Why Not?

It won't do any harm to anyone, so why shouldn't I? The music industry is already way overpaid; it doesn't matter if I pirate a few CDs. Going five mph over the speed limit won't make me a hazard, besides, everyone else does it anyway.

When I hear words like this, I feel a little like a fuming Thoroughbred, chomping on the bit before a race, especially when the person speaking claims to be a Christian. Why? Because we shouldn't think like that. Romans 13:1-2 says, “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.  Therefore, whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.” We are to obey the government and follow its laws with only one exception – if the law directly contradicts what God has ordered (biblical examples include the Hebrew midwives in Egypt, Peter and John in Acts 4, and Daniel).

You can argue all day about whether pirated music harms or doesn't harm anyone, but that shouldn't be the point. That's the language the world uses to argue for or against pornography and homosexual marriage. The point should be what God says, period.

In 1 Peter 2:13-16, Peter agrees with Paul by saying, “Therefore, submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men – as free, yet not using the liberty as a cloak for wickedness, but as bondservants of God.” As Christians, we are free. Jesus paid it all, and it doesn't matter what we do in this life, our eternal destiny is secure. Does that mean we should go sin it up? Paul says, “By no means!” We are to be sanctified, set apart, different from the world. A non-christian should be able to look at any one of us in any situation and see that we are not like them. The world is constantly looking for reasons to hate us and say that we are hypocrites. If they look at us, and we are just like them, they have their reason, and we have one more soul that may never know the truth because we made life on this side look just like life on that side. That's why not.

K's 16th Birthday Party

Thursday was my sister's sixteenth birthday, and we wanted to make her party something special, something to remember.  We settled on the idea of a triple-themed bash - Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Harry Potter.  We planned elaborate decorations, epic games, and tons of sugar.  I didn't take pictures during the party, since I was quite tired after all the preparations that were required, but I did take some shots of the decorations afterward.

On the front door...

The hall closet on the outside...

 And the inside...

The bathroom is already decorated to be under sea, so turning it into Davey Jones Locker was a natural next step....

A clay Davey Jones K made...

Florida sand in the tub...

 A jar of dirt...

Sign on the inside of the door...

 The rest of the house was Hogwarts, and there was a sign to prove it. ;)

The potions bar.  We mixed food coloring into the juice to disguise it's flavor so that no one would know what they were getting until they tasted it.

Professor Trelawney's table, complete with tea cup...

 Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans...

 Cauldron of punch...

 Delicious butter beer...

 The candies are pretty self explanatory.  There were more, but they were gone by the time I got around to taking pictures.

 Dum-dums dipped in a lemon/sugar mixture and rolled in Pop Rocks...

 The peeps went like hot cakes.

   

 Sheer genius.

 The desktop background K designed on her 3D graphics program.  She's got mad skillz.

Outside was Middle Earth.  We didn't actually have a Mirkwood, but there was a sign.

 Bilbo's party... (post clean-up)

 I thought the juxtaposition of these two signs was appropriate. :)

 I cleaned out and de-labeled some wine bottles and filled them with root beer for "rum."  Jack Sparrow quotes ensued.

 Mt. Doom, complete with little door in the side...

 The paper lanterns...

 Pretty epic, if I do say so myself.

And that is all.  I hope you enjoyed the slew of pictures!

Baby Food

Have you ever sat through a sermon on salvation or the cross and thought, 'Rats, I came to church today hoping to actually learn something'?  I have.  Up until about two years ago, that was what went through my head every time someone spoke on salvation.  'This message is for someone else.'  But it's not.  The cross is the culmination of the most perfect love story ever told.  It's the point where the Creator looks at His creation and says, "Even though you are the most unworthy, unlovely, sinful, and hopeless people, enemies of Mine, I want you to be a part of My kingdom.  I want you to understand why you were created in the beginning.  I want you to know what true love is."

If a husband or wife forgets why they fell in love in the first place, forgets why they devoted themselves to their spouse, they will no longer care for them and want to do things for them.  The same is true of Christians.  If we forget why Christ is worthy of our devotion, love, and service, we won't feel the need to give it.

Your mind may have twitched when I said we were " the most unworthy, unlovely, sinful, and hopeless people," but it's true.  Whatever the most disgusting thing you can imagine is, before Christ saved you, you were even more repulsive to Him than that.  Not only were we ugly, we were also enemies.  Humanity and God were at war, completely and totally at odds with each other and enslaved to sin.  But Jesus paid our ransom.  He bought us back from darkness and showed us the light of love.  Now we are reconciled with God - everything that caused us to be enemies has been removed, and we are called His friends and children.  What a thought!

Do you see now why it's important to never forget where we came from?  So next time you're sitting through a message on the cross, let it remind you why you should strive to serve your Savior, why you should lay everything aside and follow Him.  Remember how much He loves you, and never allow it to become "baby food."

Like any other Tuesday?

Tomorrow, as most of you surely know, is Valentines Day, a day set aside to show your affection for your significant other.  It is also known by many by another name - Singles Awareness Day.  I fall into that group.  It is often a painful and sad day for those of us who are single, and I have been no exception.  But this year I have begun to think about it in a different light.  When you are single, you see marriage and especially dating relationships as being special, something new that is more fun and just all around better.  After all, who doesn't want to have another person thinking about them as a top priority?  But, as a Christian, I have a God who has me on his top priorities.  Not only does He care about me and give me everything I need, but He died a horrible death to set me free from sin and give me a relationship with Him when I certainly wasn't worth it.

In 2006, census numbers said that about 55% of Americans were couples living together (whether married or unmarried).  There are also many, many more dating couples out there, making our view that relationships are special (as opposed to common) quite wrong.  We the singles are the special ones, and we have a purpose in Christ.  As the apostle Paul pointed out in 1 Corinthians 7, "I want you to be free from anxieties.... The unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband.  I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord."  Though he says here and earlier that it is not wrong for a man or woman to marry, here he states the fact that married people have to think about their families and spouses.  Those of us who are single have no earthly bonds that keep us from going and serving the Lord wherever He calls us.  We don't have to think and worry about our kids, but we do have the privilege and opportunity to "be anxious about the things of the Lord."  How cool is that?  A married Christian really has two relationships that they have to keep straight, the one between them and Christ and the one between them and their spouse.  Christian singles have one relationship that we can give all our energy and thought toward.

Now all of this does not mean that every single Christian should never marry, but we should stop looking.  A speaker at camp a week ago pointed out that when two married Christians seek to improve their relationship with God first, their relationship with each other will automatically improve.  The opposite is also true.  If married people neglect their relationship with God, their relationship with each other will inevitably fall apart eventually.  If that is the case in marriage, then shouldn't single Christians practice seeking God while they are unhindered and quit seeking after the right man or woman?  If God's purpose for our lives is to be married, He will bring the right person into our lives when we are ready.  And we will never be ready until we are willing to put Him first no matter our relationship status.

So this Valentines Day, I will not allow myself to be disappointed that I am single, because I have a relationship with my Lord and Savior that outshines any earthly couple.  He may not buy me flowers or chocolate, but I know He loves me more than any man could, and He has promised to take care of me for the rest of my life.

10 Prayers You Should Never Pray if You Want to Remain a Complacent Christian

1. "Lord, use me."  This usually results in a need opening up that only you can fill.

2. "Keep me humble."  You are likely to soon have an embarrassing experience or be injured in some way.

3. "I'll do anything but _______, please don't make me do that."  Eventually, you'll find yourself doing it.

4."If you want to me evangelize, show me a sign."  People who need Jesus will start falling all over you.

5. "Teach me to pray."  A tragic accident will probably happen to someone close to you.

6. "Help me not to be lazy."  You'll quickly notice all the housework you've been putting off so long that you don't even see it anymore.

7. "Give me a desire for only You."  Say goodbye to your hobbies and prepare to have a garage sale.

8. "Help me to be patient."  A frustrating trial that requires your patience is on its way.

9. "Give me a hunger for your Word."  There goes your last bit of free time.

10. "Help me to see people as You see them."  You'll be stuck working or living with a type of person you have previously disliked until you learn.

Now if your desire is to be an active Christian, living your life for the glory of God, I'd recommend all of these at least daily.  Pray, act, and be amazed at what God can do through you when you are a willing vessel.

2011

Today I've seen quite a few status updates on facebook concerning this past year.  Many of them stated that it was not a very good year and that they hoped for a better one to come.  This got me to thinking.  Was my year good or bad?  I could list off many things this year that left a part of me broken, including my parents separation and many other things, but does that mean the year was bad?  I don't think so.  Why?  Because God heals.  When things left me broken, I turned to the potter and asked him to glue me back together.  Instead, He took the pieces, ground them up, and used them and fresh clay to make a new and better vessel, one who understands His ways a little better and is more ready to be used for His glory.  The old parts leave me with memories and life lessons while the new areas redefine who I am and tell another part of my story to those who will see it.  So was two-thousand-eleven a good year or a bad one?  I can say with confidence that it was most definitely a good year, one in which the provision and providence of my Lord was shown again and again, including in the end of my parents' separation.

Isaiah 40:31 But they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

A Christmas Poem

Mary looked upon her child,
The one who'd come from her own flesh
So many prophecies foretold
The things for which this babe was born

A son shall come of virgin birth
Into a poor but royal home
His name shall be Immanuel,
"God with us", the Lord Himself

Though you were the King of Kings
You came to us to be despised
And even as a tiny babe
Your fate on the cross was always sure

The Child grew in stength and grace
And learned the craft His father taught
I wonder, when He hammered a nail
Did He cringe at what He knew would come?

Because though you were the King of Kings
You came to us to be despised
And even as a tiny babe
Your fate on the cross was always sure

As You hung upon that tree
I know You must have thought of me
And though You knew all I would do
You gave Your life to set me free