a 're-defining' of key terms....

you know how those classes are, they start with the professor on the first day 'clarifying' and 'defining' terms, so everyone's on the same (correct) page.

i think we've missed something when it comes to defining. i think we see some words in the Bible and consider them in their definition from the dictionary. Don't get me wrong, dictionaries are great: but dictionaries define what words mean in human thought and language -- and human thought and language is quite fallible. One key word, or 'concept', is (with dictionary definition):

beauty -

1: the quality or aggregate of qualities in a person or thing that gives pleasure to the senses or pleasurably exalts the mind or spirit : loveliness 2: a beautiful person or thing; especially : a beautiful woman3: a particularly graceful, ornamental, or excellent quality4: a brilliant, extreme, or egregious example or instance beauty>

we'll start small, because i've got a paper to write, and i'm sure you don't have all day. :)

Beauty. In American culture, beauty is physical, and there is a laundry list of ugly characteristics that we all try to avoid so that we can achieve beauty. I don't believe that the Lord defines beauty in this way. To the Lord, beauty is something entirely belonging to Him, and He gives it to His people. Psalm 149.4 reads: "For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the afflicted ones with salvation." So for someone to truly be beautiful, it must mean that the Lord has had His way with them in bringing them to repentance. To follow logically, the only beautiful people are saved people. And we all consider most of the "beautiful people" of the world (super-models, movie stars, celebrities) to be pretty loose and in general 'not-saved', therefore they must not truly be beautiful. chew on that.

All of my life I have done a poor job of defining beauty. i believe that it is time we re-defined this key word, and lived out of the biblical definition - that we call things for what God says they are. After all, He is the author of truth. And in this situation, He is the only true "beauty" to be found.

seeking beauty? try Jesus. he'll blow your mind.

Bendi

meet Bendi. It's short for "bendición," which is Spanish for "blessing."

loving life

I read the article (below) in the WSJ on Monday, and it was really convicting. "Convicting?" You may ask, incredulous at my choice of words. But yes, it stands; the article was convicting.

Not obviously, and not directly, but reading it as a Christian whose main goal for life should be to die to herself and live to Christ, convicting. Because really, how much do we cling to this life out of desperation, because it is all we have, all we can see ... where is the faith in Christ and the hope of heaven? Those two things should vault us upward to the point of saying, and really meaning, what our Brother Paul said: "To live is Christ, and to die is gain." (Philippians 1.21)

There is a man from the church that I grew up in, and he is dying. Of course, we are all dying, and somewhat dead already, but this man is being physically assaulted with the death of his body. I mean cancer, strokes, you name it. Christians are rallying to the family's side, praying for healing. Amen. According to the will of God, to display His power and bring Jesus glory, so be it!

But what if he dies?

Is God not good anymore, to allow that suffering to his family? Au contraire, is God not good now, to allow that suffering to this man's own life?

Biblically, the righteous "man perishes, and no man takes it to heart; and devout men are taken away, while no one understands. For the righteous man is taken away from evil, he enters into peace; they rest in their beds, each one who walked in his upright way." (Isaiah 57.1-2, emphasis mine)

Beloved, there is more to true life than what we call 'life'. More than the pursuits of earthly gain, more than the quest for happiness. What we see is not what we get. The image in the mirror will fade, will change, and then will be transformed forever when Christ comes back. This is not all there is.

I am frustrated with my own lack of desire to leave this life. How come the Muslims are the ones willing to die for their faith, shouldn't that place be reserved for the Holy People of the Most High God, who actually have a truth worth dying for? Shouldn't we be living (in Christ alone) out the death to sin, willing to forsake even blood and breath for the kingdom? Isn't God that great of a reality, that worthy of everything, that good...

isn't He worth it?

article from the Wall Stree Journal 3.3.08

OPINION

Worshippers of Death

By ALAN M. DERSHOWITZ
March 3, 2008; Page A17

Zahra Maladan is an educated woman who edits a women's magazine in Lebanon. She is also a mother, who undoubtedly loves her son. She has ambitions for him, but they are different from those of most mothers in the West. She wants her son to become a suicide bomber.

At the recent funeral for the assassinated Hezbollah terrorist Imad Moughnaya -- the mass murderer responsible for killing 241 marines in 1983 and more than 100 women, children and men in Buenos Aires in 1992 and 1994 -- Ms. Maladan was quoted in the New York Times giving the following warning to her son: "if you're not going to follow the steps of the Islamic resistance martyrs, then I don't want you."

Zahra Maladan represents a dramatic shift in the way we must fight to protect our citizens against enemies who are sworn to kill them by killing themselves. The traditional paradigm was that mothers who love their children want them to live in peace, marry and produce grandchildren. Women in general, and mothers in particular, were seen as a counterweight to male belligerence. The picture of the mother weeping as her son is led off to battle -- even a just battle -- has been a constant and powerful image.

Now there is a new image of mothers urging their children to die, and then celebrating the martyrdom of their suicidal sons and daughters by distributing sweets and singing wedding songs. More and more young women -- some married with infant children -- are strapping bombs to their (sometimes pregnant) bellies, because they have been taught to love death rather than life. Look at what is being preached by some influential Islamic leaders:

"We are going to win, because they love life and we love death," said Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah. He has also said: "[E]ach of us lives his days and nights hoping more than anything to be killed for the sake of Allah." Shortly after 9/11, Osama bin Laden told a reporter: "We love death. The U.S. loves life. That is the big difference between us."

"The Americans love Pepsi-Cola, we love death," explained Afghani al Qaeda operative Maulana Inyadullah. Sheik Feiz Mohammed, leader of the Global Islamic Youth Center in Sydney, Australia, preached: "We want to have children and offer them as soldiers defending Islam. Teach them this: There is nothing more beloved to me than wanting to die as a mujahid." Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a speech: "It is the zenith of honor for a man, a young person, boy or girl, to be prepared to sacrifice his life in order to serve the interests of his nation and his religion."

How should Western democracies fight against an enemy whose leaders preach a preference for death?

The two basic premises of conventional warfare have long been that soldiers and civilians prefer living to dying and can thus be deterred from killing by the fear of being killed; and that combatants (soldiers) can easily be distinguished from noncombatants (women, children, the elderly, the infirm and other ordinary citizens). These premises are being challenged by women like Zahra Maladan. Neither she nor her son -- if he listens to his mother -- can be deterred from killing by the fear of being killed. They must be prevented from succeeding in their ghoulish quest for martyrdom. Prevention, however, carries a high risk of error. The woman walking toward the group of soldiers or civilians might well be an innocent civilian. A moment's hesitation may cost innocent lives. But a failure to hesitate may also have a price.

Late last month, a young female bomber was shot as she approached some shops in central Baghdad. The Iraqi soldier who drew his gun hesitated as the bomber, hands raised, insisted that she wasn't armed. The soldier and a shop owner finally opened fire as she dashed for the stores; she was knocked to the ground but still managed to detonate the bomb, killing three and wounding eight. Had the soldier and other bystanders not called out a warning to others -- and had they not shot her before she could enter the shops -- the death toll certainly would have been higher. Had he not hesitated, it might have been lower.

As more women and children are recruited by their mothers and their religious leaders to become suicide bombers, more women and children will be shot at -- some mistakenly. That too is part of the grand plan of our enemies. They want us to kill their civilians, who they also consider martyrs, because when we accidentally kill a civilian, they win in the court of public opinion. One Western diplomat called this the "harsh arithmetic of pain," whereby civilian casualties on both sides "play in their favor." Democracies lose, both politically and emotionally, when they kill civilians, even inadvertently. As Golda Meir once put it: "We can perhaps someday forgive you for killing our children, but we cannot forgive you for making us kill your children."

Civilian casualties also increase when terrorists operate from within civilian enclaves and hide behind human shields. This relatively new phenomenon undercuts the second basic premise of conventional warfare: Combatants can easily be distinguished from noncombatants. Has Zahra Maladan become a combatant by urging her son to blow himself up? Have the religious leaders who preach a culture of death lost their status as noncombatants? What about "civilians" who willingly allow themselves to be used as human shields? Or their homes as launching pads for terrorist rockets?

The traditional sharp distinction between soldiers in uniform and civilians in nonmilitary garb has given way to a continuum. At the more civilian end are babies and true noncombatants; at the more military end are the religious leaders who incite mass murder; in the middle are ordinary citizens who facilitate, finance or encourage terrorism. There are no hard and fast lines of demarcation, and mistakes are inevitable -- as the terrorists well understand.

We need new rules, strategies and tactics to deal effectively and fairly with these dangerous new realities. We cannot simply wait until the son of Zahra Maladan -- and the sons and daughters of hundreds of others like her -- decide to follow his mother's demand. We must stop them before they export their sick and dangerous culture of death to our shores.

Mr. Dershowitz teaches law at Harvard University and is the author of "Finding Jefferson" (Wiley, 2007).

See all of today's editorials and op-eds, plus video commentary, on Opinion Journal.

And add your comments to the Opinion Journal forum.

link to the original article here.

i am a gentle warrior?

well, i don't know about the middle part, but i like the idea of this slogan:

"i am a gentle warrior."

because as Christians, we are called to emulate the gentleness, compassion,
humility, and servanthood of Christ; all in the midst of this perpetual battle
against the kingdom of darkness. armor-clad servants, warring lovers,
humble soldiers. amazing.

i met one such man just yesterday. A missionary to the Czech Republic for 15
years, looking at him was the closest i've been so far to gazing on the face of
God. not to worship Roger, not at all; but to stand in awe of God as i came
into contact with one of His humble servants, a kind-hearted warrior in the
kingdom. it was a true blessing. i'm still in wonderment about it all! but really,
he reminded me of Jesus, more than anyone i think i've met so far. and that was
awesome. Jesus is amazing.

example 4

example 3

this little Iraqi girls' parents were both killed (if I remember correctly from the story)
and she was shot in the head but not fatally wounded. as she recovered, she was inconsolable
except by this officer, who proceeded to spend 4 nights sleeping in this chair, holding
this child so that she would finally sleep.

she is recovering well.

example 2

"the battle is the Lord's"

example 1

strength and compassion

As Christians, we wear such heavy and strong armor (the armor of God), but we clothe ourselves with gentleness and compassion; soft-hearted warriors. What does this look like, since it seems to be a dichotomy?

it’s the armor-clad soldier bending down to hug a child -

the stern-faced officer leaning in to hear a woman share her story through sobs -

the policeman who cuts his widow-neighbor’s yard -

the president who serves his wife.

men of great compassion, laden down with status, forgetting their position, lowering themselves gladly:

this is here our calling, this is what it is; to know with every heartbeat just who we are to Him

then taking that, our story, to nations and to towns, giving praise and glory to the God who came and found

it’s humbly serving others, putting their needs first, showing Jesus’ love to them in squalor, filth, and dirt

it’s cleaning someone’s dishes, caring for their kids, wrapping up their Christmas gifts when the parents are both sick

it’s taking out the garbage with a smile, for your wife, it’s hearing children laugh and play, and joining in their life

strength and compassion, soldier and servant, embodied in one flesh, united at last.

what it all comes down to, is being like Christ.

“… who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Philippians 2.6-8

“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves…” Philippians 2.3-5a

“…seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of him who called us by His own glory and excellence.” 2 Peter 1.3

yet another quote

Corita Kent - "Life is a succession of moments, To live each one is to succeed."

quote.

This, believe it or not, was found on a "congratulations" card the small group gave to Dave as we 'celebrated,' in essence, his going to Jordan next week.

"at last the ladder, which had been built slowly, slowly, one hope at a time, reached up to the clouds. And the dreamer began to climb."

i liked that.

heroic lives

Here’s a bit of lameness for you, my cool font doesn’t translate to any other computer but my own. Darn internet, so inconsistent. Oh well, rest assured that it is a beautiful font from this end.

I was thinking today, oh what was it about? Now I’m not remembering. It was good, too.

Well, until it comes to me, here’s a question I asked a friend of mine yesterday, I don’t even know why I asked it of him (it seems now like it was an inspired moment), but after the fact it dawned upon me that it’s a really great question and I want to know my own answer. It must not have been my own question making that did it, because I couldn’t come up with this. It’s simple, but there’s more to it than meets the eye … question:

Whose life do you most want to emulate?

Sounds simple enough, most would first name some high profile figure like Lincoln, Washington, Churchill; a few would name parents, grandparents, or an influential teacher; others might name missionaries or sports figures, or Mother Teresa. But I’m not really talking about life-long accomplishments, because although they are important, the specifics of them depend largely upon individual gifts, callings, and life-background/direction; plus personality. For instance, I could not accomplish in a million years what Churchill did, because my personality is such that I compromise in confrontational situations easily and want to think the best of people, two qualities that would have been incredibly detrimental to the health of England (and the free world) during WWII.

No, I’m speaking more in terms of everyday life, is there a person whose life you look at and say “I would like my days to look like that. I would like to handle those continual situations with the same ease and grace. My finances need to be submitted to the Lord like theirs are. It seems like in their relationship with the Lord they’ve come to a depth of closeness I’ve not yet known; and I would like my life to look like theirs.”

No, I’m speaking more in terms of the mundane, the everyday, the stuff we all go through.

And why not? Why is there not a greater level of detail in the writings of the New Testament authors, to provide us with either comfort or challenge? Were the lives of Paul, Peter, John, and James as mundane and boring as ours and yet they found grace to live in the midst of it, or were their lives filled with one great and amazing thing after another and thus we have missed something as Christians? One thing I know is that less information demands more faith. We have no real idea what it looked like for those guys, for the early Christians. But I keep thinking of groups like the Thessalonians, people to whom it was written to “make every effort to lead a quiet life, and work with your hands.” (1 Thess. 4.11) Christians, working, doing the every day ‘quiet life.’ The first ever ‘simple life’.

So, whose life do I most want to emulate? I don’t know my answer. Now I want to go read some biographies and figure it out. And it would seem that if they were alive, a way could be found to seek their living advice, and if they were dead, a way could be found to still receive inspiration…their legacy of faith…as encouragement. Maybe.

culture shock.

culture shock.

First, let me say that I am very excited about this font. It very closely resembles my own handwriting, except for the f’s, and the k’s. But really, that is beside the point.

This afternoon I partook in a Spanish church service on the other side of town. My Aunt and Uncle’s church lets this Christian Spanish church use their buildings on Sunday afternoons. I met the co-pastors at my Uncle’s birthday party; they are a really cool couple who spent 25 years in Costa Rica as missionaries.

Have you ever been in Spanish culture? It’s amazing. And really weird, all at the same time. Today was so good for me, but hard as well! I tried to only speak Spanish to the Hispanic people, but I was so nervous and scared of messing up that I think it blocked my ears from understanding what people were saying to me. That, and I haven’t been in a full-blooded Spanish situation like that since last year, in Guatemala. So, even though I do read Spanish bi-weekly and hear it spoken bi-weekly in my 250 class, it’s different to be around 40-50 native speakers who are getting together to fellowship. They were so welcoming! But I felt like a doofus. Oh well, what can you do?

I understood far less than I expected, some of which my have been due to my own nervousness that, like I said above, clogged my ears from understanding. All in all, it was really cool.

There’s just something about Spanish, that now when my mind is set upon a degree in it with a possible future in translating, I get excited even when I encounter a very real glimpse of how far I have to go in Spanish skills. Even though it’s hard, I feel settled into the idea that yes, barring a door-closed from the Lord, I will spend a fair portion of the rest of my life speaking Spanish on some level. That’s a fun thought for me.

Well, this week I take the SLRPE, the Spanish Listening and Reading Placement Exam, which I must pass with an 80% or better to get into the 400 level Spanish classes at OSU. I’m a little nervous, but I’m hearing from people’s experience that it’s not all that bad, and I’ll be glad when it’s over at least.

Let’s see, what else….? Well, nothing really of more importance. And, actually, it’s almost bedtime. So I’m off for now. Have a great week!

stop! think. then maybe, just maybe ... speak.

i’m amazed at how smart we humans think we are. just because we have cognitive processes, does that really give us the power to express them at will? here’s what i mean:

- why do i think that i have to say every thought that runs across my head?

- do i really find my thought so sanctified that they should are exempt from being weighed in a balance according a scale of Philippians 4.8 before they come spitting out of my mouth?

- shouldn’t i have learned as a kid that just because something is in my head doesn’t mean it needs to come out right when it crosses my mind?

- or where is the love: giving other’s the preference even in speech, being considerate not to cut one another off to get my own ideas heard?

still you tell me that words have the power of life and death, to tear down or build up. but no one constrains me from my own selfishness! no one will stand up to me and speak directly to my impoliteness! but it remains: no change will come unless i die the death of slow silence. and it must be done.

it’s because of pride, really, that i find my thoughts more important, more inspired, more logical, more useful, better, than yours. and so that warrants me full right to speak over you. but really, is it the Spirit of God within me prompting me to speak? no, it is the fleshly desire for attention and affirmation. it does not stem from some pure motivation to encourage the brethren, it is a vain and selfish ambition. it is sin. and i am speaking about myself.

the small group’s been in Romans for a few weeks, and last night we wrapped up with 12. there is some awesome stuff in 12. I highly recommend it to you.

12.1 therefore i urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

.2 and do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is; that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

so first: because of all that God has done for us in pouring out His extravagant love on the cross and delivering us from the power of sin and death (this is no small potatoes! i get so used to this language that it sometimes loses meaning, but how rich and powerful these truths are!), because of Jesus, we are not our own Remember?

1 Corinthians 6.19-20, ‘or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? for you have been bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body.’

there are parts of me that need to die. i am not fully refined. so often i catch myself thinking these prideful thoughts that stem from the belief that i’m doing just great on my own, and that i’m great just as i am. i like to ignore the painful process that God desires to work, the part where He prunes the sin out of my life, where i have to work with Him in self-discipline, self-control, and obedience. the point is, one aspect of my life’s worship to God is coming to Him, messed up as i am, and presenting myself completely to Him as a sacrifice. saying ‘Lord, i’m willing to do whatever you want me to do,’ even if it means holding my tongue and controlling what comes out of my mouth.

12.3 for through the grace given to me i say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.

and later,

12.16 be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.

humility.

Philippians 2.5-13 have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

i'm done with bitter winter.

it is bitter cold outside. disappointing.

i long for the days of sun and warmth, the light of the day, the stars of the eve, sweet afternoons of soaking up rays out on the back porch. i miss the flowers, the blue skies with clouds.

actually, i miss laziness, which doesn’t speak too well to my state emotionally. : ) funny enough, i’m back dreaming of last summer (which i got pretty bored with quickly) when i was just working 4 hours a day and then doing whatever else i wanted. and it was warm outside. that was nice.

but i’m here, and it’s February, and life is rolling on. it’s very, very interesting these days, and you will be hearing more in the days to come.

so enjoy the flowers posted here, let them bring you some warm summer cheer!

by the way, it’s warm in Guatemala right now…

lazy saturday?

Wonderful Saturdays., Saturdays are wonderful

in the absence of picky exams. . .

but in the presence of such

it’s a wonder, how much

of one’s time is expended to cram.

J oh happy day. J

It is beautiful outside today, in Ohio, that is. The sun is actually shining, the sky fairly blue, no pesky-cold winds, and a bearable temperature. and I? Where am I? i am inside. studying for midterms!

Health is tomorrow, and it’s going well: did you know that the energy content of carbohydrates is 4kcals per gram? Well, it is. I hope you find that information useful, as I hope that I remember it tomorrow.

on Thursday i happened upon a local (local to C-bus!) Spanish radio station, and i have been toying with it since then, hoping to expand my skills in the realm of listening to Spanish. it’s fun, but i’ve noticed that almost all of the songs played so far in my hearing are of the mariachi-type genre; complete with horns and an accordion. it really just serves to “crack me funny” (an expression i mistakenly created at work this week similar to “crack me up” or “strike me funny”) every time a song starts. good for laughs, i guess, if nothing else.

tonight we’re making General Tso’s chicken, and also Shezuan (sp?) chicken. yay! i hope it’s good.

one more thing, Friday at work i got a voicemail requesting shot records, and when i called the girl back it turns out it was a former co-worker from my days at the bookstore! we got to catch up about life and it was really neat-o.. i like how God does stuff like that to make life more interesting.

well, enjoy your weekends, i have nothing more to say!

Missing Guatemala

…this will be short. my health book is staring at me beckoningly (actually the thought of my midterm sunday is what’s really beckoning) …

as the title suggests, i am indeed in a pining state, for “native” Guatemala. i met a new co-worker today who has a good friend from Guatemala and my first thought was “una Guatemalteca? i want to meet her!” maybe it’s the weather, it’s so cold and windy/chilly here and it’s been a little annoying around campus because of that. or maybe it’s that everything’s been steady and vaguely familiar for a little too long, and i just want a change of pace. then again, i’m content here, just a teeny bit of me wants to be there…. i don’t know what it is. probably more the idea of Guatemala than anything, but some days i could just pack up and leave it all behind! no plans for that happening, but you’ll hear about it if anything surfaces.

as stated moments ago, my health book is staring me down. i must attend to it’s reading. if you think of Guatemala, think fondly people: it’s amazing!

:: estudiar a español es la vida maja - así es la vida yo he escogido. ::

sí, una mas semana ha venido a nuestros brazos. y por que? que podemos hacer con siete días, veinte-cuatro horas en cada uno, sesenta minutos en cada hora . . . hay cosas por nosotros hacer.

por mí, es estudiar a español, la salud, y la comunicación; gozarme con mi familia y amigos, trabajar muy duro y servir como si yo estoy sirviendo a Jesucristo. yo deseo que mis días podrían estar llenados con viajes misioneros, pocos preocupaciones, mucho sueño, y otras cosas mismas . . . pero esta es la época que estoy en, y este tiempo tiene valor porque hay cosas que Dios quiere hacer en mí y (quizá!) con mi vida.

aquí son solas muy pocas cosas que yo estoy pensando de, yo no tengo tiempo escribir todas, pero necesito mucho practicar las estrategias que estoy aprendiendo.

gracias por leer, y quiere usted traducir esto, puede con Altavista.com’s “Babel Fish Translation.”

100th post . . . i wish it were special-er

well well well what do we have here. ? . huh.

my afternoon activity got canceled, so now i am slowly drifting into a state of calm relaxedness. . . helped there by low responsibility and a warm blanket.

So yup, this is the 100th post as a blogger here on, well, Blogger. how ironic. 100 times i have typed out words on this site, more for my own remembrance than for the sake of people wanting to read. but i've really enjoyed this blog, and maybe someday it will be on the Lord's heart for me to write more. if not, then what you've seen is what you'll get: random posts.

i guess i missed the new year mark, so happy new year everyone! i'm back in school, studying spanish and enjoying the college life again. somehow this quarter just feels so easy, i'm hoping that it doesn't come crashing down around me. yesterday was the first spanish test, i think that it went well....we'll see next wednesday. exciting-ness: no school monday! happy MLK day!

monday is also the first culture day at pediatric associates (the office), i'm really excited. i'm thinking i'll do some sort of eastern european country and make a sweet neon poster with cool pictures on it. it's taking me back to my homeschool-ed youth.

tomorrow another settlers night. yippee!

wow. i really have nothing to say.

going on a date with Jesus saturday, to do something that He is passionate about . . . i'm so stoked. i've loved the idea of going on dates with Jesus for some time, but it's normally things like walking and coffee shops, things that i like to do. but it seems only fair and right to investigate the passions of the one i love. so the small group is going with the vineyard downtown to visit some awesome people who live in the parks in columbus. the least of these? it could be Jesus underneath that bridge. in the words of Mike White (who is indeed a delight), hug God's kids! i don't know if physically i'll have the honor of hugging someone saturday night, but to spend time with Jesus and some people that He really genuinely loves like crazy, that itself is breathtakingly exciting! i don't have any more words about that.

so, until something strikes the mind! have a great great great thursday night!!!

kara