Random Things

Well, I broke down and bought an iPod Shuffle. David (from the mission team) had one and talked about how he listened to sermons in between classes and walking around on campus, John N had also talked about doing the same thing and my personal ambition is to listen to all of the material on the church website (ChristianThinking.com) and so that's what I'm attempting to do, to redeem every spare moment in the car and in various places. Often I find that I'm too tired to really read and comprehend all I'm trying to, so this will be a good opportunity for me as well, to lay there listening. Now I'm just like all the other college students. But I still refuse a cell phone :D

I also realized that I can use this for helping with my Catechism Questions, by recording myself reading the questions and answers, putting them on the iPod and setting it to "shuffle" so it will just randomly choose one, say the question and answer. I can take a group of those with me (say 25 at a time) and bombard myself with them all throughout the day. Yes, I have put music on it as well. I think I'm enjoying this too much.....

I was also experimenting with the "average e-mail length" and came up with the following as a typical e-mail that teens send to one another, though they usually don't e-mail, they just wait until someone comes on AIM to ask something. Which seems an entire waste of time to me when you could just get it over with and send an e-mail right away. Anyway, here's my "typical e-mail."

hey just wanted to thx u 4 saying hi and i hope ur doin fine an we'll have lots uv fun this summr and sendign u email iz fun and i luv pink ponys

and the sad thing is, I've gotten e-mails similar to this before, especially in connection with The Hobbit video game. I had one just the other day from a guy who said "I don't know if you remember me but I had that file where I think I got some things I wasn't supposed to and I was wondering if you think I should start over or just keep going?" I was reading it to my brother and then added (in a whiny voice) "I can't make any decisions, please Shadow, help me with my life!" I mean, he's asking my advice as to whether he should restart the level or not. It just struck me as funny.

In my queue at MyLaptopGPS (as SafeRegistry is now called) I had an e-mail from a lady who said something like "THIS IS REDICULOUS, I MAILED YOU 6 TIMES AND YOU SAID IT WAS FIXED WELL YOU CAN JUST CANCEL ME NOW BECAUSE I'M THROUGH." And yes, she did misspell "ridiculous." I checked through the system and I'd only had two from her, the last one I had sent a response to saying that I was taking a guess at the new expiration date and told her what I was guessing. Apparently I was incorrect but she didn't bother to tell me, so the system e-mailed her saying she was still not paying.

I just finished listening to Bruce's sermon on the end of 2 Corinthians chapter 1, which speaks of correcting in love and the need to do so, but that it be done gently. I really appreciate the sermon because I do try that. Often I need correction and people don't give it to me enough for fear of hurting my feelings, which in a sense is a good thing, in another it's a bad thing. I try to be firm in my stand on certain issues (though I have failed most miserably before) but I don't think I'm nearly active enough. If I truly loved my Christian brothers, I would be trying to help them in their walk, not obnoxiously but really out of love and concern, taking them aside privately and mentioning certain things, being willing to have discussions, or even starting them. It's something I need to work on more.

And in other news, I'm reading through part of Calvin's Institutes right now, on Baptism and how it relates to infants especially. He has some very good points and I'm constantly going to my computer to type out multiple paragraphs on nearly every section as part of my own notes. He's also very vehement, as were many men in those days. I think in our times we are too passive and willing to let just about anything slide in silence, but let all things be done in love and gentleness, yet with firmness and conviction of conscience. And I need to get working on some more applications for scholarships so I'm going to stop with this.... jumble of notes.

I finished one of the applications, it asked for three different "essays" on various subjects. Each of them had to be less than 120 words. Honestly! What can you say in 120 words? You can barely say "hello" and "how are you" and "please pass the jam." That's about all you can say in 120 words. *grumble*

To finish off (and on a more serious note) here is a quote from one of Spurgeon's sermons that I was reading today, speaking of Jesus working in the blind man's life and is similar to the recent quote from Pink:

"Now learn this lesson, all ye followers of Christ. Whenever you see suffering, I hope you will each one feel "I must work, I must help." Whenever you witness poverty, whenever you behold vice, say to yourself, "I must work, I must work." If you are worthy of the Christ whom you call leader, let all the necessities of men impel you, compel you, constrain you to be blessing them. Let the world wich lieth in the wicked one arouse you; let the cries of men of Macedonia awaken you, as they say "Come over and help us!" Men are dying, dying in the dark. The cemetery is filling, and hell is filling too. Men are dying without hope; and are passing into the eternal night. "I must work."
They cry, -Master, spare thyself: incessant labour will wear thee down and bring thee to thy grave. But see! see! see! Perdition swallows crowds, they go down alive into the pit! Hark to their doleful cries! Lost souls are being shut out from God. "I must work." Oh, that I could lay my hand - or, better far, that my Master would lay his pierced hand on every true Christian here and press it upon him until he cried out, "I cannot sit here. I must be at work as soon as this service is done. I must not only hear, and give, and pray, but I must also work."

And that is precisely why I feel that I must labour without ceasing, without giving up hope, striving for Christ's Kingdom in whatever way I can that I might in some small way serve my Lord. John 9:4 is one of the verses that I have really taken to heart lately and I hope I'll never grow weary of labouring but always remember this:

"I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work"