Friday, March 21, 2008
Torn
I'm torn. If I indeed get this house (more good news this week), I'm torn between remaining a minimalist (i.e. zero furniture all rooms except the bedroom) or getting furnishings. Specifically, I'm thinking about getting a big overstuffed couch with an extra long seat so even my feet won't be able to touch the floor. I have this dream of curling up with a big blanket with my feet folded under me, sipping decaf, fire in the fireplace, petting the puppies, reading my Bible with something playing softly in the background.
WOW! Where did that come from? Whoever said that people don't change was a big fat liar. Oh yeah, that was me.
But now I have the same problem I have with buying more shirts & ties. I simply don't know what I want. That was the easiest part about being a minimalist. No furniture means no decisions on what kind of furniture to get. JM just got a whole bunch of new things for his apartment, and they look very nice. A bit 'manly', but very nice. Thankfully, I don't have to think about furnishings in the near future. It's not a bad problem to have though.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Welcome Home (beware the Devil's string)
I had an interesting lunch conversation with E today. It dovetails somewhat with my current study of salvation, knowing that you know that you know, carnal Christianity and false Christianity. I'm reasonably certain that I'll have to shorten the title though. I might use this word picture in my "What I believe" entry about salvation.
Suppose I found a house that I liked - really liked. I won't go into the details of the house, but it should be sufficient to say that it was a mansion in a neighborhood where the streets are paved with gold. A nice house. I could do one of many things. I could jump the wall, move all my stuff into the house and avoid all the red tape of actually signing any legal documents. That's called trespassing, and upon the owner's return, I would be ejected. That's false Christianity. There are people - even among us - that suppose themselves to be citizens of the House of God, but aren't. That's not judging - that's Bible. They enjoy the feeling they get when they hear a good sermon, but are otherwise unaffected to give up their lives to Him.
It's probably a good time to mention that I still have a lot of thinking to do here to clarify my thoughts. This entry is a work in progress.
There's another kind of Christianity. Suppose I found the same house, fell in love with it and signed the documents. The house is mine! When I get to the house however, I realize that many of my possessions, things I think I can't do without, don't have a place in this beautiful house. Rather than leave my stuff behind and enjoy the new home, I resign myself to living just outside the city walls with my stuff. The house is mine, but I haven't claimed it. This might be a description of carnal Christianity. It's still jelling in my head as I type this.
Lastly, I see the house lined in finest detail, paved in gold, and ready for me to move in. My old possessions seem at first like things I could not do without, but when I witness the fine furnishings of my new house, I forget all about those moth eaten, filthy rags I'm leaving behind.
In this house, temptation is the devil peeking in through the window (or through the tv, or through the Internet) and showing you things. It could be new temptations or just the old rusty junk that you left behind. Sin occurs when you leave your house and stray outside the city walls, lured by the temptation that the devil is dangling on a string in front of you.
This thought is extra-Biblical, so you can forget it as soon as you read it, but do you loose your house when you leave it and have to reclaim it each time you return? Well, it may be extra-Biblical, but I'm confident that I can find the verses to back this up. Welcome home.
Suppose I found a house that I liked - really liked. I won't go into the details of the house, but it should be sufficient to say that it was a mansion in a neighborhood where the streets are paved with gold. A nice house. I could do one of many things. I could jump the wall, move all my stuff into the house and avoid all the red tape of actually signing any legal documents. That's called trespassing, and upon the owner's return, I would be ejected. That's false Christianity. There are people - even among us - that suppose themselves to be citizens of the House of God, but aren't. That's not judging - that's Bible. They enjoy the feeling they get when they hear a good sermon, but are otherwise unaffected to give up their lives to Him.
It's probably a good time to mention that I still have a lot of thinking to do here to clarify my thoughts. This entry is a work in progress.
There's another kind of Christianity. Suppose I found the same house, fell in love with it and signed the documents. The house is mine! When I get to the house however, I realize that many of my possessions, things I think I can't do without, don't have a place in this beautiful house. Rather than leave my stuff behind and enjoy the new home, I resign myself to living just outside the city walls with my stuff. The house is mine, but I haven't claimed it. This might be a description of carnal Christianity. It's still jelling in my head as I type this.
Lastly, I see the house lined in finest detail, paved in gold, and ready for me to move in. My old possessions seem at first like things I could not do without, but when I witness the fine furnishings of my new house, I forget all about those moth eaten, filthy rags I'm leaving behind.
In this house, temptation is the devil peeking in through the window (or through the tv, or through the Internet) and showing you things. It could be new temptations or just the old rusty junk that you left behind. Sin occurs when you leave your house and stray outside the city walls, lured by the temptation that the devil is dangling on a string in front of you.
This thought is extra-Biblical, so you can forget it as soon as you read it, but do you loose your house when you leave it and have to reclaim it each time you return? Well, it may be extra-Biblical, but I'm confident that I can find the verses to back this up. Welcome home.
Monday, March 17, 2008
The Unexpected Rock
We went to Alcatraz this weekend. Despite its gruesome past and existing shadows of crime and punishment, Alcatraz has become overgrown with a beautiful patina of flora. I was unexpectedly impressed with the beauty of the island.
Considering the close proximity and despite the relative youthfulness of the site to other ruins I've seen recently, Alcatraz ranks right up there with the Acropolis in terms of photogenic character.
Things I'm thinking about now:
1. I started studying the subject of loosing your salvation (can you or can't you?), which rabbit trailed into carnal Christianity, which rabbit trailed into false Christianity, which lead me to currently be in Phil 3:17-19 and Luke 6:46. Obviously, a lot of study must go into this subject before I'm allowed to post a "What I believe" entry. This is one of those subjects that splits churches, so I must be careful.
2. "50 years is enough time to turn a practice into an offense". Sub-caption: "When did women start wearing pants?" Not to seem sexist in this thought, but whereas women would have thought it odd 50 years ago to wear pants exclusively, it now seems odd to wear dresses at all. This is sort of rabbit trailing into co-ed swimming and bathing suits and bikinis. This will not likely turn into anything though.
3. When all my works are burned away, what remains will be my motives. When I do good, is it because He commands me to or in a selfish endeavor to get a blessing out of it? Or, do I do good because I love Him and want to do His will? Without the right motives, nothing else matters according to my Bible. I've been prayerfully trying to differentiate God's will from mine. More accurately though, I've been praying for [validation|assurance|proof|other poor word choices] that His will and mine are one in the same on a particular subject. I need to be confident that my will is His will and that my timing is His timing. I do not as yet have that confidence, so I will continue to wait on Him and evaluate me.
Considering the close proximity and despite the relative youthfulness of the site to other ruins I've seen recently, Alcatraz ranks right up there with the Acropolis in terms of photogenic character.
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Things I'm thinking about now:
1. I started studying the subject of loosing your salvation (can you or can't you?), which rabbit trailed into carnal Christianity, which rabbit trailed into false Christianity, which lead me to currently be in Phil 3:17-19 and Luke 6:46. Obviously, a lot of study must go into this subject before I'm allowed to post a "What I believe" entry. This is one of those subjects that splits churches, so I must be careful.
2. "50 years is enough time to turn a practice into an offense". Sub-caption: "When did women start wearing pants?" Not to seem sexist in this thought, but whereas women would have thought it odd 50 years ago to wear pants exclusively, it now seems odd to wear dresses at all. This is sort of rabbit trailing into co-ed swimming and bathing suits and bikinis. This will not likely turn into anything though.
3. When all my works are burned away, what remains will be my motives. When I do good, is it because He commands me to or in a selfish endeavor to get a blessing out of it? Or, do I do good because I love Him and want to do His will? Without the right motives, nothing else matters according to my Bible. I've been prayerfully trying to differentiate God's will from mine. More accurately though, I've been praying for [validation|assurance|proof|other poor word choices] that His will and mine are one in the same on a particular subject. I need to be confident that my will is His will and that my timing is His timing. I do not as yet have that confidence, so I will continue to wait on Him and evaluate me.
Labels: travel
Friday, March 14, 2008
Put It In A "Happy Cup"!
Next time you go to Starbucks or Peets or whatever your favorite coffee vendor is, order your triple shot caramel mocha "with a smiley". In the beginning, you're probably going to get some puzzled looks, but just explain to the baristra that you're asking that they put a smiley on the bottom outside of the cup. When you're done drinking your beverage, everyone around will be able to see your mood with this new "mood drink".
O.K. stupid? Corny? Big waste of time? You bet! Today is March 14th, 2008. Let's see how long it takes before this adopted by the entire coffee drinking world!
O.K. stupid? Corny? Big waste of time? You bet! Today is March 14th, 2008. Let's see how long it takes before this adopted by the entire coffee drinking world!
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Garanimal Advise wanted
So, it's time for Johnny to get some new clothes. One thing I've always wanted is adult Garanimals. This would not only help those who are color blind, but also people like me who have little or no personal taste when it comes to clothing.
As I've attempted to get out of the white shirt/black suit/black tie genre of mortuary-wear, I've discovered that I have a very narrow idea of what looks good. I've been sticking with very safe suit colors and even those have been paired with matching shirts and ties. What I really don't want is to buy a suit that will show the month and year of its purchase, but I also want to expand my horizons a bit.
So, I'll throw out the invitation. Does anyone want to go shopping with me? I can't guarantee that I'll buy anything that you think looks good, and I'm definitely not going to be "adventurous" (i.e. orange suit with purple shirt).
As I've attempted to get out of the white shirt/black suit/black tie genre of mortuary-wear, I've discovered that I have a very narrow idea of what looks good. I've been sticking with very safe suit colors and even those have been paired with matching shirts and ties. What I really don't want is to buy a suit that will show the month and year of its purchase, but I also want to expand my horizons a bit.
So, I'll throw out the invitation. Does anyone want to go shopping with me? I can't guarantee that I'll buy anything that you think looks good, and I'm definitely not going to be "adventurous" (i.e. orange suit with purple shirt).
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Next - Chocolate Town
Monday, March 03, 2008
You'd Better Belize It!
Highlights from last week:
The Moray Eel
The Stingrays
The Barracuda
The Fan Coral
The Brain Coral
The distinct lack of jellyfish
The Moray Eel
The Stingrays
The Barracuda
The Fan Coral
The Brain Coral
The distinct lack of jellyfish
Labels: belize, caribbean, cruise, feet, vacation
