Some days...

 Some days I don't have any interest in life. I look at my future with dread, because I know I have to do something with my life. I have no enthusiasm for the adventure lying before me. I imagine myself going through the motions of school with no feeling, and having a career I'm not excited about. 

 

 Some days I'm not satisfied with who I am, but change seems so unattainable. My desire to change will come and go so often, I won't ever make any progress. 

 Some days I don't want to do anything. I want to curl up and escape from the world. I distract my mind with meaningless things to avoid the depressing thoughts inside my head. 

 Productivity and human interaction improve those days. Turning my thoughts toward spiritual matters improve those days. Seeking "fun" and ease make those days worse.

"If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end: if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth—only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin with and, in the end, despair."  

    ~ C. S. Lewis

 

Part time? Really??

I've been working as a cna for about three weeks. It only took a few days for me to start picking up shifts when extra help was needed.
I'm supposed to be working part time, but I started out scheduled for three shifts this week (24 hours) and was asked to work two more (which puts me at 40 hours).
Today was the first of my scheduled shifts this week, and when it came time to leave, nobody showed up for thirty minutes. So I stuck around.
Now it's after 1am. The guy who is always on time still hasn't showed up or called. Yes, I stayed. Because I was available. And someone needed to. ...and maybe I'm a pushover.
Anyways, this shift would put me at 48 hours, so I'll probably be made to give up one of the other shifts.

On top of this, we are painting our house for Christmas. I usually help with paint related stuff from the time I get going in the morning right up until I have to leave for work. Methinks I shan't be so useful tomorrow. I will have worked 16 hours, then after another 16 hours off I'll work another 8 (or more. Ha.)

Moment #1

Setting: Night shift in an old folks' home.

Coworker: *standing with face two feet from a big tv*
Me: *pushes him lightly toward the tv* "wanna get a little closer?"
Coworker: *grins*

Later...
Coworker: *standing with face two feet from the tv*toward
Me: *pushes him lightly toward the tv* "didn't your mom teach you not to stand so close?"
Coworker: "yeah, she told me it'd make me sterile."
Everyone: *laughs*
Nurse: "that's great! I'm totally gonna tell my kids that when they get too close."

Later...
Coworker: *standing too close to the tv again*
Me: *pushes him lightly toward the tv* "wanna get a little closer?" *pause* "do you have kids?"
Coworker: *laughs* "nah..."
Me: "so your mom was right..."

Deity

Did the human author of Hebrews believe Jesus to be God? If he did, then why does he declare 'this Jesus to be God's messenger and High Priest' and not God himself?
This is an honest question, I find verses like this and don't understand them, and would be happy to hear other perspectives, even years after I post this.

"And so, dear brothers and sisters who belong to God and are partners with those called to heaven, think carefully about this Jesus whom we declare to be God's messenger and High Priest. For he was faithful to God, who appointed him, just as Moses served faithfully when he was entrusted with God's entire house.
But Jesus deserves far more glory than Moses, just as a person who builds a house deserves more praise than the house itself. For every house has a builder, but the one who built everything is God."
Hebrews 3:1-4


But then Hebrews says this earlier:

'Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son he created the universe. The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven. This shows that the Son is far greater than the angels, just as the name God gave him is greater than their names.
For God never said to any angel what he said to Jesus:
"You are my Son.
Today I have become your Father."
God also said,
"I will be his Father,
and he will be my Son." And when he brought his supreme Son into the world, God said,
"Let all of God’s angels worship him."
Regarding the angels, he says,
"He sends his angels like the winds,
his servants like flames of fire." But to the Son he says,
"Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever.
You rule with a scepter of justice. You love justice and hate evil.
Therefore, O God, your God has anointed you,
pouring out the oil of joy on you more than on anyone else." He also says to the Son,
"In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundation of the earth
and made the heavens with your hands."'
Hebrews 1:1-10

I haven't seen the writer of Hebrews specifically call Jesus God yet, except in the quotations of the Prophets (which certainly doesn't count for nothing!)

A Letter from Dr. Cabot

Stepping Heavenward by Elizabeth Prentiss is a well-written and encouraging book. I was recently reading it, and found a wonderful excerpt. It's rather long, but I can't only give part of it, as the whole letter from Dr. Cabot is so full of really good counsel.

To-day Dr. Cabot has sent me some directions for which I have been begging him a long time. Lest I should wear out this precious letter by reading it over, I will copy it here. After alluding to my complaint that I still "saw men as trees walking," he says:

"Yet he who first uttered this complaint had had his eyes opened by the Son of God, and so have you. Now He never leaves His work incomplete, and He will gradually lead you into clear and open vision, if you will allow Him to do it. I say gradually, because I believe this to be His usual method, while I do not deny that there are cases where light suddenly bursts in like a flood. To return to the blind man. When Jesus found that his cure was not complete, He put His hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up; and he was restored, and saw every man clearly. Now this must be done for you; and in order to have it done you must go to Christ Himself, not to one of His servants. Make your complaint, tell Him how obscure everything still looks to you, and beg Him to complete your cure. He may see fit to try your faith and patience by delaying this completion; but meanwhile you are safe in His presence, and while led by His hand, He will excuse the mistakes you make, and pity your falls. But you will imagine that it is best that He should at once enable you to see clearly. If it is, you may be sure He will do it . He never makes mistakes. But He often deals far differently with His disciples. He lets them grope their way in the dark until they fully learn how blind they are, how helpless, how absolutely in need of Him.

"What His methods will be with you I cannot foretell . But you may be sure that He never works in an arbitrary way. He has a reason for everything He does. You may not understand why He leads you now in this way and now in that, but you may, nay, you must believe that perfection is stamped on His every act.

"I am afraid that you are in danger of falling into an error only too common among young Christians. You acknowledge that there has been enmity towards God in your secret soul, and that one of the first steps towards peace is to become reconciled to Him and to have your sins forgiven for Christ's sake. This done, you settle down with the feeling that the great work of life is done, and that your salvation is sure. Or, if not sure, that your whole business is to study your own case to see whether you are really in a state of grace. Many persons never get beyond this point . They spend their whole time in asking the question:

'"Do I love the Lord or no?

"Am I His or am I not?'

"I beg you, my dear child, if you are doing this aimless, useless work, to stop short at once. Life ii too precious to spend in a tread-mill. Having been pardoned by your God and Savior, the next thing you have to do is to show your gratitude for this infinite favor by consecrating yourself entirely to Him, body, soul . and spirit . This is the least you can do. He has bought you with a price, and you are no longer your own. 'But,' you may reply 'this is contrary to my nature. I love my own way. I desire ease and pleasure; I desire to go to heaven, but I want to be carried thither on a bed of flowers. Can I not give myself so far to God as to feel a sweet sense of peace with Him, and be sure of final salvation, and yet, to a certain extent, indulge and gratify myself? If I give myself entirely away to Him, and lose all ownership in myself, He may deny me many things I greatly desire. He may make my life hard and wearisome, depriving me of all that now makes it agreeable.' But, I reply, this is no matter of parley and discussion; it is not optional with God's children whether they will pay Him a part of the price they owe Him, and keep back the rest . He asks, and He has a right to ask, for all you have and all you are. And if you shrink from what is involved in such a surrender, you should fly to Him at once and never rest till He has conquered this secret disinclination to give to Him as freely and as fully as He has given to you. It is true that such an act of consecration on your part may involve no little future discipline and correction. As soon as you become the Lord's by your own deliberate and conscious act, He will begin that process of sanctification which is to make you holy as He is holy, perfect as He is perfect. He becomes at once your Physician as well as your dearest and best Friend, but He will use no painful remedy that can be avoided . Remember that it is His will that you should be sanctified, and that the work of making you holy is His not yours. At the same time you are not to sit with folded hands, waiting for this blessing. You are to avoid laying hindrances in His way, and you are to exercise faith in Him as just as able and just as willing to give you sanctification as He was to give you redemption. And now if you ask how you may know that you have truly consecrated yourself to Him, I reply, observe every indication of His will concerning you, no matter how trivial, and see whether you at once close in with that will. Lay down this principle as a law—God does nothing arbitrary. If He takes away your health, for instance, it is because He has some reason for doing so; and this is true of everything you value; and if you have real faith in Him you will not insist on knowing this reason. If you find, in the course of daily events, that your self-consecration was not perfect—that is, that your will revolts at His will—do not be discouraged, but fly to your Savior and stay in His presence till yen obtain the spirit in which He cried in His hour of anguish, 'Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless, not my will but Thine be done. Every time you do this it will be easier to do it; every such consent to suffer will bring you nearer and nearer to Him; and in this nearness to Him you will find such peace, such blessed, sweet peace, as will make your life infinitely happy, no matter what may be its mere outside conditions. Just think, my dear Katy, of the honor and the joy of having your will one with the Divine will, and so becoming changed into Christ's image from glory to glory!

"But I cannot say, in a letter, the tithe of what I want to say. Listen to my sermons from week to week, and glean from them all the instruction you can, remembering that they are preached to you.

"In reading the Bible I advise you to choose detached passages, or even one verse a day, rather than whole chapters. Study every word, ponder and pray over it till you have got out of it all the truth it contains.

"As to the other devotional reading, it is better to settle down on a few favorite authors, and read their works over and over and over until you have digested their thoughts and made them your own.

"It has been said 'that a fixed, inflexible will is a great assistance in a holy life.' '"Yon can will to choose for your associates those who are most devout and holy.

''You can will to read books that will stimulate you in your Christian life, rather than those that merely amuse.

"You can will to use every means of grace appointed by God.

"You can will to spend much time in prayer, without regard to your frame at the moment.

"You can will to prefer a religion of principle to one of mere feeling; in other words, to obey the will of God when no comfortable glow of emotion accompanies your obedience.

"You cannot will to possess the spirit of Christ; that must come as His gift, but you can choose to study His life, and to imitate it. This will infallibly lead to such self-denying work as visiting the poor, nursing the sick, giving of your time and money to the needy, and the like.

"If the thought of such self-denial is repugnant to you, remember that it is enough for the disciple to be as his Lord. And let me assure you that as you penetrate the labyrinth of life in pursuit of Christian duty, you will often be surprised and charmed by meeting your Master Himself amid its windings and turnings, and, receive His soul-inspiring smile. Or, I should rather say, you will always meet Him, wherever you go."

Flyin' Solo

I leave Sunday to go see my aunt, the one who suffers from Butt Air Lung Disease. Between leaving here and arriving there, I'll spend 27 hours on a train. I haven't been on a train since I was 4, and I'll have ever traveled more than a 2-hr drive by myself. I'm quite excited, to say the least.

One great result of my leaving for a while (anywhere from two to six weeks,) is that I've done every single bit of laundry. I'm ashamed to admit I hadn't completely emptied my laundry hamper for several months. I've been running across items of clothing that I'd forgotten I ever had. it's been all around pleasant getting that taken care of.

I'm also cleaning my room to the point that it can unapologetically be used as a guest room while I'm absent. It feels good to uncover more and more surface area in my room every day.

Email: Classroom Socialism

 I cannot verify if this is actually true or not, but it sure sounds good :P




Classroom Socialism 

When the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great, but when government takes all the reward away, no one will try or want to succeed. Is this man truly a genius? Checked out and this is true...it DID happen!
 
 An economics professor at a local college made a statement that he had never failed a single student before, but had recently failed an entire class. That class had insisted that Obama's socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer.

The professor then said, "OK, we will have an experiment in this class on Obama's plan". All grades will be averaged and everyone will receive the same grade so no one will fail and no one will receive an A.... (substituting grades for dollars - something closer to home and more readily understood by all).

After the first test, the grades were averaged and everyone got a B. The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy. As the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too so they studied little.

The second test average was a D! No one was happy.
When the 3rd test rolled around, the average was an F.

As the tests proceeded, the scores never increased as bickering, blame and name-calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else.

To their great surprise, ALL FAILED and the professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great, but when government takes all the reward away, no one will try or want to succeed.
It could not be any simpler than that. (Please pass this on)
Remember, there IS a test coming up. The 2012 elections.
These are possibly the 5 best sentences you'll ever read and all applicable to this experiment:

1. You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity.

2. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving.

3. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.

4. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it!

5. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that is the beginning of the end of any nation.

Can you think of a reason for not sharing this? Neither could I.

The Budget Explained

This is another email I recently received and wanted to share.

This is fantastic....an easy way to see the budget problems of this country so  friends will be able to see that our children and grandchildren will be paying for the debts that were generated in the name of "to create jobs" which never happen... The budget explained. I love it when complex things are simplified so that we can all understand. * United States Tax revenue:    $2,170,000,000,000 * Fed budget:                               $3,820,000,000,000 * New debt:                                   $1,650,000,000,000 * National debt:                           $14,271,000,000,000 * Recent budget cut:                         $38,500,000,000  Now, remove 8 zeros and pretend it's a household budget.  * Annual family income:                            $21,700 * Money the family spent:                         $38,200 * New debt on the credit card:                  $16,500 * Outstanding balance on credit card:    $142,710 * Total budget cuts which some politicians are proud about:                           $385

Thought Provoking Questions

I received this email and thought it worth sharing. It raises some good points.




      Subject: Thought Provoking Questions.


Who is this man?  When Herman Cain, Bachmann, Palin, or any politician runs for office, you find out details that are more than you want to know. Yet in Barak Obama's case you know absolutely nothing.  This is more than strange. No one is doing character assassination, but I'm sure that some would like to with the information, but no one can get anything on his dossier anywhere. It is all sequestered and sealed.  Records from college are non-existent.
WHERE ARE THE OBAMA GIRLFRIENDS?

I hadn't thought about this.  I knew that records were not available or were held in secret - but where are Obama's past girlfriends surely he had at least one? No past girl friends popping up anywhere? Strange - strange to the point of being downright weird!

OK, this is just plain old common sense, no political agendas for either side. Just common knowledge for citizens of a country, especially American citizens, who know every little tidbit about every other president (and their wives) that even know that Andrew Jackson's wife smoked a corn cob pipe and was accused of adultery, or that Lincoln never went to school or Kennedy wore a back brace, or Truman played the piano.

We are Americans! Our media vets these things out! We are known for our humanitarian interests and caring for our 'fellow man.' We care, but none of us know one single
humanizing fact about the history of our own president.

Honestly, and this is a personal thing... but it's bugged me for years that no one who ever dated him ever showed up. Taken his charisma, which caused the women to be drawn to him so obviously during his campaign, looks like some lady would not have missed the opportunity.

We all know about JFK's magnetism, McCain was no monk, Palin's courtship and even her athletic prowess were probed. Biden's aneurisms are no secret. Look at Cheney and Clinton-
we all know about their heart problems. How could I have left out Wild Bill before or during the White House?

Nope... not one lady has stepped up and said, "He was soooo shy," or "What a great dancer!" Now look at the rest of what we know... no classmates, not even the recorder for the Columbia class notes ever heard of him.

Who was the best man at his wedding? Start there. Check for groomsmen. Then get the footage of the graduation ceremony.

Has anyone talked to the professors? Isn't it odd that no one is bragging that they knew him or taught him or lived with him.

When did he meet Michele and how? Are there photos? Every president provides the public with all their photos, etc. for their library. What has he released? Nada - other than what was in this so-called biography. Experts who study writing styles etc. claim it was not O's own words or typical of his speech patterns, etc.

Does this make any of you wonder?

Ever wonder why no one ever came forward from Obama's past, saying they knew him, attended school with him, was his friend, etc? Not one person has ever come forward from his past.

This should really be a cause for great concern. Did you see the movie titled, "The Manchurian Candidate"?

Let's face it. As insignificant as we all are... someone whom we went to school with remembers our name or face... someone remembers we were the clown or the dork or the brain or the
quiet one or the bully or something about us.

George Stephanopoulos, ABC News said the same thing during the 2008 campaign. Even George questions why no one has acknowledged that the president was in their classroom or ate in the same cafeteria or made impromptu speeches on campus. Stephanopoulos was a classmate of Obama at Columbia-class of 1984. He says he never had a single class with him. Since he is such a great orator, why doesn't anyone in Obama's college class remember
him? And, why won't he allow Columbia to release his records? Do you like millions of others, simply assume all this is explainable - even though no one can?

NOBODY REMEMBERS OBAMA AT COLUMBIA

Looking for evidence of Obama's past, Fox News contacted 400 Columbia University students from the period when Obama claims to have been there, but not one remembers him. For example,Wayne Allyn Root was (like Obama) a political science major at Columbia , who graduated in 1983. In 2008, Root says of Obama, "I don't know a single person at Columbia that knew him, and they all know me. I don't have a single classmate who ever knew Barack Obama at Columbia ... EVER!  Nobody recalls him.

Root adds that he was, "Class of '83 political science, pre-law" and says, "You don't get more exact or closer than that.. Never met him in my life, don't know anyone who ever met him."

At our 20th class reunion five years ago, who was asked to be the speaker of the class? Me. No one ever heard of Barack! And five years ago, nobody even knew who he was. The guy who writes the class notes, who's kind of the, as we say in New York , 'the macha' who knows
everybody, has yet to find a person, a human who ever met him."

Obama's photograph does not appear in the school's yearbook, and Obama consistently declines requests to talk about his years at Columbia , provide school records, or provide the name of any former classmates or friends while at Columbia. How can this be?

NOTE: Wayne Allyn Root can easily be verified. He graduated valedictorian from his high school, Thornton-Donovan School , then graduated from Columbia University in 1983 as a Political Science major in the same '83 class in which Barack Hussein Obama states he was.

Some other interesting questions.
Why was Obama's law license inactivated in 2002?
Why was Michelle's law license inactivated by court order?
According to the U.S. Census, there is only one Barack Obama - but 27 Social Security numbers and over 80 aliases.

The Social Security number he uses now originated in Connecticut where he is never reported to have lived. No wonder all his records are sealed!

Please continue sending this out to everyone. Somewhere, someone had to know him in school... before he "reorganized" Chicago and burst upon the scene at the 2004 Democratic Convention and made us swoon with his charm, poise, and speaking pizzazz.

The Room

I read this story a number of years ago in I Kissed Dating Goodbye by Joshua Harris.
I found the video earlier today, while looking for the story, and decided to include it, although I think the text version of the story is much better than the video.



The Room by Joshua Harris

In that place between wakefulness and dreams, I found myself in the room. There were no distinguishing features save for the one wall covered with small index-card files. They were like the ones in libraries that list titles by author or subject in alphabetical order. But these files, which stretched from floor to ceiling and seemingly endlessly in either direction, had very different headings. As I drew near the wall of files, the first to catch my attention was one that read "Girls I Have Liked." I opened it and began flipping through the cards. I quickly shut it, shocked to realize that I recognized the names written on each one.

And then without being told, I knew exactly where I was. This lifeless room with its small files was a crude catalog system for my life. Here were written the actions of my every moment, big and small, in a detail my memory couldn't match.

Written In

It's been said that Yuri Gagarin, the first Soviet cosmonaut, when back on earth after orbiting in space said of his experience, "I looked and looked but I didn't see God." (It's disputed as to whether or not he actually said that.)

It's also said that C. S. Lewis said Gagarin's statement is like Hamlet going up to the attic to look for Shakespeare. They're different dimensions.

There's only one way Hamlet could meet Shakespeare...if Shakespeare had written himself into the story. In the same way, the only way we can know God is because He chose to write Himself into the story - to reveal Himself to us.

Life Contemplations

I wish I would make time to post on here more often. Unfortunately, my blog is near the bottom of my day-to-day priority list.

I work anywhere from 20-70 hours a week all Summer, and I'm supposed to be doing school full-time as well (which isn't even close to happening.) So blogging, as much as I'd love to do it more often, just likely won't happen any more than it has been.



I've been contemplating my life. It's so easy to imagine living a model Christian life, but when it comes to living it, it's so much easier to stay in that comfortable hole of apathetic mediocrity.

Sometimes I get sermon podcasts on my iPod. I've especially liked Paul Washer, Breakaway Ministries (Ben Stewart), Mars Hill (Mark Driskoll). I'll go a week listening to the podcasts every chance I get. I build up a spiritual high, and I'm so excited by what I learn and feel. I just feel like I've taken in so much life-changing wisdom. I want to share it with all the Christians I know, so they can experience this life-changing wisdom as well.

...Only see, my life doesn't change. It's easy to think about how I'm going to live this model Christian life, but actually living it takes discipline and self-denial. It also takes much more than just trying to be different -better- than before. Change is short-term if you try to live on your own strength. God needs to empower you to change, and He needs to support you through your day-to-day life.

So I'm not going to try to make everyone I know go listen to those sermons. Instead, I'm going to pray that God would make the teachings I've filled my mind with come to fruition in my life. That the Holy Spirit would manifest itself in my life more and more. That I would show how well what I'm selling actually works.


I'm afraid my thoughts are pretty disconnected and my presentation of them is rough and unpolished, but it's nearly midnight and I've found I don't function very well without a reasonable amount of sleep. I suppose I could post this another day, after I've done some finishing work, but I know I'll never get around to it, so this is how I'm going to leave it.

Book: When Helping Hurts

I'm reading a book titled When Helping Hurts: How To Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting The Poor...And Yourself by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert.

Mom is having me read it before I go on a mission trip with my youth group.

I've not gotten very far into it (still on chapter one) but it promises to be good, and I'll likely lend it to the youth pastor and his wife after the trip.

A summary of today's Biology text with a few excerpts - Crayfish and Spiders

Every time I read in my biology textbook I'm awed that not everyone acknowledges God. Of course, not everyone reads my biology textbook, but still!

Today I learned about crayfish (representing all crustaceans) and spiders.

Crayfish have open circulatory systems. In other words, their short blood vessels just end and let blood pour our directly onto all the cells in their body. It's the most efficient circulatory system in Creation. It's only possible if a hard outer covering exists though (i.e. an exoskeleton or shell). Sometimes they lose a leg or antenna or claw in a fight, and you'd think they'd bleed to death, but they have a double membrane in each appendage, which means a membrane seals the opening in such a case, and the appendage regenerates!

Spiders spin webs, as everyone knows. But did you know a rope weaved of spider silk would be stronger than the strongest steel pipe yet almost as flexible as a normal rope? "In physics research, scientists are trying to develop a process called 'laser-induced nuclear fusion.' If it could ever be developed, it would result in a limitless, nuclear reaction that turns hydrogen into helium. This is a violent reaction but, when done on a tiny sample, it is controllable, provided the sample is held in a very strong, very flexible container." They've found no better material to use for these containers than spider silk.

There are spiders that make sheet webs, ones that make tangle webs, ones that make orb webs, ones that make trapdoors, and ones that make long sticky threads that they launch at their prey then reel back in.

"Now think about this for a moment. Consider the fact that spider silk is a marvelous material which 3,000 years of human science cannot even come close to manufacturing... As you study more and more science, you will see these kinds of engineering marvels exist all over Creation,... Through examples such as this one, we know that life is no accident. Such incredible systems cannot develop by chance. Clearly, Creation tells us what an awesome God we have!"

Excerpts are taken from J L. Wile and Marilyn F. Durnell's Exploring Creation with Biology, Module 12

Why is history class so boring?

An excerpt from Stephen Mansfield's More Than Dates & Dead People. He's explaining why history as taught in the classroom is so hated and monotonous, yet people like history (as shown by their interest in historical fiction, historical films, history channel, historical landmarks, etc.).

"...When you study history in a typical school today, the books you read, the lectures you hear, and the conclusions you're supposed to make are all conditioned by a certain philosophy. The people who write those books and plan your studies design what you are supposed to learn according to a certain set of principles, a certain view of the world. And that view is rooted in the philosophy of evolution...
Let's think about it. What does evolution teach? Evolution is the idea that life happened accidentally. Supposedly, the accidental mixing of some biological goo billions of years ago gave birth to the first living cell. In time, that cell grew into a critter. I won't bore you with technical language. Then, there were suddenly lots and lots of critters. In time, those critters eventually grew into man-like critters - namely, monkeys and apes - and eventually into cappuccino drinking, cell phone-toting, city-dwellers.
Ah, but lets think about what this means to our experience in the House of Historical Horrors. In other words, what does believing in evolution mean for the study of history?
First, according to evolutionary theory, all of life is an accident. There is no design or purpose. Everything just is - with no meaning, no pattern, no destination. Everything is random.
Secondly, notice that according to evolution, everything is growing from the very simple to increasingly complex - from the outdated to the new and improved. This means that what is old is not as good as what is new. Old is simple and goofy, while new is shiny and sophisticated. This means that the past is less important than today, and today will be less important than tomorrow.
Well, no wonder history class is so boring! If evolution provides the philosophy we use to understand the past (and it does, because evolution is the official public school explanation for what exists), then it only makes sense that history is going to seem like a silly thing to learn."

Happy Anniversary, Grandpa!

My grandpa went to live with Jesus seven years ago yesterday.

He was a devout Catholic his whole life, but became a Christian in the weeks before he died. In those weeks, he would gather all his children and grandchildren around him and talk to us all. Basically telling of life lessons he'd learned, of things he thought important to pass on. I don't remember most of it; I was 10 and I was for the most part oblivious to the more serious things that took place.

He had cancer for (I think) around 15 years. I'd say he lost the battle 7 years ago, but did he really? Yes, cancer is a terrible, painful disease. Yes, Grandpa died of it. But I see it as his ride to Heaven. We all have to die somehow, sometime. It's inevitable. Some people go to they're eternal home painlessly and some have a long, torturous journey to make. Grandpa had an uncomfortable ride, but what does that matter? He's in Heaven!!

What would be the use of a quiet, painless death if you're on the express lane to an eternal pit of misery? I cannot imagine the hopelessness and despair I would feel if I or a loved one was staring death in the face and I didn't have Jesus to comfort me.


Romans 10:9-13 If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.” Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”


Praise God, for He is wonderful.

April Fools!

Here are some of my favorite pranks from a list I found several years ago. The truth is, nearly every joke on here (at least the first 40 or so) are pretty hilarious.

#7: Alabama Changes the Value of Pi

1998: The April 1998 issue of the New Mexicans for Science and Reason newsletter contained an article claiming that the Alabama state legislature had voted to change the value of the mathematical constant pi from 3.14159 to the 'Biblical value' of 3.0. Soon the article made its way onto the internet, and then it rapidly spread around the world, forwarded by email. It only became apparent how far the article had spread when the Alabama legislature began receiving hundreds of calls from people protesting the legislation. The original article, which was intended as a parody of legislative attempts to circumscribe the teaching of evolution, was written by physicist Mark Boslough.

#15: Metric Time

1975: Australia's This Day Tonight news program revealed that the country would soon be converting to "metric time." Under the new system there would be 100 seconds to the minute, 100 minutes to the hour, and 20-hour days. Furthermore, seconds would become millidays, minutes become centidays, and hours become decidays. The report included an interview with Deputy Premier Des Corcoran who praised the new time system. The Adelaide townhall was even shown sporting a new 10-hour metric clock face. The thumbnail (found at TelevisionAU.com) shows TDT Adelaide reporter Nigel Starck posing with a smaller metric clock. TDT received numerous calls from viewers who fell for the hoax. One frustrated viewer wanted to know how he could convert his newly purchased digital clock to metric time.

#29: New Zealand Wasp Swarm

In 1949 Phil Shone, a New Zealand deejay for radio station 1ZB, announced to his listeners that a mile-wide wasp swarm was headed towards Auckland. He urged them to take a variety of steps to protect themselves and their homes from the winged menace. For instance, he suggested that they wear their socks over their trousers when they left for work, and that they leave honey-smeared traps outside their doors. Hundreds of people dutifully heeded his advice, until he finally admitted that it had all been a joke. The New Zealand Broadcasting Service was not amused by Shone's prank. Its director, Professor James Shelley, denounced the hoax on the grounds that it undermined the rules of proper broadcasting. From then on, a memo was sent out each year before April Fool's Day reminding New Zealand radio stations of their obligation to report the truth, and nothing but the truth.

Hackers don't have to die after all

So, B, my friendly Facebook hacker, mentioned that rather than go through the bother of figuring out the scanner (which I still haven't, although I did get a second printer up and running so yay for that), just take a picture with a digital camera and upload it. Brilliance!! The thought had crossed my mind momentarily but I'd dismissed and forgotten it.
See, I own a digital camera as do Mom and dad. Unfortunately both are broken. Mom's won't even turn on, and the display screen on mine doesn't show anything but green streaks on a black and white background although it technically still takes pictures. So I tried taking pictures of my license, but the flash bleached everything out, and since the screen doesn't work, I couldn't see to turn the flash off. I had an idea maybe I could take a movie of my license to eliminate flash, then select one screen once I got it onto the computer. I had a fun time figuring out how to take a screenshot of the frame I wanted, and editing it to my satisfaction. However, it's all done now. I've sent my 'picture of a government issued identification card' to facebook and am now just waiting for a response and a password reset code or some such.

Death to All Hackers!

I got home at about 11 pm last night and did a routine facebook/email check before bed. Turns out my facebook had been hacked while I was in town, so I had warning emails from facebook saying someone accessed my account by correctly guessing the answer my security question ('What street did you live on when you were 8?' How much more naive could I have been? Everyone knows that!) and they'd changed my password. I freaked out and accepted facebook's idea that I could lock my account from all access until I get it cleared up and have control over it again. A few screens later they tell me to send them a picture of a government-issued ID (with personal things like ssn blacked out) and they can verify it's mine and not the hacker's.
Unfortunately my scanner isn't set up. So I have to wait 20 minutes today to install the printer/scanner driver, so I can set the printer/scanner up, so I can scan my driver's license, so I can sent it to facebook, so they can put my case in a queue with everyone else's issues, and eventually give me access to my account.

Turns out the hacker is my friend Nobody. All this hassle isn't his fault though. I was tired last night and freaked out and made much work for myself by locking the account up.

I just looked and the driver is downloaded so I can install the printer now. Guess that means this post is over.

Divorce & Remarriage: A Position Paper

Very long, but so good.


Divorce & Remarriage: A Position Paper

Eleven Reasons Why I Believe All Remarriage After Divorce Is Prohibited While Both Spouses Are Alive

1. Luke 16:18 calls all remarriage after divorce adultery.

Luke 16:18: Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.

1.1 This verse shows that Jesus does not recognize divorce as terminating a marriage in God's sight. The reason a second marriage is called adultery is because the first one is considered to still be valid. So Jesus is taking a stand against the Jewish culture in which all divorce was considered to carry with it the right of remarriage.

1.2 The second half of the verse shows that not merely the divorcing man is guilty of adultery when he remarries, but also any man who marries a divorced woman.

1.3 Since there are no exceptions mentioned in the verse, and since Jesus is clearly rejecting the common cultural conception of divorce as including the right of remarriage, the first readers of this gospel would have been hard-put to argue for any exceptions on the basis that Jesus shared the cultural assumption that divorce for unfaithfulness or desertion freed a spouse for remarriage. (...Read more.)