Wow it has been awhile since I sat down and wrote a blog. Over a year actually. I can't say that I will do so again any time soon, but I have had some things on my mind so I might as well write about it. I am also in May Term, so it could be that this desire to write a blog comes from my lack of desire to study for either Anatomy and Physiology or for the OAT and PCAT that I am taking this summer. Either way, I'm writing this thing... so I hope you enjoy it.
The first thing I've been thinking about is this: Why does seemingly every argument or political stance throw Jesus behind their cause? Growing up going to Christian schools I saw this a lot. I remember Coach Watson going around at basketball practice and asking whether Republican or Democrat was more Christian. Inevitably, Liberty basketball players would say Republican. Now, Coach Watson's point in asking this is the same as mine. While the school gave a good theological background, they also threw in some worldview, and being in a Republican community that lead many people to think that Jesus was on that side. Let me be clear. Jesus is not on one side or the other in politics. What did people in ancient Israel want Jesus to do? Be a political figure. What did he do? He avoided it. When did Jesus ever make a political claim? Ummm never. What did he say about taxes? Give to Caesar what is Caesar's. Basically, it is Caesar's money so give him what he wants. It wasn't Jesus' place to argue with wrongful taxation. Jesus came to seek and save the lost, not back up a political viewpoint. All authority was established by heaven and we ought to respect that. I am not saying that people shouldn't stand up for things. I think they should have opinions and reasons for that. Those reasons can and inevitably will be faith based. Christianity is the lens that all believers should see the world through. Have opinions, stand up for what you think is right and moral, but be really careful as to what you put Christ's name behind because it can greatly affect people's perspective of Christians. Jesus said that the world ought to know believers by our love. What part of protesting gay rights and picketing businesses in Jesus' name is showing love? Yes, being gay is a sin, but no more than a guy sleeping with his girlfriend. If you ask me, they both need Jesus. You can vote whatever way you think is right. That's fine. All I'm saying is how about we focus on loving people the best we can, and leave it to Jesus to change their minds on what is right or wrong.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this and discuss, but if you want to get in an argument please keep it to yourself.
Next topic.
I am in a conundrum. I have wanted to be an Optometrist forever, but my love of chemistry has pushed me to consider pharmacy. Now, after doing more research into both and job shadowing, I have no idea which one I want to do. They both have pros and cons. They involve the same amount of schooling and I can still separate home life from work life with both of them. I am interested in the eye, and I am interested in medicinal chemistry. Medicine is more interesting than optics, but direct patient care is a nice plus in optometry. Business owning is probably a con for optometry, but there is more of a chance that I could get bad hours in pharmacy. I would work retail in neither career. Anyway, those are just a few of my thoughts in the matter, and I figured I would share. Like I said earlier, I am taking both tests this summer to get into either type grad school. I want to be able to say that I had a positive impact on others through my healthcare career, and I'm in the process of searching for where God wants me. Prayers in my decision would be appreciated, along with prayers for my nerves whilst studying for standardized tests.
That is all for my first post in over a year.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
School's Out (100th post)
Alright here we go. This is my 100th blog post! Yay! Aren't you so excited to hear more of my insightful, possibly life-altering, certainly culture-defining opinions? But really, if you have been reading the whole time I've had this blog you understand that my opinions on certain matters have changed drastically over time and my life is quite a bit different than I would have thought when I started this blog.
I guess I'll say a few things in this regard. I started this blog because I would get ideas and opinions in my head, and they would fester in my mind to the point where I would be thinking about the same issue for a week. I would tell different people my opinions, and I always felt like I would simply be ranting at them. So I decided a blog would be an easier way to get my thoughts out. I had torn my ACL once, was ever so committed to attending Pacific University, and would never have touched a v-neck, much less dawned one.
I won't bore you with looking back for too long, I guess I am just in the mood since I finished my first year of college and have noticed a few differences in life than I would have thought in high school. For those of you that haven't heard, unless something drastic changes, I will not being trying out for the basketball team at George Fox next year. I sort of always thought that I would try out until I made the team at a school, just because I like playing basketball so much. And I still do, buuut studying takes a lot more time than it did in high school... I have a feeling Organic Chemistry will not be so supportive of my athletic career.
Okay, so this was an interesting year. It was great, but it definitely had its unpleasant moments too. Well I felt like I wanted to say something insightful, but anything talking about how the school year went just sounds lame. So sorry if you wanted to hear about it. You can text me, or not.
In other news, Courtney and I have been dating for over 4 months! This may sound corny, I don't really care, because I am thoroughly blessed by her, and am thankful that God has led me to her. I'd say a whole lot more, but I am more of the kind of person who likes to compliment their date personally, rather than writing it all over the Internet for all to see and slightly despise me for. I mean, who doesn't love to read an almost stranger's love letters written as facebook statuses... Anyway, point is that our relationship is going well.
So, I'll say a little something more than talking about daily events. Even though I haven't watched this weeks sermon yet, the last two weeks at Solid Rock had really challenging sermons on Philippians, and I greatly enjoyed it. I really like the history that John Mark, the pastor, has gone into. Philippi was a Roman colony, so their job was to spread Roman culture to the surrounding regions. Caesar would send messengers to the colonies, and they would stand and declare the gospel, that Caesar is King. This sort of gave the message of Philippians a new light to me, because as it talks about being lights in the world, and really what it's saying is that Paul wants Philippi to be a colony for Christ. He wants them to spread Christ, and to proclaim the gospel that Jesus is the ultimate King. I don't know, that sounds pretty basic writing it down, but I guess I just don't always think of myself or my community like that. So much of Christian culture nowadays is blending in, and don't get me wrong, becoming all things to all people is marvelous, but at what point are we colonies of Christ? At what point do we forget what culture is telling us, stand up, and declare that Jesus is the King in our lives? Don't get me wrong, the church will always change certain things in certain cultures, but when does the church stop only being defined by the culture, and when does the church start to redefine the culture? I don't claim to know all the answers, these are just questions I have. Maybe you think they have simple answers, maybe you think I'm missing the bigger picture, but I can't help but wonder. I'd love to hear your thoughts, but I'm done writing for now.
I guess I'll say a few things in this regard. I started this blog because I would get ideas and opinions in my head, and they would fester in my mind to the point where I would be thinking about the same issue for a week. I would tell different people my opinions, and I always felt like I would simply be ranting at them. So I decided a blog would be an easier way to get my thoughts out. I had torn my ACL once, was ever so committed to attending Pacific University, and would never have touched a v-neck, much less dawned one.
I won't bore you with looking back for too long, I guess I am just in the mood since I finished my first year of college and have noticed a few differences in life than I would have thought in high school. For those of you that haven't heard, unless something drastic changes, I will not being trying out for the basketball team at George Fox next year. I sort of always thought that I would try out until I made the team at a school, just because I like playing basketball so much. And I still do, buuut studying takes a lot more time than it did in high school... I have a feeling Organic Chemistry will not be so supportive of my athletic career.
Okay, so this was an interesting year. It was great, but it definitely had its unpleasant moments too. Well I felt like I wanted to say something insightful, but anything talking about how the school year went just sounds lame. So sorry if you wanted to hear about it. You can text me, or not.
In other news, Courtney and I have been dating for over 4 months! This may sound corny, I don't really care, because I am thoroughly blessed by her, and am thankful that God has led me to her. I'd say a whole lot more, but I am more of the kind of person who likes to compliment their date personally, rather than writing it all over the Internet for all to see and slightly despise me for. I mean, who doesn't love to read an almost stranger's love letters written as facebook statuses... Anyway, point is that our relationship is going well.
So, I'll say a little something more than talking about daily events. Even though I haven't watched this weeks sermon yet, the last two weeks at Solid Rock had really challenging sermons on Philippians, and I greatly enjoyed it. I really like the history that John Mark, the pastor, has gone into. Philippi was a Roman colony, so their job was to spread Roman culture to the surrounding regions. Caesar would send messengers to the colonies, and they would stand and declare the gospel, that Caesar is King. This sort of gave the message of Philippians a new light to me, because as it talks about being lights in the world, and really what it's saying is that Paul wants Philippi to be a colony for Christ. He wants them to spread Christ, and to proclaim the gospel that Jesus is the ultimate King. I don't know, that sounds pretty basic writing it down, but I guess I just don't always think of myself or my community like that. So much of Christian culture nowadays is blending in, and don't get me wrong, becoming all things to all people is marvelous, but at what point are we colonies of Christ? At what point do we forget what culture is telling us, stand up, and declare that Jesus is the King in our lives? Don't get me wrong, the church will always change certain things in certain cultures, but when does the church stop only being defined by the culture, and when does the church start to redefine the culture? I don't claim to know all the answers, these are just questions I have. Maybe you think they have simple answers, maybe you think I'm missing the bigger picture, but I can't help but wonder. I'd love to hear your thoughts, but I'm done writing for now.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Do Not Conform
Hey it hasn't been another 3 month break! Well I have some wonderful stuff to cover tonight, hopefully some of it will surmount to something though provoking and uplifting, that is really the goal, so I'm sorry ahead of time if it sounds like a rant at points...
However, I will start with a bit of current events. Last weekend I went to the beach with my dad, mom, sister Danae, and then Courtney, Patty, and Sam. It was soo great to get out and relax for a while, we even saw some sun for a bit at the Oregon Coast (I know, shocking). We wandered around the beach, Lincoln city, and just chilled at the nice beach house we rented for the weekend. I really enjoyed seeing everyone get along. It's not a weekend I will soon forget.
Sooo I had some qualms with several things in George Fox theology this week. The first topic is actually not Fox's fault, it just the students having differing opinions. If you go to Fox, you probably know what I'm talking about. There's been a huge debate about how to make this a safe campus for the LGBT community. Several groups have popped up, OneGeorgeFox and Common Ground, that seem to support this idea, all the while condoning homosexuality. Now I have been very clear on my stance on homosexuality in previous blogs, love the sinner hate the sin. Sure we should have a "safe" campus in that it's not right to persecute or insult people struggling with sin, but it should not be a "safe" campus in that we overlook this sin as if it is okay.
All of that should be obvious, but my point is more at the type of argument that went on. 1. People are really ignorant sometimes, and just make dumb remarks sometimes. So don't talk if you don't know what you are talking about...that should be obvious too. 2. People just started throwing out random verses, some that were applicable and some that seemed just super random, like John 13:34 "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another." Now that's a fine verse, but it doesn't seem to fit, and is in no way allowing homosexuality, which is sort of how it was placed in the context of conversation...
Okay the second problem I had was in Bible class. Surprise! I disagree with something basically every day, just because I have a much more conservative theology than my professor. Okay so this week we talked about God as a mother. I won't get into the argument, my bottom line is that God is revealed as Father in Scripture, the Lord's prayer is just one of many times, so since that is how he is revealed, that what we ought to worship Him. Clear enough?
Oh I guess I have to get a bit into the argument to make my overarching point. Basically the references to father and this idea of God as a father were written off as just in a cultural context, since the Israelite culture was strongly patriarchal.
Now I can get to my main point, combining both of my problems this week. At some point, we as Christians have to stop questioning the wording of every single verse, and take what the Bible says at face value. I am fully aware that not everything is going to directly apply to today, some of the Israelite laws are just strange, but not everything in the Bible needs to be dissected to be properly understood. When Jesus says in Matthew 5:48 "You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect," He really means you should try to be perfect. And he really means to say Father, but that was actually just a happy accident that Father was in that verse, I didn't think about it before using the example. Anyway, it becomes a dangerous path when you start to rule out what the Bible says as true. You start taking Creation or Jude as a complete parable, and what says Jesus' resurrection isn't a parable? Just because someone had an abusive father as a child does not give them the right to call God "mother." If anything, he should be more inclined to call Him Father since God is the perfect, redeeming father. At some point it becomes a very sketchy path to conform God to what we want. God's name is "I AM WHO I AM." We need to be careful not to conform Him to our vision of Him. This can quickly become conforming Him to the pattern of the world, which leads many astray, and as Romans 12:2 says, we are to be "transformed by the renewing of your mind."
Hopefully that was up building somehow, I'd love to hear your thoughts. That's all for tonight.
However, I will start with a bit of current events. Last weekend I went to the beach with my dad, mom, sister Danae, and then Courtney, Patty, and Sam. It was soo great to get out and relax for a while, we even saw some sun for a bit at the Oregon Coast (I know, shocking). We wandered around the beach, Lincoln city, and just chilled at the nice beach house we rented for the weekend. I really enjoyed seeing everyone get along. It's not a weekend I will soon forget.
Sooo I had some qualms with several things in George Fox theology this week. The first topic is actually not Fox's fault, it just the students having differing opinions. If you go to Fox, you probably know what I'm talking about. There's been a huge debate about how to make this a safe campus for the LGBT community. Several groups have popped up, OneGeorgeFox and Common Ground, that seem to support this idea, all the while condoning homosexuality. Now I have been very clear on my stance on homosexuality in previous blogs, love the sinner hate the sin. Sure we should have a "safe" campus in that it's not right to persecute or insult people struggling with sin, but it should not be a "safe" campus in that we overlook this sin as if it is okay.
All of that should be obvious, but my point is more at the type of argument that went on. 1. People are really ignorant sometimes, and just make dumb remarks sometimes. So don't talk if you don't know what you are talking about...that should be obvious too. 2. People just started throwing out random verses, some that were applicable and some that seemed just super random, like John 13:34 "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another." Now that's a fine verse, but it doesn't seem to fit, and is in no way allowing homosexuality, which is sort of how it was placed in the context of conversation...
Okay the second problem I had was in Bible class. Surprise! I disagree with something basically every day, just because I have a much more conservative theology than my professor. Okay so this week we talked about God as a mother. I won't get into the argument, my bottom line is that God is revealed as Father in Scripture, the Lord's prayer is just one of many times, so since that is how he is revealed, that what we ought to worship Him. Clear enough?
Oh I guess I have to get a bit into the argument to make my overarching point. Basically the references to father and this idea of God as a father were written off as just in a cultural context, since the Israelite culture was strongly patriarchal.
Now I can get to my main point, combining both of my problems this week. At some point, we as Christians have to stop questioning the wording of every single verse, and take what the Bible says at face value. I am fully aware that not everything is going to directly apply to today, some of the Israelite laws are just strange, but not everything in the Bible needs to be dissected to be properly understood. When Jesus says in Matthew 5:48 "You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect," He really means you should try to be perfect. And he really means to say Father, but that was actually just a happy accident that Father was in that verse, I didn't think about it before using the example. Anyway, it becomes a dangerous path when you start to rule out what the Bible says as true. You start taking Creation or Jude as a complete parable, and what says Jesus' resurrection isn't a parable? Just because someone had an abusive father as a child does not give them the right to call God "mother." If anything, he should be more inclined to call Him Father since God is the perfect, redeeming father. At some point it becomes a very sketchy path to conform God to what we want. God's name is "I AM WHO I AM." We need to be careful not to conform Him to our vision of Him. This can quickly become conforming Him to the pattern of the world, which leads many astray, and as Romans 12:2 says, we are to be "transformed by the renewing of your mind."
Hopefully that was up building somehow, I'd love to hear your thoughts. That's all for tonight.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Wow its been a while
Okay, so I haven't written a blog in 3 months, I think I need to at least write a little something. I'm not completely giving up on this blogging thing, I've just been super busy/ just haven't gotten around to sitting down to write. So here it goes, I don't know how much I am going to write.
Like I said, I've been busy with school work, doing far more studying than last semester, but no one really wants to hear about my school work. However, I am a science major, and I would like to state a pet peeve about science classes now and then. Now, I am fine with Chemistry labs, its my major, and they aren't always very exciting, but I like doing titrations more than cutting up fish. That said, are Lord of the Rings and Star Wars soundtracks really necessary in the lab? I mean, I like music and would frankly love some music in labs, but we are simply combining every aspect that could possible make us nerdier than already being science majors!! I am fine with Lord of the Rings, and I like chemistry, but let's keep the two subjects separate. That's all I have to say about that.
Oh so I suppose I should cover that I am dating Courtney now, and have been for a few months although we just got around to putting it onto Facebook. I don't really know how much to say, since I really don't know how much people want to hear about this subject. But there are people who will read this who haven't met her, so I'll just say that Court is godly, smart, funny, and pretty darn good looking. She is a joy to be around, helps me vastly in my pursuit to be like Christ, and I'd say we work quite well together. I'm sorry if I'm really bad at telling people about her, but if you are actually interested you can text me and I can try to tell you more haha.
It's George Fox pet peeve time. Stop focusing on women in ministry!!! There are so many topics that are more important than that, and even if you want to talk about it, can we please do it without bashing males? It's very frustrating. I have my personal beliefs on the matter, but I really don't want to argue right now. Can we all just agree that this debate can go on without insulting anyone? That is absolutely not the point of the Bible, no matter how you view this one issue. I shouldn't have to listen to 15 minutes of bashing on Adam just sitting in the garden of Eden, and how dumb that shows guys are, and how now some women are taking on both the curse of man and woman, without hearing anything about the sins of omission and commission. We can reconcile all parts of the Bible, and that does mean 1 Cor 14, 1 Timothy 2, and the story of Deborah. And it is fine to debate stuff, that is a great way to learn, but let's refrain from tearing down the body of Christ in our discussions.
That's all for tonight, hopefully I'll post again before it's been another 3 months...
Like I said, I've been busy with school work, doing far more studying than last semester, but no one really wants to hear about my school work. However, I am a science major, and I would like to state a pet peeve about science classes now and then. Now, I am fine with Chemistry labs, its my major, and they aren't always very exciting, but I like doing titrations more than cutting up fish. That said, are Lord of the Rings and Star Wars soundtracks really necessary in the lab? I mean, I like music and would frankly love some music in labs, but we are simply combining every aspect that could possible make us nerdier than already being science majors!! I am fine with Lord of the Rings, and I like chemistry, but let's keep the two subjects separate. That's all I have to say about that.
Oh so I suppose I should cover that I am dating Courtney now, and have been for a few months although we just got around to putting it onto Facebook. I don't really know how much to say, since I really don't know how much people want to hear about this subject. But there are people who will read this who haven't met her, so I'll just say that Court is godly, smart, funny, and pretty darn good looking. She is a joy to be around, helps me vastly in my pursuit to be like Christ, and I'd say we work quite well together. I'm sorry if I'm really bad at telling people about her, but if you are actually interested you can text me and I can try to tell you more haha.
It's George Fox pet peeve time. Stop focusing on women in ministry!!! There are so many topics that are more important than that, and even if you want to talk about it, can we please do it without bashing males? It's very frustrating. I have my personal beliefs on the matter, but I really don't want to argue right now. Can we all just agree that this debate can go on without insulting anyone? That is absolutely not the point of the Bible, no matter how you view this one issue. I shouldn't have to listen to 15 minutes of bashing on Adam just sitting in the garden of Eden, and how dumb that shows guys are, and how now some women are taking on both the curse of man and woman, without hearing anything about the sins of omission and commission. We can reconcile all parts of the Bible, and that does mean 1 Cor 14, 1 Timothy 2, and the story of Deborah. And it is fine to debate stuff, that is a great way to learn, but let's refrain from tearing down the body of Christ in our discussions.
That's all for tonight, hopefully I'll post again before it's been another 3 months...
Monday, November 14, 2011
These blood red eyes, don't see so good, but what's worse is if they could
Well I haven't sat down and wrote a blog in a while, so here I go.
I have been pretty busy doing college stuff so that would be my excuse for not writing a blog, along with my lack of inspiration for something to write about. Well, now I have something to write about.
In case you haven't heard, I didn't make the basketball team for Fox. I figure I should post that somewhere, even though it happened a few weeks ago. Basically I have still been working out and shooting hoops, although the volume of shots I am taken has decreased just due to being busy. I figure I can try out again with a much better chance to make the team next year if I want, but we'll see what happens. Anyway, life goes on and I've been having a pretty darn good time at college. That is my little update, now onto what has been concerning me.
Mega-churches. Are. not. evil. Seriously people, why do large churches always get this negative wrap? Yeah there are ones that water down the message, but there are also lots of small churches that do the same thing. The large ones are just big enough to get bashed. Yes you will not immediately become a part of a community in a large church, but if you make any sort of effort you can easily get to know some people. Sometimes I enjoy blending into the crowd with a just a few people. Anyway, my point is you need to be careful no matter what church you go to and check out what they are preaching so that you don't get screwed up.
Exhibit A. Fox. Holy cow people need to read their Bibles more. I have a debate in Ethics on Wednesday to question the statement "Christians should welcome homosexuals into the church because it is okay that God made them that way." This is up for debate???!!! There are legitimately people in my class who support this statement??!! If you didn't know, the Bible is pretty clear that homosexuality is WRONG. It is also pretty clear God didn't make people that way. Check Lev 20:13, 18:22, 1 Cor 6:9-10, Romans 1:26-27, and just the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in general. Umm yeah, I understand that the Bible isn't all literal(I'm not about to gouge out my eyes after looking at something sinful), but this is not one of those issues that should be up for debate. Ever. And here I am, the guy that must be screwed up after going to a mega-church his whole life...
How have people at a Christian school, who have taken classes on the Bible, become so confused about what is clearly laid out in the Bible? It bothers me.
Oh, and if you are like wow he just hates homosexuals, and that makes you think I am some sort of bigot, I already covered my thoughts on this in an earlier blog. If you forgot, my conclusion was that we are to love people, not their actions. Homosexuals are welcome in church just as all sinners are welcome in church, but that doesn't change that the goal of becoming like Christ, which means that we must try to put off sin as much as possible.
Well, not my favorite topic to cover tonight, but whatever I don't feel like writing any more. Your thoughts are appreciated.
I have been pretty busy doing college stuff so that would be my excuse for not writing a blog, along with my lack of inspiration for something to write about. Well, now I have something to write about.
In case you haven't heard, I didn't make the basketball team for Fox. I figure I should post that somewhere, even though it happened a few weeks ago. Basically I have still been working out and shooting hoops, although the volume of shots I am taken has decreased just due to being busy. I figure I can try out again with a much better chance to make the team next year if I want, but we'll see what happens. Anyway, life goes on and I've been having a pretty darn good time at college. That is my little update, now onto what has been concerning me.
Mega-churches. Are. not. evil. Seriously people, why do large churches always get this negative wrap? Yeah there are ones that water down the message, but there are also lots of small churches that do the same thing. The large ones are just big enough to get bashed. Yes you will not immediately become a part of a community in a large church, but if you make any sort of effort you can easily get to know some people. Sometimes I enjoy blending into the crowd with a just a few people. Anyway, my point is you need to be careful no matter what church you go to and check out what they are preaching so that you don't get screwed up.
Exhibit A. Fox. Holy cow people need to read their Bibles more. I have a debate in Ethics on Wednesday to question the statement "Christians should welcome homosexuals into the church because it is okay that God made them that way." This is up for debate???!!! There are legitimately people in my class who support this statement??!! If you didn't know, the Bible is pretty clear that homosexuality is WRONG. It is also pretty clear God didn't make people that way. Check Lev 20:13, 18:22, 1 Cor 6:9-10, Romans 1:26-27, and just the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in general. Umm yeah, I understand that the Bible isn't all literal(I'm not about to gouge out my eyes after looking at something sinful), but this is not one of those issues that should be up for debate. Ever. And here I am, the guy that must be screwed up after going to a mega-church his whole life...
How have people at a Christian school, who have taken classes on the Bible, become so confused about what is clearly laid out in the Bible? It bothers me.
Oh, and if you are like wow he just hates homosexuals, and that makes you think I am some sort of bigot, I already covered my thoughts on this in an earlier blog. If you forgot, my conclusion was that we are to love people, not their actions. Homosexuals are welcome in church just as all sinners are welcome in church, but that doesn't change that the goal of becoming like Christ, which means that we must try to put off sin as much as possible.
Well, not my favorite topic to cover tonight, but whatever I don't feel like writing any more. Your thoughts are appreciated.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Just thinking about some stuff
"It is my experience that those who have no vices have very few virtues"-Abraham Lincoln
I'm pondering this thought at the moment. I'm not totally sure what I think about it. I suppose I have and have had vices from which my virtues have risen. Well, from which I have learned virtues, you know what I mean. It made sense along with the topic of broken people being more likely to be saved than people who are doing just fine. I don't know, the quote intrigues me, think about it.
Am I alone in not understanding tattoos? I mean, I know a lot of parents, like mine, don't like them, but it seems like most people think they are pretty cool. Whatever, I will start with my critique. Note, this is MY reasoning for not getting a tattoo, if you want one, I don't care. Go for it. Hence, the pain of a tattoo is not really a factor in my reasoning. First off, random pictures and designs are stupid. If a tattoo is just because it looks good, not because it has personal significance, I have my doubts about it being a good decision. I feel like this would inevitably lead to "why the heck did I get this stupid design on my arm?!" Just kind of pointless, no point in saying more.
Secondly, if I were to get a tattoo of personal significane, like a Bible verse or something, I will eventually stop seeing it. Using 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 as an example, at first I would be like "Oh it's a nice daily reminder of God's grace in my weakness, cool." But after a while I would just look at my skin the same way as if there was no tattoo. "Oh, my abs look nice today." Ha, but really, I can sort of give a personal example from my birthmark. As a kid, it was kind of a big deal to me, I always saw it. Now I just look in the mirror or lie in bed and don't even see it. I'd like a significant reminder every once in a while, not a daily reminder that's meaning fades over time. Those are my main reasons for not getting tattoo, notice again I didn't mention some people's reason like how they look unprofessional when you want to have a classy job.
I finished Fame Is Infamy. I don't feel like looking into it more now though, I just wanted to tell you I finished.
I have previously mentioned how I write blogs and then end up having to learn from myself. Yeah, I think its one of God's ways to make me humble, because it happens far too often to be coincidence. So of course, last week I wrote a blog about being angry, trying not to get mad at people and keeping my anger from sin. Then I met someone very hard to deal with that I had to spend several hours with... Basically, I would say something or do something that would then be insulted. Not like in my face insulted, but like the person was just self absorbed and just didn't notice what they were saying. Needless to say, my annoyance was out the roof. But through it I think I learned what I can do in certain situations next time they happen. I can improve, I will improve.
It is so easy for me to lose focus on my goal: to become more like Christ daily. Our search is basically to become little Christs, but when do I ever try to act that out in daily life? I just go about my daily business, so consumed in self improvement at certain aspects, rather than in focusing them towards Christ. I'm not exactly sure how this looks, I will think more about it and pray, but I am a bit too tired to delve into it right now. So that's all for tonight.
I'm pondering this thought at the moment. I'm not totally sure what I think about it. I suppose I have and have had vices from which my virtues have risen. Well, from which I have learned virtues, you know what I mean. It made sense along with the topic of broken people being more likely to be saved than people who are doing just fine. I don't know, the quote intrigues me, think about it.
Am I alone in not understanding tattoos? I mean, I know a lot of parents, like mine, don't like them, but it seems like most people think they are pretty cool. Whatever, I will start with my critique. Note, this is MY reasoning for not getting a tattoo, if you want one, I don't care. Go for it. Hence, the pain of a tattoo is not really a factor in my reasoning. First off, random pictures and designs are stupid. If a tattoo is just because it looks good, not because it has personal significance, I have my doubts about it being a good decision. I feel like this would inevitably lead to "why the heck did I get this stupid design on my arm?!" Just kind of pointless, no point in saying more.
Secondly, if I were to get a tattoo of personal significane, like a Bible verse or something, I will eventually stop seeing it. Using 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 as an example, at first I would be like "Oh it's a nice daily reminder of God's grace in my weakness, cool." But after a while I would just look at my skin the same way as if there was no tattoo. "Oh, my abs look nice today." Ha, but really, I can sort of give a personal example from my birthmark. As a kid, it was kind of a big deal to me, I always saw it. Now I just look in the mirror or lie in bed and don't even see it. I'd like a significant reminder every once in a while, not a daily reminder that's meaning fades over time. Those are my main reasons for not getting tattoo, notice again I didn't mention some people's reason like how they look unprofessional when you want to have a classy job.
I finished Fame Is Infamy. I don't feel like looking into it more now though, I just wanted to tell you I finished.
I have previously mentioned how I write blogs and then end up having to learn from myself. Yeah, I think its one of God's ways to make me humble, because it happens far too often to be coincidence. So of course, last week I wrote a blog about being angry, trying not to get mad at people and keeping my anger from sin. Then I met someone very hard to deal with that I had to spend several hours with... Basically, I would say something or do something that would then be insulted. Not like in my face insulted, but like the person was just self absorbed and just didn't notice what they were saying. Needless to say, my annoyance was out the roof. But through it I think I learned what I can do in certain situations next time they happen. I can improve, I will improve.
It is so easy for me to lose focus on my goal: to become more like Christ daily. Our search is basically to become little Christs, but when do I ever try to act that out in daily life? I just go about my daily business, so consumed in self improvement at certain aspects, rather than in focusing them towards Christ. I'm not exactly sure how this looks, I will think more about it and pray, but I am a bit too tired to delve into it right now. So that's all for tonight.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Do Not Let the Sun Go Down
Well, I held up to my word. I released some music for you peoples. I laid down the vocals and guitar this weekend in Sam's dorm studio deal, and then he mixed it. I think it came out great, so check it out: http://youtu.be/iJVB4cSqSXo
No seriously.
Paste the link in and listen to the song.
Oh, I haven't done a church update in a while. I am pretty settled on Solid Rock. It's about a half an hour away, but the pastor is really good, the music is incredible, the Sunday meeting is a large congregation, but they stress mission minded small groups, or house churches, which we could easily form out of some people at Fox. So that has been pretty awesome, and I'm excited to get more involved.
They say that you don't really know a person til you have seen them at all emotions. I would tend to agree, but I would say you really get to know people when they are angry. Face it, there are not many people who aren't reasonably nice in a normal situation. No one is going to cuss you out when talking about the weather. This is common knowledge, but filters come off when people are angry, and you are given a clear glimpse at their real personality. What are they getting angry at? To whom is their anger pointed? Are they mad at themselves for a lack of perfection, angry at a heresy against Christianity, or did someone just do something they didn't like so they turned to constant insults? These all say very different things about people and I think it is important to consider the implications of others' anger, and your own anger.
Dang it, I was going in a different direction with these points. I was going to warn in depth about associating with people who are defined by anger. Which I still think is a good idea, but the more I tried to think of examples, the more I realized I had examples of when I was angry like that. My anger tends to be more passive agressive than others, who will get angry in your face, but I still use anger for unrighteous reasons. Yet I still think that I am someone worth associating with, so what is up with that? I guess the real root is the word defined. When I am angry, I need to get out my frustration so I can calm down. Once I have had time to sort out my frustration, usually through some sort of rant, I can move on. Or write a blog...
I'm not actually sure what I think about this anger of mine, because I often learn things through my sorting, but it would be nice if I could keep myself to contemplation instead of turning my anger to sin. Oh snap that just reminded me of the Bible verse that says in your anger do not sin(Eph 4:26), which brings me to the point that you can be angry without sinning, it is what you do with that anger that makes it a sin.
I love it when I start writing and I end up coming up with things I hadn't considered beforehand. So I guess my goal would be to decrease how much my anger turns to sin. Thank God it is by grace I am saved.
That is all for tonight.
No seriously.
Paste the link in and listen to the song.
Oh, I haven't done a church update in a while. I am pretty settled on Solid Rock. It's about a half an hour away, but the pastor is really good, the music is incredible, the Sunday meeting is a large congregation, but they stress mission minded small groups, or house churches, which we could easily form out of some people at Fox. So that has been pretty awesome, and I'm excited to get more involved.
They say that you don't really know a person til you have seen them at all emotions. I would tend to agree, but I would say you really get to know people when they are angry. Face it, there are not many people who aren't reasonably nice in a normal situation. No one is going to cuss you out when talking about the weather. This is common knowledge, but filters come off when people are angry, and you are given a clear glimpse at their real personality. What are they getting angry at? To whom is their anger pointed? Are they mad at themselves for a lack of perfection, angry at a heresy against Christianity, or did someone just do something they didn't like so they turned to constant insults? These all say very different things about people and I think it is important to consider the implications of others' anger, and your own anger.
Dang it, I was going in a different direction with these points. I was going to warn in depth about associating with people who are defined by anger. Which I still think is a good idea, but the more I tried to think of examples, the more I realized I had examples of when I was angry like that. My anger tends to be more passive agressive than others, who will get angry in your face, but I still use anger for unrighteous reasons. Yet I still think that I am someone worth associating with, so what is up with that? I guess the real root is the word defined. When I am angry, I need to get out my frustration so I can calm down. Once I have had time to sort out my frustration, usually through some sort of rant, I can move on. Or write a blog...
I'm not actually sure what I think about this anger of mine, because I often learn things through my sorting, but it would be nice if I could keep myself to contemplation instead of turning my anger to sin. Oh snap that just reminded me of the Bible verse that says in your anger do not sin(Eph 4:26), which brings me to the point that you can be angry without sinning, it is what you do with that anger that makes it a sin.
I love it when I start writing and I end up coming up with things I hadn't considered beforehand. So I guess my goal would be to decrease how much my anger turns to sin. Thank God it is by grace I am saved.
That is all for tonight.
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