I've been reading...and I've been reading...and reading...and reading...!
My G'mother wants me to read a bunch of missionary books (usually books on the Congo). This one is interesting: Doctor Not Afraid, a bio of ER Kellersberger, MD by Winifred K Vass. OK the way Congo is described here actually made me miss it (and I thought I didn't wanna go back and wanted to move to some place called California?! jk) :
"The tropical forests were a surprise and delight to Eugene. He had expected impenetrable undergrowth in the understory but found instead, beneath the leafy ceiling high above, a windless, vaulted spaciousness filled with a dim, cathedral-like glow. Sunlight shining upon the spreading crowns of the emergent giants filtered down through the tangled mass of interwoven vines and branches that formed the main canopy. It finally flickered to the forest floor as tiny, elusive glints of light made momnentarily visible by the wind, sitrring the distant overhead foliage. Here and there miniature trees with large leaves and brilliant purple or scarlet flowers, graceful, rope-like stems of lianas and exotic epiphytes clinging to gray bark, added decorative touches to the starkness of soaring bole, flaring buttress and massive trunk. Five-hundred-foot-long stems of rattan vines hung in loops, suspended from the crowns of the towering trees to which they were attached by sharp, hooked tendrils. On the forest floor a moist, spongy carpet of fung-impregnated rotting vegetation silenced every footfall and gave off that deleicately pungent, woodsy fragrance peculiar to the jungle." Here is an excerpt from Eugene's diary:
"On the fourth day we passed through a magnificent belt of forest that takes six hours to traverse. In one place the trail went down into a deep ravine, following the bed of a clear stream for a long, long way. Here, truly, there were no footprints left behind to tell of your passing! here the sun is a forbidden guest. On all sides rise the giants of the rforest, reachin up to the life-giving sun. One feels totally dwarfed by their grandeur and the thought of how much longer they last than our poor human bodies. But, praise our great God and Savior! Even as all these great trees have come about by the death of one tiny seed, even so through the death of our bodies, we will enter into a life of glory!" He goes on to describe more of the beautiful parts of Congo (the ones I haven't really gotten to see), the mountains, ravines, rivers, etc.
---
I hope you, dear Reader, realize that not all us Presbyterians are alike... In fact, if you've met one Presbyterian, you most certainly have NOT known them all:) When I went to my Trevecca Nazarene university, I was one of the very few Presbyterians on campus and often felt accused or attacked or asked Why in the world I was proud to call myself a calvinist. Then there were a few other nice friends who didn't blame me at all for this (my one fault..;-)) and said they wanted me to keep my faith and STAY Presbyterian, not to change for everyone around me. It's not just because "whatever dear Daddy (a Presbyterian minister/missionary) says" but I've made my beliefs more my own as I gradually came to know God and His grace. So out of sheer curiosity I picked up a book from my aunt (raised in a Presbyterian missionary family, she attends a Congregational church. I have one aunt who's a Presbyterian elder, one aunt and one uncle who attend more "non" or "inter" -denominational, even charismatic type churches)'s shelf: "The Pleasures of God: Meditations on God's Delight in Being God" by John Piper. I know & love this Reformed Baptist guy, but knew I needed to read more by him, so I am intrigued by his take on William Carey, who's "known as the father of modern missions...40 years..in India...without a furlough..." sounds pretty impressive eh?! "The vision of God that inflamed his heart for the nations was the free and sovereign God of warmhearted, evangelical Calvinism= the God of George Whitefield the evangelist...the God of Augustus Toplady [who wrote one of my fave hymns "Rock of Ages"] and the God of John Newton, author of "Amazing Grace." [go rent the movie please] Carey is often remembered for his strong opposition to the hyper-Calvinists of his day who were reputed to have told him to cool down in his enthusiasm for world missions because if God wanted to reach the heathen he would do it without Carey's help."[ridiculous if I ever heard!]...Piper inserts a good quote by Carey, but this would be even longer!..."Carey did not believe that God could be frustrated in His designs for the world, but that 'all the Lord pleases He does.'..Carey tells us of being confronted by a Brahman. Carey said that God formerly allowed all men everywhere to go their own way, but now he commands all men everywhere to repent. The Brahman responded, 'Indeed I think God ought to repent for not sending the gospel sooner to us.' Carey's answer is awesome, like the God he loved and served: 'To this I added, suppose a kingdom had been long overrun by the enemies of its true king, and he though possessed of sufficient power to conquer them, should yet suffer them to prevail, and establish themselves as much as they could desire, would not the valor and wisdom of tha tking be far more conspicuous in exterminating them, that it would have been if he had opposed them at first, and prevented their entering the country? Thus by the diffusion of gospel light, the wisdom, power, and grace of God will be more conspicuous in overcoming such deep-rooted idolatries, and in destroying all that darkness and vice which have so universally prevailed in this country, than they would have been if all had not been suffered to walk in their own ways for so many ages past.'"
I know it's long but it made me think...!
"Be ashamed to die until you have scored a victory for mankind." Dr. TP Kalogris
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Sappy Note of Appreciation
"Be ashamed to die until you have scored a victory for mankind." Dr. TP Kalogris
Dear "Special Friends & Family,"
I'm in a mushy mood of thanksgiving. God is good, so I want you to know that I care about you. I miss each one of you since I am with my Grandmother & 2 aunts & cousins before I take off thousands of miles away across the ocean, around the globe.
I like you just the way you are. I appreciate each little quirk and curious question and I treasure each random moment!
I am not here to fix you. I love the way God created each one of us unique (yes, remember that we're all unique- just like the rest of us! ha!)
and He is faithful to finish what He started. I don't want to criticize, I want to just sit and be with you and relish in the glory of relationships, basking in His love together. I cannot change anyone but myself, and God & I are working on that...! Let's be patient with each other and be thankful that He made us the way we are but He's not going to give up on us either!
Love,
Christiana
Dear "Special Friends & Family,"
I'm in a mushy mood of thanksgiving. God is good, so I want you to know that I care about you. I miss each one of you since I am with my Grandmother & 2 aunts & cousins before I take off thousands of miles away across the ocean, around the globe.
I like you just the way you are. I appreciate each little quirk and curious question and I treasure each random moment!
I am not here to fix you. I love the way God created each one of us unique (yes, remember that we're all unique- just like the rest of us! ha!)
and He is faithful to finish what He started. I don't want to criticize, I want to just sit and be with you and relish in the glory of relationships, basking in His love together. I cannot change anyone but myself, and God & I are working on that...! Let's be patient with each other and be thankful that He made us the way we are but He's not going to give up on us either!
Love,
Christiana
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Updating blog...
I don't know if anyone reads this blog, but I'm updating finally:
Notes on Bro.Lawrence
Today at 3:55pm |
So my sister's friend talked & prayed (over me) with me and recommended I slowly read "The Practice of the Presence of God" by Brother Lawrence. I started it last night, re-reading and reading over it this morning too, here are a few things that stand out:
First of all, I didn't know his-story (his history!) about how he came to be Brother Lawrence. He was raised a Christian by his parents, then joined the armed forces. "...He was taken prisoner by a small body of German troops and treated as a spy...They even threatened to hang him..." Later, he was wounded so he retired from the service & came home. Over time he vowed himself, his whole life to God, and confined to solitary life in a Carmelite monastery. Here's some inspiring quotes:
"You know, the difficulties of life do not have to be unbearable. It is the way that we look at them-through faith or unbelief. We must be convinced that our Father is full of love for us and that He only permits trials to come our way for our own good.
"Spending time in God's presence doesn't weaken the body. Leaving the seemingly innocent and permissible pleasures of the world for a time will, on the contrary, give us comfort. In fact, God won't allow a soul that is searching for Him to be comforted anywhere other than with Him. So it makes sense to sacfrifice ourselves for some time in His presence. This does nto mean that you have to suffer in this endeavor. No, God must be served with holy freedom...The only requirement is that we place our confidence entirely in God.
"...our faith is too weak. Instead of letting faith rule our lives, we are guided by our petty, everyday, mechanical prayers, which are always changing...Our only happiness should come from doing God's will, whether it brings us some pain or great pleasure. After all, if we're truly devoted to doing God's will, pain and pleasure won't make any difference to us.
We also need to be faithful, even in dry periods. It is during those dry spells that God tests our love for Him. We should take advantage of those times to practice our determination and our surrender to Him. This will often bring us to a maturity futher on in our walk with God.
[BL] wasn't surprised by the amount of sin and unhappiness in the world. Rather, he wondered why there wasn't MORE, considering the extremes to which the enemy is capable of going. He [BL] said he prayed about it, but because he knew God could rectify the situation in a moment if He willed it, he didn't allow himself to become greatly concerned. To succeed in giving ourselves to God as much as He desires, we must constantly guard our souls..."
I'm really impressed & enlightened by this book so far, but I feel like I should carry it around with me and always learn from it, like a Bible but not...! Gives me a lot to think about.
Notes on Lauren Winner
Friday, June 27, 2008 at 9:30pm |
I'm lovin new authors such as Rob Bell, Donald Miller, Anne Lamott...They're new to me anyway...and this Lauren Winter. What do you think of this?
Jane Hamilton is a 20th Century Ruth, she says. Notes from the chapter on Prayer:
Jennifer Egan writing about the Roman Catholic seminarians: "Talk about their prayer lives the way most people talk about their love lives." Wow. I want that to be said of me! I can only wish.
"Soon will you lead the shoots of the stock that you have planted, redeemed, to Zion, in joy."-After Passover Seder.
"Blessed are you Oh Lord our God King of the Universe...Who does Something:
Who brings forth bread from the earth,
Who made the great sea,
who creates the fruit of the ground,
Who sanctifies us with His commandments." (I want to start adding these to my prayers...)
Transformed, a complete turning around in English=teshuvah in Hebrew=Metanoia in Greek
"My life is like a disciple's nap in Gethsemane: I have promised, over&over, to be vigilant for the things of God, to be awake to Him, but I seem to spend much of my life sleeping."
"Jesus is the needle who sews the children of God who are not direct descendants of Abraham into that nighttime sky."
Believe comes from be love in Olde English.
I love this girl's metaphors and such...!
Notes from Film Lecture by Jack Hafer
Friday, June 20, 2008 at 5:03pm |
We create culture out of the raw materials of life-Annie Crouch
Gen.1-3: Order, beauty, goodness, truth til chap. 3 the LIE...
It's very difficult for Hollywood to make goodness attractive but it's easy to make evil& temptation look enticing.
We are Cultural Mandators.
What makes you cringe?
Seabiscuit
We are to bring HOPE
1.Watching for Discernment (Not just to protect)
Study culture to know what's happening Rom.12:2
Rob.McKee, Jon Truby
Become discerning Heb.5:14
Existentialist-? Finding Meaning
Is freedom always good or can it be bad?
2.Watching for enrichment
Enjoyment & Personal growth
Music disarms the people in "The Mission;" it's all about LOVE.
Let God speak to you through secular films
Self-revelation
Howard Hughes was once asked what makes film great? His answer: "Moments. Great moments."
Gire (the heart)
& Godawa (the mind)
Submit to the Art. Let it have its way with us.
Johnston "Reel Spirituality"
3.Watching for Conversation Talking about things that matter.
Soul Awakening Opportunity
It's not Christian or godly it's LIFE.
Adrian Lynn: Fatal Attraction
Indecent Proposal
Unfaithful
Sophie's Choice
Bambi. What made you cry? What was it that touched you?
This guy is pure genius. He's like my dad's best friend, he produced "To End All Wars," (an incredible film about forgiveness, WWII, etc.)... Anyway, he makes you think. He doesn't try to make you think like him. He wants you thinking about stuff that matters. Brilliant.
Life...
Thursday, June 19, 2008 at 9:04pm | "Life is good mate" - Australian principal/former boss/friend G.H. :)
Coming back home to California was emotional for me. It will be next week when I leave. It's all happy tears because I want to move back here and live nearer my bestest (I don't care if that's not a word;)) friends and closer to my pacific. God knows the desires of my heart, He gave 'em to me... I just want to be where He wants me, but I want that to be in California. LOL! ha! I told Him I don't like humidity & bugs (both in the southeastern states where I've lived recently) then He took me to fun Congo. LOL. Wow. He knows how to hit me on the head with a 2x4 but also gently, lovingly bring me (sometimes kicking & screaming) back to Himself.
I don't blog to feel sorry for myself. I journal/blog to update my peeps on my life (if you care to read). If you don't wanna read just comment on it or ignore it. Anyway, so I've been reading (on the train, on the plane, but not in Spain & not too many plains)... Smith's "No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency"...Lamott...Miller...Hunt...anything...
I'm not here to complain. I just want to say how badly I've missed these old friends & places. I kept thinking of Daughtry's "Home" song. I enjoyed 3 weddings in 3 weeks traveling from Congo to LA to CA. Pretty cool how God can bring two totally opposite people together in love huh? I totally cried through the last two - my cousin & my old friend I used to babysit. God knows what He's doing. I have my whole life ahead of me, so yeah I wanna teach first then get married & be a mommy. Someday. I have plenty of ideas... Massage therapy? Event Planning? Int'l Teaching? What, when, where, how, who, God? I think I know the whys. He knows - Jer.29:11. It's all good. I'm really not worried. I just am in love with this place. The ocean. The mountains in the distance. I know you're rollin your eyes thinking, "She's just starry eyed & wearin rose colored glasses" but really. Just thinking about next year and what God's gonna do! Who knows?!
Had some fun times with cousins & friends... lookin fwd to more of that in July (enjoy Independence Day in my own country!:)) before I head back to Congo, Africa. :) Miss my friends there too. I will have the heck of a time trying to pack up & leave in Dec. but I will get to spend Christmas with my family.
My Motivation
Friday, May 30, 2008 at 2:06am | It's the end of the school year. People are tense, tired, stressed, sick, ready for a break. We're packing up and going to the states. My dad read my blog and warned me that I share too much on here (My friends & students even tell me 'TMI' just in conversation LOL). But I wanna hear from my friends and I only share stuff with friends. "What's my motivation?!" us actors cry out from our anguished souls...:-)
My King of Freedom is. He's why I dance, sing, laugh, cry, scream&shout. I'm gonna sing a FrontLine song in church on our last Sun. that talks about it. Then I read this quote about this:
"People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well,
neither does bathing, that's why we recommend it daily."
Zig Ziglar(the Motivator King)
I LOVE that:) I'd like to be able to bathe twice a day. I love motivating people and we all need a little motivation in our lives. Gotta keep on movin'!!!
k just wanted to shout that.
Peculiar People
Wednesday, May 28, 2008 at 5:20am |
05/27/08
A Peculiar People
Margaret Manning
There are as many different ideas about what makes someone or something peculiar as there are peculiarities. Depending on one's point of view, generation, and locality, piercings and dreadlocks might make for peculiar ornamentation; or else, blue blazers, starched collars, and striped ties could make for a declaration of oddity. If you visited China, for example, height and hair color might make for peculiarity, or the food of a particular region might be peculiarly striking.
Peculiarities are distinctive. They are those qualities or characteristics that make someone or something unique. If I were to ask for a list of the qualities that make the Amish peculiar, one might list their dress, their simple way of life, and their unique eschewing of modernity in all its forms. They are a peculiar people, set apart, different and distinctive in ways that make us pay attention and notice.
Yet, as often happens with language development, somehow we have come to associate the strange with the peculiar, as if peculiarity merely indicated some level of bizarre behavior, dress, attitude, or lifestyle. In fact, the word derives from a Latin root that identified private property from what was commonly owned. To be peculiar then is to possess as a characteristic something uniquely special or particular.(1) In other words, when we call something or someone peculiar, we are identifying the special, the unique, or the particular about that individual.
This more positive definition is often replaced by a more negative and defensive connotation. To be peculiar is to be strange, different, or set-apart in a way that keeps others out, or to distinguish oneself in a way that is defensive in posture or stance. It is certainly easy to understand how defensiveness might arise when peculiar values, attitudes, or lifestyles once deemed inviolate come under attack. But if peculiarity is reduced merely to defensiveness or exclusion, it certainly loses its more winsome character.
For many, the Amish community has long served as a model of the more winsome features of peculiarity. Who hasn't at times wished for a more simple life? Who hasn't wondered at times what it might be like to share in that kind of close-knit community? And who, after hearing in the news about the horrific violence leveled against the smallest and the weakest among them, didn't wonder at the peculiarly poignant response of forgiveness and grace extended to the family of the perpetrator?(2) If this had happened in our communities, most of us would have demanded better security. Or we would find any way possible to press for the most punitive punishment against the perpetrator's family. Instead, forgiveness, mercy, and grace characterized this peculiar people. Peculiar as it may seem to us, through the extension of forgiveness, the Amish sought to reconcile what had been torn asunder and restore what had been devastated.
In light of such peculiarities, one cannot help but ask, "What makes me a peculiar person?" Indeed, as followers of Jesus, what makes us his peculiar people? Jesus had just as many options as we do today for demonstrating his peculiarity. He could have gathered just a few individuals around him and run away to the desert to form a peculiar society for a select few. He could have been a revolutionary against the Roman government rallying the troops around him to overthrow his oppressors. He could have aligned himself with the religious authorities of his day laying down with rigid enforcement peculiar laws for a peculiar people. But he did none of these things. Instead, Jesus forgave those who sinned against him, welcomed outsiders, dined with sinners, healed those whose diseases made them peculiarly unwelcome in worship spaces, and challenged the religious authorities on their understanding of the Torah--often directly contradicting them. Moreover, in the horror and torture of his own crucifixion, he prayed, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34). The Amish community of Quarryville certainly picked up on this peculiarity.
As a result of Jesus's peculiar life, death, and resurrection we are now "a chosen race, a royal priesthood a holy nation, God's own people." We are now those "who declare the wonderful deeds of God who called us out of darkness into the marvelous light." We who were once no people are now God's people; we who once "had not received mercy, now have received mercy."(3) We are now the people of God and we bear the name of the one we follow.
Indeed, the title "Christian" means "little Christ." It marks us as his peculiar people. As such, we should often evaluate the ways in which we pick up on--or fail to pick up on--Jesus's peculiarities. Do our own peculiarities match his? Do they uniquely set us apart as his followers? Are our lives bearing the fruit that marks us uniquely as God's possession? While we might view the Amish community as peculiar because of all the external markers that set them apart, it is in fact their commitment to follow Jesus to forgiveness, even in the face of horror and violence, that reflects the unique calling to be God's possession, God's peculiar people set apart and marked as his.
Margaret Manning is associate writer at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.
(1) Etymology and definition from Merriam-Webster's On-Line Dictionary, www.merriam-webster.com.
(2) Armed gunman Charles Carl Roberts murdered five young children in an Amish schoolhouse October 2, 2006 before committing suicide. CBS news archives, http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/10/04/national/main2059816.shtml
(3) Adapted from 1 Peter 2:9-10.
"Be ashamed to die until you have scored a victory for mankind." Dr. TP Kalogris
Notes on Bro.Lawrence
Today at 3:55pm |
So my sister's friend talked & prayed (over me) with me and recommended I slowly read "The Practice of the Presence of God" by Brother Lawrence. I started it last night, re-reading and reading over it this morning too, here are a few things that stand out:
First of all, I didn't know his-story (his history!) about how he came to be Brother Lawrence. He was raised a Christian by his parents, then joined the armed forces. "...He was taken prisoner by a small body of German troops and treated as a spy...They even threatened to hang him..." Later, he was wounded so he retired from the service & came home. Over time he vowed himself, his whole life to God, and confined to solitary life in a Carmelite monastery. Here's some inspiring quotes:
"You know, the difficulties of life do not have to be unbearable. It is the way that we look at them-through faith or unbelief. We must be convinced that our Father is full of love for us and that He only permits trials to come our way for our own good.
"Spending time in God's presence doesn't weaken the body. Leaving the seemingly innocent and permissible pleasures of the world for a time will, on the contrary, give us comfort. In fact, God won't allow a soul that is searching for Him to be comforted anywhere other than with Him. So it makes sense to sacfrifice ourselves for some time in His presence. This does nto mean that you have to suffer in this endeavor. No, God must be served with holy freedom...The only requirement is that we place our confidence entirely in God.
"...our faith is too weak. Instead of letting faith rule our lives, we are guided by our petty, everyday, mechanical prayers, which are always changing...Our only happiness should come from doing God's will, whether it brings us some pain or great pleasure. After all, if we're truly devoted to doing God's will, pain and pleasure won't make any difference to us.
We also need to be faithful, even in dry periods. It is during those dry spells that God tests our love for Him. We should take advantage of those times to practice our determination and our surrender to Him. This will often bring us to a maturity futher on in our walk with God.
[BL] wasn't surprised by the amount of sin and unhappiness in the world. Rather, he wondered why there wasn't MORE, considering the extremes to which the enemy is capable of going. He [BL] said he prayed about it, but because he knew God could rectify the situation in a moment if He willed it, he didn't allow himself to become greatly concerned. To succeed in giving ourselves to God as much as He desires, we must constantly guard our souls..."
I'm really impressed & enlightened by this book so far, but I feel like I should carry it around with me and always learn from it, like a Bible but not...! Gives me a lot to think about.
Notes on Lauren Winner
Friday, June 27, 2008 at 9:30pm |
I'm lovin new authors such as Rob Bell, Donald Miller, Anne Lamott...They're new to me anyway...and this Lauren Winter. What do you think of this?
Jane Hamilton is a 20th Century Ruth, she says. Notes from the chapter on Prayer:
Jennifer Egan writing about the Roman Catholic seminarians: "Talk about their prayer lives the way most people talk about their love lives." Wow. I want that to be said of me! I can only wish.
"Soon will you lead the shoots of the stock that you have planted, redeemed, to Zion, in joy."-After Passover Seder.
"Blessed are you Oh Lord our God King of the Universe...Who does Something:
Who brings forth bread from the earth,
Who made the great sea,
who creates the fruit of the ground,
Who sanctifies us with His commandments." (I want to start adding these to my prayers...)
Transformed, a complete turning around in English=teshuvah in Hebrew=Metanoia in Greek
"My life is like a disciple's nap in Gethsemane: I have promised, over&over, to be vigilant for the things of God, to be awake to Him, but I seem to spend much of my life sleeping."
"Jesus is the needle who sews the children of God who are not direct descendants of Abraham into that nighttime sky."
Believe comes from be love in Olde English.
I love this girl's metaphors and such...!
Notes from Film Lecture by Jack Hafer
Friday, June 20, 2008 at 5:03pm |
We create culture out of the raw materials of life-Annie Crouch
Gen.1-3: Order, beauty, goodness, truth til chap. 3 the LIE...
It's very difficult for Hollywood to make goodness attractive but it's easy to make evil& temptation look enticing.
We are Cultural Mandators.
What makes you cringe?
Seabiscuit
We are to bring HOPE
1.Watching for Discernment (Not just to protect)
Study culture to know what's happening Rom.12:2
Rob.McKee, Jon Truby
Become discerning Heb.5:14
Existentialist-? Finding Meaning
Is freedom always good or can it be bad?
2.Watching for enrichment
Enjoyment & Personal growth
Music disarms the people in "The Mission;" it's all about LOVE.
Let God speak to you through secular films
Self-revelation
Howard Hughes was once asked what makes film great? His answer: "Moments. Great moments."
Gire (the heart)
& Godawa (the mind)
Submit to the Art. Let it have its way with us.
Johnston "Reel Spirituality"
3.Watching for Conversation Talking about things that matter.
Soul Awakening Opportunity
It's not Christian or godly it's LIFE.
Adrian Lynn: Fatal Attraction
Indecent Proposal
Unfaithful
Sophie's Choice
Bambi. What made you cry? What was it that touched you?
This guy is pure genius. He's like my dad's best friend, he produced "To End All Wars," (an incredible film about forgiveness, WWII, etc.)... Anyway, he makes you think. He doesn't try to make you think like him. He wants you thinking about stuff that matters. Brilliant.
Life...
Thursday, June 19, 2008 at 9:04pm | "Life is good mate" - Australian principal/former boss/friend G.H. :)
Coming back home to California was emotional for me. It will be next week when I leave. It's all happy tears because I want to move back here and live nearer my bestest (I don't care if that's not a word;)) friends and closer to my pacific. God knows the desires of my heart, He gave 'em to me... I just want to be where He wants me, but I want that to be in California. LOL! ha! I told Him I don't like humidity & bugs (both in the southeastern states where I've lived recently) then He took me to fun Congo. LOL. Wow. He knows how to hit me on the head with a 2x4 but also gently, lovingly bring me (sometimes kicking & screaming) back to Himself.
I don't blog to feel sorry for myself. I journal/blog to update my peeps on my life (if you care to read). If you don't wanna read just comment on it or ignore it. Anyway, so I've been reading (on the train, on the plane, but not in Spain & not too many plains)... Smith's "No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency"...Lamott...Miller...Hunt...anything...
I'm not here to complain. I just want to say how badly I've missed these old friends & places. I kept thinking of Daughtry's "Home" song. I enjoyed 3 weddings in 3 weeks traveling from Congo to LA to CA. Pretty cool how God can bring two totally opposite people together in love huh? I totally cried through the last two - my cousin & my old friend I used to babysit. God knows what He's doing. I have my whole life ahead of me, so yeah I wanna teach first then get married & be a mommy. Someday. I have plenty of ideas... Massage therapy? Event Planning? Int'l Teaching? What, when, where, how, who, God? I think I know the whys. He knows - Jer.29:11. It's all good. I'm really not worried. I just am in love with this place. The ocean. The mountains in the distance. I know you're rollin your eyes thinking, "She's just starry eyed & wearin rose colored glasses" but really. Just thinking about next year and what God's gonna do! Who knows?!
Had some fun times with cousins & friends... lookin fwd to more of that in July (enjoy Independence Day in my own country!:)) before I head back to Congo, Africa. :) Miss my friends there too. I will have the heck of a time trying to pack up & leave in Dec. but I will get to spend Christmas with my family.
My Motivation
Friday, May 30, 2008 at 2:06am | It's the end of the school year. People are tense, tired, stressed, sick, ready for a break. We're packing up and going to the states. My dad read my blog and warned me that I share too much on here (My friends & students even tell me 'TMI' just in conversation LOL). But I wanna hear from my friends and I only share stuff with friends. "What's my motivation?!" us actors cry out from our anguished souls...:-)
My King of Freedom is. He's why I dance, sing, laugh, cry, scream&shout. I'm gonna sing a FrontLine song in church on our last Sun. that talks about it. Then I read this quote about this:
"People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well,
neither does bathing, that's why we recommend it daily."
Zig Ziglar(the Motivator King)
I LOVE that:) I'd like to be able to bathe twice a day. I love motivating people and we all need a little motivation in our lives. Gotta keep on movin'!!!
k just wanted to shout that.
Peculiar People
Wednesday, May 28, 2008 at 5:20am |
05/27/08
A Peculiar People
Margaret Manning
There are as many different ideas about what makes someone or something peculiar as there are peculiarities. Depending on one's point of view, generation, and locality, piercings and dreadlocks might make for peculiar ornamentation; or else, blue blazers, starched collars, and striped ties could make for a declaration of oddity. If you visited China, for example, height and hair color might make for peculiarity, or the food of a particular region might be peculiarly striking.
Peculiarities are distinctive. They are those qualities or characteristics that make someone or something unique. If I were to ask for a list of the qualities that make the Amish peculiar, one might list their dress, their simple way of life, and their unique eschewing of modernity in all its forms. They are a peculiar people, set apart, different and distinctive in ways that make us pay attention and notice.
Yet, as often happens with language development, somehow we have come to associate the strange with the peculiar, as if peculiarity merely indicated some level of bizarre behavior, dress, attitude, or lifestyle. In fact, the word derives from a Latin root that identified private property from what was commonly owned. To be peculiar then is to possess as a characteristic something uniquely special or particular.(1) In other words, when we call something or someone peculiar, we are identifying the special, the unique, or the particular about that individual.
This more positive definition is often replaced by a more negative and defensive connotation. To be peculiar is to be strange, different, or set-apart in a way that keeps others out, or to distinguish oneself in a way that is defensive in posture or stance. It is certainly easy to understand how defensiveness might arise when peculiar values, attitudes, or lifestyles once deemed inviolate come under attack. But if peculiarity is reduced merely to defensiveness or exclusion, it certainly loses its more winsome character.
For many, the Amish community has long served as a model of the more winsome features of peculiarity. Who hasn't at times wished for a more simple life? Who hasn't wondered at times what it might be like to share in that kind of close-knit community? And who, after hearing in the news about the horrific violence leveled against the smallest and the weakest among them, didn't wonder at the peculiarly poignant response of forgiveness and grace extended to the family of the perpetrator?(2) If this had happened in our communities, most of us would have demanded better security. Or we would find any way possible to press for the most punitive punishment against the perpetrator's family. Instead, forgiveness, mercy, and grace characterized this peculiar people. Peculiar as it may seem to us, through the extension of forgiveness, the Amish sought to reconcile what had been torn asunder and restore what had been devastated.
In light of such peculiarities, one cannot help but ask, "What makes me a peculiar person?" Indeed, as followers of Jesus, what makes us his peculiar people? Jesus had just as many options as we do today for demonstrating his peculiarity. He could have gathered just a few individuals around him and run away to the desert to form a peculiar society for a select few. He could have been a revolutionary against the Roman government rallying the troops around him to overthrow his oppressors. He could have aligned himself with the religious authorities of his day laying down with rigid enforcement peculiar laws for a peculiar people. But he did none of these things. Instead, Jesus forgave those who sinned against him, welcomed outsiders, dined with sinners, healed those whose diseases made them peculiarly unwelcome in worship spaces, and challenged the religious authorities on their understanding of the Torah--often directly contradicting them. Moreover, in the horror and torture of his own crucifixion, he prayed, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34). The Amish community of Quarryville certainly picked up on this peculiarity.
As a result of Jesus's peculiar life, death, and resurrection we are now "a chosen race, a royal priesthood a holy nation, God's own people." We are now those "who declare the wonderful deeds of God who called us out of darkness into the marvelous light." We who were once no people are now God's people; we who once "had not received mercy, now have received mercy."(3) We are now the people of God and we bear the name of the one we follow.
Indeed, the title "Christian" means "little Christ." It marks us as his peculiar people. As such, we should often evaluate the ways in which we pick up on--or fail to pick up on--Jesus's peculiarities. Do our own peculiarities match his? Do they uniquely set us apart as his followers? Are our lives bearing the fruit that marks us uniquely as God's possession? While we might view the Amish community as peculiar because of all the external markers that set them apart, it is in fact their commitment to follow Jesus to forgiveness, even in the face of horror and violence, that reflects the unique calling to be God's possession, God's peculiar people set apart and marked as his.
Margaret Manning is associate writer at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.
(1) Etymology and definition from Merriam-Webster's On-Line Dictionary, www.merriam-webster.com.
(2) Armed gunman Charles Carl Roberts murdered five young children in an Amish schoolhouse October 2, 2006 before committing suicide. CBS news archives, http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/10/04/national/main2059816.shtml
(3) Adapted from 1 Peter 2:9-10.
"Be ashamed to die until you have scored a victory for mankind." Dr. TP Kalogris
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