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BookwormJo

8 hours ago

Thanks everyone for that awesome start to writing! So far, the writing has been going well overall, and we've finished the first camp day with campers meeting and getting an intro to Camp Frontier Faith.

A little status update: we've reached chapter 8 (Woo-hoo!). Of the 8 chapters, 4 are complete, 3 are in-progress (with 2 of those projected to be finished by Sunday--tomorrow) and 1 was not posted.

The next people on the roster for writing are SEA, AbigailArtist and INC, who will be tackling Monday and early Tuesday of the camp week. (Unsure of what the camp week is? Check this out: Camp Schedule)

Next Steps:

If you’ve already finished your chapter (congrats!!), you have a little bit of chill time.
Things you can do in your chill time if you're bored, or want to stay immersed in the story are:

Read the others' chapters!! (Highly recommended!)
Check when you'll next be writing on the roster. (Definitely recommended.)
Check the Act 1 outline and begin brainstorming your next chapter (just know you might have to tweak it by the time it’s your turn to write again). (Moderately recommended)
Hit the Editing Tab and put down ideas for how you’ll refine your first chapter when Act 1 finishes. (Look at you go, superstar!)
Coming up with plot ideas for Acts 2 and 3. (Hello legend!)

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LifeisbetterwithJesus

May 18

Baking and cooking are the jobs every man and woman must learn. soooooooooooo, id say cooking is is more essential than baking but personally i like baking more.

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BookwormJo

May 18

Jeremiah 4 | 31 verses

In the first four verses, God offers the Israelites an opportunity for forgiveness and restoration. It's pretty touching to me, because after all the times they rebelled and broke His heart, despite how hurt He was, God was still willing to accept them back as his children. Personally, if someone broke their promises to me, and was insincere in their apologies, continually doing things that hurt me, I don't know if I could offer that depth of forgiveness.

You know how some people say, "I forgave [him/her/them] but I just don't want to talk to them again"? Yeahhh . . . I don't think that's actual forgiveness. The Dictionary defines the word 'forgive' as the process where: " [you] stop feeling angry or resentful toward (someone) for an offense, flaw, or mistake." or "cancel (a debt)."

Man. Man.

And God's first words here are:

“If you will return, O Israel,” says the Lord,
“Return to Me;
And if you will put away your abominations out of My sight,
Then you shall not be moved."

He's not just offering forgiveness, but complete restoration.

I'm the type of person to forgive, but sadly think "This relationship will never be the same again." It's like when you rip a paper. You can patch it over with tape, but that wound, that weak spot will always be there.

But God's offering to erase the past from His mind, and totally start afresh with the Israelites. And He does that for us too!

And then we read on. And the next parts of the chapter are a stark contrast to those first few words of hope.

“A scorching wind from the barren heights in the desert blows toward my people, but not to winnow or cleanse; a wind too strong for that comes from me. Now I pronounce my judgments against them.” -- vs 11 and 12.

A really powerful demonstration of how God's judgment and tender mercy go side-by-side. And Jeremiah seems terrified on his people's behalf.

Okay, so any of you who have siblings might get this analogy. So, your sibling is breaking a rule, right? Say they're in a timeout, and they decide to vent their anger by colouring on the wall, or slamming a door, or saying mean stuff about your parents. You're there, just watching them, not participating in it, maybe even telling them to stop exasperatedly. Then you hear your parents' footsteps coming. And suddenly, your annoyance just dissolves and is replaced with concern for them.

"Charlie/Sydney/Tammie [insert sibling's name here] stop! You're going to be in even bigger trouble if Mom/Dad [parental figure] comes and sees you doing that! Just stop! You still have time!"

That's how I imagine Jeremiah being when he says this:

"Woe to us! We are ruined! Jerusalem, wash the evil from your heart and be saved. How long will you harbor wicked thoughts?" -- verses 13b-14.

And then suddenly in this chapter, after hearing from God for a while, the narrative switches to Jeremiah's voice.

"Oh, my anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain. Oh, the agony of my heart! My heart pounds within me, I cannot keep silent."

Now he's just reacting to God's judgment. After repeated warnings, repeated opportunities for forgiveness, repeated pleas and expressions of sorrow, repeated talks on how the Israelites have betrayed Him, God has unleashed the punishment. And Jeremiah can only watch sadly. If only the Israelites had listened to him . . .

Still, there's a tiny ray of hope.

"This is what the Lord says:

“The whole land will be ruined,
though I will not destroy it completely."" vs. 27.

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