All Because Two People Fell in Love

'All because two people fell in love.'

This phrase interestingly sums up my existence.  It sits on a plaque in front of my grandparent's fireplace.  As I sat in their living room, I thought about how inclusive the word all is.  It covers everything.

What's interesting is that plaques like this one are usually the kind you see in newlyweds' homes, not 80 year olds who have been married for 55+ years.

But it is more appropriate for elderly couples to have such a phrase:  their all is a lot further reaching than newlyweds'.  They have more to claim.  They have years of experiences shared together.  They have rough times and easy times, fun dinners, dates, children, and more.  Their children have children which just includes more in all.

I think of my grandparents family:  five children, more than thirty grandchildren, several great-grandchildren, and more coming.

All because two people fell in love.

Finals

Sometimes I wonder if exam week is meant to be a joke.  I'm not sure why.  But I haven't gone crazy over a final in years.  Today I've already taken 2, my third one starts in 30 minutes, and it's only 1030.  I think that it's just that I haven't had a final that has adequately tested what I learned in the class.  Or maybe I am actually in the top tenth, but I really don't think so.

I almost wish I could take the rest of my finals today, but the other two are scheduled.

I guess I might be bragging, so I'll stop.

But finals week is fun, I get to do lots of cleaning checks (38).  But there aren't any today, which is what matters.  Most are tomorrow night. Yay.

Jesus the Lamb

As Christmastime approaches, our awareness of the Jesus story increases.  His birth comes to our minds, and we remember why we celebrate the season.  However, one misunderstood aspect of our Saviour's birth story helps us better understand why He is the Lamb of God: the shepherds.

We know Jesus is the Ultimate and Last Sacrifice, sent by the Father to fulfill the Law of Moses.  On the day of Atonement, unblemished lambs were sacrificed as the offering for Israel's atonement.  With these sacrifices made, the nation once again stood pure before God.  Jesus was sent as the Final Sacrifice--the Sacrifice to End All Sacrifices by the shedding of blood.

Jesus' entire mission was spent leading up to the hours of his Atonement, but His birth, and particularly those to whom the message of His birth was announced, give greater insight to what he was.

We learn, from Luke, that there were shepherds abiding in the fields by night on the eve of the Saviour's birth.  Though we often think "wow, the angels came even to the lowly shepherds," this is not the intent of the announcement.  These were not ordinary shepherd, these were shepherds who watched over the temple's flocks (this is known because of significant internal and external evidence).  These were not the average, poor, run-of-the-mill shepherds.  These shepherds were well-cared for, well-off, and not what we think of when we think "shepherd."

So this may destroy the popular notion that the angels came even to humble shepherds.  But there is a reason the angels came to these shepherds--a symbolic, and, therefore, much more important reason--they watched over the sheep to be sacrificed for Israel's atonement.  The angels came, in essence, to say "Come, see the reason you have a job.  See who will end the need for animal sacrifice."  This symbolism, of shepherds leaving their flocks and coming to Jesus, foreshadows what the early saints had to do:  leave behind the Law of Moses--it had been fulfilled--and come to Christ, recognizing Him as the great and last sacrifice.

The Bible

My brother, like myself, was a strong proponent for Prop 8 (and as the legal fight continues remains so). On his blog, or facebook, or myspace--something--a friend of his posted the comment 'F... the Bible' in reaction to my brother's defense that the Bible condemns the practice of gay marriage (or gay anything for that matter).

"F... the Bible' is a strong comment. It comes from someone who doesn't recognise the foundation upon which Western society is built. The Bible is more than just the bestselling book of all time, it is the moral foundation upon which our society was laid. And, to all those who look, is what kept the world relatively pure for so many years. As we fall away from discipleship to Christ and, as my brother's friend said, 'F... the Bible,' our society will follow. The fact we even had to vote on Prop 8 shows way too many people are saying 'F... the Bible.'

And sadly too many Churches are saying the same thing. Churches that use the Bible each week during their sermons are saying 'F... the Bible' because they aren't willing to stand up for what it teaches. They piddle away the blunt passages in Exodus, Romans (really blunt in the Greek), and Corinthian as mistranslated, unimportant, or 'hatespeech.'

Funny that this book which has given the moral guidance to our society is being decried as 'hatespeech.' Stranger still that a 20th century word is used to devalue the most important book in Christian history--and it's working.

Now is the time for those who are disciples of Christ to stand for what they believe, what the scriptures teach, and face whatever persecution comes. We only stand for morality, for life, for our Saviour. 

Speaking of the times in which we live, Jesus prophesied:

9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.

10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.

11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

So where do you stand? Will you endure? or will you succumb? There are only two choices.

Education vs. Schooling

You know, it's funny, but I'm in an Honours Writing class and today the teacher talked about how trying to get a C in a class would change our university experience. She talked about how it would give us new insights to life and learning, among other things.

While I haven't been trying to earn a C in any of my classes (my presence in an Honours Writing class should give good indication to that), I have realised that, in some small way, I have been following some of the principles my instructor discussed.

As a resident assistant, my life has become one of service to my floor and building. I've given a lot of time to others to help them with papers and other assignments, putting my faith in God to bless me in m studies. And I've seen Him come through. As I've trusted that my service would help someone else, I've seen my own studies greatly blessed (and I've felt very rested on little sleep). In fact, I'm doing better this semester than my previous two--and I feel like I'm studying less.

It's pretty weird, but I have learned a lot as I've put my education (about life and all other subjects) in front of my schooling. I've learned more overall.

So to all you uptight Honours students, don't favour your schooling above your education. Put others first, and trust that the Lord will bless you. I've seen it.

The Samaritan Woman and Us

It seems that every time I got to my New Testament class my respect for women grows. Much of my astonishment come from realising the negative connotations women had in that time. So as I see the high praise women are given in scripture it sharply contrasts with the societal conventions of the day.

Today we discussed John 4 when Jesus converses with the Samaritan woman at the well. According to Jewish tradition Samaritan woman were perpetually unclean. Thus anything accepted of the by any Jew was unclean and the Jew would then be ritually unclean as well.

Yet Jesus asks her to draw water for Him. Imagine her confusion, knowing the Jewish tradition, to have this asked of her. But He then teaches her of the water He has to give. Over the course of their conversation she realises who He is and why His water will truly quench thirst eternally.

I love the symbolism of what she does as well. Because she is a woman, she likely makes the trek to the well daily to draw the water she will use to clean, cook, and give the thirsty inhabitants of her house. This water is life-giving. It is necessary to the survival of all. But it is necessary she draws it from the well daily, for they will surely thirst again.

So as she learns of the water Christ gives, she leaves her waterpot behind to tell the men in her house of Christ. In the same way she brings the water of physical life to her house each day, she brings the water of eternal life when she finds it.

What I love is this is not a role relegated to this woman alone. It is a divine role given to all women. Each is to bring that water of eternity to her home, what a blessing she has in being given this privilege!

Christ's Role in My Life

It's funny at first to think that someone I've never seen could be the central focus of my life. I mean, seriously, I centre my life around Jesus Christ, His atonement for me, and His example.It seems ridiculous looking in with no shared understanding of the effects Christ can have in a life.

I take comfort knowing I have felt His atoning influence in my life. I am grateful to have often felt the ease of the burden of guilt and shame for my actions. We often think of atonement in the terms of sin, but it covers much more than that. I have felt effects of the atonement for sadness, sickness, depression, and hatred. Truthfully, I have felt it in so many different situations I'll bet it covers everything. At least that's what the scriptures teach, and I'm pretty inclined to believe them.

Even when I'm not in the middle of some trauma, I kneel down and seek the love of the Lord. It comes. He gives it that freely.

When I ponder what Christ endured and overcame I am astounded at the amount of love He has for me. (I do not limit that love to just me, but this is about His influence on me.) His atonement wasn't a finite, calculable experience. It involved infinite suffering and strength to perform. To kneel alone in a garden and take--individually--the sins of each person upon Himself shows more love than I can imagine. In some small way, I have suffered pain for others, usually emotional, but never the full extent of what they feel. never physical, spiritual, mental, emotional, and any other way you might think.

I know it's an act of love that I could not perform. But because He was perfect, He could. Only He could. Only He can help us perfect ourselves. It's something I know. And that knowledge supports me in my times of trial.

Art of Atonement

I visited the Museum of Art yesterday with my New Testament class. The museum has a collection of religious and Christ-centred art. My favourite painting was Triplus Number 3 by Ron Richmond.

It is of three vessels sitting on crossed cloths. Each vessel is full of a different medium. The near vessel holds water. The far one looks to hold nothing, but actually holds Spirit. and the centre vessel holds Blood.

The symbolism cannot be ignored: three vessels sitting on crossed red and white cloths certainly have reference to our Saviour. It is also interesting to realise the only things in full focus are the vessels. The edges of the painting are hazy , drawing our attention to the middle.

I was touched how the vessel of blood takes the centre spot in the line of vessels. It is because blood, the blood of Christ, His atoning blood, is what sactifies us. We know by the water that we keep God's commandments (baptism as Christ was), by Spirit we are justified (brought back to even level prior to sin), and by Blood we are sanctified (made Holy and able to enter God's presence).

Christ, though absent in form is the centre of this painting, through the use of symbols.

Promises of Scripture

As I was reading my scriptures this morning, a passage struck me. In The Book of Mormon, a passage from the Book of Ether struck me. This interlude by Moroni was particularly interesting considering current world events.

Speaking of the American continents, he says,

9 And now, we can behold the decrees of God concerning this land, that it is a land of promise; and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall serve God, or they shall be swept off when the fulness of his wrath shall come upon them. And the fulness of his wrath cometh upon them when they are ripened in iniquity.

  10 For behold, this is a land which is choice above all other lands; wherefore he that doth possess it shall serve God or shall be swept off; for it is the everlasting decree of God. And it is not until the fulness of iniquity among the children of the land, that they are swept off.

  11 And this cometh unto you, O ye Gentiles, that ye may know the decrees of God—that ye may repent, and not continue in your iniquities until the fulness come, that ye may not bring down the fulness of the wrath of God upon you as the inhabitants of the land have hitherto done.

  12 Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, who hath been manifested by the things which we have written. 

We live in a land of promise. A land wherein if we keep the commandments of God, we will prosper. It is one of the Book of Mormon's main messages. But the inverse promise also exists--and is often recorded as an example for us: if we will not follow God, we will be cut off. There will be punishments for our iniquitous actions. Moroni does not give this warning lightly.

It is evidence to me of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon: its truths speak to us. They are applicable to our day. More importantly, though, as I read it, the Spirit of the Lord tells me through my thoughts and my feelings that the book is of God.

What is a Right

This was written by the father of a good friend:

Homosexual Marriage is Not a Right

 

Despite the financial crisis this nation now faces, the most important issue is the moral issue facing our state of California. The passage of Proposition 8 is essential for the well being of our children for generations to come. The traditional family structure is absolutely imperative for the continuance of our republic. Sadly, opponents to Proposition 8 have masterminded great deceptions to convince the voters of California against it. One of the greatest deceptions has been fostered by our own state political leaders including Debra Bowen (Secretary of State) and Jerry Brown (Attorney General). The official voter information guide published by the Secretary of State of California contains erroneous and incorrect information about Proposition 8. The proposition is falsely titled as: “Eliminates Right of Same-Sex Couples to Marry.” Homosexual marriage is not a right.

 

This falsehood about a homosexual marriage right is rooted in a misunderstanding of the origin of rights. Rights come from a divine source, not from government. This is very clear in our national birth certificate, The Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of Independence contains the fundamental doctrines of government upon which the U.S. Constitution was designed. The Declaration states that everyone is endowed by their Creator with unalienable rights including life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. These rights must come from a higher source than human governments; otherwise they would not be unalienable. The text of the Constitution does not even contain the word right; this is because rights were already defined in its source document: The Declaration of Independence. Thus, in reality, what we call Constitutional rights are really the inalienable rights from the Creator defined in the Declaration. The duty of any government is to protect these pre-existing rights, not to invent or manipulate them. In summary, since rights come from the Creator, an alleged right must be traced back to the Creator before it can qualify as a right.

 

The Declaration of Independence also contains a formula for determining rights. It states that all law and authority come from the Laws of Nature and the Laws of Nature’s God. The laws of nature are all of the laws of the universe discoverable by man; the laws of Nature’s God all of the revealed laws in Holy Scripture. Thus, it is very clear that in order to qualify as a right, it must be demonstrated within the Laws of Nature or Laws of Nature’s God. Homosexual marriage DOES NOT qualify as either a law of nature or a law of Nature’s God; therefore it is not a right.  Furthermore, since the Declaration is the blueprint for the Constitution; homosexual marriage is also contrary to the spirit of both the Federal and State Constitutions. Jerry Brown and Debra Bowen, supposedly law professionals, are ignorant of the most elementary principles in our organic founding documents: the origin of rights. Both should be recalled for this gross deception perpetrated upon the voters of California.

 

Joseph Andrews

The Center for Teaching the Constitution

www.teachconstitution.org 

Jesus and Marriage

So I ought to blog a little in the midst of my mass of posted videos. I thought it rather appropriate to ponder on Jesus' teachings on marriage. For some reason He might have a little authority on the topic...

Perhaps why I use this example is because I have heard from more than one proponent of gay marriage that "Jesus would favour it. He told us to love everyone." I had never imagined people were so shallow.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches us to love everyone. True. I will even agree with my friends who say Jesus was a radical of His day. Again, true. But what was His motivation for radical thought? Where did His teachings come from? Unlike the radicals of today whose teachings are founded in ever-changing philosophical ideas, Christ's teachings came straight from God, the Maker of the Universe.

Jesus taught people to live with a greater devotion to God. He taught them to love the scriptures and the word of God. Do the radicals of today teach this? Or do they put themselves in place to interpret scriptures? (And doing so ignore all scriptures that teach doctrine contrary to theirs.)

Also in the Sermon n the Mount, Jesus teaches a higher law of chastity than the Jews lived at the time: He taught that whoever looked at a woman to lust after her was as guilty as the adulterer or the fornicator! So he taught lust and acting immorally was wrong.

Where does that fit in with homosexual marriage? It basically shoots every case for it out of the water. While I do not deny people feel they are born gay, they have control over their desires. Christ does not limit who is commanded to be chaste. It is applicable for everyone. Period. End.

And while homosexuals are to be treated with love and mercy, their sinful choice to engage in immoral acts cannot be allowed to infect our society. We've already had enough of that as people have chosen not to accept the consequences of their actions by using abortion and divorce as increasingly popular ways to shrug consequences off. Why would we allow the degradation of society to continue?

Music

I've thought a lot about music and it's qualities/effects on us. Most of my thinking, of course, is based on my own reactions to it. And I think my thoughts would reflect a lot of professional research that I'm not familiar with, but I'll share some things anyway.

Music has the ability to affect our thoughts and feelings. A few examples:

A good friend of mine liked emo and heavy rock music. He listened to it often, and, over time, his thought pattern changed to be more subdued, less sure of himself, darker, at times suicidal. Now all of it can't be attributed to the music, but it had a lot to do with it.

Another friend always listened to rap music to 'pump up' before volleyball games. I wasn't a fan of rap, but I go the same 'pump up' effect from classical movie soundtracks with fast bass-heavy rhythms.

Other thoughts: music can pull our minds from clean, pure thoughts. THink of how songs with romantic overtones lead us to think of love, explicit songs bring those words to our minds more often, songs glorifying sex make us think more about it, etc.

How long does it take you to memorize a song's lyrics? Three or four times? And how long do you remember them? Years? Decades?

What would you do if you had to listen to the music you currently listened to forever? Would you change what you listened to? Would you choose to put good things in you head or forever be drowned in mediocre or worse musical themes?

It's something to think about.

The conclusion is, watch it. What you listen to affects you for a long time. Choose wisely.

On Politics

I think somewhere in time we lost the idea of why politics exists. Or at least what politics ought to be.

I often observe during election time, especially among those my own age, the common thought: 'we need change. We need someone with "fresh" ideas, someone who will change what we don't like. I will vote for him.'

But is this always right? Why do we think a particular candidate will do what he says? Why do we think he will be able to do what he says? This is especially true for presidential candidates. The executor of the United States has a great deal of information at his fingertips, information the candidates will not have until they are sworn into office.

The American people do not know why certain actions are being taken. And I'm not convinced we always should. The presence of media in various conflicts proves the reduced effectiveness of the military when the enemy can tune into CNN and see what is being planned. (This is obvious.)

But regardless of their ignorance, Americans are highly opinionated and many plan to vote for the candidate who will do what their personal preference is, whether or not the fate of the world is affected by one move or another.

I guess the point is to remember that, once inaugurated, a candidate will have significantly less motivation and power to fulfill his promises, regardless of which 'side' he comes from.

So, choose wisely, and make sure to find out the projected consequences for all of humanity before making a choice when voting.

Why?

Why do we do things? What is our motivation? What makes our society a (usually) low-abiding society? Why do we feel good about being nice to people and helping others?

Simply, because it is Right.

Inherent in each of us is the knowledge of right and wrong. Children understand this concept, especially if they are well-parented. But often we begin to philosophize answers as we 'mature.' I've noticed in myself that this philosophizing usually is justification for doing what we know is wrong. 'It's not that bad,' or 'once won't hurt,' or you would if you really loved me' plague our society and warp the minds of our youth. These youth grow up thinking these things and then pass the same twisted morals on (but more on this another time). The point is we make excuses for our poor actions (things we know to be wrong) and believe our justifications are truth.

But truth couldn't come form man. We are too fallible, we vacillate too much in our beliefs. Not to mention what is 'acceptable' to society changes over time (take the media for example). Truth only comes from one source: GOD. He teaches us through scripture and prophets more about what is right and what is wrong. These former abstract concepts become absolute when we realise our Eternal Father gave them to us. They will never change. They are, by definition, perfect.

It is up to us to be humble enough to follow them, to accept them as God's truth. But it is our choice as individuals. What will you choose? Purpose to life, to be like God by living His truths, or a purposeless life, motivated by the desires and words of those around you?

The Strong Role of Women

It's strange we often neglect the importance of women and downplay the performance of their roles. This becomes more apparent as we look at history. (Maybe this is a broad claim and I don't have any support but what I see/study--at least not off the top of my head.)

But I am continually impressed at the strong roles women play in scriptures. We could look (and for a long while) at the impressive Old Testament examples of both Ruth and Esther. Each was a great example to those around her. A light to her world (and ours), in the same tradition Christ taught of in the Sermon on the Mount (see Matthew 5: 14-16).

As Jesus taught, He focused on the discrepancies which had crept into Jewish culture between what they had been taught and the traditions which had been adopted at nearly the same level as the Law (Talmud). Christ came to bring all to a higher understanding, to raise them closer to God.

In this He broke from tradition of pedantic following of Sabbath customs and taught, by example, that the Sabbath was given to do good.

The first chapter of Mark (and truly the rest of the text) shows this drastic separation from Jewish culture quite obviously. But what I think is important to focus on (aside from the casting out of evil spirits) is the healing of Peter's mother.

She had been sick with fever and Jesus comes to her and heals her (apparently in broad Sabbath daylight). Now this would be semi-acceptable, but then she (with understanding of the true meaning of the Sabbath) ministers unto Jesus and His disciples. 

In first century literature/writings/etc a woman was NEVER depicted doing the right thing. She was generally shown as a temptress or not mentioned at all. How startling it is to have an example of a woman doing the right thing, in blatant contrast to customs of the time, both in what she should be doing and the fact she is even mentioned.

Which brings up my point: how often do we rely on the 'literature of the time' to tell us what women should and shouldn't do, what effect they should and shouldn't have on us. I'm afraid my grand- and great-grandchildren will look back on our time and say, 'They had no respect for women. All the women were ever depicted as was sex objects or individuals who abandoned their God-given calling as nurturers to try to imitate men'--something they were never intended to do--just as we are not intended to imitate women in their roles.

I'm afraid we have the wrong view of women. And I'm afraid we don't give the ones who fulfill their God-given role enough respect or appreciation.

Where would we be without our mothers or the other women who had such an important impact on our lives? We ought to praise women for taking such a strong position to be mothers(or desire to be mothers if they are not able).

Praise them for their strengths, and don't tear them down just because they may not conform to society's (ever-changing) view of what they should do.

Take the strong stance and praise the women who fulfill their strong role.

Unclog the Flow

A good friend of mine just blogged about small and simple things making great changes in our (and others') lives. It triggered a thought that came tome about 7 months ago.

Each of has what I've termed a 'spiritual artery.' It is through this artery that the Spirit and His promptings flow from our Father. However, like an artery in our body, this spiritual artery becomes clogged (and much more easily than a bodily artery). What we must do, is work every day to clean our artery out. In cleaning it, not only are we more open to the flow of the Spirit, we learn what more we can do to make more room in the artery for the Spirit to flow.

The more we follow the Spirit's promptings, the more promptings we will have. There are many things the Lord has told us we can do to open our spiritual arteries. This guidance comes through scriptures and prophets. Little things we can do are read the scriptures daily, pray often, attend church weekly, serve our fellow men, share our faith, comfort a friend in need, correct some our our wayward behaviour, etc. Each of these things will open our arteries wider and wider. Also we are developing a relationship with our Father. This is one of the steps (with a few sub-steps) to becoming children of our Father in Heaven. This is a perfecting process, allowing us to follow Christ's commandment in Matthew 5:48: 'be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.'

However slowly, I am working toward that perfection. I slip daily, but Christ is there as my friend and my brother. Through Him all can be made right. Unclogging our spiritual arteries is a process through which we must all go.

Will you start (or continue) yours now?

Becoming Children

I learned an interesting thing today (surprise! Its from the New Testament.) When His disciples ask who is to be the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven, Christ invites a child over and says to his disciples, in so many words, you must be like this child or you will never see the kingdom of God. 

I had always thought along the lines of 'I need to be like a child, but they really aren't very disciplined.' This, I thought, couldn't be what Christ meant. And it turns out he doesn't. Children are, because of their youth and inexperience, willing to (and sometimes insistently) rely on their parents for help, assistance, advice, and more. This reliance, and subsequently humility are the qualities we need to garner within ourselves. This will make us 'like children.'

But this concept was taken one step further. We are not just to become like any children. We are to become the children of God, sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. Now, wait, you say: the scriptures already tell us we are children of God (see Romans 8:16-17). True. They do. But this isn't the easy 'Oh yeah, I'm a child of God' relationship. That isn't the doctrine Christ teaches.

Christ teaches we must do and not just hear. We are to become disciples, followers who will do all He asks them to. And the blessing that come is we will receive the inheritance Christ did. But to receive the same inheritance, we must follow his example and do all in our power, relying as we do on His infinite grace which will help us rise above ourselves.

The idea of inheritance is obvious: the gifts are God's to give and it is God who sets the terms we must meet in order to receive them. Like with earthly inheritors, there are some gifts we receive solely because of who we are. But also like earthly givers, God is (1) much more likely (infinitely so) to give to those who keep His commandments (not just the Ten) and (2) not going to give His children what they don't deserve or never worked to obtain.

So our goal is to work to be able to be blessed as Christ was, therefore becoming the children of the Father, the same children who will submit their will to His and do all he asks of them.

So my eyes were opened and I realised I lacked quite a bit as I strive to be like Christ. but I know as I do, I will truly become the child of Father, so my relationship with Him will be as Christ's and I can say to my Heavenly Father, as young Jewish sons say to their earthly fathers with respect and affection, Abba, Father.

Knowing Christ

I have a great opportunity to have a class about the New Testament, focusing specifically on the four gospels, as a part of my course schedule. This class allows me to learn about the life of the Saviour in a way much different from the unguided study we usually take.

I am learning WHO Christ really was and who He is now. I am learning the context of the world at that time, which opens up a huge amount of knowledge I'd never even considered.

I'm learning, most of all, which questions to ask myself and others in order to strengthen my understanding and testimony of the man we call Jesus* as the literal Son of the Living God.

The more I learn the more I am curious (and the less I realise I know). Referring back to Sunday's scriptures, to know God and Jesus is life eternal. And this is one step closer in coming to know him. Corey mentioned that we will know Him because we are like Him. And I add, if we don't know what he was like, how will we become like Him in order to know Him. (Again, perhaps words muddle my meaning.)

Coming to know Him is a lifelong goal, but if we don't start now, to what purpose will our lives have gone when they end? And do we want that startling realisation?

I suppose this is why, in my weak and imperfect way, I strive to be a little better, coming to know Christ in knowledge and in action each day. A smile here, a kind word there is all it takes to get started.

Will you?

*The reason I say this is because Jesus is an English translation of the Greek translation of the Hebrew name he would have been called: Yeshua (English: Joshua)

Choose Life

Ok, before I am crucified for having an opinion on a controversial topic, read to the end to understand the relevance.

Two years ago I gave blood and the worker completely botched the whole needle thing. Consequently, I haven't given blood since. Until today.

About an hour and a half ago I discovered the 'vampires' were on campus asking for donations. A few of my good friends had donated and the horrible thought crossed my mind: maybe you should, too. I shuddered at the thought given my last experience.

Then another thought went through my head: you talk so much about wanting to help people, why don't you do something? I shuddered again. No, there's no reason to do that. I smile, that's enough for a day. Why would I subject myself to such as potentially painful experience again? (I had bruises on both arms for two weeks from my last experience.) But that thought kept coming back: just do it, think of the potential for good.

So I did it. I went and lined up, signed my life away and found myself tipped back in the chair. And then he stuck me. The flash of fire in my forearm was. . . not as bad as I remembered. Hmm. That's funny. Maybe this isn't so bad.

And five minutes later (my vampire's fastest victim of the day) I was all done. My bag was full. I had done my good deed for that moment and I had succeeded in putting my homework off for an hour and a half.

Reflecting back on it, it is much like those times we get impressions to do something and then fight them. It's the choice we always make: either we follow (and see the blessings that can come) or we fight or ignore the prompting and end up regretting it.

I followed this one and I see the brief fire as an acceptable price to pay to give life to three people. It worked for me. Choose life.

Worship

I love Sundays. I just do. They are probably my favourite days of the week. Each is slightly different and each has so many similarities.

Following the direction of the scriptures, Sunday is my day of rest. Regardless of how much homework I have, I choose not to do it on Sundays so my entire day can be spent in some form of worship.

Sound a little weird? Perhaps. But by worship I don't mean saying recited prayers endlessly from sun-up to sun-down. I think that's weird. I don't think that would entirely encapsulate 'worship.'

Worship to me is more. But because it is so abstract we will each have our own definition of what worship entails. Sunday (sabbath) worship to me involves service and friendship. It includes praying, study of the scriptures, and attending church. But it is more a way of living than a set pattern of activities every week.

This weekly pattern of worship (in whatever form I can find it each week) brings a renewal of strength (see Isaiah 40:31) that I've never found anywhere else. It recharges my batteries for the upcoming week. It makes me use my time more wisely throughout the week. It helps me build friendships. It helps me understand the mind of God because Christ said to know God is to have eternal life (see John 17:3), the greatest of all gifts. And that's a gift I want. And a gift I want everyone else to share with me.

Why would you not want to share the greatest gift that one could receive?

On Love

There is something special about love. It doesn't diminish when you share it; it expands and swells. I talk not of the silly child-like lusts that most confuse for love, but the deep affection, the pure caring for someone's eternal being. For who they are now in the light of who they could be. Maybe that's a little muddled.

But when you share love; it grows. And it doesn't just have to be shown to the first person to whom you showed love for the pure love of which I speak is manifest in many different ways. To one (and only one) person it could be manifest in a romantic way, but to others it could be that smile that stays on your face (perhaps influenced by your special person) or a hundred other actions designed to bring about happiness in another.

That is the main motive of love: to make someone else happy. It is not given for selfish reasons as the artists (and psychologists) of the centuries have depicted in their works. It is given because there is motivation to be better (purpose to life?) and in bettering the lives of those around you, your life becomes better.

So share it. It is the best feeling you can give someone. Just be kind; that's love. A look in your eyes can reveal the same. All it takes is pure motives.

Life and Sport

I have often thought there is a close relationship between life and sports. Each has it's difficult moments and each, eventually (if you're good enough), has it's moments of ecstasy, over which you and your friends reminisce in the years following. A brief example:

When I was in grade twelve, I played volleyball. My team was good for our area and we had worked hard to be good (years of practice and many disappointments in previous seasons). We had experienced defeat, trials of our friendships (on and off the court), and teammates stupid decisions.

But each of those experiences pointed us to where we were right then: the team heavily favoured to win the league championships and advance (for the first time in 8 or 9 years) past the first round of the regional playoffs.

Often the reaction of the teams 'at the top' is to assume they already won the title and frequently they are upset by another, admittedly less-talented, team who has a greater desire (drive, motivation) to win. We knew this (and were frequently reminded of it by our coach) and actively guarded against it. We ensured that after each of our plays (whether we won the point or not) we celebrated. Thus giving the impression to the other team we had already won and breaking down their mental game.

In short it worked. Unfortunately as we entered the playoffs, we were so excited about hosting the game in our own gym that we didn't prepare as well as we should have for our opponent, which came from a very competitive league, where 50% of that league's schools made it into the playoffs (as opposed to our league which was lucky to have one automatic berth). Our lack of preparation and, perhaps, inability to envision anything beyond that game, led to us being routed in straight sets.

We just hadn't come to play. We lost our vision of staying on top as soon as the competition became more difficult.

So also sometimes in life we lose our vision, we don't understand our purpose, or we have no focus. All this leads to a lack of motivation which, by not propelling us forward, propels us backwards, into the ground. Often we underestimate our opponents (whoever or whatever they may be) and we are demolished, left in the playground with a bloody nose, scabbed knees, and a black eye. (Or in the gym, deflated, depressed, and crying--in front of the home crowd.)

The lesson is simple: know what your purpose in life is. Follow it doggedly. Don't relent. When it tries to juke you, keep your eyes on its waist and tackle the sucker. Wrestle it to the ground and if it tries to get out send it a cross face. If you get knocked down and it's running for your goalline, don't just let it, cause like Forrest Gump it won't stop. It'll only get farther and farther away. Sprint after it, and make sure you get it.

Don't give up.

Welcome

In my first real experience putting myself out on the 'net for everyone to 'see', I hope it isn't so weird. But I hope that in some way it can be used for the benefit of mankind. One of the things I enjoy is making lasting impressions.

Whether it's telling someone my name (Lee J--which solicits more unique comments than I can count: 'That's unique!", 'I've never heard that before', 'How do you spell that?' or  'What?'), acting up a little (which is more like smiling and joshing people), or just being sincere, I love it.

People are so enjoyable. Each of us is so different and it is so interesting to find out what each person's story is. We are a conglomerate of all our past experiences and mine certainly determine who I am.

Though I'm young (21) and a student I still like to think I have some quality or something that is mine alone that can change the world. And maybe that seems a little bold or out there, but if can smile at one person a day whose day is brightened by it, I can personally affect 365 people a year. And if that one smile can be passed on to one person, double the number are affected.

And if you want to get really nasty into numbers (and I used to) just keep having that smile affect someone. I never know what reaction I might get, but not too many people get upset at me smiling at them.

And that's just a smile (and it's not even that impressive--I couldn't get a job from it), so if I had something else to share, an idea, or an experience, how much more impacting are those on people?

So with that intent I've created this blog: to put myself out 'there' to help more people than I already hope I am helping.