Month: July 2017

‘Never Forget’ Snippet #1 – Sandwich

This is a snippet from the book I am planning on publishing one day, titled “Never Forget”.

 

“Hello-o, Amber,” Kara says, waving her hand back and forth in my face. I gaze at her blankly for a moment before realizing what she said. “One of these days I’m going to give you a Sharpie mustache or something and you’d never even notice.”

“Ha, ha,” I reply. I look down at the picnic table, ready to grab my pepperoni and mozzarella sandwich, but all I see is an empty Ziploc bag. “Hey, where’d it-” Kara snorts and covers her mouth with her hand, hiding something behind her back. “Oh, you sneaky little monster,” I say, desperately trying to reach my sandwich.  

“That was way too easy,” she says between giggles, handing me my sandwich. I slap her hand playfully.

What I Learned From Ruby Falls

I visited North GA last week with my Grandfather and one of my best friends. First of all, it was absolutely GORGEOUS.

But I was thinking about something on our way to Ruby Falls (the waterfall in the above photo). To get to the falls, you go through nearly a mile of beautiful caves. You see amazing rock formations, stalagmites and stalactites, streams and, of course, the falls. I was in awe of God’s beautiful creation, and that by His grace he allowed us to find the caves so that we can drink in its beauty. But our tour guide kept saying things like “this formation is over 3 million years old!” or “These are still forming, after several million years!” And then the majority of the tourists would respond with oohs and ahs.

And that made me sad.

Why?

Because people are willing to credit God’s beautiful handiwork to evolution. They push Him out of the way and say “Look what science did! And aren’t we so smart that we found out how it all works?”

As followers of Jesus, seeing His creation should urge us to worship Him. It shows a tiny bit of His glory and splendor. Even the broken state of the world can serve as a reminder that He will make things new, and that we can hope for a better creation.

Raid at Lindisfarne – A Short Story

This is a short story I wrote for school a little while ago, based on the very first Viking raid.

 

“A beautiful day, isn’t it, Eli?” I looked up from my studies and gazed out the window. The beautiful sea rippled gently, sending barely cresting waves onto the shore. The sea reflected an orange, early-morning sun.

“Yes, quite beautiful, Aaron. The Lord is good to show us such beauty in His creation,” I replied.

“Indeed.” Aaron studied the scenery for a moment. “Eli, have you seen a boat like that before?” Aaron pointed out a small boat on the horizon, barely close enough to tell it was a boat. The shape of it was odd, however; nothing like the boats normally spotted around the monastery.

“No, I have not. I assume it is just a fishing boat.”

“Perhaps, but I have an odd feeling about it.” Aaron stroked his chin thoughtfully.

“I am sure it is nothing. Don’t worry yourself, Aaron.” After a moment, Aaron nodded and left to go back to his studies. I resumed my work, concentrating on copying the material without a mistake.

I was concentrating so hard I barely noticed the odd ship land on the shore a few minutes later. I stopped my work to have a quick break and saw it out of the corner of my eye. A boat unlike any I had ever seen perched on the shore. A huge dragon head was carved into the front of the boat, mouth open in a menacing snarl. Dozens of men poured out of the boat, all armed with axes, daggers and other weapons. They rushed up the grassy slope, straight for the monastery!

“There are armed men coming this way!” I cried, leaping up from my chair. I ran into the hallway, yelling warnings all the way.

“Eli! What is it?” Aaron grabbed my shoulders and looked at me in the eye.

“A boat full of armed men stopped on the shore. They’re running this way! Hurry!” Aaron’s eyes widened and he ran to warn the others. That’s when I heard a scream and plodding footsteps. One of the men appeared around the corner, holding his ax, ready to strike.

Heart pounding, I ran as fast as I could. I heard him behind me, but I was pretty far ahead of him. I took a sharp left, not really knowing where I would end up. Unfortunately, in my haste, I forgot that that hallway ended with a dead end with no escape except for the window.

The window!

Hearing the footsteps get louder behind me, I quickly scanned what was below the window. Thankfully, it was not a very high window, and that part of the building was right next to the ocean, so close that waves crashed gently against the stone wall. Not having anywhere else to go, I climbed to the windowsill and jumped.

Splash!

I have never enjoyed swimming, especially not wearing a robe, and especially not after jumping from a window escaping a maniac with an ax. But I had no other choice. I pumped my arms, trying to get far away from the monastery and the odd dragon boat. When I was satisfied that I was far enough away, I swam to the shore. I slumped to the sand and observed the scene.

The men were running all over the place, gathering anything worth money in the building and bringing it to their ship. The monastery was being destroyed. Many were dead. I covered my mouth to stifle a gasp.

Trying to think clearly, I stumbled towards a huge rock. I was pretty far away, but I could still be seen, so I hoped that the rock would offer some protection. I plopped in the sand behind the rock and prayed.

Several minutes later, I heard fast footsteps. Was it another maniac with an ax? I held my breath.

Aaron came around the corner! “Aaron!” I called. Aaron spotted me behind the rock. His face lit up with relief.

“I couldn’t find you, Eli!” he said, joining me in my hiding place. His relieved expression changed to sorrow. “I feared the worst. Many people have died. I thought I was the only one who survived!” His eyebrows pulled together in concern. “I guess we should stay here until we’re sure it’s safe.” I nodded. We huddled together until we saw the boat float away, taking all of our wealth and hard work with it.

Morning Bible Study #1 – Matthew 23

Hello, everyone!! Today I read Matthew 23 and thought I might share what I learned with you.

In this chapter, Jesus criticizes the Pharisees and teachers of the law. Dictionary.com defines Pharisee as “a member of a Jewish sect… that differed from the Sadducees chiefly in its strict observance of religious ceremonies and practices, adherence to oral laws and traditions, and belief in an afterlife and the coming of Messiah.” It’s obvious that Jesus did not like the Pharisees. In fact, he goes on for 24 verses of “woes on the teachers of the law and Pharisees”. Jesus called the Pharisees hypocrites 6 times in this chapter alone! What is a hypocrite? A hypocrite is a person who has many rules and practices, but rarely if at all follows them himself. In verse 4, Jesus says they “tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.” When they actually DO follow their rules, they only do it to show off. “Look at me, I’m following the rules. I’m a good person!” Matthew 6:1 says: “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in Heaven.” He also points out to them that they follow rules and practices such as giving a tenth of their spices (verse 23) but ignore much more important commands- things like being just, merciful and faithful.

How do Jesus’ words affect us today?

Many Christians of today behave like these Pharisees, often without even knowing it. They may know all the rules, but they don’t follow them. Or, they may follow ALL the rules, but they do it to gain attention or favor from others or God. Verse 12 says to HUMBLE yourselves, which means we are not to show off our good works. We don’t do good things because they make God love us more or get us into heaven- we do them because it is a natural response to what God has done for us! Why WOULDN’T you want to obey such an awesome God, who has shown us so much grace?

That’s all I have for now! Thank you so, so much for taking the time to read my blog!

Your sister in Christ,

Robin M.

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