#A Constant Witness

[officialyourdailyinspiration]

A Constant Witness

by Charles Spurgeon

"For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard." - Acts 22:15

Paul was chosen to see and hear the LORD speaking to him out of heaven. This divine election was a high privilege for himself; but it was not intended to end with him; it was meant to have an influence upon others, yea, upon all men. It is to Paul that Europe owes the gospel at this hour.

It is ours in our measure to be witnesses of that which the LORD has revealed to us, and it is at our peril that we hide the precious revelation. First, we must see and hear, or we shall have nothing to tell; but when we have done so, we must be eager to bear our testimony. It must be personal: "Thou shalt be." It must be for Christ: "Thou shalt be his witness." It must be constant and all absorbing; we are to be this above all other things and to the exclusion of many other matters. Our witness must not be to a select few who will cheerfully receive us but to "all men" -- to all whom we can reach, young or old, rich or poor, good or bad. We must never be silent like those who are possessed by a dumb spirit; for the text before us is a command, and a promise, and we must not miss it -- "Thou shalt be his witness." "Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD."

#Charles Haddon Spurgeon #Faith's Checkbook #devotional #A Constant Witness #Acts 22:15 #February 10 #2023

[mayhemspreadingguy]

Lost boys

#mayhem art #star wars #anakin skywalker #obi wan kenobi #anakin skywalker fanart #obi wan kenobi fanart #star wars art #this one was sitting in my drafts for about a month. idk why I was holding onto it -cries- anyway #this is shortly after Qui-Gon's death. Both of their lives just got flipped upside down. Anakin is traumatized by having to leave #his mother behind‚ then his Master's sudden death‚ and he's left with no certainty in his future. #Obi-Wan just witnessed his Master die‚ helplessly‚ then having to take care of this little human in his Master's stead‚ meanwhile feeling #wholly inadequate to be so suddenly knighted let alone immediately becoming a Master and taking responsibility for another being. #Both of them losing the constants in their lives. left uprooted. the only anchoring point being each other. #I imagine Obi-Wan wouldn't reach out to Anakin first‚ but if Anakin expressed compassion with him‚ grief‚ and his need to feel secure‚ #Obi-Wan wouldn't turn him away #this was just my excuse to give them a proper soothing hug in their time of mourning

[cactuslester]

phil lester: then ⤐ now

happy 37th birthday @amazingphil!!!

#it's midnight in the uk so it's phil's bday now! #ty for all that you do king!!! your videos have been such a constant in my life for over a decade now #and your wit and personality and creativity never fail to brighten my day #it's amazing (lol) everything youve done and the community you've built #wishing you the best bday ever and best year to come <333 #phil lester #amazingphil #phil #dgpdaily #cactuslestergifs #also this is a simple set because i am lacking time and inspiration but i wanted to do something still #picked some of my fave early day videos <333 #i miss sebastian universe defender

[navybrat817]

The urge to interact online while simultaneously not wanting to interact out of fear of being annoying or because you feel like you don't belong. 😂😭

#navybrat rambles #this is my brain #i can't explain it some days #this isn't a constant feeling #just sometimes #but i see some people interact and it's both lovely to witness and isolating #because sometimes you try and you get shut down #or you're on the outside looking in #but you keep trying #some days it's all you can do #personal #ramblings #are you reading my tags? #go drink some water #stay hydrated my friends #but also #why did i post this

[galedekkarios]

random thought but i was thinking of tara's comments about getting gale to eat and take care of himself and . well. i was just kind of warmed by the idea of gale and astarion having a particular... dehydrated and perhaps slightly unwell sickly look to them that is only exacerbated by their arduous journey, but then six months after that nightmare when they return to withers' party as husbands they look so much healthier!! they're softer and stronger and well-fed!! they actually look alive! and happy! because they are! and isn't that so wonderful!!

#bloodweave #i'm not in any servers and i'm a hermit so u guys gotta witness all my thoughts . Hi #idk. i do love chubby gale but i also REALLY love skinny-fat gale that loses both fat and muscle mass not only because of the orb #but also the unbelievable and constant stress loneliness and depression that it brought him :( #and astarion no longer needing to be The Pinnacle of Beauty Sculpted Like A God he can jus be as he is (which is still super #unfairly beautiful [and goes to my next point ->]) and he actually gets to eat regularly now whenever he wants and is ALSO #no longer as lonely or depressed n it shows. This Is The Bloodweave That Exists In My Brain And Heart #also love the visual of gale having more angular cheeks when they first meet him and then in the epilogue they're rounder!! #and it makes him look younger!! 🥺 sweetie..

[explodingstarlight]

WHO ARE THESE TWO I NEED TO KNOW I LOVE THEIR DESIGNS SO MUCH WHO ARE THEY !!!!

https://www.tumblr.com/explodingstarlight/747441619339558912/a-bit-late-but-a-welcome-back-from-burnout-gift?source=share

Oh, hi, hello!! Always lovely to meet a new face!

These lil guys are Xor & Nova--colloquially known as the Cyberspace Duo (get it?). Nova is my Rise OC/turtlesona, while Xor belongs to the very cool and rad @snailsnaps ✨

Xor 🤝🤝 Nova: Meeting for the first time while running away from their own fanclub of angry Hidden City residents (did you mean?: angry mob)

Both Snails and I have some additional art and references for the both of 'em, so you're always welcome to check 'em out! Most of my own posts are under the #rise nova and #cyberspace duo tag (⁠｡⁠•̀⁠ᴗ⁠-⁠)⁠✧

(and thank you so much for your ask & kind words!! <3)

#let the record state that only Nova's mob was warranted (he stole a $2 keychain that he now treasures as a momento of their best friendship) #there's quite a bit of nova lore backlog that i may one day actually draw but for now feel free to send asks if you're interested 👍 #*pats their heads* these turtles can fit so many AUs #no I'm /srs discord has witnessed at least 5 AUs ( #universal constant being found family/I would find my bestie in any universe #snails feel free to chime in if you have anything else you'd like to share with the class /nf #oh and don't forget that they're basically adopted by a bird /aff #<- a bird who needs to drink more water 👁️👁️ #thank you for the ask! #asks #stars speaks #rottmnt #cyberspace duo #rise nova #rise xor #tmnt #e stars scribblez

[deepwaterwritingprompts]

Deep Water Prompt #3114

No vet can agree on whether our cat is pregnant or not. They say it must be Schrodinger's Syndrome, and we need to report it at once to the Bureau of Space Time.

#creative writing #writing prompt #cats #flora and fauna #space and aliens #goes with this prompt: #Schroedinger’s cats are only available through witness protection programs #or on the black market. They will hid you effectively #in a constant state of temporal uncertainty.

[choco-bloop]

Loving all the False-Iskall interactions recently. Man those two act such like siblings its adorable. Just eternal menaces / irritants to each other at every moment they can find.

#falsesymmetry #iskall85 #hermitcraft #their constant wit battles are always a joy to watch

[janeaustenlover]

'panem lost a poet panem lost a standup comedian' lmaoooooooo what are your favorite Coriolanus’ unhinged quotes from tbosas?? I cackled so much during that rather dark book, I feel embarrassed, lol

He had to think of just the right way to break the news. But what would that be? 'I love you deeply, but I love officers’ school more?' That wasn’t going to go over well.

Did you tell your best friend his crush was a cannibal? Never a rule book when you needed one.

AH, TRUST AGAIN. ThE aIr WaS fUlL oF iT.

Coriolanus winced slightly. TWO biking mishaps in the same twelve-hour period seemed more than coincidental.

This entrance was for the poor people, Coriolanus thought. Or perhaps not poor. The word PLEBEIAN came to mind. (those history classes did nothing for him)

PASSING OUT SANDWICHES WAS ONE THING, THROWING THE CHAIR QUITE ANOTHER (sorry, i'm in tears, xDDD)

Snow lands on top and ALL THAT. He knew he should be elated at this turn of events and jumping up and down inside while p r e s e n t i n g a modest, pleased front. But what he really felt was jEaLoUs.

THE HERO OF HER LIFE!!!!!!!!!!

The i m p o s s i b i l i t y of being a Snowflake in this postwar world.

And here he was in his uniform, clutching a rose like some lovestruck schoolboy, hoping she would — what? Like him? Trust him? Not kill him on sight?

Good-bye, Lucy Gray, we hardly knew you (biiiiiiitch 🔪)

So now that loudmouth Arachne was a defender of a righteous and just land. Yes, she laid down her life taunting her tribute with a sandwich, thought Coriolanus. Maybe her gravestone could read, “Casualty of cheap laughs.”

BETTER OFF SAD THAN DEAD

Coriolanus did not want to spend the next twenty years listening to them *mockingjays* serenade the local executions.

What was he doing but dressing her up to be a pretty corpse? Perhaps she could strangle someone with the scarf, or stab them with the pin?

HIS OWN FANS HAD A LITTLE MORE CLASS (rich boy™)

The LAST TIME Sejanus had lost his appetite, he’d lost his sanity as well.

Who were all these PeOpLe hanging around on a weekday at the zoo? Didn’t they have jobs? Shouldn’t the children be in chool? No wonder the country was such a mess.

What an ugly place, he thought dully as the train chugged its way through District 9. It didn’t look fit for human habitation.

Coriolanus gave the camera a thumbs-up when they cut for his reaction. He could not believe THIS was his life.

How much bread had they wasted with this nonsense? Oh, no, he starved to death! Somebody get the bread!

CORIOLANUS SNOW, MORE LONER THAN LOVER (whatta slogan for his presidential campaign)

How awful, Coriolanus thought. To have YOU be the first person in the world a baby sees *about dr. gaul*

Why would evil incarnate help his girlfriend?

In rhetoric class, she’d once attributed his inability to decipher the deeper meaning of a poem to the fact that he was too self-absorbed. The irony, coming from Livia, of all people! But actions spoke louder than words. Coriolanus to the rescue, Livia to the nearest exit.

“Of course I liked it, but I’m more open-minded than most" (hahahaha)

Then came confusion. If she had saved his life, he owed her, what? A sandwich and two cookies? That was how he was repaying her. For his life. Which apparently he held quite cheaply.

Oh, a ghost story. Ugh. Boo. So ridiculous.

Ma? Was Coriolanus’s place about to be uSuRpEd by someone who referred to his mother as “Ma”? The cabbage and posca threatened to make a reappearance.

CANNIBALS OVER CUTTHROATS!

several people took the pained look on Coriolanus’s face as sorrow at Arachne’s death, when ironically he felt like killing her all over again.

“That was some good-bye.” Coriolanus just shrugged. “What can I say? I’m irresistible.”

Poor Sejanus. Poor sensitive, foolish, dead Sejanus. (GUNSHOT 💀💀💀)

#he's insane he's unstoppable he's blue blooded charles bukowski #some of these quotes aren't even that funny but coryo's constant bitchin mood is priceless #also ngl as a reader i savour how sharp witted his inner voice is #sharp voice of unhinged mind lol #vittacorle #ask #coriolanus snow #the hunger games

[officialyourdailyinspiration]

A Constant Witness

by Charles Spurgeon

For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard. - Acts 22:15

Paul was chosen to see and hear the Lord speaking to him out of heaven. This divine election was a high privilege for himself; but it was not intended to end with him; it was meant to have an influence upon others, yea, upon all men. It is to Paul that Europe owes the gospel at this hour.

It is ours in our measure to be witnesses of that which the Lord has revealed to us, and it is at our peril that we hide the precious revelation. First, we must see and hear, or we shall have nothing to tell; but when we have done so, we must be eager to bear our testimony. It must be personal: "Thou shalt be." It must be for Christ: "Thou shalt be his witness." It must be constant and all absorbing; we are to be this above all other things and to the exclusion of many other matters. Our witness must not be to a select few who will cheerfully receive us but to "all men" -- to all whom we can reach, young or old, rich or poor, good or bad. We must never be silent like those who are possessed by a dumb spirit; for the text before us is a command, and a promise, and we must not miss it -- "Thou shalt be his witness." "Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord."

#Charles H. Spurgeon #A Constant Witness #Acts 22:15 #devotional

[for-the-better-and-worse]

[ooc] gguhh. does anybody want to think about this cover art with me.

#♞ · [ crunching stats ] ic. #whatever. it's whatever. #kup's shadow casting the shape of prowl. literally witnessing impactor's rise from the grave as a consequence of prowl's actions. #just in general. prowl being a long cast shadow #not the first time he's been a constant presence even when he Isn't Physically There. stop haunting the narrative. #the three mechs involved in springer's raising within the autobots. lighting coated in green. okay. #but it's whatever

[goldkirk]

as I'm going back over my past history and items and journals and years, I come across all sorts of things, like the pencil I saved from that so-precious memory from second grade, and a pair of flip flops I've been missing for two years, and (tw for murder/crime/killings) the modern-high-school-AU-kidnapped-by-a-serial-killer story I wrote in late high school jdfsjdfsjkjlksfd

#i can't wait to find out what red flags I didn't see in my own self back when I last read this thing in 2015 hfdhfdhjsfd #also. there's gonna be like a good sentence here and there and then CRINGE. the whole rest of everything is just me still trying to copy th #breathing pace (essentially) and ways-of-describing-things of mainstream authors like I thought I was supposed to #so this'll be somewhat painful but also god what a joy and a gift and an honor and a delight to get to hold this close to my heart #and witness it with understanding and empathy and slow reflection and care like my past younger self deserves #i'm so lucky i'm alive to be here and do this #i'm so grateful i'm headed towards welcoming back and embracing the last little girl i was that still felt a lot of things #so excited for her focus and precision and tenacity and constant curious joy and movement to be back someday #i'm afraid people won't like the me i was before rule after rule and then dangers #but my god it'll feel so good to be the fully-flowing energy machine and dance and conduit again how will I have enough bother to care? #people who are good to each others' nervous systems cumulatively feel better and better #if i'm not good for you and yours then you really truly SHOULD go elsewhere and find someone who makes YOUR self feel right and light + war #anyway now that i wrote an essay in the tags as usual [nervous laughter] #personal #add to journal #words n rhythm #WHY DID I FEEL CAPABLE OF UNDERTAKING A STORY LIKE THIS #cradling my past self gently but also BANGING my HEAD against the WALL lmao #i'm proud of myself for writing and sharing this and its creative ideas. even if i don't like it now or feel ashamed or see mistakes. #anything. it mattered that it came to me and it mattered that i explored it and it mattered that i poured myself through it to help shape i #and it mattered that I left it on the internet so that now it still exists. i'm going to honor this story no matter what current me would #objectively think about it if it was written by anyone else. #this is a gift i give myself now. #this is a lot of what I learn and learn to do #trauma evolution #mosswrites

[dailykugisaki]

Day fourty-seven | id in alt

Do the stars look as red as these floors?

#dailykugisaki #jjk #kugisaki nobara #IM trying to do backgrounds so i can stop with the constant vibrant pink bgs #its not the best but its honest work with how im a complete novice at it #and the fact it was a small area with a small #everything was small i do this thang on my phone wit mh finger m tryin #i jusy miss her so bad #and if nothing is gonna happen then p soon i will be genuinely making new lore myself for her #IF GEGE WONT FEED ME THEN ILL FEED MYSELF DAMMIT #Enjoy this food and enjoy the episode! #we'll all be in a catatonic state probably #see yall at the mental ward LMAOOO

[all-chickens-are-trans]

feeling scammed by the medical system 🙃

the gp like "we can't deal with your issues here, you'll have to see a specialist"

the specialist like "your issues are slightly to the left of what I'm dealing with, you've got to go to a completely different specialist"

every single one of those specialists like "we don't take new patients, call this hotline, they'll find an appointment for you"

the hotline like "get stuck in our hold line for an hour. also lol none of these specialists take new patients"

guess I'll keep on suffering then 🙃🫠

#it's fine I'm only pissing blood every couple of weeks it's fine :) #I'm only in constant discomfort but whatever :) #medical #sorry for the crude language I'm really at my wit's end with this and i wanna cry #negativity #venting #my posts

[orchideae]

I have so very much to catch up on, my sincerest apologies, seriously— there's been mental madness going on behind the scenes, including this weekend. Please, let December be the month where normality starts and stays.

And on a more IC note, I often talk about solitude and isolation (and its origins in a very specific kind of loneliness) that is chosen and accepted, but I don't know if I ever talk about what that looks like exactly, and why, quite frankly, it's a little... for lack of a better word, concerning. Do me a favor, if you're in Genshin, turn your clock to nighttime, then go out into any of the cities, villages, camps, footholds and look up, no matter the nation you're in. How many characters are able to do that, and see a night sky that is nothing but void of any and all bounds and limitations? How many of them see that endless array of stars that illuminate it, and how many feel the cool fresh air that tickles their skin? For many, they can leave the four walls that house them, and experience that sight and sensation, because all of us to an extent, crave that. And honestly, so can Yelan— but she also, if not more often so, chooses to see something else. And the unusual concept of choosing that, is a driving force to my decisions for her and why I deem them so incredibly important: it's about the state of mind, it's about the mental that drives her.

On many days and nights especially, this is what she sees, and this is only if she doesn't descend further into the Chasm (which we know that she does), closer to the Abyss and to the Celestial nail itself that rests at its heart. And yes, it is beautiful in its own way, a pathway illuminated by the light of the moon and the nail, but it's also a cruel reminder of just how far the surface, and humans that live there (that she is by all accounts a part of, of course), are. But then, when she returns her gaze to the ground, her surroundings are void of light and dare I say, void of hope. The Chasm isn't just one of the places where you can get the closest to the Abyss, but it also consists of ruins of more than just one civilization. We see glimpses of Khaenri'ah (which we explore more closely through Dain's quest), but we know there is 'fauna' down there, even deeper, that is referenced as belonging to an even more ancient civilization that predated it. The Chasm is surrounded by reminders of death, ruin, and in that, it feels as if it's the direct foil of the world above it. The Chasm was almost the end of Liyue five-hundred years ago during the fall of Khaenri'ah, just as it had, apparently, once been to a civilization before it (please remember, the impact of the meteorite/fallen star that created the Chasm occurred roughly 6000 years ago), and its creatures wouldn't have stopped at its borders. The Chasm is the engulfing darkness in direct opposition to the light of life overhead, and the hope that humanity holds in the palms of its hands. It's dark, it's grim, and it's cold in more ways than one (See one, two, three, four).

And this place is a choice that Yelan makes to venture to and stay in, yes, yet calling it a choice is where it gets so interesting. Once upon a time, long before she got her vision, she was part of a team that surveyed the surroundings of the Chasm, and like many others before them that have descended into it, all members of this team, excluding her, died. The circumstances aren't clear, but following Yelan's line to Ning, I'm lead to believe that the Chasm's surroundings, which are all rather clearly threats to non-vision holders in specific (which Yelan also was at the time), were directly responsible for their demise. I'll note my hypothesis on what could have happened to them in a different post in the future, as I don't want to go far off-topic, but despite having likely witnessed what occurred to them, seeing the ruins of the Chasm, the threat of the Abyss and barely understanding what the Abyss even is, she continues to venture down there because the possibility of what could happen to the people of Liyue, is more important than her own existence and/or survival. And this bears even more weight following the events of Perilous Trail part 2, where she witnessed just how much the Chasm is capable of. Is this walking engima of a woman also drawn to equal or greater mystery than herself, much like a moth to a flame? I think that's part of it, but I definitely think it's infinitely more multi-layered.

Mostly, I think that this plays into the heart of what Fontaine has shown us that 'hydro' seems to represent: it's not merely a sense of responsibility (and/or justice) or selflessness, but a semblance of self-sacrifice either during the duration of one's life or at its end, either literally or figuratively. But keeping that in mind, what I really want to shine a spotlight on, is what kind of self-sacrifice seems to be the case with Yelan, and the way in which she seems to not just be at peace with it, but has truly accepted it almost as something akin to normality. And more importantly, note how this isn't normal behavior. An acceptance of solitude in such depressing surroundings is incredibly saddening, because it's not something that we ever crave by any means or should ever come to crave. Any regular individual, even most vision-holders surely, would find what she does insane to some extent. And yet, she walks the depths of the Chasm, of all places, with a similar routine as a Millelith guard patrols the outskirts of the harbor. Regardless of her clear reason for it— god, I have difficulty explaining what I'm trying to say; how does someone get to a point where they no longer do something so depressing out of necessity, but because it's... normal? That's her. The Chasm isn't... as eerie to her as it is to others, even if she knows better than most what these surroundings are; the Chasm it isn't as dangerous, even if she knows that it is and it's why she's there in the first place, to her as it is to others. Perhaps it's simply an acceptance that regardless of its dangers, that her fate lies in those depths as it did for her ancestors, that the Chasm's ruins will include her own legacy one day. But again, how does one come to terms with that? How do you come to make the decision that you will sacrifice yourself for others, especially when it means resigning yourself to a place like the Chasm, a place that is home to a pathway to the Abyss, which inherently holds the power to drive mortals to madness and death. Many wouldn't do this, or rather, many couldn't do this, not until they had no other choice and even then, think of Boyang, and even Bosacius, granted the latter had lost his mind by then. And that's where I think she's unique, because she technically has a choice, unlike individuals like Xiao whose... direct 'responsibility' and contract it is to do what he does. She could walk away tomorrow if she willed it, but she doesn't. Yes, responsibility plays into it, but the Chasm really hits differently when you tie it into that.

Now, I do need to note that I firmly stand against any believe that she a death wish or is thoroughly depressed. She isn't going down there over and over because she seeks an end to her life in some way or because she believes her life to be worthless. Quite the contrary, actually, and one could argue that the reasoning for that lies with her survivor's guilt. But all in all, before I get sidetracked again: Yelan embraces solitude to a rather extreme extent, and yet she doesn't seem to harbor a dissociation from the rest of humanity or dislike of it, but she does seem to place a firm line between non-allogenes and herself (and others who hold a vision). But what I mean with embracing solitude, is that while she is social, and she understands the laws and diplomacy of social behavior, she isn't one to always engage in it, simply because many don't seem to quite... share her headspace.

#[ meta. ] the chances are if i open this door; there can be no witnesses left alive. is that a sufficient reason for you? #[ honestly this is the biggest mess; but i've wanted to touch on this for a while even while this is a mess. ] #[ it's just the concept of-- there's a difference between dynamics where this on surface-level doesn't matter so much. ] #[ but it does explain the differences beween /some/ dynamics and most. xiao and yelan is one of them-- ] #[ but with xiao there's arguably the concept of karmic debt and how dangerous it is to non-allogenes. ] #[ and this sense of solitude is inherently ingrained in him in vastly different ways. but there /are/ some similarities. ] #[ but all in all-- this for example also plays into why i can only ship yelan at present with wriothesley. ] #[ and it's mostly because of the way his life seems to have led him to make a similar decision of likely staying in the meropide... ] #[ for the rest of his life. that's a specific type of decision to make that i think many couldn't make as easily. ] #[ not saying he made it as easily-- but it's this concept of... i think the only ones who really would understand are the ones... ] #[ who are able to make a similar decision or have already. i don't think every characer's 'loneliness' should be supplemented... ] #[ or 'fixed' by another's or someone who's the opposite. it needs to hit right; it needs to click just right for me. ] #[ and this one does. ] #[ it's the similarities with /just/ enough differences that you create a balance in which there's a semblance of peace. ] #[ but a peace that isn't constant. ] #[ i don't know how to word-- i just. 😭 one day you guys will get a proper meta from me on this. ]

[bbreaddog]

.

#personal #health is scary and frustrating and pain is constant and confusing and every test is coming back with nothing which apparently means #nothing is wrong except for the fact that everything is wrong #i wish i could live like i did back in the before times #I’m so glad my students cancelled this coming monday #I’ve been put through the fucking blender with the lid off this week #i need all the rest i can get #I’m so. I’m so frustrated at how my parents can witness me attending appts 4 days a week. and still wonder if I’m better yet #or still think I’m healthy again #whatever the fuck that means #even if i was healthy i don’t think I’d be as healthy as before #i certainly can’t do as much as before #i just wanna go back to before #i don’t wanna be in pain anymore #i don’t wanna see doctors anymore #I don’t wanna be sick anymore #at the very least i just wanna know what the fuck is up with me #of all the pain and bleeding and exhaustion #not knowing the cause of it all is the worst part #i may become a hermit for a little while #queue will keep running