Nature is so beautiful. I'm sitting here looking out my window, and was once again amazed at what God made. Unfortunately there is a building sitting right in my line of view that kind of ruins the picture. The man made structure, while a nice looking building, cannot compare.
Makes me think about the parts of my life. Which are God made, and which are man made? After a quick look it is pretty clear - the things of God are glorious, beyond compare. The things of man look shabby by comparison. Even if they are great by man's standards they pale when standing next to God's standard. The accomplishment I have achieved on my own may look great for a bit, but oh how glorious are those things that are undeniably purely of God!!
The childhood song about not hiding your light comes to mind - each part of my life that is touched by God becomes a small bit of light. If there is not much in our lives that is of God, there is nothing to shine, nothing to make us different from those around us. But if enough parts are lit up, the whole becomes a blazing beacon that shines forth.
Let the glory of God shine through, reflect off us, and illumine the world around.
About Me
- Carlton Jenke
- I like life, and I love God. I try to see how He is moving in every situation, looking beyond the surface to the "super" natural. Far from perfect - but trying to be near to His heart.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Character Needed vs Second Chances
The big news this week in the Dallas sports world is the signing by the Dallas Cowboys of Terry "Tank" Johnson. Don't worry - I do not intend this to be a discussion of whether the Cowboys should have signed him or not. But I do find the discussions that I have heard about it to be very interesting because of the roots of the different arguments.
There are 2 camps out there - one is "he's a thug, we don't need that sort of troublemaker here." The other is "we need him as a player, who cares about his character." Ok, most from the later camp actually state it in a more acceptable manner, more like "everybody needs a second chance."
Setting the football world aside and looking at our lives ... which is it? Is established good character a prerequisite, or should we be given second chances? Probably a blend of both depending on what area of life you are looking at. Someone who has shady character or especially a criminal background should never be allowed to work in a children's ministry. An embezzler should never again be trusted with access to money. But we all fail in some ways, and in most areas we should be allowed to try again. What's the old saying ... "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again." But how can we try again if we are not allowed to?
Or how about the way we treat our church family? Too often we dismiss those around us that don't reach some arbitrary level that we have decided is required. Maybe they are too arrogant, or immature, or "uncultured", or too whatever else rubs us the wrong way. If they ever grow enough and make it to an acceptable level, then we will decide they are worth our time.
Or maybe they really did mess up, and we can't let it go. We can't forgive.
All I can say is I am so grateful that God does not treat us like we treat each other. As Pastor is fond of saying - "God catches his fish before he cleans them." But the part we forget is that the cleaning process is not immediate, and should continue the rest of our lives.
So maybe we should be helping others grow instead of dismissing them, and who knows - maybe in the process we will grow a bit ourselves.
There are 2 camps out there - one is "he's a thug, we don't need that sort of troublemaker here." The other is "we need him as a player, who cares about his character." Ok, most from the later camp actually state it in a more acceptable manner, more like "everybody needs a second chance."
Setting the football world aside and looking at our lives ... which is it? Is established good character a prerequisite, or should we be given second chances? Probably a blend of both depending on what area of life you are looking at. Someone who has shady character or especially a criminal background should never be allowed to work in a children's ministry. An embezzler should never again be trusted with access to money. But we all fail in some ways, and in most areas we should be allowed to try again. What's the old saying ... "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again." But how can we try again if we are not allowed to?
Or how about the way we treat our church family? Too often we dismiss those around us that don't reach some arbitrary level that we have decided is required. Maybe they are too arrogant, or immature, or "uncultured", or too whatever else rubs us the wrong way. If they ever grow enough and make it to an acceptable level, then we will decide they are worth our time.
Or maybe they really did mess up, and we can't let it go. We can't forgive.
All I can say is I am so grateful that God does not treat us like we treat each other. As Pastor is fond of saying - "God catches his fish before he cleans them." But the part we forget is that the cleaning process is not immediate, and should continue the rest of our lives.
So maybe we should be helping others grow instead of dismissing them, and who knows - maybe in the process we will grow a bit ourselves.
Taking Stock of the Small Things
Recently the company I work for relocated, moving from Hurst to Irving (TX). As part of this process we all had to pack all of our items up and prepare them for the movers. Even though I had limited area in my previous location, I was amazed at the amount of things I had. Having been with the company for over 5 years, I had accumulated more than I would have thought.
(Side note - to some people 5 years at a company may not sound like much, but these days that is actually a very long time at one place, especially in the IT industry.)
As I was going through everything I had at work and finding things I needed to keep 4 years ago but now had no need of and so discarded them, as well as packing up the items I did still need, taking special care with a few items that were either fragile or important to me, it prompted a thought - did my life have any parallels?
Are there things stuck back in a dusty corner that I no longer want in my life? Any attitudes, habits or ways of thinking that have hidden below my conscious awareness? Or are there treasured things that I have handled in a manner less than they deserve?
It is too easy to go through the daily routine without ever examining the little things. Oh sure, the big failures are impossible to ignore, but did I get a bad attitude towards a co-worker and never stop to realize that is what I did? Maybe once is no big deal, but has that once become a regular occurrence?
Attitudes and emotions are hardly ever examined until they get too big - a massive temper with a hair trigger is recognized as a bad trait that needs to be worked on, but a temper that has not reached that point is rationalized away.
But we have to be careful of the little things we allow in our lives. It is from the small things that the big things grew.
Song of Solomon 2:15 (NASB)
"Catch the foxes for us,
The little foxes that are ruining the vineyards,
While our vineyards are in blossom."
(Side note - to some people 5 years at a company may not sound like much, but these days that is actually a very long time at one place, especially in the IT industry.)
As I was going through everything I had at work and finding things I needed to keep 4 years ago but now had no need of and so discarded them, as well as packing up the items I did still need, taking special care with a few items that were either fragile or important to me, it prompted a thought - did my life have any parallels?
Are there things stuck back in a dusty corner that I no longer want in my life? Any attitudes, habits or ways of thinking that have hidden below my conscious awareness? Or are there treasured things that I have handled in a manner less than they deserve?
It is too easy to go through the daily routine without ever examining the little things. Oh sure, the big failures are impossible to ignore, but did I get a bad attitude towards a co-worker and never stop to realize that is what I did? Maybe once is no big deal, but has that once become a regular occurrence?
Attitudes and emotions are hardly ever examined until they get too big - a massive temper with a hair trigger is recognized as a bad trait that needs to be worked on, but a temper that has not reached that point is rationalized away.
But we have to be careful of the little things we allow in our lives. It is from the small things that the big things grew.
Song of Solomon 2:15 (NASB)
"Catch the foxes for us,
The little foxes that are ruining the vineyards,
While our vineyards are in blossom."
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
The state of the American Church - addon
After writing the last post I noticed my last line referenced "your spiritual life" as if it is separate from the rest. Yet another symptom of what the post was about. We segment our lives and box God and Church in a different area than everything else. I even talked about it that way when trying to make the point that we need to be plugged into God at all times. Our culture teaches us to do that.
It drives me crazy when I hear politicians or news commentators questioning whether someone's beliefs should influence their vote or how they act if part of the government. Of course it should. If it does not then you must not really believe that. It is more of a convenient idea that feels good, but then you fall back to your true beliefs when called to act.
It drives me crazy when I hear politicians or news commentators questioning whether someone's beliefs should influence their vote or how they act if part of the government. Of course it should. If it does not then you must not really believe that. It is more of a convenient idea that feels good, but then you fall back to your true beliefs when called to act.
The state of the American Church
The typical American Christian lives a very shallow life. And I include myself in this. We have abandoned the rich depths of the Christian life that our spiritual ancestors experienced. We do not spend the time developing a relationship with God, growing our roots deep, sucking up the vital nutrients we need to feed our spirits.
Jesus called us to abide in him. The definition of the verb form of abide is:
Are you wondering why you feel dry and withered in your spiritual life? Get connected back to the Source.
Jesus called us to abide in him. The definition of the verb form of abide is:
- To remain in a place.
- To continue to be sure or firm; endure.
- To dwell or sojourn.
Are you wondering why you feel dry and withered in your spiritual life? Get connected back to the Source.
Love in the fast lane
I've recently been convinced, or you could say convicted, that I do not love others enough. No where near what we are called to. Oh, sure, I love my wife and kids, and show them that continually. And I am nice to my friends, try to be polite and friendly to co-workers. But love?
Jesus says in John that his disciples would be known by their love. And we are commanded to love our enemies. So what is love, and how do you recognize it? To put others first, to put as much value on the things they care about as I do to the things I care about.
I find lots of examples of issues when driving the highways everyday. So when the guy in the car next to me is being a jerk and very aggressive, and now he wants to pull over in front of me, what is my reaction? Normally I bristle up, thinking "No way am I letting you get your way", then drive aggressive back. Is this love? Ha - of course not. Wouldn't the correct response be to say - "oh you want in front of me? Sure, and have a nice day."?
I know, that runs so counter to my nature. Even writing this I can feel my body tighten up in the instinctual response to the imaginary scene in the car. Maybe that is a good indicator that I am not feeling the peace and love, but rather the conflict and discord.
We are instructed that if someone asks you for you jacket, to also give them your shirt. If you are forced (as the Roman soldiers did) to carry someone's belongings for a mile, go ahead and go for 2. So in other words go out of your way to exceed what others want from you, bend over backwards to prove the love you have. Do I do this?
I am reminded of a time months ago that we (wife, kids and I) had met at a food joint for a quick bite before Wednesday night church. It was raining, and much heavier was on its way. As we were leaving some guy stopped me asking for an umbrella. He looked like the type that you automatically ignore - not quite a homeless look, but the type that would be trying to make a fast buck off of you. So I lied and told him I did not have an umbrella, while I did have one in my car that I had not used for a long time. I could have very easily given it to him, and used the opportunity to plant a seed. If nothing else just show love. But no, I was selfish and suspicious, and failed the test. Not only did I say no, I actually lied about it. And all for an umbrella I never used and was at least 8 years old. I could have replaced it pretty cheap.
So, if an objective observer was to look at me and all my actions, would they say - "Wow, he is full of love!"? Or would they say "He shows love to those he cares about, but looks for his own advantage to everyone else."?
LORD, let your love grow inside me. Help me to display your love to all those around me.
Jesus says in John that his disciples would be known by their love. And we are commanded to love our enemies. So what is love, and how do you recognize it? To put others first, to put as much value on the things they care about as I do to the things I care about.
I find lots of examples of issues when driving the highways everyday. So when the guy in the car next to me is being a jerk and very aggressive, and now he wants to pull over in front of me, what is my reaction? Normally I bristle up, thinking "No way am I letting you get your way", then drive aggressive back. Is this love? Ha - of course not. Wouldn't the correct response be to say - "oh you want in front of me? Sure, and have a nice day."?
I know, that runs so counter to my nature. Even writing this I can feel my body tighten up in the instinctual response to the imaginary scene in the car. Maybe that is a good indicator that I am not feeling the peace and love, but rather the conflict and discord.
We are instructed that if someone asks you for you jacket, to also give them your shirt. If you are forced (as the Roman soldiers did) to carry someone's belongings for a mile, go ahead and go for 2. So in other words go out of your way to exceed what others want from you, bend over backwards to prove the love you have. Do I do this?
I am reminded of a time months ago that we (wife, kids and I) had met at a food joint for a quick bite before Wednesday night church. It was raining, and much heavier was on its way. As we were leaving some guy stopped me asking for an umbrella. He looked like the type that you automatically ignore - not quite a homeless look, but the type that would be trying to make a fast buck off of you. So I lied and told him I did not have an umbrella, while I did have one in my car that I had not used for a long time. I could have very easily given it to him, and used the opportunity to plant a seed. If nothing else just show love. But no, I was selfish and suspicious, and failed the test. Not only did I say no, I actually lied about it. And all for an umbrella I never used and was at least 8 years old. I could have replaced it pretty cheap.
So, if an objective observer was to look at me and all my actions, would they say - "Wow, he is full of love!"? Or would they say "He shows love to those he cares about, but looks for his own advantage to everyone else."?
LORD, let your love grow inside me. Help me to display your love to all those around me.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Deep Thoughts - Spirit trapped in Flesh
Recently Pastor was talking about Jesus taking on the flesh, and some of his comments prompted some thoughts.
I generally have lots of run-away thoughts; I'll be thinking about some comment, and start thinking deeper about it and see where that takes me.
This time, I was thinking about the spirit trapped in flesh. I've said for awhile that to me the fact of Jesus becoming man was not a huge mystery to me. We as people are spirit beings that have been placed in a fleshly body, and so the same was true for Jesus. He existed prior to being in the body which I don't believe we did, but he gave up all deity or godly powers and "humbled himself in the form of a servant" to take upon him the fleshly body and limitations. All of Jesus's powers and miracles here on earth were nothing that normal humans totally surrendered to God could not do.
My thoughts on this subject (spirit trapped in flesh) ran this time to the lines of us being blinded from the spirit realm. We are spirit, but our spirit has been totally blinded to almost any input from the spirit realm. There is so much activity going on around us all the time that we are totally oblivious to. Obviously there is the occasional input when God speaks to our heart, or even demonic input to tempt us, but most of our lives are spent wandering around as if the spirit world does not exist.
I wonder what Adam and Eve would have been like before the Fall? Did they have more insight to spirit than they did after the fall? Or is it the case that we would be the same without the Fall, merely the fact of being in the fleshly prison is enough to limit us? After receiving glorified bodies I don't see that being the same - there seems to be enough evidence in Scripture that we will see things in the spirit realm, but I must admit that is not definitely stated.
But then if it is our flesh and the flesh alone that causes the blinding (not the sin nature that also separates us from God), then what about Jesus? Did he go through life separated from the spirit realm as fully as we are? Or was he more aware of it, and we could be too if we lived our lives focused on God and not so much on the world surrounding us?
Note: I just thought I better clarify - when I talk about being aware of the spirit world around us I am in no way meaning things like those who claim to be able to see angels or demons walking around. I do not think we can "see" the spirit world in that manner while in this world.
I do think that most of us walk around with the spirit realm having little to no impact on us, making no difference in our lives. That is true even for most Christians, even though our whole lives should now be centered around the spirit world.
How many of us can say that we know we heard from God today? How long has it been since you last felt God quickening your heart with some new thought or direction?
Jesus said that true worshipers are those who worship in spirit and truth. Does your worship involve the spirit, or is it at more of a flesh level?
I generally have lots of run-away thoughts; I'll be thinking about some comment, and start thinking deeper about it and see where that takes me.
This time, I was thinking about the spirit trapped in flesh. I've said for awhile that to me the fact of Jesus becoming man was not a huge mystery to me. We as people are spirit beings that have been placed in a fleshly body, and so the same was true for Jesus. He existed prior to being in the body which I don't believe we did, but he gave up all deity or godly powers and "humbled himself in the form of a servant" to take upon him the fleshly body and limitations. All of Jesus's powers and miracles here on earth were nothing that normal humans totally surrendered to God could not do.
My thoughts on this subject (spirit trapped in flesh) ran this time to the lines of us being blinded from the spirit realm. We are spirit, but our spirit has been totally blinded to almost any input from the spirit realm. There is so much activity going on around us all the time that we are totally oblivious to. Obviously there is the occasional input when God speaks to our heart, or even demonic input to tempt us, but most of our lives are spent wandering around as if the spirit world does not exist.
I wonder what Adam and Eve would have been like before the Fall? Did they have more insight to spirit than they did after the fall? Or is it the case that we would be the same without the Fall, merely the fact of being in the fleshly prison is enough to limit us? After receiving glorified bodies I don't see that being the same - there seems to be enough evidence in Scripture that we will see things in the spirit realm, but I must admit that is not definitely stated.
But then if it is our flesh and the flesh alone that causes the blinding (not the sin nature that also separates us from God), then what about Jesus? Did he go through life separated from the spirit realm as fully as we are? Or was he more aware of it, and we could be too if we lived our lives focused on God and not so much on the world surrounding us?
Note: I just thought I better clarify - when I talk about being aware of the spirit world around us I am in no way meaning things like those who claim to be able to see angels or demons walking around. I do not think we can "see" the spirit world in that manner while in this world.
I do think that most of us walk around with the spirit realm having little to no impact on us, making no difference in our lives. That is true even for most Christians, even though our whole lives should now be centered around the spirit world.
How many of us can say that we know we heard from God today? How long has it been since you last felt God quickening your heart with some new thought or direction?
Jesus said that true worshipers are those who worship in spirit and truth. Does your worship involve the spirit, or is it at more of a flesh level?
There Were Two Trees In The Garden by Rick Joyner
The book for my growth that I am currently reading is There Were Two Trees In The Garden by Rick Joyner. It has been out for several years - I actually bought it quite some time back and it had just been sitting on my bookshelf. It just recently caught my eye and I decided to read it.
I am finding this book to be pretty challenging - some of the ideas are ones I've heard before, but then there ones I have never thought of, or at least not in that way. So here are my reactions to the book - not all of this stems straight from the book, but some are just the paths my thoughts took after reading it.
From the title you can probably guess that the main theme of the book has to do with the fact that there were 2 trees in the Garden of Eden that were specifically named - the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Hopefully anyone reading this will know the story of the Fall, how Eve and then Adam defied God's one command and ate from the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
In the book Rick Joyner takes a different path than I am used to hearing about the results of them eating from the tree. Obviously the Fall, getting kicked out of the Garden, separation from God, and all of the other consequences. But the part he examines is the part about their eyes being opened. What was it opened to? The knowledge of Good and Evil. Most the time we focus on the part about now being able to do evil. But what about the Good?
Also, why were there 2 trees? We only are told details about the one, the other is a complete mystery. Rick uses the 2 trees to symbolize the 2 paths Christians take toward daily life. The Tree of Life = Jesus, or living our life focused on him. The Tree of the KOG&E = living a self-focused life.
All Christians have to deal daily with the struggle to correctly choose between the Good and the Evil. Some are stronger and find some struggles easier to win out of their own willpower, but most of us are of the weaker variety, and most struggles are more than we can handle on our own. But that struggle in our power is the problem - it comes from our knowledge of Good and Evil. If we did not have that knowledge, then what we are at the core would be displayed by every action. We would not struggle, because you can only struggle when you know there are 2 sides. We only struggle because we know our automatic reaction is "wrong"; so now we have to fight to react with the "right" action.
Most of us fight so hard to correct the outward behavior, but then we forget the inward reason for that behavior. We are so consumed with what those around us think of us that we want to have the right behavior, but then forget about God who sees the inner man. Why are we more concerned about what our friends think than about what God thinks? This is also what drives so many Christians to live different lives around different groups of friends. Do you have certain behavior with one group that you would never have with another? Do you tell certain jokes, but then have to watch it on Sunday that one doesn't slip out?
Our lives are for the most part self-focused. What do I want, why did this happen to me ... every part of our daily lives train us to think in a very me-centric way. But what if we could ever perfect the Jesus mindset - "Not my will, but yours be done"? Not that we can perfect it in our frail flesh, but what if we could? How would life be if we did not face the daily struggle to force our will to the correct path, but instead surrendered our will to his?
I can only pray that God will help me to surrender more completely to him. As John the Baptist said - "I must decrease so he may increase."
And this is only the first part of the book.
I am finding this book to be pretty challenging - some of the ideas are ones I've heard before, but then there ones I have never thought of, or at least not in that way. So here are my reactions to the book - not all of this stems straight from the book, but some are just the paths my thoughts took after reading it.
From the title you can probably guess that the main theme of the book has to do with the fact that there were 2 trees in the Garden of Eden that were specifically named - the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Hopefully anyone reading this will know the story of the Fall, how Eve and then Adam defied God's one command and ate from the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
In the book Rick Joyner takes a different path than I am used to hearing about the results of them eating from the tree. Obviously the Fall, getting kicked out of the Garden, separation from God, and all of the other consequences. But the part he examines is the part about their eyes being opened. What was it opened to? The knowledge of Good and Evil. Most the time we focus on the part about now being able to do evil. But what about the Good?
Also, why were there 2 trees? We only are told details about the one, the other is a complete mystery. Rick uses the 2 trees to symbolize the 2 paths Christians take toward daily life. The Tree of Life = Jesus, or living our life focused on him. The Tree of the KOG&E = living a self-focused life.
All Christians have to deal daily with the struggle to correctly choose between the Good and the Evil. Some are stronger and find some struggles easier to win out of their own willpower, but most of us are of the weaker variety, and most struggles are more than we can handle on our own. But that struggle in our power is the problem - it comes from our knowledge of Good and Evil. If we did not have that knowledge, then what we are at the core would be displayed by every action. We would not struggle, because you can only struggle when you know there are 2 sides. We only struggle because we know our automatic reaction is "wrong"; so now we have to fight to react with the "right" action.
Most of us fight so hard to correct the outward behavior, but then we forget the inward reason for that behavior. We are so consumed with what those around us think of us that we want to have the right behavior, but then forget about God who sees the inner man. Why are we more concerned about what our friends think than about what God thinks? This is also what drives so many Christians to live different lives around different groups of friends. Do you have certain behavior with one group that you would never have with another? Do you tell certain jokes, but then have to watch it on Sunday that one doesn't slip out?
Our lives are for the most part self-focused. What do I want, why did this happen to me ... every part of our daily lives train us to think in a very me-centric way. But what if we could ever perfect the Jesus mindset - "Not my will, but yours be done"? Not that we can perfect it in our frail flesh, but what if we could? How would life be if we did not face the daily struggle to force our will to the correct path, but instead surrendered our will to his?
I can only pray that God will help me to surrender more completely to him. As John the Baptist said - "I must decrease so he may increase."
And this is only the first part of the book.
Reading / Uncomfortable thoughts
I am a big reader - I always have at least one book I am reading, but sometimes even working through several at one time.
I have my reading for pleasure books - I love science fiction books, and that is the largest part of my pleasure reading. The part I love best about science fiction is the way it really encompasses all other genres of books, but usually in a setting that is different than the one we are used to. You can take just about any other story from any other genre and change the setting, and it now is a scifi book. I really enjoy the science fiction that uses those different settings to spur speculative thoughts. In every age since science fiction started, the leading authors are usually those who use their platform to call into question the injustices of that age in very subtle ways. As an example - way more blatant than normal, but one that most could understand at first glance - there is a reason why Star Trek back in the 60s had a black female on the bridge (command level people only), not to mention people of several different races (even a Russian - in the 60s!!), and even including an alien (Mr Spock). This was a call for embracing our diversity, a foresight that the future would see past the petty differences that at that time separated the nation.
I also enjoy a mystery, historical fiction, even occasionally a Christian romance book. Well, at least this one series my wife got me hooked on. (by Karen Kingsbury - starts with the Redemption series, continues with same characters with the Firstborn series, and now into the Sunrise series. Highly highly recommended. Wow.)
But not all my reading is for pleasure. Wait - I don't like how that sounds. My other reading is pleasurable, it just has different aims and goals. Mainly I like to pick up various Christian books to challenge myself, books to spur growth or facilitate new thoughts. I find these to be invaluable to my life as a Christian. Most of us tend to let our thinking get into common paths; we have our beliefs that we are comfortable with, and don't really want to push ourselves in ways that can be uncomfortable. In order to think new thoughts or find new paths we have to work at it. Not that every new thought is good of course - all must be weighed, examined against the TRUTH to determine their value. But if we do not challenge ourselves by some method to grow, then we stagnate. This is all too common in the church today - Christians who found their comfort level and stay there. Their life will be totally missing the dynamic element, the highs of the consuming passions, the lows of the heavy burdens, but above all they will be missing God.
If you have gotten comfortable with your routine, then how much work does it take for God to move you?
I have my reading for pleasure books - I love science fiction books, and that is the largest part of my pleasure reading. The part I love best about science fiction is the way it really encompasses all other genres of books, but usually in a setting that is different than the one we are used to. You can take just about any other story from any other genre and change the setting, and it now is a scifi book. I really enjoy the science fiction that uses those different settings to spur speculative thoughts. In every age since science fiction started, the leading authors are usually those who use their platform to call into question the injustices of that age in very subtle ways. As an example - way more blatant than normal, but one that most could understand at first glance - there is a reason why Star Trek back in the 60s had a black female on the bridge (command level people only), not to mention people of several different races (even a Russian - in the 60s!!), and even including an alien (Mr Spock). This was a call for embracing our diversity, a foresight that the future would see past the petty differences that at that time separated the nation.
I also enjoy a mystery, historical fiction, even occasionally a Christian romance book. Well, at least this one series my wife got me hooked on. (by Karen Kingsbury - starts with the Redemption series, continues with same characters with the Firstborn series, and now into the Sunrise series. Highly highly recommended. Wow.)
But not all my reading is for pleasure. Wait - I don't like how that sounds. My other reading is pleasurable, it just has different aims and goals. Mainly I like to pick up various Christian books to challenge myself, books to spur growth or facilitate new thoughts. I find these to be invaluable to my life as a Christian. Most of us tend to let our thinking get into common paths; we have our beliefs that we are comfortable with, and don't really want to push ourselves in ways that can be uncomfortable. In order to think new thoughts or find new paths we have to work at it. Not that every new thought is good of course - all must be weighed, examined against the TRUTH to determine their value. But if we do not challenge ourselves by some method to grow, then we stagnate. This is all too common in the church today - Christians who found their comfort level and stay there. Their life will be totally missing the dynamic element, the highs of the consuming passions, the lows of the heavy burdens, but above all they will be missing God.
If you have gotten comfortable with your routine, then how much work does it take for God to move you?
Hello and Welcome
I figured my first post has the be the obligatory "Welcome" message, so here we go.
Hello and Welcome!!
So .. my first blog post. Who would have thought?
For as long as the whole blogging world has been around, I've had mixed feelings about it. For some people I think it is a great way for them to share their thoughts and ideas, and many of their friends and family benefit greatly from the insights or even just random topics they decide to share. But then there are the vast majority of blogs that are little more than a waste of time, both the time of the blogger and the time of those who bother to read it. Not only do they have next to no content, what little they do have is not very appealing. Or at least not to me.
Most sites are probably little more than a good journaling exercise - very few people even know it exists, much less have any interest in reading it. Of course there are those bloggers that have exceptional content and somehow garner a large following from around the Internet world. I would bet that most of those bloggers are the types that are really fun to talk to in person and can carry on a conversation just about by themselves in whatever format that conversation takes. Not to mention that I've also thought that it takes a small bit of arrogance to think that everyone else out there wants to know my thoughts on everything.
That leads me to my attempt here at creating a blog. I never thought this day would come, me writing a blog. I have never viewed myself as having a lot to say. Of course I think I have really good insights and could have some good content, but then don't we all think that? I have never been the great conversationalist that would carry a crowd with my witty talk, but I have just come to the conclusion that none of that matters. I was looking at the newly rolled-out blog for my church, where you have the ability to add your own blog on the blog roll, and I was thinking, "yeah right. Like I would ever have a blog." Then some thoughts that were started with some books I am reading just jumped out at me, making me realize that I do have some content for a blog, and maybe someone would find it interesting, and maybe even useful.
My first reaction to learning a friend of mine has a blog would most likely be a neutral to borderline negative one, but in contemplating whether to start one myself or not I will have to say my preconceptions about blogs have been challenged. And if you have the same viewpoint or preconceptions I did - then maybe yours will be too.
I'm not going to be publishing this out to lots of lists or trying to push it - I am not the type to think that everybody needs to hear my views or to be aggressive in trying to get people to read them. Mainly this will be just my attempt at putting some of thoughts down (I was going to say on paper, but that won't work); whether anybody reads them or not is of secondary importance. But if you do somehow find your way here and have an opinion on my opinions, feel free to comment.
Hello and Welcome!!
So .. my first blog post. Who would have thought?
For as long as the whole blogging world has been around, I've had mixed feelings about it. For some people I think it is a great way for them to share their thoughts and ideas, and many of their friends and family benefit greatly from the insights or even just random topics they decide to share. But then there are the vast majority of blogs that are little more than a waste of time, both the time of the blogger and the time of those who bother to read it. Not only do they have next to no content, what little they do have is not very appealing. Or at least not to me.
Most sites are probably little more than a good journaling exercise - very few people even know it exists, much less have any interest in reading it. Of course there are those bloggers that have exceptional content and somehow garner a large following from around the Internet world. I would bet that most of those bloggers are the types that are really fun to talk to in person and can carry on a conversation just about by themselves in whatever format that conversation takes. Not to mention that I've also thought that it takes a small bit of arrogance to think that everyone else out there wants to know my thoughts on everything.
That leads me to my attempt here at creating a blog. I never thought this day would come, me writing a blog. I have never viewed myself as having a lot to say. Of course I think I have really good insights and could have some good content, but then don't we all think that? I have never been the great conversationalist that would carry a crowd with my witty talk, but I have just come to the conclusion that none of that matters. I was looking at the newly rolled-out blog for my church, where you have the ability to add your own blog on the blog roll, and I was thinking, "yeah right. Like I would ever have a blog." Then some thoughts that were started with some books I am reading just jumped out at me, making me realize that I do have some content for a blog, and maybe someone would find it interesting, and maybe even useful.
My first reaction to learning a friend of mine has a blog would most likely be a neutral to borderline negative one, but in contemplating whether to start one myself or not I will have to say my preconceptions about blogs have been challenged. And if you have the same viewpoint or preconceptions I did - then maybe yours will be too.
I'm not going to be publishing this out to lots of lists or trying to push it - I am not the type to think that everybody needs to hear my views or to be aggressive in trying to get people to read them. Mainly this will be just my attempt at putting some of thoughts down (I was going to say on paper, but that won't work); whether anybody reads them or not is of secondary importance. But if you do somehow find your way here and have an opinion on my opinions, feel free to comment.
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