Can I ask you a question? how do you know that God is truly sovereign? Not just sovereign, but good, wise, BRILLIANT, and complex?
I know this is not the next post that I planned to write about, but since God IS sovereign, he can control what I write, and today, I want to praise Him.
So, to start, a story.
Yesterday, I and three other friends went to Ocean City for the day. Although I had not been there in three or four years, it seemed to me that the waves were quite vicious. I could barely stand a couple of feet out, without getting swept back towards land. A few times, I had to pray I wouldn't hurt a child with my careening body. But, other than some soreness, I am ok, and it was fun. Jeremy, however, who is one of my dearest and best friends, came up to the beach shortly after I got out and said he had been pulled so hard by the waves that he hit the ocean floor with his head, straight on. Well, as you can tell, by the fact that he walked up to me, he didn't die; because of this, we assumed nothing was broken and it was probably a pulled muscle or pinched nerve. He allowed me to massage the hurting area, but it dint make it feel better, but I did detect a slight protrusion on one side of his cervical spinal area. Anyway, he thought he could sleep it off, but didn't really sleep form the pain, and so went to the E.R. this morning.
Well, Jeremy was diagnosed with a fractured spine, in the cervical vertebra c2-c5. He has been under a lot of drugs, but he did relay to me that he does NOT have any neurological damage AND does NOT need surgery. He needs to wear a neck brace and possibly undergo therapy. I just went down to visit him (at his parents, yes, he WAS released today too!), and his mom told me more about the hospital visit. This is what she had to say:
The doctor's believe that Jeremy should have died, on impact. He didn't, and mainly it was due to a birth defect in his neck of three bones fused together. Something that God created Jeremy with that was not supposed to be there, that was an anomaly, saved his life. Wow.
Tonight, I am meditating on Psalm 139, particularly the following verses:
"You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book.Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed." (verses 13-6, new living translation)
God decided to protect Jeremy from dying...not just dying, but even from being paralyzed or having sustained a more impacting injury, 33 1/2 years earlier.
So, I leave you with the following question:
Is God really sovereign? does He really know everything? is he really kind, good, and generous, particularly in the area of his created ones (us)??? In what ways have you witnessed this in your life (or others??)
Monday, August 25, 2008
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
inquisitive or nosy?
Can I ask you a question? Is one inquisitive or just plain nosy, when one begins asking lots of questions?
Well, I suppose it would depend on what person is being asked!! I am naturally a curious person. Call it a consequence of being repressed as a child and not having ALL my questions answered at three years of age, or an insatiable desire to hold the world' s record for largest knowledge base (haha!), or perhaps the answer lies in this simple fact: I just want to know people. My bests friends are the ones who have allowed me to probe their minds, shared the history of their lives with me. The man I think I will love is the one that I know like the contours of my own face- who has opened up his life to me so that even when I am not with him, I KNOW that he is in pain. This might sound boring to know a person this well, I mean, where's the mystery, right? But, ha! Knowing ones face well can only happen to a certain degree. We only get mirror images of our selves, so there is still much to be explored....so vast, that it never gets boring. It is helpful to ask questions too, in learning how to serve someone better, either in actions, or in their sanctification process. Questions help people to know the whole story in a situation. So, I believe it is a fine balance: information that is irrelevant to a situation, gossiping (either hearing or sharing), may cause myself or the person answering to stuble in their walk with the Lord, or for infringes on another person's personal boundaries are DEFINITELY not viable as anything other than nosiness.
OH! I promised to let you in on how this got started. Obviously, you can tell my passion for questions, right? In 2005, I was at a care group picnic, where we each were awarded a homemade plaque that exclaimed a trait or characteristic that we exemplified; somewhat like a high school superlative ( yay! I spelled that right!!). Mine was "Most likely to start a sentence with: Can I ask you a question?" fast forward to about one year ago. I took English 102 as a requirement for the college degree I am currently working on (Early Childhood Education). The professor was very encouraging, and suggested I find other avenues to pursue my writing abilities. Around the same time (or maybe earlier??) my friends, M, began a blog, and suggested i do the same. To know why I delayed, read this: why would I start my own blog?
But, I always have a lot of thoughts, and would eventually hope to have some input from the rest of the world, so I thought, "what the heck?" And what would be more appropriate than one that functions as a question forum? One in which I can ask a question, and share my answer, and allow for others, through the comment option, to reciprocate.
So, how does this work? At the end of each blog, you will find a question, highlighted in TEAL. The readers job is to click on comment for the opportunity to post their own thoughts, and share what they think or know.
Ok, one last thing, a story to share!! Have you ever wondered just how on Earth young children can be so sweet and yet still so sinful? In the Children's Center where I work, there is a 13 1/2 month chunky monkey boy named "G" (to protect the identity of the perpetrator, I mean, innocent...lol). Everyday at nap time, he is CLEARLY tired, rubbing his eyes, yawning, and barely being able to stand up. Everyday, we remind him to lay down. Additionally, this little ball of energy loves to screech plastic toys on a slate windowsill, get into the trash, and dump all the toys on the floor. And, just last week, he discovered the art of "watering" his high chair tray with his milk bottle. That is typical, no big deal, right? BUT!! When you speak sternly or even attempt to sound angry, he just laughs. Exasperating??? YYEESSS!!! But, he won my heart once again, Monday morning, when as I was pulling his shorts up after a diaper change, he grabbed the sides of my face with his chubby little fingers and began rubbing his pudgy little baby nose on mine. He ended our sweet Eskimo kiss with a loud, smacking, "MMMMAAHHH!" ( apparently, he thinks Eskimo kisses end with an air kiss). Sweet:o)
So, I leave you with this question(s):
Is it better to ask what you want to know or leave some mystery? Also, any cute kid stories you can share?
Well, I suppose it would depend on what person is being asked!! I am naturally a curious person. Call it a consequence of being repressed as a child and not having ALL my questions answered at three years of age, or an insatiable desire to hold the world' s record for largest knowledge base (haha!), or perhaps the answer lies in this simple fact: I just want to know people. My bests friends are the ones who have allowed me to probe their minds, shared the history of their lives with me. The man I think I will love is the one that I know like the contours of my own face- who has opened up his life to me so that even when I am not with him, I KNOW that he is in pain. This might sound boring to know a person this well, I mean, where's the mystery, right? But, ha! Knowing ones face well can only happen to a certain degree. We only get mirror images of our selves, so there is still much to be explored....so vast, that it never gets boring. It is helpful to ask questions too, in learning how to serve someone better, either in actions, or in their sanctification process. Questions help people to know the whole story in a situation. So, I believe it is a fine balance: information that is irrelevant to a situation, gossiping (either hearing or sharing), may cause myself or the person answering to stuble in their walk with the Lord, or for infringes on another person's personal boundaries are DEFINITELY not viable as anything other than nosiness.
OH! I promised to let you in on how this got started. Obviously, you can tell my passion for questions, right? In 2005, I was at a care group picnic, where we each were awarded a homemade plaque that exclaimed a trait or characteristic that we exemplified; somewhat like a high school superlative ( yay! I spelled that right!!). Mine was "Most likely to start a sentence with: Can I ask you a question?" fast forward to about one year ago. I took English 102 as a requirement for the college degree I am currently working on (Early Childhood Education). The professor was very encouraging, and suggested I find other avenues to pursue my writing abilities. Around the same time (or maybe earlier??) my friends, M, began a blog, and suggested i do the same. To know why I delayed, read this: why would I start my own blog?
But, I always have a lot of thoughts, and would eventually hope to have some input from the rest of the world, so I thought, "what the heck?" And what would be more appropriate than one that functions as a question forum? One in which I can ask a question, and share my answer, and allow for others, through the comment option, to reciprocate.
So, how does this work? At the end of each blog, you will find a question, highlighted in TEAL. The readers job is to click on comment for the opportunity to post their own thoughts, and share what they think or know.
Ok, one last thing, a story to share!! Have you ever wondered just how on Earth young children can be so sweet and yet still so sinful? In the Children's Center where I work, there is a 13 1/2 month chunky monkey boy named "G" (to protect the identity of the perpetrator, I mean, innocent...lol). Everyday at nap time, he is CLEARLY tired, rubbing his eyes, yawning, and barely being able to stand up. Everyday, we remind him to lay down. Additionally, this little ball of energy loves to screech plastic toys on a slate windowsill, get into the trash, and dump all the toys on the floor. And, just last week, he discovered the art of "watering" his high chair tray with his milk bottle. That is typical, no big deal, right? BUT!! When you speak sternly or even attempt to sound angry, he just laughs. Exasperating??? YYEESSS!!! But, he won my heart once again, Monday morning, when as I was pulling his shorts up after a diaper change, he grabbed the sides of my face with his chubby little fingers and began rubbing his pudgy little baby nose on mine. He ended our sweet Eskimo kiss with a loud, smacking, "MMMMAAHHH!" ( apparently, he thinks Eskimo kisses end with an air kiss). Sweet:o)
So, I leave you with this question(s):
Is it better to ask what you want to know or leave some mystery? Also, any cute kid stories you can share?
Saturday, August 9, 2008
why would I start my own blog?
Can I ask you a question? Why would I bother starting my own blog?
To be completely honest with you, I don't have time to begin my own blog. Like right now...it is 12:26 a.m., and guess where I should be? Yup, sleeping.
Sigh.
I do ( did??) have authorization to write on my friend Michele's blog, and probably my friend Kristina's, but the reality is, when I think I want to blog on their spaces, I encounter two problems. First, there is an unspoken expectation that I will write a minimum of a certain number of times. I would love to commit to writing weekly, but, well, as I have already mentioned, I am a busy gal...so no go on that. My own expectation makes me feel badly about not being able to commit. Anyway, on to number two: when blogging on someone else's blogspace, I have to make sure that I write something that would go with what they would like. I mean...I can't just write about anything that comes to mind. Also, to be honest with you, my writing style is NOT going to be perfect. I try to write grammatically and have correct spelling, but I have been informed that I don't write in a very easy to read manner.
But, this is my blog, so I can do what I want. LOL. I am being facetious, of course. I will do my best to make this legible for those who pass by. I also wanted a place to write down what I am thinking about, and possibly get other people's thoughts on the same subjects. Next time ( maybe, unless I decide something else), I will explain how "Can I ask you a question" was created.
So, I leave you with a question...
Is a person who asks a LOT of questions inquisitive or just plain NOSY!!??
To be completely honest with you, I don't have time to begin my own blog. Like right now...it is 12:26 a.m., and guess where I should be? Yup, sleeping.
Sigh.
I do ( did??) have authorization to write on my friend Michele's blog, and probably my friend Kristina's, but the reality is, when I think I want to blog on their spaces, I encounter two problems. First, there is an unspoken expectation that I will write a minimum of a certain number of times. I would love to commit to writing weekly, but, well, as I have already mentioned, I am a busy gal...so no go on that. My own expectation makes me feel badly about not being able to commit. Anyway, on to number two: when blogging on someone else's blogspace, I have to make sure that I write something that would go with what they would like. I mean...I can't just write about anything that comes to mind. Also, to be honest with you, my writing style is NOT going to be perfect. I try to write grammatically and have correct spelling, but I have been informed that I don't write in a very easy to read manner.
But, this is my blog, so I can do what I want. LOL. I am being facetious, of course. I will do my best to make this legible for those who pass by. I also wanted a place to write down what I am thinking about, and possibly get other people's thoughts on the same subjects. Next time ( maybe, unless I decide something else), I will explain how "Can I ask you a question" was created.
So, I leave you with a question...
Is a person who asks a LOT of questions inquisitive or just plain NOSY!!??
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