I'm going to be gone for a week, so I thought I would put up a video for you to amuse yourselves with. I'm not sure that this at all proves my point (that soccer is worth something), but it's pretty funny footage, anyway. That is, if you can tolerate soccer.
Enjoy!!
Saturday, July 08, 2006
Thursday, July 06, 2006
We Are Called To Die
"We are called to die." We are not called to live an easy, comfort filled life, practicing our religion from the cozy confines of our home. We are called to die. We are not called to live.
As a Christian who likes my own comforts, I often forget about our true calling in Christ. I forget that it is not my will, but God's will. I forget that I am to be following hard after Christ, not myself. I have read most of Thomas A Kempis' book "Of the Imitation of Christ," and after recently flipping through it again, I came across this short passage:
"'He that followeth Me, walketh not in darkness,' (John 8:12) saith the Lord. These are the words of Christ, by which we are admonished how we ought to imitate His life and manners, if we will be truly enlightened, and be delivered from all blindness of heart. Let us therefore our chiefest endeavour be, to meditate upon the life of Jesus Christ. [...] But whosoever would fully and feelingly understand the words of Christ, must endeavour to conform his life wholly to the life of Christ. [...] Vanity it is, to wish to live long, and to be careless to live well. It is vanity to mind only this present life, and not to foresee those things which are to come. It is vanity to set thy love on that which speedily passeth away, and not to hasten thither where everlasting joy abideth. [...] Endeavour therefore to withdraw thy heart from the love of visible things, and to turn thyself to the invisible" (3-4).
Conforming our lives wholly to that of Christ's is not an easy calling. Taking up the cross and following Him is definitely not my first tendancy. However, it is rewarding and promises eternal gain with God. I have been blessed to be able to participate in some summer seminary classes through my church. One of the classes focuses on the history of the Church, specifically on the history of doctrine. The other class is an intensive study on the book of Ephesians. Coupled with both of these classes is a focus on ministry and on missions and what our role in that area should be. Last night we talked about our true calling, and for me it was a sweet time of being realigned with my purpose in Christ. Like I said before, so often I lose sight of what's important. I get caught up in the present and in my pride. I get caught up in the fact that my life might comprise of one embarrasing moment to the next. I start to focus on making my own life worthwhile to me, forgetting that that is God's job. Should I be chosen to physically die in this life for the sake of the Gospel, then that is God's perfect will and plan. I only pray that I would be willing and courageous to take up my cross. All other things pale in comparison to God's perfection and holiness. My life of mistakes does not matter. It lasts only for a moment. What matters is whether me is my focus, or God. Wow. Being called to die is huge, but being called to die for Christ is a call worth answering. Let us, let me, as Christians in the 21st century, not be afraid to wholly and completely trust in God, knowing that our calling is not in vain.
As a Christian who likes my own comforts, I often forget about our true calling in Christ. I forget that it is not my will, but God's will. I forget that I am to be following hard after Christ, not myself. I have read most of Thomas A Kempis' book "Of the Imitation of Christ," and after recently flipping through it again, I came across this short passage:
"'He that followeth Me, walketh not in darkness,' (John 8:12) saith the Lord. These are the words of Christ, by which we are admonished how we ought to imitate His life and manners, if we will be truly enlightened, and be delivered from all blindness of heart. Let us therefore our chiefest endeavour be, to meditate upon the life of Jesus Christ. [...] But whosoever would fully and feelingly understand the words of Christ, must endeavour to conform his life wholly to the life of Christ. [...] Vanity it is, to wish to live long, and to be careless to live well. It is vanity to mind only this present life, and not to foresee those things which are to come. It is vanity to set thy love on that which speedily passeth away, and not to hasten thither where everlasting joy abideth. [...] Endeavour therefore to withdraw thy heart from the love of visible things, and to turn thyself to the invisible" (3-4).
Conforming our lives wholly to that of Christ's is not an easy calling. Taking up the cross and following Him is definitely not my first tendancy. However, it is rewarding and promises eternal gain with God. I have been blessed to be able to participate in some summer seminary classes through my church. One of the classes focuses on the history of the Church, specifically on the history of doctrine. The other class is an intensive study on the book of Ephesians. Coupled with both of these classes is a focus on ministry and on missions and what our role in that area should be. Last night we talked about our true calling, and for me it was a sweet time of being realigned with my purpose in Christ. Like I said before, so often I lose sight of what's important. I get caught up in the present and in my pride. I get caught up in the fact that my life might comprise of one embarrasing moment to the next. I start to focus on making my own life worthwhile to me, forgetting that that is God's job. Should I be chosen to physically die in this life for the sake of the Gospel, then that is God's perfect will and plan. I only pray that I would be willing and courageous to take up my cross. All other things pale in comparison to God's perfection and holiness. My life of mistakes does not matter. It lasts only for a moment. What matters is whether me is my focus, or God. Wow. Being called to die is huge, but being called to die for Christ is a call worth answering. Let us, let me, as Christians in the 21st century, not be afraid to wholly and completely trust in God, knowing that our calling is not in vain.
Sunday, July 02, 2006
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
So, once more
...I'm trying out this email-your-post-to-your-blog thing and seeing how
it works. This is pretty lame, I know, but bear with me as I explore
new horizons and expand my internet prowess. I promise something much
more interesting in the near future, like maybe my adventures at
daycare, or something like that. Here goes the trial post!!
Thursday, June 22, 2006
WMD's Found?...
So there's this great article on the Fox News Report about how there have been hundreds of Weapons of Mass Destruction found in Iraq. Unfortunately, all of the other major liberal-run news networks are keeping this breaking news on the d-l, not even mentioning it, either in the news papers, websites, or on t.v. I can't believe it!! Although, considering that they have all proclaimed Bush to be a liar until now probably doesn't make that news good for them. This is terrible. Spread the news!!!!!!!!! I'm actually really shocked, because this means that either Fox is lying, or that no one else is covering huge news that would really change a lot of things, both in the White House and in America. Wow. It's really shocking.
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Disaster in My Room
So, I'm sitting here in the middle of my floor, surveying the disaster around me. I'm not sure if it could be classified as tornado-style or hurricane-style, but it definitely needs some work. Seriously, my room is a total mess and I am trying to get it cleaned up. The thing is, I can't work well in a messy environment. For the past few weeks, I have been entering my room only to get what I need to work on out or to sleep. I have been doing my work in various places around the house, finding adequate surface area that I can't find on my desk anymore. It's driving me insane! I know this is stupid, but if you could pray first that I would be diligent about cleaning up my space and not letting it overwhelm me, and second that I would not be too obsessed about cleanliness, that would be wonderful. I'm going off to start that task now, because I actually have a couple of hours of free time!! This probably seems really silly to most of you right now, but it's been eating away at my sanity, and I felt moved to write about it before I begin the process.
Monday, June 19, 2006
grajuashun
i just grajuaded i hop that sumer wil be fun and that i wil do good in colege
Ok, I can't keep that up for long. It's hard to type badly after years of being taught the correct way to write. Yep, I'm done and moving on. It's so exciting!! Thanks to all of those who came to the party, who came to the ceremony, who congratulated me, and who just said hi in general. It's been a great weekend!!
Ok, I can't keep that up for long. It's hard to type badly after years of being taught the correct way to write. Yep, I'm done and moving on. It's so exciting!! Thanks to all of those who came to the party, who came to the ceremony, who congratulated me, and who just said hi in general. It's been a great weekend!!
Monday, June 12, 2006
High School and Beyond!!
Graduation is this Saturday!!!! Wow. It's hard to come to terms with the fact that I have been waiting four years for this moment, and it is less than a week away. I suppose I should learn a lesson here: don't live for tomorrow, but for the day I'm in, because it is good and it is from God. That way I can completely enjoy life and have joy in God's creation!
On a different note, I am doing a study of Ephesians right now through NETS and it is really cool. I would definately recommend reading through Ephesians comprehensively, carefully going through each passage and trying to really figure out what it means. There is so much there!! I'm really enjoying it.
Saturday, June 03, 2006
Neringa
Unlike my last Thursday-Friday-Saturday away from home, this weekend I had a blast. I went with my dad and three of my siblings to Neringa, a family camp in southern VT that is run by Lithuanian nuns (I think). Many families from church go there once a year to spend time worshipping the Lord and fellowshipping with other believers. The camp is set in a very beautiful, peaceful woods where it is easy to slip away to spend time alone with God, both in His Word and in prayer. It was really refreshing and I am so thankful that we were able to go.
This year's topic was "Mortification of Sin." It's kind of a scary topic, but an essential one. I was struck by the hugeness of the task of killing sin. We looked at a sermon by John Owens and just spent some time talking about having the power to kill sin in our lives because of Christ Jesus. I was convicted about my own lack of agression in going after sin and in failing to recognize it. I usually take a more passive approach. God will show me a sin, I will acknowledge it, and then I will let it go. I do not immediately go after it with my full armor on. My prayer is that God would give me the grace and humility to be a better mortifier of my soul. It's not easy, and I definately need to pray to be willing to pray that in the first place. Anyway, I came away recharged with a lot of food for my brain, to digest and use accordingly.
This year's topic was "Mortification of Sin." It's kind of a scary topic, but an essential one. I was struck by the hugeness of the task of killing sin. We looked at a sermon by John Owens and just spent some time talking about having the power to kill sin in our lives because of Christ Jesus. I was convicted about my own lack of agression in going after sin and in failing to recognize it. I usually take a more passive approach. God will show me a sin, I will acknowledge it, and then I will let it go. I do not immediately go after it with my full armor on. My prayer is that God would give me the grace and humility to be a better mortifier of my soul. It's not easy, and I definately need to pray to be willing to pray that in the first place. Anyway, I came away recharged with a lot of food for my brain, to digest and use accordingly.
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