On Saturday I went with my family to see "Oz the Great and Powerful" (for freeeeee ;). One totally random line I loved was when Oz said, "Thomas Edison was a real wizard. He looked into the future and made it happen." I think that's just a really cool thought.
What I really loved about the movie, though, was when Oz said to Glinda, "I'm not the wizard you expected, but I might be the wizard you need." The people of Oz wanted someone big, powerful, amazing, someone who could grant wishes and do magic! Oz wasn't any of that when he put aside his pretenses. He was a common Kansas man with no desire to have goodness in his heart. He had no magical powers. All he had was his ingenuity, knowledge, and something sneaky up his sleeve (red powder, to be exact). He didn't use anything special to fix a china doll's broken leg- only glue. But it was what she needed. He didn't have any magic at all, and certainly not enough to beat the Wicked Witches. But his carefully crafted machines, the likes of which they had never seen, were exactly what was needed to win the battle.
Jesus wasn't the king anyone expected. Even His closest disciples wanted Him to use military strength to take up an earthly throne and defeat the Romans. Jesus had something better in store. They thought they needed a king to rule their land. What they really needed was a King to save their souls from hell. They were disappointed when He didn't try to take over Jerusalem, but in the end they knew. He'd been right all along when He said, "I'm not the king you expected, but I am the King you need."
4/27/13
Hello there
Today, I made a blog. Just cuz I felt like it. I'm not really sure what I'll use it for, but I'll probably be really noisy because I have lots to say.
Very early yesterday morning I got back from the NCFCA Region Ten Regional Invitational. My brother, sister, and I have been competing in speech, and my brother qualified to Regionals in Apologetics. I didn't do Apologetics this year, but I hope to next year. It's a great learning experience and an excellent way to practice defending one's faith.
So, after sleeping in to about 9:30, my family helped our new pastor's family move into their house. They have four sweet little girls: Annie (age 6), Violet (4), Noelle (2), and Sophia (3 months). I am wiped out, but I still have to work more today. :(
I guess one thing I like to write about is encouragement. At the Regionals tournament the leadership had a running theme of encouraging others. At the awards ceremony on the last day, they had everyone in the odd-numbered rows turn around and say certain words of encouragement to those behind them. A boy I do not know at all said to me, "You'll make it." I didn't know what that could mean, and I told my friend sitting next to me that the fact that the words were scripted stripped them of sincerity.
The more I thought about it, the more I realized that maybe this stranger was a messenger sent by God. The tournament leadership knew that every single person needs encouragement in something, and they carefully chose words that could help any situation. No one could have known what I was struggling with, but this person I've never spoken to was able to tell me, "You'll make it. It will be OK in the end. You don't have to give up because it WILL be resolved."
The next day, I found a picture that said, "I think that every person you meet you fall in love with. Just a little bit. And a piece of them always stays with you. So over time you collect people, and maybe you don't remember every single one, but that doesn't mean they haven't affected you. For better or for the worse. They changed you." Don't I know that's true! (Besides the "falling in love" part.) People I never would have noticed, people I don't really know, so many of them have done tiny things that affect me in profound ways.
People who have hurt me actually protect me and help me help others. Acquaintances have said things, not even really directed at me, that build up my relationships with others. I met someone, and then I had a dream that I told that person something close to my heart. I don't know that person very well, but the desire to tell him led me to tell someone else. It was such a relief to not have to hide it anymore.
If you're reading this, we have probably met at some point. I guess I can say that you have had an impact on my life. Even if neither of us ever fully realizes what you've done for me, you've done something, and I thank you for it.
(This turned out better than I expected. But now the beginning sounds really lame. Oh well.)
Very early yesterday morning I got back from the NCFCA Region Ten Regional Invitational. My brother, sister, and I have been competing in speech, and my brother qualified to Regionals in Apologetics. I didn't do Apologetics this year, but I hope to next year. It's a great learning experience and an excellent way to practice defending one's faith.
So, after sleeping in to about 9:30, my family helped our new pastor's family move into their house. They have four sweet little girls: Annie (age 6), Violet (4), Noelle (2), and Sophia (3 months). I am wiped out, but I still have to work more today. :(
I guess one thing I like to write about is encouragement. At the Regionals tournament the leadership had a running theme of encouraging others. At the awards ceremony on the last day, they had everyone in the odd-numbered rows turn around and say certain words of encouragement to those behind them. A boy I do not know at all said to me, "You'll make it." I didn't know what that could mean, and I told my friend sitting next to me that the fact that the words were scripted stripped them of sincerity.
The more I thought about it, the more I realized that maybe this stranger was a messenger sent by God. The tournament leadership knew that every single person needs encouragement in something, and they carefully chose words that could help any situation. No one could have known what I was struggling with, but this person I've never spoken to was able to tell me, "You'll make it. It will be OK in the end. You don't have to give up because it WILL be resolved."
The next day, I found a picture that said, "I think that every person you meet you fall in love with. Just a little bit. And a piece of them always stays with you. So over time you collect people, and maybe you don't remember every single one, but that doesn't mean they haven't affected you. For better or for the worse. They changed you." Don't I know that's true! (Besides the "falling in love" part.) People I never would have noticed, people I don't really know, so many of them have done tiny things that affect me in profound ways.
People who have hurt me actually protect me and help me help others. Acquaintances have said things, not even really directed at me, that build up my relationships with others. I met someone, and then I had a dream that I told that person something close to my heart. I don't know that person very well, but the desire to tell him led me to tell someone else. It was such a relief to not have to hide it anymore.
If you're reading this, we have probably met at some point. I guess I can say that you have had an impact on my life. Even if neither of us ever fully realizes what you've done for me, you've done something, and I thank you for it.
(This turned out better than I expected. But now the beginning sounds really lame. Oh well.)
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