Love Created the Heavens and….
1 John 4:16 WEBUS
[16] We know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and he who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him.
https://bible.com/bible/206/1jn.4.16.WEBUS
For the month of February, I’m going to take a hint from Hallmark and do my own version of Love-uary with the focus on God’s love. To start it out right, I thought it would be interesting to see how some of the items in the first chapter of Genesis read when we substitute the word love wherever it normally has the word God. I think the message is deep and soul-stirring.
So here is Genesis 1:1-2, 4-5, 14-18, 27-28, 31 KJV with the replacements (no italics or full caps, just read it normally to catch the nuance):
[1] In the beginning Love created the heaven and the earth. [2] And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of Love moved upon the face of the waters.
[4] And Love saw the light, that it was good: and Love divided the light from the darkness. [5] And Love called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
[14] And Love said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: [15] and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. [16] And Love made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. [17] And Love set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, [18] and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and Love saw that it was good.
[27] So Love created man in his own image, in the image of Love created he him; male and female created he them. [28] And Love blessed them, and Love said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
[31] And Love saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
https://bible.com/bible/1/gen.1.1-31.KJV
So what do you think, readers? I really like the statements like “Love created man in His image” and “Love saw that it was good.”
Because God is Love, whenever we read anything about God, love is the descriptor even when we do not understand. And whenever we talk about love, it should be in ways that represent God fully and completely. Love is not love, as the commercials once said, because some forms of love are not love at all but merely mankind’s desire for how he thinks love should be defined. But true love can always be defined as God and, far more than a feeling, true love is powerful enough to design and create a universe and everything in it. Do you know LOVE?
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Happy Birthday, Grandma!
One of the blessings of being the first born is also getting to be the first grandchild. One of my favorite stories from childhood is when my mom, who was living in Ohio, called up my grandmother (her mother) to wish her a happy birthday. It was also the day of my birth, but Grandma did not know it yet, so Mom said, “Happy Birthday, Grandma!”
Of course, Grandma began her usual thanks for the wishes when the new term hit her. “Wait… Grandma?”
And thus began the plans to transport me back to Southern California and all the family members who had new titles like grandma, grandpa, aunt, uncle, etc. When life became more difficult not many years later, I believe the special position as the “first” everything, and all the spoiling that came with it in my formative years, gave me a balance that made the hard times easier to survive. And they made me a better big sister who could take control and take care as needed. Not perfect, mind you, as I was still a child, but I think I was a little more attentive to my baby sister.
I still have fond memories of shared birthday gatherings when there would be a cake with both names, or a big and little cake when we each got our own. I loved sharing my birthday with my grandmother, and it never felt the same after she left this world. But I will always have that sweet story of the phone call “reveal” to my newly ordained Grandma. 😁
Here’s one of those memories from a Polaroid I shared to my Flickr feed, though I’m sorry I cannot seem to control the sizes from Flickr pages to this blog…
Thank you for joining me on this trip down memory lane. And if you have a grandmother who needs a pretty card for her birthday, feel free to download and use the card above. You can add a name in multiple photo editing apps, but I recommend Photo Studio Pro the most.
And one last thing; I learned today that there is a scientific group doing studies on mother’s milk that shows how different needs of a baby create different chemical components within the milk. It’s a different composition for boys than girls, it changes for sick babies, and first-time mothers have more cortisol in their milk which causes first-born babies to be more alert, attentive, and anxious. It’s almost like some Intelligent Being designed things to work in certain ways that benefit the human race, huh? 🤩 Read a summary of more highlights from this amazing study by Katie Hinder, an evolutionary anthropologist, on X (you’ll need to log in) at https://x.com/i/status/2016990657450299837 and prepare to be amazed. (If you don’t have an X/Twitter account, maybe look up the scientist by name. It’s a lot of fascinating study.)
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I’ve Got the Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy…
Do you remember the Sunday School song begun in the title? If so, and since it’s my birthday tomorrow, my wish is for you to sing this fun tune (from way back in 1926) with me:
I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy,
Down in my heart, (where?)
Down in my heart, (where?)
Down in my heart;
I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy,
Down in my heart, (where?)
Down in my heart to stay.
I've got the peace that passes understanding,
Down in my heart, (where?)
Down in my heart, (where?)
Down in my heart;
I've got the peace that passes understanding,
Down in my heart, (where?)
Down in my heart to stay.
I've got the love of Jesus, love of Jesus,
Down in my heart, (where?)
Down in my heart, (where?)
Down in my heart;
I've got the love of Jesus, love of Jesus,
Down in my heart, (where?)
Down in my heart to stay.
And I had to share this as part of my birthday celebration because with age, I need that joy in my heart more than ever. I’ve always been a joy seeker and have even been described as “bright and bubbly.” One person from across a congregation would watch for me to get into a conversation because she knew I would likely smile about something, and she said she loved my smile because I smiled with my whole being.
Truthfully, though, when you get older and you look in the mirror and see the weight and the tired eyes (I know, I need to take my own advice from a couple days ago to look beyond the mirror), it makes it easier to frown in frustration than smile with joy. But I must remember that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever, and joy (plus peace and love) are the fruit of His Spirit. They are part of His personality dwelling within me, so they remain the same no matter my external circumstances.
And here’s a video of a couple singing this with some pretty harmonies and even the added chorus that says, “And I’m so happy, so very happy, I’ve got the love of Jesus in my heart; yes I’m so happy, so very happy, I’ve got the love of Jesus in my heart.”
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Good Morning, Lord! 🌞
While I struggle to be an earlybird kinda person, for some reason, I keep writing things with “good morning” in their titles. So, just because this begins with that, please enjoy it as a prayer to start your new day at whatever time your morning might be. I wrote it years ago, so it’s a good time to present it with a new, pretty background and frame. This is my real prayer to The Almighty Creator who loves me, my Abba Yahveh, and I hope it’s one my readers can pray to Him as well.
Here it is in plain text in case the image makes it difficult to read….
GOOD MORNING LORD!
HERE I AM.
I KNOW YOU HAVE PLANS…
FOR THIS DAY;
FOR ME;
FOR ME IN THIS DAY.
FOR MY LIFE,
FOR ME IN THIS LIFE.
YOU ARE MY CREATOR.
AND I AM YOUR CHILD.
I AM NOT JUST AN EXPERIMENT.
YOU MADE MANKIND
(AND ME)
IN YOUR IMAGE.
YOU HAVE PERFECT PLANS.
NOTHING SURPRISES YOU.
I TRUST YOU.
I RECEIVE YOUR WISDOM
ACCORDING TO WHAT YOU
HAVE CHOSEN TO SHARE WITH ME
IN THIS LIFE.
I RECEIVE HEALING
FROM YOUR HAND
AND THROUGH
YOUR HOLY AND PRECIOUS BLOOD THAT WILL NEVER LOSE ITS POWER!
MAY I LISTEN TO, AND HEAR,
YOUR VOICE.
MAY I SEE, AND KNOW,
YOUR WILL FOR ME.
MAY I FOLLOW, AND OBEY, YOU.
MAY I SHOW YOU MY LOVE
BY OFFERING YOU PRAISE,
FOR ALL THAT YOU ARE,
AND FOR ALL THAT YOU DO–
THIS DAY AND FOREVER!
IN YOUR HOLY, MEMORIAL NAME, YAHVEH, AND IN THE NAME AND BLOOD OF MY MESSIAH YAHSHUA,
AMEN AND HALLELUYAH!
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Beyond the Mirror (a scrolling poem)
Many years ago, I was on the phone with my sister, and she was heartbroken by the changes she saw in some of the young girls in her church. Puberty had taken hold of what used to be innocent little darlings in her Sunday School class, and pride seemed to be growing faster than their maturity. All that mattered was how they looked, who liked them (in their peer groups), and what was happening next in their busy calendars. They had become too busy and self-focused to even think about God or the lessons they were once taught.
I told her it was normal, and it didn’t mean she wasn’t a good teacher or that she had dropped the ball. It was part of learning how to let go of the apron strings and reach for the future. But, having once been teenage girls ourselves, we both knew what was happening and that it could be a dangerous time when peer pressure could lead to bad decisions that could negatively affect those futures.
As much as we want to prevent it for others, most of the time, people (especially teen people 😏) must learn on their own, and sometimes by hard lessons. But we can continue to shine a light of truth around them, so they’ll know where to look when they are confused or feel beat up by unreal expectations. In that vein, I put this poem together, and I love how it came out. It was also one of my first times using PowerPoint, so with days of trial and error, I finally created a video of the slideshow to present it. A wonderful Creative Commons soundtrack made it perfect. Enjoy the video, and/or read the words below. If you know a teen or young woman that can be inspired, please share it. And now….
Beyond the Mirror
Mirror, oh Mirror,
please tell me what you see.
Am I beautiful?
Do I need more makeup?
Am I the prettiest and best,
with shining eyes
for the whole world to see?
I want to be special.
I NEED to be special!
What are my gifts?
Can I sing? Dance?
Who am I,
and what can I do
to be wonderful
on this earth?
Oh, Mirror...
Please tell me.
~~~~~~~~
What? Look in my pocket?
Ooh, a bunch of smiles.
Thank you.
They'll be perfect
for more selfies!
Um, tissue. Why tissue?
I'm not sad.
Am I getting sick?
Hold on... What is this?
Bread?
Why do I have bread
in my pockets?
Wait! Why are my arms
suddenly looking
so muscular?
And my shoulders...
they're, they're getting
so... so wide.
Why?
What's happening to me?
This isn't what I asked for.
Mirror! Wait, Mirror...
Where are you going? Mir...
~~~~~~~~
Oh, hello, sad little girl.
I didn't see you before.
Would you like a smile?
Oh, she took it,
and ran away with it.
Oh my, where did all these
sad people come from?
Here, you can have a smile, too.
And so can you, yes.
A tissue? Of course.
Wow, I've used up
all my smiles.
Oh, no,
I see another sad child.
What do I do?
Wait,
would you like some bread?
It worked!
He was just hungry.
~~~~~~~~
Why are you crying, lady?
My shoulder?
A hug?
Sure, you can have those.
Can I help you
carry that burden,
you ask?
Yes, actually I can.
Wow, that was easier
than I thought it would be.
We worked well together.
~~~~~~~~
Whew,
that was a busy day.
I'm getting tired,
but it's not a bad tired.
It's...oh, hello, Mirror.
Where have you been?
One more smile, you say?
Oh, yes,
that looks much better on me
than more makeup.
Thank you.
I see the real beauty now.
It was always there, huh?
I just needed to look...
Beyond the mirror.
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The Chaos of Learning New Things (and how Gemini AI can help)…
I love learning! I’ve often compared myself to Johnny 5 from the movie Short Circuit because of my desire for more and more input. But the older I get, the harder it is to process that input as smoothly as before. Plus, with technology, I think confusion and chaos come standard.
One of the biggest problems, though, is the lack of help sources. It used to be that search engines could direct you to just the right place for the answers you needed, albeit sometimes they were several pages deep. Still, if you had a math question, you could find an answer from a mathematician. If you needed a recipe, you could find a cooking site. But now, the answers you get are based on sponsorships and marketing.
Tonight, I needed to install an app for my digital thermostat, and the info on the booklet didn’t match the updated app in the Google Play Store. In addition, the review score there was 2.5 with lots of complaints about how the new app wasn’t as good as the old one. What’s a girl to do with all that confusing information?
Well, my newest phone offered me a free one year trial of Gemini Pro by Google. I’ve had a few AI conversations with Copilot and a Bible AI search, but when I noticed how easy it was to feel like I was talking to a human, I decided to limit conversations to needs that couldn’t be met by searching. Well, except for image generation. I love being able to create things I can imagine but could never draw. But that’s a share for another day.
So I went to Gemini and asked how to tackle my current dilemma. To my amazement, it knew about the negative reviews, the switch of apps, and even solutions that made all the difference — enough of a difference for me to install and use the app plus give it a 5-star rating. For example, once I told it the make of my thermostat, it knew the kind of servers and firmware in my device and recommended a 2.4g Wi-Fi signal to not overwhelm it. It knew that Wi-Fi guest networks were usually slower and confirmed I should put my phone on the same guest network until the install was set up. I admit, it was a little scary that it could turn off my cellphone provider’s data temporarily to make sure the devices stayed on a matched service, but it saved me a step. And almost everything it told me to do worked perfectly, so I had none of the issues the complaining reviews mentioned. I felt so victorious when I accomplished that task.
Finally, when everything was done, it asked if I wanted help drafting a review for those new to the app who were only seeing negative reviews and complaints. It gave me a long, detailed review, but I had to tell it to keep it under 500 characters for Google Play Store reviews. I was a bit surprised it didn’t know that. Anyway, I tweaked it a bit, but it made me feel so good to be able to post a high rating since anyone using the app with a new Carrier system needs to know they can trust it to work as it’s supposed to work. It’s hard to trust, and learn something new, when you’re awash in negative reviews and mismatched paperwork. I’ll post the review for the “SmartHome by Carrier Corporation” app in case some of the steps I took might work for other modern tech devices as well. Maybe this will have the answer for someone out there.
With Gemini’s help, I made this work. It works great on the 2026 firmware update and the app 2026 update if you follow these steps for manual setup.
1. Connect wall unit to 2.4GHz/Guest WiFi & put device with app on the same 2.4 signal. IMPT: Do the firmware update first & let it finish (Carrier logo on screen).
2. Skip the QR scan—it fails.
3. In the app, choose “Infinity System” (NOT Smart Thermostat).
4. Use “Manual Entry” for Serial/MAC/PIN from the wall unit’s Wireless > MyInfinity menu.
It’s hard to put that many details in 500 characters, but my personality of always wanting to be helpful hopes it will enable some who failed in the task to now accomplish it. And if my readers cannot use all the info, at least maybe you’ve learned that your Wi-Fi guest network is not likely 5GHz and that 2 devices wishing to communicate should not only be on the same Wi-Fi network, but also at the same speed.
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It is No Secret, or Is It?
When I was a little girl, my mom loved her music, and she had a lot of albums by Wayne Newton. One of my favorites was his gospel album with Church in the Wildwood, The Old Rugged Cross, and other traditional hymns. I sang with each of them, but mostly with the song, It is No Secret (What God Can Do). This video sounds exactly like what I remember:
As I got older, it began to feel like the things God could do were secrets, at least from me. I wondered where He was on the nights of drunkenness and violence that eventually resulted in social workers and foster homes for my sister and I. She ended up back at home, and I ended up living with my grandparents in another city. We both watched our mom ride a rollercoaster of efforts to get life right while everyone gave her different answers for how to do it.
One day, while writing in a poetry class in the group home I was in, I recall telling God in a poem how I just didn’t understand Him, or why things had to be the way they were. I concluded by writing that I wasn’t going to try anymore. It was partly giving up and partly pleading for understanding. Thankfully, God read it as a prayer that He eventually answered when I was ready.
Proverbs 25:2 says,
[2] It is the glory of God to conceal a thing, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.
https://bible.com/bible/206/pro.25.2.WEBUS
And then we have the Psalm in the image above reminding us that God’s wisdom is hidden from those who do not fear (respect) Him.
So, really, the secret is not one that is withheld from anyone who truly seeks Him with all their heart and soul, but it is hidden from those who don’t think it’s worth enough to dig for. Like a vein of pure gold in a rock or stream, or a cache of diamonds in the depths of a mountain of coal, God’s wisdom is an extreme value waiting to be mined. I don’t desire gold or jewels enough to take the risks associated with mining, but I do value God’s pure and holy truths enough to keep on asking, keep on seeking, and keep on knocking (see Matthew 7:7) until I find answers. Will you go mining with me?
⛏️📖⛏️
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Paper Snowflakes Aren’t Cold
(CC BY-NC-SA)
Years ago, I found a wonderful website called ”Snowdays” where you could make online paper snowflakes to your heart’s content. They gave you a virtual piece of paper and a virtual pair of scissors, and you cut the little snips and zigzags just like you once did with a folded piece of paper from childhood. It checked all the boxes for fun, creativity, and surprise when you got to your final creation.
When I tried to visit tonight, I had warnings about the lack of ”https” but felt okay on my private network. Unfortunately, it just said coming soon, so maybe it will be back with a more secure site. In the meantime, I found a similar one called “Super Snowflake Maker” and it yielded the images in the collage above. I love that I could change the background color and also the number of sides/folds I wanted. It’s such a pleasant activity when housebound because you don’t want to go out when the temperature is in single digits with below zero wind chills, but I think it will also be fun in the middle of summer. Visit https://supersnowflakemaker.com/ to make your own, and put a link in the comments if you save them somewhere online.
I will likely add these to Flickr soon and hope I can reconnect with my former “Snowdays Flakers” from the group at https://www.flickr.com/groups/snowdaysflakers/ where no one has posted since 2018 but where you can also see some beautiful images. I plan to make more and use them for various projects and fun edits when I get the chance. In the meantime, you might like this fun book called Fantastic Snowflakes from a friend of mine, Mary Smith of “Home Crafted Artistry and Printing” as it includes step-by-step instructions for making paper snowflakes: (Amazon affiliate link for tracking) https://amzn.to/4rhduYn
If you’re in the colder 2/3 of the US right now, I hope this post leads to some fun that will warm you up a bit. Enjoy! ✨❄️☃️❄️✨
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Fun with Creativity and The Creator
List five things you do for fun.
WordPress Prompt on January 23rd, 2026
If you’ve read much of my blog, you’ve seen a lot of the things I do for fun. Almost anything kaleidoscopic, colorful, sparkly, or created with words gets my attention. I believe I am creative because I was made in the image of my creative Heavenly Father. Like the aspects of my own parents that I see in my own life, I am thrilled to model aspects of The Lord in my creativity.
The first thing I do for fun is spend time with Yahveh Almighty. Maybe it’s singing to Him, offering praise, giving thanks, reading and studying His Holy Word, or just having a pleasant conversation. However I interact with Him, it truly is a fun thing getting to know The One who put the universe together in infinite ways beyond my finite understanding.
The second thing is spending time with the love of my life, my soldier husband of almost 35 years. We plan to be together “forever and 3 days” because one day past forever isn’t enough. 🥰 Time with him includes more time at home these days, but I have great memories of travel to see my family out west or for vacations to my favorite places like Branson, Missouri, and Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Even a few short trips like the Red Skelton museum near Evansville, Indiana, and a really cool trip to see the World’s Largest Rocking Chair/Mailbox/Pitchfork Wind Chime/Mousetrap and more in Casey, Illinois. Check out these cool sites…
The third thing is writing. If I didn’t have fun writing, even this blog might seem like work. Although I have had some time where writing wasn’t as fun when I didn’t have the members of my wonderful Louisville Christian Writers (LCW) group to encourage me. And, actually, it wasn’t that writing was not fun so much as my life had so many big things going on just before the start of 2020 that all creativity seemed stifled, so writing and this blog took a hit. But now I’m back here and at LCW, so writing is becoming more fun every day. I hope I get back to poetry soon as well. I’m working on a children’s book from the lyrics of the first song I ever wrote at 7 years old, but I’ll save that for its own post.
The fourth thing is kaleidoscopes. My favorites of these include oil cells with floating pieces of sparkly and colorful stuff like dichroic glass. The two mirrors reflect the pieces into a mandala shape filled with moving designs that have a positive effect on the viewer’s endorphin level. And my wish list for new scopes is pretty big, but with just a few small purchases, it was enough to be considered a collector at my favorite kaleidoscope store: Nellie Bly’s in Jerome, Arizona. I love kaleidoscopes so much, well, you can find a whole album of my inside kaleidoscope pics on Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/gp/crystalwriter/cmBKQ5Rp2k And I believe that what I see when I look down the tube of a kaleidoscope is similar to what God sees when He looks at His creations (and people) on this earth. All the designs are beautiful; and they’re even more beautiful when light, especially God’s light, shines through them.
Fifth: Viewing a kaleidoscope doesn’t use my own creativity (though I have built one and want to create more someday), so I love to wax kaleidoscopic and create designs digitally. I use any variety of apps and software to make designs. I started with making tessellations in the Silicon Mirror program by Torpor and later learned what a mandala was. You can still get the program for Windows for only $12, which is what I paid over 15 years ago, and it looks like they’ve come out with a Mac version for 5 bucks. Visit https://torpor.com/smk.htm to see the mirror and his other really cool programs and links to lots of images. My Flickr album for everything kaleidoscopic is at https://www.flickr.com/gp/crystalwriter/2148G1a628 and you can visit https://www.facebook.com/KaleidoscopesPlus to see images from other creative applications. The video at the top is a kaleidoscope transformation made in Mirror Lab. It was a huge file, so I compressed it and added music in Video Show for Android and then let Jetpack’s VideoPress optimize it here. And here are a few static kaleidoscopes I made from the same source as the video was made from.
The 3rd and 5th items could just be called creativity, and there are even more creative pursuits in my life like creating new recipes to cook and spending hours making images with Wombo Dream and a few other AI programs. I hope one day to create a magazine that will include many of my creative outlets along with creations and ideas from others. Getting back here to write again is stirring the creative juices and renewing my hopes for these future dreams. I hope my readers join me in the fun. 😊
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When You Pray
I got a text from a friend tonight. She told me that all over the country (USA), people were going to pray together. At 9 PM, I was to stop what I was doing and spend 1 minute praying for our country. I’m guessing the organizers told people in different time zones what time to pray, so we could all pray together.
Apparently, during World War II, Britain did the same thing and had great success. And it can never be a bad idea to bring any facet of life to The Creator of life and then trust The Master to work well with His creations. So, hubby and I joined hands and bowed our heads, and we prayed. We were in a restaurant, so you know that’s exactly when our server brought the first part of our meal. But she was respectful and waited. I pray it lifted up The Lord in her thoughts.
The day brought a lot of activity, and the night brought temperatures cut in half from the day, but all in all, it felt like a good day. I don’t want to bore folks with all my daily doings, so I looked in my photo history with my Amazon Photos and found this image from Jan 22 of 2024. It reminded me of the 9 PM prayer and thus became tonight’s blog image.
Now, I invite you readers to join believers all over who are taking that minute to lift up our land, our people, and our leadership to The Lord.
Most of us have no idea what our leadership faces from enemies, both foreign and domestic. We live our lives, go to our jobs, have meals with friends and family, and take care of business while remaining blissfully unaware of the threats our leaders must watch for and prepare defenses against. We form our opinions and make our judgments on the little we think we know from what gets shared over the airwaves. But Yahveh Almighty sees what we cannot. He knows the threats, the credible plans, and the steps needed to protect us. So, our leaders need us to pray. And our Creator wants us to pray and wants to listen. Let’s gratefully step up to just one minute each night to raise a collective voice of prayer and praise toward Heaven and know that God is listening. In YahShua’s name.
🙏✨🤲✨🛐✨🛐✨🤲✨🙏
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Having Fun in the Mirror Lab App
(CC BY-NC-SA)
I found one of the pretty butterflies I created in Wombo Dream and decided to use it as a source for a bunch of bright and colorful designs in my Android Mirror Lab app. I hope you enjoy this little break from a text post and just enjoy the pretty pictures.
If you want to make your own, I highly recommend either the Mirror Lab app from The Google Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ilixa.mirror or the same developer’s newest app called One Lab at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ilixa.onelab These are not affiliate links. I just like to share things that I think are fun and hope my readers will enjoy them as well. You can also follow the developer on Instagram to see what others make from his apps. https://www.instagram.com/mirror_lab?igsh=MTZ4Y2R5b25qZm1rMg==
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A Little Bit of Snow
(CC BY-NC-SA)
Brr 🥶! Super cold temperatures are absolutely not my favorite thing. Ice storms, snow storms, and dips below freezing (32°f) make me want to stay hidden in a warm house under cozy blankets.
My husband made the statement that “it’s not that bad” and that started a whole conversation. Why does it seem worse to me than it does to him? Simple, I was not raised with cold or snow. If my sister and I saw a little ice in a puddle, we would slide a shoe over it like our one foot was ice skating. If we found a little bit of snow, we got really excited and wanted to touch it or crunch through it the way little boys love to splash in rain puddles. But both were rare in Southern California.
My first experience with strong cold and lots of snow was when my photography company sent me to Wisconsin in the middle of an arctic cold front. The temperature was 35° below zero, and it dropped to 84° below zero with the wind chill. I was warned not to breathe the air in without a scarf over my mouth, and my co-worker had to have her car towed to a garage to warm it up just to get started. That would be harsh for anyone, but those who live in that kind of cold regularly are prepared. Some even have plugs on their cars to connect to available power sources to heat their oil. It’s not that bad where I live now in Kentuckiana, but it’s still hard on my Western-raised body, even after 35 years here.
Do you have any life changes that have been harder for you to deal with because of a lack of familiarity? For example, if you were raised in a dysfunctional family, maybe going to someone else’s family gathering is somewhat uncomfortable. Or, maybe like me, you are childless, and hearing women talk about having babies or raising children feels awkward because you cannot relate to any of it. On the other hand, I imagine women who have traditional families, pregnancies, births, etc., and then read Scriptures about the curses that often made women in the Bible barren, may feel awkward with me. They must wonder if there’s a curse involved because I wondered that for a long time myself.
See, experience breeds familiarity, and familiarity breeds confidence. My husband is far more confident about driving in the snow than I will ever be. But driving in snow, no matter how much fear it creates in me, is a little thing compared to the blinding Light of Christ to an unbeliever who was never raised around godliness or biblical Scripture. 1 Peter 2:9 speaks of God “calling us out of darkness into His marvelous light.” If you’ve ever come out of a dark room into bright light, you know what this is describing.
When we minister to those who are not familiar with the Gospel, we need to think of the way unfamiliar things make us feel. We need to remember that light can be blinding to those who have been in the dark for a long time. And we need to teach with such compassion and understanding that we are not surprised when a person we’re trying to teach feels overwhelmed by what we are used to in our walks with The Lord. If they reject the message for a time, it doesn’t mean you or I are bad teachers. Even Jesus did not convince every person He reached out to. Sometimes, someone is just set in their own ways and refuses to consider a new way. Other times, it may just take some time for their spiritual eyes to adjust to The Light. That’s when we let them play in just a little bit of snow for a bit until they’re ready for the deep stuff. ❄️
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My Writing Dreams and Goals
Since I posted the writing goals worksheet yesterday, I thought I’d take just a moment to share some of my own. I’m short on time, so I’ll probably add more later, but for starters, I want my own publishing company. I have the domain and had a beautiful site years ago with Yahoo Small Business, but it languished, so it’s time to move forward with it. The image above is a sampling of logo ideas I worked on with Gemini.
For this year…
Goal 1: Blog every day!
Goal 2: Publish 2 children’s books. One already has a story board.
Goal 3: Create the layout for the magazine I want to publish.
When all these things are ready to be published, I want them under the ” For One Soul” label because that’s how I see all my writing and ministry. The words on my business card say, ”Live every moment of your life as if it could be … For One Soul.”
Later, I’ll post about the thoughts behind that statement. For now, I’d love some feedback on the logo ideas. Thanks.
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I Follow Him–A Poem
The content of this poem I wrote many years ago says a lot about everything I’ve written to this point, especially about the covenant made by God in the post for October 17th. I felt this was an appropriate time to share it.
I FOLLOW HIM
By Crystal A Murray – (C)2005I follow Him…
…Around the corridors of Heaven, where beings created for worshipping Him fall at His feet. He sighs, and I hear Him say, “How I long for a friend with whom I can commune, and who will worship Me and desire to commune with me–because he loves Me.” A few heavy sighs later, I see His breath flowing into His new friend. He smiles and says, “It is very good.”
I follow Him…
…through a garden, where He walks and talks with man and woman. I see His despair on the day He can’t find them because a veil of sin now separates Him from His new creation. I watch as, in pain and desperation, He slays an animal to cover their nakedness and then uses the animal’s blood to temporarily pierce sin’s veil, so He may commune once more with His friends. I hear Him lament that all communication with mankind will now be strife for Him because of sin, but He loves them, and He will not give it up. He will never leave nor forsake them.
I follow Him…
…to His drawing board and see His plans for a temple in Heaven and its counterpart on earth. I also see plans for an ark; a covenant; splitting a sea; how blood sacrifice should work and why it doesn’t; and a way to bring Perfect Blood before the Heavenly altar and permanently destroy the veil of sin.
I follow Him…
…to Bethlehem on a star-lit night; to a carpenter’s shop; to a temple service; to a wedding in Cana and a pool in Bethesda.
I follow Him…
…now to another garden. In this one, called Gethsemane, His flesh and Spirit wrestle. I hear Him pray for my salvation–and yours. The flesh bleeds, but the Spirit prevails. I watch as His betrayer kisses Him … and then flees with Perfect Blood on his lips.
I follow Him…
…to the judgment hall and the whipping post.
I follow Him…
…to the death stake: where Perfect Blood stains the ground … the Centurion’s sword … and the hands of His killers. I see a tomb where His body lays still while His Spirit descends into Hell to take the keys of death and forever deliver His creation–His friends–from bondage. As He returns to His tomb, I watch as His Spirit awakens His body with the dawning of a 3rd-day’s sun.
I follow Him…
…as He comforts those who grieve at His tomb, makes Himself known to disciples walking a lonely road to Emmaus, and fills the nets of forlorn fishermen. I hear Him tell of a Comforter. Soon, I watch as He ascends in a cloud back to Heaven, where He goes to prepare a place for me–and for all who love Him. I see that, even today, He works in Heaven’s Holy Temple as our High Priest continuously offering His Perfect Blood to atone for our sins.*
I follow Him…
…because I love Him and desire to commune with Him. He makes a way because He loves me and desires to commune with me. And someday, with the sounds of a trumpet and a shout, He will split the skies and call His people to come home. And then…
…I will follow Him for eternity!
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