Words, words, words!
1.
i. Abecedarian
ii. Noun
iii. One learning the rudiments of something (as the alphabet)
iv. Abecedarian (adj)
v. Origin: Mid. Eng. from Medieval Latin from late Latin neuter of abecedarius of the alphabet, from the letters a+b+c+d
2.
i. Augment
ii. Verb
iii. To make greater, more numerous, larger, or more intense
iv. Augment (noun)
v. Origin: Mid. Eng. from Anglo-French augmenter, from late Latin , from Latin augmentum increase, from augēre to increase
3.
i. Authenticate
ii. Transitive verb
iii. To prove or to serve to prove the authenticity of

iv. Authentication (noun); Authenticator (noun)
v. Unknown
4.
i. Burgeoning
ii. Intransitive verb
iii. To send forth new growth; to grow and expand rapidly
iv. Bourgeon
v. Middle English burjonen, from Anglo-French burjuner, from burjun bud, from Vulgar Latin *burrion-, burrio, from Late Latin burra fluff, shaggy cloth
5.
i. Cessation
ii. Noun
iii. A ceasing of action
iv. N/A
v. Middle English cessacioun, from Middle French cessation, from Latin cessation-, cessatio delay, idleness, from cessare to delay, be idle — more at cease

6.
i. Fallacy
ii. Noun
iii. A false or mistaken idea
iv. Fallacies (pl.)
v. Latin fallacia, from fallac-, fallax deceitful, from fallere to deceive
7.
i. Foreboding
ii. Noun
iii. The act of one who forebodes; an omen, prediction, or presentiment
especially of coming evil
iv. Foreboding (adj); Forebode
v. 14th century
8.
i. Mandate
ii. Noun
iii. An authoritative command
iv. Mandate (transitive verb)
v. Middle French & Latin; Middle French mandat, from Latin mandatum,
from neuter of mandatus, past participle of mandare to entrust, enjoin,
probably irregular from manus hand + -dere to put — more at manual,
do
9.
i. Perturbation
ii. Noun
iii. A disturbance of motion, course, arrangement, or state of equilibrium
iv. Perturbing; Perturbed; Perturbational (adj)
v. 14th century
10.
i. Quell
ii. Verb
iii. To put a stop to (something) by use of force
iv. Queller (n)
v. Middle English, to kill, quell, from Old English cwellan to kill; akin to Old High German quellen to torture, kill, quāla torment, Lithuanian gelti to hurt
11.
i. Sovereignty
ii. Noun
iii. Supreme power or excellency
iv. Sovereignties (pl)
v. Middle English soverainte, from Anglo-French sovereinté, from soverein
12.
i. Substantiate
ii. Transitive verb
iii. To give substance or form to; to establish by proof or competent evidence
iv. Substantiation (n); Substantiative (adj)
v. 1657
13.
i. Vernacular
ii. Noun
iii. A language or dialect native to a person
iv. Vernacular (adj); Vernacularly (adv)
v. Latin vernaculus native, from verna slave born in the master's house, native
14.
i. Vestige
ii. Noun
iii. A trace or visible sign of something that no longer exists
iv. Vestigial (adj); Vestigially (adj)
v. Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin vestigium footstep,
footprint, track, vestige
15.
i. Virago
ii. Noun
iii. A woman of great stature, strength and courage
iv. Viraginous (adj)
v. Middle English, from Latin viragin-, virago, from vir man — more at virile

*Definitions obtained from merriam-webster.com/dictionary


I come to class one day and like the meticulous student that I am, I ask the teacher to explain the homework. (It is always better to ask than to be left in the dark, afterall.) Anyway, the problem was in the fact that I did not understand the vocabulary in the question. My teacher then proceeded to tell me, “You need to expand your vocabulary,” in a derogatory tone. (That’s right, I said derogatory. How’s that for a big word!) I won’t go into any details as to whom exactly this mean, pride perturbing professor was. Let’s just say that she has a Russian accent. (Wink-wink). All I could think was “Well, I’d never!” These be fightin’ words for an English major like myself, my self-respect nearly becoming a vestige.

A year and a half goes by and I write a novella for another class. This time I make sure to demonstrate my burgeoning vocabulary. I didn’t simply use the Word thesaurus like crazy. (Of course I wouldn’t do that!) Rather, I used words that I honest-to-goodness already knew and wanted to use to express my story. These words were validated, don’t ya know! I would let this professor know that I was no abecedarian to the English language. As it turns out, she responded on my paper in that foreboding red ink that just screams rejection that my language did not sound natural. Who is she to tell me what my own personal vernacular should be?

Here I stand at crossroads: being instructed to augment my vocabulary on one side and on the other told to do the exact opposite. Talk about a “lose-lose” situation. Okay… whatever! I must authenticate myself for who I am not for who others want me to be. I write for no professor. I speak for no professor. Assuming that I do would be nothing more than a mere fallacy. I cannot be quelled. There is one and only one being that has sovereignty over me. I write for God. I speak for God. He alone mandates me. Take it or leave it. Virago!
…Cessation/Beginning…

Shhhhh!—Not while I’m still-ing

Recently, I did a goggle search on the word “still” and got various and very odd results. Those results were: “stihl,” “how to build a still,” “still chain saw,” “homemade still,” “still’s disease,” “still standing,” “still hillsong” and “moonshine.” These results led to links about still’s disease, a form of arthritis that attacks children and adults and is indicated by high spiking fevers and a temporary salmon colored rash. It talks about “still standing” which is a funny show…that Bill just kills me! It talks about “still” a song by a Christian group that I had never heard of before, but another goggle search proved that it is a pretty good song. Others of these results I still have no clue what they were talking about. Generally, these results simply say to me that I should never have even thought about googling the word still. Most of them do not seem to reflect what the theme “Still” means to me at all.
The exception would have to be the song “Still” by Hillsong. I get it. It speaks to
me! The lyrics are as follows:
Hide me now
Under your wings
Cover mewithin your mighty hand
When the oceans rise and thunders roar
I will soar with you above the storm
Father you are king over the flood
I will be still and know you are God
Find rest my soul
In Christ alone
Know his powerI
n quietness and trust
This song simply and beautifully reveals the concept of having peace despite all of the pressures of a hectic, frantic world. Being calm. Being still. This kind of peace cannot be found in things of the world. You cannot find this peace in a bottle. No. You cannot find this peace in pills. Uh-un. You cannot find this peace in drugs. Claro que no! This kind of peace is not purchased. It is not tangible. You cannot hold it in your hands. You cannot touch. But, you can feel it. You can feel it in your soul and gently become at ease.
This kind of peace is only imparted by God to those whom he has chosen. It is given to those who trust in Him and submit their all to Him. Without God we are powerless anyway. Who am I? No one. Who is He? Everything. What I am without Him? Nothing. What is He? Everlasting life! What can we do but turn to him, pray to Him and let him have His way? Now that is pure…pleasant…peace. It is the ultimate S-T-I-L-L!
Still is about being still; knowing the concept of still; living still; breathing still. And yes, I did just use the word still just about a million times to define the word still. The importance lies in trusting God through anything. It’s about knowing that God has got your back 100 percent. It’s about letting go of self—self-will, self-desires, self-dreams—and saying once and for all, “Okay, Lord, your will be done.”
Shhhhhhh! Be silent. Be still.