As much as I want to say, "I told you so," to the former sorority girls expelled from their sorority because of their appearances, it shows how far society has come. You can find the story on the U.S. edition of CNN.com. I think it's worth commenting on, because apparently this sorority wasn't content to just give bids to the pretty girls, but now they're willing to expel girls after they've been initiated.
Another article on CNN says that 20 year olds are more narcissistic than ever, which I believe. It's painful to watch fellow students disrespect people who have worked decades for their positions. It's sad to hear post-test discussion where people say "I can't believe he put that much on the test, who does he think he is?"
I think I lost my blogging momentum, but I don't think it takes much to see just how much we need to remember the image of God as a huge part of our foundation for how we relate to other people, and that there is something more to being a beautiful person than having nice skin. I think Dove's recent commercial is worth its weight in gold for the message its sending:
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Monday, February 19, 2007
Heads up: 666
Brian originally talked about this.
De Jesus is in the news again, folks. Be sure to watch the video clip.
I don't really pray that God will let me live my life for a certain period of time. I figure he will just use me and take me home whenever he is ready. But I think I will pray to outlive De Jesus, just so I can see the looks on his followers faces.
I suppose it's easy to joke about because we think we see through him so easily, but I do feel for his followers.
De Jesus is in the news again, folks. Be sure to watch the video clip.
I don't really pray that God will let me live my life for a certain period of time. I figure he will just use me and take me home whenever he is ready. But I think I will pray to outlive De Jesus, just so I can see the looks on his followers faces.
I suppose it's easy to joke about because we think we see through him so easily, but I do feel for his followers.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Wow
I don't want Cut the Chatter to turn into a celeberity gossip blog, which are the Sodom and Gomorrah of the Internet community, but can I just say...
Damn, Britney. Damn.
It was cool when Natalie Portman did it in V for Vendetta, but that was for a movie. And anyways, Natalie Portman is a great actress. Britney Spears isn't a good singer or a good actress, but, whatever. I don't even know what I'm thinking. I'm shocked.
Damn, Britney. Damn.
It was cool when Natalie Portman did it in V for Vendetta, but that was for a movie. And anyways, Natalie Portman is a great actress. Britney Spears isn't a good singer or a good actress, but, whatever. I don't even know what I'm thinking. I'm shocked.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
He came out with it, and I came down with a sinus infection.
Last week, John Amaechi came out of that closet, which just seems to be getting bigger and bigger. In any event, I turned on ESPN and saw them doing a special on the British homosexual, which is fine, I suppose. But I don't remember the name John Amaechi at all. The only characters I remember from the Jazz are John Stockton and Karl Malone, and I guess that's because I liked using the Utah Jazz as a team when I played Tecmo Super NBA 1995 back in elementary/middle school. I never got that good at it, but I think I could beat my dad.
Anyways, here's a story that puts some real perspective on the issue.
I'm sick, and so I won't be able to attend Winter Conference this year. I'm pretty bummed, but it makes sense. The whole fall of man thing. And so I can't follow up on my video (Auburn's Winter Conference Promo):
Anyways, here's a story that puts some real perspective on the issue.
I'm sick, and so I won't be able to attend Winter Conference this year. I'm pretty bummed, but it makes sense. The whole fall of man thing. And so I can't follow up on my video (Auburn's Winter Conference Promo):
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Battle of the Bands: Deerhoof vs. Bloc Party
It's time for another round of Battle of the Bands. Deerhoof released their Friend Opportunity album a couple of weeks ago, and it received significant reviews from the online music community. But can the trio survive against an assault from Bloc Party, fresh off their 2005 Silent Alarm success?
Deerhoof's album is quite a bit of progressive and eclectic rock. I don't lump them in with the likes of Dream Theater, Allman Bros., etc. when I say "progressive rock," but I will make the reasons for the use of the term clear shortly.
Instantly you are struck with a powerful attack of keyboard synth, bass beat, and furious drumming as the album opens with "The Perfect Me." You will probably enjoy the novelty of the chord progression, but a tension build under the changes and you seek some form of resolution. Ironically, the relief comes from Satomi Matsuzaki, and initially her voice sounds foreign and peculiar to the indie afficionado who has his sights turned to the East Coast and Europe. Matsuzaki, like so many other singers, can initially put you off and make you feel uncomfortable. But her voice is an acquired taste, not unlike black dark roast coffee. The singer's voice is not merely a thing at which you scratch your head and mutter "Ok, that's cute...," but it become endearing and a valuable part of Deerhoof's arsenal.
After more than 40 years of rock and roll, it might seem like all the creative riffs have been discovered, and that all of the various arrangements of instruments have been made. But Deerhoof's Friend Opportunity continues to press the limits of their instruments, their artistic abilities, and the genre itself. The result is a rich diverse album that is at the same time simple, thoughtful, and most importantly, enjoyable.
Listen to Deerhoof's "+81."
Bloc Party released A Weekend in the City last week, and I downloaded it (from emusic.com) to see if it could live up to the pressure of a great debut album. I loved Bloc Party's single from their last album, "Helicopter." The fact that FIFA 06 used that single as the soundtrack to an English Premiership highlight reel made the song even more enjoyable, but now when I listen to it I want to play soccer.
I was expecting more of the same, with a few artistic developments when I downloaded the album. My thoughts on it are mixed, and while I've listened to the album the whole way through a couple of times, there are songs that make me instantly switch what I'm listening to on iTunes. A reviewer at Cokemachineglow tellingly wrote, "Okereke now sings instead of barking, and, well, oops on him." Okereke's style was unique and sincere, but his newer efforts at lyric-singing reduce him to an average singer, and it seems that anyone with a similar range (and his isn't that marvelous) could fill his shoes. And I will let other reviewers online comment on the poverty of some of the lyrics. Okereke...I don't care if you want to drive to Brighton on the weekend.
With the singer out of the way, we are left considering the rest of the band. Russell Lissack provides a few fun riffs just as he did in "Helicopter," and Matt Tong's drumming is as fast-paced as ever. The problem involves what happens between the riffs, which are scattered and uneven throughout the album. Bloc Party seems to be committed to the electric lead and rhythm guitars, a full drum kit, and an unimpressive bass as their means of communicating their thoughts and music. Unfortunately, this reveals that they are more instrumentalists than musicians. On Weekend in the City, they bound themselves to a very limited form of expression, and while they may express some art-rock norms, they are unable to push the boundaries and advance music in a significant way.
Watch Bloc Party's live performance of "Hunting for Witches"
That's why Deerhoof wins out in this issue of Battle of the Bands. Deerhoof provides the listener with clearly identifiable rock patterns, so that the listener feels comfortable. Bloc Party does the same, but Deerhoof uses that comfort to gradually introduce new thoughts on music, and thus helps the listener appreciate even more forms of music, and isn't that what releasing an album should be all about?
Deerhoof's album is quite a bit of progressive and eclectic rock. I don't lump them in with the likes of Dream Theater, Allman Bros., etc. when I say "progressive rock," but I will make the reasons for the use of the term clear shortly.
Instantly you are struck with a powerful attack of keyboard synth, bass beat, and furious drumming as the album opens with "The Perfect Me." You will probably enjoy the novelty of the chord progression, but a tension build under the changes and you seek some form of resolution. Ironically, the relief comes from Satomi Matsuzaki, and initially her voice sounds foreign and peculiar to the indie afficionado who has his sights turned to the East Coast and Europe. Matsuzaki, like so many other singers, can initially put you off and make you feel uncomfortable. But her voice is an acquired taste, not unlike black dark roast coffee. The singer's voice is not merely a thing at which you scratch your head and mutter "Ok, that's cute...," but it become endearing and a valuable part of Deerhoof's arsenal.
After more than 40 years of rock and roll, it might seem like all the creative riffs have been discovered, and that all of the various arrangements of instruments have been made. But Deerhoof's Friend Opportunity continues to press the limits of their instruments, their artistic abilities, and the genre itself. The result is a rich diverse album that is at the same time simple, thoughtful, and most importantly, enjoyable.
Listen to Deerhoof's "+81."
Bloc Party released A Weekend in the City last week, and I downloaded it (from emusic.com) to see if it could live up to the pressure of a great debut album. I loved Bloc Party's single from their last album, "Helicopter." The fact that FIFA 06 used that single as the soundtrack to an English Premiership highlight reel made the song even more enjoyable, but now when I listen to it I want to play soccer.
I was expecting more of the same, with a few artistic developments when I downloaded the album. My thoughts on it are mixed, and while I've listened to the album the whole way through a couple of times, there are songs that make me instantly switch what I'm listening to on iTunes. A reviewer at Cokemachineglow tellingly wrote, "Okereke now sings instead of barking, and, well, oops on him." Okereke's style was unique and sincere, but his newer efforts at lyric-singing reduce him to an average singer, and it seems that anyone with a similar range (and his isn't that marvelous) could fill his shoes. And I will let other reviewers online comment on the poverty of some of the lyrics. Okereke...I don't care if you want to drive to Brighton on the weekend.
With the singer out of the way, we are left considering the rest of the band. Russell Lissack provides a few fun riffs just as he did in "Helicopter," and Matt Tong's drumming is as fast-paced as ever. The problem involves what happens between the riffs, which are scattered and uneven throughout the album. Bloc Party seems to be committed to the electric lead and rhythm guitars, a full drum kit, and an unimpressive bass as their means of communicating their thoughts and music. Unfortunately, this reveals that they are more instrumentalists than musicians. On Weekend in the City, they bound themselves to a very limited form of expression, and while they may express some art-rock norms, they are unable to push the boundaries and advance music in a significant way.
Watch Bloc Party's live performance of "Hunting for Witches"
That's why Deerhoof wins out in this issue of Battle of the Bands. Deerhoof provides the listener with clearly identifiable rock patterns, so that the listener feels comfortable. Bloc Party does the same, but Deerhoof uses that comfort to gradually introduce new thoughts on music, and thus helps the listener appreciate even more forms of music, and isn't that what releasing an album should be all about?
Monday, February 12, 2007
the MANifesto
Ladies, but mostly gentlemen, welcome to the 21st Century. Women have made impressive strides in the field of civil rights, and they have declared that women can do anything a man can do, plus a little change (like childbirth). I feel that male sex has not thought about the implications of equal rights for both men and women, and I have thus set forth some principles to encourage the average man to stand up for his rights. The male sex has long been encumbered by thoughts of "gentility," which is a word that women created to trap men in a small, sexist cage. Women no longer listen to some of our demands, so why should we listen to some of theirs?
1) We, as men, resolve to no longer put the toilet seat down. Scientists have proven that nearly twice as much men as women suffer from chronic back pain, and this is most certainly the cause.
2) We resolve to never, never share the remote. Women read books and look at paintings. Men watch real things, like television. Thus we demand and will retake our sovereignty of the cathode ray tube, both now, and forevermore.
3) We resolve to stop opening doors for women. The awkwardness of jockeying for a position to where the man can open the door, and the excess of thought done in preparing for such moves both overburden a man's brain in unecessary ways (as in, non-sports thinking). We still retain the right to open the door, if we think we are entering a hostage situation.
4) We resolve to proudly belch and fart, as these are our natural and holiest of biological functions.
5) We resolve to scratch ourselves whenever we damn feel like it.
6) We resolve to dress ourselves. Women have tried to dominate the male's choice of aesthetic appearance, to which we say, no more! We dress for the optimum level of comfort, and it is sexist to tell us to do otherwise.
7) We resolve to watch action movies whenever we want, whether women are in the mood for them or not. A man's desire is not contingent upon a woman's, and our mastery of the remote (all forms of them, really) demands that we have the choice of film.
8) And finally, we resolve to abolish that insipid holiday, Valentine's Day. Valentine was a loser and shouldn't be celebrated. This female-driven holiday is another bar in the sexist cage that leads to the oppression of men, and dammit if we aren't going to break this one. If women want flowers from someone, they can ask their girl friends for help.
Good manifestos have a round ten points, but as a man myself, I resolve not to worry more about the MANifesto until further notice. My brothers would be appreciated to add more points.
Men of the world, unite!
1) We, as men, resolve to no longer put the toilet seat down. Scientists have proven that nearly twice as much men as women suffer from chronic back pain, and this is most certainly the cause.
2) We resolve to never, never share the remote. Women read books and look at paintings. Men watch real things, like television. Thus we demand and will retake our sovereignty of the cathode ray tube, both now, and forevermore.
3) We resolve to stop opening doors for women. The awkwardness of jockeying for a position to where the man can open the door, and the excess of thought done in preparing for such moves both overburden a man's brain in unecessary ways (as in, non-sports thinking). We still retain the right to open the door, if we think we are entering a hostage situation.
4) We resolve to proudly belch and fart, as these are our natural and holiest of biological functions.
5) We resolve to scratch ourselves whenever we damn feel like it.
6) We resolve to dress ourselves. Women have tried to dominate the male's choice of aesthetic appearance, to which we say, no more! We dress for the optimum level of comfort, and it is sexist to tell us to do otherwise.
7) We resolve to watch action movies whenever we want, whether women are in the mood for them or not. A man's desire is not contingent upon a woman's, and our mastery of the remote (all forms of them, really) demands that we have the choice of film.
8) And finally, we resolve to abolish that insipid holiday, Valentine's Day. Valentine was a loser and shouldn't be celebrated. This female-driven holiday is another bar in the sexist cage that leads to the oppression of men, and dammit if we aren't going to break this one. If women want flowers from someone, they can ask their girl friends for help.
Good manifestos have a round ten points, but as a man myself, I resolve not to worry more about the MANifesto until further notice. My brothers would be appreciated to add more points.
Men of the world, unite!
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Burping, and "Blame Pam, not Jim"
Do you ever find yourself listening to music in a coffee shop, and then burping audibly? I just forgot that even though I was listening to loud music, not everyone was, and let out a significant belch. Did I apologize? Of course not, because this is America.
Side note for discussion:
Who do we blame for the events of the Office Episode of 8 February 2007? In my opinion, Jim is not at fault. Pam has spent the past few episodes obviously pushing Jim away ("Oscar, I'm ready to be set up on a date", and leaving the reception with Roy). Jim, who we've seen as willing to go beyond some of Pam's more subtle eccentricities, cannot be asked to do more than interpret Pam's activity as a shot across the bow saying "I've moved on too, Jim."
One particular minor problem I have with Jim is his use of Pam's last name, "Beesly." Using someone's last name is a distance-creating mechanism, and dammit Jim, stop.
Side note for discussion:
Who do we blame for the events of the Office Episode of 8 February 2007? In my opinion, Jim is not at fault. Pam has spent the past few episodes obviously pushing Jim away ("Oscar, I'm ready to be set up on a date", and leaving the reception with Roy). Jim, who we've seen as willing to go beyond some of Pam's more subtle eccentricities, cannot be asked to do more than interpret Pam's activity as a shot across the bow saying "I've moved on too, Jim."
One particular minor problem I have with Jim is his use of Pam's last name, "Beesly." Using someone's last name is a distance-creating mechanism, and dammit Jim, stop.
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Manly TV Characters: Jim Halpert
Here at Cut the Chatter, Red 2, we are committed to providing our reader[s] with up to date commentary on some of the manliest characters out there in the world of television, film, or literature. But mostly television. Last week we looked at Jack Bauer, who on an initial exam seems to be the consumate man of television, but who could not stand up to further scrutiny. This week we take a look at Jim Halpert, and despite his lack of gun toting and terrorist killing, is one of the most manly men on television, and certainly the most endearing.
Jim is one of the rare characters that every television viewer loves. I've not met a person that hates Jim yet, and if someone told me that they did hate Jim Halpert, I would probably coerce an apology. Jim is so loveable (across gender lines) because he isn't just a funny guy; he's a funny guy with a heart, with insecurities, and who tries to do the right thing despite not knowing what that might be.
Jim scores high on intelligence for his business excellence as well as his incredible ability to come up with some of the greatest pranks known to the cathode ray tube. Every since we saw Jim's Jell-o proficiency we've all wanted to jell-o someone's belongings. His more recent prank on Andy was side-splittlingly hilarious as well. In fact, that may be one of his more choreographed pranks, demonstrating that Jim's intelligence translates out into the world of efficient movement and grace that would make Bruce Lee proud. In fact, Jim is sort of a Bruce Lee prankster, always coming up with creative solutions to intricate problems, and of course, always succeeding (here's hoping to Jim's hemorrhage-free future).
Jim takes the cake on ethics. Not only does he have an amazing sales partnership with Dwight (remember the recent Dwight Jim sales call? amazing teamwork!), but he manages to keep it real in the office. But even more importantly, let's talk about Pam. Forget Karen. I hate her. Amy Boyd reminded me that talking on the phone 5 nights in a row for the whole night means that someone is DTRing (I hate that term) for 4 days and 3 hours too much. When Jim drops Karen, the world will breathe a sigh of relief.
The Emmy-winning Casino Night episode shows just how manly Halpert really is. He sticks his neck out to let Pam know his feelings. Manly.
At this point, I'm going to post the ratings and a couple of videos.
Jim Halpert
Strength - 6.0 (Jim's American heritage bumps him up above the white-collar average)
Intelligence - 10.0
Charisma - 10.0
Ethics - 9.0
Overall Manly Rating: 8.75
Jim is one of the rare characters that every television viewer loves. I've not met a person that hates Jim yet, and if someone told me that they did hate Jim Halpert, I would probably coerce an apology. Jim is so loveable (across gender lines) because he isn't just a funny guy; he's a funny guy with a heart, with insecurities, and who tries to do the right thing despite not knowing what that might be.
Jim scores high on intelligence for his business excellence as well as his incredible ability to come up with some of the greatest pranks known to the cathode ray tube. Every since we saw Jim's Jell-o proficiency we've all wanted to jell-o someone's belongings. His more recent prank on Andy was side-splittlingly hilarious as well. In fact, that may be one of his more choreographed pranks, demonstrating that Jim's intelligence translates out into the world of efficient movement and grace that would make Bruce Lee proud. In fact, Jim is sort of a Bruce Lee prankster, always coming up with creative solutions to intricate problems, and of course, always succeeding (here's hoping to Jim's hemorrhage-free future).
Jim takes the cake on ethics. Not only does he have an amazing sales partnership with Dwight (remember the recent Dwight Jim sales call? amazing teamwork!), but he manages to keep it real in the office. But even more importantly, let's talk about Pam. Forget Karen. I hate her. Amy Boyd reminded me that talking on the phone 5 nights in a row for the whole night means that someone is DTRing (I hate that term) for 4 days and 3 hours too much. When Jim drops Karen, the world will breathe a sigh of relief.
The Emmy-winning Casino Night episode shows just how manly Halpert really is. He sticks his neck out to let Pam know his feelings. Manly.
At this point, I'm going to post the ratings and a couple of videos.
Jim Halpert
Strength - 6.0 (Jim's American heritage bumps him up above the white-collar average)
Intelligence - 10.0
Charisma - 10.0
Ethics - 9.0
Overall Manly Rating: 8.75
Monday, February 5, 2007
For the past year or so, I've had a tough time staying consistently in God's Word. The regular readings at Marannook were great, and I profited so much from them, but for some reason, I just stopped having a regular time of reading after that summer. I'd be tempted to say that I just became to dependent on the schedule, or something like that, and couldn't adjust to the "freer" college schedule. There are a lot of reasons I'd be tempted to give, but really it all boils down to my faithlessness. Considering that I lead a fellowship group and do music at RUF, you'd think I'd have more of an incentive to stay in the Word, but that wasn't about to be enough to stop my apathy.
It's not like I haven't read Scripture or anything. I'll read passages and sometimes my mind will be so blown away that I'll be fixated on one word of the Bible for months at a time. For example, the contradiction "but" in Ephesians 2:1-10 set my head spinning with all of the meaning of that single word. I also fell in love with Genesis 3.
I have decided to make myself read through the Psalms, and hopefully I will be able to keep that up. Lord willing, of course (but of course, he wills it).
Psalm 1 was wonderful to read. It seemed to really pack a punch too, considering that verse 2 says "his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates both day and night." It was very convicting to see that the righteous man is daily in the Word. Even more convicting was the image of the tree planted by the water. If we were to imagine ourselves as those trees, and really take a hard look at ourselves, we would not see the beautiful, shady tree (without a single brown leaf!) we see when we picture that scene. We are warped, and we move our roots away from the river. We so often want to have nothing to do with God's precepts, even if they are essential for our lives.
But Psalm 1 isn't a poetic way of saying "This is how you should live." Oh, it is that, but it is also so much more. David wasn't writing about any righteous man he knew in Israel. He was writing of the righteous man he knew by faith. Psalm 1 is about Christ, who is truly the only man who has ever meditated on God's law constantly, finding his delight in the Word of God. If we look at Jesus' life, we do not see the things we so often associate with the word "prosper," like wealth, fame, social acceptance. We say we love Jesus' personality, but I'm betting if he showed up in the South, we might think his manners were a little bit underdeveloped. And yet, Jesus was the only person to truly fulfill this psalm.
If we read this Psalm and just see a set of rules, and if we're being honest with ourselves, we are crushed. We see an image of someone we can never hope to be. But that is precisely where Paul yells at us, "Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David!"
God, in his mercy, gave his fallen creation the law so that we may know the best life possible. If that wasn't enough, he sent his Son to both live the life the Law descibes AND to atone all our transgressions and omissions of that law. He lived a life of perfect obedience, and then took our sins upon himself to justly and mercifully bear our punishment. And then we are credited with his righteousness! God will look on his people as the blessed that the first psalm describes. Still further, the Father and Son sent the Spirit to equip us so that our lives may in some dim way reflect Christ.
And when you think about that, well, then the fact that these few verses make up a Psalm makes sense! How could you not want to praise God when you think about all that?
It's not like I haven't read Scripture or anything. I'll read passages and sometimes my mind will be so blown away that I'll be fixated on one word of the Bible for months at a time. For example, the contradiction "but" in Ephesians 2:1-10 set my head spinning with all of the meaning of that single word. I also fell in love with Genesis 3.
I have decided to make myself read through the Psalms, and hopefully I will be able to keep that up. Lord willing, of course (but of course, he wills it).
Psalm 1 was wonderful to read. It seemed to really pack a punch too, considering that verse 2 says "his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates both day and night." It was very convicting to see that the righteous man is daily in the Word. Even more convicting was the image of the tree planted by the water. If we were to imagine ourselves as those trees, and really take a hard look at ourselves, we would not see the beautiful, shady tree (without a single brown leaf!) we see when we picture that scene. We are warped, and we move our roots away from the river. We so often want to have nothing to do with God's precepts, even if they are essential for our lives.
But Psalm 1 isn't a poetic way of saying "This is how you should live." Oh, it is that, but it is also so much more. David wasn't writing about any righteous man he knew in Israel. He was writing of the righteous man he knew by faith. Psalm 1 is about Christ, who is truly the only man who has ever meditated on God's law constantly, finding his delight in the Word of God. If we look at Jesus' life, we do not see the things we so often associate with the word "prosper," like wealth, fame, social acceptance. We say we love Jesus' personality, but I'm betting if he showed up in the South, we might think his manners were a little bit underdeveloped. And yet, Jesus was the only person to truly fulfill this psalm.
If we read this Psalm and just see a set of rules, and if we're being honest with ourselves, we are crushed. We see an image of someone we can never hope to be. But that is precisely where Paul yells at us, "Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David!"
God, in his mercy, gave his fallen creation the law so that we may know the best life possible. If that wasn't enough, he sent his Son to both live the life the Law descibes AND to atone all our transgressions and omissions of that law. He lived a life of perfect obedience, and then took our sins upon himself to justly and mercifully bear our punishment. And then we are credited with his righteousness! God will look on his people as the blessed that the first psalm describes. Still further, the Father and Son sent the Spirit to equip us so that our lives may in some dim way reflect Christ.
And when you think about that, well, then the fact that these few verses make up a Psalm makes sense! How could you not want to praise God when you think about all that?
Of Sin and Superhumans
I wish I was as good a writer as some of the Puritans were. The Valley of Vision is an amazing compilation of prayers. I don't have many petitions to God that I would like to put in such a structured prayer, but I think I've had one recently. I'm not going to attempt it, but I felt like writing a little bit about it.
It's not a new revelation, but I think it has hit home a little bit harder lately. I think my main struggle is pride. I really do think I'm an egomaniac. And I think the only reason I have ever done anything "right" in my life was to satisfy that pride, and not to respond to the Gospel by pleasing God with my actions.
It is humbling to realize that you've avoided some of life's evils because you have never wanted to humble yourself to say otherwise. And then you realize that you were never avoiding evil at all. I've spent my whole life trying to put myself in God's shoes that I don't even remember what my own shoes feel like.
At church Sunday I imagined that a ghost was standing in front of me, with the requisite misty blue aura รก la post-Vader encounter Obi-Wan Kenobi. I imagined this ghost as a picture of my sinful self, but on reflection, I think it was my godly self (if there is such a thing). The sin in me feels so much more real than the good, and I really identify with Paul (as we all do) when he asks from whom will come the deliverance from this wretched state. Thankfully, he reminded us of the answer.
Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
On another note, check this out. Taylor showed it to me, and apparently this guy is one of the two that has finished the complete course. You need a talking point for you next manly night? This guy is it!
It's not a new revelation, but I think it has hit home a little bit harder lately. I think my main struggle is pride. I really do think I'm an egomaniac. And I think the only reason I have ever done anything "right" in my life was to satisfy that pride, and not to respond to the Gospel by pleasing God with my actions.
It is humbling to realize that you've avoided some of life's evils because you have never wanted to humble yourself to say otherwise. And then you realize that you were never avoiding evil at all. I've spent my whole life trying to put myself in God's shoes that I don't even remember what my own shoes feel like.
At church Sunday I imagined that a ghost was standing in front of me, with the requisite misty blue aura รก la post-Vader encounter Obi-Wan Kenobi. I imagined this ghost as a picture of my sinful self, but on reflection, I think it was my godly self (if there is such a thing). The sin in me feels so much more real than the good, and I really identify with Paul (as we all do) when he asks from whom will come the deliverance from this wretched state. Thankfully, he reminded us of the answer.
Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
On another note, check this out. Taylor showed it to me, and apparently this guy is one of the two that has finished the complete course. You need a talking point for you next manly night? This guy is it!
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