Update on My Resolution

Here I sit 13 days after my announcement for my “resolution,” and very far removed from the stress that induced my gloom and sadness. I think I can say with a  degree of certainty that I am much better off now than I was two weeks ago, and that is not because of leaving school. It was about a week ago that my mood started to turn, and since then I have felt better than I have in a very long time. Was it stress? Was it just a matter of not being settled? What I was going through was a rather complicated issue, and one that is very tough to disclose. What I can say is that I was dealing with something that I have dealt with for a while, and was something that God instilled in me that I learned to accept as a gift rather than a curse.

            Now, faith is a complicated issue and will not be solved in one small revelation on a late December night. God is constantly revealing things to me throughout my journey and will continue to teach me as I grow closer to him. I am not at the end of my journey yet, I have a long way to go but I also know that God is leading me every step of the way. My year started out on a poor note, I was farther from God than I realized, and managed to “fake” my way along pretty well. Now, after taking a good look in the mirror, I see the man I am and the man God wants me to become.

            I’ll continue posting once a day for however long I feel compelled to. I don’t know where I am going with this, but I do know that wherever I end up I’ll be better for it.

He is God of All Things

I have resumed my study of Genesis, and shall now write down a few late-night thoughts before bed. I just read Genesis 7, which recounts part of the story of Noah. One thing that really stood out to me is that the author mentions that Noah took all the animals—both clean and unclean. When the law as given to Moses, God made a clear distinction between what was clean and unclean to eat/touch. Yet here, God saves all the animals and desires to keep them on the earth. That’s very interesting, and somewhat confusing. Why would God save animals that He later considered “unclean,” seems like if He’s starting over with the world He might as well get rid of a few animals too right? Well not exactly, I believe that this goes to show how God is not a God of the “clean,” but He is God of all. I still can’t get the tragedy of Newtown out of my head. As an older brother I cannot bear the thought of losing my two younger siblings, the thought that there are parents and kids who lost loved ones really breaks my heart. Yet God is God of all, which means that He is ultimately in control and that He loves us. We cannot forget that important fact. It is easy to say “Oh I guess God forgot” or “God caused this pain.” And maybe we will never get the answers that we really want, but we do know one thing: God is in control, and God loves us. All of us. God loves those kids, and He loves those who are grieving. When Noah went on that ark he lost everything—his house, job, friends, the list goes on and on. Yet he trusted God because he had to. In times like this we need to trust in God and have faith that He can and will deliver us, and those families. Never forget or underestimate the goodness and love of God; if there is anything you ever take away from this blog please let it be that. I’ve had a long day, and it is time to sleep. God bless, and never forget: though there is evil in the world we all have the power to take God’s love and shine it on others. I’ve always been a big believer that I (along with my brothers and sisters in Christ) can shine a little light in an otherwise dark world, we all have the ability to brighten our environment it just takes strength and prayer.

Prayers to the Newtown Community

My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone either in, or related to the tragedy in Newtown Connecticut. It is times like this that can cause us to question our world, and even our faith. Why would God allow this? That seems to be a theme among facebook posts today. The answer, unfortunately, is that we do not know. I do not have the answers to the suffering in the world, if I did life would be a heck of  a lot easier. But I do know this: God is just, and He loves us. God has not forgotten the families affected today, and He will not forget them in the future. We live in a fallen world, corrupted by sin, evil, and pain. That is why Jesus came down to earth, because we are desperately in need of saving. I have faith in God’s love, and know that even though tragedies like these may plague us He has not forgotten about us and He will deliver us. I pray for the families today, that they may have strength and that God may turn their sorrow into good. Evil may corrupt our world, but God’s power can take a bad event and bring brightness out of it. 

I Commend You

Not my post for the day, but I just wanted to say to my readers who are good at calculus and math in general: I commend you. I'm a writer, I like english and economics; Calc just isn't my thing. So math people, stay strong and keep doing what you do because I sure can't keep up. Check later today for more in depth thoughts as I continue through Genesis!

Random Thoughts

In addition to my unwavering faith in God, here are a few things that are getting me through the week.

1) Diet Coke
2) Pandora.com
3) The thought that as soon as I get home I can give my dog a big hug, and watch TV all day without feeling bad about it.
4) The thought that I will soon have the ability to write whenever I want instead of 11:00 at night.
5) Christmas.
6) All the good food I will eat on Christmas.
7) The thought that on January first it will only be two months until baseball starts up again.

Anyway, those are just a few random thoughts from a very tired, yet hopeful college student. I'll try to keep posting the next few days, and I hope God can give me an energy boost as I could really use one. I just need to make it to 2pm on Friday, here we go.

The True Meaning of Christmas

Once again I find myself failing to keep my “post a day” promise. I have been extremely busy the past few days, which caused me to crash around 9:00 last night. Now that I’ve had an adequate night’s sleep for the first time in 6 days, here is what I would have posted yesterday.

            I was sitting in church Sunday and was really struck by a simple, yet amazing thought. How often do we seriously contemplate the idea of Jesus coming to earth? I know it’s Christmas and the Nativity scenes dotted here and there don’t let us forget, but do we ever really contemplate what happened? The God of the universe came down to us in human form. He entered our world—for so long man has tried (somewhat in vain) to reach God, and here He comes down to us. Does that blow your mind?

            Imagine it, it was an ordinary day like many others. It was probably a clear night, like many June nights in the Middle East, and out of nowhere a chorus of Angels call the shepherds from their sleep to see the King. What they find is a baby in a manger, held by his mother and father. Imagine the surprise, and awe. Imagine the joy, knowing that for thousands of years man has been kept away from God and here it is, the link that we could not possibly forge. God realized that something had to be done to fix the mess Adam and Eve created, and there is was in that miraculous, divine baby. Years of pain, sorrow, and death ended that night when God came down to earth; salvation for all was at hand and we need only accept it.

            This Christmas season, try to really think about that miracle. The idea that God loves us so much that He came down here on earth. It was not easy, imagine being God of the universe and downgrading to our human limitations—yet He did it out of His immense love for us. It truly is a miracle, one that is far too hard to completely understand but a gift that we accept nevertheless.

This Time Words Speak Louder than Actions

            It seems that the common theme among many of my posts this week is that they are all typed late at night. I suppose that is because I have not gone to bed before 1:00 am the past three nights in a row, and do not think I will get an adequate night’s sleep tonight either. Oh well, it’s the good ole college experience.

            I’ve been thinking about how the Bible has a lot to say about our words, and how they can affect others around us. We never talk much about, well, what we talk about—whether it be there are more “popular” sins to deal with I do not know for sure. Still, it is a very important topic and must be discussed. Honestly, when do you really give thought to what you say to others? Many who know me know that I have a very bad habit of saying exactly what is on my mind. I often say the first thing that pops into my head, which can be very funny but sometimes a bit harsh if I don’t check myself. Sometimes if you don’t watch what you say you can end up hurting someone, even a friend.

            So what are we to do? I don’t have the mental energy to analyze every single thing I say before I say it. I wouldn’t talk if I tried to do that (which may solve my problem). What we can do is live in a spirit of lifting others up. Paul writes on numerous occasions that we must watch our tongues and build our brothers in Christ up, not tear them down. It is easy to make a joke at the expense of the loner, or to tell a crude joke to get a few laughs, but that kind of speech is not one that glorifies God, and not one that lifts up our own spirits.

            Words really are one of the most powerful tools we have. In complimenting someone you can make his day, in insulting someone you can ruin his day. Let us resolve to share the love of God through both our actions and words this week.