Four Weeks

Four weeks from today, I will be at Hope starting my orientation. Sunday I get to go see a play featuring one of my freinds and I get to sit with three of my freinds. It looks like it's shaping up to be a good time.

Today at work was pretty interesting. We have a new kid who is a Christian. He is a nice kid, but he gets on everyone's nerves. I think that he is insecure, he feels that he needs to have everyone like him or something. I think that is an immature way to think about things. The way I see it, Jesus has said that you should show love to everyone, the golden rule. That should be the motivation behind kindness for a Christian, not being popular or liked. Jesus said that fame is fleeting, He told the disciples to say some true but harsh things to certain cities that made them hated by the world. In fact, the truly blessed people (spiritually) have always been hated. In but not of the world, which is the kingdom of the devil who is the eternal enemy of the church, Christians should expect persecution and hatred everywhere they go. We should still reflect Christ's love, but not expect people to like us for it. Any freinds we may have in this world are God's blessing and he should be thanked for them, but freinds are fleeting.

That sounds harsh doesn't it? I guess I shall have to change that to freinds are fleeting but brothers and sisters in Christ are eternal. My Christian freinds I will have for our lifetimes, and then an eternity after that. My wife will be a Christian (God willing), and we shall share our lives and then eternity after that. The others? I mourn for them. They will share companionship for a few short years, then be lost forever in the lake of fire, and we will see them no more (and, interestingly enough, not feel regret for them not being in heaven. We will just remember them.) So what should a Christian do about their unbelieving friends then? Leave them, never to speak to them again because in the end it is all meaningless? No. We are called to love them as friends and pray every day that they would come to know Christ through us.

In the past few weeks I have really seen the idiocy of fear from a Christian perspective.

The only two things to fear are God and fear itself.
If God wants you to ask her out, ask her out. If she says yes, God wills you two to be together.
God should be feared in a reverent way, in awe of his majesty, infinite power, and in a way that reflects on how abysmal we are and undeserving of anything that he may shower graciously down upon us. This is positive fear.
If she says no, God wanted her to say no at that particular time. Perhaps it will set something up for later.
Negative fear. Fear is a power of the devil. He can freeze people from action and get them to submit to him through fear. Fear of death, pain, ridicule are his trademarks.
Would you rather be a quadrapulegic going to heaven or a healthy person on the way to hell?
Fear of pain is different from aversion from injury. Pain is not a negative feeling, it is a neutral response, your body telling you of what is happening to it. Injury is continuing pain and impairment to function normally with that section of your body. The severity of pain is directionally proportionate to the severity of what is happening to it. Pain makes you draw your hand back from the fire so you do not suffer major injury. However, pain should not be feared. Avoid injury yes, but pain is not injury, it is merely a sensation. Once you have realized this, you cannot be crippled by pain and you can better understand what your body is going through.
You are invincible with God. If he want's you to live fifty more years, within his will there is some room to manuver. For fifty years you cannot kill yourself skydiving, going to war, doing backflips, standing up to an armed gang, or having rocks thrown at you by an angry mob. As long as you are playing in the gray area of his will where He is giving you some free reign, you are completely safe.
With God, if you know that his is omnipotent, omniscient, and loves you, has a plan for you, and as long as you submit to his will it will unfold perfectly, you should never fear anything but Him and fear itself. How can you fear injury if it is in God's will? How can you fear death if it is your time to go home? How can you fear ridicule if you care only about your relationship between yourself and God and realize that others opinion of you will last a pathetically short amount of time in comparison to eternity? The truly free person is he who surrenders completely to God and therefore frees themselves from every care and fear.

The classic litany against fear should go well here.

I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.

Here is a song I have never heard (I need this CD, Jars of Clay by Jars of Clay). It makes a vivid and very good point about how incredibly close a Christian can come to God.

In open fields of wild flowers,
she breathes the air and flies away
She thanks her Jesus for the daises and the roses
in no simple language
Someday she'll understand the meaning of it all
He's more than the laughter or the stars in the heavens
As close a heartbeat or a song on her lips
Someday she'll trust Him and learn how to see Him
Someday He'll call her and she will come running
and fall in His arms and the tears will fall down and she'll pray,

"I want to fall in love with You"

Sitting silent wearing Sunday best
The sermon echoes through the walls
A great salvation through it calls to the people
who stare into nowhere, and can't feel the chains on their souls

He's more than the laughter or the stars in the heavens
As close a heartbeat or a song on our lips
Someday we'll trust Him and learn how to see Him
Someday He'll call us and we will come running
and fall in His arms and the tears will fall down and we'll pray,

"I want to fall in love with You"

It seems too easy to call you "Savior",
Not close enough to call you "God"
So as I sit and think of words I can mention
to show my devotion

"I want to fall in love with You"

"my heart beats for You"

Harry Potter and Canoeing

Today was a happy day after I finally got out of bed. I didn't have fun then.

We went to sunday school, picked up Joe, had 10 people sitting in a car made for 7, so the floor became extra seating. We ate lunch, met up with Caleb, then all 11 of us drove to the canoe place. For some reason, everyone but Joe thought that Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon was not cool. We did a 6 mile trip down the Little Miami River. The boat was Joe, Tanner and I. We rocked.

We had this thing that we had to be the first, always ahead of the pack, and we would do anything to make sure we got and stayed that way. This involved me doing crazy things and getting hurt. Joe would steer and Tanner would bail us out and cover for me when I needed to do things. Things like jump out of the boat and push over rocks, things like jump into another boat and tip it over then swim back to our boat. I did one very stupid thing, which was stand up in the very front of the boat so I could see the rocks and attempt to avoid them. This was stupid because if I missed just once, I would go tumbling head first into said rocks. Guess what? I missed.

Anyways, it was a good time for all. We came home to the rest of Dark Side of the Moon and then commenced Haloage. Then we ate some great Mexican food, and I drove Joe home. We just got finished playing Boggle.

I read Harry Potter recently. I read it from 11pm to 6:30 am saturday night sunday morning after it came out. It was an amazing experience. I had a stash of food, the book was amazing, and it was a ton of fun. I recommend everyone to read every Harry Potter book. I would rate this one around the third or fourth in quality. It sets up for a great seventh book while being really good in its own right. Good theories to discuss after the book is over.

I love hanging out with my friends. It is just so casual and funny. Nick Raymond and I were hanging around the fair last night with my sister and some of her freinds. We made jokes the whole time (Q: why did the dead baby cross the road?) and had sister and her friends unable to breathe. Nick had some Bunny Pulp in his bunny juice, and the bunny juice landed on his chicken alfredo.

Lyrics? yes.

Way down here, you need a reason to move. Feel a fool running your stateside games.
Lose your load, leave your mind behind, Baby James.
Woh, Mexico, it sounds so simple, I just got to go.
The sun's so hot I forgot to go home, guess I'll have to go now.

"Americano" got the sleepy eye but his body's still shaking like a live wire.
Sleepy señorita with the eyes on fire.
Woh, Mexico. It sounds so sweet with the sun sinking low.
Moon's so bright, like to light up the night, make everything all right.

Baby's hungry and the money's all gone.
The folks back home don't want to talk on the phone.
She gets a long letter, sends back a postcard, times are hard.
Woh, down in Mexico, I never really been so I don't really know.
And oh, Mexico, I guess I'll have to go.
Woh, Mexico, I never really been so I don't really know.
And oh, Mexico, I guess I'll have to go now.
Talking bout Mexico. Big ol’ honkey-tonk down in Mexico.




(A: .nekcihc eht ot delpats saw ti esuaceb)

meaningless post

Nothing to report. I am working a lot, every day seems to be either a split shift or more than 10 hours. Saturday I will be opening the FAC 7:45-12, Outdoors 12-4, then back to the FAC for 6-CL. Yikes, I almost made another guard vomit just telling him my schedule. I wish that weren't Saturday, because I was really hoping I could stay up all night reading Harry Potter by dawn so my sister could start first thing in the morning.

As a sidenote, the new Halo 2 maps are really cool. Terminal is my current favorite, although finding the rocket launchers on maps is a good thing. Caleb and I took on Joe Nick and Beth on terminal. After some life trading around the wraith, I respawned by the Hog. Turns out there are two Battle rifles and a turret in there. I called Caleb over. Commence camping. After a few minutes, we found a sniper. Cue me. Then I spotted a shotty. Cue Caleb. Cue a 21 spree for me, with Caleb supporting. Not honorable? Of course. Caleb got bored later on and I had to go attempt a rescue, and we started getting crushed because the other three knew the map about 20 times better than us. However, we knew our little sniping tower well enough to beat them 50-7.

We almost got shot with an airsoft shotgun when we entered the other room for the postgame carnage report.

Have fun everyone. I am looking forward to a very fun rest of the summer, and a wonderful time at Hope (I will be in Vorhees hall). Carpe Diem.

Carpe Diem

Time is an illusion. Lunchtime Doubly so. -Douglas Adams
Love is funny, or it's sad,
Or it's quiet, or it's mad.
It's a good thing, or it's bad,
But beautiful...
Get ready, this should be a long post.
Our Time is Running Out.
GO!
Our Time is Running Out.
I have been having a wonderful past few hours, like, 16 or so of them. I have come to be amazed at God's providence and his will. Today has been a wonderful example of how God can use your life and the seemingly small occurances in it to touch others lives or to make your own even better if you just throw up your hands and say "Thy will be done." I have been having many songs spin through my head today and the one that fits in right here is Relient K, Life After Death (and taxes)
You can't push it underground
Hey taxi, send me straight to the heart of it
The nucleus of politics was somebody
Somebody started it
Cause they taxed me with a scalpel piece by piece
they cut me deep and let me dry until there was nothing left to bleed
You can't stop it screaming out

And this is how I choose to live
As if I'm jumping off a cliff
knowing that you'll save me
and after all the stupid things I did
there's nothing left that you'd forgive
because you already forgave me
yeah you already forgave me

Keep driving
leave this deceit miles behind me
so far back I'd have to wrap my mind in
just remind me
I can't try this to pick myself up
and then move on
think about the life I'll have
when this fragile one is gone.


Never forget
there's life after death and taxes
Forgiveness come
and all of the rest
is what passes away
Death and decay can't touch us now

Every breath that I inhale is followed by exhaling traps the one who never failed
I know you'll never failed me


Never forget
there's life after death and taxes
Forgiveness come (forgiveness come)
and all of the rest
it just passes away

Death and decay can't touch us now
Beautiful to take a chance
And if you fall, you fall,
And I'm thinking,
I wouldn't mind at all.
On road of life, many times we have to climb hard, difficult mountains and decend the other side. When we reach the top, we feel elated and triumphant. Then we begin the long slow descent down the other side. Some people climb, some people get some help and rappel. I prefer it when God says, "this is taking too long, jump." God seems to be doing that a lot lately, and who am I to argue? It makes me excited. I got to Hope College this way, it was lightning fast and I made it with little knowledge, a slap in the face to my scientific side. I just felt I needed to go there and I decided to jump the cliff, although I had a very very nice path all planned out to get down the mountain. The freefall was exhilatating and I am infinitely happy that I did so. Throw caution to the wind my friends.
Love is tearful, or it's gay,
It's a problem, or it's play.
It's a heartache EITHER WAY.
But beautiful...
Also, thinking about the verse that says "all things work to the good of those who love Him."
Nothing bad can ever happen to me because I believe in God. Before someone becomes a Christian, they have bad things happen to them along with the good things. Once you become a Christian, you see that you misinterpreted the bad things, and that God makes everything, even pain, is building up to something that is great and wonderful.
And I am thinking that if you were mine
I would NEVER LET YOU GO.
And that would be, but beautiful,
I KNOW.
I am also feeling a bit of Sinatra.

I've got you under my skin
I've got you deep in the heart of me
So deep in my heart, that you're really a part of me
I've got you under my skin.

I tried so not to give in
I said to myself this affair never will go so well
But why should I try to resist, when baby I know so well
I've got you under my skin.

I'd sacrifice anything come what might
For the sake of having you near
In spite of a warning voice that comes in the night
And repeats, repeats in my ear

Don't you know little fool, you never can win
Use your mentality, wake up to reality,
But each time that I do, just the thought of you
Makes me stop before I begin,
'Cause I've got you under my skin