all should bound and sway
with knowledge of future days
better than those past
How to Write a Haiku in English Form
A haiku for this week’s Haiku Poetry Prompt Challenge of BOUND and Sway.
© 2020 Ronovan Hester Copyright reserved. The author asserts his moral and legal rights over this work.
The power of positivity. In order for it to change your life you have to understand a few things and apply it across the board.
“Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters.“ That was the verse I was given to study upon. Not a lot to go on there and of course I did as I always do and went to the book itself and read the verses leading up to and following it.
“12 Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.
13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
16 Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. 17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18 He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.” James 1:12-18
That’s a lot to throw at you but I liked it. It’s something I’ve reminded people from time to time when things have looked bad and they’ve looked weary at church. This always leads into questioning about what good is happening in life. The bad things can be powerful because they can loom large. One reason problems can be large is because we give so much power to things. It’s like when you have that one favorite TV show and you MUST see it every week. Then it gets cancelled. You feel it’s the end of the world. But then what happens? You find a new favorite.
But sometimes big things are big things. You still can’t let them control your entire life. The worry about them affects the other areas. Eventually that one thing ends up destroying everything else.
You know, some people like to use that old idea of a grain of sand turning into a pearl when they talk about how an irritant can bring about something wonderful. Well, that irritant is in one spot, it doesn’t move around to all areas of the oyster. The oyster lives a fine and happy life with a pearl.
It’s a struggle to work against the negative. Or it can be. Put with practice, focusing on the positive, you end up having the positive weed its way into the negative areas. It’s always better to go into a job interview with a good and positive attitude than a negative one.
Ronovan
Romans 1:16
“9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.“ (James 3:9-10)
One way to change your life is to change your mind. One sign of a changing mind is a changing tongue. Years ago I was a swearer. I wasn’t a major profanity person but I used some language. And yes, I was a Christian then too. Then I found out I was going to be a father so I made the decision to change. If I was going to tell my child to be a certain way, shouldn’t I be the living example of that way?
To do this I made certain to not fill my life with things that were filled with what I didn’t want. I changed my music listening, reading, TV viewing. No, I didn’t become a fanatic about it, but I did make deliberate decisions. An example would be TV. If a show happened to have a bad word in it as part of a scene because the scene was emotional or something, okay, I got it. If the whole show was laced with it, and had scenes that sensationalized things it shouldn’t, I stayed away.
The same thing went for music. Although for that I mostly went to Contemporary Christian music. I like it. I still listen to my old 80s music for fun. And there are some music acts I like even now. But I still heed my initial parameters. And let me tell you, it is sad when you hear a song with a good beat and then they start in with the language or sexist or derogatory content.
You can’t be two minds on a matter or it comes out in your language. If you give lip service to a subject you will get found out. People like to think you are what you are. No, you are what you turn yourself into. It’s been over a decade since I made myself a promise to watch my language. I continue to fulfill that promise. I’m still cautious of my viewing and listening indulgences. I figure if I’m not participating, that’s one less vote, so to speak, for that type of content.
Do you think you can change your life by changing your mind? Can you change your views of the world by changing your mind? Pick something this week that you know you shouldn’t be doing or saying and work at altering your life by finding out why you say that and then stop. For me, I found that by not having all those music and TV influences I was able to easily stop using language, even when people around me at work were using it. See what you can do this week.
Much Respect
Ronovan
“For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.“ (Romans 6:14)
A lot of people look at Christianity as a way out. Some, even preachers, would take a verse like this and say, “See, you don’t have to worry about anything. Do what you want and you’ll be fine.”
The only thing is, this verse is part of a letter to the Romans and you can’t take one line of that letter out of context. So I read the whole section it was included in even though I was given just that one verse for the day to study over.
There are basically two masters of the world, sin and righteousness, or bad and good. You are either a servant of one or the other. Sometimes you’re going to mess up and do something that falls into the camp of the other, but when it comes down to the end, you’re going to have to answer to whoever the leader you serve.
Not being under the law doesn’t mean a Christian is above the law. It’s a reference to the Old Testament laws. There were a LOT of them. Jesus fulfilled those laws with his sacrifice. By a person becoming a Christian they agree to follow the one who already took the fall for us. We still have to answer to God when the time comes. Like I’ve said before, “Give me the smallest piece of Heaven and I’ll still be in Heaven.”
We each make a choice as to what master is going to be our primary leader. I’ve personally chosen God/good/righteousness and depending on the grace of God to forgive me for my failings. Some may say there is no such thing as God. I’d rather believe there is. And why not, right? There is no harm. At least not for those who are real Christians, and no harm from real Christians. We are not supposed to force our beliefs on others. As far as I am concerned we aren’t to make laws that force those beliefs either. But I will be honest and say if there is a vote for something that is against my beliefs, then I’ll vote against it. Too many people get upset when a vote doesn’t go there way. I haven’t had a vote of any kind that has harmed me in any way. But that’s where legislation gets in the way. They don’t let the people vote for things, even simple things. I think they might be surprised how a vote would turn out.
Well, I’ve rambled there a bit, but I hope you get what I’m saying, or at least get something I’ve said.
Much Respect
Ronovan
“That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.“ (2 Corinthians 12:10)
Sometimes you need to go to the book itself when you’re given a verse to read for the day. So I did, and read what led up to this statement by Paul to the Corinthians.
I like Paul because he’s not afraid to talk about his own failings, although he keeps his main failing, the ‘thorn’ in his flesh a secret, he still admits he has one. So what does the verse mean?
I look at myself as an example. I have Fibromyalgia which is also known as Chronic Pain. I have Chronic Fatigue, migraines that are always present, with variance in intensity, light and sound sensitivity, a sleep disorder, as well as spinal problems and other health issues. Why do I even look at those weaknesses in delight? Or perhaps the insults I’ve received at times?
Because with the help of God, those weaknesses, insults, and persecutions didn’t stop me from doing something I’ve dreamed of for decades. In fact, because of those weaknesses I may have accomplished my goal of becoming a published author.
I took what life gave me and worked with it. I didn’t say that because my life isn’t the norm, that I couldn’t accomplish something. Even today I don’t know when I will sleep, when I will be awake. Sometimes I sleep three hours out of 48 and I will turn that into something useful in writing. What better way to describe sleep deprivation than being in it?
Anyone can brag about something they’ve done. But boasting about a weakness is something else. Overcoming hardships to be normal or even being extraordinary is something to talk about, but it’s mainly something to look to and realize help was given along the way. God directed me to write a book, or a few really. Within three months of an accident that changed my life forever, I’d written a book that I am about to shop to agents. I shouldn’t have been writing anything, but I had this need inside of me to challenge myself to accomplish something I’d never done before, write a romance novel. So it turned out to be a coming of age novel more than a romance. I still did it.
Having that helping hand to guide me, to support me, to lift me up when I fall backwards, is something that I know I can rely on and makes me more fearless in what I do. I am not afraid of weaknesses or failures. I use them.
Much Respect
Ronovan
“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.” (Luke 16:10).
Throughout your life there will be people in leadership positions you’ll look to, entrust in part of your wellbeing and future. Some leaders we are involved in selecting. A great way to determine a leader is to look at what they do with what they already have.
How do they take care of what they have?
What are the results of what they have?
Do they always try to put their best foot forward for the good of those they are leading?
The amazing thing about this day and age is we can see into every facet of a person’s life. There is very little anyone can hide. I’m not sure if that is a good thing or not, even for someone wanting to be a leader. People make mistakes in their private lives. What they do with their public lives is another matter.
If a person has a history of dishonesty and disaster on one level of leadership, why would we think there would not be blunders at a higher level of leadership?
© Copyright-All rights reserved by Ronovan Hester 2016
I’m tired. It’s been a long year in many ways. Many years ago, I went through a phase like this. At that time, I had a good support system in place. I was heavily involved in ministry. The type ministry and how many types don’t matter.
One night there was a gathering of the church leadership for prayer. We divided into small groups in the sanctuary, and within the group, each one of us had to pray for another person, and pray specifically. My partner was the youth minister and worship leader I had help bring to the church.
My problem was I didn’t know how to say no. I was the young and willing man in the church as well as business. In church if you are in your 30s your consider one of the young folk, that can even extend into the 40s. This inability to say no and wanting to help ended up with a very frazzled and sick Ronovan.
The youth minister prayed for peace to come into my life. The next week I was leading the youth on a concert trip to see Steven Curtis Chapman, arguably the king of contemporary Christian music. He sang a song that night, and I knew it was no coincidence.
Ever sense that night, one of my life verses has been Psalm 46:10
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
We forget sometimes and worry about things way beyond our control. Stress hits us from every angle. Do you ever think, after the fact, of how insane some of the things we worried about were? Life is too short to worry about everything. What the Psalmist means is to remember God is in control of the ultimate outcome of the world. Bad things happen because of bad people and being in the wrong places at the wrong time. Put your eternal life in his hands. Nothing can take you from the hand of God once you give yourself to Him. When you pass own, you are with God. Nothing here on earth can stop that. Hurt me, harass me, do all types of damage to me, and I will still end up fine because I know God has me.
I may stress for a moment, but then I center myself, shake the stress off, and get back to my core.
John 16:33 Jesus speaks to the disciples.
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Jesus never said life would be easy here on earth. He never said that to his disciples or anyone that ever heard him speak. He said the exact opposite. Christians would be persecuted because of him. “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.” Matthew 5:11. As part of the beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount, you know it must be serious.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
I try to take away something good with every situation. My son and I were throwing the baseball a couple of weeks ago, as I am sure some of you saw the picture. Man did it get bad. I never got upset. I thought it was funny. I even looked at it as a learning experience I could use for my writing. I never had a black eye before. I now knew the pain of it, the coloring, and all of the things that goes with having a black eye.
My lack of stress helped with my son handling it as well.
Working on a positivity habit is tough sometimes. Habits take time to acquire. Eventually they take. I’m almost back in my zone now, and can breathe again. Now for the creativity to start up and have fun.
I don’t often speak about my faith here on the site lately. Life’s been busy. I do try to live my faith through what I do on my site. My faith is important to me. It’s important in every aspect of my work I do. Even in books I either plan to or have published, my goal is and was to put out something that has a core to it that will show the humanness of people and the war they wage with life and how sometimes they can’t win alone but need upbringing they have had, lessons they have learned, to turn to that will help them succeed.
Have a great Sunday, week, month, year, life, and eternity.
Ronovan
© Copyright-All rights reserved by ronovanwrites.wordpress.com 2016
I have a lot of ideas. Too many of them actually. It’s very difficult for me to stay on one path to the goal of completion. The reasons are partly medical and partly a need to grab hold of that next big idea I have in my mind before it slips away.
We do a lot of planning. Perhaps years or even decades are put in to a plan but then the plan comes to an end. The bad part about the end is that we didn’t have that in our plan. Although it isn’t always a bad thing when your personal plan comes to an end.
Proverbs 19:20-21
Listen to advice and accept discipline,
and at the end you will be counted among the wise.Many are the plans in a person’s heart,
but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.
The many plans we make are not always for our best. We travel along, sometimes staring out the window at the monotony of life passing us by and are mesmerized into complacency and routine. We believe what is may perhaps be all there is.
I have moments of indecision. I don’t mean indecision of the mind, but of the heart. No, not about love, I am certain of those parts of my life. But there is indecision about creations and taking the right step that tear at my heart. My mind does a good job with decisions and filing them away properly. It knows what to do, but the heart is the part that throws plans into chaos.
Fortunately a verse came to me today, a verse of the day, the one above. Those plans in my heart that tear at me? I need to learn to let them go. God knows the best plan. He even tells me the plan, I just don’t either always know the language/manner he’s speaking in, or am just not hearing it.
A great many things have happened in my life. One is about a young man I played football with. He was a star athlete, super intelligent. He had it all. Then one rainy game he tackled a player and with the wet uniforms, field and everything else, his neck broke.
The young man was a leader in many ways. People looked up to him. There was a bright future ahead for him. He was also a Christian.
Our team was losing badly, it was late in the game, and the other coach had asked our coach if he wanted to call the game and end it early. Our coach said no. It almost would appear that things were working against my friend from fulfilling his purpose for God and for life.
He has graduated from college, is now driving his own van, still paralyzed from the neck down, and travels to do speaking engagement to sports groups and FCA groups. That’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He doesn’t drive himself to those events, just wanted to make that clear. He’s my age and just recently was able to get a van and go through everything to be able to drive.
But God has a purpose and he uses indecision, and attempts to take away a bright and shining star to make them even brighter, IF that star chooses to move forward and upward with the purpose and the plan. My friend could have went through life in his wheelchair and no one would have said anything about it. But he had a support group, his parents, and all those who knew him to encourage and be God’s language in my friend’s ear.
I didn’t know where this was going when I first began writing. I thought it would be about my efforts to write novels. Then I put the scripture in. After that the part about my friend came to mind. He leads a more enriched life than most of us do and he is a benefit to more people than all but a handful of us will ever have the opportunity to. Well, that is unless we realize what the purpose for us is.
Ronovan is an author, and blogger who shares his life as an amnesiac and Chronic Pain sufferer though his blog RonovanWrites.WordPress.com. His love of poetry, authors and community through his online world has lead to a growing Weekly Haiku Challenge and the creation of a site dedicated to book reviews, interviews and author resources known as LitWorldInterviews.WordPress.com.
© Copyright-All rights reserved by ronovanwrites.wordpress.com 2015
I wasn’t planning on posting anything about a certain issue here in the U.S. but I will now. A clerk in the state of Kentucky refused to give out marriage licenses to same gender couples, stating it was against her religion. From my understanding she was then told specifically by the courts not to interfere with her employees passing the licenses out.
As a Christian I am to follow the law of the land as long as it does not keep me from following the Word of God.
Apparently the court actually gave the woman a way out. Although she was the head clerk and in charge and was supposed to sign the licenses, they said she didn’t have to. She simply needed to stay out of the way and not issue them herself.
She chose instead to do something a Christian is not to do. She forced HER Christian beliefs onto others, other workers. I say HER because her understanding apparently differs from mine.
She is not a hero or martyr for Christianity. That’s my opinion. She chose to make herself an example. The government where she lived could have fired her. 
But instead it was arranged for her to work around the law.
Every Christian has their own interpretation of what Christianity is. Even non-Christians have different opinions. But his is mine. I believe what I believe and I don’t force it on anyone. Each persons beliefs, relationship with God or not, is their own PERSONAL thing. By doing what this woman did she actually did exactly what the Bible said would happen, she gave people cause to speak against her and against Christianity.
I wanted to say something. I have. I’m done.
Added 18:23 EDT 9/13/2015
Reading some of the comments, I believe there are a few misunderstanding what is being said here. I am for her right to stand up for her beliefs in regards to what she does with her OWN job. But when she stands in the way of the court order that stated to allow her subordinates to issue licenses, that is when she forced her belief onto others. She in effect was making them do what her belief stated. Although some of them are Christians as well.
For those who are thinking I must be a liberal politics leaning person, I’m not. I am conservative. But what I truly am is Jesus led. Someone asked what would Jesus do in this case. Jesus would tell his opinion and then move on. He would not stand in the way of a couples personal decision to follow the law of the land OR be with whomever they chose to.
Much Respect-Much Love
Ronovan
Ronovan is an author, and blogger who shares his life as an amnesiac and Chronic Pain sufferer though his blog RonovanWrites.WordPress.com. His love of poetry, authors and community through his online world has lead to a growing Weekly Haiku Challenge and the creation of a site dedicated to book reviews, interviews and author resources known as LitWorldInterviews.WordPress.com.
© Copyright-All rights reserved by ronovanwrites.wordpress.com 2015
Welcome to the first Episode of:
Say It On Saturday!
The post where I share my honest feelings about an issue that’s really bugging me of late and possibly lose some readers along the way. Rant? Hopefully not. But I do hope it will be informative to people on both sides of whatever I end up talking about.
It was difficult to pick just one topic this week, there are so many after all. I think my main annoyance with things are when situations are misrepresented against one side so far that it becomes ridiculous.
Have you ever been called gossip-phobic?
How about adultery-phobic?
Or maybe slanderer-phobic?
I think we all agree those are sins. Okay, okay, I know some of you don’t like that word but I’m a Christian and according to the Bible those are some sinful things. And who among us has not probably committed every one of them. Remember, adultery to Jesus was even thinking about it.
But I’ve never been called liar-phobic or any other phobic about sins mentioned in the Bible. So why does a Christian who says the sexual act between same genders is a sin called homophobic?
Notice what I said. The sexual act, I did not say the act of love. I want to make that clear. I have been adamant here on my blog that any sexual act outside of the God identified marriage of man and woman is a sin. It doesn’t matter who the partners are, no marriage plus sex equals sin.
Now do I fear anyone that is gay? Not unless they are planning to beat me up or shoot me or something like that. So I fear a gay person as much as I would fear anyone. You see I am, and I would like to say most Christians are, not afraid of gay people or their engaging in sex with their own gender. Believe me, most of us are of the opinion of do with your life as you want to. It’s just there are some vocal idiots out there that make problems and use God and Jesus as their battle cry hoping to get some support and people opposing the noise makers end up saying or doing something that includes something Christians can’t support.
It’s kind of like when the political parties try to pass a bill that is for one thing but includes something else and because of that something else the other political party votes no.
It’s not that the political party is against the main point of the bill, but they can’t pass it because the minor point is against what they are for.
Part of being a Christian is not forcing our faith on people. We should love our neighbors as ourselves. Part of that loving is not butting into their bedrooms and the like. There is nowhere that it says we do anything like that.
But then we come to some political issues where a Christian who believes in the Bible as written is faced with having to decide to vote or support something that goes against what the Bible says. Now if the Christian says no to that issue then they are said to be a bigot or something like that.
And we are actually not surprised by any of this. Consider the environment the first Christians were in with Rome. At least we haven’t been used as torches yet. I tell you, that was some serious faith back then. You have to really believe to go through what those people did and not back down.
I don’t think anyone can say anything bad against me from what they have experienced on my blog. I believe I have been respectful and hopefully informative about my faith so everyone can better understand what I think a Christian should be, what I think Jesus meant for us to be.
We are not to judge. We are not support what the Bible says is a sin. But we are also not to apply our Biblical laws to those who are not believers. God will handle that later.
1 Corinthians 5 NIV
12 What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? 13 God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you.”~Paul to the Corinthians
Matthew 5 NIV
11“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”~Jesus, Sermon on the Mount
Now if this has been a bit confusing and you don’t get exactly what I am saying which I have a feeling a lot of people aren’t, visit the comment below by Florence. The link will take you right to it.
https://ronovanwrites.wordpress.com/2015/07/18/i-am-blessed-but-you-call-me-bigot/#comment-14511
Much Love, Success, and Respect
Ronovan
© Copyright-All rights reserved by ronovanwrites.wordpress.com 2015
Greg from over at Potholes In The Road of Life nominated me to be involved in a Three Day Quote Challenge, sharing a quote three posts in a row. Since he’s a friend and is faithfully dedicated to doing my Haiku Challenge each week, how can I say no, right? So I’ll see what I can do.
Romans 1:16 New International Version (NIV)
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.
I decided to pick three of my favorite quotes. What better quote than one from Paul about 2000 years ago? But why did I pick this one?
Many people read the book of Romans chapter by chapter. In doing so they fail to understand the message. For centuries since the Bible was divided into chapters and verses some misunderstandings have been around. And Romans chapters one and two being divided as they are has been one of the biggest.
But I digress. The reason Romans 1:16 is a favorite quote is because of what it says. All are included in salvation who believe in the gospel.
I also like how it says “I am not ashamed of the gospel”. Some Christians are ashamed to admit they believe in Jesus to their friends. And they certainly are afraid to say they believe in his teachings. I’m not certain why except for all those misunderstandings ingrained throughout the generations by the ill informed.
The gospel, the truth, the power. God took the control of sin out of Satan’s hand and put it into the hands of each person as their own choice to make. The perfect sacrifice, Jesus, God in flesh as man, suffering as man, without power to give us a chance.
And since the day I realized the truth of all of that, not the day I became a Christian, but years later, I have not been ashamed to say what I am. Many celebrities are ashamed. No one wants to be ridiculed as the next Tim Tebow. Oh how he’s suffered. Sarcasm there. Only time he ever was a teams starting quarterback in the NFL he lead a down and out team to the playoffs and actually won some games.
So I am proud to say I am not ashamed of the gospel. It gives me a confidence in my final destination and a peace within me in not fearing the future.
Much Love, Success, and Respect
Ronovan
© Copyright-All rights reserved by ronovanwrites.wordpress.com 2015
At first I was not intending to do a post for today but when I read Hold yourself in silence… by Florence on her blog Meanings and Musings thoughts went somewhere.
Is the expressing your thoughts and engaging in debate a sign you are wise?
She means a cultural aspect to this concept. I think quite often people are trained from an early age to speak up and give the answer, to show off they know, be the first to raise their hand in class. But is that the way it should be? Is wisdom a race?
Now, Florence does not talk about wisdom being a race or contest, her article simply led my mind somewhere and then it raced off in this direction as I thought of my son and then the world in general.
When I read her article the first thing that came to mind was the following.
And Then
And My All Time Favorite
Words can be twisted, even well intentioned words. Those who hold there words in the heat of emotions and when goaded into a battle of words has more power when they do speak.
Look at politics. Let a candidate speak long enough and they will eventually shoot themselves in the foot by saying something like let’s put a colony on the moon.
Today is a good day to practice silence. Silence, such as as the unheard tremor deep in the ocean or the blowing of a wind can create a powerful force over time. Hold. Silence. Then when released? Power.
Here are a few currently free e-books on Amazon I saw today. I picked ones with plenty of good reviews. Some humor, some wisdom, but all will give you wisdom in some way.
Selected passages with explanations by Charles Bridges from 1840. C.H. Spurgeon commented upon it-“The best work on the Proverbs. While explaining the passage in hand, he sets other portions of the Word in new lights.”
“Rosie Blythe has obviously been owned by a princess cat. She knows the world of cats and explains how you can channel your own inner cat too. This book is cute and funny and pretty creative. I especially loved the section on how to spend a day as a cat. Mostly you will laugh as you read this. If you have cats and know cat behavior very well this will totally amews you.”~The Rebecca Review
Yes, it’s a humor thing but I thought some would enjoy some fun.
Poet and Zen Priest Tai Sheridan’s ‘Buddha in Blue Jeans’ is an extremely short, simple, and straight forward universal guide to the practice of sitting quietly and being yourself, which is the same as being Buddha. Sitting quietly can teach many ways to accept life, meet pain, age gracefully, and die without regret. The book encourages sitting quietly every day.
Dr. Stewart spent a total of fifty-nine years preaching in eighteen different countries, as a pastor of three different churches, and teaching an adult Bible class. He and his wife Lorrie live happily in Gilbert, Arizona; and as this book is going to press, Dr. Stewart is working on his fourth book! He is happy to give God all the praise for his very fulfilling life.
Much Love, Success, and Respect
Ronovan
© Copyright-All rights reserved by ronovanwrites.wordpress.com 2015
Are you a Christian or even an Atheist and afraid of Meditation because you think it will turn you into a Buddhist, turn you away from your belief in whatever you believe?
Don’t laugh. A great many people associate Meditation with Buddhism because it is such a central part of that philosophy and way of life.
Meditation, for Christians should not be something to fear. In fact, if you are doing as you should, you are likely meditating and not even realizing it. Each morning you should be spending quiet time preparing for your day by praying or talking with God. You are preparing yourself to not allow the events of the day to sway you or influence you.
During this time you are pushing the world out, those sounds and thoughts, and you are focusing on one thing, God. During these quiet times you may not even be thinking of anything but simply being at peace and calming your mind for the day ahead. Perhaps you are repeating the word “calm” or “peace” in your thoughts over and over. A one word prayer.
When you are in these moments you find things become clearer to you. All the outside stimuli are blocked away and central ideas come into focus and you discover solutions to problems or clarity of purpose, and even a clarity of scripture void of the traditions man has applied to them in trappings and rhetoric.
“But Jesus did not meditate, so why should I?” What do you think Jesus was doing while fasting in the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights. While fasting he must have been doing something. Preparing himself for his ministry ahead? How? By talking with God, talking with the Father, by meditating. And through this preparation, at the end of those 40 days and nights, Jesus was prepared for the trials of Satan.
People forget a few things about Jesus. For one, he was a man. Yes, he was God in the form of flesh as man on earth. He had to be. For him to be a sacrifice for us he could not be the all powerful form of God without the ability to be harmed, feel pain, go through trials, be tempted, and all the other things a human could go through.
He performed miracles by asking the Father for His help. I mention that so no one thinks he had these powers on his own and thus was different from normal humans. But how did Jesus stay pure to be the perfect sacrifice for humanity?
Remember how Jesus would often go off on his own, away from his disciples? What do you think he was doing during this time? Remember in the garden on the night of his arrest and he asked the disciples to keep watch? What do you think he was doing?
Jesus was the rock star of his time of ministry work. Everywhere he went people wanted something from him. These things could be simply to hear him speak or to get some miracle from him. But there was a constant buzz around him. Jesus needed to get away from all of that and be alone. He needed to refocus and reenergize. He was human. He had a human body. He had a human mind, all of which were susceptible to fatigue and deterioration. He needed his quiet time.
Meditation is not a religion. Parts of this article came to me during meditation. People want to be enlightened. For a Christian—as a Christian, I feel as though I am enlightened already. As I meditate in my quiet moments and refocus on God, He gives me thoughts and revelations.
Does the Bible speak of meditation? I know some of you are wondering. If it’s not in the Bible then you don’t want to hear about it being possible, even if you are a Christian or not. Joshua 1:7-9~“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Meditation is not just sitting quietly it is also a way of life. You can meditate through every moment of life. In the above scripture, Joshua speaks to this. The word meditate (hâgâh) here has meanings such as; to utter, speak, muse, imagine, to meditate. To get the full benefits of the Word of God you need to be in it throughout your day, in all your actions. To get the full benefits of meditation you need to be in it throughout your day, in all your actions.
To prosper (tsâlach, tsâlêach), to make progress, to advance; all definitions of the word translated as prosperous above, you need to be in whatever it is you are doing and stay on the path of what you are doing at all times. Otherwise you are sidetracked and have to either start over or take time getting back on the track where you left off.
As a Christian, by combining these two the Word of God/prayer and Meditation that go hand in hand, written in the Bible, you can achieve a divine enlightenment and peace of mind. I don’t say this as some guy trying to get you to do something; I say it as someone who does it.
I did it before my accident two years ago, lost it for a while, and now you may have noticed in recent months a change in my writing. I live what I am talking about. I didn’t call it meditation, but that is what it was.
Much Love, Success, and Respect
Ronovan
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This is a rather unusual Thought this week. It rambled in my mind over so many areas that I decided to see how it rambled out in words. This will be about Blogging and about Life. For me the two are mostly the same. What dictates what appears on my blog is also what dictates my life.
I don’t know about you, but I receive emails asking for tips on how to build a successful blog. They then go on to define successful by how to increase Followers, Likes, people to Comment on their blogs. Well they normally do it through the comment form on my About page but it shows up in my email.
Success is a term that is defined differently by each person. For some reason people think I have successful blog. I am not exactly sure why. I don’t know really what measures you would look at for that. And in all honesty, I don’t concern myself with it unless I am doing tips. It’s not something I think about every day. People don’t know my numbers so I suppose they have an impression of what they must be. If you have been following me long enough you will have noticed I don’t do Follower milestones any longer. It’s just not a thing. Perhaps I should do Comment milestones but I don’t think WordPress has those.
Anyway, here is something people might find surprising that I have done. I don’t look at my stats any longer. Well, I did once this past Thursday because of a recent hashtag movement I started and wanted to see what happened, but that was more out of curiosity than hope or gauging success because the hashtag part is secondary to what I am doing on Wednesday.
How do I know if I am doing okay with my blog in regards to reader visits? I look at ‘Likes‘ and ‘Comments‘ IF I have a desire to know. And I notice in the notifications if I have people ‘Following‘.
What does this have to do with a Sunday Thought?
“In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.”~Titus2:7-8
How I write and what I write about I do with honesty, sincerity. I don’t do that intentionally most of the time. I write what I think and see what happens. If I have an opinion I write I will go and check some facts before I move on with it.
I can read a post by someone and tell if it’s sincere or not. Or I suppose I should say I can get a feel of sincerity or not.
How? Well there is something you have to consider, does the post match the personality that’s been displayed? There are some great posts out there but when I read them I can’t quite fall in to the grasp of them because it doesn’t fit with the regular content or the actions, or the comments of the person. There is just something missing.
Another part mentioned above is integrity. There are just so many ways you can say something about blogging. It’s difficult to be original, however I don’t steal ideas. I experience the things I put out there and then write about them. In fact I intentionally don’t read the experts blog tips because I want to discover things on my own.
And if you really want to know the truth, those experts aren’t so expert at times. I like to give tips the real bloggers can do, not those with nothing but blogging to do in their lives.
I write novels, so I can’t blog all the time. It seems like I am around a lot but I’m not here as much as people think. Also with my health issues I am actually unconscious for more hours than I care to comment on.
Many people can read tips from me and know who wrote them when they are on another person’s blog. Imitation is not the highest form of flattery when it comes to things like that. At least not so much to me.
Sure, people notice I can write an article in 10 minutes and put out 20 of them in a day with no problem so they don’t think I work at it, the thoughts behind it.
I think all the time. It has taken time to develop my style and voice in my writing and although I don’t say anything to people that copy me, I still am not a big fan of the blatant copying. You know, if you do something, if you copy an idea, if you even copy phrasing, why not put a footnote in the post giving credit? I’ve done that. (Yeah, remember I was a History teacher that graded reports and gave a zero to a kid for taking a book and writing word for word. And yes, it was 40% of his grade.)
I wrote a poem once that was inspired by two other posts I had read. I gave the two bloggers credit and linked back to their blogs right at the beginning.
Why do people click Like or Comment on my things and perhaps not the copycat’s? Everyone that visits my blog knows that I put every ounce of heart into every sentence. Even if it might make me look bad or it means the reader doesn’t agree with me, they are fine with it because they KNOW I am for real. That’s the only reason I can think of.
Sincerity and Integrity goes a long way in your life. If you follow those two things it’s difficult to be spoken against. We all mess up, but we all should try to get back to the S&I in our lives.
I’ve messed up over time but I’m good now. I stick to what I am and don’t stray from it, even when people are angry at me for being the who I am now.
@RonovanWrites
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There are a lot of things you cannot be taught in life. Okay, so that is an opinion of mine. I don’t think you can be taught talent. The talent that you have can be brought out of you, but if you don’t have that ability in you to begin with then you cannot eventually do it simply by someone showing you how.
You may be taught Algebra, but when you leave the classroom it is gone. You must constantly study it in order to pass the test.
There is one thing you can be taught.
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.~Philippians 4:4-7
Patience can be taught. I recently had a conversation with a lady about how when writing a book you needed to be patient. You want to rush that book to an agent, a publisher or self-publish, but the truth is you need to be patient. You need to allow for that work to grow and mature. take your time to find everything that needs your attention. I compared it to raising a child.
You would not want your child to be set before the world weak because you did not have the patience to feed it properly because it didn’t want to eat what it needed. You would not put your child out there without the best you could give it. Even if that best is not as good as what someone else has it still is as good as they have. Keep that in mind. Your best is all you can do, therefore it is just as good as what anyone else does as their best.
We need patience in all parts of our lives. Especially with children. Our children are like little adults to us at times. We know how smart they are. We know what they know and are capable of. Then they do something that is, well frankly is very much a 6 year old thing to do.
One thing to remember, above all else about your child, is they are the age they are for a reason. They are growing and maturing and no matter what WE think they can do, they are still children.
Friendships are the same way, relationships as well. Both are children that we know what they are capable of but with our being slowly developing them, we need to remember that in a relationship or friendship that is only two weeks old, there are going to be things that are going to be trying to us.
You know what your moods are. Your relationship person does not. You have to learn and you need to be patient.
Books, children, relationships, even your own new found hobbies all require patience. Maturity may never happen in some situations, but sometimes they won’t and weren’t meant to. Be patient and accept that relationship for what it is. And if your book doesn’t mature, be mature enough to recognize it and move on to another one until YOU are mature enough to come back to it and nurture it along to becoming that mature published novel.
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I believe I’ve spoken of a pastor friend of mine before who brought me fully into a love of studying the Bible. He has his own ministry now that he is retired in which he teaches Apologetics in Oklahoma. I greatly enjoy Apologetics as it goes so hand in hand with my love of History. One verse that is key to his ministry is;
Romans 12:2
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
I wanted to share this verse with you today as the final My Sunday Thought of 2014. I would like for you to look around at the world today. Look at what is popular on television and in the various forms of media.
Now take Fifty Shades of Grey and give it to your 10 year old to read. I know many of you are likely thinking this book is for adults only. I slip into that vein of thought at times when I write some of my poetry not that there have been many that could not be shared and yes, even in a Romance I’ve written there are scenes that are a bit much at times, not yet published nor revised by me. But does it make it right? Does the fact of the existence of something in a society make it right?
We should be able to hold ourselves up proudly at any moment and look at people and say “Do not throw me in with the swine you have made yourself to be.”
There is truly nothing of this world, the popular world that I care to be a part of. What do I want filling my mind? Do I want negativity and hatred or positivity and encouragement? Do I want skewed views of every single moment of life that is played out and inflamed according to media direction for the purpose of ratings when they could be trying to help a situation or do I want that which will give me hope and give me the ability to love every creation of God on this planet as a creation of God regardless of my dislike for who or what they are? Do I want to be an instigator or a mediator?
People don’t agree with my ideas. They believe they are a bit extreme. I believe we should not fill our minds with the trash that music has become, the movies, the literature. Don’t get me wrong, I believe everyone has the choice to do as they wish. There are a lot of aspects of life that should be portrayed in literature but done wisely. I simply believe that I have the choice to not fill my mind with some of it. I even suggested to people at my church, in ministry leadership positions that we should try to not support industry that supports all of the things that are a negative influence. We should not buy our fuel from stores that sell pornography. All I received from that was a nodding of the head with the “but” look to it. How could we ever possibly do that?
I am aware of the things, I just choose not to fill my mind and life with them. As the new year approaches give the idea of renewing your mind a consideration. Fill your life, your mind with positives so you may be a positive influence. Introduce the idea to your friends and family as well. Don’t be down on someone when they do listen to something or watch something. You just choose not to participate. Have your own music with you, a book. Or be like me and carry earplugs everywhere and then you don’t have to listen to anything or anyone you don’t want to. Yes, I have a medical excuse but so do you. You don’t want to be filled by the ill.
What you eat fuels your body. If you feed it junk your body will quickly lose energy. It stands to reason you think what you fill your mind with. What do you what fueling your mind?
In closing I am making my 2015 The Year of Renewal. A renewal of focus on those things that are most important to me and most important to my future. If you choose to travel along with me perhaps you will see that renewal playing out here in the pages of Ronovan Writes.
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Yeah, I know it’s not Sunday but I had a great verse given to me and wanted to share. You know sometimes you are seen as that person who wasn’t good in school or you were the fat kid or any other number of things. For the rest of your life that is who you are.
58 And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.
Jesus was just seen as that carpenter’s son when he went back home. People had heard what he had done but still just couldn’t get past what they had seen of him growing up. Imagine that.
For a lot of us out there we write. We can write just about anything. For some of us we were that quiet person that just made it through school without trouble of getting noticed. And that’s who we are still.
No one I grew up with or know would believe I write science fiction books, fantasy, historical drama, teen adventures or Romance novels. I’m still the same guy I was growing up, even to my ‘family’. For some people, if they never moved away from home for a period of time that being held to a a certain mold will crush that growing talent. For others they will leave and become this new person and when returning home they are once again who they were. Just like Jesus.
Imagine all that the world has missed out on because of people not being open to change and growth.
If you have a friend, family member or even your own child who shows a sign of being different than they were even just a week ago be open to it. My son enjoys things with me because I am open to his changing. How many 7 year old boys in the South do you know would try Sushi and like it? He’s told me the parts of a story he wants me to write someday. He does all these different things and I am always ready for the next change to happen.
I had a concussion and I am a totally different person. Well almost totally. But you can’t tell me that any longer that I am a certain something because I am reinventing myself. My original tagline for this blog site was “discovering my world one word at a time.” That’s what I do every day I write a new article or research something. Notice I am not rediscovering, I am discovering. I’m not looking back, I am looking forward.
Be open to all who show change because change happens. If you aren’t open you might miss out on something amazing.
Much Respect
Ronovan
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It’s a rough Sunday morning today. The old body is not cooperating. Got one of them flares going today, well the past few it I am to be honest. I wasn’t going to do my Sunday Thought today but I needed a bit of the Word.
I was hoping God would say something like, “I shall taketh your paineth awayeth righteth noweth.” You know someday I’ll know what his voice really sounds like, as in the actual sound of it. I see his ‘voice’ all around me at work, so to speak.
So what verses did I get today from the websites I like to use to give me a bit of variety to my Bible studies?
“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.-2 Corinthians 3:17
At first, if you don’t really read much of the Bible it doesn’t say much to you, but for me it did . . . after a moment. For me the Spirit is inside of me. The Spirit sets us free from a lot of things.
This brings to mind the saying “The Truth shall set you free.” The origin of that is Jesus talking about his being the Truth and those who know him and follow him will be set free. Free of what? Free of the consequences of all we’ve done here on earth when we pass on. Oh sure, we won’t get everything we could have in Heaven, all the rewards set aside for us, but as long as I get there, I’m good.
Maybe a better explanation is that we are free from being under the rule of sin. See, I’m not under that rule any longer. Sure, I will have to answer for things but as Mark Lowry said it “Sure Beats Hell”.
So what does that verse do for me in the middle of a Fribromyalgia Flare? It lets me know that eventually I’ll have a healthy and pain free existence down the line.
Along with this verse I received;
“And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.”-1 John 4:21
When you have the Spirit inside of you and you have Jesus, and I mean for real, not just saying you’re a Christian, trust me there are a lot of Play-Christians out there, but when you are for real, then realize it’s easy to love your brother and sister. This doesn’t just mean your relatives. And by loving people it sure does take a lot of that pain of hating off of your body, your heart. The stress of hanging onto that grudge or that whatever goes away.
This even reminds me of something I wrote about where a celebrity said a few things recently about a, well I’ll call us civilians, but anyway, if the celebrity just took a step back then it would have been realized there was no reason for the reaction.
That Spirit frees you up from a lot of things, but you have to be active with it. Don’t just think because you walked an aisle or whatever to get saved one Sunday means you are automatically changed into a better person than you were. It’s the first step.
I was saved for a long time before I think I could really call myself a Christian. Things changed for me after that. Not everything, I still messed up because I was a dumb human. Still am one actually. Still mess up actually. But I at least am aware of what my mess ups are.
Do any of these verses take my pain away or cure me? No. But studying the Word does make one feel better about where we are and the future. You see, I know things may look bad, and I try to help and do the best I can while I am here, but I know that down the line I will be just fine. After all I’m a foreigner here in this land. My home is another place.
Well that’s about it for me today. I know it was a bit disjointed today, but I’m good with it.
Much Respect
Ronovan
Romans 1:16
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I am asked at various times, it is commented in my blog wondering how I do what I do with all of the problems I have.
“12 Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. 13 As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard[c] and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. 14 And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.
15 It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. 16 The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. 18 But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.
Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.“-Philippians 1:12-19
Paul is shackled and yet the Word of God is still doing its work through his actions. The Word of God is being spread by those with good and bad intent, but is still being heard.
Some have issues with Preachers such as Joel Osteen. Saying that he doesn’t preach on certain aspects of the Bible. Joel is not a Pastor in the sense of what we normally think of he word. In truth he is a motivational speaker using the Word of God to get the message out. His church has a small group program that takes care of what every Sunday School or small program does in every church.
What does that have to do with me? Not much as far as how I am able to do what I do, but this is my blog and I have decided to blog my thoughts at times, especially on Sundays.
But I do what I do because I don’t focus on what has happened. I focus on moving forward and, yes, I do talk about what is wrong with me but I do so to get it out of me and hope that it helps others to see what is going on in the world and to say those of similar problems that it is okay, we’re good, we can do things.
I wouldn’t be here in blog land with so many new friends if not for what has happened to me. I do not hate what has happened, regret, deny, wish to change. I look at it as one part of me that has led me here.
That is what the scripture above is talking about. Paul is saying that he is thankful, embraces, all that has happened to him because it has brought him to this point in his walk with God and will work out for his good, if not here on earth then in Heaven.
Am I comparing Paul’s work to what I do. Not at all. But I use Philippians 1:19 as one of my life verses, along with Romans 1:16 and 1Peter 3:15.
Terrible things happen in lives, but they’ve happened. Nothing can be done about them. We can either let them work to the negative or to the good. I choose good. I choose good every time.
Lord,
I pray today that all of my Friends are safe in life and will find health and happiness.
I pray all things in the name of Jesus who you, Lord, gave all authority in Heaven and on Earth.
Amen
Much Respect
Ronovan
2014 © Copyright-All rights reserved-RonovanWrites.wordpress.com
I read my computer. That may seem like an odd way to start an article and an even odder thing to actually do. But I read the things I have written before. One note mentions an Arizona preacher who used scripture to say women are to be silent in the church and that meant not even to say Amen. This was from back in March of this year, 2014.
Let’s just say things inside of me went–
And that’s now. Just imagine what I must have felt to make a note of it!
“34 Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says. 35 If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.”-1 Corinthians 14:34-35
Women are NOT to be Silent in the Church
by: Ronovan
To read the scripture that . . . preacher . . . points to you would say, well he’s just doing what the Bible says. This is the problem with many preachers today. They read but do not know. First I have to explain something to you. There are preachers and their are pastors. Preachers just get up and preach at you. 
Pastors take time and make the effort to tend to the church members.
“1Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. 4 For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.”-Romans 13:1-5
Some may wonder about why certain leaders are in power, but then again look at how the Jews were put under the yolk of others. There is a reason. Often times it is to make us stronger with God. But I digress. Perhaps that will be a point for another article another day. But I don’t put scripture out there in part, I like to put parts that pertain to the scripture I want to discuss so you see the context of it. I don’t pick and choose.
What this passage says, from Paul who also wrote Corinthians is that we are to follow the laws of the land in order that no one may say anything against us that we are rebellious or anything and thus we may continue to live and believe as we like.
What the Arizona pastor apparently does not do when he reads the Bible is look at historical context. In the times in which the scriptures were written it was illegal for women to speak in public gatherings. That is why the scripture says what it does. Paul and scripture were not against women speaking or even being leaders in the church as Paul mentions Phoebe as a deacon of the church which means she worked with the elders of the church in an important role. Even if some question exactly what her role was, they cannot deny her importance in the church.
Paul also, in the same chapter, refers to Priscilla as a co-worker in Christ Jesus.
I listen to preachers preach and I have this alarm that goes off when something doesn’t sound right. I also do a lot of studying on my own. I actually take out the chapter and scripture number references/divisions of the books of the Bible and read them as originally written in order to not read them in a way that man has decided they should be divided up, instead of how God had his handpicked scribes put them to parchment.
Romans, one of the more controversial books and actually one of the most misquoted and misused books, has a very different message than some realize when read as a letter or essay and not with chapter breaks that make you stop and dwell on things where God did not mean for you to, but a man wanted you to because that’s how he thought. The actual real messages are more obvious than you would ever imagine.
Much Respect
Ronovan
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