TUESDAY TRAUMA!

WHY?

WHY so many Potential Scams in less than 24 hours?

Why bother to even check the phone when it rings?

Are the elderly targets?

I know Scripture advises us not to lose heart. (2 Corinthians 4:16)

I'm weary with fear of being hacked! I'm wanting life the way it once was as I recall my mother saying! Even Ecclesiastes 7:10 advises against doing that.

So.....I repent of my fear and pray for the Lord to forgive me and sustain me with His truth!

Even to your old age and gray hairs I am He, I am He who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you. (Isaiah 46:4)

Even if I have to repeat the process again and again---

I am grateful God hears my cries for help.

PORTMANTEAU

Portmanteau---a suitcase opening flat with two equal sides. But....that's not what this entry concerns. It's just to give you a mental image of 2 parts into 1 whole. Now, think two words combined to give one entirely new thought.

Wordsmith's have long had a way of creating their own words. At our house the kids became familiar with an entirely new vocabulary created by their dad. 

Portmanteau words in my past seem to "stick" long before I knew they were a literary device. 

 

Brunch, at our house meant Mother's bridge club was coming and brunch (a repast between breakfast and lunch) would be served. Sporks would be provided if cobbler with ice cream followed as this spoon fork utensil would be perfect. Plus, it took up less room on their "card table."

Literary devices make some of these creations "legit" by "naming them."

• hungry + angry = hangry
• IPod + broadcast = podcast
• situational + comedy = sitcom
• smoke + fog = smog
• emotional + icon = emoticon

 

...created character combos side ways on keyboard to save space

Wordsmiths love combining words to make new words.

Recently I began using selrel as a negative in my journal jottings.

My portmanteau for self reliance. Two words together for one meaning. 

Trying "to do" all  in your own strength. 

SELREL----Think antonym for God's strength.

Selrel--won't become legit in the linguistic world, but it's an "in your face" reminder for me to BEWARE---of looking to self for strength instead of leaning into the LORD, who is our strength. (Psalm 46:1)

SUSTAINING GRACE FOR ALL OUR YEARS!

Too often my weariness and complaining spirit of aging maladies becomes an audacity or impudence of sorts to those who age well. Cast your cares on God and He'll sustain you.(Psalm 55:22)

Some folks make 95 look great! 

Bobbie Scholik does just that! Check out that smile & she had not even been out of the hospital for 24 hours! Of course, it helps to have son, Chris and daughter-in-law, Jamie, who are great caregivers. I was a drop -in visitor and I was the one who left with the biggest blessing!

I was reminded of the comfort God's word brings as I pushed the down button on the elevator.

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. (Isaiah 40:29)

More specifically....."Even to your old age and gray hairs.....I am He who will sustain you. " (Isaiah 46:4)

O Lord, may I have "ears to hear" of your sustaining grace as I age.

TUESDAY'S TICKLES

We've all heard the old adage, laughter is good for the soul. Even in Scripture there is a time for laughter. 

Ecclesiastes 8:15 commends mirth. After weeks of both mourning and celebrating eternal rest of friends, I needed not only a smile to be a curve that sets things aright, but outright laughter. 

Much laughter was delivered right to my home on a previous Tuesday.

Fini-TEA-ude : a fuzzy cuppa

Even to your old age I will be the same, And even to your graying years I will bear you! I have done it, and I will carry you; And I will bear you and I will deliver you. (Isaiah 46:4, NASB)

In all seasons of life, many of us go through many growth-type cycles. As children we want to be taller in order to qualify for a Disney ride. As aging adults we shrink but it’s okay because those rides would throw our back out anyway. As pre-teens, we want to be old enough to drive while as "senior" folks we like to be driven, at least this gal does.

My Freedom of Simplicity e-audio book stated that finitude is a cycle……a growth cycle known as aging. Of growing old---at least I think that’s what I heard as I was dozing off last night. I do understand finitude as being finite and having limits. I see that every time I’m asked, to check an age category when filling out forms or applications. 65 and above is always the "last" one.

So grateful that retirement has been a part of my aging cycle---just as it was for Bob M. when he retired from RCA.

Maybe aging is seen as cyclical when the very “old” revert to their childish ways. Interestingly enough, for years young people have wanted to look older to gain admittance to movies or bars while many of the aged try desperately to stall the effects of aging in order to “look” younger. Each age trying to interrupt the God-given life cycles.

Yet, finitude really seems linear to me---as a way of seeing the length of one's days. Certainly one's season of aging can be thought of as the “finite season.” When you reach the end.....you fall in. A 6-foot drop!

But God…is there for eterni-TEA, so..... I can continue to sip my cuppa fini-TEA-ude, whether it’s cyclical or linear, because God has determined the length of my days. (Job 14:5)