Why is it that we humans believe we understand everything? Why do we continue to tell ourselves, albeit unconsciously, that there is no more to life than we can personally see, hear, or feel? The universe, God’s universe, extends far beyond our simple-minded comprehension. If we wish to understand any more than the miniscule amount we currently do, our only hope is to release all notions of logic. In God’s world, rationality is irrational. After all, why would a being as immense as He choose to be hindered by such a petty idea?
Consider this. What if our universe, our world, our everything was, in reality, no larger than a speck of dust in another dimension? What if the grains of dirt in our world in actuality house thousands, even millions of living, thinking creatures like ourselves? What if a man were to discover all the secrets of the world, to know everything and everything, and then one day wake up to discover his entire life to be no more than a dream, a trick of the mind? These ideas may seem ridiculous or puerile, but with mankind’s inability to fathom, they could easily be verities.
One day, on a day the LORD has already decided, we will be called to live with Him and the secrets of the universe will be ours to uncover. We will have millennia at our hands to learn about the world our God has constructed for us, and every new fact we discover will bring glory to His name. Until that day, we can only wait in illiteracy, ignorant of the wonder of our very surroundings and wholly dependent on God’s brilliancy to direct our lives.
Oh my goodness. How long has it been since I've given you all an actual story?? I apologize a bajilion times. School is just…a lot. And volleyball is practically consuming my life. Anyway, this was just done for practice. The idea was inspired by an essay that I helped my older sister read for AP work last night. Hope you enjoyed, even though it was short!
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
The Morning Challenge
Hey guys! Sadly, I don't have a story for you all today, but I did want to share with you a really awesome website, another blog called The Morning Challenge. It was started by my good friend Sarah, along with her buddy Meghan. The Morning Challenge is a daily devotional blog, updated daily by one of its many facility members. It focuses on different ideas daily that motivate its readers to live their day for Jesus. I highly encourage you all to check it out!
The Morning Challenge Address: http://www.mymorningchallenge.com/
Thanks!
The Morning Challenge Address: http://www.mymorningchallenge.com/
Thanks!
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Ben Fielding
Sydney is lazy and is suffering from a mysterious case of writers' block, forcing her to go to desperate measures to entertain her wonderful viewers.
This is an essay I wrote for English. It's just a rough draft, but hey, it's something! The essay was supposed to be a testimony from the point of view of the main character from Safely Home. The book was written by Randy Alcorn, who by the way is an amazing author for Christ. I recommend reading Safely Home and his other stories.
Enjoy!
“If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven played music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.’”
My friend and old roommate, Li Quan, once recited that quote to me. At the time, I didn’t understand its meaning, but now I think I can grasp its significance a little better. The quote, I believe, advises people to zeal for excellence in whatever they may do, whether it be to rule a kingdom, or, well, to sweep streets. If I had known and understood that verse years ago, perhaps I wouldn’t have been so long in coming to the Lord.
I haven’t always been the best of Christians. In fact, until recently I wasn’t even a believer. My business, and my own self, was always worth more to me than a God I couldn’t see and had no reason to have faith in. However, God was not thwarted by my stubbornness and stupidity. He led me back to Him when He sent me to China.
I had visited China before; the modern-yet-ancient culture was nothing new to me. Yet, no matter how many times I’d been there, I’d always somehow been blind to the pain, suffering, and tyranny hidden beneath the busy surface. Li Quan, who I believe I mentioned earlier, slowly but surely removed the counterfeit mask China’s government had applied, and revealed to me China’s true colors. There was cruelty and hopelessness around every corner, families destroyed because of their trust in God. To be honest, when I saw what the people there put up with, I felt…insignificant. Weak. Substandard. I felt as if, even if I would be able to overcome my pride and follow the Lord, I’d be useless to Him. I’d never felt worse.
Then Quan was arrested. I fought ruthlessly for his freedom, desperate to help my faithful friend and prove my worth to someone. It turns out he didn’t need me. He had Someone by his side, caring for him just as He cared for me, even if I didn’t know it. When Quan was in prison, I changed. I evolved into something different, something with Christian potential. And then, one night, at a Bible study, I dedicated my life to Jesus.
I’ll never regret choosing life over death. It cost me everything I had, but I’ve gained all that matters. I pray that God will see you through a transformation like mine. I hope that one day, we’ll be the world’s greatest street sweepers in His name, and make this planet a better place for it. Thanks for your time, and God bless you all.
This is an essay I wrote for English. It's just a rough draft, but hey, it's something! The essay was supposed to be a testimony from the point of view of the main character from Safely Home. The book was written by Randy Alcorn, who by the way is an amazing author for Christ. I recommend reading Safely Home and his other stories.
Enjoy!
“If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven played music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.’”
My friend and old roommate, Li Quan, once recited that quote to me. At the time, I didn’t understand its meaning, but now I think I can grasp its significance a little better. The quote, I believe, advises people to zeal for excellence in whatever they may do, whether it be to rule a kingdom, or, well, to sweep streets. If I had known and understood that verse years ago, perhaps I wouldn’t have been so long in coming to the Lord.
I haven’t always been the best of Christians. In fact, until recently I wasn’t even a believer. My business, and my own self, was always worth more to me than a God I couldn’t see and had no reason to have faith in. However, God was not thwarted by my stubbornness and stupidity. He led me back to Him when He sent me to China.
I had visited China before; the modern-yet-ancient culture was nothing new to me. Yet, no matter how many times I’d been there, I’d always somehow been blind to the pain, suffering, and tyranny hidden beneath the busy surface. Li Quan, who I believe I mentioned earlier, slowly but surely removed the counterfeit mask China’s government had applied, and revealed to me China’s true colors. There was cruelty and hopelessness around every corner, families destroyed because of their trust in God. To be honest, when I saw what the people there put up with, I felt…insignificant. Weak. Substandard. I felt as if, even if I would be able to overcome my pride and follow the Lord, I’d be useless to Him. I’d never felt worse.
Then Quan was arrested. I fought ruthlessly for his freedom, desperate to help my faithful friend and prove my worth to someone. It turns out he didn’t need me. He had Someone by his side, caring for him just as He cared for me, even if I didn’t know it. When Quan was in prison, I changed. I evolved into something different, something with Christian potential. And then, one night, at a Bible study, I dedicated my life to Jesus.
I’ll never regret choosing life over death. It cost me everything I had, but I’ve gained all that matters. I pray that God will see you through a transformation like mine. I hope that one day, we’ll be the world’s greatest street sweepers in His name, and make this planet a better place for it. Thanks for your time, and God bless you all.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Ashley
This is an excerpt from my summer reading book report. I've been wanting to post more often, but I haven't had luck with inspiration recently, so I cheated. :)
Yes, this is true, though most of you have already heard this story. This all happened about two and a half years ago.
Two years ago, my younger sister, Ashley, was sent to the hospital for urgent brain surgery. She was suffering from a disorder known as neurofibromatosis, and an operation was needed.
The entire ordeal had been sudden and completely unexpected. The day after my mom drove her to the hospital, the day that she would undergo surgery, my two other siblings and I woke up to an empty, quiet house. We were occasionally updated on the goings-on at the hospital an hour away, but otherwise, nothing happened all morning.
The silence seemed to slowly eat away at me from inside, as I was left alone with my thoughts to wonder just what was happening to my beloved younger sister at the time. I tried to shy away from images of her in an artificial sleep, with wires and IVs protruding from her frail, vulnerable skin. That day was easily the most stressful and fear-filled day of my life.
Then, sometime later that day, came the news that the surgery had been highly successful. The triumph was largely due to the anonymous donation of a minuscule camera that had helped with the accuracy of the incision. The instrument was easily worth a lot of money. Whoever had contributed the appliance saved her from a much larger scar across her scalp, as well as made the surgery safer and easier for the doctor. My siblings and I were told that we could visit her after she woke up. In place of the cold, unknowing fear that had polluted my heart and thoughts came a relieved happiness that washed through my soul and cleansed me of all the nervous thoughts from the day. I rode to the hospital feeling impatiently euphoric.
Since that traumatic time, Ashley has made a full and complete recovery and has once again become the bouncy, fun sister that I knew. There was a difference in our relationship, however, even if she herself didn’t realize it. When I think of what exactly could have happened if something had gone askew in the operation, I value my life shared with her that much more and am motivated to strive to be a better sister. Though at the time I questioned why the incident had happened to my family, I now know that God used the near-tragedy to bring us closer to each other and to Him.
Yes, this is true, though most of you have already heard this story. This all happened about two and a half years ago.
Two years ago, my younger sister, Ashley, was sent to the hospital for urgent brain surgery. She was suffering from a disorder known as neurofibromatosis, and an operation was needed.
The entire ordeal had been sudden and completely unexpected. The day after my mom drove her to the hospital, the day that she would undergo surgery, my two other siblings and I woke up to an empty, quiet house. We were occasionally updated on the goings-on at the hospital an hour away, but otherwise, nothing happened all morning.
The silence seemed to slowly eat away at me from inside, as I was left alone with my thoughts to wonder just what was happening to my beloved younger sister at the time. I tried to shy away from images of her in an artificial sleep, with wires and IVs protruding from her frail, vulnerable skin. That day was easily the most stressful and fear-filled day of my life.
Then, sometime later that day, came the news that the surgery had been highly successful. The triumph was largely due to the anonymous donation of a minuscule camera that had helped with the accuracy of the incision. The instrument was easily worth a lot of money. Whoever had contributed the appliance saved her from a much larger scar across her scalp, as well as made the surgery safer and easier for the doctor. My siblings and I were told that we could visit her after she woke up. In place of the cold, unknowing fear that had polluted my heart and thoughts came a relieved happiness that washed through my soul and cleansed me of all the nervous thoughts from the day. I rode to the hospital feeling impatiently euphoric.
Since that traumatic time, Ashley has made a full and complete recovery and has once again become the bouncy, fun sister that I knew. There was a difference in our relationship, however, even if she herself didn’t realize it. When I think of what exactly could have happened if something had gone askew in the operation, I value my life shared with her that much more and am motivated to strive to be a better sister. Though at the time I questioned why the incident had happened to my family, I now know that God used the near-tragedy to bring us closer to each other and to Him.
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