Well, today was the first day I got to enjoy a "pregnancy nap." And let me tell you--it was GLORIOUS. Dad and I had a collection to do in Rockwood (FYI, I'm currently living in Cleveland which is VERY FAR from Rockwood...to put it in perspective, I spent the night at my parents house cause it's closer and still got up at 4am...) so I've been up since before the crack of dawn. We got back to the house around 9am and I could barely keep my eyes open, so Dad said we'll take a "work break" and I should go take and nap...and nap I did. I napped the heck out of my nap! Slept for almost 3 hours! Well dang, I knew I was tired.
Afterwards we headed to the office to do some painting which totally wears me out. I could've used another nap, but I resisted in an effort to maintain productivity. HA.
When I got home, guess what I found...My husband...CLEANING THE ENTIRE HOUSE! He really does love me. I know he does. He even washed the sheets on the bed and cleaned the bathrooms on top of sweeping, mopping, dishes, laundry...and that's right ladies: he's all mine!
Tonight is my first "outing" with Chad since the baby announcement. (Family outings dont count). Really, this shouldn't count either because we're having dinner with Tye and his wife and they already knew we were pregnant thanks the Tye and Chad working together and Chad coming along to my first drs. appt. Tye likes to take plenty of opportunities to tell Chad, "Hey daddy," and I even got a secret "Hey momma" at the LUDIC Christmas party :) Looking forward to spending time with the Crumbleys!
So I've been reassured by my preggo friends that the 2nd trimester is the light at the end of the tunnel that's been sucking all my energy away for the past 3 months. I'll believe it when I feel it!
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
My husband is wonderful
I love my husband. He is taking such good care of me! On days when I feel lousy or super tired, he is so thoughtful and caring. This week, he's only working half days so by the time I get home from work around 6ish, the house is all picked up and the dishes are done and the laundry is folded! I don't want to hear all those smart remarks like, "enjoy it while it lasts," I'm living in the moment and right now, my husband is a rockstar!
Thanks sweetie for loving me so well. :) It means the world to me!
Thanks sweetie for loving me so well. :) It means the world to me!
Monday, December 27, 2010
Weird pregnancy symptom #837
So...I have a pretty big imagination and I have the ability to be creative and I love movies, fiction novels, etc--but I have NEVER experienced anything more bizarre and imaginative than my pregnancy dreams! Every night, almost without fail, I have vivid dreams of total randomness and obscure storylines. I never remember the beginning of them, but the endings are so crazy and ridiculous that I am frozen to my bed when I wake up. It's even worse when I'm woken up by my alarm because then I feel like I've been hit with a 10-ton truck and it's practically impossible to get out of bed! I've read up on some websites about pregnancy dreams and their "interpretations" and I don't know how much of it I believe (this coming from a woman with a degree in Psychology) although I of course believe that my dreams are some kind of reflection on my subconscious...but let's not get carried away.
Sleep is something that I cannot seem to get enough of--for those stay at home soon to be moms, I totally envy you the access you have to naptime. By the time I get home from work I'm so sleepy that I want nothing more than to take a nap or lay down for a couple of hours, but if I did that I would never fall asleep at bedtime! It's a horrible conundrum. So the solution is to go to bed early (9ish?) but that doesn't always happen. Is there no rest for the weary?
Never thought I'd be jealous of my dog...but she's got it made.
And, Yes...I know she's a little chubby. :)
Sleep is something that I cannot seem to get enough of--for those stay at home soon to be moms, I totally envy you the access you have to naptime. By the time I get home from work I'm so sleepy that I want nothing more than to take a nap or lay down for a couple of hours, but if I did that I would never fall asleep at bedtime! It's a horrible conundrum. So the solution is to go to bed early (9ish?) but that doesn't always happen. Is there no rest for the weary?
Never thought I'd be jealous of my dog...but she's got it made.
And, Yes...I know she's a little chubby. :)
Sunday, December 26, 2010
My eggo is preggo-11 weeks!
Well, seeing as how the last time I "blogged" was a month before I got married...I think I have a little explaining to do :) This month, Chad and I have been married for 6 months and we've just celebrated our very first Christmas together as a married couple! It was undoubtably the BEST Christmas either of us have ever had. It was simply wonderful.
About 2 months ago, we had a little surprise...we're pregnant! We've held the secret in for quite awhile, but finally, on Christmas, we let the cat out of the bag. I'm 11 weeks and 1 day preggo and it's been marvelous. Don't get me wrong, I've had the pregnancy symptoms most women experience, nausea, headaches, fatigue, BLOATING, indegestion, and heartburn, but thankfully all in moderation....except for the last three. And those are doozies! Thank goodness for antacid.
Praise the Lord, we got to see our little nugget at 6 weeks on an ultrasound and since then I've heard the heartbeat again--it's so miraculous. I really can't explain the feeling, but it leaves you smiling for days. I'm very much looking forward to the second trimester when I might actually feel/look pregnant and be reassured every day that our little one is really moving around as much as all the books and websites say it is!
Probably the strangest thing I've been trying to get used to is food. I am not used to being controlled by my stomach, but cravings and aversions are pretty demanding on how and when I eat. It's bizarre, I also thought it would be something that I would have some kind of control over (not really sure why) but I've found that I am only able to eat small meals every hour/couple of hours and after a small portion I feel so full I can't take another bite, only to be super hungry again in a short time! It makes no sense. Then there are times that I feel like I really need to eat something, but nothing sounds yummy enough to eat and I'm left in an uncomfortable feeling between nausea and hunger. My staples at this point seem to be french fries, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, and an occasional sushi craving (california rolls). Nutritious isn't it! Ha, thankfully those foods aren't readily available for me or else I'd be packing it on!
I am so thankful and excited about this pregnancy, and even though I miss my 2-3 cups of coffee a day (I like my java) I am adjusting just fine to the occasional cup of decaf. I know there are plenty of people out there who just eat and drink whatever and however much they like, but considering this is our first baby, I'm going to err strongly on the side of caution for my first go-round.
I don't claim to be a "blogger" and as you can see from my previous posts, I am lacking in the area of consistency....but I'll do my best!
Now...where are my Tums...
About 2 months ago, we had a little surprise...we're pregnant! We've held the secret in for quite awhile, but finally, on Christmas, we let the cat out of the bag. I'm 11 weeks and 1 day preggo and it's been marvelous. Don't get me wrong, I've had the pregnancy symptoms most women experience, nausea, headaches, fatigue, BLOATING, indegestion, and heartburn, but thankfully all in moderation....except for the last three. And those are doozies! Thank goodness for antacid.
Praise the Lord, we got to see our little nugget at 6 weeks on an ultrasound and since then I've heard the heartbeat again--it's so miraculous. I really can't explain the feeling, but it leaves you smiling for days. I'm very much looking forward to the second trimester when I might actually feel/look pregnant and be reassured every day that our little one is really moving around as much as all the books and websites say it is!
Probably the strangest thing I've been trying to get used to is food. I am not used to being controlled by my stomach, but cravings and aversions are pretty demanding on how and when I eat. It's bizarre, I also thought it would be something that I would have some kind of control over (not really sure why) but I've found that I am only able to eat small meals every hour/couple of hours and after a small portion I feel so full I can't take another bite, only to be super hungry again in a short time! It makes no sense. Then there are times that I feel like I really need to eat something, but nothing sounds yummy enough to eat and I'm left in an uncomfortable feeling between nausea and hunger. My staples at this point seem to be french fries, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, and an occasional sushi craving (california rolls). Nutritious isn't it! Ha, thankfully those foods aren't readily available for me or else I'd be packing it on!
I am so thankful and excited about this pregnancy, and even though I miss my 2-3 cups of coffee a day (I like my java) I am adjusting just fine to the occasional cup of decaf. I know there are plenty of people out there who just eat and drink whatever and however much they like, but considering this is our first baby, I'm going to err strongly on the side of caution for my first go-round.
I don't claim to be a "blogger" and as you can see from my previous posts, I am lacking in the area of consistency....but I'll do my best!
Now...where are my Tums...
Sunday, May 16, 2010
26 days and counting
I am totally ashamed of myself for being such a lousy blogger. Not that I necessarily considered myself a "blogger", but I just can't seem to get my mojo on since my Xanga days.
26 days to go until the big day and I can't believe how close we are. These past weeks have increased the stress load and I never thought it would be like this! Of course, it's good stress and bad stress--good stress like figuring out the details and then of course bad stress like working out the details. HA. All I know, at the end of the day, we'll be married!
The hardest thing going on right now is finding a job for me. Since we're moving to Cleveland after the wedding, I'm leaving the Care Center at the end of June and looking for a new job. That has been one of the most challenging parts of this whole process. It's really difficult to see all the people around you who have been looking for jobs without any progress and then realize that I'm about to be "out there" with everyone else! It's a real leap of faith...
Sidebar:
So my sweet sweet friend Rebekah Tooley sent me my first stationary with my soon-to-be married name!! Mrs. Renee Hughes :) Screamed a little when I saw it. It's fun to be excited about little things.
26 days to go until the big day and I can't believe how close we are. These past weeks have increased the stress load and I never thought it would be like this! Of course, it's good stress and bad stress--good stress like figuring out the details and then of course bad stress like working out the details. HA. All I know, at the end of the day, we'll be married!
The hardest thing going on right now is finding a job for me. Since we're moving to Cleveland after the wedding, I'm leaving the Care Center at the end of June and looking for a new job. That has been one of the most challenging parts of this whole process. It's really difficult to see all the people around you who have been looking for jobs without any progress and then realize that I'm about to be "out there" with everyone else! It's a real leap of faith...
Sidebar:
So my sweet sweet friend Rebekah Tooley sent me my first stationary with my soon-to-be married name!! Mrs. Renee Hughes :) Screamed a little when I saw it. It's fun to be excited about little things.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
95 days
The countdown is getting tedious.
I learned a long time ago to never ask God for patience. That's a trick request--DON'T DO IT!!! He won't give it to you, I promise. Instead, He'll give you ALL these opportunities to practice patience and then you'll be miserable because if you're anything like me you'll fail every time. Oh, just me? ok...
This whole waiting thing is total crap--there are all these new things waiting for me and they are so close I can SEE them, but can't reach them. 3 months to go until a new name, a new home, a new job, a new town, a new title, and I am so thrilled that the thought of sticking it out for 3 more months is torture...ESPECIALLY when our very first wedding date was March 13th. That's in 4 days! Let my mom talk me out of that one...but that's another story for another time.
June 12th...95 days to go.
I learned a long time ago to never ask God for patience. That's a trick request--DON'T DO IT!!! He won't give it to you, I promise. Instead, He'll give you ALL these opportunities to practice patience and then you'll be miserable because if you're anything like me you'll fail every time. Oh, just me? ok...
This whole waiting thing is total crap--there are all these new things waiting for me and they are so close I can SEE them, but can't reach them. 3 months to go until a new name, a new home, a new job, a new town, a new title, and I am so thrilled that the thought of sticking it out for 3 more months is torture...ESPECIALLY when our very first wedding date was March 13th. That's in 4 days! Let my mom talk me out of that one...but that's another story for another time.
June 12th...95 days to go.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Faith, Toddlers, and the Power of God
Faith:
–noun
1.confidence or trust in a person or thing: faith in another's ability.
2.belief that is not based on proof: He had faith that the hypothesis would be substantiated by fact.
3.belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion: the firm faith of the Pilgrims.
4.belief in anything, as a code of ethics, standards of merit, etc.: to be of the same faith with someone concerning honesty.
5.a system of religious belief: the Christian faith; the Jewish faith.
6.the obligation of loyalty or fidelity to a person, promise, engagement, etc.: Failure to appear would be breaking faith.
7.the observance of this obligation; fidelity to one's promise, oath, allegiance, etc.: He was the only one who proved his faith during our recent troubles.
8.Christian Theology. the trust in God and in His promises as made through Christ and the Scriptures by which humans are justified or saved.
I especially like #2.
I don't know if it's just all popped up at once or if I'm just suddenly paying attention to it, but I seem to be noticing more and more that people have forgotten what faith means.
This has been a struggle for me to deal with because to me, faith has always meant the same thing--believing without seeing. One of my favorite quotes is from Martin Luther King, Jr.: "Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step." I remind myself of those words often because there have always been times in my life that I have questioned what direction I'm supposed to go, what path has my name on it, which way is the right way. I'm not a theologian, I'm not a bible scholar. I'm not claiming to be an expert on anything--but my Dad always taught us that we should share what we know. Here goes...
Have you ever seen the movie Baby Geniuses? It's about 10 years old and not exactly the best movie ever, but it's about these toddlers and their universal language (I know...a winning idea) and there are two scientists who are trying to crack the "baby talk." Basically, the premise is that babies, before they reach 2 years old share a sophisticated language that allows them to communicate the knowledge of the secrets of the universe with which they we born. The rest of the plot is completely irrelevant to the point I'm about to make, so I'll just move on. At 2 years old, a baby "crosses over" and learns to walk, "talk" and essentially forgets the universal baby language, along with the memories of what has happened those first 2 years regarding the secrets of the universe. Don't ask me how this movie has stayed with me for 10 years, but there was one scene that I remember. Two babies were trying to "talk" to an older kid...one who had just "crossed over." One of the babies can't understand why the older child doesn't understand, until it is explained to him that she's moved on, grown up, forgotten...
Here's my point. Sometimes I think as adults we reach a point where we move on...grow up...forget. We learn more and more, become educated at university levels, fill our minds with fact after fact, read book after book, listen to scholars, professors, experts, scientists, psychologists, delve deep into history, origins, language, until we ourselves become the experts, scholars, professors...
Is there anything wrong with learning? No way! Knowledge is a wonderful thing. But what happens when our knowledge outweighs our faith?
I have seen it all around me--the turn from faith to find security in knowledge. I didn't learn the words finite and infinite until college. I'd heard them, but never learned them until I sat in Stonestreet's Biblical Worldview class. Finite means having limits, boundaries. Restricted. As humans, our minds are finite. We don't have all the answers and we weren't meant to have all the answers. If I knew all the mysteries of God, then were would faith fit in? In 1 Corinthians 3 Paul addresses this issue of worldly knowledge vs. heavenly knowledge. Wisdom of Man vs. Wisdom of God:
(vs.18) "For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (19) For it is written, 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever I will set aside." (20) Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? (21) For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. (22) For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; (23) but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, (24) but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. (25) Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men."
God wisely established that men could not come to know Him by human wisdom. That would exalt man, so God designed to save helpless sinners through the preaching of the message that was so simple the "worldly wise," deemed it nonsense. If you continue to read in that chapter through to the end, you can also see that God does not call us to Him based on our level of education (thank goodness). In fact, we are told that we need to have the faith of a child!
Matthew 18:1-6
"At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, 'Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?' And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, 'Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one such child in My name receives me; but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea."
Children are dependent on others for survival. They are helpless. They have to trust someone to take care of them, which you can see the rewards of when you witness a child that grew up in a loving home, confident of his security verses a child that has grown up with no home, no love, and doesn't know security. God calls us to humility, dependence, helplessness. If we were capable of survival on our own, then were would faith fit in?
Now, for an unbeliever, sceptic, or cynic...this most likely means nothing to you...it's biblical--you will see it as foolishness. Is that okay? Not to me, but I'm not the one who can open your eyes to the truth. I can only plant the seed. My faith, as a believer means that I believe Scripture is the living Word of God. It's not "pick or choose what I like," it's the whole thing. Does that mean that I read it all and never question or doubt? Of course not. Have you read the Bible?! It's complex...but at the same time, the message is simple. When I get to the place in my faith that I can relinquish all independence, that's when I'll be able to face those questions. There is no fear in asking when my motive is to truly learn about God, all the while trusting that His ways are perfect and His Word is infallible. When I question God with a proud heart, with the intent to gain personal satisfaction at increasing my knowledge, I believe that's when I've crossed the line. The Bible is full of examples of people asking questions. But pay attention to how God and Jesus respond to those individuals. You can see that it always comes back to their motives. Studying under a great scholar is a wonderful experience. It's exciting to be in the presence of genius, but have you ever been in the precence of an arrogant genuis? Boy, is that a totally different experience.
I had a teacher in high school who was a know it all--fresh out of school, no teaching experience, zero ability to relate to us as students. He could NOT understand why we didn't catch on to pre-calculus as quickly as he was teaching it. If we answered wrong there was no grace, no teaching moment. It was instant humiliation. He didn't make it through the whole year. He knew how smart he was in comparison to the Juniors and Seniors in his class and he sure did rub it in. No fun.
My point in all this is that God gave us the ability to learn, to expand our knowledge, but He did that for a purpose. It wasn't so that we could run around challenging people to debates or write a million books exulting our vast storehouses of information. Instead, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of this age." (Matthew 28:19-20)
I don't have anything against authors or public speakers, etc...but it's sad to me that amount of people that are forgetting what faith means. They've crossed over and left their faith behind. Faith means not having all the answers. It doesn't mean that you can't look for them, but don't forget that there is a mystery--keep reading 1 Corinthians 2.
I am not the most eloquent, I am not the most intelligent, I am not the wittiest or the cleverest. But I am confident in my faith.
"And when I came to you, brethern, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdome, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God." (1 Cor. 2:1-5)
–noun
1.confidence or trust in a person or thing: faith in another's ability.
2.belief that is not based on proof: He had faith that the hypothesis would be substantiated by fact.
3.belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion: the firm faith of the Pilgrims.
4.belief in anything, as a code of ethics, standards of merit, etc.: to be of the same faith with someone concerning honesty.
5.a system of religious belief: the Christian faith; the Jewish faith.
6.the obligation of loyalty or fidelity to a person, promise, engagement, etc.: Failure to appear would be breaking faith.
7.the observance of this obligation; fidelity to one's promise, oath, allegiance, etc.: He was the only one who proved his faith during our recent troubles.
8.Christian Theology. the trust in God and in His promises as made through Christ and the Scriptures by which humans are justified or saved.
I especially like #2.
I don't know if it's just all popped up at once or if I'm just suddenly paying attention to it, but I seem to be noticing more and more that people have forgotten what faith means.
This has been a struggle for me to deal with because to me, faith has always meant the same thing--believing without seeing. One of my favorite quotes is from Martin Luther King, Jr.: "Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step." I remind myself of those words often because there have always been times in my life that I have questioned what direction I'm supposed to go, what path has my name on it, which way is the right way. I'm not a theologian, I'm not a bible scholar. I'm not claiming to be an expert on anything--but my Dad always taught us that we should share what we know. Here goes...
Have you ever seen the movie Baby Geniuses? It's about 10 years old and not exactly the best movie ever, but it's about these toddlers and their universal language (I know...a winning idea) and there are two scientists who are trying to crack the "baby talk." Basically, the premise is that babies, before they reach 2 years old share a sophisticated language that allows them to communicate the knowledge of the secrets of the universe with which they we born. The rest of the plot is completely irrelevant to the point I'm about to make, so I'll just move on. At 2 years old, a baby "crosses over" and learns to walk, "talk" and essentially forgets the universal baby language, along with the memories of what has happened those first 2 years regarding the secrets of the universe. Don't ask me how this movie has stayed with me for 10 years, but there was one scene that I remember. Two babies were trying to "talk" to an older kid...one who had just "crossed over." One of the babies can't understand why the older child doesn't understand, until it is explained to him that she's moved on, grown up, forgotten...
Here's my point. Sometimes I think as adults we reach a point where we move on...grow up...forget. We learn more and more, become educated at university levels, fill our minds with fact after fact, read book after book, listen to scholars, professors, experts, scientists, psychologists, delve deep into history, origins, language, until we ourselves become the experts, scholars, professors...
Is there anything wrong with learning? No way! Knowledge is a wonderful thing. But what happens when our knowledge outweighs our faith?
I have seen it all around me--the turn from faith to find security in knowledge. I didn't learn the words finite and infinite until college. I'd heard them, but never learned them until I sat in Stonestreet's Biblical Worldview class. Finite means having limits, boundaries. Restricted. As humans, our minds are finite. We don't have all the answers and we weren't meant to have all the answers. If I knew all the mysteries of God, then were would faith fit in? In 1 Corinthians 3 Paul addresses this issue of worldly knowledge vs. heavenly knowledge. Wisdom of Man vs. Wisdom of God:
(vs.18) "For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (19) For it is written, 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever I will set aside." (20) Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? (21) For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. (22) For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; (23) but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, (24) but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. (25) Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men."
God wisely established that men could not come to know Him by human wisdom. That would exalt man, so God designed to save helpless sinners through the preaching of the message that was so simple the "worldly wise," deemed it nonsense. If you continue to read in that chapter through to the end, you can also see that God does not call us to Him based on our level of education (thank goodness). In fact, we are told that we need to have the faith of a child!
Matthew 18:1-6
"At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, 'Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?' And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, 'Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one such child in My name receives me; but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea."
Children are dependent on others for survival. They are helpless. They have to trust someone to take care of them, which you can see the rewards of when you witness a child that grew up in a loving home, confident of his security verses a child that has grown up with no home, no love, and doesn't know security. God calls us to humility, dependence, helplessness. If we were capable of survival on our own, then were would faith fit in?
Now, for an unbeliever, sceptic, or cynic...this most likely means nothing to you...it's biblical--you will see it as foolishness. Is that okay? Not to me, but I'm not the one who can open your eyes to the truth. I can only plant the seed. My faith, as a believer means that I believe Scripture is the living Word of God. It's not "pick or choose what I like," it's the whole thing. Does that mean that I read it all and never question or doubt? Of course not. Have you read the Bible?! It's complex...but at the same time, the message is simple. When I get to the place in my faith that I can relinquish all independence, that's when I'll be able to face those questions. There is no fear in asking when my motive is to truly learn about God, all the while trusting that His ways are perfect and His Word is infallible. When I question God with a proud heart, with the intent to gain personal satisfaction at increasing my knowledge, I believe that's when I've crossed the line. The Bible is full of examples of people asking questions. But pay attention to how God and Jesus respond to those individuals. You can see that it always comes back to their motives. Studying under a great scholar is a wonderful experience. It's exciting to be in the presence of genius, but have you ever been in the precence of an arrogant genuis? Boy, is that a totally different experience.
I had a teacher in high school who was a know it all--fresh out of school, no teaching experience, zero ability to relate to us as students. He could NOT understand why we didn't catch on to pre-calculus as quickly as he was teaching it. If we answered wrong there was no grace, no teaching moment. It was instant humiliation. He didn't make it through the whole year. He knew how smart he was in comparison to the Juniors and Seniors in his class and he sure did rub it in. No fun.
My point in all this is that God gave us the ability to learn, to expand our knowledge, but He did that for a purpose. It wasn't so that we could run around challenging people to debates or write a million books exulting our vast storehouses of information. Instead, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of this age." (Matthew 28:19-20)
I don't have anything against authors or public speakers, etc...but it's sad to me that amount of people that are forgetting what faith means. They've crossed over and left their faith behind. Faith means not having all the answers. It doesn't mean that you can't look for them, but don't forget that there is a mystery--keep reading 1 Corinthians 2.
I am not the most eloquent, I am not the most intelligent, I am not the wittiest or the cleverest. But I am confident in my faith.
"And when I came to you, brethern, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdome, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God." (1 Cor. 2:1-5)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)