This week Cee has asked us to bring Black & White animals aboard the ark. Click the icon above to see other black & white animal photos
Here are mine:
Geese in the Berkshires
Raven in Doolin
Sheep In Moll’s Gap
Sometimes I feel like Aragorn and the Rohirrim trapped behind the walls of Helm’s Deep. There are moments when it seems Satan and all his forces are gathering at my doorstep and all I can do is stand behind my defenses and push down the screams which try desperately to rise from the center of my belly, “WE ARE GOING TO DIE!!!!”
The truth is though I am not on the defensive! Christians aren’t on the defensive! The church isn’t on the defensive! Though Satan would like us to think we are outnumbered and losing, the Bible assures us we have already taken the high ground and we are fighting from the position of established victory.
Jesus said, “Upon this rock (the high ground), I will build my church and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.” Matthew 16:18
Satan is the one behind the walls of Helm’s Deep and the armies of light (that’s us Christians in case you were wondering) are gathered at his doorstep and we are attacking his kingdom to establish light in the darkness. Any other perception is an illusion spawned by the power of the Dark One to confuse and hinder us from moving forward.
What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”[j]
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[k] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:31-39
Don’t give up Christian! You are about to win!
photo by: C. Hase
It is time once again for Friday Fictioneers the flash fiction writing group led by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields. Click the word “Fictioneers” above and it will take you to her site. A quick click on the little blue froggy and you will be deluged in a sea of stories based on the photo prompt above.
Here is what I took from the picture.
Letters From Malta
by JE Lillie
What’s left of the ship still surfaces during low tide. I come to see it everyday, still amazed we all made it out alive. Paul said we would. God tells Him things and no one doubts that now.
When he got bitten by the snake after the shipwreck everyone was sure it was the gods’ judgment, but the man walks in the miracle. He didn’t even swell.
Now he’s been invited to the magistrate’s house. We hear there is dysentery there so of course off we go. Paul says “Every problem is just a miracle in disguise.”
This is a snapshot of Acts 28, Paul’s time in Malta.
Don’t run from it. Face your trial with the power of God rising within you!
The Perils of Pauline was a 1914 American film serial shown in weekly installments, featuring Pearl White as the title character. As the old-fashioned damsel in distress, Pauline was menaced by assorted villains, including pirates and Indians. Unlike today’s weekly programming (and even some of our movies, Pauline never used the so-called “cliffhanger” format in which an episode ends with an unresolved danger that is addressed at the beginning of the next installment. Although each episode placed Pauline in a situation that looked sure to result in her imminent death, the end of each installment showed how she was rescued or otherwise escaped the danger. It was such a new and unique idea that, years after, it was placed in the national archives as a cultural icon.
The apostle, Paul, had many such harrowing experiences. Only he wasn’t like the “damsel in distress.” He wasn’t cute and cuddly and looking for a hero…
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This week I feel the need to start this post with Cee’s fifth question which is always…
What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?
I am so grateful to serve a God who walks with His church through the deepest valleys (we have had some deep one’s this week read about it HERE ). No matter what we go through we always find Him not just waiting at the other side but walking with us through the fiery trial. God is so good and so faithful and He is an “ever-present help IN trouble.” Psalm 46:1
This week coming I am looking forward to getting back on track with my blogging and writing schedule. During the last month or so I have been rather spotty because of the pace of life and ministry. But I feel like I am getting on top of that and launching into a new phase of writing productivity!
Here I am, beginning that new phase by sharing my world and inviting you to share your world with others by clicking the icon above and flying over to Cee’s blog to read about other parts of the world that intersect there.
Here are the questions:
Complete this sentence: Never In My Life Have I….
Never In my life have I been to Africa or Australia or New Zealand or Alaska or Asia or…. well that should keep me going for however long I am to remain on this spinning orb of life.
Complete this sentence: My neighbour wants me to help her…..
My neighbor wants me to help her… Actually I do not think my neighbors want me to help them do anything. I live in the midst of a pretty huge DIY neighborhood and I seem to be the only one who cannot do most things himself.
Complete this sentence: When I was little I wanted…
When I was little I wanted to be a superhero. I would spend hours pretending I was Superman, Green Lantern or the Flash. I have learned though that being heroic is not about the grand sweeping gestures. It is about the commitment to walk a path of little faithfulnesses everyday. Without that commitment, no superpower no matter how awesome will make you a hero.
Complete this sentence: Will you come here to…
Will you come here on a regular basis? If so I commit to doing everything in my power to introduce you to a world of encouragement, hope and light!
Please click the Share Your World icon at the top of the post and it will take you to Cee’s blog so you see other people’s shares.
One of the terms my grandfather used for this world after my grandmother passed away was “This vale of tears”. Gramps was a pretty cheerful and easy-going guy but Grams passing knocked a lot of the wind out of his sails. He didn’t curl up and die exactly but he just wasn’t the same after her death.
I think there are few who can relate to the pain of losing a spouse after 61 years of marriage but each of us have life events that rock our worlds in foundational ways.
I remember during one of my own earth shaking events a well-meaning brother walked up to me in church and asked, “How are you doing J?”
“I am OK.” I answered ( I wasn’t really but then the moment wasn’t right for a sit-down-and-cry).
His response was to wrinkle his nose and say, “Just OK? Not fantastic?”
The brother knew what I was walking through at the moment and I was a little… no a lot flabbergasted by his insensitivity. But I didn’t haul off and clock him, Pastors aren’t supposed to do that.
Instead I simply said, “Sometimes, brother, OK is good enough.” Then I went to my office and had a sit-down-and-cry.
Can I just say that sometimes it’s Ok not to be “good” or “fantastic” or even “OK”. There are life events that are just so wrong or hurtful that it is OK to not be OK for a bit. Further it is OK to think and feel that your situation is definitely not OK. While God may work all things together for good not every situation is good, in fact some situations just suck.
We have had four deaths connected to our church in the last week-and-a-half, six in the last month. Today I prayed with two men in church who wept through the entire service. What they are walking through is definitely not OK and I wouldn’t be OK if I were in their shoes.
Hope isn’t found in pretending that everything is coming up roses while your really sitting under a pile of manure. Hope is found when we realize that though we may be walking through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, God is with us through all of it.
Brother…Sister, It’s OK to admit that it’s not OK right now. In fact admitting that to yourself and others is the first step in moving to a better place. Being honest about where you are now is part of figuring out how to move beyond it. Here’s a song to help you in your meditation this evening.
C.cada is an artist’s collaborative based out of Cornerstone Church in Winchendon MA. Our mission is to help people discover, develop and deploy their artistic gifts to build the church and their communities.
Every month we meet together for one whole Saturday to practice our art. The church becomes an art center for a day and we spend it practicing music, learning to paint, crafting, writing and even clowning around (one of our newest artist’s is a Christian clown). We also spend time every month trying out different group art projects to expand our artistic horizons. To see a list of our monthly group projects go to our website
Beyond that C.cada is constantly encouraging each artist to find a God project on which to use their God given abilities. Currently we have:
five artists working on a design they created for our local hospital’s pediatric playroom (pictures above).
The Prayer Shawl Ministry is getting ready to host prayer and distribution booths for their healing shawls at both the Relay For Life and our town’s annual Solstice Festival.
Two of our artist’s are creating monthly newletters the first for distribution in church and the second via mail to supporters of Special Needs programs.
Two of our bloggers have just finished reviews for a new Christian book just hitting the market. You can find those reviews
And finally our choirs, poets and artists are preparing for an outdoor art expo in town to promote God in the arts and for three services to be held at local dayhabs throughout our region.
What I have found is that there is no shortage of work in the Kingdom of God. If we desire it we can always find something to put our hands and our talents to that will reap an eternal rerward.
So Cee has told us only pictures two weeks old and younger for this challenge.
This first photo was taken last Friday night at the Old Mill in Westminster where my daughter Amanda and I attended a Daddy-Daughter Date Night, hosted by our church’s MPACT Ministry.
I have pictures of Amanda from that evening but I think I’ll save them for a future blog. 😉
This last photo was taken at our last artist’s day apart. The afternoon group project was nature photography. You can see one of our artist’s working behind the ferns.
Check out Cee’s blog at
Recently I had the pleasure of reviewing Jacqueline McDougall’s first offering to the literary world, Fearless In Euroclydon.
Jacquleine’s Booktrope publishing manager sent this bio along so my reader’s might get better acquainted with the author:
Jacqueline McDougall is a Christian daughter, sister, wife, mother, and grandmother of five beautiful grandchildren. She and her husband live in a tiny town of just 300 residents, many of whom are her relatives, in central Illinois.
In the past fifteen years, Jacqueline has experienced a series of turbulent life events including divorce, suicide of her father, and cancer, and has emerged an overcomer with God’s help.
In her spare time, Jacqueline’s hobbies include reading, playing the piano and singing, gardening, and dreaming over and designing floor plans for homes.
Fearless in Euroclydon is her first book.
I was so excited to have the opportunity to review this book and to share my thoughts.
Jacqueline has offered a first person memoire of her walk through the storms of life (Euroclydons) as a woman of faith. Her language is encouraging and filled with hope while at the same time being straightforward about the moment to moment struggles that come with walking out the real challenges this world offers to the faithful.
While J.M. is bold in her proclamation of faith her prose are neither stilted nor preachy. For women struggling through difficult circumstances I would highly recommend a read through of Fearless In Euroclydon.
Further Jacqueline offers some very personal thoughts concerning the battle many in our culture face with weight loss. For anyone struggling with this topic Jacqueline’s journal section will offer an affirming nod about staying on the path through the daily ups and downs.
Some of my favorite quotes from the book were:
I am a farmer’s daughter. A farmer’s daughter! So why did it take 35 years to come to this
realization? Although the soil can’t do a thing to change its character, it does not have to stay hard or
rocky or thorny-p.15
Praying for others always takes one’s mind off her own troubles. This is a truth. Lois knew this. I did too, I had just temporarily forgotten. If you are having difficulties of any type, particularly depression or other emotional issues, give it a try. You will see what I mean.- p. 119
In your studies, you may come across other words and phrases such as “taking up one’s cross daily,” “living in Jesus,” “walking the walk,” “crucifying one’s flesh,” etc., being used to describe this concept. These are all Biblical and, as such, the truth. They all also describe an action which cannot be performed just once and then you’ve arrived. And they cannot be done without the help of Holy Spirit. –p. 166
Fearless In Euroclydon is not a how to book. You won’t find three steps to liberation or seven steps to happiness in any of its pages. It is a testimony about the power of God which can flow through any life facing any difficulty no matter how severe. Please consider giving it a read through, particularly if you are facing a Euroclydon of your own.
Here is the link to buy the book from Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Fearless-Euroclydon-Jacqueline-McDougal-ebook/dp/B00Y7PSTZ2/
This week’s Fun Foto Challenge from Cee is soooper cool. I love taking shots from weird angles. Check out how others have seen the world from different perspectives by clicking the icon above.
Here is my gallery:
Sun through the winter trees.
Through a glass darkly
Through a glass darkly II
Smurf’s Home
On the edge of time
A heart of stone
