Language

For quite some time I have been wanting to write a post about words, about the language that we use. It never seemed like such a hot topic to me, but lately I have met several people who, even though they are professing Christians, don't seem to have a problem using different forms of profanity.

Growing up, that was never an issue, those were bad words. And even when I went through a time when I used those words (sorry mom), I never tried to support their usage: I knew they were wrong and out of place for a Christian. In fact, when I finally decided to put my full faith in Christ, that was one of the first things to go in my pursuit of godliness.

Now, I have always considered myself an open-minded person, so each time someone has come along in my life and has questioned my beliefs, I have always tried to reconsider whether or not these beliefs were biblical or personal. I have found some to be personal and some to be biblical, and have been man enough to admit when I have been wrong.

But it seems like more and more the people that I know are chalking too much up to personal preference. Suddenly the Bible doesn't have anything to say at all, it is all preference.

Well. That's wrong.

The Bible does have something to say about language. It does have something to say about the words that we use. If you don't believe me, check out Ephesians 5. Do a word search. Study a topic. You don't have to be a Biblical seminarian to read the word of God and understand it. All you need is the Holy Spirit living and dwelling in your heart.

But here is the problem that I see: Laziness and Pride.

Laziness. There are way too many lazy Christians out there. I say that because I have struggled greatly in my life with laziness. I can also say that because it is true. There are way too many out there who are depending on their pastors and teachers to find all of the truth to live their lives by.

Also, if there is a topic that they are unsure about do they seek to "find out what pleases the Lord" (Eph 5:10)? Of course not. They begin formulating and hypothesizing based on their own understanding of the topics.

Pride. I see this as a problem as well. When you go to yourself for the answers to problems, you will inevitably develop a deep sense of pride in yourself.

To be honest, I see this all of the time in the blog world. Oh, you can find all sorts of blogs out there with self-proclaimed spiritual gurus, who are so enlightened that even the mention of the Biblical truth is met with mocking and ridicule. You leave these blogs as if they just patted you on the head and said, "you poor dear soul... we know that you haven't been as enlightened as we have. We will pray for you."

Frankly it is infuriating. Believing that the Bible is absolutely true does not make me hard headed or obtuse. As a mathematician by trade, I believe in absolute truth. And if I have found it, that doesn't make me crazy.

If you would like to read another's opinions on this topic of language, and probably a better put together writing on this topic, the check this out: What the @*&#...? A Christian Critique of Swearing

Queen Anne

My wife has a friend named Anne.

I don't know why, but whenever I hear her name mentioned, I think of the Queen Anne's Lace flower. It is probably just the name, but Anne has been a real God-sent for my wife.

She met Anne just at the right time, just in time. They have been a great help to each other, and have become true friends.

I have become very thankful for Queen Anne.

Thanks be to God.

I will exalt you, O LORD,
   for you lifted me out of the depths
   and did not let my enemies gloat over me.

O LORD my God, I called to you for help
   and you healed me.

O LORD, you brought me up from the grave;
   you spared me from going down into the pit.

Sing to the LORD, you saints of his;
   praise his holy name.

For his anger lasts only a moment,
   but his favor lasts a lifetime;
   weeping may remain for a night,
      but rejoicing comes in the morning.

When I felt secure, I said,
   "I will never be shaken."

O LORD, when you favored me,
   you made my mountain stand firm;
   but when you hid your face,
      I was dismayed.

To you, O LORD, I called;
   to the Lord I cried for mercy:

"What gain is there in my destruction,
   in my going down into the pit?
   Will the dust praise you?
   Will it proclaim your faithfulness?

Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me;
   O LORD, be my help."

You turned my wailing into dancing;
   you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,

that my heart may sing to you and not be silent.
   O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever.

Psalm 30 (NIV)

posting

When I first started blogging, there was the novelty of the whole thing. I could post something with this service, and they would put it up on the internet. It was new, it was cool, and I was excited about it. My posts didn't have much sense to them (not that they do now... no comments), but it was fun.

Then I felt like I was on a mission. I started doing book reviews and little lessons from the Bible. The teacher in me felt it necessary to post things with meaning to them: something that would leave my readers thinking.

Then I felt like I was in bondage to the blog. I couldn't get away from it. If I didn't post nearly everyday, I felt like I was letting the internet down or something. Stupid, I know. But I still felt that way. This was right about the same time that I started paying attention to my different statcounters. I wanted the numbers, and I knew that the best way to keep the numbers up was to post everyday.

Now I am back to the fun stage. I post when something crosses my mind. OR if I find something interesting on the internet or in the news. Some family stuff makes it on here. Quirky little thoughts make it here. You might find a verse or two on here and my thoughts on those things, but don't get antsy if I don't post... :)

If there is one thing that I have learned about blogs, the blog usually reveals about 5% of the person at most. It is easy to think that the blogs that you read are telling you everything about the person, but that is so far from the truth.

So anyway, if I have an interesting thought, it might make it to the blog, it might not. Even now, I have a little more that I would like to say, but frankly I am tired of typing.

So I will see you all around!

another day

another half dollar

Student Quote -- #3

This is the best complement that I have ever received as a math teacher:

I hate math, but you make it bearable.

A couple of other Quotes:
Student Quote -- #2
Student Quote -- #1

Student Quote -- #2

Here is an insult that I overheard one student hurling at another student:

You're gross. Shouldn't you be smart?

If you think about it, it is actually a double insult. But I am not quite sure whether or not this particular student even knew what they were saying.

Another Student Quote:
Student Quote -- #1

He hears.

The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous
   and his ears are attentive to their cry;
Psalm 34:15 (NIV)

God is watching.

He sees everything that we are going through. Nothing escapes His attention. When we cry out to Him, He hears us. Even when our prayers don't seem to reach beyond the ceiling... it doesn't matter, they don't need to reach beyond any ceiling, in fact, they don't even need to pass beyond our own lips. He hears even when no one else can.

that little icon...

Alrighty, I figured it out. I finally figured out how to put one of those little icons next to the address up in the address bar.

It should look like this now:




If you add me to your favorites, then it should show up in your favorites list as well.



If you would like to add your own icon to your own site, then here is what you need to do:

First: Create your icon, making sure it is 16x16 pixels and has the name favicon.ico

Second: Save your icon on your webserver.

Third: Somewhere between the tags <HEAD> and </HEAD>, you need to place this code:
<LINK REL="SHORTCUT ICON" HREF="http://www.mydomain.com/favicon.ico">

After that, it should work...


Update: To see the little icon (if it doesn't show up on its own). Watch this video.

The New Evil !

That's right ladies and gentlemen... Christian Conservatives are the new evil. Not only are these Christians the new evil in America, they are going to be destroying society.

...well, at least that is what Jimmy Carter is saying in his new book.

Check out this article on that book. I couldn't believe it when I read it.

a little fun

Want to have a little fun?

Check out this site... hilarious!

Student Quote -- #1

After discussing the standards in my Algebra II class,

"This isn't challenging, its hard."

hmmm...

taking a walk

"He who thinks he is a leader but nobody is following...
    is just taking a walk."
~John Maxwell

I can't remember who John Maxwell is, but when I was in college (back in 1994...) I wrote this statement down.

Here I am a few years later, and I have to say that I still agree with this quote. However, I would like to add one thing to it: He who thinks that he isn't a leader but has many following... will still give an account for where he has walked.

I want to add this last part because I have seen many a person disclaim leadership. They are even repulsed by the word, but so many are following them. I have come to believe that there are certain people that God has gifted with leadership. And even if they don't want that gift, they have it, and God will hold them accountable for the stewardships that he has gifted.

shine

May God be gracious to us
    and bless us
and make his face shine on us,
    Selah.
Psalm 67:1 (NIV)

This is my prayer today, at this moment.

Shut Up

When words are many,
    sin is not absent,
but he who holds his tongue
    is wise.
Proverbs 10:19 (NIV)

Some people just need to learn to shut-up.

Close your mouth, zip the lip, say no more!

Between the mouth and the brain there is a flow valve. The brain thinks something, and the valve decides whether or not to let it pass to the mouth. Some people have non-functional valves. Thoughts just flow right out of the mouth: Some good, some bad, some ugly.

The most interesting thing about these people who don't know when to be quiet, is that you really get to know who they are. Jesus put it this way, "...out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks." When something spills out, saying, "oops, I didn't mean that..." isn't exactly true. The truth is: you said exactly what you meant.