It seems as if courage is a trait more abundant in the younger years. Before reality fully hits them and they still have their innocence. Today I was patiently helping Jordan with her reading homework, when Sydney runs in wearing my dads shoes and holding a broom. "Will you kill a spider for me?!" Her frightened facial expression gave me a heads up before anything came out of her mouth. "Sydney I'm sure you're fully capable of killing that spider, how big is it?". With hand signals, she showed me exactly how big the spider was. Or at least, how big she wanted me to think it was.
"Sydney, you can kill that by yourself." "No, I don't want to" "Sydney, with living in the country comes, being able to kill bugs." Or rather.. 'Arachnids'. "Will you please do it for me!!?". Jordan, my 6 year old sister, obviously got tired of the persistent arguing and said, "I'll do it!!". She stood up, grabbed another pair of my dad's shoes and shuffled from the room. She's not really a big fan of spiders either but she walked confidently forward to the place where the spider was presumed to be. She stopped, crossed her arms, and said, "where is it?". By this point, Sydney was on the table pointing to where it was. Let's just say, we had to squint to see that thing. Jordan raised the shoe in battle position and charged!! Just killing this spider obviously didn't suffice for this 6 year old. She didn't stop until she had completely mutilated it.
When we are younger, we're almost fearless. As we get older we are exposed to more and more of the world causing us to become more afraid. I watched Jordan smash that spider with every inch of strength she possessed. She seemed fearless. As she gets older, she will take in more of the world, giving her more things to fear. While killing a spider is a measly example of courage for some, it was a moment of panic for Sydney and moment of courage for Jordan. As she gets older, there will be more things that will cause her to fear. I pray she will approach them with the same attitude of fearless innocence, and a mindset that will empower her to conquer the world.
The only difference is, when we get older we become more aware, this makes us more or less afraid depending on the attitude we possess. If you let the world scare you, it will. But if you choose to enter this world like it's the spider and you're carrying a shoe, there is almost nothing that can stop you. Let God be your shoe. With God, what do we possibly have to fear? Yes, as humans we will still become afraid at times, but there is a difference between being afraid and being in constant fear. Remember, there is a God who is watching out for you no matter what! You can feel safe and secure because he loves you too much and he will never present you with something you can't handle. Be strong! And be fearless in the Lord!
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Thursday, March 17, 2011
There's a first time for everything
I was excited when my mom informed me last night that our Friday trip to Six Flags was being moved to today. I haven't been to the park in about a year (Due to a then 4 year old who wouldn't find following me around all day, roller coaster after roller coaster, appealing). So this was great! There is something about roller coasters. I love them! What can I say? My soon to be 12 year old sister, on the other hand, does not. Until today, she had been fine with the "little coasters". Much to my dismay, this choice often left me riding alone. But today, my friends, was the day, she had dared herself to ride at least one scary roller coaster. She even posted it on Skype with hopes that her buddies would keep her accountable. After about the first 30 minutes of being there we located the roller coaster of choice, the Boomerang! We got in line (A long line at that, no thanks to spring break) and waited until it was our turn. After about 25 minutes in that dreadful line, we crossed a certain point and I took it upon myself to inform my sister that now.. there was no turning back. She was getting on the roller coaster if I had to drag her kicking and screaming. She gave me an amused smile and the wait continued. Finally! It was our turn. While most people prefer the front of the ride, I raced to the back. (If you've ever seen the Boomerang, you'll understand) The back gets the highest drop, and you know what this means.. more drop- more butterflies!
Well, human emotions can change in an instant! We were buckled in and the sloped ascension began! On the way up I made sure to remind the happy go lucky 11 year old next to me that the drop was steep. (Just to make sure she was prepared) And she just smiled in bliss. "Oh boy" I thought, "She has no idea". We soon reached the top and without warning.. It dropped! Well, her smile vanished and was instead replaced with continuous screams of "I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!" throughout the entire minute long ride. While she continued to scream I just smiled, but not with a look of I told you so! Because frankly, I didn't really tell her so. I rode with a look of contentment. After a few turns, being dangled upside down and riding backwards, the ride came to an abrupt halt. All three of us exited and headed out, occaisonally stealing glances at the poor people still waiting in line and deciding whether or not the ride was actually worth the wait. We concluded that yes, it was. Sydney turns to me, hugs me and says "Thank you Conner, I love you!". Remember what I said about human emotions and their capacity to change quickly? All in about five minutes, Sydney goes from hating me to loving me. Awhhh! Well I guess that's what amusement parks are for! Right? And like I said, There's a first time for everything.
Well, human emotions can change in an instant! We were buckled in and the sloped ascension began! On the way up I made sure to remind the happy go lucky 11 year old next to me that the drop was steep. (Just to make sure she was prepared) And she just smiled in bliss. "Oh boy" I thought, "She has no idea". We soon reached the top and without warning.. It dropped! Well, her smile vanished and was instead replaced with continuous screams of "I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!" throughout the entire minute long ride. While she continued to scream I just smiled, but not with a look of I told you so! Because frankly, I didn't really tell her so. I rode with a look of contentment. After a few turns, being dangled upside down and riding backwards, the ride came to an abrupt halt. All three of us exited and headed out, occaisonally stealing glances at the poor people still waiting in line and deciding whether or not the ride was actually worth the wait. We concluded that yes, it was. Sydney turns to me, hugs me and says "Thank you Conner, I love you!". Remember what I said about human emotions and their capacity to change quickly? All in about five minutes, Sydney goes from hating me to loving me. Awhhh! Well I guess that's what amusement parks are for! Right? And like I said, There's a first time for everything.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Why do things like this happen?
Yesterday morning I was enjoying my daily, "read current event articles and drink coffee" time when I came across an article concerning Japan. By the time I had gotten through the article and examined all the attached pictures; my heart was heavy. My heart grieved for those over seas trapped in these abysmal circumstances; men, woman and children. Water engulfed houses and buildings, debris and parts of random objects flowed through the streets in murky water. As of right now, the situation looks hopeless. The economy they had spent forever building, crumbled again in seconds with no guarantee it would ever be the same again.
Which prodded me to ask the appropriate question, why do things like this happen? Why does God allow such things to happen? I think the fact that 'God is in charge' sometimes slips our minds. We can't think of any reason this would happen, but God knows exactly why this would happen. And although this is hard for us to understand, we have to be faithful and trust in Him. Do you think Job, from the Bible, asked this question when everything he knew was taken away from him? Yes. Do you think it was hard for him to understand why God would allow these things to happen? Probably. But did Job ever lose faith? Never. Job never lost faith in God's overall magnificent plan.
While we must send out prayers to those in Japan throughout these terrible circumstances, we also need to trust; trust that God knows exactly what he's doing.
Which prodded me to ask the appropriate question, why do things like this happen? Why does God allow such things to happen? I think the fact that 'God is in charge' sometimes slips our minds. We can't think of any reason this would happen, but God knows exactly why this would happen. And although this is hard for us to understand, we have to be faithful and trust in Him. Do you think Job, from the Bible, asked this question when everything he knew was taken away from him? Yes. Do you think it was hard for him to understand why God would allow these things to happen? Probably. But did Job ever lose faith? Never. Job never lost faith in God's overall magnificent plan.
While we must send out prayers to those in Japan throughout these terrible circumstances, we also need to trust; trust that God knows exactly what he's doing.
Friday, March 11, 2011
{The Great American Sophism}
Sophism- A fallacious argument, esp. one used deliberately to deceive.
As Americans, and also as humans I think we can find many things that fit perfectly with this definition. But when I ran across this definition there was really only one thing that came to mind. The great American lie: That we are not good enough. Although, it's not always openly voiced, we can't deny.. it's seen everywhere. Don't believe me? Go stand in line at any grocery store and read the front cover of every magazine. They will often say things like, "Do this for amazing hair" or "10 ways to get your best body for summer." This not enough? Flip through a few pages and you'll find articles on how to make yourself better, get more attention from guys, or step by step instructions to improve your love life. The reality is, we're not good enough for the world. In fact, we will never be good enough for the world. And trying to keep up with it's constant trends will help you achieve nothing but emotional exhaustion, and often times; low self esteem. The more you try to please everyone, the more you (without realizing it) degrade your self esteem, until you are doing nothing but hiding behind a plastic smile. The sooner we realize that our identity comes from God and God alone, the better.
For a few long agonizing years I tried desperately to improve myself in the eyes of others. I wasn't free, I was being held captive to what the world thought about me, and I found my self esteem slowly withering away. Until, I could find nothing nice to say about myself at all. I would be a different person around different people, depending on who I was talking too. And I hid behind a smile, in fact I became very good at. No one ever suspected a thing, but I could feel everything. It was emotionally straining. Till I realized something, It was one of those Aha! moments. Basically, why do I seek to please a world that I'm never going to be good enough for, when I already have a God who has told me exactly who I am in his eyes.
{Psalm 139}
When you accept Christ you are given a NEW identity. Something that won't change. No matter how much the world changes. What He thinks about us won't change. And that is a promise.
You are more than the choices that you've made.
You are more than the sum of your past mistakes.
You are more than the problems you create.
You are more.
You've been remade.
This is not about what you've done..
but what's been done for you.
This is not about where you've been..
but where your brokenness brings you to.
This is not about what you feel..
but what he felt to forgive you.
And what he felt to make you loved.
{You Are More- Tenth Avenue North}
As Americans, and also as humans I think we can find many things that fit perfectly with this definition. But when I ran across this definition there was really only one thing that came to mind. The great American lie: That we are not good enough. Although, it's not always openly voiced, we can't deny.. it's seen everywhere. Don't believe me? Go stand in line at any grocery store and read the front cover of every magazine. They will often say things like, "Do this for amazing hair" or "10 ways to get your best body for summer." This not enough? Flip through a few pages and you'll find articles on how to make yourself better, get more attention from guys, or step by step instructions to improve your love life. The reality is, we're not good enough for the world. In fact, we will never be good enough for the world. And trying to keep up with it's constant trends will help you achieve nothing but emotional exhaustion, and often times; low self esteem. The more you try to please everyone, the more you (without realizing it) degrade your self esteem, until you are doing nothing but hiding behind a plastic smile. The sooner we realize that our identity comes from God and God alone, the better.
For a few long agonizing years I tried desperately to improve myself in the eyes of others. I wasn't free, I was being held captive to what the world thought about me, and I found my self esteem slowly withering away. Until, I could find nothing nice to say about myself at all. I would be a different person around different people, depending on who I was talking too. And I hid behind a smile, in fact I became very good at. No one ever suspected a thing, but I could feel everything. It was emotionally straining. Till I realized something, It was one of those Aha! moments. Basically, why do I seek to please a world that I'm never going to be good enough for, when I already have a God who has told me exactly who I am in his eyes.
{Psalm 139}
When you accept Christ you are given a NEW identity. Something that won't change. No matter how much the world changes. What He thinks about us won't change. And that is a promise.
You are more than the choices that you've made.
You are more than the sum of your past mistakes.
You are more than the problems you create.
You are more.
You've been remade.
This is not about what you've done..
but what's been done for you.
This is not about where you've been..
but where your brokenness brings you to.
This is not about what you feel..
but what he felt to forgive you.
And what he felt to make you loved.
{You Are More- Tenth Avenue North}
Monday, February 14, 2011
When Two Different Worlds Collide: A look at Love
love |ləv| (n)- An Intense feeling of deep affection.
The other day I had the pleasure of going to the Daily Grind for some coffee and blogging (The Daily Grind is a small coffee shop in Boerne, for those of you who do not dwell here.) And as I was sitting there I was confronted with two different scenarios. At one table in the small coffee shop sat a family of three; a mom, a dad and a teenage boy about 15 or 16. they talked together and they prayed together. From what I could see, they seemed very close knit. My writing was interrupted by another table in which a girl sat with her father. She yelled at him while he tried desperately to settle things without too much disruption. She wouldn't give him any chances to talk, and when she did, she quickly interrupted him. After about 10 minutes of this she got up and stormed out, towards her car I figured.
I sat there, overcome with thought and realized that this would be a great blog entry. But what would be the moral of this story? I couldn't figure it out. So I pulled out my trusty Macbook and quickly typed some things. I decided I'd put the blog on hold (Or saved it as a draft, whichever you prefer to say.) And pray about it. Well, today is the day of valentines and as I was heading over to the Daily Grind.. Again.. It hit me!
Looking back at those two instances, I noticed that one of the lacked what the other one possessed; love. Of course, I don't know how that girl actually felt about her father, but at that moment, all I saw was bitterness and feelings of betrayal. While, in the other family, I could see the Love. And since today is valentines day, or the day of Love I thought I'd write a few lines on it. Real Love is a very powerful bond, that is a huge helper in the preservation of families. But I'm not talking about that kind of Love that only, well, loves for selfish reasons. I'm talking about selfless Love that allows for sacrificing between people or in families. That girl wasn't sacrificing a whole lot for her father. She was overcome with selfish ambition. Selfish love will eventually bring destruction while selfless love preserves unity.
So with that thought for the day, Hope everyone has a fantastic Valentines Day!
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Quote of the Day:
Regret looks behind, Worry looks around and Faith looks upward.
Yes, I know this sounds somewhat philosophical, and for the sake of intelligence, I will say it is. But if you really stop to ponder what this means you will realize how truly simply it is to comprehend. Let me be the first to say this quote does an outstanding job of pointing out my humanly flaws. First, I am one of those people who likes to cling to the past, although I shouldn't, I tend to find myself regretting one thing or another. And when I regret things in the past, it normally changes my attitude for the future. I also have a habit or worrying, OR maybe I just over think about things way to much? Anyway, the point is, worrying does not add a single day to your life. The only thing it really does to you is either make you 1) really paranoid or 2) Mr. or Mrs. Negative. And neither of these are very attractive character qualities. But what about the last part of this quote? Faith looks upward. Notice, faith doesn't worry, faith doesn't regret, faith doesn't try to make something from nothing; faith simply looks upward. I think there are two realizations that we need to come to. First, the past is called the past for a reason, the past is to help you learn from mistakes, not make you constantly regret them. Instead of worrying about and regretting the past, we should be living in the present and anticipating the future. Also, we need to remember that GOD holds the present and the future. . . why worry?
"Who of you, by worrying, can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you. . ."
God is in control. So what do we have to worry about? Now, that we have canceled regret and worry, we are left with the last.. Faith looks upward. Let us look upward with faith!
On Saturday I had a really close friend of mine come over and we sat on the trampoline talking about "Just girl stuff" And as we kept talking, the conversation began to evolve into something more deep. We talked about the past, and how we both have serious issues with 'Just letting go'. The past is an awesome thing.. but it's the past for a reason. We can't do it over, so why spend time thinking about it constantly? We both agreed that we needed to let it go and anticipate the future as a field for accomplishing God's will. Don't regret. Don't worry. Simply. . . Look upward.
Yes, I know this sounds somewhat philosophical, and for the sake of intelligence, I will say it is. But if you really stop to ponder what this means you will realize how truly simply it is to comprehend. Let me be the first to say this quote does an outstanding job of pointing out my humanly flaws. First, I am one of those people who likes to cling to the past, although I shouldn't, I tend to find myself regretting one thing or another. And when I regret things in the past, it normally changes my attitude for the future. I also have a habit or worrying, OR maybe I just over think about things way to much? Anyway, the point is, worrying does not add a single day to your life. The only thing it really does to you is either make you 1) really paranoid or 2) Mr. or Mrs. Negative. And neither of these are very attractive character qualities. But what about the last part of this quote? Faith looks upward. Notice, faith doesn't worry, faith doesn't regret, faith doesn't try to make something from nothing; faith simply looks upward. I think there are two realizations that we need to come to. First, the past is called the past for a reason, the past is to help you learn from mistakes, not make you constantly regret them. Instead of worrying about and regretting the past, we should be living in the present and anticipating the future. Also, we need to remember that GOD holds the present and the future. . . why worry?
"Who of you, by worrying, can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you. . ."
God is in control. So what do we have to worry about? Now, that we have canceled regret and worry, we are left with the last.. Faith looks upward. Let us look upward with faith!
On Saturday I had a really close friend of mine come over and we sat on the trampoline talking about "Just girl stuff" And as we kept talking, the conversation began to evolve into something more deep. We talked about the past, and how we both have serious issues with 'Just letting go'. The past is an awesome thing.. but it's the past for a reason. We can't do it over, so why spend time thinking about it constantly? We both agreed that we needed to let it go and anticipate the future as a field for accomplishing God's will. Don't regret. Don't worry. Simply. . . Look upward.
Friday, December 10, 2010
It's the most wonderful time of the year.
It’s that time of year again. Time for cold weather, Christmas shopping and the ‘guilty face’ you have to give your daughter when she innocently asks ‘what were you doing at toys-r-us?’. Yes, it’s hard not to love the Christmas season, unless of course your one of the following people:
1) The Grinch
2) Ebenezer Scrooge
But as this is doubtful, lets carry on. The other day I was in Wal-mart and my eyes fell upon one of those flashy screens with the sole intent of catching your attention and keeping it. “Give her Joy all year long with the new Ipod Shuffle” the words read and as I stared at it I realized how silly this ad was. Treating this new and improved piece of technology as if it were the answer to all our problems. I would first like to ask you this question: can earthly things really give us everlasting joy? Let me be the first to say no. I, myself, have relentlessly begged for things, claiming I would ‘never ask for anything ever again’ and assuming I would be given never ending joy.
Sure, I was content for a while until.. Something new came out. Yikes! It’s difficult to be constantly bombarded with new paraphernalia and not want it. This is where real joy enters to picture. Real joy? Is there such thing? Yes, real joy comes as a result of living your life completely for Christ, or ‘dying to self’. Think about it, it is our selfish nature that gives us a desire for all of these ‘things’, so if we ‘died to ourselves’ we wouldn’t be affected by this insatiable desire for new stuff. We would be content in spiritual joy and fulfillment. So what does it mean to die to yourself? In my view, it means to give yourself completely to the Lord, and ridding yourself of your selfish desires. God is the only person we can get this joy and fulfillment from, often times we search the world for things that will satisfy us and like always, we are never truly satisfied. We should search to completely follow Christ and seek our complete and total joy from him and him alone. On that note, I will end with this seemingly relevant song: ‘Tis the season to be jolly fa la la la la la la la’.
Have a very merry Christmas and God bless!
1) The Grinch
2) Ebenezer Scrooge
But as this is doubtful, lets carry on. The other day I was in Wal-mart and my eyes fell upon one of those flashy screens with the sole intent of catching your attention and keeping it. “Give her Joy all year long with the new Ipod Shuffle” the words read and as I stared at it I realized how silly this ad was. Treating this new and improved piece of technology as if it were the answer to all our problems. I would first like to ask you this question: can earthly things really give us everlasting joy? Let me be the first to say no. I, myself, have relentlessly begged for things, claiming I would ‘never ask for anything ever again’ and assuming I would be given never ending joy.
Sure, I was content for a while until.. Something new came out. Yikes! It’s difficult to be constantly bombarded with new paraphernalia and not want it. This is where real joy enters to picture. Real joy? Is there such thing? Yes, real joy comes as a result of living your life completely for Christ, or ‘dying to self’. Think about it, it is our selfish nature that gives us a desire for all of these ‘things’, so if we ‘died to ourselves’ we wouldn’t be affected by this insatiable desire for new stuff. We would be content in spiritual joy and fulfillment. So what does it mean to die to yourself? In my view, it means to give yourself completely to the Lord, and ridding yourself of your selfish desires. God is the only person we can get this joy and fulfillment from, often times we search the world for things that will satisfy us and like always, we are never truly satisfied. We should search to completely follow Christ and seek our complete and total joy from him and him alone. On that note, I will end with this seemingly relevant song: ‘Tis the season to be jolly fa la la la la la la la’.
Have a very merry Christmas and God bless!
Thursday, December 2, 2010
A Thanksgiving Tribute
And again, Thanksgiving has come and gone, but just because the day is over doesn't mean the spirit should be also. We may not 'chow down' on turkey everyday but we can still choose to be thankful everyday. We should take every opportunity to show gratitude.
What did we do this Thanksgiving?
We left early Thursday morning, about 8:30. A little later than I had originally hoped but hey, we're the Liberto's remember? I should've expected nothing more. Anyway, we were out by 8:30 and we started traveling to Houston. I was content, we listened to Narnia in between reading and listening to music, and the trip just flew by! Although, for us yearly Missouri travelers, the trip was nothing. We were supposed to eat about one o' clock and in hopes of not getting there late, we were racing against time. Don't worry though, no speed limits were crossed. We arrived just in time, about 12:45 actually, were we lucky or what! And get this, we didn't even get lost! This was a big thing for us. Those maps are pretty complicated, believe me. Well, the food was absolutely delish and I ate a lot, as always on Thanksgiving day. After this we all went outside to enjoy the weather, I was patiently waiting for it to get colder. And just my luck, it starts pouring rain. But this was the fun part! Running back to the house, occaisonally taking refuge under large trees. I took refuge under Stephen's 40 dollar hat. :) Don't worry, It didn't last very long at all and we headed back out over to the fake, manmade lake. I believe 'Unswimmable' is an accurate term for it. We hung out there for a while and then in the car and off to Huntsville! The remainder of the trip was more than fun, I had recieved the cold weather I wanted and I spent the rest of my Thanksgiving break with people I really enjoy being around. We made fires, watched movies, went bowling, jumped on the trampoline with sleeping bags and made tons of unforgettable memories. I realized how grateful I was to have such awesome friends and I hope we will continue to be friends. Thanks, guys, I love you all. :)
Thanksgiving comes only once a year, but this doesn't mean we should set aside only this day to be thankful. We should wake up everymorning with an 'attitude of gratitude', we always have something to be thankful about, even if we don't realize it. I can say I'm thankful for my family, my awesome friends who never cease to be there for me, my education, my life. The fact that I have a bed to sleep in at night and food to eat in the morning. But most of all, The unescapable fact that I have Jesus, who cares for me so much that he would die the most excruciating death for me. This is what I'm thankful for; and I try my best to express my thanks as often as I can, although this can get tough. It's can sometimes be hard to act thankful when the circumstances are giving you no reason to be thankful. We have to steer away from finding our happiness in life alone, when we start to find our joy through Christ we will find there are many things to be thankful for.
Be thankful and I hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving day!
What did we do this Thanksgiving?
We left early Thursday morning, about 8:30. A little later than I had originally hoped but hey, we're the Liberto's remember? I should've expected nothing more. Anyway, we were out by 8:30 and we started traveling to Houston. I was content, we listened to Narnia in between reading and listening to music, and the trip just flew by! Although, for us yearly Missouri travelers, the trip was nothing. We were supposed to eat about one o' clock and in hopes of not getting there late, we were racing against time. Don't worry though, no speed limits were crossed. We arrived just in time, about 12:45 actually, were we lucky or what! And get this, we didn't even get lost! This was a big thing for us. Those maps are pretty complicated, believe me. Well, the food was absolutely delish and I ate a lot, as always on Thanksgiving day. After this we all went outside to enjoy the weather, I was patiently waiting for it to get colder. And just my luck, it starts pouring rain. But this was the fun part! Running back to the house, occaisonally taking refuge under large trees. I took refuge under Stephen's 40 dollar hat. :) Don't worry, It didn't last very long at all and we headed back out over to the fake, manmade lake. I believe 'Unswimmable' is an accurate term for it. We hung out there for a while and then in the car and off to Huntsville! The remainder of the trip was more than fun, I had recieved the cold weather I wanted and I spent the rest of my Thanksgiving break with people I really enjoy being around. We made fires, watched movies, went bowling, jumped on the trampoline with sleeping bags and made tons of unforgettable memories. I realized how grateful I was to have such awesome friends and I hope we will continue to be friends. Thanks, guys, I love you all. :)
Thanksgiving comes only once a year, but this doesn't mean we should set aside only this day to be thankful. We should wake up everymorning with an 'attitude of gratitude', we always have something to be thankful about, even if we don't realize it. I can say I'm thankful for my family, my awesome friends who never cease to be there for me, my education, my life. The fact that I have a bed to sleep in at night and food to eat in the morning. But most of all, The unescapable fact that I have Jesus, who cares for me so much that he would die the most excruciating death for me. This is what I'm thankful for; and I try my best to express my thanks as often as I can, although this can get tough. It's can sometimes be hard to act thankful when the circumstances are giving you no reason to be thankful. We have to steer away from finding our happiness in life alone, when we start to find our joy through Christ we will find there are many things to be thankful for.
Be thankful and I hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving day!
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
In memory of JP Farrell
As I was pacing my room with my thinking cap sitting lightly on top of my head, trying to come up with a new idea for a blog. Then it hit me, I'll write a blog in memory of Mr. Farrell. It was either this or song. Which I'm still considering doing.
I didn't get to say what I had wanted at his funeral, not because I didn't get the chance, but because I am one of those more emotional beings. I could see myself up there choking out all my words. Wouldn't of gone to well. But there are plenty of things I could say, and I hope to do that right now.
I had started playing guitar at least 4 years ago, and becase of the way it was taught to me I never enjoyed it. After a while, I gave up and the guitar was left in it's case to collect dust. Well, God had a plan through all this, He knew only too well that the guitar would not remain there. It was about a year later when my sisters started taking violin lessons from Mr. Farrell or 'Mistow Fawwoll' as Jordan would pronounce it. My mom took this as an excellent opportunity to get me back on guitar again and so she signed me up as well. I remember the first lesson quite clearly, before it began he made sure I knew that guitar was his worst instrument. You can imagine my surprise when he started playing. . . my mouth dropped open. If guitar was his worst instrument, I thought Then I must really be terrible at it.
As the lessons continued I began to find that love I used to have for the guitar. He became more of my friend, he shared his love of music with me. Something none of my previous teachers could do. Everytime he walked in our home we could see the joy that radiated through him, even amidst all the pain. He was always patient with all the three of us. And let me tell you, that is not always easy to do.
After he became sick, the lessons stopped, but we never stopped praying. He seemed to be getting worse, and I prayed and prayed that somehow he would be miraculously healed. Well, this wasn't God's plan and he passed away a few weeks later. I remember getting in the car and recieving the news, took me a couple seconds to process before it sank in, and even then I'm not sure I actually believed it. Before this, I never had someone this close to me pass away. We attended the funeral a few days later and I think this is when it finally sank in, I couldn't help crying but I had to remind myself that he is in Heaven now, in a new body without pain. And this was comforting.
Although we didn't know him very long he made a huge impact on every single one of our lives. He taught me what it meant to be joyful even through the hard times because our joy comes from the Lord. He brought back my love for music and I'm not gonna quit, because I know he wouldn't want me to. We all feel very blessed that we had the wonderful privelage of knowing such a wonderful man. He was truly a blessing to us. We miss him but we will see him again, and I feel comforted by that. We love you Mr. Farrell!
Conner
I didn't get to say what I had wanted at his funeral, not because I didn't get the chance, but because I am one of those more emotional beings. I could see myself up there choking out all my words. Wouldn't of gone to well. But there are plenty of things I could say, and I hope to do that right now.
I had started playing guitar at least 4 years ago, and becase of the way it was taught to me I never enjoyed it. After a while, I gave up and the guitar was left in it's case to collect dust. Well, God had a plan through all this, He knew only too well that the guitar would not remain there. It was about a year later when my sisters started taking violin lessons from Mr. Farrell or 'Mistow Fawwoll' as Jordan would pronounce it. My mom took this as an excellent opportunity to get me back on guitar again and so she signed me up as well. I remember the first lesson quite clearly, before it began he made sure I knew that guitar was his worst instrument. You can imagine my surprise when he started playing. . . my mouth dropped open. If guitar was his worst instrument, I thought Then I must really be terrible at it.
As the lessons continued I began to find that love I used to have for the guitar. He became more of my friend, he shared his love of music with me. Something none of my previous teachers could do. Everytime he walked in our home we could see the joy that radiated through him, even amidst all the pain. He was always patient with all the three of us. And let me tell you, that is not always easy to do.
After he became sick, the lessons stopped, but we never stopped praying. He seemed to be getting worse, and I prayed and prayed that somehow he would be miraculously healed. Well, this wasn't God's plan and he passed away a few weeks later. I remember getting in the car and recieving the news, took me a couple seconds to process before it sank in, and even then I'm not sure I actually believed it. Before this, I never had someone this close to me pass away. We attended the funeral a few days later and I think this is when it finally sank in, I couldn't help crying but I had to remind myself that he is in Heaven now, in a new body without pain. And this was comforting.
Although we didn't know him very long he made a huge impact on every single one of our lives. He taught me what it meant to be joyful even through the hard times because our joy comes from the Lord. He brought back my love for music and I'm not gonna quit, because I know he wouldn't want me to. We all feel very blessed that we had the wonderful privelage of knowing such a wonderful man. He was truly a blessing to us. We miss him but we will see him again, and I feel comforted by that. We love you Mr. Farrell!
Conner
Monday, October 18, 2010
Good and Evil
The other day I was wholeheartedly taking part in our online discussions (for class). And like always our conversations can get pretty heated. Well, for those who know me would probably guess that I did a lot of arguing on my part. And you are right. We were talking about God's association with good and evil. Some people had good feedback that I agreed with, but some, I couldn't help raising my hand and 'rebutting', as we would say in debate terms.
It is in God's holy nature that disallows him to do anything evil. When he created man, we disobeyed him and with that disobedience comes consequences. So instead of us being perfect and sinless we are fallen.
Genesis 6:5
'The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.'
We were blessed by God with the gift of free will. We chose wrong and now have to pay the consequences of being a sinful people as opposed to perfection. But we hear everyday about God's interacting with his children. I've had experiences that make me realize the relationship I have with God. In fact, he desires to have a relationship with us. But I am a sinner? How can he associate himself with me and my sin nature? We pay the consequences of having to live in a world run by sin. But we as christians are not called to be of this world, we are called to glorify God in a world that does not glorify God.
However the Bible does say that when we reject God long enough he will give us over to a depraved mind.
Romans 1:28
Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.
Because we are fallen we cannot help but sin, and God notices this. He does call us to be like him and as christians we must strive to do this, but because of our sinful nature this can become difficult.
One girl stated what I believed to be true; That He is a God of good and when one of his children continues rejection they are given over to their wickedness and God will depart. For those who are truly evil have no God in their lives. This is when another girl says: 'But God is everywhere because of his omnipresent nature.' Well, this is when I knew I had to say something. I agree with her somewhat, God is omnipresent but he cannot be where there is truly evil and no desire to repent and be forgiven. To support my statement I brought up Law and Order. I didn't use specific examples but I pointed out the evilness of human nature. These people are truly evil. And this is portrayed through their heinous acts. The Bible says; The devil roams the earth looking for someone to devour. When we continue to reject God he will give us over to a depraved mind, the devil will come and seek to devour us. He can associate himself with those who have a desire to be like him. We repent and ask for forgiveness. We love him. We truly want to live like Christ lives. He cannot associate himself with the wicked people who reject him. Pure evil is the absence of God.
1 Peter 5:8
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
It is in God's holy nature that disallows him to do anything evil. When he created man, we disobeyed him and with that disobedience comes consequences. So instead of us being perfect and sinless we are fallen.
Genesis 6:5
'The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.'
We were blessed by God with the gift of free will. We chose wrong and now have to pay the consequences of being a sinful people as opposed to perfection. But we hear everyday about God's interacting with his children. I've had experiences that make me realize the relationship I have with God. In fact, he desires to have a relationship with us. But I am a sinner? How can he associate himself with me and my sin nature? We pay the consequences of having to live in a world run by sin. But we as christians are not called to be of this world, we are called to glorify God in a world that does not glorify God.
However the Bible does say that when we reject God long enough he will give us over to a depraved mind.
Romans 1:28
Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.
Because we are fallen we cannot help but sin, and God notices this. He does call us to be like him and as christians we must strive to do this, but because of our sinful nature this can become difficult.
One girl stated what I believed to be true; That He is a God of good and when one of his children continues rejection they are given over to their wickedness and God will depart. For those who are truly evil have no God in their lives. This is when another girl says: 'But God is everywhere because of his omnipresent nature.' Well, this is when I knew I had to say something. I agree with her somewhat, God is omnipresent but he cannot be where there is truly evil and no desire to repent and be forgiven. To support my statement I brought up Law and Order. I didn't use specific examples but I pointed out the evilness of human nature. These people are truly evil. And this is portrayed through their heinous acts. The Bible says; The devil roams the earth looking for someone to devour. When we continue to reject God he will give us over to a depraved mind, the devil will come and seek to devour us. He can associate himself with those who have a desire to be like him. We repent and ask for forgiveness. We love him. We truly want to live like Christ lives. He cannot associate himself with the wicked people who reject him. Pure evil is the absence of God.
1 Peter 5:8
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Everything Happens for a Reason.
A little longer than a year ago I was on vacation, and my father and I were swimming. 'I'll race you' He says. Oh dad, you and your competitiveness. But of course, I agree, and off we swim. Well, The edge of that pool came a little quicker than I had intentionally planned and *BAM* I crash mouth first into the concrete side of the swimming area. Well this is when I felt my mouth and realized that half of my front tooth was missing, and we hurriedly went up to the room. For the remainder of the evening I found it hard to even look at myself in mirror and I repeatedly told myself 'I can't believe this happened' 'This has to be a dream'. Well now a year later my tooth has been fixed and we can go living our happy lives. Well, at least until Jordan smashes her finger in the door. Our lives are of course still happy but at that moment we were only thinking about Jordan. Unfortunately, this was not just another 'smashed finger' that all kids get at sometime or another, this was just a little more serious. Her nail and little of her finger came off. Don't worry, i'll spare you the rest of the gruesome details. She's fine now, and we are livin life again.
I suppose the point of these two short stories was that everything does happen for a reason, God engineers it that way. The other day my mom read me something from her one of many books. It says that God allows these things to happen in hopes of 'breaking' us, so we will become more dependent on him. These shouldn't be time's to forsake God, but come closer to him.
I suppose the point of these two short stories was that everything does happen for a reason, God engineers it that way. The other day my mom read me something from her one of many books. It says that God allows these things to happen in hopes of 'breaking' us, so we will become more dependent on him. These shouldn't be time's to forsake God, but come closer to him.
Monday, September 6, 2010
I'm from the country, and I like it that way.
Well you can probably already guess what this post is going to say by my self explanatory title BUT I'm going to write it anyway, it is in my will to make you suffer.
I wasn't born in the country, in fact.. I was born in the middle of San Antonio, Texas, and if you've ever been there you know that it is anything BUT country. But I did grow up in a country atmosphere, going to my nana and papa's farm in Missouri sometimes 3 times a year and usually staying for long periods of time. About 5 years ago we moved to good 'ol Boerne, Texas where it is definitely more country, and I like it.
This weekend was Boerne's annual Kendall County Fair, so I forced my awesome daddy to take me and my sister. Well, he did.. of course, and upon arrival we headed to the exhibit hall to check out the sewing projects my sister had entered into the contest. She did extraordinary, placing in everything she entered! After this we headed to the pavillion where the dancing took place so we could get our country dancing on! Yeehaw! Although I'm grateful it was not inside cause if that music was any louder I think my ears might have fallen off. After about 2 or 3 songs we decided to give our weary ears a break and head to the rodeo. Well I guess it was just our luck, we walk right in between these 2 trucks to get a better view, and what do ya know? Hello there, familiar faces! Yes, we ran into a couple speech and debate families sitting together and decided to join them. Then I went up to the stand where Mr. Mack was doing the commentary for the rodeo, cause the rest of the girls were up there. We watched for about an hour and a half, and when the rodeo ended we said goodbyes to friends and walked back to the dancing pavillion. Much to my dismay, we didn't get to stay. I was all ready too, clad in cowboy boots and my awesome country belt. But lucky for me I managed to convince my parents to take us Sunday too! (Which was just as fun, although this time we had the whole family) We danced again and then watched bullriding for about 2 hours. So all in all, it was a lot of fun! Hanging with friends and doing what I love to do. Until next time Kendall county fair, until next time!
I wasn't born in the country, in fact.. I was born in the middle of San Antonio, Texas, and if you've ever been there you know that it is anything BUT country. But I did grow up in a country atmosphere, going to my nana and papa's farm in Missouri sometimes 3 times a year and usually staying for long periods of time. About 5 years ago we moved to good 'ol Boerne, Texas where it is definitely more country, and I like it.
This weekend was Boerne's annual Kendall County Fair, so I forced my awesome daddy to take me and my sister. Well, he did.. of course, and upon arrival we headed to the exhibit hall to check out the sewing projects my sister had entered into the contest. She did extraordinary, placing in everything she entered! After this we headed to the pavillion where the dancing took place so we could get our country dancing on! Yeehaw! Although I'm grateful it was not inside cause if that music was any louder I think my ears might have fallen off. After about 2 or 3 songs we decided to give our weary ears a break and head to the rodeo. Well I guess it was just our luck, we walk right in between these 2 trucks to get a better view, and what do ya know? Hello there, familiar faces! Yes, we ran into a couple speech and debate families sitting together and decided to join them. Then I went up to the stand where Mr. Mack was doing the commentary for the rodeo, cause the rest of the girls were up there. We watched for about an hour and a half, and when the rodeo ended we said goodbyes to friends and walked back to the dancing pavillion. Much to my dismay, we didn't get to stay. I was all ready too, clad in cowboy boots and my awesome country belt. But lucky for me I managed to convince my parents to take us Sunday too! (Which was just as fun, although this time we had the whole family) We danced again and then watched bullriding for about 2 hours. So all in all, it was a lot of fun! Hanging with friends and doing what I love to do. Until next time Kendall county fair, until next time!
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