Been a while since my last post. A lot has happened. Some good, some bad. First the good: Moved to a new apartment with my at the time girlfriend. Got an amazing goofball of a dog, zoey (harlequin great dane), Got engaged, married myself to an amazing woman while I still have my looks, graduated, got an amazing job by having brass balls the size of cantaloupes, and life is going really swell.
The bad, and probably one of the larger reasons (finals, then moving, then dealing with this all combined together in series)I haven't posted on this blog was my fiancee (when we were still only engaged) and I were nearly run out of our home church because we moved in together, and the advice I got from one of the deacons was to "keep a low profile until you two are married". We stayed with the church, and ended up getting pre-marital counseling from the man who approached us over the issue, and were married by the man who )to my knowledge) first had issues with our situation. They are both swell men, standing up for their beliefs, but they definitely did not handle the situation as good as possible. Past is past though, and hopefully Kim and I will be able to drop the habit of staying low profile in our church. In the future, when there is a questionable issue (question whether something is even wrong, let alone sinful), please don't threaten the people with "the deacons board".
Life is swell, though there are some humorous aspects to it. Our best married couple friends have Issues with a capital I, and balancing being there for them with not getting too involved is a fun exercise. It also shows just how insightful and intuitive I can be. Along with empathetic. Seeing these positive aspects only reminds me of the good that was done in my life, early on, to ensure I have those 3 qualities. It is easy for me to see how I would be if I lacked empathy, the official description is sociopath. It is incredibly easy for me to know how to manipulate people, to prod them however I want, but I try to only do it for that person's own benefit.
So, we shall see if I continue posting...
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Sunday, February 28, 2010
What is worship?
What is it meant to look like?
Is there a difference in how humans worship versus the rest of creation?
Worship is a meeting with God and recognizing him for what he is, a supreme being. Worship is admitting that something other than yourself is worth your glory and attention.
Worship can take on many forms. The most common is singing, dancing, and praise. Yet is this it? Is worship this physical and emotional response? I say no. Worship should ALWAYS be a spiritual response first. Then, as you approach God spiritually, let whatever desires come be performed, be it an emotional response (crying, becoming exuberant, joy, etc.), a physical response (singing, dancing, jumping up and down,etc.), or an intellectual response (reading the bible, prayer, etc.). For many people, this is reversed. They respond first emotionally, physically, or intellectually to a problem and then spiritually. Sometimes the leap to the spiritual response doesn't happen, and we feel like we are just going through the motions, because we are. That spiritual connection to God is what makes us feel refreshed, what makes us feel good. All good things flow from Him. For those reading this, I would challenge you, as you worship God in the future, to ensure your first response is spiritual. Do not sing, or dance, or do anything but search for God and look for that spiritual connection. Then, as you find that, lose yourself in God, and do what feels natural, what feels right. Do not be embarrassed. Do not feel out of place as you search for God while others sing and dance. It is not about exterior appearances, or exterior actions. It is about the interior.
How does creation worship God? By doing what God designed it to do. A watchmaker takes pride the first time he puts all the pieces together and sees it ticking once a second. God does the same thing. He gains pleasure at seeing the grass grow how and where he planned it too, for the birds singing and eating and reproducing, for the world to be acting how he made it. We fit into this too. We give glory to God for acting how he has planned us to act. We dont have to even be thinking about God as we do this for it to be a worship to him. Just look at how intricate and cool the human body is, think about how fast the blood is racing through your veins as you read this, how the breathe you take in is used. It is all a miraculously well tuned machine. There are so many back-ups and fail-safes built right into our bodies. So, therefore we dont have to be singing at a wall, or reading the Bible to be worshiping God, we simply have to be human, and try to follow God's plan and will, as we see it.
Is there a difference in how humans worship versus the rest of creation?
Worship is a meeting with God and recognizing him for what he is, a supreme being. Worship is admitting that something other than yourself is worth your glory and attention.
Worship can take on many forms. The most common is singing, dancing, and praise. Yet is this it? Is worship this physical and emotional response? I say no. Worship should ALWAYS be a spiritual response first. Then, as you approach God spiritually, let whatever desires come be performed, be it an emotional response (crying, becoming exuberant, joy, etc.), a physical response (singing, dancing, jumping up and down,etc.), or an intellectual response (reading the bible, prayer, etc.). For many people, this is reversed. They respond first emotionally, physically, or intellectually to a problem and then spiritually. Sometimes the leap to the spiritual response doesn't happen, and we feel like we are just going through the motions, because we are. That spiritual connection to God is what makes us feel refreshed, what makes us feel good. All good things flow from Him. For those reading this, I would challenge you, as you worship God in the future, to ensure your first response is spiritual. Do not sing, or dance, or do anything but search for God and look for that spiritual connection. Then, as you find that, lose yourself in God, and do what feels natural, what feels right. Do not be embarrassed. Do not feel out of place as you search for God while others sing and dance. It is not about exterior appearances, or exterior actions. It is about the interior.
How does creation worship God? By doing what God designed it to do. A watchmaker takes pride the first time he puts all the pieces together and sees it ticking once a second. God does the same thing. He gains pleasure at seeing the grass grow how and where he planned it too, for the birds singing and eating and reproducing, for the world to be acting how he made it. We fit into this too. We give glory to God for acting how he has planned us to act. We dont have to even be thinking about God as we do this for it to be a worship to him. Just look at how intricate and cool the human body is, think about how fast the blood is racing through your veins as you read this, how the breathe you take in is used. It is all a miraculously well tuned machine. There are so many back-ups and fail-safes built right into our bodies. So, therefore we dont have to be singing at a wall, or reading the Bible to be worshiping God, we simply have to be human, and try to follow God's plan and will, as we see it.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
New Blog
Im gonna try to post weekly with some revelation Ive had, or some thought train I need to get out. Comments and discussions will be appreciated. Thanks...
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