I just started reading Francis Chan's second book, Forgotten God, which dwells on the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives and in the church. I've read approximately 30 pages of the book and I already have to blog some of my thoughts on things that Chan brings up. Here's the excerpt that really inspired me to write:
"Then in Acts 2, we see the fulfillment of this promise in a way that must have shocked the disciples. The Holy Spirit's power is unleashed like no one had ever seen or experienced before, and Peter shares the amazing promise that this Holy Spirit is available to anyone who believes. The Epistles tell us of the Holy Spirit's amazing power at work in us, our Spirit-enabled ability to put our sin to death through Him, and the supernatural gifts He gives us" (Chan 30, my emphasis).
When I first came to Encounter in the Spring semester, Doug identified the things that I was interested in as Sci-Fi and superheroes. I guess I talked about those two topics a lot in front of him? Maybe I couldn't think of anything else that I was interested in in those times when we were asked about ourselves? I don't know. A question I was recently asked was what do I make famous with my life? How sad is it when the things that are most apparent to others are television shows that I enjoy, fleeting TV franchises. What if instead people identified me first as a Christian and not merely a conservative or an English major or a TV aficionado or a book lover or whatever else will pass away into the oblivion of history? This strand of thought has gotten me very off topic. Back to my initial idea.
Can I just say how freaking cool is the Holy Spirit? According to Scripture, the Holy Spirit is the intercessor between us and God. Pastor Drew said (I paraphrase), when we blunder through our prayers to God since we really have no idea how to pray, the Spirit (the advocate or lawyer) presents our "case" to the Holy God. God hears and answers our prayers! What a great system that God created? Going back to my fixation on the whole superhero franchise (Buffy, X-Men, Doctor Who, etc--according to me, all these mentioned are superheroes), the phrase that piqued my interest in Forgotten God is "supernatural gifts," not spiritual gifts but supernatural gifts. It is a subtle difference, I know, but significant, nonetheless.
As Christians, the Holy Spirit enters us and we are then given superpowers! Superheroes don't use these powers for their own benefit but to help rescue others. The Doctor on the series, Doctor Who, is a Timelord, for crying out loud! He has the ability to travel from the Victorian Age to 5 billion years in the future, just for the sake of the human race. I guess it's more exciting to help others when you're super powerful than not (like the Q on Star Trek, a billion points to anyone who knows who that is) but I digress. Isn't it the same deal for Christians? Doug pointed out in Encounter the other week that though we are given spiritual gifts, these gifts aren't meant for us to use them for our own benefit. Take the gift of encouragement for instance. How silly would it be for someone who has this gift to use it on themselves? "Buck up, Cecil! You need to get out there and do this thing!"--or whatever.
I don't really know what my spiritual gifts are in particular (I haven't had patience to sit down and take a survey like this one: http://buildingchurch.net/g2s-i.htm; too much hard core introspection, I guess). Anyways, it's almost time for small groups to start so I'll wrap these thoughts up for now. Hopefully more later!
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
On Watching Sad Movies
I've read the book, cried through the book and then finally, the movie based on the book shows up at the top of my Netflix queue and I pop it in the DVD player for some evening entertainment. There's a strange type of gravity that operates in the Cecil home as far as where the TV is and where the other denizens of the house are. Slowly, one by one, they are drawn downwards towards the flickering screen and other entranced viewers.
What movie am I talking about, you may ask? (Or, you may not ask...) Marley and Me, of course! Owen Wilson, Jennifer Aniston and a large golden retriever unite forces in this funny but ultimately tragic movie. My mom comes down first and assures me that, after having seen the last fifteen minutes of the movie, it is very sad. Of course it's sad! The movie ends with the dog's death! A slow, sad drawn-out death, too.
Patrick comes down next. The TV's on, it's rated PG. Score! I've never actually seen him cry during a movie so this one marks a first.
Once Annie's done with her shower, she joins us clad in a towel for the last twenty minutes of the movie. She knows it's a sad ending and repeatedly cries out, "I don't want to watch this!" and then her attention returns to the movie. Marley's too old to walk up the stairs, more cries that she doesn't like this movie. The tears come when Marley won't come inside the house. They take him to the vet but before they do, the family has to say their final goodbyes to this beloved monster. The floodgates open and Annie is actually crying. Not a few tears quickly wiped away in a dark room but tears accompanied by sobs, sniffs, the whole nine yards. I think that the only thing that kept her from cuddling with my mom was the fact that she was still only wearing a towel.
I'm crying too but as I observe Annie's hysterics, I can't help but laugh at her over-the-top reaction. She hates sad movies because they breach the "ice-queen" facade. Finally, the screen fades to black, I put the disk back in the Netflix envelope, and slip it in the mailbox. Hopefully, the next movie on my queue will be a comedy, for Annie's sake, at least.
What movie am I talking about, you may ask? (Or, you may not ask...) Marley and Me, of course! Owen Wilson, Jennifer Aniston and a large golden retriever unite forces in this funny but ultimately tragic movie. My mom comes down first and assures me that, after having seen the last fifteen minutes of the movie, it is very sad. Of course it's sad! The movie ends with the dog's death! A slow, sad drawn-out death, too.
Patrick comes down next. The TV's on, it's rated PG. Score! I've never actually seen him cry during a movie so this one marks a first.
Once Annie's done with her shower, she joins us clad in a towel for the last twenty minutes of the movie. She knows it's a sad ending and repeatedly cries out, "I don't want to watch this!" and then her attention returns to the movie. Marley's too old to walk up the stairs, more cries that she doesn't like this movie. The tears come when Marley won't come inside the house. They take him to the vet but before they do, the family has to say their final goodbyes to this beloved monster. The floodgates open and Annie is actually crying. Not a few tears quickly wiped away in a dark room but tears accompanied by sobs, sniffs, the whole nine yards. I think that the only thing that kept her from cuddling with my mom was the fact that she was still only wearing a towel.
I'm crying too but as I observe Annie's hysterics, I can't help but laugh at her over-the-top reaction. She hates sad movies because they breach the "ice-queen" facade. Finally, the screen fades to black, I put the disk back in the Netflix envelope, and slip it in the mailbox. Hopefully, the next movie on my queue will be a comedy, for Annie's sake, at least.
Friday, June 11, 2010
New Things, Old Things, A Little Bit of Both
I just realized that the title of this post sounds like one of those lame chic lit books that you pick up in the library because the cover is brightly colored and the title is in a really cool font, then quickly put back down once you've had the chance to read the back cover. If we were in the animal kingdom, the best analogy I can summon is those brightly colored poisonous insects that predators are drawn to (like this one)--and then, once close, it secretes its poison into the curious animal. Sucker!!
Anyways, things that I've been pondering lately:
*Veganism: what!? Claire thinking about becoming a vegan?? Wait--don't be so quick to jump on the judgment wagon. I'm merely weighing the pros and cons of veganism at this point. I'm already halfway there actually. Having given up dairy products (except eggs, still eating those on occasion), all I would have to give up is poultry (which I love), other meat products (which are okay...), and fish (which is good for you). Hence my pondering. I can't say for sure that I want to strand myself in that food limbo of limited options and carb-gorging. I've just been reading what vegans have written on blogs and such about how much better they feel and how much more energy they have. Maybe this is something I will do when I feel my vitality flagging. That way I can actually notice a difference.
*Politics: This past Saturday through Tuesday, I went down to Virginia Beach with my Dad to help his West Point classmate, Bert Mizusawa run in a primary for Congress. We lost but it was really strange being back in the saddle, so to speak. That is, listening to the pundits debate or rave or whatever all the time on talk radio (my Dad's favorite listening choice, not mine). Talking to people at the polls, during the door to door campaigning, over the phone, etc. Being informed on the issues again and having an invested interest in the outcome of an election really takes me back to high school when I was steeped in politics. As President of the Young Republicans and daughter in a very politically active family, I all but had no choice--like hot water with a tea bag in it. I realized why I don't really like being involved in politics anymore...people are incredibly nasty and rude when that topic is broached. I naturally prefer to avoid conflict and so the idea of people employing whatever tactics to take down an opponent is one I would rather shy away from.
*Traveling: I leave for Fredericksburg today and Lake Anna tomorrow. Next week, I'm going to Maryland for a retreat with my church group. The week after that, Virginia Beach (again) for a vacation with the sisters. The week after that, a mission trip to Pennsylvania with Spotswood. Then, a few weeks pass and I'm off to Wyoming for Katie App's wedding. For all the joblessness that I've found myself in this summer, I'm actually quite busy.
Anyways, things that I've been pondering lately:
*Veganism: what!? Claire thinking about becoming a vegan?? Wait--don't be so quick to jump on the judgment wagon. I'm merely weighing the pros and cons of veganism at this point. I'm already halfway there actually. Having given up dairy products (except eggs, still eating those on occasion), all I would have to give up is poultry (which I love), other meat products (which are okay...), and fish (which is good for you). Hence my pondering. I can't say for sure that I want to strand myself in that food limbo of limited options and carb-gorging. I've just been reading what vegans have written on blogs and such about how much better they feel and how much more energy they have. Maybe this is something I will do when I feel my vitality flagging. That way I can actually notice a difference.
*Politics: This past Saturday through Tuesday, I went down to Virginia Beach with my Dad to help his West Point classmate, Bert Mizusawa run in a primary for Congress. We lost but it was really strange being back in the saddle, so to speak. That is, listening to the pundits debate or rave or whatever all the time on talk radio (my Dad's favorite listening choice, not mine). Talking to people at the polls, during the door to door campaigning, over the phone, etc. Being informed on the issues again and having an invested interest in the outcome of an election really takes me back to high school when I was steeped in politics. As President of the Young Republicans and daughter in a very politically active family, I all but had no choice--like hot water with a tea bag in it. I realized why I don't really like being involved in politics anymore...people are incredibly nasty and rude when that topic is broached. I naturally prefer to avoid conflict and so the idea of people employing whatever tactics to take down an opponent is one I would rather shy away from.
*Traveling: I leave for Fredericksburg today and Lake Anna tomorrow. Next week, I'm going to Maryland for a retreat with my church group. The week after that, Virginia Beach (again) for a vacation with the sisters. The week after that, a mission trip to Pennsylvania with Spotswood. Then, a few weeks pass and I'm off to Wyoming for Katie App's wedding. For all the joblessness that I've found myself in this summer, I'm actually quite busy.
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