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Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Found: God's Will (A Sermon)

God's awoken a desire in me to follow Him without question. To devote my life to Him, whatever kind of life it is. To God be the glory!

I told a friend about this, and they recommended this sermon (the link is at the bottom of this post). It's really cleared some things up for me, and I highly recommend reading it. It's an hour-long sermon, so it's some pretty heavy reading, but it's worth it if you have the patience!

I encourage you to read it... I pray it will help you as much as it's helped me!

http://www.gty.org/Resources/Transcripts/80-310#top

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Brought to tears

Sometimes you care so deeply about a human being, it brings you to tears. That just happened last night. What a strange night it was. My mother and I were up at midnight, talking out some recent events. The night ended in a prayer.

Such a feeling is truly something new. I've never been so worried or missed someone so much to the point of true, uncontrollable tears. But I know it's in God's hands.

Ephesians 6:12
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

There's power in prayer. Thank Jesus for that. Sometimes it's the only comfort available.

Praise God, Lord of heaven and earth!

Monday, June 9, 2008

Writing can be annoying.

Sometimes, writing gets annoying. This is my usual thought process:

Oh boy, I should go write on my blog! But, what should I write about? How about a story! Yes!
"Once upon a time... a girl... um..."

And by the time I finally get a story planned out, I'm so fed up with it that I close the window.

Don't you just love how annoying the human brain can be? Sometimes I envy animals.

Sunday, June 8, 2008

So what's this whole God thing about?

Jesus, God's only son, came to earth and lived a perfect, sinless life. He took responsibility for your sins and died on a cross so that you may appear blameless in God's sight and have eternal life in heaven. After three days in the tomb, Jesus rose from the dead and later went up to heaven to be with his Father.
What does this mean for you? It means you can have eternal life in heaven with God! You, like every other human being on earth, are a sinner. That's why Jesus died for you; so that you can be with him! God loves you like the perfect father loves his son and He wants you to be with Him!"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23)
Note: Have questions? Feel free to leave a comment. Or, if you don't want to post it publicly, you can email me at jg.paris@yahoo.com. I'll answer your questions as best I can.

Entering the Dating Scene At a Young Age

Why do so many girls they have to have a male at their sides at such a young age? Freshmen girls and under feel that they need to sell themselves in order to win the guys. The bad part is they usually succeed. Congratulations, girls. You've gotten yourself a nice group of guys that would love nothing more than to have his hands on you and manipulate you.

See, that's the problem. Manipulation. "You're so beautiful... I love you... Now show me how much you love me." Don't you see what's happening? Are you really willing to give up your morals for someone who doesn't care for you as a person?

Okay, so that's not the case in all relationships. Maybe he really does love you. He wants it, but doesn't force the subject. You decide you're ready to "take the next step". But stop! What will the possible consequences be? Pregnancy, STDs, emotions you're not ready to handle, family trust issues... it's all there. "But that'll never happen to me," you say, "I'm using protection and my family's okay with it! I'm mature enough!"

Maturity means nothing if your heart is broken.
When you invest yourself in a relationship, sexual or not, you invest your emotions. Your feelings. Some of of yourself. And when that relationship is broken off, your emotions are also. You're suddenly on your own again, part of yourself stolen. After all, very few marry their high school sweethearts.

After repeated breakups, you become callous.
In the end, what is breaking up but divorce practice?

Think about it.

So the usual excuse is, "I need experience before my wedding night." But I tell you now... one of the best gifts you can give your future husband is purity.

But what if your virginity is already lost? It's not the end! You can still promise that from this moment forward, you will save yourself for your husband.

In the end, all I'm really asking is that you use your head, girls. Don't let yourself fall into a dangerous relationship. Or better, wait until you're older to date. For in the end, your heart will be hurt! Wait... and you'll be thankful in the end when you have a nice guy for a boyfriend and maybe the same nice one as a husband. Believe me.

Saturday, June 7, 2008

West Fork Lake Dam, Ohio

I just spent a week in Ohio. We spent an hour at West Fork Lake Dam. My dad used to go there early in the mornings just to walk around. He claims I've been there, but I have absolutely no recollection.

Anyways, here's some pictures I took with my mom's fancy camera. By "fancy", I mean it's better than we've ever had before now. So, enjoy!

There was a single little dandelion on the side of the road.


The dandelion again, but in color. Obviously. :]


Near the start of the road was a little run-down house. We couldn't figure out who the owner is... it looks abandoned. Still, it's always fun to fantasize about buying and fixing it up one day. Truly a cute little building!

And there was a fantabulous dead tree. Just had to get a picture of it! I love the way the branches stick out from all the greenery!


And... blades of grass. Not very original, but I like the way the bridge sits in the background. And I don't mean tilting. That's my own quirk.


The street we walked along.


Driftwood.


There were little boxes set up in a field of wildflowers. I'm pretty sure they're just birdhouses, but could they be bat boxes? Either way, I found them very attractive. What I wouldn't give to have a backyard that looks like that!


A picture captured as we started to leave. All the pictures are out of order, so let's just ignore that. ;]


The cute house again, from the side.


This is one of my favorite pictures taken that day. It's the cottage's front door. It looks like something out of old America. Of course, it probably is, but you get the point.


Another view of the road. Up ahead, it curves to the right. The parking lot is down a hill on the left.


This place is now on my "favorite places to photograph" list. Or even just to be at. Except for all the hidden poison ivy! Back at the hotel, my family and I had to wash down our legs. The last thing we need is a case of poison ivy. Even so, we discovered I'm allergic to grass!
In all, the trip to Ohio was great. It was fun to see all my old friends again. But although it holds many memories for me and I love the area, it just didn't feel like home anymore. In fact, I was almost looking forward to getting back home to good ol' Arizona. Even if the heat is extreme here!

Friday, June 6, 2008

The Adventures of Dan and the Gang - Ding Dong Ditching

My dad has always loved telling stories of his childhood. Here is one of the first ones he's ever told me.

My father's name is Dan. He, along with his younger brother Dave and best friends Tom and Peter, used to love ding-dong-ditching. For you poor souls who have never had the chance to experience such a delight, ding-dong-ditching is when one goes door-to-door, ringing the doorbell, and hiding. Preferably done late at night. This results in a comical parent coming to the door and yelling out into the night at you "darn kids".
There was a house on the cul-de-sac that belonged to particularly gruff character. With the usual procession, the boys rang the doorbell and jumped behind some bushes. But little Dave, who was still very young at the time, didn't quite get the concept of running away.
The door opened on a frightened little boy who wasn't quite sure what to do.
"Whadyou' want?" the gruff neighbor asked, voice husky. Dave stood silent, quaking in his sneakers. Broken laughter came from behind one of the bushes.
"Who's that!" the man demanded. Dave's eyes were wide, mind no doubt trying to find a way out. In his desperation, he came to the only logical answer.
"MOT!"

Thursday, June 5, 2008

The First Post

Oh, I hate this part.
The first post. What are you supposed to write about? Nothing stupid. But then, you can't make it sound like a know-it-all. Friends are always a good choice, but then, does that make others feel left out?
Shall I talk about my life? No, that would be too self-centered. Well, what about yours? Wait, that wouldn't work too well. Music is usually a generic topic, but too shallow. On a blog, you should sound deep, right? Okay, deep. Deep... I could always speak of the meaning of life. But that's too obvious. Plus, it would sound like I'm intentionally trying to appear wise. How about knowledge? A step down from wise. I could always post the speech I presented on stereotypes, or perhaps the biology report that took hours. That would show that I'm knowledgeable and catch someone's interest. But once again, we arrive at the "self-centered" problem.
Oh, how I hate this part! The first post is like a first impression. "Who is this person?" "What is this person like?" "Is this person just the same as all the others?" There is simply too much pressure!
I could write about me. A repeat of filling out all of the profile information... only worded differently. That would give me an easy way out. Or, should I just dive right in? Pretend I've been doing this blog for years and start off with just a diary-like entry. "Today was like any other day... blah blah blah..."

I could write about the people around me. That would sort of combine a bunch of topics into one. But are we just going in a circle, then? Friends.
This is the part of having a blog that I hate! Being judged. It's like someone's holding a gun to your back saying to post something good or you're going to have to move to a different blogging website and come up with a new name so that all your blogging shame can be erased. That horrid first post. Does the first post define who you are? Does it define my entire being?! WILL LIFE GO ON IF I DO A BAD FIRST POST?!

Well, duh.
I'm still here, aren't I?