#Jeremiah 20:18

[scripture-pictures]

[lansangprincess]

I think it would be interesting if Conrad's season 3 storyline was similar to Paxton's storyline in Never Have I Ever where his storyline is primarily on maturing and he ends up with an older girlfriend but still remains friends with and has sweet moments with Devi. The one in the finale where she tells him he was a good boyfriend but an even better friend is an example of it. They do share one kiss in the final season but there's no cheating and it serves the purpose of closure. I personally preferred Paxton over Ben and had some issues with Ben, but didn't mind Benvi being together at the end as much as Bonrad because they had more in common and more chemistry. In this case it would be more painful for her to end up with Conrad because she chose his brother. Also Paxton's narrator episodes were really interesting, so I hope Conrad's isn't stagnant and boring in season 3.

NO BECAUSE U GET ITTTTTTTT. THIS IS WHAT IVE BEEN MEANING TO SAYYYY

I personally dont care anymore if Conrad falls off the face of the earth (🥰) BUT I know that a lot of people genuinely love his character and for that, I am all up for a redemption arc (especially if DONE WELL, it would be a really powerful message of self-love and self-care in young men).

The storyline has to be a Paxton-esque one 😫. Both Paxton and Devi acknowledged how important their relationship was to their growth but knew they weren't right for each other in the end. It doesn't mean that their time together was a waste of time, quite the opposite actually and for that to have been acknowledged was a really great thing to witness for me personally.

[thegreatestheaver]

i need to make like a masterpost of bible verses that just go hard. im a stupid theology nerd so they all interest me but some i think would interest even people who dont like theology. currently thinking about Genesis 3:19 "By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return." FIRE ??? FL;AMES ???

[jaguar726]

I had been like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter

Daily Verse Reading – Jeremiah 11:18-20 Plot Against Jeremiah18 Because the Lord revealed their plot to me, I knew it, for at that time he showed me what they were doing. 19 I had been like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter; I did not realize that they had plotted against me, saying, “Let us destroy the tree and its fruit;let us cut him off from the land of the living,that his name be…

[graceandpeacejoanne]

Revelation 18: Come Out, My People

The call of the angel to come out of Babylon echoes similar calls from Israel’s ancient prophets. #Revelation18 #ComeOutMyPeople #FallenisBabylon

Then I heard another voice out of the sky saying, “Come out, my people, out of her, in order that you all will not have fellowship in and partake of her sins, in order that you would not take hold of her wounds. “Because her sins have been following close to her as far as heaven, and the wrongs she has done have been recalled to God. “Render to her as she as she has herself rendered, and…

[grandsouldream]

Readings for 8 MARCH

8/3/2023

[macrolit]

The 100 Best Books of the 21st Century.

As voted on by 503 novelists, nonfiction writers, poets, critics and other book lovers — with a little help from the staff of The New York Times Book Review.

NYT Article.

*************

Q: How many of the 100 have you read? Q: Which ones did you love/hate? Q: What's missing?

Here's the full list.

100. Tree of Smoke, Denis Johnson 99. How to Be Both, Ali Smith 98. Bel Canto, Ann Patchett 97. Men We Reaped, Jesmyn Ward 96. Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments, Saidiya Hartman 95. Bring Up the Bodies, Hilary Mantel 94. On Beauty, Zadie Smith 93. Station Eleven, Emily St. John Mandel 92. The Days of Abandonment, Elena Ferrante 91. The Human Stain, Philip Roth 90. The Sympathizer, Viet Thanh Nguyen 89. The Return, Hisham Matar 88. The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis 87. Detransition, Baby, Torrey Peters 86. Frederick Douglass, David W. Blight 85. Pastoralia, George Saunders 84. The Emperor of All Maladies, Siddhartha Mukherjee 83. When We Cease to Understand the World, Benjamin Labutat 82. Hurricane Season, Fernanda Melchor 81. Pulphead, John Jeremiah Sullivan 80. The Story of the Lost Child, Elena Ferrante 79. A Manual for Cleaning Women, Lucia Berlin 78. Septology, Jon Fosse 77. An American Marriage, Tayari Jones 76. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, Gabrielle Zevin 75. Exit West, Mohsin Hamid 74. Olive Kitteridge, Elizabeth Strout 73. The Passage of Power, Robert Caro 72. Secondhand Time, Svetlana Alexievich 71. The Copenhagen Trilogy, Tove Ditlevsen 70. All Aunt Hagar's Children, Edward P. Jones 69. The New Jim Crow, Michelle Alexander 68. The Friend, Sigrid Nunez 67. Far From the Tree, Andrew Solomon 66. We the Animals, Justin Torres 65. The Plot Against America, Philip Roth 64. The Great Believers, Rebecca Makkai 63. Veronica, Mary Gaitskill 62. 10:04, Ben Lerner 61. Demon Copperhead, Barbara Kingsolver 60. Heavy, Kiese Laymon 59. Middlesex, Jeffrey Eugenides 58. Stay True, Hua Hsu 57. Nickel and Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich 56. The Flamethrowers, Rachel Kushner 55. The Looming Tower, Lawrence Wright 54. Tenth of December, George Saunders 53. Runaway, Alice Munro 52. Train Dreams, Denis Johnson 51. Life After Life, Kate Atkinson 50. Trust, Hernan Diaz 49. The Vegetarian, Han Kang 48. Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi 47. A Mercy, Toni Morrison 46. The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt 45. The Argonauts, Maggie Nelson 44. The Fifth Season, N.K. Jemisin 43. Postwar, Tony Judt 42. A Brief History of Seven Killings, Marlon James 41. Small Things Like These, Claire Keegan 40. H Is for Hawk, Helen Macdonald 39. A Visit from the Goon Squad, Jennifer Egan 38. The Savage Detectives, Roberto Balano 37. The Years, Annie Ernaux 36. Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates 35. Fun Home, Alison Bechdel 34. Citizen, Claudia Rankine 33. Salvage the Bones, Jesmyn Ward 32. The Lines of Beauty, Alan Hollinghurst 31. White Teeth, Zadie Smith 30. Sing, Unburied, Sing, Jesmyn Ward 29. The Last Samurai, Helen DeWitt 28. Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell 27. Americanah, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 26. Atonement, Ian McEwan 25. Random Family, Adrian Nicole LeBlanc 24. The Overstory, Richard Powers 23. Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage, Alice Munro 22. Behind the Beautiful Forevers, Katherine Boo 21. Evicted, Matthew Desmond 20. Erasure, Percival Everett 19. Say Nothing, Patrick Radden Keefe 18. Lincoln in the Bardo, George Saunders 17. The Sellout, Paul Beatty 16. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon 15. Pachinko, Min Jin Lee 14. Outline, Rachel Cusk 13. The Road, Cormac McCarthy 12. The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion 11. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Diaz 10. Gilead, Marilynne Robinson 9. Never Let Me Go, Kazuo Ishiguro 8. Austerlitz, W.G. Sebald 7. The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead 6. 2666, Roberto Bolano 5. The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen 4. The Known World, Edward P. Jones 3. Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel 2. The Warmth of Other Suns, Isabel Wilkerson 1. My Brilliant Friend, Elena Ferrante

[rose-tinted-kalopsia]

Love & Deepspace Masterlist; organized alphabetically by character and fic type.

★ = personal fave/recommended. ◆ = request WIP.

sign up for taglist: here!

youtiful : on your darker days, the love & deepspace boys soothe you through your anxieties.

nsfw alphabet : l&ds side characters

::: oneshots

Treacherous

This Love Is Ours (Kinktober 2024 - Nipple Play) ◆

::: drabbles/short fics

Got me thinkin' Nonsense

Only bought this dress so you could take it off (Kinktober 2024 - Suspension) ◆

Pick me up, no headlights

::: headcanons

Awkward moments during sex

Eating you out

Giving him a blowjob

How he acts in bed

How he teases you

Lacy Lingerie; somnophilia hcs

Praising you ◆

::: caleb braindumps

the hope there is in ending

::: oneshots

i'll do anything you say, if you say it with your hands ★

Muse

Breathe ◆

::: drabbles/short fics

your eyes

sit still (Kinktober 2024 - Deepthroating) ◆

moonlit waves (Kinktober 2024 - Body Worship) ◆

Pick me up, no headlights

::: headcanons

Awkward moments during sex

Eating you out

Giving him a blowjob

How he acts in bed

How he teases you

Lacy Lingerie; somnophilia hcs

Praising you ◆

::: oneshots

-

::: drabbles/short fics

Don't Make Me Bad (Addicted to You) [Kinktober 2024 - scent kink] ◆

::: headcanons

Once Upon A December

Praising you ◆

::: sylus braindumps

predebut sylus thoughts

::: oneshots

Candy ★

Every word feels like a shooting star ★

Have we met before? ★

Pretty Little Mess

Red Lights

to love you more (Kinktober 2024 - Praise Kink) [Lumiere] ◆

Your Highness, Believe Me. (Kinktober 2024 - Master/Servant) [Prince!Xavier]

::: drabbles/short fics

Behave ◆

Pick me up, no headlights

Sweet Nothing ◆

the stars are jealous knowing you're by my side (Kinktober 2024 - Cum Play) ◆

::: headcanons

69 hcs

Awkward moments during sex

Corruption kink hcs

Eating you out

Giving him a blowjob

How he acts in bed

How he teases you

Lacy Lingerie; somnophilia hcs

Praising you ◆

::: xavier braindumps

lumiere

21 days

"i love you in every universe"

blobbu event (1) (2)

hualian agenda (tag) (long post)

no restraint

floral blessings

::: oneshots

Labyrinth ◆

you look wonderful tonight

to the end of happiness

::: drabbles/short fics

if i can have you (Kinktober 2024 - Breeding Kink) [Dawnbreaker]

Pick me up, no headlights

Pulse (Kinktober 2024 - Cardiophilia)

::: headcanons

Awkward moments during sex

Eating you out

Giving him a blowjob

How he acts in bed

How he teases you

Lacy Lingerie; somnophilia hcs

Praising you ◆

::: oneshots

Begin Again ; Jeremiah ★

Don't Let Me Love You ; Kieran ★

I Like It ; Luke

So it goes... ; Jeremiah

::: drabbles/short fics

Allow Me ; Greyson (Kinktober 2024 - Facesitting)

Art Exhibit ; Thomas (Kinktober 2024 - Semi-Public Sex)

lock me in this dream ; Luke (Kinktober 2024 - Cuddlefucking)

pretty girl ; Luke & Kieran (Kinktober 2024 - Somnophilia)

Warmth ; Kieran (Kinktober 2024 - Dry Humping) ◆

::: headcanons

.

::: misc

luke & kieran analyses— (1) (2)

ask brainrots— (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) (13) (14) (15) (16) (17) (18) (19) (20) (21) (22) (23) (24) (25) (26) (27) (28) (29) (30)

old lndrp threads— (1) (2)

[girlbloggercher]

how to read the Bible

this is in order!

1. John

2. Mark

3. Matthew

4. Luke

5. Genesis

6. Exodus

7. Leviticus

8. Numbers

9. Dueteronomy

10. Romans

11. Galatians

12. Colossians

13. Proverbs

14. Ecclesiastes

15. Job

16. 1 Peter

17. 1 Corinthians

18. 2 Corinthians

19. Ephesians

20. Philippians

21. 1 Thessalonians

22. 2 Thessalonians

23. 1 Timothy

24. 2 Timothy

25. James

26. 2 Peter

27. 1 John

28. 2 John

29. 3 John

30. Jude

31. Psalms

32. Joshua

33. Judges

34. 1 Samuel

35. 2 Samuel

36. 1 Kings

37. 2 Kings

38. 1 Chronicles

39. 2 Chronicles

40. Ezra

41. Nehemiah

42. Jeremiah

43. Lamentations

44. Ezekiel

45. Joel

46. Amos

47. Obadiah

48. Nahum

49. Habakkuk

50. Zephaniah

51. Haggai

52. Zechariah

53. Malachi

54. Micah

55. Hosea

56. Luke

57. Esther

58. Jonah

59. Song of Solomon

60. Acts

61. Titus

62. Philemon

63. Hebrew

64. Isaiah

65. Daniel

66. Revelation

[unofficialdigby]

JULY BIRTHDAYS

July 1: Curt the Cranky Bear

July 2: Agent S the Peppy Squirrel

July 3: Blaire the Snooty Squirrel

July 4: Apollo the Cranky Eagle and Wilbur the Dodo Pilot

July 5: Samson the Jock Mouse and Reese the Re-Tail Alpaca

July 6: Mira the Sisterly Rabbit

July 7: Bree the Snooty Mouse and Viche the Normal Squirrel

July 8: Jeremiah the Lazy Frog (Jerimiah was a Bullfrog) FISHING TOURNEY DAY

July 9: Static the Cranky Squirrel and Huck the Smug Frog

July 10: Mott the Jock Lion and Toby the Smug Rabbit

July 11: Victoria the Peppy Horse and Filly the Normal Horse

July 12: Olive the Normal Cub and Kapp'n the Kappa Captain

July 13: Twiggy the Peppy Bird

July 14: Dizzy the Lazy Elephant

July 15: Caroline the Normal Squirrel

July 16: Frita the Sisterly Sheep

July 17: Jay the Jock bird and Beppe the Professional (also bird) RV Painter

July 18: Croque the Cranky Frog

July 19: Nibbles the Peppy Squirrel and Pascal the Stoner Otter

July 20: Yuka the Snooty Koala

July 21: Prince the Lazy Frog

July 22: Chow the Cranky Bear BUG-OFF DAY

July 23: Elvis the Cranky Lion

July 24: O'Hare the Smug Rabbit and Rex the Lazy Lion

July 25: Peck the Jock Bird and Nat, Chameleon who originally ran the Bug-Off and Flick's Dad

July 26: Curly the Jock Pig

July 27: Erik the Lazy Deer and Ketchup the Peppy Duck

July 28: Truffles the Peppy Pig that did not get typo-ed as peppa three times

July 29: Lionel the Smug LIon

July 30: Frank the Cranky Eagle

July 31: Grizzly the Cranky Bear and Julia the EXTRA TRANS Snooty Ostrich.

[twiggy-in-pink]

“Lord, hear me and help me!

Listen to what my enemies are saying.

Should they repay evil for good?

They have dug a pit to kill me,

though I pleaded for them

and tried to protect them from your anger.”

Jeremiah 18:19-20

[justasecretflower]

✝️- ミ★𝗁𝗈𝗐 𝗍𝗈 𝗌𝗍𝗈𝗉 𝗁𝗈𝗅𝖽𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖺 𝗀𝗋𝗎𝖽𝗀𝖾 𝟣𝟢𝟣

With god, even the most deeply rooted hate can be altered into peace.🤍

__________________________________________

Step one- Recognize your grudge, who it’s against and the real reason why.

. You may not like the REAL, raw reason why, but you have to recognize it. You have to take in account all of your feelings toward them and what they did. Not just say what you tell people on why you don’t like said person because it may not be the full, unfiltered reason why.

Step two- tell God everything about it, every little detail and everything you feel, remember, he’s here for you. Jeremiah 33:3

Step three- has this person changed their actions? Or are there any distinct signs of improvement in their behavior?

Yes —-> Be grateful, take deep breaths and thank God for their positive change, this will help you more with moving on.

No ——> Pray for them. The Bible teaches us to not spew any venomous hate out of our mouths but instead, pray for them. It’ll make you feel better.

If yes…..

Now that you know that said person has tried to improve, you should take it as a sign to improve yourself as well. You are a wildflower, let yourself grow. Resentment stops you from that. Know that humans have complex emotions and holding a grudge is sometimes a thing you do subconsciously if the feelings go unaddressed.

No- know that you’re a person of God, his child. When you see that people are growing in God like they should pray for them. It helps you stop holding grudges and learn to have more gratitude for Gods graciousness. If they still hold anger in their heart, pray for them and grace them with the love of God to heal their soul.

Step four- Find stuff in said person that you like. Little or big, doesn’t matter how small. Learn to see the good in every single person. As God has created them as he created you. 2 John 1:6

Step five- create a regular prayer schedule and regularly pray about it. Power is prayer. Trust me, prayer has helped me get out of some really deep holes and a lot of nasty sin, but it did help me love more people and find more peace as well. God is always there for you, a prayer away, and always holding you up strong. Romans 15:13

Step six- stop gossiping about them. Proverbs 18:20, 1 Peter 2:1. This has helped me a ton. Yes, when something that makes you mad/ upset happens the first thing you do is obviously go to God and your friends about it. Once you’ve gotten the venting out of your system there’s no need to speak about it with anyone but God or a mental health professional. No, I don’t mean that you should keep it a secret, but to gossip is a sin, and it’ll hold you back from growing.

Step 7- Mentally be at peace with them in your head, mentally forgive, and be at peace with them. To forgive is a great power, and it holds the upmost amount of peace of mind. Luke 6:35, Ephesians 4: 32, Romans 12:17.

“Never pay back evil with more evil” Romans 12:17. Revenge, spite, are all things of the enemy and will damage your spirit.

Always remember, God is here and.

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.”

Tags

[goobieboobie]

ultraviolence 0.1

| 70s pornstar! joel miller x preachers daughter! reader

Your prayers aren't enough to keep big, bad Joel away...

Warnings (for this chap!): abortion references and allusions, child/domestic abuse, prostitution allusions, kind of dubcon allusions (reader is misled by Jeremiah abt getting pregnant???), mentions of guns, young reader (roughly 19-20), barely legal sex work (person referenced is a senior is highschool, she's 18 but not explicitly stated), extreme dubcon for sex work (reader rlly doesn't want to do it, but is convinced), creepy scary man MDNI!!

“How’d you end up here, baby?”

You’d been asked the question about a hundred times a day since you arrived in LA, church dress tattered and knee-high socks torn. Carmen had taken you in, dragging you away from the bus stop the second you’d stepped foot off of the Grey Rabbit, exhausted from a night-long drive from Texas. 

She picked you up after her shift on the street corner, so delirious from her night that she thought she’d imagined you. “You looked straight outta the gospel, kid, thought you might be my guardian angel.”

She turned out to be more of a guardian angel to you than anything else, setting you up in her overcrowded three-bedroom near Venice. Even though you’d had to share a bed with her for the first weeks of your arrival, you were happy to not be destitute. 

She was the first one to ask the question, her roommate, Laura, a high school senior only a year or two younger than you, right by her side. “So, how’d you end up here, honey?” Carmen had a sugary sweet Southern lilt to her voice, different from the rural Texan accent you’d developed over the years. 

You’d rehashed the night of your escape to her and Laura, from getting caught with Jeremiah in the barn to running barefoot to the cross-country bus station three miles away from the farm, lantern guiding your path. 

“Dontcha think California’s a bit overkill? What is it, two thousand miles away from yer Daddy?” Carmen clearly didn’t understand the will her father possessed. He would tear apart every town within a thousand miles to find his wayward daughter, to save the child in her womb. 

It had happened weeks ago, the life inside you was probably only the size of a pea; that didn’t matter to Daddy. It wasn’t easy to get condoms in a small town like yours, and even harder to get your pediatrician (an avid member of your church) to prescribe you birth control. Jeremiah had insisted it was fine, there was no risk of getting pregnant your first time, the odds were against you. 

Daddy had found out the night you left, so angry he shook your body around like a ragdoll and slapped you around the living room in front of your sisters and mother. He had already chased Jeremiah away, shotgun in hand, your pleas of “But Daddy, I love him!” falling on deaf ears. 

You cried and cried while he asked you to give him one good reason to not chase him down and shoot him dead. You had panicked, shouted that you were pregnant, needed him to help you raise the baby, but that had just spurred him on, made him angrier. 

He was so blind with rage, yelling like a drunkard, that you managed to make it out through the front door, running nimbly through the dark woods near the house before he could catch up. 

Carmen took you to the clinic the next morning, holding your hand as you walked past the bus stop from the morning before.“Poor lil’ thing, can’t go raisin’ a baby when yer just one yerself.” 

You cried in the waiting room, cried in the doctor’s office, cried as it happened, cried when it was done and over with. You only stopped when the doctor asked that damned question. 

“If you don’t mind me asking,” he pushed his glasses up his crooked nose, you imagined it was bent from a punch years ago, maybe a patient with more gut than you, “How’d you end up here?” 

When you walked back to the house, legs achy and stomach twisting, Carmen stopped you in the middle of the sidewalk, putting her hands down hard on your shoulders, making you look up at her. “Don’t answer to nosy assholes like him.” She took her hands off of you. “Ever.” She sniffed. “You don’t owe ‘em shit.” 

Two weeks into your stay, Laura set up a meeting with a friend of hers to talk about a job he had for you. It was already cramped in the little house, there were five other girls staying in the other rooms, even worse in the room you were staying in. 

“I don’t know what kinda job he’s got for me, he ain’t even met me yet. Don’t know a thing about me.” Laura made sure to dress you up real nice for the meeting, styling you in the best of Carmen’s clothes, the more scandalous ones you hadn’t been stealing from her closet. 

“Don’t you worry about it, doll.” She stuck out her tongue in concentration as she fixed your hair. “Harry’s not bad, you’ll get used to him. He’ll be totally into your whole farmer’s daughter thing.” 

“Not a farmer’s daughter.” You grumbled back, annoyed at the prospect of meeting this Harry. Anyone who wanted to meet this late at night was surely up to no good.

“Yeah, yeah.”

Laura walked you down to the club you were meeting at, skipping the line and heading right to the bouncer. He took one look at you and the young girl next to you and lifted the velvet rope. Laura squealed at you. 

Harry was easy to pick out in a crowd. He looked sleazy, like the type of guy to make wayward deals with newly legal girls. He wore gold aviators, despite the night around you and the darkness of the club. He took them off when he saw Laura, his eyes were distinctly red. 

“My little Laura Lee!” He exclaimed when he saw her, reaching his arms out to pull her down on his lap and plant a deep kiss on her lips. You could see his tongue move into her mouth. 

“You must be the sweet kid little Laurie was tellin’ me about.” He smiled at you, pulled you close. You could smell the liquor on his break, could see the white on his nose. 

“Oh, she’s real good, Harry!” Laura hung on his arm, looking deep in his eyes. He wasn’t looking at her; he was sizing you up.

“Could lean into that whole innocence thing, I guess. If that’s your cuppa tea.” His eyes raked down your body, lingering at the short hem of Carmen’s white dress, one of her only semi-modest pieces. “You a virgin, babydoll?” 

Your face heated, so angry you’re sure your ears were turning red. You stuttered at him for a second before Laura took over. “Don’t be silly, Harry! You think I’d bring you some blushing virgin?” The irony wasn’t lost on you. “She’s got loads of experience!” 

“I don’t know, Laur, some’ll pay a pretty penny for an untouched one.” He took your’s and Laura’s arms, dragging you to the booth he was previously sat at. 

“No, no, I didn’t bring her here to work a corner like me and Carm! She’s nowhere near ready for that typa shit!” Laura burst into a fit of giggles. “I thought you could help her out like you did Meg, maybe produce some for her, get her in with the directors, y’know.” Harry weighed his options.

“I dunno know, Laurie…” 

“What the hell is goin’ on.” You gained sense of yourself again, tired of being talked about but not talked to. You should’ve laid Harry out for the question he asked you before, wished you did like Carmen had told you. You were still thinking about doing it. 

Harry looked at your face for the first time that evening, eyes focused on yours, not anywhere else, even as he asked Laura, “Did you tell her? You naughty little thing…” 

Maybe you were wrong, maybe the being talked about was worse than the talked to. Staring into his eyes felt like staring into a bottomless pit, felt like you were looking the Devil right in the face. 

“Well, damn! I thought you figured it out! Didn’t know I needed to spell it out for a smarty pants like you!” Laura giggled again. You were getting real tired of that. 

Harry spoke up for her. “It’s porn, honey.” You blinked at him, sputtered again. “No big deal. Won’t make you do nothin’ crazy.” He winked. “Not yet, at least.”

“I-I don’t, I’m not that kinda- Who would even-”

“Honey, you don’t gotta do it if you don’t wanna. Nobody’s makin’ you do nothin’.” He leaned forward on the table between y’all, forearms on the sticky wood soaked from past drunks. “It would be a real shame if you said no, though. After all the work little Laura went through to set this up for you. Betcha could make it real big too.” He scooted around the edge of the booth, saddled himself up next to you. 

“You’re real pretty, y’know. Bet a lotta people would want to see you like that. I know I would.” He brushed a piece of hair behind your ear and leaned close to you. “Wouldn’t have to put Laura and Carm out any more, could get a place of your own. ‘M sure you’d be famous, you’d be a star.” His words were sounding more and more like gospel; the ideas he was laying out made your head spin. 

“Really, I’m not that kinda girl. I’m a Christian.” 

He groaned loud in your ear, knocking his head back in frustration. “Aren’t we all?” He grabbed the back of your neck, forcing your face centimeters away from his. You could see the cap in his front tooth. “Baby, you want this. I know you do, otherwise why would you have come. You knew all along what this meeting was for, even if you don’t think you did.” “I-I really didn’t-”

“Yes, you did. Subconsciously, you knew that the only reason I would meet a shy little thing like you was for somethin’ like this. Especially given the crowd you’ve taken to.” Maybe he was right, you knew that there would be some kind of bad business at this kinda place, this late at night. 

Your eyes met Laura’s, almost having forgotten she was there. She had a big, bright smile on her face. She had taken you in off the street, had given you everything she had. She wouldn’t lead you astray. 

“So,” Harry started, turning your gaze back to his, “Will you do me the honors of representin’ you. I would love to have your name attached to mine.” You nodded your head, earning a yellowed smile from the man in front of you. “But, I have some questions, some things I need to know before-” “We’ll get to that babydoll, just let me worry about all that.” He leaned back, put his arms around you and Laura. “Now, tell me, how’d you end up here, baby?”

A/N: promise we'll meet joel in next chap i'm just trying to lay the groundwork!!!! also if anyone is interested in me sharing the playlist pls lemme know i'll do it i've been listening to it to inspire me!!! also this is not beta read, if anyone would like to beta read for me i would be so honored and grateful bless it

[artsymumof5]

A LETTER FROM YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER! The following words come from the heart of God. After all God loves you, and He is the Father you have been looking for all your life. This is His Love Letter to you! My Dear Child, You may not know me, but I know everything about you. (Ps 139:1) I know when you sit down and when you rise up. (Psalm 139:2) I am familiar with all your ways. (Psalm 139:3) Even the very hairs on your head are numbered. (Matthew 10:29-30) For you were made in my image. (Genesis 1:27) In me, you live and move and have your being. For you are my offspring. (Acts 17:28) I knew you even before you were conceived. (Jeremiah 1:4-5) I chose you when I planned the creation. (Ephesians 1:11-12) You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in my book. (Psalm 139:15-16) I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live. (Acts 17:26) You are fearfully and wonderfully made. (Psalm 139:14) I knit you together in your mother’s womb. (Psalm 139:13) And brought you forth on the day you were born. (Psalm 71:6) I have been misrepresented by those who don’t know me. (John 8:41-44) I am not distant and angry but am the complete expression of love. (I John 4:16) And it is my desire to lavish my love on you. (I John 3:1) Simply because you are my child and I am your Father. (I John 3:7) I offer you more than your earthly father ever could. (Matthew 7:11) For I am the perfect Father. (Matthew 5:48) Every good gift you receive comes from my hand. (James 1:17) For I am your provider and I meet your needs. (Matthew 6:31-33) My plan for your future has always been filled with hope. (Jeremiah 29:11) Because I love you with an everlasting love. (Jeremiah 31:3) My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore. (Psalm 139:17-18) And I rejoice over you with singing. (Zephaniah 3:17) I will never stop doing good to you. (Jeremiah 32:40) For you are my treasured possession. (Exodus 19:5) I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul. (Jeremiah 32:41) And I want to show you great and marvelous things. (Jeremiah 33:3) For if you seek me with all your heart, you will find me. (Deuteronomy 4:29) So, Delight in me, and I will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4) For it is I who gave you those desires. (Philippians 2:13) I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine. (Ephesians 3:20) For I am your greatest encourager. (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17) I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4) When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you. (Psalm 34:18) As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart. (Isaiah 40:11) One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes. And I will take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth. Revelation 21:3-4) I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus. (John 17:23) For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed. (John 17:26) And to tell you that I am not counting your sins. Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled. (2 Corinthians 5;18-19) His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you. (I John 4:10) I gave up everything I loved so that I might gain your love. (Romans 8:31-32) If you receive the gift of my son Jesus, you receive me. (I John 2:23) And nothing will ever separate you from my love again. (Romans 8:38-29) When it’s time for you to Come home I’ll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen. (Luke 15:7) I have always been your Father, and will always be your Father. (Ephesians 3:14-15) My question is….Will you be my child? (John 1:12-13) I am waiting for you. (Luke 15:11-32) With Love, Your Father, Almighty God

[jaguar726]

Should good be repaid with evil?

Daily Verse Reading – Jeremiah 18:18-20 18 They said, “Come, let’s make plans against Jeremiah; for the teaching of the law by the priest will not cease, nor will counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophets. So come, let’s attack him with our tongues and pay no attention to anything he says.” 19 Listen to me, Lord;hear what my accusers are saying!20 Should good be repaid with evil?Yet…

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

A Call to Repentance

1 Gather yourselves together, yes, gather together, you nation that has no shame,

2 before the appointed time when the day passes as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD comes on you, before the day of the LORD's anger comes on you.

3 Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, who have kept his ordinances. Seek righteousness. Seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden in the day of the LORD's anger.

4 For Gaza will be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation. They will drive out Ashdod at noonday, and Ekron will be rooted up.

5 Woe to the inhabitants of the sea coast, the nation of the Cherethites. The word of the LORD is against you, Canaan, the land of the Philistines. I will destroy you, that there will be no inhabitant.

6 The sea coast will be pastures, with cottages for shepherds and folds for flocks.

7 The coast will be for the remnant of the house of Judah. They will find pasture. In the houses of Ashkelon, they will lie down in the evening, for the LORD, their God, will visit them, and restore them.

8 I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the insults of the people of Ammon, with which they have reproached my people, and magnified themselves against their border.

9 Therefore as I live, says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, surely Moab will be as Sodom, and the people of Ammon as Gomorrah, a possession of nettles, and salt pits, and a perpetual desolation. The remnant of my people will plunder them, and the survivors of my nation will inherit them.

10 This they will have for their pride, because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the people of the LORD of hosts.

11 The LORD will be awesome to them, for he will famish all the gods of the land. Men will worship him, everyone from his place, even all the shores of the nations.

12 You Cushites also, you will be killed by my sword.

13 He will stretch out his hand against the north, destroy Assyria, and will make Nineveh a desolation, as dry as the wilderness.

14 Herds will lie down in the midst of her, all the animals of the nations. Both the pelican and the porcupine will lodge in its capitals. Their calls will echo through the windows. Desolation will be in the thresholds, for he has laid bare the cedar beams.

15 This is the joyous city that lived carelessly, that said in her heart, "I am, and there is none besides me." How she has become a desolation, a place for animals to lie down in. Everyone who passes by her will hiss, and shake their fists. — Zephaniah 2 | New Heart English Bible (NHEB) The New Heart English Bible is in the public domain. Cross References: Genesis 19:24; Exodus 4:31; Deuteronomy 29:23; Joshua 5:9; Ruth 1:6; 1 Samuel 30:14; 2 Chronicles 20:4; Job 16:4; Psalm 22:26; Psalm 45:4; Psalm 72:8; Psalm 72:10; Psalm 102:6; Isaiah 5:17; Isaiah 7:25; Isaiah 10:5; Isaiah 10:16; Isaiah 14:29-30; Isaiah 15:1; Isaiah 16:6; Isaiah 17:13; Isaiah 18:1; Isaiah 20:4; Jeremiah 3:3; Jeremiah 4:4; Jeremiah 6:4; Lamentations 1:9; Ezekiel 25:16; Revelation 18:2; Revelation 18:7

Zephaniah 2 - Smith's Bible Commentary