Early in the morning while I was getting ready for work, Mike started sleep talking and we had this conversation:
Mike: "what are you looking for"
Me: "i'm not looking for anything"
Mike: "why are you looking for something"
Me: "i'm not looking for anything"
Mike: "... then why are you taking everything apart?"
Me: "i'm not taking anything apart you're sleep talking"
Mike: "oh. right. ... i need to reformat my dream. dreams come in all different kinds of formats."
Friday, February 19, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
Childish
"When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fify I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up."
Letters to Children, C.S. Lewis
I like that! =)
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Comfort, Comfort for My People!
I want to assure all my readers out there that it is OK to not be a man. After all, there's so much more to life than muscles and intelligence! And, heck, even if non-men are, you know, not as good in things like qualities, that's okay, because at least they're still hu-man! Plus, I'm pretty sure being made from a man's rib is better than being made out of dirt!
The views of this blog post do not necessarily reflect the views of the author or of this blog.
The views of this blog post do not necessarily reflect the views of the author or of this blog.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Love Abounding
9And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, 11filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.
Philippians 1:9-11
Paul says that he prays for the Philippians' love to abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight. In this case, he's not praying that their love will abound more and more in affection, though his love definitely is filled with affection since in the verse immediately preceding these ones he says that "God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus." Though we'd naturally think of increasing of love in terms of increasing in affection, his primary concern expressed here is that their love grows in knowledge and depth of insight. Why?
He prays that their love will grow in knowledge and depth of insight "so that they may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ." That means love without knowledge or insight may cause someone to be blameworthy. How so? I think one thing that's assumed here is that the Philippians do love, they do have concern for others and good intent. But I think it is possible to care about someone, have good intention, but act in a blameworthy way.
To start with an easy illustration, let's say there's a baby who is sick. The mother says, "I dun wanna mah baby b sick." She cares about her baby, and out of a desire to help her baby she acts by giving the baby medicine. However, it is the wrong medicine. The baby gets more sick but thankfully in our imaginary scenario it's not too bad, so the baby gets to hospital (on its own!) and the doctors save baby using a hypospray filled with magic cure.
Is the mother to blame? Yes. She cared, acted with good intention, but she should have known better. She is guilty of her ignorance. She loved, but her love did not abound in knowledge and depth of insight.
In the same way, we can love others, and have genuine care and concern for them, but lack in knowledge and depth of insight. We don't really understand the problems of others, and when we realize that some sort problem exists, we don't really know how to deal with it. Sometimes, even, when trying to help with some kind of issue, we actually make it worse because our actions and words are done incorrectly in some kind of tactless manner. Well-meaning, but foolish and naive.
That's why it's important that our love abounds more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that in loving others and living life we may be blameless and pure. However, loving people is quite unnatural, and it's also unnatural for love to grow in this kind of way. Why? At least for me, because of selfishness and pride. I like the way I see things, I like the way I understand things. Others see and react differently some times, and on the face of it, that difference may seem to be irrational or foolish rather than just different. My natural inclination, then, is to just view those kind of differences as irrational, rather than trying to understand those differences.
Also, it's just hard to love and understand others, and sometimes I just don't want to. I might not want to love people less, but that also doesn't really mean that I want to love people more. So if my love abounds more and more, in knowledge and depth of insight, what's going on? I'm being "filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus - to the glory of God." Love abounding in me is not to my credit, but is the result of Christ working in me, which is why all the glory goes to God.
Sometimes we ask, glorify God, what does that even mean? Well, for sure, one way that God is glorified is when our love abounds more and more in knowledge and depth in insight, because that bears testament to the work of God in our lives. What do we say, when we see the work that God has done in our lives, and what he has done in the lives of those around us? Glory be to God!
Monday, January 4, 2010
New Years Resolution
Hi everybody! Well, here's my first ever proclaimed new years resolution. I don't ever remember making new years resolutions ever! Maybe I have, but I don't remember ever doing so! Which leads me to my next point.
Dinos are awesome! Actually, that fact, though true, is not my next point. My next point is that I read and consume a lot of good stuff and am often struck by the profundity of what I am hearing. Occasionally it is so profound that I then and there resolve to live out what I've just heard. Most of the time, though, the powerful truth I have just heard remains unapplied even when I've genuinely resolved to apply it.
So! I resolve that every Sunday morning will be a quiet time. Recently I've been cramming in last-minute Sunday School preparation because I've been unprepared. But no more of that. And! Quiet time will involve reading (at least) what I've written in my journal during the past week. Now my resolutions during the week will be remembered a little longer before being forgotten! YES!!!
I foresee great things for this new year including health, wealth, and prosperity, as God has promised somewhere in the good book though I can't quite remember where.
Dinos are awesome! Actually, that fact, though true, is not my next point. My next point is that I read and consume a lot of good stuff and am often struck by the profundity of what I am hearing. Occasionally it is so profound that I then and there resolve to live out what I've just heard. Most of the time, though, the powerful truth I have just heard remains unapplied even when I've genuinely resolved to apply it.
So! I resolve that every Sunday morning will be a quiet time. Recently I've been cramming in last-minute Sunday School preparation because I've been unprepared. But no more of that. And! Quiet time will involve reading (at least) what I've written in my journal during the past week. Now my resolutions during the week will be remembered a little longer before being forgotten! YES!!!
I foresee great things for this new year including health, wealth, and prosperity, as God has promised somewhere in the good book though I can't quite remember where.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Ped Shield
I want to introduce to you all a new term: the "Ped Shield." Credit goes to Mister Harford, though apparently he doesn't remember dubbing the term. It stands for "Pedestrian Shield." It would be nice if I could illustrate to you the term with a series of pictures, but words will have to suffice since I don't think I can make great pictures.
When I'm leaving my apartment in Berkeley, there's an intersection that I have to stop at because it tells me so. It tells me so with a stop sign. The cross traffic, however, does not need to stop because there is no stop sign for the cross traffic. That means that if there is an infinite amount of cross traffic, I will be stuck there forever. Oh noes!
Though I have not yet encountered the problem of infinite traffic, sometimes there is a lot of traffic that feels infinite. "Oh ouroboros!", I think to myself. Is that comma supposed to be inside the quotation marks? Anyway, so many cars, and I must wait heres forevers at this stop sign!
Luckily, however, pedestrians begin to cross at the intersection. Since most of the time the cross traffic cars decide not to run over the pedestrians, the cross traffic has been blocked, allowing me to get through the blasted intersection! The pedestrians have formed a shield for me against the oncoming cars allowing me to enter the intersection safely, hence, the "Ped Shield."
Ped Shield is great! I love the Ped Shield. It is handy to me often.
When I'm leaving my apartment in Berkeley, there's an intersection that I have to stop at because it tells me so. It tells me so with a stop sign. The cross traffic, however, does not need to stop because there is no stop sign for the cross traffic. That means that if there is an infinite amount of cross traffic, I will be stuck there forever. Oh noes!
Though I have not yet encountered the problem of infinite traffic, sometimes there is a lot of traffic that feels infinite. "Oh ouroboros!", I think to myself. Is that comma supposed to be inside the quotation marks? Anyway, so many cars, and I must wait heres forevers at this stop sign!
Luckily, however, pedestrians begin to cross at the intersection. Since most of the time the cross traffic cars decide not to run over the pedestrians, the cross traffic has been blocked, allowing me to get through the blasted intersection! The pedestrians have formed a shield for me against the oncoming cars allowing me to enter the intersection safely, hence, the "Ped Shield."
Ped Shield is great! I love the Ped Shield. It is handy to me often.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Defying Gravity
As I look at the sky my neck grows tired and gravity pulls my gaze downward: I see only people. As I look at people my neck grows tired and gravity pulls my gaze downward: I see only my dirty feet. I think, my dirty feet, is this all there is? It is a small world.
Tired, dirty feet marching along, where am I going? At church. Praise God, I sing, but see only my feet, and these feet are still tired. Maybe others know.
I lift my head and see others, walking. Going in different directions. Quite a better view than my feet, perhaps my answer lies here. Where can I rest, friend? The answer lies inside, he says. I look at my bellybutton. I am not inspired.
I turn to another. Where can I rest, friend? In the company of others, he says. I stand with others, and feel relieved that I am not the only one standing. But my feet are still tired.
Look up, look up, I hear. I look up. I see the heavens that declare the glory of God, the skies that proclaim the work of His hands, pouring forth speech and displaying knowledge. I glimpse majesty incomprehensible, holiness overwhelming.
Looking upward, I find rest, for my soul finds rest in God alone, my salvation comes from him. Once hath God spoken, these two things have I heard: strength is the Lord's, and to thee, Lord, is mercy.
As I look at the sky my neck grows tired and gravity pulls my gaze downward: I must defy gravity. As I resolve to rest alone in the Origin of power and the Fountain of mercy my neck grows tired and gravity pulls my gaze downward: I cannot defy gravity. But the one who is merciful extends his might to defy gravity, and lifts my head. It is a good view.
Tired, dirty feet marching along, where am I going? At church. Praise God, I sing, but see only my feet, and these feet are still tired. Maybe others know.
I lift my head and see others, walking. Going in different directions. Quite a better view than my feet, perhaps my answer lies here. Where can I rest, friend? The answer lies inside, he says. I look at my bellybutton. I am not inspired.
I turn to another. Where can I rest, friend? In the company of others, he says. I stand with others, and feel relieved that I am not the only one standing. But my feet are still tired.
Look up, look up, I hear. I look up. I see the heavens that declare the glory of God, the skies that proclaim the work of His hands, pouring forth speech and displaying knowledge. I glimpse majesty incomprehensible, holiness overwhelming.
Looking upward, I find rest, for my soul finds rest in God alone, my salvation comes from him. Once hath God spoken, these two things have I heard: strength is the Lord's, and to thee, Lord, is mercy.
As I look at the sky my neck grows tired and gravity pulls my gaze downward: I must defy gravity. As I resolve to rest alone in the Origin of power and the Fountain of mercy my neck grows tired and gravity pulls my gaze downward: I cannot defy gravity. But the one who is merciful extends his might to defy gravity, and lifts my head. It is a good view.
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