"We may be earnestly desiring to be obedient and holy. But we may be missing the fact that it is here, where we happen to be at this moment and not in another place or another time, that we may learn to love Him - here where it seems He is not at work, where His will seems obscure or frightening, where He is not doing what we expected Him to do, where He is most absent. Here and nowhere else is the appointed place. If faith does not go to work here, it will not go to work at all." --Elisabeth Elliot
I listened to a chapel message sent to me by a friend on patience. It was excellent. A few hours after listening to it the first time, I listened to it again in its entirety. Wow. Wow.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Saturday, December 12, 2009
still finding things...
"God does not give us overcoming life; He gives life as we overcome. The strain is the strength. If there is no strain there is no strength. Are you asking God to give you life and liberty and joy? He cannot, unless you will accept the strain. Immediately you face the strain, you will get the strength." - Oswald Chambers, "My Utmost for His Highest"
"When you find yourself facing an issue in your life, the purpose or reason or good thing that might come out of it being completely hidden from you - what do you do? Do you worry and fret, become preoccupied with the problem? Do you ignore it or avoid it? Do you complain about it, do you want to run away from it? Or do you see it as a situation in which you might be able to experience the power and grace of God at work? Do you watch for the work of God that is to be done in his situation?" - Fr. John Yates, Falls Church
"[Fretting] always ends in sin. We imagine that a little anxiety and worry are an indication of how really wise we are; it is much more an indication of how really wicked we are. Fretting springs from a determination to get our own way. Our Lord never worried and He was never anxious, because He was not out to realize His own ideas; He was out to realize God's ideas." - Oswald Chambers
"Lord, it is hard to accept a negative answer, but keep us humble enough, patient enough, and faithful enough to trust. Thank You that You always answer our prayers in Your way with a yes or a no. How good it is to know that You never make a mistake." - Corrie ten Boom
"When you find yourself facing an issue in your life, the purpose or reason or good thing that might come out of it being completely hidden from you - what do you do? Do you worry and fret, become preoccupied with the problem? Do you ignore it or avoid it? Do you complain about it, do you want to run away from it? Or do you see it as a situation in which you might be able to experience the power and grace of God at work? Do you watch for the work of God that is to be done in his situation?" - Fr. John Yates, Falls Church
"[Fretting] always ends in sin. We imagine that a little anxiety and worry are an indication of how really wise we are; it is much more an indication of how really wicked we are. Fretting springs from a determination to get our own way. Our Lord never worried and He was never anxious, because He was not out to realize His own ideas; He was out to realize God's ideas." - Oswald Chambers
"Lord, it is hard to accept a negative answer, but keep us humble enough, patient enough, and faithful enough to trust. Thank You that You always answer our prayers in Your way with a yes or a no. How good it is to know that You never make a mistake." - Corrie ten Boom
Friday, December 11, 2009
Eng. Lit. response paper - 02/17/03
Our lives can be summed up in one word: mutability. That is exactly what Shelley writes his poem on - a small summary of what life is like.
It is the same! - For, be it joy or sorrow,
The path of its departure still is free;
Man's yesterday may ne'er be like his morrow;
Nought may endure but Mutability.
To be mutable is to be changeable, variable, fluctuating and inconsistent. Isn't that exactly what life is like when we stop and think about it? The reason that I selected this passage is because it is overwhelmingly full of truth. This particular stanza says that although all the days are filled with joys and sorrow they are all different. Everyone has different kinds of things that make you happy and different kinds of things that make you sad, but you will never have two of the exact same day. The only thing in life that will not change is change itself.
Something that stirred up my thoughts in this passage was how sometimes I go through a day and by the time I wake up the next morning and think about what the past twenty four hours has held for me, it seems wasted, futile; and I will never gain it back. If Shelley thought that in his society and day things were always changing, what would he think to live in the United States today? We are so quick about our business that we don't even realize we are quick. We don't take time to step back and evaluate that there is joy and sorrow and every day holds something different and unexpected. At least Shelley has the logic to slow down and take a step back and examine what life is really like. Sure this poem reminds me of microwaves, instant messengers, and cell phones, but it also reminds me of my homework. I am so "rushed" to do my homework because I supposedly have so many other things to accomplish that it seems as though sometimes I forget to learn. We're hardly very knowledgeable in this day and age; we've simply learned to think quickly and memorize. How sad! I remember answering a question for Biblical Fundamentals last year that asked about our academic standings and goals and so forth. I remember writing that I wanted to learn, learning so that I know, not just so that I will get good grades was my goal. I want to know things so that even though the world may change I will build up my knowledge and know truth and fact and wisdom.
Change is inevitable. It is and always has been a part of human life. "Mutability" reminded me of the verse in James 4:14 that states, "For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes." We need to be so careful that our days are not wasted. In the entire realm of humanity change includes new people being born and old people dying. I'm going to die (unless Jesus comes back). That is for sure a change, for me, my family, my friends, and everyone else I encounter in life. And yet the same joys and the same sorrows will continue throughout people's lives. Perhaps we should be like Shelley and examine what reality is really like sometime. If we don't examine life at all, we'll be gone before we know it.
It is the same! - For, be it joy or sorrow,
The path of its departure still is free;
Man's yesterday may ne'er be like his morrow;
Nought may endure but Mutability.
To be mutable is to be changeable, variable, fluctuating and inconsistent. Isn't that exactly what life is like when we stop and think about it? The reason that I selected this passage is because it is overwhelmingly full of truth. This particular stanza says that although all the days are filled with joys and sorrow they are all different. Everyone has different kinds of things that make you happy and different kinds of things that make you sad, but you will never have two of the exact same day. The only thing in life that will not change is change itself.
Something that stirred up my thoughts in this passage was how sometimes I go through a day and by the time I wake up the next morning and think about what the past twenty four hours has held for me, it seems wasted, futile; and I will never gain it back. If Shelley thought that in his society and day things were always changing, what would he think to live in the United States today? We are so quick about our business that we don't even realize we are quick. We don't take time to step back and evaluate that there is joy and sorrow and every day holds something different and unexpected. At least Shelley has the logic to slow down and take a step back and examine what life is really like. Sure this poem reminds me of microwaves, instant messengers, and cell phones, but it also reminds me of my homework. I am so "rushed" to do my homework because I supposedly have so many other things to accomplish that it seems as though sometimes I forget to learn. We're hardly very knowledgeable in this day and age; we've simply learned to think quickly and memorize. How sad! I remember answering a question for Biblical Fundamentals last year that asked about our academic standings and goals and so forth. I remember writing that I wanted to learn, learning so that I know, not just so that I will get good grades was my goal. I want to know things so that even though the world may change I will build up my knowledge and know truth and fact and wisdom.
Change is inevitable. It is and always has been a part of human life. "Mutability" reminded me of the verse in James 4:14 that states, "For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes." We need to be so careful that our days are not wasted. In the entire realm of humanity change includes new people being born and old people dying. I'm going to die (unless Jesus comes back). That is for sure a change, for me, my family, my friends, and everyone else I encounter in life. And yet the same joys and the same sorrows will continue throughout people's lives. Perhaps we should be like Shelley and examine what reality is really like sometime. If we don't examine life at all, we'll be gone before we know it.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
English Literature response paper - 04/02/03
Perhaps Emily Bronte is correct in her poem "I'm Happiest When Most Away." Perhaps true contentment for a woman lies beyond her existence to her family or to her husband, but I would go a step further and say that true contentment for all human beings lies beyond their mortal lives.
I'm happiest when most away
I can bear my soul from its home of clay
On a windy night when the moon is bright
And the eye can wander through worlds of light
When I am not and none beside
Nor earth nor sea nor cloudless sky
But only spirit wandering wide
Through infinite immensity.
Whether or not this poem is talking about day dreaming or watching a night sky, it simply talks about the mind wandering to new places, seemingly unreachable places. Let me think about my life and "bear my soul." Instead of looking at my life here on earth, let me look at the sky so my "eye can wander through worlds of light." If this is the only way to experience something new then let my "spirit [wander] wide through infinite immensity."
Everyone knows that littler girls are supposed to dream about their wedding day - what color bridesmaids dresses will be, who will be their bridesmaids, and of course which of the princes from all of the Disney movies will be their groom. Being a female has made it seem that I'm almost given the "right" to dream, to day dream, to open up my soul and think of things beyond. I thought by the time I went into junior high my day dreaming of my life to come would stop, but it didn't. It didn't stop in high school and it hasn't even begun to stop in college. In fact, I think it's gotten worse (probably) as the time draws closer. In fact, The Master's College community is very encouraging in the hopes to find a husband who plays the guitar and wants to be a youth pastor. So is that the daydream or the "wandering wide" spirit in Emily Bronte's poem? I don't think so. That hope, seemingly, is like every other girl's dream here at TMC. This poem is not about the people that want what everybody else assumes they will eventually get or is in the process of getting or already does have. There is something beyond that simplistic life. Let me "bear my soul from its home of clay." I don't want to be like everybody else. I want to be different. Perhaps, I won't go to the extreme that I don't want to ever get married or anything horrendous like that, however I don't want to marry a pastor and I don't want to get married right out of college and I don't want to be a house wife and raise four children. I believe I'm looking from the outside, hoping that I will never have to bear my soul elsewhere, dreaming about a different kind of life.
Just as we sometimes hear that if humans were all the same then the world would be boring, if our lives were all the same we would all want to get out of here. Most of the Victorian women led the same casual lifestyles. How boring is that? I would take it a step further though, and say that men feel exactly the same way. Don't most men work and provide income for their family household? Don't they ever want to "bear their soul" and let their "spirit [wander] wide through infinite immensity"? Yes, I'm sure they do. Of course, from a Christian perspective, the only life someone could live and be content would be a life indwelled by the Holy Spirit of the Living God. And yet, at the same time still, I think you still need times to "bear your soul", but in life with Him, He is exactly who you would bear your soul to.
I'm happiest when most away
I can bear my soul from its home of clay
On a windy night when the moon is bright
And the eye can wander through worlds of light
When I am not and none beside
Nor earth nor sea nor cloudless sky
But only spirit wandering wide
Through infinite immensity.
Whether or not this poem is talking about day dreaming or watching a night sky, it simply talks about the mind wandering to new places, seemingly unreachable places. Let me think about my life and "bear my soul." Instead of looking at my life here on earth, let me look at the sky so my "eye can wander through worlds of light." If this is the only way to experience something new then let my "spirit [wander] wide through infinite immensity."
Everyone knows that littler girls are supposed to dream about their wedding day - what color bridesmaids dresses will be, who will be their bridesmaids, and of course which of the princes from all of the Disney movies will be their groom. Being a female has made it seem that I'm almost given the "right" to dream, to day dream, to open up my soul and think of things beyond. I thought by the time I went into junior high my day dreaming of my life to come would stop, but it didn't. It didn't stop in high school and it hasn't even begun to stop in college. In fact, I think it's gotten worse (probably) as the time draws closer. In fact, The Master's College community is very encouraging in the hopes to find a husband who plays the guitar and wants to be a youth pastor. So is that the daydream or the "wandering wide" spirit in Emily Bronte's poem? I don't think so. That hope, seemingly, is like every other girl's dream here at TMC. This poem is not about the people that want what everybody else assumes they will eventually get or is in the process of getting or already does have. There is something beyond that simplistic life. Let me "bear my soul from its home of clay." I don't want to be like everybody else. I want to be different. Perhaps, I won't go to the extreme that I don't want to ever get married or anything horrendous like that, however I don't want to marry a pastor and I don't want to get married right out of college and I don't want to be a house wife and raise four children. I believe I'm looking from the outside, hoping that I will never have to bear my soul elsewhere, dreaming about a different kind of life.
Just as we sometimes hear that if humans were all the same then the world would be boring, if our lives were all the same we would all want to get out of here. Most of the Victorian women led the same casual lifestyles. How boring is that? I would take it a step further though, and say that men feel exactly the same way. Don't most men work and provide income for their family household? Don't they ever want to "bear their soul" and let their "spirit [wander] wide through infinite immensity"? Yes, I'm sure they do. Of course, from a Christian perspective, the only life someone could live and be content would be a life indwelled by the Holy Spirit of the Living God. And yet, at the same time still, I think you still need times to "bear your soul", but in life with Him, He is exactly who you would bear your soul to.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
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