the Rosses

 

Mike and Jeannie Ross.

Making Waves

I saw the waves this weekend. I went to the ocean. It was amazing and awe inspiring. The sound was loud. I've lived by the ocean my whole life. I've seen the ocean in so many parts of the world. But this weekend I saw the ocean. I mean the waves were so powerful. I looked at them crashing against the shore and thought that if I ever was caught in them, I could easily be killed. Those waves could end me.

But God is more powerful than those waves. He commands the ocean. So God can do miraculous things. God can heal the sick and cure the sadness and pacify the frustration.

Read this passage below from Jeremiah. God LOVES us. He loves me and he loves you. He chose you and has called you beloved. You are forgiven and He cannot see your sins. The Lord Almighty is his name.

How cool is that?


Jeremiah 31:33-35 (New International Version)

33 "This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel
after that time," declares the LORD.
"I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.

34 No longer will a man teach his neighbor,
or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,'
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest,"
declares the LORD.
"For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more."

35 This is what the LORD says,
he who appoints the sun
to shine by day,
who decrees the moon and stars
to shine by night,
who stirs up the sea
so that its waves roar—
the LORD Almighty is his name:

In times of distress

Not too long after Kevin and I moved to Savannah, I experienced a time of extreme loneliness. Kevin was at school and studying all the time and I hadn't made good friends yet. I had just started a new job, not making enough money to pay bills and had months before been in El Salvador, then WA, then GA. I felt alone. Loneliness is how the devil gets to me. He tells me lies and I struggle, reminding myself that I shouldn't believe them.

During that time I began a Beth Moore study and she mentioned Psalm 20 and that it was perfect for times of distress. So I wrote it up on the wall and stuck it on the inside door of my closet. Often I would cry and I would go into the closet and shut the door and read this psalm. I would read it often and I would recite it aloud until I began to believe it.

God's word is powerful. It has transformed my life on many occasions. This is one time I needed His word and clung to it tightly. I was alone and felt desperate, but God was always there and clinging closely to me.

I hope this may help you in times of distress.

-Rachelle


Psalm 20

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

1 May the LORD answer you when you are in distress;
may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.
2 May he send you help from the sanctuary
and grant you support from Zion.

3 May he remember all your sacrifices
and accept your burnt offerings.
Selah

4 May he give you the desire of your heart
and make all your plans succeed.

5 We will shout for joy when you are victorious
and will lift up our banners in the name of our God.
May the LORD grant all your requests.

6 Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed;
he answers him from his holy heaven
with the saving power of his right hand.

7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

8 They are brought to their knees and fall,
but we rise up and stand firm.

9 O LORD, save the king!
Answer us when we call!

Awareness

Recently I saw a rather interesting and thought-provoking Washington Post article. I'll summarize, since it's a bit long.

Some Post journalists asked a famous virtuoso violinist to play in a D.C. Metro station, posing as a street musician for 45 minutes, just to see what would happen. So, he did, and since he's one of the world's best violin players, he selected some exceedingly complicated classical pieces to perform.

Almost no one paid him any attention. Nearly eleven hundred people walked by, and most didn't even look. Of course, he was at a commuter station on a weekday morning, so everyone had places to go and things to do, but that's kind of the point.

Would you have noticed?

Style

I was in the women's restroom and this older lady said that my sweater was super cute. This older lady was wearing a primary colored plaid, polyester button up shirt with red pants, had lots of grey hair and huge glasses. So, my question is - shold I take her comment as a compliment?

Hi Friends

We've started a new blog project, and you'll find it at http://nwpocketmuseproject.blogspot.com. We're using a new prompt from the book The Pocket Muse every two weeks as inspiration for creative writing. We post anonymously - no one knows who wrote which piece. We'll write stories, fiction, nonfiction, poetry, lists, or whatever else we feel inspired to write, all based on the same prompt. If you'd like more information on joining the project, see me. Or just sign up to follow and read along.

love.

Waiting for the MAX, a parable.

This blog is brought to you by Karyn, Shannon, Annie, letter T, and the number 7.

Public transportation is hard.

You have to do a lot of things right. You have to get up on time. You have to manage to leave your house in one piece with everything you need, including your wallet. You have to arrive at the station with enough time to buy a ticket. You have know which direction you want to go and which train will take you there.

But even doing all these things doesn't guarantee you success, a lot of things can go wrong.

Sometimes, you wait and wait and wait and the MAX just doesn't show up. There's no announcement, no explanation, just that's it. The clock on the screen keeps changing and no train is in sight. This annoys you because you believed that if you did your part, showed up on time with ticket in hand the promised MAX would be there. The MAX is full of lies. You feel slighted and cheated and a little bit silly. You wonder if everyone else that is waiting knows something that you don't. You watch other people return to their cars or decide to walk and wonder if you should bail, too. But still you wait, confident that if you should leave, the MAX will arrive at the very moment you're too far away to run back to it.

Sometimes, the MAX shows up right on time. You, satisfied you, you board happily. You score a great seat. You pulled out the book you remembered to bring and you prepare yourself for the journey. Then, nothing happens. You're on the MAX but the MAX ain't movin' and you wait.

Sometimes, the MAX shows up earlier than you thought. You are not ready. The ticket machine won't print and you watch the train take off without you, maybe you wave.

Sometimes, you're halfway through your MAX trip and you realize it's not making the same stops it usually does. Something is terribly wrong. You blink twice and suddenly you're in Gresham, "what? how the heck did we get here?". Now you have to get off the MAX, turn around and start the whole process over in the other direction.

But sometimes, only sometimes, your train pulls in just when you're ready for it. You get a seat all to yourself. You don't even bother to open your book because you've hit the bridge just as the sun is coming up. Sometimes public transportation is reliable and easy and trustworthy and good.

So....which MAX are you on?