Self-Check

One of my Mom's friends on Facebook shared this link to a post on Pastor Perry Noble's blog. Noble is the pastor of a church in South Carolina.

Read through it and see what you think.

As I read through the blog post, one of the several thoughts that occurred to me was that these are some of the most frequent "complaints" others have against Christians. If this is what they see exhibited in a Christian's life, why would anyone find that appealing? I sure wouldn't.

If I've learned anything, it's that for the one person you know is watching you and observing the choices you make, there are about five more people watching that you don't know about.

A life filled to the brim, saturated with joy, peace, purpose, passion and trust in God is so attractive. It is one of the greatest testimonies a person can have.

What would someone who didn't know the Lord find attractive or "different in a good way" about your life?

Food for thought...

The Forever

From a journal entry in December 2010, with some modifications :)

Always.

Forever. 

Our society really misuses these poor words. I mean, we don't really have other options. The English language didn't give us words to denote varying levels of a particular idea or sentiment, like other languages do.

I personally toss these words around without thinking about them.  How many times have you said or heard phrases like these?

"I was waiting for the doctor for forever today!" (Hmm...is 45 minutes more accurate?)

"Like, for real- I was in that line at Wal-Mart forevvaa!" (I think it was probably 10 minutes.)

"Ugh, I was stopped at the light for forever!" (Two minutes, really? Forever?)

Forever is used in these circumstances to denote how long they lasted. It can also be used to declare such unending pleasure in a particular activity as to wish away its unavoidable termination.

"Ohhh, I wish it was always Christmas break!"

"I could just sit here on the beach for forever!"

Etc., etc.

Using this as an example, Christmas Break cannot last forever- we must move on to the rest of our calendar. If it was break all the time, how would we know to enjoy it? There would not be anything significant to let us know that we could and should enjoy this restful period.

These trite phrases are traded fast and furious throughout the day. What got me started thinking about this was eternity and heaven, and how our lives there as Christians really are forever. Our lives there will never end.

Do we really know what always and forever means? Can our brains even process this concept?

Think of how bounded by time our world is, especially the Western world. Everything most definitely has an end.

We finish books, we complete a degree, we consume a meal, we arrive at our destination, the song ends, the party ends, our naps end, the movie ends, the story ends.

Yet in heaven, The End no longer has any relevance. What will that even be like?

Truth is, we don't know yet. We can't know, because our minds are still bounded by time. I'm ok with not fully comprehending yet. 

I'm no philosopher or theologian...I just was thinking, and wanted to get you all to do the same...

Joy

There is joy in:

The Son.
Sunshine.
Breath in your lungs.
Rest.
Restoration.
Family.
Speaking truth.
Little kids crawling up in your lap.
Hope.
Trust.
Opportunities.
Succeeding.
Succeeding despite failure.
The Future.
The Present.

Being loved.

Just in case someone needed a reminder.

Love,

Samantha

The Word from a Pro

In class Tuesday, we had another UCO prof share his bytes of wisdom on making your own mark in the blogosphere.

Kurt Hochenauer launched the Okie Funk blog in May 2004 and continues to provide liberal political commentary (along with other commentary!) today.

I admire that he has kept up this blog for so long! He also manages another blog, Blue Oklahoma.

I also found it interesting that he set up a login system for viewers to comment on his blog. This was in effort to combat the deluge of spam comments. I don't believe my little blog has enough traffic (yet?!) to worry about this...haha!

The main thing that I was impressed by was his commitment and consistency to posting, for that obviously makes for a dependable source for viewers to regularly check. It takes a lot of effort and a bit of planning, but to me, that is one of the main reasons for having a blog in the first place IS too post regularly.

Happy Birthday Taylor!

This is a birthday post for my little bro who turns 19 today! Thought I'd share a few pics and say some nice stuff...'cause he deserves it!!

This is my best friend. My constant companion for the past 19 years. He knows me...too well. But the above pic doesn't really show the true nature of our sibling-ship.

That's more like it.

                                                                     
Or this.

He always takes my food!


We can have whole conversations with mere facial expressions.

We can start a sentence with "Remember that..." and the other will instantly remember what the other is talking about.

We can tease each other mercilessly and then three minutes later, be launched in a deep spiritual convo.

He makes me laugh like no other, mainly because I'm constantly thinking, "Did he just say that? Did he actually just say that out loud?"

He keeps me humble. He keeps me real. He inspires me.


Now for some pictures from "THE VAULT."                                             

Coke floats and cartoons at Grandpa Ken and Granny Sherry's, 1999

Summer 1995

Sorry for the odd shape, it was in a scrapbook or something, but this pic really sums up our entire relationship.
First of all, you need to realize that this is the face that all big sisters must develop.
Secondly, please note that my hand is on his leg, attempting to quiet him- a battle that was lost before it began.
Thirdly, Taylor's mouth is open.
Like I said, this pic says it all.

I love you Jonathan Taylor!  Have an awesome 19th birthday and year!!

Coming Soon!

Here is preview of some posts that are in works! They have ended up requiring more thought so yeah...just keep checking back!

Keeping in step with my "Why I" theme, I will be talking about:

*"Why I" liked being homeschooled...yes, I was homeschooled.

*"Why I" dance...really looking forward to this one.

*How complex/simple people really want to the search for "TRUTH" to be...philosophical I know. We'll see how that goes. Ha! 

That's all for now! Thought for the day before I leave:

"The more that is asked of me, the more I must ask of my God."

God has a limitless supply of energy, creativity, inspiration, strength, discernment, patience or whatever else we may find ourselves needing throughout the day.

When demands are being made on you, withdraw from your spiritual bank account. You can depend on there always being funds. 

This Matters

This could be my shortest post ever.

I also don't usually insist on things like this.

But click this link and watch the video of Eric Metaxas speaking at the National Prayer Breakfast, followed by President Obama. It's long, I know. You have time.

Linked In!

For our second class assignment, we are talking about some common blog tips and how we could improve our blog: addressing everything from typography to content to the use of bullets and links.

One of the many posts that addresses the use of links is Heidi Cohen's article on basic blog tips. I need more links! So I'll start with this post. Be looking for an improved use of links in the posts to come.

Check out the blog that I am following for this class. I found this blog through Pinterest. I really like the family aspect of this blog since it's a way for these sisters to be connected, even if they don't all live under the same roof.

And this adorable blog. Another Pinterest find, she harnesses the use of internal links as she posts multiple videos of outfits and hair-do tutorials. She can link back to previous posts of what products she uses in her hair or how she did her makeup.

Finally, I will be working the next few days on tagging my own articles so you can search for keywords within my own blog. Cohen's article terms these "internal links," which I think is a really good way of describing them.

Happy Linking!