More Than the Sum of Its Parts

Dale offers the prompt “more than the sum of its parts” for this week’s Cosmic Photo Challenge.

As I see it any picture worth looking at is more than the sum of its parts. It suggests a story or an emotion that resonates with the viewer to make the viewer pause a little longer.

So, here are some photos that have made me pause.

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By the way, I am on “vacation” this week with our church group. Call it a “retreat”. So, I will not be looking at the computer during this time. I call that a form of “fasting”. Blessings to all of you!

Atlantic Ocean, a small portion of Noah’s flood waters
Tennessee
Tennessee
All of these colorful parts working together
Red Sunrise
Red Sunrise

Play—Ovi Poetry Challenge

The point of life is not to play
and while away the time of day.
We hear His voice and then obey.
We follow where He leads.

And if that is the most we do
no other path would get us through.
Rejoice and praise! Our hearts renew
and that is all that matters.

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Ronovan Hester offers the word “play” as inspiration for this week’s Ovi Poetry Challenge. Also posted on Poet’s Corner.

Psalm 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

Toast—Six Sentence Story

He can’t fool me with those magic tricks, George thought wondering why he was wasting his time watching a guy pull rabbits out of an empty hat. He yelled at the magician, “Hey, you with that rabbit in your hand, pitch the hat and pop another bunny out of thin air!” The magician didn’t know how to convince George to shut up, but neither could George convince God to toast the magician like Zeus would have done with a lightning bolt.

Admittedly, George didn’t believe in God (nor Zeus, for that matter) so he wasn’t seriously asking for assistance. Since the magician couldn’t make George vanish with a wave of his wand—try as he might—he finally phoned the security team to escort George out.

Decades later, when the magician was too old to bewitch even toddlers, George winced as he recalled his own truth-without-love rudeness and begged God to pull some kindness out of his now empty heart which the merciful Lord was only too happy to do.

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Denise offers the prompt word “toast” to be used in this week’s Six Sentence Stories.

Acts 8:9-11
9 But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:
10 To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God.
11 And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries.

Morning Birds
Morning Birds

From Underneath

Dale offers the prompt “from underneath” for this week’s Cosmic Photo Challenge. Both of these photos were taken long ago.

In the first photo I was surprised by the feathery shadows on the leaves when taking this photo into the sun. This may be a common event but I have not been able to capture that in quite the same way since.

In the second photo many noisy birds in late autumn or early spring flew from one tree to another and then continued their song.

Beneath the Leaves and Sun
More Birds and Trees
Beneath the Birds and Trees

Good—Ovi Poetry Challenge

I wouldn’t say that I was good.
I rarely do the things I should.
I barely do the things I would
before the day is done.

Without some Help, who can get by?
The good one does makes others cry.
Rain down on me! My well is dry—
Ah! Now it’s gushing forth.

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Ronovan Hester offers the prompt word “good” as inspiration for this week’s Ovi Poetry Challenge. Also posted at Poets Corner.

Grid—Six Sentence Story

John’s life did not follow a nice rectangular grid. Brief was his time from birth to final breath.

Though short with winding dead ends, he was offered along the way many opportunities to serve, if he obediently chose to do so. Sometimes he obeyed. Sometimes he had better things to do.

In the end flames burnt those better things leaving John with only a few grains of pure gold, enough—indeed more than what some of the others had—but not enough to stop his tears since there could have been so much more.

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Denise offers the prompt word “grid” to be used in this week’s Six Sentence Stories.

1 Corinthians 3:14-15
14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
 15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

Freestyle

Dale offers the freestyle or festival prompt for this week’s Cosmic Photo Challenge. I picked freestyle which is anything goes.

These two photos were taken by the pond across the street. In the first I was surprised to the see red blossoms which I think are part of a vine using the tree as support.

The intricate leaves on the tree fascinate me with their details in the second photo. They are only a few feet away from the vine with red blossoms.

Red blossoms by the pond
Compound leaves

Quiz: Do You Have a Biblical Worldview?

I put together this six-question multiple choice test to help people see if they have a biblical worldview, or not. There’s an answer key at the end as well as a consolation prize for those who do not pass the test.

The Test

Is abortion wrong? (Hint: Exodus 20:13)

A) Abortion is wrong.
B) People can decide for themselves whether abortion is wrong. 
C) What does abortion have to do with a biblical worldview?

How many genders are there? (Hint: Genesis 1:27)

A) There are two and only two genders.
B) People can decide for themselves how many genders there are and which gender they want to be whenever they want to be it.  
C) My gender is none of your business unless I make it your business by insisting you remember my pronouns.

If you are on the beach looking at the ocean, where do you think all of that water came from? (Hint: Genesis 6-9)

A) The water came from Noah's global flood.
B) The water got there somehow billions of years ago.  
C) Who cares where the water came from?

Given that people speak many languages today where did this linguistic diversity come from? (Hint: Genesis 11:1-9 and Douglas Petrovich’s explanation)

A) The diversity originated from God confusing the language of the people at Babel. Then the Babel dispersion began. From that dispersion language families arose.
B) The diversity happened somehow as the result of a long evolutionary process taking perhaps a million years. 
C) However it happened, no god had anything to do with it.

What’s going to happen to us? (Hint: Revelation 4-22)

A) Jesus will return for His bride. Our spirits will never cease to be.  Our bodies and souls will be renewed. The only concern will be whether we are part of His bride, or not.
B) Humanity will go on for millions, if not billions, of years searching the stars for other intelligent lifeforms and then it will go extinct.
C) Whatever happens there will be no heaven, no hell, no nothing—--Get used to it!

Who is Jesus? (Hint: See this list of Bible verses.)

A) Jesus is God, the second Person of the Trinity.
B) Jesus, like Buddha and Socrates, was a great guy with sound moral teaching whom we should use as a model if we want to be good like he was.
C) Jesus never existed.

The Answer Key

How did you do on the test?

If you answered A for each of the above, then your worldview is biblical. If you answered B or C, even once, you need to ask yourself: What made you think those answers had any chance of being correct?

The Consolation Prize

For those who flunked the test there’s still Buddha, Sarasvati, Gaia, Thor, Moloch, Lucifer and Cosmic Consciousness to name a few of the many options that remain. Pick one or more of them. Then think and think and think going down, down, down the rabbit hole until…

Until when?

…until you get tired of the futility and long for the real thing.