A wee catch up.

Look at this!! What a great idea and a cool gift to receive. I might take this up.

A wee update on the facebook fast, it's going well. In fact, I've not missed it one bit. I have the sneaky suspicion I will miss it when the Index Weekend Away has come and gone and everyone's pictures are up. So I've been concocting a longer term plan for after my 2 week trial is up.

I found a good quote. One to write down. Iain and I are going through a study of Romans (it's taking us ages) but we got a question on the More than conquerors verse. It was getting late and we'd been answering tough questions and discussing intense issues for about an hour and a half, which was probably part of the issue, but I just couldn't understand what the difference between more than conquerors and just conquerors was. So Iain sent me this sermon by Charles Spurgeon to help explain. Now, in the light of day, I think I've grasped the concept, though I suspect not to its full extent since it doesn't feel that amazing to me. Anyway, about that quote. It's this:

"Persecution in all its forms has fallen upon the Christian Church and up to this moment it has never achieved a triumph, but rather it has been an essential benefit to the church for it cleared her of hypocrisy."

I like it.

I've finally been getting some of my IBS work done tonight. I'll finish the course one day. My plan is still to graduate on time in September... Better get to work, since I'm still only on May's homework! It was encouraging and refreshing to be going over the Doctrine of Christ tonight though! :)

[this moment]

A single image capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savour and remember. 

 

An afternoon sledging around Arthur's Seat. A gorgeous sunset.

A bit of a life-changing quote

John Piper said this:
"One of the great uses of Twitter and Facebook will be to prove at the Last Day that prayerlessness was not from lack of time."

I read it the other day, and it got me thinking. It challenged me.
These days I'm having a lot of down days. I'm finding life tough, for no external or apparent reason. This is causing strain on me, but also on those close to me. Something that is sure to help is prayer. I'm not praying enough. Not for lack of time, but for wasted time. And wasting time itself makes me feel groggy and down. And what is the point of facebook? I mean really? Even just reading people's statuses makes me feel annoyed and irritated. Especially the ones that are complaining about this that or the other, but worse are the ones complaining in a disguised way. So I quit it. For two weeks to start off with, but I kind of really want to quit it for good. It's an intense desire that has come on quite suddenly. One of which I'm a bit scared of but also relieved to be feeling. The only reason I'd really want to keep it is for other people's photos. If I could just have that without all the other faff and rubbish, I'd do that, in a heartbeat. I'm now just considering how much I value and want the photos if the rest does indeed have to come with it. But for now, for the next two weeks, Iain has changed my password, and I therefore cannot access facebook. And so far, it's good! Really good. I just need to make a point of substituting facebook time with prayer time and good book reading time.

A few thoughts on purity

I recently read a book by Randy Alcorn called the Purity Principle.
The principle he talks of is basically this: purity is always smart; impurity is always stupid.

He continues with life changing argument after life changing argument and poignant story after poignant story. I have read a few books on the subject, but none like this. It is amazing. He lays it out as it is. Doesn't sugar coat a thing, but doesn't exaggerate either. Here are few quotes that made it into my journal - it's got to be a pretty good quote to make it there!

It's always easier to avoid temptation than to resist it. 

Arsenic has a cumulative effect. It kills you, but not all at once. Large quantities aren't necessary. A little here, a little there, and finally... you're dead. Sexual immorality is a killer of Christian lives and marriages. We poison ourselves daily, a little at a time. This novel that TV show, this movie, that magazine, this calendar, that glance, this flirtatious comment, that quiet assent to a dirty story. This arsenic of the soul poisons us gradually, so we don't feel much different than yesterday, but we've become very different than we were 5 years ago. 

Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny. 

Sexual sin blocks fellowship with God. (obvious one, but good to remember)

I can never get away with sexual immorality. God wants me to remember that for my sake. 

We need foresight to see where today's choices will leave us tomorrow. Sexual temptation is like a fish hook at the end of a line. It will pierce my tongue and rip my flesh. I'll be caught and reeled in. But the lure is so beautiful! Of course it is - how else would our enemy hook and destroy us? 

Purity is safe. Impurity is risky. Purity always helps us. Impurity always hurts us. Purity is always smart. Impurity is always stupid. I hope this is as good a reminder to you as it was and still is to me.

[this moment]

A single image capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savour and remember.

Feeling ill. Waking from a Sunday afternoon nap to find a sweet note.