Plotting & Evaluation – October 23, 2024 (312/365)

Plotting

You’ve probably noticed I’ve been pretty ‘itchy’ when it comes to my typing as of late, and I really should check myself – it’s not really supposed to be about just me hitting my goal of 365000 words before the end of the year, more than it should be about me, well, writing for what writing’s worth: Clarification of the mind, organizing of thoughts, and picking up stuff I wouldn’t have drawn out of this brain any other way.

It’s not about me trying to write enough to say I wrote the equivalent of a thousand words a day for every day this year, more than it is about me just defragmenting my brain, the same way exercise defragments my body (well, and the brain too, really) – AND also expanding on single-line concepts, or exploring other ideas that are worth sitting down and not only thinking, but writing about.

To that note I’d like to just quickly mention here, what I’m up to with my writing, and other things I plan to write about:

1. A Proper Appraisal – Commentary of some prophetic words spoken to me almost 10 years ago. These words hold weight because the same person who shared them to me also shared words which ministered to a good mentor of mine, who has since taken action.
2. Seasonal Inventory – Expounding on thoughts that I’ve scribbled down as of last month, and this month, which I believe would make their own contribution to when the said prophetic words actually DO turn 10 years old, in a little less than a month from now.
   1. Actually, at this point let me just mention that the words ‘Appraisal’ and ‘Inventory’ popped up as I thought about getting all my thoughts together for this – critical – season, with so much happening around me, this country, the USA and around the world. Another word that I’m holding onto that seems to be describing this season is ‘renaissance’  – ‘rebirth’, or ‘a revival of or renewed interest in something.’
   2. Maybe I should also be writing about this ⬆️Renaissance in a dedicated article.
3. The Usual Messages for Sunday – We’ve ended the book of Romans, and after this coming Sunday’s message (which I will be writing on here, after I get past this section), I’m going to be writing on the following:
   1. The Book of 2 Timothy – Filled with all sorts of advice from Paul to his disciple Timothy, I thought this would pull the spotlight over the importance of our youth, and the critical need to minister to the next generations.
   2. 1 Thessalonians 5 – At one point I was thinking we may be drawing our theme for 2025 here, in line with the ‘School’ theme of the main church.

So, okay, that’s currently going on, or definitely things I will be writing about… then there’s the following:

4. ‘The Good Steward’ – I’d like to take Naval Ravikant’s enormously popular set of Tweets (or Posts, if you’re a hardcore X-supporter) entitled ‘How to Get Rich (without getting lucky)’ (link), and do some eisegesis, exegesis, or just analysis on how it aligns with the Bible. I’m calling it ‘The Good Steward’ series because ‘Christian Naval’ somehow doesn’t sound right to me.
5. ‘The Hitpiece’ – Let’s just say that a certain member of another sect thought it was appropriate for me to read a pamphlet that he apparently shares to just anyone (even pastors), which asserts that their church is the only way to salvation. I still have the envelope here and I have no intentions of throwing it away before I go through it and eviscerate respond to it.
   1. Sure, this may be another scenario where I’m doing the ‘right’ thing for the wrong reasons, which is why, as early as now, I’m praying about it.

Finally, here are some ‘dormant’ series I’ve seen as categories on my WordPress, which I’d love to come back to sometime soon:

6. Operation Brentbriar – Started this last year, the goal behind this project was, I guess, to document my own delving into AI, and getting stuff together so I have a local, offline AI installed on my laptop that’s fed with a whole bunch of documents, including all my writings, and so on. I mean, that’s off the top of my head but I’m pretty sure I went into specifics. Definitely want to get this done soon.
7. The Psalm 119 Project – I was supposed to do this like a devotional of sorts – to write about each letter in the Hebrew ‘acrostic’ style this longest psalm was written in.
8. The Roman Road – Well, we’ve finished this, but I was thinking of fixing it up so we can print it as an ebook, or, God-willing, a real book. That would be awesome.

So that’s a lot to finish in the next couple of weeks! God willing, I get everything together, and at the very least, make some significant progress in all of these projects, with enough time to take it all in, exhale, and meditate.

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Evaluation

This coming Sunday, I’m going to do a ‘throwback’ of sorts, discussing things we’ve mentioned at the beginning of the year, approximately 10 months later.

And off the top of my head, I’m pretty sure I talked in length regarding trusting in the Lord, at the very first months of 2024. We went through Psalm 20 extensively, and I know that we also went through some parts of the book of Romans, particularly where it mentions how, when we place our trust in the Lord, we shall never be put to shame.

I’ve noticed that the Second Quarter of each year, I’m finding myself a little dull. It’s the period where we celebrate our Anniversary as the afternoon service, and when I also need to step away from any series I got going, to give way for Mothers’ Day and Fathers’ Day. I do remember that these were the Sundays where we sort of shifted from our intentional trusting in the Lord, to realizing just how trustworthy our God is.

Oh, it WAS around this Second Quarter that I turned 40, and at the time it seemed as if so much was happening week after week, and it felt initially as if the increase in difficulty was too much to handle.

It was during these times, through all the property disputes, and all the drama going on at church, and so on, that I found myself telling whoever was within the sound of my voice at the time, something along the lines of being thankful during times we’ve noticed are more difficult than usual, only because it causes us to be that much more intentional in trusting in the Lord.

The Third Quarter was when we took on the mighty task of going through the book of Romans, chapter after chapter, week after week. It was a bumpy but very pleasurable ride, where we learned so much more about the finished work of Christ, and how it ties in to our salvation, and vice versa.

And here we are. We’re around three quarters through the first month of the final quarter of the year 2024, and, well, looking at all that’s happening now compared to April, and compared to January? Well, first off, the Word was absolutely correct – we MUST trust in the Lord, and let’s not be surprised if we are not put to shame!

Also, I’ve learned how trusting in the Lord may or may not be with expectations – I mean, we can’t necessarily trust in the Lord to do as we want or expect… but we CAN trust Him, and He responds to our wants and our desires according to His infinite power, eternal wisdom, and everlasting love!

Just a while back I shared to the folks who braved the risky weather to join our midweek service, that we can continue to lift our desires to Him, no matter how petty or how selfish they may sound… but we have peace no matter what, because He has responded, by fulfilling all His promises to us – all through Christ!

Let’s put it this way.  The same way we work FROM faith and not FOR it, and the same way we forgive FROM our forgiveness, and not for us TO be forgiven… I say we can make our desires known to God, BECAUSE He has fulfilled and is fulfilling His promises to us.

In this, we’ve learned how Christ is as much the Source as He is the Destination – and consequently, we appreciate His being the First AND the Last, the Alpha AND the Omega, the Beginning AND the End.

Now, obviously, I’m going to have to look through all this again with a sharper mind…

But in the plotting and in the evaluation, let me just say:

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6

Above all, He is to be trusted. As it was during the start of this year, up until these moments. Let us trust in the Lord – everyone who places their trust in Him will never be put to shame.

Not sure if I made any value here, but here are the plans for the coming weeks, and for this coming Sunday. By God’s grace, I will keep working, I will keep writing all I can about all of it.

To God be all the glory and praise.

Until the next post, God bless us all, greatly, abundantly, and completely. Amen and amen.

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