Random Poetry...

I wrote a poem today for homework, and I thought I might just share it. Enjoy:)

Flowing Rivers of Grace

Poetry is like a river,

Flowing, cutting a path

Through the wilderness of your mind.

Poems are water,

Smoothing the rocks of pain

As the words pour from your heart.

But not just words,

Poetry erodes the very sand

From your soul,

The sand which is found in the deepest pools

Of your emotion.

It washes away the crashing thoughts.

In a massive waterfall,

Your deepest anger is forgotten at the bottom,

And your greatest joy bubbles to the surface.

Only to repeat itself again,

Till you reach the bountiful oceans of Heaven.

(more later I'm sure;)

"I will never leave you nor forsake you"

For the last several months I've been feeling rather spiritually dry. I don't know exactly why, but that's how it has been. If I had to put a guess on it, that guess would be because I think I've been letting God slip away lately, partly (I'm sure) thanks to negative influences I tend to have at work. Anyways, I want to say how amazing God is for not letting me slip away.

Basically I have been recently having trouble focusing on anything, and I could feel something that wouldn't seem to be quiet in my head. No, I'm not schizophrenic:P But there was definitely something that was causing my thoughts to always be confused and trying to find a solution to a problem I couldn't identify. Very weird feeling I gotta say. Unfortunately God never came up in my thoughts during all that, even though I am fairly certain it was Him all the time trying to talk to me.

Saturday night, it was worse than ever, and I couldn't even sleep because of it. I even ended up pulling an all-nighter to church, because no matter how hard I tried I just couldn't sleep. I figured music might help some, as it often does, and suddenly this song from Disciple got stuck in my head. The song was I Feel You, but that's not really the important part entirely. See I always listen to my iPod on shuffle, because I like the random selection deal. About two songs later, the song No End At All played, and I think God was leading me to that song. The chorus says, "There is nowhere I can go, even in the depths of the sea You're not too far away. When I wake, when I sleep, you are capturing me with a love that knows no end at all." I was speechless. Not necessarily because of the concept that the words spoke, but because it reminded me that God never leaves us, even if we push Him out. I asked for a sign to be shown to me at church in the morning. I felt like I had pushed God out for a long time, and wanted to just be positive that I was still His, or rather that He was still mine. Everywhere I went at church that day gave a clear sign that He never left me, even the sermon was about that exact topic! I'm so amazed that instead of just one simple sign, God gave me many huge signs. Even more so, He knew I would ask for a sign this week, and He gave John Piper the exact words I needed to hear at the exact time I needed them.

I pretty much want to say, it's amazing to be loved by God, because you never have to worry about being forgotten about or left behind. Just like He promises, He will never allow His children to be taken from Him, and will always take us back even if we leave Him for a time.

Good Times

The last couple of days were pretty amazing. Now, unfortunately my "amazing" days very often have something to do with a large amount of money spent, and this is no exception.

On Monday I bought used, but practically brand new snow tires for my car.

The picture is not of mine, but still the same kind as mine. They look even more impressive in real life, and I can't wait to get them installed and have a 12 inch blizzard! Retail is around $76 per tire, but I paid $185 for all four, coming to $46.25 per tire. Sears will install them for $12.50 each, bringing the total per tire to $58.75, which is still far less than buying new.

I also went on a whim and bought a large metal trunk for $15. Dimensions are 16" x 16.5" x 32", and I think the metal is brass. It has a brass colored under color, which was attempted to be covered by black spray paint. I rather like the effect, sort of an antique finish. I can lock it with a padlock, so now I can keep dangerous items out of little children's way without trying to just hide things...that never works.

Tuesday I had a random finding as well. A guy was selling a box of around 50 lighters, Prometheus brand, and ranging in worth from $35-$95. I bought the whole box for $10. Now, a slight problem is they seem to have been unused for so long it will take some effort to get them all working again, but I already have 6 in fine working order, and I figure when I sell them anything I make over $10 is a profit. I hope to get almost all of them working, and use the money to finalize payments on my car. If everything goes as I hope, I could get over $2,000 for the lot of them, but that depends on getting them all to work.

These were all purchased on Craigslist, and I payed cash for all of them.

Oh, and one final thing. My car now has a new DieHard battery. The old battery was quite bad, and the car would be dead within literally minutes of turning it off, even with no accessories running at all. Now, it runs beautifully, and (tho I had no idea batteries affected this) performance is much higher (I'm guessing the estimate will be around 20mpg, usually it's around 18), the transmission has stopped jolting finally, and the car just feels healthier. Oh, and I also gave it brand new brake rotors and calipers on both back wheels, the old ones were seized and causing problems.

And finally, a non-expensive amazingness. Sunday, of course, I got to help with leading worship by playing my electric guitar. That was fun:D And I got to see friends. That is always a good thing. And I had coffee, but that wasn't so amazing. Just kinda happened.

Learning Something New Every Day

I am not necessarily known for my cooking skills. The only non-pre-packaged foods I can consistantly cook well are any things (mostly meats) over an open fire. But today I learned how not to make cookies;) Butter never comes in at the end, always among first ingredients, and NEVER add water! I feel much more knowledgeable on cookie making now:)

Telekinesis

As I am typical to do, I have been having somewhat random thoughts lately. My mind wandered to the topic of telekinesis, or the ability to move objects with your mind. It is a fascinating concept. I have one basic puzzlement however on the subject. I have done much research, and gotten almost an exact number of opinions which say that TK (technical abbreviation:P) is or is not a form of witchcraft. A common opinion is that it isn't, and rather it's just taking advantage of an ability our brains have, but is not known much about. The theory in this case is where the law of gravity has a "magnetic" type of attraction to everything on the planet, TK allows our brains to send signals which disrupt gravity, and allow us to physically change that force in our favor, and to our desire.

However, other people say it is witchcraft. They say it has some relation to Wiccan type magic, or the occult, and that it is of Satan. I am gathering that they say this either because they believe it requires some form of magic for TK to work, but also possibly because it requires an intense "meditation" to learn and effectively use TK.

One verse FROM THE BIBLE I saw quoted once, in favor of TK (as risky as it may seem to point this out): Matthew 17:20, "He said to them, 'Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you." I realize this is rather a stretch from the intended purpose of this verse, but it begs the question, "Does this mean we can physically move objects, even as big as mountains, by speaking it?" Yes, I know, TK is thinking for things to move, not speaking. But what's the difference really? Thinking in that sense could be speaking with your mind.

I'm just curious for more opinions on this subject. Is telekinesis a form of Satanic magic, or is it a God given ability our brains have, and few people know about. That is...if it even exists, which has yet to be documented with solid proof...

That's What Amazes Me

Ok so I was listening to Go Fish (yes, I do like them;) and as you might have guessed their song "That's What Amazes Me". There is one verse in the song that goes "There is a place inside my heart I'm thankful no one else can see. Thoughts I've had, wrongs I've done I wish I could take back every one... But like a Father who loves His children, You see my faults, and You've forgiven me. The one I wish I was is the one that you see, and that's what amazes me." I just kinda re-realized how incredible that promise is! As God tells us in 1 John 1:9, If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Wow. It takes incredible love to give such an incomparable gift! To think that after all I've done, that God would look on His perfect Son as the one who committed my sins, and let me go free??!! It's a dizzying thought...it's just like that other song goes, "It makes me wanna shout, 'Hallelujah, thank You Jesus! Lord You're worthy, of all the glory, and all the honor, and all the praise!' " I think I'll keep it down for now in volume though as the natives are sleeping;) But my heart is shouting with joy right now! I want to encourage anyone who reads this to join me in this Joy by laying their burdens down at His feet and rejoicing in His sovereign grace!

In His Mighty Name alone...

Just wanted to say a quick word here about how good God is, even in little things.

I had an on call shift at work today, and I woke up this morning feeling super sick. I have only been getting worse and worse all day, so I decided to pray (and ask a friend to pray) that either they wouldn't need me for the shift, or that I would be feeling better by the time my shift began. My prayer was answered! I called in to see if they needed me, and they said it is really slow so I can stay home! That was a real blessing as I now can take a nap and have been feeling still worse than before. My next prayer is to be well enough for my training shift tomorrow, but for now I'm going to enjoy the freedom to sleep and use that to heal me.

In His name alone..

True Joy!

I just got back from a party at Emily Carbone's house, and I just thought I might reflect on it since I had such an amazing time. I have to say first off how absolutely amazing my friends are. And more so how amazing God is. I would have never imagined such an incredible time, but tonight was like probably the best time of my whole life so far! I think I had literally forgotten what true fellowship in Christ was like (I hadn't been part of a lot of gatherings lately), but now that I know again, I can't imagine anything being better!! I absolutely love when God just reveals things to you that maybe you even knew before, but He shows you again and it is like brand new in your mind, and you can enjoy it all over again like it was a first time! It is times like this that make me wonder why on earth I ever thought to seek joy in anything other than Christ. I pray that I can continue to find this joy in Him, and not let the things of earth steal me away again. Wow I'm just so overwhelmed right now, I don't know what else to say! I'll just finish saying how much all you guys mean to me, and how very grateful I am that God put me here in time so I can share such amazing times with all of you:D I feel very blessed to have so many amazing brothers and sisters in Christ!

In His Name, to continue the pursuit of true Joy!

Ok well I haven't done a great job yet with keeping up with my blog;)  I thought it would be easy..just write a little something every few days or so...and now I find myself updating like once a week if that.  Oh well.. maybe that's the nice thing about blogs is that you don't have any requirements to write or anything within any time criteria. 

Anyways I was just sitting around and thought I'd write something, even if it has no meaning or purpose.  That's pretty much what I'm doing right now.

Ok I take that back.  I just thought of something interesting that I was discussing the other day.  Yes I know, this is going to seem rather random as well...:P  But anyways, my mom often asks me what I'm thinking about, typically if I seem to be daydreaming or something, and at that point I am forced to say "nothing", because it is fully true.  However, she had a very hard time grasping this concept of thinking about nothing, which I find very easy to understand.  Finally, David Paulson rescued me by explaining to her that guys somehow can just think about nothing, while that isn't something at least most girls (if any) are able to do.  I'm not sure how that works, but it seems interesting just the same.  I think it would be fun to do a large survey to see if there are any girls who ever think about nothing.  

I must say, personally it is very relaxing to be able to have nothing on my mind at times:)

Our Great God!

I haven't written in a while.  I think now seems a good time to write.  I got back recently from the Union Gospel Mission, at which my brother and I did a worship service.  It was short, only three songs, yet it seemed powerful..despite my being somewhat out of practice!  It felt amazingly and strangely good to lead worship again, I haven't in quite some time, and something about it just clicked I guess.  Like the last few times it has seemed almost like it takes more effort, but tonight was smooth even tho I made several (actually many) mistakes.  Christ was definitely there tonight!

Also I found it interesting how I was called on very short notice to help with worship, and it all worked out perfectly for me to do it.  I think God was bringing me there tonight; the message was exactly what I had needed to hear for a long time!  It was about how no matter what we do, Christ's love and mercy and grace covers it all.  One particular comment I liked was that the cross is bigger than any sin we can manage to do.  That is absolutely incredible!  God makes it so easy for us to be right with Him, all we have to do is humble ourselves to repent and ask Him for forgiveness.  I can't even fathom why someone with all the power in the universe would choose to make such a sacrifice of His son for sinful people like me, when He has every right to destroy all of humanity!  

Another thing that I recently came across was a verse (I don't have the reference with me at the moment) that states how God promises us to not allow us to be tempted beyond our ability.  This basically means we can overcome ANY temptation we EVER come across!!  THAT is reassuring, let me tell you!  And yet, even if we decide to give in, He still is there loving us enough to allow us a second chance!  Truly incredible.

I just had to share that tonight:)  In His name alone!

Not An Accident...

Ok so I was watching tv a little while ago, and a commercial popped on (as they do).  The first thing it said was "most babies are accidental".  What is this world coming to that someone would put such a bold statement and lie on public television??!  This is the mindset that makes abortion and other birth control so popular and effective.  I think we are gonna have to really step up our efforts to kill these efforts toward such a horrid cause.  I'll start by making a few statements here--

Abortion is murder.

Birth control is murder.

A "fetus" or "embryo" is human from the moment of conception, not once it starts to look like a person.  Destroying these is killing a live human being, a.k.a. MURDER!

We are created in God's image, that brings an inherant worth to us.  We did NOT spring from some puddle of goo, and we are NOT a greater form of monkey.  We are human, which is an entirely different form of creature.  

We have souls, and will either go to heaven or hell when we die.  It is not as simple as turning into dirt in our graves. 

Fight abortion, and all other kinds of birth control.  Their only purpose is to attempt to cover up other sins by trying to remove the evidence.  Don't be convinced by the lies that it "doesn't really matter", it does.  We are responsible to God for what we do, and He does see everything we do even if we manage to hide it from every other person here on earth.

Again, no one is an "accident".  God "knew us before we were born", and "knit us together in our mother's womb".  We were meant to be here, and so is every child that has been aborted, and every child that is going to be.  We must put an end to this manslaughter!

Why the name?

It might seem a strange name to some, Biohazard 4 Christ, but after thinking it through I think this has a very clear meaning in my mind.  Allow me to expand on this, so you can understand too.  

The typical known meaning of "biohazard" is "harmful agent: a risk to human beings or their environment, especially one presented by a toxic or infectious agent", according to the Encarta Dictionary here on my wonderful computer.  I want my blog to accomplish several things.  

I want primarily for it to be hazardous to Satan, and his deception to other peoples' view on God, life, or anything else.  In other words, I want it to be "intoxicating" or "infectious" with Christ's love and truths.  

I want it to be "infectious" with humor, or comfort, or anything one might happen to need any given day.  I hope to write a variety of honest posts that may be used by God to assist someone having a bad day, or who is hurting, or whatever they need.

Finally I just want it to be a place where I can voice my opinion on whatever comes to mind, and maybe have someone respond on occasion.  

Thus said, feel free to comment on whatever I write, and likewise don't feel any obligation to.  

In closing, let's spread the saving news of Christ better than any known pandemic flu known to man!  We must stay infectious with His love, His truth, and His Word!  In His Name alone...