Appreciating Creation

God is so good! I've been recently just taking in the world around me. I've been noticing that as much as God is huge and powerful, He is incredibly intricate and detailed as well. He's the best Artist there is and He's doing it for us.

I was reading Mere Christianity the other day and C.S. Lewis mentions how we generally write many things off for being simple ...while in fact they are not quite so. They're not simple at all. That little tree in your front yard is composed of trillions of different cells and atoms and things we can't even see. Man do I take things for granted. The world around me is amazing and detailed by God. He did it for us.

It's cool to take that in. He did it for us. Because He loves us. I have a hard time thinking that God loves me and I have a hard time even feeling His love. But just going for a stroll outside should remind me of this. He couldn't be more obvious in saying it to me! Look at the beauty of his creation! Appreciate it! Cherish it. Thank you God for a glimpse of your glory that you've instilled in nature. Thank you for loving me.


This last picture is of "Havasu Falls" in Arizona. I think it's in the Grand Canyon national state park and I would DIE to go there! Road trip anyone?

Excerpt!

Worth the few minutes to read!

"Another possible objection is this. Why is God landing in the enemy-occupied world in disguise and starting a sort of secret society to undermine the devil? Why is He not landing in force, invading it? Is it that He is not strong enough? Well, Christians think He is going to land in force; we do not know when. But we can guess why He is delaying. He wants to give us the chance of joining His side freely.....God will invade. But I wonder whether people who ask God to interfere openly and directly in our world quite realize what it will be like when He does. When that happens, it is the end of the world. When the author walks on to the stage the play is over. God is going to invade, all right: but what is good of saying you are on His side then, when you see the whole natural universe melting away like a dream and something else - something it never entered your head to conceive - comes crashing in; something so beautiful to some of us and so terrible to others that none of us will have any choice left? For this time it will be God without disguise; something so overwhelming that it will strike either irresistible love or irresistible horror into every creature. It will be too late then to choose to lie down when it has become impossible to stand up. That will not be the time for choosing: it will be the time when we discover which side we really have chosen, whether we realized it before or not. Now, today, this moment, is our chance to choose the right side. God is holding back to give us that chance. It will not last for ever. We must take it or leave it."

Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis

What's My Desire

These aren't my words. Just a journal post taken from www.unitedpursuit.wordpress.com

"Small desires, big desires, faint desires, deep desires…we have hidden desires, some have bold desires. And we dark desires. No matter what the state of our desires is, there will always be one to trump them all. It’s the desire of God the Father to give His son a pure and spotless bride. This bride will be glorious, fit for the King’s son. The long road to beauty is where we find our earth; it’s where you and I are right now. Everything single part of our lives finds it’s meaning by God’s supreme desire. Jesus is looking for those to respond to His perfect invitation of love. He is not looking for perfection. You see, if you respond, His Spirit will come. He will dive deep into your very core, changing you from within. This is the journey to our wedding day. God will find a bride for His Son. This is the story of planet earth. The question I hear God asking us today is are we striving to make our own story on the earth, or are we joining the story we were created for?"

Things I love about Pigeon Forge, TN

Spending a second summer in one of the most prominent tourist traps in the country has me reflecting and taking into great appreciation how much I really love this area. Here are some reasons why.

1.) Mountains, mountains, mountains! The Smokey's are gorgeous and only about 15 minutes from where I live. And! they live up to their name. It's amazing to see how smoke settles around them and gives them an incredibly majestic and mysterious feel. I grew up by the beach so I always considered myself a beach boy, but ever since coming here my persona is truly changing to love the mountains moreso than the ocean.

2.) Dollywood. As much as work there is difficult and annoying and hard..it's great. Dolly is our slavedriver, but she rules this town and it has bloomed into one of the most cheesy places ever. And it's amazing. I doubt though that I would love this place half as much as I do unless a chunk of my friends were here hanging out.


That's all for now. More reasons to love Pigeon Forge, to come. . . .

Elenowen

I absolutely LOVE this band "Elenowen" I first heard about them last summer when I was in Tennessee. My friend Jacob introduced them to me because like EVERYONE in Murfreesboro, where he's from, knows about them. Josh and Nicole Johnson are a married couple who make up the band. They love Jesus and love each other. And it's SO evident. They were recently on the show the Voice. Check them out, because they are going places with their lovely harmonies and ambient/indie rock sounds.

A Travelin' Ambition

Often lately i've been talking with my Dad about traveling. Why? Because it's is what I LONG do so much in my life and he, being a retired Navy Master Chief, knows so much about the world. I've taken to looking at a few different options for after school. I could teach english abroad. I could look for a basic job. I could simply save a lot in the mean time and just go explore. The options are endless. I really I want to spend time somewhere for a year and THEN come back to the States and go to graduate school. I have thought about Spain because I speak Spanish, but Im not going to let that restrict..I can seriously go wherever I want. Ultimately my dream job would be to work for the State Department of the U.S.!! But I need to definitely go to grad school and build my resume first! What's interesting for me...is that all this talk of the future and a career is becoming more and more natural. Great. I've become more of an adult.

Why do I have so much drive to travel and see the world? I was recently talking to my friend Janice ( pronounced Juh-niece ) and I was telling her how I desire to see the world, other places and cultures so, so much! And she told me how that's cool but stuff like that is totally not for her. She's scared to even leave Norfolk and come 20 minutes to Chesapeake! Hahaha, as funny as that may be it's Janice's personal preference. It's cool to see how people can be different. It caught me off guard because I guess I foolishly assume everyone has the same wants and ambitions as me. For myself, though, traveling has ALWAYS been apart of my life. I remember when my dad was on Navy Deployments we would track where in the world he was with stickers and thumb tacks on a huge map. Also due to the fact that i'm a Navy kid i've had the pleasure of living in five different states. And finally my freaking mom is from a whole different country! That brings into our house different and unique customs and traditions. Foreign things basically help make up who I am! I know I jokingly joke about being half asian and whatnot, but to be honest it's cool being apart of a different world and engaging it.

I really don't know what I was getting at in this blogpost, but I am going to see the world and i'll do whatever it takes! My mission starts now!

Plans

Plans turned UPSIDE down for this summer. More to follow. Wow! Let's see where this goes!