The Potter and his clay

I was reading Jeremiah 18 and the analogy of the potter struck me more than usual. God is our potter and we are his clay; He spins us to shape and reshape us to make us a useful container according to His image, His purpose and His glory. "And when the vessel that he made of clay marred in the hand of the potter, so He made it again into another vessel", God is patiently fashioning us according to His desires (just like he was with Peter or Paul). Yet, we are ungrateful for the way He is shaping us or the path He is choosing for us; we become callous and resistant. God never gives us a life without difficulties, but He wants us to learn how to trust that we are in good hands and He does only what is good for us! I'm learning to be a clay that cherishes and welcomes the Potter's hands! Interesting note is that the verses never mentions furnace, because we will never be 'finished' until we're with Him. So, I was praying in which areas of my life I need God to rework on and amongst the things that popped up was to dwell in Christ more and another thing was the fruit of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control. I'm so short on everyone of them, but I want those traits to be ever more present in my life for Christ!

Gratitude

In times of sorrow, pain, suffering, injustice or happiness, always have a grateful heart. Always. It will change your life mightily. Amen.

If you learn from your suffering, and really come to understand the lesson you were taught,
you might be able to help someone else who's now in the phase you may have just completed.
Maybe that's what it's all about after all...

-why is it I don't respect you? If I respected you, I shouldn't talk to you without shame, should I?

Any person we respect is someone autonomous and masterly, with his own boundaries and opinions, to whom we can and cannot say certain things because we know they will react and give us arguments.

Imagine you meet someone who accepts everything, who listens to you; that person lets others flow through him. That someone sets no barriers, and insists on no strict boundaries between the 'him' and an opponent, 'you'. Does that mean some self-loss? loss of identity and ego? In our society, we dread any self-loss; instead it's a gift we should welcome because it frees us from doubt and it is our chance for rebirth. If one attains perfect self-forgetfulness in the love of your neighbor, then that that person will believe without doubt, and no doubt can possibly enter his soul. Self-forgetfulness, liberation from our own ego and its clamorous demands, is the gift that love gives us. Love brings a voiding of our ego, which allows us to fill it anew. Dare I say that unless, one's loving attains to this, one has no chance for renewal. Is it not what Christ meant when he said unless you die, you cannot be reborn or begin anew?

No matter how hard I make myself believe I feel comfortable living in the U.S., my heart is still in Europe. I lay my whole trust in you...

Signs

A friend sent me this video and I thought I'd share it. 
Two main reasons I like it: 1. It's a Schweppes commercial (I am obsessed with carbonated water nom nom nom) and 2. It's an overall well executed short video; the music is especially well coordinated with the sequence of events and 3. I have to admit it, it's rather cute.
Watch it for yourself.
I want to be able to produce a short video as this one!

Don't pursue happiness, make it.

An Irish Airman Foresees His Death

I know that I shall meet my fate
Somewhere among the clouds above;
Those that I fight I do not hate,
Those that I guard I do not love;
My country is Kiltartan Cross,
My countrymen Kiltartan's poor,
No likely end could bring them loss
Or leave them happier than before.

Nor law, nor duty bade me fight,
Nor public men, nor cheering crowds,
A lonely impulse of delight
Drove to this tumult in the clouds;
I balanced all, brought all to mind,
The years to come seemed waste of breath,
A waste of breath the years behind
In balance with this life, this death.

----------------------------------------------------

Albeit I find it hard to appreciate his loony ideas on history being intertwining gyres, Yeats, in this poem, beautifully portrays the very instant the pilot faces his death. Yeats reminds us how often we are stuck in living in the past or in the future; only when we are faced with dire situations do we veritably live and cherish the present.

Standing strong!

This week I am successfully fasting on using 'technology', but I am breaking from it temporarily for someone I love and cherish immensely. God has given me very unusual inner peace and strength needed to stand strong at most vulnerable times in life. We need to keep faith and be grateful to God at all times.

ugh looking back...

Why do interactions between people turn so complicated and tricky?

I miss those nights when we would candidly share our most craziest ideas.
I miss when we would promenade by lake shore and converse, often in muteness, until eventide.
I miss when we would confide our sentiments and views without reservations.
I miss when 'normal' jokes were not suggestive.

Where has all the innocence and sincerity gone? Why have we become so hypocritical and perverted? Why is human interaction based on so many conditions?

First timers

About everything I did with ACF was a first timer, here are some of the highlights:
- Superbowl party
- Playing call of duty
- Midnight snow football
- Showing genuine appreciation for Sisters
- Learning dancing moves for Bros/sis video
- Pulling 4 nighters in a week
- Going to Mc Donalds drive thru at 1 am and get 2 large diet coke, 2 large shakes, and 10 mc double
- Curve bowling
- Camping in a U.S national park. what an experience it was.
- Failing miserably at river fishing
- Taking pictures of two girls 'almost' and two guys 'almost' making out lol
- Meeting up with two childhood friends one of whom turned weird and keeps peculiar living organisms as pets. jk!
- Playing spades
- Going to STL botanical garden
- Rediscovering how life is beautiful, meeting people who genuinely live for others and God.

I hope I can continue adding to this list before the end of this semester! Thanks!

Walk on the water

You look around
It's staring back at you
Another wave of doubt
Will it pull you under
You wonder

What if I'm overtaken
What if I never make it
What if no one's there?
Will you hear my prayer?

When you take that first step
Into the unknown
You know that he won't let you go
So what are you waiting for?
What do you have to lose?
Your insecurities try to alter you

You know you're made for more
So don't be afraid to move
Your faith is all
It takes and you can
Walk on the water too

So get out
And let
Your fear fall to the ground
No time to waste
Don't wait
Don't you turn around and miss out
Everything you were made for
I know you're not sure
So you play it safe
Try to run away

If you take that first step
Into the unknown
He won't let you go

Even when a storm hits
Even when you're broken
Even when your heart is telling you telling you to give up
When your hope is stolen
You can't see where you're going
You don't have to be afraid

So what are you waiting,
What are you waiting for?

So what are you waiting for?
What do you have to lose?
Your insecurities try to alter you

You know you're made for more
So don't be afraid to move
Your faith is all
It takes and you can
Walk on the water...
Walk on the water too

A sweetly painful ending/beginning

It's 4 am and I'm writing my first post. My feet are aching, my face is still stained with oil from cooking, my sleep schedule has been reduced to 'néant'; this physical pain is transient but it is sweet....ah i sleeeeppp. more to come