#focus on Christ

[dramoor]

"Can we have that contact with God all the time? All the time awake, fall asleep in His arms, and awaken in His presence. Can we attain that? Can we do His will all the time? Can we think His thoughts all the time?... We do not think of one thing. We always think of the relationship of at least two things, and more often of three or more things simultaneously. So my problem is this: Can I bring God back in my mind-flow every few seconds so that God shall always be in my mind as an afterimage, shall always be one of the elements in every concept and percept? I choose to make the rest of my life an experiment in answering this question."

~Dr. Frank C. Laubach

[a-godman]

Call on the Lord out of a Pure Heart, having No Impurity but being Focused on Christ

 2 Timothy says that we need to call on the Lord out of a pure heart and pursue Him with those who call Him out of a pure heart; a pure heart is fixed on God, free from any impurity, not mixed, and focused only on the Lord. May we be those who call on the name of the Lord out of a pure heart and pursue Christ as righteousness, faith, love, and peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure…

[biggest-gaudiest-patronuses]

weird hearing "were you a Theatre Kid" "were you a Sports Kid" "were you a Choir Kid" "were you a Dance Kid" bc no? i mean i did all of that and more but resented ever minute of it? actively avoided sticking with anything? i was a "In This Family After School Activities Are Mandatory Kid"

[heartsings77]

[mettywiththenotes]

I wondered if Vi would start to see Vander in Loris as part of a small theory but it's heartbreaking that it actually happened, even if it was only shown as she was waking up from unconsciousness

And the fact that he dies too...

This girl CANNOT stop losing father figures

[locomotive-complicity]

I'm sorry...this photo is so hot...I could feel the aura from it and I wasn't even in my gallery

[animentality]

a beta reader left a comment on my manuscript that was basically:

"this story is a waste of my time."

and it's like....

i have thick skin and all, since i've been working with beta readers for a long time, but...

ouch.

thanks, i guess. helpful.

[karisumawrites]

Become a vessel of His Word. Let your story be His story of victory so others may continue to hope in His love.

[arliedraws]

Why are people angry when fan writers don’t want to write about certain characters? Like…not to be annoying here, but none of us have an obligation to write about characters we don’t feel like writing. Maybe you’re pissed that people don’t feature Peter enough in their fics, or maybe you’re irritated there isn’t enough Hermione or Ron in a fic, but like …who cares. Go read something else then.

Now, I do understand general venting that you wanna see a character more—fair enough, but also, you shouldn’t feel bad as an artist if you don’t really want to write about a certain character. Fandom is where I go to write about the characters I’m interested in, so why would I force myself to write about characters I DON’T want to investigate?

Additionally, If you’re annoyed that a character isn’t included enough, then go write that fic yourself!

[frannyzooey]

RSV/bronchitis/a sinus infection/pneumonia crackles/now a sty January what the FUCK —

[dramoor]

"Who can do you harm, my child, if you have Christ inside your heart. Turn your eyes towards Christ. You don't become saints by chasing away the evil. Forget about the evil. You should actually turn your eyes towards Christ and He will save you. Instead of standing at the door and shooing away the enemy, despise him. When you see evil approaching from one direction, you softly give your attention to something else. So, when the evil is coming to offend you, give your interior strength to good, to Christ. Plead: 'Our Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me.' He knows how to give you His mercy and in whatever way that is best for you. And after you are full of good, then you no longer turn your attention towards the evil. With the grace of God, you become good. And then the evil is unable to find a place to stand and disappears."

~St. Porphyrios

[xxplastic-cubexx]

now i aint ever had no one on the enemy team call me out.... lol ...... abysmal they say this right as the mvp screen pops up too.....

[forestgreenlesbian]

keeping a spray bottle by the bed to spray myself in the face when i start thinking about love after 9pm again

[heartsings77]

[disappearinginq]

May we have another slow horses snippet? 👉👈🥰

Of course you can! Though I did have to reread what I'd previously posted to make sure it wasn't a duplicate - this is an excerpt from "River disappeared for over a week because of Lamb's enemies"

“You’re too nice,” Louisa said abruptly.

River blinked owlishly at her, and she could see the gears working slowly at the shift in conversation. “Thanks?”

“It’s not a compliment.”

River made to shrug, but winced instead.

“I mean it, River. You’re too nice. You’re never going to be good at this job because you’re too fucking nice. And that’s not how you play the game.”

River didn’t say anything, and Louisa took it as permission to continue. Which perhaps wasn’t fair, given his current state of being, but who knew what he would remember next time he woke up.

“You can’t go into things expecting the best of people. You can’t be the hero all the time. I mean - Christ, look at you.” She gestured angrily with one hand, waving at the splints on his fingers, the broken ribs, the black eye and split lip. “You look like you went ten rounds with Rhonda Rousey. What the hell did you get involved with this time?”

“Not my fault,” River protested, though it came out more like a whine, which Louisa knew was the drugs talking.

“I find that hard to believe.” Louisa sat back in her chair hard enough the feet slid abrasively against the linoleum floor. She gestured towards Lamb. “Aren’t you going to say anything?”

“Why bother?” Lamb asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked over the rims of his glasses. “You seem to have it handled.”

[gingermintpepper]

Little idle thought I've been having recently but I think Cyparissus' story is very important for characterising Apollo and Apollo's love. It's so easy to think of love and loss as two ends of a spectrum, likewise, so often, death is seen as an ultimate and tragic end in love stories - something final and inescapably tragic, the only force that halts love by separating the lovers.

Cyparissus' story is... not that. Yes, the deer dies and one can conclude then that death is once more at the heart of separating two lovers, but I think Cyparissus specifically requesting to die, specifically begging Apollo to let him grieve forever even after Apollo has done his best to help Cyparissus move on from the accident and Apollo letting him is a powerful thing.

Because Apollo not only puts Cyparissus' wishes over his own, he's also able to see past his own building grief to immortalise Cyparissus in such a way that both grants him his wish and allows other people to glorify Cyparissus as well! And I think such a beautiful thing is something criminally overlooked!

It's become something of a joke that 'all Apollo's lovers turn into plants' but from a functional perspective, flowers are the most brilliant way to keep the spirit of a beloved thing alive. Flowers are like stars - as long as there are humans, humans will always contemplate the nature of flowers and as the god of poetry and song, Apollo creating opportunities for his beloved mortals to be remembered eternally even if they never seized glory in the traditional way is such an intimate and beautiful thing. Even then, Cyparissus is elevated to a similar status as Daphne with Apollo's actions - not merely a plant or flower but one that specifically symbolises him, one that is extremely fragrant and beloved by him. Just as Daphne's laurels were synonymous with glory and victory, Cyparissus' cypress became a emblematic of grief and remembrance. Even today, thousands of years later, people still view cypress trees as mourning trees and plant them in cemeteries and use the ash in incense burnt in remembrance of others. How's that for Apollo keeping his word.