Christian-in-a-Box

I'm a Bible quizzer. I've always been the one to finish my book first, memorize it all word-perfect, and be able to pull it out of my head at any time and even tell you the color of the page the verse was on. That's the way my brain works, and I always had trouble understanding why others had such a hard time memorizing.

But recently, I've been really complacent and lazy about memorizing Scripture, to the point that sometimes it's not as enjoyable as it used to be. And not just that, but meditating on it as well.

Growing up in a Christian home, I've been able to recite Scripture as long as I can remember. I know John 3:16, Philippians 4:13, Romans 3:23, Acts 16:31, Colossians 3:20, Isaiah 9:6, Psalm 23, Proverbs 3:5-6....the list gos on and on.

Lately, however, I've let that slip in my mind. I think "oh, everyone quotes THOSE verses"
Everyone knows them. There's nothing new under the sun. Just about every so-called Christian in the world can tell you what John 3:16 is.

I mean, honestly, how many times have you head that verse? (it's actually one of the hardest verses to quote word perfect because of it's high popularity and extensive number of quoted versions) Or Romans 3:23? Philippians 4:13? Psalm 23? A Lot.

As Christians who've been in Christian homes our whole loves, we sort of forget about those verses and think "Oh, everyone knows it". We think it won't have that much impact since everyone has heard it like, a billion times before. We don't think about the importance of that verse to us because it's so over-quoted. (Honestly, who hasn't gotten a card with the blessing from Numbers that says "the Lord bless and keep you...?")

The truth is in Hebrews 4:12 - But the word of God is living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the divisions of soul and spirit and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

I don't know about you, but that's pretty powerful stuff right there.

Living.

Powerful.

Piercing to my soul.

Discerning >wince< the intents of my heart.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

That by itself is powerful.

I shall not want.

Why? Because the Lord is my shepherd. What does that have to do with it? Because HE is my provision, HE is my all...when I trust in Him...my wants die away.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Phil. 4:13)

ALL is a beautiful, universal word meaning everything. I think we often underestimate the power of the word ALL. It means ALL.

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten son - that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

Meditate on the power of that.

Never underestimate the power of Scripture...even the verses we deem "trivial" or "over-quoted." Why are they quoted so much? Because of their power. Because of their meaning. Treasure those verses, hide them in your heart.

God's word is one of our most powerful tools for connecting with Him. He inspired it. (1 Tim 3:16-17), it keeps us from sin (Ps. 119:11), and makes our path clear. (Ps. 119:105)

I used to think "well, the Bible doesn't explicitly say whether or not I can do certain things. So how does it help keep me from sin?" (Rom. 3:20)

James says To him who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.

And in Hebrews If we continue in sin after receiving knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins.

This is how scripture helps to keep me on the right path. I've had a pretty sharp conscience since I was a kid, but I've let it become dull lately. Remembering that verse has always been a sharp reminder of what I should - or shouldn't do.

I know I treasure letters and cards from people I love. I read them over and over. I save them and make sure they're never left where they could be destroyed.

Do I treat God's word like that? My father's love letter to me? It's not just a book Christians follow: it's GOD'S living word.

Treasure it.

Dawn Treader: My Review

Spoiler Free: (or sort of, anyway)

I’ve been, as I’ve said to many, “cautiously optimistic” about this film for a very long time. Hoping for a great movie, but not putting too much of my faith into it.

I was amazed. The effects were phenomenal, the storyline was great, characters were excellently portrayed, the music was awesome. The jokes and humor weren’t slapstick, but were actually funny. The action scenes were amazingly well done, and the depth of the emotion in the more serious scenes brought me to tears numerous times.

To those of you who worry about the witch: don’t. Although it seems at times that she appears, she never is actually real or alive. The “green mist” is simply an evil force that tempts them: added to provide a contrasting idea in which they must fight against.

Spoiler: (highlight to read)

They took the idea of temptations in the book and used that as the sort of “antagonist” in the story to provide clash, opportunity for growth, and a climax. While I found it slightly overplayed at times, it did not ruin the overall themes of the story, nor did it affect the characters themselves.

There are still things I don’t like, things that shocked me when I first saw them, but hey – every movie will have them, and it’s not a perfect movie. But it definitely rises above the episode before it – it captures the characters well and the overall themes in the story are well preserved.

The beginning and the end are especially enrapturing. I’ll say no more on that. ;)

Read the full post here.

Also, if you live in the Seattle area or you are going to be in Seattle when it releases, and you haven't already received the facebook invite, you are invited to come see Dawn Treader with me on December 10th!! I'm trying to get tons of people so we can get a really good group rate. If you want more info, you can comment or email me and I'll get you details. (:

I definitely recommend seeing this movie. I think Narnia fans will be pleased and enjoy it. I laughed out loud, sat on the edge of my seat, and cried…Definitely worth watching.

I should not be this easily entertained.

But you know I am anyway.

Remember this post and this post? I am here to present you with another PURPLE FOOD!!

It's a Chinese purple yam pastry. And it's soooooooo good. (:

In other news, Dawn Treader was AMAZING. And it is also SNOWING outside. That's right. Snow, in Seattle, in November, sticking on the ground. In fact, as I speak, there are extremely large flakes coming down at a very fast pace. ::grin:: I went dancing about the house today and then for a romp in the snow with my dog. No co-op! And I leave for my grandma's house tomorrow.

Life is good! [=

What we've been waiting for

DAWN TREADER COMES OUT IN 23 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!

But guess what??? I am going to see it in TWO days!!!

Hear that echo? TWO!

I honestly can't believe it myself. This entire movie has been nothing but anticipation for years. And all of a sudden I'm going to go see it. It's sort of surreal.

So you're probably wondering why I'm seeing it 20 days before the release - basically I was invited to a special pre-screening. I am basically excited BEYOND WORDS. It's going to be amazing.

In the mean time, Carrie Underwood's new song (which will appear in the credits of the movie) was released today.

I was pretty skeptical about it at first, but so long as it's only in the credits, I think I'll be fine. Dawn Treader is, in a lot of ways, extremely different from the first two movies - and I think variation in the credits music is okay too.



In other news, there is also a Narnia exhibit in malls across the US called the "Ice Palace", and last weekend they had the Grand Opening Ceremony at the Ice Palace in LA - and one of our mods got to go to it AND, get this, MEET Georgie Henley (Lucy), Will Poulter (Eustace), and Michael Apted (director). Anyway. That was pretty exciting, even though I wasn't there. :P We've got exclusive reports and videos on Aslan's Country.

And, stay tuned, I'll soon have a review of the movie for you. :)

AHH! Life is so exciting. DAWN TREADER! yeahhh.

November Days

Oh, how I love fall!!

Happy November, everyone!

Two Hands

I took this picture several years ago...the words are from the song "two hands" by Jars of Clay.

I have a broken disposition
I’m a liar who thirsts for the truth
And while I ache for faith to hold me
I need to feel the scars and see the proof

I use one hand to pull closer
The other to push you away
If I had two hands doing the same thing
Lifted high, lifted high

Am I living my life with two hands lifted towards my Maker? Or do I use one hand to pull Him closer and the other to push Him away? Pushing Him away with things like the computer, the internet, books, music...those "pretty things" that steal my heart away from Him?

I've got voices in my head and they are so strong
And I'm getting sick of this oh Lord, how long
Will I be haunted by the fear that I believe
My hands like locks on cages
Of these dreams I can't set free

But if I let these dreams die
If I lay down all my wounded pride
If I let these dreams die
Will I find that letting go lets me come alive? (Empty My Hands, tenth avenue north)

We're so afraid to let go of these things we hold onto. We're afraid because it seems as though it's all we have. We can feel it, touch it, sense it, reach for it, even. But you can't hold onto the things of this world and reach for Christ at the same time. We try so hard to have both - but all we need is Christ. We can't serve God and something else. We can't have just one hand raised - we have to have two hands.

So empty my hands
Fill up my heart
Capture my mind with You!

It's that time of year again!

Narnia, tenth avenue north, purple, speech and debate....

Welcome to another post about something I love. (:

What should I do this year for my DI?

(vote on the poll)

For those of you not in speech (shame, you should be!) (just kidding) (well, sort of), a DI is a Dramatic Interpretation, and you basically act out a play with yourself, using material directly from a piece of literature you choose.

Last year I did it on Twenty and Ten. It was alright, but not nearly up to par with the rest of the stuff I was competing against.

Among this year's ideas are....

Pictures of Hollis Woods
I am in love with this book, but I'm really at loss as to how it would be interp'd. It's so....complicated. Not deep, like the next book. Just messy. =P

Till We Have Faces

I'm super excited about this one. It could be really good, but really, really hard because there's a lot of depth and quite possibly screaming and crying. Yeah. Dramatic.

The Tale of Despereaux
I'm not quite sure how I would do this, but I love the lesson/moral/simple depth/innocence of this book. It's sweet, and can be really dramatic if you make it.

Any other ideas? ::hopeful smile::

Pretty Ball for Louis!

Raise your hand if you ever got to see my Dramatic Interp last speech year.

No?

Didn't think so. It wasn't all that great, so don't ask me to do it for you. (sorry)

But I was thinking about this song...(yes, it's a Tenth Ave song, you'll have to put up with my random spazzes of obsessions if you're going to read this blog) called "all the pretty things". (and if you haven't seen the post about the concert, keep scrolling...)

Now in my opinion, I would have just called it "pretty things", but never mind that. =P

Back to this interp. This little kid wants this orange, and he calls it the "pretty ball", and that's really all that this song reminded me of. Something pretty that you want.

Here are the lyrics. Read them, they're not that long. Or better yet, listen to the actual thing.

We are, we are, we're caught in the in between
Of who we already are and who we are yet to be
And we're looking for love but finding we're still in need
It's only what we have lost will we be allowed to keep

And we're waiting but our eyes are wandering
To all this earth holds dear

Look at all the pretty things
That steal my heart away
I can feel I'm fading
‘Cause Lord I love so many things
That keep me from Your face
Come and save me

We run, we run to finally be set free
But we're fighting for what we already have received

So we're waiting but our eyes are wandering
To all this earth holds dear

Look at all the pretty things
That steal my heart away
I can feel I'm fading
‘Cause Lord I love so many things
That keep me from Your face
Come and save me

One of things that stood out to me at the concert (you're going to hear a lot about this concert for awhile, I have a feeling. Sorry. =P ) was what Mike said about idols. If we have something we idolize, that we put our time and self into, something that gets in the way of God...why do we expect Him to give us more of it?

This song reminds me a lot of the complacency of my own life. In between who I am and who I want to be. Not really going anywhere....stuck on wanting material things I can touch and feel and posses and have that's mine.

It's only what we have lost will we be allowed to keep.

Do you remember my Illustrated Oratory? That it was what I had lost, I had given to God, that I was actually allowed to keep - to actually take to Nationals?

It's only what we have lost will we be allowed to keep.

Jesus says that whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for His sake will find it. And not just "saving" his life, but even "desiring" to save his life. Just the simple act of desiring.

Desire isn't all bad - but it is when we refuse to let God's desires consume it.

When I was little, I loved gymnastics. I still really, really do. I remember having a conversation with God (not too terribly long ago) about how much I was doing in my life and if there was anything I should give up. And I kept thinking to myself/to God (rather defiantly) "Well. I'm not quitting gymnastics, God."

Immediately I realized the error of this statement...but even though I told God "sure, if you want me to quit gymnastics, I'm cool with that," I didn't really give that to God. I clung to it because I wanted it so badly. Desired. To keep it.

Guess who hasn't done gymnastics in over a year?

So I think to myself (oh, what a wretched heart I have) "Well. Maybe I can jinx it. If I give it up, maybe God will give it back."

Of course not. What God wants is total surrender. He wants my heart and He wants it completely. When my speech was disqualified, it was such a shock for me that I had absolutely nowhere to turn but to God - and He gave me the strength and the peace to accept what I could not keep on my own, made me to realize that it really was Him who had done this work in me - that it was none of my own doing. And then - He gave it back!

Look at the things of this world that tie our hearts down from being completely surrendered to God! Computers, clothes, jewelry, shoes...having nice school supplies, nice things in your house. A nice car, a nice this, a nice that. We crave the acceptance of others, yet we so often fail to crave what really matters - God.

We run, we run to finally be set free
But we're fighting for what we already have received

We try so hard be accepted - but we already are. God doesn't need us to prove ourselves to Him. He doesn't need us to build up a life that is perfect and good so that He can accept us. (unlike a lot of humans of the world) He accepts us as we are. Insignificant, worldly little scumbags (as Mike put it) who let such flighty, perishable things take captive of our hearts instead of the one who can really satisfy us.

Lord, I love so many things
That keep me from your face
Come and save me!