#nor'easter verse
Text
The Beginning of the End
The beginning of the French & Indian War (North American Theatre of the Seven Years' War) ft Rich/Virginia, Jonah/West Virginia, & Charles/New France (c. @gardenkeeper)
In my lore, Alfred was by no means the favored colony, and Arthur, while he sort of cared for his colonies in a way, he was just too busy to properly keep track of them (hence the salutary neglect). Alfred is a staunch New Englander, and quite frankly it makes sense. New England always had more of a bone to pick with the British Empire than the tidewater south ever did...so this brings me to Rich/Virginia...
I like to think of Rich as the favorite of Arthur's British colonies given that Rich is more influenced by this southern English gentry culture that I see Arthur being influenced by too. Alfred is more eastern English in nature.
Rich has this typical southern gentleman attitude. Takes life too easily, quite the flirt, and quite charming, but he can be quite entitled especially given the fact he's basically the favorite out of the 13 and Alfred. ANYWAYS, what's happening in this picture?:
For context, neither Alfred, or his states' "first war" was the American Revolution-- quite frankly I dislike this hc because it ignores wars with Indigenous nations, and also ignores some of the reasoning behind isolationism. Also it sometimes come off as if you do not view Indigenous nations as sovereign and separate entities of the settler-colonial project.
Essentially these colonies were getting dragged into European fights albeit it in the North American theatre ex: Queen Anne's War/War of Spanish Succession. Some were getting tired of being in these fights because they were not reaping the benefits aka gaining more land....this led to Rich thinking he could get away with anything. Right? Arthur wouldn't care much if Rich, and his half-brother Jonah, roughed up some French colony asshole, Charles and just took his land because after all, they all hate the French anyways. Or so that's what Rich thought....he would come to find out he overstepped with Arthur because he essentially forced Arthur's hand into the Seven Years' War by getting Arthur further embroiled into another conflict with Francis.
This would lead Arthur to become more harsh with his colonies (ex trying to enforce one english national culture rather than let them proliferate with different english + some other cultural backgrounds) and would lead him to more closely govern.
#hetalia#aph#hws#hetalia oc#aph oc#hws oc#hetalia virginia#aph virginia#hws virginia#hetalia west virginia#hws west virginia#aph west virginia#historical hetalia#hetalia new france#aph new france#hws new france#nor'easter verse#hetalia headcanons#statetalia#hetalia america#aph america#hws america
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top 5 new to you in 2023 shows/movies, top 5 songs you discovered this year!
mads!! ty!! i'm gonna do both shows and movies bc i have too many to pick from...
top 5 shows
avatar the last airbender (so glad i finally got around to this masterpiece)
the bear (worth every ounce of anxiety)
slow horses (river cartwright i'm obsessed with you)
one piece (this show surprised me in the best way!!)
the killing (i loved fully falling into this show)
honorable mentions to bad sisters, feel good, and black sails (which i still haven't finished just yet)
top 5 movies
nope (one of my new favourite movies!!)
spiderman across the spider-verse (no explanation needed)
bottoms (exactly what i wanted this film to be)
the favourite (shouldn't have taken me so long to watch this)
the sum of us (PRECIOUS story for 1994)
top 5 songs
living like this - petey
we'll never have sex - leith ross
love is a black soul ! - martin luke brown
cheerleader - liza anne
715 CR∑∑KS - the nor'easters
#the reason this took so long is i started it on mobile#minimized the app and it disappeared completely 🙃#but here we are!!!#asks#ask game#manycoloureddays
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Clinging to the
Promises of God
You remain in control
In the middle of the war
You guard my soul
I take great
comfort in
knowing
God’s in control,
Don’t you?
Hello!
You’ve found the
Senior Adult
Sunday school class
for
Corinth Baptist Church
in
Singleton, Ms.
The title of our lesson
for today is:
Clinging to the
Promises of God
This will be the 2nd in a
5-session series under the
general heading of;
Facing Adversity.
We’ll be drawing Scripture
from the 27th chapter of
the Book of Acts.
You know,
there are more
than 7,000 promises
from God to us
written in
His Word.
One of the 1st things
that came to my mind
when I read that was
the question:
”Why?
I mean, why would
God make so many promises
to humanity?”
The overriding
answer to
that would be that
He wants
for us to simply…………..
trust Him.
So, how can we know that
this Bronze-Age book,
the Bible, is really God’s
word to us?
That would be because
the Bible proves itself.
I don’t know of another
book ever written
that declares
future events with
unerring accuracy.
Over 25% of the Bible
is prophetic.
Peter wrote in
2nd Peter 1:19-21;
19. So we have the
prophetic word
strongly confirmed.
You will do well to
pay attention to it,
as to a lamp shining
in a dismal place,
until the day dawns
and the morning star
rises in your hearts.
20. First of all,
you should know this:
No prophecy of Scripture
comes from one’s own
interpretation,
21. because no prophecy
ever came by the will of man;
instead, men spoke
from God as they were
moved by the Holy Spirit.
God spoke through men
the words of prophecy.
But, can we really believe
the prophesies,
or the promises of
God to us?
Well,
if many
of the prophecies
actually did
come to pass
when and where
they were foretold,
I’d say that
was confirmation
that the words
of the Bible are true.
To this day,
we remember
what happened on
Palm Sunday.
Jesus fulfilled
the prophecy
that He would
come into Jerusalem
riding on a donkey
and be hailed as the
King of the Jews.
But did you know
that He did this
on exactly the day
that Daniel had
prophesied he would?
Daniel made the prediction
more than 500 years before
it happened.
Think about it.
500 years
before it happened,
a man wrote
down the prophecy
that the Messiah
would enter Jerusalem
riding on a donkey.
AND, he predicted
the exact day
it would happen.
That’s just one prophecy
that was fulfilled exactly
as it had been predicted.
Anyone can go
onto the internet,
search for
fulfilled prophecies,
and discover that
there are many, many
of them.
Many more are yet to
be fulfilled;
but they will be
because so many of them
have already proven
the fact that
the Bible is
completely accurate.
If the prophecies
are true,
certainly the promises
are as well.
And if the
promises are true,
then why
wouldn’t we
trust God completely?
In today’s lesson
we’ll be learning
of Paul’s shipwreck
as he is being taken
to Rome.
Paul demonstrates
his unshakable faith
and trust in God
through this
harrowing situation.
Section 1:
Acts 27:21-24;
21. Since many were
going without food,
Paul stood up among them
and said,
“You men should have
followed my advice
not to sail from Crete and
sustain this damage and loss.
22. Now I urge you to
take courage,
because there will be no
loss of any of your lives,
but only of the ship.
23. For this night an angel
of the God I belong to and
serve stood by me,
24. and said,
‘Don’t be afraid, Paul.
You must stand before Caesar.
And, look!
God has graciously given you
all those who are sailing
with you.’
Finally, after two years of
being under arrest in
Caesarea, Paul was, at last
on his way to Rome.
But these folks
weren't on a sleek
catamaran zipping over
the waves and making
short work of a voyage
from Caesarea Maritime
to Rome.
Instead, they were
transferring from one
large, slow moving,
grain vessel to
another painstakingly
making their way
to their
destination.
It's late autumn and
their progress was
being hindered by
unfavorable winds.
The captain of the
vessel they were on
had intended to sail
west from Cnidus,
but instead had been
forced to sail
southwest toward
Crete.
They had sailed around
the southern coast of
Crete and landed at the
port of Fair Heavens.
The Roman Centurion
that was in charge of
the prisoners had
decided that this
would not be a good
place to hold up for
the winter; and the
captain of the grain
ship they were traveling
on said he was
confident that he could
make the crossing to
Italy.
The problem was that it
was late fall.
At this time of the year,
that region of the
Mediterranean experienced
seasonal storms called
Euroclydon, (U Rock Lee Don).
Like the American Nor'easter,
these storms were fierce and
could last for many days.
Paul had been warned in his
spirit to try to dissuade
the centurion and the captain
from attempting the crossing,
but didn't prevail.
Now they found themselves
in the midst of one of these
terrible storms.
The ship was being battered
and the 276 passengers and
crew were wrestling with
the very real fear that
they might not survive.
It was at this time that
Paul stood up and told them
that they should have
listened to him.
He didn't say that as an
"I told you so" but rather
that they might now
believe the words coming
out of his mouth.
He told them to take courage
because he had been informed
by an angel that though
the ship they were on was
going to be lost, none of
them were going to die.
Because they were all
aware of Paul's warning
not to leave Fair Heavens,
what he was now saying to
them carried the
weight of credibility.
Now, last week I pointed
out that Nero had ordered
the Christians in Rome
to be killed.
In the telling of that
episode, I voiced my
opinion that Paul had
probably not had the
opportunity to stand
before Caesar.
But in verse 24 of our
lesson for today,
the angel talking to
Paul on that storm-tossed
ship, told him that he
must stand before Caesar.
I don't know it he ever
actually did, the Bible
doesn't tell me one way or
the other.
But I want to make something
perfectly clear here.
Like an onion,
the Scriptures and God's
Truth comes to all of
us in layers.
When God so chooses for
each of us to discover
something deeper in His
Word, He'll peel back
another layer for us.
Who knows?
Maybe, some day, God will
show me in His Word,
of by His Spirit,
that Paul did, in fact,
have the opportunity to
stand before Nero.
Now, back to the Scripture
of today's lesson.
The message that Paul relayed
to the others on the ship
was a reassurance that they
were all going to survive
this terrible storm.
And it's the idea that
leads us into the next section.
It's entitled....
Section 2:
Encourage Others to
Trust in God.
Acts 27:30-38;
30. Some sailors tried
to escape from the ship;
they had let down the skiff
into the sea,
pretending that they were
going to put out anchors
from the bow.
31. Paul said to the centurion
and the soldiers,
“Unless these men
stay in the ship,
you cannot be saved.”
32. Then the soldiers
cut the ropes holding
the skiff and let it drop away.
33. When it was about daylight,
Paul urged them all to
take food, saying,
“Today is the fourteenth day
that you have been waiting
and going without food,
having eaten nothing.
34. Therefore I urge you
to take some food.
For this has to do with
your survival,
since none of you will lose
a hair from your head.”
35. After he said these things
and had taken some bread,
he gave thanks to God
in the presence of all of them,
and when he broke it,
he began to eat.
36. They all became encouraged
and took food themselves.
37. In all there were 276 of us on the ship.
38. When they had eaten enough,
they began to lighten the ship
by throwing the grain overboard
into the sea.
So, there again,
we see that they were
indeed on a ship
capable of carrying
over 250 passengers
and its very large
cargo of grain.
These weren't the
little boats
used by the fishermen
on the Sea of Galilee.
They were large,
sturdy wooden sailing ships
capable of
handling rough seas.
Before studying for
this lesson,
I just didn't know
what to make of
verse 30.
The author of
the lesson brought
out something interesting.
Verse 30 says that
"some sailors tried to
escape from the ship by
pretending they were
taking a skiff to put
out anchors."
These sailors were
trying to abandon ship.
From what I can see here,
Paul didn't tell the soldiers
what he knew the sailors
were really doing.
Instead, he just stopped
them from doing it by
warning the soldiers.
What the author of
today's lesson pointed out
was that these sailors
most likely were not
believers nor worshippers
of the God you and I
place our faith in.
For them,
salvation from their
gods had not come and
they had chosen to flee.
It would be tempting,
he goes on, to look down
our self-righteous noses
at them.
But the truth is that
all of us are prone to
a lack of faith during
times of trial and
difficulty.
But the thing is that
our God has proven His
faithfulness over and
over again.
When the Hebrews
cried out to God
from their bondage
in Egypt,
God sent Moses.
When Peter denied
Jesus, just as He said
he would,
Jesus was gracious and
restored him.
The Scriptures are full
of examples of this truth.
In our own lives,
over and over again,
all of us can point
to times when God
has proven Himself
trustworthy.
Even though we
know God is faithful,
Christians can struggle
to act in faith
in the moment,
especially in extremely
difficult situations.
When we're facing trying
times, right along with
unbelievers,
these are opportunities
for us to encourage them
to look outside of
themselves for hope
to the only One
who can give it and
back it up.
This was what Paul
was doing onboard that
doomed ship that day.
Even though he was
a prisoner,
he rose above his
position and became
a fearless leader and
a beacon of hope for
everyone on-board.
The others on the ship
could see his confidence
in God.
When the rest of them
had lost their faith,
Paul was able to point
them to his God.
Section 3:
Recognize the Fulfillment
of What God
Has Promised.
Acts 27:39-44;
39. When daylight came,
they did not recognize the
land but sighted a bay
with a beach.
They planned to run
the ship ashore if they could.
40. After casting off the anchors,
they left them in the sea,
at the same time loosening
the ropes that held the rudders.
Then they hoisted the foresail
to the wind and headed
for the beach.
41. But they struck a sandbar
and ran the ship aground.
The bow jammed fast and
remained immovable,
while the stern began
to break up by the
pounding of the waves.
42. The soldiers’ plan
was to kill the prisoners
so that no one could
swim away and escape.
43. But the centurion
kept them from carrying out
their plan because he
wanted to save Paul,
so he ordered those who
could swim to jump overboard
first and get to land.
44. The rest were to follow,
some on planks and some
on debris from the ship.
In this way,
everyone safely reached the shore.
God’s angel had promised
Paul that every one of the
people on that ship were
going to survive, even though
they were going to lose the
ship.
Paul had told this to
those on the ship.
We serve a mighty God
who says what He means,
and means what He says.
As the day broke,
land was sighted,
but they didn’t know
where they were;
they didn’t recognize it.
But they did see a
bay with a beach.
The storm was still raging,
so they decided to
ram the ship onto it.
But, as they tried
sailing to it, they
ran aground on a
sandbar.
They hit it hard and
there was no way of
getting free of it.
The waves were hitting
the stern, (the rear of
the ship), with such
force that they were
actually tearing the
ship apart.
If they stayed on the
ship, they’d all perish.
The soldiers, knowing
that they, themselves
would be killed if the
prisoners escaped,
had already decided
to execute them.
But their commanding
officer, the centurion,
stopped them because
he wanted to save Paul.
He ordered those who
could swim to jump
overboard and make
for the beach.
The rest would have
to use boards and anything
else that would float to
get to land.
Just as God had promised,
everyone made it to safety.
Yes, God was in control
through it all.
He had worked in the
heart of the Centurion
to preserve the lives
of all of the prisoners.
The Bible tells us
the centurion
did this to save Paul’s
life.
All of the prisoners’
lives were saved because
of Paul.
Everyone’s lives
were in peril as the
ship was being torn
apart by the waves.
But, in breaking the
ship apart, God was
providing the very
thing those who
couldn’t swim so
desperately needed
at that time……
planks.
God gave Paul
through the angel
a specific promise;
he would preach
the gospel
in Rome,
and that
everyone on the
ship would survive
the storm.
Like Paul and
his companions,
God doesn’t give
us the details
of how He’s
going to accomplish
His promises.
One promise that
God makes to all
of us is;
”We know that
all things work
together for the
good of those who
love God,
who are called according
to His purpose.”
God will take all
the nuances of our
various stories,
both the good and
the bad,
and work them
together for
our good.
That phrase,
”all things,”
means just that,
every experience in life
that we have
encountered.
So, if you find
yourself in a storm,
a really difficult
time in life,
recognize that it
won’t last forever.
If you’re enduring
a season of deep pain
and woundedness,
realize God’s promise
to work all things
for good remains
true.
God comforts us
during our seasons
of affliction so that
He can heal us and
we can, in turn,
pass that comfort
on to others who
are suffering,
knowing that God
always keeps
His promises.
God requires His
followers to place
their trust in Him,
not only for the
salvation of their
souls but also
for the care of
each of their
steps.
We must be unwavering
in our commitment to
Call upon the Lord
when we’re struggling
with trusting Him.
He’s worthy of our trust,
and we must
fight to
remind ourselves of
this truth.
Because God’s
fulfilled His
greatest promise
in providing
salvation through
Jesus,
we are now free to
live fulfilling the
great commission
without wavering,
even when our
work seems futile
and the
future unsure.
We can remain faithful
even when we don’t
have all the details
God has prepared for
us in the future.
His Word tells us
that He has prepared
good works for us to
do.
We can be
confident in God’s
protection and
preservation over
His people
to complete
His mission.
Let’s pray:
Help us, Lord to
cling to your promises
Help us Lord to
Trust you
and boldly proclaim your truth
Help us Lord to
Encourage others to trust in you.
We know that all things
work together for the good
of those who love God,
who are called according to
His purpose.
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Daily Destiel FicRec 5/17/19
put your money where your mouth is 'verse
by kototyph
Fandom: Supernatural
Explicit, General Audiences, Teen And Up Audiences
No Archive Warnings Apply
M/M
Complete Series
31 Dec 2018
No Archive Warnings Apply
Castiel/Dean Winchester
Alternate Universe - Modern Setting
Marriage Under the Influence / Accidental Marriage
Domestic Fluff
Home Restoration
The New England Coastline
Misunderstandings
Drama & Romance
Las Vegas
Drunken Flirting
Angst with a Happy Ending
POV Castiel
Really Gratuitous Amounts of Christmas
Family
Romance
No Drama
Established Relationship
Ficlet Collection
Slice of Life
Atrociously Twee
Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Summary
A modern AU featuring Vegas, coconut bras, airplanes, Boston, cupcakes, prasinophobia, baseball, kittens, nor'easters, and men expressing deep emotion (in that order).
Dean's done some pretty stupid things, but getting drunk-hitched in Vegas to a colleague he barely knows might just take the cake. His surprise husband, Castiel, is a little weird but likable despite that, and Dean figures they’ll go back to Boston, get a quiet annulment, and go their separate ways. Six weeks later, he’s still married to one of the strangest, most genuine and definitely most dangerously lov-- likable guys he's ever known. Dean doesn't know why or really even how it’s happening, but it’s getting harder and harder to remember that he has divorce papers to file.
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The last hoorah of old man winter 2022?
March twelfth Ded Moroz
struts his white stuff
first real substantial puncheon
found Jack Frost in his glory,
he haint no longer morose nor gruff,
cuz series of fortunate meteorological events
found crystalline precipitation hoary.
I revel watching
the bit torrent of snowflakes alight
upon the greensward;
a cold wind bloweth and doth bite
any exposed flesh of daredevil
(the re:noun Evel Knievel of verbiage)
weather beaten soul
trundling with delight
inured to brutal cold
all fours seasons excite
contemplative character
asked me to ghostwrite,
thus a reasonable rhyme yielded
courtesy wuthering height.
Yours truly breathes deep sigh of relief,
when surprise blizzard came our way,
no matter yours truly solitary fellow
holed up in me mancave yay,
he experiences unfettered glee
for picturesque blustery scene today
eight sleeps before Spring Equinox
glad second rate nor'easter
pummeled Southeastern
Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
The near future forecast
bodes well nigh arrival of vernal equinox
when the sun crosses celestial equator
in northerly direction, marking
prime meridian of right ascension.
Fanfare for common man
(think das scribe spinning these lines)
grateful timely notion
kindled inside mine noggin
truth be told - before onset of storm,
I drew one blank after another
and felt at my wits end
regard apropos material to write about.
Methought to soon to post
poem about beware the ides of March,
(approximately sixty one
and a half hours hence,
similar explanation regarding
summoning creative literary endeavor
honoring Lá Fhéile Pádraig sona duit,
thus imposed upon figurative shoulders
(mine) to hash out some
marginally passable verse.
Now attention pauses to take look see
out bedroom window
watching medley of gusty air
in sync with blizzard conditions,
yet yours truly snug
as a bug in a rug
despite not turning on the heat,
and would ye believe
bard of Perkiomen Valley
only donned in ma birthday suit?
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Clinging to the Promises of God
You remain in control
In the middle of the war
You guard my soul
I take great
comfort in
knowing
God’s in control,
Don’t you?
Hello!
You’ve found the
Senior Adult
Sunday school class
for
Corinth Baptist Church
in
Singleton, Ms.
The title of our lesson
for today is:
Clinging to the
Promises of God
This will be the 2nd in a
5-session series under the
general heading of;
Facing Adversity.
We’ll be drawing Scripture
from the 27th chapter of
the Book of Acts.
You know,
there are more
than 7,000 promises
from God to us
written in
His Word.
One of the 1st things
that came to my mind
when I read that was
the question:
”Why?
I mean, why would
God make so many promises
to humanity?”
The overriding
answer to
that would be that
He wants
for us to simply…………..
trust Him.
So, how can we know that
this Bronze-Age book,
the Bible, is really God’s
word to us?
That would be because
the Bible proves itself.
I don’t know of another
book ever written
that declares
future events with
unerring accuracy.
Over 25% of the Bible
is prophetic.
Peter wrote in
2nd Peter 1:19-21;
19. So we have the
prophetic word
strongly confirmed.
You will do well to
pay attention to it,
as to a lamp shining
in a dismal place,
until the day dawns
and the morning star
rises in your hearts.
20. First of all,
you should know this:
No prophecy of Scripture
comes from one’s own
interpretation,
21. because no prophecy
ever came by the will of man;
instead, men spoke
from God as they were
moved by the Holy Spirit.
God spoke through men
the words of prophecy.
But, can we really believe
the prophesies,
or the promises of
God to us?
Well,
if many
of the prophecies
actually did
come to pass
when and where
they were foretold,
I’d say that
was confirmation
that the words
of the Bible are true.
To this day,
we remember
what happened on
Palm Sunday.
Jesus fulfilled
the prophecy
that He would
come into Jerusalem
riding on a donkey
and be hailed as the
King of the Jews.
But did you know
that He did this
on exactly the day
that Daniel had
prophesied he would?
Daniel made the prediction
more than 500 years before
it happened.
Think about it.
500 years
before it happened,
a man wrote
down the prophecy
that the Messiah
would enter Jerusalem
riding on a donkey.
AND, he predicted
the exact day
it would happen.
That’s just one prophecy
that was fulfilled exactly
as it had been predicted.
Anyone can go
onto the internet,
search for
fulfilled prophecies,
and discover that
there are many, many
of them.
Many more are yet to
be fulfilled;
but they will be
because so many of them
have already proven
the fact that
the Bible is
completely accurate.
If the prophecies
are true,
certainly the promises
are as well.
And if the
promises are true,
then why
wouldn’t we
trust God completely?
In today’s lesson
we’ll be learning
of Paul’s shipwreck
as he is being taken
to Rome.
Paul demonstrates
his unshakable faith
and trust in God
through this
harrowing situation.
Section 1:
Acts 27:21-24;
21. Since many were
going without food,
Paul stood up among them
and said,
“You men should have
followed my advice
not to sail from Crete and
sustain this damage and loss.
22. Now I urge you to
take courage,
because there will be no
loss of any of your lives,
but only of the ship.
23. For this night an angel
of the God I belong to and
serve stood by me,
24. and said,
‘Don’t be afraid, Paul.
You must stand before Caesar.
And, look!
God has graciously given you
all those who are sailing
with you.’
Finally, after two years of
being under arrest in
Caesarea, Paul was, at last
on his way to Rome.
But these folks
weren't on a sleek
catamaran zipping over
the waves and making
short work of a voyage
from Caesarea Maritime
to Rome.
Instead, they were
transferring from one
large, slow moving,
grain vessel to
another painstakingly
making their way
to their
destination.
It's late autumn and
their progress was
being hindered by
unfavorable winds.
The captain of the
vessel they were on
had intended to sail
west from Cnidus,
but instead had been
forced to sail
southwest toward
Crete.
They had sailed around
the southern coast of
Crete and landed at the
port of Fair Heavens.
The Roman Centurion
that was in charge of
the prisoners had
decided that this
would not be a good
place to hold up for
the winter; and the
captain of the grain
ship they were traveling
on said he was
confident that he could
make the crossing to
Italy.
The problem was that it
was late fall.
At this time of the year,
that region of the
Mediterranean experienced
seasonal storms called
Euroclydon, (U Rock Lee Don).
Like the American Nor'easter,
these storms were fierce and
could last for many days.
Paul had been warned in his
spirit to try to dissuade
the centurion and the captain
from attempting the crossing,
but didn't prevail.
Now they found themselves
in the midst of one of these
terrible storms.
The ship was being battered
and the 276 passengers and
crew were wrestling with
the very real fear that
they might not survive.
It was at this time that
Paul stood up and told them
that they should have
listened to him.
He didn't say that as an
"I told you so" but rather
that they might now
believe the words coming
out of his mouth.
He told them to take courage
because he had been informed
by an angel that though
the ship they were on was
going to be lost, none of
them were going to die.
Because they were all
aware of Paul's warning
not to leave Fair Heavens,
what he was now saying to
them carried the
weight of credibility.
Now, last week I pointed
out that Nero had ordered
the Christians in Rome
to be killed.
In the telling of that
episode, I voiced my
opinion that Paul had
probably not had the
opportunity to stand
before Caesar.
But in verse 24 of our
lesson for today,
the angel talking to
Paul on that storm-tossed
ship, told him that he
must stand before Caesar.
I don't know it he ever
actually did, the Bible
doesn't tell me one way or
the other.
But I want to make something
perfectly clear here.
Like an onion,
the Scriptures and God's
Truth comes to all of
us in layers.
When God so chooses for
each of us to discover
something deeper in His
Word, He'll peel back
another layer for us.
Who knows?
Maybe, some day, God will
show me in His Word,
of by His Spirit,
that Paul did, in fact,
have the opportunity to
stand before Nero.
Now, back to the Scripture
of today's lesson.
The message that Paul relayed
to the others on the ship
was a reassurance that they
were all going to survive
this terrible storm.
And it's the idea that
leads us into the next section.
It's entitled....
Section 2:
Encourage Others to
Trust in God.
Acts 27:30-38;
30. Some sailors tried
to escape from the ship;
they had let down the skiff
into the sea,
pretending that they were
going to put out anchors
from the bow.
31. Paul said to the centurion
and the soldiers,
“Unless these men
stay in the ship,
you cannot be saved.”
32. Then the soldiers
cut the ropes holding
the skiff and let it drop away.
33. When it was about daylight,
Paul urged them all to
take food, saying,
“Today is the fourteenth day
that you have been waiting
and going without food,
having eaten nothing.
34. Therefore I urge you
to take some food.
For this has to do with
your survival,
since none of you will lose
a hair from your head.”
35. After he said these things
and had taken some bread,
he gave thanks to God
in the presence of all of them,
and when he broke it,
he began to eat.
36. They all became encouraged
and took food themselves.
37. In all there were 276 of us on the ship.
38. When they had eaten enough,
they began to lighten the ship
by throwing the grain overboard
into the sea.
So, there again,
we see that they were
indeed on a ship
capable of carrying
over 250 passengers
and its very large
cargo of grain.
These weren't the
little boats
used by the fishermen
on the Sea of Galilee.
They were large,
sturdy wooden sailing ships
capable of
handling rough seas.
Before studying for
this lesson,
I just didn't know
what to make of
verse 30.
The author of
the lesson brought
out something interesting.
Verse 30 says that
"some sailors tried to
escape from the ship by
pretending they were
taking a skiff to put
out anchors."
These sailors were
trying to abandon ship.
From what I can see here,
Paul didn't tell the soldiers
what he knew the sailors
were really doing.
Instead, he just stopped
them from doing it by
warning the soldiers.
What the author of
today's lesson pointed out
was that these sailors
most likely were not
believers nor worshippers
of the God you and I
place our faith in.
For them,
salvation from their
gods had not come and
they had chosen to flee.
It would be tempting,
he goes on, to look down
our self-righteous noses
at them.
But the truth is that
all of us are prone to
a lack of faith during
times of trial and
difficulty.
But the thing is that
our God has proven His
faithfulness over and
over again.
When the Hebrews
cried out to God
from their bondage
in Egypt,
God sent Moses.
When Peter denied
Jesus, just as He said
he would,
Jesus was gracious and
restored him.
The Scriptures are full
of examples of this truth.
In our own lives,
over and over again,
all of us can point
to times when God
has proven Himself
trustworthy.
Even though we
know God is faithful,
Christians can struggle
to act in faith
in the moment,
especially in extremely
difficult situations.
When we're facing trying
times, right along with
unbelievers,
these are opportunities
for us to encourage them
to look outside of
themselves for hope
to the only One
who can give it and
back it up.
This was what Paul
was doing onboard that
doomed ship that day.
Even though he was
a prisoner,
he rose above his
position and became
a fearless leader and
a beacon of hope for
everyone on-board.
The others on the ship
could see his confidence
in God.
When the rest of them
had lost their faith,
Paul was able to point
them to his God.
Section 3:
Recognize the Fulfillment
of What God
Has Promised.
Acts 27:39-44;
39. When daylight came,
they did not recognize the
land but sighted a bay
with a beach.
They planned to run
the ship ashore if they could.
40. After casting off the anchors,
they left them in the sea,
at the same time loosening
the ropes that held the rudders.
Then they hoisted the foresail
to the wind and headed
for the beach.
41. But they struck a sandbar
and ran the ship aground.
The bow jammed fast and
remained immovable,
while the stern began
to break up by the
pounding of the waves.
42. The soldiers’ plan
was to kill the prisoners
so that no one could
swim away and escape.
43. But the centurion
kept them from carrying out
their plan because he
wanted to save Paul,
so he ordered those who
could swim to jump overboard
first and get to land.
44. The rest were to follow,
some on planks and some
on debris from the ship.
In this way,
everyone safely reached the shore.
God’s angel had promised
Paul that every one of the
people on that ship were
going to survive, even though
they were going to lose the
ship.
Paul had told this to
those on the ship.
We serve a mighty God
who says what He means,
and means what He says.
As the day broke,
land was sighted,
but they didn’t know
where they were;
they didn’t recognize it.
But they did see a
bay with a beach.
The storm was still raging,
so they decided to
ram the ship onto it.
But, as they tried
sailing to it, they
ran aground on a
sandbar.
They hit it hard and
there was no way of
getting free of it.
The waves were hitting
the stern, (the rear of
the ship), with such
force that they were
actually tearing the
ship apart.
If they stayed on the
ship, they’d all perish.
The soldiers, knowing
that they, themselves
would be killed if the
prisoners escaped,
had already decided
to execute them.
But their commanding
officer, the centurion,
stopped them because
he wanted to save Paul.
He ordered those who
could swim to jump
overboard and make
for the beach.
The rest would have
to use boards and anything
else that would float to
get to land.
Just as God had promised,
everyone made it to safety.
Yes, God was in control
through it all.
He had worked in the
heart of the Centurion
to preserve the lives
of all of the prisoners.
The Bible tells us
the centurion
did this to save Paul’s
life.
All of the prisoners’
lives were saved because
of Paul.
Everyone’s lives
were in peril as the
ship was being torn
apart by the waves.
But, in breaking the
ship apart, God was
providing the very
thing those who
couldn’t swim so
desperately needed
at that time……
planks.
God gave Paul
through the angel
a specific promise;
he would preach
the gospel
in Rome,
and that
everyone on the
ship would survive
the storm.
Like Paul and
his companions,
God doesn’t give
us the details
of how He’s
going to accomplish
His promises.
One promise that
God makes to all
of us is;
”We know that
all things work
together for the
good of those who
love God,
who are called according
to His purpose.”
God will take all
the nuances of our
various stories,
both the good and
the bad,
and work them
together for
our good.
That phrase,
”all things,”
means just that,
every experience in life
that we have
encountered.
So, if you find
yourself in a storm,
a really difficult
time in life,
recognize that it
won’t last forever.
If you’re enduring
a season of deep pain
and woundedness,
realize God’s promise
to work all things
for good remains
true.
God comforts us
during our seasons
of affliction so that
He can heal us and
we can, in turn,
pass that comfort
on to others who
are suffering,
knowing that God
always keeps
His promises.
God requires His
followers to place
their trust in Him,
not only for the
salvation of their
souls but also
for the care of
each of their
steps.
We must be unwavering
in our commitment to
Call upon the Lord
when we’re struggling
with trusting Him.
He’s worthy of our trust,
and we must
fight to
remind ourselves of
this truth.
Because God’s
fulfilled His
greatest promise
in providing
salvation through
Jesus,
we are now free to
live fulfilling the
great commission
without wavering,
even when our
work seems futile
and the
future unsure.
We can remain faithful
even when we don’t
have all the details
God has prepared for
us in the future.
His Word tells us
that He has prepared
good works for us to
do.
We can be
confident in God’s
protection and
preservation over
His people
to complete
His mission.
Let’s pray:
Help us, Lord to
cling to your promises
Help us Lord to
Trust you
and boldly proclaim your truth
Help us Lord to
Encourage others to trust in you.
We know that all things
work together for the good
of those who love God,
who are called according to
His purpose.
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Short Comic: New Understandings
Characters: Alfred/USA, Henry/Massachusetts, & Ann/Boston
CW: violence
This was my first attempt at making a comic! I made this back in September 2023, and a bit of the information in the comic is outdated. But let me explain
In my lore, Alfred begins life as Plymouth Colony. He was born as Amos Jones to human parents (name not reflected in this comic). Puritan naming conventions were basically "names that are biblically pure"-- Alfred does not appear in the bible.
Changes from canon: He is not brothers with Matt/Canada. Matt is a relative of his, but they are not brothers in my nor'easter verse, I'll touch on why another time. Arthur is also not usually physically present during the colonial era in my lore, and that's mostly cause the UK did operate these colonies under salutary neglect, and he's highkey getting involved in wars left and right.
Anyways Alfred's first cousins are Henry/Massachusetts, Rosalie/Rhode Island, and Josh/Connecticut (at this time their names would be Hezekiah, Ruth, & John). Alfred primarily lives with his older cousin Henry. Henry being the eldest of his relatives, and growing up in this puritan society, is expected to ensure his household is in "good order", and "morally pure." This is quite a stressful task and expectation for a young boy. He also does genuinely care about his siblings, his friend Ann/Boston, and Alfred, but he doesn't show it in a particularly healthy way. He often resorts to being excessively critical, aggressive, starting arguments, and sometimes violence to ensure their purity.
Alfred for a while was under the impression Henry did not particularly like him. Also Alfred is a rather hyperactive kid, who just wants to let loose, but most of the time he isn't allowed to hence why he gets into quite a bit of trouble. Henry is disappointed by this, and I think he tends to be particularly harsh on Alfred because I think Henry believes Alfred could be something more than what he is if he just learned to sit still and listen. Anyways in this scene, Henry takes the blame for once for Alfred, and that gets Henry in trouble. However, upon eavesdropping, Alfred learns that Henry in fact cares for him quite a bit.
#nor'easter verse#hws#hetalia#hetalia oc#aph#hetalia usa#aph usa#hws usa#hetalia america#aph america#hws america#aph massachusetts#hetalia massachusetts#hws massachusetts#hetalia boston#aph boston#hws boston#alfred jones#alfred f jones#hetalia fanart#historical hetalia#hetalia ocs#hws oc#aph oc#statetalia#hetalia headcanons#hetalia au#egg art
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mobile directory
hi! I'm eggwardramen/ egg. I just want to make my blog easier to navigate.
brief about myself & blog:
I am 20+, and use she/her/hers pronouns. am a born and raised New Yorker, and I study/work in public health. I am Fuzhounese/Irish-American. I also like cats, Scott Pilgrim, and Percy Jackson. Always feel free to shoot an ask or DM.
I've had my NYC ocs since 2014/15, and I've primarily worked on that since lol.
Nor'easter verse is basically a Hetalia AU in which I follow the growth of the US as an empire following the perspectives of Alfred/USA, Jennie/NY State, and Lynn/NYC.
The lore incorporates the use of states, Indigenous nations, & cities as I take the perspective most of US History is more informed by domestic discourses / interactions with states and cities, and international discourses/ interactions with Indigenous nations rather than interactions with European, or really other non-North American continent based personifications.
It has dark themes especially regarding the fact the US is a settler-colonial nation, morally ambiguous characters, and it diverges from canon- if it does not appeal to you, that is fine. Also I make content with adults in mind.
relevant links & tags:
Comprehensive About - This provides more insight into what Nor'easter is about, and I will update as needed.
More Admin Information - This is just more information about me, and this blog.
Sources - More information about the type of sources I rely on to inform my interpretations.
Nor'easter verse tag - Lore specific tags
Muse masterlist
My carrd - If you want to find me on social media
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