A satire I wrote for school, about the dreaded American Idol.
Becoming a rock star, one of the most prominent American dreams, in the past decade has become just a little bit easier for everyone. With the hit reality series “American Idol”, anyone is given a chance to become famous! If you have a good set of chops, and want to be famous, American Idol can give you a chance. So if you hear that the auditions are heading to an area near you, you would not want to pass up the opportunity at all! If you are at all interested in making it to the finale of American Idol, this article aims at aiding you through the stages.
The first part of the journey begins with the auditions:
- First of all, bring lots of water. Standing in lines with thousands and thousands of people for hours on end can be very dehydrating. You should always keep your vocal chords fresh with water.
- Don’t be concerned with your image, black or white, fat or skinny, short or tall, gay or straight, it doesn’t matter. Just be sure you bring the best voice.
- If you’re parents and friends have told you that you are good singer, listen to them, that usually means that you are.
- If you have a background, definitely share it. For example, maybe your mom died during your birth. Then your dad had to raise you with your two older sisters. Both of them were killed during a school bus accident. To make matters worse, your dad was laid off of his job, and this is your only chance to get money for you and him. People will be certain to vote for you, and you win a sympathy bonus with the judges.
- Be prepared to meet very interesting characters and people during your experience.
Did the judges put you through? Congratulations! Well, after your lengthy interview and emotional celebration, it’s time to prepare for Hollywood week, the most emotional and stressful portion of the series.
- This is when you want to make the biggest impression on people. It’s everyman for himself in Hollywood week. Dog eat dog. Fight dirty. Do whatever it takes. If your emotions usually get the best of you, this is the best time to allow them to. Tantrums and excessive crying are great, especially when the cameras are around.
- Don’t forget the words. Forgetting the words to songs is really looked down upon. Now, you may be asking, “what does that have to do with my singing ability?” Well, no longer is this a singing competition. It is about stage presence. If you want to be famous, you have to act and dress like you’re famous.
- With that being said, guys, put on the most spiffy outfit that you can find, and sing your heart out. Girls, generally it is best if you show as much leg as allowed on television. However, if you aren’t that type, put on your stage makeup, and then some.
- When you get to the final stage. Where you have to walk the walk of death, it will be one of the most nerve-wracking experiences in your life. If you make it, be sure to cry, and jump up and down with joy. If you don’t, you’re only option left is to argue. If you have a way with words, be sure and give it a shot, you never know if they might change their minds.
Are you still here? If you are lucky enough to be, then you have reached the final leg of the competition, the big stage, the real deal. This time people are voting for you, so it’s time to get your game face on.
- If you are a white male with glasses, a Christian background, raspy voice, can play guitar, and sound a little bit like Nickelback or Daughtry, then you should definitely use that to your advantage, works like a charm. Trust me.
- If you don’t have what is mentioned above try sitting on a piano or guitar, and sing a sappy sing-a-long that everyone knows. Either that or make sure the best light show possible is used when you hit the “epic” sustained note at the end of your ballad.
- Don’t forget the words
- Once again, image is everything. Jump around. Do what I mentioned above, men do your thing, ladies do your thing. You’ll stick around longer if you look good up there.
- You have to be likeable. Usually voters prefer a humble person at this stage of the competition. However, don’t always listen to the judge’s advice. Go with how you feel on the inside. What’s in your heart really matters most.
- Remember, your target audience is between the ages of fourteen and sixteen, predominantly female. Always have a mentality of “how can I please them most?”
- Oh yeah, and don’t forget the words.
And there you have it, folks. If you succeed in winning American Idol, you will earn a free signing with a record deal. (Even though, if you make it to the final round, someone will probably want to sign from somewhere). You can now be famous. Tour the nation, tour the world, or even be in commercials against cancer. Don’t be disappointed if everyone forgets who you are in about two years though, it happens to everyone. Besides, you will have made enough money to live the rest of your life without worries. That’s what it’s all about, right?
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Saturday, August 7, 2010
A Thank You Note
The streamers hang from the ceiling
And fall from my eyes down my cheeks
Air around me isn’t the same as I feel inside.
I wasn’t aware festivity and misery could coincide.
The distance of six thousand seven hundred and twenty six
Miles make things so hard for me to fix
Fix all the mistakes that I have made
[Chorus]
Even though, that day I left home feels like it was ages ago.
Even though, I miss her more than anyone could know
I realized that Life’s not all that bad
Driving on the Tennessee road at ten pm, sun roof open and stars shining in.
The city lights and headlights are like tie-dye on the horizon.
All this while I sing to the radio, and imagine it being me
Simple times like these, where one notices the trees
and see’s the beauty in the little things,
You can almost forget what has been.
And then it all comes around again
[Bridge]
Pain and change only make it easier to look for love
Through the thunderstorm flies the dove
There’s so much more that we can be thankful for
That North Korea didn’t win the war.
Or a piano and guitar singing in perfect harmony
While the drums keep on beating to their tune.
Smelling the salt water waves of the sea
while watching the sunset from a hotel room balcony.
One can’t quite capture creations beauty
or thank God enough with simple poetry.
And fall from my eyes down my cheeks
Air around me isn’t the same as I feel inside.
I wasn’t aware festivity and misery could coincide.
The distance of six thousand seven hundred and twenty six
Miles make things so hard for me to fix
Fix all the mistakes that I have made
[Chorus]
Even though, that day I left home feels like it was ages ago.
Even though, I miss her more than anyone could know
I realized that Life’s not all that bad
Driving on the Tennessee road at ten pm, sun roof open and stars shining in.
The city lights and headlights are like tie-dye on the horizon.
All this while I sing to the radio, and imagine it being me
Simple times like these, where one notices the trees
and see’s the beauty in the little things,
You can almost forget what has been.
And then it all comes around again
[Bridge]
Pain and change only make it easier to look for love
Through the thunderstorm flies the dove
There’s so much more that we can be thankful for
That North Korea didn’t win the war.
Or a piano and guitar singing in perfect harmony
While the drums keep on beating to their tune.
Smelling the salt water waves of the sea
while watching the sunset from a hotel room balcony.
One can’t quite capture creations beauty
or thank God enough with simple poetry.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
The Red Box
Short story for school
The brain is a beautiful thing. It’s like a chest that never overflows and its hinges are never strained. We store everything inside of our chest; memories, emotions, experiences, people, pictures, words, songs, everything; beautiful things. Our chest plays a significant role in our body, but is there something greater than these treasures we store up?
Jacob lived an uneventful life in a suburban neighborhood. He was an only child, so he retreated to his room whenever he would come home. He was a kid with a particular fascination with the brain. He spent hours and hours of his time reading books about the human brain, how it worked. Often he would sit in his room and think about how he processes thoughts, ideas, and memories. He would dwell on his memories, questions, and thoughts. He was addicted to them. Closing his eyes and replaying events in his head, they made him happy. “What if I could control my memories”, he asked himself one day. “What if I could only remember what I wanted? Would I be happy all the time, because I could only remember the things I have enjoyed in my life?” Intrigued by this idea he decided that he would write everything down that he wanted to remember. He started with his favorite memories, anything and everything that brought a happy thought to his head. “The first kiss I had with Jennifer, hiking in Colorado with the guys, flying for the first time”, he wrote. For hours he wrote down his favorite memories, and then broke them down into details, into stories. Word filled notebooks would go into a red box that he kept in his closet. Every day he would come home and write down what he enjoyed about the day. He decided to morph events that he didn’t like, into something that he did. “I’m rewriting my life so that it is always enjoyable, so I’m bound to have a happy ending. I’ll look back on my memories, how I wanted them to be. Perpetual happiness” He spent hours reliving, recreating, events in his mind.
“Why don’t you just tell them that you’re frustrated, and you all can understand each other better?” Jennifer asked, as they walked through downtown one overcast evening.
“I just can’t. I don’t feel comfortable sitting down for a simple conversation with them”. They sat down at a bench. “I appreciate what they’ve done for me; I just don’t think there’s anything else I can get from them. I’m leaving for school soon, so I’ll come back and visit every once in a while, and then I think I’ll naturally be able to show them that I don’t completely despise them. I know I’ve needed them in the past, to teach me to walk and talk. I can do everything else on my own.”
With a concerned look, Jennifer said, “Your petty frustrations and nerves that you have against them isn’t necessary. Why do you try and convince yourself that you don’t need them? Your dysfunctional relationship with them seems to be your own fault. What’s so bad about them? Do you understand all their punishments and restrictions are for what they think is your own benefit? It’s not to hurt you. You shouldn’t just write them out of your life.”
A little shocked that she was leaning on their side, he replied, “Maybe. I’d rather make my own choices. I’m a good kid; I’ve stayed out of trouble. You’d think that they would notice that. I’m looking forward to leaving. Maybe it will be easiest to write them out for the most part.” He grabbed her hand, “Besides, you’re the one that makes me happiest, no need to risk having people that don’t make me happy all the time.”
She looked at him, frustrated, and said with a hint of sorrow in her voice, “I hope that you don’t mean that. It sure doesn’t make me happy to see you do that to your parents. You spend hours in your room, by yourself. I’m worried about you, you aren’t the boy I remember when I was younger. We may not work out much longer if you keep trying to get rid of everything you don’t like. Ever think that I may like some of the things you don’t?”
The red box haunted him that night. He wrote down Jennifer and his conversation. He had never wanted to change something she said before. He didn’t like what she said, it made him feel guilty. He tried to change it, but he couldn’t. For days he would reread his forged version of the conversation with her. How he thought it should have gone, trying to make it better. No matter how much tried to believe that was how it went, he knew deep down in his heart that it wasn’t true. He couldn’t control his thoughts, and he didn’t like it. His thoughts didn’t control his life. After spending hours in his room thinking he concluded that the only way he could rewrite their conversation to be how he liked it, would be to prove to Jennifer he was a better guy than she thought. That would make the conversation obsolete. The only way was to change his relationship with his parents.
“Why do I struggle so much with something so simple? It shouldn’t be so hard. I must show them some sort affection and appreciation.” The hours began to turn into days. He wrote and planned what he would have to do. As he did this, there was more and more that he didn’t want to remember involving his parents flashing through his mind. The things he had said to them. The hurt he must have caused them. He faced regret. A battle raged inside him. The pull of the forged memories was strong. He wanted to make it easy. “Why can’t I just tell myself what happened, and what will happen. I should be able to control my life”. Her words would flow right through after those, “Ever think that I may like some of the things you don’t”. Finally, after convincing himself he had control of how the conversation would go; Jacob built up the courage to ask his dad to go out to lunch with him.
“Jacob, I can’t tell you how happy I am that you wanted to go out to lunch with me”, his dad said.
“Yeah…” Jacob mumbled. Bitterness fought against his guilt.
“Is there any reason why? Or did you just want to spend quality time with your old man before you went off to school? It’s not too far away you know.”
“I don’t know, just wanted to talk, I guess.”
“I’m always happy to listen to you, bud, let’s get a table first.”
After they ordered, Jacob mumbled out a few words. Stumbling over them, “Why am I having such a hard time with this?” He thought. “I figured out the logic last week, it’s for the best, just say it”, he told himself.
“Dad…I guess I just wanted to…”
Just as he began that sentence, time slowed to a halt. Jacob’s eyes lifted to directly behind his dad, as he saw a man draw two machine guns out of his coat. The man had a crazed look in his eye. He just fired his gun into the air, laughing, and then began to spray bullets at whoever he saw. Jacob saw the clerk get hit in the chest, and three people that were standing in line were shot from behind as they began to run. In a split second, almost as if it were instinct, everyone in the diner began diving to the ground for cover. Others were falling to the ground because they were shot. Jacob observed all of these in a second, he looked and saw his dad was plunging over the table, and the two of them fell to the ground. They crawled on their hands and knees to get behind the wall next to them. Still firing, the crazed man looked Jacob directly in the eye and swung his guns toward him. His dad then stood up in front of Jacob, and the man fired, and fired.
Jacob lay there for what felt like hours, with his ears ringing. He blinked; with his eyes opening to two men tackling the gunman from behind. Another blink; and they were on top struggling. Saw dust was floating, searching for a place to land. Broken glass and pieces of food were laying everywhere. He was afraid to move, because he knew what he would see when he turned around. He had seen his dad throw himself in front of him. He didn’t want to face what he knew had happened, so he slowly turned around. Women crying and people scurrying through the building seemed to evaporate from the building. Time began to speed, up and he grabbed his dad.
“DAD! Are you okay? Say something!”
Distressed, screaming, unnerved. He put his hands on his dad’s wounds, blood was pouring out, he didn’t have enough hands to cover them all. His dad groaned.
“You’re going to be alright dad, okay?” He assured franticly.
His dad looked him in the eyes. Jacob instantly went silent. He saw something in his dad’s eyes that he couldn’t believe. His dad was calm. Sirens wailing in the background
“I’m proud of you Jacob, make your mother proud” He said with a still voice. He breathed deep, and closed his eyes.
Jacob went home that night without saying a word. He could hear his mother weeping all night. For a week, he heard her crying from his bedroom at night. He couldn’t find words for Jennifer when she tried to talk to him. Complete silence. He thought as he lay in his bed. “I’m proud of you”. “Why is he proud of me? How have I made him proud? All I’ve done is disrespect and ignore him for so long.” He told himself.
With his red box sitting in front of him, he read through his memories, some forged, some real. With a fresh pencil and notebook, a small part of him began to rewrite what happened that day. “I was able to talk to my dad. I was able to tell him that I appreciated him. I love you dad, I said to him.” Then proceeding to crumple up the paper and throw it against the wall. He put his face in his hands and began to weep. Nothing he could do changed what he remembered. Nothing he was ever going to write and tell himself changed what happened. “I’ve tried with simpler things and it didn’t work. There’s no way this is going to work. I can’t rewrite this. I try to replay it in my mind to end differently. But it doesn’t.”
Struggling with this, he kept replaying the scene over and over again. “He saved my life. Why would he do that? He took more than one bullet for me, and I’ve done nothing in return for him.” He remembered the regret he felt before this, and it had now tripled. He paced his room, thinking Remembering what his dad said to him. He explored every detail of the day. Then he remembered the second half of what his dad told him,
“Make your mother proud.”
“Make her proud?”
“Make her proud.”
Jacob then grabbed his red box and a lighter, ran outside. He stood there for several minutes, fighting. Finally he lit the box. He watched everything that he thought made him happy, true and false memories turn to ash. In his heart he knew what was reality, and he couldn’t change reality.
He then said, “Dad, I don’t know how I made you proud. I should have died, not you. I’ve tried for years to make myself happy. Ignore the things that didn’t. Change the things I didn’t like. I tried to control my life. I can’t get the thought of you dying in front of me out of my brain, I can’t recreate the memory. If only I didn’t ask you out for lunch, and had been able to talk to you and mom more easily. My mind is losing a battle with my heart. I thought I could change my own life. I realize now that I can’t do that. I have no control over it. I’m going to keep making you proud. I’m going to make mom proud. I’m not going to live my life so selfishly anymore. I’m not going to live by my mind, but by my heart. I know that you will always be in my heart. So, no matter how difficult things get, there is no need to try and write it out, to change, to forget it. I know I will get through it. I know you love me.”
The fire died. Jacob stood there weeping, yet, as if a burden had been lifted, smiling.
The brain is a beautiful thing. It’s like a chest that never overflows and its hinges are never strained. We store everything inside of our chest; memories, emotions, experiences, people, pictures, words, songs, everything; beautiful things. Our chest plays a significant role in our body, but is there something greater than these treasures we store up?
Jacob lived an uneventful life in a suburban neighborhood. He was an only child, so he retreated to his room whenever he would come home. He was a kid with a particular fascination with the brain. He spent hours and hours of his time reading books about the human brain, how it worked. Often he would sit in his room and think about how he processes thoughts, ideas, and memories. He would dwell on his memories, questions, and thoughts. He was addicted to them. Closing his eyes and replaying events in his head, they made him happy. “What if I could control my memories”, he asked himself one day. “What if I could only remember what I wanted? Would I be happy all the time, because I could only remember the things I have enjoyed in my life?” Intrigued by this idea he decided that he would write everything down that he wanted to remember. He started with his favorite memories, anything and everything that brought a happy thought to his head. “The first kiss I had with Jennifer, hiking in Colorado with the guys, flying for the first time”, he wrote. For hours he wrote down his favorite memories, and then broke them down into details, into stories. Word filled notebooks would go into a red box that he kept in his closet. Every day he would come home and write down what he enjoyed about the day. He decided to morph events that he didn’t like, into something that he did. “I’m rewriting my life so that it is always enjoyable, so I’m bound to have a happy ending. I’ll look back on my memories, how I wanted them to be. Perpetual happiness” He spent hours reliving, recreating, events in his mind.
“Why don’t you just tell them that you’re frustrated, and you all can understand each other better?” Jennifer asked, as they walked through downtown one overcast evening.
“I just can’t. I don’t feel comfortable sitting down for a simple conversation with them”. They sat down at a bench. “I appreciate what they’ve done for me; I just don’t think there’s anything else I can get from them. I’m leaving for school soon, so I’ll come back and visit every once in a while, and then I think I’ll naturally be able to show them that I don’t completely despise them. I know I’ve needed them in the past, to teach me to walk and talk. I can do everything else on my own.”
With a concerned look, Jennifer said, “Your petty frustrations and nerves that you have against them isn’t necessary. Why do you try and convince yourself that you don’t need them? Your dysfunctional relationship with them seems to be your own fault. What’s so bad about them? Do you understand all their punishments and restrictions are for what they think is your own benefit? It’s not to hurt you. You shouldn’t just write them out of your life.”
A little shocked that she was leaning on their side, he replied, “Maybe. I’d rather make my own choices. I’m a good kid; I’ve stayed out of trouble. You’d think that they would notice that. I’m looking forward to leaving. Maybe it will be easiest to write them out for the most part.” He grabbed her hand, “Besides, you’re the one that makes me happiest, no need to risk having people that don’t make me happy all the time.”
She looked at him, frustrated, and said with a hint of sorrow in her voice, “I hope that you don’t mean that. It sure doesn’t make me happy to see you do that to your parents. You spend hours in your room, by yourself. I’m worried about you, you aren’t the boy I remember when I was younger. We may not work out much longer if you keep trying to get rid of everything you don’t like. Ever think that I may like some of the things you don’t?”
The red box haunted him that night. He wrote down Jennifer and his conversation. He had never wanted to change something she said before. He didn’t like what she said, it made him feel guilty. He tried to change it, but he couldn’t. For days he would reread his forged version of the conversation with her. How he thought it should have gone, trying to make it better. No matter how much tried to believe that was how it went, he knew deep down in his heart that it wasn’t true. He couldn’t control his thoughts, and he didn’t like it. His thoughts didn’t control his life. After spending hours in his room thinking he concluded that the only way he could rewrite their conversation to be how he liked it, would be to prove to Jennifer he was a better guy than she thought. That would make the conversation obsolete. The only way was to change his relationship with his parents.
“Why do I struggle so much with something so simple? It shouldn’t be so hard. I must show them some sort affection and appreciation.” The hours began to turn into days. He wrote and planned what he would have to do. As he did this, there was more and more that he didn’t want to remember involving his parents flashing through his mind. The things he had said to them. The hurt he must have caused them. He faced regret. A battle raged inside him. The pull of the forged memories was strong. He wanted to make it easy. “Why can’t I just tell myself what happened, and what will happen. I should be able to control my life”. Her words would flow right through after those, “Ever think that I may like some of the things you don’t”. Finally, after convincing himself he had control of how the conversation would go; Jacob built up the courage to ask his dad to go out to lunch with him.
“Jacob, I can’t tell you how happy I am that you wanted to go out to lunch with me”, his dad said.
“Yeah…” Jacob mumbled. Bitterness fought against his guilt.
“Is there any reason why? Or did you just want to spend quality time with your old man before you went off to school? It’s not too far away you know.”
“I don’t know, just wanted to talk, I guess.”
“I’m always happy to listen to you, bud, let’s get a table first.”
After they ordered, Jacob mumbled out a few words. Stumbling over them, “Why am I having such a hard time with this?” He thought. “I figured out the logic last week, it’s for the best, just say it”, he told himself.
“Dad…I guess I just wanted to…”
Just as he began that sentence, time slowed to a halt. Jacob’s eyes lifted to directly behind his dad, as he saw a man draw two machine guns out of his coat. The man had a crazed look in his eye. He just fired his gun into the air, laughing, and then began to spray bullets at whoever he saw. Jacob saw the clerk get hit in the chest, and three people that were standing in line were shot from behind as they began to run. In a split second, almost as if it were instinct, everyone in the diner began diving to the ground for cover. Others were falling to the ground because they were shot. Jacob observed all of these in a second, he looked and saw his dad was plunging over the table, and the two of them fell to the ground. They crawled on their hands and knees to get behind the wall next to them. Still firing, the crazed man looked Jacob directly in the eye and swung his guns toward him. His dad then stood up in front of Jacob, and the man fired, and fired.
Jacob lay there for what felt like hours, with his ears ringing. He blinked; with his eyes opening to two men tackling the gunman from behind. Another blink; and they were on top struggling. Saw dust was floating, searching for a place to land. Broken glass and pieces of food were laying everywhere. He was afraid to move, because he knew what he would see when he turned around. He had seen his dad throw himself in front of him. He didn’t want to face what he knew had happened, so he slowly turned around. Women crying and people scurrying through the building seemed to evaporate from the building. Time began to speed, up and he grabbed his dad.
“DAD! Are you okay? Say something!”
Distressed, screaming, unnerved. He put his hands on his dad’s wounds, blood was pouring out, he didn’t have enough hands to cover them all. His dad groaned.
“You’re going to be alright dad, okay?” He assured franticly.
His dad looked him in the eyes. Jacob instantly went silent. He saw something in his dad’s eyes that he couldn’t believe. His dad was calm. Sirens wailing in the background
“I’m proud of you Jacob, make your mother proud” He said with a still voice. He breathed deep, and closed his eyes.
Jacob went home that night without saying a word. He could hear his mother weeping all night. For a week, he heard her crying from his bedroom at night. He couldn’t find words for Jennifer when she tried to talk to him. Complete silence. He thought as he lay in his bed. “I’m proud of you”. “Why is he proud of me? How have I made him proud? All I’ve done is disrespect and ignore him for so long.” He told himself.
With his red box sitting in front of him, he read through his memories, some forged, some real. With a fresh pencil and notebook, a small part of him began to rewrite what happened that day. “I was able to talk to my dad. I was able to tell him that I appreciated him. I love you dad, I said to him.” Then proceeding to crumple up the paper and throw it against the wall. He put his face in his hands and began to weep. Nothing he could do changed what he remembered. Nothing he was ever going to write and tell himself changed what happened. “I’ve tried with simpler things and it didn’t work. There’s no way this is going to work. I can’t rewrite this. I try to replay it in my mind to end differently. But it doesn’t.”
Struggling with this, he kept replaying the scene over and over again. “He saved my life. Why would he do that? He took more than one bullet for me, and I’ve done nothing in return for him.” He remembered the regret he felt before this, and it had now tripled. He paced his room, thinking Remembering what his dad said to him. He explored every detail of the day. Then he remembered the second half of what his dad told him,
“Make your mother proud.”
“Make her proud?”
“Make her proud.”
Jacob then grabbed his red box and a lighter, ran outside. He stood there for several minutes, fighting. Finally he lit the box. He watched everything that he thought made him happy, true and false memories turn to ash. In his heart he knew what was reality, and he couldn’t change reality.
He then said, “Dad, I don’t know how I made you proud. I should have died, not you. I’ve tried for years to make myself happy. Ignore the things that didn’t. Change the things I didn’t like. I tried to control my life. I can’t get the thought of you dying in front of me out of my brain, I can’t recreate the memory. If only I didn’t ask you out for lunch, and had been able to talk to you and mom more easily. My mind is losing a battle with my heart. I thought I could change my own life. I realize now that I can’t do that. I have no control over it. I’m going to keep making you proud. I’m going to make mom proud. I’m not going to live my life so selfishly anymore. I’m not going to live by my mind, but by my heart. I know that you will always be in my heart. So, no matter how difficult things get, there is no need to try and write it out, to change, to forget it. I know I will get through it. I know you love me.”
The fire died. Jacob stood there weeping, yet, as if a burden had been lifted, smiling.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Supporting Old-Earth Creationism
Christians around the world believe in all types of different things. The beliefs I’m arguing in this essay will certainly be radically different than the majority of Christians. Therefore, to introduce myself, I believe that the bible cannot always be interpreted literally. In Matthew, Jesus calls us to gauge out or eyes and to cut off our hand if either were to cause us to sin. Obviously he doesn’t want us to literally do that. Otherwise, if he did, we’re all disobeying him. Thus, we have to dig deeper to find what God is saying, or to find different ways of interpreting what we are reading.
“In the beginning God created the heavens and earth”. Every Christian can quote this biblical fact. I believe this is indeed a fact; how else can you explain the beautiful, intricate, and glorious, wonders of this earth and into outer space? In my believing of this, I can’t help but wonder, what was it like? What is the truth? How old is the earth? How does this work, how does that happen? None of these answers are for sure, and will never be known until God chooses to reveal them to us in this life, or the next. Nonetheless, contemplating the possibilities is an exciting thing to do.
I humbly admit that both sides of “old Earth, young Earth” argument are plausible. I am merely presenting my beliefs, and supporting my side of the argument. The most common belief among Christians is “Young Earth Creationism”. This believes that the earth was created approximately seven thousand years ago, and that everything was created in six day time period. This essay, however, supports the Old-Earth Creationism belief system. This system is more compatible with modern science, and has several different paths of beliefs. I strongly lean towards the interpretation defined as “Day-Age Creationism”. After much reading and study, I have formed and refined my opinions.
Modern science is compelling. Fossils and rocks being discovered that are claimed to be millions of years old. How can we explain them? Rocks and land formations have certainly taken a long time to form what we see today. Genesis 1:2 states: “The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” From this we can conclude that before everything was created something else had already begun to take place. God was at work beforehand.
God cast Satan down from Heaven, “But you are brought down to Sheol to the far reaches of the pit”, as states in Isaiah 14:15. He had fallen from grace “in the beginning”, and since the serpent tempted Adam and eve, this must have occurred before the fall of man. Psalms 104:30 says “When you send forth your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground”. So God was renewing the face of the earth, as he hovered over the waters. As you can see, God was working and shaping the universe before the “Days of creation”. Even more so, we do not know how long Adam and Eve lived in the garden before the fall of man. With this being true, it allows for the theories of rocks and land formations being millions of years old to be legitimate.
How do we explain the fossils of animals and plants that are claimed to be millions of years old? First off, we must note that the sun, moon, and stars were created on the fourth “day”. This means that we cannot assume the days that are mentioned in the first chapter of Genesis are referring to typical twenty-four hour time periods. In fact, In Hebrew the word used is “yom”. Yom can also be referred to as a period of time, with a beginning and an end, with no distinction of how long in between. Thus these six “days” could have been six ages, or eras, with thousands or millions of “years” within each. So when God created the land and vegetation in “age three” there could have been a significant amount of time before he created the sea and air creatures in “age five” and the land creatures in “age six”.
Furthermore, there could have been an extended amount of time between the creation of beasts and man. What could have protected man from the massive dinosaurs? Could man have lived safely while dinosaurs roamed the earth? It is certainly a possibility that beasts lived and died before man even came into being. Sin brought death to humanity. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that beasts could not eat meat, there is no specific prohibition from it. Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden of Eden, which was specifically placed, and called a paradise. It was set apart from the rest of the world. There is no reason for us to assume that death amongst animals is out of question beyond the garden. God’s creation was perfect and good. He designed everything specifically: spiders and snakes with venom to subdue their prey, lions and dinosaurs with massive teeth to eat their prey. Why would the spiders weave webs to capture plants? Why would dinosaurs need carnivorous teeth to devour trees? With this added to the theory of day-age earths, ecosystems could have flourished and developed in a beautiful and natural way before God even placed Man on the earth.
As I’ve said, exploring the possibilities is exciting. Certainly there are many different ways that things can be viewed. God can do anything he wants. God could create another story in a whole other universe that we will never see or know of. There could be a world that’s lives we’ll never imagine or be able to comprehend. God creates life and ends life. He can do anything to bring glory to him. These are my beliefs. It is important to note that in the end none of it really matters. Our views of creation don’t affect our eternities with God, and don’t change the fact that Jesus died on the cross for us. Whether the earth is seven thousand years old, or four billion, God created it, and that is a fact we can rest assured in.
“In the beginning God created the heavens and earth”. Every Christian can quote this biblical fact. I believe this is indeed a fact; how else can you explain the beautiful, intricate, and glorious, wonders of this earth and into outer space? In my believing of this, I can’t help but wonder, what was it like? What is the truth? How old is the earth? How does this work, how does that happen? None of these answers are for sure, and will never be known until God chooses to reveal them to us in this life, or the next. Nonetheless, contemplating the possibilities is an exciting thing to do.
I humbly admit that both sides of “old Earth, young Earth” argument are plausible. I am merely presenting my beliefs, and supporting my side of the argument. The most common belief among Christians is “Young Earth Creationism”. This believes that the earth was created approximately seven thousand years ago, and that everything was created in six day time period. This essay, however, supports the Old-Earth Creationism belief system. This system is more compatible with modern science, and has several different paths of beliefs. I strongly lean towards the interpretation defined as “Day-Age Creationism”. After much reading and study, I have formed and refined my opinions.
Modern science is compelling. Fossils and rocks being discovered that are claimed to be millions of years old. How can we explain them? Rocks and land formations have certainly taken a long time to form what we see today. Genesis 1:2 states: “The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” From this we can conclude that before everything was created something else had already begun to take place. God was at work beforehand.
God cast Satan down from Heaven, “But you are brought down to Sheol to the far reaches of the pit”, as states in Isaiah 14:15. He had fallen from grace “in the beginning”, and since the serpent tempted Adam and eve, this must have occurred before the fall of man. Psalms 104:30 says “When you send forth your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground”. So God was renewing the face of the earth, as he hovered over the waters. As you can see, God was working and shaping the universe before the “Days of creation”. Even more so, we do not know how long Adam and Eve lived in the garden before the fall of man. With this being true, it allows for the theories of rocks and land formations being millions of years old to be legitimate.
How do we explain the fossils of animals and plants that are claimed to be millions of years old? First off, we must note that the sun, moon, and stars were created on the fourth “day”. This means that we cannot assume the days that are mentioned in the first chapter of Genesis are referring to typical twenty-four hour time periods. In fact, In Hebrew the word used is “yom”. Yom can also be referred to as a period of time, with a beginning and an end, with no distinction of how long in between. Thus these six “days” could have been six ages, or eras, with thousands or millions of “years” within each. So when God created the land and vegetation in “age three” there could have been a significant amount of time before he created the sea and air creatures in “age five” and the land creatures in “age six”.
Furthermore, there could have been an extended amount of time between the creation of beasts and man. What could have protected man from the massive dinosaurs? Could man have lived safely while dinosaurs roamed the earth? It is certainly a possibility that beasts lived and died before man even came into being. Sin brought death to humanity. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that beasts could not eat meat, there is no specific prohibition from it. Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden of Eden, which was specifically placed, and called a paradise. It was set apart from the rest of the world. There is no reason for us to assume that death amongst animals is out of question beyond the garden. God’s creation was perfect and good. He designed everything specifically: spiders and snakes with venom to subdue their prey, lions and dinosaurs with massive teeth to eat their prey. Why would the spiders weave webs to capture plants? Why would dinosaurs need carnivorous teeth to devour trees? With this added to the theory of day-age earths, ecosystems could have flourished and developed in a beautiful and natural way before God even placed Man on the earth.
As I’ve said, exploring the possibilities is exciting. Certainly there are many different ways that things can be viewed. God can do anything he wants. God could create another story in a whole other universe that we will never see or know of. There could be a world that’s lives we’ll never imagine or be able to comprehend. God creates life and ends life. He can do anything to bring glory to him. These are my beliefs. It is important to note that in the end none of it really matters. Our views of creation don’t affect our eternities with God, and don’t change the fact that Jesus died on the cross for us. Whether the earth is seven thousand years old, or four billion, God created it, and that is a fact we can rest assured in.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Time Machines
Oh If I had a time machine, I’d try to go and fix everything.
Wouldn’t it be neat if life worked that way?
My sin brings me down, and it keeps on pressing into the ground.
The things I love and the things I do bring me to a halt.
And more than half the time, it’s my entire fault.
I want to warn my past self, the pain sin can bring
I want to see if my future self can continue to sing
Sing, to you:
[Chorus]
God, it’d be crazy to forgive me
Nothing I’ve tried has worked,
It’s all left me with a guilty conscience
It’s so hard when a rock can start an avalanche.
And I can’t do anymore pretending, this is killing me
Can I please go into your presence?
Can you come and satisfy me?
I’ve told myself I get what I deserve
Yet, I still weep at the slightest consequence.
The sin I sweep under the rug has become too much
To what extent is your forgiveness?
From east to west doesn’t seem quite far enough.
My weakness it embarrassing.
How can you be so forgiving?
God, it’d be crazy to forgive me
Nothing I’ve tried has worked,
It’s all left me with a guilty conscience
It’s so hard when a rock can start an avalanche.
And I can’t do anymore pretending, this is killing me
Can I please go into your presence?
Can you come and satisfy me?
"Come now, let us reason together,
Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.
Their sins and lawless acts
I will remember no more."
Wouldn’t it be neat if life worked that way?
My sin brings me down, and it keeps on pressing into the ground.
The things I love and the things I do bring me to a halt.
And more than half the time, it’s my entire fault.
I want to warn my past self, the pain sin can bring
I want to see if my future self can continue to sing
Sing, to you:
[Chorus]
God, it’d be crazy to forgive me
Nothing I’ve tried has worked,
It’s all left me with a guilty conscience
It’s so hard when a rock can start an avalanche.
And I can’t do anymore pretending, this is killing me
Can I please go into your presence?
Can you come and satisfy me?
I’ve told myself I get what I deserve
Yet, I still weep at the slightest consequence.
The sin I sweep under the rug has become too much
To what extent is your forgiveness?
From east to west doesn’t seem quite far enough.
My weakness it embarrassing.
How can you be so forgiving?
God, it’d be crazy to forgive me
Nothing I’ve tried has worked,
It’s all left me with a guilty conscience
It’s so hard when a rock can start an avalanche.
And I can’t do anymore pretending, this is killing me
Can I please go into your presence?
Can you come and satisfy me?
"Come now, let us reason together,
Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.
Their sins and lawless acts
I will remember no more."
Monday, July 12, 2010
You make beautiful things
Well...I'm back! It was an amazing week in Louisville Kentucky at the LIFE conference of 2010. I absolutely loved it, and to write a blog talking about every little thing I loved would...well...take a very long time. So I'll do my best to touch on the subject!
First off, it was a BLAST. The activity hall was filled with dozens and dozens of things to do. I especially loved the soccer cages, the punching and jousting moonwalks, and just about everything in there was awesome...I didn't even get around to doing it all! The pre-sessions were tons of fun. We did a choreographed dance that we did at the baseball game, which was tons of fun. There was tons of good music played while everyone danced, waiting for the session to start.
I also saw some amazing bands. Hawk Nelson was definitely the most fun to watch. I had the privileged of being right up against the stage. Reached up, and Jason (the lead singer) fist bumped with me, he got up right in our faces, and we crowd surfed him. People would throw things on stage, and Jason would wear it...except for the pants someone threw, which was rather humorous. I've never seen someone so engaging with the crowd, it was so much fun!
I also saw Kutless. This was actually the band I was looking most forward to seeing...however it turned out disappointing. We went to a baseball game (we were originally going to six flags...but six flags closed down, sadly) and Kutless played in the OUTFIELD. We weren't even allowed to be on the field with them. So it was hard when we could hardly see them...and it was also 100 degrees outside. Along with all of this, the heat put the instruments out of tune, and was hard to hear the guitar and vocals.
Trace Bundy was amazing, and I got to be super close to him, even had a picture with him. There were other small bands and acts that were cool to see on stage. I got the signatures of all the bands...I think that covers the entertainment aspect!
The main part of LIFE: God! Each morning and night there were sessions. Speakers such as Francis Chan and Derwin Gray spoke. I was moved by their powerful messages that God spoke through them. They were not only inspiring, but hilarious! There were seminars in the afternoons that you could choose to go to. There were several choices, each with different topics for people to meet their spiritual desires. It was very hard to get into seminars because there were 6500 kids trying to get to them.
There were several things that stuck out to me...in a message by Francis Chan, he at one point brought out his daughter, a cute ten year old, and held her. He stood there and looked around, and then asked, "Is this what your prayer life looks like?". Are you clinging on to God? Are you holding around his neck? If you let go, who knows what happens. Never let go of God, is what I got from that. I need to hold on to him, hug him around the neck. He asked us a question in a latter message, "Do you really want to give up everything God offers for FRUIT?" FRUIT! That's all the world is. It rots, and dies. You eat it, and it's gone. We often ridicule Adam and Eve for doing this...but we do it just as easily every day!
Derwin Gray spoke so powerfully in his messages. In one of the seminars he talked about doubt. He said something I didn't expect, and that "doubt" can be our friend. It can make our faith stronger. I struggle with doubt often...but I have to realize, God speaks the loudest when he is silent. Faith in God cannot be based on emotions. It must be based on a choice. Our feelings don't determine the presence of God.
The worship was amazing. While songs often were repeated a lot, which disappointed me, there is nothing like worshiping God amongst 6500 other teenagers. God was truly present, as we all humbly and honestly worshiped God. One of the more powerful songs sang "You make beautiful things, you make beautiful things out of the dust, you make beautiful things, you make beautiful things out of us". That line stuck me so hard, almost as hard as the bass of the drums did standing next to the stage, as I stood there hands held high. God is beautiful, and makes beautiful things. I need to live my life to the fullest extent for his glory. When that many people are earnestly singing to God, there's only one thing that could make it more amazing, and that is with glowsticks.
Another thing that was unforgettable was the "Project Experience". We walked through this "tour" which allowed us to see the darkness of the world. Facts that we don't want to know. 1 child dies of starvation every 5 seconds. In thailand 10-12 year old girls service men 10-30 times a day. Right next to this, 12 billion dollars is spent on pornography in the United States, and 30 billion dollars was spent on ice cream last year...when the cost to cure world hunger is 135 billion dollars. This walk through the sufferings of other people's lives was a wake up call to how lucky I am. Even living in Mongolia when I witness people's hard lives, I hadn't seen everything.
That was such an amazing experience...and was beautiful. The whole week was beautiful. I spent it with awesome friends, awesome youth leaders, and an awesome God. I never want to forget it, and I pray the memories will stay in my head forever.
First off, it was a BLAST. The activity hall was filled with dozens and dozens of things to do. I especially loved the soccer cages, the punching and jousting moonwalks, and just about everything in there was awesome...I didn't even get around to doing it all! The pre-sessions were tons of fun. We did a choreographed dance that we did at the baseball game, which was tons of fun. There was tons of good music played while everyone danced, waiting for the session to start.
I also saw some amazing bands. Hawk Nelson was definitely the most fun to watch. I had the privileged of being right up against the stage. Reached up, and Jason (the lead singer) fist bumped with me, he got up right in our faces, and we crowd surfed him. People would throw things on stage, and Jason would wear it...except for the pants someone threw, which was rather humorous. I've never seen someone so engaging with the crowd, it was so much fun!
I also saw Kutless. This was actually the band I was looking most forward to seeing...however it turned out disappointing. We went to a baseball game (we were originally going to six flags...but six flags closed down, sadly) and Kutless played in the OUTFIELD. We weren't even allowed to be on the field with them. So it was hard when we could hardly see them...and it was also 100 degrees outside. Along with all of this, the heat put the instruments out of tune, and was hard to hear the guitar and vocals.
Trace Bundy was amazing, and I got to be super close to him, even had a picture with him. There were other small bands and acts that were cool to see on stage. I got the signatures of all the bands...I think that covers the entertainment aspect!
The main part of LIFE: God! Each morning and night there were sessions. Speakers such as Francis Chan and Derwin Gray spoke. I was moved by their powerful messages that God spoke through them. They were not only inspiring, but hilarious! There were seminars in the afternoons that you could choose to go to. There were several choices, each with different topics for people to meet their spiritual desires. It was very hard to get into seminars because there were 6500 kids trying to get to them.
There were several things that stuck out to me...in a message by Francis Chan, he at one point brought out his daughter, a cute ten year old, and held her. He stood there and looked around, and then asked, "Is this what your prayer life looks like?". Are you clinging on to God? Are you holding around his neck? If you let go, who knows what happens. Never let go of God, is what I got from that. I need to hold on to him, hug him around the neck. He asked us a question in a latter message, "Do you really want to give up everything God offers for FRUIT?" FRUIT! That's all the world is. It rots, and dies. You eat it, and it's gone. We often ridicule Adam and Eve for doing this...but we do it just as easily every day!
Derwin Gray spoke so powerfully in his messages. In one of the seminars he talked about doubt. He said something I didn't expect, and that "doubt" can be our friend. It can make our faith stronger. I struggle with doubt often...but I have to realize, God speaks the loudest when he is silent. Faith in God cannot be based on emotions. It must be based on a choice. Our feelings don't determine the presence of God.
The worship was amazing. While songs often were repeated a lot, which disappointed me, there is nothing like worshiping God amongst 6500 other teenagers. God was truly present, as we all humbly and honestly worshiped God. One of the more powerful songs sang "You make beautiful things, you make beautiful things out of the dust, you make beautiful things, you make beautiful things out of us". That line stuck me so hard, almost as hard as the bass of the drums did standing next to the stage, as I stood there hands held high. God is beautiful, and makes beautiful things. I need to live my life to the fullest extent for his glory. When that many people are earnestly singing to God, there's only one thing that could make it more amazing, and that is with glowsticks.
Another thing that was unforgettable was the "Project Experience". We walked through this "tour" which allowed us to see the darkness of the world. Facts that we don't want to know. 1 child dies of starvation every 5 seconds. In thailand 10-12 year old girls service men 10-30 times a day. Right next to this, 12 billion dollars is spent on pornography in the United States, and 30 billion dollars was spent on ice cream last year...when the cost to cure world hunger is 135 billion dollars. This walk through the sufferings of other people's lives was a wake up call to how lucky I am. Even living in Mongolia when I witness people's hard lives, I hadn't seen everything.
That was such an amazing experience...and was beautiful. The whole week was beautiful. I spent it with awesome friends, awesome youth leaders, and an awesome God. I never want to forget it, and I pray the memories will stay in my head forever.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Suspended on The Cross
There you hang on your cross, and I on mine.
I looked over to him:
“Can I take those thorns from your head? Can I remove the nails piercing your hand? Can I stop the blood staining the ground below you? No one should die because of me!”
He turned and smiled:
“Can’t you see my son? It’s not long that I will be dead. The scars will remain, the ground will be red, but the sand below will dry. Always remember that It’s all for my glory!”
[Chorus]
There you hang on your cross, and I on mine.
I’m a guilty man and my sentence is justified.
You’re innocent; and you don’t deserve to die.
Foolishly, I spoke again:
“The world does not see that they will receive the same. All that we can do is bow our heads in shame.
How can my final breath not only be in regret?”
Gasping for air he said:
“Someday they will all see that there is hope, and I will lift all blame. Raise your head, and promise me that you will never forget!”
There you hang on your cross, and I on mine.
I’m a guilty man and my sentence is justified.
You’re innocent; and you don’t deserve to die.
Finally I believed:
“Lord if this is true; remember me in your kingdom! Make me clean in your eyes!
And he turned and said:
“Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise”
Then he looked to the heavens and cried, “Eli, Eli, lema sbachthani! My God why have you forsaken me! Father I commit my spirit to you! Forgive them, for they know not what they do”
There you hang on your cross, and I on mine.
I’m a guilty man and my sentence is justified.
You’re innocent; and you don’t deserve to die.
The earth shook and the sky turned dark just as he died
The tears mixed with blood as I cried
The people scattered and the curtain tore
Together at the skull we were suspended on that precious wood
A man gave his life for mine; he did more than I ever could.
He came to heal the blind; he came to comfort the poor.
Turned the water into wine, and calmed the sea from shore to shore.
There you hang on your cross, and I on mine.
I have no words to express
If only sooner I had opened my eyes
And can only pray it’s not too late, and you will remember me
But in my dying moments I will give everything
I looked over to him:
“Can I take those thorns from your head? Can I remove the nails piercing your hand? Can I stop the blood staining the ground below you? No one should die because of me!”
He turned and smiled:
“Can’t you see my son? It’s not long that I will be dead. The scars will remain, the ground will be red, but the sand below will dry. Always remember that It’s all for my glory!”
[Chorus]
There you hang on your cross, and I on mine.
I’m a guilty man and my sentence is justified.
You’re innocent; and you don’t deserve to die.
Foolishly, I spoke again:
“The world does not see that they will receive the same. All that we can do is bow our heads in shame.
How can my final breath not only be in regret?”
Gasping for air he said:
“Someday they will all see that there is hope, and I will lift all blame. Raise your head, and promise me that you will never forget!”
There you hang on your cross, and I on mine.
I’m a guilty man and my sentence is justified.
You’re innocent; and you don’t deserve to die.
Finally I believed:
“Lord if this is true; remember me in your kingdom! Make me clean in your eyes!
And he turned and said:
“Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise”
Then he looked to the heavens and cried, “Eli, Eli, lema sbachthani! My God why have you forsaken me! Father I commit my spirit to you! Forgive them, for they know not what they do”
There you hang on your cross, and I on mine.
I’m a guilty man and my sentence is justified.
You’re innocent; and you don’t deserve to die.
The earth shook and the sky turned dark just as he died
The tears mixed with blood as I cried
The people scattered and the curtain tore
Together at the skull we were suspended on that precious wood
A man gave his life for mine; he did more than I ever could.
He came to heal the blind; he came to comfort the poor.
Turned the water into wine, and calmed the sea from shore to shore.
There you hang on your cross, and I on mine.
I have no words to express
If only sooner I had opened my eyes
And can only pray it’s not too late, and you will remember me
But in my dying moments I will give everything
Monday, March 8, 2010
Music
You know what’s awesome? Music. Music is just awesome. All types of music. We all have our preferences…I have a really wide range of music taste…I like Metal and Rock (and all the subgenres of the two), Rap, Hip Hop, Folk, Classical, etc…and I don’t like country.
Now that I’ve established that…I know there are people you probably don’t like at least one of those, and does like country. See, it’s all preference. I think that people should respect other peoples preference in music. There is no “bad” music. There is music that lacks in originality, skill, and being listenable, but that doesn’t make it BAD just because you say it does. Someone out there likes it.
Metal, for example, is disliked by many people. I understand why, they don’t like the screaming. They don’t like how “loud” it is. Seriously, I don’t mind people not liking it…just don’t say it’s BAD; because it’s not. Metal, to be honest, has a LOT of skill, and technicality in it (depending on who you listen to…).
What I look for in music is originality, technicality, and listenability. Sometimes one outweighs the others…so yes, I do listen to music just because it’s fun to listen to, or “catchy”.
Anyway, back to what I was saying a the start, Music is awesome. Lyrics are awesome. Music has endless reaches, and can be changed or altered into anything. Lyrics can be about anything. You can take your life now, and apply it to SOME song written out there. Lyrics can apply to anyone. I love when you listen to a song and it applies exactly to how my life is. Don’t you?
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Overcast Days
I figured this would be a good place to start publicly posting my “songs”. I enjoy writing lyrics, which I intend to put to music someday. I don’t put up many due to them being personal…but some of them I wouldn’t mind getting feedback on. =]
This is my most recent,
Today it’s a sunny day for me, and cloudy for you
It’s hard I know, but we all have those days, overcast days
So I need you to remember: the sun is always shining above the overcast sky
And even though I can see the sun, and you see the gray
I know that it won’t always be that way
[Chorus]
Yes, the sun is always shining, even when you can’t see it
Like the Lion, it comes and it goes, but it’s always there.
So just keep believing, believing
When we take flight, we always come down
And when we are down on the ground
It’s not always sunny, but the clouds are only temporary
There are days when we fly, and we soar in the sky,
We are near, and see it shine.
Someday, someday we will always fly
For all of eternity
And be surrounded in the light
Of the Son.
Past, Present, and Future
Well. It’s been a year since I posted my “New Blog” blog. I failed. Lets see where this one goes, I have been inspired to start blogging…who knows, maybe I’ll find something to it. I don’t even know what this is about yet.
My life in the last year, my life now, and my life soon to come, how about that?
Since I last posted my “first blog” (if you can even call it that) I am a completely different person. I’ve experienced loss and gain. I’ve had bad times and good times. I had friends come and go, and come and go again. I’ve learned to say goodbye and embrace change. At times I’ve felt alone, and other times I’ve felt God’s presence filling me. I experienced deep hurt, and out of it came great joy.
All that was the past. I don’t really feel the need to, and it may not be appropriate to go into the details of all that has happened. So lets just move on to the present…
Right now, life is good. Life is good. That is such a true statement. I am, for the most part, very happy with my current condition in life right now. I struggle constantly with keeping my relationship with Jesus consistent, yet I know truly that he is there. I do doubt, and I do worry, yet I am constantly asking and pleading to him to reveal himself to me, and I have faith that he will. Aside from constant spiritual battle, I do struggle with school. I am working to catch up, and I am very behind. For this though, I can’t just ask God to help me catch up, I have to also put my own initiative into that request. So while I struggle, I am thankful for them, because they keep my head straight. Being completely and utterly comfortable is a dangerous and vulnerable state, and I don’t want that. I learn from my struggles, and I thank God for them.
That’s the now. Sadly, my now is also involving a lot of thoughts of the future, and the future is coming fast, very fast.
I worry about the future all to often. I know God is in control, yet I want to take control and insert my own plans and ideas. I struggle with giving everything up to God sometimes, and just letting him work. I have prayed and chosen a Bible School, the Evangelical Institute of Greenville South Carolina. I believe this decision that I have made is what God has for me, and I am very excited to go. There I will be able to grow and learn more in depth about God and how to truly worship him in everything I do. Beyond that…I really have no idea, and personally it’s hard not having idea, having a plan. I just need to learn trust.
I guess those are my thoughts right now…at least the ones I can post publicly. This was actually rather fun to do, maybe I’ll start doing this more often.
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