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 Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2015 11:45 am
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Hello!
My name is Jewish at Heart, or JaH for short. I came up with the username through a church-friend of mine. He said, "My God is Jewish. He called the Jews out first and made them a country; He came as a Jew in the flesh; when He ascended, He is still Jewish. As Christians, we are adopted into the family of God. That makes us Jewish." So, even though we might not be Jewish by blood, God has made us Jewish at heart.
1. Name your pets
I have many, many pets. I have Ozzy, who is a Shih Tzu and will be fourteen years old in October.
I have four cats. Tater-Tot, who turned eight back in March; Caesar, who turned eight back in March as well; Moo Man, who will be four in June; and Augustus, who will be two in August.
I also have a guinea pig, who will be three in September. 4laugh
2. List your favorite Bible verse
My favorite Bible verse is one that I come to quite often.
Jeremiah 29:11 KJV For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Another favorite is one that I get quoted to a lot.
Isaiah 40:3 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
3. List your favorite book of the Bible
My favorite book is probably ... the Gospel of John.
4. Your denomination/beliefs
I'm a holy-roller Pentecostal. rofl
I don't care about denomination, though. I wasn't raised in church, and as long as the church I go to teaches the Bible and Jesus, that's all that really matters anyway.
5. The name of your country
The United States of America. :3
6. Your favorite color
Blue. Not light blue, either, although it's pretty. But that deep, royal, pretty blue.
7. Your occupation
I work as an Imaging Processor for a big-time insurance company.
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Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2015 12:29 pm
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Jewish at Heart Hello! My name is Jewish at Heart, or JaH for short. I came up with the username through a church-friend of mine. He said, "My God is Jewish. He called the Jews out first and made them a country; He came as a Jew in the flesh; when He ascended, He is still Jewish. As Christians, we are adopted into the family of God. That makes us Jewish." So, even though we might not be Jewish by blood, God has made us Jewish at heart. 1. Name your petsI have many, many pets. I have Ozzy, who is a Shih Tzu and will be fourteen years old in October. I have four cats. Tater-Tot, who turned eight back in March; Caesar, who turned eight back in March as well; Moo Man, who will be four in June; and Augustus, who will be two in August. I also have a guinea pig, who will be three in September. 4laugh 2. List your favorite Bible verseMy favorite Bible verse is one that I come to quite often. Jeremiah 29:11 KJV For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Another favorite is one that I get quoted to a lot. Isaiah 40:3 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. My favorite book is probably ... the Gospel of John. 4. Your denomination/beliefsI'm a holy-roller Pentecostal. rofl I don't care about denomination, though. I wasn't raised in church, and as long as the church I go to teaches the Bible and Jesus, that's all that really matters anyway. 5. The name of your countryThe United States of America. :3 6. Your favorite colorBlue. Not light blue, either, although it's pretty. But that deep, royal, pretty blue. 7. Your occupation I work as an Imaging Processor for a big-time insurance company.
Thank you for joining us! There's always room for more!
Welcome to the guild. biggrin
How very true! Jesus is the same today and forever. Isn't it amazing to think of? It means that we don't have to worry that He'll ever let us down in regards to what He has promised us, or that He will change His mind.
Great to see that you also care for animals.Also good to hear that your dog did well! I have four cats and a dog myself. Though I am extremely allergic, and asthmatic they are staying. |
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Posted: Fri May 29, 2015 9:17 pm
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Hi everyone!
My name is Austin, I'm 21, and I'm from South Carolina. I'm called to youth and young adult ministry, and I just completed my first year at a local missionary school college. My favorite bible passage is Matthew 22:36-40. I currently attend an Assemblies of God church, but consider myself a nondenominational.
I love the fine arts, the beach, cartoons, anime, video games, dogs, playing disc golf, and lots of other stuff. I love making friends, so feel free to chat me up.
I've been a member of Gaia for 8 years, but I've been on hiatus for at least 5 years, only logging in once in a blue moon. I'm back now and decided to stick around a little longer. This time I want to use this site as a way to hopefully have fun, fellowship, and grow spiritually. That's why I joined this guild. I'm excited and can't wait to get to know everyone better. biggrin
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Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2015 6:27 am
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Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2015 8:16 am
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My name: Floral
Name of pets: Lithy-lou
List favorite Bible verse:
Corinthians 13:4-8
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.
List favorite book of the Bible: Esther
Denomination/beliefs: Baptist
The name of country: North Carolina, USA
Favorite color: Pastel colors
Occupation: Baby sitter/ Assistant Gardener |
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Posted: Tue Jun 23, 2015 4:48 pm
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Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2015 2:58 am
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Roxas _ KOD XIII Hi everyone! My name is Austin, I'm 21, and I'm from South Carolina. I'm called to youth and young adult ministry, and I just completed my first year at a local missionary school college. My favorite bible passage is Matthew 22:36-40. I currently attend an Assemblies of God church, but consider myself a nondenominational. I love the fine arts, the beach, cartoons, anime, video games, dogs, playing disc golf, and lots of other stuff. I love making friends, so feel free to chat me up. I've been a member of Gaia for 8 years, but I've been on hiatus for at least 5 years, only logging in once in a blue moon. I'm back now and decided to stick around a little longer. This time I want to use this site as a way to hopefully have fun, fellowship, and grow spiritually. That's why I joined this guild. I'm excited and can't wait to get to know everyone better. biggrin
Thank you for joining us Austin and welcome to the guild! Awesome that you have completed your first year! Do you have any particular church in mind when you are finished with your studies? |
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Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2015 3:05 am
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Honesteele Hey folks. Just popped into the guild. I'm going to go ahead and use the preset questions, otherwise I'd end up typing way more than necessary. 1. Name your pets: No pets! 2. List your favorite Bible verse: Psalm 23 3. List your favorite book of the Bible: Isaiah 4. Your denomination/beliefs: God is moral, ethical. I believe the entirety of the bible makes sense yet often taken out of context. Even the beginnings of the old testament make sense. One of the great things about the bible is that you can look at it once and understand something means one thing and then go back over it later and you get a different message out of it. One such example is the commandment to not take your lords name in vain. Many people assume it's simply language, but it elaborates in the original translation, Hebrew, to not do evil in His name, which can be something so simple as "Son, you're going to Hell because you don't believe in Jesus." 5. The name of your country: United statessss 6. Your favorite color: Teal 7. Your occupation : Carpenter
Welcome to the guild sir! We are happy to have you with us.
Isaiah is an awesome book. Dealing not only with Jesus' death on the cross, but also His second coming. For those who do not know it was written about 701 and 681 B.C. That is 600 almost 700 years before Jesus was born!
You are absolutely right! The Bible makes sense from the first letter to the last, and it has more than just one dimension to it. |
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Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2015 3:08 am
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FloralStardust My name: Floral
Name of pets: Lithy-lou
List favorite Bible verse:
Corinthians 13:4-8
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.
List favorite book of the Bible: Esther
Denomination/beliefs: Baptist
The name of country: North Carolina, USA
Favorite color: Pastel colors
Occupation: Baby sitter/ Assistant Gardener
Welcome to the guild Floral! Awesome that you decided to join us.
That is a great verse. =3
I sometimes like to ask people why they like a particular verse or book. What is it about the book of Esther that appeals to you? |
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Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2015 3:12 am
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Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2015 9:58 am
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Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2015 11:56 am
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LilyLilac11 Hello Everyone, I'm coming back to Gaia after a hiatus. I usually go by Lily online. I have one Black and white Cat named Noel. My favourite bible verse is: Romans 5:8 God demonstrated his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, God died for us. The first time I read that verse I wept. My favorite book of the Bible is Ruth. My denomination/beliefs: I believe in Jesus and creationism and literal Bible. I live in Canada. My favorite color: Black? Dark Blue? My occupation: I'm currently trying to write a Christian Novel. All encouragement is appreciated. And writing buddies would be amazing! I also need Beta Readers. It's my first novel ever so it's ... not the highest quality? I'm hoping to keep improving. The more important thing is that I got all the Bible quotes right and that I'm giving glory to God. I'm going to be printing it out and giving it to friends and family, including one friend who hasn't had alot of exposure to Jesus Christ, and doesn't know how strongly I feel about my beliefs so she'll be getting both of those things in this book. So a little stressy. Prayers are always appreciated. I wish to fulfill God's will in my life and hope I'm heading in the right direction. If anyone else needs help with anything else, please let me know, and I'll do my best to help in any way I can. God Bless you! -Lily.
It is a blessing to have you, Lily!
I happen to be a writer myself! I write fantasy and horror. I know, a Christian who writes horror probably sounds strange. But you'd be surprised with how at home horror is in the Christian worldview.
What do you like to write, genre-wise? You mentioned that this is your first novel. Have you not done any sort of writing in the past? Do you have a particular genre that you like to read?
I would not be opposed to being a beta-reader for you. I am known for having a natural affinity for grammatical correctness and critical review, so I could probably help you with that.
How long have you been a Christian, Lily?
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Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2015 3:50 pm
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Scarlet_Teardrops LilyLilac11 Hello Everyone, I'm coming back to Gaia after a hiatus. I usually go by Lily online. I have one Black and white Cat named Noel. My favourite bible verse is: Romans 5:8 God demonstrated his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, God died for us. The first time I read that verse I wept. My favorite book of the Bible is Ruth. My denomination/beliefs: I believe in Jesus and creationism and literal Bible. I live in Canada. My favorite color: Black? Dark Blue? My occupation: I'm currently trying to write a Christian Novel. All encouragement is appreciated. And writing buddies would be amazing! I also need Beta Readers. It's my first novel ever so it's ... not the highest quality? I'm hoping to keep improving. The more important thing is that I got all the Bible quotes right and that I'm giving glory to God. I'm going to be printing it out and giving it to friends and family, including one friend who hasn't had alot of exposure to Jesus Christ, and doesn't know how strongly I feel about my beliefs so she'll be getting both of those things in this book. So a little stressy. Prayers are always appreciated. I wish to fulfill God's will in my life and hope I'm heading in the right direction. If anyone else needs help with anything else, please let me know, and I'll do my best to help in any way I can. God Bless you! -Lily.
It is a blessing to have you, Lily!
I happen to be a writer myself! I write fantasy and horror. I know, a Christian who writes horror probably sounds strange. But you'd be surprised with how at home horror is in the Christian worldview.
What do you like to write, genre-wise? You mentioned that this is your first novel. Have you not done any sort of writing in the past? Do you have a particular genre that you like to read?
I would not be opposed to being a beta-reader for you. I am known for having a natural affinity for grammatical correctness and critical review, so I could probably help you with that.
How long have you been a Christian, Lily?
Thankyou so much for replying to me! It means alot! heart
Your a writer too! That's so exciting!
Oh yes, I've read revelation, many good Christian Horror books can be written.
I hope this doesn't come off wrong, Christian Fiction was not my first choice and not something I've ever tried before. My sister gave me this whole speech about how what we do should be done for the glory of God and if I was going to write a novel, it should be a Christian Fiction novel. That's part of the reason I'm worried the first half might come off a little half-hearted.
But by the time I got closer to the end, I finally understood what she meant. Now it feels like such a privelage writing for God's honor and to explain to people what I believe and maybe... if they can see what God means to me, they might give God a chance too...
I have some pretty nasty depression. It is what it is. I write my best work about despair and hopelessness, my goal in writing is usually to make people cry. And with a few of my poems I've succeeded multiple times. After making my athiest friend cry, she was the one to push me towards Novel writting. I ended up getting write a novel in 90 days, and then no plot! no problem! Which has a NaNoWriMo mindset, and so I figured If I could stomp out 50,000 words on one topic if I just stopped editing, which probably have caused most of my disappointments. I could. (can? I'm hoping to be done some time tomorrow!)
You see, things like the novel I wrote, always seemed kind of boring to me, two people find each other, and one tells the other about God, and he decides to care about God and then everything works out and yay! *yawn*
But it's hard to write a hopeless book about God, because God isn't hopeless.
(Maybe this has something to do with the fact that even though I've tried for years and years this is the first one I finished?)
Writing depressed characters doesn't really do my depression any good either, and after writing this book, I really feel more happy and optimistic then I have in years and years.
It isn't any good because it's not my usual genre and it was something I was just trying to "get through" but now I've come to love it, and I'm hoping with some editing and... oh, I don't know... I could make it downright readable.
But even if it's unfixable I'll always love it, because its my first ever novel.
I just need to, at a very minimum, make sure all my bible quotes are correct and that the characters are belivable. (I haven't spent alot of time converting people to Christianity so I don't know if he agreed too quickly, or put up too much of a fight, or changed his mind too fast, or asked the type of questions someone in his position would)
How long have I been a Christian?
This question is sort of hard to answer. So I'll do my best.
I was born a Catholic, I've always loved the bible, but I haven't always had a personal realtionship with Jesus.
When I was in high school, while others were drinking or ... who knows what... my big form of rebellion? I wanted to be a nun. But I was very serious about it.
After spending a while sobbing in a Catholic Church I decided that being a nun was not in my destiny.
I'm ashamed to admit that due to a different friend, she talked me out of my faith, and I became a very nasty athiest who was very mean to Christians because I was so bitter about the fact that "God didn't exsist"
May God forgive me.
That lasted a few years.
Then I found a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and it changed my life compleatly. I suppose you could say I based the character coming to God off of me in a way, the things I thought about "religion" versus the true Love of God.
I suppose, in a way, you could say both the characters are me, and it's an fanciful story about me turning from God and coming back again.
In a perfect world I would like people to be able to pick up my book, and feel God in the pages, to feel what I felt, when I found Romans 5:8 and wept.
(I've included Romans 5:8 and what it means to me in my book)
It's sort of turned into a fictionalized autobiography I suppose.
If this one can't be saved, I'm really looking forward to working on the next one, I heard someone say once, the only way to figure out how to write a novel is to write one, and now that I've forced myself to write 50,000 words, I feel like I understand Novels alot better, and that the next one will be far more readable then the one I got out this time.
Thankyou so much for agreeing to be my Beta Reader! It means so so so so much to me! To have another Christian Writer look at my work and help me through the process just means the world to me!
You are the best! heart heart heart heart
God Bless You!
-Lily. |
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Posted: Sat Jun 27, 2015 10:54 am
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LilyLilac11 Thankyou so much for replying to me! It means alot! heart God Bless You! -Lily.
I suffer from depression fairly regularly too. I don't think there is anything wrong with depression in and of itself, as long as we don't lose our joy. Remember that joy is not the same thing as "happiness". Happiness is a fleeting moment of emotion. But joy is a true, inner contentment found in a relationship with Jesus. Therefore, even when we are depressed we may still have joy. The Jewish word for this is shalom. I find I get depressed because of the state of the world, and I am especially mournful when people I know leave the faith.
You don't have to write a Christian fiction novel if you do not wish to. However, you should do all things unto the LORD, to glorify Him. So it is probably best if you work to promote God's truth in your work. But there are many ways to do this! There are many who think that it is impossible to glorify God in horror fiction, for example. But this simply is not the case. Part of the reality for a Christian is the existence of evil. Horror is one of the best genres to exemplify evil and morality.
Also, feelings of hopelessness can still be incorporated into Christian work. We struggle sometimes with feeling hopeless. Everyone does at some point, including Christians. The key is to demonstrate that there was a reason for hope all along, even if the character didn't see it at first. In fact, in a Christian story things don't even have to work out the way people would want. I was a Professional Writing major for two years and one of the important things I learned was this: a hero does not have to win, he/she just has to succeed. That's important, because to win and to succeed are very different.
Writing depressed characters helps me, and listening to sad music speaks to my soul. I have found that I do better when I speak from my soul and find things that speak to my soul. It makes the pain easier to bear. Like, sometimes when I have slipped into a depression I will read Job or Lamentations. It's comforting to me.
Have you ever read Job in its entirety, or Lamentations?
Remember that there are many ways to glorify God in your work. As a fantasy writer, my work involves adventure and romance, but it also involves violence, death, and misery. This is because violence, death, and misery are very real and need to be confronted, not ignored. This is why I bar nothing when I write battle scenes. I'm very descriptive, not to the point of "gore fest", necessarily, but I make sure that people know what I think about war: that there is no glory in it. But sometimes it's necessary.
Don't be afraid to have characters cuss in your stories, either. I know that some would probably criticize me for this, but as a Christian I'm not writing to portray some perfect world with perfect little Christian people. I'm writing to portray the sinful, fallen world and the reality of God's grace in it and despite it. It's also realistic. Just make sure you do so in a tasteful manner--gratuitous cursing, unless it fits the character, isn't necessary and can even be a detriment to your story.
God has forgiven you for your rebellion! That's the good news about the Good News! ^_^
I'm glad you returned to the faith. 3nodding
And, a fictionalized autobiography sounds very interesting. I'm glad you wrote this. It sounds like you needed to.
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Posted: Sat Jun 27, 2015 11:02 am
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Scarlet_Teardrops LilyLilac11 Thankyou so much for replying to me! It means alot! heart God Bless You! -Lily.
I suffer from depression fairly regularly too. I don't think there is anything wrong with depression in and of itself, as long as we don't lose our joy. Remember that joy is not the same thing as "happiness". Happiness is a fleeting moment of emotion. But joy is a true, inner contentment found in a relationship with Jesus. Therefore, even when we are depressed we may still have joy. The Jewish word for this is shalom. I find I get depressed because of the state of the world, and I am especially mournful when people I know leave the faith.
You don't have to write a Christian fiction novel if you do not wish to. However, you should do all things unto the LORD, to glorify Him. So it is probably best if you work to promote God's truth in your work. But there are many ways to do this! There are many who think that it is impossible to glorify God in horror fiction, for example. But this simply is not the case. Part of the reality for a Christian is the existence of evil. Horror is one of the best genres to exemplify evil and morality.
Also, feelings of hopelessness can still be incorporated into Christian work. We struggle sometimes with feeling hopeless. Everyone does at some point, including Christians. The key is to demonstrate that there was a reason for hope all along, even if the character didn't see it at first. In fact, in a Christian story things don't even have to work out the way people would want. I was a Professional Writing major for two years and one of the important things I learned was this: a hero does not have to win, he/she just has to succeed. That's important, because to win and to succeed are very different.
Writing depressed characters helps me, and listening to sad music speaks to my soul. I have found that I do better when I speak from my soul and find things that speak to my soul. It makes the pain easier to bear. Like, sometimes when I have slipped into a depression I will read Job or Lamentations. It's comforting to me.
Have you ever read Job in its entirety, or Lamentations?
Remember that there are many ways to glorify God in your work. As a fantasy writer, my work involves adventure and romance, but it also involves violence, death, and misery. This is because violence, death, and misery are very real and need to be confronted, not ignored. This is why I bar nothing when I write battle scenes. I'm very descriptive, not to the point of "gore fest", necessarily, but I make sure that people know what I think about war: that there is no glory in it. But sometimes it's necessary.
Don't be afraid to have characters cuss in your stories, either. I know that some would probably criticize me for this, but as a Christian I'm not writing to portray some perfect world with perfect little Christian people. I'm writing to portray the sinful, fallen world and the reality of God's grace in it and despite it. It's also realistic. Just make sure you do so in a tasteful manner--gratuitous cursing, unless it fits the character, isn't necessary and can even be a detriment to your story.
God has forgiven you for your rebellion! That's the good news about the Good News! ^_^
I'm glad you returned to the faith. 3nodding
And, a fictionalized autobiography sounds very interesting. I'm glad you wrote this. It sounds like you needed to.
Yeah, I think I needed to write it too.
The whole having depression when God was supposed to give me Joy thing made me pretty bitter when I was a teenager too, But I think I understand what you mean now.
Is it alright if I send you chapter 1 in a PM? heart |
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