A Quick Recap and Something for Mother's Day

And I'm back! That was an interesting canoe trip. We froze, we burned, we rowed, we flipped, but at least we didn't die. That's always a plus, right? And, despite being sore and utterly exhausted, we learned a lot. In all, I'd say it was quite successful. (However, I didn't take my camera, so I have no pictures.)

Now, a quote for Mother's Day (taken from a friend):

“Your mother is possibly the best friend you will ever have. She loves you when you love her back, she loves you when you don't. She loves you when you cry and when you laugh. She loves you when you are wrong and when you are right. She loves you because you are her child, forever and a day. If you want to catch a glimpse of what the love of God looks like, look at your mother.”~Ryan Crowe

Matthew 10:19-20

"When they deliver you over, do not be anxious about how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you."--Matthew 10:19-20

For as long as I can remember being old enough to understand it, the idea of persecution has terrified me. I mean, what if my toenails were being ripped out or I was thrown into boiling oil? Would I be able to stay faithful? The song "Beautiful Ending" by BarlowGirl really puts into words what I've worried about:

"Oh, tragedy has taken so many

Love lost 'cause they all

Forgot who you were

And it scares me to think

That I would choose

My life over you

Oh my selfish heart

Divides me from you

It tears us apart

So tell me

What is our ending?

Will it be beautiful?

So beautiful."

Would my ending be beautiful, like the martyrs in Eusebius? Or would the pain be too much? Would they ask me a question that I couldn't answer? I never want to deny my Lord or recant my faith. Now, though, thanks to this verse, I don't need to worry about it! Whatever happens to me, it will be according to God's will, and I'm ok with that. So tell me: what is your ending? Will it be beautiful?

(The full song can be found here.)

In a hurry! :P

Well, we're about to leave on a canoe trip, so I don't have much time today. That said, I'll leave you with a few of my favorite quotes.

"I learned that it is better, a thousand-fold, for a proud man to fall and be humbled, than to hold up his head in his pride and fancied innocence. I learned that he that will be a hero, will barely be a man; that he that will be nothing but a doer of his work, is sure of his manhood." ~George MacDonald, Phantastes

"But something else was needed, a finer being,
More capable of mind, a sage, a ruler,
So Man was born, it may be, in God's image...
All other animals look downward;
Man, alone, erect, can raise his face toward heaven." ~Ovid, Metamorphoses


"All the glory of the world would be buried in oblivion, unless God had provided mortals with the remedy of books." ~Richard DeBury

"In matters of grave importance, style, not sincerity, is the vital thing."~Gwendolyn, The Importance of Being Ernest


And now, some from my classmates at VPSA:

"Why, my CHEESE! Cur of a rodent, he hath devoured mine own milk fermented, divinely enjoying every moment."~Katie Montgomery

"I like sleeping. It's like being dead, but without the commitment."~Abigail Beavin

Now, I bid you adieu!

Running, Always Running

Today's slip is: Temple Run! I really have no idea why I even put it in the cup. Lack of ideas, maybe? I like the picture though. Anyway, I guess I'll just ramble about Montana Smith and evil demon monkeys for the next few paragraphs.

Now, for a haiku:

Look, Montana Smith!

The monkeys seek to eat you

And that would be bad.

I admit it, that was a pretty lame haiku. Let's try another:

The demon monkeys

Are running along the walls

Seeking flesh to eat.

Better? Ah, well. But, this haiku actually reminded me of a 1 Peter 5:8!

"Be sober minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour."

Like this verse says, we should always be prepared for combat against temptation. But how do you prepare for something like that? I mean, it's not like you can look temptation in they eye and say, "Do ya feel lucky, punk? Well, do ya?" and scare it away. Instead, we have the "Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God (Ephesians 6:17, ESV)." We can follow Jesus' example; when he was tempted in the Desert by the devil, he responded with Scripture. This is one of the reasons why memorizing the Bible is important! Because, if you don't know what the Bible says, then how can you use it? Can an untrained peasant take down a skilled swordmaster? Nope. He needs to practice. So go practice! Pick up your Bible and read. There are many enemy swordmasters in this world.

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one wins the prize?

So run that you may obtain it."

~1 Cor. 9:24

Today is: Flowers!

"Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these."

~Luke 12:27

Well, lilies are something we're a bit deficient in, but we do have wildflowers! There's also some petunias and oleanders around our house. Even with my limited options, I managed to scrounge up a few pictures for this post. Score!

Le Petunia Rouge (because it sounds better than "the red petunia")

I took this one a few days ago, after a thunderstorm.

Oleander blossoms, also after the thunderstorm. 

We were on a road trip and stopped to take some pictures of the wildflowers.
This is one of my favorites.

"The Wanderlust has blest me. . . in a ragged blanket curled,
I've watched the gulf of Heaven foam with stars;
I've walked with eyes wide open to the wonders of the world,
I've seen God's flood of glory burst its bars.
I've seen the gold a-blinding in the riffles of the sky,
Till I fancied me a bloated plutocrat;
But I'm freedom's happy bond-slave, and I will be till I die,
And I've got to thank the Wanderlust for that."

~from Wanderlust, by Robert William Service

New Posts Coming Soon!

I've recently had a revelation: a blog is for blogging! (Who'd have thought it?) More like a conviction, really. I haven't posted very much at all, and I think that should change. So, expect an influx of posts over the next few weeks, because I've decided to write a new post (hopefully) every day until May 31st. Or at least every other day. Each post's topic will be drawn from a hat, so to speak. Well, it's more like a cup. But anyway, they'll be things like poems, photography and some music choices. There's even stuff about movies and crucifixion. Enjoy!


~"Red Solo cup, you fill me up!"