The Thousand Word Project - Post-Flight

So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

- Robert Frost
(excerpt from "Nothing Gold Can Stay")

Writing Challenge # 9

Are you ready for a new writing challenge?

This month it will be a little different. Instead of actually writing, we're going to share information.

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Share (on your blog or in the comments here) some of your favorite online resources for writing helps.

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This could be a fairly wide variety of resources - anything from online classes you recommend to dictionaries and things like that.

Here is a list of some of mine:

These are actually on my tool bar at the top of my browser for easy access.

Thesaurus.com - This is helpful when you want to say a certain thing but you're looking for a better word or a word that you haven't already used but means the same thing.

A Dictionary of the English Language by Samuel Johnson - This dictionary compiled by Johnson in the 1700s is a tool that I have used in an abridged form (in print) for years. I was happy to learn that they are putting it online, and I have used it here as well.

KJV Dictionary - This is helpful for those of us who use the KJV. It gives the definitions of over 11,000 words found in the King James Version of the Bible as taken from Webster's 1828 dictionary of English.

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Of course, Google is always helpful for doing research. I use it often for simple definitions of words and concepts - whether to check my usage or to provide my readers with a more concise explanation of the meaning. Type in the search box the word or phrase you are looking up with "definition" after it. Example: "persecution complex definition"
I also use it a lot for random research purposes on many varied subjects. For writing it can be very valuable. User discretion required. :-)

Wikipedia can be useful for some research, but on more sensitive subjects or things that have controversial aspects, it is not always completely reliable since the content can be biased by the contributors. Keep this in mind as you use it.

Another source for information can be Facebook if it is used wisely. If you want to know what the people of a specific group think, searching for their Facebook pages that are public can give you a lot of insight as to how they actually are thinking and arguing their own position. It is important to remember when using this source that the main perspective is that of the individual(s) who moderate the page, so don't assume that it is what all _________ think on a given subject. You will definitely find the opinions of the "common man and woman" in abundance!

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These sites are useful for working on poetry.

Rhymezone.com - This tool offers help with rhyming words and phrases, but it also gives a lot of other helps in the drop down box on the right. Click the little down arrow for a long list of ways to use this tool.

Rhymer.com - This page has some interesting technical options, along with an explanation on how to use it.

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One of the quote sites that I have liked and used the most is AZQuotes.com. They even have a way to make your own memes with many of the quotes offered there. Also there are many by known Christians, which is useful.

I strongly encourage discretion in using quotes. There are many people who have said interesting or even true things who are of dubious reputation, and some should not be used at all in most instances. It always bothers me to see someone quote a person who was known for their godless life on subjects where we should be sticking strictly to those who are had in honor for wisdom and godliness.

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So, there you are. I hope someone finds something useful here. :-)

See the other Writing Challenges.

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Photo in title - unknown source. This probably came from an advertisement since it was said to be a Smith-Corona that the lady is typing on. I learned to type a later model, portable Smith-Corona, so I liked this picture for that reason as well as the historical content and the way it was setup by the photographer. :-)

Did You Meme That? - Proud to Be A Christian?

Proverbs 16:18-19  Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.

Occasionally I poke around on Facebook looking at things. I don't remember exactly where I got this particular meme, but I thought it would be worth talking about because it brings up an important subject - pride.

Meme reads: "I AM PROUD TO BE A CHILD OF GOD
Type "YES" if you are" [sic]

I always get uncomfortable when someone talks about being proud in a "Christian" context. Whether it's talking about the accomplishments of Sunday School students, the teens who went to camp, graduates, or whatever it may be, when someone starts in on being "proud of" anyone or anything and it's supposed to be a godly subject, I get rumpled in my spirit. It's even worse when someone says, "I know God is proud of you." Ugh!

The main reason it goes all the the wrong way in my mind is because I cannot think of one place in the Bible where pride is ever said the be "good." I know some people believe in a "good kind of pride", but biblically it does not exist.

The secondary reason that it bothers me so much is that I don't want to be tempted to do things to make some human "proud," and I dislike seeing other people tempted that way as well. There is a certain seduction in hearing someone say, "I'm proud of you." It makes us feel good about ourselves. The problem with that is that we are not supposed to be men-pleasers in our Christian walk. We are supposed to please God. If we do something that is right and good according to God's word, then some encouragement may be in order, but when someone says, "I'm proud of you," they are in effect bringing our focus to them and their approval when it should be on the Lord and His pleasure and praise.

Let's just talk about the meme here for a moment. If anyone is truly "a child of God," they would know what a tremendous price was paid to make that happen. They would know how unworthy they are in themselves of that name and the salvation that brought it about. They would be humble, not proud. They would feel blessed and privileged, they would feel thankful. But, to say "I'm proud to be a child of God," flies all in the face of everything that it took for that to happen in the first place!

We are told to humble ourselves before the Lord.

James 4:10  Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

1 Peter 5:6  Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:

We are told that God resists proud.

1 Peter 5:5  Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.

One of the proudest men who ever lived, who suffered greatly because of his pride, was king Nebuchadnezzar whose story is told in the book of Daniel. After experiencing what God would do to the proud in bringing him down from his own high place he wrote this:

Daniel 4:37  Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.

Please notice that the opposite of his former pride here is that he now praises and extols and honors God. We should not be "proud to be a child of God" as if we did something to deserve it or were worthy of it. We should praise and honor God that He did provide a way to make us His children through the tremendous price of Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection.

I would also like to mention that it is cheap to say, "I am proud to be a child of God. Type 'Yes' if you agree." Anyone can post or share this meme, and their lives may not measure up to it in way. The person posting it might not even really be a child of God. Inviting others to participate in this manner is an even worse cheapening of the very sacred and glorious privilege of being God's child.

Let's use better words instead of using "pride" so loosely. We can say we are pleased with other people instead of proud of them. We can say that we are blessed that someone did this or that because it was glorifying to God. This puts the focus on Him instead of us. We can say we are thankful or privileged to be a child of God, because that is a more accurate way of speaking.

Matthew 12:37  For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

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Read more "Did You Meme That?"

Evening Song - Tell Me the Old, Old Story

Galatians 6:14  But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.

Painting with Leaves Tutorial

Here is a tutorial from Jay Lee showing how to paint using leaves. This technique is obviously more difficult and may not be suitable for young children as it looks like it would be a challenge to keep one's fingers from leaving smudges. You could use tweezers to lift the leaves to help with that. Also, I'd probably wipe off the aluminum foil periodically in order to reduce the amount that gets on the backs of the leaves and could then be smudged on to the paper more easily. He says to use washable paints. I think you could use craft acrylic paints or poster paints for this. It looks like fun. I might try it with watercolors just for fun. These would be great for greeting cards as well as Fall or Thanksgiving decor.

The Thousand Word Project - Preparing for Flight

Ecclesiastes 3:11  He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.

There are treasures rich and rare,
There's a fragrance in the air,
When the autumn leaves of life are turned to gold.

- Eschol Cosby

Difficult Thoughts On Abortion and Child Abuse

In June a tragic thing happened in San Antonio, Texas. A teenage mother, one Amanda Hawkins, left her two small children, ages 1 and 2, in a car overnight while she was in a house partying. They were left there till about noon the next day when the outside temperature had risen to 85F. Although she tried to cover up the fact by taking care of the children later when they are said to have already been unconscious, she was eventually convinced to take them to ER. There she lied about what happened. They died later that day from the effects of the heat and neglect they had suffered. [Information Source]

During the course of this event one teenage boy went and slept in the car with the children for a period of time in the night. Also, some of her friends heard the children crying in the car and tried to convince the mother to bring them inside, which she refused to do.

This particular situation brings up several points to ponder.

First of all, I want to discuss the issue of what the friends did or didn't do.

Continue Reading.

Historic photo: London street orphans by G.F.A. Best