July 2, 2012

Where it all went down.

This is an excerpt from a journal entry which I never want to loose, so I’m putting it online.

July 2nd…I remember this as the day that my first dog, Obie-one-anobie, was born.

Now it has a new meaning associated with it though.

” July 2, 2012 Monday

…I dwelt a bit more on God’s grace and realized something.

God has saved me because of himself-it wasn’t anything I did. I just have faith in him as my savior. god is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He loves me, and if I were to e a paraplegic, he would still love me.  What’s more, he loves me personally. I think for a while, I thought of God’s love as I generally and generically love the children of Antecocha. I don’t really know them and am able to love and care for each one personally, but I really still love them.

God does love the world, but he doesn’t just offer one big general blanket, ” I love you” and pat us on the back. He is a personal God, who knows and loves me. I don’t have to strive to gain his affection. he already cares for me.

Whether or not I really admitted it before, I was scared. Scared of being alone. However, I don’t have to, because my Lord id always with me. I legitimately thought , whenever I was a freshman, that by this time I would be engaged.  As, (if you’ve been following me) it is plain to see, I am not.

But I’m ok with it.

I don’t have to fear being alone, instead. I’ve come to relish the times of silence with just God and me. I still am to sure where I’ll be in a year, but that’s ok. God has always provided for me, and I trust him to continue to do so. I don’t have to really care if people like me! Sure, I like to know people enjoy my company, but I don’t have to stress about it. For too long I’ve been concerned about what others think. If I’m being faithful to God and my relationship with Him, then whether he chooses to bless me with deep enjoyable friendships or not, I can have peace. I can be myself, as God created me to be adn as he’s molding me to be, without fear. More than this, I can love others.

1 John 4:18, “There is no fear in love. but perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us. ”

Further commentary on the entry:

God’s grace means I don’t have to strive to be good enough to earn his affections and I don’t have to be somebody to please others so they’ll like me and I’ll feel loved and fulfilled.  God in giving me blessings and life that I don’t deserve, has freed me-I’m under zero obligation-to the desires of selfishness which could consume me. But God, he gave me more than I deserved and healed my heart from the effects of idolizing affection. He is in the business of changing hearts and desires.

“For it is God who is working in you, enabling you both to desire and to work out His good purpose.”-Philippians 2:13 HCSB

It’s an honor

 

see http://www.joshuaproject.net/10-40-window.php

“It’s an honor, NOT a sacrifice.” These were the words of Samuel Thomas, a missionary to a country in the 10/40 window.

 

He shared part of what I’m sure would be a very long testimony today during my school’s chapel service.

Though he made us laugh profusely, and he was wearing an immaculate suit, I wonder how many of my other

fellow students also thought, “but what he’s saying is real?” 

 

I have heard about people suffering greatly for their faith in Jesus Christ as savior, but hearing it from the

mouth of this man stated so matter-of-factly kept reminding me of Hebrews 13:3 ,”Remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself.

Remember also those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies.”

 

Please church, let’s pray for their encouragement, for the gospel to spread even where they are,

for their lost time with their families and ministries back home, for the protection of their bodies and minds,

and that they would ever know the power that raised Christ from the dead.

 

Again, he said, “It would be considered an honor to be chosen to deliver a message on behalf of the president of the United States, therefore why do we say

,’it is a sacrifice’ to serve a God who sent his son to die for our sin and give us life? It’s an honor, NOT a sacrifice.”

 

If you would like to listen to Mr. Thomas’s talk, then go to the link below. (It’s about thirty minutes long.)

You won’t regret it. If that doesn’t work, go to http://www.ngu.edu then ministries, then live chapel, then archive and Oct. 4th.

http://mediasuite.multicastmedia.com/player.php?p=j0f3k70f

Which is a Hill and Which is a Mountain?

Hi! If anyone is still reading this…cool! Thanks for sticking with me 🙂

I took a very long leave of absence over the summer. Partly because I

had the fantastic priviledge of living in a rural mountain village of Peru.

The Andes Mountains are behemoth; they’re an incredible sight to behold.

They’re so odd though because they take components from deserts, as well as

sights that remind me of the backwoods of southeast Georgia and combine them with a mountainous

landscape. Just to reiterate, it’s an odd compilation, but beautiful just the same.

The Andes are a mountain range in Peru, just as technically, the Blueridge is a mountain range here in

South Carolina.  However I’m almost certain that if any of the villagers I lived with there were to see these,

they would certainly agree, “why yes, they’re also beautiful, but they’re nowhere near mountains. They remind me more of hills.”

You see on the grand scheme of things, things that may appear like mountains to us, are some body else’s hills.

P.S.-check out my pictures for some of both places.

Plus and anecdote to come that’ll expound on this idea.

“Casting” new thoughts sometimes are as hard as iron

Dear readers,

If you are indeed reading this, I profusely thank you. For this means that you-in spite of my aweful attempt at title-have

chosen to read this post anyway. Therefore, I give a hardy, “here, here” and a toast in your honor.

Now, onto the point of this story.

As I rinsed the dishes that were piled precariously in the kitchen sink today before loading them into the dish washer,

I came across the dreaded cast iron skillet.

Now if you are not familiar with these babies, just reference the beauty that Rapunzel from Tangeled has clutched in her hand.

If these are put through the dish washer enough times they will eventually rust over. In today’s world fewer people buy them for this very reason.

(They are extremely useful though, as they are much heavier than other pots or pans and resist the tendency to buckle over time due to excessive heat. The result is that they offer much flatter surfaces on which to cook which entails a more evenly cooked course. )

I usually dread washing these, because we usually cook the greasiest of food on them, and I have to scrape all the grease out.

Today though I had a thought, what we just simply washed every dish, then put them away immediately  forgoing the washer altogether? It might actually use less water and it wouldn’t be that much more added time to me anyway.

At that moment I stopped seeing the cast iron skillet as a drudgery, as an enemy.

Instead I began to view it as something very useful, a friend so-to-speak.

What if we did that with people? Do you have any enemies who maybe don’t really “deserve” to be?

Some food for thought from Jesus Christ-“I say to you: Love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!”

Going Thrifty-From “Blah” to “Nifty!”

The shiny penny…

the turtle wax…or….

the Super-Deluxe Shine ?

The buttons on the car-wash machine used to blink like the lights strung around a Christmas tree.

They waited impatiently to be pushed as my Dad would feed the dollar into the slot. (It was a rarity

indeed if he was lucky enough to get it accepted on the first go-round. Why do machines never seem to

want to take our money? Everyone else seems to like it alright?)

We would always go with the least expensive option.

Why? might you ask. The answer is found in a childhood memory.

Dad: ” Hey, you know what kind of animal I’d be if I got to choose?”

Me: “What?”

Dad: “A chick cause they go “cheap, cheap” like me!”

I think I’m now beginning to see eye-to-eye with my Dad.

Being frugal isn’t all that bad. I used to be  really concerned with having “the cool” brand of something, but

I’ve found it’s really not all that it’s cracked up to be.

More pressing than the dollars saved, is the peace that letting go of a perfect image can bring.

Enjoying some luxury items every now and then, or spending extra money on a nice gift for someone is by no

means outrageous.

I’ve just come to the conclusion that penny-pinching may save me some stress and could even help

starve out the selfishness, self-consciousness, or even vanity that’s quick to creep in when we focus too much on external things.

Reflection on a childhood blunder

“Dad…Dad…Dad…Daddy!”

I’m so zealously tugging on my father’s pant’s leg, that it’s a wonder they’re still  intact. Surely, my efforts  should have ripped them by now.

With the one hand I’m desperately vying for my father’s attention. With the other, I’m clutching a toy that I feel I must certainly have. My anxiety increases with every passing moment that he does not acknowledge me. Doesn’t he know that any second now that lady’s voice is going to come over the intercom and inform us that our table is ready? Then I’ll have to make myself content with occupying myself with that little triangular shaped toy where you have to jump the pegs. The thought isn’t nearly as appealing as what I hold in my fist.

I look up into the eyes of my… “You’re not my DAD!”My face flushes crimson as I stare, mortified, up into the face of a man who is most definitely NOT my father.Embarrassed, I scamper off to find my real Dad and hide myself behind him. Safe at last.

Have you ever stopped to think about whose attention you are seeking and why?

Even the most perfect of people will eventually disappoint us. When those disappointing times come, we must remember that we have disappointed other too, and treat them with grace.

Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually!-1 Chronicles 16:11

The Planner

This brief post is just to ask if anyone can relate to the following circumstance.

The other day I sauntered into my suite mate’s room and proceeded to boast that, “Wow! I have a lot of free time, I have nothing to actually do! I’m going to____, and _____, and _____…”

I’m so excited about the prospect of a “free” day that I snatch up my planner and envision myself flipping to that day’s

date and marking a huge check mark over it.

When lo and behold, my memory has failed me yet again!

A very time tedious assignment had yet to be finished. Needless to say, you know how my afternoon was spent.

This shift in thinking reminds me of a passage from James 4:13-17.

Specifically verse 15 says, “Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will we will live, and do this or that.’ ”

What?! I’ve been dupped all along?

I hope you’re hungry for a piece of irony pie, because this one would take the blue ribbon.

As I was thinking the other day, the thought entered my mind that the people of the middle ages

must have been very shocked whenever it was discovered that the world is indeed round.

“Certainly there must be some record, some quote or ancient writing that can give me some insight”.

So I did what every American does when they want to know something-I googled it.

What I found shocked the pants off of me-Columbus never set out to prove the world was round! It was

a well known and established fact. I began reading article after article and watching Youtube videos all that

attest to the same information. Medieval peoples knew the world is round.

I set out looking to write a blurb about the paradigm shift that certainly must have taken place upon this discovery, and

instead had the tables turned on me. In short I experienced my own paradigm shift in thinking.

Now if that’s not irony, I don’t know what is.

Perhaps you too have been dupped by some well-meaning, yet misinformed teacher or some other source.

If this is the case, check out this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8HFDiVzWsM

or read:

http://europeanhistory.about.com/od/historicalmyths/a/histmyths7.htm

Judgmental -Now that’s putting your foot..er cookie? in your mouth!

Have you ever desired to be a little kinder? It’s no stretch of the imagination to think that we all have.

The following are snippets from a story that I read in a book by Carolyn Mahaney. It’s riot of a story, and makes its’ point

powerfully. Bien provecho!

A woman was waiting at an airport one night,

She hunted for a book in the airport shop,

bought a bag of cookies and found a place to drop.

She was engrossed in her book, but happened to see,

that the man sitting beside her, as bold as could be,

grabbed a cookie or two from the bag between, Which she tried to ignore, to avoid a scene.

She was getting more irritated as the minutes ticked by,

thinking, if I wasn’t so nice, I would blacken his eye!

When only one was left, she wondered what he’d do.

With a smile on his face and a nervous laugh,

he took the cookie and broke it in half.

He offered her half, as he ate the other.

She snatched it from him and thought, Oh brother,

this guy has some nerve and he’s also rude.

Why, he didn’t even show any gratitude!

She boarded the plane and sank in her seat,

then sought her book, which was almost complete.

As she reached in her baggage, she gasped with surprise:

there were her cookies in front of her eyes.

If mine are here, she moaned with despair,

Then the others were his and he tried to share!

How often I am quick to judge, to assume the worst of a person.

Why not instead seek to encourage, be kind and generous towards other?

What’s a “paradigm shift”?

I’d rather not list my name so let’s just leave it as I’m a person who is interested in seeking the Lord God and encouraging others to do the same.

2 Timothy 2:15-
“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who doesn’t need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth.”

I’m not claiming to be able to answer every question out there; but what I do know, I will present in order that God may be praised.

                               Now, to answer the question presented in the title.

A paradigm shift is defined as, “a radical change in underlying beliefs or theory”.

The basis for this blog is that the word of God, namely the Bible, creates this type of change in a person’s mindset which in turn

creates a paradigm shift in peoples behavior and speech.

Consider this excerpt from Isaiah 55

9“As the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways

and my thoughts than your thoughts.

10As the rain and the snow

come down from heaven,

and do not return to it

without watering the earth

and making it bud and flourish,

so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

11so is my word that goes out from my mouth:

It will not return to me empty,

but will accomplish what I desire

and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

12You will go out in joy

and be led forth in peace;

the mountains and hills

will burst into song before you,

and all the trees of the field

will clap their hands!

I may not use verses from the Bible in every post, but my overall purpose will remain as stated. I very sincerely thank you for reading and hope you will visit again!