by Roseanna White | Jun 28, 2012 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
With the fires raging in Colorado, this is a topic on a lot of minds this week. As someone who used to have a major phobia of fire, wildfires are a terrifying thing to me, and my prayers go out to all those affected, both residents and the brave men and women fighting the fires.
But that’s not exactly where I’m going today. 😉 It so happens that in my daily reading, today I got to I Corinthians 3.
12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each
one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it
will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of
what sort it is. 14 If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
I’ve always been so struck by this. It’s not talking about salvation–we’re saved, Paul makes that clear in verse 15. But, as members of God’s family, we’re given His foundation and then have to build our lives upon it. We’re given our choice of things to build with. Gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw. And then the Lord’s holy fire will test it.
Fire is the theme in one of my two works-in-progress, so I’ve been giving it a lot of thought. It’s one of the four ancient elements, a force that can give life or destroy it. Out in Colorado, it’s wreaking havoc . . . and bringing a lot of people to their knees before God.
Fire refines. It burns away the garbage, burns away the chaff, and leaves purity in its wake. Usually this is in a contained situation, like in refining silver or gold. I would never-ever try to apply it to a wildfire! Don’t mistake me there. But even in the wake of that tragedy, there are those seeds, long dormant, brought to life and let to grow only because they were exposed to the high heat of the flame. Trees that gain life through destruction.
When I was a kid, terrified by fire, my neighbor’s fire barrel turned over once, and half his yard burned before he got it under control. This brought my fears back to the surface real quick–but then I noticed that, in spite of the drought, that grass that had burned came back vibrant and green, while the rest of the lawn was an ugly brown.
Somehow or another, the fire brought life.
My prayer is that I can build my life’s work with purity. With metaphorical gold and silver, with gems and precious stones. I pray that when the fire comes down upon me, it leaves me and mine gleaming rather than consumed. I pray no loss is suffered.
Lord, direct our hands as we’re building, help us build for You. Help us make the right decisions that will withstand that holy fire. And give us the peace to know that even when something seems to be burned up and left destroyed, it’s only so that You can send us something new, something better to take its place. Go before us, Father, and make clear the path.
by Roseanna White | Jun 25, 2012 | Word of the Week
It was a long time ago at this point that my daughter asked me why it was called a neighborhood. At the time, I said something like “Uh . . . well . . . um . . . I don’t know. Why do you think?” We came up with a nice, totally fabricated story about the houses all being pulled together, like under a hood. But I made a mental note to look it up.
Then forgot. LOL. Until now. 😉
First, let it be noted that this isn’t from hood but from -hood. That hyphen makes all the difference. Hood has been “covering” since the days of Old English, when it was spelled/pronounced “hod.” And –hood has meant “state of being” since Old English too, when it was spelled/pronounced “had.” So too different OE words that eventually ended up with the same spelling.
So. This made a major light bulb go off. –Hood, as in, motherhood, spinsterhood, etc. This is where “neighborhood” came from, originally meaning “neighborly conduct, friendliness.” In the 1620s, it came to be applied to a community of people living close together.
Interestingly, it didn’t gain the metaphorical sense (i.e. “Am I close to the answer?” “Eh, you’re somewhere in the right neighborhood”) until 1857.
So next time my kids ask me this question, I’ll have an answer! 😉
Happy Monday!
by Roseanna White | Jun 21, 2012 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
The other day I was reading Romans 8 . . . and coming to the conclusion that it’s one of my favorite chapters in the Bible. I know I’ve read it many times before, but it just hit me how much is in this one. And how amazing it is that we get to apply it to our lives.
I was especially hit by Romans 8:11.
But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
WOW. I don’t think I ever really paused to consider that the Spirit–the same Spirit I have in me–is that life-giving, dead-raising force. He raised Jesus from the dead. He breathes life. And He’s in me. Not just coming upon me on occasion, like they recorded in the Old Testament, but dwelling within us.
What excuse do we ever have for feeling dead inside?? We’ve all been there, right? Those days, weeks, months when we can’t feel our faith–and since faith isn’t an emotion, we don’t need to feel it. But there’s something to this thought too–when the Spirit is within us, we cannot be dead. And if we feel we are…? Then something is deceiving us. It could be disease, chemical imbalance…or it could be the enemy of the Spirit whispering lies.
But we need to attune our ears to His truth instead–one of the other things about the Spirit that always made me sit back and go Wow. His job is to provide us with the Truth. With guidance. With comfort. So when He is there within us, so is Truth. And we can be nothing but alive and vital.
Another thing hit me with that–what is alive and vital is growing, always. Am I?
Sometimes it doesn’t feel that way. Sometimes it seems I’ve stagnated. But just like with water, what is stagnant is death. And He is life.
So what do we do when we find ourselves struggling with this? Not feeling like these verses tell us we should? Not able to wrap our minds and hearts around what we know is true but seems so . . . distant?
The answer comes in verse 15.
For you did not receive
the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”
Another WOW. The Spirit never wants to make us feel any of those negatives. He wants us to remember that we’ve got a family now, a literally-awesome one. And with Him in us, that gives us certain privileges. Like calling out to the most Holy One and calling him Daddy.
Thank you, Lord, for calling us out of fear, out of death. Thank you for calling us into your family. And thank you for filling us with the very Spirit of Life.
by Roseanna White | Jun 20, 2012 | Remember When Wednesdays, Uncategorized
Two weeks ago I shared some of the rules on how servants were to behave in the Edwardian days around their masters. So I figured this week, I’d share the other side–how masters and mistresses are to act with their domestics.
Children of the family are the only members of the household given free rein both above and below stairs–adult members of the family ought to provide notice to the servants before inspecting the kitchens or other servant areas.
For the most part, the family deals primarily with the upper servants–the butler, the housekeeper, the cook or chef, the lady’s maid and valet. A trusting and professional relationship is to be cultivated and maintained. The butler is always to be addressed as “Surname” (the Mr. is optional), the housekeeper is always “Mrs. Surname” whether married or not. The lady’s maid is usually “Miss Surname,” though if a mistress is especially fond of her, she may occasionally use her given name. The valet is always “Mr. Surname” as well. (Sometimes the title is dropped for these upper servants, and they will be called only by their last name, but never by their first.) If a house employs a cook, they are “Mrs. Surname” but if a chef de cuisine, then one would call him “chef” or “Monsieur Surname.”
All other servants are addressed by their given name when one is giving them orders but are otherwise not to be addressed at all. The family ought to limit their dealings to the upper servants whenever possible.
Footmen are a sign of a family’s prestige, something only the very wealthy can afford–and if they have more than one, then oh la la! They must be somebody! But they are lower servants and do not expect to be addressed other than to receive orders.
Other than cleaning, the primary task of the housemaid is to be invisible. For the most part, they will clean a room when no member of the family is expected to be in it. But when they must clean the foyer or entryway or Great Hall, masters are to do them the courtesy of ignoring them–this spares them the embarrassment of having to explain their presence.
If a family employs a tutor for the children, he is to be addressed as “Mr. Surname,” likewise a governess would be “Miss Surname.” These individuals may be invited to join the family on occasion at meals, but they do not expect it.
Apparently (and I found this shocking!) it was a tradition for lower servants to be given new names upon joining a household. In part because the lower staff was in an almost constant state of flux as they sought better positions elsewhere, and masters couldn’t keep up with them all, LOL.
by Roseanna White | Jun 18, 2012 | Word of the Week
One of my all-time favorite Simpsons moments is when the quack doctor, Dr. Nick Rivera, insists when a flaming ring lands on a tank of laughing gas (I think it is…), “Don’t worry. It’s inflammable.” and is promptly exploded. To which he replies, “Inflammable means flammable? What a country.”
I tend to agree. 😉 This is one of those weirdo things that I know but never really got. (And anyone who read last week’s post on ‘reckless’ knew I was going to do this one this week, didn’t you? LOL.) What gets me is that both are perfectly cromulent (to steal another Simpsonsism…)–a.k.a valid for those of you who have never watched the show. 😉 Either is acceptable. Both have entries in the dictionary.
Inflammable is definitely the earlier of the two words, from the Latin inflammare, which means “to set on fire” but often in a figurative sense–to inflame one’s passion, to inflame a crowd with anger. But it’s been around in English since the 15the century, in both that sense, in the sense of a medical inflammation, and taking on the literal sense on fire around 1600.
Flammable is said to be taken directly from the Latin flammare, which is ONLY the literal “set on fire.” Literally flame + able. And some experts think it has come into use solely to eliminate confusion in commercial situations that involve things that go boom. 😉
So in this day and age, if you see a container marked with that oh-so-lovely image, it’s more likely to have “flammable” written on it than “inflammable.” (Just for you, Dr. Nick!) But when it comes to igniting the inflammable emotions of a mob, that ‘in’ is always going to be there. 😉
Hope everybody has a great week!
Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. Having successfully launched two homeschool grads, she now spends her time writing fiction, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years, as well as a fantasy series and contemporary mysteries and romances. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary.