I just love RAIN AND RAINBOWS. Who doesn’t? This week Cee has asked us to have some fun with Rain and rainbows and so here it goes. When you are done looking here click the underlined link and go see some more rain and rainbows over at Cee’s place.
Oily Puddle of rainbow goodness
It has been a wonderful and long week. God has been good and I am tired, but oh so glad to be sharing my world again. SHARE YOUR WORLD is a weekly challenge hosted by Cee of Cee’s Photography. By answering her weekly questions a whole bunch of us bloggers share our worlds.
When you have finished reading my responses to Cee’s questions click the underlined link above and see how others have shared their worlds.
What is your earliest memory?
My earliest memory is a very vivid recurring nightmare I had when I was about three or four. We were living in a grey Victorian home that had been converted into a duplex. The house was built into a very steep hillside and I can remember that the house had terraces that were covered with tiger lilies.
Anyway many nights my parents would put me to bed and I would “dream” that a ghost with a big nose wearing a Hawaiian shirt would come through the wall and sit upon me crushing the air out of my lungs.
To this day the house still creeps me out when I drive by it.
Which way does the toilet paper roll go? Over or under?
Sideways.
What makes you feel grounded?
Praying to Jesus.
What did you appreciate or what made you smile this past week? Feel free to use a quote, a photo, a story, or even a combination.
Having some good laughs with my best friend Jody and with my new friend Pastor Dan.
Pastor Dan
Jody
What do you think of this definition of a changed heart.
No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by the Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people.
Romans 2:29 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/rom.2.29.nlt
Let not those who seek You be confounded because of me, O God of Israel.
7 Because for Your sake I have borne reproach;
Shame has covered my face.
8 I have become a stranger to my brothers,
And an alien to my mother’s children;
9 Because zeal for Your house has eaten me up,
And the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me. Psalm 69:6-9
I have been listening to the music of Dear Evan Hanson over the last few days. Several of the songs really resonate with me.”You Will Be Found” is one of those.
Jeannie Mayo, one of our nation’s foremost youth pastors gave a prophetic warning at a youth conference I attended almost a decade back. She stated that as a church and as a culture we must begin remembering and loving our “question mark kids”…the kids on the fringes…the kids left alone by society. She pointed out that almost all of the school shooters to that point had come from the fringes of school society. They were not popular. They were not loved. They were often bullied. They felt given up on and had given up on themselves. She warned that the subgroup called “question mark kids” was growing and that if we did not begin to love them, then the violence we had seen to that point was a drop in the bucket.
Truer words I guess were never spoken. We seem as a culture to be missing the proverbial forest for the trees here. I guess it’s easier to blame guns than ourselves for what has happened in our country. I guess it’s more convenient to think this is a problem for Capitol Hill to solve rather than to think this is a problem our community, our church, our families need to do something about. I am pretty sure nothing is changing on Capitol Hill anytime soon where the issues of school violence are concerned. This is our job folks. We are a dot in the snowstorm called life. The question mark kids can’t find us. We must find them!
All these thoughts inspired this poem called “Blanks”.
Blanks
By JE Lillie
Blank
Canvas
One dot says
“I’m here for you.”
Somewhere in the vast
Snowstorm called life someone
Waits for me and promises love.
But the blizzard obscures my sight.
I can’t find that dot. Hope turns to hate.
Hate turns to madness. Madness begets
Violence. It stirs a plan.
I write it down, practice.
Someone help me
Please! While I’m
Shooting
Blanks.
This week Cee has asked us to share in her Black & White Challenge by displaying PHOTOS OF STRUCTURE
Here are my Black & White Structures
All of the above are concrete structures. Now here are some structures that aren’t quite so concrete. The foundation of each of these is the strongest foundation of all…love.
Brothers and sisters
The structure of prayer
Built around a song
The structure of pride in a job well done.
I am actually pretty close to on time this week with my SHARE YOU WORLD POST, which has to be some sort of anomaly that just may run the risk of ripping the fabric of the space/time continuum. So for those adversely affected by any such event allow me to apologize in advance.
Here are Cee’s Sharing questions and my answers. For those new to this challenge you can click on the underlined link above and find out all about Share Your World!
How do you like your eggs?
I love my eggs over medium with cheese on top. With a side of homefries mixed with onions, corned beef hash and a nice strong cup of coffee!
Have you ever met anyone famous?
I guess that depends on what you mean by famous and then again it depends on what you mean by the word “met”.
Since my circle is the church world I have met many “famous ministers and missionaries”. That is to say I have been in the same room with people like: Billy Graham ( I went to one of his evangelism trainings); John Maxwell (he autographed a book); Sarah Blackstone (whose parents were the first Western missionaries into Japan after Hiroshima and Nagasaki and who has given her whole life to the Japanese people); Even my sister is becoming pretty well known in her little corner of the world.
She also works with these guys.
I had dinner and promoted a concert for these guys…
Then our church has hosted Sam Farina who is actually pretty famous as a life coach throughout the world.
What was the first thing you bought with your own money?
Candy and a milk shake. I started working as a paper boy when I was nine.
What did you appreciate or what made you smile this past week? Feel free to use a quote, a photo, a story, or even a combination.
My son proposed to his girlfriend this week!
