Vicki V. Lucas's Blog, page 12
March 8, 2012
HomeSchool
There is a great debate about home schooling and whether it is good or bad for kids. Since I am proud that I was home schooled, I can only say that I had a great experience where I loved learning and started college early. But, enough about me...this video says it all. Take a look.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJHt-m3VX6o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJHt-m3VX6o
March 2, 2012
Magic versus Miracles
Does God do magic? If you’ve ever read the Bible, you know that it’s full of God doing some rather magnificent things. Take a look at this short list.
Creation of everythingThe flood and re-birth of life afterwards Creations of languages Birth of Isaac The burning bush that doesn’t burn up Aaron’s rod changed into a serpentThe ten plagues of EgyptRed Sea dividedWaters sweetened, Manna sent dailyWater from a rock
And all of that is just in the first two books. In fact, I didn’t even get all the way through Exodus. What about the New Testament?
Blind men curedMoney in a fish’s mouthA deaf and dumb man curedJesus goes through a crowd, and no one sees himCool stuff, eh? But is this magic? Nope. These are miracles. The difference between the two is simple.
Miracle - God chooses to use supernatural powers. Sometimes miracles happen when we ask for them, and sometimes God throws them into our lives with little warning (John 9:1-7). Either way, miracles occur when God decides to intervene supernaturally in our lives – not when commanded to.
In contrast, magic is defined by Webster as “The use of charms, spells, etc. in seeking or pretending to control events; sorcery; witchcraft.” The key word I see here is control. Magic is about controlling the future, present, the weather, the sickness in your body.
Here’s the way I see the difference:
A miracle is when God chooses to do supernatural thingsMagic is when people try to control supernatural beings (God, angels, or demons) into using supernatural powers for themselves.
What do you think? Is it possible to control the supernatural?
February 9, 2012
Real Suffering
A story in the church bulletin caught my eye this week. In Gabon, West Africa, three Christian men were set afire by demon worshipping villagers. They were taken to a hospital where they received skin grafts. After a month there, they walked into their village and were greeted by believers. They sang and danced in praise to the Lord for miraculously saving the three men. Anyone would completely understand if those three men didn’t want to go back to that village. Yet they did, and they were shining examples what God can do.
The story made me think of a few questions:
What is the worst suffering I’ve ever done for Christ? (And my list doesn’t contain being burned.)Did I let God work through my suffering?Am I truly willing to let God work in my life the way He knows is best? As I continue to ponder this story, I am grateful for living where there is religious freedom and am reminded to pray for those in places where they are persecuted for their faith. I’m still mulling over these questions, but let me challenge you to think about the suffering for Christ you have done, are doing or are willing to do.
February 2, 2012
Abracadabra!
English is a funny language. I know. I used to teach people who spoke other languages how to write and speak English. Here are some examples.
There’s no ham in hamburger. No apple or pine in pineapples. Your nose runs and your feet smell. (Maybe. I can’t actually smell them from here. Thank God!) Most bathrooms don’t have any baths in them, and a dog can go to the bathroom under a tree – no bath, no room. Sometimes we go to the bathroom to go to the bathroom. Try to explain that to someone. Maybe you shouldn’t. It can get awfully embarrassing. Ever want a hot cup of coffee. Nope. You want a cup of hot coffee. Who cares if the cup is hot? Doughnut holes are really doughnut balls? The hole is in the middle of the doughnut. And why are doughnuts called nuts? Your alarm clock goes off by going on. If you live in the woods, you chop a tree down and then chop it up! English is the most widely spoken language in the history of our planet with over 380 million native speakers and over 700 million foreign language speakers. It has the largest vocabulary of all the world’s languages - perhaps as many as two million words, and we create words all the time. When I was growing up, we never heard of Google, chatrooms, an emoticon, or a widget. I’m not that old, either!
The thing that fascinates me the most is how words change in meaning. Apple is both a computer company and a fruit. But when you say “Let’s go to the Apple store”, most people are not picturing the fruit. (I did and was greatly disappointed when all I saw was electronics!) Cool is both a temperature and an attitude. Green is a color and a verb that means to be environmentally friendly. Hot is another temperature and can describe a good-looking person. Sweet is a taste, but now it is also an expression when we are excited or impressed.
But there is one word that wins the prize for the most changes. Know what it is? Magic! For instance...
To describe a special time or event that happened. “Last night was magical!” I think this usage is beginning to fade, being taken over by “Sweet!” When something works perfectly. “I caught the ball, jumped, and shot. It flew out of my hand and into the basket like magic.” I hear my husband using this one when the car breaks down, and he fixes it easily. Work my magic. This usage replaces “charm” with “magic”. Let’s say you really want something, so you go to the person who has it, and you are as nice and sweet as you can be. The person gives it to you. Your friends ask “How did you do that?” Your response... “I worked my magic.”To describe tricks. When you go see a magician, you know it’s not magic. You know there’s a compartment in the hat that hides the rabbit. (Sorry if you didn’t, but now you do.) In fact, the most fun is to try to figure out how the “magician” is tricking you. In my experience, the knowledge is not as much fun as the astonishment of the trick.
However, the definition in the dictionary and the real meaning of magic is...
the use of charms or spells believed to have supernatural power over natural forcesthe art of producing a desired effect or result through the use of incantation or various other techniques that presumably assure human control of supernatural agencies or the forces of nature.
A few of its synonyms are bewitchment, black art, charm, curse, demon worship, devilry, enchantment, incantation, occult, Satanism, sorcery, spell, witchcraft, witchery, and wizardry. Not the happy Disney image we normally get, is it?
“But wait”, you cry! “You’re talking about BLACK magic. There’s good magic.” Good wizards or sorcerers use magic for good. Evil wizards use magic for evil. Look at The Princess and the Frog, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, and Harry Potter. These stories, and many more, feature a good wizard or two battling the evil. Makes for a decent story line, but it’s impossible.
Magic is immoral. Period.
But what about J.R.R Tolkien and C.S. Lewis? They had magic in their books! Did they? Or was it just one more different meaning to the word? Read through the definition of magic again, and we’ll deal with Tolkien and Lewis later. Right now I want to know about your opinions.
What do you think? Can magic be good AND evil? Or is it always evil?
There’s no ham in hamburger. No apple or pine in pineapples. Your nose runs and your feet smell. (Maybe. I can’t actually smell them from here. Thank God!) Most bathrooms don’t have any baths in them, and a dog can go to the bathroom under a tree – no bath, no room. Sometimes we go to the bathroom to go to the bathroom. Try to explain that to someone. Maybe you shouldn’t. It can get awfully embarrassing. Ever want a hot cup of coffee. Nope. You want a cup of hot coffee. Who cares if the cup is hot? Doughnut holes are really doughnut balls? The hole is in the middle of the doughnut. And why are doughnuts called nuts? Your alarm clock goes off by going on. If you live in the woods, you chop a tree down and then chop it up! English is the most widely spoken language in the history of our planet with over 380 million native speakers and over 700 million foreign language speakers. It has the largest vocabulary of all the world’s languages - perhaps as many as two million words, and we create words all the time. When I was growing up, we never heard of Google, chatrooms, an emoticon, or a widget. I’m not that old, either!
The thing that fascinates me the most is how words change in meaning. Apple is both a computer company and a fruit. But when you say “Let’s go to the Apple store”, most people are not picturing the fruit. (I did and was greatly disappointed when all I saw was electronics!) Cool is both a temperature and an attitude. Green is a color and a verb that means to be environmentally friendly. Hot is another temperature and can describe a good-looking person. Sweet is a taste, but now it is also an expression when we are excited or impressed.
But there is one word that wins the prize for the most changes. Know what it is? Magic! For instance...
To describe a special time or event that happened. “Last night was magical!” I think this usage is beginning to fade, being taken over by “Sweet!” When something works perfectly. “I caught the ball, jumped, and shot. It flew out of my hand and into the basket like magic.” I hear my husband using this one when the car breaks down, and he fixes it easily. Work my magic. This usage replaces “charm” with “magic”. Let’s say you really want something, so you go to the person who has it, and you are as nice and sweet as you can be. The person gives it to you. Your friends ask “How did you do that?” Your response... “I worked my magic.”To describe tricks. When you go see a magician, you know it’s not magic. You know there’s a compartment in the hat that hides the rabbit. (Sorry if you didn’t, but now you do.) In fact, the most fun is to try to figure out how the “magician” is tricking you. In my experience, the knowledge is not as much fun as the astonishment of the trick.
However, the definition in the dictionary and the real meaning of magic is...
the use of charms or spells believed to have supernatural power over natural forcesthe art of producing a desired effect or result through the use of incantation or various other techniques that presumably assure human control of supernatural agencies or the forces of nature.
A few of its synonyms are bewitchment, black art, charm, curse, demon worship, devilry, enchantment, incantation, occult, Satanism, sorcery, spell, witchcraft, witchery, and wizardry. Not the happy Disney image we normally get, is it?
“But wait”, you cry! “You’re talking about BLACK magic. There’s good magic.” Good wizards or sorcerers use magic for good. Evil wizards use magic for evil. Look at The Princess and the Frog, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, and Harry Potter. These stories, and many more, feature a good wizard or two battling the evil. Makes for a decent story line, but it’s impossible.
Magic is immoral. Period.
But what about J.R.R Tolkien and C.S. Lewis? They had magic in their books! Did they? Or was it just one more different meaning to the word? Read through the definition of magic again, and we’ll deal with Tolkien and Lewis later. Right now I want to know about your opinions.
What do you think? Can magic be good AND evil? Or is it always evil?
January 11, 2012
How To Help
A lot of people have been asking me how they can help spread the word, so I thought I would give you a list of ideas of some things you could do. Of course, this is voluntary, but if you do any of the following, you will earn my undying gratitude. And isn’t that what you’ve always wanted?
Buy It. This is a pretty obvious one, but it needs to be said. Encourage other people to buy the book like coworkers, family members, friends, enemies, strangers, etc. Don't wait for the holidays to buy the book as a gift. By the way, it makes a great gift because there’s a great chance the person hasn’t read it yet! The quicker books go out the door, the more confidence and excitement I have. Also, media and other decision makers pick up on a book based on the momentum the book inspires. The more sales at the beginning of the book's life, the more attention it will get from key decision makers, the media, and consumers. Recommend It. If you like the book, review it on Amazon.com, BN.com, GoodReads, and other reader social networks. Tweet a review. Share a note on Facebook. Any one of these ideas gives other people more information while they are making a decision to purchase. This doesn’t mean you have to write something wonderful. Just share what you like about it. Amazon It. Amazon is so large, especially with ebooks, that I’m going to deal with it separately. Helping Toxic get found on Amazon can give me a giant boost.Write a review. There's evidence that ratings and reviews factor into the Amazon algorithms that decide which books are promoted on the site. If reviewing isn't your thing, just pen a few sentences with a couple of specifics about why you liked the book.Tag it with genre-appropriate labels (Christian Young Adult Fantasy). All you need is an account at Amazon. A combination of the right tags and a good sales ranking can make a book come up when customers search for things on Amazon.Give it a thumbs up. This takes less than a second and probably doesn't do much, but it’s fun to give a thumbs up, and it will generate activity on Toxic’s page.If you have a Kindle, highlight. Find some quotations from the book and share them. If enough people share their highlights, they’ll show up at the bottom of a book’s page.Recommend it. Link to it from your website, blog, Facebook page, etc. Tweet about it. Feel free to link to a blog post, or share it on Facebook. If you have your own blog, blog once or twice about the book. Make sure you tell me because I can repay the favor by mentioning your blog if you like. Advise It. I’ve already gotten some great ideas on marketing from some of you, but I can take all that you have. You may have some talent, connection, specialized knowledge, etc. that might be just the thing I need. Shoot me an email, call me, or message me on Facebook if you have a great...or good...idea!Champion It. When you visit bookstores, make sure they have my book in stock. If they do, then put the book face out on the bookshelf.Forget it. Accidently leave your copy somewhere like the doctor’s office. Leave it for a few weeks until you pick it up again. If at doctor’s office, make sure to carefully wipe off with hand sanitizer. Seriously, if you can afford to buy a few extra copies, start leaving them around. Donate a copy to the library. Each additional book out there helps get contact. You never know who will pick it up. Connect It. Share it with your book club, or suggest to someone you know who is in a book club. Hook up with your church’s youth group. The best way would be to approach the leaders about it and explain why you think it’s a good book for the teens to read. Some people have already bought an extra copy to give to their youth pastor in hopes that he will recommend it to his youth group. Request it. Go into your local bookstore and ask for it. If they say they don’t have it, look extremely disappointed. If they offer to have it shipped in, say sadly, “No, thanks. I’ll just get it off of Amazon.” Then leave. If enough people continue to do this over a period of time, the manager will probably get desperate and buy a few copies.Charge it. If you have a credit card, buy as many as your limit will allow. Forget Dave Ramsey in this gesture of kindness. (Just kidding. I’m a huge Dave Ramsey fan, and I hope he’ll forgive me for this joke.)Promote it. My book can be brought into any bookstore or library. If you are motivated enough, show to it your local librarian, the person in charge of your church’s library, or any bookstore. Pray It. Prayer always helps. Pray for me and his book. Pray that I’ll get this mountain of work done, pray that the book reaches someone who needs to be strengthened in his/her walk with God, pray that it brings someone to personal relationship with Christ.
