Expanding the defintion of "where you're at" (me!) ~topps
i am positively overwhelmed, in the best possible way, with pictures and cnf stories, thoughts, quotes, etc., from our summer travels and activities.. it will be some time before i can organize, sort, edit.. and ultimately post,
but!
i can quickly make this point that's been on my heart and mind since i picked up the Bible from the drawer in one of the hotel's we visited along the way
many, many, many times over many years, i have heard the saying
"God will meet you where you're at"
and, i want to say, that put in context, 90+ % of the time, when people/pastors/Christians say that,
they are talking about what you see above, in this page of the intro to a Bible
-they are talking about, meeting where you are 'spiritually' -emotionally- at... internally; depressed, addicted, lonely, etc.
but!
it is my experience, and feels worthy of shouting from a mountain top, that, that - is not the only definition
God will also 'meet you where you are at' -intellectually, academically, -your grade level; so to speak.. pre school to PhD...
so, remind here: you can be illiterate - unable to even read the Bible,
God will meet where you are at.. you communicate via prayer
-often, i find people with solid educations, high IQ's, scholars, professors, experts, etc.
they want to debate/share about the Bible from that perspective..
from a geographical, historical, academic perspective
****
i have no need to memorize scripture; no desire to academically understand or scientifically prove..
God continually meets me where I am at..
and guides me with love, patience.. conviction... nurturing... nudges... reminders..
it's all via prayer [but I can and do read the Bible, watch TV ministers]; the point i want to re-make is this:
****
If you are a scholar, a researcher, a historian.. God will meet you there, challenge, enlighten and love you into wholeness from that place..
If you are illiterate, dyslexic, intellectually challenged, etc. -a slow learner; God will meet you there too; love YOU into wholeness; you just need prayer..
It is my experience, observation and gained knowledge: God will meet you where YOU are at, spiritually, mentally, emotionally, physically, intellectually... geographically; you name it
and love you into wholeness
until that love spills out and overflows...
in Jesus name, amen.
Prayer Warriors (robert! & sandra!)
we pray every day
we have a spiritual routine
robert will pray out loud, a long itemized prayer that includes all our friends, family, neighbors, first responders.. any specific prayer requests that come in on a daily, weekly or monthly basis
then i will pray out loud, this same prayer i created/adopted some time ago
Jesus, in Your Praiseworthy, Trustworthy,
Chain-Breaking, Pain-Taking, Way-Making
All Merciful, All Grace-filled, All Healing, All Loving Name
THIS IS THE DAY THE LORD HAS MADE REJOYCE!
we will be creative and productive
blessed to be a blessing
enormously grateful
Jesus, we take care of our responsibilities
cast our cares
Jesus Your yolk is light
and we will glorify your name
by enjoying this day!
*******
skipping a much longer post here, [for now] to provide a longer list of the myriad ways we can and do glorify God's name.. but, emphasize here, -just enjoying your day and being grateful; glorifies God's name..
***
but as of late, i have a 'receiving' prayer i've been inspired to pray, and now im inspired to share it here; it goes like this:
Jesus, i receive your unconditional love
i receive your love, peace, patience
i receive your joy!
Jesus i receive your kindness, goodness, gentleness
i receive your faithfulness
i thank you for strengthening my self-control
Jesus,
i receive your correction, i receive your instruction, i receive your conviction
i receive your mercy, i receive your grace, i receive your understanding, i receive your forgiveness
i receive your blessings, your favor, your anointing
i receive every blessing you have for us
and want to experience every possible amazing thing this life with you has to offer
[not as the world gives... but as Jesus gives]
*****
also skipping here, a longer post about 'worthiness' -feeling worthy..
and another longer post about how, -the emphasis is not on deserving, but on being open to receive
in Jesus eternal loving name
hallelujah & amen
speaking of... -from my 2007 archives
external memory storage link
tell a prompt her
CREATE IN JOY! Sandra Kay
http://www.magtimeframes.com
[ i believe this post is from 2005 (?); draft date shows June 2, 2012 for this very post, just now undrafted/published; -all my blogs in 'draft' now read June 2, 2012. original dates are gone for over 1,300 blog posts ]
-and i grieve
but, also! i will be celebrating 18 years blogging next month
and i have a great deal of writing/posting in waiting...
-perhaps i need to put the date in the title bar... amen.
****
A society for changing outdated/ugly bird names begs (me!) ~topps, writeousmom
p.s. in my own backyard.. when i see a
i have renamed them, 'charmers'
and on the occasion we have the bell shaped (vs. cylinder) bird seed out,
"look! charmer on the bell, charmer on the bell, hi-ho, the derry-o.. charmer on the bell"
FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH CHATgpt. i'm officially wow'd (me!) ~topps, cnf writer & poet
-first heard about it from my son.. who shared it was okay to share during job interviews that you used chatgpt..
-heard about it from some friends, who mentioned/watched episodes about chatgpt on cbs sunday morning show,
-came up again in recent conversations with friends..
and so, today
finally gave it a personal go.
sharing here my initial reactions/assessments -keeping in mind i am a creative non fiction writer & poet
****
the most recent poem i wrote and posted was for small paws cremations
poems have different origins.. some demand to be written -and there is no publisher waiting, no deadline, no one asked, or needed.. they just kind of make themselves known in my mind/heart and i will sit down with a pen and paper and honor what i'm experiencing..
this particular poem was requested
so, in order to write it, i did 3 primary things: visited their website and read each page.. did some research in the industry at large, and sat with memories from my own personal experience of saying that hard goodbye to pets throughout the years..
i am very pleased with the results; pleased with the poem itself. it took a couple days.. drafting.. and then reorganizing certain lines of the poems; adjusting vocabulary
and for me, as a writer, the placement, the spacing, the font, the punctuation (or lack of)
it is very specific.
how it looks, aesthetically speaking, on a page
this then, became my natural first experience with chatgpt... having heard you could give it some key words, themes, and it would write a poem for you
and i have to say!
not bad chatgpt, (which is synonymous with crowdsourcing unknown number of documents/data from the world wide web and then editing and producing a succinct body of work related to...)
* additional caveat, that the online sourcing the chatgpt does -does not distinguish between fact/fiction; has no 'discerning' editor when aggregating information
still;
on the pro side: it spit out a result fast as a computer can calculate 2+2; it stayed true to the overall theme; it is, in fact, a poem, and i'm not so certain, anyone untrained could distinguish between the poem being written by a human poet, vs. aggregated/edited source from the online world; AI
on the con side: it reads a little generic-y; it did not honor 'free form' as a style, and generated a predictable every other line rhyming version of a poem; all left justified with traditional line spacing
on the other side: hallmark can safely produce many more cards in record-breaking time!
****
i can easily see how helpful chatgpt is for anyone.. to help shape up an essay, to find that just write word for a report, to help kick start a written piece, or provide an elegant close
what you ask it to do; how you ask, is very key
collaborative teacher/student flip-flop experience.. the better you understand how to ask for results in a way that matches with its programming; the better result you will get
***
i am in the current process of writing another poem. this one came to me.. that is; no one is asking me to write it; no deadlines; no publisher, etc. -organic origins:
i said something about hopping in the shower.. that lead to 'a poem about daily exercises! that aren't really exercises, but sound like..
and i asked my sister, brother, husband to chime in, by giving some additional examples:
hop in the shower
jump start the day
bend the rules
stretch a dollar
race the clock
run errands
etc.
and i have a list of 'exercises' but they have not been put in the form of a poem yet
so,
experimented with what chatgpt might come up with.. and again, we have a rhyming poem, which touches on the theme, but does not successfully capture/convey the play on the words..
still,
i'm impressed.
and then, asked about the distinction between flesh and spirit..
and then, asked for a one panel comic on arts/crafts..
it is not perfect,
but i am officially wow'd.
*****
the thing to keep in mind as we continue toward AI as a helper tool; as a do-this-for-me tool,
is to consider 'the joy of process' -the education, experience, growth that process teaches us, that cannot be achieved any other way [in fact, 'pain of process' yields character building, educational, enriching experiences that cannot be achieved any other way]
i just textured/painted some walls.. i long for and love texture! (in this flat screen world... give me texture!), -what fun mud-slinging and texturing walls.. painting walls, mixing colors, adjusting,
and,
i'm sure you could just press a button and a crossword puzzle could be filled in -write.
you can press a button and get something done
but at what cost?
perhaps, CHATgpt, AI, -is no threat at all, it is more like a dishwasher vs. hand washing.. a car-wash.. a vacuum a car vs. walking or a horse..
we have cars.
but sometimes we still choose to walk, or ride a horse. for good reason.
more later.
amen.
Mandatory reading for our times highly recommends (me!) ~sandra
i've already mentioned how much i appreciate nancy for her awesome quote
"freed people, free people."
-because, how many times have most of us heard, and frequently heard
"hurting people, hurt people."
FREED PEOPLE, FREE PEOPLE. so refreshing! it is the most natural, organic, authentic response for any human being who has been in any kind of bondage at all (fear, addictions, self abuse, eating disorders, debt, debilitating self-consciousness, -on and on, etc.)
the most natural next step for those of us who make it to the other side; who achieve freedom..
who become 'free indeed!'
the most natural next step is the desire to help free others...
it is my testimony,
well, i want to place my testimony in direct contrast to the opening words of david pogue's podcast, unsung science
he says, "if anything has a chance of solving the world's problems it's science and technology."
and i am a fan of david pogue's, i will listen with great interest and an open heart/mind to learn, to his podcasts
but,
what is science and technology doing to help with preventing/ending human trafficking? with eating disorders? with rape, and rape survivors? with preventing or healing from self-harm, self-abuse, like cutting? with violence against women, children, -with preventing suicide? greed?
science & technology help us understand 'flesh' and the material world but when it comes to spirit... the supernatural
it is my direct experience, as a 3 time survivor of kidnappings and rapes,
that it is not science and technology that helped in any way..
it is not science and technology that prevents rapists from raping, that prevents evil from existing, that prevents predators from claiming new victims
it is not science and technology that help young (or any) victims heal from surviving evil experiences; trauma
rather,
it is Jesus.
it is LOVE.
it is getting a grasp on the reality of good vs. evil in this world. a grasp on spiritual warfare..
i am healed. i am free.
i have cultivated a relationship with Jesus for years now, and will continue to do so for the rest of my earthly life
it is the most natural, authentic, organic desire from within me, based on my life experiences to
refer you,
-you- anyone suffering in these areas: violated, trapped, cut, starved...
to refer you to nancy alcorns writings and where appropriate: the mercy multiplied program/facilities.
-i had no such place, or book(s) available to me at the time of my sufferings and trauma
but they are available to young (to all) people today.
that is a grand and generous gift toward healing.
with enormous gratitude to Jesus, and Nancy Alcorn, and Mercy Multiplied,
hallelujah & amen!
****
upcoming blog also, regarding 'trauma'
-how it too, has become a for profit industry
and how slow anyone should be about paying for/signing up for 'trauma therapy'
and briefly repeat here: you dilute trauma. you do not bury or engrave trauma; you dilute it.
***
amen.
UNCLE LARRY by (matthew!) -from the june 2012 archives, inspired by recent text
when i get a chance, i will post a copy of the actual school paper, with his actual -entirely charming- 4th grade penmanship
but for now
i will simply retype my nephew's writing essay assignment regarding his hero:
****
matthew
2-23-10
Uncle Larry
My Uncle Larry is funny,
has lots of friends and is an
awesome guitar player.
When Larry was little he would
tease his little sisters, by opening a new
peanut butter jar and write "Yee Hee!"
He makes lots of voice impressions,
like Barney.
He has kept his same friends for over
35 years. I had one of my birthday
parties at his best friend's card shop.
His friend Jeff treats me like family.
My Uncle started a rock band
called Images, and he was the lead
singer in the band. He wrote many
songs, and taught himself to play
the guitar.
I picked my Uncle Larry because he
is a good guitar player and is my
best Uncle ever!
***
it's kinda like a belated birthday present isn't larry...
we all feel the same way.
love you!
