Europa – Globus

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket- safe, dark, motionless, airless--it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.”

~ C.S. Lewis



An intriguing quote...

Sometimes… I forget we are at war.

I forget about the armor I have been given and the weapon I am to use.
One thing I cannot forget, I cannot go back.

Many know of physical battles, but this is so much more than that.

I am responsible for protecting my soul, my family, my friends, and my name.
Every day I am reminded why I cannot afford to let my guard down.
And yet… I still manage to forget.
I for get we are comrades in arms. I forget there is friendly fire. There are prisoners. There are spies. There are those who are AWOL. There are casualties.



Do I forget because I want to? It’s possible, but I don’t think so. Each time I am reminded, I kick myself for forgetting.

Do I forget because I am distracted? Most likely. Satan uses all the tricks he can, and he has many of them. Wolves in sheep’s clothing, an angel’s guise, false teachers, and all those opposed to Christ. What else would you expect from one going about as a roaring lion seeking those whom he may devour? He will stop at nothing to take as many of us down with him when our Lord returns.
So why are we not more careful?
Why are we so easily beset and ensnared? Even so soon removed from Him that called us, just as the Galatians.
Every day we have a choice, though most of the time we don’t’ realize it. One makes that choice through a series of choices made through the day.

Whether you decide to take time to read the Bible and pray in your hectic day. Whether you decide to stop and help someone in the middle of your schedule. Whether you decide to go about your day with a positive attitude. All of these are “minor” decisions that we make every single day. Most of the times, without realizing it, we make the wrong decision.

“I’m late for class, I can stop and pray later.”
“I don’t know what to say to them. I’m sure they’ll be fine tomorrow.”
“I have a headache, I was up all night studying for a test I probably failed, and this assignment needs to get done in ten minutes. I’m really not in the mood to talk to anyone right now.”

See? It’s simple enough, isn’t it?
You’re not the only one who’s been down that road (or one similar to it).
Believe me, this applies to me as much as it does anyone else.

I have done my best not to stray from the path.
It is difficult at times. Some times I think I can’t see the path at all. It is in those times I realize I’m not really looking for it.



Guard yourself. Guard your tongue.

Maybe some would say I take life too seriously. After all, these are the “best years” of my life. Right? Personally, I don’t think I take it seriously enough. Sure, it’s ok to relax every now and then. There are times to stop and smell the roses God gave us. There is a time and place for everything. Ecclesiastes 3 tells us this well enough.

One of my favorite devotional songs is All In All.
It gives me hope.

I really like Psalms 3, particularly verse 2, 3, and 6.
It reminds me what I’m fighting for.

Psalm 143:8
“Cause me to hear thy loving-kindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.”

We have always been at war, whether we realized it or not. We have decided whose side we are on, whether good or evil.
If you chose good, you swore your allegiance to the King of kings and Lord of lords, the Victor of this war.
You know the consequences for denying your loyalty and abandoning your duty.
And yet… we forget.

There is Always Hope for we are Never Alone.
The battle belongs to the Lord.

Strength and Honor!

Savin’ Me – Nickelback

Wow, long time no see…er…hear…read… something along those lines.

Life has an uncanny knack of sucking the life out of me at times.

Some days I find myself thinking, “Bring it on! I can handle anything you throw at me! Nothing can deter me from accomplishing what I set out to do.”

Then there are the days where I find myself whispering, “Save me. Please. I can’t keep this up.”

One thing I find myself wishing for recently is a pair of wings. Yes, wings. Like Hanna’s wings. Exactly like Hanna’s wings. See, they supposedly give you this awesome ability of unaided human flight. With wings, one can soar the skies, explore the mountains, and sail upon the clouds. They can give you speed and perspective. With wings, you don’t have to worry about falling. You’ll always be able to stop yourself from ever hitting the ground. With wings, you can escape dangerous situations. You can fly away from toils and heartache for a time.

On second thought, wings might not be such a great idea. With unlimited power and freedom, what’s to keep you from pride? Without fear of failure and defeat, how do you experience true perseverance and success? With such an easy escape route, what is there to teach you responsibility and dependence?

With wings, why would you need God?

*sigh* Yes, it’s been that kind of week. Granted there were some very enjoyable times throughout the week, though more often than not they get pushed to the backburner when you’re sleep deprived.

I really felt like writing something though. Every now and then you have to just take a few minutes and forget about the demands of life. Whether that is through video games, books, friends, writing, or sleeping is your choice. Well, I guess sleeping doesn’t really count because we have to do that out of necessity anyway and we can’t really say we enjoy it because we’re asleep. Unless you take a nap and have some kind of epic dream and remember it or something.

Off topic.

I know a lot of people who have had it pretty rough over the past couple weeks, this last week especially. Discouragement, just as encouragement, can spread like wildfire. It takes strong people to, not only stand against oncoming discouragement, but to turn that around and spread encouragement to those in need as well. One part of a sermon I once heard made the point that agape love is loving someone because they need it. Everyone needs to be loved and encouraged. Because we are fallible humans, it seems easier to encourage some people more than others. With some people, it’s just so much easier to ignore them than to try and say something nice to them, more so because of their own actions and attitudes than yours. They still need someone to love them, someone to help them out, especially when no one else will. That was the point of the sermon anyway.

The great thing about being a listening ear is that if you can’t find any way to help someone, at the very least, you’re there to listen. They know you’re there for them, sometimes that’s all it takes.
I came here to study for a degree, but maybe… It isn’t about the four years of studying for a degree… maybe it’s about the moments in between those years helping those you care about.

Agree? Disagree? Thoughts?

God put us when and where we are for a reason. We are what and who we are because of how we got here. God has always been there for us, whether we accepted His help or not. He is still there for us. We cannot even begin to comprehend what God has planned for us if we will accept His help.
Psalm 73; John 14:27; Phil. 4:6, 7; Jer. 1:5

Yeah, sleep deprivation gets me on a multitude of varying tangents.

On a lighter note, I stopped to think about the practicality of some of the epic battles I’ve had a hand in writing. I came to the conclusion that what Hanna lacks in common sense, she makes up for in agility.

I keep getting this longing to write again. Not school writing, hobby writing. Fun writing. Ice Sword Chronicles, Irish Rose, and Look Through My Eyes are in dire need of their author/coauthors. I really want to get back to writing with my coauthors. Maybe we’ll go on a massive writing spree over the summer and be punching out three parts a day again (not that we were really writing that much to begin with, but it felt like it). Maybe, maybe not. One can dream. For the moment, ISC stays where it is. Which may be a good thing, because one cannot rush random awesomeness without severe repercussions.

Ok, I’m calling it a night.