This particular post is going to be centered around a concept that I have described in a previous post. I can't seem to locate the exact post from among the myriads of posts I've published on this here blog. But I know it is in there somewhere.
The concept I speak of is the effects of reading upon my personal use of language. By this I mean, how what I read effects the way I talk and the way I write.
To use the examples from the previous post on this subject: when I read abstract and absurd works I begin talking and writing in abstract and absurd ways (more than usual). When I read poetry I write more poetically.
And when I read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn--like I am right now for my history/American literature class--I have a tendency to talk(at least while no one is listening) like Huck. Granted, I don't find the n word flying out of my mouth. But the dialect becomes the medium through which my thoughts pour out.
I was thinking about this while I was walking along today. This was just after I had spent over half an hour reading Huck Finn. I like reading out loud, especially when it's something--like Huck Finn--that gives me the opportunity to try out some different accents. So as I'm walking along I have this accent fresh on my tong. I also like thinking out loud when I'm by myself. So I was thinking about this whole concept that I've been describing to you. And I thought:
'When ever I have been reading, I have a tendency to think, talk, and write like what I've been reading. When I read Huck Finn, I think, and talk like Huck Finn...' and so on as I have described already. This next part, however, is something very interesting that caught me by surprise. 'So if I want to be thinking, talking, and writing about the things of God, what book do I think I should be reading?'
........
Did you see what happened there? Yeah, I got myself good.
But seriously, It's an interesting thought.
Somewhere in the course of last term I was trying to figure out where in the Bible I should read next. I had been through the new testament a few times in the previous years. I had gone through the epistles more than a couple times, and some more than others. I could go for another round, but I thought that I needed to be somewhere else.
Now usually when you think 'Old Testament' you don't think a whole lot of life changing practical application. Sure there is a lot of amazing stuff about our Awesome God. But there isn't very much direct instruction for the church.
Anyway, I started in Judges.
Somewhere around the middle of the term I was reading through first or second Samuel. During this time I was noticing in my life that even though there wasn't a whole lot of drastically life altering practical application stuff (at least that I could see...I still haven't taken Bible study methods) I could see in my life the effect of reading continually about my God and the way he works in, and through, and in spite of people. Simply keeping my mind on the things of God, that's all it was. And that makes a difference.
I need to keep reminding myself of that. In all this hurry to keep up with my studies, and all the moving about and endless days, I want to remember who I live for. I want to remember who it is that makes life worth living. I want Him to be in my thoughts, and in my words, and in my deeds; all of them.
I'm not perfect--not even close. But He hasn't given up on me, and He finishes what He starts.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Garbage Dump
I would like to take this moment to establish the fact that I am not completely, though entirely, insane. Thank you.
Yeah, I'm not sure what it means either.
Let's see what's in the news.
City boy learns that one man's garbage really is another man's gold. It seems that while young Alex Douglas was playing with a few of his friends in the ally behind his New York apartment, where he lives with his mother and 5-year old sister, he happened upon a solid gold book end. The owner of the high price paper-weight claims that he didn't realize this nick-knack was of any real value. He simply assumed that since it's matching counterpart was no where to be found, there was no point in keeping the piece of junk around. "When I found it among my wife's things in the attic" recalls the 73-year old widower Hank Schoune "I figured it was just as much useless junk as the rest of her things. She was a terrible pack-rat, don't you know. She kept every little trinket she came by."
As far as the fate of the bookend is concerned, Hank has decided that Whiteney Douglas--Alex's mother--probably has more need of such a thing. "I've lived this long without needing too much money" explains a very relaxed and content Mr. Schoune. "I don't see how I could just up and change how I've always lived after so long."
The events and people described above are fictional. Any resemblance to actual people or events is only coincidence.
Yeah, I'm not sure what it means either.
Let's see what's in the news.
City boy learns that one man's garbage really is another man's gold. It seems that while young Alex Douglas was playing with a few of his friends in the ally behind his New York apartment, where he lives with his mother and 5-year old sister, he happened upon a solid gold book end. The owner of the high price paper-weight claims that he didn't realize this nick-knack was of any real value. He simply assumed that since it's matching counterpart was no where to be found, there was no point in keeping the piece of junk around. "When I found it among my wife's things in the attic" recalls the 73-year old widower Hank Schoune "I figured it was just as much useless junk as the rest of her things. She was a terrible pack-rat, don't you know. She kept every little trinket she came by."
As far as the fate of the bookend is concerned, Hank has decided that Whiteney Douglas--Alex's mother--probably has more need of such a thing. "I've lived this long without needing too much money" explains a very relaxed and content Mr. Schoune. "I don't see how I could just up and change how I've always lived after so long."
The events and people described above are fictional. Any resemblance to actual people or events is only coincidence.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
"I'm Dis Many Yeaws Ow'd"
I'm not the person I once was. This is a fact of life that ought to be a no-brainer. There are so many little things about a person that change every day, even every minute.
But this is a profound truth for me right now:
I am not the person I once was.
This is an important fact for a few reasons. The main reason being that I have never had, for as long as I can remember, an image of myself that depicted me as I was at the time. For a great deal of the last 9 years I have seen myself as a nine-year-old. Only in the last couple years have I finally started to see myself a little older than that.
Just this evening I took a moment to think about how I see myself now. My personal assessment was that I see myself as a 16-17 year-old. Granted, this is a great improvement from nine. But it's still not who I am now.
There have been a few times this last year when I went to bed and just lay there wondering why I am here, why am I in college, living in this room. It just doesn't line up with my image of myself. I'm not old enough to be living on my own. I'm not old enough for all this responsibility. I'm not ready for this. I can't make this work. Not as I see me.
This is of course a grand testament to how much I underestimate myself. Because I am here. I am on my own...to a degree. I am making this work.
Realising this has caused me to think about how I see myself and question my assessments. I realize that I make a lot of judgements of myself based on my past, and that's okay. That's all I know of myself so far. I don't have anything else to work with. But at this point in my life I have acquired enough history that there are some aspects of me that have become out dated; things that were true of me at one time, but that no longer are.
Thus, I am not the same person I once was.
A lot has changed just in the last two years, not to mention the last five or ten years.
I literally
walk different,
talk different,
stand different,
act different,
look different,
laugh different,
think different,
sing different,
work different.
I am not the same person I once was.
There are some things that haven't changed. Some things will never change. Like where I find my salvation, security and purpose. Also the facts that I still live in a 2-D world, I am still left handed and I still enjoy making music.
But this is a profound truth for me right now:
I am not the person I once was.
This is an important fact for a few reasons. The main reason being that I have never had, for as long as I can remember, an image of myself that depicted me as I was at the time. For a great deal of the last 9 years I have seen myself as a nine-year-old. Only in the last couple years have I finally started to see myself a little older than that.
Just this evening I took a moment to think about how I see myself now. My personal assessment was that I see myself as a 16-17 year-old. Granted, this is a great improvement from nine. But it's still not who I am now.
There have been a few times this last year when I went to bed and just lay there wondering why I am here, why am I in college, living in this room. It just doesn't line up with my image of myself. I'm not old enough to be living on my own. I'm not old enough for all this responsibility. I'm not ready for this. I can't make this work. Not as I see me.
This is of course a grand testament to how much I underestimate myself. Because I am here. I am on my own...to a degree. I am making this work.
Realising this has caused me to think about how I see myself and question my assessments. I realize that I make a lot of judgements of myself based on my past, and that's okay. That's all I know of myself so far. I don't have anything else to work with. But at this point in my life I have acquired enough history that there are some aspects of me that have become out dated; things that were true of me at one time, but that no longer are.
Thus, I am not the same person I once was.
A lot has changed just in the last two years, not to mention the last five or ten years.
I literally
walk different,
talk different,
stand different,
act different,
look different,
laugh different,
think different,
sing different,
work different.
I am not the same person I once was.
There are some things that haven't changed. Some things will never change. Like where I find my salvation, security and purpose. Also the facts that I still live in a 2-D world, I am still left handed and I still enjoy making music.
Sunday, January 06, 2008
This is it. I'm heading back to school in a couple days; Monday to be exact. Chances are I won't be posting tomorrow. So, I figure I'll get something in right now. This has been a good break. Lord knows I've been a lot more productive this winter break than I was last year. On the one hand I don't mentally feel bad for wasting so much time. On the other hand I don't feel physically like a lethargic sloth. Suffice it to say, I had a good winter break, and I'm ready to go on with life.
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
A Wise Guy
Solomon was always a confusing case in my mind.
I don't get it, here is a guy that has been given by God more wisdom than any one human would ever have in the existence of the world (with the exception of Jesus Christ), and yet he is foolish enough to go and marry hundreds of women and worship their gods. I mean, it doesn't take a genius to read the law and figure out that we really shouldn't be worshiping any god but the one true God. I'm pretty sure God meant it when He said "You shall have no other gods before me." Add that to the fact that God directly told Solomon "if you walk before me in integrity of heart and uprightness, as David your father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws, I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever..." When you run the equation, it just doesn't make sense. Wisdom + Law + Promise = Woops!
So for a long time I've wondered just how wise can this guy really have been if he was that foolish?
Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to discredit the wisdom of Solomon. The Bible is quite clear that he was wiser than any one of us would ever be, and that is nothing to laugh at.
It's just always bugged me: if the great wisdom of Solomon was not enough to bring him to the conclusion of pure, unadulterated worship of God, then what was it that he was missing?
I know that none of us will ever get it completely right this side of heaven. But you would still think that all that wisdom would keep you pointed in the right direction. So perhaps it takes more than wisdom to live wisely.
I don't get it, here is a guy that has been given by God more wisdom than any one human would ever have in the existence of the world (with the exception of Jesus Christ), and yet he is foolish enough to go and marry hundreds of women and worship their gods. I mean, it doesn't take a genius to read the law and figure out that we really shouldn't be worshiping any god but the one true God. I'm pretty sure God meant it when He said "You shall have no other gods before me." Add that to the fact that God directly told Solomon "if you walk before me in integrity of heart and uprightness, as David your father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws, I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever..." When you run the equation, it just doesn't make sense. Wisdom + Law + Promise = Woops!
So for a long time I've wondered just how wise can this guy really have been if he was that foolish?
Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to discredit the wisdom of Solomon. The Bible is quite clear that he was wiser than any one of us would ever be, and that is nothing to laugh at.
It's just always bugged me: if the great wisdom of Solomon was not enough to bring him to the conclusion of pure, unadulterated worship of God, then what was it that he was missing?
I know that none of us will ever get it completely right this side of heaven. But you would still think that all that wisdom would keep you pointed in the right direction. So perhaps it takes more than wisdom to live wisely.
I Meet the Jetsons
Who would have ever thought such a thing? True, there was always the potential and possibility. But when one is a small boy he never considers the future. Only what he wants and wants to be in the present. But he never sees it as something that is in the future. The language used is that of a future tense, but it is not thought of as such.
It is the 2,008th year of our Lord. Not twenty years ago could I have imagined such a thing. Sure, I considered old age and future existence. But in that I did not consider the titles of the years that this life would exist through. 2000 was an oddity. 2005 was an amazement. And now here we are in 2008, a nice round number on the far side of the decade. And to think, I'm still considered young. I could be on this earth through half of the 21st century. Of course I'll be allegedly close to "retirement" by that point, probably have grandchildren, I'll have experienced the losses of at least a few of those I have loved and many I have known, and I will likely have a good deal less hair. (Though according to my friend's theory you never "lose" hair. It just starts growing out other places.) This is all assuming that I do, in fact, live to the middle of the century. Many--if not all--of my friends (past, current, and future) will have been married. Some of them possibly even divorced. My own children will--Lord willing--be mature, intelligent, Christ following, adults with families of their own. Knowing me I'd probably still be in contact with at least a few friends I have right now (assuming they are still alive), and chances are we would get together from time to time--if not on a regular basis--to make music and reminisce about the days when we might have actually sounded good.
I could not even begin to speculate as to what I would be doing with my life at that time, or where I'd be living. I have no way of knowing just what all I would endure in that time, or what my health would be like. I don't even know that I will be living on this earth by that time.
It's an interesting thing to think about--what it will be like when I die. Will it be like falling asleep here and waking up in heaven? Or perhaps it won't be like falling asleep at all, but more like leaving my body and I will see everything around me from the spiritual realm.
I'm sure whatever I could come up with, it wouldn't be at all correct. Of course I could come up with all kinds of fanciful ideas and images about what it would look like and feel like when I die. But all of that would be some sort of culmination of experiences I have had in my life so far; images I have seen, things I have felt, ideas I've been given. And most likely none of that would be anything like the real experience. So I'm not about to spend my whole life trying to figure out what it will be like to die. I'll find out eventually. Nothing like first hand experience, eh?
Anyway, from what I know of past experiences, I would speculate that one thing I will probably think--should I live to see the half-way-point of the 21st century--will be 'wow, I never would have thunk it. I'm alive in 2050. And we still don't have hover cars!'
It is the 2,008th year of our Lord. Not twenty years ago could I have imagined such a thing. Sure, I considered old age and future existence. But in that I did not consider the titles of the years that this life would exist through. 2000 was an oddity. 2005 was an amazement. And now here we are in 2008, a nice round number on the far side of the decade. And to think, I'm still considered young. I could be on this earth through half of the 21st century. Of course I'll be allegedly close to "retirement" by that point, probably have grandchildren, I'll have experienced the losses of at least a few of those I have loved and many I have known, and I will likely have a good deal less hair. (Though according to my friend's theory you never "lose" hair. It just starts growing out other places.) This is all assuming that I do, in fact, live to the middle of the century. Many--if not all--of my friends (past, current, and future) will have been married. Some of them possibly even divorced. My own children will--Lord willing--be mature, intelligent, Christ following, adults with families of their own. Knowing me I'd probably still be in contact with at least a few friends I have right now (assuming they are still alive), and chances are we would get together from time to time--if not on a regular basis--to make music and reminisce about the days when we might have actually sounded good.
I could not even begin to speculate as to what I would be doing with my life at that time, or where I'd be living. I have no way of knowing just what all I would endure in that time, or what my health would be like. I don't even know that I will be living on this earth by that time.
It's an interesting thing to think about--what it will be like when I die. Will it be like falling asleep here and waking up in heaven? Or perhaps it won't be like falling asleep at all, but more like leaving my body and I will see everything around me from the spiritual realm.
I'm sure whatever I could come up with, it wouldn't be at all correct. Of course I could come up with all kinds of fanciful ideas and images about what it would look like and feel like when I die. But all of that would be some sort of culmination of experiences I have had in my life so far; images I have seen, things I have felt, ideas I've been given. And most likely none of that would be anything like the real experience. So I'm not about to spend my whole life trying to figure out what it will be like to die. I'll find out eventually. Nothing like first hand experience, eh?
Anyway, from what I know of past experiences, I would speculate that one thing I will probably think--should I live to see the half-way-point of the 21st century--will be 'wow, I never would have thunk it. I'm alive in 2050. And we still don't have hover cars!'
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