Growth

Cooking is very challenging and fun. I've been slowly learning for about a month now and am proud to say I have graduated from terrible to not too shabby. Right now I am waiting for the briquettes to turn white. Tonight's menu consists of hamburgers with onion rings and BBQ sauce. It will be fantastic. This got me thinking.

Growing up can be fun sometimes. I have my own place, I pay bills on a regular basis, I cook, I clean, and I even have a steady job. It fills me with a since of joy for my accomplishments but at the same time is difficult. Looking back on the past couple years I can see clearly how much I've changed. I used to think it insulting when an old friend would comment how I'm not the same person I once was, but now I see that accusation as truth. I'm nothing like the person of back then. Of course they meant it in a negative context but now I see it's more of a compliment -- everyone changes as they grow. You cannot stay the same forever. The human race is ever changing and evolving. If we somehow stopped changing or stopped growing I believe we would grow stagnant and die out altogether. It is with this in mind that I joyfully accept change, may it be sad or happy -- we grow from both regardless.

Of course it is possible for us to change for the worse. Humanity has fallen short of what it was intended to become. Each and every one of us is flawed; our souls tainted. Thankfully, hope exists in God. He brings hope for a future where there is no darkness. Through him we can walk the path of the righteous, and it is on this path that we grow and change for the better.

"The Lord directs the steps of the godly.
He delights in every detail of their lives.
Though they stumble, they will never fall,
for the Lord holds them by the hand" Psalm 37:23-24.

Reuniting With an Old Friend

I picked up my Bible today for the first time in what I am sure is several months (I literally dusted it off). It is unknown to me why I haven't taken the time to read it recently. I'm neither too busy nor am I uninterested -- In fact I find I am more often bored, having too much time on my hands, than not. It's even conveniently placed next to my computer -- a location I frequent often. Within the past year I discovered a passion for reading, mostly works of Science Fiction and Fantasy, so I wonder why it has never occurred to me to read the Bible. It wasn't until the past week or so that I've felt a sort of tugging on my heart every time I've eyed the book and even then it's taken me that weeks time to finally open it. Hopefully this is the start of a daily practice.

There were two passages that really stood out to me. One for it's wisdom and honesty and one for it's bizarreness. The first is as follows:

"I, the Lord will punish the world for its evil
and the wicked for their sin.
I will crush the arrogance of the proud
and humble the pride of the mighty." Isaiah 13:11 NLT

As of right now I am unsure as to how this speaks to me. As I was reading I just felt it was something I needed/wanted to meditate on. It also sounds a little bit "cool" to me. I'm not sure why. The second verse, the one I find a little bizarre is:

"Everyone in Babylon will run about like a hunted gazelle,
like sheep without a shepherd.
They will try to find their own people and flee to their own land.
Anyone who is captured will be cut down-
run through with a sword.
Their children will be dashed to death before their eyes.
Their homes will be sacked, and their wive will be raped." Isaiah 13:14-16 NLT

Earlier in the chapter the speaker was declared as the Lord himself. God was speaking about how angered he was and how His armies of men were going to bring down his righteous anger upon the Babylonians. I thought it was odd that men, in the name of the Lord, would be murdering children and babies without mercy and raping men's wives. A later verse reads as follows:

" The attacking armies will shoot down the young men with arrows.
They will have no mercy on helpless babies
and will show no compassion for children" Isaiah 13:18 NLT

I am in no way an expert in Biblical Studies, in fact I would say I know less than the average man, but these passages seem bizarre to me. Perhaps someone else can help me discern the meaning behind these words.

Well it's late. I'm unsure about this whole blogging experience but so far it has been fun. I still feel like I don't meet the "prerequisites" of blogging as I am neither a deep thinker nor am I "hip" and "cool" (it seems every other blog I look at is either really deep or snazzy looking; sometime both). All I know is this is an excellent way to get these thoughts out of my restless mind. Good night.

Take a Look Around

Recently, within the past two weeks, I have taken up being a night stocker at the local Target. My hours are not terrible but not what most would desire -- I arrive at four in the morning and typically leave some time after eight. The job itself puts no strain on the mind, in fact causing one to react mostly on muscle memory and common sense, but demands a fair amount of physical exertion -- I find myself exhausted after every shift. As fatigued as I might be I am unable to sleep when I arrive home. While my mind and body are indeed tired I am still filled with enough adrenaline, or something of the sort, to keep me awake for a good while. This may seem horrible but, in reality, is quite pleasant. When I come home from work I have a feeling of accomplishment, sort of a mixture of having just physically exerted myself and of completing another day of good, honest work. I also have the pleasure of enjoying the morning hours, something that I had not been privy to in the past -- if any of you out there are acquaintances of mine, and by reading this you most likely are, you know well my inability to go to bed on time and my fondness for sleep. As I sit by my window I hear the world stirring as it begins to wake; just ten to twenty minutes before I was surrounded by complete silence. The sky is a beautiful shade of bright blue without a cloud in sight and, despite being in Idaho, I am surrounded by green grass and even a few green trees. Everything is really quite lovely.

It's strange that I have never taken the time to notice my scenery until now. The other day my roommate, Alex Eaton, and I were discussing how on a trip home from school he drove beside me for a good twenty miles or so without me noticing. It would seem that I zone out almost completely except for that which is needed to keep me safe and alive. I was surprised to find I had not noticed this in the past. Now that I think about it maybe this bad habit carries over into other areas of my life. It's possible that I have gone through much of my life not appreciating or not noticing what surrounds me. It's amazing how much we miss when we are too focused on one thing.