Nov 15, 2017 |
by Molly Jo Realy @MollyJoRealy
Frankly, My Dear . . . : When God Locks You In
I’m a bit behind in reading my Bible on the One-Year plan. Okay, to be honest, I’m about 331 days behind. What can I say? It’s been that type of year. Well, now that I have a in-and-out-of-office career, I figure I can listen to the Bible through the app on my phone while driving. Less road rage. That’s all I’m sayin’.
I love Genesis. The stories of Creation, the beginning of Man. But I also don’t like it. The beginning of Man being, well, man and all that. You know the drill: Eve ate the fruit, Adam blamed her, she blamed the snake, God held them all accountable and now we have things like pain during childbirth (tell me about it!), fields that need tending, and bloodshed.
But then we get back to a story I like. The story of Noah and the Ark. Yup, childhood songs. Epic movies. This is the stuff, I’m tellin’ ya. And you would think, having read at least this part of my Bible multiple times throughout the year that I’d be immune to it. Just familiar words. You would think.
Think again.
So, here’s what I learned today in my umpteenth listening to Genesis Chapter 7. It starts with Verse 13:
“That very day Noah had gone into the boat with his wife and his sons- Shem, Ham, and Japheth- and their wives. With them in the boat were pairs of every kind of animal- domestic and wild, large and small- along with birds of every kind. Two by two they came into the boat, representing every living thing that breathes. A male and female of each kind entered, just as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord closed the door behind them.”
~Genesis 7:13-16 NLT
The world has fallen, fallen, fallen into chaos and disorder. And the world is laughing at Noah as he and his sons build the Ark. And the world drowns as Noah and his family float on safety.
Here’s what got me today: “Then the LORD closed the door behind them.”
Do you get that? God said, “Hey, Noah. Build an Ark.” And Noah did. God said, “Make sure you have male and female of every living creature.” And Noah did. And God said, “Get your peeps in there, ’cause it’s about to go down out here.” And Noah did.
And God locked them in.
Bam. Just like that. No one coming in. No one going out. Trapped. Isolated. Alone.
But not alone.
And God was the one who secured the door.
What does that even mean?
Well, I can tell you when I heard that today I paused. I listened to it a few times. I read it. I thought about it. Because it got to me. God locked them in! Why would He even do that?
Because He wanted to secure them, the parents of the future. He wanted to seal the Ark so completely that they could not be harmed by the outside world, the world tormented by the actions of those left behind. He wanted to make sure no evil entered the Ark, and He wanted to make sure no good would get out and fall prey.
Doesn’t life feel like that sometimes? Like we’re trapped, like God has isolated us from the world, like we can’t move around or get out of a situation? Like we can’t get anywhere, there’s nowhere to go? There’s Noah and his family trapped inside for months with those animals. I can imagine after a while, it would get pretty stinky. I mean, I only have four cats and what they do to that litter box . . . *shaking my head, here, folks.
God wanted to protect Noah so fiercely, so completely, that He sealed the door. He locked them in. Noah didn’t have the key. Until God gave it to him. Until the coast was clear, if you’ll pardon the pun. God wasn’t about to bring Noah this far in his salvation journey to let him sabotage it. It’s that old adage, “If God brings you to it, He’ll bring you through it.”
Well, God brought Noah to the Flood, and He certainly brought him through it to the other side.
I can also imagine during their time on the Ark, there might have been some grumbling. Some, “Wouldn’t a roast beef sandwich taste good right now?” “Yeah, but we can’t light up a barbecue in here.” Or, “I miss my friends. Even the irresponsible ones.” Or, “I just want to see dry land.” Yup. I grumble a lot when God puts me in my spiritual Ark and tells me to stay put. And then I feel guilty. Because He’s God, right? He’s got my best interest at heart.
It’s hard being in a place you don’t know when or how to get out of. It’s hard to trust God when all around you is darkness and solitude. But . . . Keep floating. Because the next chapter is God taking care of you. And the chapter after that is His promise to protect you forever, and not do it again.
Next time you feel alone, trapped, unheard, pushed in on all sides, dark, abandoned . . . Remember that God is with you. And what you’re praying for, He may have sealed the door against it for reasons you’ll never know. If you’re in a stinky part of life right now, hang in there. The rainbow’s coming.
Frankly, My Dear . . . : Dot’s Rainbow
TWEET THIS: It’s hard to #trust #God when all around you is darkness and solitude. But keep floating. The #rainbow’s coming. @MollyJoRealy
And Frankly, My Dear . . . : That’s all she wrote!
Nov 14, 2017 |
by Molly Jo Realy @MollyJoRealy
The Assault: Harbingers, Cycle Two
Well, I’m not gonna lie. I haven’t finished reading it yet. But, since I never give away the ending, I figure it’s okay to tell you what I know so far.
But first . . . MOM. STOP READING.
I’m not kidding.
Spoilers to follow.
You can revisit this post after you’ve read the book.
We good?
Okay. Carry on.
Y’all know that Andi is my favorite character of the team, right? So how giddy do I get when I get to read Angela Hunt’s contribution? Pretty. Freaking. Excited.
Books One and Two took us to the Vatican and back to Florida. Andi, as you’ll recall, was institutionalized for withdrawing. Seems those orbs the team saw in Cycle One were causing some more problems. The Gate is at it again, trying their mind control to create a collective knowledge void of any creator other than themselves. Of course, the team saves the day, and while there was never any doubt, it was still quite the nail biter.
So, now the Professor has had a change of heart and not so adverse to being part of the team (Man, you should have heard his complaints up ’til now. Oh, wait. Read the book and you will!) but once his dear Andi was in jeopardy, something inside him triggered and he realized he might not know everything, and the team might know more than he thinks.
So he rents this house in Florida. A one-month deal, just long enough, he hopes, to gather information to combat The Gate. He had also collected a damaged orb and brought it to the team for inspection. But by the time he reached the house, it had put itself back together again. I know ~ weird, right? Like the whole journey isn’t weird. But anyway . . .
Andi, as his assistant, starts to investigate and study the orb. Her contact with it resurfaces the voices, the control, from Book Two when the fungus took hold inside her. Yes, I said fungus. Read the book. Read all the books. The Professor gets her to go to a doctor where she spills her guts and he asks her to keep a daily journal. No problem.
Back at the house, packages start arriving. Boxes for the Professor. Turns out he subscribed to a clipping service, and had them print and ship every article they could find on The Gate. Turns out these boxes of documents are noncommittal. The Gate is a rumor. The Gate is from Medieval Times. The Gate is new and improved. Andi finds out The Gate is now online. Forget subtlety. They’re all about in-your-face, taking-over-the-world tactics. And they say so! But in a way that almost makes you want to know more. Of course, we know if we know more, it will be the end. Tank likens it to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Once they knew more, they knew evil. And once they knew evil, it was the end of paradise.
Brenda also gets a package. From her dear Auntie Rene: A life hammer to smash out the windshield if their car runs off a bridge. A can of shark repellent. And mosquito wipes to prevent the little buggers from biting. They laugh and Brenda sets the items on the coffee table. Immediately, young Daniel scoops them up and offers them back to her. “Keep,” he commands, in the way he has. The way that lets the team know he knows more than any of them.
And that’s where I’ve stopped reading for the night. Hey, This Girl needs sleep, too. But that’s okay. As soon as the sun comes up and I find some spare minutes, you can bet I’ll be finding out if Andi’s free of the mind-control fungus, if the orbs will leave them in peace (doubtful), and what’s significant about Auntie Rene’s interesting care package.
What are you reading this week?
TWEET THIS: #AmReading Harbingers, Cycle Two, Book Three #Infiltration @MollyJoRealy
And Frankly, My Dear . . . : That’s all she wrote!
Nov 13, 2017 |
by Molly Jo Realy @MollyJoRealy
Frankly, My Dear . . . : Firsts in Fiction Team
The FiF Team is at it again, folks. You won’t want to miss tomorrow’s live podcast episode as we continue our discussion on genres. This week, we’re talking mystery/police procedural, with very special guest Steven James.
Steven is a national best selling author of over thirty books including fiction and nonfiction. His Bowers Files series has been called “nailbiting,” and “psychological thrillers.”
He’s also a very talented public speaker.
I met Steven at my first Blue Ridge Conference. Anyone who has taken his classes walks away with more than information and guidance. He teaches writing in a way that lets the writer live what we learn.
Join us tomorrow evening, 6:30 PST as Steven shares his insights on writing a remarkable thriller.
Click here to join the podcast: Firsts in Fiction: Steven James.
And Frankly, My Dear . . . : That’s all she wrote!
