New Year's Resolutions: 2011 Edition

Once again, it's New Year's Eve and time to make New Year's resolutions!
To be perfectly honest, I don't even remember what mine were last year... But I'm fairly certain that I failed in keeping them! Funny, isn't it, how that always happens?
Well, this year I'm writing them down. Right here. On the internet. For everyone to see. Will that help me keep them? Probably not... But maybe!
So, what are my resolutions this year? I think I shall come up with eleven in honor of the year 2011. And, with that, here it goes:

Firstly, I plan to graduate college. Again. That one should be decently easy to accomplish. Only one semester to go!

Secondly, I will continue my pie-baking endeavors until I have reached a far greater mastery of the art of the pie! (I have, however, made significant progress along those lines this month. I will try to make a post about that later today!)

Thirdly, I will learn to knit. Currently I am decently proficient at crocheting and enjoy making things for others that brings smiles to the faces of those I love. However, I'm not much good at knitting and would very much like to improve my skills in that area.

Fourthly, every year I read many books but have forgotten what most of them were by the time the year is complete. This year, I would like to keep a list of the books I read and at least short reviews of them. That way in the years to come I'll know whether I ought to recommend and/or reread them or not!

Fifthly, I want to get my passport and travel out of the country. I've never left the United States except for a couple day trips to Canada when we lived up there, and I'd like to see something a little more outside of my everyday world.

Sixthly, I want to go on a mission trip. This may or may not go along with resolution seven since I know many mission trips are within the country, but I have never been on one domestic or international and would dearly love to go.

Seventhly (not a word, I know, but it provides nice parallelism), I think I'd like to try my hand at the whole NaNoWriMo next year. My sister has now participated in it two years in a row, and each time I've been inspired to try it for myself. I'm not normally much of a fiction writer. I prefer to write my research papers and article reviews and such, but I'd like to try at least once. So, since this year I won't be in school, and, therefore, (in theory) not quite as busy, I think I shall see what I can do!

Eighthly, my piano has been a bit out of use this past year. In the coming year, I will start practicing it again and work on regaining my proficiency. I would like to have at least four challenging songs memorized by the end of 2011 (I'm going with a low number... Let's not be too ambitious!).

Ninthly, I plan to read through the whole Bible at least once. It's been awhile since I've done that, and there are parts which I simply am not so familiar with any more. I want to be familiar with them and to take this opportunity to learn more about the God I love and serve and to draw nearer to Him than I have ever been before.

Tenthly, I plan to memorize a book of the Bible. Which one? I haven't decided yet, but I'm thinking probably 1 Peter. I'd also like to memorize Psalm 119. And maybe Ecclesiastes? There are just so many excellent choices!

Eleventhly, and finally, I plan to figure out to next step in my life. More school? Teacher certification? A job? Or something else entirely? I'm coming to a new chapter in my life now, and I plan to take this next year to spend some much needed time in prayer and consideration of the next step God has for me. It's both exciting and terrifying, but I know that He has plans for my life, and I can't wait to find out what those might be!

So, this year will be a year of many things: of learning new skills and polishing old ones, of new experiences on multiple fronts, and of focusing on growing my relationship with God and discovering the next step He has in store for me. I'm thinking it will most certainly be an adventure worth writing about!

Peering Through the Mist

"We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us! But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love." ~ I Corinthians 12:12-13 (The Message)

"For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love." ~ I Corinthians 12:12-13 (ESV)

"For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity." ~ 1 Corinthians 12:12-13 (KJV)

Do you ever have days in your life where you feel like the path is totally obscured and you have no idea where you're going? Do you ever have says where you feel like God is out of reach and no matter how hard you seek Him He is simply not to be found even though you know that in truth He is right by you side? I know that I do. And during those times, I find comfort in knowing that this is not my home, that the fog I travel through and the things I see now are only a faint shadow of what's to come, even though for now they may be all I can see.

A while back as I was struggling with these things, these verses kept coming to my mind. So, I looked them up. I got online. I looked them up in more versions. I took them to heart and was encouraged by them. The Message is not normally a version of the Bible I read; I realize that it is not necessarily a reliable interpretation of the Scripture. However, there are times when I like to see how it has phrased things, just for something a bit different, and this is one of those times I'm glad I did. I love the way The Message translation deals with this verse, and am inspired by it to change the name of my blog. So, I am changing it, and soon I will put together a new header, but for right now I'm simply going to change the title, and, probably the direction of this blog a bit. I have several posts mulling over in my mind right now that hopefully will find their way here soon (maybe once finals and school papers are out of the way for a bit). Until then, it is my hope that you will all "Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly."

Ramblings on Various and Random Aspects of Life

Soo... I am discovering the joys of being an English major. Namely, papers galore! Right now I have four large papers I'm working on formulating in addition to a short essay due on Monday. I must admit, I love studying for papers and doing the research, but actually writing them is a bit stressful at times!

I just finished writing a research paper on Abigail Adams and am working on another on Harriet Beecher Stowe (or, possibly, Catherine Beecher. However, information on her is harder to come by!)for an advanced American History class I'm in. Additionally, I am beginning to do research on Anne Bradstreet's struggles with doubt as depicted in her poetry for my American Literature I class, trying to formulate a topic for a paper relating to the linguistic history of the English language, and starting to formulate ideas for a large paper comparing Christianity to other world religions for my World Though Class (side note: the topics for just any and all of these major papers could change at any time since they are still in the very early stages). Fortunately, my experiment in time management is going well, and I've had a lot more time for studying this week. Yay! :)

Additionally, I'm getting involved with a couple of Bible studies here on campus. One (the one I've already gone to) is on the Bible and Pop Culture, and in it we're learning how to be discerning and evaluate the culture and entertainment around us from a Biblical World view. So far, it's looking very promising, and I'm very excited about it! The other study is meeting for the first time tonight, and in that one we're going through the book "Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life" by Donald S. Whitney. That one looks like it will be pretty great too, and I'm sure I'll be picking up on all sorts of fascinating things to share with those of you who occasionally read my blog.

I have some other things I'd like to post on soon, things which are a bit more musings and less ramblings, but for now I've got to head to Bible study!

Life Means So Much

So, lately I've been musing a lot on how to spend my time more wisely. Since coming to school, I've found that my tendency to just kind of piddle away my life (especially in computer related ways) seems to have gotten worse. Afte two nights of being up way too late writing last minute essays combined with the sermon I listened to yesterday about making wise choices with our time. I have decided that something must be done. Action must be taken. Therefore, to attain this end, I wrote out a list yesterday of things that I'm going to give up for the week and things which I am going to purpose to include in my weekly schedule. One of those things is writing at least once, maybe twice a week in this blog. :) Other things include more exercise, Scripture memorization, a more disciplined schedule of Scripture reading and prayer, and a more regular study routine (hopefully resulting in no more 3 a.m. papers!). On a final note, I'm going to leave you with a song by Chris Rice (one of my favourite artists). May you all have a blessed week and spend your time wisely in service to Christ. Remember, He gave His life for us. How will we spend the precious time He's given us?

Life Means So Much - By Chris Rice
Everyday is a journal page
Every man holds a quill and ink
And there’s plenty of room for writing in
All we do and believe and think
So will you compose a curse
Or will today bring the blessings
Fill the page with rhyming verse
Or some random sketchings

Teach us to count the days
Teach us to make the days count
Lead us in better ways
Somehow our souls forgot
Life means so much
Life means so much
Life means so much

Everyday is a bank account
And time is our currency
So no one’s rich, nobody’s poor
We get twenty-four hours each
So how are you gonna spend
Will you invest or squander
Try to get ahead
Or help someone who’s under

Teach us to count the days
Teach us to make the days count
Lead us in better ways
Somehow our souls forgot
Life means so much
Life means so much
Life means so much

Has anybody lived who knew the value of a life?
And don’t you think giving his own
Would prove the worth of yours and mine?

Teach us to count the days
Teach us to make the days count
Lead us in better ways
Somehow our souls forgot
Life means so much
Life means so much
Life means so much

Updates

Wow! It's been almost a whole month since I last posted! lol. Sorry about that to anyone who's been checking in with any sort of consistency. :) Well, the last month has been a pretty busy one for me, but I'm currently sitting on my new bed in my new dorm room writing a new blog post on my computer (which is not new, in case anyone was wondering!). It's nice to be back in class again. Although, I think my school load is going to be quite a bit heavier this semester than it has been in the past, and I'm trying to figure out exactly what that's going to look like and how much time it's going to take. I'm excited to be studying and learning new things, and eager to see what God has planned in my life this semester. (According to Facebook, I'm either getting married or dying, but I prefer to think that Facebook is wrong. lol.)

It's amazing to look back at where I was two years ago and see where I have come from there. I'm at a place I never would have imagined myself. However, I do feel that it is where God has led me, where He has placed me, and I am content in that (at least most of the time. There are those days where I simply say, "God, what are you doing with my life anyhow?" and occasionally even those days when I think "Are you really even there and listening to me at all!"). Looking back simply reminds me how very much can change in such a short time, and causes me to wonder all the more what my life will look like in another two years. Where will He be leading me then?

Anyhow, I'm going to go work on writing one of my many papers, but I will try to post a bit more regularly on here, even if those more regular posts are just random musings (like those above).

Women of the Bible

Sorry. I know that once again it's been awhile since I posted, by life, even in the summer, can be a rather time-consuming thing! :) That said, I am formulating a couple of posts in my head and will hopefully have them up sometime soon. In the meantime, I wanted to share with you all a poem which was given to me by a dear friend several years ago and which has been a great challenge and encouragement to me through the years. Lately, especially, I have been praying a lot about the kind of woman which the Lord would have me become, and He has been bringing this poem to my mind frequently. Therefore, I have elected to share it with you all and hope it will be as much a blessing to you as it has been to me!

Like Deborah,
I will serve the Lord in power and speak His Word without fear.
Like Esther,
I will intercede for God's people before His throne.
Like Abigail,
I will humble myself to wash the feet of the servants of the Lord.
Like Sarah,
I will respect my husband and his ministry to the Lord
Like Hannah,
I will dedicate my children to the Lord.
Like Priscilla,
I will explain the way of God more perfectly to those who are seeking.
Like the Shunamite widow,
I will trust God in the day of adversity.
Like Lydia,
I will be a worshiper of God and open my home to his ministers.
Like Tabitha,
I will always do good and help the poor.
Like Joanna,
I will use my wealth to support the ministry of Jesus.
Like Mary, the mother of Jesus,
I will hear the word of God to me and answer, "Be it unto me as you have said."
Like Mary, the sister of Martha,
I will know the voice of Jesus and hear His words.
Like Mary, the mother of Mark,
I will make my home a haven for the followers of Jesus.
Like Mary, the Magdalene,
I will keep at the feet of Jesus and love Him unto death.
~ Anonymous

Spiritual Lessons Gleaned from a Severe Case of Poison Ivy :)

Well, I'm finally finished with school for the semester. Yay! In fact, I'm finished at this school for forever. I have graduated and am preparing to transfer to a new university in the fall, exciting stuff! Beyond that, I haven't really decided what to blog over... I've considered the spiritual object lessons I've gleaned from my little brother's poison ivy (there are at least two. Don't you love it when God teaches you things even where you don't expect it?), I've considered a post on my summer plans (which aren't terribly exciting at this point), and I've considered a post on the wedding I attended last night (It was beautiful!). I think, however, that I'm going to go with the Spiritual lessons I've gleaned from my brother's poison ivy.

My six year old brother has poison ivy very badly. Currently, it is on the underside if both arms, on his abdomen, on his neck, on his cheeks, and all around both eyes (one eye is practically swollen shut by the poison ivy!). It is really quite sad to look at, however, I do have limited sympathy for him, for two reasons. First, he was relatively sure it was poison ivy when he picked it up. You see, he is one of those children who really doesn't comprehend the fact that he can be injured, despite the fact that he is on a relatively routine basis. He was out in the woods on our back property playing with some of my older siblings when he came running to my sister (12) with a three-leafed plant in his hand. "Look, Kay! Is this poison ivy? I think it's poison ivy."
"Yes, Layne, I think it probably is poison ivy, but I'm not really sure."
"Ooo... Look! I have poison ivy in my hand! I can rub it on my arm and it doesn't hurt me!"
"Layne, you should probably put that down."
"Hmm.. Okay!" and off he runs. Now, as I said, I've drawn a couple of Spiritual lessons from his experience. The first is that frequently we place ourselves in tempting situations because "I can handle it. It won't hurt me." However, frequently those situations do end up hurting us, sometimes in ways we don't fully comprehend until sometime later. Thus, Scripture tells us to FLEE temptation, not to flirt with it.

So, you might be wondering what the second lesson I've gotten from my brother's poison ivy is. Well, he did (obviously) eventually develop the poison ivy rash. However, initially it was only a patch on his arm (where he'd rubbed the plant, go figure!). However, despite the warnings of multiple others - myself, my mother, my father and other older experienced people (O, yes I'm experienced! you should have seen my poison ivy last year! I know what I'm talking about here!) - he itched. Now, something many of you may not know about poison ivy is that once the rash appears the oils of the poison ivy have actually bonded to the molecular structure of your skin. This means that, although you cannot spread the rash to other people, you can quickly spread it ALL OVER yourself if you itch, and he itched. Not only did he itch, he itched then rubbed his eyes which means that now he has poison ivy all over both eye-lids (it's quite a sad sight to behold). Now, what spiritual lesson did I learn from this? Sin spreads. Once you have a sin in your life, that sin takes hold, and it is extremely hard to get rid of it on your own. You might think you know how to handle it, you might think that itching it feels good, it helps to relieve the pain, but really you need help. You need to seek out and listen to the advice of your spiritual elders and mentors, you need to saturate yourself with Scripture, and you need to seek the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Because, once you've fallen in to a particular sin, you're usually far more drawn to do it again. It is, so to speak, bonded to your DNA. Satan has a foothold and, given the opportunity, he'll be more than happy to take advantage of it.

Thus, these are the deep Spiritual lessons I've gleaned from my brother's poison ivy. That, and some slightly less Spiritual lessons as well. Namely, if you see a plant you believe to be poison ivy, don't pick it and rub it up and down your arm. It's really not a good idea at all. lol.

Thoughts on Darwin

"I had been lying on a sunny bank & was reflecting on the strange character of the Animals of this country as compared to the rest of the World. An unbeliever in everything beyond his own reason, might exclaim "Surely two distinct Creators must have been [at] work; their object however has been the same & certainly the end in each case is complete".— Whilst thus thinking, I observed the conical pitfall of a Lion-Ant:— A fly fell in & immediately disappeared; then came a large but unwary Ant; his struggles to escape being very violent, the little jets of sand described by Kirby (Vol. 1. P. 425) were promptly directed against him.— His fate however was better than that of the poor fly's:— Without a doubt this predacious Larva belongs to the same genus, but to a different species from the European one.— Now what would the Disbeliever say to this? Would any two workmen ever hit on so beautiful, so simple & yet so artificial a contrivance? It cannot be thought so.— The one hand has surely worked throughout the universe."

“…sublimity of the primeval forest, undefaced by the hand of man … Sublime devotion the prevalent feeling. 16th: Started early in the morning … pleasant ride and much enjoyed the glorious woods. Bamboos 12 inches in circumference. Several sorts of tree ferns. 17th: …Twiners entwining twiners — tresses like hair — beautiful lepidoptera — Silence — hosannah — …”

These words were written by a young theologian and naturalist upon his first trip to South America. I find them both beautiful and inspiring, very similar to words I would pen under similar circumstances. They cause me to wonder what happened to this young man who was so evidently inspired by creation to see and worship it’s Creator and designer. You see, this young man was Charles Darwin. As I was listening to a podcast the other day (Speaking of Faith with Krista Tippett. It’s not a Christian podcast, but it is one I enjoy and find thought provoking), I realized that I would like to know more about Charles Darwin the man. What was it that transformed him from a young man heading toward a clergy position in the Anglican church to an agnostic naturalist? What can we learn from his life? These are questions and ideas I hope to explore further at a later time.

A Fire Truck?

So... Random musing of the day...
Driving home about an hour ago from some errands I saw a U.S. Navy fire truck driving down the highway. Now, answer me this, what is a naval fire truck doing in the middle of Oklahoma when the nearest naval base is in Ft. Worth, TX?

Lessons From Ballroom Dance

This semester I’ve been taking a ballroom dance class with my brother and a couple of other friends. I’ve really enjoyed the entire class, but last night we learned the East Coast Swing which was, by far, the most fun dance we’ve learned. (I must admit that my favorite part of it was the fast swings, I was wearing a skirt that twirled just right when my brother swung me, and it was so much fun!) In the process of learning the basics of ballroom dance, I’ve learned some important concepts which can be applied to our walk with Christ:

1. In order to dance well with your partner, you have to know the steps.
- In order to effectively serve Christ, we must be spending time in His Word, getting to know the things He has said and learning the guidelines of the “dance.”

2. It is important carefully follow your partner's lead. This means being in-tune to the movements of his hands and body so that it takes only the slightest pressure for you to respond in the correct direction.
- We must be in daily communion with Christ, in-tune to His voice and His leading so that we will recognize the leads which He gives us.

3. You never quite know which step your partner might lead you into next. You know that the step will be one which is part of that dance and which goes with the music, but you don’t know exactly which one it will be.
- This is pretty much a combination of the ones above. We know that Christ will never lead us into a step that is not part of the dance that does not align with His Word. However, within His Word there is a lot of freedom for the individual believer. We can also rest confident in the fact that it is not our role to lead, simply to be in-tune to Him, trusting that He will lead us into the correct steps at the correct time.

4. Sometimes it is hard not to take the lead, but two people cannot lead at the same time.
- Either we control our lives or He does, both cannot be true. As Scripture says, “man cannot serve two masters.”

5. Properly following means leaning on your partner, you have to lean back into the support of his hand, trusting that he will not let you fall. Otherwise, he cannot lead you correctly.
- We have to be willing to lean on Jesus, even when it makes us feel insecure, like we’re going to fall. We have to be willing to surrender that control and security in order to follow Him more fully.

By no means to intend to imply with this post that I have these things mastered. In fact, writing it has been pretty convicting for me myself. I don’t rely on Him nearly as I ought to, and I often struggle with wanting to control my life and the direction that it’s going. However, my experience has been that just when you think you have it all figured out and know exactly where you’re going is when something happens that turns all your plans upside down. These are the times when we have to learn all over again the importance of relying on Him, day by day.

As I was writing this post, the chorus of a song kept playing through my head. So I looked it up and it turns out it was DC Talk’s “What if I Stumble.” I actually don’t recall ever having heard the entirety of this song before, but the lyrics do go right along with what I was talking about. If I post them here now, this post will be forever long, so I'm just going to post the chorus, but I would suggest you look up the rest of the lyrics. They definitely provide some food for thought:
What if I stumble?
What if I fall?
What if I lose my step, and I make fools of us all?
Will the love continue if my walk becomes a crawl?
What if I stumble, and what if I fall?