​sick bed
Jesus in the room
I count my blessings


rockin' pneumonia
covered in prayer&
three blankets


day nine / new year's pneumonia


I've been sick in bed with pneumonia for almost two weeks now. New Year's Day it hit me. No warning. Within a few hours, a cough, chills, and a fever. Blindsided. And I had so many plans. I was ready this year. Ready to get my doctors in order, my writing in order, my house in order...

What do you do? Nothing. Really. I could barely keep my eyes open.

The first week was a blur. Day eight, I had a thought about what I wanted for breakfast. Improvement. Day thirteen, I am up and dressed (Pajama casual), cooking (instant oatmeal), writing   (a little), and watching a bit of TV. I still have trouble keeping my eyes open.

The thing is that I should've/could've gotten my pneumonia shot last year. My doctor highly recommended it, in fact he insisted, but I said no, for good reasons I might add, which I'll not go into here.

"I'll never get pneumonia," I thought.

The best-laid plans...

(Robert Burns is my new favorite poet)

So what do you do when there is nothing you can do?

What I haven't mentioned about being sick with pneumonia for two weeks is that I was really afraid. I was afraid that I would never get well, or that maybe I would die. I am almost 64 years old you know, stranger things have happened. 

When fear takes over, your imagination can run wild, and not in a good way. 

So what do you do?

I turn to the Word.

Why? 

Because Jesus knew that Satan uses fear to attack people. In fact, He was always telling people, his disciples mostly, not to be afraid.

There was the incident when Jesus was walking on the water and Peter and company thought He was a ghost!

Fear can paralyze. Fear can torment. Fear can keep you stuck in a place you don't want to be. Fear can keep you from getting well.

Jesus came to set us free from fear. He is stronger than fear. He is stronger than anything Satan can throw at you. Including pneumonia... 

So when I am afraid I let go of that fear and Freefall. I imagine God's hands stretched out underneath me and I know he will catch me. He hasn't missed yet! 

"The spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free..."

Luke 4: 18

There is something about Jesus announcing good news to the poor and freedom to the prisoners, recovery of sight for the blind and the lifting of the oppressed. Jesus can do it. Jesus did it and he does it today. All you have to do is open you hand and take the gift of freedom and life that He offers.

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."

John 3:16

​Have a good week!


hopefully,

Susan


PS Luke 4:18 was written especially for me. I know this because my birthday falls on April 18. Not a coincidence. What is your birthday verse?  ;)

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Stargazers
an appointment
in Bethlehem

midwinter moon: a collection of Christmas haiku
​By susan beth furst


January 6th is the day Christians around the world celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany,

Wise men came from the east to Jerusalem asking where the King of the Jews was to be born, because they had seen his star in the sky and had come to worship him. King Herod let them in on an ancient Jewish prophecy; that Jesus was to be born in Bethlehem. But Herod had ulterior motives. He asked the wise men to return to him when they found Jesus so that he could worship him too. Of course worship was not what King Herod had in mind for this new little threat to his throne.

The wise men continued their journey to Bethlehem and when they found the baby Jesus it was revealed to them that he was not only King of the Jews, but King of all mankind. Jesus was God Incarnate. It was also revealed to them not to return to Herod for he wanted to kill the child and so they departed another way to their own countries.

Matthew Chapter 2

That's it in a nutshell! Epiphany is all about revelation. In this case a revelation of God sized proportions!

January 6th is special for another reason. It was the day my husband and I met for the first time, at IHOP. Today is the eleven year anniversary of that meeting. I learned many things that day. Herb's mother and my mother had the same birthday. He also had the same first name of my favorite Uncle, Herb.

How many Herbs do you know?

I learned other things too. Herb's mom was from Poland and his dad was from Latvia. They were both holocaust survivors... 

Well, it was an auspicious night, and eleven years and ten years of marriage later, we are still learning things.

This morning, I realized that our anniversary and Epiphany were on the same date. This was a revelation to me. I wanted to know if Epiphany fell on January 6th every year, so I did a little research, and yes it does.

January 6th is now officially Epiphany and The Furst's First Date Day.  

So what about the dog barking?

I learned that in Latvia, if you hear a dog bark on Epiphany Day and look in the direction of the dog, you will see your future spouse.

Hmmmm, I might be stretching it a bit, but it was on Epiphany Day that I first saw my future spouse. We were at IHOP, not the one in Latvia of course, and there weren't any dogs around, but....

Just one more thing. As I said I am a Lutheran Christian and my husband is a Jewish believer. I was baptized, born and raised in the Lutheran church. Actually, I was born in Shadyside hospital, but it was very close to the Lutheran church. Herb went to Hebrew school, was bar mitzvah'd  at thirteen, and attended synagogue.

But he was born in Baltimore Lutheran Hospital...

Prophetic?

Perhaps,
​
Or maybe it was just meant to be...

Happy Epiphany!

hopefully,

​Susan

 The Princess and the Pearl: A Cautionary Haibun
 
Lily’s father took her to the Oyster House every Saturday. They sat at the small tables, on wobbly chairs, and ordered oysters and buttermilk. Lily liked hers with hot sauce and vinegar. She liked her buttermilk with three shakes of black pepper. Vintage photos of Miss America contestants lined the wall behind them. Boozy old men sat at the bar drinking beer and shots of whiskey.
 
     funnel clouds on the horizon spinning shades of gray
                            
 
One Saturday, Lily had a feeling that something extraordinary was going to happen.
“Perhaps this will be the day that I find my pearl,” she thought.
When the waiter brought the oysters to the table, Lily couldn’t decide which one to choose. So, she closed her eyes, made a wish, and picked the fat one on the right. She sank her teeth into the vinegar-laced breading. As it melted on her tongue, she felt something hard scrape against her tooth. Holding her breath and being very careful not to swallow, she extracted a rather large oddly-shaped yellow pearl.
“I found it! I found my pearl!” Lily squealed.
 
      free fall she steps into her red high heels
 
Lily’s father let out a loud laugh and the boozy old men turned and stared. The Miss Americas stared back. The bartender came out from behind the bar, drying his hands on his dingy white apron. He looked at the pearl and held it up to inspect it.
“I’ve never seen a pearl quite this color before,” he announced, as he buffed it with his dish rag. “And it’s so large and bumpy. I’m sure there’s not another one like it! You must have it made into a ring!”
 
                              the wizard behind the curtain smoke and mirrors
                                                                                                                                               
Suddenly the bar came alive. There were oohs and ahs from the old men. The bartender puffed out his chest. And everyone was talking about Lily and her pearl. She felt like a Princess. The Miss Americas continued to stare from the back wall. They knew what it was like to be a princess, to find your pearl and to lose it. But Lily was too young and too excited to notice them. She was too busy thinking about that ring and how she was going to find her Prince.
                             
                               still searching somewhere along the yellow brick road
 
  

by Susan Beth Furst
The Fredericksburg Literary & Art Review Spring & Summer 2018

How is your Sunday? I hope you are taking time to rest and relax. When God created the world he set aside a day to rest, not because he needed it, but for us. It is a tough world out there so I hope you will take this time to rest and enjoy your family and the day. 

A scripture of hope should you need some;

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16
​in my own words....

Something in the water
A Jewish transport arrives at Stutthof concentration camp. Down the road is the popular resort town of Krynica Morska. Families untouched by the Nazi nightmare splash in the waters of the Baltic Sea, oblivious.
 
holiday
at the beach                 she says goodbye
gentle waves               to her father at Auschwitz
 
Wetlands and beautiful pine forests, spotted with silver-birch and oak, surround the electric barbed-wire fences of Stutthof. Inside the fences typhus runs rampant.
 
two leaves
on a branch                  her friend says
white ash                     ‘I will be your sister now’
 
Just days before Liberation, the remaining prisoners at Stutthof are marched to the Baltic. Hundreds are forced into the water and shot. One of the survivors marries and immigrates to the United States. She vacations with her family every year at the beach.
 
untramped
in the snow                  she walks by the sea
purple crocus               washing the sand from her feet
                                   
Sonic Boom April 2018


​This haibun is one of my poems in my collection of holocaust poetry. I hope to publish them one day, but I feel that there are more to come. I write about the holocaust because it is a story, or should I say millions of stories, waiting to be told and remembered. It was a time of great suffering and fear. A time like no other in modern history. Ultimately a time of triumph, of good over evil. We would do well to remember. As a believer, I see it as a historical marker, a moment in time, from which the modern state of Israel was reborn. A prophecy fulfilled which will usher in a new Kingdom. One in which there are no more tears and no more dying.

​"And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Look! God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." 
​Revelation 21: 3-4 (NIV)

 
Coming back different
 
They found him behind the drapes in the living room hiding from the commies--
 
We follow the nurse down the long corridor at the VA Hospital where Uncle Herb lives. My shoes squeak on the white-tile floor.  As we enter the visitor’s area the nurse locks the doors behind us. I wonder if she will remember to let us out.
                                   
snow--
so many colors
of camouflage
 
Uncle Herb is staying with us for the weekend. I start to laugh when he sings White Christmas. He sounds just like Bing Crosby. I think he forgot to take his medicine though, because he’s talking non-stop again about his perpetual-motion machine. Dad tells him it won’t work but Uncle Herb won’t listen. He just keeps talking and they keep going round and round.
 
subway train
he checks his pocket
for another nickel
 
The music is loud at Lois’s wedding reception. Various aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews are celebrating, including Uncle Herb. The DJ is playing Devo and we are all out on the floor dancing. Lois succeeds in convincing Uncle Herb to join us. On a good day he does a pretty mean Freddie.
 
birdsong…
rapid fire of machine guns
in a distant field
 
It would have been enough that you survived Korea, the psychiatrists, all the Thorazine they pumped into you, the weekend passes, the group homes, and us. But those awards—the ones they found in your room—for the thousands of hours you spent taking care of the patients at the VA. How did you do it? We thought you were just drinking coffee, at McDonald’s, with your friends. Seems you had a little bit more in mind. Oohrah!
 
the old lot
between the cracks
daffodil blooms
 
 
 
For my Uncle Herb...you "whipped it good!"
 
 

The Chase

​Are you tired
of looking
for love?
​You won't find it here
in this world,
at best a counterfeit
for a time.
​But always the chase,
I can't get no
satisfaction,
Its never enough.
And then 
when the weight 
Is just too hard to bear,
In the nick of time,
staring you in the face,
​Open arms.

God sized hole
perfect
​fit


Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest."  Matthew 11:28-30 (NLT)

​It is no coincidence that you are here. God speaks to us all the time. If he spoke to you today, would you let me know, with a like or a comment? Thank you! Sometimes I feel like I am lost in space... But then I know that would be impossible, because God knows right where I am. He promised never to leave me. And I believe him. After all, He's God!

In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn towards the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary to see the Sepulchre...
Matthew 28:1

​Isn't it just like the women to get up early and check on things? In Matthew's account it was the two Marys, in John's it was Mary Magdalene, in Luke's it was the two Marys, Joanna, and other women. 

​And what did they find? 

​And behold, there was a great earthquake: for the Angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.
​Matthew 28: 2

Well, they weren't expecting that!

​And the Angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here, for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
Matthew 28:6

He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!

​And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All Hail. And they came and held him by the feet and worshipped him. Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.
Matthew 28: 9-10

​And isn't it just like Jesus to appear to the women first; women who had little worth in first century Jewish culture, or Roman, or Greek culture, for that matter, and entrust them with the most important news in the universe! 

​So the enemy thought he had him. Jesus suffered, died, and was buried, for our sin. But Sunday morning came and he went and rose from the dead! Imagine That!  And all believers will do the same, and live with him forever!!! That is the Good News!
 

​You can read the whole story in the Bible, the book of Matthew, chapter 28. May I suggest you try the New Living Translation or if you are feeling adventurous, The Message. You can find these and many other translations online at www.biblegateway.com.

He is Risen!
​He is Risen Indeed!

​And oh, by the way, The tomb is still empty!


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And as they sat and did eat, Jesus said, "Verily I say unto you, One of you which eateth with me shall betray me."
And they began to be sorrowful, and to say unto him one by one, Is it I? and another said, Is it I?
​Mark 14:18-19 KJV

​The Last Supper, the Jewish Passover, Jesus was celebrating with his disciples, the twelve. But one would betray Him, and Jesus knew, and yet He loved him even then. He forgave him, even then.

​After the Passover meal Jesus went with His disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray.
And while he yet spake, behold a multitude, and he that was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them, and drew near unto Jesus to kiss him.
But Jesus said unto him, "Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?"
Luke 22:47-48

​But Judas couldn't accept His forgiveness. And he went out and hung himself.

I am Judas. I have betrayed Jesus. My sin is why He chose to die on a cross. He hung there for me, because of me.

Do you know sin? Do you know how it feels? It is heavy. It brings death to everything it touches. Death to God's beautiful creation​, Death to God's beautiful creatures, and death to us. It brought death to Jesus...

​Or so the enemy thought, God had other plans...

​Good Friday
the cross
​stripped
naked

Come back on Sunday, for the rest of the story...

​Spoiler Alert: It's Good News!!

One of my favorite memories of Easter Sunday, was going to Phipps Conservatory for the Spring Flower Show! My sisters and me would skip down the brick paths, in our patent leather shoes and Easter bonnets. My favorite room was the orchid room. Pink and purple orchids hung from moss covered trees.  A thousand panes of glass and blue sky reflected in the pond below. Back in the 60's they had live music. And the organist, dressed in her flowered dress and very, very, large and frilly Easter bonnet played Peter Cottontail and Easter Parade. I imagined that I was Judy Garland dancing with Fred Astaire, through the flowers... 
​
Phipps Conservatory is still around but the organ is long gone, not to mention the organist. People don't dress up anymore, and the crowds are much smaller, hardly the parade that used to snake through the conservatory on Easter Sunday. But sometimes in my dreams, I find myself holding hands with my sisters, the ribbons on our bonnets fluttering behind us, as we skip down the brick path, Fred and Judy just around the bend in the orchid room...

​A haiga is a poetic form which blends image and poetry (usually haiku). The painting is one of my first attempts at watercolor, and the haiku was inspired by my painting...

​Please visit my store...Humpty Dumpty Cracks and All, makes a great gift A story about a cracked egg and a miraculous transformation, sounds like an Easter story to me...