Currently Listening A Collision By David Crowder Band see related

I have discovered the more I get to know God the more fasinating he becomes.  God is truely so vast, and unpredictable, you can not fit him in a neat little box.  I find that there are endless discoveries that can be made that reveal his character, and the Bible is full of God's character.  I like that about God that he is someone that you can get to know, like you would get to know a person.  God is more human then I thought he would be.  I get surprised when I read a passage in the Bible of God being sarcastic, or God having a discussion with Abraham like they are friends.  Humans were made in the image of God, and I can see how this is so, because I see so much human-likeness in God.  One of the best ways to see a glimps of Gods character is to look at Jesus's life.  I think it is remarkable how God chose to demonstrate his love for mankind by sending his son to earth to die for or sins, and by God himself dwelling on earth we can see first hand God's character in our familure world. 

Nicaragua 2006

     I went with my church Springfield Baptist church on a mission trip to Nicaragua over winter break.  We went there last year also and we stayed and worked at the same mission place as last time.  It was good to be able to come back to the same place and to see it changing and growing.  The orphanage that was still in the process of being built last year was completed and children are soon going to be moving in.  It was excitting to see it completed because last year we helped put down the concrete floor. 

     Last year we helped to put up a retaining wall.  Bluefield, Nicaragua is rainforest climate and it rains pretty much everyday there.  The mission buildings are up on a hill and we needed to put up a retaining wall at the foot of the hills so that there would be no landslides that would take place due to unstable soil because of all the rain.  So this year we painted the retaining walls that were already up and it really made the place look nice, and that was excitting to see.  Our main job however was to put up the final retaining wall which was by the basketball court so they wanted us to put up four walls to make stadium seating.  Putting up a retaining wall is a lot of work because first you have to dig into the hill, and make it level for your wall.  Then you have to mix and pour a concrete footer, and then you need to lay out the bricks, and mix cement and fill in the bricks.  My official job was to fill in the cement in between the bricks.  This was a good job for me because it did not require a lot of heavy lifting and physical work which is most of what is needed when putting up a retaining wall.  Although I did help dig, and carry bricks and cement.  We only got 3 out of the four walls up but we acomplished a lot.  We put up three walls, and painted all of the previous walls all in one week. 

     Being there for the second time and seeing the growth that is going on at that place helped me to see more of God's working being carried out.  Last year I questioned why putting up a retaining wall was really helping anything much in the world.  But this year I saw so much more of how everything was being pulled together to accomplish so much in glorifying God and his purpose.  The mission compound is like a masion compared to all of the little houses that are around it, and because of that it really draws the people in.  I think it is more then size however that is drawing the people in.  There is something very excitting about the fact that this place started as a calling and a bare plot of land and grew to what it is because of the willingness of people to come together and to build it up.  The coumpond was built by the hearts of people that are glorifying God, and that is what this place is doing, glorifying God.  Behind the nice buildings that were built for Gods glory are church members people that are reaching out to the community and evangelizing to people that really need God.  They are amzing followers of Christ, and somehow us coming here and working with them helping to build up this place is really doing something.  It's so much more then just building a wall.

Life never really goes the way we plan it and thats probably a good thing.  Maybe there are better things in store for us then what we count for.

Currently Reading Believer's Bible Commentary By Arthur L. Farstad, William MacDonald see related

Ephians 5:15ish

Be very careful then how you live, not as unwise but as wise making the most of every oppurtunity, because the days are evil.  Therefore do not be foolish but understand what the Lords will is. 

-My memory verse for today (I think I got it right)

But is is a very good verse to focus on, that will be my goal this summer

P.S. this is a really good commentary

Currently Listening Hold You High By By the Tree see related

Some thoughts on painting

I have decided that I am a painter.  That is the art that I like to do.  So today was our painting final.  I was very excitted this semester because in intermediate painting you get to have a little corner of the painting room that you get to paint in, so its like your own little studio (kind of well its just a corner), but I was just excitted to have a place of my own to paint becuase in intro to painting you don;t have a space to your own, you just have to come in and grab a easal and hope you can sqeeze your way into an area amongst the the other painters, so I was pretty pumped to have my own little painting area.  I don't even have my own room, I have to share my room with my sister.  It was sad today leaving my painting area.

I learned a lot of things in painting class this semester.  I liked my teacher a lot, I like how he thinks about painting and he taught me how to think about painting too.  I like that about painting, there is so much more to it then just making an image.  I like to think about the process of painting, how people go about painting and thinking about the process.  There are 100 differnt ways one can paint, and you can choose which ever way you want.  But you have to paint how you want to, not how anyone else wants, not even your painting teacher.  But you have to think about why you want to paint that way.  Thats the most important thing, then you know what works about it and what doesn't work.  Then you can make good art.