Curly Thoughts

2007-06-03T13:04:00.000-07:00

I have moved. Please accept the Prodigal Son returning to the blog world.

I have made a few changes and moved to a different blog service. I do like blogger but there are a few things that are easier with wordpress. So, I switched.

Here is my new place:

http://curlythoughts.wordpress.com/

Please make all adjustments and let everyone know that I am back!

2006-08-14T05:55:00.000-07:00

There is bound to be a lesson to be learned here.

2006-08-12T10:10:00.000-07:00

Could this also be translated...

I think therefore I do.

Our bodies respond so quickly to our brain. Sometimes we are doing things before we even think to realize that we are doing it. That my friends is powerful and also dangerous all in the same instance. Let me explain with a few questions for the road.

Have you ever said something without thinking?

Do you really think about street signs or do you just know that a yellow sign means yield?

If you have an itch, do you think "Man, my nose itches. I think I'll scratch it."

When you touch something hot, do you really have time to think about taking your hand away?

Have you ever just sat completely still for more than 30 seconds (not counting when you are in bed)?

I think therefore I do.

So if I could tame this aspect of my life...

...could I actually pray without seasing?

...could I hold my tongue and just listen instead of rambling?

...could I notice an attractive person and praise God for her beauty?

...could I train my foot to hit the breaks in my car more often for people having car trouble than when I see a police car?

I think therefore I do.

That must mean that our actions must have alot to do with what we pour into our minds. It means that even the smallest details of our life are important. It means that in any instance or circumstance we have a choice.

I think therefore I do.

2006-08-10T05:33:00.000-07:00

Man what a nice picture this creates of todays Christianity.

I want to help but not really that much.

Fill me up Lord but not full.

Can I dive in but not get my hair wet?

Come on guys help me think of more...

but don't say that you can and then not do it.

-signing off

2006-08-09T20:35:00.000-07:00

Life is full of dissapointments. When you don't get the last piece of the pie, or you wake up early only to find you are out of coffee, or Taylor fails to blog for four weeks. Just a real drag.

but the good news is I am back!

Are discipline and procrastination an issue for anyone but me? I always feel like I have accomplished something when I blog and yet, I don't. Why is that. Just like a morning jog, I know that I will benefit from it and most of the time I feel better throughout the day if I do...but, I don't. So why is it that we don't do things that we know are good for us and know that we will feel good about ourselves if they are accomplished? I don't get it. It doesn't take that much time and effort, and yet to the back burner. Any Suggestions?

2006-07-14T05:06:00.000-07:00

Were there flowers? I feel like I have missed so much. What has happened to our watches? I think they have sped up. I can't tell you how busy I have been in the past three weeks. I seem to have allowed myself to overload my schedule. The funny thing is when I do this, hardly ever do I feel like I have accomplished something. I just feel like I am running in circles. I think that if things sped up anymore I would over lap myself and in passing I would smile and wave. So my encouragement for the day is not to slow down but to take the ten things that are on our lists and narrow it down to the best five. We will then see that things are slowing down. I do think that it is important to not be in a hurry. Just a thought for the day...Was Jesus ever in a hurry?

2006-07-03T10:46:00.000-07:00

Today we are paying our tributes to Schulyer Wheeler who invented the electric fan, a principal method of home cooling until Willis Haviland Carrier invented air conditioning. Man, these guys are my best buds. This makes me wonder what it was like before some of these things were invented. I know, I know, it would be hot, man you guys are genius'. I think that I will become the opposite breed to the bears I will lock myself up in the house from June until November, a brand new way of hibernating.

So let me know out there do you like the hot weather or cold weather better?

2006-06-29T20:33:00.000-07:00

Today was my first day with no school and I am loving it. Hopefully it will free up mucho time for blogging and other fun things other than four hours of homework in a night. I enjoy learning but when you are full you are full so that is why I say "that will do." So as for comments on this post I say we come up with things to do next week instead of the homework, like a cookout, bowling, movie night, or just a hang out at the James'.

So bring on the ideas.

2006-06-27T03:25:00.000-07:00

I feel this way about my walk with Christ and yet he always seems to know what's best. In hindsight I can see where there were things that I wanted or desired to come to past and at the time felt that God just wasn't hearing my order correctly. Now that I look back on these things it turns out that God knew what was best for me and my desires weren't God's desires at the time.

I bet Moses had a few different things in mind when he encountered the burning bush and how about Noah when God asked him to gather all of those animals in seven days.

I guess, I want to leave us with the thought of not just asking and waiting for God to answer our prayers but to actively pursue a life that he has meticulously set out. To earnestly pray and dig in God's word expecting an answer that in most cases might not be our answer but to except it and pray for guidance through that episode in our lives.

2006-06-20T10:49:00.000-07:00

So here are the questions that we discussed last week:

What's up with transubstantiation?
Can anyone name all of the ten Commandments?
Can you lose your salvation?

And there was some discussion about patience?

I have yet decided on the main question for this coming Wednesday, but of course I will know and post it tomorrow. And as you all can see there isn't a whole lot of structure to this, so if you missed a discussion we would still love to hear your input. So be dwelling on the recent questions for this week and we will continue discussion Wednesday night.

Keep the wheels turning.

2006-06-18T19:48:00.000-07:00

I read an article by Dan Haseltine entitled "The Morning After" in the newest issue of Relevant Magazine. He describes a place in The Magician's Nephew, a C.S. Lewis book,

a land between two worlds, a land where nothing happens. No sound, no movement, just a place where choices must be made. It is a land between the already and the not yet, between the world of what we have experienced and the world of what we are going to experience next. It is a place where fear and courage rage a silent war, where we take steps to let the greater story of redemption choose our path, or where we set our buffers and burn bridges in order to keep our skin from bruising and our hearts from being crushed.

I feel that in order to create a place similar to this we must be open not so much to the world but to ourselves. It will be a place not to wear a mask but to be yourself, a place to sing the joys of your life and to also bear in eachothers trials, a place to encourage and not bring others down, a place to apologize and not seek revenge, a place that is dangerous but just, and a place that is full of truth and also full of grace. This is where I hope to be and to find all of you.

2006-06-13T13:59:00.000-07:00

Let's be honest, we all have questions about life.

What is our purpose?

Why is there pain and suffering?

Why are relationships so hard?

Why can't I save money?

Are my spouse and I ready to have kids?

You might keep reading inorder to see if I answer any of these. The truth is that I want to be honest with you in saying that these questions are very hard to come up with a for sure right answer.

In the course of the next few months I will begin posting questions available for responses. Feel free to post your own questions or read to find answers to questions that you might have asked.

And remember, no question is a bad question. So ask away.