Here is a link to my short story Verdandi's Key that won science fiction runner-up in HolyWorlds' Winter Writing War.
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March 2012
~*~*~*~
Touch
By BushMaid
~*~*~*~
The depth of this ache, the pain in my soul;
A suffering wound; a dark bleeding hole.
Torturous anguish, pain swells in my heart;
An agony deep that tears me apart.
The pain I can see; I feel it inside -
Gut-wrenching longing I try hard to hide.
A dark void so deep, it blackens the night -
I yearn for the dawn of God's freeing Light.
I know I've a gift He's given to me;
To reach out and show them - help them to see.
My heart skips a beat, this feeling so strong;
This calling inside - how could it be wrong?
But for this distance, I'd jump up and go:
To act out His Will: for sure, then, I'd know.
For deep in my soul, believing so much -
I know things could change, if I only could touch...
~
And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them;
they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."
- Mark 16:17-18
I first heard about this show from my Mum and Dad. They were talking about a very old version of it. I happened to find it at the library once a good few years ago, and we watched it. This is a summary of it:
With the world blinded and the Triffids set loose, it falls upon a band of scattered, sighted survivors to fight this carnivorous plant invasion. With a brave new world of maniacs, warring factions and renegades, the battle on the streets is not only directed at the purple-headed organisms but a battle to survive the sinister street-army headed by megalomaniac Torrence. - www.IMDB.com
I didn't think much of it. It was old, rather boring, a plot that - for all its potential - didn't seem to have a goal, and ended on a bizarrely pathetic note that left me with my mouth open exclaiming in exasperation, "Is that it?!" Needless to say, this TV series did not make much of an impression on me.
However, since I am a believer of second chances, when I found a new version of the series that was done in 2009 at the library last week, I checked it out. I knew Dad would at least get a kick out of seeing a newer version of the old one, and since we knew the storyline already, I guessed it would be pretty safe to watch. After all, it could not have been much worse than the old one, could it?
"Aging is mandatory, maturing is optional."
- Unknown
This time 365 days ago I was probably curled up on my bed writing this poem. I just read it again, and I've realized how much further my poetry skills have come. *makes face* It is one thing at least, that I have noticed a change in for the better.
Sometimes when I look back on time - back on the most recent twelve months of my life - it seems that only little insignificant things have changed in the space of the year. Maybe my writing has improved, or I have learnt how to shuffle paperwork more aptly. Maybe I do all the washing without help now, or I can drive places by myself. Maybe I can do the entire family's grocery shopping on my own, or I can make a business phone-call without my voice shaking and stuttering - as much. Or maybe I've become a part of a team project, or that I've noticed the latest song my littlest siblings play on the piano over and over - and over - again is actually a little more difficult than the last one.
Okay, so maybe they aren't really that insignificant. In fact, they are all good things that I am supremely grateful for! But is it only "things" or abilities that one notices in themselves over the passing of time? Can't one notice areas that are much more important? I frown as my thoughts run deeper into more serious things. Have I become more mature? Do I think more before I speak? Are my thoughts ones full of genuine love for others? Have I learnt to be even kinder to my siblings? Do I daily exhibit a Godly example to those around me? Have I become more responsible and diligent? Am I becoming more capable of fulfilling the things God has in store for me? Have I become wiser in how I deal with situations and people?
Is there even a way to measure the depth of one's wisdom and experience? Though no one can ever fully "arrive" in this life, is there some way we might could tell just how far along we have got?
"Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith..."
- Hebrews 12:2
Looking... ever looking... searching, reaching for the goal - Jesus. He Alone is our standard. The way He lived is the way we also should strive to live. In looking back on the last year of my life I see so many lessons learnt - most of them by the hard way. Yet ever pushing towards the goal of doing what's right. Surely there is no greater joy in choosing a course of action and knowing in your heart it's right. Not by what anyone says, what any law tells you, but by what God has shown you.
At times I feel like sitting down in the middle of the road and looking back down the way I have come; bemoaning the times I strayed, or deliberately detoured. Will I ever learn? Will the work God has begun in me ever be perfected, more like His Son Jesus to become, or will I yet remain the wandering, short-sighted, impatient, difficult-to-teach person that I am?
"Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it."
- 1 Corinthians 9:24
Then other times I turn and look upwards; towards the horizon to which I must run, and I am filled with fire. Oh yes, it is so far to go - but I will run with all my might! For what lessons are there to be learned on the morrow? And what new things will my Saviour open my eyes to? And what awesome things will He perform in my life? There is so much life on this road if you walk the way with Him. It is the only Way - and He the only One who can make your worst mistakes become objects of glory... His glory.
Though this night - the last night of my nineteenth year - is far spent, the day of my twentieth is at hand. May I throw off the works of darkness: the past and its mistakes that desires to hold me back. That I may put on the armour of light, in which I shall run the race that has been set before me with endurance.
Throwing open the windows of the morning - reveling in the sunshine of God's goodness as it floods in. Praising Him, and asking with a ready heart:
"Lord, what will you show me today?"
I read this from Andrew Wommack's book "You've Already Got It", and I found it very interesting. What are your thoughts? Do you have any?"That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace ye are saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast" (Eph 2:7-9)
That's a powerful passage of Scripture. It's also very familiar. Therefore, many people think they already know what it says. They just skip over it and don't really give it much time or effort, which is why they don't receive its full benefit.
You were saved by grace through faith. You weren't saved by grace alone. Neither were you saved by faith alone. You were saved by grace through faith. In order to make a point to someone, sometimes I'll emphasize one over the other. For instance, if someone argues, "I believe you have to be holy, pay your tithes, be baptized, etc.," then I'll respond, "No, you're saved by faith. It's your faith in what Jesus did that saves you, not what you do for the Lord." So it's not absolutely wrong to emphasize "you were saved by grace" or "you were saved by faith" in order to make a point. But technically speaking, you weren't saved by grace alone or by faith alone. It was a combination of the two. You were saved by grace through faith!
Grace and faith are like sodium and chloride. If you ingest either one of them alone, it's poisonous. Alone, either one would kill you if taken in a sufficient quantity. However, if you mix them together, you get sodium chloride (table salt). Together, they become something you cannot live without - salt. That's how grace and faith are!
I got this idea from God's Country Boy when he did a blog post on "Things I Know About YOU", meaning things he knows about his followers. Each post was short and sweet, depending on how well he knew each of them, and the result was quite fun to read! It was also very interesting to find other blogs of like-minded interests.
So: I thought I would do something similar as a tribute to all my wonderful followers! After all, if I didn't have all of you, why would I blog? :D I'll just be posting a short piece about y'all (and how awesome you are :D) so that you can all get to know a bit about each other.
(This won't be too scary, by the way)
In random order from my Dashboard, here be the awesomes -
Caleb:
HolyWorlder. Also known as Elanhil, and one of the "E brothers". Awesome writer, great graphic designer, and also a bit of a prankster. (iPad + Buzz ring a bell? ;D)
Blog: http://calebrjoyce.blogspot.com/
Elizabeth Simard:
Good friend of mine who used to live nearby. Interested in things of filmmaking, fashion, and photography. (and is good at all three!)
Blog: http://elizabeth-fay.blogspot.com/
Rosie:
A very quiet follower! But I do hope she enjoys what she reads.
Twyla Brooks:
Also a fellow HolyWorlder. Wonderful person, writer, likes theology, and visited Australia not long ago! But unfortunately we didn't get to meet. :(
So: I thought I would do something similar as a tribute to all my wonderful followers! After all, if I didn't have all of you, why would I blog? :D I'll just be posting a short piece about y'all (and how awesome you are :D) so that you can all get to know a bit about each other.
(This won't be too scary, by the way)
In random order from my Dashboard, here be the awesomes -
Caleb:
HolyWorlder. Also known as Elanhil, and one of the "E brothers". Awesome writer, great graphic designer, and also a bit of a prankster. (iPad + Buzz ring a bell? ;D)
Blog: http://calebrjoyce.blogspot.com/
Elizabeth Simard:
Good friend of mine who used to live nearby. Interested in things of filmmaking, fashion, and photography. (and is good at all three!)
Blog: http://elizabeth-fay.blogspot.com/
Rosie:
A very quiet follower! But I do hope she enjoys what she reads.
Twyla Brooks:
Also a fellow HolyWorlder. Wonderful person, writer, likes theology, and visited Australia not long ago! But unfortunately we didn't get to meet. :(
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