Writing Challenge

Those of you who frequent Upsidedownbee's blog will recognize this picture.  She issued a challenge to write a piece of prose or a five line poem of anything that comes to mind when we look at this picture (where she stole it from who knows).   Since she is my writing "buddy" I think I should take up this "call" and write.  Then at the end of this fifty word exercise, I will issue my own writing challenge. 

  If you do, please either send it to me by email (omnibuscross@yahoo.com) or leave a comment in the comment section and leave your blog address.  Happy writing.  

 

Some were surprised at the force of the winds that day.  Most of all,  people were amazed that the tornado only hit one house.  It tore it almost completely off of it's foundation.  The only thing that was left of it was a tiny part of the kitchen where Ida used to sit for hours waiting by the phone.  

 

(56, I guess that is close to 50)

It is hard just to write 5o words!!!

Lynn's Challenge: 

Describe sitting in a small boat out on the water, without mentioning the following words:  water, blue, green, rocky, wavy, hot, cold,  or fish.

Can't wait to hear from you.  

Sit Down Saturdays Vol. #1

Don't we all look forward to Saturdays?  Those days when we can relax just a bit, let down our guard just a bit, and not worry about makeup!!  I recently bought a hammock to put under the deck.  I am going to put it up today, move a small table on the porch next to it with some chairs, and get ready for any moment I can to climb into it, sip lemonade (sugar free), and read.  I have envisioned this for weeks.  It has not yet come to fruition, but in my mind, I can feel the breeze, taste the tart sensation of lemons, and I have just ordered a new book on Amazon.  Upside Down Bee just told me of this great novel that she is reading, and I just had to order it this morning.  It might just be the next "Tuesday Tome's" review. I really do not have enough books.
As I was reflecting back over this week, I became more and more grateful for what God had done. From the ashes He has brought forth the beginnings of even greater fruit, unbelievable answers to prayer, and a zeal for Him that was not there before.
Bekah's award ceremony at school was yesterday. I was dreading it because I would be going back into the church where I would be assaulted by memories, enemies, and despair. Immediately when I woke up yesterday morning, I did not have a qualm in my soul. In fact, I was looking forward to seeing some of the people that had made my life so rich the last fifteen years. I know someone was praying for me. I felt carried along by His Spirit. It was a blessed time of confirmation, consolation, and comfort from friends that will be friends forever. Mr. Johnson, my former headmaster, acknowledged me publicly. God gives us the affirmation that we need just when we need it. The biggest blessing that I had though, was watching my daughters Katie, and Bekah. They finished the race, they had courage in the face of animosity, and they trusted God in a hard place. It was Bekah's choice to go back, and Katie's too. Katie tuned her heart to her precious students, and did not look back. They both are an example that I looked to yesterday in walking back into the church. What a blessing I would have missed if I had not followed my daughter's examples. My seventh and eighth graders ran up to me afterwards and blessed my soul. Oh, how I miss teaching, and especially miss them. They stuffed Frodo, and Aragorn into the trunk of my car, and gave me a blessing beyond belief. Life can't get better than this.

Still awaiting the Bridegroom, sometimes on my hammock.....Lynn

Thirsty Thursdays Vol. #1/Fruitful Fridays Vol. #1

The Old Testament saints of old were truly just that, saints.  They looked forward in faith to the Messiah that would come.  I want to devote my Thursdays to these "Thirsty Saints."  With that said, I am very behind this week.  Here it is Saturday and I am posting for Thursday.  Shame on me.  Since I am that behind, I will also go ahead and explain what I will do on Fridays from now on.  I am going to devote those days to the New Testament and calling it "Fruitful Fridays." Christ fulfilled the Covenant of the Old Testament, and the New Testament saints became the Fruit of His passion.  Those dear ones showed us the way to look forward to a time that is still future, the Second Advent of the Lord.  Somedays more than others I can hear myself say, "Even so, Come Lord Jesus, Come."

Awaiting the Bridegroom to come sweep me off my feet.......Lynn

Worldview Wednesday; vol. #1

If you have been reading my posts for the last three days, then you know that I have had to come up with a creative way to keep me writing consistently.  Monday will be "The Chronicles of Snobbery," Tuesdays will be "Tuesday's Tomes," and today (Wednesday) was intended to be "Worldview Wednesday."  If you know me even just a bit, you know that one of my passions is teaching a biblical world and life view.  I may not be able to give you directions worth beans, but I could at least carry on a somewhat descent conversation about the philosophical understandings of the basic building blocks of theology, history, literature, and in particular the Bible.  I do intend to write about those topics in my blog, but I have to make it interesting.  I have already been known to "kill" a book club or two, end a conversation dead in it's tracks, or derail a perfectly wonderful conversation about hair and nails.  

This week has not been a normal week to say the least.  So, if you will indulge me, I would like to write about how my worldview has grown significantly larger.  The worldview that I speak of is a view from a vantage point a long way away, many thousands of miles in fact.  We have been given the invitation to minister, not from the US, but from the Philippines. Now that is a different view of the world.   The last two summers I have had the wonderful privilege to go to Manila, and have fallen in love with the country and it's people.  They are loving, giving, family oriented people that I learned a great deal from the times that I have gone to visit.  We, at this point, feel led to at least start the process while we explore other possibilities stateside. There are many questions looming on the horizon to be answered, explored, and mulled over. We are asking God for a calling, not a job, or a position.  Now that's a worldview of another color!

Waiting on the Bridegroom for direction.......Lynn

Tuesday's Tomes-Vol. #1

Yesterday, on Monday's The Chronicles of Snobbery, I explained that to encourage me to keep writing daily that everyday would have a different theme based on one of my passions.  Today is going to be titled, "Tuesday's Tomes."  I really do not know if you could just say that books are my passion, I think they are more like an obsession.  I gravitate to book stores, like bees to honey.  Ken calls me Amazon.com's Customer of the Year numerous years running.  I always have to check the bibliography in the back of books that I read, and that always leads to more book buying.  Then there are the times when I peruse a used book store and end up with a bag full.  

To say all of that, I am completely intrenched with books.  I would like to believe that it is a reflection on the fact that Christ is called the Word.  He would have us fall in love with words, truth, and wisdom from those words.  I have gained much from phrases, well spoken sentences and words.  I truly do not understand how one gets along everyday without reading.  Ideas have consequences, ideas are spread by words.  Words have power far beyond the power of the atomic bomb.  Words shape us, mold us, encourage us, or defeat us.  That is why every Tuesday will be devoted to tomes in one way or the other.  

Personal note:  Being in the smack dab middle of trying to move, please be patient with my writing.  If you have every moved you can understand it is tough on the body.  On this particular Tuesday Ken and are are going to the PCA head quarters to talk to the head "dudes" about the next step in our lives.  On the road again...........

The Chronicles of Snobbery; Vol. 1

The last post about moving has hit me between the eyes, or should I say between the muscles of my back, shoulders and arms.  Moving is hard work.  Thrilled to have a place to put all my families "junk," I am also still going through the process of lifting, moving, and sorting through fifteen years of memories.  At the end of the day, my saying has been, "let's just throw it all away," but of course that is not possible, practical, or pleasing to the family members that surround me.  

I apologize for not writing, for i truly want you all to continue to enjoy my writing.  If i do not post anything, most of you will drift away to something much more interesting, and consistent.  To help with this dilemma, because it is a dilemma,  and because every night, all i want to do is fall into bed, and not write a blog post.  My friend, upsidedownbee, came up with a solution to keep the posts coming, the information current, and the fingers moving across my laptop.  Every day of the week we have come up with a title for each specific day.  These titles will match the passions of my heart.  Monday, today, is titled "The Chronicles of Snobbery."  

C. S. Lewis noticed a phenomenon that is still alive and well.  He called it chronological snobbery.  Moderns, he said, were ever putting down the people, the ideas, and the accomplishments of the past.  If you have ever seen the myriad of caricatures of men and women of the past being dumb, ignorant, or just out and out lame, you have witnessed chronological snobbery.  i have titled Mondays as a tribute to the past.  Without history we have no future.  Without knowing our past we will be doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past.  This applies in history as well as all of our various lives.  Mondays will have a wide range of topics, but always some how will be related to the past.  

I love writing, i love having feed back about my writing, good or bad.  Hopefully reading this you have learned something about Lewis, and that history is one of my passions.  History is His-Story,  all of your history, as well as the general large story.  God has a plan for it all.  Right now in my life i have no problem accepting that general big picture of God's plan.  What i am having a hard time with is that the plan He has for me is not comfortable at all.  I am confident that it is His plan, but it "don't feel good."  

I am learning on a different, deeper level that God's plan revolves around God, not me and my comforts.  Saints of Old, have gone out not knowing where they were going and so can i.  I will trust the Bridegroom once again who is holding on to my hand, and just as a bride looks longingly into the face of her lover, I will keep looking up, even though the path is hidden.  

Book Review: The Reason for God by Tim Keller

Tim Keller, a pastor in the heart of New York City, writes with the mind of an apologist and a  pastor's heart.  He has labored in probably one of the toughest areas of the country and God has seen fit to bless his ministry with around 6,000 people coming every week to three services.  Having read many different apologetic books, this one is the best I have ever read.  It is easy to read, understandable, and has some wonderful practical ways in which to talk and witness to your non-Christian friends.  

What makes this very different from some of the other works that I have read, is his assumptions about the lost among us.  His premise is that with the rise of the atheistic books that have come out this last year, including The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens' book God is not Great:  How Religion Poisons Everythingamong others, the openness and rise of theism is also prevalent.  The other premise that is unique to Keller, is that he points out that even though relativism is the philosophical belief of the day (note my previous post on relativism), the young non-Christians that he witnesses to are not morally neutral at all.  In chapter nine titled The Knowledge of God, he recounts a conversation with a young couple that say that they are moral relativists until Keller asks them to tell them something that they believe is really wrong.  The woman says that repression of women is always wrong.  Keller says he agrees with her because all human beings are made by God and should be treated with human dignity.  Then he goes on to ask her why she thought it was wrong.  She responds saying that everyone knows it is wrong to violate the rights of someone.  He points out that that is a western view of human rights.  Not all cultures in the world would say that women are afforded the same rights as men.  Then Keller says if there is no God then we have evolved from animals. Is it wrong to trample on someone's (animal) rights, then?  The husband says yes.  Keller then asks him why is it not wrong for animals to eat other animals.  The young man only held humans guilty of trampling on others rights.  He then asks them, "Why this double standard? Why did this couple insist that human beings had to be different from animals? Why were animals allowed to act as was natural to the rest of the animal world, and not humans?  Why did the couple keep insisting that humans had this great, unique individual dignity and worth?  Keller makes the point, "People still have strong moral convictions, but unlike people in other times and places, they don't have any visible basis for why they find some things ot be evil and other things good.  It is almost like their moral intuitons are free-floating in midair-far off the ground."  (pp. 144-145)  

This view of presuppositional apologetics is not unique, but the way in which he approaches it is.   

The last part of the book is the best of all.  Keller presents the Gospel in beautiful language that personally I need to read and meditate on daily.  I read constantly, Tim Keller, a pastor in the heart of New York City, writes with the mind of an apologist and a  pastor's heart.  He has labored in probably one of the toughest areas of the country and God has seen fit to bless his ministry with around 6,000 people coming every week to three services.  Having read many different apologetic books, this one is the best I have ever read.  It is easy to read, understandable, and has some wonderful practical ways in which to talk and witness to your non-Christian friends.  

What makes this very different from some of the other works that I have read, is his assumptions about the lost among us.  His premise is that with the rise of the atheistic books that have come out this last year, including The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens' book God is not Great:  How Religion Poisons Everythingamong others, the openness and rise of theism is also prevalent.  The other premise that is unique to Keller, is that he points out that even though relativism is the philosophical belief of the day (note my previous post on relativism), the young non-Christians that he witnesses to are not morally neutral at all.  In chapter nine titled The Knowledge of God, he recounts a conversation with a young couple that say that they are moral relativists until Keller asks them to tell them something that they believe is really wrong.  The woman says that repression of women is always wrong.  Keller says he agrees with her because all human beings are made by God and should be treated with human dignity.  Then he goes on to ask her why she thought it was wrong.  She responds saying that everyone knows it is wrong to violate the rights of someone.  He points out that that is a western view of human rights.  Not all cultures in the world would say that women are afforded the same rights as men.  Then Keller says if there is no God then we have evolved from animals. Is it wrong to trample on someone's (animal) rights, then?  The husband says yes.  Keller then asks him why is it not wrong for animals to eat other animals.  The young man only held humans guilty of trampling on others rights.  He then asks them, "Why this double standard? Why did this couple insist that human beings had to be different from animals? Why were animals allowed to act as was natural to the rest of the animal world, and not humans?  Why did the couple keep insisting that humans had this great, unique individual dignity and worth?  Keller makes the point, "People still have strong moral convictions, but unlike people in other times and places, they don't have any visible basis for why they find some things ot be evil and other things good.  It is almost like their moral intuitons are free-floating in midair-far off the ground."  (pp. 144-145)  

This view of presuppositional apologetics is not unique, but the way in which he approaches it is.   

The last part of the book is the best of all.  Keller presents the Gospel in beautiful language that personally I need to read and meditate on daily.  I read constantly, I have read over 300 books in the last 2 1/2 years, and this one is one of the best non-fiction books I have read.  

Please tell me what you think.  Either on this blog site, lynnsmusings.blogspot.com, or email me ominbuscross@yahoo.com.

Awaiting the Bridegroom.......Lynn have read over 300 books in the last 2 1/2 years, and this one is one of the best non-fiction books I have read.  

Please tell me what you think.  Either on this blog site, lynnsmusings.blogspot.com, or email me ominbuscross@yahoo.com.

Awaiting the Bridegroom.......Lynn

Treasures

                                                                   (thought this was hilarious, called "Stacked"!!)

(the real me)

I am behind thus far this year from last year.  Maybe that is a good thing.  I hope that i am reading more carefully, slowly taking in the sweetest of nectar, and leaving the pollen behind.  

Books I have read thus far this year:

1. Great Expectations by C. Dickens
2. The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood (repeat) by Howard Pyle
3. Mr. Pip by Lloyd Jones
4. Drawn to the Light by Marilyn C. Macyntyre
5. Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges
6. Echo in Celebration by Leigh Bortins
7. The End of the Affair by Graham Greene
8. Henry V by Shakespeare
9. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (repeat) by JRR Tolkien
10. The Blessing Book by Linda Dillow
11. The Steadfast Heart by Elyse Fitzpatrick
12. The Reason For God by Tim Keller
13. The Unicorn by Anne Hathaway
14. The Tale of Three Kings by Gene Edwards
15. How to Write by Richard Rhodes
16. The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper
17. If You Want to Write by Brenda Ueland
18. The Seven Sayings of Christ on the Cross by AW Pink
19. Prayer by Richard Foster
20. Transfer of Power by Vince Flynn
21. Contending for Our All by John Piper
22. The Healing Path (repeat) by Dan Allendar
23. Paradise Lost by John Milton
24. King Arthur by Sir Mallory
25. Roses are Red by James Patterson
26. Transfer of Power by Vince Flynn
27. Separation of Power by Vince Flynn
28. No Graven Image by Elizabeth Elliot
29. The Third Option by Vince Flynn
30. The Sugar Solution 
31. Eat Right for Your Type by Dr. Peter J. P'Adamo
32. The Man from St. Petersburg by Ken Follett
33. Protect and Defend by Vince Flynn
34. Greenwitch by Susan Cooper
35. The Epistle of James by Thomas Manton

For Sale

Life is never going to be the same.  

Not too long ago I wrote a blog post about "Raisin Cakes Estates."  Sitting on my front porch that day I was thinking that someday in the long, unknown future I would not always be in my house.   Feeling very sentimental I was reliving, and remembering all that God had done in the confines of these walls.  Never, ever did I realize that the "future" would be today.  

Friday as I came home from doing errands, there was a for sale sign in my yard.  Ken and I had many chores to do and quickly got busy doing them.  I planted all the beds with newly bought flowers, pulled weeds, and planned the next set of chores that must be done when trying to sell a house.  Deciding  that if we wanted any of our hard work not to be destroyed, we would need to take all the pets to the lake house.  I packed up all of Dallas, Bama, and Rebel's belongings put them in my Excursion and took off at about 5 pm  that evening.  As I was driving out of the neighborhood passing all the homes of people that I have prayed for years; The Crowells, The Furby's, The Williamson's, The Martin's, The Crandall's,  The Stewarts,  I have alwaytried to remember to pray for these precious people as I passed their houses multiple times a day. Driving past their homes thinking of their children, families, and concerns brought on the tears that I have not let myself shed in days.  There were several times that I thought I would have to pull off the side of the road.  I cried all the way through Pinehurst, past the Hospital where Bekah was born, past The Leaches All State Office, past Ben's Ice Cream, past HWY 73 which reminded me of Lynette,  and Candy which brought on more tears.  I got myself a little under control by the time I passed Biscoe and Troy, but then pressing closer and closer to the Lake House I remembered all the gatherings down by the Lake.  The time the Holland boys experienced Fourth of July on the boat, and on the way back was over taken by a downpour! Also, the time that Dan got the rope stuck in the jet ski!  What a day he had.  I can still see Joe falling asleep on the couch, head cocked backward, mouth open, hands on his chest. Many women that I love very much have spent the weekend with me at the lake.  Sometimes for some very serious prayer or Bible Study time.  Sometimes kicking back, relaxing, and just talking-non-stop!  There were also times when God used the time for a real break through into a soul. The tears seemed to take over my entire body not just my eyes and face.

After being assaulted by memories that had been buried just because of living, I almost went back to church once again on Sunday.  I wanted badly to be able to say goodbye to the people that had made living in Southern Pines wonderful.  I chose not too, because I did not want to cause any kind of division.  I also did not fully trust my motives.  

Those of you that are reading this that do not understand what I am writing about, I apologize for the lack of clarity.  Those of you who do, please know that I love you, miss you, and long for the day when the Bridegroom unites us once again.   

Why do I have a picture of a pneumatic drill on my blog?

The crane to lift the pneumatic drill, originally uploaded by GavinBell.

Today me, my husband, and his brother drove down the beach to Apalachicola. This is a quaint, picturesque town about twenty-five miles from Port St. Joe. The town's antebellum homes are on streets that are lined with large, oak trees that feel as though they are going to envelope you into another time and place as you drive down the main streets. The spanish moss hangs like tinsel falling off of Christmas trees. The town caught my heart and my imagination. It captured the imaginations of the men that I was with as well. It had nothing to do with the homes, the colors, or the trees. No, it had to do with the large, pneumatic, crane and drill that was hammering a huge post into the water. We pulled off, sat there in the car for probably 20 minutes while watching these men working on this drill.
It was very comical to see other men also stop to stare at the site. There were two women and a man riding bikes down the street in front of the drill. I watched them, as my guys couldn't take their eyes off of the drill, and the women never moved their heads towards the action of the drill loudly pounding into the water. The man on the bike about ran off the road trying just to gain a glimpse of the magic going on in front of us. It was amazing to me to see this play out.  I felt like I was at the park watching the little boys play in the sandbox.
I am grateful that God has made us different, as men and women. There are times that I do not understand those differences. Sometimes, like today, I see it in a vivid manner. At other times, I just think it is "his quirks." God has made us different for different purposes. I hope that as I continue to notice these differences, that I also thank God for them instead of grumble, like I tend to do.

Breathing Out and Breathing In by A. B. Simpson

A dear friend sent this to me.  Thank you friend of long ago.  

Jesus, breathe Thy Spirit on me,
Teach me how to breathe Thee in,
Help me pour into Thy bosom
All my life of self and sin.
I am breathing out my own life,
That I may be filled with Thee;
Letting go my strength and weakness
Breathing in Thy life divine.

Breathing out my sinful nature,
Thou hast borne it all for me;
Breathing in Thy cleansing fullness
Finding all my life in Thee.
I am breathing out my sorrow,
On Thy kind and gentle breast;
Breathing in Thy joy and comfort,
Breathing in Thy peace and rest.

I am breathing out my longings,
In Thy listening loving ear,
I am breathing in Thy answers,
Stilling every doubt and fear.
I am breathing every moment,
Drawing all my life from Thee;
Breath by breath I live upon Thee,
Blessed Spirit, breathe in me.

Rhythms

The ocean has it's own rhythm.  In and out it ebbs and flows drawing, ever drawing; water, sea creatures, green bits of seaweed towards the shore.  In and out, in and out; always finding the path that it has been destined to follow.  It resembles breathing.  The same cadence, the same slow movement, and unless you stop to ponder it, you don't even know that it happens. Watching the ocean today taught me something of trust.  All I really have to do today is breathe.  Breathe deep,  taking in the rhythm that the Creator has put in all living things.  The ocean in it's self is not alive, but it is filled with creations that are surrounded by and depended on the water; for it's sustenance, it's fulfillment, and it's very life and existence.   I also am completely dependent on Him who made the air that I breathe and the vast ocean that sustains the creatures contained in it.

Breathing comes to us completely naturally.  It is as natural to breathe as anything that we do.  If a child has a temper tantrum and holds their breath, eventually they will pass out and once again begin to breathe.  In to each life God has breathed the instinct to live, to survive at all costs.    Living and breathing, breathing comes naturally, but living, that is sometimes very tricky.  Getting caught up worrying and fretting about a million and one things can take the breath right out of us.  Today, as I was walking on the beach, watching the rhythm of the ocean, it helped me to stop and breathe.  Thinking about what a miracle it is, just to breathe. Listening to my breath, listening to the breath of the ocean, listening to the Creator whisper in my ear; "just breathe.  Breathe and take in not only the fresh breeze of the coast, but take Me in.  Take me in to soothe, to relax, to surround you, just as the ocean surrounds the creatures it sustains. Let me hold you, and as you feel the warm wind, think of Me.  Expect Me to take care of you. Breathe, in and out, enjoying life, enjoying Me."  

Walking back to the beach house I heard the birds calling out their mournful cries, the same rhythm of the waves coming in and out, with the soothing sounds of "it has been alright in the past, and it will be in the future."   Thank You Father, Creator, Sustainer for the rhythm You have built into all of life.  Thank You for reminding me of the breath of life, and the sounds of life that always surround me.  The blue of the sky, the teal of the water, the multiple colors of the shore birds.  Oh, may I stop, know that You are God, and breathe.