PostSecret on Weddings

Knowledge

No one can know. Know what lies behind these eyes.
Know the depth of emotion that lies beneath the surface.
No one would want to know. Know the scars that have yet to heal.
Know the battle that every single day holds.
No one knows. No one wants to know.

Except He who knows all.
He knows.

And that's all I need to know.

Fellowship of the Unashamed

"I am a part of the fellowship of the Unashamed. I have the Holy Spirit Power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure. I am finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions, mundane talking, chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by presence, learn by faith, love by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power.

My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my Guide is reliable, my mission is clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, diluted, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I won't give up, back up, let up, or shut up until I've preached up, prayed up, paid up, stored up, and stayed up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go until He returns, give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until He comes.

And when He comes to get His own, He will have no problem recognizing me. My colors will be clear for "I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.." (Romans 1:16)"

~authorship disputed

God

Crunchtime

Alright, outline. I've got 3 hours to make you into an actual essay. Resistance is futile. I have coffee and a bagel. You're going to get written, and you're going to like it.

Coffee

And something that made me smile

Going through my folder of PostSecrets that I've saved over the years, I found this:

Things that made me cry this afternoon:

A photograph from under a bridge on the Cornell campus. 3 students have committed suicide there this month by jumping off of bridges.

An article about loving God above all things, including your childrens' futures.

Chauvinism much?

So, my prof in developmental psyc showed us this book today. It's one of those things that it's so bad, it's funny.

Here's the book online.

You should go read it. It won't even take 5 minutes.

Its strange how certain things just stick with you...

I wrote a song for my 6th grade English class. I haven't looked at it in years, and yet the chorus popped into my head this evening.

I thought I saw a light at the end of the tunnel
But it turns out that light was just an on-coming train
I just keep living my life, day-by-day
But I can't help wondering: will my life stay this way?

hm.

Do it yourself

You'd think if we were exporting all of our jobs, we'd at least have the sensibility to export our tools as well, so that we don't need a set of Chinese screwdrivers* to take apart a simple household fan.

But no...



*Not a racism comment. They have different (normally smaller) tools in China.

"Sooner or later, Daddy and I will find out..."

This phrase emerged from the archives of my brain tonight. It was often said to us as kids: partly to convince my brother and I to tell our parents the truth, and partly to get us to behave (whether they were looking or not.)

But I made a realization tonight: that's not true. They don't always find out. They don't always know.

And I knew this, of course, but I never really made all of the connections. And part of me was a little sad, to be quite honest. How much better it would be-- I thought-- if they DID know. Then perhaps we'd be compelled to behave...or at least tell the truth. Because our parents would know about it.

And then I realized something:
We do have a Parent who knows what we do. God didn't reveal Himself to us as Father for no reason. He indeed knows all that we do.

And yet...are we any more well-behaved because of it?

Random tidbits

~According to the middle school kids I work with, I'm gay. Because when I have a cup in my hand I have a tendency to swirl it subconsciously (because I do that to my coffee in the morning to mix it better.) I'm not sure what they have found in their extensive amounts of scientific and psychological research that has lead them to this conclusion, but I think they need to double-check their data. (Or just stop calling everyone and their mom "gay".)

~In England the expression "everyone and their brother" (or mom, as I tend to modify it) is "everyone and their dog."

~"Potable": def. suitable for drinking. Good to know. I was thinking that it was an alternate pronunciation of "portable."

~I may actually get an A in Spanish this semester! It would be the only A I've gotten in a college Spanish class. I'm pretty excited!

What a fallen, fallen world...

A friend of mine, a 6th grader, asked my advice on what to do with a friend who talks about suicide and cuts himself with a pencil...

It breaks my heart to even think that a 12 year old would face such problems.

There's a grief that can't be spoken

Dreaming? Being awake?

I've been having nightmares every time I sleep...for about 3 days now. For whatever reason they come and go; but when they're around it's not pleasant. And I wake up, petrified, and then fall back asleep. Only to remember them in the middle of the next day.

And then, the days....well, they just have a personality of their own.

Sometimes...

it's worth being up early, studying for your exam in the lounge. The look on the security guard's face when he comes past, is priceless.

What he thought (according to his face): "Wait? What the crap is that? Is that a student? It can't be.... It is! Holy crap! What is a student doing awake?? I'm so confused!"

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice!

There once was a poor old man who owned a bony plow horse. The animal was old, but allowed the man and his son to plow the fields to grow the food off of which they lived. One spring afternoon the horse broke loose from his plow and ran away. The man and his son chased the horse, but it ran into the forest. They searched the woods for days, but to no avail. They were without any means of making a living. The old man’s friends, hearing the yelling, ran to his house. Trying to console him, they said, “We’re so sorry about your horse, old man. What a misfortune you’ve had.” But the old man said, “Bad news, good news-who can tell?”

A week later, the old man and his son were in the field, attmepting to plow it by hand, when they saw a cloud of dust approaching on the horizon. Lo and behold, it was their horse returning leading a herd of wild horses. The old man was rich! Not only did he have plenty of horses to work on his farm but he could sell the others at a profit. Again his friends came running. Filled with joy, they cried, “How wonderful!” But the old man whispered, “Good news, bad news-who can tell?”

Then the next day, when the farmer’s son was trying to ride one of the new horses, the young man was thrown to the ground and broke both of his legs. Upon hearing of the accident, the friends ran to the old man's house. "How unfortunate!" they cried. "Surely this is horrible news!" But the old man simply replied, “Bad news, good news-who can tell?”

And a short time later when the village went to war. A declaration went out that all young men had to go and fight. But when the recruitment officer came to the house of the old man, he shrugged, saying "We've no place for your son in this war." So the son avoided going into battle. Good news. Bad news. Who can tell?

Procrastination...or lack thereof

I'm spending my entire weekend working on a paper that isn't due until the 23rd. It's kinda crazy. At present, my only deadline is to finish taking notes on a book that needs to be back to the library by tomorrow night.

I don't think I've ever done this before....except when being forced by deadlines for notecards (which I don't count).

It's so strange....

I'm getting a little bored, and I just realized: I can take a break! It's not due on Monday or anything! I don't have to kill myself to get it done this minute.

Is this maturity? Responsibility? Wisdom?

Whatever it is....it's weird :-p

"We are mearly players, performers, and portrayers"

~Limelight, by Rush.

Someone said to me tonight, "Are you okay? You don't seem yourself..."

My unspoken question: If I'm not myself, then who am I?

Excellent thoughts on suffering

A series of blog posts by Mark Driscoll on the Mars Hill Church blog. Very insightful. Most helpful.

Part 1: Intro
Part 2: 15 Kinds of Suffering
Part 3: Why do we suffer?