Any amount of pride that I'm able to kill is a big time victory. My pride is disgusting at times, and it is the root of lots of sin. I can trace all of my materialistic greed and envy back to my pridefulness. It's a constant competition with other people. It's wanting more. It's wanting something bigger. Something better. Someone else. It's needing control. It's wanting and needing attention. It's seeking praise and admiration.
C.S. lewis wrote
"According to Christian teachers, the essential vice, the utmost evil, is Pride. Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere fleabites in comparison: it was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind."
Knowing it's power, PRIDE is a tough thing to face. It's my pride that makes it difficult to admit it is a problem. Although it's a constant battle, I have found that remembering the cross and being redeemed is the one way to destroy it. We really earn nothing on our own. And we can't save ourselves. We are dependent upon Christ as our provider, whether we admit it or not.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Friday, January 20, 2012
Sunday, January 15, 2012
I'm considering starting a barrel fire in my house to stay warm, if you have flammable things that you don't care about, let me know
It's the home stretch in January, February will be here shortly and she's a cold witch too. I ran the MLK 5k Saturday morning and my second fastest 5k time ever - I was ready to finish and kept up a 7:15 pace somehow. Allison ran the race as well and frostbite took hold of her hands....she appeared to be crying as she finished.
I signed up for a 24 hour run in Bluffton in February. I am excited but also afraid it will be frigid. I don't know how I will hold up being outdoors all night. I hope to run 50 miles, but I have no set goal. I'm just going to run until I can't stand up or remember my name.
Working through 2 Corinthians. Very close to finishing and Ephesians is next. I'm trying to devote more time to scripture, I love it once I get into it but have a hard time reading daily. It's not just the bible, it's reading period. I am working through it, it's getting better as I cutting back on other things that hog my time - TV and Netflix. I am considering dropping cable. If it wasn't for sports, I would have done so a long time ago. But, without cable, I would be forced to spend time with others for big games, which would be a positive in my book. I am still unsure.
I am so thankful for the start of this year and God doing work in so many places. I'm thankful for Midtown church and the relationships that have started there. I'm thankful for the unlimited grace that flows from the cross and pours like a river over me. I fail daily and it's because of the freedom that Christ has granted us that allows me to push forward. I'm so thankful for the Godly men that I get to be around that have made an impression on my heart. I'm thankful for the Godly women and the plutonic relationships that are pure and innocent, not cursed by society's distorted view on sex. I'm thankful that there is a different way, I'm thankful for HIM.
I signed up for a 24 hour run in Bluffton in February. I am excited but also afraid it will be frigid. I don't know how I will hold up being outdoors all night. I hope to run 50 miles, but I have no set goal. I'm just going to run until I can't stand up or remember my name.
Working through 2 Corinthians. Very close to finishing and Ephesians is next. I'm trying to devote more time to scripture, I love it once I get into it but have a hard time reading daily. It's not just the bible, it's reading period. I am working through it, it's getting better as I cutting back on other things that hog my time - TV and Netflix. I am considering dropping cable. If it wasn't for sports, I would have done so a long time ago. But, without cable, I would be forced to spend time with others for big games, which would be a positive in my book. I am still unsure.
I am so thankful for the start of this year and God doing work in so many places. I'm thankful for Midtown church and the relationships that have started there. I'm thankful for the unlimited grace that flows from the cross and pours like a river over me. I fail daily and it's because of the freedom that Christ has granted us that allows me to push forward. I'm so thankful for the Godly men that I get to be around that have made an impression on my heart. I'm thankful for the Godly women and the plutonic relationships that are pure and innocent, not cursed by society's distorted view on sex. I'm thankful that there is a different way, I'm thankful for HIM.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
I need you more than the air I breathe
It's the calm before the storm. January. It's so tough going back to work after taking so much time off in December. But here we are, what feels to be the longest work week of the year. Fortunately, we are already busy with shows for the first part of this year and I don't have time to feel sorry for myself.
I am genuinely excited about this year. Still looking to buy a house and "settle down" somewhat. I am really praying through this process - I have been frustrated with a number of different places. It's either just outside my price range or the street is sketch or the house needs serious work or the the layout is bad or maybe I'm just really picky. But I figure I should be, I don't need to unload the last box as regret enters my mind.
I also think of the incredible changes in my life last year and hope this year is half as good. I realize that being a Christian means that everything isn't going to be fantastic, life-altering or work out according to plan. Because I still push my agenda and selfishly try to take control of my path. That doesn't work. Infinite wisdom trumps my small grasp of the greater good that I want but have no idea how to obtain.
"But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of the Lord." (1 Peter 2:20) Peter is asking Christians to expect pain and torment just as Christ suffered for us. It makes me think about thanking God each and every day. For all things. Not just when I feel blessed with a relationship, financial situation or the "calm" parts of my life. It's easy to praise his name at these times, it's the tough times that require our praise too.
I am genuinely excited about this year. Still looking to buy a house and "settle down" somewhat. I am really praying through this process - I have been frustrated with a number of different places. It's either just outside my price range or the street is sketch or the house needs serious work or the the layout is bad or maybe I'm just really picky. But I figure I should be, I don't need to unload the last box as regret enters my mind.
I also think of the incredible changes in my life last year and hope this year is half as good. I realize that being a Christian means that everything isn't going to be fantastic, life-altering or work out according to plan. Because I still push my agenda and selfishly try to take control of my path. That doesn't work. Infinite wisdom trumps my small grasp of the greater good that I want but have no idea how to obtain.
"But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of the Lord." (1 Peter 2:20) Peter is asking Christians to expect pain and torment just as Christ suffered for us. It makes me think about thanking God each and every day. For all things. Not just when I feel blessed with a relationship, financial situation or the "calm" parts of my life. It's easy to praise his name at these times, it's the tough times that require our praise too.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)