MY SHEPHERD----A GOD OF HOPE,

Thou prepares a table before me in the presence of mine enemies...(Psalm 23:5a) 

That's HOPE!! 

A symbol of a shepherd's abundant generosity, food each day, even in the midst of adversity. Weather and wolves come to mind but trust in the shepherd reigns regardless!

Put your hope in God! Think succinct.

For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. (Psalm 62:5, emphasis mine)

Lord, my Shepherd, is the God of hope!

This designation continues in the NT as an analogy for God's people who now have the Holy Spirit via the triune God. Think Father God, Son of God and Holy Spirit.

Note Scripture citation above the word HOPE...(Romans 15:13) 

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

In Romans 15:13 NT, the Greek word for "hope" is  ἐλπίς (elpis)

implying assurance of something in the future. The passage uses the genitive form ἐλπίδος (elpidos),referring to the "God of Hope". 

WITS' END WEDNESDAY!

Ever feel like you're on the road to nowhere?!

Kind of like being at the corner of Wits' End? *

Baffled. Confused. Perplexed. Worried.

Not knowing which way to turn or what to do next?

Stuck at a crossroads of desperation!?

The grammarian in me is still undecided about apostrophe location.

Note white out drippings 

Turn to the left and you might end up on Bitter's Corner. A place of blinding, wearying pain or dread of what's to come.

Across the way is a YIELD to Worries sign! NO!!!! 

Worries should have a "No Loitering" sign!

Turning the "right way" is so important. 

Wits' End or Wit's End!! (Regardless of the punctuation)

It's where God brings us to the end of ourselves.

* Wednesday Wordsmith's info---wits' end is preferred by Brits 3 to 1 (+ in my ESV Bible) but wit's end is preferred 2 to 1 in the US (even at a shop in  Highlands, NC---tho Chamber of Congress there dubs it Wits') Are you stumped yet?!

Are you stumped yet?!

PLAY ON WORDS!

Play on words is a literary technique usually used to give men choice of meaning...in a humorous way.

Lately, for me. it's been a way of reducing words to an acronym to help me remember. 

AGOG---I am keen to remember God's love and mercy! The gift of His Son on my behalf. There is no greater gift.

A

Gift

Of

Grace

Word Play. "Play on words" techniques offer many new possibilities.

A recent word play was shared in Sunday School.

For those whose disposition is a bit grumpy.....

...Drop the D and add an H to give one an entirely new outlook!

Dis-position -D + H = His-position! 

Don't "dis" me about that word play; I think it speaks volumes!

In everything you do, put God first. (Proverbs 3:6a, TLB)

What position does God hold in your life?

CONTRONYMNS!

WOW! (WORD OF THE WEEK) Words fascinate me! 

New words can confuse me---think urban dictionary entries.

Text abbreviations confound me. Even "new" words added to a 1900 dictionary have no meaning to me. Housecraft???

But....I have friends who keep me on my toes---and stretch what's left of my old brain.They stoke my acronym interest all the way to Allacronymn.

Recently, ljj shared a newly found list. New to me as well. 

Contronyms.......... 

Vocabulary broadening for me.

My thoughts began to see that many words, even some homonyms (fine as okay, fine as an imposing a penalty for offense, fine as not coarse) have very different meanings......therefore context is key. 

Without using "big" interpretative words i.e. exegesis, hermeneutics one can approach scripture in context by reading passages before and after the verse one is considering. Biblical reference books offer help as well. Even among Biblical scholars there can be discrepancies of interpretation of some Scriptures.

For me, I have asked the Lord to lead me to truth and understanding that is aligned with His truth. The Bible is the inspired word of God---I need to do more than just "peruse" it, as in skim in a leisurely way or read without attention to detail. I need to read or examine in detail, which is another definition for peruse. How confusing is that!

For me this can be a long process.  

I hope to "bolt" a few contronyms to my brain before they "bolt" from my brain. 

ETHNODOXOLOGY WOW!

Word Of Week is a Word of Worship. "Ethnodoxology."

Ethno = people  Doxology = praise

Praises 

Of

People

UKRAINIANS' SONGFEST 

Praise of God's people adds a "pop" of cultural relevance, biblically sound worship within the body of Christ.

Ethnodoxology encourages believers to worship in their native language and often times with their heart language of folded or raised hands as they lift their voices in songs of praise.

IDIOSYNCRASY!

Idiosyncrasy could easily be a Word Of Week on any Wednesday for me. 

Wednesday PM is a note-taking time for H2H Bible Study. 

Peculiar. Unique. Maybe tending a little toward weird.

I write. When I write I vary colored pens with varying point sizes.

Pencils are necessary, especially for note-taking. NOT mechanical.

#2 lead. Ticonderoga comes to mind.

It's not so much the brand as the sharpness of the pencil. At least I don't have a Montblanc compulsion.

But God.....allows me my uniqueness. A note in my travel Bible reminded me. 

"Life without God is like an unsharpened pencil....it has no point."

Life is worth nothing without testifying to the good news of God's grace. (Acts 20:24) 

That my friends is my idiosyncrasy!

You can write it in pencil as long as the point is sharp!

PITHY WITH A "WORDSMITH" PUNCH

I don't even know who Scotty is....only that he's a wordsmith friend of my friend, Doris.

Anyone who can use poetry, metaphor and simile along with astonish, flourish and nourish in two sentences to expound Psalm 63:2, is a WORDSMITH in all caps.

So glad to meet you Scotty. Thanks Doris for the introduction of your "pithy with a punch" friend. 

May we all flourish as God's Word nourishes us today!

PREPOSITIONAL PROOF!

Prepositions have purpose in writing!

First grammar info I remember learning about a preposition is never end a sentence with one! Not to worry that rule is now obsolete but I imagine that change would have Miss Rosa Nourse roll over in horror.

Remember those very small words which can show direction, or location. Functional words as Merriam-Webster says most often combining with a noun to make a phrase for modification or prediction.

All of these observations became so clear as I read and re-read yesterday's New Morning Mercies March 27 entry.

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

Check out the prepositions in the above verse…….each can be important in your understanding of the truth. 

Crucified with Christ---He took our names to the cross on our behalf, a redemptive historical fact.

Christ lives in me---present redemptive reality

I live by faith in the Son who died for me---life shaping result

Proof positive in the life of a Christian.

ACRONYMS ABOUND

So many acronyms. So little time.

I'll start with alliteration instead.

Reflect and Rejoice.

Reflect on the old familiar ones. Rejoice that you can remember those.

Check out these, new to me, ones...

Hope more to come from me...

....and new ones from you. I'd love to hear yours. Acronyms Abound for sure!

APOSTROPHES----IN ACTION!

Apostrophe---an important punctuation mark with a dual purpose. Not to be confused with an acute diacritical mark. 

Now that I have your attention, I'll share how blind I can be to apostrophes that are often right in front of me! Click the link and check your own eyesight.

Apostrophes' dual purpose; to indicate omission of letters as in southern speak, "go get 'em tigers" or with any contractions, "don't do that," or to show possessiveness. Singular possessive or plural possessive. In the above link @ Pop's Comfort Kitchen, singular possessive is used so you know the establishment belongs to Pop, aka Chuck, as my hubby knows him. As we entered the restaurant to partake of the comfort food offered there, my eyes were opened.

Pop might be the earthly proprietor of the restaurant but I love the symbolism. Look closely at the apostrophe. 

Pop has chosen to entrust his business to the Lord---inside and out.

He belongs to Jesus and so does his business. It's obvious everywhere you turn!

The food's delicious and the service is gospelicious!

It's both Pop's business and the Lord's!

FYI--Pop's Comfort Kitchen 

2990 Kirby Whitten Rd. #107 Bartlett, TN 38134, by the Kroger at Hwy. 64/Stage & Kirby Whitten

POSSESSIVE APOSTROPHES

Get out your hymnals......

Now that's a statement rarely heard in churches theses days. Usually words are on a screen or written out in the bulletin. Some churches no longer even have hymnals in their pews racks.  For those who know how to read music, I imagine that is a real loss especially if the hymn is unfamiliar to them.

.....and turn to page  517 Taylor said. In FEC hymnal it's listed by title, The Solid Rock.

In my old Cokesbury hymnal at home, it's listed by the first words, My Hope Is Built on p. 24.

Why did Taylor want us to turn to this old familiar hymn of assurance and faith? 

Taylor wanted us to focus on the apostrophe ' after Jesus' name. 

He wanted us to see the duality of the possession indicated by said apostrophe. The hope we have is in Jesus, who not only shed His blood for our salvation but He also imputed His righteousness to us.

Whose are we? We are His Beloved. Ownership of sorts. There is no "Sort of" ownership with Jesus. Believer, we are totally His possession forever. God see us through His Son's righteousness from now until eternity. Hallejujah!

Simply put................apostrophes are punctuation marks (not diacritical markings helpful in accents and appearing over letters) marks to indicate omission of letters/ numbers or to indicate possession.  Only when a word ends in "s" and is possessive does one place the apostrophe outside the "s." 

In the life of a believer that all important possessive apostrophe reminds us we are His. 

Our hope is built on nothing less than that---Jesus' blood and righteousness.

BOTH.....His blood and His righteousness!

P.R.A.Y.

Many folks use ACTS as a reminder of great steps in our prayer life.

A doration

C onfessiom

T thanksgiving

S upplication

A reminder to worship and search your heart for sin and thanking the Lord for forgiveness before we start asking,

P raise

R epent

A sk 

Y ield

This P.R.A.Y. but I appreciate the reminder to yield to God's will for His answers as we ask/ petitions. 

A great way to align our will with His---so that His will be done!

This past Month my sweet friend from Ukraine shared Lectio 365, an on-line devotional, with me. Today's devotional offered this acronym, for pray.

P ause to be still

R ejoice with a psalm

A sk for God's help for self and others

Y ield to His will, come what may

Regardless of your style of praying, with or without an acronym reminder---how about a rhyming one--PRAY TODAY!

PUNCTUATIONS OF LIFE!

Is the "old" MLA guide on your bookshelf? Probably not. But it certainly influenced many "seniors," aka old folks, not graduates, back in the day.

These days one can sometimes tell the age of someone by their use of punctation. Not sure of all the alphabet soup of names from age groups, but it's my guess that "Baby Boomers" often use too many commas and "Millennials" rarely use commas or even periods for that matter.

Last Sunday, Pastor Taylor Park stressed the importance of correct punctuation in Scripture.

Sometimes in sharing biblical truth verbally one will add a lilt in his/her voice, as if doubting, wondering or asking a question. Jesus is the son of God? That is a true statement----not a question!

God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God and God abides in him. (1John 4:16)

The commas tell us there is more to say. More to the story/statement.

Note the period. That ends it. Period indicates a full stop.  It's truth declared.

One might even add a relational explanation point to indicate profound truth as it applies to him/her!

Allow God's word to erase the question marks in your faith life and add more periods allowing your life of faith to be filled with the best punctuation marks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PREFIX PERFECTION!

Prefix perfection, or as wordsmith friend, farmer Doris, reminds me---a segue to goodness from reality when God uses them in our lives for His glory.

What a wonderful reminder on Wordsmith Wednesday! (2 Corinthians 2 :14a)

WORRYWART!

Worrywart is a moniker I wear all too well. Often is a better adverb choice than well, I think. 

As a youngster, in Hoptown I was aware that Mother was seen as a fuss-budget. It sounds like the worry malady is hereditary.

What worry really is---is sin! A besetting sin for some.

For a believer, this "distrust" can begin with our thoughts......which too often can be more emotion-based than truth-based. Distrust = not taking God at His word.

A mind game! Mine, can run from one extreme emotion to to the other. Hot to cold. Fluctuations that override and overule the truth from God's word. 

What's the antidote for worry? Take every thought captive. (2 Corinthians 10:5)

Remember Jesus Christ. (2 Timothy 2:8)

Others need to see you as a testimony to His truth not as a slave to your emotions.

For me, it's not as easy as the picture might suggest. In my life, it's a real struggle that I have to submit daily to the Lord as I choose to disregard my own power and cling to His Presence, never discounting His omnipresence in my life.

Farewell worrywart......until the next time! In His time, no worries.

IMPORTANT INFINITIVES

Today's morning devotional, All to Jesus, (Day 301) listed verses in Proverbs dealing with word usage and speech patterns. 

Author, Robert Morgan, listed 3 infinitives:

1. to shut up (Proverbs 10:19) There are definitely times we need to close our mouths. In 2020, My One Word has been "listen." I have learned, sometimes the hard way, the necessity of listening in order to hear from others.
2. to build up (Hebrews 10:25b) Edification and encouragement are so needed especially this year of COVID & elections. Political ads tear one another down yet, God's word continues to remind us..."but encourage one another."
3. to speak up (Proverbs 31:8) "Speak up for the ones who have no voice." "Be prepared (in gentleness and respect) to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give an answer for the hope within you." (Hebrews 10:25b, my paraphrase) Two excellent times to choose to use your voice.

So there you have it----speech patterns from the Proverbs that give "important infinitives" for life.

SOUL FRIEND

Years ago, at least 10, I read a devotional, which I can no longer cite. 

But....amazingly enough, anam  cara, "a wordsmith" term has stuck with me. 

Anam caara. Celtic term for soul friend.

Much more than "bestie" or BFF.

A soul friend for Christians is one, who understands the teachings of Christ and "listens" with her heart! So GRATEFUL for soul friends who walk beside us and help us discern God's path......

----which is always the right path!

When needed, a soul friend, can give needed spiritual advice filled with encouragement and truth, especially at crucial points in life. Often a soul friend has gone through the same suffering or confusion and is able to share personally. A true soul friend is one we can speak openly and honestly with as she helps us to follow God more faithfully.

A soul friend can be trusted because a soul friend trusts in God.

Soul friends can love each other with heart and soul. (1 Samuel 18:3)

WORDSMITH WEDNESDAY

Lexicography of symbols.
Many folks think a picture says more than a thousand words but these days of computerese, one needs to be careful.  LOL! I rarely even use an emoji for that very reason. I don't have a clue what many of them "mean"--- semantically ambiguous comes to mind."

Catching up on this week's "funnies" aka as "the comics, I came across a word I never recall seeing in print or hearing for that matter. "BRIFFIT."

BRIFFIT. Can you see it in Sarge's word balloon? 

It's speed indicative as if someone left so fast 

they left behind a cloud of smoke. (lower right)

Obviously there's a lexicon for cartoonists. In fact, Mort Walker, Beetle Bailey's original creator, wrote a book about it, The Lexicon of Comicana. It's a brief book on the language of symbols.

I just didn't know cartoonists used so many illustrations instead of words. Spacewise that's smart. Word balloons I'm familiar with, as I can know which character is speaking reading the balloon above his head. Hearts bubbling out of character's head is an emanta and indicates emotion of love is emanating from him.  I've see lines of motion which clearly indicate speed and often direction. Now I know they are labeled hites. Drops of sweat that spray from a character indicate distress are called plewds. The more upset, the greater number of plewds.

Profanity is left out and grawlixes are used instead. For that, I am grateful! (Ephesians 4:29)

At our house, the grands would think Sarge was using an "S" word when screaming at Beetle because "Stupid" is our "S" word and it's not allowed----neither is shutup,  another Liles "S" word.
I guess even individual households can have their own jargon.

WORDSMITH WEDNESDAY

Wordsmith's find joy in words. Some words are stored in their memory banks. Some catapult the mind to another time and place. Catapult is such a word for me.

Catapult can be a "fun" word for mouth exercises. I know because I had to exercise my mouth after my cancer surgeries. Catapult: A word to retrain me to pucker and blow. 

Catapult can be a spiritual ACTION---as when God's word "jumps or springs" into my mind at just the right moment.

The Holy Spirit will give you the words to say, the moment that you need them. (Luke 12:12)

My knowledge of physics is very limited. But spiritually as I examine this catapult, I see the spring as the Holy Spirit who releases the payload. The payload is the transmitted data from God's word to my mind---a message intended for me during my hour of need. Spiritual warfare showcases one's need for God's truth.

As Robert Morgan states, when his heart is downcast, "Even the most familiar passage of Scripture can take on new life as we read them day by day. Sometimes a verse or word will leap off the page as if catapulted by the Holy Spirit."

Today may God's prefect words "catapult" into your mind for your edification on this Wordsmith Wednesday.

s l o w i n g VERBS NEEDED

Wordsmith Wednesdays seem to frequently have me exploring verbs. I have spent several years focusing on dance in both the verb and noun parts of speech. However, the last 2 years I have focused on a single "action" verb each year. I know because in 2017 I logged over 200 "choose" blog entries. Sunday, I reread a "choose" entry on nearness of God as I was praying for others through Psalm 73. 2018's verb focus has been "consider" and I've learned in all my actions, it's important to "consider" Him first! (Hebrews 12:3) 

I might need to focus more on Him today as I seem to be  growing weary and losing heart, as the rest of the verse states. Lysa Terkeurst's Embraced, stated, "We run at a breakneck pace to try and achieve what God wants us to slow down enough to receive. (p.19)

Maybe I need to focus more on "to be" verbs ----verbs of being, not action.

Maybe for me, a compromise is needed---action verbs indicating a slower speed.

Amble. Linger. Relax. Soak. Be still. Bask. Be refreshed.

Pause before speaking.

Pause before seeking.


Slowing verbs might be just what I need. How about you?
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