This post contains devotions on days when I have no book, no focus, just a keen eye for Creation-Sent letters. From that I take the ABC Quick Write format from my writer cousin, Lorraine Tom. I will limit my word list to around 10 words.
8.30.15 H is for Habitat for Humanity
H Habitat,
Humanity, House, Home, Harmony, Hew, Heritage, Hinge, Hilarious,
Hoist, Humor, Hortatory (giving encouragement), Humility, Hospitality, Hardhat,
Hammer
James
2:14,17-18 MSG
Dear friends, do you think you’ll get anywhere in
this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that
a person really has it? ….Isn’t it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?.... You can no more show me your works apart from your
faith than I can show you my faith apart from my works. Faith and works, works and faith, fit
together hand in glove.
I saved the H for last
because today we start a new HABITAT for HUMANITY build in Kalispell, Montana
to work on the Kearney family HOME and begin the foundations for two more
HOUSES in the subdivision. This
particular Bible passage is the one Rick always uses when it is his turn for
morning devotions. Building HOUSES is
how we put our faith into action. We
enjoy the HOSPITALITY of the HABITAT affiliate, we enjoy the HUMOR and HARMONY
of our fellow Care-a-Vanners. It isn’t
always easy work. Preparing the
foundation structure for the pouring of the concrete is backbreaking labor,
HOISTING 4x8 form boards covered with soy oil.
But to work side-by-side with the HOMEOWNER, to get to know the family
that will move in, personalizes the whole experience and fills me with HUMILITY
for the many blessings I enjoy. So
tomorrow I will don my bright pink HARDHAT and HEFT my HAMMER and get to
work! 
I don’t have internet as
I work on this post. It was pretty HILARIOUS
as Rick and I brainstormed to come up with possible pictures for the prayer
letter. Look hard and see if you can
find the HIVE with HONEY, the HAIRY HORSE with HAY, a HAND filled with HUCKLEBERRIES,
and a HEAD wearing a HARDHAT! No unusual
or rare words this time around!
We took a walk this
afternoon upon arriving at our campsite.
I sought an H and a Z to finish up the alphabet. Eventually I found both, the former as God
lit up the sky after a rainstorm and blessed us with fresh air, sunset pink
clouds, and a sense of peace to begin our work.
8.29.15 Z is for ZETA
Z Zeal,
Zest, Zephyr, Zenith, Zaftig, Zipper, Zapata, Zarf, Zenography, Zeta, Zuppa , Zumbador (South American
hummingbird), Zyzzyva, Zephyranth
Matthew 9:15 MSG
But Jesus intervened: “Let the children alone, don’t prevent them from coming
to me. God’s kingdom is made up of people like these.” After laying hands on
them, he left.
I found one new Z word, ZETA, which
actually tied into a meeting I had this past week at the church. The word means a small room or closet in a
church building. When I googled it to
confirm the definition, I came to a posting from a pastor who was using it for
ABC’s to the Church Children. He said a
church should have no ‘secret ZETAS’ in regard to the safety of the
children; no place where adults could be
alone with a child. Last Tuesday we
attended our Child Safety Training for all volunteers who work with kids with
the key reminder being ‘never be alone with a child’ for their safety and
ours. I find it hard to realize we live
in a world where such mandates must be made, where trust has been broken on
both sides so often to warrant rules.
But I will remember ZETA because it does have a practical link to our
everyday life! And a ZEAL to advocate
for the children! Now to ZIP this up
and get on the road!
8.28.15 Q is for QUIET
 |
| Had to 'borrow' a Q from my Alpine ABC files! |
I have put off the Q
thinking it would be a short list like the X.
But again, I found so many common words, plus all the QUAINT and QUIRKY words from Phronistery.com. While I have heard of QUAHOG clams, QUAIL and
the QUETZAL bird, QUINNAT salmon or the
gray goose QUINK were new to me. I never
realized QUAB meant to throb or QUIVER, or that a QUIFF of wind is a light puff
of a gentle breeze! And instead of
uttering ‘Nonsense!’ when someone says something silly, I can QUICKLY say ‘O QUATSCH!’
instead! Then there is QUINOA. That’s familiar, but I never knew it was the
seeds from a goosefoot plant. Does that mean QUINOA comes from a QUINK-foot
plant?? QUANTUM? In physics it is a tiny
particle of energy, but it is often used as a general big amount! I might be in a
QUANDRY in my QWEST to QUENCH my Q
appetite!
Matthew 6:6 MSG
“Here’s what I want you to do: Find a quiet,
secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there
as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God,
and you will begin to sense his grace.
Psalm 55:4-8 MSG
My insides are turned inside out; specters of death have me
down. I shake with fear, I shudder from head to foot. ….I want some peace and quiet. I want
a walk in the country, I want a cabin in the woods. I’m desperate for a change
from rage and stormy weather.
Seriously, however, I
find myself drawn to QUIET. Jesus
modeled the need to find a secluded, quiet place to be alone with God. Time to pray, to listen. Time to be apart from the busy of life and
sense the peace of God. Time to QUENCH
our soul. Psalmist David wrote often of
the same urgency. We must step away from
the stress and demands of life to recharge in the QUIETUDE of God. That is a good QWEST to have.
8.27.15 P is for Praise and Prayer
P
Praise,
Prayer, Paradox, Pastoral, Pinnacle, Peace, Pliable, Prevalent, Primitive,
Pristine, Propensity, Pachyderm, Pangram
(ABC sentence), Panivore (Bread Eater), Pelology (Study of Mud!)
Philippians 4:6-7 MSG
Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's peace, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.
Such a PLETHORA of words for P! I looked in both the SAT list and
PHRONTISTERY.com which is a site for unusual and uncommon words. I could be here all day, so I only wrote down
a few. I learned that the sentences I
composed for my calligraphy classes were called PANGRAMS, sentences that
contained all the letters of the alphabet.
We finally have a word to describe what Jed seemed to be early in life –
a PANIVORE! He could live on
bread alone, despite what the Bible says!
And then I found it amazing there was a word for the study of the
curative powers of mud. PELOLOGY. Does that mean most toddlers are
PELOLOGISTS?
Yet despite the PROPENSITY and
PREVALENCE of P words from on-line sources, today the Bible PROVIDED PLENTY of P’s
in just one short PASSAGE. And what
PROMINENT and PARAMOUNT P’s they are: PEACE, PRAYER, PRAISE! What more can we ask for? PAUL says it all in his message to the
PHILIPPIANS: Don’t worry. PRAY. PRAISE God.
PETITION God in PRAYER and you’ll find the PEACE of God. So I will POLISH this off and write a few
PRAISES on my God-Moments list, and then PORTRAY my PRAYERS in a PICTURE. PEACE for the day.
8.26.15 X is for XENOPHILIA
X
Xeric,
xeriscape, xebec, xenoliths, xanthic , xylem xanthan gum, xerox, xenophoboia, xenophilia, xylology, xenogamy, xenial. Xenia,
Xylosma, Xylophone, xyris (marshy plant yellow flower),
Matthew 9:12-13
MSG
Jesus, overhearing, shot back, “Who needs a doctor: the
healthy or the sick? Go figure out what this Scripture means: ‘I’m after mercy,
not religion.’ I’m here to invite outsiders, not coddle insiders.”
Well, I thought X would
be a hard day, but there are so many X words I have NEVER heard of! When you realize many of them are based on
the same prefix, they all make sense.
Learning that XYLOLOGY is the study of wood and XYLEM is woody tissue means that a
XYLOPHONE is sound from wood! XERIC is
deficient in moisture, hence we have XERISCAPING or landscaping that minimizes
extra watering. Rick always kids me
about my specific terms for colors….just wait until I tell him something looks
rather XANTHIC because it is yellow! I
hope my pirate loving niece knows the word XEBEC which is a small pirate
ship! And lastly, what better X word
than XEROX photocopies – it begins and ends with X!
But I gravitate to the
XENO words, XENO a prefix referring to foreign.
A XENOLITH is a rock of a different source embedded in volcanic
material. XENOGAMY is cross-fertilization
between species. XENIAL refers to hospitality with guests who are
strangers. And of course we have
XENOPHILIA and XENOPHOBIA – the love of or the fear of foreigners. It is the last word that I fear. We fear or treat
differently that which we don’t understand or know. It seems we Americans often are XENOPHOBIC
because we isolate ourselves and concern ourselves selfishly with our own lives. We want to close our borders and keep the
outsiders out. It makes me think of the
Biblical relationship between the Israelites and the Gentiles. Jesus calls us to be XENOPHILIACS! The call of Christ is to reach out to the
foreigners, to minister to those we don’t know.
Which suffix at the end
of XENO- am I? -Philiac or Phobic? Do my actions mirror my description?
8.25.15 K is for KINETIC
K
WORD
LIST: Kinetic, Knoll, Knowledge, Kinship, Kindness, Kebbie
(shepherd’s crook), Kiwi, Kerygma, Kaleidoscope, Knitch (bundle of wood), Kudzu, Kolhrabi
Acts 17:27-28 VOICE
Yet, in truth, God is not far from any of us. For you know the saying, “We live in God; we move in God; we exist in God.”
 |
| RATS! I forgot to include a KEBBIE and a KNITCH on my K prayer picture! |
But I love the word KINETIC! A word of movement and motion! I love KINETIC art: sculptures and mobiles
that twist and turn with the slightest breeze.
I studied KINESIOLOGY in college, the movement of the human body. Principles of physics say a body in motion
stays in motion. That makes me think of
my Mom, who at 95 ½ is trying to ‘stay in motion’, realizing that if she stops,
she might not start again! Can we keep
moving toward greater KINDNESS? Can we
move toward justice and equality, both socially and economically, for all? Is there a time to stop moving and let the
Spirit move within us? KINETICS!
Motion! Maybe I should get up off
the couch and be KINETIC today!
8.24.15 G is for GENIA
G WORD LIST: Giant,
Gratitude, Give, Grace, Galvanize,
Garnish, Genia, Genial, Genuine, Glacier, Giggles and Guffaws, Gingerly,
Glimmer, Gossamer
Colossians 3:16 MSG
Let the message about the Messiah dwell richly among you,
teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, and singing psalms, hymns,
and spiritual songs, with gratitude in your hearts to God.
Today
our friend GENIA and her husband
Steve are traveling to Houston, TX, to meet with renowned cancer specialists in
treating her advanced ovarian (?) cancer.
This GIANT-hearted woman is
as GENUINE and GRACIOUS as they come, filled with infectious GIGGLES and GUFFAWS, and
always acknowledging GRATITUDE for GOD’s GRACE and presence in her life. Her job is GIVING: information and assistance
to those in need, GALVANIZING the community to act for the benefit of all. We met this amazing family on our
Care-a-Vanner build for Habitat in Columbia Falls, originally selected due to
its proximity to GLACIER National Park.
Now we return for the people, GARNISHED with the lure of GOD’S
incredible creation!
GOD’S
blessings and GRACE be with both GENIA and Steve this week, that they return next
Sunday with renewed hope, encouragement, and peace.
8.23.15 Y is for YAHWEH
Y
Yellow,
Yahoo, Yahweh, Yin and Yang (Taoist), Yana (Sanskrit for
path), Yoga (Hindu meditation), Yuval (fresh water stream, first
musician/artist mentioned in Bible), Yarmulke (Jewish cap), Yearn, Yoke , yardage,
yolk, yu (precious jade),
Psalm
8:1 (Hollman Standard Christian Bible)
Yahweh,
our Lord, how magnificent is Your name throughout the earth! You have covered
the heavens with Your majesty.
Psalm 33:22 (HSCB)
May Your faithful love rest on us, Yahweh, for we
put our hope in You.
Wow!
What an education! The second
best letter found yesterday on my walk was a Y, so I decided to see where it
would lead me today. The SAT Word list
was VERY short, and all the animals started with YELLOW (except YAK!) So I goggled ‘Cool Y Words’ and discovered a
list filled with references from a wide variety of religions. I googled Biblical Y words and found
more. But since YAHWEH is the Hebrew
word for God, I want to concentrate there.
I went to my BibleGateway site and found only ONE translation that uses
the original Hebrew term for GOD! All my
usual translations came up blank; even the King James! Most substitute the term Adonai or LORD in
place of YHWH (the Hebrew version).
So I did a little research on YAHWEH. Controversy!
One source says it is not original, that YEHOVA (Jehovah!) is
original. Another sites a discovery
dated from 600 BC that clearly spells out YHWH, but to say the word was suppressed in holy respect. This particular author indicates the verbal
suppression led to the written suppression evident in so many
translations. Technically the Hebrew translation
means I AM WHO I AM, or simply I AM. I
most appreciated the author who said, ‘God is so much more than His name, He is
more than can be described.’
So… I think I will continue to YEARN
for and YOKE myself with YAHWEH!
8.22.15 F is for
FAITH and FIRE
F WORD LIST: Friendship,
Fellowship, Faith, Fire, Fun, Flora & Fauna, Fervent, Firmament, Foster,
Fragrant, Frolic, Fiddleheads
 |
| I encountered my F walking home from my early morning hair appointment. |
“I’ve come to start a fire on
this earth—how I wish it were blazing right now! I’ve come to change
everything, turn everything rightside up...
James 3:5-6 MSG
It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell.
James 3:5-6 MSG
It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell.
I
awoke this morning to discover the skies are again gray and heavy, the air
laden with the smell of smoke and ash.
Somewhere last night, the changing winds FANNED the FLAMES of the FIRES
once again. We had a brief reprieve of
several days in our two week FIRE FIGHT in Baker County. There are FIRES burning the FLORA and FAUNA
of Washington, Idaho, California, Montana.
The whole Pacific Northwest seems to be in FLAMES. FIREFIGHTERS are pouring in from around the
world to help. We must continue to
support one another and have FAITH that God is indeed with us. While the FIRES burn, I am going to concentrate on the positive aspects of FIRE, and FERVENTLY FOSTER my FAITH through the turmoil.
8.21.15 S is for SERVICE and SHARING
 |
| The S today was created more by SHADOW than SUBSTANCE! |
Hebrews 13:16 MSG
Make sure you don’t take things for granted and go slack in working for the common good; share what you have with others. God takes particular pleasure in acts of worship—a different kind of “sacrifice”—that take place in kitchen and workplace and on the streets.
I have used up the three letters I found in SALEM, but a good neighbor has been moving over the past few days. Her name is SOPHIA and she doesn't want to re-SETTLE in with other family. She has been busy packing to SHIFT her home to another SEVERAL blocks away. It will be a SACRIFICE of her SOLITUDE and independence. I feel for her and am unable to help in any way other than SUPPORT and encouragement, and to SERVE as a listening post. (Not to mention a STACK of newspapers to wrap her valuables!)
S words resonate currently as my brother works for SOBRIETY, my SISTER amazing in her SEAMLESS SUPPORT and the SERVICES they are SHARING back and forth in that SITUATION. When we SHARE, when we SERVE, when we SACRIFICE our personal desires for that of others, we often will find the SERENDIPITY that arises from SUCH a SPONTANEOUS action. But ultimately? We SHARE, we SERVE, we SACRIFICE because that is what God does for us. It is one way to SAY 'Thank You, God!'
8.20.15 J is for JOY
J Word List: Jedediah, Joy, Jargon, Jest, Job, Justice, Jollity,
Juxtapose, Jovial, Jazz, Jinx, Junk, JumpPsalm 28:6-7 MSG
Blessed be God— he heard me praying. He proved he’s on my side; I’ve thrown my lot in with him. Now I’m jumping for joy, and shouting and singing my thanks to him.
I will take the opportunity this morning to complete the triad of letters I found last Tuesday morning outside JED'S apartment. When I see the letter J, the first word that usually pops into my mind (besides JED!) is JOY. At the moment, JED'S JOY in particular. When I came upon this scripture passage, I thought, 'JED could have written that!' He is so excited, so JUMPING for JOY at the start of his new JOB at Willamette University. He is filled to the brim with thanksgiving.
J abounds with JOLLY words, such as JESTand JOVIAL. They are words filled with JOY, words describing people filled with JOY. God doesn't make JUNK! When we fill ourselves with God and God-service, JOY is the end result!
8.19.15 A is for AMELIORATE
A Word List: Adorn,
Acme, Affable, Advocacy, Alacrity (liveliness and eagerness), Ameliorate (to
make better), Anthropomorphic, Aptitude, Ardent, Abstract,
Proverbs 10:22 MSG
God’s blessing makes life rich; nothing we do can improve on God.
AMELIORATE. What a great word that can sum up much of the
rest of my list. We AMELIORATE our lives
if we are AFFABLE and ARDENT, if we have an APTITUDE for ADVOCACY, if we
APPROACH our ACTIONS with ALACRITY! To
AMELIORATE means to make better, to improve.
How can we AMELIORATE the living conditions of others? How can we improve our relationship with
God? How can we ADORN our days with an ATTITUDE of gratitude and thanksgiving?
Our ACTIONS need not be great in magnitude, simply deliberate daily
ATTEMPTS to AMELIORATE a hardship for ANOTHER.
8.18.15 T is for TEACH and TRAVEL
T Word List: Travel, Teach, Tactile, temerity (fearless
daring), tessellation, thermal, thrive,
torque, tout (loudly promote in positive terms), Translucent
Psalm 143:8-9 MSG
Point out the road I must travel;
I’m all ears, all eyes before you....Teach me how to live to please you, because
you’re my God.
 |
| I found the T for Travel right behind our car parked at Jed's apartment. |
So.... T is for TEACH and TRAVEL ! It occurred to me that there is much that TRAVEL can TEACH us. We learn of new cultures and ideas. If we approach our TRAVEL with TEMERITY we will discover that all people TOGETHER can TESSELLATE into one world, one family under GOD. We all have a piece in the puzzle, and that we includes the non-humans of the natural world. How can we THRIVE as one?
In a similar THOUGHT, Jed will be TEACHING physics – the laws of how our world works TOGETHER or TESSELATES. He might be using TERMS like TORQUE and TENSION, THERMAL and TAUON, but it still all goes back to the amazing interconnection between all life on earth. That’s pretty heady stuff. Let it not be said that science and the spiritual don’t mix! Each is TRANSLUCENT to the other, we can see God veiled behind all science and we can see the science with the spirit.
8.17.15 C is for CLEAR and COLORFUL
C Word List: Clear, Color, Clam, Crab, Chowder, Crystal, Cloudless, Crest, Cling, Curve
Genesis 9:13 MSG
I’m putting my rainbow in the clouds, a sign of the covenant between me and the Earth.
(Note….I actually wrote this yesterday FOR today, as I knew we would be leaving early this morning from Bandon and had a busy day with Jed planned.)
I went out this morning looking for a letter. What message did God have in store for me? I found a gentle curve CURVE in the sand from one of the sand critters and my first thought was “There is a U. I already have a U.” But I changed my focus and of course realized it was also a C. I shook my head and muttered, ‘Couldn’t you make it a little more CLEAR, God?’ Then I realized….C…CLEAR! God had made it CLEAR! As I rounded the corner of the giant rock seastack, I found a great expanse of flat beach with a skim of water on top. The other day I danced with the divine on that water, the CLOUDS reflecting so I felt I could walk on them. Today, the skies are CLOUDLESS and CLEAR. I couldn’t see the ‘divine’. And it occurred to me that often when our lives are CLEAR from the CHAOS and CONFUSION, we fail to see God at work. When things are good, who needs to look? But when the CLOUDS of life move in, we are able to feel God’s presence in a more tangible way. I want to work to see God in it all….CREATION waves CRESTING, starfish CLINGING to the rocks, CRABS and CLAM CHOWDER…God is present. Yes, that is very CLEAR….
….and so very COLORFUL! I stopped to investigate some COLORFUL anomalies on the rocks this morning and discovered some unusual and unnamed critters living there among the anenomes and starfish. I marveled at the purple and orange of the seastars, the green of the anenomes, the rich blue-greens and whites of the surf, blues of sky and water. I love COLOR! Perhaps that is why I own so very little white clothing. I tie-dye everything from shoelaces to underwear, shirts and socks to towels! The brighter the better! I appreciate the nuances of COLOR God uses to paint the CREATED world of nature. I love that one of God's symbols is the rainbow - the full spectrum of COLOR that comes packed with a promise: I love you. Thanks, God, for the constant reminder.
8.16.15 D is for DECIPERHING the DIVINE
D Word List: Decay, death, despair, devoid, deep, dappled, divine, depressing, decipher, discover
Ephesians 5:13-14 VOICE
When the light shines, it exposes even the dark and shadowy things and turns them into pure reflections of light. This is why they sing,
Awake, you sleeper! Rise from your grace,
And the Anointed One will shine on you.
Earlier this week on the beach the words that kept coming to mind for this visit were DEATH and DECAY, the beach DEVOID of life. I had seen few starfish and relatively few anenomes. The beach was flush with DEAD birds, bits and pieces of crab parts, clumps of barnacles and mussels. There was little seaweed washed up, few rocks and shells. It was just a little DEPRESSING!
When the light shines, it exposes even the dark and shadowy things and turns them into pure reflections of light. This is why they sing,
Awake, you sleeper! Rise from your grace,
And the Anointed One will shine on you.
Earlier this week on the beach the words that kept coming to mind for this visit were DEATH and DECAY, the beach DEVOID of life. I had seen few starfish and relatively few anenomes. The beach was flush with DEAD birds, bits and pieces of crab parts, clumps of barnacles and mussels. There was little seaweed washed up, few rocks and shells. It was just a little DEPRESSING!
 |
| Sand critter carved D |
Halfway through my walk, the sun DISAPPEARED momentarily behind the clouds, DAPPLED bursts of light DANCING on the reflective waters of the sand. I felt like I was suddenly walking on the clouds, especially when I focused DEEPER below my feet on the cloud patterns. Is this what heaven is like? To walk on the clouds above all, apart yet one? I was almost giddy with DELIGHT as I tiptoed, then DANCED, then twirled in joy. I nearly called my pastor Katy, because this was a moment she would appreciate, a touch with the DIVINE. Ten W Words: Watermelon, Waves of Water, Wait, Wildfire, Watch, Wafting Wisps, Wander, Wade, Whimsical, Wizardry.
 |
| The W I found on the beach. |
1 John 4:19 MSG
We, though, are going to love—love and be loved. First we were loved, now we love. He loved us first.
I discovered a W on the beach yesterday morning. It was created from seaWEED. I continued to WANDER the shore, WADING through the ebb and flow of the WAVES, marveling at the WIZARDRY of our Creative God. WISPS of drifting clouds WAFTED across the sky, dancing with the rising sun in a peek-a-boo game of light. My mind, however, was in Baker Valley, a WATCH and WAIT period as WILDFIRES continue to burn, evacuating friends and church community, burning land on others, and escalating the county into a crisis unseen in recent years (save the WATER contaminant from two years ago perhaps!) I WORRY for the safety of the crews, the safety of homeowners, hoping for a slow soaking downpour of WATER, but knowing that all is in God's hands. I worried while I cut up a ripe WATERMELON last night and tasted of its juicy sweetness.
With that dichotomy of peace and chaos, I focus on WHIMSICAL. Defined as 'determined by chance or impulse, rather than necessity' I love the GOD-grace of WHIMSY. God doesn't have to love us, God doesn't have to care. God has plenty of universe to worry about, it isn't necessary to spend time with each of us. But God does. Perhaps not by chance or impulse, but because of WHO God is. WHIMSICAL love means doing kindness for no reason, impulsive love, radical love. When the opportunity arises to bestow love, do it! It doesn't have to be necessary or expected. Sudden, random love is much like the grace of God. 
