Respect
You know... I have a TREMENDOUS amount of respect for the military. I was going to be a part of the Air Force, after all. And, I still am around the military every day here at Tech, since Tech is one of the 2 schools in the nation with a Corps of Cadets within the civilian school.
I am, as you may know, a member of the Marching Virginians... the 330+ person marching band, that is the CIVILIAN marching band. Virginia Tech also has a 'regimental band' known as the Highty Tighties. I'll have to admit that the Highty Tighties aren't the best sounding band in the world. In fact many bands I heard throughout high school sound better than they do... But, they do have several things working against them.... 1) The Highty Tighties are rather small... the Corps of Cadets is only 3% of the entire population at Tech, so with that in mind... they can't really be that large.. (appx. 80 people are in the HT's) 2) They not only have to balance band and academics... but also military training.
The MV's constantly are making fun of the HTs. Their marching is really not bad at all, but yet the MVs criticise them for that too.. Just because it is military style marching doesn't mean its bad... Besides these people have done something the rest of us should have done... they're training in order that they can serve the United States and protect every American's freedoms... I RESPECT THAT ENORMOUSLY... we all should have some commitment to protecting America and all it stands for.... and these Cadets are doing just that.. they're the future of the military... we need them... and they just need some respect... we're all in the band... band is about enjoying what you're doing... entertaining the crowd.... etc... that's what we're doing in the MV's and that's what they're doing in the HT's, but we both have our ways of doing things... I don't think its right or fair for us to be so critical of them... and it really bothers me... like sincerely bothers me that the MV's treat the HTs this way...
There's my soapbox.
Saturday, October 26, 2002
Friday, October 25, 2002
Insight for The day
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not men, since you know that you'll receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward ~ Colossians 3:23-24
Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom." ~ Eclesiastes 9:10
God creates the heavens and the earth... God creates man... God gives man work to do.... Its been there since the beginning of time. Sometimes, when we're overloaded with tasks that we don't necessarily find the most appealing, we tend to take on a negative attitude and complain... boredom creeps in along with a lack of interest, which sparks rude actions... mockery, not paying attention, etc... I know I get this way... I've been this way for the past few days.... and it doesn't help when the people you're around act this way either - it just brings you down as well.
Tests can be rather stressful, especially along with all the other things we have to complete on our normal day-to-day schedule.... and they're certainly not something we all just want to go do in our spare time, with the exception of little personality type tests (such as the ones found at thespark.com). I definitely have been rather pessimistic and have taken complaining about it... which isn't the thing to do...
I was working on my Bible study for the Navigators group that I'm in. This week's study is on Wholeheartedness, and I came across the verses I quoted above. If we could regard our work as an act of worship or service to God, no matter the task, such an attitude would take some of the drudgery and boredom out of it. We could work without complaining or resentment if we would treat our problems as teh cost of discipleship. Also, by not letting the inequities and less than desirable aspects of life bring us down, we probably could be much more content with our status in life...
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not men, since you know that you'll receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward ~ Colossians 3:23-24
Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom." ~ Eclesiastes 9:10
God creates the heavens and the earth... God creates man... God gives man work to do.... Its been there since the beginning of time. Sometimes, when we're overloaded with tasks that we don't necessarily find the most appealing, we tend to take on a negative attitude and complain... boredom creeps in along with a lack of interest, which sparks rude actions... mockery, not paying attention, etc... I know I get this way... I've been this way for the past few days.... and it doesn't help when the people you're around act this way either - it just brings you down as well.
Tests can be rather stressful, especially along with all the other things we have to complete on our normal day-to-day schedule.... and they're certainly not something we all just want to go do in our spare time, with the exception of little personality type tests (such as the ones found at thespark.com). I definitely have been rather pessimistic and have taken complaining about it... which isn't the thing to do...
I was working on my Bible study for the Navigators group that I'm in. This week's study is on Wholeheartedness, and I came across the verses I quoted above. If we could regard our work as an act of worship or service to God, no matter the task, such an attitude would take some of the drudgery and boredom out of it. We could work without complaining or resentment if we would treat our problems as teh cost of discipleship. Also, by not letting the inequities and less than desirable aspects of life bring us down, we probably could be much more content with our status in life...
Wednesday, October 23, 2002
Monday, October 21, 2002
The Song...
The song I posted last night, When Love Takes You In, is one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard. The first time I heard the song was at the 2002 Concert in Roanoke in February or March. I'm a rather stoic person in that I don't cry very often. In fact, I believe that when I heard this song at the concert last year it was the first time and only time I've ever cried due to a movie, song, etc. He said that he was inspired to write it after he and his wife adopted a child. The song has meaning both in the secular sense, relating to adoption, and in the spiritual sense, relating to our relationship with God.
The song refers to love taking you in... this is like the act a couple takes when they adopt a child... They're taking a child in with love, just as they would love a child of their own flesh and blood. I think that the most powerful part of this song is "When love takes you home and says you belong here / The loneliness ends and a new life begins / When love takes you in." Adopting an orphan doesn't mean that you love him/her any less than you would a child that you 'made' (for lack of a better term)... These children are brought into a home that loves them (or so it should be)... This is the life they know and will grow up knowing... Love has taken them in and given them a new life full of hope.
But this song is not only about physical adoption. The song has basis in three key verses:
* 1 John 3:1 - "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him."
* John 14:18 - "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you."
* Psalm 68:5-6 - "A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families, he leads forth the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land."
Just because God is not our physical father does not mean that he doesn't love us the same. Its hard to imagine a love so pure, so deep, so true... In the first stanza of the song, he talks about feeling as if noone is there for you - loneliness... That's what Psalm 68:5-6 refers to: God is there for the lonely... He has given us protection and provision, just as any loving parent would give their child. The loneliness ends... and our new life IN HIM begins when he took us in. God will NEVER stop loving us and there is not a thing that could cause his love to fail. "And this love will never let you go / There is nothing that could ever cause this love to lose its hold."
This is what Steven Curtis Chapman says about adoption (taken from the website of Shaohannah's Hope, the adoption 'agency' he and his wife founded):
Recognizing that adoption is a perfect picture of what God has done for each of us in making us His children through Christ, Shaohannah's Hope has been established to present and encourage adoption as a response to the Gospel. Psalm 68:5-6 tells us that as the Father to the fatherless, God delights in setting the lonely in families. It has been our experience that the scriptural mandate of caring for orphans, such as the one found in James 1:27, is really a wonderful invitation to experience God in a profound way by being a part of His sovereign plan for His precious children.
Working from these foundational truths, Shaohannah's Hope exists to enable children living without the love and hope of an earthly family to be adopted into "covenant homes." These families can provide not only love and support needed for this life, but also provide a child with the knowledge of God’s plan for his or her eternal life with a forever family called The Body of Christ.
"That's what God does, and it's His favorite thing to do," Steven says, "to take the lonely, the homeless, and put them in families."
Now, I'm far from being settled down and ready to start a family... trust me... I've never even been on a date before.... But, Adoption is such a miraculous and wonderful process that I want to adopt a child when I get ready to have a family once I'm married. God is like an adopted parent to us. He was always our Father in Heaven... before we became a Christian it was as if He was awaiting the adoption papers to go through. God has love for every human being... its just that once we become Christians - once "our adoption papers go through" - His love for us is INSURMOUNTABLE!!!
The song I posted last night, When Love Takes You In, is one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard. The first time I heard the song was at the 2002 Concert in Roanoke in February or March. I'm a rather stoic person in that I don't cry very often. In fact, I believe that when I heard this song at the concert last year it was the first time and only time I've ever cried due to a movie, song, etc. He said that he was inspired to write it after he and his wife adopted a child. The song has meaning both in the secular sense, relating to adoption, and in the spiritual sense, relating to our relationship with God.
The song refers to love taking you in... this is like the act a couple takes when they adopt a child... They're taking a child in with love, just as they would love a child of their own flesh and blood. I think that the most powerful part of this song is "When love takes you home and says you belong here / The loneliness ends and a new life begins / When love takes you in." Adopting an orphan doesn't mean that you love him/her any less than you would a child that you 'made' (for lack of a better term)... These children are brought into a home that loves them (or so it should be)... This is the life they know and will grow up knowing... Love has taken them in and given them a new life full of hope.
But this song is not only about physical adoption. The song has basis in three key verses:
* 1 John 3:1 - "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him."
* John 14:18 - "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you."
* Psalm 68:5-6 - "A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families, he leads forth the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land."
Just because God is not our physical father does not mean that he doesn't love us the same. Its hard to imagine a love so pure, so deep, so true... In the first stanza of the song, he talks about feeling as if noone is there for you - loneliness... That's what Psalm 68:5-6 refers to: God is there for the lonely... He has given us protection and provision, just as any loving parent would give their child. The loneliness ends... and our new life IN HIM begins when he took us in. God will NEVER stop loving us and there is not a thing that could cause his love to fail. "And this love will never let you go / There is nothing that could ever cause this love to lose its hold."
This is what Steven Curtis Chapman says about adoption (taken from the website of Shaohannah's Hope, the adoption 'agency' he and his wife founded):
Recognizing that adoption is a perfect picture of what God has done for each of us in making us His children through Christ, Shaohannah's Hope has been established to present and encourage adoption as a response to the Gospel. Psalm 68:5-6 tells us that as the Father to the fatherless, God delights in setting the lonely in families. It has been our experience that the scriptural mandate of caring for orphans, such as the one found in James 1:27, is really a wonderful invitation to experience God in a profound way by being a part of His sovereign plan for His precious children.
Working from these foundational truths, Shaohannah's Hope exists to enable children living without the love and hope of an earthly family to be adopted into "covenant homes." These families can provide not only love and support needed for this life, but also provide a child with the knowledge of God’s plan for his or her eternal life with a forever family called The Body of Christ.
"That's what God does, and it's His favorite thing to do," Steven says, "to take the lonely, the homeless, and put them in families."
Now, I'm far from being settled down and ready to start a family... trust me... I've never even been on a date before.... But, Adoption is such a miraculous and wonderful process that I want to adopt a child when I get ready to have a family once I'm married. God is like an adopted parent to us. He was always our Father in Heaven... before we became a Christian it was as if He was awaiting the adoption papers to go through. God has love for every human being... its just that once we become Christians - once "our adoption papers go through" - His love for us is INSURMOUNTABLE!!!
Sunday, October 20, 2002
Song of the Week
When Love Takes You In
I know you’ve heard the stories
But they all sound too good to be true
You’ve heard about a place called home
But there doesn’t seem to be one for you
So one more night you cry yourself to sleep
And drift off to a distant dream
Where love takes you in and everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart
When love takes you home and says you belong here
The loneliness ends and a new life begins
When love takes you in
And somewhere while you’re sleeping
Someone else is dreaming too
Counting down the days until
They hold you close and say I love you
And like the rain that falls into the sea
In a moment what has been is lost in what will be
When love takes you in everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart
And this love will never let you go
There is nothing that could ever cause this love to lose its hold
When love takes you in everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart
When love takes you home and says you belong here
The loneliness ends and a new life begins
When love takes you in it takes you in for good
When love takes you in
~Steven Curtis Chapman
When Love Takes You In
I know you’ve heard the stories
But they all sound too good to be true
You’ve heard about a place called home
But there doesn’t seem to be one for you
So one more night you cry yourself to sleep
And drift off to a distant dream
Where love takes you in and everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart
When love takes you home and says you belong here
The loneliness ends and a new life begins
When love takes you in
And somewhere while you’re sleeping
Someone else is dreaming too
Counting down the days until
They hold you close and say I love you
And like the rain that falls into the sea
In a moment what has been is lost in what will be
When love takes you in everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart
And this love will never let you go
There is nothing that could ever cause this love to lose its hold
When love takes you in everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart
When love takes you home and says you belong here
The loneliness ends and a new life begins
When love takes you in it takes you in for good
When love takes you in
~Steven Curtis Chapman
"I waited until I was married. My virginity was an honor that I was bestowing on a man - he had to be worthy of it."
-Lisa Kudrow, in an interview with People magazine
from HokiePundit
-Lisa Kudrow, in an interview with People magazine
from HokiePundit
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