Morning Coffee

         My apologies for my lack of blogging lately, everyone.  Although I had the time for writing over the Christmas holiday, I wasn’t quite motivated nor inspired to do so.  Oddly enough, as my life picks back up and starts getting crazy again is when I make myself find the time to do these things….

        Nevertheless, this is what results:

        As I just mentioned, I’ve completed the first week and a half of my second semester back in college, and I’m already feeling the weight of stress bearing down on my shoulders.  Even before the semester started, I was not looking forward to the forever-dreaded BIO125 professor, whose name I cannot mention.  Now, this particular professor is an interesting character of sorts.  At first glance, I wouldn’t have even taken her as a professor.  In fact, as I was sitting in the room where my first lecture class with her would take place, I was watching the door every single time it opened, waiting to see the face of the person who would be responsible for my endless torture for 16 weeks.  This woman walked in, carrying all of these books, and I honestly just assumed that she was a non-traditional student.  But then I realized that she was heading to the front of the class, and my mind quickly became sidetracked.  She was nothing like what I expected, yet everything that I expected at the same time.  Without going into further detail, let’s just say that she has yet to live up to all of the rumors that I had heard prior to starting the semester.  Notice that I say “all.”  This is certainly implying that she has already lived up to some rumors…just not all.  Fortunately, I’ve always had a way with being on a teacher’s “good side,” and have already found a way to hopefully avoid being picked on and made fun of in front of the class (which is one of the rumors that have leaked out about the woman).  Call me a “Teacher’s Pet,” if you will.  I couldn’t care less.  I just want a good grade without being ridiculed in front of my peers.  =)

           As far as my other professors go, I have a crazy Indian (not Native American, but a man from India) man who is too smart for his own good, and should not be teaching a classroom full of 18-20-some year old students how to use the Internet.  Additionally, I have a Mr. Barbour (our Physics teacher in High School) clone who is also too smart for his own good to teach my Physics class.  However, I’d prefer listening to Physics Barbour clone any day over listening to a crazy Indian man from India talk about search engines and “How to use Google.”  Lastly, I have a communications class, taught by a very sweet, yet stern, older woman whose class consists of watching small clips of Shrek and arranging ourselves into small groups and learning how to talk to one another.

        Now, my descriptions of these courses and their professors are meant for the reader’s benefit of maybe getting a good chuckle in for the day.  I do, however, think that I have my work cut out for me this semester.  Although the communications and computer classes may be just “a walk in the park,” I think my Physics and Anatomy classes are going to be a bit more cut-throat.  

        In nearing the end of my first week of the semester, I was beginning to think, “This isn’t gonna be as bad as I thought.”  As Thursday came around, I suffered through an 8am-6:30pm day with one of the most terrible headaches/migraines that I have ever experienced.  I was praying to God just to get me through to the next class, then praying that He’d get me through 3 hours of Physics Lab.  Finally, it was the end of the day, and it was all I could to drive home.  How awful that my train of thought immediately went to, “I knew this week was going too well.”  I soon brushed it off and finished off the week.  Then came Tuesday.  Ohhhhh, Tuesday.  Tuesday is my other day of the week when I’m stuck at school from 8am-6:30pm.  Let me set the picture for you.  Monday night, I couldn’t fall asleep.  I was in bed at 9:30pm.  12am rolls around, and I’m still not asleep.  I keep tossing and turning, falling in and out of 15-minute intervals of sleep for another three hours.  Around 3:30am, I finally get out of bed and take something to help me savor the last three hours that I had to possibly sleep.  The next morning, my back was so incredibly sore, but I figured by midday, it would work itself out.  Midday Tuesday rolls around, and instead of the pain being relieved, I now have an aching back, a stiff neck, and a sore throat.  Again, I find myself sitting in classes with my hands folded in front of me, my head bowed, and praying to God to get me through this day.  Once again, the Lord pulled me through and I was at home, in the tub, talking to Curtis on the phone through the tears rolling down my face.  Today (Wednesday), I feel as though nothing was ever wrong with me yesterday.  

        “When you feel that you’re down to nothing, God is up to something.”:           

        This is exactly how I feel about my first two weeks this semester thus far.  Twice in two weeks, I was faced with putting my health in God’s hands to get me through the day…and that’s TWICE in two weeks that He’s pulled through for me.  How awesome a Savior we have?  What/Who are you looking to, to bring you through to the next day when you feel like you’re down to nothing?  The medicine?  The sound of a friendly voice on the other end of a phone?  A nice warm bath?  Or God?

        I don’t know about you, but I’d rather have God on my side than all of those others combined.  The rest falls into place from there.  

“How many Kings stepped down from their thrones?

How many Lords have abandoned their homes? 

How many Greats have become the least for me?

And how many Gods have poured out their hearts,

To romance a world that is torn all apart?

How many Fathers gave up their sons for me?

Only ONE did that for me…”

Excerpt from: How Many Kings by Downhere

This is why I cherish Lauren Johnson so very much.  Her ability to be there and open my eyes up to something at the right time never ceases to amaze me.  Although, I know that behind all of that, God is the one working through her for me.  

Thank you

WAIT FOR GOD’S VERY BEST

Everyone longs to give himself to another human being, to have a deep soul relationship with another, to be loved thoroughly and exclusively. But God says to the Christian:

“Not until you are satisfied and fulfilled and content being loved by me alone…I love you my child. Until you discover that only in me lies your satisfaction, you will not be capable of the perfect human relationship I have planned for you. You will never be united with another until you are united with me, exclusive of anyone else or anything else, exclusive of any other desires or longings. I want you to stop planning, stop wishing, and allow me to give you the most thrilling plan, one that you cannot imagine. I want you to have the best.”

“Please allow me to bring it to you. You must keep watching me, expecting the greatest things, keep experiencing the satisfaction of knowing that I am. Keep learning and listening to the things I tell you. You must wait. Do not be anxious.”

“Don’t look around at the things others have gotten or received from me. You must not keep looking off and away. Look up to me or you will miss the things I want to show you, and then when you are ready, I’ll surprise you with a love far more wonderful than you have ever dreamed of. You see, until you are ready, I am preparing the one I have for you.  I am working even this minute to have you both ready at the same time… Until you are both living exclusively for me and the life I have prepared for you, you won’t be able to experience the love that reflects your relationship with me, Perfect Love. And dear one, I want you to have the most wonderful love. I want you to experience in the flesh a picture of your relationship with me and to enjoy materially and concretely the everlasting union of beauty and perfection and love that I offer you through myself.”

“Know that I love you utterly, I am God, the Almighty – believe and be satisfied.”

“The time has come

Separation lost the war to love

Take my hand

Grace has found you where you once began

You’re alive, your alive

In the waking of new life

Take my hand

In the end, there’s only LOVE!”

Excerpt from: Freedom by Run Kid Run

        The fourth week of my first semester back is almost over already, which means that the semester is also a quarter of the way through.  Time is going by so quickly and oddly enough, I’m also enjoying my time at the college.  It’s somewhat ironic that I now look forward to going to college more than I do going to work. 

        Among other things, I suppose the greatest changes in my life since going back to college are that I am trying contacts for the first time, and I also chopped off an entire foot of my hair.  I don’t think the back of my neck has seen this much sunlight since Elementary School.  It’s been a good change, though, and I couldn’t be happier with the results.  As for the contacts, I can’t say that they are going quite as smoothly.  It’s been almost a week and a half, and I think I’ve worn them…maybe…two full days.  I may just be being too picky.  However, I swear that my right eye feels blurry.  I went back to the eye doctor about this problem two days after getting the trial pair of contacts, and there was, in fact, some sort of substance covering both of the lenses.  So I thought, great, there in-lies my problem.  Now I’ll be able to see.   No such luck.  I still feel like there wasn’t any change.  I’m going back today, so I’m trying to stay hopeful.  I’m so tempted, though, to just pick out a pair of new frames.  I love how I look with glasses.  I think it adds a lot to my character. 

        On that note, I suppose I’ll end it here.  Because, quite frankly, I really don’t have much else to say.

“Someone please save us, us college kids!

What my parents told me is what I did

They said go to school and be a college kid

But in the end, I question why I did…”

Excerpt from: College Kids by Relient K

        30 Days until vacation!  30 Days until I can leave behind all of my life’s ridiculous boredom that it has accumulated through the years.  30 Days until Curtis and I get to embark on yet another road trip together, where singing outlandishly loud to music and taking pictures of road signs to record where we’ve been come as second nature.  30 Days until I can ask Curtis, “Are we there yet,” twenty minutes into the trip just because I can.  30 Days until I have eight hours of driving in a car, sitting beside the one I love with the windows rolled down and my feet on the dash, eating road trip snacks.  30 Days until I can join in on the “fun” of metal detecting with Curtis and his father just because…there are some sacrifices worth making when you love someone that much, regardless of how ridiculous you feel doing it. 

        But for now, I’m sitting, waiting, wishing that those 30 Days will go by quickly and my week of vacation will last a lifetime.  However, life doesn’t quite seem to work that way.  No matter how much we try, vacation doesn’t last forever.  

Perhaps that’s why I like photographs so much…they help preserve my memories.     

Four years ago, today, two friends of mine were taken from this world in a fatal car accident to go be their Father. 

Let’s all take some time, now, to have a moment of silence in their remembrance. 

“I will remember you

Will you remember me

Don’t let your life pass you by

Weep not for the memories

——————————————————————————————-

I’m so tired, but I can’t sleep

Standin’ on the edge of something much too deep

It’s funny how we feel so much but we cannot say a word

We are screaming inside, but we can’t be heard

——————————————————————————————-

I will remember you

Will you remember me

Don’t let your life pass you by

Weep not for the memories”

Excerpt from:  I Will Remember You by Sarah McLachlan

I have absolutely no clue where I got the idea for this post, but I know that this is a subject that provokes a lot of questions as well as confrontations.

Many false religious groups and cults teach that a person can lose their salvation, and many quote verses that “prove” their standings.  Unfortunately, they (the verses) can seem extremely convincing when taken out of their context.  I did a little bit of research on this issue, and this is what I found:

SAMPLE VERSES

Used to prove that Salvation can be lost…

2 Peter 1:9 - But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

2 Peter 1:10 - Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure.  For if you do these things, you will never fall,

2 Peter 2:20 - If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning.

2 Peter 2:21 - It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.

2 Peter 2:22 - Of them the proverbs are true, “A dog returns to its vomit, ” and, “A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.”

Can you see, now, how, taken out of context, these verses could very easily be misleading.  However, I am going to try my best to explain…

Context #1

We have to first know to whom Peter was writing in this chapter.  In chapter 1, verse 1 of 2 Peter we see that it is being written to other Christians; people who are saved.

2 Peter 1:1 - Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours:

Context #2

2 Peter 1:4-11 emphasize parts in verse 9 (”…has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins”) and verse 10 (”…For if you do these things, you will never fall.”).

“4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by the evil desires.

5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.  8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  9 But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

10 Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure.  For if you do these things, you will never fall, 11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

Let’s remember to whom Peter was writing: the saved.  Can saved people forget they were forgiven of their past sins, or at least act as if they have forgotten?  Of course they can.  Many Christians can drift away from God by not doing the things that Peter is commanding of us in verses 5-7.  “…has forgotten he has been cleansed from his past sins.” means that the sinner does the forgetting, not God.  Also notice that Peter makes no mention that the cleansing is now void due to the sinner forgetting.  How awesome is that!?  Verse 10 is merely encouraging the saved to live by verses 5-7 for their own assurance in their own mind, not God’s mind.

Well, “What about the ‘fall’ that is mentioned,” you may ask.  This is simply referring to a falling out of fellowship with God, not a falling from salvation.  Once we are saved, we are automatically adopted into the family of God to become joint heirs with Christ.

Romans 8:17 - Now if we are children, then we are heirs - heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Our relationship with God doesn’t change regardless of our straying into sin, or stumbling with wrongdoing.  For example, when children disobey their parents, a good fellowship is torn with the parent, but the children are still just as much their child as they were before.  The relationship does not change.

Context #3

What about the dog eating it’s own vomit, or the sow returning to the mud hole?  What is the subject of chapter 2?  False Prophets and their Destruction:

2 Peter 2:1 - But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you.  They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them - bringing swift destruction on themselves.

The dog and the sow are not being compared to the saved.  Instead, they are being compared to the false teachers.  False teachers being those who talk like they are Christians, are very knowledgeable about the Bible and can be very deceiving to the saved.  They are the ones who claim salvation, but have never had it.  Therefore, never being a Christian to begin with.

Context #4

Referring to verse 20 when it says that by becoming entangled in the corruption of the world after escaping it by knowing God,  you are worse off in the end.  This is not referring to Christians who have fallen back into sin.  Reading verses 17-19 will reassure you this is not the case.

2 Peter 2:17-19 - 17 These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm.  Blackest darkness is reserved for them.  18 For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error.  19 They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity - for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him.

So, as you can see, verse 20 is simply a continuation of Peter describing these false prophets, not Christians.  These false teachers will surround themselves by Godly people to escape the corruption of the world around them; “…those who live in error.”

Context #5

Again, let’s take a look at verse 22, which many may have used to prove that salvation can be lost.  When put into its context, this verse, however, accomplishes the complete opposite.  God is trying to show us that those false teachers, being not truly saved, will return to their sinful nature.  Those who were “dogs” and “sows” were never God’s “sheep” or children.  They were only pretending to be such.

Christians are formally lost sheep.  Once a child of God, you will always be a child of God.

John 10:28 - I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.

John 10:29 - My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.

Now, ladies and gentleman, isn’t that just the most fabulous news you could ever hear?!  Our God is so gracious that even if we fall back into sin, we will never fall out of his hands.

“Jump in the water

Jump in with me

Jump on the altar

Lay down with me

My hardest question

To answer is

WHY?

———————————

Someone save me

Somebody save me

Somebody save me

Please don’t erase me”

Excerpt from: Save Me by Shinedown