Did you ever have green eggs and ham?
as child I can remember our elementary teachers doing a Dr. Seuss Unit which included a day of us all trying Green eggs and ham. I of course would not stand to try it, not because of the green coloring, but because I despised eggs and didn't care for ham as well.
But why don't I like eggs or why do some people get queasy when their food turns green?
Well Why did God choose the Israelites and not the Moabites, or the Egyptians to develop a special relationship with?
Why do we do anything?
Well I am reminded of these things when reading Gen. chapter 10. In which recounts the genealogies of Ham Shem and Japeth after the Flood. and One would suspect that God would say something or denote this son or any other number of things to make his future line clear. Or perhaps he Choose the eldest son? well looking back a few chapters in 5:32 in states that when Noah was 500 years old he became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japeth. Well why all lumped together? it's three sons so they could not all be born separately and Noah still continue to be 500 years old. But also you would think that it would say something like it did with Cain and Able if they were triplets... But besides that if you continue a little farther in Chapter 9 Noah plants and grows a Vineyard and becomes drunk (which by the way is the first indication of either of these activities though perhaps wine or something was created before the Flood since it had not rained... but hten again it hadn't rained...) Well what does it say in 9:22
"And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the naked ness of his father, and told his two brothers outside."
It even flat out says the father of Canaan which is then reiterated in chapter 10. then read down a few more verses...
9:25-27
"So he (NOAH) said, Cursed be Canaan; a Servant of Servants He shall be to his brothers..."
Then you read these genealogies... Yes it's longer, yes it's more detailed, but no their is no indication of it being a portion of God's Chosen people. And it's quite the opposite. The beginning chapters make Ham's descendants appear inferior, childish, and cursed. They are destined to become servants and thus they later became.
So what does this mean to us? It means look around you, look at the past, look at yourself. Yes perhaps your not the strongest, the greatest, or anyhting spectacular, but you are still a human. You are still created in God's Image, And even a cursed people like Israel that faced many things in there existence. God has a knack and a gift and a desire to hang on to, to love, and cherish those less fortunate, the cursed, and the deprived. So count it a blessing that life is no simple easy train ride; for pain is how we grow, time is how we measure what is important in our lives, and Our actions and thoughts is how we show others ourselves despite our Green eggs and ham that is buried behind us.
Showing posts with label focus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label focus. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Living MY Life
Life is distracting. Life for many is all about what is going on around them; who is wearing what, what the next scandal is, or what is the best way to wear my hair. Life lived in such a way leads to never becoming one's self. Without living your life you never have a life, and without having a life how does one expect to feel satisfied?
These past few months I have been caught up in the game of Life. I've lived focusing on school, or the next event, or that one girl that keeps sitting beside me. It has been an exciting adventure and I have learned and accomplished much, but at what cost? I seem to have put many things on hold and have bypassed many things.
I have learned a lot this past year one of which is to look back on the past and learn, and not give in to the same things that you had before. One great example is the bible. It is a text of repeated blunders. From the beginning it is a story or overcoming and learning. As the story progresses it continues to reflect upon itself. It even points out continued faults of God's people repeated generation after generation for thousands of years.
Just like god's people thousands of years ago we continue to fall into these same mistakes just as we ourselves fall into the same things over and over. Whether they are temptations or sins, or just putting things off until another time. We are human, we make mistakes; but our goal is to learn, to adapt, and to put into practice what we have learned.
I have learned a lot this past year, but the most important thing is to live my life; to chase YOUR goals; and to learn from your mistakes. Without taking a chance on yourself and giving yourself a shot, you will never be completely satisfied. You will always wonder and wish, but you will only be able to act for so long; so stop, think, and reach for your goals.
These past few months I have been caught up in the game of Life. I've lived focusing on school, or the next event, or that one girl that keeps sitting beside me. It has been an exciting adventure and I have learned and accomplished much, but at what cost? I seem to have put many things on hold and have bypassed many things.
I have learned a lot this past year one of which is to look back on the past and learn, and not give in to the same things that you had before. One great example is the bible. It is a text of repeated blunders. From the beginning it is a story or overcoming and learning. As the story progresses it continues to reflect upon itself. It even points out continued faults of God's people repeated generation after generation for thousands of years.
Just like god's people thousands of years ago we continue to fall into these same mistakes just as we ourselves fall into the same things over and over. Whether they are temptations or sins, or just putting things off until another time. We are human, we make mistakes; but our goal is to learn, to adapt, and to put into practice what we have learned.
I have learned a lot this past year, but the most important thing is to live my life; to chase YOUR goals; and to learn from your mistakes. Without taking a chance on yourself and giving yourself a shot, you will never be completely satisfied. You will always wonder and wish, but you will only be able to act for so long; so stop, think, and reach for your goals.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Can You Live Without…?
10On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, 11and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. 12When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, "Woman, you are set free from your infirmity." 13Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.
Luke 13:10-13 NIV
Have you ever play a sport and the coach tells you or everyone practices with his or her weak hand? Does he tell you that to make fun of you or just for kicks? No everyone knows that to be good you have to be able to use both your left and right, so you can use both on the court or field.
Have any of you been forced to maybe not use a limb (arm, leg, etc…) maybe broken it or something along those lines? Was it your strong or weak hand?
Well recently I fractured the radius on my dominant arm, which cause me to change many routines and do things in different ways. It cause a lot of problems at first, and still does from time to time, but you learn to overcome and do things differently without using your arm. Now I didn’t have to have a sling or anything and I could still use it to maybe write and draw with after a few days, but it has started to help me truly understand this verse and another that I’ll get to in a second.
Jesus has the power to Heal, to bring back your life, as you know it. Now I know my arm will heal soon, but it still makes it tough in the mean time. Jesus could just say a word and it would be healed… We need to rely on him for healing, but we also need to be patient an dlet him work in his own time. And in the mean time maybe I’ll learn something or see something in a different way.
But it has also made me think about other things…
7"Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come! 8If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. 9And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.
Matthew 18:7-9 NIV
Self-sacrifice is something Jesus also called us to. We have to be willing to tear away anything that will hinder us from his way weather it’s our dominate hand or leg, our tongue, family, TV, or even friends…
To me, my dominant hand is my whole livelihood for the rest of my life. Being an art major loosing my right arm could have serious consequences, but it may also have a better outcome if something were to happen to it. I may be able to spend my time doing something more important or do something better with my left hand who knows. We have to be willing to give up anything, and leave the decisions to him and make the best of every situation.
As Christians we have to keep our minds open and our heart focused and with him we accomplish anything and everything and without we will do nothing but hinder those trying.
Be a child, one of God. Focus not on the past, the future, but the present, and hold nothing back.
2He called a little child and had him stand among them. 3And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
5"And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. 6But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.
Matthew 18: 2-6 NIV
Luke 13:10-13 NIV
Have you ever play a sport and the coach tells you or everyone practices with his or her weak hand? Does he tell you that to make fun of you or just for kicks? No everyone knows that to be good you have to be able to use both your left and right, so you can use both on the court or field.
Have any of you been forced to maybe not use a limb (arm, leg, etc…) maybe broken it or something along those lines? Was it your strong or weak hand?
Well recently I fractured the radius on my dominant arm, which cause me to change many routines and do things in different ways. It cause a lot of problems at first, and still does from time to time, but you learn to overcome and do things differently without using your arm. Now I didn’t have to have a sling or anything and I could still use it to maybe write and draw with after a few days, but it has started to help me truly understand this verse and another that I’ll get to in a second.
Jesus has the power to Heal, to bring back your life, as you know it. Now I know my arm will heal soon, but it still makes it tough in the mean time. Jesus could just say a word and it would be healed… We need to rely on him for healing, but we also need to be patient an dlet him work in his own time. And in the mean time maybe I’ll learn something or see something in a different way.
But it has also made me think about other things…
7"Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come! 8If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. 9And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.
Matthew 18:7-9 NIV
Self-sacrifice is something Jesus also called us to. We have to be willing to tear away anything that will hinder us from his way weather it’s our dominate hand or leg, our tongue, family, TV, or even friends…
To me, my dominant hand is my whole livelihood for the rest of my life. Being an art major loosing my right arm could have serious consequences, but it may also have a better outcome if something were to happen to it. I may be able to spend my time doing something more important or do something better with my left hand who knows. We have to be willing to give up anything, and leave the decisions to him and make the best of every situation.
As Christians we have to keep our minds open and our heart focused and with him we accomplish anything and everything and without we will do nothing but hinder those trying.
Be a child, one of God. Focus not on the past, the future, but the present, and hold nothing back.
2He called a little child and had him stand among them. 3And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
5"And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. 6But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.
Matthew 18: 2-6 NIV
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