3.31.2008
photo above
I also took the photo above from a place on campus called the pointe. You can see the bridge over the river on the right hand side and the city in the distance on the left. Obviously, I edited the color.
spring (taken by me)
"1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,nor stands in the way of sinners,nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord,and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season,and its leaf does not wither.In all that he does, he prospers." Psalms 1
3.29.2008
weighing the options
Sam and I went apartment hunting for five hours today all around the city. Pray as we decide what we each want to do.
3.28.2008
Laurie Boone
I would also like to thank my dear friend's mommy for all her comments. I read them, I laugh, I learn.
Groucho's & Literary Sweets
Donna, Angela, and I went out to lunch today. When asked where I wanted to go, I said anywhere that I haven't been before. So they took me to Groucho's. So good! Just a Columbia franchise. Mostly sub sandwiches that each have their own special twist. I had this sub with salami and this special kinda slaw. And it was warm and yummy with cheese! Ah - so good! And, Rebecca, they have crushed ice! Yeah, so that was fun.
Now, my sweet friend Anita from Hong Kong and I are out studying at this coffee shop on Main St. called Literary Sweets. Extremely Mom and Pop, has free internet, cheap coffee, and comfortable atmosphere. I'll have to bring other friends here instead of going to Starbucks. The owner (I'm pretty sure she's the owner) is precious and was laughing at me and says I need to go into theatre. Haha! ...And now we're talking about why God created taste buds! Haha!
Ah, what a glorious day! Praise Jesus!
Now, my sweet friend Anita from Hong Kong and I are out studying at this coffee shop on Main St. called Literary Sweets. Extremely Mom and Pop, has free internet, cheap coffee, and comfortable atmosphere. I'll have to bring other friends here instead of going to Starbucks. The owner (I'm pretty sure she's the owner) is precious and was laughing at me and says I need to go into theatre. Haha! ...And now we're talking about why God created taste buds! Haha!
Ah, what a glorious day! Praise Jesus!
3.27.2008
Ah hah!
I finally found the page for non-ITunes people to listen to chapel messages! They don't have today's on there yet but it was EXCELLENT. So listen to March 27th's, and Feb. 26th - 29th's.
pride & envy, postmodernism & experience
envy is one of my biggest pitfalls. my life is going along fine and i'm pretty darn content and then i find out that someone has something that i don't have but that i want. and i get all ornery and mad. i ask God millions of why questions and complain His ear off. i get angry and bitter and depressed. then i get depressed for getting depressed and it becomes this cycle that never ends. yeah, it's a pitfall. ...but i think pride is worse. wednesday was prayer day here and during chapel time we had a speaker from a church called seacoast. he gave the testimony of how God started the church, its beginnings, and where the church is at now. if you go here you can see their view on worship. ultimately, they want to allow for people to experience God. they use worship as a response to the truths found in Scripture. (now of course it is the individual worshipper that does or does not experience God and you can experience God anyplace, but i do think there are circumstances and surroundings that better aid in this process, places of truth, goodness, love, grace, peace, etc.) so i want to experience God. i want it to be emotional. i want it to be holistic. and i don't think that's bad or unbiblical. i think it's cool. i think it's heavenly. because the more i experience God, the more i'll want to experience Him, the more i'll know Him, the more i'll want to know more of Him, and the more others will notice Him in me. see, it is cool, huh? ...oh, back to pride. i think responding to God, especially holistically, is extremely humiliating. i seriously many times suppress an "hallelujah" or "amen" that boils up in me from the depths of my soul. sometimes i prevent my hands from going in the air to worship even when it is an extremely natural response to my emotions to my God. i stop myself from dancing or shouting or kneeling or anything because, oh my gosh, someone might see. or someone might see that i am relishing in God's grace and they'll know how desperately i need it. and i just think if i could just get rid of this pride, how much more joyful my life would be. because honesty breeds joy, i think. and i think i would love people differently, more effectively. ...and i don't think all of postmodernism is bad. all of modernism isn't good and right and true. just like different cultures from different countries, there is good and bad with all. the standard is God - He is good and right and true and beautiful. and so i think there is some good to redeem from the postmodern way of thinking. ...hmmm... this is all very interesting to think about, huh?
3.26.2008
Beyond Obama's Beauty - 02.14.08
Ken Blackwell - Columnist for the New York Sun
It's an amazing time to be alive in America . We're in a year of firsts in this presidential election: the first viable woman candidate; the first viable African-American candidate; and, a candidate who is the first frontrunning freedom fighter over 70. The next president of America will be a first.
We won't truly be in an election of firsts, however, until we judge every candidate by where they stand. We won't arrive where we should be until we no longer talk about skin color or gender. Now that Barack Obama steps to the front of the Democratic field, we need to stop talking about his race, and start talking about his policies and his politics.
The reality is this: Though the Democrats will not have a nominee until August, unless Hillary Clinton drops out, Mr. Obama is now the frontrunner, and its time America takes a closer and deeper look at him.
Some pundits are calling him the next John F. Kennedy. He's not. He's the next George McGovern. And it's time people learned the facts.
Because the truth is that Mr. Obama is the single most liberal senator in the entire U.S. Senate. He is more liberal than Ted Kennedy, Bernie Sanders, or Mrs. Clinton. Never in my life have I seen a presidential frontrunner whose rhetoric is so far removed from his record. Walter Mondale promised to raise our taxes, and he lost. George McGovern promised military weakness, and he lost. Michael Dukakis promised a liberal domestic agenda, and he lost.
Yet Mr. Obama is promising all those things, and he's not behind in the polls. Why? Because the press has dealt with him as if he were in a beauty pageant. Mr. Obama talks about getting past party, getting past red and blue, to lead the United States of America . But let's look at the more defined strokes of who he is underneath this superficial "beauty."
Start with national security, since the president's most important duties are as commander-in-chief. Over the summer, Mr. Obama talked about invading Pakistan, a nation armed with nuclear weapons; meeting without preconditions with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who vows to destroy Israel and create another Holocaust; and Kim Jong II, who is murdering and starving his people, but emphasized that the nuclear option was off the table against terrorists - something no president has ever taken off the table since we created nuclear weapons in the 1940s. Even Democrats who have worked in national security condemned all of those remarks. Mr. Obama is a foreign-policy novice who would put our national security at risk.
Next, consider economic policy. For all its faults, our health care system is the strongest in the world. And free trade agreements, created by Bill Clinton as well as President Bush, have made more goods more affordable so that even people of modest means can live a life that no one imagined a generation ago. Yet Mr. Obama promises to raise taxes on "the rich." How to fix Social Security? Raise taxes. How to fix Medicare? Raise taxes. Prescription drugs? Raise taxes. Free college? Raise taxes. Socialize medicine? Raise taxes. His solution to everything is to have government take it over. Big Brother on steroids, funded by your paycheck.
Finally, look at the social issues. Mr. Obama had the audacity to open a stadium rally by saying, "All praise and glory to God!" but says that Christian leaders speaking for life and marriage have "hijacked" - hijacked - Christianity. He is pro-partial birth abortion, and promises to appoint Supreme Court justices who will rule any restriction on it unconstitutional. He espouses the abortion views of Margaret Sanger, one of the early advocates of racial cleansing. His spiritual leaders endorse homosexual marriage, and he is moving in that direction. In Illinois , he refused to vote against a statewide ban - ban - on all handguns in the state. These are radical left, Hollywood , and San Francis co values, not Middle America values.
The real Mr. Obama is an easy target for the general election. Mrs. Clinton is a far tougher opponent. But Mr. Obama could win if people don't start looking behind his veneer and flowery speeches. His vision of "bringing America together" means saying that those who disagree with his agenda for America are hijackers or warmongers. Uniting the country means adopting his liberal agenda and abandoning any conflicting beliefs.
But right now everyone is talking about how eloquent of a speaker he is and - yes - they're talking about his race. Those should never be the factors on which we base our choice for president. Mr. Obama's radical agenda sets him far outside the American mainstream, to the left of Mrs. Clinton.
It's time to talk about the real Barack Obama. In an election of firsts, let's first make sure we elect the person who is qualified to be our president in a nuclear age during a global civilizational war.
It's an amazing time to be alive in America . We're in a year of firsts in this presidential election: the first viable woman candidate; the first viable African-American candidate; and, a candidate who is the first frontrunning freedom fighter over 70. The next president of America will be a first.
We won't truly be in an election of firsts, however, until we judge every candidate by where they stand. We won't arrive where we should be until we no longer talk about skin color or gender. Now that Barack Obama steps to the front of the Democratic field, we need to stop talking about his race, and start talking about his policies and his politics.
The reality is this: Though the Democrats will not have a nominee until August, unless Hillary Clinton drops out, Mr. Obama is now the frontrunner, and its time America takes a closer and deeper look at him.
Some pundits are calling him the next John F. Kennedy. He's not. He's the next George McGovern. And it's time people learned the facts.
Because the truth is that Mr. Obama is the single most liberal senator in the entire U.S. Senate. He is more liberal than Ted Kennedy, Bernie Sanders, or Mrs. Clinton. Never in my life have I seen a presidential frontrunner whose rhetoric is so far removed from his record. Walter Mondale promised to raise our taxes, and he lost. George McGovern promised military weakness, and he lost. Michael Dukakis promised a liberal domestic agenda, and he lost.
Yet Mr. Obama is promising all those things, and he's not behind in the polls. Why? Because the press has dealt with him as if he were in a beauty pageant. Mr. Obama talks about getting past party, getting past red and blue, to lead the United States of America . But let's look at the more defined strokes of who he is underneath this superficial "beauty."
Start with national security, since the president's most important duties are as commander-in-chief. Over the summer, Mr. Obama talked about invading Pakistan, a nation armed with nuclear weapons; meeting without preconditions with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who vows to destroy Israel and create another Holocaust; and Kim Jong II, who is murdering and starving his people, but emphasized that the nuclear option was off the table against terrorists - something no president has ever taken off the table since we created nuclear weapons in the 1940s. Even Democrats who have worked in national security condemned all of those remarks. Mr. Obama is a foreign-policy novice who would put our national security at risk.
Next, consider economic policy. For all its faults, our health care system is the strongest in the world. And free trade agreements, created by Bill Clinton as well as President Bush, have made more goods more affordable so that even people of modest means can live a life that no one imagined a generation ago. Yet Mr. Obama promises to raise taxes on "the rich." How to fix Social Security? Raise taxes. How to fix Medicare? Raise taxes. Prescription drugs? Raise taxes. Free college? Raise taxes. Socialize medicine? Raise taxes. His solution to everything is to have government take it over. Big Brother on steroids, funded by your paycheck.
Finally, look at the social issues. Mr. Obama had the audacity to open a stadium rally by saying, "All praise and glory to God!" but says that Christian leaders speaking for life and marriage have "hijacked" - hijacked - Christianity. He is pro-partial birth abortion, and promises to appoint Supreme Court justices who will rule any restriction on it unconstitutional. He espouses the abortion views of Margaret Sanger, one of the early advocates of racial cleansing. His spiritual leaders endorse homosexual marriage, and he is moving in that direction. In Illinois , he refused to vote against a statewide ban - ban - on all handguns in the state. These are radical left, Hollywood , and San Francis co values, not Middle America values.
The real Mr. Obama is an easy target for the general election. Mrs. Clinton is a far tougher opponent. But Mr. Obama could win if people don't start looking behind his veneer and flowery speeches. His vision of "bringing America together" means saying that those who disagree with his agenda for America are hijackers or warmongers. Uniting the country means adopting his liberal agenda and abandoning any conflicting beliefs.
But right now everyone is talking about how eloquent of a speaker he is and - yes - they're talking about his race. Those should never be the factors on which we base our choice for president. Mr. Obama's radical agenda sets him far outside the American mainstream, to the left of Mrs. Clinton.
It's time to talk about the real Barack Obama. In an election of firsts, let's first make sure we elect the person who is qualified to be our president in a nuclear age during a global civilizational war.
3.24.2008
a different Easter
I sat with Angela and Chris at First Pres. Beautiful music. Excellent sermon. On the reality of Christ's resurrection. S.F. kept saying, "If you aren't excited about Him now, what makes you think death will change anything?"
Sam and I went to a get-together Mika had invited me to. Didn't really know what to expect. A house out in the woods with three different international ministeries coming together, mostly Chinese. But there were people from Japan, Korea, Thailand, Nigeria, Angola, Germany, Hungary, and Russia there. As well as missionaries from Togo, Bolivia, and Ecuador. We ate lots of food. My favorite was the beef curry stew, reminded me of the Filipino church get-togethers on Chuuk. We had a huge egg hunt with 400 eggs. The Americans hid them and the internationals had to look. It was hilarious. We sang and had an explanation of the Easter story. I was tired. But it was a beautiful day.
He has risen indeed!
Sam and I went to a get-together Mika had invited me to. Didn't really know what to expect. A house out in the woods with three different international ministeries coming together, mostly Chinese. But there were people from Japan, Korea, Thailand, Nigeria, Angola, Germany, Hungary, and Russia there. As well as missionaries from Togo, Bolivia, and Ecuador. We ate lots of food. My favorite was the beef curry stew, reminded me of the Filipino church get-togethers on Chuuk. We had a huge egg hunt with 400 eggs. The Americans hid them and the internationals had to look. It was hilarious. We sang and had an explanation of the Easter story. I was tired. But it was a beautiful day.
He has risen indeed!
3.22.2008
GOOD Friday
My mom asked me when I was in California if I could tell spring was coming to South Carolina. I hadn't noticed anything yet and thought it was still due to the frost that we have overnight many times. But now that I'm back in SC, I can definitely tell that spring is coming! First of all, there are these trees that have TONS of white flowers all over them - they are beautiful - especially when there's a whole bunch of them all together. But also, when I drive to and from school up Monticello Road where it's woods on either side, there are the most beautiful trees that have bright purple flowers on them. They are gorgeous. And so in certain places there are trees with these purple flowers budding, and then other trees with orange flowers, or yellow flowers, and then the white flowers. It's extremely beautiful. It's been fun to delight in God's creation.
I went to the Good Friday service at First Presbyterian yesterday, where Sinclaire Ferguson preaches. His sermon was good, as usual, although I have to admit I kept getting distracted for a number of reasons. But one particular thing did stick with me, probably because I've been thinking about it a lot recently. He kept saying how joyful this day was. He preached through all of Luke 23 and went through the different reactions of the people Jesus encounters in this passage and Jesus' response to each of them. One of the people (v. 27 - 31) were the group of men and women that followed after him weeping and mourning. And Jesus says quite a lot to them. In fact, I had put a question mark in my Bible by this passage, I think when I read through the Gospels a couple of summers ago. S.F. said that Jesus was saying that this is a good day for people - a day of freedom, grace, and love. It is not a day of judgment on people. That day comes later and then those that don't trust in what Jesus does this good day will weep and mourn and rightfully so. But today, even though Christ dies an excruciating death, is a good, good day.
And the Lord continues to bring to mind how joyful and delightful life should be, that He wants it to be that way for all. And that He is the most delightful. And that weeping and mourning over the absence of goodness and joy and love in this world is trusting in God. It's saying that without God's goodness and beauty and truth, this world and this life is crap. And so we mourn over the absence of joy. Interesting to think about, huh? (Rob Bell goes into this a little in his book [see review below] but the Lord has also been bringing it to mind in other areas of my life.) So rejoicing is not a command because if you don't do it you're disobeying and sinning. It's simply God's greatest desire for us. And the most joyful we can be is surrounded by all that is good and all that is Him.
Which reminds me of one other thing that I was going to say... the first time I saw the Passion of Christ, I went to the theatre alone because everybody else had seen it already. I went in the middle of the day and there weren't too many other people in the theatre. Of course, I was somber most of the time, and crying my brains out when Peter denied Christ as I related fully to him. But, I tell you, when I left that theatre I had the hugest smile on my face. I was practically dancing all the way to my car. Jesus is the best thing that could have ever happened to me!
I went to the Good Friday service at First Presbyterian yesterday, where Sinclaire Ferguson preaches. His sermon was good, as usual, although I have to admit I kept getting distracted for a number of reasons. But one particular thing did stick with me, probably because I've been thinking about it a lot recently. He kept saying how joyful this day was. He preached through all of Luke 23 and went through the different reactions of the people Jesus encounters in this passage and Jesus' response to each of them. One of the people (v. 27 - 31) were the group of men and women that followed after him weeping and mourning. And Jesus says quite a lot to them. In fact, I had put a question mark in my Bible by this passage, I think when I read through the Gospels a couple of summers ago. S.F. said that Jesus was saying that this is a good day for people - a day of freedom, grace, and love. It is not a day of judgment on people. That day comes later and then those that don't trust in what Jesus does this good day will weep and mourn and rightfully so. But today, even though Christ dies an excruciating death, is a good, good day.
And the Lord continues to bring to mind how joyful and delightful life should be, that He wants it to be that way for all. And that He is the most delightful. And that weeping and mourning over the absence of goodness and joy and love in this world is trusting in God. It's saying that without God's goodness and beauty and truth, this world and this life is crap. And so we mourn over the absence of joy. Interesting to think about, huh? (Rob Bell goes into this a little in his book [see review below] but the Lord has also been bringing it to mind in other areas of my life.) So rejoicing is not a command because if you don't do it you're disobeying and sinning. It's simply God's greatest desire for us. And the most joyful we can be is surrounded by all that is good and all that is Him.
Which reminds me of one other thing that I was going to say... the first time I saw the Passion of Christ, I went to the theatre alone because everybody else had seen it already. I went in the middle of the day and there weren't too many other people in the theatre. Of course, I was somber most of the time, and crying my brains out when Peter denied Christ as I related fully to him. But, I tell you, when I left that theatre I had the hugest smile on my face. I was practically dancing all the way to my car. Jesus is the best thing that could have ever happened to me!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
