The calendar

Has the calendar been adjusted to our one-week delay? Cuz now i'm just really confused as to where we should be

Voice of Truth

I know this really has nothing to do with the reading, but I was kinda bored today and i was listening to this song, so I just...yeah....

Voice of Truth

Counting

1 Chronicles 27:24
"Joab son of Zeruiah began to count the men but did nto finish. Wrath came on Israel on account of this numbering, and the number was not entered in the book of the annals of King David."
This happened once before in 2 Samuel 24 where David is punished for counting the fighting men in Israel and in 1 Chronicles 21 where it's the same thing but it specifies that Joab disagrees with David (and then he goes and does it again later himself...)
what is sinful about counting the number of fighting men in Israel?
"1...2...3..."

Psalms

It's like being in Job again....

there's not much to say, but a question:

we're just covering Psalms that David wrote right?

not the whole book.

...

psalms for the next week....

-_-,

the God we want or the God who is

so the reading of 1 Samuel has Saul falling from grace. We've already seen the Israelites wandering around in the wilderness until a whole generation died and the next generation would have nothing to be proud of. Later on, we see that David sins and as a result, God promised that the sword would never leave his household.

So what's the deal?

Is this just the old testament God who is full of wrath and punishment? I don't think it's that. I think our perception of grace and mercy is a little off. Grace is recieving something we don't deserve. We don't deserve eternal life or God's love. But He gives them to us anyway. Mercy is not getting what we do deserve. We deserve punishment and death, but we sometimes don't get them. Here's the misunderstanding. We assume forgiveness means that there are no consequences. The truth about forgiveness is that it is between you and the one forgiving. Forgiveness makes you right with the other person and it restores the relationship. The consequences are something else altogether.

Your parents will always forgive you. They won't hate you forever. But they will probably still give you consequences. I know it's hard to think about a loving God as also a punishing God, but oftentimes the consequences are necessary for teaching and refining so that you may be complete and whole, not lacking in anything.

(yes, this was written during Randy's sermon)

Calendar

Hey uhhhhh whos updating the calendar now?

I kinda need to know...else i'll be stuck in 1 samual while you all go into esther...TT^TT

HA!

So I just caught up on my reading. Finished all of judges and started ruth, judges was really confusing but still, i'm caught up. HA EAT THAT THORNY SOIL!

Judges

Okay, okay im sorry
i was gonna say that Judges was basically a recording of the judges that saved Israel right?
and then there was the part about cutting off the thumbs and big toes...
i know that the Bible explained why they cut the king's fingers/toes off, but why did the king cut off the thumb and big toes? why not a leg or pinkie or something?????

mmm yum

wow Adoni-Bezek screwed up 70 kings by cutting off their thumbs and big toes? that sucks...for him. it was so random when they just ran up to him and cut off his fingers. but then they explained it.

hahahahahaha i love the section about Ehud killing the fat king
in fact, i loved it so much that i made a video on it
here it is =]:

Ouch

i'd say the curses that would happen for the Isrealites if they didn't listen to God is about a fraction of what Hitler did to the Jews


pretty harsh

Finally blogging again....

So i finally began to read and check out the blogger again...-_-

in Numbers 31:25-27, the Lord said that they were to count all the women and animals and to divide them...or as the NIV version says...to divide the SPOILS....equally among the soldiers...

hmph were the women back then really that...insignificant? just curious ^^

also

Hedy, could you please call or email every now and then to remind me to keep up with the reading?

that might help...

*sigh*  TT^TT

punk'd?

so in chapter 22 balaam is told to go to balak by God himself. come next morning, balaam is on his way, but God changes his mind and doesn't want balaam to go. He sends an angel holding a sword to prevent them from doing so, but the catch is that only the donkey can see the angel. Out of fear, the donkey tries to get away frantically all the while running poor balaam into rock walls and falling on him. If it were me i would have beaten the donkey too. idk it just seems weird

God had communicated freely with balaam on previous occasions, why not just say to balaam "don't go!". it seems like that would have saved balaam a lot of pain.

Fall Goals

I'm the youngest in the group and yet I'm feeling depressed about summer ending...sigh

Anyways...

Fall Goals:

1.  Stay on track and don't get behind on my Bible readings...

2.  Get to bed on time so that I'll at least be able to get up in the morning

3.  Comment and post more on blogger

4.  Control my temper better (though i think im getting better!! ~^.^~)

5.  Finish all my homework on time (which probably wont be too hard, as everyone tells me...)

6.  Not to get so self-conscious about everything...

7.  To help around the house more

8.  Play more tennis

9.  Concentrate on chinese and not to get worked up when im really behind

10. Keep a neater room XD

11. Pray about more things every night

12. Figure out how to save more money (im broke TT^TT)

13. Get off the computer more...

14. GET MORE ORGANIZED

15. Pay attention in class (daydreaming...)

16. Socialize more with different people, not just with the people ive known for awhile

I guess thats a lot of goals -_- but i really really hope to keep them 

after all

ive gotta lot of flaws that ive got to fix XD

Fall Goals

hurrah!!! we've finally hit some plot.
so i forgot to read yesterday. and then when i read today
i had caught up before i knew it. oh it was wonderful!!!

Fall Goals:

• I need to get back in the weight room, hopefully i'll be able to jump right back into benching 135, but that probably won't happen. By the end of the year i'm shootin' for around maybe 170-ish
• Dance 1 - so idk if you've heard or not, but i'm taking dance 1. So i'll be learning a bit of contemporary dance, it should be fun. So it should broaden my dance range a bit. yay for dancing
• popping/botting - I just need to expand my arsenal. hit a little harder, stop a little quicker. oh yeah, and strobing. I kinda put that off when i first learned the robot. but i think its time i try to tackle that. its pretty much, moving from point a to point b, with a couple stops in between to make the effect of a strobe light. hopefully, i'll be able to meet some ppl who do what i do. cuz right now my only teacher is youtube. madd chadd is the man.
  
• my classes are pretty chill this year, so there should be no excuse for bad grades this year. but i'll probably end up sleeping through most of it anyways...so yeah, i hope i can keep up my grades
• ACT, i wanna get a decent score. nuff said.
• Jesus, gotta make room in my life for da big JC. gotta keep on readin my Jesus book and prayin. Gotta pick up my cross and follow
• Homecoming - idk if it happens every year, but i hear there's a dance competition...i'm kinda hesitant because i dont think i'd fare well against all the brothas in the school, and i'm not sure i'm that good to begin with
  

Fall Goals

right-o here's the start of my fall goals:

• number 1 is focus in all my classes. i doubt i'll get an A in o'leary's class, so i'll just focus
  
• get in the weight room everyday. no excuses
• find some time to study for ACT's. yeah i know, but i don't wanna get screwed over. in life.
  
• with all this studying and exercising and studying and a little bit of work and some studying, where does Jesus come in? I want to be able to still have him as a major part of my life. somehow. after all that studying
• um i shoulda mentioned it in my summer goals, but break dancing. hopefully i get one to two moves down before MYC area. i just need to practice more.
• eating right. my eating habits are out of wack, that's why i don't gain any weight. the school's schedule will put it back.
  
• save money. cuz since i won't be making as much as i did during the summer i could spend it all really fast

annnd that's it. just for the fall

The Reason For God

so I am going to attempt what I thought I could never do: read two books at one time

I have the Journey of Desire and now I will try to finish the Reason for God, too.
with soccer gone, maybe I can hold back on the computer and finish these books before the end of the summer

an interesting reason for why I want to read this book:
whenever I run into a theological or trapped situation in my spiritual life, I ask my cousin what he would do in my situation. He's helped me many times in my spiritual walk and is a sort of a distant accountable partner. In one of my situations, we had a very long discussion on the gospel and he recommended me this book. I may not take as much as he did from this book because he and this book are both so....i don't even know the word...just like intellectually...smarter...wiser? in every way. so here I am, just getting a general idea of what this book is about

what this book is about:
timothy keller tackles many questions that people that argue against Christianity, hence the name "The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism". some questions that he points out:
-What is the true religion?
-How could a good God allow suffering?
-How can a loving God send people to Hell?
The other chapters in the book is there to help prove God. What is all comes down to is the Gospel. The Message. The Good News. I got sum readin' to do so I blog allllll about it when I'm done

here's something interesting that i've gotten so far:
timothy keller kicks the book off with the issue of true religion. The question that everyone asks: how do you know your religion is the true religion? now this is just something i found so interesting but the realization of the problem is so simple that i couldn't believe that he could explain just with a simple example:
"Several blind men were walking along and came upon an elephant that allowed them to touch and feel it. "This creature is long and flexible like a snake" said the first blind man, holding the elephant's trunk. "not at all-it is thick and round like a tree trunk," said the second blind man, feeling the elephant's leg. "No, it is large and flat,
said the third blind man, touching the elephant's side. Each blind man could feel only part of the elephant-none could envision the entire elephant. In the same way, it is argued, the religions of the world each have a grasp on part of the truth about spiritual reality, but none can see the whole elephant or claim to have a comprehensive vision of the truth. " (8)
it's using this example to show that all of us could have a part of the truth, but none can see the truth as a whole. we're all convinced we're right, but we have to look at the entire truth, but...
The following section has a quote: "Religious belief is too culturally and historically conditioned to be 'truth.'"
this is saying that it's become so hard to see the entire truth because religion has been changed by culture and history

even my low intellectual level could understand what this means. i am still reading, but i just wanted to point out the example of the elephant because it seems to be so true.

hopefully i'll be able to finish without being busted from all the high use of vocab words in this book. if anyone would read it with me, that'd be cool (besides just Larry(nothin' on ya)) and awesome

Info on Timothy Keller

and this is my 2am improvised blog post (while eating ramen noodles)

annnnd Mark breaks the august-less posts chain!

one long debate on a thursday night

so tonight, i had a series of long and short discussions with different people about this questions: "Does God choose who will go to heaven and who will go to hell?" this lead into a number of very interesting ideas about not only our role in creation, but also the very nature of God. Does he risk? does he hope? does he have faith? these are questions we don't normally think about and we pull away from asking such questions as predestination vs. free will because we've been told that there is no answer so we should just wait until we get to heaven.

true, we might not know for sure until we get to heaven, but i think it is necessary for us to think about these things while we're still alive. here's why: because we don't see the world as it is, we see it as we are. we all have opinions, even for things that have no sure answer. no matter what, these opinions will affect the way we see the world and through that, it will impact our actions.

so use your minds and try to tackle even the most complicated of questions that seem to have no answer at all. use the Bible as your reference to base your claims on. (you'd be amazed how fruitless discussions about God are without the use of the Bible) because these things are good for you and will grow you in wisdom and faith. i do not believe that there are questions too complicated for God.

HAPPYONEMONTHANNIVERSARY,YALL(:

hooray! job is over and out. finally. no offense.
but over all, i get that if we dont ever lose track of God then he will reward us greatly

so in the beginning of exodus, why does the new king want to get rid of the guys and keep the girls? either i totally missed reading a part, but it didnt make any sense to me.
and now, we move onto moses.
im pretty sure the majority of us know the story of super star moses, aiight? a levite woman gives birth to a son but hides him for three months but then ends up having to ship him in a basket into the river (his sister is watching). pharaoh's daughter finds him and wants someone to take care of the baby, so the sister gets their mother who is paid to take care of him. and tra la laa, moses grows up, kills a man, runs away, saves seven daughters, and gets married to zipporah. and years after, God remembers (oh yeah! dem israeites) and has a plan...
in exodus 2:18, it says "when the girls etuned to reuel, their father...."
but in exodus 3:1, it says "one day moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, jethro..."
so im pretty sure both verses refer to the same people, but why do they have different names?
...and Gods amazing plan with moses begins with that miraculousburning of a bush. and he sends moses to gather people out of egypt, and three suh-weeeet signs to prove to dem egyptians that God came to moses.
#1 staff turned snake turned staff, again
#2 healthy skin -> diseased skin -> healthy flesh, again
#3 water from the nile turned blood when it was poured on the dry ground
amazing.
and the last thing i want to comment on is how moses was afraid, and didnt think he could pull this stunt off
it reminds me of us during our times now and how sometimes we dont have much faith
but when we put our trust in God, he can make it possible.

finally done with Job -o- =3

from Job to Exodus...

i remember i quit Exodus cuz i got really bored with all the measurements... -_-III

and a final question that didnt seem to hit me for Job:

the Bible talked about Job's 3 friends that went to comfort him

and It named them

so where did Elihu come from??

Goals Update

So here's what I had for goals:

• finish the Journey of Desire: I'm on chapter 4. Not as good as I want, but I'm working at it
• read on my own bible time/pray for direction in life: reading has not happened. praying...well now we have a prayer list
• no more pop. cuz pop kills ppl. start running, working out, practicing soccer, less computer, not spending so much money, sleeping right, eating right: ehh i never drink pop anyway, i run with the soccer team, obviously i play soccer with the team, not so much less computer actually quite a bit more, hmm i haven't spent too much money, but we haven't gone out much so that's probably why, sleeping is about 8 hours a night, annnnd i'm not eating right. i've actually lost 5 pounds. i hate my metabolism.
  
• soccer tryouts are in two weeks. wish me luck =]

sooo...not very good.

hehe

since i had no clue where i was in the bible reading, i tried to blindly catch up by finishing Job.
turns out that i'm two days ahead now =P

another note: after watching the batman movie, i can't help to notice how it relates to Job's story. how the Joker took everything away from that Dent guy and turned him evil, to show how even the good people are corruptable. it's like how satan targeted Job cuz he followed God with all his heart. but unlike the dent guy, Job holds onto his faith and still trusted God, and was rewarded at the end. shows us how truly amazing God really is!

Two things

first, i'd like to say that i am very proud of how you have all been enduring through the Bible reading plan. i too have felt the slump in the past week. for the missions folks, it was probably a little bit difficult to get back into the swing of things. but keep pressing on and keep posting your thoughts on the blog. i notice that as our posts decrease, so does the quality of our discussions as a group. so keep reading and keep writing.

second, i have this week's Bible verse.

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. ~ Ephesians 2:8-9

Mere Christianity

i must say i rather like this book. the book is divide into four "books" which makes it easier to follow. i just finished first "book" and it was really basic. like i felt like Lewis started out as basic as you could get in these first five chapters.

the first chapter really just talks about a "Moral Law" or as he calls it "The Law of Nature". like we talked about it was basically saying how there's some unwritten underlying standard that every human appeals to. i thought it was interesting how he pointed out that even though there is this "Law" or "Standard", people break it. and this is the only such "Law of Nature" that we can choose to break. (like gravity is a "Law of Nature" and we can't break that)...

...which brings us to the second chapter, which differentiates between ("herd") instincts and this "Law of Nature". basically it's saying how instinct are just impulses that we get to do something, but this "Law" tells us which instincts to follow. i liked his analogy of how instincts are just like individual music notes but the Moral Law is like the sheet music, directing the way the music is played. this was pretty straightforward (:

the third chapter basically just reinforces the fact that this Law of Nature or Moral Law actually exists. dunno what else to say about it really...this is so much more rewarding just to read haha.

the fourth chapter is titled "what lies behind the law" and it talks about since we humans all seem to have this standard instilled in us, then there must've been someone/something behind it. like how an architect builds a house or something. each piece is meant to do something and it's clear if it's not doing what it's supposed to or if it's "wrong" like how we know if we're doing something "wrong". however he also mentions how the only way we can know this is if we take a behind the scenes sort of look. like if something who wasn't human and didn't understand any human language was observing us, it wouldn't be able to identify that there is a "Moral Law" guiding us because it can't read our minds. i never thought of it like that. that just because there is a "Moral Law" or some unsaid standard that we go by that that means that there's something behind it. although once he points this out it seems rather obvious -_- same story for the rest of the chapters...

the fifth chapter basically says that since there is something behind our "Moral Law," then that thing must believe in that Law, and since we break it....then we should PANIC (ok not really) but more like be uneasy and acknowledge the fact that we do break it.

aaannnd that's the end of book one. it moves pretty slow but it covers everything VERY thoroughly, which is why my summaries don't do it justice. i just wrote the basic gist. the was Lewis starts this off makes it seem like it has nothing to do with Christianity at all, but slowly you realize that there is a direction and it isn't just all mindless philosophy haha

1. contribute more on this blog - considering that i the last post was my first summer goals post...yea, not so good
2. finish (or try to finish) Mere Christianity - finished chapter 2!
3. read my bible when i'm supposed to - been pretty good at that, i'm still a few days behind though
4. pray everyday, even when i don't feel like it - not everyday, but more often than before
5. save money for Reason (or just illegally download it) - spent all my money
6. record an album, get famous - still working on it

NOOOOOOO!!!!!

i can believe it

i didnt even REALIZE that i wasnt reading

by the time i DID realize (just now) i was already 4 days behind

what the heck...............?!!!!!!!!!!   TT^TT

Goals - Update

Summer Goals

1. Utilizing Time - Ahhh! summer's slowly coming to an end, and unfortunately my summer days are losing their momentum. SAVE ME!!!

2. Faith - I think I've gotten a lot closer to God this summer, as well as my brothers and sisters in Christ. You guys are like my second family!

3. Physical Fitness - uhhh i ran about a mile or so for a couple days, then i stopped, but i still weigh relatively the same as i did ever since like the beginning of this year.Not to say that i don't get any physical activity in anymore, quite often i'll spend up to maybe an hour in my basement workin on my poppin/dancing, and it works up quite a sweat.

4. Popping/Dancing/ Dime Stops - Idk even know if what i do is considered popping, it's still fun though. My dime stops are coming along nicely though, but only when i concentrate on them, otherwise they get sloppy.

5.Direction in life - uhhhh...still pretty clueless

Mid-Summer Goals

1. ijji contest - idk if they've announced the winners yet, but we've still got good ratings

2. Youtube Phenomenon - uhh haven't made any videos, but our ijji video has 1000+ views. Yay!

3. Songwriting - nope haven't written anything new. song numero dos was well received in Oceana though! w00t!

Updating the Goals

Umph...im doing pretty bad TT_TT

1. i think that im doing worst at this goal, cuz im not even done with the first chapter...i just cant pick it up ><

2. weeeeell im doing better at this, im reading a bit slower

3. this is one of my better goals---^^ tempers are getting...cooler?

4. i dunno about this one---i guess im still a bit prideful, but how do i improve that?

my question is kinda like lulu's. did job and his friends really talked to each other with like speeches? and how did whoever wrote job, write it?? if that makes any sense...

goal update

1. as for my first goal i'd say i've been sticking to it rather well (: i've been reading everyday...missing maybe a day or two but never lagging more than that and catching up right away. also i'm pretty sure i've been posting pretty frequently (once every one or two days) as well. the only exception being this weekend >.<

2. i've failed pretty badly at this one so far ): praying isn't the problem here it's setting aside time specifically for prayer *sigh* -_-

3. ok this hasn't happened because i was just gonna go during the art fair...only i didn't go to the art fair due to the weather >< so i think i'm just gonna head over to the IPE office during welcome week

4. it's gettin a lil' better....not snapping at him AS much...

5. as for the bag...i think i'd be happy if i could just START it. that's always the hard part >.< *sigh*

6. this has been happening (: (missed one day last week cause of extreme sunburn though >.O)

about Job

all the long speeches that Job and his three friends say are all like... analogies right? they're so long, it's hard to keep concentrating on it....>< augh   

Memory Verse

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. ~ Galatians 2:20

day 17 is it?

correct me if i'm wrong...i lost count of the days ><

haha i found it amusing how Israel put Joseph's second son ahead of the first, kinda like with himself and his brother Esau. I wonder why they do that...

in chapter 49:7 i don't really understand what this means, "I will scatter them in Jacob and disperse them in Israel" is that not redundant? and if so why is the same thing repeated?

as is the case for most of the readings recently i feel like today's was rather straightforward. what i would like to know more about though, are the customs back then and such. (like the whole thing with the blessings and all)

finally!

haha so seeing as how i probably wasn't going to borders anytime soon...i ordered "Mere Christianity" on ebay! lol (twas cheap...used...but cheap haha XD)

how's reading that coming along Hedy? is it making any more sense?

oh...and yea like lulu said...anyone know what's going on with wednesday's reading?

QUESTION

how come the calender is messed up now???

there is no Genesis 54

and why is it going backwards?!!!!!

@_@

catching up...-_-

i dont think i really have any questions, but if i do..I'll let em rip

anywayz...

So i was catching up on my readings...yeah...im kinda behind...but i finished everything today! ^^

so yeah

i was kinda confused when the dream was repeated twice, but then the Bible explained

also i note to myself

Joseph's story seems to have a lot more exclamation points---it just makes it seem more like a fictional story....-_-J well yeah, but it also made it more exciting!!

i really like Josephs story

if there was one story that you ask a child about in the old testiment, they would probably answer Joseph or Moses or Adam/Eve....nvm...

day 15

i think that we're all pretty familiar with this story by now. Joseph's imprisonment to him eventually being in charge of Egypt. i however am running into a roadblock. i can't seem to get anything out of this passage that i haven't before when i read the story. any new insights from you gals? (i mean...other than Isaac died when Joseph was away in Egypt...but that's not very insightful now is it? -_-)

days 13 & 14

okay so i thought day 13 was pretty straightforward. one of those lists again. when i don't really get is why the Bible has random facts about random people. like "...This is the Anah who discovered the hot springs in the desert..." i mean...how random! amusing really...but is there a point?

~*~*~

again...the whole sleeping with your father-in-law thing...how is that considered righteous?
also the story of Joseph never fails to make me smile. i mean God is always with him. how cool is that? this just really reaffirms my faith because it show that God really will always follow through with His promises (no matter how old they may seem haha. i mean...His original promise was to Abraham ages ago!) and sometimes i think, "is there anything i can do so that i'm more like Joseph? that when people see me that it's obvious that God is with me" but then i think again and i really don't think that this is up to us. there's only so much we can do or are capable of, the rest we just have to have faith in God

fairwell for a while

hello lulu, hedy, xixi, and rachel. we will be off now for a week. i just wanted to encourage everyone to keep up with their reading and to continue to post even though it'll be just the four of your writing. we'll be sure to fill out our share after we come back. stay strong!

day 12

wait is it just be or did jacob get renamed israel twice in this passage?
and also during this passage was when joseph got taken to egypt right?
why did jacob wrestle with God? what was the point of that? or what point was God trying to make?
after jacob's sons went and slaughtered the city, he went to bethel and talked to God. and then set up another stone pillar. is that just to signify that God has spoken there? and when God talked to jacob he spoke again of His promise with Abraham. so was that just to reassure jacob that He will still hold true to His promise even if jacob's sons may have incurred the wrath of many people? i suppose i would need reassurance too if my kids angered a bunch of people so much that they may kill us....(well i don't blame the canaanites and perizzites...i mean the sons did deceive, slaughter, and loot a city.... ><)

biblical perspective

my friends, i think our reading is slowly (or quickly) beginning to hit a roadblock because of the perspective from which we are reading. aside from evan's questions about why God seems to really favor Abram and his descendants so much and screw everyone else, i think our questions are off track. consider this. God did not give us his word so we can criticize what He has done as right or wrong. instead, He gave it to us to teach us about his character and His methods. so instead of asking, "well, why did God do this instead of that?" a more productive question would be, "what can we learn about God from this?"

because remember, we're not reading this as a history book full of events and people. we're reading this as the word of God.

...

okay i might be beating a dead horse...but this is just starting to tick me off. okay so Jacob's sons go out and kill a townful of men

Genesis 34:25 Three days later, while all of them were still in pain, two of Jacob's sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, took their swords and attacked the unsuspecting city, killing every male. 26They put Hamor and his son Shechem to the sword and took Dinah from Shechem's house and left.27 The sons of Jacob came upon the dead bodies and looted the city where their sister had been defiled. 28They seized their flocks and herds and donkeys and everything else of theirs in the city and out in the fields. 29 They carried off all their wealth and all their women and children, taking as plunder everything in the houses.

and Jacob scolds them for it (hooray for him!). but then in chapter 35

Genesis 35:5 Then they set out, and the terror of God fell upon the towns all around them so that no one pursued them.

...okay so this example is a lot more black and white than the Abra(ha)m/Isaac ones. In Genesis 34:13 it even says that they lied to the men. They steal their women and children, take all their belongings, and oh yeah! THEY KILLED THEM, and God helps them get away.

So yeah this is pretty much the same schpeal as before.

props to Jacob for making them leave behind everything that wasn't theirs.

More on John Eldredge

So I looked up John Eldredge and it seems that I'm somewhat correct. Or that I justified my warning to be watchful for false prophets, not that he is purposely trying to lead us astray, but that we should be weary for what we take to heart from his book. uhh I used wikipedia since it's a satisfactory source for me and I found a section of criticism. If you wanna look it up: John Eldredge.
He was part of a drug subculture and kicked out of high school. dang looks like he had a huge turn-around moment.

day 11

um the whole deal with jacob making the sheep and goats mate in front of the stripes branches to produce striped/speckeled offspring seems kind of unlikely...aka i don't get it. i mean...put some striped branches in front of the water that the flocks drink and make sure they mate in front of it and they'll produce striped sheep/goats? reading that just made me think, "what the heck?"
Genesis 31:19 "When Laban had gone to shear his sheep, Rachel stole here father's household gods." what does that mean? more the second half of the sentence than the first...what are these "gods" that are mentioned? (they're mentioned later in as well)
also why must these people set up pillars or heaps of rocks whenever a covenant is made or God give them a vision or something of the sorts? is it like us signing a contract now in our day?

...a couple more recent goals

- win the ijji question contest :]
-become a youtube phenomenon
-write some more songs

The Journey of Desire (2)

I'm very slow at reading, since I haven't done it since english class but here's what I got on chapters 2:
so far the book has not got to the explaining part. Eldredge is explaining what people are doing with desire and how "unacquainted" (30) with desire we are. I ended and I thought dang he's about to start explaining how to get acquainted. But I'll continue next time.
um there were a lot of quotes I liked. Eldredge uses a lot of his own personal experiences as examples in his book which is what I like, but there are the pros and cons for that. I liked the one where he says "Each time he reached for a rung up the ladder, the rung broke, and he found himself back at the bottom" (20). After that why keep trying to back up? I also have other quotes (they're on my fb) but if you don't have an fb, one says "No man is an island" (26). Which is great because it just says that nobody stands alone. So yeah this chapter jumps around a bit with his ideas on how we're not using desire. But something came up while I was reading
So there's that one guy named Joel Osteen. He's the guy with the biggest church in America or something. Great. A lot of people say what he's saying is wrong. And i dunno if he's wrong or not. Cuz he could be right. He's just not telling everything that God is saying. This goes back to that section in Matthew about the good fruit and bad fruit. You have to watch out for false prophets. But anyway there's this quote "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when dreams come true, there is life and joy" (24). I mean that sounds like something Disney would kinda use, which I think that could be true, but then that means what Eldredge is trying to get at in this book is something very specific and we, as the readers, should still consider all things in the bible as a whole and just use this book as a section of our lives, not our whole life. I don't know if you get what I mean..like Joel Osteen writes books. That one that's like 7 ways to improve your life or something. Like that's great and all, but that's not how a Christian should completely live their life. So yeah that's just some thought...Maybe I should research this guy up to see. This is a pretty vague post so question me up

an observation...

just an observation about the meeting today....

we spent an hour and a half discussing mostly Abraham and his tricks ^^

and randomly in that time, we also talked about RANDOM stuff

and then spent the time AFTER the talk about Abraham talking about RANDOM stuff

so my opinion is that...this meeting was the most amusing one that i think we've had yet >U<

just...an observation (says while rolling on the floor laughing)

the case for christ

i recently just started the book, but im growing a liking to it.

im only on the third chapter, so ive only read about the gospels and their history. but the journalist interviews multiple bible scholars to figure out and prove that the bible is actually the bible. and its pretty good.
in the second chapter, he makes eight tests to question the reliability of the gospels: the intention test (why matthew, mark, luke, and john wrote the gospels), the ability test (whether or not the history was preserved accurately for 30 years), the character test (there is no proof that the authors were horrible people, because they were willing to keep track of everything Jesus did), the consistency test (if you notice, there are similar writing in each gospel, but they always differ in a bit; there is no proof that they are totally different, but it is possible for different writings to be the same because of lack of details), the bias test (if the authors would write lies to make Jesus seem even better than he is, but they would rather tell the truth to show how great he is without lies), the coverup test (whether or not the authors would leave out embarssing details; but they kept it in which shows how great the Lord is by saving them and such), the corroboration test (how historians/archaeologists have dug up some discoveries that confirm the happenings), and the adverse witness test (if other witnesses would correct the writings if they were wrong, but because there is no proof that someone has-it is assumed to be true).

jacob vs esau

day 8:
rebekah gives birth to twins: esau and jacob. in genesis 25:23, it says 'one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger'. i came to the conclusion that esau would serve jacob, so esau will be stronger. but as i read on, it seems like jacob was a whole barrel smarter than esau. then sadly, abraham dies at 175 years oldin the second half of genesis 6:3, it says '..his days will be a hundred and twenty years' but a lot of these biblical people are living way past.

day 9:
i think isaac and rebekah were horrible parents, by showing favoritism-it says that isaac loved esau and rebekah loved jacob. what i found ironic was that isaac lied to abimelech that rebekah was his sister, like abraham lied to abimelech about sarah. im guessing its the same abimelech, but does it mean anything that they both lied, or is it just showing off how smart they really are?
isaac loved esau (favoritism) and told him how he would be blessed by completing a few tasks. but because rebekah loved jacob (favoritisim), she told him what to do. she made him also pretend to be esau, so i guess isaac seriously loved esau and didnt have enough love for jacob (favoritisim)-even though they are flesh and blood. so jacob beats sau and gets isaacs blessing, which i guess he only has one to spare.
too bad, so sad.

day 10:
jacob has a vivid dream while he was running away that the Lord will watch over him, so he build a pillar to honor him-out of his rock pillow. i know oil has a significant meaning in the bible, but how does it relate when he pored it on top of the rock-pillow-pillar?

i think this is where the first baby boom started.
after working 14 years for laban (7 for leah and 7 for rachel), jacob has two wives. and they make babies like theres no tomorrow. woooo

day 11:
laban wants jacob to stay, but jacob doesnt want to. according to the bible, jacobs worked 20 years now and is wages has been changed 10 times. i dont think anyone would want to stay with laban under those circumstances then. so jacob says he will take the striped and spotted and dark colored flocks, and that sneaky laban hides them all. but jacob is one clever cookie! just like his g-pops, abraham. i dont know how this works, but he made striped branches and put them in the trough, so when the flocks mated, their babies would be striped. and jacob took the striped and spotted and dark colored. and in the end, jacob flees from laban (who wouldnt?), but laban literally stalks him and his excuse is that he didnt get to say goodbye to his daughters/grandchildren. and before laban leaves, he and jacob make a witness heap and pillar as a peace offering. hooray world peace

day 10

what the heck?! i just went to edit my post to add a "Genesis" tag and lost like 90% of my entry!!! >:O aaaghh (not the first time it's happened either! D:)

right. so even till now i don't think i'll ever be comfortable with the fact that they used to marry family members...>< and what is with the women and giving their husband their servant to sleep with just to have kids? i agree with evan on this one. the whole competition between the wives and their children was rather amusing. it must've sucked for them though :/
often times in the old testament stories it's hard for me to understand the reasoning or the logic behind things because the customs and traditions were so different. this is probably one of those times.
if it was okay to have more than one wife back then why not now? (not that i'm complaining...not competition in bearing children haha >.o) why did God change His mind? (okay...maybe that can't be answered...)

Questions and Comments

About day 10's reading, I thought it was kinda stupid...not the Bible!!! (lol) the part where Laban lied to Jacob and gave Leah instead of Rachel...that was kinda harsh---Jacob worked seven YEARS for Rachel><

and one more thing---Leah and Rachel gave Jacob their servants, but when the children were born, they were both like, oh yeah look at MY sons!!! ???? then i feel bad for their servants too.....-_- and the part where Rachel gives Jacob to Leah for the night in return for Reubans mandrakes was kinda amusing to me...wives exchanging their husband for something?? ~^.^~

babies!

...so I found today's reading hilarious. It goes on for like an entire chapter about how Rachel and Leah try to see who can have the most kids, like it was a competition or something. Which i guess it was, since they were competing for Jacob's love, but still it was amusing.

day 9

lotsa well-digging in today's(/yesterday's) passage...
i never really understood why isaac could only give one blessing over his sons...well one really good one i guess? i mean i don't get why the first blessing would make that brother lord over the other? a lot of the customs and traditions in the old testament are rather foreign to me. i suppose that's why i don't really know what's going on here. anyone care to enlighten me? and is there a study-bible or something of the sorts online that i could read? i think that the footnotes may help me understand what's going on...

Mere Christianity

I just went out and bought Mere Christianity and a chronological bible ( yay me). I've read the first chapter of Mere Christianity, and I did not understand a word of it. C.S. Lewis doesn't actually use big words, but it's just the way he puts them together... I tried reading the 2nd chapter, and it made more sense, so hopefully it'll get easier. btw, what's a herd instinct? In the book they were talking about listening to your herd instinct and stuff like that...

Memory Verse!

alright folks, i hope you're all having a splendidly humid and damp Tuesday. as part of our group, i'd like us to be memorizing scripture. it's one thing to read it and know it, but it's something else altogether to be able to cite it and use it from memory. for now, we'll attempt to do one verse every week.

"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." - Isaiah 41:10

day 9? i think....

so Isaac went to the philistines, and told them his wife was his sister....sound familiar?I dont understand why Isaac and Abraham lie about these things.

Genesis 26:12 Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the LORD blessed him.

and in Abra(ha)m's case:

Genesis 12:16-17 He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels.But the LORD inflicted serious disease on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram's wife Sarai.

...for real? not even a slap on the hand? and not only that they end up getting things from the people they lied to. Call me crazy but it seems like God is playing favorites. I know there's probably some explanation for this, but it just seems unfair to me.

day 8

When Abraham and Ishmael died, the Bible said that they were "gathered to his people", what does that mean?

I think that may be my only question for today. the reading was pretty straightforward to me...informative but...kinda dull? lotsa lists -_-

i've yet to start reading a book....soo i haven't much else to say >.<
i'm thinking about getting "Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis sometime this weekend. more on that later ^^ we'll see how it goes

Why would Jacob's wives Rachel and Leah willing give their servants to Jacob as wives? wouldnt they be kinda jealous?

Case for Christ

Yeah so, about Case for Christ (and this is for anyone who has read the book or is reading the book) im really confused about "the Q" part...like, everytime i open the book, i start there, and i get so confused that i slam the book shut and wait for tomorrow. that, or i keep reading but im not actually concentrating now, and i just give up...-_-

okay...yeah..

yea..since i haven't really done this yet
(and i have to post something or larry will kick me out)

1. contribute more on this blog
2. finish (or try to finish) Mere Christianity
so far, it's been really confusing, but i guess i'll sparknote it like larry suggested
3. read my bible when i'm supposed to
at the second meeting i had no clue that we had bible reading for the days before
4. pray everyday, even when i don't feel like it
5. save money for Reason (or just illegally download it)
6. record an album, get famous

=D

edit: problem, there's no Mere Christianity on spark notes

gahh

Days 4 and 5

Day4::
Immediately in 11:6 I realized how great people are.
"...then nothing they plan to do is impossible for them."
Maybe this might not be a good thing or else God wouldn't have mixed up our languages and such, but if even God himself says this, I'm thinking about the great things that just us could do if we plan. Maybe it won't be as great as if we had the whole world with us, but we can aim for the world.

One thing I noticed in 11:27...
Abram's brothers are Nahor and Haran.
Nahor marries Haran's daughter.
HE JUST MARRIED HIS NEICE!
Okay I know, in the bible times it happens...it was just a little weird.

12:7
So Abram was just walking and...BAM! The Lord is right in front of him! (If I were Abram I would be like, "WARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!", running in circles and hitting myself in the head...)
We talked about how earlier God would just walk through the gardens or just talk to Cain and such did he always just APPEAR?

Abram in Egypt.
Wouldn't God be angry at Abram for lying?
I just realized I am a very list it person...

Day5::
Okay, so you probably have not noticed but I'm going to write in that lovely paragraph form, not the list thing I usually do. Argh, I just pressed enter (then backspace of course). Day 5 starts with the covenant, oh, I like this part because I watched this in a video once. As a little notice it thing in 15:7 God says the same thing to Abram as he did to Moses except with different places. OKAY! Starting at 15:8, God already told Abram that he ould give him an uncountable amount of offspring, and now Abram is unsure and kind of asks God to prove himself. I learned a lot about this offering so EXCITING and gross. So basically after these animals are cut in half he layed them oppsite of eachother. Now the land he layed it on was a bit slanted like a V so all the blood would flow into a river like thing.
Yea...I had more but it erased.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/joshuaweiland/1768364964/

day 7

i don't really get the treaty at beersheba part. what's the significance? what was it about really? was it just to say that Abraham dug the well? why is that important? i think that part was one of those passages that i would just read before and not think too much about it...but now that i do think about it...i don't think i understand it.

God testing Abraham really made me think. Isaac was his only son (with him) and so he must have meant the world to Abraham, i mean God said that Abraham would have so many descendants through Isaac and they would become a great nation! before i just kind of took the story for granted but now i'm kind of surprised that Abraham didn't question God on bit. i thought, "if it were me would i be able to do that?" if God asked me to give up everything that meant anything to me and everything that may have been my hope for the future, would i be able to do it? well...if He talked to me personally like He did to Abraham i might be shocked enough to...but other than that i'm sad to say, probably not. this is when i realize how small my faith really is and how much and how easy it is to rely on things that we can see and touch and things that are logical to this world. i guess this is something i need to work on, and sometimes just take that leap of faith.

that servant's prayer was pretty darn detailed about how he was going to find a wife for Isaac, and what do you know? it was answered! how great is God. sometimes i wonder, if we were that specific in our prayers, would they be more effective?

abraham!

day 5:
in the beginning of genesis 15, the Lord promises abram a son and abram is first neglectful. then the Lord says to look up at the heavens and count the stars-how does this relate to abrams uncertainty of a son? then, the Lord asks abram to bring him a heifer, a goat, a ram, a dove, and a pigeon; but how does that ensure his possession? sarai tells abram to sleep with their maidservant (disturbing.) to build a family. but now, abram knows he will get a son, and he still sleeps with hagar. and in a nutshell, abram becomes abraham, the Lord tells him all men must be circumcised to estabish a covenant, sarai becomes sarah, and they will have a son.

day 6:
are the three men who visited abraham supposed to symbolize the Lord? i also found it ironic that sarah lied when she feared the Lord, and sometimes we lie when we are afraid too. once again, abraham lies about sarahs relationship with him, but abimelech finds out before he does anything. we know abraham is a clever cookie, but how does his lies always benefit him? abimelech ends up bringing sheep, cattle, and slaves to him. what a lucky duck. and then-good news! sarah gives birth to isaac. hooray
and one more thing i found ironic-sarah refers to laughter at the end.

day 7:
at beersheba, where the treaty occurred, why does abraham need abimelech to swear that abraham dug the well? and when god was testing abraham, he was this close to sacrifice his son. crazy cookie. when sarah dies, abraham wants to buy the land from the hittites to bury the dead, but why were they so willing to just give up the land? is it only because theyve heard about abrahams wonderful doings and just praised him so much? and on a happy note, isaac finds a wife. who needs eharmony when you have abrahams servant. im totally inspired by the story on how after he prayed, rebekah appears and was the answer to his prayers, literally.


yea i know, lots of questions.

Case for Christ/ Prayer Request

Hehe, playing with the font stuff is kinda fun ^.^

anyway, about Case for Christ, i sorta feel depressed...i mean, when im reading it, its pretty good, but when i set it down, its like, "ugh~i dont really want to read this right now---maybe later..." and the same thing goes through my head every single day.

im really hoping to start reading it every day and be done by september...but right now that goal is looking a little far-fetched...-_-

also, i sorta have a prayer request for everyone---i know that you some of you guys will be going on the missions trip, so i'll be praying for you guys to be safe, but i have to ask everyone to ... um... pray for my mom, cuz shes taking a plane to Switzerland tomorrow to meet with my dad. they're coming home this friday i think...im just kinda worried cuz you know its just my mom going to Switzerland...and yeah...but most of all, its SOLOMON driving my mom to the airport!!! +_+  the horror...

catching up

so i'll do my reading for the day, check this blog, see what people have written, and then - i am ashamed to say - just leave. no excuses here really (actually i could probably come up with a ton but why waste the time?). just an apology to you all.

so here are some of my goals:
1. spiritually i've been kind of dwindling since the school year. before this group, when i would read the Bible everyday, it would be kind of aimless and i wouldn't really take in what i was reading. during the school year i would have this devotional that PG gave me that i would go by and it would tell me what to read, and then i would talk to my LCG (accountability partner/mentor sort of thing) and i would really grow. however now during the summer i don't really have anyone to talk to so the drive kind of died. i'm hoping that this blog and this group will kind of keep me going. i'm excited to finish the Bible in one year because i really want to get to know God's word better and so my goal is to read everyday (which i have been doing) and post at least once every two days (which i have not been doing >.<) and keep this up until we are done(at least)

2. pray bigger prayers. making them more meaningful and detailed. i mean if i don't know what i want, what can i ask from God? i want to be less selfish in my prayers and pray more for the bigger picture and those around me rather than always focusing on myself or situations/things that concern me.

3. schedule an appointment with the IPE office this summer so i can figure out the exact route that i want to minor in and fix my schedule for the fall accordingly

4. be more loving to my brother in that i stop trying to discipline him and acting all motherly and just act like a sister to him and have fun/play with him

5. ok this is kind of silly but i want to make another bag this summer. i mean i pretty much have all the materials i need and for a while i've had sort of a vision for my second bag. it's not extremely detailed but that's how my first bag started out. i just want to see this idea become real like my first one did. God gave me some skills in this area and i think it would be a waste if i didn't do something with them. also since something like this takes a lot of time i won't be wasting my time this summer sleeping (excessively) or on the computer.

6. work out at least 4 times a week every week. i was literally sick the whole school year last year and i want to get healthy and stay heatlhy. my mom bought my lifetime membership for me to lose weight haha, and while that would be nice i'm just aiming for toning and getting rid of any flabbiness hahaha XD

~day 3~
in Genesis 8:21 God states about men that "...every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood" but then we always say that children are innocent. so does He mean when you're old enough to know the difference between good and bad that you always have the tendency to do bad? or does He mean that if children were never taught the difference between good and evil they would do evil? because isn't that a completely different view of children that people portray now? "children are so innocent!" or "they don't know any better" is what you always hear. then again if you say that a child doing something bad is only because he/she doesn't know any better, then what God is saying is right (duh), so why do people always say that children are innocent? is it because of the fact that they don't know any better? is it due to that lack of knowledge that they can be called innocent? ok the word innocent is starting to sound funny now...(said it in my head one too many times...)
*edit* nvm i just looked up innocent (stupid i know i should've done so to begin with -_-) and one of the definitions is "uninformed or unaware; ignorant" so yea i guess that's it. makes sense now

also in Genesis 9:24 Noah cursed Canaan for what Ham did, but why Canaan? why not any of Ham's other sons? or why not just Ham himself?

then in Genesis 10:25, what does it mean that Peleg's time on earth was divided?

~day 4~
yea i have the same question as lulu. if God limited the number of years men could live to 120, how come in the genealogies some of them lived like 500 years? or was it more of a gradual process? like the lifespan of people couldn't just be suddenly cut to a tenth? because that sure seems to be the case when reading the list in Genesis 11

and again...same question as lulu: after Abram beat the other kings, he refused anything from the king of Sodom, but wasn't the stuff Abram's to begin with?

so nothing new from me for this day i guess...><

~day 5~
Genesis 15:11 seems kind of random and almost useless. if Abram drove those birds away in the end and all was well, why was that even mentioned? i think i need verse 16 explained to me. for some reason it's just not clicking. the last part especially, "...the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure."
also why does Hagar begin to despise Sarai when she conceives? i don't really get it. is she scared that Sarai is going to take her child and pretend like she's his mother instead of Hagar?

also, why is there a need for a physical representation of God's covenant with Abraham? was it like their end of the bargain to keep while God greatly increased Abraham's descendants and made them into a great nation?

~day 6~
in Genesis 18:22-33 i think that God shows so much patience with Abraham when Abraham was pleading for Sodom's case. i mean if it were me after the first two numbers i'd probably just be like, "ok hurry up and get to the point! bargain faster." or something like that. it kind of reminds me how when we talk to older people we have to repeat things over and over and over....and over again. and i lose patience fast, and sometimes this could be with my parents. i guess this is just a really good reminder to be patient with people.

okay so about the story of Abraham and Abilemech...why did Abraham do it again? actually no it says why, but i just thought it was kind of funny (?) that about the same thing happened here that did in Egypt. how come the Bible portrays the Abilemech and the Pharaoh as bad (sort of?) or that they were in the wrong? it doesn't make it seem like Abraham was equally at fault, which i feel like he was.

ok i think that should be all for now
hopefully next time i post will be within the next two days >.<

mmm...i'm sorta behind on my reading and posting...

i haven't really read today's, but it sorta brings me back to the part where Abraham is named.  I mean, Abram means "exalted father" and Abraham means "father of many"...um...big difference but i dont know what it is....a father that is held with high regard and a father that...has a bunch of children...but still!! -_- ah well, dont listen to me...

i also dont get why God changed Sarai's name...it's not much different and theres no footnotes either...? maybe it means mother of many...^^

plus (this is for yesterday) when God said, I will bless you and Sarah with a child, Abraham fell down on the floor laughing! (rotfl??) i mean, if i was the god of everything, i wouldn't stand for one of my creations to laugh at my words ><>

okay i havent finished the reading today and marks waiting for me to get off, so one last question: how do you upload pictures? ~^v^~

Day 6 Reading

Just a quick post:
I thought the part where Sarah was like "I did not laugh" and God says "Yes you did". hahaha just caught me funny



And the part where Abraham pleads for Sodom is pretty generous of God. For sure, even for the littlest thing, I would get pretty ticked off for someone asking me for such little things. But God here, wow he must be real homie g's with Abraham cuz he does whatever he says! Lucky Abe here he requests these things from God and God's like "sure Abraham, anything else?"
yup

old testiment terrorism

we all read about abram and consider him to be a Biblical superstar. he's pretty much the guy who started it all. God makes more covenants with abram than any other person in the Bible. he's like the michael jordan of the old testament. but here in chapter 16, we see his lack of faith and impatience in allowing God to fulfill his promises. just before this, God promises abram that his offspring will be more than the stars of the sky and more than the sand on the beach. that's a LOT of babies. but at the start of chapter 16, abram is thinking to himself, "man... i'm getting kind of old... and my wife is barren..." then with his wife, they decide that maybe God actually meant i'd have my offspring through hagar. so, they decide to go ahead with it.

result: ishmael is born.
God promises that he will also make ishmael into a great nation. Bible scholars believe that the arabic people are descendants of ishmael because of location and geneologies. these people would war with the israelites time and time again in history (and even to the present). consider the far-reaching consequences of abram's impatience. now consider our own instances of impatience.

ps. starcraft II just got an official release date. 12/03/08

I'll post about day 4 in a min, I won't post about 5 till probably tomorrow because I like reading at night...in bed...so I can pray quietly bout it and suches. Now I have to write some goals.

1. Set my priorities straight...so I can actually achieve some goals.
2. Eat better...no more snacking in between my meals and snacks...heh. No more of those Sweet and Salty peanut bars.
3. Improve my flexibility...honestly...I suck.
4. Practice more violin...
5. Do some math homework.
6. Get some Chinese in, I'm a drop-out, I have to keep up-ish (BIG ISH) somehow...

I've got some other smallish ones here and there...meh.

^-^ Happy face~
OH DANG~You can change colors!!

Day 5 Reading

So I have a couple of quick, short questions on Day 5
The part where Abram is talking to God and God says "I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it." Abram says, "O Sovereign lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?"
Now in Matthew, where Jesus calms the storm, he yells at his disciples, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" God in Genesis, doesn't say that, but instead, he creates a covenant to Abram promising him all this land. There are several more examples in the New Testament where Jesus uses faith to teach his people. Was faith not an issue back then because God is like right in front of your eyes? Even so, he is God, why ask him if you really are going to be king of all this land? And even after that, God creates a covenant to promise him. The example from Matthew might not be the same situation, but faith applies to both.

Another question. I know the 10 Commandmants weren't written down back then, so was it ok to commit adultery? Sarai is just like, I'm not having babies, so go ahead and have a baby with our maid. And God doesn't intervene. Oh yeah, he blesses the child king of a few other nations. I noticed a few other times in our previous days of reading that several people had more than one wife like Lamech. The bible doesn't say anything about it and it sounds like it was ok. I mean guess that's how people multiplied in the beginning. They had more than one wife. But just cuz the 10 Commandmants weren't written down yet, it was ok?

Oh and one last short question. The description of Ishmael is a pretty insulting one: "A wild donkey of a man", but God later as he is talking to Abraham says that Ishamel will be blessed as "a father of 12 rulers and a great nation". Yup...

Donkeymannnn hahaha

Lots and lots of days...two actually

Okies. SO. I posted this late...again. Yea I know we kind of talked about this at our little meeting thing but obviously I haven't looked at the blog in awhile...hehe. Okies.

Day 2-MAKE A DIFFERENCE
I am always reveiwing what I read when writing my posts, after reading what Evan said, when looking at the story of Cain and Abel I realized something. Adam and Eve MUST have had other children. Why weren't they mentioned? Do you know them name by name? Well, no.

If I was writing a biography of myself and I name a bunch of people and YOU happened not to be on the list, but you know I even talked about point blank and all my buddies that were in it, our disscusions...EVERYONE else in pb was mentioned...except you.

Why? Most likely because you weren't significant enough to be remembered (Or I just don't like you...jk).

I don't know if I'm making sense here so I'm just going to make a point. I want to be a person where when God is telling Moses to write about the history he'll be like, "...Adam and Eve had some kids...Cain killed Abel...and then...and Rachel! You can't forget RACHEL! She was so cool and she just...."

I wouldn't want to be the son or daughter of Adam and Eve...that God never really mentioned. I was reading my amazing Brio magazine yesterday (April issue, because I couldn't find my more recent ones...), and I skimmed across this article on how we so be a scar on God that he'll never forget how it happened. God will point to the scar and be like..."Yup, that was when I sent him/her down to Earth and did amazing things..."
You also have to think, do you want to be remembered for the first murder or killing your brother...?

Okies, that's what really stuck out to me on the second day...
Nothing much on the Noah stuff 'cept that...
CHAPTER 6 VERSE 2<<<<<<<<<
Hehehe...still trying to defend my gender...okies.

Day 3-More questions than comments...

Is there any part of the bible that says we can eat meat with lifeblood? Because if not...should we start eating kosher?
About God's covenant...does that mean he can send a huge fire to wipe everyone off? Or like a tornado...? Or blow up the sun...? You know? Instead of flooding the earth.

How did Noah know that when the bird didn't come back...it wasn't dead?

8:21
What did God mean when he said curse the ground?

Actually...no comments...all questions.

The Journey of Desire: Searching for the Life We've Only Dreamed Of

So when I first picked up this book, I did what I usually do when I start a book. I turn to the back.
Now, I know this book was going to tell me about desire, but that's a pretty broad term so I really didn't know what direction it was going in.
The back of the book, however, changed that and already has given me a quote: "Christianity is not an invitation to become a moral person. It is not a program for getting us in line or for reforming society... At its core, Christianity begins with an invitation to desire."
So I thought about this quote and I used it as a checkpoint in my life to see if this is something I do. To elaborate, in the first chapter, Eldredge says, " Desire...is the map we have been given to find the only life worth living" (13). What I think he's trying to say is that we are to harness desire to obtain the life we want. Connecting it to the back cover, it starts with the beginning of Christianity; A person's life changed from non-believing to believing. And it's true, a person becomes a believer because they desire to find something in their life.
I'm only on the first chapter so I don't know much, but the first chapter is a pretty solid foundation for the rest.

Visioneering...

So this is a truly inspiring book. The thing I find most reassuring in what I've read so far is that we as people don't need to worry about how God will accomplish our...His visions, He is capable of all things. but other than inspiring this book has not done much for me in the first couple chapters. It makes the assumption that we started out reading with a vision, which I don't have. I have no idea what God is calling me to do in my life, until then i can only prepare my own heart and pray that God will slowly reveal His plan for me. It's like i'm stuck in chapter 1 even though i've read past it. Perhaps this will be a better read when my calling is a little more clear.

hmm. so ham moved toward the south.
ham's people were cursed to be slaves.
and many africans were put into slavery.
i dont know if there really is a connection or not.

i like the part where abram lets lot pick his land first.
and he says if you go to the left, ill go to the right. and vice versa.
but yea. if all people were like this. think of how nice the world would be.
and of course. god blesses abram.

question. what would have happend if adam and eve ate from the tree of life?
would they live forever??

God the burning bush...?

why was God a burning bush when he was talking to Moses? Why can't he be some type of "heavenly presence" instead of a bush?

my summer goals

1) I definitely need to be more productive this summer. Last year, i was SOOOOO bored and i just sat around and play games and watched movies. This year, I'm going to try and stay busy. I have a volunteer job at the library, so that helps.
2) I need to eat more healthy stuff. I mean, i eat fruit as a nighttime snack, but i have to try and eat more veggies, and disgusting stuff like that, which my loving parents claim are good for me.
3) I'm going to try and pick up on tennis, because last year i had a tennis coach, but he was really snotty, so I quit, and i tried playing tennis with my friend and i couldn't even serve the dang ball.
4) I'm going to be more serious about my piano practice, because before, i would play sopme scales, skim through a song really fast, and that was my practice.
5) i'm going to try and keep my room clean, because my parents always get really annoyed when they open the door and cant even get in. Like, right now, you can't even see the floor. Seriously.

That's pretty much it. yay me lolz :)