The Rise of The Shadow

Brother is now giving tips for titles. I've run out.

I'm not certain how much "blogging" I'll be doing during the summer: the work that I'm doing daily, combined with a desire to do a lot of reading while I can, seems to overpower whatever desire I have to write about what is going on. I'm going to try to keep it to a couple of updates a week for whoever is interested and in any event, M.O.M. still likes to read them :)

Saturday afternoon I did stop by the Alterra Assisted Living center and was able to talk to Freddie and leave a note of thanks for the lady in charge for her assistance at the beginning of the semester. I feel as though I wish I could do something. So many of the residents in there come in fine, but after spending day after day doing exactly the same thing (which isn't much) and seeing so many of their fellow residents wander around addled and not having a decent conversation with anyone, they too start to deteriorate. I noticed a bit of a difference in Freddie, she repeated herself several times and said a few things that made me raise my eyebrows. I wish I could do something! I will try to go back multiple times just to say hello to the people and try to strike up some friendships. If I had time I would like to play games (checkers, chess, or things like that) and just try to help keep them active. Older people, just like everyone else, need interaction, and unfortunately they don't really interact too much with eachother, especially when they see eachother all day every day, at least at this place. It's probably true that many of them, by the time they get here, are already going downhill a bit.

I couldn't stay long and after that I had the opportunity to hear a piano recital in which STupendous, Daisy, and G.W. played. I enjoyed it very much and all of the people playing did very well. I have to admit that I really enjoyed Daisy's lively playing quite a bit, it sounded really, really good. Myself and a couple of boys then went to the P house and picked up three more boys and all headed over to my camper for a couple of hours of gaming fun. I dropped them off and quickly ran over to pick up Beatthx, I wished I could have brought more people but even as it was, three people would be sitting out each round, I only have one TV. I just have a hard time drawing the line because how do you choose any three particular people and not let others come? Almost everybody likes to play Super Smash Bros. and while I enjoy it, it's certainly not my favourite game and I can be beaten pretty easily too, so I stayed out for all of those rounds, I had fun when we did Metroid Prime for a little though, that's a game I really enjoy. I just like watching the other people enjoying themselves and trying to give tips if I can.

There was this one time where two players shot themselves out of cannons and collided midair, which is pretty hard to do. Both exploded.

Just before the end I showed them all a Disney short I had, a very old one of Goofy and playing Football, which accurately described my feelings. Mayhem, ridiculous, etc. Then I had to run Beatthx back home real quick and come to the camper to pick up the rest of the boys, dropped the P's off and by that time I knew I was going to be late getting the N's back home. I felt bad about it, especially since I had already been given a grace period and I was even going over that! I think I was forgiven though (I hope) and very graciously allowed to stay for supper (they invited me yet again, can you believe it?!) and even a Three Stooges short afterward, which was one of the best I'd seen I think. I needed something to loosen me up I think. I enjoyed the time with their family very much but had to get back home and fix things up for my move the next day. My father and youngest brother were coming in that evening with the truck to take my home down on Sunday. There wasn't a whole lot to clean up though and after taking down all the speakers and getting everything ready for the trip, I headed off to bed with a couple of books to read. Summer was beginning!

Speaking of books, I did finish Revival and Revivalism, by Iain Murray and I would again highly recommend it to anyone who may not have read it, not only is it very good for historical information, but just the application of it was very good. Constantly I was surprised at the history of many of the church denominations in my own country. I'm on page 440 of vol 1 of Hodge's Systematic Theology, he's speaking of the Trinity right now and it's very good to go back to all of this, especially because Pastor just did recently in the afternoon services. I also read a sermon of Spurgeon's last night that I wanted to mention, it's in volume 1 of Spurgeon's sermons on the Miracles and Parables of Our Lord, pg. 115 entitled "Satan's Banquet." He drew a connection and a story that I never would have seen but it was convicting to me, for I know that there have been times where I would take a sip at the table for secret sins or the table of pride and self-righteousness. I really enjoyed that sermon. I find that many of the people at the college are arrogant, knowledge has puffed them up. I was speaking to one guy who was in Electrical Engineering as well and he kept plying me with questions and seemed relieved to find out that I wasn't nearly as far advanced in the program that he was, he was telling me how many hours he had completed etc. And when someone else started talking about USB he rattled off some statistics and when another guy disagreed with him he said "well I'm an Electrical Engineer" and the other guy said he was too. Then he had to find out how far HE was along in the program so he could prove he was superior. I honestly hope that it's a lesson to me and I don't try to flaunt any knowledge that I may gain along the way. I would like a good education so I might be able to perform well at a job I might have later on down the road and I fully know that there are other people far more knowledgeable in their fields or generally than I am.

Yet that's an area I struggle with, the idea that I know more or am superior in some way. I pray never to use God-given talents for anything other than God's glory. I do tend to be competitive and I need to be humble and realize that I don't have to try to be better than someone all the time. Going to church where I have been has been very helpful for me, there are so many talented and gifted people who labour as servants and are very humble. I feel like I am learning and growing and am very thankful for that opportunity. I shall miss my "Stillwater Family" this summer, they were mainly the ones I was referring to in the last post about the "godly seed," who can be used of God to pervade the earth, growing up strong in the Lord, my peers, my generation, and fellow brothers and sisters. Here is a passage on the subject that I found very encouraging from "Revival and Revivalism," speaking about the possibility of God bringing forther future revivals in America.

"It may be that a generation of freshly-anointed preachers is already being prepared. Whether that is so or not, when such men are sent forth by Christ we can be sure of certain things. They will not be identical in all points with the men of the past, but there will be a fundamental resemblance. They will be hard students of Scripture. They will prize a great spiritual heritage. They will see the danger of 'unsanctified learning'. While they will not be afraid of controversy, nor of being called hyper-orthodox, they will fear to spend their days in controversy. They will believe with John Rice that 'the church is not purified by controversy, but by holy love'. They will not forget that the wise, who will shine 'as the stars for ever and ever', are those who 'turn many to righteousness' (Dan. 12.2). They will covet the wisdom which Scripture attributes to the one 'that winneth souls' (Prov. 11.30). But their cheerfulness will have a higher source than their work. To know God himself will be their supreme concern and joy. They will therefore not be strangers to humility. And their experience will not be without trials and discouragements, not least because they fall so far short of their aspirations. If they are spared to live as long as John Leland they will be ready to say with him at last: 'I have been unweredly trying to preach Jesus, but have not yet risen to that state of holy zeal and evangelical knowledge, that I have been longing after'. Whether their days will be bright or dark they will learn to say with Nettleton that 'the milk and honey lie beyond this wilderness world'.

That is what I greatly desire, to see God do a great work in the nations, in my own country, in America where people have grown complacent and feel that just by donating money or "not doing bad things" they can get to heaven. I want to see people who pursue holiness and love God with all their heart and to please and serve him and to enjoy him is their highest goal. Where people actually care about the Bible and long to discuss it instead of shunning it (even in so-called "Christian" circles). That God would bring up young men and women in the strength of Davies, Edwards, and Whitfield. That would be an amazing sight to see, and something I would definitely hope God would let me be a part of.

Things around here are pretty normal, we built some cabinets, worked on the kitchen of a family in the area, and things like that. Not really a whole lot to say about that. I've already got my eye on several more books to read but I want to finish at least volume 1 of Hodge's Systematic Theology first, I've been taking too long with him. I'll try to get on and update somewhat regularly.

Oh, by the way, I did get four A's and a B this last semester. It's my first B but I expected it. With the classes I had, there were three that were consuming my time in a very large way and that was the one I decided to sacrifice in. Besides that, the class was graded on a curve and about 20% of the people were Computer Science majors who knew multiple languages and had been programming for years. So I don't feel too bad, though of course I wish I had done better. Anywho, and in other randomness, I noticed that my skin colour is ghastly pale after all that time studying indoors......