Thumper.

This cute little cheeky rabbit is Thumper, one of the most beloved characters from Disney's Classic movie, Bambi. I can't help but think about this little guy every time the phrase "if you can't say something nice, don't say nothin' at all" enters my head.
This phrase is one of the best remembered from all of Bambi. Disney did a great job of making the concept one that children of all ages would remember for a lifetime (I myself am living proof). In fact, upon researching this phrase, it turns out that this moral has come to be known by as the "Thumperian principle"! Thank you Wikipedia (I think you're at least partially reliable!)
Even though it's a familiar, is this really something we really put in to practice in our day to day lives?
Sometimes I feel like the older we get, the more childish we consider this idea to be. Of course on the surface, only saying nice things seems "just super!". But in reality, humor and jokes tend to be sarcastic and sometimes you can get the best laugh by cutting a dear friend down. These situations are easily justified by telling yourself (they're my friend, they know I'm just kidding.)
But Proverbs 34:13-14 states,

"Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it."

Correct me if I'm wrong, but in no way do I believe that pointing out the flaw of a friend for the sake of a joke is an act of peace. More seriously, wouldn't this be an example of pride in its purest form? You're cutting someone else down for your own benefit. You're treating someone you supposedly love in such a way that disfigures love of Christ and in such a way that others would view hypocritical.
Holding your tongue is a principle. It's about being kind. Last time I checked, kindness was still listed as one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit.
I know in my personal day-to-day life I am by NO MEANS clear of doing this. But it has been on my heart quite often throughout this past week, and now I see a speck in my own eye that I need to concentrate on asking and allowing God to remove.

It's all about Christ's perfect love.

Sophomore Year Fall Semester

I want to come off of this semester describing it as being chock full of purely empirical experiences.

Summertime and Piggies.

I have always liked summer, despite the heat. I enjoy sunny days and ice cream, swimming pools and sno-cones, sleeping in and staying up late (which are two habits I tend to follow no matter what the season may be, but they certainly fit best during the Summer season.)

So out of the Christian University environment and back in the comfort of my own home and bed (which has a REAL mattress and not whatever that thing HPU has me sleeping on is), needless to say, it has been a while since I have updated my blog. Oops. Maybe I should give myself some leeway since I happened to assume that this would happen and I'm not neccessarily sure anyone really reads this, but then again, this isn't for the people reading it, this is for myself and for God. Writing of His and my relationship is a great way of exposing it to better understand it; understanding leads to maturity.

So, what did God teach me this summer? A lot, and it has only been about a month and a half, so that would be a long blog post that I'm not necessarily capable of writing at this point. Easier question: What has God taught me today?

A fool may know just as much as a wise man, but a wise man puts his knowledge in to action while a fool does not.
There are many things I know. I know how to tie my shoes, I know that 2+2=4, I know the difference between Microeconomics and Macroeconomics. I know that I should be in God's word everyday. I know that I should talk to God every day. I know that I should be a good steward of my money, and I know that I should tithe.
Remember how the third little piggy was wise and he built his house out of brick? He spent more time on it than those foolish piggy brothers of his did. He probably dug a hole and poured some cement in it and created a strong foundation so that when trouble came, he wouldn't be in danger because he was on solid ground, (just as our faith in God should be.) On other hand, piglets Tweedledee and Tweedledum knew that sticks and straw weren't the most reliable of materials, but they were sure easier and more "time efficient". They had watched HGTV. They knew that you need a sturdy foundation and proper materials to build something reliable and trustworthy.

But knowing truth doesn't make you wise. Actually being in God's word and building upon your relationship with him is what brings about maturity in your faith and in other areas of your life as well. Just because I know that I should do something is not enough, it does not separate me from anyone who God as deemed a "fool". But the wise man knows all about solid foundations. He knows everything that a fool knows... He just doesn't wait until the Big Bad Wolf comes in order to put what he knows in to action.

Faith and Deeds.

The book of James is one of my favorites. Ever since I was little and listening to Adventures in Odyssey on tape late at night on my little battery powered tape player, and I heard an episode which concentrated on James 1:2-4. They said that verse about 3 or 4 times within the episode and I loved it so much that I rewound the tape and listened to the verse over and over again until I memorized it.
I've read James a lot. It's like... my comfort book/my go-to, so, if it's possible, there's a chance that I read it too much.
Even though it's short, there is SO much packed in to it.
So here's part of the second chapter. :)


James 2: 14-26


   What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
  But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”
   Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
  You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.
  In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

I Wonder.

How hard will I cry out of joy when I get to Heaven and God looks at me and says, "I love you."

Be Still.

Last night after Stand (the Sunday Night College Ministry at First Baptist Church of Brownwood), Austin (First Baptist's Youth Minister) brought up a really good point that he said had been coming up a lot in his own life over the past week: people in general will not rest. We stress ourselves out and in these times of stress, afternoon naps and movies are merely used as tools of distraction away from our stress. These do not actually relieve stress or fix it, they simply hinder it for the time. People more often need to be told to just... be still.
This is on my mind because I happen to be mid-stress mode right now. Summer is technically 17 days away, there are 4 days of finals and every project that has been assigned in any of my classes seems to be due either this week or next. I have a test tomorrow and a book report on the most boring book I have ever picked up due Wednesday, and it all has to be finished today since I have work tomorrow. This still would not propose such a time constraint if it were not for the fact that tonight and tomorrow afternoon there are Chapel services that I have to attend in order to finish up my Chapel credit for the semester. My mind feels like it is going a hundred miles a minute, but no matter how much I seem to beg myself to just STOP and take a minute to refocus, I get consumed by worry: worry that I won't make a good grade on this test tomorrow, worry that I'll be up late tonight working on my biology book report which will make me tired at work tomorrow which will in turn make work ten times longer which will then make work ten times more dull....... my muscles tense up just thinking about it.

But then there's Psalm 46.
¹ God is our refuge and strength,
   an ever-present help in trouble.
² Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
   and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
³ though its waters roar and foam
   and the mountains quake with their surging.
 ⁴ There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
   the holy place where the Most High dwells.
⁵ God is within her, she will not fall;
   God will help her at break of day.
⁶ Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
   he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
 ⁷ The LORD Almighty is with us;
   the God of Jacob is our fortress.
 ⁸ Come and see what the LORD has done,
   the desolations he has brought on the earth.
⁹ He makes wars cease
   to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
   he burns the shields with fire.
¹⁰ He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
   I will be exalted among the nations,
   I will be exalted in the earth.”
 ¹¹ The LORD Almighty is with us;
   the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Reading that slowly is so calming. Reading the Bible and being in God's Word doesn't take our "to-do's" away. It doesn't necessarily make tests simpler and homework easier. What it does do though, is so much more valuable and important: it reminds us of who God is, and that no matter what, He is our refuge in good times and in times of trouble. He can be counted on no matter what, and there is nothing more valuable than a relationship with Him.
The end of school is near. The end of my freshman year of college is imminent.  Although everything seems to be colliding together and stressed within a two-week time constraint, God is always here: strong and unchanging. Reliable and powerful, full of understanding and love.

His love is strong, His love is great, His love is good.
Knowing that is more important than anything I could ever memorize for a test.

Makes Me Think - FMS #13462

Makes Me Think - FMS #13462