Virtual Reality

I finished reading Terminal Logic by Jefferson Scott yesterday. It’s published by Multnomah Fiction; Sisters, Oregon and copyrighted in 1997 by Jeff Gerke. This is the second book in a techno-thriller series and now I’m anxious to read the third one.

  (Photo from: https://www.amazon.com/Terminal-Logic-Hamilton-Technothrillers-Trilogy/dp/1576730387

 

It’s computer and Virtual Reality based. Terminal Logic scared me quite a few times throughout the reading. I wanted the heroes to thrive and survive.

 

I know a few people who own Virtual Reality head gear. Not only did I care about the folks in the story but those whom I love that have embraced the new technology.

 

I hold onto promises from God because I’ve seen Him remain faithful to His Word when fear tries to grab a hold of me.

 

Psalm 34: 15-19 are favorite verses of mine.

 

Psalm 34: 15-19, (ESV):

Psa 34:15  The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry.

Psa 34:16  The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth.

Psa 34:17  When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.

Psa 34:18  The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

Psa 34:19  Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.

 

Do you have a place you go to in the Bible in times of distress? How about for times of giving thanks?

 

May God bless you.

 

 

 

Bits and Pieces

Today, I needed to wait for my husband at an appointment, so I decided to read the Bible. As I was reading, I thought the Lord was directing me to Ephesians 4 & 5. Then I read chapter 6 while I was at it. In chapter 4 it reminds Christians to walk worthy of the calling that God has given them.

After that, we went to a large grocery store to buy our lunch and then I’ve been busy doing this or that. I want to ponder the writing path God has for me. I have such a broad interest range and I’ve heard for years that a writer should have a niche. Possibly ten years back I felt sure that God wanted me to purchase a book at a bookstore in a mall by Peter Bowerman entitled, The Well-Fed Writer: Financial Self-Sufficiency as a Freelance Writer in Six Months or Less, copyrighted in 2000 and published by Fanove Publishing, Atlanta, GA.

The image is from http://www.wellfedwriter.com/ordertwfw.shtml  

I read about 75 pages and then gave it to my daughter for a while. I began an online course a couple of years ago on copywriting, again at God’s leading. I may need it someday, and I do work professionally as a writer and the things I’ve learned have come in handy. The niche writing that I’m contemplating is for magazines or novels or non-fiction books or writing for the internet.

So, the reason I entitled this blog as “Bits and Pieces” is because that’s where my thoughts and my actions have been today:

• Driving to a city I rarely get to early in the day
• Reading Proverbs and then in Ephesians
• Stopping for one item at a large store – a rarity for me
• Stopping at another grocery store and getting one item again
• Stopping at church to hand off copies I made of sheets of goal steps in the morning to some ladies and hardly staying at all – another rarity
• Cleaning dishes
• Watching television
• Going to the library and mostly working the new puzzle
• Getting home so I could ponder the writing path
• Watching more television
• Reading two teenage magazines that I’ve been considering to write for, and then
• Moving to a different room so I could blog
• Yelling at my computer and then admitting that that was not helping and to repeatedly do the same thing was not helping either.
• I tried a different thing and it worked. Yay!

I’ve been wanting to take time to be quiet and to think and to jot down any insights that hopefully alight in my brain, but I’ve been procrastinating. So, I think I have about ten minutes before my husband notes the time and asks the inevitable question – “What time are you going to bed, anyway?”

I hope your day has not been as filled with a scattering of responsibilities and stress and leisure and procrastination as my day has been.

May God bless you.

Talk Already

This week I read Sarah Dessen’s book, Saint Anything, copyrighted in 2015 and published by Viking, The Penguin Group; New York, NY.

The main characters show up on the first few pages right in the middle of a life changing event.

As the family and friendship dynamics play out, occasionally I want to take hold of these fictional characters and say, “talk already!”

In real life, people don’t always talk things out. I’ve definitely waited for the right time to approach my husband with a question or bad news when I saw he was completely worn out. Proverbs_25:11, (KJV) says: “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.”

Anyway, reading Sarah Dessens’ books points out a fatal flaw in my fiction writing.

In the past, I’ve told what was going on and didn’t leave enough mystery. With no intrigue, the reader is not going to want to bother reading on.

Additionally, writing instructors often say, “Show more than tell,” so I’ve worked on that.

A tell is: “the boy likes the girl so he shows off for her.”

The show is: Sonya ran outside to get the mail and then she noticed Peter’s slow grin widen and his eyes light up as he jumped off his bicycle by her mailbox. “Hey, Sonya I want to show you something.”

She looked up at the sky almost as if she was checking the sun’s position to estimate the time of day. “I’ve been practicing stunts on my bike.”

“My mom told me not to dawdle.”

He leaped back on the bike. “I’ll just show you one, okay, or two at the most.”

She smiled and he yelled out, “just watch this” and he sped down the incline and took one hand off the handle. Faster now on the bumpy street with occasional rocks from the Ottinger boys appearing like shapes in the fog – suddenly.

Now two hands off the handle bar. As he turned his head to see if she was watching, Sonya ran down the hill with her hands clenched and with sweat forming at the back of her neck. “Peter, hey Peter, wow! Why don’t you come back before…”

Cars started honking, a man hollered. “Are you out of your mind?”

A lady screamed.

 

Well, you get the idea.

I got to go to Letchworth Park once again with my husband and friends today. I took pictures of flowers and gourds placed in interesting arrangements. I planned on downloading them to my computer tonight and then blogging about our time there. Hopefully I’ll do that on Monday, since I forgot tonight. We got home and put things away and then my daughter and her husband stopped in for a quick visit.

I hope this finds you well. May God bless you.

Internet Down

I started to blog earlier today but our Internet was down. I went to blog tonight and after my husband used Internet most of the day, it was down again.

He wonders if it’s because many people are using the Internet to watch the Olympic Games.

So I’m using my phone to blog and it will be short because I have the worst time on this device.

Occasionally I wonder what would happen if the Internet tanked. We’re so thrilled to use this wonderful device, many young people pay all their bills on it and do online banking.

I submit writing on my e-mail instead of using the post office many times.

I hope the Internet stays available, I really do,  but I wonder how will we manage if it shuts down for more than a day or so. It’s something to ponder.

No worries. God is on the throne and He tells us to be anxious for nothing in Philippians 4:6 by Paul’s  pen.

May God bless!

 

Timeless or Passing?

I read an e-mail from Jerry Jenkins today and afterwards I answered his survey. I don’t do that often, but today I felt I could spare some time.

Last night I got to listen to a video by Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron on how to share our faith in Jesus Christ. They touch my heart.

When I think that when I was a young adult computers weren’t even available, it’s amazing. Now to be able to talk to people all over the world with a few keystrokes, it’s hard to believe.

The internet opens possibilities I never dreamed of.

Do you ever think about the e-mails you get or the videos on YouTube or the instant communication on Myspace or Facebook or Skype or the blogosphere? Or do we as human beings stand in amazement at all the inventions and then begin to take them for granted?

I do. What I find incredible about the Bible is that a book penned about 2,000 years ago and well before that speaks to my issues today. It’s timeless and appropriate for today’s questions.

I listened to my husband preach out of the book of Mark about end times and the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. In the New Testament, it tells us in the (ESV) in Mark 13:1 “And as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!’
Mark 13:2 And Jesus said to him, ‘Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.’ ”

This prophesy was fulfilled by the Romans in 70 A.D. There’s so much more about end times in this chapter.

Mark 13:3 And as he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately,
Mark 13:4 “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?”
Mark 13:5 And Jesus began to say to them, “See that no one leads you astray.
Mark 13:6 Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray.
Mark 13:7 And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet.
Mark 13:8 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains.

Mark 13:9 “But be on your guard. For they will deliver you over to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them.
Mark 13:10 And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations.
Mark 13:11 And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.
Mark 13:12 And brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death.
Mark 13:13 And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

Mark 13:14 “But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
Mark 13:15 Let the one who is on the housetop not go down, nor enter his house, to take anything out,
Mark 13:16 and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak.
Mark 13:17 And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days!
Mark 13:18 Pray that it may not happen in winter.
Mark 13:19 For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, and never will be.

Mark 13:20 And if the Lord had not cut short the days, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, whom he chose, he shortened the days.
Mark 13:21 And then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it.
Mark 13:22 For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect.
Mark 13:23 But be on guard; I have told you all things beforehand.
Mark 13:24 “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light,
Mark 13:25 and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
Mark 13:26 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.
Mark 13:27 And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

Mark 13:28 “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near.
Mark 13:29 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates.
Mark 13:30 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.
Mark 13:31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
Mark 13:32 “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
Mark 13:33 Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come.

Mark 13:34 It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake.
Mark 13:35 Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning—
Mark 13:36 lest he come suddenly and find you asleep.
Mark 13:37 And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.”

Some of Jesus’ prophecies have already come to pass, some have not. When the gospel is preached to every people group or nation in the world then Jesus will come back. When Jesus speaks of false christs it’s because many religions speak of Him as a prophet only or a Teacher. The Jews knew He considered Himself God, they threw rocks at Him because He received worship as if He were God. They called Him a blasphemer. “Only God can forgive sins,” the scribes told Him. He answered, “Which is easier, to forgive sins or to say ‘stand up and walk?'”

Here it is in the (KJV) :Mar 2:5 And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
Mar 2:6 Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts,
Mar 2:7 “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
Mar 2:8 And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts?
Mar 2:9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’?
Mar 2:10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic—
Mar 2:11 “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.”
Mar 2:12 And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

I hope and pray that I never take the Word of God and Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for granted like I do earthly blessings, like the internet and having time to spare.

 

 

Life and Plans – Hah!

My husband kidded me tonight about my tendency to not pay attention to time. I’m aiming to whittle back on my night owl sleep time a half an hour each day until it reaches a more reasonable hour. Tonight he told me it was eleven o’clock. I asked what time I went to bed last night. You really don’t remember, do you? My logical “day timer” husband laughed.

“You’re picking on me.”

“No, I’m not,” he said.

Grinning. Delighted.

Lol. I’m glad he enjoys me. Every once in a while I tell him I’ll keep him. Some days we’re two peas in a pod, other days he’s a radish and I’m an asparagus.

Thank God for unique people. It makes life interesting. I thank God for, well God. He adds joy to life even when it’s scary in the world.

Who or what are you grateful for?

Where Does It Start?

The internet can be awesome and it can be dangerous. Awesome in the freedom of information that flows through it. Dangerous in the freedom of information that flows unabated.

I heard that President Obama wanted to regulate the internet. It didn’t come to pass. I wouldn’t want it to pass. Yet, there are times when bullying on social media sites is said to have caused people to commit suicide. That is just awful. Where are the parents or the other youth when all this is going on? Doesn’t anybody know or stand up for those being trashed on websites?

Another thing that can be good or bad on the world wide web is talking about God.

My husband, the pastor told me on Saturday night that he’s seeing more info on the web trying to convince people that there is no God. An occasional site will write that Christianity is dangerous. Negative comments about Christianity are nothing new because Jesus said that the devil comes to steal, kill and destroy in John 10:10. That same verse also says that Jesus came to give life and that more abundantly.

So it’s no surprise that people cut down Christianity. Jesus said Christians would be persecuted, even as He was. Despite persecution, I’ve heard that Christianity is the fastest growing religion outside of Western Civilization. I know why. Once I became a Christian I found such incredible peace and felt God’s love.

Lately, a man I met, age 52, in a nursing home because of contracting Multiple Sclerosis, said that even though he doesn’t like having the disease, he isn’t as upset anymore. He recently accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior due to the evangelical efforts of one of our elderly parishioners. She kept talking to him and giving him hand written Bible verses. Eventually he accepted a Bible from her. This last Saturday he told me he had become a Christian. He figures if he hadn’t gotten ill, he would never have found God. He also had been very bitter over someone taking advantage of him and keeping his money, a large amount. When he told me about it, he was very calm. My friend was amazed at his attitude. She said, “I know he got saved. He’s not bitter any more.”

He’s still trying to get his cash back, but now he’s calling people that may be able to help and he’s not freaking out. They are cooperating and he’s amazed. No one listened to him before.

Our church attendee also loved her roommate with patience and kindness. After a year of being a friend, the roomie – a 93 year old former librarian, whose mind is still sharp, accepted Jesus as her Savior and King. So now we’re in a Bible study with two others as well.

Where does it start? Loving people pray for unsaved others to come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. How did they get saved? From others that believed and prayed and then talked to them or wrote about the gift of Jesus’ life for our benefit. It really started when Jesus decided to leave heaven, put off his godly attributes, and become a human being. Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus constantly prayed so He would know His Father’s will. Then He obeyed God always, so we could become born again as Jesus said to do in John 3. It all began in heaven, when God said, “We need to make a way for sinful man to get right with Me.”

I’m paraphrasing. Jesus offered to be the sacrifice for God’s punishment for our sins. “He paid a debt He didn’t owe”, a Southern Gospel song written by Ellis J. Crum says.

We have hope through Jesus Christ, God the Son. He was there in the beginning of creation. He promised to never leave us nor forsake us. Any questions about this mystery of love and sacrifice and forgiveness and mercy and judgment and redemption?

Maybe I can answer them. If not, I’ll try and find a more knowledgeable source. Whenever I get stumped, I pray about it and then I’ll hear a sermon or a program on the radio answering my question. The Bible is filled with answers. A book thousands of years old that answers today’s conundrums. That’s got to be God-inspired. The book of Hebrews tells most of the doctrines of the entire Bible.

So, back to the internet: it has good advice and then at times it has total garbage and wrong information, too. So I keep away from the garbage and the danger it offers to the best of my ability and try to embrace the good. I hope and pray parents are guarding their children from the evils of the internet, especially stalkers of the innocent. I pray for children often, even those I don’t know, because we live in a crazy world. I hope you’re well.