Hearing God’s voice. It’s something every Christian will talk about. Whether it be “yielding to His will” or “Feeling His spirit” or countless other names that we as Christians label hearing God’s voice speak to us. It’s something we all strive for and something that doesn’t always come so easy to some as it does others.
Hearing God’s voice is not something that came easily to me. I am a very independent person who likes to have control over things that are going on. I need to know what’s going on at all times and know at least three ways of bailing out if need be. It’s a security thing for me I guess you could say. Because of this though it took me years to finally figure out how to listen and yield to God’s voice. Here are some quick tips on how I was able to finally settle myself down and hear God speak to me. These may not work for everyone, but they have certainly helped me out.
First of all, I need to be alone. I need my space away from the world and from the typical distractions of the day. I turn off my phone for a bit and if I’m home I tell friends and family to not bother me or that I’m taking a nap or something so I won’t be disturbed.
Secondly, I pray. I pray for God’s help in clearing my mind of trivial things and from trying to take control and go with the answer I want or am looking for. I pray for discernment, guidance and sometimes to just be slapped over the head with His will because sometimes that’s the only way it will get through to me.
Next, I pull out my Bible. The Bible is the Word of God, so why not start there when I’m trying to hear from him?
After praying and reading for awhile I will sit and reflect and be as “still” as possible. (Figuratively, not physically) I again attempt to clear my mind and really focus on what God is trying to say to me. Usually I will also wrestle with certain thoughts and outcomes in my head.
Typically after that I will journal as a way to organize my thoughts and be able to look back at what I felt like God was telling me.
I will then close with a short prayer and go about my day.
And there you have it. This is not the only way I hear God's voice, but when I really need guidance or am making a big decision this is what I do. It may not be the “best” way or even the most organized way of hearing God’s voice, but it is something that has worked for me personally and who knows, maybe some of these tips will work for you as well.
*Posted for credit for JRN371
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Spoiled Rotten
Valentine’s Day. Single Awareness Day (S.A.D.). Whatever you call it, you cannot escape it.
Pink, red and white suddenly become every girl’s new favorite color. Teddy bears, flowers, chocolates and little blue boxes holding their supposed “best friend” consume the woman’s every thought.
Are you seeing a trend here?
Candle lit dinners, cute romantic comedies and little limericks to show his affection. Elaborate dates, expensive gifts and the simple hope for a goodnight kiss.
How about now? No? Let me help you out. How many of the things listed above apply to men? Other than the fact that they are the ones breaking their backs to attempt to please their girl by being sweet to her? This seems to constantly be the trend with Valentine’s Day. Girls expect their men to spoil them rotten and typically do nothing in return other than a nice homemade card he’ll naturally forget about or throw away. Why is this the trend?
I suppose I can’t exactly single this attitude out to only applying on Valentine’s Day. Every single day of the year men are taken advantage of. Women can at times be spoiled, obnoxious, selfish brats. And I’ll admit, I definitely have my moments of taking the gold for each of those categories. And the ever growing number of Hollywood romance movies filling our minds with this stigma isn’t helping matters much.
So why not change things? Why not take your guy out go-kart racing every once in awhile? Why not surprise him with a date YOU planned for HIM? Out of 10 different guys I talked to they all agreed that they would really appreciated it if their girlfriends did something special for them.
So there you have it. Short. Simple. To the point.
Make your guy feel special— he deserves it.
*Posted for credit for JRN371
Pink, red and white suddenly become every girl’s new favorite color. Teddy bears, flowers, chocolates and little blue boxes holding their supposed “best friend” consume the woman’s every thought.
Are you seeing a trend here?
Candle lit dinners, cute romantic comedies and little limericks to show his affection. Elaborate dates, expensive gifts and the simple hope for a goodnight kiss.
How about now? No? Let me help you out. How many of the things listed above apply to men? Other than the fact that they are the ones breaking their backs to attempt to please their girl by being sweet to her? This seems to constantly be the trend with Valentine’s Day. Girls expect their men to spoil them rotten and typically do nothing in return other than a nice homemade card he’ll naturally forget about or throw away. Why is this the trend?
I suppose I can’t exactly single this attitude out to only applying on Valentine’s Day. Every single day of the year men are taken advantage of. Women can at times be spoiled, obnoxious, selfish brats. And I’ll admit, I definitely have my moments of taking the gold for each of those categories. And the ever growing number of Hollywood romance movies filling our minds with this stigma isn’t helping matters much.
So why not change things? Why not take your guy out go-kart racing every once in awhile? Why not surprise him with a date YOU planned for HIM? Out of 10 different guys I talked to they all agreed that they would really appreciated it if their girlfriends did something special for them.
So there you have it. Short. Simple. To the point.
Make your guy feel special— he deserves it.
*Posted for credit for JRN371
Sunday, January 24, 2010
"Hope for Haiti"
It’s incredible how it takes a disaster to recognize a nation. Now I’m not saying that I’m miss perfect over here and recognize all of the poverty that surrounds us in this world; I am just as guilty as the next person when it comes to not taking the time to educate myself on such things. If you were to ask me a few weeks ago where Haiti was or if it were even a country at all I couldn’t have told you or even taken a guess. Why is it that it takes a catastrophe, such as a 7.0 earthquake striking, in order to make a country known? Are we really that caught up in our own lives that we don’t recognize the poverty in the world or the fact that people all over the world are living on less than $2.00 a day, like those in Haiti, while we’re spending $5.00 every morning on our Starbucks fix?
We go about our daily lives without a care in the world, other than the typical drama we seem to always have floating around, while those in places such as Haiti are starving, infected with HIV or Tuberculosis, are completely illiterate and living in poverty with no hope of getting out. Now, I have never really been one to go out and take a stand on being globally aware, but this disaster has kind of smacked me in the head and made me think and begin to realize that we need to care about what’s going on in the world. It shouldn’t take a 7.0 earthquake killing thousands of helpless bystanders to wake us up. We should be active in aiding countries around the world before a disaster strikes.
There have been reports of over 150,000 people killed, some may still be buried alive and others are dealing with the aftermath of the quake, such as injuries and breakouts of infections. There is only one hope for Haiti and that is to rely on the strength, the kindness and the donations of others to get through this time. You have the information, you have the means— what are you going to do about it?
Ways to give:
http://www.worldvision.org/worldvision/eappeal.nsf/egift-haiti-earthquake-relief?Open&campaign=113655125&cmp=KNC-113655125
https://my.care.org/site/Donation2?df_id=5080&5080.donation=form1&s_src=171040000000&s_subsrc=redghaitiearthquake110&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=haiti%20relief&utm_content=careisproviding&utm_campaign=redhaiti5080
You can also send aid via text message and have it on your next phone bill:
Text “Yele” to 501501 to make a $5.00 donation
Text “HAITI” to 20222 to make a $10.00 donation
Text “Haiti” to 90999 to make a $10.00 donation
*Posted for credit for JRN 371
Saturday, January 9, 2010
New Year's Eve: Fail
Everyone’s always looking for adventure on New Year’s Eve and most everyone comes back with some sort of tale of grandeur. Typically, as everyone brags about their stories to see who ends up as top dog, I tend to try to fade into the background and hope to not have to share my New Year’s Eve story of boring ho-hum. However, this year, I decided things were going to be different.
It started off fairly typical, so I decided to shake things up. I had heard that my friend, Alysa, would be down in Riverside, so I developed a plan to kidnap her. As I should have expected, things went horribly wrong and I ended up utterly lost and confused in the most dreadful apartment complex I have ever had the so called “pleasure” of encountering. After maneuvering between to the 20 plus buildings making up this contraption I had no choice but to call for back up, which also meant ruining the surprise.
Alysa was still shocked to see me, so I guess it didn’t all go to waste. We then proceeded to head to my house, dolled ourselves up and headed out to our favorite place, Yardhouse. The bar was pretty legit that night and the ever so enchanting acts of catching up ensued; beginning with break and school and leading down the ever so juicy roads of family and guys. Alysa and I were treated to a gorgeous waiter with quite possibly the most random name, Fabion- we called him Fabio.
Fabio was all too good to us during dinner and even offered to not card my friend or I for some of the house’s specialty drinks. My ever so sheltered friend stared at the brute in utter disbelief, so I quickly jump in informing Fabio we would be driving in a short bit so we shouldn’t have anything, but were deeply flattered by the offer. He then picked up the tab on our check and we headed out. Thanks for dinner, Fabio.
The long car ride of rocking out to Kesha and Lady GaGa followed our pre-game at Yardhouse as we headed south to visit the wonderful Miss Katie. We ended up lost; although I’m not really sure one could consider it lost. We were on the same street, the right street too I might add, but it took us 20 minutes to find the blasted house. Note to self, find friends who don’t live in the middle of nowhere, or at least have street lights to aide in finding addresses.
The party was pretty typical, the clock struck twelve and everyone immediately broke off into their ever so evenly paired off couples. Alysa, who just broke up with her boyfriend, and me, whose heart could not be any more confused at the moment as to what it wants, stood awkwardly and decided that was our cue to leave.
Final Count: Getting lost twice, one hott waiter, one free dinner, one rock out dance session, one majorly awkward moment, six drunk dials throughout the night and still a typical ho-hum New Year’s Eve.
Such is my life.
*Posted for credit for JRN 371
It started off fairly typical, so I decided to shake things up. I had heard that my friend, Alysa, would be down in Riverside, so I developed a plan to kidnap her. As I should have expected, things went horribly wrong and I ended up utterly lost and confused in the most dreadful apartment complex I have ever had the so called “pleasure” of encountering. After maneuvering between to the 20 plus buildings making up this contraption I had no choice but to call for back up, which also meant ruining the surprise.
Alysa was still shocked to see me, so I guess it didn’t all go to waste. We then proceeded to head to my house, dolled ourselves up and headed out to our favorite place, Yardhouse. The bar was pretty legit that night and the ever so enchanting acts of catching up ensued; beginning with break and school and leading down the ever so juicy roads of family and guys. Alysa and I were treated to a gorgeous waiter with quite possibly the most random name, Fabion- we called him Fabio.
Fabio was all too good to us during dinner and even offered to not card my friend or I for some of the house’s specialty drinks. My ever so sheltered friend stared at the brute in utter disbelief, so I quickly jump in informing Fabio we would be driving in a short bit so we shouldn’t have anything, but were deeply flattered by the offer. He then picked up the tab on our check and we headed out. Thanks for dinner, Fabio.
The long car ride of rocking out to Kesha and Lady GaGa followed our pre-game at Yardhouse as we headed south to visit the wonderful Miss Katie. We ended up lost; although I’m not really sure one could consider it lost. We were on the same street, the right street too I might add, but it took us 20 minutes to find the blasted house. Note to self, find friends who don’t live in the middle of nowhere, or at least have street lights to aide in finding addresses.
The party was pretty typical, the clock struck twelve and everyone immediately broke off into their ever so evenly paired off couples. Alysa, who just broke up with her boyfriend, and me, whose heart could not be any more confused at the moment as to what it wants, stood awkwardly and decided that was our cue to leave.
Final Count: Getting lost twice, one hott waiter, one free dinner, one rock out dance session, one majorly awkward moment, six drunk dials throughout the night and still a typical ho-hum New Year’s Eve.
Such is my life.
*Posted for credit for JRN 371
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
How to clean your tack
Alright, you’ve got that big show coming up and you’re prepared in just about every way possible to go for the gold, but there’s one problem: you haven’t cleaned your tack.
Any equestrian will tell you that you don’t have a chance of placing in competition if your tack doesn’t have that certain shine the judges are looking for. Not sure how to get it? Well don’t you fret my friend; I have a simple guide of how to quickly achieve that sparkle that’ll bring you home the gold.
1.First, gather all of your supplies. The last thing you need to do is be covered in soap or oil and have to go stumbling through the stable looking for things. The essentials include: Two small buckets filled with warm water, a rag, a sponge, some form of mouthwash (I suggest Listerine, the horses seem to like that the best), glycerin soap, oils for the leather and polish.
2.After you’ve gathered everything you need it’s time to lay out your tack. Keep your saddle on a saddle rack and be sure to take off your leathers and irons. At this point you can through your irons in one of the buckets of water to begin soaking. Hang your leathers off the side of the saddle rack.
3.Next, you want to prepare your bridle for cleaning by taking it apart as well and hanging it from the saddle rack.
4.Pour mouthwash into the opposite bucket that your irons are soaking in and place your bits in to soak.
5.Pour some soap in with your irons, dampen a sponge and begin cleaning them. Be sure to remove the rubber pads and clean under those as well; You know judges are crazy and will look anywhere they can for the slightest sign of dirt.
6.Once finished with your irons hang them out to dry and begin the process of wiping down your saddle.
7.After scrubbing down your saddle, proceed to do the same to all of the pieces of your bridle. Be sure to pay special attention to cheek pieces and the browband as these are the areas that accumulate the most sweat and dirt.
8.After scrubbing everything down, pour some leather oil on your rag and begin working it into the leather of the bridle and saddle
9.After allowing some time for the oil to soak in, add a leather polish to your saddle and bridle.
10.Allow ample drying time for the polish to dry and proceed to put everything back together.
Helpful tips:
Never use soap on a bit. Your horse will refuse to take it and it is also dangerous because you never know if you got all of the soap off.
Toothbrushes work great in areas you’re really having trouble getting dirt and grime off.
If you’re having a really hard time making your bit and irons shine, put them in the dishwasher. Yes, I’m aware that it sounds ridiculous, but trust me nothing works better! Just be sure to soak your bits in mouthwash after you wash them.
*Posted for credit for JRN212
Any equestrian will tell you that you don’t have a chance of placing in competition if your tack doesn’t have that certain shine the judges are looking for. Not sure how to get it? Well don’t you fret my friend; I have a simple guide of how to quickly achieve that sparkle that’ll bring you home the gold.
1.First, gather all of your supplies. The last thing you need to do is be covered in soap or oil and have to go stumbling through the stable looking for things. The essentials include: Two small buckets filled with warm water, a rag, a sponge, some form of mouthwash (I suggest Listerine, the horses seem to like that the best), glycerin soap, oils for the leather and polish.
2.After you’ve gathered everything you need it’s time to lay out your tack. Keep your saddle on a saddle rack and be sure to take off your leathers and irons. At this point you can through your irons in one of the buckets of water to begin soaking. Hang your leathers off the side of the saddle rack.
3.Next, you want to prepare your bridle for cleaning by taking it apart as well and hanging it from the saddle rack.
4.Pour mouthwash into the opposite bucket that your irons are soaking in and place your bits in to soak.
5.Pour some soap in with your irons, dampen a sponge and begin cleaning them. Be sure to remove the rubber pads and clean under those as well; You know judges are crazy and will look anywhere they can for the slightest sign of dirt.
6.Once finished with your irons hang them out to dry and begin the process of wiping down your saddle.
7.After scrubbing down your saddle, proceed to do the same to all of the pieces of your bridle. Be sure to pay special attention to cheek pieces and the browband as these are the areas that accumulate the most sweat and dirt.
8.After scrubbing everything down, pour some leather oil on your rag and begin working it into the leather of the bridle and saddle
9.After allowing some time for the oil to soak in, add a leather polish to your saddle and bridle.
10.Allow ample drying time for the polish to dry and proceed to put everything back together.
Helpful tips:
Never use soap on a bit. Your horse will refuse to take it and it is also dangerous because you never know if you got all of the soap off.
Toothbrushes work great in areas you’re really having trouble getting dirt and grime off.
If you’re having a really hard time making your bit and irons shine, put them in the dishwasher. Yes, I’m aware that it sounds ridiculous, but trust me nothing works better! Just be sure to soak your bits in mouthwash after you wash them.
*Posted for credit for JRN212
Sunday, September 20, 2009
The Lovely Bones
So it would seem that the tragic comedy known as my life has kept me from updating my ever so lonesome blog. However, all of that is about to change because classes have started up again and you know what that means- mandatory blogging. I suppose that isn’t such a bad thing, after all I do need SOMETHING to get my butt in gear in keeping up with this thing. I was doing quite well until my trip to Florida; things seemed to tumble downhill from there. Anyhow, I do believe I have a specific topic I should be blogging about, is that not correct? Ah, yes, a literary classic.
The previous “literary classic” I wrote of was not in fact any sort of literary classic at all and that is indeed going to be the same with this post. It’s a new book that I have been absolutely enthralled with, The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold.
Sebold takes such an interesting point of view while telling this tragic tale of a 14-year-old girl, Susie, who was raped and murdered by a man in her neighborhood. The book opens up with Susie in her own personal heaven. Her heaven is different from other people’s heaven, but they all seem to intertwine flawlessly. Susie is telling her story and watching as her family is trying desperately to unravel the mystery of what happened to her. This is both saddening and frustrating for Susie to watch due to the fact that her family begins to make some interesting choices while uncovering the truth of her death.
I love the fact that the author chooses to use the narrative voice throughout the entire book, not many authors choose to do so nowadays. It flows perfectly with the story and really lets you into the mind of the victim. You see the grief, confusion and constant struggle of dealing with what happened. The question of “Why?” comes up time after time, which had the result of me asking myself that very same question. If I were in that situation would I have been naïve enough to make the choices that Susie had made? I like the fact that the author gets you thinking and keeps your brain working throughout the story while also keeping you very connected with the characters.
This book has also caused quite a bit controversy, however. The fact that it deals with the afterlife and Susie having her own personal heaven has caused quite a stir in the religious community. “To me, the idea of heaven would give you certain pleasures, certain joys - but it's very important to have an intellectual understanding of why you want those things,” Sebold explains. “It's also about discovery, and being able to come to the conclusions that elude you in life. So it's from the most simplistic things - Susie wants a duplex - to larger things, like being able to understand why her mother was always slightly distant from her.” Sebold has also stated that the book is not intended to be religious, "but if people want to take things and interpret them, then I can't do anything about that. It is a book that has faith and hope and giant universal themes in it, but it's not meant to be, 'This is the way you should look at the afterlife'” [1]
After reading the book Peter Jackson fell in love with the story as well as the characters and has transformed this “literary classic” into a movie that will be released in the near future.
___________________________________________________
1 (Viner, Katharine; August 24, 2002; "Above and Beyond: Interview with Alice Sebold"; The Guardian; retrieved April 4, 2007)
*Posted for credit for JRN 212
The previous “literary classic” I wrote of was not in fact any sort of literary classic at all and that is indeed going to be the same with this post. It’s a new book that I have been absolutely enthralled with, The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold.
Sebold takes such an interesting point of view while telling this tragic tale of a 14-year-old girl, Susie, who was raped and murdered by a man in her neighborhood. The book opens up with Susie in her own personal heaven. Her heaven is different from other people’s heaven, but they all seem to intertwine flawlessly. Susie is telling her story and watching as her family is trying desperately to unravel the mystery of what happened to her. This is both saddening and frustrating for Susie to watch due to the fact that her family begins to make some interesting choices while uncovering the truth of her death.
I love the fact that the author chooses to use the narrative voice throughout the entire book, not many authors choose to do so nowadays. It flows perfectly with the story and really lets you into the mind of the victim. You see the grief, confusion and constant struggle of dealing with what happened. The question of “Why?” comes up time after time, which had the result of me asking myself that very same question. If I were in that situation would I have been naïve enough to make the choices that Susie had made? I like the fact that the author gets you thinking and keeps your brain working throughout the story while also keeping you very connected with the characters.
This book has also caused quite a bit controversy, however. The fact that it deals with the afterlife and Susie having her own personal heaven has caused quite a stir in the religious community. “To me, the idea of heaven would give you certain pleasures, certain joys - but it's very important to have an intellectual understanding of why you want those things,” Sebold explains. “It's also about discovery, and being able to come to the conclusions that elude you in life. So it's from the most simplistic things - Susie wants a duplex - to larger things, like being able to understand why her mother was always slightly distant from her.” Sebold has also stated that the book is not intended to be religious, "but if people want to take things and interpret them, then I can't do anything about that. It is a book that has faith and hope and giant universal themes in it, but it's not meant to be, 'This is the way you should look at the afterlife'” [1]
After reading the book Peter Jackson fell in love with the story as well as the characters and has transformed this “literary classic” into a movie that will be released in the near future.
___________________________________________________
1 (Viner, Katharine; August 24, 2002; "Above and Beyond: Interview with Alice Sebold"; The Guardian; retrieved April 4, 2007)
*Posted for credit for JRN 212
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Simplicity in a complicated world
Karl Barth, who has gained a reputation as being a great theologian and who wrote a study on the book of Romans which revolutionized theology only a few decades ago, was once asked, “What is the greatest theological thought that has ever crossed your mind?” One would expect a very long, in depth, complicated answer, but his was this: “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” That is the simplicity that is in Christ.
It is easy to lose that in the midst of Christian activity or bible studies. One can become so involved in the captivating aspects of Scripture and give themselves over to a lifetime of Bible study only to end up losing the simplicity they have in Christ. So many great theologians have lost this concept and that of Christ is with you and that is enough.
“This is the beautiful, ‘simplicity that is in Jesus,’” Barth continued. “In Corinth they were assaulted with these teachers who were exposing them to things that caught their attention, but they were drifting from that central point. They were involved with fascinating philosophies based on the Word of God, but which went off on side tracks and rabbit paths of thought. They were being challenged with certain ego-appealing experiences, which if they could just grasp would make them feel so great, so wonderful, so God-possessed -- just like people today who are invited to explore strange and wonderful mysteries all involved with Christian faith -- but which tend to move them away from the simplicity that is in Christ.”
Now, before you go filling my inbox with complaints, know this: I am by no means suggesting that Christ is simple- He is far from it. What I am saying though is that there is a certain simplicity that we have in Him that so many people seem to be losing sight of today. I think Barth put it well. Oh look at that, I threw my opinion in there. I guess the whole blog is ruined,huh? Oh well, such is my life...
It is easy to lose that in the midst of Christian activity or bible studies. One can become so involved in the captivating aspects of Scripture and give themselves over to a lifetime of Bible study only to end up losing the simplicity they have in Christ. So many great theologians have lost this concept and that of Christ is with you and that is enough.
“This is the beautiful, ‘simplicity that is in Jesus,’” Barth continued. “In Corinth they were assaulted with these teachers who were exposing them to things that caught their attention, but they were drifting from that central point. They were involved with fascinating philosophies based on the Word of God, but which went off on side tracks and rabbit paths of thought. They were being challenged with certain ego-appealing experiences, which if they could just grasp would make them feel so great, so wonderful, so God-possessed -- just like people today who are invited to explore strange and wonderful mysteries all involved with Christian faith -- but which tend to move them away from the simplicity that is in Christ.”
Now, before you go filling my inbox with complaints, know this: I am by no means suggesting that Christ is simple- He is far from it. What I am saying though is that there is a certain simplicity that we have in Him that so many people seem to be losing sight of today. I think Barth put it well. Oh look at that, I threw my opinion in there. I guess the whole blog is ruined,huh? Oh well, such is my life...
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