Sunday, November 30, 2008

a week of thanks

This past week of being with my family was seriously amazing. I love these people so much and even though some of them live close, I feel as though I still don't really get to see them often. So for Thanksgiving this year, my family left to go see my grandparents and the rest of my family up in northern california in a little town called: Cedarville. After classes and being on "duty" Tuesday night, I flew up to Reno, Wednesday morning, where my cousin Cassie picked me up to drive four additional hours to the rest of the family and that is where it all began. I just wanted to post a few pictures, those that meant the most to me and could describe my trip best. If you want to see more check out my facebook in the album titled: more like a week of thanks. :)
this is the before and after shot of my dinner plate:)











here are a few shots of me cutting my cousin and my dad's hair....
and this is my grandpa's GOLF card game face...
this are some shots before we went shooting and during...
this is the cutest little puppy named PANDA...
and that is a picture of my sister, Lauren, and I as we travel the long road home. nothing says road trip like a nice cup-o-joe, mascara from the night before, and a hoodie. So what was I most thankful for this Thanksgiving? F.A.M.I.L.Y.

Friday, November 21, 2008

questioning God's existence


I don't think that I will ever truly understand God, but frankly I am ok with that. I am ok with not being able to describe something so unbelievably indescribable because why would I want to limit my God to my human words? He is so much more than any word or words that I could come up with.
You may be wondering what is the purpose and meaning of my title and what is that strange picture on the top right; or maybe you have heard of laminin and can already guess what I might write about. Before I begin to explain, I feel as though I should preface this blog with this: I was always raised in a loving home, but I remember a time in my life when I questioned God's existence. I remember crying in my room and saying, "there is no possible way that there is a God" and feeling so unbelievably alone. Each person has a different story to tell and I am forever grateful and in awe of the way that God has transformed my life.
Recently, I was on a mini-staff retreat with my church and in one of our sessions, we watched a sermon by a guy with the last name Giglio [the first name slips me, sorry]. Now, I have heard many times about the "size of the universe" and "all the things that my body does without me knowing," but this sermon mentioned something I have never heard before [maybe you have]. It talked about our body having a certain cell body that we could not possibly live without, because to put in simple terms: it is the glue that holds everything inside of us together. LAMININ. Laminin is a cell structure composed of three parts: "b" chain, "g" chain, and an "a" chain. This cell structure is the "glue" in a sense that holds all the cells we have in our body together. [You can see the picture of this in the top right corner of my blog.]
Notice the shape of this "glue." Notice it is made up of THREE parts. Hmmm...it would appear to be in the shape of a cross and coincidentally, our God is a triune God meaning he is also made up of three parts; Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. With all of this information, it would seem impossible for one to read this and still be able to question God's existence. Believe me, had I heard this back when I was struggling with the mere concept of God, it would have been extremely hard for me to continue to think that there was no God.
"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authority; all things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things HOLD TOGETHER" (Colossians 1:15-17). ALL THINGS HOLD TOGETHER.
Do you realize that there are tens of thousands of these little cross-shaped Laminin in your body? God designed us this way from the very beginning. How can people hear things like this and still not believe? Better yet, how can one look out into the ocean; witness something miraculous like a baby being born; watch the sun rise or set; or simply see someone as broken as I used to be, transform into something that continuously leaves me without words; and still be able to question God's existence? God is an omniscient [infinitely aware, complete knowledge], omnipresent [present at all times], and omnipotent [almighty] God. He is indescribable and we are truly undeserved of His mercy and grace.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

LOVE vs HATE


How do you respond to people in regards to PROP 8 when they say PROP 8 = HATE and think this proposition is Christian's expressed hate towards homosexuals? Now this is the tricky part of the question because I know that one could easily refer to the Bible and God's design for marriage, but for those people that instantly are turned off as soon as God or the Bible are brought up, are there ways one could answer this question from a secular point of view to express that it is not "hate?"


If yes, then how would one go about answering this?


Or, since this is a societal moral issue, does one still bring God into the answer and hope that the listening receipient does not take it as having the Gospel crammed down their throat? It is invitable that people are not going to like any answer but the one that tells them "they can get what they want," but then what is the best way to answer this question?


Something that I heard in a discussion today was maybe first start off by asking what that person's definition of "hate" is and then go about answering it that way. Which is a good idea, but then how do you continue it from there...


Hmmm...this is such a sticky situation. Like Pandora's Box was just opened and now who knows what is going to happen. I feel like this proposition will definitely make it to the ballots again. I want to be prepared in my answers and not sound like the "hypocritical" Christian. What are your guys' thoughts on this...

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Romans 13:1


Regardless of who you voted for: as Christ followers we need to pray for Obama and Biden and their time in office. God already knew the outcome of this election. We have to trust that He will be present and sovereign in everything that is to come...

Sunday, November 2, 2008

11-04-08




This day is going to make history. I am not going to tell you which way to vote, but I am going to tell you TO VOTE!!! Every vote counts guys :)

GET OUT THERE AND ROCK THE VOTE!!!