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chandersman
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Name: Chad
Interests: Music, Camping Ministries, and making kids think.
Expertise: Trumpet, Vocal and Instrumental Music Education
Occupation: Teacher, among other things.
Message: message meEmail: email me
Member Since:
9/24/2004
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| Someone wrote, "Nice car... get a job," in the frost coating the rear window of my car this morning. *sigh*
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| My mouth tastes like... tastes like... lazy? With a little bit of almond mixed in? Wow. I'm NOT lazy, but that doesn't stop me from desperately wanting to be.Who's for a trip to northern New Brunswick with me? Come on, you know you want to... we'll get there fast and then we'll take it slow. Very, very slow. Like, a-sloth-ain't-got-nothin'-on-me slow.
I'm in a tired and whiney mood. I need a good sock in the jaw...
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| Have you ever had the experience of walking up to an arcade game, expecting to shoot out some alien's guts, only to find that it eats your quarter and gives you nothing in return? I have, and it made me mad. What I'm discovering is that my own attitude towards God has been tainted with that same disgust we experience when we feel like we have been gypped.... gotten the shaft... been screwed over... and it's not good. God's grace does not work on an economy; if it did, it wouldn't be grace. Moreover, God does not seem to respond well to If-Then Statements: "If I do this for You, God, then You'll do that for me..." Sometimes, we unconsciously cut deals with God without waiting and listening for His answer to our plea, and then we end up hurt when He doesn't hold up His end of the bargain. All the while, it was never a deal he bound Himself to in the first place. The nature of our sin is to deafen us to the True Voice, and Satan then lies to us and tells us that God is no longer good. But truly, we have not been gypped... we have been shown an overwhelming and severe mercy.
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| I've been a lazy, lazy man this summer. Time to shape up, wouldn't you say? More than time.
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| Hey, all! I'm back from the wilderness. Literally, this time. :)
I've spent the week thinking about compassion. Have you ever heard about some tragedy, or had a friend vent his or her pain to you, or seen pictures of starving people in Africa, and thought to yourself, "Huh. I don't feel as bad as I think I ought to." I'm discovering that compassion is not natural to human beings- and that fact is not as common-sense as it seems. What's more, one must cultivate compassion in oneself just as carefully as every other facet of being a Christ-follower. While I cannot force myself to feel what I do not feel, I can choose to develop compassion by spending time in prayer for and in service to those who are in pain or have needs. In this way, I'm not basing my compassion on what I am feeling, but rather on what I choose to do with what God has given over to my stewardship- namely my time and my abilities. The emotion of compassion... well... that doesn't follow any logic I'm familiar with, and I'm still pondering it.
What is it that has prompted me to ponder compassion? Well, several things have happened recently that have required compassion of me. Not only that, but it goes hand in hand with pain. If pain is the shampoo God uses to scrub us with, compassion in and from the body of Christ is the conditioner. Silky smooth, I tell ya... Yeah, I know it's a bad analogy, but I'm tired, and I've just come out of the wilderness... my mind is full of soapy things. Bubbles and whatnot... I'm sure you understand.
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Now playing: The Normals - The Best I Can
via FoxyTunes
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