Lists: This Summer

For the next little bit I am going to be sharing my summer list of things that I want to accomplish, photos included. :)

#1. Write Letters
Status: In Process

Letter and drawing to a friend.

#2. Make Native American crafts
Status: In Process; Finished carving my spoon! Pine needle vase half done!

Me with my 1/2 completed pine needle vase and 1/4 completed wooden burned-out spoon.

#3. Climb at a rock gym in Cincinnati
Status: Completed!

RockQuest, a pretty nice gym!
http://www.rockquest.com/

#4. READ, READ, READ!
Status: 2 1/2 down!

My summer library minus one or two.

Excerpt: Fellowship of the Unashamed

by Dr. Robert Moorehead

"I’m part of the fellowship of the unashamed. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I’m a disciple of His. I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away or be still.

My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure. I’m finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap living and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotion, plaudits, or popularity. I don’t have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power.

My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my Guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the adversary, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I won’t give up, shut up, or let up until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, and preached up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, and work till He stops me. And when He comes for His own, He will have no problem recognizing me…my banner will be clear!”

Music: Giving Up by Ingrid Michaelson

Listen, here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEofC4N66eo

What if we stop having a ball?
What if the paint chips from the wall?
What if there's always cups in the sink?
What if I'm not what you think I am?

What if I fall further than you?
What if you dream of somebody new?
What if I never let you win, chase you with a rolling pin?
Well what if I do?

I am giving up on making passes and
I am giving up on half empty glasses and
I am giving up on greener grasses.
I am giving up.

What if our baby comes home after nine?
What it your eyes close before mine?
What if you lose yourself sometimes? Then I'll be the one to find you
Safe in my heart.

I am giving up on making passes and
I am giving up on half empty glasses and
I am giving up on greener grasses.
I am giving up.

I am giving up.
I am giving up.
I am giving up on greener grasses.

I am giving up for you.
I am giving up for you.
I am giving up

Music: The Steward of Gondor

Home is behind
The world ahead
And there are many paths to tread
Through shadow, to the edge of night
Until the stars are all alight
Mist and shadow
Cloud and shade
All shall fade
All shall...
Fade

Listen here:
http://www.imeem.com/kinbodiare/music/M5iY6LRr/lord-of-the-rings-pippins-song/

How it was written here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AT4ez3A-t6o&feature=related

Lessons in Loving

I have been reading the Bible passage 1 Corinthians 13:4-7...

[[[Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.]]]

... just about everyday for the past couple weeks and just noticed this little story on the same page.

Lessons in Loving by Cheri Ruggles

"The tears started to well up in my eyes and roll down my cheeks. I was tired, so tired of the cold silence that seemed to echo against the concrete walls of our apartment.
My roommate and I were as different as we could be. When I wanted the door open, she wanted it closed. When I wanted friends over, she wanted privacy. The differences led to grudges, which turned into resentment and bitterness. We developed the habit of heading straight for our own rooms when we came home, closing the doors as tightly as we had closed ourselves off from each other; at least we were making it impossible to be hurt again.
My tears were nothing new, but this time, instead of feeling sorry for myself and defending my own actions, I decided to take responsibility for my own shortcomings. I realized how much the word 'I' had been in my mind and vocabulary lately. I had been trying to protect myself and make sure my needs were met, but God says that love 'is not self-seeking.' Did I ever stop and think, 'What does she need?' The answer to that question was humbling.
None of the descriptions of love in 1 Corinthians 13 is a natural response, because we are selfish by nature. Showing others we love them is much harder than telling them. But if we honestly want to learn how to love, God will show us how. We may make mistakes in the process, but he will put us back on the right track if we are willing to try."

Also this. It's a long one, but worth breaking down:

1 John 4:7-21

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.