#Christian Story

[tuzolelewattpad]

"Mike

Mon coeur a aimé commencé à l'aimer. Il est très beau. Il est vraiment canon.

A part ça il était aussi gentil au fond.

Tout le monde le trouve fier et il aime bien faire semblant d'être orgueilleux. Mais en vrai, je sais qu'il s'en fout. Il frime pour du faux, il est beaucoup plus humble qu'on ne le croit. Enfin je crois...

Il a été si dure avec ses mots alors que cette même bouche a été si douce avec moi.

Lui qui m'a fait découvrir de nouvelles sensations.... Oh comme ses lèvres sont douces et tendres

J'ai vécu tellement d'émotion, de désir, de peur, de plaisir et de crainte. Et cette chaleur qui me prend dans tout le corps quand il ne fait que me toucher, ou à peine il effleure une partie de mon corps. 

Mon premier.."

[christianwrighter]

Chapter 1

How Am I Going To Get Out Of This Mess

Joe rushed out of the house not wanting his mother to ask too many questions. He had a lot to do. Christmas was coming soon and he had some shopping to do. He decided to get on the feeway hoping to get to the mall quickly. But as usual the freeway was backed up. Joe turned on some Christmas music, hoping to distract his mind as the cars inched forward and stopped. He took this time to change the radio looking for a Christmas worship song. A car beep loudly behind him. Joe was annoyed. "All I did was stop to change the radio station. The nerve of some people."

Erick was in the car right behind Joe. He honked and was mad but deep down there were many things that caused his frustration. His life had recently taken some unexpected turns. He lost his job a few months back. But his friend Billy introduced him to the Tony who was able loan him some money and get him a good job. However, Tony was a notorious mobster and wanted him to return the favor by running a few errands for him. Erick knew better than to get involved with the mob but what could he do now. There was no way for him to pay the man back and get rid of him. If he did not help him the man might do something to him or his family. Erick could not let that happen. So he did what the boss wanted him to do. While Erick was contemplating the harsh reality of his life and the bad choices he made. The car in front of him came to an abrupt stop.

BANG, "What, did that guy just purposely hit my car?" Joe wanted to get out of the car and give that man a piece of his mind. But he knew the Lord would not be pleased. They both pulled off to the side of the road and he was about to call the police. Of all the days to have a wreck. As Joe looked up he saw a man standing in front of his car with a gun. This was Tony's idea to eliminate the problem of having to talk to the police. Tony was always one step ahead of the police and was not about to get caught now.

Joe saw the man get out of the car and walk toward him. At first, he was apologetic. "I am so sorry I hit your car. My friend is talking to the police now." Joe rolled his window down and continued to talk to the man. All of a sudden his expression changed.

Eric leaned against the car so no one else could see what he was doing. He pulled a gun that had a silencer out of his coat pocket.

"I need you to hand me your keys, phone, and wallet. I want you to listen closely. I am going to drive your car to Walmart on this side of town. Your keys and phone will be in the glovebox. If you do not call the police, first thing in the mourning, an envelope with your wallet in it will be in your mailbox. If you do as I say you will never see me or the people I work for again. We cannot have the police learning about this. If you don't listen, there will be a price to pay. We have police scanners. I think that is very fair don't you? Now I want you to get out of the car and go over into the grass. Lay on your stomach with you head down. Do not look up until I am gone. Do not try anything funny or I will shoot."

Joe knew better than to complain about the rain and the mud in the grass. He knew better than to worry about his clothes getting stains and other petty stuff. This man meant business, and he did not want to die.

A few seconds later both cars speed off driving on the side of the road and exited the freeway. Joe continued to stare at the ground. He was happy to be alive but there were a lot of questions in his mind. How would he get home? He was miles away and stranded. He was wet and cold from the rain with no money. As he sat on the side of the road feeling depressed and stunned by what just happened, the only thing he could say to God was "How am I going to get out of this mess?"

And then Joe heard a familiar voice. Was he dreaming? Could it be his friend Dave? Then he heard it again as he looked up. Dave rolled his window down. "Get in. No friend of mine should be out in this kind of weather. What happened? Did that guy just steal your car? I am going to call the police and wait with you. Then I will take you home. Don't worry they will get this guy."

"No, don't call the police. Take me to Walmart so I can get my car."

Dave's looked at Joe in astonishment as Joe explained all that the man had told him. "That is why I don't want to call the police."

I understand Your doing the right thing. I wonder who those people are? I am not sure, but I don't want to see them again. I am just glad they did not shoot me on the spot. After getting to Walmart they found Joe's car at Walmart.

The next day Joe went to the mailbox first thing and sure enough, the envelope was in the mailbox. He breathed a sigh of relief that this ordeal was finally over. Joe did not tell his parents Jane or Houston. The damage to his car was minimal. He did not want them to worry needlessly or worse call the police.

I love how the Lord helps us in so many unexpected ways. Some may call it luck but Joe still thanked God for running into Dave. Joe would have many close calls and things like this happen. That is why I am writing this book, Better Days Are Coming as a sequel to my other Novel, I finally got it. Let me know what you think.

Have a great day your friend the Christian writer

[emperorsfoot]

I just recalled a random memory this morning from when I was in scouts. I had a friend who’s mom was a devout catholic, but we were good friends through scouts. One year my friend wanted to give me a gift for Chanukah so their mom took us to Toys R Us together so I could pick out what I wanted. The mom handed my friend cash at the register so my friend could say they bought it and they paid a little extra for wrapping.

As we were leaving the mom said that I couldn’t open it until Christmas.

But my friend specifically said they were giving it to me for Chanukah. Chanukah that year was a week or two before Christmas (I don’t remember exactly) and the mom said that if I opened it before Christmas “Jesus would know”. I cannot stress enough that my friend wanted it to be a CHANUKAH present.

I’m dropped off at home and my friends mom tells my parents that I can’t open my present until Christmas, meanwhile my friend is in the back seat frustrated and almost shouting “Mom [Renkon] is Jewish!”

My dad just nods and says he understands. He’ll make sure I don’t open it until “the appropriate time”.

First night of Chanukah rolls around and my dad hands me the present and tells me to open it but don’t say anything to my friend until he has a chance to talk to their mother.

So I get to enjoy my toy FOR CHANUKAH like my friend intended.

Anyway, Christmas come and goes. Then new years, then on January 3rd my dad calls the mom and asks “what day does your holiday fall on this year? [Renkon] would like to open their present.”

[stil-lindigo]

the fox god.

a comic about a trickster.

--

creative notes:

–

all my other comics

store

[lepetitdragonvert]

Thumbkin and Other Stories

Text Version by W. K. Holmes

Artist : Barbara C. Freeman (1906-1999)

Blackie & Son Limited

London and Glascow

[howlingtothevoid]

Begging God to fix you!

(And other tales about religious trauma)

[xiaq]

No, but lets talk about this. I dug out my grad school notes and everything.

So my grandmother is acting a fool on FB (what else is new).

And I can't respond to her because I might actually give her a heart attack if I shared some of the images included below. But I wanted to rant to someone so here we are. First, yes, the drag bit at the Olympics was inspired by The Feast of the Gods, by Dutch artist Jan van Bijlert in the 1630's, not The Last Supper mural by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci, in the 1490's. And yes, pearl-clutching Christians need to touch grass and tone down the victimization because it's getting embarrassing. I think we've established this now from multiple reputable sources.

But like. Even if the Olympics DID make a drag parody of the The Last Supper, it's SO funny that Christians are holding up that painting as some sort of ideal heterosexual conservative icon when plenty of historians (including my Renaissance art prof in grad school) are certain da Vinci was gay. The man had no documented female lovers but was arrested for sodomy with a male prostitute (though charges were later dropped). He had extremely close relationships with his secretary Salaì and pupil/friend Francesco Melzi who both traveled the world and lived with him for most of their lives and through the end of his. When he died, Melzi wrote in a letter that there was "a burning and passionate love" between them. And Salaì modeled for da Vinci all the time--let me tell you, there are some hella erotic drawings of him. Exibit A:

But maybe heterosexuals draw their bros erect all the time and label the drawings "Angel Incarnate." Maybe.

Also if Christians really want to clutch their peals, this drawing might look familiar because da Vinci created his well known John the Baptist painting based on this and other sketches of Salaì.

Well, hello. Also worth noting: there are lots of fun doodles in da Vinci's sketch books, including things like the below--two dicks with legs poking at a butthole labeled Salaì.

Do you REALLY think that this (likely queer) man would care if someone based a drag show off one of his paintings?

[wolfythewitch]

isaac

[wieqo]

[tuzolelewattpad]

"..Je lève mes yeux vers les montagnes... D'où me viendra le secours? Le secours me vient de l'Eternel, Qui a fait les cieux et la terre. Il ne permettra point que ton pied chancelle; Celui qui te garde ne sommeillera point..."

Jamal: oh Emily! Bonjour!

Emily: salut!

Jamal: content de te revoir

Emily: rêvez pas les chrétiens, je viens juste accompagner Fatou!

Fatou: arrête de faire la fille aigrie! T'es contente d'être là!

Emily: je suis là seulement parce que tu m'as dit qu'ils seraient déjà en train de grailler!

Jamal nous observe en souriant. Ce mec sourit tout le temps. Je suis sûr que même si on l'insulte il trouverait quand même le moyen de sourire... pfff le parfait exemple de chrétien Ned Flanders qui m'insupporte.

Jamal: tu peux même déjà aller te servir à manger si tu veux Emilie!

Emilie: non j'attends que vous terminez votre réunion, je suis pas une sauvage quand même!

Jamal: haha ok! Samia tu voulait dire quelque chose?

Samia: oui je disais que chez nous, l'islam nous pensons différemment que le prédicateur que Gérémiah a montré!

Jamal: je pense également que ce prédicateur s'est un peu trompé. Parce que Dieu est amour!

Samia: alors là c'est moi qui ne suis pas d'accord avec toi Jamal! Parce que après un tel péché, l'homme de la vidéo devrait faire beaucoup de choses pour regagner les faveurs de Dieu! C'est tout un chemin précis

Jamal: En tant que chrétien, on ne croit pas que ce sont les actions qui sauvent. Après un péché, gros ou petit c'est la repentance. C'est le coeur repentant qui t'accorde à nouveau la faveur de Dieu. Rien ne peut aller au dessus qu'un coeur repentant. Parce que la Bible dit: "Car tous ont péché et sont privés de la gloire de Dieu; et ils sont gratuitement justifiés par Sa grâce, par le moyen de la rédemption qui est en Jésus-Christ"

Samia: mais c'est trop facile alors!

Jamal: facile?

Samia: oui!!! Donc quelqu'un il pêche et après il dit seulement pardon Dieu et la vie continue!!?? C'est se foutre de la gueule de Dieu j'trouve!

Jamal: haha non Samia. La repentance c'est quelque chose de profond. Ce n'est pas juste dire pardon comme une phrase formule magique sans vraiment être profond! Quand tu pèches et que tu comprends la saleté qu'est le péché et que ce même péché t'éloigne de Dieu. Tu es tellement marqué, malheureux, ... et c'est ça qui te fait supplier ton Père de te pardonner. Car c'est horrible d'être loin de Dieu. La repentance la vraie c'est très profond. C'est pas quelqu'un qui banalise le péché, crois moi! Dieu regarde au coeur d'façon!

Pfff ces débats de croyants m'ennuient profondément. On peut pas commencer à manger le buffet là! Puis tout d'un coup Samia a les larmes qui lui montent aux yeux. Et elle commence à pleurer.

Ouoooh qu'est c'qui se passe!???

Jamal s'approche d'elle et pose sa main sur son épaule.

Samia: tu es une belle personne Jamal...

Elle essaie de se calmer pour parler

Samia: J'ai fait quelque chose et je sais que Dieu peut pas me pardonner... Je suis condamnée Jamal...

Jamal: Samia... tes larmes prouvent le contraire... Aie confiance et demande Lui pardon

Samia: Tu ne sais pas ce que j'ai fait Jamal... c'est impardonnable

Jamal: Il n'y a rien qu'Il ne puisse pas te pardonner. Le poids de nos péchés est tellement lourd. Comment veux -tu qu'on puisse se racheter par nos propres actions? Il y aurait trop à faire! Si tu es sincère dans ta démarche, repens toi! Ca veut juste dire que tu demandes pardon et tu vas dans la direction opposée au péché. Tu décide de ne plus recommencer! Et je t'assure Il t'a pardonné!

Samia pleure encore plus et vient serrer Jamal dans les bras. Il lui rend l'accolade, mais je remarque que lui met une petite distance, pour qu'elle ne soit pas totalement collée à lui. Surement un truc de chrétien pieux.

Samia: pardon... Seigneur pardon...

Jamal sourit: Aie la joie Samia! Tu es pardonnée parce que le Dieu que nous servons, t'aime. Il voulait juste que tu reviennes à Lui! Tu n'as rien à payer pour car Lui a déjà tout payé

Pfff quel beau parleur ce Jamal. Il peut pas juste être beau! Faut aussi qu'il soit un maître des mots. Et voilà que toutes les filles de la salle sont encore sous son charme! Je me moque un peu intérieurement, mais en même temps j'ai un sentiment de joie pour cette fille qui vivait en se sentant condamnée et qui semble avoir rencontré aujourd'hui, la paix.

[austerity-audacity-asceticism]

The atomic habits of St. Therese of Lisieux

I used to be one of those people that were like “oh I love St. Joan of Arc, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Paul, St. Teresa of Avila” because I thought they were Cool and Heroic and they did Big Things

And whenever someone would talk about “The Little Flower of Lisieux” I was like “mehhhhh… okay”

Not in a way that was totally disrespectful, but not totally aware of the enormity of her interior life

Because guys

Wow

You’d have to read The Story of the Soul to really appreciate just WHY she is a doctor of the Church

(She’s the Doctor of Divine Love, btw)

Because St. Therese? She was in the details

They like to say the devil is in the details, but let’s face it— God is in the details, and in his mercy and wisdom, he placed St. Therese there for us to learn from and imitate in our own ways

She had to reconcile her great desire to be a saint with the enormous legacies of the saints that came before her, especially Joan of Arc and St. Teresa of Avila

(She, along with St. Joan, are the patron saints of France. I’m sure that’s something St. Therese never dreamed of)

And she had the realization that God would not have given her a desire that she was incapable of, and that there must be a way for someone “as small as her” to become a great saint

Which lead her to meditate on Mathew 18:4 (Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven)

And she was like “oh, okay. This desire planted into my heart is an invitation to become a little child, because the Lord wants to be the one to carry me to Heaven” 

(I am heavily paraphrasing so that you guys won’t be spoiled for Story of a Soul. Go read it!!!)

All of this is to say that her writings and her life reflect a simple but profound theology 

The Little Way is one of total dependence on the providence of God, of total surrender and self-mortification— the emptying of the cup of one’s self little by little, so that the Lord can fill it with his graces and abundance, and ultimately, with His own divine self 

The Little Way is one of the smallest acts of radical love, because the only person who needs to see it is God 

The Little Way is St. Therese going out of her way to nurse the nuns that she didn’t get along well with 

The Little Way is St. Therese is doing her best to hold cheerful conversations with a particularly surly nun 

The Little Way is St. Therese relishing being splashed with dirty laundry water as a sign of the smallest of suffering that only God would see

I called this particular post her “atomic habits,” because she believed that small acts can lead to holiness when done with great love for our Lord 

Small acts of love and self mortification were the things that she sought for while in the Carmel 

St. Therese elucidated in her signature sincere and effervescent style the enduring idea that there is no suffering too small, no act of love too small, to offer the Lord— because what he wants is souls, what he wants is us

That’s not to say that her interior life was always rich 

She suffered so much from months of aridity that she grew an affection for atheists, even going so far to say, and I quote:

[God] allowed my soul to be overwhelmed with darkness, and the thought of Heaven, which had consoled me from my earliest childhood, now became a subject of conflict and torture. This trial did not last merely for days or weeks; I have been suffering for months, and I still await deliverance. I wish I could express what I feel, but it is beyond me. One must have passed through this dark tunnel to understand its blackness ... When I sing of the happiness of Heaven and the eternal possession of God, I do not feel any joy therein, for I sing only of what I wish to believe. Sometimes, I confess, a little ray of sunshine illumines my dark night, and I enjoy peace for an instant, but later, the remembrance of this ray of light, instead of consoling me, makes the blackness thicker still.

It’s thought that St. Therese experienced this interior anguish up until the end of her battle with tuberculosis, with her final words being: “My God, I love you!” 

To summarize everything, reading St. Therese is a study not only of radical love, but also radical humility 

From a spoiled child to a martyr of the Carmel, St. Therese lived an inner life that very few of her own sisters in the convent were aware of 

Her life is also a testimony to God's perfect timing; St. Therese wanted to be a missionary in Hanoi, but was prevented from doing so when she contracted tuberculosis. She was later named a patron saint to missionaries.

St. Therese's Little Way informed the spirituality of many of the saints and intellectuals that came after her: St. Josemaria, St. John Paul II, Mother Teresa, St. Teresa of the Andes, Blessed Cecilia Eusepi, Hans Urs von Balthasar, and Dorothy Day

On her feast day, let’s take the time to reflect on what small things we can do today for the Lord; what small sufferings we can offer him with great love and humility 

God would never inspire me with desires which cannot be realized; so in spite of my littleness, I can hope to be a saint. — St. Thérèse of Lisieux

St. Therese of Lisieux, pray for us.

[ratsreading]

Thinking of what it must be like to be loved by a ship like the Perihelion. I think it must be a little like being loved by a god. A minor god and one with true personality, a god from a pantheon, with limited power and no claims to be all-knowing, all-powerful, all-loving, no claims of being the One True God. And yet, a god. Its mind so powerful it can be present with you and yet in a hundred other places simultaneously, it holds you safe inside of it - or not (as Mother Nature holds us safe on Earth - or not). It can rain destruction when angered or help you if it wishes. Inside of its realm (itself), within its dominion, it sees all, controls all (not other people, but the very ground you walk on, the air you breathe). Outside of it, it can help you if it sees what is happening, but is not in control of everything. If you are within its reach, it is there, present with you always, a voice in your head, a friend (because this god spaceship loves you).

[lepetitdragonvert]

The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen

Artist : Errol le Cain (1941-1989)

[sweetstgal111]

it pains me so much

[francesderwent]

[luhvrlis]

GIRLS TURN 13 AND PICK ONE OF THESE AS THEIR PERSONALITY: