Dana Mentink
A Red White and Blue Quiz
So how did your Fourth of July celebration shape up? Ours was…well…lackluster, to say the least. Normally, we’d have the fam over for a cookout with Papa Bear’s grilled hot dogs and plenty of vegetarian sides for Boo Boo Bear (my youngest). I’d crank up the John Phillip Sousa marches and we’d enjoy our time together. Except well…you know. The shelter in place thing has changed our plans, at least for the time being.
In the words of Benjamin Franklin “energy and persistence conquer all things.” In that vein, I will persevere in my need to have a little patriotic fun and offer up a little red, white and blue reader quiz. All the questions are related to books, authors and writing.
Are you ready? It’s time to test yourself and don’t worry…the answers are below the photo. Are you ready? Here we go!
Red Questions:
- This book with ‘red’ in the title was written in 1960. It is a book about two children and their funny animal friends.
- This 1987 thriller with ‘red’ in the title is about World War Three between the U.S and the Soviet Union.
White Questions:
- This author’s first name was Elwyn, which he never liked so he shorted his name into initials. He wrote for the New Yorker and penned several novels which are beloved by children, including one about a pig and a spider.
- This product used to be a writer’s best friend. It was originally called Mistake Out and was invented by Bette Nesmith Graham in 1951.She made in product in her blender and sold it to friends starting in 1956.
Blue Questions:
- Who wrote The Mystery of the Blue Train, in which a famous mustachioed detective solves the case of a missing ruby?
- Which Sherlock Holmes story tells the tale of a missing jewel and a dead goose?
Answers:
- One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish
- Red Storm Rising
- B. White
- White Out (Liquid Paper)
- Agatha Christie
- The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle
Julie B. Cosgrove
A Good Change
Most of us have experienced enough change in 2020 to last us a lifetime. Yet many of us resist change. I hear people say, “I am happy in my comfort zone. I don’t like change.” I nod my head. I agree. Change is uncomfortable, and a bit unnerving. You do not know how to prepare for something when you have never experienced it before.
However, that is what life is all about. Babies change into toddlers, who change into children, who change into teens, who change, hopefully, into adults. Our bodies change to be able to procreate, and for us women, changes as a baby develops inside of us. As we age, our bodies change as well. In fact, science tells us that through the regeneration of our cells, we are new beings every seven years!
Socially we go through changes as well. Think of all the firsts in your life. First day at school. First date. First kiss. First child. First job. All of these required a change. Perhaps the love in your marriage changed. As life happens, people change.
To be honest, only eternal things never change, because they are already perfected. Heaven doesn’t change. Christ’s victory over death is solid. God never will change His mind and renege on His promises. He is constant, consistent, and unchanging by nature. What is Truth today was Truth yesterday and will be tomorrow.
The author in Hebrews explains that “Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath” (Hebrews 6:17).
David tells us in Psalm 145:13, Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does.
If anyone experienced God’s everlasting faithfulness through turmoil and strife, it was David. From being a shepherd to a soldier, to being anointed then hunted, to being the apple of God’s eye to being an adulterous murderer, and back to becoming a great ruler, David lived life’s changes. In all of it he knew of God’s consistency and trusted in it.
But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children— Psalm 103:7.
The only things we can count upon never altering are God’s love, His commandments, and His covenants.
So, I want to offer a good change:
Christ
Helps
Alter
Negatively
Geared
Emotions.
Do you recall the movie, Twister, where the two storm chasers are caught in an F5 tornado? They strapped themselves to pipes in a shed that were anchored deep into the ground. Though everything swirled around them, they were safe, and even witnessed the beauty in the vortex of the twister.
Anchoring ourselves in the eternal keeps the changes in this life from swirling our thoughts and emotions. When we begin to realize that Christ is always with us, His Holy Spirit will never leave us, and Our Father in Heaven awaits us at the throne, we have a firm foundation onto which to stand. The gales of life cannot topple our faith nor damage our joy.
So, instead of resisting change, groaning about how horrid it can be, and gritting your teeth through it, acknowledge that it is a part of life. Don’t give into a fear of the unknown but hold onto the Truth that you know. Realize that God already is aware of not only the current change but what the future will hold. There is no need to worry. He is here today and will be there tomorrow. Just grasp onto Him and hold on.
You will ride out this storm.
In the Relatively Seeking Mysteries, three friends discover that life can a change quickly when family dynamics topple. Their faith keeps them steady as they work to solve the mysteries.