when i say mali

ap stats with ally wu for a year...i'm thankful for at least one friend in one of my classes- regardless of who that friend may be.

carlos

today i met an hispanic man named carlos in santa ana.
at first, i didn't notice him- while i was talking
to someone named xavier (cool name) about reading the Bible.
i suppose it was him who initiated the conversation
when he translated in spanish the words,
"do you read the Bible often?" to xavier.
i noticed, as i went on talking to the homeless
that what wayne said was right- most of them were Christian,
but hardly do they share, in depth, about their faith.
however, carlos was different from the very start...
he shared his testimony without me asking
and by that testimony i have been blessed and encouraged.
being fired from his job, not because of incompetence,
but because of injuries which led to accidents,
being attacked by others simply because he was alone
and had a bike with him, being chased down and shot
by people who claimed that he owed them money,
while he did not have even enough to feed himself,
being told by a doctor that there was no hope for him
to ever walk again because the bullet hit a spinal nerve-
after all of this, he still believed that God had a plan.
"i lost everything, but i did not lose my faith-
and that is enough." words that i think are beautiful.
when carlos was hospitalized, his doctor told him
that there was absolutely no chance for him to heal.
and yet, carlos took the words of God over the words of man.
little by little, he tried to walk and although he fell,
he got up as many times as he could.
little by little, God's grace and power was shown to him
as he took, literally, steps of faith.
now, he walks as if he had never been paralyzed.
praise God!

danielle

there is still
much to be learned
from you...
i'm tired of
the topic of
predestination
i don't think paul intended for us to debate when he wrote of such a thing, but rather
for us to see His glory in all of it. i still have much to learn and i hope that you will still be there to teach me more about the Bible. trust that God has already made a path for you.

salary

every hour...
i get paid 10 dollars
and 10 spider webs
"younger siblings are cuter, but they always lose"

luminous lemon lake

studying romans, ephesians, and revelation
so crazy how different these books are
and yet, there are connections if you look
like for example, in romans, paul talks about
how God gave people over to their sin as
a result for not repenting and worshiping Him.
meanwhile in revelation, Jesus warns the seven
churches that if they do not turn from their sin,
He will remove their lampstands, meaning they will
no longer be acknowledged as churches or as His.
also, paul speaks of predestination in ephesians
and he clearly supports what he says in romans,
that human beings are completely helpless and
that only through the divine grace of God may
they be saved from their sin.
sadly, in revelation, the church of ephesus
is told to have forsaken their first love.
contrary to how the church in ephesians is so praised
by paul for remaining strong in Christ, it is again
referred to in revelation as a church that has
forgotten the value of love in their relationship
with God.
i pray that our church will not forget the reason why we serve.
i pray that we may improve on our spiritual richness and
that we may see His glory shown on earth.
i pray that we continue to seek after God.

amazed

as i stroll around passing fliers, i see all the things that God has created and simply find joy in even the smallest things. peaceful and free.

human

calvinists and armenians
although i believe both sides to be valid
because they are supported by verses,
i am leaning more towards the calvinist view
that we, as humans, are completely helpless
and that we may only receive salvation
by His grace- meaning we are chosen.
however, this does not mean we are special
this does not mean that God loves us more.
as to why i or any other Christian has been
elected, i still do not have an answer.
but i do know now that even though it is
a harsh truth, (it is still the truth)
every human being deserves hell
and God would be justified in sending us there.
but how glorious and powerful is He
who transcends human understanding and
reaches out His hand in love to
save a wretch like me!
"For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus..." Romans 3:22-24