Scripture and a Snapshot - Jesus Only

And he [Jesus] was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him And Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah." He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him." When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Rise, and have no fear." And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.

~Matthew 17:2-8~

I guess we can identify with Peter in a way. Don't we want to just stay there on the mountaintop when we have such an amazing worship experience? That's how I feel sometimes - and I think it's a good thing to desire that closeness to the Lord and want it always. That's our little glimpse of heaven. But as long as we're in this world, we'll have to live in its reality, and that means going back to work and school and whatever our daily routines are. Those mountaintop experiences are meant to strengthen us for our mission and the challenges we face. And like Peter, we need to be reminded that it's not the experience or the memory of it that we focus on. Whether we're up on the mountain or down in the valley, we focus on Jesus.

When we worship, we see no one but Jesus only.

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An InLinkz Link-up

I also link up at Sunday Scripture Blessings, hosted by Peabea Scribble Pad. and at Selah, hosted by A Spirit of Simplicity.

©2008-2018 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/ 

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Share Four Somethings - October 2018

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I intended to start participating in this monthly link-up called Share Four Somethings and did my first post in September. And because it's still new to me, and because I was so very busy in October, I basically forgot about it. So the link-up already closed! However, in hopes that I will do better at the end of November, I will share Something Loved, Something Said, Something Learned, and Something Read for this month anyway.

Something Loved

I loved having my family here! My parents came for an extended visit, and during the first weekend they were here, my son and his family came as well. We got to celebrate my sweet granddaughter's second birthday a bit early. She is an absolute joy!

Also loved Kennady's costume for Trunk or Treat at church.

Welcome to Trench (Twenty One Pilots)

Something Said

So we cancelled our DirecTV service just over a month ago. And they were calling every couple of days trying to woo us back with deep discounted pricing and all kinds of things. Quite honestly, if they can afford to give me the whole shebang for twenty bucks a month if only I'd come back, why didn't they ever offer me anything half so good when I'd been a loyal customer for about twenty years? But I digress. The following conversation happened on one of those calls:

Nice DirecTV Lady: Who is your cable or satellite provider now?

Me: No one.

Nice DirecTV Lady: Then how are you meeting your television needs?

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Me: NEEDS?! I don't think anyone has television NEEDS!! 

Something Learned

So not only did I learn that I don't have television "needs", I also learned that these girls are sweet enough to let me hang out with them during a concert even though I probably wasn't "acting my age". I took my daughter and two of her best friends to a Twenty One Pilots concert and it was amazing. 

Something Read

I completed three books in October. You can see more about my reading in my Monthly Bookshelf Review for October 2018.

The Last Book in the Universe by Rodman Philbrick - Read my full review HERE.

Shelter of the Most High (Cities of Refuge) by Connilynn Cossette - Read my full review HERE.
Disruptive Witness: Speaking Truth in a Distracted Age by Alan Noble - Read my full review HERE.

  

This post is linked (in the comments, because I was much too late to use the link tool) at Share Four Somethings hosted by HeatherGerwing.com

©2008-2018 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/ 

 We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

What I'm Reading - November 5, 2018

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This weekly reading list meme is hosted at Book Date. Join in to see what others are reading and maybe get some ideas of what to read next!

I finished reading . . . 

Shelter of the Most High (Cities of Refuge) by Connilynn Cossette - Sofea is a refugee from the island of Sicily brought to the Hebrew city of Kedesh, where she meets Eitan, who must stay inside the city walls to remain safe from a man seeking his life. (Read my full review HERE.)

Disruptive Witness: Speaking Truth in a Distracted Age by Alan Noble - A rather heavy philosophical read on how we tend to live "buffered" lives in this secular age, and how that impacts the way we live out our faith. (Read my full review HERE.)

I'm currently reading . . .

Davy Crockett: His Own Story: A Narrative of the Life of David Crockett by David Crockett - Really, I should have finished this last week, but I just started. And I'm going to be speed-reading it, because we're supposed to be discussing it this week in the American History class I teach at the
co-op.



Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries by Kory Stamper - got started on this book for word nerds a few days ago!

The Picture of Dorian Gray (Dover Thrift Editions) by Oscar Wilde - started re-reading this classic but couldn't finish by Halloween.

Next on the stack... 

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
Praise Habit: Finding God in Sunsets and Sushi (Experiencing God) by David Crowder



   

On my blogs recently . . .

Here on Just A Second:

Recent Reads - Disruptive Witness
Scripture and a Snapshot - Wisdom
Monthly Bookshelf Review - October 2018
Recent Reads - Shelter of the Most High
Scripture and a Snapshot - It Will Be Done
Teaser Tuesday/First Chapter First Paragraph - Shelter of the Most High

And on my homeschool blog, Homeschool Coffee Break:

Homeschool Highlights - The Week with the Big Concert
Virtual Refrigerator - Halloween Art
All Hallows, All Saints, and All Kinds of Celebrations
Homeschool Highlights - The Week We Had Trunk or Treat
How Do You Find Electives for a Student that isn't Artsy?
Virtual Refrigerator - Jack-o-Lanterns

What are you reading?

©2008-2018 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/ 

 We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Recent Reads - Disruptive Witness

This post contains affiliate links. 

Disruptive Witness: Speaking Truth in a Distracted Age by Alan Noble - This book about living out our faith in a perpetually distracted and "buffered" world is thought-provoking and challenging. Author Alan Noble draws on the work of a Canadian philosopher, Charles Taylor, to describe the way most of western society views the world and how that impacts how we live and how we interact with each other. It also impacts how we Christians live out our faith and how the gospel is likely viewed by our neighbors. 

In our secular age, we are increasingly distracted and "buffered" from deep thinking, so we are largely unaware that we hold shallow and often incongruous worldviews. Everything we do tends to be related to our individual identity and how we present that identity to the world. The secular age has put forth the idea that all beliefs are equally viable, and without meaning to, we often present the gospel in that light. It's very easy for others to see us as just living out a personal lifestyle choice. The book's title is an indication of what our witness should be - disruptive, in the sense that it should stand out as different and hopefully cause us to see the transcendence of Jesus; to dig deeper and reflect on our part in the larger story of the gospel.

Part One of the book is a rather intellectual and philosophical discussion of how we think (or how we avoid deep thinking!) and how we tend to have shallow beliefs that are more about how we wish to present ourselves to the world. Part Two takes that foundation and talks about how we live as Christians, and how the church functions. Because the church is made up of people, it has, in many cases, become reflective of our distracted and shallow ways of interacting. Noble invites us to consider how the liturgical and evangelical practices of the church could become more "disruptive" by pointing worshipers and observers to that larger and more transcendent view of God, faith, and our place in the world. In other words, we need to realize that we are participating in worship that is not about what we prefer or what makes us look good, but is focused on the beauty and majesty of who God is. Even the ways in which we live our daily lives - saying grace, honoring the Sabbath, appreciating beauty in creation, and most of all, taking opportunities to think deeply about the truth of God - can bear disruptive witness to the world that we are not just making a personal lifestyle choice, and that faith in Jesus is an imperative need for everyone.

This book is a Non-fiction Hobby Book for the Full House Reading Challenge 2018 hosted by The Book Date; and a book recommended by someone with great taste for the 2018 Reading Challenge at Modern Mrs. Darcy.

©2008-2018 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/ 

 We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Scripture and a Snapshot - Wisdom

But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

~James 3:17-18~

Thank you for joining Scripture & A Snapshot. Leave a link to your own post sharing a Scripture and a Snapshot. Take time to visit some of the other links and bless each other with comments.

(new grab button is coming soon!)

An InLinkz Link-up

I also link up at Sunday Scripture Blessings, hosted by Peabea Scribble Pad. and at Selah, hosted by A Spirit of Simplicity.

©2008-2018 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/ 

 We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.