The God One

I've been reading Mere Christianity as a part of my personal study, and everytime I read something it gets me thinking.

The truth is, there's a thought that has been bugging me for a while. It seems as if the majority of people are mistaken in their view of God - and it boils down to something pretty simple.

"God is good."

Well, then they ask: If God is good, why does he let people suffer? If God loves us, why is he going to send people to hell?

And here, they've missed the point.

God is not "good" in the sense that you or I am "good." If our dog, Max, is being good, he gets a bit of rawhide to chew on. But God isn't about "being good" - he "is good."

If you assume that there is a God, and that thus he has supreme power and authority and create the world (or at least has a lot of say in what goes on in it), you assume that he's so much bigger than this world - what is the point of him "being good?" He doesn't have to; he has no one to fool.

God is "good" - he created the concept! So then, if God is everything good, he cannot stand evil. It cannot be in his presence. Hence the reality of hell: We, as human beings, are sinful. We are tainted; we are impure. We cannot be in his presence, but for his forgiveness that makes us righteous, because we cannot become "good" on our own.

Ah ah ah! So then we get to the other point: why do bad things happen?

Once again, we assume that if there is a God, he created the world (and that's not a huge leap to assume). In the same way that a mother and father love the child they created together, God loves the people he created. However, he gave us free will.

Why did he give us free will? I think that it's because he wants us to experience the same love that he has for us. If we were puppets bound to his bidding, would our love for him mean anything? No! So, if he gives us free will, we have to choose to love him - and this means a whole lot more.

But, we are not perfect by nature - sin is in the world. And we can choose the wrong thing. So, bad things happen. Do I think that it is sin that causes tragedies, like tsunamis or hurricanes or earthquakes? I'm not sure. What I am sure of, is that tragedies give us an opportunity to choose how we deal with it.

So, my conclusion: God is good, and we have a choice.

If only, through all my musings (and deductions based on other sources, including the Bible), I could answer the question that currently frustrates me: Why did he create people in the first place? He didn't need us to do his work... Maybe it's a love thing. After all, we were made in his image...

And the musing continues.

The Well-Overdue One

I was too sick to attend the Steven Curtis Chapman concert.

I'm not as sad as I should be. Considering the man has won 40 Dove awards and is in the leagues of "Freakin legend."

So, this is one of those thingies...

If you're taller than your mother, copy and paste this on to your profile.
If you have ever pushed on a door that said pull or vise versa, copy this into your profile. *Even in Burger King, where they have signs on the door mocking you*
If you and your friend have ever broken out in song in public, paste this in your profile. *And on roller coasters, nonetheless*
If you have ever fallen up the stairs, paste this in your profile.
If you've ever tried to put your hair behind your ears and ended up poking yourself in the eye, paste this in your profile.
If you've ever had a mad laughing fit for no reason, paste this in your profile.
If you've ever asked a really stupid, obvious question, paste this in your profile.
If you've ever forgotten what you were talking about in a conversation, paste this in your profile. *And I talk A Lot*
If, for no reason, you have laughed during a movie part that was not funny whatsoever, paste this in your profile. *This is why Amber and I are sisters*
If at least once a week, someone misspells or mispronounces your last name, paste this in your profile.
If you think Edward Cullen is hot, paste this in your profile.
If you've ever forgotten your name while introducing yourself, paste this in your profile.
If you've ever forgotten your birthdate when asked, paste this in your profile. *This isn't all that hard to do*
If you've ever forgotten what you were going to say, right before you said it, paste this in your profile.
One day, we will look back on this, laugh nervously, and change the subject.

The Hair One

Has it really been a week since I wrote a blog? I'm horrible. Anyway, I saw Wicked on Friday (ooooh! *shivers*), and since then have been exhausted and watched season dvd's and such.

So, this blog is in honor of excellent hair (on guys). This list isn't in order of preference - it's just the top ten.

1. David Crowder (it's pure amazing, admit it)
2. Hugh Grant (don't deny the power of Hugh Grant hair over the years)
3. Patrick Dempsey (who else could have really big hair and still leave half the population swooning?)
4. John Cooper (emo never looked so good)
5. Jesse Spencer (from House)
6. Rupert Grint (I've seen a lot of ginger hair in my time, but this takes the cake)
7. Heath Ledger in 10 Things I Hate About You (not so much all the rest of the time)
8. Orlando Bloom (as an elf and as a human)
9. Edward Cullen (yes, fictional characters are allowed amazing hair)
10. Corbin Bleu (face it - to be so young and already have achieved so much hair-wise?)

Runners up include:
- Bob Chen, since I haven't seen him in a while and cannot personally attest to the greatness of his hair anymore
- "Wierd Al" Yankovic, since his hair is a little scary
- Those guys who play the Weasley twins in the Harry Potter movies (R.I.P. Fred)
- Zac Efron's hair in Hairspray, since he cannot be taken seriously due to his involvement with *those* movies. (Obviously, I offered Mr. Bleu a reprieve, because his hair defies *those* movies).
- David Boreanaz hair in "Bones" (who knew FBI agents could look so good?)

Is it odd to have more winners than runners-up?

I leave with the words of my sister, who just reminded me that Northern California really is just an extension of Oregon. (Off topic much?)

The Clarinet One

I pulled out my clarinet today - its been something like 8 months since I really played. I went through two etudes, living off muscle memory - a little slow on the uptake, but after seven years its not something I'm letting myself forget that quickly. My embouchure, however, is shot.

Not like it wasn't already, before I had to quit... band and clarinet and school and all that.

For those of you confused, all the keys and notes came back to me immediately. Reading music is like reading a book - you see a note and automatically associate it with where you place your fingers and what sound comes out at that moment (half the time, I have to look again to tell you the identity of the note, though its already under my fingers). But my mouth - all of those muscles that they cut when they cut out half of my lip? Combine that with fibromyalgia, and several months unable to play, and its kinda sore.

So, the dilemma - I don't want to practice my clarinet and have to relearn my embouchure later. I might as well take lessons and get it right from the outset - but I can't practice or even assure that I can be at lessons like I used to. Certainly not the rigors of two hours of practice that my old teacher used to require. So now, I need a new teacher - and I can't let myself practice too much before I'm able to start lessons.

For those of you having never played a wind instrument, that means little to you.

On top of it all? I have no good reeds left. Apparently, they weren't meant to last months of neglect. I had one that was usable - and it was ridiculously thin. Though I won't blame my sound entirely on the lack of adequate reeds.

But it was nice to remember that I have a really good clarinet. Everyone at school bought theirs online - but the good ones come from the music stores, because the distributors know that the ones in stores get played before being purchased and need to be the better ones in a batch (or, at least, better than the ones that arrive in the mail). We bought mine before I even knew that you could buy clarinets online. It's even been overhauled - yes, houses and monster trucks get overhauled - and so do clarinets. The guy who did it does things like rebuilding gold flutes as well (with the wear on gold joints, they need to be rebuilt every two or three years) and so he's definitely good at the details. He even fixed that screwy a-flat (super flat!) key, for those of you who ever saw the disaster that was. And Geeting really liked the wood on my clarinet.

So, after all this time its was good to remember that all I need to get straight is my breathing and my embouchure, and I can potentially do really well.

If I can get off my derriere and practice.

The Non-English One

In support of my reluctance to really do anything recently (save for a CT scan earlier today - the technician REMEMBERS me! Indicative of a problem?), I'm writing a blog.

My dad made a lame joke. We mock him for it, and he goes, "I know, it was a bad joke" (paraphrased) to which my mum chides, "All of your jokes are bad." While I was walking away, I said, "It's because he's English."

And then, I realized. I have partaken in this mocking of my English family member my whole life, identifying with the fact that I am Scottish - I cannot get my head around the fact that, by American standards, I am English as well. I'm not English, at all. I don't speak with an English accent, I don't associate the UK with having any sunny days during the summer, and I most certainly don't tell jokes quite as horrible as my father's.

Am I half-Scottish, half-English? By blood, yes. In tendency, no.

It's a strange American thing. I associate my nationality with where I'm from. Though my cousins are dual British-French citizens with a Scottish mother and an English father (ironically enough), I call them French. It's as if people want to be bits and pieces of everywhere, and as if since their "ancestors" came from a specific country, they now have a claim to that country's traditions and culture.

My grandmother grew up in Rhodesia, and her mother spent time in Australia, but I am neither South African nor Australian. I am Scottish by nationality (and occasionally accent) and an assimilated-American.

But for whatever reason, I don't feel English. It's like there's a line in my head, probably around the same place as the Scottish-English border, and the Scottish side is my side, and my dad came from that other side, but he's on this side now, and his family lives on that other side, and I really don't have a part in it, because I'm on this side.

That was a ramble, and it probably doesn't make much sense. But, it just hit me as I was walking up the stairs - I'll never tell you I'm English. I'll tell you that I'm Scottish, that I was born there and my mum's from their, and that Dad's from England, and that now we live in America.

The Birthday One

Hey all!

It's been a few days since I've updated this thing. For the most part, I've been sitting on my keester, exhausted and really not sure why. Sometimes, if I overtax myself mentally, I need a period of just blah-nothingness to compensate, so I think that's what's happened.

Thanks for all the birthday wishes! Though I can mentally acknowledge I'm 18, as happens on every birthday, I really don't feel any different. Right now, I'm just glad that I've caught up with my friends - for maybe a month. Then, ya'll start getting older than me... again!

So, I leave now to watch more of Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz bickering, which I really shouldn't do before bedtime, but hey! I'm a grown-up now, right?

The Ugg One

In preparation for my 18th birthday, my mum and I went out to spend the money Gran gave me for my birthday - I bought a pair of Uggs!

I have narrow feet and refused to buy them before, but I found a cute pair that are tall and zip-up, instead of slip-on, so they're narrower. They're black, with little silver decoration - and I'm way excited about them, in case you haven't noticed.

On another note, did anyone see House last night? I'm way excited that Cameron and Chase are back - you can so see them getting pulled into a diagnostics session when they're at their busiest. My prediction: the blonde one will become the next Chase. And Bones? Good stuff.

Finally, I really like the download of the week from iTunes. Gotta love when they get a good one!

The Irritated One

I just started reading "Eats, Shoots and Leaves" - and I'm really enthusiastic about it, and more than a little bit suprised that more people don't appreciate grammar.

Why? The point of punctuation is to make it easier for the reader. No one likes reading some poorly punctuated un-edited piece of crud. You would think that, when called to write, those same people would extend the same courtesy to their own readers.

I've also discovered the effectiveness of listening to Les Miserables for writing. Good, emotional music.

Someone call me: I've got a pretty new cell phone, and I don't get to talk to anyone. So call! (I'm almost always available, whereas I'm never sure when someone else is available, so I probably won't call you).

The Excited One

I'm getting really excited about the book I'm reading for my own personal Bible study ("Authentic Beauty" by Leslie Ludy). In fact, I may reread it once I'm done, just to make sure I've gleaned as much from it as I can. Because truly, it's premise is right - so few of us truly live with our hearts FULLY devoted to God.

When God speaks to me, I find that he's persistant. Today, in my study reading, I felt convicted regarding some of those smaller compromises I make on a day-to-day basis - and in the two subsequent Bible passages I read today, they said the same thing (in different ways, of course)! It's so true that we don't measure ourselves by Christ's perfect standard, but by those around us (because we fall so short of God's bar). Now, I know what I need to adjust in my life to avoid that specific compromise.

On another note, Mum bought candy-corn today! Candy Corn is amazing. Horrible for those of us trying not to gain ridiculous amounts of weight while sick, but amazing as a candy.

A question: what are your opinions on the death penalty? See, the Lord told Noah to kill murderers as punishment, and He never amends that throughout the remainder of the Bible. So, I suppose I have to adjust my previous belief - however, I still have a few beefs with the death penalty. The law has become so wishy-washy, so twisted and complicated, that people are being executed years after the crime! Years can cause changes in heart, and more complex law proceedings, and so few people on death row are actually executed! If the guilty went straight from the stand to the chair, there would be a much more healthy fear of committing crimes worthy of the death penalty. But as it is, it's just not effective - countries like the UK have eliminated it, because it gets so complicated. In lieu of a less complicated system, I personally will leave the justice up to God.