Is anyone using twitter as a medium for short fiction? #shortshortstory I didn't get much response back and pretty much left it there, but about a month later one of my writer friends from UNCG days, Chris C., had received the tweet and asked me if I was going to be entering the TweetFiction Twitter stream contest. Contest, what contest?
| TweetFiction | Background |
|---|---|
| Know how fast you're going? Speedometer. Check. Know where you are? GPS. Check. So, when do you want to go to in #Schrodinger's car? #TBSFA | Schrodinger's Car - draft short story |
| The 5th Atheist Crusade killed 99% of true believers, a few prayed giving thanks 4 all. One final Crusade & the sun never rose again. #TBSFA | The Last Sunset - draft short story |
| The first signs of the deadly black hole cluster devouring galaxies came from afar, as the stars in the sky shifted from red to blue. #TBSFA | Brand new |
| Werewolf grooms for her / She plans . . . he'll join her tonight! / Surprise! Vampire pups. #TBSFA #haiku | Nuzzles and Bites, No Howling - short story combined with my friend's sequel The Dog Catcher retold as tweet and haiku |
| Travel to the alternate universe was impossible, but data was easy & once the alternet was setup the movie downloads were to die for. #TBSFA | Story Concept inspired by desire to view episodes for TV shows cancelled or great films that were ruined (e.g., Firefly, the fifth season of Babylon 5 that would have been produced if JMS's notes on 5th season hadn't been lost at hotel during convention, Alien Ressurrection with the ending filmed as Joss Whedon' had intended, and many others) |
| Earl breathed, tucked his tail & sprinted, Tires screached & cheers chattered down from the trees and telephone wires. #RiteOfPassage #TBSFA | Squirrel Rite of Passage Story Concept |
| Timemachine connects to iPad, launches chron app, quick check of 2morrow's stocks & he's rich! iOS 9 installs...update failed. Retry? #TBSFA | Chrond Geek Fiction Short Story Concept inspired by the notion of alternative uses of the crond unix process |
| The dark elf pulled the jack of the smart gun from his temple No way! he yelled at the producer That dragon's real, princess can burn #TBSFA | Merging two role playing games in consecutive years of StellarCon: Drow Quest, an AD&D game in which dark elves are on a quest to save the evil princess from the good dragon, and Drow Quest II: Sweet Home, Seattle a Shadowrun game in which the dark elves from the original Drow Quest are transported to a cyberpunk world in which magic and technology coexist, provided new technology and are sent on missions as part of a reality TV show: "ratings are high" |
What is truly taking place in our lives is not determined by random ups and downs of our personal and communal lives, but rather by the events of Christ's life being realized among us in and through the church.Nowhere in the Coptic Orthodox tradition is this experienced more fully than during Holy Week (Holy Pascha) following the Great Lent which ends today. We follow the events that happened during this week in real time:
It is Advent, Christ is coming;That is what is truly happening! All other events -- personal, social, or political -- derive their meaning from the Christ-event.
it is Christmas, Christ is being born;
it is Lent, Christ is suffering;
it is Holy Week, Christ is dying;
it is Easter, Christ is risen;
it is Pentecost, Christ is sending his Spirit.
On Palm Sunday, we follow the Lord Christ on His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. We then follow the Lord Christ on His way to the Cross through the Passover or Holy Pascha, the Passover that the children of Israel were commnded to keep in remembrance of the Lord passing them over in the last plague against the Egyptians . . . passing them over because of the lamb's blood on their doors. It is the Passover that foretells of the sacrifice of the Lord Christ on the Cross, that we may be passed over in the final judgement.
The Holy Pascha readings follow the older reckoning of days. On what we would normally term as Sunday evening, we find the beginning of Monday with Monday Evening. Mornings and evenings throughout Holy Week are steaped in prayer and worship. The path of Christ to the Cross is experienced through prophetic readings from the Old Testament, interpretations and meditations from the early Christian fathers, and readings from the New Testament in which the prophecies are fulfilled.
On Holy Thursday we learn of the betrayal kiss of Judas, who was one of the disciples, performed miracles, and, yet, he fell, setting the Lord on the path to the Cross. Oh Lord, that You would give us the strength to be firm in our faith and not betray You! Thursday is also the day in which the Lord washes the feet of the Apostles, teaching them that true leadership is to serve with a heart of humility. Holy Thursday is sometimes referred to as Covenant Thursday, as it is when the Lord declared the new covenant with the Last Supper, the Passover meal that declares the new Passover.
On Good Friday, we follow the Lord as he is tortured and crucified, those same voices who heralded His entry into Jerusalem, now condemn Him to death. The services end as Joseph of Arimathea takes Christ's body down from the Cross to bind in linens and spices and place in Joseph's tomb (see John 19:38-41).
On Bright Saturday, we sit outside Christ's tomb from midnight to early Saturday morning readings from prophecies, the New Testament and all of the Book of Revelations, culminating in an early morning Liturgy.
If you want to learn more about how the Coptic Church celebrates Easter, Premier Christian Media has produced a wonderful presentation called A Very Coptic Easter or follow the Coptic experience as they trend #CopticPascha on Twitter.Then later on Saturday, Sunday evening by the old reckoning, a lovely Liturgical service from 7pm to midnight during the peak of which the lights are dimmed and with a loud noise, the seal of the Tomb is broken and Christ is Risen!!! , Death is defeated and the Feast of the Ressurrection on Easter Sunday is celebrated!!!
by Henri Nouwen (UK
)
, UK
) - also available on Kindle in both countries!!
“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Then it happened, as He was coming near Jericho, that a certain blind man sat by the road begging. 36 And hearing a multitude passing by, he asked what it meant. So they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. And he cried out, saying, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him. And when he had come near, He asked him, saying, “What do you want Me to do for you?”
He said, “Lord, that I may receive my sight.”Then Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he received his sight, and followed Him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.
I sleep, but my heart is awake;Try it, repeat the Jesus Prayer over and over and over again, following the rhythm of another activity that we do without ceasing:
Song of Solomon 5:2
(breathe in) Lord, Jesus Christ, son of God,Just try it, and see if it doesn't make a difference in your life!
(breathe out) have mercy on me, a sinner.
always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in youStand up and listen to the Holy Gospel, a reading from the Holy Gospel according to our teacher Saint Luke (as read by Linus) . . .
- 1 Peter 3:15 NKJV
Sermon on the Epistle Reading
From today's apostolic reading we learn, on the one hand, about St. Paul's love for his own Jewish people and followers of the old Law; and on the other, we hear explicitly that our salvation comes not through the Law but from Christ, whose followers we are in our capacity as Christians. There are two sets of distinct moral teachings resulting from today's first reading:
- As Christians and therefore as followers of Christ, we need to respect and love the nation through which we came into the world with a true and healthy sense of patriotism which must never degenerate into a nationalistic approach. St. Paul himself loved his own people and sho should we, each one of us, in our double capacity as children of the Church and also as children of our own nation. But as Christians we are obliged at the same time to love all people, because all people, irrespective of skin colour or language are our brothers and sisters in Christ, being made in the same image of God as we are ourselves. This is why St. Paul, while praying for his own Jewish people, nevertheless calls 'brothers' all Christian gentiles of Rome whom he wants to bring into the light and truth of God. The Apostle's example is therefore vividly clear: on the one hand love for his own people while on the other brotherhood to all peoples.
- Today's reading reminds us all that we all have, at our own disposal the means for personal salvation as well as for moral Christian conduct: the Church with its hierarchy, whereby we receive the necessary Divine and uncreated Grace of God, the Holy Scriptures, the Holy Tradition of the Church containing its own living memory of all that the Lord has done and said for our salvation, and the teachings of our Arch-Pastors who teach us the word of the Truth, i.e., Christ Crucified and Risen from the dead, Who lives and remains with us in the Holy Spirit to the end of the ages. Amen.
