Who defines us?

G'day!

So this week started out really nicely! I spent Sunday afternoon at the kick-off party for my college group at church. I played an intense game of Croquet with my brother, Mark, and a few friends of mine, including the Hatter, who I talked about in the last post. She's proven herself more evil than I originally anticipated... 
She became Poison in Croquet, and her first kill was a poor 5-or-so-year-old girl. I, even I, was just shocked at her merciless, bloodthirsty approach. I warned you, Omen, that if we let her into EVILED, she would overpower us with her unquenchable thirst for bloodshed and tears.

On another note, this week I have to start writing my paper for my Athletic Training class... And, this is probably going to fly over most peoples' heads, but it's on the Patellofemoral articulation. Basically, the kneecap and related structures. I guess it can be interesting to some degree, as I'm the one writing it... To anyone else? I neither expect or believe they would find it interesting in the slightest. Regardless, it's when you have to figure out how to start it that you get kinda bored... So I found this weird Elmo toy that, if you click a button on him, he starts laughing and moving. It was kinda creepy, so I made it a little more creepy and made a video... It kinda went a little further than I thought it would, but here you are, the results of my having to write a paper.

So anywho, Wednesday was awesome! I suppose my school has a Mid-Term BBQ, where they give out free hamburgers and hotdogs... It was pretty cool. Of course, I didn't get one... I just have this thing about getting free food. I've always been raised on the idea of TANSTAAFL, There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch. And I know, "ain't" is incorrect grammar, but "There's No Such Thing...." wouldn't really have worked. So yeah, I was uncomfortable getting free food, so I just bought myself some licorice and lemonade spiked with sugar, which I didn't really pay attention to until after I finished it... Much to my demise. So next to the BBQ they set up a volleyball net, and they had a volleyball out... So what do I do? I go grab a football and throw it at random people walking by... Nah, I wish. I actually just grabbed the volleyball and hit it back and forth with my friend Ricky... Soon enough, we had teams of 5. Albeit, they weren't very good teams... I had to be one of the better players there, which says a lot, because I'm not a very good Volleyball player. Despite my lack of skill, I really like playing volleyball! Unfortunately, the ball wasn't entirely inflated... So hitting it wasn't the most pleasant of experiences, especially after my wrist began swelling.
Also, I learned a valuable lesson that day--- always keep sunblock in your bag. 


So here's a thought I've been considering for some time...

You know what's odd, is there aren't a whole lot of differences between Christians and non-Christians. Have you ever noticed that? Now before you get heated up, hear me out...
Christians are always talking about the church not being what it should be... But a lot of them don't try to change that. The truth is, we're afraid. We know exactly what it means to change; it means to be different from the rest of the world. The problem is we're afraid to be different from the world, because we understand the world... We don't understand God, so naturally we'd lean away from Him, and more towards the world. We always want what is most familiar to us. So what do we do? We try to be like the world, but we water it down.
We may not swear as much as non-Christians, but what about slang words? We avoid saying "Oh my God," because we know we shouldn't use God's name in vain... But did you know "Gosh" means "God"? So if you're trying to avoid using God's name in vain by saying "Gosh", you're still using His name in vain.

-Gosh-
Interjection
(used as an exclamation or mild oath): Gosh, this bag is heavy!

Origin:
1750-60; euphemistic alteration of God

So tell me what you think--- does that, or does that not, sound like a watered down version of what the world says? Can us Christians really not stand to be so different from the world as to completely neglect their ways, or do we really have to be like them? The problem with the church today is some big mystery to some, but it's quite obvious to me: The problem is that we're basing our standards on the world's own standards, and then watering it down JUST enough to make us look like the good guys while still being similar enough to the world to be accepted by them. What we need to do is look at what the bible says, and base our standards off that and live how God tells us to live, even if it means the world denying us.
We're letting the world define the Christians. We let the world define what is modest, what is good, what is wrong... We often will judge what is right or wrong by what our conscience says, but our conscience can be deceived and shaped to accept what society accepts. Don't judge what is right and what is wrong by what your conscience says, judge what is right and wrong by what the scripture says.
Note that I'm not saying I'm perfect, because I also base most of my standards on the world... But I recently started to notice the problem there, and wanted to share it with you guys.


Let me end with this...
"For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ." ~Galations 1:10 (NASB)

God bless ya ladies and gentlemen,

G'day!

Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.

G'day!

I have this little game going on with some friends of mine where we are villains from a league of evil. The name of the league is the Evil Villains Insidious League of Extreme Depravity, also known as EVILED... Of course, not just anyone can join. I'm the president of the League--- I call myself the Harbinger of Evil. My vice president calls herself the Omen of Evil, and we got ourselves a new recruit today. She calls herself the Hatter of Evil, I suppose in honor of the Mad Hatter. She specializes in tormenting people with hopes and desires, whilst keeping them just out of your reach. For me, she showed me pictures of food before I even had breakfast. Now, albeit that wasn't too tormenting, I consider it a good start... Though that food looked pretty good. So, give a round of applaud to our newest villain, Miss Hatter.

Moving along! So my college had this huge track meet Friday. And me being an intern for the Athletic Trainers, I got to be one of those special people who gets to go anywhere I want! It was pretty cool. What's lame is I don't get free food and drink at the concessions stand! I mean, come on, I'm awesome. I should get stuff for free, right? ;P
Though seriously, they got sandwiches for all of the volunteers that worked the track meet... And they gave them T-shirts! But what about us trainers? We took care of the athletes' injuries, but do we get a shirt or sammich? Nooope. I mean, I don't care about a T-shirt... But come on, trainers get hungry too. Give us a sammich, ya? Whatever though. I got a burrito from a shop nearby, so I was happy enough with that. ^^
I like running around the games though, wearing my cool red-brimmed running shoes, my awesome official Trainer T-shirt, and against the standard of the dress code, my jeans. Forget about khakis... Sure, khakis are kinda cool, but I feel better in jeans. I can run in jeans and do all sorts of activities without damaging them, but in khakis I feel like if I even do I dive-roll I'll ruin them. What I really want is some convertible cargo pants in a khaki color. That way if it's too hot, I can just zip-off the lower legs, and when it cools down I can just throw the pant legs back on. Though I look more cool wearing my black T-shirt tucked in tight, my dark boot-cut jeans, and my black shades. I look like a hard-core trainer. B)
Friday's track meet was really busy. There were about a hundred athletes and only 16 trainers at the start... We came down to roughly 8 trainers halfway through the day though, as many of them had to leave for work or other stuff. So near the end of the day there was a lot more stress put on us remaining trainers to keep an eye on the athletes and take care of them if something went wrong. But it was a good day! I enjoyed myself. =D

On another note...

So a girl I've known for a long time, and consider a sister, recently got hurt badly by some jerk... And you know, as her self-pronounced brother I feel inclined to hurt him back. So I went through a cycle of ideas to hurt him... First I wanted to give him the honor of being the first guy to get punched in the face by me. But then I thought, a punch isn't enough. It's only momentary... And besides, he's only 15, so if I punch him I could get in trouble. ;P
So then I thought, maybe I could provoke him in to hitting me first... Maybe torment him to the breaking point, let him punch me a few times, then beat him to a bloody pulp.
Then I thought... Maybe I could just make his life as miserable as I possibly could for the whole day that I get to see him.
And then I remembered Romans 12:19, which says, "Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, 'vengeance is Mine, I will repay,' says the Lord." and I realized... It's not my place to take vengeance. That's God's job. My vengeance would be out of mere anger, while God's would be out of justice, served hot. And sure, He may not end up hurting him... He might end up saving him. So whatever happens, it would be best to spend my time with my sister, sit back, and see what God's got in mind.

God can see the game from a birds eye view. He knows what plays will and wont work, and He's chosen the best possible action to take. Sure, you can let God know what's going on out on the field, but ultimately, He knows what to do, so just take a deep breath, fasten your seat belt, and trust God.

God bless ya ladies and gentlemen,

G'day!

Welcome to the Lowlands

G'day,

You can call me Aaron, Highlander, Doctor, or Get Off The Internet... Though, strictly speaking, that probably isn't a name.

I'm a writer, as you might notice considering I'm doing a blog.. I can't go so far as to say I've published any stories... I'm more relaxed of a writer. I don't write to make money or to become famous or whatever else you can get out of writing, but I write for the sole purpose of enjoyment. I even created an elaborate world to base all of my fictional stories, named Namusti. Considering the fact that I was 8 when I began the creation of this world, I had more of a Star Wars angle in creating a world... Or, shall I say, a universe? Yeah. Rather than making a single world, I created many. It wasn't until two years ago that I realized a universe wouldn't work... There wasn't enough intimacy in the worlds I created. Whenever I said the name of one of the worlds, there wasn't much of that sense of pride you get at acknowledging a grand creation of yours... Long story short (no pun intended), I combined all the worlds together and attached the name of my favorite world: Namusti.
Now, whenever I said the name of the world I created, I get that sense of pride; I created that world. I gave the people the air to breathe, and I gave them a significant role to play. It opens my eyes, perhaps even a little, to how God might have felt when He created the earth, and man... To feel that sense of pride, that He created something so beautiful and amazing. He must have felt terrible when it all got pushed out of joint! I know I would.

So! The purpose of this blog will be to talk about anything interesting that might happen during my week, to share stories I've written, or share stories I've been apart of. One minor reason I started this blog is to help me to get my brain moving more... Lately I've felt like my brain has slowed down, so I thought I'd do a bit of writing to get it some exercise, so if I start sounding unnecessarily sophisticated or wordy or whatever you want to call it, that's why; I'm working out my brain! At the end of my post, I'll go over something I learned or discovered over the week, or something that I'm in the process of learning... Mostly ethical concerns.

Before I leave, I thought I'd share something...

I recently joined the choir at my church, and one of the younger girls there was perplexed--- legitimately perplexed--- as to why I kept opening the door for her. Of course, I wasn't just opening doors for her, I was opening them for everyone, but anywho! I explained to her than ladies shouldn't have to open every door, that men should open the doors for them if they could. When I turned to one of the older ladies there for some back-up, she told me in a voice with a hint of coldness, "Chivalry is dead."
But chivalry and following Christ go hand in hand. Chivalry is being courteous, to be polite and well mannered... Should we as Christians be any less?

God bless ya ladies and gentlemen,

G'day!