SelahV Today by hariette petersen

WHAT IS THE REASON FOR YOUR BLOG?

Someone asked me that several years ago.  I sat there thinking-- you've been reading my blog for months; what kind of question is that? 

I thought some more.  It made me question myself.  All of a sudden I was staring at that email. I wondered.  Exactly, what is the purpose of my blog?

I chuckled to myself. I had no idea what I was suppose to do with a blog when I started it. The first time I heard the term "blog" was when I heard on television that Rosie O'Donnell was saying mean stuff about someone "on her blog" because of something she'd read on someone else's "blog".

When I began mine, I just liked to write and it took on a life of its own.  

Some folks have political blogs--opinion blogs like Charles Krauthammer and Michelle Malkin.  Others produce photography, crafts, cooking and artwork blogs (like The Pioneer Woman).  Still others offer analysis of faith, theology, doctrines, and politics within their denominations, like SBCToday.  Some folks journal.  Some write book reviews.  There are homeschooling blogs and devotional blogs. Some just share daily ditties about themselves. Some blogs are hatchet jobs-- always dumping on individual or another.  Knee-deep in hog slop--wallowing in the mud.  Criticizing, condemning, and spewing junk.

And then there is me.

I am a hodgepodge of almost all of the above. I'm more of a slice-of-life kind of writer-- my life.  I don't like the smell of hogpens.  I don't believe in tabloid blather.  I am not an apologist.  I am not a scholar.  In fact, I know very little, other than what the Lord Himself reveals to me.  I'm a little bit of this and that.  I write what's on my mind and sometimes "what's on my mind" is what I think about when I read other blogs, see on television, or find in a newspaper. Sometimes an email sparks an idea.

I wish I could zero in on one particular thing (devotional writing is the closest I come), but I am simply too eclectic to settle on one thing.  I get bored.  I need diversity. 

However...

                no matter how diverse I am, I pray I see all things through the filter of the One who brings meaning to it all.  Nothing I write about is worth reading if the LORD doesn't have a fingerprint upon it.  Nothing.

Sometimes I feel serious, other times silly.  Sometimes I feel happy, other times  sad.  Some days I go on a tangent, some days a rant.  Some days I brag about my grandchildren; some days I rattle on and on about nothing in particular (Bill O'Reilly calls that bloviating).  I drink decaf coffee and I journal, confess, and I also show you crafts I make with the grand-kids (though I usually put that on another blog which you can find in the sidebar). 

Life is such a glorious thing.  So filled with splendor, mystery and joy.  There is courage; there is determination.  There is tragedy, and there are miracles.  Most of all, there is perseverance--and grace to meet each difficulty.  So folks, that's what my blog is about. It's what I wrote in my banner above:

"Every single moment.. in any given day is significant.  What we do with each moment...what we say in each moment, adds light or darkness to another's life.  Any given action, reaction or inaction is time-capsuled into the Mind of God to be rewarded or burned away."

It's my hope that you find something you can count significant here each day.  If not, check back tomorrow. Until then...

What about you?  What is the reason for your blog? If you don't blog, then why not?  selahV

Found a Song to Share

When you lose a loved one, music can feed your grieiving soul.  A friend from Facebook shared this one yesterday and I thought I'd pass it along.  It made me think of my son and while it made me cry, it also made me smile. Dancing in the Sky. 

Bye Bye Girl Scout Cookies

Didn't need all those calories anyway.  If it wasn't for my penchant for devouring an entire box of their chocolate-covered coconut concoctions, I'd buy two dozen boxes every year-- just to support those innocent little Girls Scouts. No more, though.  I won't even buy one box.  And it has nothing to do with how many calories one cookie contains or how high its consumption pushes my triglycerides on my blood tests.  It has nothing to do with how I feel about those darling little girls dressed in green uniforms with bright yellow scarves, either.

It's all about abortion. It's about Planned Parenthood.  Yes, even good things can fall prey to bad influences.  By all accounts Girl Scouts USA has fallen. Who would have imagined?  Who would believe it?  But it's true. According to the stunning article linked below, "Many Girl Scout councils are... teaming up with their local Planned Parenthood in various ways."

"There are a lot of accusations in the blogosphere about the Girl Scouts. Some are fact, like the Girl Scout organization works alongside abortion providers and funds/promotes abortion rights advocacy groups. And some are sensationalized, like Girl Scout cookie money pays for abortions (although cookies do fund Girl Scouts’ concerning agenda).  So what is the real truth about Girl Scouts?" (for a breakdown read more of this article.)

Any group that stands side by side the abortion-pushing Planned Parenthood loses all support from me.  And Girl Scouts USA is shoulder to shoulder with the group that has promoted and helped the slaughter of nearly 57 Million babies since Roe v. Wade was passed under false pretences. 

Girl Scouts of USA is so linked to Planned Parenthood it uses pathetic examples of women for girls to emulate and look to for inspiration:

GSUSA provides girls, as young as 11 years old, a list of speeches by “Eloquent Women” to assist them with their public speaking badge. Recommendations include Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger’s speech advocating for a women’s right to birth control. Other eloquent women speeches promoted by GSUSA include Lady Gaga and Sally Field both advocating for same sex marriage, a curious recommendation given that GSUSA claims it doesn’t allow advocacy for a particular lifestyle or sexual orientation.

The fact that Girl Scouts USA promote a totally racist woman like Sanger from whom to model their speeches is disgusting. Her ideology (and that of other groups the GSUSA are associated with), are light-years away from what the Girl Scouts were origninally founded upon and have enjoyed for so many years.

"...GSUSA fails to tell us that the international level of the Girl Scout organization, the  World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS), which counts every Girl Scout in the world in its membership of 10 million girls, frequently works alongside International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) to advocate for abortion on demand for youth."

We all might want to be prepared to teach our girls a different way to influence America.  We may want to bake another batch of cookies and let the Girl Scouts crumble under the weight of Planned Parenthood. Again, I recommend Prolifers  read this article before they purchase a box of Girl Scout Cookies this year.  It killed my appetite for the once-tempting treat.  It's clear to me that any dime that goes to this organization, helps fund activities wherein girls are fed the Planned Parenthood ideology and views on a child's reproductive system and the abortion of babies. selahV

Todd Starnes not buying Girl Scout Cookies Either./LINK

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BEWARE of Disney Channel

Cookie Boycott Continues After Girl Scouts' Halfhearted Apology over Wendy Davis

I Won't Be Ordering Girl Scout Cookies This Year

BEWARE of Disney Channel

It's no longer fit for children to view.  I can no longer trust Disney at all.  If they do it once, they'll do it again and again and again.  I fully expect they are not far from producing an animated movie with a princess meets princess and prince meets prince where they kiss and everyone lives happily every after.  Everyone but me.

When my granddaughters wanted to watch Good Luck Charlie, I sat and watched it with them.  It was (and I do mean "was"), another one of those shows I could sit through and point out moral values.  I could also address how selfish, insecure and self-centered the mother, Amy, was in the show-- how she is always upstaging her children. She is made to seem lovable and quite comical with how she interferes, but it's plain to me that she wants what she wants and is going to show her kids up in every situation possible-- even one episode where she tries to steal her toddler's artwork and use it as her own.  It's a rather demeaning view of women in general and I do hope my granddaughters do not grow up to be anything like her.  HOWEVER...

that's not the issue that broke the proverbial camel's back for eliminating this show and every other Disney show from my television viewing. NOPE.

I could use her shenanigans to point to the better characteristics of my granddaughters' own family units and how their mother was sacrificial and nothing like Charlie's mom.  Her kids are always getting into one silly predicament after another but in the end, they work things out in ways that show a better way of doing "life" in general. Until now.

Enter the lesbians.
“This particular storyline was developed under the consultancy of child development experts and community advisors,” a spokesperson for Disney Channel said when the casting was first announced in June 2013. “Like all Disney Channel programming, it was developed to be relevant to kids and families around the world and to reflect themes of diversity and inclusiveness.” for entire story.

Yeah. Disney has decided it is "relevant" to introduce the two lesbian women to the show to force-feed their view of "inclusiveness and diversity".  Thus, it is quite clear to me that Disney no longer wants my granddaughters to view their station with Good Luck Charlie-- or any other show.  If they feel it is their responsibility to force feed that trash and perversion down my throat in their shows, then my only recourse is to boycott all Disney programming.  No more movies. No more television channel.  I will henceforth be playing cards with my grandchildren when they come over. 

We'll go back to jigsaw puzzles, Monopoly, Candyland and matchgames.  We'll do pick-up sticks, Yahtzee and Scrabble. We'll bake cookies and pies and cupcakes. And I'll be reading Little House on the Prairie, as well as watching the reruns of the shows.

Disney and other shows seek to infiltrate our lives with their constant barrage of shows and unacceptable perversions. While only 9% of the country is supposedly homosexual and lesbian, our entire country is suppose to not only bake them wedding cakes and tolerate their behavior-- we are to accept it as normal and pure.  It is not. It is not normal.  It is not natural. It is not pure. It is against all things holy and as long as I have breath I will state the Biblical view of that as well as the Biblical view of fornication and adultery and every other sin which God directs us to repent of and turn away from.  I will do whatever I can do to protect my grandchildren from seeing the perversion of society as normal. I will not subject myself to the promotion of all things of God as evil or intolerant.

I don't watch filthy awards shows, nor do I condone sexually driven commercials.  I no longer eat at Burger King or Carl's Jr.  I dropped my Go-Daddy domain names. I refuse to watch shows that write in political views that denounce all things conservative or Christian...bye bye Law and Order and Chicago Fire.

I am constantly turning off the television set--or switching the channel--it's ridiculous.  I rarely go to a movie.  Even Saving Mr. Banks failed to draw me to the box office.  Why?  Because one of the most liberal-supportive actors in Hollywood was the star of that show-- Tom Hanks.  I won't give him another dime to push his liberal agendas down my throat by donating to his political party. I know I'm nobody in the scheme of things.  I know my 9 bucks means nothing to their billions.  But I will not bow down to Baal.  That is what I do every single time I watch a movie or listen to a song any of these people produce.  I'm done.  So "Good Luck Charlie and Disney.  I'm through with you.  selahVtoday by Hariette Petersen

Sunday Morning January 26, 2014

this photo was taken of my neighbor's house following a storm. A double rainbow is such a gorgeous thing to see.  May today be a day of promise as we walk in it with the Lord as our guide and our sufficiency.  selahV

Our Government Could Learn From This

"Professionals may have built the Titanic, and an amateur the Ark. This proves the Architect is really important."~~Netminister

I believe our country needs a founders' refresher course on building a successful government which cares for the people rather than their positions within the system of government. Unfortunately, this country has allowed too many ungodly people to dictate what the citizens must believe and then proceed to make laws to circumvent the Constitution.  They're building, but without consulting the original plans.  They rejected the architects' design for America--architects who trusted God, believed in Jesus and never sought to eliminate Him from life-- but to protect citizens from tyrannical government which would limit the ability of citizens to follow their faith.

America has strayed so far from the original intent of our founding fathers, it's no wonder we now fall far, far short of the blessings our country orignally enjoyed.

"...Unless the LORD builds the house,

They labor in vain who build it;

Unless the LORD guards the city,

The watchman keeps awake in vain.;..." Ps.127:1

We've forgotten how to teach children and bring them up in the admonition of the LORD via the Ten Commandments and instruction in the Word of God. Thus, our country is floundering. As a child, those commandments were constant reminders to me and other children to obey our parents, show respect to others, and live with a moral compass.  Our colleges and universities were founded on the Word of God and the Savior Jesus Christ. Today those same institutions cover symbols of faith and tear them down altogether. They ignore their founders' words and reject the mention of God in any positive light. The same advocates who speak out against bullying and discrimination, bully Christians to be silent and discriminate against them when they use the word of God in a speech or the name of Jesus in a prayer.

I'm not blowing smoke here, friends. This isn't some conservative Christian right-wing blathering.  Check out what Noah Webster, Schoolmaster of the Republic said:

"Education is useless without the Bible. The Bible was the textbook in all fields. God's Word, contained in the Bible, has furnished all necessary rules to direct our conduct."~ Noah Webster/ref.link

Webster was certain of the need for children to be educated with Bible in hand. Yes, that's right. In early times, the Bible was actually the textbook used to teach reading.  Webster believed "the Christian religion is the most important and one of the first things in which all children, under a free government ought to be instructed...".  Can you imagine if a leader in our government were to challenge our Department of Education with that view? Webster further believed, "No truth is more evident to my mind than that the Christian religion must be the basis of any government intended to secure the rights and privileges of a free people."
  ~~Noah Webster, Preface Noah Webster Dictionary, 1828

Thus, when today, we do all the building of our country (producing legislations and regulations), and remove all reference to God, we are rejecting the builder-- the "Architect". 

We can labor all we want; we labor in vain.

We can push God out of everything from school, to government, to symbols of our faith in the Creator, and every traditional oath ever sworn to if we want.  However, when we do, we must also realize we will suffer the consequences of letting our guard down with the evil in this world.  We cannot protect ourselves from evil without God.  Reject Him and He will turn us over to our own devices and choices.

When Friends Are Not Friends

...you'll recognize the signs.

• They're more combative than friendly.
• They're antagonistic with most any subject you discuss.
• They do not affirm you in any way shape of form.  Criticism abounds but validation is non-existent or extremely limited and forced.
• They ignore every good or positive thing you have ever said, written, or done.
• They refuse to have a conversation with you; instead they point out what they do not like about you-- real or imagined.
• They accuse.  They dredge up situations which you had no idea existed, then plant seeds of doubt in your mind about your own actions and attitudes.  However, without recollection and specifics-- there's no way to reconcile the situation and restore the relationship.
• They discourage rather than encourage.
• You cannot confide in them and feel safe that your confidence is well-placed.
• You discover they talk negatively about you behind your back.
• They really do not seek you out to hear how you are or what is going on in your life unless it specifically affects them in some way.

These are enough signs to help anyone verify the validity of friendship.  You may have others.  The question that comes to my mind (more than any other when I see these signs rear their ugly heads), is what do I do about it?  do I continue to try and build on what I thought was a friendship and ignore slights and insults, or do I cut my losses and move on?

Well, call me a glutton for punishment-- but I tend to give the benefit of the doubt until I have exhausted all effort on my part to make it work.  I pray about it...basically I'm trying to live at peace, as much as I am able, with everyone.  When peace eludes me-- when things stay the same or get worse, I kick the dust from my feet and move on.  Once I move on, I don't look back.  I keep my eyes focused on a higher calling to befriend others.  There are so many people in life who are hungry for friendship-- people who welcome efforts of caring, concern, conversation, and comraderie.  These are the people I want around me.  Others are drags on life.  I want folks who will stir up in me the desire to do good, to be better, and to make life better for others.  The opposite pulls me down and drains me of all energy and leaves me exhausted. 

Friends energize us. They fuel us and add to our lives in a positive way.  They are trustworthy and loyal.  May we each be the best of this to others.

What's In A Name?

Apparently, far more than I imagined.

When I first began blogging in 2006, I had no clue why I would blog.  I had a friend who set up a blog for me and told me to "write".  In fact, he told me repeatedly to "write".  At the time, nearly a year had passed since I'd lost my 33 year-old son in a tragic 4-Wheeler accident on Mother's Day of 2005.  My brain was mush.  I felt like a puddle on the floor.  Reason and purpose seemed frozen in time.  Desperately I clung to temporal things to ground me between earth and heaven.  I grasped for memories of my son's presence.  I searched Scripture for answers.  I buried my sorrow in the pages of Job and sought comfort in Psalms.  And I wrote. 

And wrote. 

And read.

I gave my mind to debates I saw bandied about in the blogosphere: Calvinism, Arminianism-- predestination, tulips, regeneration, faith and all things related.  I met some marvelous folks from all sides of the spectrum.  By some twist of God's divine plan, I gained a bit of recognition from various folks in the blogging world-- attention filled with approval as well as disapproval.

It was okay.

It was instantaneous diversions from the heartache and depression I fought every day.  I made some friends. Friends who remain to this day. Friends (other than a couple) I've yet to see in real-life touchy-feely time.  These friends prayed me through one crisis after another.  They helped financially to keep me on the internet, friends-- virtual strangers-- who provided computers.  Friends who asked that I join their collaborative blogs-- which came and went through the years-- as most things do. It's been a great ride.  From SBC-Impact (now defunct), to SBC-Voices (which dropped all aggregate links), to Devotional Christian (which also faded away), and even a couple of appearances on SBC-Today (in its infancy)--and since revitalized for greater impact.  I wrote a few book reviews for Hannibal Publishing and wrote a few guest-devotionals for SBC-Tomorrow.  I had blogposts from here at SelahV Today and SBC-Encounters reblogged and emphasized.  I went from 1 hit a day to 50,000 hits in one day. Yeah... fifty thousand. But that was no achievement.

It had little to do with my voice-- my words-- my thoughts.  It was merely because Hobby Lobby was going to court to protect their religious freedom.  And several folks wanted to know what was going on.  A couple of folks denounced the whole idea.  Others (many others) tried to hack my site with pornography links in response.  Such is the reality of posting anything in support of other Christians who seek to keep their religious rights as guaranteed by the United States Constitution.  Go figure.  The very thing oppositional voices are allowed to do-- visit and freely promote their smutty sites-- they are intolerant of when others promote traditional values.  Values, by the way, that support the economic strength of our country. 

So, here I am.  Nearly 3,000 posts later.  My name, once googled and found in multiple sites, finds itself on the lower end of the spectrum of voices to read. Partly because I stopped writing daily-- partly because the aggregator that carried my link dropped all links to their blog. Sad, when you think my link and others helped build it. Ah...cest' la vie; that's life.  I joined Facebook and Twitter and linked my blogs to it.  I still get traffic-- but nothing like it use to be.

I know if I wrote provocative posts like Ann Coulter, or controversial subjects in the SBC world countering famous folks, that my "name" recognition would grow. I might even be able to add advertisers to my site and build upon it--especially if I did crafty posts with crafty things and featured cute kids doing those crafty things (which happens to be what's trending hot on my blog right now-- an old post). But... that's not what I want.  Not even close.

Right now I'm praying about SelahV Today, and Hariette Petersen-- and where I fit into this world of public value.  I still write my little weekly newspaper column, Common Matters, for our county paper. I've no clue what subscribers to that paper think of me-- or if they even read my column. I suppose there's some draw or the editor wouldn't give me so much space each week.  However...

I am at a crossroad-- an intersection with blogging.  I don't want to be part of the political landscape in religion.  I've all but stopped writing on my blog regarding my affiliation with the Southern Baptist Convention.  The "voices" who supposedly represent me, do not speak for me anymore.  So, I've separated myself from the heart of what it once was and from blogs that once carried my voice.

Physical liabilities limit my involvement in many things.  But I know, I'm more than my liabilities-- my inadequacies, my failures-- and even my achievements.  I am more. I'm more than a Twitter identity. I'm more than a Facebook status.  I'm more than an email recipient-- or even my online profile.  I'm more.

I am significant.  In Christ-- in His body. 

Now, I'm trying to figure out-- after 65 years of life, eight years of blogging and nearly 32 years of publishing my words-- just where I fit into His plan and purpose for the remainder of my days.  I truly believe there's more to me than I know or can possibly conceive.  And so are you.

"A good name is to be chosen over great wealth;
favor is better than silver and gold." Proverbs 22:1

We have more to offer than what government says.  We are more valuable than the receipt of a wealthier person's leavings and crumbs.  We are.  We're more than one vote in one election or another.  I'm more than the mother of an adult daughter and a dead son.  I'm more than some church's former minister's wife.  I am a child of the Most High God.  And today-- that is enough.  selahVToday by hariette petersen

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When We Give Him Grief (a bit of a rewrite)

Purpose, Plan and Discovery

How to Be Victors in Life

When Loneliness Invades A Life

Keep the Story Alive

It's our job.  It's our responsibility.  It's the least I can do in light of what Irena Swendler did so long ago. 

We each come across incredible stories as we meet and greet on social network sites. Heartwarming as well as heart-breaking stories. Today I read one of those.  Amazing that as much as I read (and I read a lot), I have not come across this remarkable account of human courage:

"During World War II, Irena Sendler, got permission to work in the Warsaw ghetto, as a Plumbing/Sewer specialist. She had an ulterior motive.

Irena smuggled Jewish infants out in the bottom of the tool box she carried. She also carried a burlap sack in the back of her truck, for larger kids. Irena kept a dog in the back that she trained to bark when the Nazi soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto. The soldiers, of course, wanted nothing to do with the dog and the barking covered the kids/infants noises.

During her time of doing this, she managed to smuggle out and save 2500 kids/infants.

Ultimately, she was caught, however, and the Nazi's broke both of her legs and arms and beat her severely. Irena kept a record of the names of all the kids she had smuggled out, in a glass jar that she buried under a tree in her back yard. After the war, she tried to locate any parents that may have survived and tried to reunite the family. Most had been gassed. Those kids she helped got placed into foster family homes or adopted.

In 2007 Irena was up for the Nobel Peace Prize. She was not selected.

Al Gore won, for a slide show on Global Warming.

Please share Irena's story to honor her sacrifice and courage--such a fine human being who gave so much and saved so many."

*************************Such irony, don't you think?

A woman of such courage, such heroism, such love for her fellow man that she'd risk her life and eventually be beaten unmercilessly, ends up on the world stage of honor.  She stands on the precipice of being rewarded by the world for her acts of hope and mercy, only to be passed over for Al Gore and his mythical madness of Global Warming. So grateful to know that one day we will see her rewarded by the King of Kings on the heavenly stage of honor. What a wonderful day that will be.

For there is another who gave His life in sacrifice to save each and every one of us-- including the Nazis who beat poor Irena-- for sins against a Holy God. We've all fallen short of His glory-- His perfect righteousness. Many of us will go unnoticed for our acts of kindness and love. Many will be forgotten for their sacrifices.  But Jesus makes the way for us to live eternally with Him.  What an honor to anticipate-- such joy to imagine.

For more about Irena Sendler go here/link

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A SIMPLE GOSPEL: "The Light is where Jesus Is"

Heroine's Story to Be Premiered on May 1,

Heroes don't plan to be heroes

Yet again and again we see people lay down their lives for others.  Do they want to die?  No.  Yet, they do.  We call them heroes.  We hear a story about bravery or sacrifice and we move on.

Today I read a story about a 14 year-old boy in Pakistan.

Aitazaz Hassan Bangash saw something that didn't make sense to him.  He acted upon his gut feeling.  He was killed by another person with a suicide vest.  In a schoolyard of 2,000, how many did this young man save? we do not know, but Pakistan can be proud today of this young teenager.  I'm sure when Aitazaz got up to go to school on Monday, the last thing on his mind was being blown up and saving lives in the process.  I'm sure he didn't plan to be a hero either.  Heroes don't plan to be heroes.  It's sad he had to be one on Monday.

May his family be comforted by his heroism and may they find solace in his courage.

See whole story, here.

Where Do You Belong?

I don't know about you, but I know.  As much as I'm rooted to the spot in which I find myself today in Oklahoma, this is not where I belong.

I'm not searching for a new place to live...a more lucrative income potential or better retirement vista.

I'm not unlike any other person.  I bloom where I'm planted.  My life produces its own fruit within the community of folks I come across each week.  We all know we have a particular niche to fill that no one other than us can fill. 

Me?  Well, I'm grandmother to a couple of kiddos who live next door.  And I do mean next door.  They're within 12 feet of me.  A skip and hop across our porch and they're here.  Kinsey popped in yesterday to show me her brand new satchel filled with new crayons, markers and such.  She is so excited that homeschool co-op classes begin next week. My "niche" with Kinsey is as a listener.  I listen to every single little thought that pops into her mind and she knows I will always listen to what she has to say without interruption. Today she popped in search of bottlecaps. Yeah; I save odds and ends of everything.  She's making bowls for her Barbies, and she knows where to come to find crafting stuff.  I like being a supply house for scavenger hunts.

This is part of where I belong.  Part.

Just as my place on this earth has meaning to someone like Kinsey, I find meaning in my role as wife to the dearest, most loyal man who's walked the face of the earth since Christ.  He rises five days a week and heads out for 8 hours of work to supplement our meager annuity and Social Security benefits.  He's my mighty knight. I love to cook him meals he enjoys. While others may never dine upon that fare, I know he relishes every bite of oddities I concoct.  He never complains.  Never. 

Yes, I mean never.  Never--about anything.

So when you live in a life where you're cared for so well, like I am-- with so small an expectation in return, there's little to long for.  I don't dream for myself much anymore.  I enjoy the moments I'm given to listen, to agree, to absorb what others enjoy, endure and how sad it is that life cannot be sweeter for all--as it is for me. 

That's not to say I do not have irritable annoyances. Lands alive, who doesn't?  However, my irritants are miniscule in the scheme of a 10-year-old child being beaten to death by her employer in Pakistan, or a 9-year-old girl being locked and starved in a closet in Massachusetts. Nor do I have to be concerned about being beheaded in Uganda for believing in Jesus. I have it pretty good.

I sit here and read twitter feeds and wonder why we fuss so much about a New Jersey bridge being closed by a silly bunch of political operatives when so many have so much more to battle in life. It's sad.

This life-- it's really sad.

Here...on earth, it's sad. But here on earth is not where we belong-- be it Oklahoma, Pakistan or New Jersey.

Earth is where we are but sojourners till we meet in heaven-- where we really belong. ~~hariette petersen

Purpose, Plan and Discovery

"In almost everything that touches our everyday life on earth, God is pleased when we're pleased. He wills that we be as free as birds to soar and sing our maker's praise without anxiety."~A.W. Tozer

Okay.  I think I've got this. I have a purpose and the only thing on my writing agenda this year is to meet new folks God brings across my pathway via internet or real life touchy-feeling five-sense happenstances. Take all those and write about them according to how God predestines the consequences of the choices I make in follow-through, avoidance, or neglect.  Then feel free to be me and be happy because when I am happy, God is happy. That is (and this is a slight difference of opinion between me and Tozer), unless what pleases me is totally out of sync with God's pleasure. Then...

ain't nobody gonna be pleased.  That's a fact.  And I can fly to whatever heights I want but if I fail to recognize the everyday touches of God in every situation... I'm gonna get my wings clipped.  Then, I'm gonna need time-out in the prayer closet or a Xanax for sure.

 "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you." Matthew 6:33

I've had an interesting day. Tweeting. Facebooking. A trip to Red Lobster where I held open the bathroom door for a little old man who'd obviously had a stroke and couldn't get into the men's room because the door was so heavy he could barely inch his way through while trying to hold the door ajar.  I used my cane to push it open so he could pass through. Afterwards I returned to the table and had my husband go back and check on the little old man so he could get out of the restroom.  One good "happenstance" of the day. We also made a quick stop at Lowe's to purchase a hundred lightbulbs that the government is banning in the U.S.A.  Had some very interesting followers on Twitter... got some good advice about writing. And well, this is a teensy part of where I'm ending my day. I didn't follow all of David Swindle's points for getting this post on the screen, however, tomorrow I'm buying me a new journal and a shiny set of colored markers. Then I'm going to go back and copy down David's ten rules and try and see how many I can master by the end of the month. Who knows?  I could end up with a book by the end of 2014?  All that aside, I do know one thing: I can say without one doubt, I am singing my Maker's praise without anxiety.  Should sleep well tonight. Hope you do, too. selahV by hariette petersen

NOTE--TO ALL MY WRITER & WANNABE WRITER FRIENDS OUT THERE: Loved this article by David Swindle, Associate Editor at PJMedia. You'll like it too if you want to get serious about writing. I learned a bunch of stuff from his piece as he spliced and diced it on his Twitter account/link.  Worth following there, too.  Believe me.