I went to the rock wall again today. I pushed myself really hard, and now my arms hurt. Funny how that works.
Today was interesting. I don't get stressed out pretty much ever, so it was weird to get through half the day with a crazy constricted feeling around my eyes and an aching head. I did start a paper though, which alleviated a bit of the stress, and I went and found people to hang out with, which also helped a lot. Climbing was fun too and helped me regain part of my sanity.
I've made the decision to not drink coffee until after finals week. I had it three days in a row and I feel myself needing it. Stupid addiction. I will not be mastered by anything.
I was reading in 1st Corinthians today, and I got to chapter 7, and read it like eight times. When I got to the part about married people not having self control and how it's better to remain single, I got really confused. I had read it before, but I never really grasped the implications. Paul seems to seriously be telling people not to get married. I know that men and women were created to be together, a metaphor and symbol of the union between Christ and his church. One needs the other in order for humanity to survive. That's just how it works.
Any insight on this?
Tomorrow is Friday. Which means that a week from then, I will be packing up and moving back to Vancouver for the summer. I think that's the real stressor. Leaving and saying goodbye to people that I have seen everyday for the last 9 months.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
256
Really quickly before I have to run to class...
Psalm 49:16-19
16 Do not be afraid when a man becomes rich, when the glory of his house in increased; 17 For when he dies he will carry nothing away; his glory will not descend after him. 18 Though while he lives to congratulate himself- and though men praise you when you do well for yourself - 19 He shall go to the generation of his fathers; They shall never see the light.
The end of verse 17 is interesting, because it's assuming they will descend. I may be reading too far into this, but remember the whole "camel through the eye of a needle" thing?
The phrasing of verse 18 was really cool too.
Ok, I have to go to class.
Psalm 49:16-19
16 Do not be afraid when a man becomes rich, when the glory of his house in increased; 17 For when he dies he will carry nothing away; his glory will not descend after him. 18 Though while he lives to congratulate himself- and though men praise you when you do well for yourself - 19 He shall go to the generation of his fathers; They shall never see the light.
The end of verse 17 is interesting, because it's assuming they will descend. I may be reading too far into this, but remember the whole "camel through the eye of a needle" thing?
The phrasing of verse 18 was really cool too.
Ok, I have to go to class.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
255-And the Rain Returns
I woke up this morning to a popularity spike: two text messages and one voicemail. Popularity spikes are fun.
This morning, I looked out my window and saw rain falling. Of course, it doesn't matter that it's June and supposed to be sunny. I have about a week and a half to go of school, and I'm just sick of doing school. This doesn't include that I have a certain stressor that's driving me nuts. I spent my early afternoon in the Underground Coffeehouse laying on a couch trying to forget that it was Dead Week, then my early evening reading a book for my Soviet history class.
I am a huge Switchfoot fan. They are tied for #1 on my favorites list with the Eagles, and I actually listen to them more these days than I listen to the Eagles. On rainy days such as this one, I really dwell on their album Nothing is Sound. I know I've talked about it before, but I just love it. It's not one of their better albums, but it fits days like today perfectly. When the weather isn't working the way I want it to, I am thinking about life way more than I should, and I'm walking by myself in the rain a lot, this album captures the mood perfectly. I listened to this one a lot today.
Later in the day, I met with a friend, who introduced me to the Open Mic night at the Underground, which is really funny, because it's the last one of the year. It was about what I expected, which is why I hadn' gone as of late. There were a few good acts, though, and a few that just deserve props for doing what they did: it takes guts to play techno-ish whatnot to a college crowd in Bellingham.
There was one, though, that was so vulgar that I couldn't believe that the sound guy kept him going. To the sound guy's credit, he did turn him off momentarily, but the guy kept going with his grossness. I was proud to be able to stand up with my friend, leave, and not feel like I was doing the guy an injustice: it was that terrible.
I feel as though I should talk about something a bit more important, but my brain is fried with life's happenings. I hope I mellow out here soon, because having my brain on overload sucks.
This morning, I looked out my window and saw rain falling. Of course, it doesn't matter that it's June and supposed to be sunny. I have about a week and a half to go of school, and I'm just sick of doing school. This doesn't include that I have a certain stressor that's driving me nuts. I spent my early afternoon in the Underground Coffeehouse laying on a couch trying to forget that it was Dead Week, then my early evening reading a book for my Soviet history class.
I am a huge Switchfoot fan. They are tied for #1 on my favorites list with the Eagles, and I actually listen to them more these days than I listen to the Eagles. On rainy days such as this one, I really dwell on their album Nothing is Sound. I know I've talked about it before, but I just love it. It's not one of their better albums, but it fits days like today perfectly. When the weather isn't working the way I want it to, I am thinking about life way more than I should, and I'm walking by myself in the rain a lot, this album captures the mood perfectly. I listened to this one a lot today.
Later in the day, I met with a friend, who introduced me to the Open Mic night at the Underground, which is really funny, because it's the last one of the year. It was about what I expected, which is why I hadn' gone as of late. There were a few good acts, though, and a few that just deserve props for doing what they did: it takes guts to play techno-ish whatnot to a college crowd in Bellingham.
There was one, though, that was so vulgar that I couldn't believe that the sound guy kept him going. To the sound guy's credit, he did turn him off momentarily, but the guy kept going with his grossness. I was proud to be able to stand up with my friend, leave, and not feel like I was doing the guy an injustice: it was that terrible.
I feel as though I should talk about something a bit more important, but my brain is fried with life's happenings. I hope I mellow out here soon, because having my brain on overload sucks.
Monday, June 2, 2008
254
As I was wandering about today, in my travels I began to think about some pretty strange things.
One of which was: people don't talk in elevators.
This is really funny to me, because I am usually looking to strike up a conversation anywhere, and an elevator is no exception. But when standing in an elevator, everyone faces the door and gives off a distinct vibe that says "don't talk to me. We're in an elevator."
Why is this?
There are other things as well that just puzzle me, and I'll never know the answers.
Why do girls need so many shoes, and why can't they wear the same prom dress two years in a row?
How come we park in driveways, yet drive on parkways?
Why does hair grow in our armpits?
Why are yawns contagious?
*shrug*
I'm sure there are more of these things that my wiped-out mind can't grab right now.
One of which was: people don't talk in elevators.
This is really funny to me, because I am usually looking to strike up a conversation anywhere, and an elevator is no exception. But when standing in an elevator, everyone faces the door and gives off a distinct vibe that says "don't talk to me. We're in an elevator."
Why is this?
There are other things as well that just puzzle me, and I'll never know the answers.
Why do girls need so many shoes, and why can't they wear the same prom dress two years in a row?
How come we park in driveways, yet drive on parkways?
Why does hair grow in our armpits?
Why are yawns contagious?
*shrug*
I'm sure there are more of these things that my wiped-out mind can't grab right now.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
253- Happy June
Once again, weekends in Bellingham are amazing. I spent Friday, Saturday, and Sunday out hanging with friends outside. My body is really tired, and it'll take a few days of rest to get feeling solid again. Friday and Saturday I caught some incredible sunsets. May I never take another one for granted. I'm currently sipping on a cup of coffee and listening to music.
I've been thinking about this whole blogging thing. I have noticed a distinct lack of comments, which could mean a few things: One, my writing sucks. Two, I'm writing about things that aren't interesting to anyone. Three, I'm offending people. I'm guessing that it's a combination of all three things.
I want to apologize to anyone I've offended. I'm forever done talking about politics, at least on blogger. Things seem to stay a bit more cival when these discussions take place in person.
Awhile back, I discussed a bad habit of mine, specifically swearing. I am happy to say that while this habit persists, it's gotten MUCH better (I've been hanging out with a different crowd recently...funny what that'll do.) Within the context of this discussion, the issue of anger was brought up. I have since talked to a few individuals about this topic, and I get a general vibe that anger is "bad." Whether it's sin or not has not been pinned down. While the word "anger" has a negative conotation, I feel as though there are a few different elements to it that make it "right" or "wrong." The first: what are you angry about? The second: How long did it take you to get there?
I might take this moment to remind people that God himself, while DEFINITELY loving, merciful, and full of grace is capable of anger. There's a ton of evidence of that in the Old Testament. He leveled the earth with the flood and started over. When Korah rebelled against Moses in Numbers 16, Moses became angry, and God answered that anger by opening up the earth and swallowing Korah and his followers. As far as New Testament, Jesus took out his anger on the pharisees and merchants in the temple.
Anger is biblical. It's also an emotion. I would argue that to some extent it's healthy. But what makes it healthy? As I said previously, what are you angry about?
When Moses became angry with Korah, it was because the authority God had given him had been challenged. What's interesting about this is that Moses doesn't do much. He leaves it to God to say who's in charge. God responds to this by destroying all of Korah's family.
Jesus took out his anger on the merchants in Matthew 21:12-13 by casting them out and overturning their tables. Why? They were defiling his house. It was supposed to be a house of prayer, and it had been turned into a "den of thieves." I'd say that's a legitimate reason for anger.
A bad reason to be angry: being unable to complete a bouldering route while rock climbing.
Again, the other element involved here is how long it takes someone to get angry, and not only that, but how long they stayed angry. After Jesus cast out all the merchants and moneychangers in the temple, what did he do? In v.14, IMMEDIATELY afterward, he goes back to healing people.
We know that God himself is a "God of forgiveness, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness." (Nehemiah 9:17b)
Psalm 30:5 says "For His anger is but for a moment, his favor is for a lifetime..."
So God himself feels anger. He can't be in the presence of sin, so we can logically conclude that anger itself is not a sin. HOWEVER. What is the object of the anger? Is it the name of the LORD being defiled or questioned, or anger at the 6 year old kid screaming bloody murder at the sight of a garter snake at a lake, or something dumb like a rock that is hard to hang onto?
As a result, I feel as though anger should be a rarity, because it really isn't worth it to get riled up about the things that we do. I also feel as though the take home message is don't let anger control you, because that's when the line gets fuzzy. Anger's rise must be controlled, and if it doesn't fade quickly, the red-zone has once again been reached. Really dumb things have been said when anger is involved, and really dumb decisions have been made under it's influence as well.
I've been thinking about this whole blogging thing. I have noticed a distinct lack of comments, which could mean a few things: One, my writing sucks. Two, I'm writing about things that aren't interesting to anyone. Three, I'm offending people. I'm guessing that it's a combination of all three things.
I want to apologize to anyone I've offended. I'm forever done talking about politics, at least on blogger. Things seem to stay a bit more cival when these discussions take place in person.
Awhile back, I discussed a bad habit of mine, specifically swearing. I am happy to say that while this habit persists, it's gotten MUCH better (I've been hanging out with a different crowd recently...funny what that'll do.) Within the context of this discussion, the issue of anger was brought up. I have since talked to a few individuals about this topic, and I get a general vibe that anger is "bad." Whether it's sin or not has not been pinned down. While the word "anger" has a negative conotation, I feel as though there are a few different elements to it that make it "right" or "wrong." The first: what are you angry about? The second: How long did it take you to get there?
I might take this moment to remind people that God himself, while DEFINITELY loving, merciful, and full of grace is capable of anger. There's a ton of evidence of that in the Old Testament. He leveled the earth with the flood and started over. When Korah rebelled against Moses in Numbers 16, Moses became angry, and God answered that anger by opening up the earth and swallowing Korah and his followers. As far as New Testament, Jesus took out his anger on the pharisees and merchants in the temple.
Anger is biblical. It's also an emotion. I would argue that to some extent it's healthy. But what makes it healthy? As I said previously, what are you angry about?
When Moses became angry with Korah, it was because the authority God had given him had been challenged. What's interesting about this is that Moses doesn't do much. He leaves it to God to say who's in charge. God responds to this by destroying all of Korah's family.
Jesus took out his anger on the merchants in Matthew 21:12-13 by casting them out and overturning their tables. Why? They were defiling his house. It was supposed to be a house of prayer, and it had been turned into a "den of thieves." I'd say that's a legitimate reason for anger.
A bad reason to be angry: being unable to complete a bouldering route while rock climbing.
Again, the other element involved here is how long it takes someone to get angry, and not only that, but how long they stayed angry. After Jesus cast out all the merchants and moneychangers in the temple, what did he do? In v.14, IMMEDIATELY afterward, he goes back to healing people.
We know that God himself is a "God of forgiveness, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness." (Nehemiah 9:17b)
Psalm 30:5 says "For His anger is but for a moment, his favor is for a lifetime..."
So God himself feels anger. He can't be in the presence of sin, so we can logically conclude that anger itself is not a sin. HOWEVER. What is the object of the anger? Is it the name of the LORD being defiled or questioned, or anger at the 6 year old kid screaming bloody murder at the sight of a garter snake at a lake, or something dumb like a rock that is hard to hang onto?
As a result, I feel as though anger should be a rarity, because it really isn't worth it to get riled up about the things that we do. I also feel as though the take home message is don't let anger control you, because that's when the line gets fuzzy. Anger's rise must be controlled, and if it doesn't fade quickly, the red-zone has once again been reached. Really dumb things have been said when anger is involved, and really dumb decisions have been made under it's influence as well.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
250!
Today, I decided, should be reserved as a rest day for my once-again aching body. I should probably stretch a bit more often.
I have been by myself for most of the day, and I'm a little bummed out about it. It's kind of a gross day, so I'm not as excited as I should be. I do have the weekend to look forward to, though, so I am looking forward to three solid adventures (yet to be planned, mind you, but they will happen.)
I gave my testimony at Core last night. It was kind of exciting, but I wish I had gone a bit deeper and talked about some of the struggles I've had. Honestly, they've almost all been mental up until now. I did get to express my love for the book of Ecclesiastes and read a chunk towards the end where things seem to get a bit happier. I got a couple funny looks when I talked about how much I liked the book, perhaps because it was unfamiliar, and perhaps because it's sort of depressing in parts. I, on the other hand, find it totally refreshing that one of the wisest men ever to set foot on this dustball we call earth recognized that life sucks a lot of the time and that our relationship with God is all that matters.
I especially love chapter 11: 9-10.
9 Rejoice, young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be pleasant during the days of young manhood. And follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes. Yet know that God will bring you to judgement for all these things (I LOVE the eternal perspective!) 10 So, remove vexation from your heart and put away pain from your body, because childhood and the prime of life are fleeting.
This can seem depressing from one perspective. "Awe, man, the prime of my life is fleeting!"
But from my perspective: That's right now! I am actually told to follow my heart and my eyes, as long as these things are honoring to God.
SO cool.
I'm a little tired right now, hopefully that'll pass soon enough. Like I said, I'm gearing up for the weekend.
I have been by myself for most of the day, and I'm a little bummed out about it. It's kind of a gross day, so I'm not as excited as I should be. I do have the weekend to look forward to, though, so I am looking forward to three solid adventures (yet to be planned, mind you, but they will happen.)
I gave my testimony at Core last night. It was kind of exciting, but I wish I had gone a bit deeper and talked about some of the struggles I've had. Honestly, they've almost all been mental up until now. I did get to express my love for the book of Ecclesiastes and read a chunk towards the end where things seem to get a bit happier. I got a couple funny looks when I talked about how much I liked the book, perhaps because it was unfamiliar, and perhaps because it's sort of depressing in parts. I, on the other hand, find it totally refreshing that one of the wisest men ever to set foot on this dustball we call earth recognized that life sucks a lot of the time and that our relationship with God is all that matters.
I especially love chapter 11: 9-10.
9 Rejoice, young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be pleasant during the days of young manhood. And follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes. Yet know that God will bring you to judgement for all these things (I LOVE the eternal perspective!) 10 So, remove vexation from your heart and put away pain from your body, because childhood and the prime of life are fleeting.
This can seem depressing from one perspective. "Awe, man, the prime of my life is fleeting!"
But from my perspective: That's right now! I am actually told to follow my heart and my eyes, as long as these things are honoring to God.
SO cool.
I'm a little tired right now, hopefully that'll pass soon enough. Like I said, I'm gearing up for the weekend.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
248 Written in the Wee-Morning Hours of 249
I'm sorta burnt out. I didn't sleep well last night, and I'm still rebounding from the fullness of the weekend. I'm sort of stressed and the tension I cited last week seems to have returned. I think I need another sunny-day adventure. They seem to make everything better, at least for awhile.
Getting about halfway through my history reading for tomorrow, I decided that I couldn't read anymore, then went out to watch the sunset.
Sunsets to me are a glimpse into what this world was supposed to be like before we went and mucked it up.
Getting about halfway through my history reading for tomorrow, I decided that I couldn't read anymore, then went out to watch the sunset.
Sunsets to me are a glimpse into what this world was supposed to be like before we went and mucked it up.
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