SPARKLE!

I have an affinity for collective nouns! 

Not a "batch" of cookies or a "bunch" of grapes. Not even a swarm of bees, on-slaught or plague of locusts, pack of wolves or pride of lions.

My true affinity is nouns for groups of birds. 

Think gaggle of geese, murder of crows, murmuration of starlings, parliament of owls. Thanks to neighbor, Susan H, who shared the collective noun "poult" for baby turkeys with me yesterday!

Thanks also to ljj who reminded me of the collective name for an insect who flies!

A SPARKLE OF FIREFLIES

What truth stands out among all these collective nouns to me?!

The LORD God made them all! 

For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (Colossians 1:16-17)

CAMPING OUT IN THE PSALMS!

What does camping out in the Psalms look  like if one is camping indoors? Messy for me. LJJ even plays relevant, uplifting spiritual songs as she cleans!

At different ages/seasons or addresses. Steve Rd.,585,3958,1093,1152 or 125 it often looked like this, whether for meditation or teaching.

Psalm 23     I will not FEAR. (The Psalmist says)

Often, when unable to relax from medical maladies or other stresses, I have used this psalm as my sleeping pill. Think, "nite-nite" from relaxing words of Scripture or hymns playing quietly.

Psalm 27     Whom shall I FEAR? (We ask; God answers)

When God is our light and strong hold, there is nothing or no one to fear. The Lord gives "heart" courage as we wait for Him to answer.

Psalm 46     I/We will not FEAR! (Our response of Worship)

Be still before Him and Know He is GOD as I/we seek Him through prayer and His Word allowing us to exalt Him as our fortress.

Once again may "camping out in the Psalms" bring songs to my soul.

A musical interlude of sorts to help ease my mind and overlook my mess.

Pastor Pace begins His sermons repeating Isaiah 40:8.....

"The grass withers,

........the flower fades"....

and the congregation in the pews (or on-line) finishes with....

"but the word of our God stands forever."

More than an opinion from a pundit but God's holy word to start my day with this morning as I look out my breakfast bar window at those examples of creation.

God has my attention; I hope He has yours.

'He who has an ear, let him hear, what the Spirit says to the church. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone the one no one knows except the one who received it.' (Revelation 2:17)

Do I hear an AMEN!?

WORDSMITH WEDNESDAY!

INTERROBANG!

Did that punctuation term get your attention!?

Thanks to fellow librarian ljj, for introducing me on "Teaching Tuesday"  to this fused question mark and exclamation point. Think simultaneous question, somewhat rhetorical, & exclamation. Interrogative with a bang................

Fusing the emoji !? makes perfect since to me.....my mind often fuses words on its own.

Interrobang is a noun for this non-standard punctuation mark, indicating a question expressed in an exclamatory manner! Mother had a way of using them often when she was aghast at my behavior.

What on earth do you think you are doing, playing with my make-up .........

 

According to my research, the mark has only been in use since 1961.

God's word reminds us to let our words be few. (Ecclesiastes 5:2) He that restrains lips is wise. (Proverbs 10:19b)

Perhaps the interrobang allows us to say much with fewer words.

What do  you think......

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. 

GOD'S WORD!

Be on the lookout!

Keep your eyes open. 

God's Word can show up where you might least expect it. 

A T-shirt in St. Francis surgery waiting room.

Forgive as the Lord forgave you. (Colossians 3:13)

 A garden near ljj.

"The grass withers and the flowers fade 

but the word of our God stands forever."

(Isaiah 40:8)

God's Word stands out.........inside and outside! 

Find it and meditate on it as a way to start your week.

COLLECTIVE NOUNS!

Friend, ljj, has introduced me to many collective nouns.She has peaked my interest for animal groups.

One of my favorites is this "sparkle" one. A "sparkle" of fireflies!

Don't we all want to "sparkle."

Another fun fact I learned from a 1985's park ranger's talk about Synchronous Fireflies, indigenous to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, is they are monogamous. Of course we're talking days or weeks, not years. 

But, I digress from collective nouns---so typical for an "always distracted one."

Congregation of alligators--but don't think I want to go to their church.

A shiver of sharks seems about right as I get the shivers thinking of encountering them.

Squad of squid.

Flamboyance of flamingos.

Collective nouns have become a real find---so I decided to create one of my own!

"Giggle of girls." Female "girls" in their 70s who travel together, when they remember to "show up" and often have to cross their legs when the laughter of sharing old memories begins. This "tea towel" alway brings laughter to my grands when they see it hanging by the oven. Even they know how true that can be for me!

CSB and CEB versions of Psalm 139:3, state that the Lord observes (CSB) and studies (CEB) my travels. In other words wherever we are, whether traveling or resting, He is aware of the paths we are taking. He indeed is aware. Thoroughly familiar with all our ways.

The LORD God made us all, each with a unique purpose. (Psalm 139:13) May we live it out collectively with others in the faith.