Don Miller speaks Truth

"The ability to accept God's unconditional grace and ferocious love is all the fuel we need to obey Him in return. Accepting God's kindness and free love is something the devil does not want us to do. If we hear, in our inner ear, a voice saying we are failures, we are losers, we will never amount to anything, this is the voice of Satan trying to convince the bride that the groom does not love her. This is not the voice of God. God woos us with kindness, He changes our character with the passion of His love."

-Donald Miller, Blue Like Jazz

LOST Premiere Excitement

After seven months of waiting for the return of my beloved show, LOST entered my life again last night as it returned to the screen. And... it was incredible. I always think that it's impossible for it to get any better and it just totally does! Oh how I have missed Ben's sarcastic one-liners and dead pans, Sawyer's nicknames, and Hurley's element of hilarity. I will list some cryptic highlights from last night's episode so as not to give anything too huge away to those who must catch up...

-Mrs. HAWKING

-The All-Defeating Hot Pocket

-Meat Locker

-Marvin Candle

-Apparitions

-"Libby says hi."

-Daniel Faraday's MOM!

-"When am I??"

Ahhhhhhhhh!!!

Return of LOST!!!

I realized this morning that everything in my life is cherry-flavored:

1.
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4.

Bennie and Joon to the Proclaimers

"Raisins are humiliated grapes."
-Bennie and Joon

So true, so true right now.

On being awfully sick...

It's been a week. I started having this incredibly sore throat almost two weeks ago and finally decided to go see the doctor about it on Monday. My doctor took one look at my throat, described it as "impressive" (never a good sign), and told me I either had strep or mono. I took a blood test and I heard the results a couple hours later-- positive for mono. Awesome, now I have a bunch of tired days ahead, right before school starts again. Oh mono, couldn't you have come sooner? I've decided to start talking to my mono, telling it what's what and to just get out of me already.

I would describe Tuesday and Wednesday as the worst days of my life. On Tuesday, I spent most of the day vomiting up everything I had eaten that day. Congestion in my nasal cavities had worsened and I felt my throat starting to close up. The swelling in my lymphnodes was significantly greater. I couldn't sleep that night, due to lack of ability to breathe well. Yesterday, I felt like I was dying, because I simply couldn't breathe, so I went back to the doctor and he told me that it looked like I had gotten worse. I started feeling myself getting nauseated again and he said that I looked like I'd gotten kicked in the butt. Yeah! He came to the conclusion that on top of mono, I also had a bacterial infection. So he prescribed more drugs-- one for nausea, steroids for the swelling, and an antibiotic for the infection.

I'm still having trouble sleeping, but this morning I feel about the best I have all week. I feel slightly less congested and my throat is getting a little better. I still sound like a second-grader and have difficulty swallowing, but hopefully that part of the sickness is on the mend. If you all could just pray for me about this, I would appreciate it so much. I'm worried about school starting soon and I know it's not going to be an easy next few weeks with this mono thing. The awful thing about it is that there's no cure for mono, so your body just has to sort it out and let it run its course.

My boyfriend, parents and friends have been so wonderful in taking care of me this week. I am truly blessed to have you all in my life! Thank you so much for your support and caring natures.

Truly a Revelation

The book of Revelation has always scared me a little, simply because it IS such a mystery and I don't think we were meant to understand everything. But I have been convicted lately that I should not let that fear stand in the way of my at least ATTEMPTING to understand it, because Jesus does stress the importance of this book. I read the first nine chapters and the last two today and I saw so many new things with fresh eyes! God was exciting, in a way I haven't experienced in a long time!

One of the things I'm seeing is that God is both completely just and loving at the same time-- the fierce Lion and the gentle, sacrificial Lamb. He gives plenty of time for people to come to know Him, and when they reject Him and choose other gods, there are consequences. He doesn't change who He is so that we will accept Him. This is the main reason that God will punish those who do not choose Him-- "Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first Love." (Rev. 2:4)-- There are consequences for sin unchecked!

He stands at the door and knocks patiently (Rev. 3:20), but if we reject His calling, we will not be with Him in eternity. He wants to see as many people come to know Him as possible, because He cares for every one. That's why it pains Him to see them reject His love, which He so freely gives. When Jesus Christ will open the Seventh Seal-- the seal of death and destruction-- it says there will be silence in heaven for half an hour (according to Earth time, perhaps)-- Rev. 8:1. He loves us so much, He doesn't want anyone to perish without Him!

I love the description of the Trinity that John witnesses:

"And among the lampstands was Someone 'like a son of man,' dressed in a robe reaching down to His feet and with a golden sash around His chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance."
-Rev. 1:13-16

When I read that, I get chills! I picture my Heavenly Father, my Redeemer, my Beloved, my Savior, my Holy Spirit-- this is whom I serve! And I want to live a holy life, to humbly serve the Lord with an unending fervor all of my days on this Earth!