Thankful Thursday - Day 163

Today I'm thankful for beautiful lightning storms. We were running tonight, and there was lightning off in the distance. And just to think that it's just one other little tiny thing in the scheme of things. But so magnificent.

Behind my Back, Really? - Day 162

Sometimes I wonder about people, specifically what are they thinking? What's going through their minds as I talk to them. What are they picking up that they aren't saying? How will they perceive me from the words that I say? What are the words that they're going to use with others, about me later.

It's that insecurity of hoping for others approval. But at the same time I hope that I won't be worried about what others say. Because the assumption is they'll either say it to my face or not at all.

I'm honestly sick of all the backstabbing that I've seen go down. Yeah, sure you can be honest to Jane about John. But being honest to John about John. Nope, not going to happen.

I tend to talk more than the average orangoutang, so I can at times open my trap once in awhile and spew out some local gossip. I'm trying to be honest to John about John, instead of to Jane. And I'm going to keep my stupid mouth shut about others. That's part of being a good friend. You know, at some point your friend's going to be stupid. It's a fact of life that everyone does something dumb or a bunch of dumb things. But the fact is a true friend won't go blabbing his mouth to every Joe, Dick, and Harry. And I do want to be a friend who people can rely on and trust. There are too many undependable people. If you want a friend who will gossip about you and use you, they're really easy to find. Those who are dependable, actually care about you, and don't spread gossip all over. That's a different story.

So if you do find a friend like that, treasure them. I'm not a good friend, but maybe someday I will be.

Silent - Day 161

I love running at night. You look up at the stars and breath deeply. You hear nothing except the pitter patter of your own feet on the ground. The moon smiles at you. The trees all around whispering to you. You have a chance to think and clear your head. The adrenaline pumps and you dash along down the road.

It's rare to have silence today. Music constantly blaring in my ears. Movies to watch whenever I have downtime. Tv shows to catch up on. Radio stations to turn on when I get in the car. It's rare to get any silence. Part of it is I just can't handle silence. Whenever you're around people you need to have a constant string of words flowing. Not necessarily good words, but as long as there are words coming out you're good. 

I think we should embrace silence more. Let's stop drowning ourselves in constant music, movies, etc. Sometimes we should just sit outside, listen to the silence, and be still and know that He is God.

"Be still, and know that I am God." ~ Psalms 46:10(a)

Picture of the Day #161: (I'm going to start doing these again... I might just have Winslow take all the pictures..... ;-P) 

Encouragement Monday - Day 160

The way to love anything is to realize that it may be lost. ~G.K. Chesterton

Sunday Quote - Day 159

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." ~ Matthew 5:9

Yelling, really? - Day 158

SHUT UP! I AM RIGHT. SERVE ME.

Man, the people who type in all caps, yes even for one word, are so annoying. Those ALL CAPS RAGES. So you're yelling at me? Thanks?

The most humorous is those who think that typing in all caps somehow helps their case. It honestly just makes you look like an angry jerk.

Please never ever use all caps in argument. Except for that little letter at the beginning of each sentence.

Just my little tip of the day. :-)

Anyways...

I'M GOING TO BED!!!! HAVE A GREAT SUNDAY! MY VOICE HURTS YELLING LIKE THIS!!!

Dating Vs. Courtship Round 1 - Day 157

Btw: I'm really experienced with this so everything I say = awesome sauce.


Not.


Anyways...

Marriage is ultimately either the creation of a great man or the ruin of a man. In The Millionaire Mind by Thomas Stanley, the fourth most important factor for those who became millionaires, when asked what made them successful, is having a supportive spouse. To know if your spouse is really going to be supportive then you need to know them...right?

I think one reason the dating system is fundamentally flawed is because it can create this fake aura that does not exist in the real world. You can easily keep a semi-fake personality as you seek to get what you desire. But at some point you are going to have to show the devil in you. The common phrase, "better the devil you know than the devil you don't know" seems to hold true in this situation. This is not necessarily true in all cases, but at least you are more likely to find less surprises. 

It seems that in a courtship you are hopefully going to get a look at real life. You can actually ask the right questions and move through a somewhat more rational approach.

Another reason I appreciate courtship is that you do have good (hopefully) feedback. Having wise counselors in your life is always a good idea in what is going to be one of the most important decisions you are going to make. 

Also, I appreciate the fact that fathers are involved. I understand there are fathers out there who abuse the system of courtship. There are always going to be noobasauruses; but if we assume there is actually love then the system will hopefully work.

One thing I don't always appreciate is that some people make it so rigid and complicated. I understand that you don't want to create emotional commitment in a courtship, you want to keep the heart and body pure. But it is hard for a relationship to grow in a closed bottle with no oxygen.

I think with anything like dating or courtship there are bad ways to do both. Fundamentally I see courtship as a better built system. But if there is no love for fathers, no love for daughters, no love for sons, etc. then it would be better to just date. 

Thoughts? I could write a lot more rubbish. But I'm tired and don't have time to write more lore. Yay!

Thankful Thursday - Day 156

Today I'm thankful for my parents. I'm thankful for the overwhelming amount of blood, sweat, and tears they've invested into me. The constant flow of love that amazes me. The amazing passion for God's word. The passion for others. The humility that they approach each situation with. The willingness to humble themselves before even their children and cry out to God. I see their imperfections and sins but I am overwhelmed by the repentance and love that they show. Even when they're personally attacked I'm impressed by the wisdom and thought that is used to approach each situation. And most of all I'm grateful for the love for God and His Word. Pointing away from themselves and towards God.

Many people don't love their parents. All they do is focus on their faults. My dad is a drunk. My mom is bitter. My dad is angry, etc. etc. etc. And that's all they can say about their parents. At the point where you no longer honor your father and mother that seems like the point that you're going to become some angry and bitter person. When you can't cover over the faults of your father or mother is the point that you will be likely to betray anyone else. Honor of parents is so important. Yet it's a daily struggle. At least for me it is, maybe not for you..

I have been very blessed.

What are you thankful for today? :-)

Stop Dreaming - Day 155

I want to do a lot of stuff. I want to release iPhone apps. I want to release audio dramas. I want to make videos. I want to write blogs, *cough* not so much. I want to build inventions.

The problem is people tend to get stuck in the I want to do this. I want to do that. They don't want to focus on something and become good at it. And then move on to the next thing when they have the time to do it.. (And when I say they I mean me. <_<) 

We're given a lot of options. About a hundred years ago, you just didn't get very many options. You learned from your dad how to farm and you became a farmer because you were good at it. Or you could become a blacksmith, a doctor, or a lawyer. While today you have what feels like a million options. You aren't just a doctor. You could be an MD or an OD. You could specialize and be an infectious disease doctor or a gastroenterologist. You have a lot of options.

But it seems like many people instead of taking the many options and using them to their fullest instead they get stuck in some sort of frozen state of mind or something.. They go to college, switch their majors five times, and then finally when they graduate they work a job that's different than their degree anyways. And then complain about their job.

Anyways... Many people have been given the opportunity to follow their dreams. The problem is you need to actually follow them. (Assuming their godly) Enough sitting on the couch dreaming about your dreams. They have to turn into a reality. Otherwise, you're going to wake up in 10 years and you're still sitting on the couch with a bag of potato chips outside in an alley.. 

Last of all, I would just say use wisdom. You need wise counselors. You need people there who are willing to tell you you're terrible at singing or whatever it is.

"In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good." - (Ecc. 11:6)

Sow your seed and shoot for your dreams, and maybe it will prosper. But it won't ever prosper if you never sow any seed. 

"Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment." - (Ecc. 11:9)

Encouragement for the Week - Day 154

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God,   the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint,   and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary,and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength;   they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary;   they shall walk and not faint. ~ Isaiah 40:28-31 


Sorry for the lazy posts. Sometimes I just run out of time.. <_<

Rudest - Day 153

If I had to use one word for people on the internet it would probably be rude.  They are rude up one side and down the other. Expletives all over the page. People screaming at each other. Lol. Man, I'm sure thankful for the internet.

That's it. 

1 Corinthians 13

Sunday Quote - Day 152

"It is only through labor and painful effort, by grim energy and resolute courage, that we move on to better things" ~ Theodore Roosevelt

In the Ditch - Day 151

It is a common refrain to hear, “the church is hypocritical”. Indeed, there are organizations in Christianity that are built around a long long list of rules; “your dress hem should be this high”, “Don't wear high heels”, “Your dress has to be two-ply”, etc. (This is for the guys. ;-P o.0). They have reduced Christianity to a bunch of Pharisaical rules. You look at their rule book, and then you look at the Bible and go O.o.

On the other hand you have the “grace” people. Christianity is not really anything but an encouragement workshop that preaches some sort of thing that is really nothing; you come to get hugged by a big teddy bear; it makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside. But eventually you stop going to church. Why bother? You can just as easily listen to a positive thinking speaker on the radio. There is no commitment because there is nothing to commit to.

I think these issues often boil down to having the right balance. It is easy to sit in the ditch of imbalance; staying on the middle of the road is hard. It is easy to go one way or another, and interestingly enough, I have seen a number of people go into both ditches. I have seen them jump from one ditch to the other. In reacting against one imbalance they rush into another imbalance; and then eventually they just quit. It is difficult to be balanced because we are sinners and it is something that we will struggle for the entirety of our lives.

“You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you.” - Deuteronomy 4:2

Hope you have a wonderful Sunday! ^_^

Lasting a Lifetime – Day 150

Many young adults no longer attend church once they leave home. They head off to college, and since they saw the church as something that was never really anything more than Bible stories in Sunday school and a dull pastor who did not live as he preached, naturally, they stopped attending.

I recently glanced through Ken Ham's book “Already Gone”, and I perused several of the statistics. To be perfectly honest, I was not surprised by most of the statistics. There is a multitude of different reasons why people leave the church; hypocrisy, boredom, legalism, politics, and so on. They were tired of going to church and were far more concerned with success in college.

In the end, we know that most of these people had already began to withdraw from the life of the church. They had “checked out” long before they actually left the church. I see this phenomenon often today. In the past, social pressures influenced one to be part of the church. One had to be a part of the church to be culturally normative. But in today's culture, one is encouraged to leave the church and “get on with life”. One no longer has to hide the hypocrisy. Perhaps this is good...

One of the problems that I have seen is that parents pay little attention to teaching their children God's Word. They send their kids off to school so that they can play their golf game and take time for themselves. These people have little passion for the church of God. For many of these people, church has become a burden and a responsibility rather than a joy. These people send their kids to Sunday School in order to alleviate their own responsibility to teach their children the Bible. Ironically, those children that did spend time in Sunday School were often more likely to doubt the Bible than those children which did not participate. This is ironic, but it makes sense since these parents have abdicated their responsibility to teach their children God's Word. (Not necessarily true of all parents by any means, but you understand where this attitude of lax behavior can quickly come about if the parents perceive this instruction of children to be done primarily by the church on a Sunday morning for half an hour.)

At the end of the day, people are responsible for their own sins. But it is the parent's God-given duty to train their children in the Word of God (Deut. 6:7).

As a young Christian, you must make the faith your own. If you simply affirm your parent's faith but do not have faith yourself, it is worthless to your salvation and sanctification.

Be devoted to the Word of God and prayer. It is imperative that one spend time rooted in the wisdom of the Scriptures and that one apply these sacred truths to the sins that confront us each day.

Thankful Thursday - Day 149

I'm thankful today for friends. Friends who are willing to be with me when times are hard. Friends who I can have a good time with. Friends who I can challenge. Friends who will challenge me. Friends who when I am weak put out a shoulder for me to lean on.  Friends who I can put a shoulder out there for them. Friends who I can laugh with and cry with. Friends who pray for one another.

Thank you those of you who are my friends. I'm very grateful for your friendship.

P.S. One thing that I've been learning about friendship is that it needs to go both ways. If you come into a friendship looking for handouts or constant encouragement you're going to be sadly disappointed. A relationship needs to have both people wanting to love each other in Christ and to honor God in order to have a real lasting friendship.

If not to honor God why would we try to put others before ourselves? We may do it in the short term to make ourselves feel good or maybe to benefit from their friendship. But in the end it's going to either be all about us or it's going to be all about God.

P.S.S. Random note, don't forget to take what I say, from day to day, with a healthy grain of salt. About 8% of what I say is worth listening to. If that..

Overflowing - Day 148

Why do we only see the cup as half full when it's really overflowing?

Sun - Day 147

Life is fun when you're in the sun. Up to the point you turn into a lobster... ;-P

By Their Fruits You Shall Know Them - Day 146

There are many different groups within Christianity. I'm specifically talking about the ones that are separated by major points of doctrine. And you'll debate all day long with these people. But there's a point where you say you go your way and I'll go mine. And in 15-20 years we'll meet again and see where the fruit is. Doctrine is important and it'll be worked out in your life over time. What you believe has consequences. And the question is, what will those consequences be?

What would happen if you were wrong? An interesting question for sure.

Friendship Quote - Day 145

Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence. - George Washington



True friends stab you in the front. - Oscar Wilde



Pictures of the Day #145:

Patience - Day 144

Learning patience isn't the most fun thing in the world. It typically involves testing your patience... Why?!

;-)

Give Up?! - Day 143

It's easy to start something. But it's much harder to finish it. It's easy to take the first step of a marathon. The 50,000th step at the end is also fairly easy. But those other steps 2-49,999. Oh so much harder. It's easy to give up for a multitude of reasons.

Number one, it may just be farther than you imagined it was when you started. Instead of being merely a pleasant walk in the woods, you got lost 3 times. You ran into a bear. You ran out of water. And yet you still can't see the end.

Or, maybe it's just boring. You've already taken 10,000 steps. Why take another 40,000? The bathroom has been cleaned hundreds of times. Does it really need to be cleaned again?!

Maybe you just forgot how much you've accomplished. I have 30,000 more steps to go. But I forgot that I already accomplished 20,000..

Our minds will tempt us to give up. And sometimes it's true. We should give up. It would be the wise thing to do to give up. But most of the time, we should strive to make things work.

If you're always giving up on your businesses, your relationships, and life in general then you just aren't going to make it anywhere.

Life is difficult. The question is will you conquer it or will it conquer you?

Picture of the Day #143:

Thankful Thursday - Day 142

Yay! It's Thursday. Thankful Thursday to be precise.

I must say that I am most thankful for my family today. My entire family is pretty amazing. I'm thankful for all their hard work. I'm thankful for the many creative ideas that flow throughout. I'm thankful for the love. I'm thankful for the many and diverse gifts God has given to my siblings and parents. And I'm thankful for the happiness and joy that flows throughout. (Most of the time. ;-P)

What are you thankful for today?

Picture of the Day #142: (Picture from a video shoot)

Angry or Escape? - Day 141

Peacemaking is something of a lost art. People typically have two responses.

Either they attack and spit ad hominem fallacies all over your face. (Hey, they're desperate to get their argument out there, pardon them if it involves spittle) <--- ad hominem ;-P

Or you have those who just escape and allow the bitterness to build up. I honestly see the escaping and letting the bitterness wall build as being worse. Anyways, we can conclude both are bad.

 But what do we do? We have to make peace. Of course there are times when it is impossible. There are people who will just hate you no matter what you do. Anyways.. As Christians, peacemaking is very important. Does that mean we have to agree on everything? No. But civility and love for one another is.

 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." ~ Matthew 5:9

 Picture of the Day #141:

Some of the images I use are taken by Winslow Robbins. Thanks Winn! www.thewdesigner.com

Save Yourself - Day 140

The waves slapped his face. He could taste the salt water. And his eyes opened for the last time. The lifejacket was still there. He could still grab it.

BUT NO!

"I can do this myself." his mind screamed!

And then he went under for the last time.

Are we this way with our sin? Jesus we don't need you. Get behind me and I'll do this myself. I can and will save myself.

And just like the drowning man who can save himself, we will drown in our sin.

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. ~ John 3:16-17

Picture of the Day #140:

Friends and Peers - Day 139

Your friends will make you. Or they will break you.

Just remember the people who you hang out with are the people you will become like. Are your times together edifying? Are they built around building each other up? Or are they about tearing others down? Does your time together leave your soul feeling fresh and clean or does your flesh give you a hug?

Of course friendship isn't about just sitting around in some sort of eggheaded frozen chosen setting where you sit for hours on end discussing theological issues and never joking or having fun with one another. These times of fun can be just as edifying and build the relationship just as much, even though in a different way. But the question is are they?

Are your friendships just about joking and having fun? Of course it's important to have joy. But pure fun and entertainment is going to be unhealthy. To eat cotton candy all your life would make for a very short life and in the same way having a relationship that consists of cotton candy style conversation would also make for a short and not very deep friendship.

Do you profit from having non-Christian friends? My grandma has said, "If more of them is rubbing off on you than you is rubbing off on them then you should leave." To paraphrase.

For instance, there are more than a couple of those that I know of who've been from fairly conservative Christian backgrounds and then through various means eventually became homosexuals and one of the major elements was the friends they had.

Our friendships should be based around and in Christ. Not because you both like mustard, or love dogs, or you both like biking, etc. Those are additions and help make the friendship. But the foundation to your friendship should be based on Christ. If you have a foundation that's built on you both loving golf and one of you gets hurt and can no longer golf. Well there goes the friendship.

One of our elders did a wonderful exhortation on friends this Sunday and I'll post the link whenever it goes online. It was a very good exhortation and convicted me greatly.

In summary, I'm not a very good friend. I discourage. I don't appreciate people enough. I don't love my friends as Christ does. I'm not looking to lay down my life in the little things enough. I need to love more. Christ has loved us beyond anything we could ever hope to love. Let's go out and be good friends. While at the same time making wise choices about the friends you have.

Your friends will make you. Or they will break you.

Love you guys!

Picture of the Day #139: (ha ha at my face ;-P)

Sunday Quote - Day 138

Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference. - Winston Churchill

Picture of the Day #138:

Tired AGAIN?! - Day 137

I'm tired guys. This has been a fun theme to the whole week. ;-P Hope you all have a wonderful Sunday. :-)

Psalm 37:3-6
Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.Commit your way to the LORD,Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,And your justice as the noonday.

Praise - Day 136

Praise ye the Lord. A portion of a verse I just read. We can either be afraid of failure and the worst case scenario. Or we can be the ones who believe in God's salvation and praise him. I wonder why I still worry more than I rejoice..

Sleep? - Day 135

Sleep is important. I am in need of it. I am going to bed.

Good night. :-)

Addicted? To Blogs?! - Day 134

Oh internet, oftentimes, the bearer of woe. You assist teens in becoming addicted to cycling through hundreds of dumb videos on youtube. You addict men to porn. You "help" everybody to spend countless hours on Facebook, the ideal place for wasting time.  

And you help addict Christians to blogs.

I'm trying to stop reading blogs. I only follow a couple now. At certain choice times, inadvertently my mouse wanders over to the search bar and somehow my keyboard magically takes me to the unedifying atmosphere of pride on the blog sphere. It's the person who posts about fifteen hundred words per day on random topics mostly involving ovens, it's the bitter one who's mad at the whole world, or it might be the kid who posts every day, with bad grammar and is an angel (lol, who am I talking about?!), etc, etc. etc. 

Blarg. 

To sum it all up, blogs are the new way that everybody gets their unhelpful content into everybody's hearts and minds. If you want to you can find bitterness, hate, lust, and all the things that God hates on the internet.  If there is a desire for bitterness, one can certainly find someone who will agree with them in the blog sphere. Explore the world young padawan.

In all seriousness and love, guys and girls, don't let the bitterness and hate that infiltrates the internet mess with you.  Resist the temptation to visit a blog that makes you become hot under the collar, or begs an angry, impetuous comment that can float out into anonymity.   There are many bitter angry people on the internet and they'll say whatever they want to say whether it's kind, true, loving, or not. Don't worry, just let them go their way and hope they don't kill people. God calls us all to account for what we do or say at the end of our lives.  We are not here to call everybody to account, but to redeem the time God has given us for His kingdom.  

What should blogs be about? They should be just like our speech. 

Philippians 4:8 - Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

You want to address hard issues? Address them wisely. Don't just spout, like most blogs do. (Mine can tend to be that way. ;-P)