Fake Humor

I was washing dishes as Pinky (8) dried them. We're chatting, and after we've been working for a bit she says "I'm doing a lot of fake humor tonight." "what's fake humor?" I wanted to know. "When you pretend you're having a sense of humor but you aren't really. Like when you say things that aren't funny but you pretend they are and do a fake-y laugh. Like (insert wheezing, fake laughter here)"

Poetry

Beauty is the color of grass after rain,
A kitten's soft fur on your face.
It's the smell of Spearmint gum,
The rhythm of making lace.


'Beauty's in the eye of the beholder'
People often remark;
But it's more than the eye, it's the mind,
For there's beauty even in dark.


We like to take life for granted,
And begin to complain at our ease.
Without ever realizing,
That we're ingrates for it to not please.


(dedicated to Zion Soles)
We tend to get bogged down by troubles
Which, if they were thrown in a heap
With all those of others around us,
We'd be only too eager to keep.


Why, when we have a trial,
Do we try to get through it alone,
When we've found out before that we can't;
We must lean on our Christ, Cornerstone?



I wrote this 7 months ago ...was so proud of it lol, had thought it quite good. Then I stashed it away and just rediscovered it. It's mediocre, but I enjoyed writing it; next time I dabble with poetry maybe it will be slightly better.

Thoughts About Thought

This little book is full of jewels, I've highlighted my favorite parts of this passage. I was originally planning only to post those parts, but it was all so good I had to show the whole section.



There are not so many hours in a year as thoughts in an hour. Thoughts fly in flocks, like starlings, and swarm like bees. Like the leaves in autumn, there is no counting them; like links in a chain, one draws on another. What a restless being man is! His thoughts dance up and down like midges in a summer's evening. Like a clock full of wheels, with the pendulum in full swing, his mind moves as fast as time flies. This makes thinking such an important business. Many littles make much; so many light thoughts make a great weight of sin. A grain of sand is light enough, but Solomon tells us that a heap of sand is heavy. Where there are so many children the mother had need look well after them. We ought to mind our thoughts. If they turn out to be our enemies, they will be too many for us, and will drag us down to ruin. Thoughts from Heaven, like birds in spring, will fill our souls with music; but thoughts of evil will sting us like vipers.
There is a notion abroad that thought is free; but I remember reading, that although thoughts are toll-free, they are not Hell-free. That saying quite agrees with the good old Book. We cannot be summoned before an earthly court for thinking; but depend upon it we shall have to be tried for it in the Last Assizes. Evil thoughts are the marrow of sin; the malt that sin is brewed from; the tinder which catches the sparks of the devil's temptations! the churn in which the milk of imagination is churned into purpose and plan; the nest in which all evil birds lay their eggs. As sure as fire burns brushwood as well as logs, God will punish thoughts of sin as well as deeds of sin.
Let no one suppose that thoughts are not known to the Lord. He has a window into the closest closet of the soul; a window to which there are no shutters. As we watch bees in a glass hive, so does the eye of the Lord see us. The Bible says, "Hell and destruction are before the Lord: how much more then the hearts of the children of men?" Man is all outside to God. With Heaven there are no secrets. That which is done in the private chamber of the heart is as public as the streets before the all-seeing eye.
Some will say they cannot help having bad thoughts; that may be, but the question is, do they hate them or not? We cannot keep thieves from looking in at our windows, but if we open our doors to them, and receive them joyfully, we are as bad as they. We cannot help the birds flying over our heads; but we may keep them from building their nests in our hair. Vain thoughts will knock at the door, but we must not open to them. Though sinful thoughts rise, they must not reign. He who turns a morsel over and over in his mouth, does so because he likes the flavor. He who meditates upon evil, loves it, and is ripe to commit it. Think of the Devil, and he will appear; turn your thoughts toward sin, and your hands will soon follow. Snails leave their slime behind them, and so do vain thoughts. An arrow may fly through the air, and leave no trace; but an ill thought always leaves a trail like a serpent. Where there is much traffic of bad thinking, there will be much mire and dirt. Every wave of wicked thought adds something to the corruption which rots upon the shore of life. It is dreadful to think, that a vile imagination, once indulged, gets the key of our minds, and can get in again very easily. Whether we will or no, it can so return as to bring seven other spirits with it more wicked than itself; and what may follow, no one knows. Nurse sin on the knees of thought, and it will grow into a giant. Dip tow in naphtha, and how it will blaze when fire gets to it! Lay a man asoak in depraved thought, and he is ready to flame up into open sin as soon as ever opportunity occurs. This shows us the wisdom of watching, every day, the thoughts and imaginations of our hearts. Good thoughts are blessed guests, and should be heartily welcomed, well fed, and much sought after. Like rose leaves, they give out a sweet smell if laid up in the jar of memory. They cannot be too much cultivated; they are a crop which enriches the soil. As the hen broods her chickens under her wings, so should we cherish all holy thoughts. As the poor man's ewe lamb ate of his own bread and lay in his bosom, even so should godly meditation be very dear to us. Holy thoughts breed holy words and holy actions, and are hopeful evidences of a renewed heart. Who would not have them? To keep chaff out of a bushel, one sure plan is to fill it full of wheat. To keep out vain thoughts, it is wise and prudent to have the mind stored with choice subjects for meditation; these are easy to find, and we should never be without them. May we all be able to say with David, "In the multitude of my thoughts within me, thy comforts delight my soul."

Taken from John Ploughman's Talk by C. H. Spurgeon

Redeemed for What?

I ran across this post last Fall, and have been planning on sharing it here ever since.
I'd half forgotten about it until we started a new Bible reading plan with the new year, and I read Genesis and Exodus and began to ponder the symbolism Chris talks about in here.


Redeemed for What?
"I was reading the Exodus story in the past couple days, and was struck by a few things that I want to share here.

The story of the deliverance of Israel from Pharaoh is a type for the deliverance of the Church from sin and death. God comes to redeem His people, his chosen ones, and to bring them into a land flowing with milk and honey. But as we read Exodus, we find that God early on gives a specific purpose for Israel to leave Egypt...." Continue reading

Resolutions...

I never seem to follow through with any of my new year's resolutions, but there are a few I'm determined to keep this year. Basically they are: keep on track for school, keep my room clean, keep a diligent account book (and in doing so, not spend as much money as I do), do many more daily chores than I have been, and I'm sure I'll continue to think or more as the year progresses.

My biggest problem is that I love to read, and I have three and two halves books just pleading with me to read them at the moment and many more on my list. And I always pick up a bunch of new books from the library at least once a month and never stop reading until I've finished them all...to the neglect of all else.

Charlie Bit Me

The original clip:






A guy played the clip into an autotune mic (not sure what that is, but it sure sounds cool):

Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences

Commonly known as the 95 Theses by Dr. Martin Luther.

I just finished reading it and here are my thoughts:

"36. Any Christian whatsoever, who is truly repentant, enjoys plenary remission from penalty and guilt, and this is given him without letters of indulgence"

"37. Any true Christian whatsoever, living or dead, participates in all the benefits of Christ and the Church; and this participation is granted to him by God without letters of indulgence."

He's basically saying 'those letters of indulgence the pope gives you are worthless'

Although, there is "38. Yet the pope's remission and dispensation are in no way to be despised, for as already said, they proclaim the divine remission."

'Remission' means 'pardon' or 'forgiveness'.

So he didn't quite say they were worthless, but just about. And I can imagine the church officials were plenty mad.


"86. Again: since the pope's income to-day is larger than that of the wealthiest of wealthy men, why does he not build this one church of St. Peter with his own money, rather than with the money of indigent believers?"

'Indigent' means 'impoverished'.

That had to hurt, he's kinda implying the pope is greedy.


"89. What the pope seeks by indulgences is not money, but rather the salvation of souls; why then does he not suspend the letters and indulgences formerly conceded, and still as efficacious as ever?"

'Conceded' means 'acknowledged'.

'Efficacious' means 'Producing or capable of producing a desired effect'.

I'm not exactly sure what this one means. But it struck me, before I knew what those two words meant, as saying the pope should do away with the letters and indulgences since they weren't achieving the means the pope wished.


"90. These questions are serious matters of conscience to the laity. To suppress them by force alone, and not to refute them by giving reasons, is to expose the church and the pope to the ridicule of their enemies, and to make Christian people unhappy."

That leaves no option but for the church officials to answer the questions.



The truth is, you should just go and read the whole thing. it's only about four one-sided 8 1/2 by 11 pages. It's really good, and there's alot more in them that struck me. But there's just too much, and I have a hard time wording my thoughts, so I only gave a few.