Tuesday, January 19, 2010
The Fear of God
I came across a wonderful and terrifying thought: Perhaps, God gives and takes away in order to show his mastery over creation. In the Bible, God specifically says to Moses that he makes people blind and deaf. Maybe this means he allows them to be so. Either way, he is responsible for this in some fashion. Then, we have our friend Jesus. He takes away people's blindness and such through His ministry. He does this in order that His glory, or moreso the Father's glory, can be shown.
Our biggest problem with God taking life or just taking away is that we don't have control of that. In a sense, this is derived from a desire in our sinful nature: the desire to be God.
This realization lead me to the Fear of the LORD and a whole new aspect of God.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Lex Luthor
Friday, January 15, 2010
"The Inscription of Hope"
"I believe in the sun
Even when it is not shining
And I believe in love
Even when there's no one there
And I believe in god
Even when he is silent"
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Bands Again
The National
Cymbals Eat Guitars
Miss May I
Of Mice & Men
Phoenix
Muse
St. Vincent
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Hope and a Future
I wanted to write about an important experience in my life in which God "ho'd" my life...twice.
I was thinking of asking this girl out. I told one of my friends about it and she replied, "Did you ask God about it?" Here's something to know about me: I've often felt that people, especially after going to NCU, overspiritualize relationships. But, immediately after my friend said that, I felt like asking her out was wrong. It was a strange feeling, close to the feeling of nervousness or the feeling you get when you screw up in a big way. I've felt this before and identified it as the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
First life ho'ing: God cares about your relationships.
Then, He got me again: I've always felt like Jeremiah 29:11 was overused. It reads, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." I always felt like everyone thought that applied to their lives and that I didn't agree. My reasoning for disagreeing with this verse was that bad stuff happens to good people. Plenty of good people have had crappy lives. So, I wrote it off as overused. I felt God speaking this verse into my life when i asked him about me dating this girl. That he had someone different planned for me and if I pursued her, I would be missing out.
The second life ho'ing: God looks out for his children. Also, hope and a future doesn't mean life will be easy-peasy. That's not true. That's the stupid Prosperity movement. God DOES have a plan. He knows what's best for us. He knows what's up. Trust Him, the supplier and inventor of hope. A future with God is the greatest future one can have.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Rev. Bob Dylan
http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Blowin%27-in-the-Wind-lyrics-Bob-Dylan/E21E119C400E61A5482569690027A3C9
People who need to be punched directly in the face (hard)
1) Child/wife beaters and rapists
2) People who hate based on sexual orientation, gender, race, class, and creed
3) Anyone who's a douche for no good reason
4) Mainstream Radio (if it took human form)
5) Tom Cruise
SOMETHING WORTH READING!!!!!!!!!!!
In mid-December, a bi-partisan group of lawmakers introduced the Jubilee Act in the U.S. House of Representatives. If passed, this bill will broaden debt relief for poor countries, reform the policies of international financial institutions, and press lenders to use responsible practices with respect to the world's poorest nations.
"As the global-economic crisis pushes tens of millions more people around the world below the global-poverty line, it is more critical than ever that Congress act on this vital legislation," said Alexander Baumgarten of the Jubilee USA Network, a coalition of groups pressing for debt relief for poorer nations. "We've seen the success of debt cancellation in the past, putting children in school, providing life-saving health services, and bringing economic opportunity to millions."
To Help, Urge your senator to support the bill....
http://salsa.democracyinac
This only takes a few seconds to do, but can make a world of difference.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Details, details
"I don't care if it's not pretty; it's done!" - that's practically my life's motto. This is also probably why I enjoy punk music like the Ramones, the Distillers, Minor Threat, and the Bad Brains. That's a lot of "the's" in one sentence.
Expressionism > Impressionism
Creativity is the more human part of artistry in my opinion. Monkeys and dogs can learn skills and become technically good at things. Machines are also technically good at things. I don't wanna be a machine. I want to be creative. I wanna show my soul (that's sounds corny haha.)
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Apology
I usually call people who are always negative "soul suckers." I've become a soul sucker in a way. This needs to change. Help me, Jesus.
Science, the friend of God
Inspirational Speakers That We Once Called "Preachers"
I've decided to leave 1st Assembly in Cedar Rapids today. I don't feel like it's Bible-based enough for me. I shouldn't judge but I know it's just not for me. I need meat and potatoes, they are giving me sweets.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
More Bands to Love
I've also fallen for some fun hardcore bands recently: Write This Down (rekindling the flame with this one;) Drop Dead, Gorgeous; The Bronx (they are more hardcore punk;) For Today (something good actually came from Iowa;) and the infamous Greeley Estates.
I've also found that I love the Easy Star All Stars, a band that does reggae covers of popular artists like the Beatles and Radiohead. These two bands happen to be personal favs of mine. The Radiohead album is especially good.
Friday, January 1, 2010
James T. Kirk and Myself
"I don't believe in a no-win situation."
Interesting! Yes, this seems cocky, but it also seems inspiring. Kirk shows us something about his character. He has supreme confidence. He believes every problem can be faced and overcome. ANY PROBLEM. Imagine if we faced the world with this kind of confidence. I can do this.
Then I remembered a very tramautizing (but not really) event that recently occured in my left, via last semester. This event was none other than my rock climbing class.
I
SUCK
AT
ROCKCLIMBING
I couldn't get up any walls. Not one stupid wall. Even if I was determined - my technique was flawed. I wasn't doing it right and I couldn't get it right. It was a two day course. After the first day, I came home and watched Youtube videos about how to rock climb better. I relearned the knots I needed to make. I was still unsure through all of this. The next day, I sucked just as much as the first day. I passed the class, vowing to never rock climb again unless I needed to.
What did this tell me? What grand lesson did Riley learn from all this? Humility.
Humility is not a lack of confidence or self-esteem, it is a lack of pride. Pride is a big problem in my life, as well as Captain Kirk's life. We were both not too confident to lose, we were too arrogant to lose. Until now, I hadn't realized how well this lesson ties into this season of my life. I prayed at the beginning of the semester for God to teach me humility. DON'T PRAY THIS UNLESS YOU MEAN IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I meant it. I learned well and I'm still learning. I learned this through rock climbing and I learned this through my first teaching clinical, in which I didn't do too well. I was talking to a coworker about my clinical experience and how I felt like I failed. His reply ho'd my life. "So, you were upset because you weren't a natural at teaching?" That was exactly right.
What was my problem with the whole situation - my pride. My pride took a hit. My pride was hurt cuz I couldn't make it up a wall. My pride was hurt cuz I wasn't the best teacher from Day 1. The same pride I asked God to help me lose was the pride I was losing. The LORD works in mysterious, and in this case, painfully obvious ways.