Non-Artistic Me ;p

I came a crossed my "Art Portfolio" from school. I laughed to see how slim it was compared to my siblings. I do not pride myself in being artistic. Moreover, I make a bow to those of you who are. My creativity shows itself in other things, unfortunately. Anyway, here is a couple of things I found plus a little word art I played with yesterday.

The Complaint of a Flower and Her Vase

Nehemiah

I thought I would share this morning’s bible-study with you for what it is worth.

In the book of Nehemiah, we can gain an understanding of how God is in relation to His people, how the devil works, and how that we can be overcomers-victorious against the struggles that we face as humans. This passage also reflects how the actions of man bring glory to God. In return, we can also perceive the love of the heavenly Father by how He responds to His children.

Nehemiah was a king’s cupbearer. I would think that he had a comfortable position serving Artaxerxes. He had servants, money, and a life of apparent ease.

He also had access to the high throne of heaven. He had a heart after God and His people. He was in a place spiritually that the Lord "let His ear be attentive". He was seeking to be used of God.

Moreover, the LORD opened every door necessary for Him.

The path was in no way a smooth one. He was opposed through ridicule, through threat of attack, through discouragement, through extortion, through compromise, through slander, and through treachery. All these things made him careful to lead by a good and unselfish example. He did not stop laboring to bother with those who would detour him from his mission. He did not let fear or any of the other discouragements bring him to the point of despair.

God had called him to build a wall for His people. He had made the way possible. The Lord put a defense around the Israelites though they knew it not.

Lucifer threw every stone that he possessed to stop the progress of the LORD God. He had no power but what Nehemiah gave to him through the entertainment of the mind. To Nehemiah’s credit, that power was equal to our Legislator’s ability to follow a budget plan.

Nehemiah and the children of Israel obeyed God, put 100% of themselves into the Lord’s work, and encouraged themselves and each other. At the end of that time, they were victorious in their mission. The wall was rebuilt as was much of the morale of the people. The covenant between God and the Israelites was restored. The enemies were defeated.

They could stand and proclaim, "Thou, even thou art the LORD the God, who didst choose Abram…and found his heart faithful…and didst see the affliction of our fathers…and thou didst divide the Red Sea before them…moreover thou leddest them…to give them light in the way wherein they should go."

What a beautiful, instructive passage of scripture!! Keep building for God’s kingdom! Where He has placed a call, He has made a way. Where He has made a way, He has provided strength to walk thereon.

Sacred Harp Singing

As of this past summer, my favorite hobby would be:

Family

My family is not the average family...I believe that is a safe assumption. 

To begin with, there are twelve of us. Somehow I love it that way! I would not deny that there are those days...  (But that's when I go chill and do something like what I'm doing right now. :) 

Titus is the oldest of us children. He will soon be graduating from UMR as an E-Man. He was the ring leader of the three oldest children which consisted of himself, Nathan, and I. He was the "club leader"...as well as the innocent party when the mischief got found out. I really did think he would wind up in law school. lol. He has done better than that I think actually. I do wonder if he plays as many practical jokes on his college class mates as he did in our middle school classroom.

Nathan is the second child. You will have to ask him what he is up to...  He is always into something exciting and new. In my bias opinion, despite his dislike for books, he gets along pretty good. (Perhaps that is because he has a little sister to look out for him...maybe?) No, in truth, he has an excellent entrepreneurial mindset. He loves nature and communicates well with it. He has a zeal for God that is challenging to stay up with. Definitely a visionary...
Ethan is the brother younger than myself. He is the sensitive, idealist of the family. He is brilliant when he puts his mind to the task...and only when he puts his mind to the task. lol. But what he lacks in common sense he makes up for in favors and complements. :) He is a Senior this year in high school and is considering a degree in Chemical Engineering.
Elizabeth is my beautiful sister that has all of the artistic, fun personality that I somehow missed out on. She can almost out shoot me... She is almost taller than I am... And she definitely is better at communicating than I. lol.   

The other family members are: Jubal, Jedidiah, Jairus, Theo, and Abigail.

Psalm 64:10

"The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and shall trust in him; and all the upright in heart shall glory." PS.64:10

A New Year for an Improved Type of Reading Materials

To read is to take on wings and travel over places, eras, ideas, concepts, nationalities, and cultural barriers. We fly as close to the subject as the author allows - and no closer. Flight is a fantastic and useful phenomenon so long as you maintain a horizontal flight pattern with the desired direction. So it is with the reading of humanly inspired writings.

It has been said that a person’s growth and maturing process relies heavily upon three basic elements consisting of what a person experiences, what a person retains in their memory, and what a person reads. In today’s world of fast-pace living, smartphones and TV, this thought is no longer accurate. The concept is, however, still correct in assuming that we are influenced greatly by media, memory, and experience.  Furthermore,  although reading is no longer the primary way that the majority of people collect information and seek entertainment, our reading materials are as proportionally important now in influencing our thought patterns as were the books of our preceding fathers.

Let us for a short time consider the options we have in our selection of publications to read.  Primarily, we have fiction and non-fiction.  Some would argue that non-fictional books out-class that of fiction due to the assumption that such reading materials consist of factual information. Others might argue that fiction is more imaginative, more enjoyable, and in being selective, they gain much insight by reading fictional stories. Non-fiction is, after all, written by humans. Thus, it is also slanted information written to persuade you of the author’s agenda, hidden or otherwise.

I am not in this blog taking either opinion as my own. I only want to bring out that the reading materials that we choose should be of quality.

If you enjoy fiction, read literature of interpretation over escape literature. The mind is a terrible thing to waste. It is a terrific thing to engage. Rather than escaping from reality, use your imagination to travel deeper into the real world in which we live. The image that fiction presents is purged of the time-space factor, distractions and the accidents of ordinary life. We are at liberty to gaze at the inner logic of things-of a personality, of the consequences of an act or a thought, of a social or historical situation.  Thereby, you can gain valuable understanding and insight. By reading fiction, we leave the world of actuality. However, if it is good fiction and we are good readers, the story will in a roundabout way return us to the world and to ourselves. Wholesome literary works reconcile us with reality. It reiterates our convictions and challenges our behaviors while removing us from the circumstances of normality. John Dewey worded it by saying that it should take “life and experience in all its uncertainties, mystery, doubt and half-knowledge and turn that experience upon itself to deepen and intensify its own qualities.”

Do you prefer non-fiction? Wonderful! Let your reading orbit your goals. We would all agree that there is much refuse to be found in the “factual” realm as well. Before reading the book, scan it to see what agenda the author has, what is his/her world view, etc. While reading, ask yourself if the reasoning  therein is sound, is it biblically correct, what are the principles it is trying to convey and how can they be applied?! Passive reading is a contented lion’s stomach-a meal easily snared.  Actively apply your mind to the subject matter. If the subject matter is not worth knowing, put the tome down. Otherwise, digest the materials in such a way that you can filter the venerated information apart from the drivel.  To put it in common and somewhat abstract language, enjoy the Porterhouse steak while disposing of the gristle (preferablly before you chew it). J

I digress. We are truly privileged to have the ability to decipher crude markings upon paper that we might gain a lifetime of knowledge and wisdom from them. I would simply like to encourage you over the next year to not only think on, but also to read “whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise,” read these publications.