagine yourself to be quite presentable when you haven’t had a bath in weeks.

Don’t be stuck-up and think you’re better than everyone else.

Don’t be greedy, merciless and cruel as wolves, Tearing into the poor and feasting on them, shredding the needy to pieces only to discard them.

A leech has twin daughters named “Gimme” and “Gimme more.”

Four Insatiables

Three things are never satisfied, no, there are four that never say, “That’s enough, thank you!”— hell, a barren womb, a parched land, a forest fire.

An eye that disdains a father and despises a mother— that eye will be plucked out by wild vultures and consumed by young eagles.

Four Mysteries

Three things amaze me, no, four things I’ll never understand— how an eagle flies so high in the sky, how a snake glides over a rock, how a ship navigates the ocean, why adolescents act the way they do.

Here’s how a prostitute operates: she has sex with her client, Takes a bath, then asks, “Who’s next?”

Four Intolerables

Three things are too much for even the earth to bear, yes, four things shake its foundations— when the janitor becomes the boss, when a fool gets rich, when a whore is voted “woman of the year,” when a “girlfriend” replaces a faithful wife.

Four Small Wonders

There are four small creatures, wisest of the wise they are— ants—frail as they are, get plenty of food in for the winter; marmots—vulnerable as they are, manage to arrange for rock-solid homes; locusts—leaderless insects, yet they strip the field like an army regiment; lizards—easy enough to catch, but they sneak past vigilant palace guards.

Four Dignitaries

There are three solemn dignitaries, four that are impressive in their bearing— a lion, king of the beasts, deferring to none; a rooster, proud and strutting; a billy goat; a head of state in stately procession.

If you’re dumb enough to call attention to yourself by offending people and making rude gestures, Don’t be surprised if someone bloodies your nose. Churned milk turns into butter; riled emotions turn into fist fights.

The Book of Proverbs, Chapter 30 (The Message)

Campaign For Life

Hey! I'm making a campaign for Life, which might sound like it covers many thing, but sadly, there is only one thing I know we are all in absolute control of: fighting to stay alive. Now, for most people, this might seem like a stupid thing to need to campaign for, because a lot of people don't even look at it as a fight, or as something that might be a struggle, for many it's literally as easy as breathing air in and out. However, not everyone is lucky enough to feel this way, to have this easy way out. And, yes, if you haven't caught on yet, I am talking about fighting against suicide. Now, before I say what I'm going to say next, those of you who have recently thought, or are currently thinking, about how it's easier to not live, about how nobody would care and it's hard to find a reason to want to live anymore, please DO NOT stop reading at my next sentence, even if that's your automatic response to what I'm going to say. Please, just KEEP READING until the very end, please, and then, from there, you can decide whether or not you'll take what I have to say and really think about it and put it to use, or just ignore it and go on as you have. And for those of you who are happy with life right now, still keep reading, because even if you don't have these problems, doesn't mean there isn't a bunch of people out there who do, and one share from you could save MILLIONS of lives. Ok, I'm about to say it, the thing that I was talking about, so prepare yourselves: I, myself, have NEVER, not once, thought of killing myself. And before those of you who have and currently do, scoff and move on, please let me explain why. It's not that I haven't ever felt depressed before, in fact I'm constantly struggling with things like depression and anxiety, perhaps not to the severe level as a lot of people do, but it's not like I have a perfect life either. And, I've had my share of loss. Not the death kind, mind you, so not the entirely, mind-numbing, can't function without crying for weeks type of loss, but instead, the kind where I know the people that I'm losing are still here, but I also know that whatever be the situation between us, rather purposefully or just by necessity, I will probably never talk to or see them again. And I know everyone deals with loss like this all the time, it's part of life, it's change, which is entirely inevitable, however, its effected me to a point where I find that I actually expect people to leave me, and I don't find myself grieving when they are gone. And I hate that, because this has single-handedly made it nearly impossible for me to ever trust ANYONE, or become close to anyone. And this is a type of detachment that, were I not to have the morales and ideas that I possess, I would probably be at least a little bit suicidal. But no, I don't mean to just go on about my more or less hard life struggles, but, instead, first tell you why, even through all of this, I still wake up with this drive to keep going. It's simple really: I just refuse to let stupid, present struggles and worries attack me so much that I choose to give up my own life for it. See, I have this idea that, even if at some point I think that NO ONE would care if I were to be gone, it wouldn't be fair to myself to let them get me so upset that I actually give in and quit. Sure, sometimes it seems like it would be just SO nice to write them a nice little note about how awful they've treated me and why they are the reason I'm no longer alive, but then I realize that I can blame them, get upset with them, then upset with myself, ALL I want, but if I'm really not as important to them as I'm sure I'm not, then how impactful will this really be. And he bigger question, is "glorifying", in a sense, my death really the way to go, or is it going to cause more strife and death. What we all need to see is that living our life is kind of like driving a car: we MUST be defensive drivers. Because, yeah! It would be SO easy if I saw someone not stop at that red light, but keep going through it, for me to just go ahead and expect THEM to see me and stop, or, well, if they don't, then it's their fault if I get hurt or killed and NOT MINE. But that's not how it works. Because the thing we don't realize when we do that, is that not only are we putting those people in danger, the driver and the passengers, but also all of the people around us. The people behind us might see us start to go and follow, then have a possibility of crashing into us, and the people behind them. WHEN WE ARE NOT DEFENSIVE, WHEN WE MAKE STUPID, RASH DECISIONS OUT OF ANGER, SADNESS, AND HATE, WE PUT MORE THEN JUST OURSELVES IN DANGER. So basically, what this whole crazy and stupid driving metaphor is saying, is that, even though we might get hurt, a lot, others might make us second-guess ourselves, or think so lowly of ourselves that we think it would be better if we no longer existed, we must be a defensive driver, and pull out, think wisely. Not only for ourselves, however much we think we deserve it or think they deserve it, but also for those around us, those who might not even be involved in this whole thing in the first place, but simply a little too close to us, to the situation. Because it's not only ourselves we are injuring, possibly even killing, when we make these types of decisions, but also those who might have cared for us, or who were struggling with the same thing of their own, and our good-bye letter inspired them to finally write on of their own. No wants there to be war, to be needless killing out there, but no one is making any moves toward peace. I don't think most people even realize what peace is, because it's not the short calm, the treaty, after a long line of battles. Peace isn't about fighting at all; you can't fight for peace, because peace means that there simply NOTHING to have to fight for. And I'm not saying this so that you think that you should stop fighting to live and just let the peace of death come over you, because that's also not a step toward peace. It may seen like it though, but what you don't realize when you make the final decision to leave, is that what you're actually doing is creating the spark that will fire up a different war than the one you were fighting. People always argue that peace IS POSSIBLE, but I'm here to tell you that, sorry, but it's not. I'm not going to lie to you and say it's all going to be better, because that's just NOT HOW LIFE WORKS. Life isn't fair, the world does suck, and there are people out there, there will always be people out there, who don't want to do the right thing. That's just the way it is. But, as I said earlier, that is not what I'm campaigning. See, no one can stop war, any war for that matter, but everyone can make he decision to keep fighting no matter what, until the VERY end, until the other side comes out with a hydrogen bomb and wipes out your entire world, until you have ABSOLUTELY no soldiers left. And even then, keep fighting until they have ripped you limb from limb, as gory as that might sound. Because even though peace isn't attainable, you are still fighting for SOMETHING. Everyone, even those with nothing, have something to fight for, even if it's simply so that you can give others the courage and strength to keep fighting themselves. Keep fighting. I'm campaigning for Life because Life tells the truth, no matter what, while Death constantly lies. Life openly says that it SUCKS, that it never guarantees fairness, that tomorrow you might lose everything while today you might gain everything. It never, ever, says that it's perfect, that it's sunshine, rainbows, and happiness. It doesn't become less hard because you want it too, sure, but never said that it would. That was NEVER part of the deal. Death, on other hand, lies. Death tells you that THIS is the only way, and Death always is sure to only promote how fantastic it'll be, it can be. And you might be thinking, you can't know if Life is lying or not, and same for Death, but you can. Because there is one BIG difference between the two of them, which is that with Life, well, there's people of all ages and different backgrounds who can assure you that it's not always good and that there are rough times, but Death has no one to say whether or not it's ever bad, except for Death itself. Main thing is: people want to believe that Death is easier, that it's peaceful, and that it promises better times than Life, and they can, because there is no one ALIVE to prove any different. Life, on the other hand, can make no such promises, because there are TRILLIONS UPON TRILLIONS of people out there living through it who could probably tell you just how much life can suck. Now, at this point, most of you have probably already moved on to another post, but for those of you who haven't, I hope you really got something out of this. If it helps, I like to think of life as a book, and this is because, the thing about books is that, you can have a fantastic beginning and the most stellar, spectacular, phenomenal ending, whether it be good or bad, but a book is nothing if it doesn't have a good, climatic middle. See, the thing is, when we read books, really, REALLY good books, sometimes, when it gets to those supremely tedious parts that make us worry that the ending won't be good, we start to have this desire to just skip to the end, just to see how it goes. But what happens is that when we look at the end, if it's not what we wanted, we can't bring ourselves to finish the book because there seems to be no point, and it would just be a waste of time. And if it's the ending we want, then we can't get ourselves stay dedicated to reading the whole rest of the book, eventually just skimming or putting it away for "another time" because the surprise is gone. And we no longer want to have to read all the bad parts when we know there's a happy ending anyways. That's because, if you skip to the end, you always miss out on the BEST PARTS. And the reality is, the best parts are sometimes the worst, not because of how awful they are, but because they reminded us how awesome it is when we get to the GREAT parts. Life is hard yes, and life is messy, but that's what makes it worth living. One of the characters in a great movie I was watching said, in response to someone remarking that they got to miss all the hard and messy parts of someone they love getting to the place that they are now, that: "Life is the messy parts." Living means having to fight, but, even though there are really cruel and awful parts that make you just want to give up sometimes, it's always worth it to get to be able to experience the really amazing and fantastic parts as well. Ok, we are finally here. The end of my never ending rant. To conclude this campaign for life, I want you, if you are still reading this, to pass this on. Share it. I encourage you to make this go national, international. And not because I want a lot of shares, or likes, or views, no, if I had wanted that, I could have just told you to share at the beginning and not made you read all of this to get to this point. But I want you to share this, because suicide and bullying and depression, and all that goes along with that, is a HUGE deal, and definitely not just something to be skimmed over. And, even though I know that this, in the grand scheme of things, might not even really reach those who really need it, I still want to believe that someone, even if it's just ONE person, might get my message and might live for even just ONE MORE DAY. If there's even the slightest possibility that this could save eve just one life, then I URGE EVERYONE to pass this on! Please! And if you are one of those who NEEDS this message, who I wrote this for, and even if you aren't, know that you are NEVER alone, and that even there is no one else out there for you, I PROMISE I WILL BE THERE FOR YOU! I promise! I don't know you, but I KNOW that I want you to live your life to its fullest, and I NEVER want you to feel like you are not enough. EVER. Please, please, please. Pass this on. Share. Tell others. And remind those around you that they are not alone. And remember to always be a defensive driver. Thank you, and keep on fighting. —with all my love, all my heart, all of me, a friend