I Corinthians 1

I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you. Now I say this, that each of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, lest anyone should say that I had baptized in my own name. Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas. Besides, I do not know whether I baptized any other. For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.

(My thoughts: My leader, my captain, is Christ, I follow and serve no other. Our loyalty should be to Him, and Him alone. I am in the Lord’s army, in His service. I serve no other. To follow and give our loyalty to others or other things is treason, desertion. When I became a Christian, I took an oath, a pledge, to remain loyal to Christ. Oh, how I have failed that calling. It is well that our leader is a forgiving one, lest we should be punished or destroyed without chance of repentance. Jesus is the example, the romodel, the light, the bulwark, for which we should strive, and model our lives after. So that we may, lead our own group of followers, yet always remember, that we follow and must maintain a chain of command, under, through, and for God.)

Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.

THE KEYS

So life has been good lately. This week has probably been one of the busiest of my life. But that's ok, I got through it, and the next week looks just as busy, but not with work thrown in there. Seven people contacted me last week wanting me to work for them, just odd job stuff.. some big, some small. I was 1. cleaning my church, 2. clearing out lake vegetation 3. shovelling and spreading a truckload of mulch 4. pulling weeds 5. mowing a few lawns 6. helping my gp's on their property, and 7. housesitting for a family in my church. Aaah, it was so crazy. And all those jobs are more than one-day kind of things, so I was doing like a mixture of 2-3 or those jobs per day. But makin' some money made it worth it.

And! To cap off the busy week. My dad and I drove down thee FLORIDA KEYS for Friday and Saturday. It was amazing. lol, even though I've lived in Florida my whole life, I have never ventured down to the Keys, never. Nor have I ever seen clear water, like they have in the Keys or places likes Cancun or Bahamas. We camped at Bahia Honda State Park, which was really nice. We were able to walk out a ways on the 7-mile bridge. They had a beautiful beach there (which was named the "Best Beach in America in 1992").. so we stayed there on Saturday. Aah and on Friday night we went to Key West.. which I didn't really care too much for. Kind of a neat city architecturally and location-wise, but the people bugged me. Everyone spoke Spanish, and there were lots of gays everywhere.. I just don't think I really fit. Haha, so we didn't stay long there. But overall, the trip was wonderful, very relaxing.

Ok, well I'm going to go read, do some laundry.. etc.

Eternity!

Life has been bipolar lately. Mostly good, but a little weird at times. I've kinda felt a little bit of regret for things that I haven't done here at home that I would have liked to. I know I still have 3 weeks before school starts, but I just kinda wish I had more time still, lol. But I guess I'll always be wishing that, time never stays around long enough for our likings. That will be pretty amazing when I'm in heaven, and there will be no such thing as time.. no bothers, no schedules, no deadlines. I'll be in eternity, WOW. lol that just blows my mind. To be outside of time, outside of constraints... living in perfect harmony, perfect.. everything. Amazing thought.

There's so much more than the petty things this life offers. Just think about the futility of everything we encounter each day. How often do we, as the old saying goes.. 'make a mountain out of a molehill." While what I'm saying is true.. this life is also very important. What we do in this life, the life we live, determines our true life, our eternal life. If we choose to live our life, as a life for the world, then the world will be the ultimate fulfillment of that life. From dust we have come, and to dust we shall return. We will get exactly what we put our trust in, the lusts, the desires, vanity, wealth of the world will be everything we receive. What is the joy in that? Honestly, when we put these things under the microscope, so to speak, of what worth have these? If we put our faith and trust and desires in these things, the things of the earth, we will receive justice. The Justice of God. We are not deserving of this thing called heaven, of this relationship with God, of this life at all. And YET, we are given this life, this chance, this opportunity, to either give our lives wholly to Him, follow his statutes, commune and love Him, or to put our trusts in the earthly pleasures and desires that are always vying for our attention. Nothing in life comes easy, and in most situations, the things that are the hardest, are usually the things that are the best, the truly "good" things in life. The genuine goodness.

And so, if we reject God's gift of eternal life, and communion with Him, then we shall sadly suffer our just lot. The lot of eternal separation from God. From everything good and right. Oh, if only everyone could see! If only the world would turn from their search and love of things of this earth. And trust in the One true God, the One who has given His Son, on our behalf, that we might have eternal life with Him. Ah sweet mercy, thank you Father for your grace. I am an undeserving sinner, deserving of eternal life in Hell. Yes, that is where I belong. But thanks be to God, who has given me life.. not anything that I have done, but everything that He has done. Praise God!

...Killer Angels

Well, it looks like this is going to be my CITADEL blog for when I go up to Charleston in 3 weeks. I think I'll use this to keep everyone updated on how I'm doing. Although we'll see how well I keep to that promise, time will tell. That is, if I have enough time. I might just have to relay all the information over to my parents and they can delegate that to others, of course, from those closest on out.

I finished Killer Angels by Michael Shaara yesterday. I must say, terribly good book. Very sad, but very true. So many brave men died in that war, I can only imagine. I also watched the movie "Gettysburg" last night.. and of course it doesn't come close to doing the book justice, but it was fairly accurate, almost word for word in the dialogue sequences. General Longstreet, Lee's "Old War Horse" was probably my favorite character. Man, what a neglected, forgotton figure of the south. He pushed for withdrawing from Gettysburg because of the lack of good ground and terrible positions. Lee's "tactics" in the battle were Napoleonic, very bad. Pickett's charge, while one of the most remembered, respected, and honorable charges in all of American history, was probably the worst tactical decision anyone could have made. It spelled total disaster, and that's what it was. Pickett's entire division was dessimated, all of his officers were either killed or wounded. That battle destroyed many men's lives, not just physically but mentally. At a reunion of Southern Generals almost 20 years after the end of the war, General Longstreet, Lee's 2nd in command, was NOT invited, but of course showed up anyway in his old uniform. The man deserved the respect of every Southerner... he nearly won the war. Lee, the most beloved and cherished general, in perhaps all of American history, was not the most brilliant tacticioner. Longstreet was right, his strategy was way ahead of his time, and for that reason, no one listend or payed any attention to him. He's from South Carolina, one of the few main generals in that battle to not be from Virginia. But anyways, I love how books inspire you to want to read more and more and more. I'm going to read God's and Generals, and I would like to read a good biography on General Longstreet, we'll see if I have enough time before school starts.

"I was trying to warn you. But ... you have no Cause. You and I, we have no Cause. We have only the army. But if a soldier fights only for soldiers, he cannot ever win. It is only soldiers who die." --Killer Angels


"To be a good soldier you must love the army. But to be a good officer you must be willing to order the death of the things you love. This is... a very hard thing to do. No other profession requires it. That is one reason why there are so few good officers. Although there are many good men." --Killer Angels

A Hero Going Home - Tecumseh

Live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart. Trouble no one about his religion. Respect others in their views and demand that they respect yours. Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life. Seek to make your life long and of service to your people. Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide. Always give a word or sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend, or even a stranger, if in a lonely place. Show respect to all people, but grovel to none. When you rise in the morning, give thanks for the light, for your life, for your strength. Give thanks for your food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason to give thanks, the fault lies in yourself. Abuse no one and no thing, for abuse turns the wise ones to fools and robs the spirit of its vision. When your time comes to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song, and die like a hero going home.

I Don't Want To Fall Away From You

by Keith Green

After all the things that you have shown me
I'd be a fool to let them slip away
In doing things I know I shouldn't do
But I don't want to fall away from you, from you

After all, I've only grieved Your spirit
And then I don't know why You stay with me
But every time I fall Your love comes through
And I don't want to fall away from You

When the light is gone
And good times are getting old
There's no one left to count on
And all my friends are cold
When I thirst for love oh Lord
You're a fountain to my soul
My soul
My soul

In a way my life is full of burdens
But in a way You carry them from me, Jesus
Cause no one understands the way You do
And you know Lord
I don't want to fall away from You

Well every day I pray to start anew
Cause I don't want to fall away from You

No Lord, I don't wanna fall away from You
No Lord, I don't wanna fall away from You
From You...Lord

In Hope Believed

"Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all (as it is written, "I have made you father of many nations") in the presence of Him whom he believed-- God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, "So shall your descendants be." "
--Romans 4:16-18

Going against the grain is what we are called to do. The battle is real, the war is ever-present. Spiritual warfare is perhaps the most brutal out of all of earth's conflicts. Then again, you cannot even compare them with earth's conflicts, it is not of this world, the world is only the staging ground. This battle, this war, far supersedes the trivial goals and aims of earthly battles and wars (while they still play a part of the spiritual battle). Lately, I have struggled finding and committing myself to either side. Sometimes I question my true motives: the intention behind the reason, the reason behind the thought, the thought behind the action. I must guard my heart from all temptations and attempts by the world, myself, and the devil to steer me down paths of doom... leading me to unbelief, complacency, vain lusts and calousness. I must keep my heart as a bastion of purity and compassion, of perseverance and awareness, of duty and selfless sacrifice, building my character as a man of God, not of the world, not of myself, not of anything else... but a man of GOD... solely and wholly.

"Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not dissapoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us."
--Romans 5:1-5

And so the path is set before me. I cannot sway to one side or the other, I must persevere through tribulations, tempations, troubles, and trials... No compromise, no excuses, no backsliding, no complacency, no laziness; relying on God, the only true source of strength, I can move mountains, I can defeat this body filled with so many evil desires, I can "mount up with wings like eagles, run and not be weary, walk and not faint." Looking unto Jesus, the one who has gone before, fought the fight, overcome the world, persevered through the pain, and is now the One in whom we can depend on, the only reliable one, the only faithful One, in which there is no shadow of turning, no chance for being let-down, no cause for fear or anxiety. While we are faithless, He is faithful. Look unto Him!