From the Desk 8/24/2008

This morning I picked Christina up around 9:35 to go to His Hands. I was hoping that there would be a message of comfort found for Christina this morning. We sang several songs before we observed the Lord's Supper. The song we sang after that was not one I recognized, but I could identify with its message. The words of most of the songs of the morning spoke of fire and burning with life for God. It was hard to get "fired up" when I knew that someone I cared for so much was hurting, but the song after the Lord's Supper took a different approach. It spoke of the never-ending fire of God's love for us. It mentioned strength, comfort, and understanding. There couldn't have been a more appropriate song to hear this day. The message today was on Matthew 7:1-6. We spoke of the dangers in judging others and how we always want to try and fix things, but often things are not right with us so that hinders our help to others. It was interesting to see the way that Jesus first addresses the Pharisees by calling them hypocrites, then he turns his focus to everyone else demonstrating that we should be careful who we share our witness to as they could break us down if we aren't prepared. (reference to scripture: Don't cast your pearls to the pigs.) We finished with a song proclaiming loud praises and shouts of victory. I may not have felt on fire when I arrived, but I left that way.

Since Christina didn't have to work today I took her out to eat at Chili's after church. I had a burger that would have given most doctor's some business for cholesterol medication, but I only ate half of it. After we ate we went back to Christina's apartment and just sat there being silent. We fell asleep every now and then, but I mostly remained awake to hold her and keep her from falling over. Once we had rested and relaxed for a couple of hours she needed to go to her parents house and check on her mom. We left as it was beginning to rain again and then I drove home. I started a load of laundry and then made the label for Elizabeth's picture disc. I set it to render and burn so that it would be complete when Hickey came down this weekend so he could take it back to her. I also got a head start (as I am very excited about it) by packing my hiking pack for our trip in late September. I decided to go ahead and pack as I knew that I would re-pack and take out unneeded things several times before we actually left.

I decided to cook several things that I could reheat and eat for lunch throughout the week so I placed chicken strips into several different marinades to soak up the flavor before I grilled them. I was watching the movie "What Women Want" on TBS and once it ended I began my cooking. I grilled chicken with Teriyaki, Sesame Ginger, and Italian marinades to offer a variety of flavors for the week. When I had finished it was time to think about going to bed. I did a few things online before deciding to read another couple of chapters in "Jimmy". I grew tired from reading and then went to sleep quickly, listening to the rain gently bouncing off the window over my bed.

Meditation for the day: Matthew 7:1-6 “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.

“And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.

“Don’t waste what is holy on people who are unholy. Don’t throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you."