Choice of Words

Well for this weeks assignment in ENG, we are blogging about our everyday language and word choice. For myself, I tend to use a more proper style of language then the people around me (this is not directed at my friends at all but rather, my environment on campus). The most likely reason for this is that I am required to speak intelligently in some of my classes. In my philosophical thinking class, we are required to express our thoughts in the most effective and intelligent ways. Even though I often reflect that through everyday language, I'm not sure if my blogging reflects this at all. To me, blogging in this context should be simple and clear. This is a very informal thing, so I choose to speak informally.

A lot of times I find myself throwing in "big" words when I am just speaking with friends, but luckily they don't mind. I can also easily switch from speaking slang to a more formal speech and then back again. I find myself using "man" either to get one's attention or as just an exclamation. I also use "dude" in the same sense. I really enjoy reading literature that is more intellectually composed and I'm sure this has an effect on my word choice. I just tend to take in what I hear from different sources, integrate it into my vocabulary, and then try to make good use of it. As I have aged, so has my word choice, but I'm still young so I can still pull off the occasional slang. So to say the least, I have a funky vocabulary, but hey, I am who I am and I sure do enjoy it!

Quality Time

Last weekend, I had the privilege of going to the N.C. State Fair with 2 friends, Caleb and Yuki! The whole trip had been planned for a while with many other people wanting to come but this is what worked out. It was really amazing to be able to spend time with Yuki. He is an international student from Japan and will be here for the entire school year. Yuki is what I would call a new believer. He believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and has confessed Him as his Savior and it is absolutely amazing to see the Lord work in his life. I first met him at Fall Getaway, he was in the small group that I co-led. God put on my heart though, the need for Yuki to not only feel welcomed and make friends ( he has had no trouble doing that) but to be surrounded by strong believers. It can be a tough thing to totally believe in something new one day and then to devote your life to it. Especially in his shoes because he is in a foreign country and when he gets home he won't be surrounded by believers. The time he has here, I want to make the best of it for him. It just reminds me that God puts people in your life for a reason. He wants us to make genuine friendships with the people around us and to share His love with all. As believers, we need community. We are supposed to do this thing called life with others not alone! We need each others for comfort, support, help, and LOVE! We are all in this together and if you haven't in a while, I suggest you start spending some quality time with the people around you and just let them know that they are a big part of your life! Friends are a blessing, make the best of the time that God gives you!

Unworthy

This past week and a half or so has just been incredible! I've been able to clearly see some of the ways the Lord has been working in my life. Things have happened that I feel were all just for the glory of God alone. At times I felt almost overwhelmed with zeal and passion for the gospel, so much that I didn't know what to do with it. This is a good thing of course! I also caught up with my B90X! For those of you who don't know what that is, it's a program for reading the entire Bible cover to cover in 90 days. I had gotten a bit behind because of school work, my job, and just the college life in general, but now I am finally back on track with it. It has been an incredible blessing just to see the whole picture of the Old Testament and to now be in the New Testament and have a much better understanding of OT reference and just the life of the Jews.

While going through the Gospel of Luke I came across a story of Jesus that I have read before but got revealed to me again and now I'm really thinking on it.

⁷"Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come at once and recline at table'? ⁸Will he not rather say to him, 'Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink'? ⁹Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? ¹⁰So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.'"
Luke 17:7-10 (ESV)

Wow! No matter how well I live the "Christian" life, I am still the unworthy, undeserving sinner. God's glory far surpasses my own. Nothing I can do on my own can bring me before the Lord in an acceptable manner. Only by my redemption through Christ's blood by His grace alone am I able to come before the Lord in a manner worthy of Him. I AM UNWORTHY in the eyes of God! Everything I am should be for the glory of God! In my unworthiness, God grace and love is everlasting and everlasting! It reigns over me!

Scooby Doo

So I decided to watch Scooby-Doo for my blog this week. I love some Scooby-Doo, it's a classic! Well in this episode, Scooby and the gang were returning from a fishing trip when they spotted a zombie and stopped to inquire. After talking with a local fellow, he leads them to an old abandoned house. At this house they discover the zombie and a witch hanging around. As the gang goes about solving this puzzle, the usual happens once again.

Daphne gets kidnapped buy the villains, Velma ends up loosing her glasses during a very important moment, Fred comes up with an ingenious idea to catch the villains, and Scooby and Shaggy end up ruining the plan by messing up but still end up catching the villains. In this case, the villains were patrolling the waters for a sunk money truck to steal its contents and used disguises to scare off wondering people. This is the same plot throughout all Scooby-Doo episodes, yet, they are always entertaining. I used to watch this show all the time as a child and I can still enjoy it today! I believe its a great kids show, it involves a talking dog and other funny characters, it shows that being a villain or "bad" never is a good thing and that you always get caught. This show is free of many of the things that could pervert young minds that are on t.v. today. This, however, is a completely innocent cartoon purely for entertainment. I wish that there were more shows like Scooby-Doo on t.v. today!

Home Sweet Home!

So this past weekend, today, and tomorrow is our Fall Break! I decided to go home and not stay in town because I hardly ever get to go home. This is because I have a job here in Wilmington and that job is a necessity right now. I am from good ole' Person County North Carolina! Specifically I live in the quaint farming township of Timberlake. Like its name, it is a lake of timber and does not contain an actual lake. The area is mostly dominated by agriculture of tobacco. All Timberlake has is a post office, a couple of gas stations, an elementary school, a few churches, and a tractor dealership! For school I had to go to Person High School in Roxboro, NC. Roxboro is the "city" of Person County. It is too big to be a town but not really big enough to be a city. It contains the only highshool in all of the county. Its also about a 20 minute drive to get to town. Many times I refer to Roxboro as home and people still don't know where its at. Home doesn't have much to offer but I do enjoy spending time with my family and the few friends I have there. Besides work, its hard to go back because my life is now in Wilmington, so I leave a lot here to go home but its always worth it. When I get there I realize that I really do miss it. Its where I grew up and lived almost all of my life. I'm reminded of many memories which in turn lead to me smiling. In a way I love the old country atmosphere and my grandma's cooking. I absolutely love some country food that will clog my arteries!

There are only very few things that inspire me to go back home, but its worth it every time. I love my family, I love my friends, and I love home!