That little hiatus ended up being a few days longer than I thought!
Honestly, I haven't really been sure what to use my writing energy for lately. This forty day project was awesome but isn't really something that I can see continuing forever. In addition, some of the other stuff I started on I've blocked on pretty bad. I don't feel motivated or have any brilliant new ideas.
So, I need a fresh new project to get me going. I'm currently debating about what that is going to be. I've thought about writing some pure fiction of the fantasy or sci-fi genres just for a breath of fresh air but I'm not sure yet. I'm not even certain that it would be all that interesting to read either. In the meantime, I think I'll continue to make erratic and eccentric posts here. I like the fresh start that this blog gives me over my old one and I think the overall direction is a lot more focused.
We'll see though! Thanks for watching! Do you have suggestions that you'd like to see me write about? Feel free to leave me a comment!
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Day 40: The 40 Day Challenge
Note: Well I suppose it figures that right before writing the very last post we would have a lightning storm and I would have to get out the pencil and paper. Oh well, hopefully it will end soon so the post can go up in the morning, but it looks doubtful!
Update: Sorry the post had to go up late! But it's here now and I had it written, I promise!
Day forty! Hurray! It's the end, the finale, the ultimate... today ends the forty day blogging/writing challenge. And successfully, too!
I'm very happy to have made it to the very end and I will certainly take the occasion to celebrate. This isn't a post about celebration (though I thought about it) but don't think it's not important! Taking time to reflect and just enjoy ourselves after an accomplishment or period of time gives us the energy to keep going and make it to that next milestone.
Today, however, I turn the forty day challenge to you. Maybe you've read just a couple of posts or maybe you have read them all. It doesn't matter. The point is I want to challenge you to pick your own challenge and to stick with it for forty days! Pray about it and let God guide your decision. It can be a really life-changing experience!
As for me, I'm going to take a couple days off from writing to recharge my creative side of my brain and then I will pick it back up again. I'll make another post here if you'd like to continue following what I'm working on. I'm not sure what it will be yet! It could be more posts here or maybe something different. We'll see!
Thank you so much for reading, I hope you'll stick around. God bless!
Update: Sorry the post had to go up late! But it's here now and I had it written, I promise!
Day forty! Hurray! It's the end, the finale, the ultimate... today ends the forty day blogging/writing challenge. And successfully, too!
I'm very happy to have made it to the very end and I will certainly take the occasion to celebrate. This isn't a post about celebration (though I thought about it) but don't think it's not important! Taking time to reflect and just enjoy ourselves after an accomplishment or period of time gives us the energy to keep going and make it to that next milestone.
Today, however, I turn the forty day challenge to you. Maybe you've read just a couple of posts or maybe you have read them all. It doesn't matter. The point is I want to challenge you to pick your own challenge and to stick with it for forty days! Pray about it and let God guide your decision. It can be a really life-changing experience!
As for me, I'm going to take a couple days off from writing to recharge my creative side of my brain and then I will pick it back up again. I'll make another post here if you'd like to continue following what I'm working on. I'm not sure what it will be yet! It could be more posts here or maybe something different. We'll see!
Thank you so much for reading, I hope you'll stick around. God bless!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Day 39: Reflections
Only one more day left.
It feels like it has been a long time since the idea to write for forty days clicked into my head. I'm not even sure I really put enough thought into it before I dove in. It just kinda happened.
It is truly tough to keep an every-single-day schedule. Sure, on most days it just falls into place at a specified time. But every once in a while a day will sneak up that does not just fall into place. I come in late, don't have anything to write about, want to go to bed, etc. But through the easy days and the hard days, I think it has been worth it.
If you stumbled over here and read through my forty days of posts or even just one or two, I want to say thank you. I know I have a tendency to ramble and I'm not the greatest editor in the world, but I hope I was able to give you something to think about.
For me, I've learned a lot about what it means to honor God with writing. He has blessed me by showing my how diverse and ultimately unfathomable the many dimensions of living a life following Him really are. I could continue writing one post every day until I die the oldest man to have ever lived and I still wouldn't have the full picture of every idea and thought that can come from taking up the cross.
Since we're reaching the end, I'd appreciate your feedback on my little project. Feel free to drop me a comment or a twitter message. Tomorrow I'll deliver my little "sign off" post on forty days of writing finished, but don't expect me to stop. If you've enjoyed the posts thus far, keep your eyes peeled.
It amazes me that God works all these things together, all the wheels and gizmos of this universe, carefully crafting each moment like mechanical clockwork wonder world of perfection. I have written these posts for a reason and you have read them for a reason too. Incredible, right?
And for one last time: see you tomorrow.
It feels like it has been a long time since the idea to write for forty days clicked into my head. I'm not even sure I really put enough thought into it before I dove in. It just kinda happened.
It is truly tough to keep an every-single-day schedule. Sure, on most days it just falls into place at a specified time. But every once in a while a day will sneak up that does not just fall into place. I come in late, don't have anything to write about, want to go to bed, etc. But through the easy days and the hard days, I think it has been worth it.
If you stumbled over here and read through my forty days of posts or even just one or two, I want to say thank you. I know I have a tendency to ramble and I'm not the greatest editor in the world, but I hope I was able to give you something to think about.
For me, I've learned a lot about what it means to honor God with writing. He has blessed me by showing my how diverse and ultimately unfathomable the many dimensions of living a life following Him really are. I could continue writing one post every day until I die the oldest man to have ever lived and I still wouldn't have the full picture of every idea and thought that can come from taking up the cross.
Since we're reaching the end, I'd appreciate your feedback on my little project. Feel free to drop me a comment or a twitter message. Tomorrow I'll deliver my little "sign off" post on forty days of writing finished, but don't expect me to stop. If you've enjoyed the posts thus far, keep your eyes peeled.
It amazes me that God works all these things together, all the wheels and gizmos of this universe, carefully crafting each moment like mechanical clockwork wonder world of perfection. I have written these posts for a reason and you have read them for a reason too. Incredible, right?
And for one last time: see you tomorrow.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Day 38: Overwhelming Love
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. (1 John 4:8, NIV)
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. (Romans 12:9-13, NIV)
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." (Mark 12:30-31)
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6-8)
Think about how often you use the word "love." Perhaps a little, perhaps a lot. Think about if you've used it today or yesterday. Maybe you've said "I love you" to a significant other or family member. Maybe you were merely remarking at the local McDonald's "Man, I love these fries." Maybe it was even in sarcasm, as in "Don't you just love it when your alarm clock fails to go off in the morning."
But God's love is something else. Throw all the different way we use love out the window; these definitions are not big enough.
God knows what love is all about love because he made it. He is love according to John. We didn't do jack to earn it, but God gives of his endless, overwhelming love anyways.
I think sometimes we need a reminder that God's love is completely out of this world. It's so easy to look around at all the examples of love we have here on earth; all the movies and the Casanovas. But God's love goes totally beyond all that. While we were still evil he went and died for us. We deserved death but loved us so much that he became human to rescue us and shows us what real, pure love looks like.
God's love is earth-shattering, mind-numbing, totally crazy, unthinkable, unimaginable, enormous, overwhelming - awesome.
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. (Romans 12:9-13, NIV)
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." (Mark 12:30-31)
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6-8)
Think about how often you use the word "love." Perhaps a little, perhaps a lot. Think about if you've used it today or yesterday. Maybe you've said "I love you" to a significant other or family member. Maybe you were merely remarking at the local McDonald's "Man, I love these fries." Maybe it was even in sarcasm, as in "Don't you just love it when your alarm clock fails to go off in the morning."
But God's love is something else. Throw all the different way we use love out the window; these definitions are not big enough.
God knows what love is all about love because he made it. He is love according to John. We didn't do jack to earn it, but God gives of his endless, overwhelming love anyways.
I think sometimes we need a reminder that God's love is completely out of this world. It's so easy to look around at all the examples of love we have here on earth; all the movies and the Casanovas. But God's love goes totally beyond all that. While we were still evil he went and died for us. We deserved death but loved us so much that he became human to rescue us and shows us what real, pure love looks like.
God's love is earth-shattering, mind-numbing, totally crazy, unthinkable, unimaginable, enormous, overwhelming - awesome.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Day 37: Second Wind
I have to admit, when I first started writing this forty day thing, I didn't give too much thought to how difficult it would be to stay on a daily schedule, ensuring enough content is written each and every day. On top of that, I am making an effort to not be repetitive.
Sometimes I like to get out in the morning and go running. I stretch a bit, put on my running shoes, and take off. For a while, its a nice, pleasant experience. I'm just now waking up, I get to stretch my legs out a little, and it's nice to be out in the sun. But before long the pleasant experience starts to fade. Suddenly the birds don't seem to be chirping anymore. I'm no longer looking around at my surroundings and taking it in. Now I'm focused on the pain coming from my legs. Now I'm focused on my shortness of breath.
But if your a runner, then you probably know what I'm talking about when I talk about a "second wind." If you just tough out those moments, eventually you get into a rhythm and you can just keep on running for a long time. The pain seems to fade away, and the breathing settles into a steady rhythm, keeping up with your pace.
I really wish that I could start off the race in that "second wind" mode but I'm no professional runner. I think many of the times that I decide to call it quits early out on a run, I'm quitting just short of reaching that all-important rhythm.
Here at day 37 at 4D Days, I think I'm just now starting to get into that "second wind" mode. For a while, it was a lot of fun to write the posts and come up with new content. My first few ideas were ones that I had been storing up for a while. It seemed I could write huge entries on a subject with little preparation or thought. But then it started getting harder to come up with new ideas for what to write. And then I started procrastinating when the topics weren't flowing as easily. I began to wish that I had the same ease as the beginning of my writing. I began to wish I was at the beginning of my race, not the middle.
I think I'm just now beginning to find that rhythm that gives you a second wind in writing. And really, it's interesting that I'm coming into that right towards the end of my challenge. It's a rhythm that could enable me to keep writing for a long time.
The "running the race" analogy isn't a new one, you know. Just because I get out every once in a while, doesn't make me original. Paul seemed to think it was a pretty good one for life:
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. (1 Corinthians 9:24, NIV)
To get that prize, we're going to have to keep running when the pain comes and the air is getting short. We're going to have to find that rhythm, find that second wind past our struggles and our pains. God will provide, but we've gotta be willing to not give up.
So put on your most trusted pair of running shoes. You won't be done with this particular run for a long, long time.
See you tomorrow.
Sometimes I like to get out in the morning and go running. I stretch a bit, put on my running shoes, and take off. For a while, its a nice, pleasant experience. I'm just now waking up, I get to stretch my legs out a little, and it's nice to be out in the sun. But before long the pleasant experience starts to fade. Suddenly the birds don't seem to be chirping anymore. I'm no longer looking around at my surroundings and taking it in. Now I'm focused on the pain coming from my legs. Now I'm focused on my shortness of breath.
But if your a runner, then you probably know what I'm talking about when I talk about a "second wind." If you just tough out those moments, eventually you get into a rhythm and you can just keep on running for a long time. The pain seems to fade away, and the breathing settles into a steady rhythm, keeping up with your pace.
I really wish that I could start off the race in that "second wind" mode but I'm no professional runner. I think many of the times that I decide to call it quits early out on a run, I'm quitting just short of reaching that all-important rhythm.
Here at day 37 at 4D Days, I think I'm just now starting to get into that "second wind" mode. For a while, it was a lot of fun to write the posts and come up with new content. My first few ideas were ones that I had been storing up for a while. It seemed I could write huge entries on a subject with little preparation or thought. But then it started getting harder to come up with new ideas for what to write. And then I started procrastinating when the topics weren't flowing as easily. I began to wish that I had the same ease as the beginning of my writing. I began to wish I was at the beginning of my race, not the middle.
I think I'm just now beginning to find that rhythm that gives you a second wind in writing. And really, it's interesting that I'm coming into that right towards the end of my challenge. It's a rhythm that could enable me to keep writing for a long time.
The "running the race" analogy isn't a new one, you know. Just because I get out every once in a while, doesn't make me original. Paul seemed to think it was a pretty good one for life:
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. (1 Corinthians 9:24, NIV)
To get that prize, we're going to have to keep running when the pain comes and the air is getting short. We're going to have to find that rhythm, find that second wind past our struggles and our pains. God will provide, but we've gotta be willing to not give up.
So put on your most trusted pair of running shoes. You won't be done with this particular run for a long, long time.
See you tomorrow.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Day 36: Heaven
I'm coming that point in my life where I'm often faced with the reality that the people around me aren't always going to be around. I'm not talking about death; I'm merely talking about the parting of ways. As I start to see the end of the tunnel for my undergraduate degree, I realize that the people that I'm in contact with may head off in a separate direction, never to be seen on this plane of existence again. Of course, there will be the occasional chance encounter, but I'm pretty certain that I won't be able to keep up with everyone, there are just too many people out there.
Thankfully, some of these people I know I will see again. You see, it turns out that when Christ died for our sins, he has guaranteed us an eternal life with him someday.
Yes indeed, I'm talking about heaven.
There is quite a bit of speculation about what heaven is actually like. Depending on how you interpret scriptures, it could possibly be a lot of different things. I'm not going to debate these things, since I don't even think that I have an inkling of what it's going to be like.
But I do know this: God is ultimate, and he is love. And an eternity with him will be far more incredible than anything this life has to offer. The few joys and pleasures we experience now are merely shadows, mere flickerings of what is to come.
I'm not sure about you, but this is certainly motivating. It makes the problems I face now seem a lot less important and makes the temptations for power, success, and wealth a lot less powerful. It also motivates me to remember what I'm here for. If this life is only a spec of sand at the beginning of a never ending eternity, then oh how important it is to make sure that God's message is heard!
And then there's the whole time thing. Will we experience time the same way? Will there be a flow of time at all? Who knows! I certainly can't wait to find out though. The only thing I know for sure is that it is going to rock. I hope to see you there - remind me of this post so we can have a good laugh together.
Just a few days left! See you tomorrow.
Thankfully, some of these people I know I will see again. You see, it turns out that when Christ died for our sins, he has guaranteed us an eternal life with him someday.
Yes indeed, I'm talking about heaven.
There is quite a bit of speculation about what heaven is actually like. Depending on how you interpret scriptures, it could possibly be a lot of different things. I'm not going to debate these things, since I don't even think that I have an inkling of what it's going to be like.
But I do know this: God is ultimate, and he is love. And an eternity with him will be far more incredible than anything this life has to offer. The few joys and pleasures we experience now are merely shadows, mere flickerings of what is to come.
I'm not sure about you, but this is certainly motivating. It makes the problems I face now seem a lot less important and makes the temptations for power, success, and wealth a lot less powerful. It also motivates me to remember what I'm here for. If this life is only a spec of sand at the beginning of a never ending eternity, then oh how important it is to make sure that God's message is heard!
And then there's the whole time thing. Will we experience time the same way? Will there be a flow of time at all? Who knows! I certainly can't wait to find out though. The only thing I know for sure is that it is going to rock. I hope to see you there - remind me of this post so we can have a good laugh together.
Just a few days left! See you tomorrow.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Day 35: Creativity
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. (Genesis 1:1, KJV)
There is no doubt that God is creative. A simple look at the human body makes that certain. Take an even deeper look and it just gets more amazing. The human brain by itself is a wonder that, by itself, is still not completely understood (we're working on it though).
Now look elsewhere. Look at the canyons, the valleys, all the creatures you can possibly imagine. Let's not forget that the limits of our imagination were designed by God too. That it is quite a thought, right?
We are made in God's image. Therefore, we, as human beings, are creative. Obviously we can never be as creative as God, since we can never truly come up with anything original. But as we walk in our father's footsteps we can learn to be creative too. I think there is a lot of value in the creations of the Christian community. Music, writings, art: using our creativity can be a powerful way to convey the message we are here to convey.
So be creative!
See you tomorrow.
There is no doubt that God is creative. A simple look at the human body makes that certain. Take an even deeper look and it just gets more amazing. The human brain by itself is a wonder that, by itself, is still not completely understood (we're working on it though).
Now look elsewhere. Look at the canyons, the valleys, all the creatures you can possibly imagine. Let's not forget that the limits of our imagination were designed by God too. That it is quite a thought, right?
We are made in God's image. Therefore, we, as human beings, are creative. Obviously we can never be as creative as God, since we can never truly come up with anything original. But as we walk in our father's footsteps we can learn to be creative too. I think there is a lot of value in the creations of the Christian community. Music, writings, art: using our creativity can be a powerful way to convey the message we are here to convey.
So be creative!
See you tomorrow.
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