Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Saturday, May 9, 2009
A Witness for the Steelers
Tonight I logged on to my facebook and to my dismay I saw two comments from future in laws which attacked my favorite football team, the Steelers. I enjoyed very much vehemently defending my Steelers, but it led me to realize that my passion for the glory of the Steelers may put my passion for the glory of God to shame. When I come in contact with a situation in which someone is denying the greatness of my saviour, and their lack of belief in him, I just listen calmly and think how wrong they are. But let someone diss my Steelers and I have a hundred ways of defending their glory. The sad truth is that I have enjoyed, reveled in, studied, and identified with the Steelers far more than I have with the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
If anyone happens to read this and you are a fellow believer in the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ, then brother or sister, please pray for this to change in my heart!
If anyone happens to read this and you are a fellow believer in the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ, then brother or sister, please pray for this to change in my heart!
Monday, March 2, 2009
An Apology
My previous post is in shambles. My first pick ran a 4.6, not gonna get you a number one pick as a corner, and my third pick isn't even in the draft. So here is a new and improved top ten picks:
Detriot - Matthew Stafford
St. Louis - Jason Smith
Kansas City - Micheal Crabtree
Seatle - Andre Smith
Browns - Aaron Curry
Bengels - Eugene Monroe
Oakland - Brian Orakpo
Jacksonville - B. J. Raji
Green Bay - Everette Brown
San Fran - Mark Sanchez
Well that's a start, I am sure it will change alot between now and when me, ben, and the "Fry Daddy" sit down for hours of draft deliciousness!
Detriot - Matthew Stafford
St. Louis - Jason Smith
Kansas City - Micheal Crabtree
Seatle - Andre Smith
Browns - Aaron Curry
Bengels - Eugene Monroe
Oakland - Brian Orakpo
Jacksonville - B. J. Raji
Green Bay - Everette Brown
San Fran - Mark Sanchez
Well that's a start, I am sure it will change alot between now and when me, ben, and the "Fry Daddy" sit down for hours of draft deliciousness!
Monday, January 12, 2009
The Draft, agian
This is a really rough first look at my top ten picks... I don't even know who all is declaring for the draft, or even the definate draft order... but I am so excited for the draft I had to put this up!
Det Malcom Jenkins
Stl Andre Smith
KC Sam Bradford
Sea Michael Crabtree
Cle Chris Wells
Cin Michael Oher
Oak Eugene Monroe
Jac Jason Smith
GB Alphonso Smith
SF Tyson Jackson
Det Malcom Jenkins
Stl Andre Smith
KC Sam Bradford
Sea Michael Crabtree
Cle Chris Wells
Cin Michael Oher
Oak Eugene Monroe
Jac Jason Smith
GB Alphonso Smith
SF Tyson Jackson
Saturday, August 16, 2008
My first love
There is a praise and worship song with the lyrics "You alone are my first love, and I am coming back to you" which has resonated in my mind lately. I think there are two distinct ways in which the term first love can be meant there: it could mean first in a historical sense, meaning that God was whom we loved before all else, or it could intended to portray magnitude, meaning that we love God more than anything else presently.
I struggle with the second of those two options. Life is never as good as when God is my first love. Still I vainly pour my worship, my love, into broken jars which cannot satisfy their intended purpose; jars such as humor and success, friends and impressions. It's true that none of these things listed can be explicitly declared as sins, but the sin is not in them, rather it is in my over desire for them. I strive for the provided while avoiding the provider, I sabotage my happiness over a sense of self pride.
My heart will never know the peace it longs for until I make God my first love; all actions flowing freely from the joy of the Gospel reproducing itself in my heart and life! I long for all things to be motivated out of a heart so deeply ravished by the beauty of God that it cannot do anything but seek His will all day long! This is the journey which I am joyfully on, standing shoulder to shoulder with my brothers and sisters in Christ! Move forward with me, please, let us run the race in a way worthy to dwell in the presence of the Glory of God! For Christ took us worms and made us Saints!
I struggle with the second of those two options. Life is never as good as when God is my first love. Still I vainly pour my worship, my love, into broken jars which cannot satisfy their intended purpose; jars such as humor and success, friends and impressions. It's true that none of these things listed can be explicitly declared as sins, but the sin is not in them, rather it is in my over desire for them. I strive for the provided while avoiding the provider, I sabotage my happiness over a sense of self pride.
My heart will never know the peace it longs for until I make God my first love; all actions flowing freely from the joy of the Gospel reproducing itself in my heart and life! I long for all things to be motivated out of a heart so deeply ravished by the beauty of God that it cannot do anything but seek His will all day long! This is the journey which I am joyfully on, standing shoulder to shoulder with my brothers and sisters in Christ! Move forward with me, please, let us run the race in a way worthy to dwell in the presence of the Glory of God! For Christ took us worms and made us Saints!
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Goals without Expectations?
Is it possible to have the ambition of setting goals without the tragic world view of expectations?
Saturday, July 12, 2008
My Problem
It may come as a shock to family members, or close friends of mine, but for most of my life I have battled with nearsightedness. They have never seen me wearing glasses, or heard me talking about my contact lenses. It just so happens that my nearsightedness doesn't require anything of the sort.
This nearsightedness is not my physical eye's failure to see objects in the distance, but rather my hearts inability to make present decisions based upon distant realities. I speak specifically of my failure to live out Colossians 3:1-4. What is described in that passage is what I call an eternal perspective. I believe that it is my failure to live with eternity in view which actually leads to what James describes as the "Desires that battle within you" (James 4:1).
In the end I find that my nearsightedness causes me to go the quick fix route, instead of getting to the heart of issues and seeking out real life altering change. Correcting nearsightedness is not a simple act of the will or a moment of passion and realization, but rather it is a long road of discipline. On this road we must receive the consequences for mistakes previously made, consequences which we thought we had evaded. Long lasting joy and satisfaction hang in the balance.
This nearsightedness is not my physical eye's failure to see objects in the distance, but rather my hearts inability to make present decisions based upon distant realities. I speak specifically of my failure to live out Colossians 3:1-4. What is described in that passage is what I call an eternal perspective. I believe that it is my failure to live with eternity in view which actually leads to what James describes as the "Desires that battle within you" (James 4:1).
In the end I find that my nearsightedness causes me to go the quick fix route, instead of getting to the heart of issues and seeking out real life altering change. Correcting nearsightedness is not a simple act of the will or a moment of passion and realization, but rather it is a long road of discipline. On this road we must receive the consequences for mistakes previously made, consequences which we thought we had evaded. Long lasting joy and satisfaction hang in the balance.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Waiting
Waiting: that time where a person is caught in limbo, desiring something future, hoping for it's arrival, yet unable to presently obtain that which is desired.
Waiting tends to require patience, not a staple quality of the modern human. In an immediately focused society, patience often finds itself being tossed off as an unacceptable option. So as hard as this can be for me, I find myself forcibly accepting this unacceptable option.
Why?
Because of hope! All motivation seems to be driven by some measure of hope. Even inside of this banner title of hope, there may be two entirely different kinds of hope: the effect of hope, and the act of hope.
The effect of hope is a reason to believe a certain result will come to pass. for example, when stranded on a desert island you have hope of survival when you see a ship nearby or you catch a fish for food.
The act of hope is when you choose to pursue something that you wish would come to pass. Again on the island one would say "I hope someone sees this smoke signal".
As I find myself in a state of waiting I hope for an end that if I am honest with myself does not produce "the effect of hope". Still I act hopefully towards it, I pursue that end in as much as I can. I don't do this as someone who cannot deal with their present reality and must escape to a fantasy world they create to comfort themselves, but I do it as one who is so captured by the value of that which I hope for that he cannot but strive for it with all his might until he either has it or it is completely out of his reach. Still I can confidently say "it" is worth the wait.
Waiting tends to require patience, not a staple quality of the modern human. In an immediately focused society, patience often finds itself being tossed off as an unacceptable option. So as hard as this can be for me, I find myself forcibly accepting this unacceptable option.
Why?
Because of hope! All motivation seems to be driven by some measure of hope. Even inside of this banner title of hope, there may be two entirely different kinds of hope: the effect of hope, and the act of hope.
The effect of hope is a reason to believe a certain result will come to pass. for example, when stranded on a desert island you have hope of survival when you see a ship nearby or you catch a fish for food.
The act of hope is when you choose to pursue something that you wish would come to pass. Again on the island one would say "I hope someone sees this smoke signal".
As I find myself in a state of waiting I hope for an end that if I am honest with myself does not produce "the effect of hope". Still I act hopefully towards it, I pursue that end in as much as I can. I don't do this as someone who cannot deal with their present reality and must escape to a fantasy world they create to comfort themselves, but I do it as one who is so captured by the value of that which I hope for that he cannot but strive for it with all his might until he either has it or it is completely out of his reach. Still I can confidently say "it" is worth the wait.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Rousseau
I was reading Rousseau the other day and I came accross this quote, I want to post it on here for the purpose of hearing what you all think about it, then later I will post my thoughts when they are in order...
"Today, when subtler inquiries and a more refined taste have reduced the Art of pleasing to principles, a vile and deceiving uniformity prevails in our morals, and all minds seem to have been cast in the same mold: constantly politeness demands, propriety commands: constantly one follows custom, never one's own genius. One no longer dares to appear what one is; and under this perpetual constraint, the men who make up the herd that is called society will, when placed in similar circumstances, all act in similar ways unless more powerful motives incline them differently. One will thus never really know with whom one is dealing: in order to know one's friend one will therefore have to wait for great occasions, that is, to wait until it is too late, since it is for these very occasions that it would have been essential to know him."
-Rousseau
Your thoughts?
"Today, when subtler inquiries and a more refined taste have reduced the Art of pleasing to principles, a vile and deceiving uniformity prevails in our morals, and all minds seem to have been cast in the same mold: constantly politeness demands, propriety commands: constantly one follows custom, never one's own genius. One no longer dares to appear what one is; and under this perpetual constraint, the men who make up the herd that is called society will, when placed in similar circumstances, all act in similar ways unless more powerful motives incline them differently. One will thus never really know with whom one is dealing: in order to know one's friend one will therefore have to wait for great occasions, that is, to wait until it is too late, since it is for these very occasions that it would have been essential to know him."
-Rousseau
Your thoughts?
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