Would Thanksgiving be weird for Booster

Would Thanksgiving be weird for Booster


I was trying to think of some stories that touched on the holiday when I remembered something I read in the first Booster Gold series. Back in issue 18 Broderick narratives a good portion giving his point of view on the past and providing a look into the future. He reveals a interesting fact about his time I don't think any other writer touched on.

Broderick: "Everything seems...feels so archaic. So very ridiculous. People in this era actually consume meat."

This is confirmed pages later in a flashback with a vendor selling soy dogs at the stadium. That's right, Booster and Michelle didn't eat meat in their time. Were they sick when they tried it? Did Booster have to force himself to adapt to it for sponsors? I know Thanksgiving is about more than the turkey but would people still celebrate it? If so imagine how lonely he would be around the season.While I could see Trixie trying to ensure he had a good holiday and maybe inviting him to eat with her familyhe seemed to be keeping her at arms length. So JLI would be his first experience with it, at least in the past. I'm not sure if there was ever a comic based around it but you can just see how that would go.

J'onn trying to keep everything organized and make sure everyone helped out. Tora would already be doing her part before anyone asked and drag a less than thrilled Bea along. Somehow there would be chaos that would start because of Ted, Guy, some disagreement or potentially a villain attacking. Although the last one seems like the least likely. Max would be pleasantly buzzed just to deal with the arguing while J'onn cast him a disapproving but understanding look. Guy would have the worst table manners burping loudly. Then if Booster didn't adapt to meat he'd be rushing to the bathroom making everyone stop eating and demand to know who cooked the turkey.

The Preschooler

The Preschooler

I'm playing catch-up a bit tonight. We are at the Farm, and due to traveling and then visiting with family, I have not had a chance to post about Miss's preschool graduation party until tonight. Of course, she didn't graduate from preschool, but a three or four of the other kids in her school did, so there was a little party last Thursday to celebrate the end of the school year and say farewell to those kids heading off to Kindergarten next year. I love that her school is a mixed age school and that it is so small, so that she sees her older classmates taking this step to Kindergarten and yet doesn't lose too many of her friends from the past year.The party was lots of fun. Miss spent almost the entire time intently focused on making a necklace for herself.


Once she finished it (you can see how long it is in the photos below!!) she went over to the face painting area. She was a little unsure about the face painting at first. She is my cautious girl, and she wanted to think this one over a bit.




She eventually sat down and allowed one of her teachers to paint a flower on her cheek. A blue flower of course. I love that her teacher knew that blue is her favorite color and commented on it to her (Miss wears a blue shirt to school almost every day).




Though she didn't graduate from preschool to Kindergarten, she did get a certificate for completing her first year of school. I am so proud of how far she has come in this past year. She has learned so much and really gained in confidence. My girl who used to cry every time I dropped her off at school now doesn't want to leave when I come to pick her up. Every day she says, "Mama, I had so much fun at school today."


When we got home Miss proudly showed off her necklace and face paint (which took three days to wash off, by the way).




Then we had our own little party with some treasures from the Target dollar aisle (have I mentioned how much I love the Target dollar aisle?) and some new sunglasses purchased for our trip to the Farm.






I have so many great photos already from the past weekend of the girls with their cousins at the Farm. I will post them very soon. 'Night.

Saying Hallel on Thanksgiving

Saying Hallel on Thanksgiving




Rabbi Meir Yaakov SoloveichikHow many people say Hallel on Thanksgiving? I can just hear
somebody screaming at me saying, "What? Hallel on Thanksgiving?!" "Are you out of
your mind?!" "That is the height of absurdity." "Not only should we not say Hallel on
Thanksgiving - the very holiday itself is suspect as it as overtones of a non
Jewish religious celebration." "Religious modalities of other religions are off limits to
the Jewish people." "We should in no way participate with the annual ritual of
eating turkey and a big meal on that day, let alone say Hallel. Hallel is
reserved for Jewish holidays as mandated by the sages." "Poskim forbid
saying it even on Yom Haatzmaut, Israels Independence Day. And you ask if
anyone says it on Thanksgiving?!"Well, yes, I do ask that question. Thats because there is an
Orthodox Congregation that has been saying it every Thanksgiving of its existence.
Back in 1654 a group of Jews set sail from Brazil to escape
the Portuguese inquisition… and ended up in New Amsterdam. At the beginning of the
18th century a Shul called Shearith Israel was formed by this group.
By the year 1768 they hired their first American born minister, Gershom Mendes
Seixas. (Not having Semicha he was not officially a rabbi.) So goes the story
of some early Jewish settlers of the New World – as related by Rabbi Dr. Meir
Yaakov Soloveichik, the newly installed rabbi of Shearith Israel. From his Wall Street Journal article (also available here in PDF):In his (Sexias) sermon, delivered Nov. 26, 1789, he expressed
his profound gratitude for a government that was "founded upon the
strictest principles of equal liberty and justice." In a Thanksgiving Day
service several years later, Seixas declared: "As Jews, we are even more
than others called upon to return thanks to God for placing us in such a
country—where we are free to act according to the dictates of conscience, and
where no exception is taken from following the principles of our
religion."Throughout its history, the members of Shearith Israel have
observed Thanksgiving by reciting in synagogue the same psalms of praise and
gratitude sung by Jews all over the world on festive days like Hanukkah.As Rabbi Soloveichik points out, this year we will of course
be joining the members of this Shul in saying Hallel on Thanksgiving. Thats because
it coincides with Chanukah. (If I hear the word Thanksgivukkah one more time, Im
going to… well you know.) Rabbi Soloveichik points out both holidays celebrate
the freedom to practice ones religion as they see fit. In the case of Chanukah
it is to give thanks to God for returning the freedom to practice our religion via
the heroic efforts of the Maccabbees. And in the case of Thanksgiving it is to
give thanks to God for the privilege of living in a country that gives us that same
freedom. And to express our gratitude to the founding fathers and their
spiritual heirs in government today for enshrining and guaranteeing that right
in the Constitution.Such a strongly positive view is not shared by the
illustrious Gadol of the last generation Rav Moshe Feinstein. Although he
clearly permits eating turkey in a festive meal with family and friends, knowing
that it is not a religious ritual in any sense to eat turkey in a festive meal
with your family, he still considers the practice as imitating gentile customs
(Chukas HaGoy). I wonder how he would view saying Hallel on Thanksgiving in
those years where it does not coincide with Chanukah? (The next time this
happens is 79,000 years from now.) My guess is that he would not approve as this attaches a religious ritual to a gentile holiday.I will be celebrating Thanksgiving with my daughter and her
family this year at the home of my Mechutanim (her in-laws).
And like my fellow Jews in Shearith Israel, I too am very grateful to God and
to this country for the blessings bestowed upon me. How lucky I feel to be
living here.
Im sure that Rabbi Meir Soloveichik will be doing the same.
It is indeed his family tradition to do so. His grandfather, my Rebbe, Rav
AhronSoloveichik, ZTL ate turkey on Thanksgiving. As did his great uncle, the Rav who disagreed
with Rav Moshe. He held that eating turkey on Thanksgiving does not constitute
imitating gentile customs.And like my fellow Jews in Shearith Israel I too will be
saying Hallel on Thanksgiving this year. Although I will not be continuing this Minhag
every year, I agree with Rabbi Soloveichik who ends his article
with the following:(L)ighting candles this Thanksgiving/Hanukkah eve will be a
moment for reflecting on the story of our community, on our people's miraculous
deliverance from their ancient oppressors, and on the land that opened to us
yet another miraculous chapter in our history. We will also ponder our
obligation, as Jews experiencing unfettered freedom, to live our lives fully as
Jews and as Americans, to remain loyal to our faith while devotedly serving our
country.All this we will do as we lift up our voices to sing, with
our fellow Jews around the world, as, perhaps, did the voyagers on the
Mayflower upon their own arrival in the New World: "O give thanks to the
Lord for He is good, for His kindness endureth forever."

News at TISA Hyderabad Chapter Meetup - 24 Nov

News at TISA Hyderabad Chapter Meetup - 24 Nov

Last weekend SHG meetup was awesome ! Media Awareness on TISA !
Members @ Meetup are
1)Vallikranth 2.Aravindh 3.Sumanth 4.Ramu 5.Siva 6.Govindraju 7.Mahesh 8.Anish 9.Lallaya 10.Puran Anand 11.Rajesh.

We started with basic introduction rounds of all members.
After that we had prepared speeches by all members on a topic named "My Fake Story" (fake stories - in which we can mix fantasy and creation). Members have shown their power of imagination :)
After this we had loud shouting activity where all members stand in a line with some distance apart and then first and last members communicate and later the other members shift their place to both ends and cycle continues.
Suddenly at this point we got a thought of why not talk about TISA loudly so we decided to ask question and answer style which says more about TISA, our intention is to give awareness on TISA among park members. So we spoke about TISA, TISA webisite, blog etc...
We also shouted stammering word loudly in 3 different languages so that people of all languages will come to know about our meeting.
Later we decided to give one on one awareness among park members so we all members held hands together and made a U shaped and started going to all park members and requested their 2 minutes of valuable time for giving awareness.
We were surprised by the response, every three attempts of awareness fetched one person who stammers among their friends or in relatives so we told them about TISA and took contacts.
There was a meeting going in park and this community believes that there is no religion concept. So we thought we shall talk about TISA in their meeting too.
We went and spoke to head of the community but he didnt allow us but luckily there were 3 news paper reporters there who came to cover this community meeting news.
So they stopped us and asked what is TISA about and thats at we made our day :)
All the reporters came out with their hand book and cameras :) We were made a big circle in lane...
We were asked many questions about TISA and stammering and we gave answers in stammering style...
They took few contact numbers so that they would keep in the news article..
Hopefully the news which is expected to come in coming days will give great awareness on TISA and stammering.
We left home with great satisfaction and smiles. Thanks all to TISA....Together We Step Up Together We Succeed !

Regards,
Rajesh V
Together We Step Up :) Together We Succeed :)Contact below members for further details.Rajesh 96 76 82 0007 email id: rajesh.jaca"at"gmail"dot"comRamu 8143344240 email id: hyd.rams93"at"gmail"dot"comSiva 94942159776 email id: dinakantri336"at"gmail"dot"comVijay 9985650423 email id: nvijaybabu1@gmail.comSumanth 9441654509 email id:srisumanth4"at"gmail"dot"comList of other members and their contact numbers

Lashon harah is only prohibited when there is no benefit or to'eles

Lashon harah is only prohibited when there is no benefit or to'eles




update - added more sources 9/27/13 [see Lashon harah revisted
Balancing the terror of lashon harah]

The main Torah source prohibiting lashon harah is
Vayikra (19:16): Don't spread gossip amongst your people. Don't stand idly by the blood of your fellow. I am G‑d
It is important to very carefully study this verse to understand what lashon harah is. The first thing to notice is that the verse is not just about lashon harah. The second verse is a command to help people in trouble or to prevent them from getting into trouble. Why are the two issues combined?A number of commentaries have noted that this dual issue verse teaches that the prohibition of lashon harah is conditional. If a benefit results from saying the negative things that can't be obtained otherwise - then it is permitted to speak. This is known as the heter of to'eles. In fact we see that it is not a heter but it is a condition that determines whether the negative information is lashon harah. This shows that not every negative statement is in fact lashon harah.
Chazon Ish(2:133): Knowledge
about a talmid chachom who shapes yiddishkeit is similar to that of an
artisan. Just as one is permitted to convey accurate information about
an artisan if there is to'eles so it it permitted to reveal information
about a gadol if there is to'eles. Of critical importance is to be
totally accurate otherwise it is slander. This implies that expressing
negative information about others is relevant for those who are
considered influential authorities – in order to understand the degree
to rely on them.

Rabbeinu Yonah(Mishlei 24:28): Dont be a gratuitous witness of
your fellow man – ...This principle is stated in Berachos (19a), If you
see a talmid chachom sinning at night, do not suspect of him of sinning
anymore by the day because he will surely have repented by then. Since
he has the reputation of a person who is fearful of sinning and he is
upset and regrets that his lust overcame him. However if the talmid
chachom is in fact a wicked person who is mistakenly thought by the
people to be righteous – he is not only to be criticized to those who
know how to keep quiet – but in fact it is a mitzva to publicize his
deeds until they are well known to the public. That is because severe
harm occurs when wicked people are honored because he will turn many
away from the proper path and denigrate the honor of the righteous and
encourages sinning. There is in fact profanation of G‑ds name by
honoring the wicked because some people will be aware of the sins the
wicked do and will concluded that there is nothing wrong with sinning
and that it doesnt lower ones stature (Yoma 86b)…

Rav Moshe Sternbuch(Teshuvos v'hanhagos 1:839): Question: A a teacher asks his students to reveal who did something wrong. - is this permitted? Answer: It would seem that the teacher first has to say to his student that the prohibition of lashon harah is very severe. However since this is l'toeles there is no prohibition of lashon harah. (See Chofetz Chaim 4 and the statement of the Alter of Kelm in Marpeh Lashon said in the name of Rav Yisroel Salanter with clear proofs that whatever is for to'eles is not prohibited as lashon harah). In this case it is clearly for the benefit of the chinuch of the student and therefore there is no concern that this is lashon harah. In fact just the opposite because just as there is a prohibition to speak negatively about others - there is an obligation to inform the teacher so that he is able to properly chastise the student and thus it is not considered lashon harah at all.

Chofetz Chaim (Hilchos Lashon Harah 4:10): Nevertheless if a person
sees someone who has bad midos such as conceit, anger, or other bad
personality traits or the person isn't concerned about studying Torah etc. then
it is correct to tell his son or his students to avoid associating with
such a person in order that they not learn his bad midos. That is
because the basis of the prohibition of lashon harah - which applies to
even if it is truth - is intent to degrade another person and rejoice in
his debasement. However if his intent is to guard his fellow man from
learning from his bad deeds - then it is clearly permitted and in fact
it is a mitzva to convey this [negative] information to others. However in
these cases and similar ones it would seem that it is a mitzva for the
one conveying the negative information to explain the reason why he is
saying these negative things about another person. That is so the
listener will not err and assume that negative comments in general are
permitted. Furthermore so that the listener will not be astonished that
the speaker seems to be a hypocrite in that sometimes he prohibits
lashon harah even when true (see clall 9) because it is an important mitzva to keep his children from sin. and yet he is himself is now saying negative
things about others...

Chofetz Chaim (Beer Mayim Chaim Hilchos Rechilus 9:3): Requiring
that the motivation to speak rechilus is for a beneficial goal
(toeles) - doesnt mean that if he doesnt have this motivation that
he is automatically exempt from communicating the necessary information
to the person in danger. That is because he still has to fulfill the
obligation of “not standing idly by the blood of his fellow.” This also
applies to saving someone from financial loss. Look at Rashi (Sanhedrin
73a). This requirement of toeles for permitting speaking negative words
means only that he should try and force himself do it for a benefit and
not because he hates the person. Otherwise he will be violating the
prohibition of rechilus.

Rav Ovadiah Yosef (Yechava Daas 4:60): … In fact this is the way to understand the verse regarding lashon harah. “Do not speak lashon harah but dont stand idly by concerning the blood of your fellow.” Even though there is a prohibition of lashon harah, nevertheless the second clause of the verse tells you that it is conditional on this not causing harm. Therefore you are obligated to inform others regarding certain matters in order to them to guard against loss and danger. This is expressed in Nidah (61a) that even though it is prohibited to listen to lashon harah but you should protect yourself from the potential danger you hear about. The Rambam (Mitzva 297) says that protecting anothers money is also included in “dont stand idly by concerning the blood of your fellow.” … Therefore even if there is only a financial loss, one should inform your fellow man in order that he can protect himself from those who want to harm him. And surely when there is a possible danger to an individual or a group....Malbim (Vayikra 19:16.41): Do not stand idly by the blood of your fellow - The literal meaning of the verse is that if you see someone in danger – do not stand by but rather make a serious effort to save him…. However the association in this verse of not speaking lashon harah teaches us that even though we are prohibited to speak lashon harah, nevertheless if you know testimony that can help another - even though it involves lashon harah and breaking confidentiality – it is necessary to reveal the information and to testify. This is true even though revealing secrets is prohibited as lashon harah.Netziv (Vayikra 19:16): Even though there is a clear prohibition in this verse against lashon harah, nevertheless this is conditional on “not standing idly by the blood of others.” In other words if you know that there is someone who wants to harm another then you are obligated to inform the intended victim and it is prohibited to stand idly by and let it happen.
Ohr HaChaim (Vayikra 19:16): The prohibition of lashon harah is conditional on whether not speaking will not cause harm to another. If you see a group that wants to kill people then you are obligated to notify the potential victims so that they can save themselves. One should not keep silent by saying that you dont want to speak lashon harah. Thus we learn that if you dont notify the potential victim and he is killed that you have nullified this mitzva of not standing idly by the blood of others. We learn this from the incident of Gedaliah who was warned of danger but did not pay attention to the warning.

Shulchan Aruch(C.M. 426:1): If you see someone drowning in the sea or being attacked by bandits or wild animals and it is possible to save him by yourself or to pay others to save him and yet you dont save him or alternatively you hear non‑Jews or informers plotting to do him harm and yet you dont inform him or alternatively you know that non‑Jews or bandits are planning to attack him and you are able dissuade them and yet you dont or other such scenarios – you are violating “do not stand idly by the blood of your fellow (Vayikra 19:16).

Rav Elochon Wasserman (Kovetz Haaros Yevamos #70): ...It would seem that all that is prohibited between people (bein adam lchavero) is only prohibited when done in a harmful and destructive manner without justification. For example regarding the prohibition of “Not hating your brother.” This is only prohibited for gratuitous hatred (sinas chinom). In other words when he is not doing anything wrong (davar ervah). However if he is doing something wrong then it is permitted to hate him. It is important to note that the reason for hatred being permitted in this case is not because of the fact that a sinful person is not considered your “brother.” Tosfos (Pesachim 113b) explains that if you hate this sinful person for another reason then you transgress the prohibition. The hatred is only permitted because of the bad (davar ervah) that you see in him. Similarly regarding the prohibition of beating another, the Rambam writes that it is prohibited only if done as fighting (derech netzoyan). This is clear from the fact that it is permitted for a teacher to his student. And this that we noted before in Sanhedrin (84b) – that is only a rabbinic restriction. And similarly concerning the prohibition of causing anguish to a widow or orphan, Rambam (Hilchos Deos 6:10) writes that if it is done to teach Torah or a trade – there is no prohibition. Similarly concerning the prohibition of lashon harah, it is permitted against people who cause discord and quarrels in order to stop the fight. Similar concerning using words to cause anguish (onas devarim), it is permitted publicly criticize someone publicly if it is for the sake of chastisement. It is even permitted to publicly embarrass someone if it is done for the necessity of chastisement for a person who has not stopped his bad behavior after being rebuked in private. In such a case it is even permissible to curse him. In fact this is what was done by the prophets in the past as the Rambam (Hilchos Deos 6:8) notes. We thus shown from all this, that all the prohibition involving interpersonal actions do not apply when the act is beneficial.
Chinuch (236): We are required not to gossip about others as the Torah says (Vayikra 19:16) "You shall not be a tale-bearer." The idea is that if we hear someone say something bad about a friend, we should not tell them "Someone is saying such and such about you" unless our intent is to prevent damage or to stop a fight....
Pischei Tshuva (O.C. 156): I want to note here that while all the books of mussar are greatly concerned about the sin of lashon harah, I am greatly concerned about the opposite problem. I want to protest about the even greater and more common sin of refraining from speaking negatively when it is necessary to save someone from being harmed. For example if you saw a person waiting in ambush to kill someone or breaking into someones house or store at night. Is it conceivable that you would refrain from notifying the intended victim to protect himself from the assailant - because of the prohibition of speaking lashon harah? By not saying anything you commit the unbearable sin of transgressing the prohibition of Vayikra (19:16): Do not speak lashon harah [but] do not stand idly by when the blood of your fellow man is threatened? By not speaking up, you violate the mitzva of returning that which is lost to its owner Devarim (22:2). Now if you can understand the obvious necessity of speaking up in these cases then what is the difference between a robber breaking into someones house or store or seeing that his servants are secretly stealing from him or that his partner is deceiving him in their business or that another person is cheating him in commerce or that he is lending money to someone that you know doesnt repay? How is this different from stopping a proposed marriage to someone you know is a wicked person who would be a horrible husband…. From where do we get the mistaken idea that in the case of murder, I will speak up but that it is prohibited to say anything in other situations where someone is being harmed?…

GAP - SAY YES TO THE DRESS

GAP - SAY YES TO THE DRESS


*** First Time Visitors ***Please go to theFirst Time Visitorstab orgo toTHE GAPtabIf you want to share what we are doing with a friend please direct them using the URL for that page.
============================

GAP - November 14, 2013As we were praying tonight, for the safety of those displaced by the recent typhoon in thePhilippine Islands.
As we prayed we turned and started praying for the Church in thePhilippines.I began to seea detailed picture of what appeared to be a wedding veil and tiara as well as close up views of elements of the dress. But I wasn't clear enough on the meaning to share my picture yet.
The meeting was opened up for sharing:Don shared a scripture story about Elisha getting a double portion because he followed hard after his mentor Elijah and because of hisinsistenceto stay with Elijah, he saw the chariots of firethat caught Elijah up into heaven.
2And it came to pass, when theLordwas about to take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.2Then Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, please, for theLordhas sent me on to Bethel.”But Elisha said, “AstheLordlives, andasyour soul lives, I will not leave you!” So they went down to Bethel.3Now the sons of the prophets whowereat Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that theLordwill take away your master from over you today?”And he said, “Yes, I know; keep silent!”4Then Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here, please, for theLordhas sent me on to Jericho.”But he said, “AstheLordlives, andasyour soul lives, I will not leave you!” So they came to Jericho.5Now the sons of the prophets whowereat Jericho came to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that theLordwill take away your master from over you today?”So he answered, “Yes, I know; keep silent!”6Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here, please, for theLordhas sent me on to the Jordan.”But he said, “AstheLordlives, andasyour soul lives, I will not leave you!” So the two of them went on.7And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood facingthemat a distance, while the two of them stood by the Jordan.8Now Elijah took his mantle, rolleditup, and struck the water; and it was divided this way and that, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground.9And so it was, when they had crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask! What may I do for you, before I am taken away from you?”Elisha said, “Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.”10So he said, “You have asked a hard thing.Nevertheless,if you see mewhen I amtaken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not beso.”11Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appearedwith horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. 2Kings 2:1-12A little while later, Don went on to say God is asking us to say Yes. He even repeated this a couple of times, Saying, 'Yes' out loud to God. All the time I was thinking, God isn't just asking us to say a generic 'yes', but He is asking us to say yes in a very specific way. Almost like the answer to the wedding vows, do you....? I do or Yes! Phil shared a word of hope for the glorious church to ariseand excerpts from another prophecy.After a conversation that made a few turns this way and that, I finally said, guys I think we are missing the main point.

Don shared that God is asking us to say, yes. So I told them, "Right as we began to pray for the Filipinos,I saw a vision of a wedding shawl or veil and a dress." I went on to share my picture of the dress, veil and tiara, Itold the guys, "I think God is raising the bar, Jesus is asking us to marry him," that's a life long commitment, it is signified by the dress.


In researching online after the Thursday night prayer meeting,I found that the dress I saw is actually a traditional Filipino wedding dresscalled a Baro't Saya it is a traditional wedding dress among the Filipinos. It involves an outer garment of a sheer fabric with embellishments as shown here.
The dress I saw was royal blue color with lots of pure silver sewn into the sheer fabric outer layer, chains of silver and strands of silver and silver dots were everywhere, the tiara had elaborate curves with embellishments and made of pure silver.

I got this Scripture passage...7Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.”8And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.Rev. 19:7-8

These are other historic examples of the Baro't Saya.



When you understand that the vision was of a (wedding) dress, it becomes plain which question were saying yes to, it also indicates thetype ofcommitment that is being asked of us. Marriage is an exclusive, life longcommitment.

Saying yes to the (wedding) dress indicates we aresaying yes to the commission, yes to the union of Jesus and us.

We are so prone to think in terms of productive activity. But this dress is not made for productive activity it was made for celebrating being the object of His love. In the Philippines it is a tradition that the bride does not put on the dress until the wedding day there are no trial fittings, that isconsideredbad luck.

When a King is proposing to his beloved, it is not time to list all the ways that other brides have historically failed to be faithful.

God has great plans for us he has provided all the resources to carry out those plans and they are plans for a marriage, not just producing offspring.

I referred back to Don's story about Elijah and Elisha and how Elisha was promised that if he saw the former, as he was caught up, that then he would receive a double portion of the Spirit that rested on Elijah. It struck me when he shared that story out of Scripture, that the disciples too followed Jesus even through the Jordan (death) to the other side, and they saw Jesus physically ascend into heaven and Jesus had said to them, it is expedient for you that I go and greater things than these shall you do because I go to my Father.

It is as though the Church (through the apostles) received a double portion of the work of Christ because the Church (through the apostles) saw him ascend in to heaven. Those who saw Him ascend, received the Spirit in Power.

Is time to declare the glorious bride of Christ there is no time to talk about her flaws.

It is her wedding day!

Critique Groups Yay or Nay

Critique Groups Yay or Nay


After a sizable hiatus, my critique is finally going to meet again tonight. We started this summer, but were all so incredibly busy that we only met twice before having to pause. While I'm not sure we're really any less busy, I'm excited to be back at it.

One resounding thing I've heard over and over in the writing world is "You must get a critique group!" It's usually said forcefully, but with a pleasant smile. Inside they're saying, "Get a critique group or FAIL!"


By Alice, clker.com
Okay, maybe that's a little dramatic.

At conferences, conventions, and workshops, I repeatedly hear that writers need a critique group, that a critique group can help you get your manuscript ready for submission. Some people swear by them, with thanks to critique groups showing up in the front of books.

However, there's also an outspoken contingent who say critique groups can ruin your book, or possibly your self-esteem as a writer. That it's poison to go into a group and deal with people who rip your work apart. Some cite groups they've gone into where there was at least one really nasty person who did nothing but criticize, never giving construction criticism, just nastiness.

I've witnessed several panels where an argument has ensued over whether or not you should join a critique group.


By OCAL, clker.comIn my opinion, you should try it out and see if it works for you, but only if you're interested. Don't be bullied into deciding one way or another. Do you feel your manuscript could benefit from having a fresh pair of eyes on it (or a few)? Have you read your book so many times that you have it memorized, so you can't pick out any issues? In that case, it would be a good idea to seek out a critique group. Be sure you are prepared to do critiques, as well as receive them, and that you're dedicated to the group. Otherwise, you shouldn't start until you can be completely dedicated. Critique groups work both ways, and you need to be a full partner in it.

On the other hand, if you feel there's nothing to fix, that it really wouldn't matter what they're going to say to you, skip it. You won't be open to what anyone is saying, anyway, so this isn't an option for you. In order to get anything out of a critique group, you must be open to hearing what other people have to say.

There's another reason not to do it, as well, though, which comes up on the opposite side. If you will be too open, if you'll take everything they say and think you need to make those changes, you should probably avoid it, as well. I feel like you have to have some confidence in your story to be able to get it critiqued. Of course, that's true for submitting it, too. If you have no confidence, you could end up tearing apart your story while stressing yourself out and questioning your ability to write, all because you couldn't pick out the useful feedback from the white noise.

I'm not saying it's easy. I'm starting over on a book that very nearly became a trunk book, all because I took everything to heart that was said in critiques. When I couldn't reconcile my opinion with several mixed opinions, all of which differed from each other on various aspects of the story, I gave up.


By OCAL, clker.com
Once you decide whether a critique group is for you, you've got to hunt one down. If you have some writer friends whose opinions you trust, see if they're interested in starting a critique group. They don't have to be local; you can email the critiques. We like to meet in person, but I think that's because we enjoy the social aspect of it, as well.

If you don't have writer friends you'd like to start a critique group with, you can check into local writer's groups. Go to meetings they offer and meet other writers. Check on their website, any forums they may have, etc., and see if they have any critique groups or if they have a mechanism with which to hook you up with any.

If that fails, start searching online. There are Meetup groups you might be able to find online by plugging in your location. Search for forums or online critique websites. There are some websites dedicated to allowing online critiques, but you must earn them by giving critiques first and maintaining a certain amount of points.

Once you've found or created your critique group, figure out the group's rules and get started! How are you expected to submit? What does the critique consist of (flow, grammar, answering specific questions, numerical judging, etc.)? How long will you have to do the critique? When do you need to get your piece in by? Will you email it or meet in person? If you're meeting in person, will you get the piece in advance to go over and make notes on so you can come prepared to the meeting? How many words/chapters will you submit at a time? How often will you critique?

Getting these and other questions hammered out in advance will make your life easier as you go into the critique group world.

Tell me about your experiences with critiques. Are you strongly on one side or the other (pro or con)? Have you had any especially nasty experiences in critique group? Any wonderful ones?

May you find your Muse.