mere christianity . by c.s.Lewis

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C. S. Lewis













…For several weeks now i have been reading the book “Mere Christianity” and posting on one chapter at a time, along with a few other people.  I link my post on, Wednesdays, with the rest of the group, at the blog of the host.  And i usually read the other posts.  I have never been to book club in a friend’s living room, where the people meet and discuss books together and eat chips or little vegetable sticks.  This book club is different.  This particular, on-line, book reading group has readers that take something away from each chapter and then allows that to give-way to creative expression.  There are posts such as poems and personal stories which allows the writing to take on another layer of interest.  And i really like seeing everyone’s unique ways of thinking, writing and relating.
…We have just finished reading the chapter titled “Time and Beyond Time.”  Where the main focus is on one of the attributes of God.  This one being, omnipresence, or being present everywhere at the same time.  Time meaning what humans live in, and what God does not live in.  We live one moment at a time.  The author, C. S. Lewis, says this, “If you picture Time as a straight line along which we have to travel, then you must picture God as the whole page on which the line is drawn.”  Of course we have to think of things like a line on paper, in our human mind, because we can’t even start to imagine life without time or seeing all time or being in all time.  No matter.  For, even though i am an expert on time travel, because i watch Dr. Who, i don’t really need to know how God does what He does.  All i need know is that i Love the Lord and He loves me, and that He is with me always.
…Our link hosts are Jason Stasyszen and Sarah Salter.  The links have been at one host one week, and the other host the next week.  They like to trade off and share the load.  I always forget who is gathering the links on which week, but they seem to be able to keep it straight. ..❀ n.r.

starry night

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…I woke up early this morning.  It was a little after 3:00 am.  I tried, to go back to sleep, and nothing felt right, and i wondered if someone was dying, or if something big and terrible was happening, because i was just wide awake.  And there just has to be a reason, right?  Well, anyway i eventually decided to get up.  I knew that my husband and eldest daughter would be up at 4:00 am. to catch a flight to New York.  So in the meantime i went to the living room for awhile.  There was a nice fuzzy blanket next to the couch, and i gathered it up and wrapped it around myself, to go outside on the porch.  We have a couple hammock chairs hanging there, and i found one to be a comfortable place to snuggle up and gently swing.  As i swung i looked out at the darkness, with just enough light to see shapes of things and no colour.  Just different shades of grey.  The moon, that was shining in my eyes when i first went to bed, was now gone from sight.  The stars were shining white in the clear dark sky.  And there was no hint of a breeze, but, there was still a crisp coolness on my face.  The air was clean and fresh to breath.  There was little sound.  Just a few cars on the road a couple miles away.  
…Sometimes He just calls us out, to be quiet together.

one word at a time

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Every two weeks there is a word prompt for Tuesday’s “One Word at a Time Blog Carnival.”  Peter Pollock is the host. And Peter’s blog is where we (or you) can add a link to a post on carnival day (like today). And this time the word is “innocence.”  You are welcome to click on over and read a couple of the posts that are linked there and share your ideas. ❀

Yes, there was such a thing as innocence.  No matter what has been done to us, or what we have done in this fallen world, our heart still knows what innocence was. Our desire is to belong, to be whole, to be accepted. We lost our own innocence, and we know it. The mad pursuit to fill the loss, with all the things that innocence is not, is what we tend to do. But our heart knows better. Our heart recognizes the daily portion of God’s Grace, and the sureness of His promises.  Our heart’s desire is to be with Him.

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Though seeing, they do not see;
though hearing they do not hear or understand.

In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:

You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.

For this people’s heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.

Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.

From Matthew 13 

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Love the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your soul and with all your mind.

From Matthew 22

poetry, friends and school

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Today i am very wiggly excited to have blog friends recording their voices and leaving the link on my post.
Voices are that extra layer of icing.  One more dimension of my friends.  One more way that we are sharing.  It’s totally fun to hear the words and voices.

It’s is good to get to know people better and have these places to connect.

I am also thinking of my youngest, CJ starting high school tomorrow.  She and I still need to go to the store for a few last minute things.

The weather is looking good today.  Sunny is what we need, as we had so much cool cloudy weather, this year.   The grapes are a bit behind normal, so we need a few extra weeks of sun, before that old rain returns.  But, we won’t think of rain today.  No…not today.

note: L.L. , the “Mindfulnes”s book sounds good.   I am almost done with “Mere Christianity.”

On In Around button

voices and friends . poetry reading

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Today is the first Monday gathering of the links of people that want to share poetry in a very special way.  That way is by reading the poetry aloud.  I love to be read to and i love to hear poetry.  I hope that there will be several people that give this a try.  If you need time to think about it, there is still the listening, so click on those links and have a listen.
There is a web page called soundcloud that is easy to use and they give free time for recording and trying out what they have to offer.  All you do is go there and sign-in, press a couple of buttons to record something, read into your computer microphone, do this until you have a recording that you like, and press another button to save it.  Then you can post it on your blog page.  After you sign-in, the instructions are pretty easy.
If you would like, it would be nice to have the written words posted along with the recording.
Remember to come back here and share your “post link” (on mr. stinky linky) along with (i hope) the many others.

Since Mr. Stinky and SoundCloud are not behaving well together on my blog, i now have a blog that is just for my poetry sound recordings.  You will see my post link below.

Mister Linky’s Magical Widgets — Thumb-Linky widget will appear right here!
This preview will disappear when the widget is displayed on your site.
For best results, use HTML mode to edit this section of the post.

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second thoughts

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I realize that the voice cloud is very cool thing.  I totally love hearing the voice of others, but, realistically my own voice needs to be seen or read.  Except when i’m on the phone or in your face.  It’s just that the voice that i hear in my head, is not the voice that comes out of my mouth.  So i really do need to leave the poem reading and recording to others.  As for using Mr. Stinky, i want to do that in Monday’s post.  I want to gather sound clouds here.  Clouds of voices reading poetry.  And Maureen Doallas has agreed to post and link a poem, and maybe she will be reading “Pages of White.”  So, anyone interested in recording your voice at soundcloud and doing a post, i would be honored to have you link your post here, on Monday.  A gathering of voices reading poetry…i can see it in my mind.   And it looks like a bouquet of summer’s wild flowers, in a mason jar of fresh water, gracing my table.
☁ soundcloud :  it’s easy and they allow free recording time to become acquainted with the service.

poem reading and linky test post

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I would like to do a post once every couple of weeks where friends can record their reading of a poem, post it, and then link it here.

I have been having a little fuss with the soundcloud recordings on my posts when i use mister linkey.  So i am trying it again.  The sound recording widget window moves over to the right, but the sensitive area that  should align with the image of the play button is unseen and over to the left of said image of the play button.

But when i deleted the whole post along with the mister linky and the widget window for the sound recording, all of the other sound recording widget windows on the other posts went back to normal.

Anyway here are the written words…

Pages of White

the venerable dogwood
stood alone
in a sea of grass
hauntingly dark limbs
outstretched
into night
beginning to give way
to the whisper of day
remembering
the promise of spring
and the blossoms held
pressed
between pages of white
each one a poem
the words rise
with the wind
flowering words
a most shimmering feast
in the warmth of day

okay, i tried again.   mr. linky is still messing up the soundcloud widget placement.

hearing voices

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As you can see, i have always liked looking at pictures. The love of reading came later in life, and of writing came even later. Another thing i have always liked, is to be read to. I like hearing people’s voices as they read. And lately i have been hearing voices.  Real voices.
The first voice was of my friend Maureen Doallas. She started using a web site that allows her to record as she reads her poems aloud and then post the recording. It was great to hear her voice, after getting to know her by the written word. Then Glynn Young wrote this totally cool poem, recorded and posted it. Again, i loved hearing the voice of a friend that i only knew through the written word. I tried the same web site at the same time that Glynn tried it.
I have to say that my voice does not sound like a poet’s voice. It’s hard to really know what your own voice sounds like unless it is recorded. Kind of like how we don’t really know what we look like, until we see a photograph of ourself. It is a telling process. And the recording of my voice was a hard process, because my voice has never been…well, pretty or sexy. It often sounds like i am about five years old, and it doesn’t carry. I don’t sound refined or intellegent. But, i jumped in and did it before i could think about it too much.
It wasn’t too bad, because my friends here always write encouraging comments. You all are so careful to accentuate the positive in cases like this. And your kindness and acceptance is truly appreciated. So hearing my own voice is not so bad as all that. And i get to have fun along with all the other lovely voices.

continued reading

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mere christianity . by csLewis
the three – personal God

i read this chapter, twice. 
there were a few things that i could agree with but, most of
what read… i seemed whacked out.  like a “this is your brain on
drugs” kind of thing.  i don’t even have the energy to go into it.

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Focus

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Today i am a Guest at the High Calling FOCUS.

And my post is called “Grey Areas: From Film to Fiddling”

I do a lot of fiddling and…yes, i find that life has many grey areas.  Many shades of grey.  Times when we don’t see the right from the wrong, the up from the down.  Things that are good can appear awful, and vice versa.  Walk in the company of the Lord.  Your soul will be refreshed, your heart will be renewed.  Much like photography, we look through the lens and focus, and we begin to see everything differently.

for the HCB post click here.  :-)

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beyond a midsummer’s dream

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just what is this season
between summer and fall
when it seems that time stands still
or there was never time at all

the tall grass stands golden
in the haze of silent sun
and i wish that i were young
once more

soon
the earth will turn
upon blue winter

the chill
of death will sting
and splinter

then from
this dreamy daze
He shall wake me

from this
beguiling place
He will take me

together
hand in hand
we will go

and we will walk
in golden grass
and talk of many
things

the hush will turn
to music
i will hear angels
sing

i will understand
the mystery
and contented
i will be

existing in
the rapture
of His Love

rewrite 8/28
added lines are words from lovely comments.
thank you.


lines and signs

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What do you think about share buttons at the bottom of a blog post?  I like belly buttons, and clothes buttons, and the buttons on the phone (even though dial phones were much cooler).  At first the  share buttons appeared to be just plain ugly.  Over time i began to accept the ease in which things could be shared.  And yet, sharing can take place fairly easily without them.  Still, i am just not sure about those silly buttons.
It makes me think about how we see our self and how others see us.  How we can easily step over a line and not realize it for awhile.  There is one line i cross over constantly.
You know “that line” we cross… from the side, of trusting and doing, over to the side, of trying to control.
Have you ever seen street business where a flag appears out front?  Then a banner may be hung up.  Oh, and then why not a few more little signs?  Maybe the merchandise makes it way outside.   Before long it starts to look like a yard sale.  Yet, they are actually all pre-going-out-of-business signs.  And it isn’t long before the place closes it’s doors.
This is an example how we can try too hard to control something.  We can be fooled, and yet not everyone else is fooled along with us.  There are a few others that can sometimes see what the signs mean before we do.  But, usually they don’t say anything to us.  We might not listen if they did.  We would probably just get angry or offended.  Oh, yeah.  I’ve done this too.
What i guess i am saying here, is that
sometimes, we just try too hard to control…and that can be a sign.  
A sign
that
we have
crossed
a line.
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p.s.  It is mainly a sign to have a talk with the Lord.  Sometimes we need to let something go, it could be letting worry go, or letting something else go.  Sometimes we need to receive something, like advice or help in what we are doing.  God will lead us in this.

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