Waiting On God

"I don't mean just thinking. I mean thinking with a difference — trusting God to make things clear in His own time, thinking in a spirit of adoration, of dependency, of trust. That includes trust that He is, in fact, changing your mind."

"In Romans 12:2, Paul writes 'Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove' — that means 'discern' — 'that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.' Do you see what he's saying? He seems to think that the key to 'proving' or discerning the will of God isn't getting a certain kind of experience in the mind, but getting a certain kind of mind. Paul wants our minds to be 'renewed' through surrender to His will."

Not "God, my mind is all ready, so drop some thoughts into it..." "He made your mind to think, so don't let your mind just lie there — think. But think in His presence."


---From "The Lord Told Me (Part 1 of 2)", by J. Budziszewski, Boundless.org.

Tell it like it is...

"The [Massachusetts] state pharmacy board ordered Wal-Mart on Tuesday to stock emergency contraception pills at its stores in Massachusetts.

"Massachusetts becomes second state to require the world's largest retailer to carry the morning-after pill.

A Wal-Mart spokesman said... "Clearly women's health is a high priority for Wal-Mart," spokesman Dan Fogleman said. "We are actively thinking through the issue."

My Personal Thoughts: Since when has the morning after pill or any of its successors had much to do with women's health? A woman is not diseased if she is pregnant, though many feminists seem to think so. I understand, though I do not agree with, the argument about abortions for women who are raped or who might die during the birth process. However, if a woman has been raped or is facing pregnancy complications, she should be in a hospital getting proper medical attention, not in Wal-Mart buying drugs. Therefore, the only woman likely, I would think, to be the intended consumer of such a product would be the woman who thinks she might have messed up with her birth control and just wants to make sure...

But then again, maybe this is a health issue...a mental health issue. Women need to stop seeing their bodies as objects to use for their own satisfaction. Women who feel entitled to have sex out of wedlock and who feel justified in using various contraception methods and abortion if necessary to maintain some plastic notion of freedom...these women are simply insane.

Set aside the notion that there is some form of freedom in wordly views. Women are not free when they can kill their babies and have sex with men who are neither in love with nor committed to them. Freedom can only be found when you stop following the dictates of a blind society and start following the truth that is written in your heart.

V-day Philosophy

...speak of one who loved not wisely, but too well.

- Othello.

Lesson of The Day

It is better to be a seal than a penguin.

Facing Ghosts: more on courtship

The pain of heartbreak for me has been linear in nature: the more trust involved, the more pain felt. I think it is quite possible to trust someone more than you love them. The worst kind of heartbreak is the kind where love and trust are equal, and in great amounts...that pain can be almost unbearable.

I've been broken up with before...I've also been the one to do the breaking. It sucks, either way. The term "breaking up" is very apt. Whether or not you are physically involved, there is always an emotional "oneness" that is created during the dating process. Knowing what it means to give yourself to a person takes a lot of heart. In her article, "Why Breaking Up is Hard To Do", Sara Hinlicky wrote about a guy named James who was dumped by a girl named Cindy.

He is the one who really understood what was at stake in their romance. It wasn'’t an arrangement designed to be temporary or merely preparatory for something else. He saw, and felt in his heart of hearts, the profound spiritual implications of his intimacy with Cindy. It was a sacrifice of himself to her that required incredible trust. He willingly blended his identity with hers;

James was heartbroken when Cindy broke-up with him. She wasn't. She moved on. He struggled. I can't say how long any one person struggles or not with such a problem, but it is a tough road for the person who really knows what dating and courtship and emotional intimacy bring.

For the givers out there who give their hearts freely, with complete trust...be more discerning. I speak with experience over many years. I've had to face those ghosts too...the questions with no answers. "Why me? What is wrong with me? Why aren't I good enough? How do I lack...how can I fix it? Don't I have value?" The ghosts of the "exs". The ghosts of regret.

Toward the end of her article, Hinlicky says that perhaps we really aren't one until we are married to that person God has intended for us. Maybe she is right, I certainly do not profess any aptitude for maritial theology. What I do know is this: in marriage, we are one before God; as a married couple, we should build each other up, not tear each other down; my husband should complete me in ways that I am incapable of filling, and I should complete him in the say way.

Reason from Above

"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord" Isaiah 1:18.

Many times, I've been chastised in my life for my faith, that faith is without reason. I quite disagree. Faith is the highest form of reason...requiring the utmost in mental commitment from the person in which it abides. And since our relationship with God is based on faith...in Christ..."[i]t is important to realize, [when talking with God], that one is having a discussion. Religious thought is not an abdication of reason or discussion; it is simply reasoning and discussion by other means." (Nate Olman on God and taxes).

It is a plain man indeed that finds solace in mere logic and philosophy.

In Memory

In memory of my Aunt Prissy, who passed away yesterday of cancer at 49 years old.

More on tax treaties

In this post on the Tax Prof blog, the issue of tax treaties comes up again. (See this previous post).

As a general note, I think I find the U.S. entering into treaties that submit the people of this nation to foreign power a bit unconstitutional. (Please add a note of sarcasm to the word "bit").

And you think taxes are bad now...

Can you imagine having taxes on global e-commerce? Ack! Tax Prof blog has a post here, and I have copied the abstract below, regard global taxation.

This paper assesses national and international responses to tax challenges presented by cross-border electronic commerce. Almost ten years after these challenges were first identified, a survey of national government reactions shows that many countries have not passed any significant tax legislation or administrative guidance with respect to the taxation of global e-commerce. This lack of action at the national level can be explained in large part by the leadership role taken by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in developing the guiding principles and, subsequently, the tax rules to confront the e-commerce tax challenges. The OECD’s general success with e-commerce tax reform demonstrates the potential of the OECD to act as a kind of informal (lower case) world tax organization, which emphasizes deliberation, consensus-building and the use of non-binding mechanisms such as the OECD model tax treaty. Moreover, the OECD’s success suggests that calls for a more formal (upper-case) World Tax Organization, which could impose binding tax rules on participating nations, may be misplaced.

The Coolness of Tax

The government will always get its own...

Take for instance this article on the Tax Prof blog.

"Having someone else pay your taxes can get tricky, since the government counts the amount that person pays as taxable income. "

Gary Allan - The One

No rush though I need your touch
I won't rush your heart
Until you feel on solid ground
Until your strength is found, girl

I'll fill those canyons in your soul
Like a river lead you home
And I'll walk a step behind
In the shadows so you shine
Just ask it will be done
And I will prove my love
Until you're sure that I'm "the one"

Somebody else was here before
He treated you unkind
And broken wings need time to heal
Before a heart can fly, girl

I'll fill those canyons in your soul
Like a river lead you home
And I'll walk a step behind
In the shadows so you shine
Just ask it will be done
And I will prove my love
Until you're sure that I'm "the one"

Trust in me and you'll find a heart so true
All I want to do is give the best of me to you
And stand beside you

Just ask it will be done
And I will prove my love
Until you're sure that I'm "the one"

Good Thought

“I WOULD RATHER TEMPORARILY FAIL WITH A CAUSE THAT WILL ULTIMATELY SUCCEED, THAN TO TEMPORARILY SUCCEED WITH A CAUSE THAT WILL ULTIMATELY FAIL.” –WOODROW WILSON

A funny...

From BuffaloWings&Vodka, a funny thought.

Things your law professor is doing instead of grading your exam:

....Looking at the webcounter he's installed to see how many times you've checked your grades, and laughing....

All law student's know how true that seems!!

Spirit of the Law

Every law student knows about IRAC (or the newer CREAC). Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion. The crux of it, that which determines the top and bottom half of the class, comes from knowing the rule and applying it to the facts presented. That is what lawyers do...why they are paid so much sometimes. They have to use their minds to take a rule that can seem impersonal and distant on paper and apply it to a real scenario, involving real people.

It is application that makes those stale words in books come alive. More and more, I'm understanding that is what I need to do in my life as a Christian. In the song "Everything to me" by Avalon, the lyrics go like this:

I grew up in Sunday school
I memorized the Golden rule
And how Jesus came to set the sinner free
I know the story inside out
I can tell you all about
The path that led Him up to Calvary
But ask me why He loves me
And I don't know what to say
But I'll never be the same
Because he changed my life when He became...

Everything to me
He's more than a story
more than words on a page of history
He's the air that I breath
The water I thirst for
And the ground beneath my feet
He's everything, everything to me

Living in a modern world, it is sometimes hard to remember that Christ really did live those words written in the bible. He cast out demons, raised the dead, walked on water, and most important, took the sin of the world with him on the cross and conquered death for us. The significance of that is hard to grasp until you really dig into scripture and see how we are suppose to live. However, the first step is to realize that those stale words on the page won't mean anything to us individually until we apply them to our lives.

I Am, Part 2

In a previous post I talked about Nicole Nordeman's song, "I Am". I've been listening to the song so much lately because of hard times in my life, I'm publishing the song's lyrics in full below:

Pencil marks on a wall, I wasn't always this tall
You scattered some monsters from beneath my bed.
You watched my team win, and watched my team lose
Watched when my bicycle went down again

When I was weak, unable to speak, still I could call You by name
And I said Elbow Healer, Superhero, come if you can
You said, I Am

Only sixteen, life is so mean
What kind of curfew is at 10 pm?
You saw my mistakes and watched my heart break
Heard when I swore I'd never love again

When I was weak, unable to speak, still I could call You by name
And I said Heartache Healer, Secret Keeper, be my best friend
You said, I Am

You saw me wear white by pale candlelight
I said 'forever' to what lies ahead
Two kids and a dream, with kids that can scream
Too much it might seem when it is 2 am.

When I was weak, unable to speak, still I could call You by name
Oh, Shepherd Savior, Pasture Maker, hold on to my hand
You said, I Am

The winds of change and circumstance
Blow in and all around us
So we find a foothold that's familiar
And bless the moments that we feel you nearer

When life had begun I was woven and spun
You let the angels dance around the throne
Who can say when, but they'll dance again
When I am free and finally headed home

I will be weak, unable to speak, still I will call You by name
Creator, Maker, Life Sustainer
Comforter, Healer, My Redeemer
Lord and King, Beginning and the End
I Am, I Am

KLove Ministry

There is a radio station I listen to here in Lubbock. I'm not sure from where, but it is sydicated nationally and anyone can listen via the internet.

They are funded through pledge money from listeners, and they failed to reach their goal during the Fall Pledge Drive. Therefore, they are doing a year-end pledge drive.

One guy called in who said that while he and his wife cannot afford much, they both received the same message from God that they should give monthly to the KLove ministry. They are selling their house and some of their things so they can get financially back on track...but in the mean time, they are donating.

Relying on Malachi 3:10-11, the man said that God has all the money in the world; He doesn't need our money, he needs our trust, our faith.

I say, Amen.

KLove

A resolution worth keeping

From Dr. Jack Graham, Dallas TX:

You probably know the story of Simon Peter, a sometimes brash and confident fisherman, who denied Jesus just as the Lord predicted. When Peter realized his sin, he wept bitterly and went away into the darkness of misery. But that same Peter who had been outside the love of God and having denied Christ moved back into the arms of Christ because of forgiveness. He was renewed, restored, and recommissioned.

He went from that time of turmoil in his life to be ignited by the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost and become the greatest preacher and Apostle of the first century. Why? Because Jesus said he was going to build His church on people, just like Simon Peter, who are frail, fragile, and often fall, but that also desire to wholeheartedly love, follow, obey, and live for Him.

It may be that in the days of this past year, you’ve found yourself living in denial of your faith at certain times. Maybe you’ve walked away from the love of God or found yourself distracted and unfocused when it comes to your relationship with Christ. Pray that Christ would bring you back into a spirit-filled relationship with Him and that He would reignite your heart on fire for Him.

In the coming year, commit yourself to the spiritual exercise of your soul. Build yourself up in Christ through faith, ground yourself in Jesus growing into spiritual maturity, and live fully in the love of God. Do you want to stay in the love of God during this coming year and those after? Then stay in the Word of God!

YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION SHOULD BE TO BUILD YOUR SPIRITUAL LIFE UP EVERY DAY THROUGH FAITH IN CHRIST AND IN HIS HOLY WORD.

Guardianship

I'm taking a short course this next semester on Guardianships. I found the following blog post on my professor's website incredibly interesting and thought it was worth an entry on my own blog.

Here is the link

A list to think on

I took this list from another blog. I thought it sounded great...

1. Parents ... have wisdom of gold that is not taken until long after it is given.
2. My greatest ... fear is being left alone.
3. I secretly ... wish I had a room full of books that I could work through at my own pace.
4. The problem with ... problems is that they never go away.
5. My mother used to ... get up early in the morning to go to work, and I would sit in her bathroom door and watch her get ready.
6. Women ... love and feel things deeply.
7. Men ... smell great - sometimes!
8. I hate ... (am massively irritated by) slow drivers.
9. Long ... lines help me build by patience.
10. Being young ... is over-valued, because there is rarely much wisdom in youth.
11. Aging ... is under-valued, because there is quite often a lot of wisdom in age.
12. I love ... good coffee, chocolate, and sunrises.
13. People tend to ... refrain from speaking their minds.
14. My favorite ... thing to do is watch movies.
15. I'm getting better at ... learning to let my issues go.
16. I wish ... I could lie under a blanket of stars and try to count them.
17. Some things ... are of little consequence, despite the value we try to give them.
18. In a year ... I hope I will have found a job that I love.
19. Children ... have enough innocence to give them wisdom beyond their years.
20. I would like to be ... Christ-like in everything I do.

Back in the Saddle

So Christmas is over, and the New Year is right around the corner. Colorado was absolutely fantastic...pics coming soon. I'm back in The Big D visiting my family...but once I return to good ol' Lubbock, just wait! Regular posting will start once again (whereas they ended right before finals) and I'm doing a re-organization of the entire blog.

Hope everyone is having a great time of year! I'm off to Bath and Body to buy 5 Anti-bacterial soaps for $10...lol. Gotta keep those hands clean and smellin' good!