“There is no safe investment. To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be 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

"A certain psychological approach which seems to have gained tremendous popularity among Christians reminds me of the jungle rivers that I used occasionally to travel by canoe. They meandered. It was possible to get where you wanted to go by following the tortuous curves and loops, some of them doubling back almost on themselves. It was also possible to get there on foot by cutting straight through a curve, covering in ten minutes what it would take hours to cover by canoe. 

To search out and sort out and "hang out" all the whys and wherefores of what we call our problems (a few of which just might be plain sins) may be one route to the healing of certain kinds of human difficulties, but I suggest that it may be the longest way home. I say this, I know, at the risk of being labeled simplistic, reductionist, obscurantist.

Psychology describes. The Bible prescribes..... "Help one another to carry these heavy loads, and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2). "Let your bearing toward one another arise out of your life in Christ Jesus....He made Himself nothing...humbled Himself...accepted death" (Philippians 2:5,7) The woman who had hurt me had plenty of heavy burdens to bear. I knew that very well. How could I help her to bear them? Well, for one thing, by "being offended without taking offense," that is, by following my Master. 

What a relief! I no longer had to plot and plan and cogitate about how to handle my feelings or how to confront my friend or just what to say. My bearing toward her would arise out of my life in Christ Jesus.I couldn't do it myself. He could, and He would enable me. To cut the straight path a good deal of the jungle of my selfishness had to be slashed through. But it was a much shorter way home. " 

-Elisabeth Elliot, Trusting God in a Twisted World

[quote]

"Deep inside my heart Christ's name remained, and nothing could entirely captivate me, however learned, however neatly expressed, however true it might be, unless His name were in it."

-St. Augustine

[the God dare]

"Always seek to love others with the relentless, unconditional, beautiful, powerful, amazing love that God loves you with. At first you'll fall flat on your face and find that your heart is full of hatred and can only cough out an occasional, weak, sickly, reluctant love. But know that this is a necessary first step: until you realize just how deplorable your love is, you'll never get far in the journey towards God's type of love. So be persistent. When you fall on your face, ask your Father for forgiveness and new strength... and get. On. Your. Feet."

This was written by my friend, Samuel Hayashida, and it is well worth reading all the way through. I don't always agree with everything he writes.. in fact, most of the time I don't agree with everything. But I really appreciate the way that he thinks, deeply and out of the box. Here's his facebook page. Hop over there and like it.

"Life is a dare.

That sacred moment when God first breathed life into Adam's lungs, He breathed an eternal dare onto humanity. Every time a newborn breathes his first breath in this world, he enters into that dare. Every time you take a new breath, whether asleep or awake, working or resting, ten years old or ninety years old... you're breathing in God's dare, renewing it. See, life isn't just a collection of events; it's not a list of "have-to"s or "should"s. Life is God's gift, God's way of daring us to make some beauty. And this isn't figurative speech. This isn't something I just made up for the sake of a cool-sounding note. This isn't "metaphorical."  

Resulting from all the noise, busyness, and agitation in our lives as 21st century citizens, we've lost touch with this quiet call hidden inside every one of us. We're distracted; we no longer notice it. But underneath all the mindless commotion, every breath of every man renews God's whispered dare. It's just as present now as it was when it was first breathed into us. It's when we learn how to integrate our lives with silence and stillness, it's then that we begin to come alive once more to this whisper. So I guess the point of this note is to ask you to listen. Quiet down. Still your thoughts, silence your questions... if possible, get away from other people, sounds, and the craziness of life... and listen:

I dare you to love.

I dare you to love extravagantly. I dare you to stop confining love within words and definitions and to see how far you can take it in practice. To seek a standard with no limits. To find a way around anything that threatens to stop the onward movement of your love, anything that threatens to slow it down. To reach further than they say is possible. To love harder than they say is necessary. To find love for those who hate, for those who hurt, for those who betray.

I dare you to love when the music stops. When there's nothing romantic or admirable or thrilling about it. When there's nobody watching. I dare you to do that. When there's no glory, no praise, no reason, no soul deserving of it. When you no longer want to, when everything in you says you can't. When there's no one to cheer you on, no one to hear about it, no one to know about it. When even your good friends think it's unnecessary, silly, or exaggerated. When you're the only one left. I dare you to keep loving where others stop. To keep loving where others draw the line. To keep loving where your friends start backing out, getting angry, hating. I dare you to love when you don't have to.

I dare you to love people with your mouth. To stop discussing people, analyzing them. To stop picking them apart and talking about what you don't like about them, what annoys you about them, what bothers you. To stop criticizing. To stop joking about people. To stop laughing at them. I dare you to treat every person you meet like he was made in the image of God.

I dare you to stop joking about people being fat. Socially awkward. Unattractive. Know that your words sink deeper and bite harder than you will ever know. Even when the people you joke about go unnamed. Even when your words never reach the ears of those they were aimed at. Even when you weren't entirely serious. So I dare you to love those people with your mouths. To stop labeling them. To stop treating them like a joke, to stop discussing them, to stop locking them with your words in the icy cell of insecurity and self-hatred. I dare you to stand up for society's rejects. I dare you to provide them with a place where they finally fit in, belong, and are utterly accepted and loved for who they are.

I dare you to treat your disliking of a person as if it were cold hatred. I dare you to treat your annoyance with someone as if you were committing an unforgivable crime. To see and dwell only upon the good in a person, to associate with people's flaws. To abandon thinking, talking, and dealing with people's flaws to God alone. To relentlessly seek to forgive, even when the wounds are deep, even when it takes years to do it.

I dare you to seek peace with all men with all your might. To strain never to hold something against anyone. To never avoid a person but always to remain ready and open to talking with them. To never back down, never be "done with" a person, but to always be willing to forgive a repentant heart, even when the repentance is half-hearted or fake. I dare you to apologize. To own up to your mistakes. To accept the consequences. I dare you to let people hate you, to let people laugh at you, to let people misunderstand you. To let people hold your sins against you, to let them dwell on and exaggerate your screw-ups and flaws, to let them talk about you behind your back. I dare you love those people. To try with all your might to treat them kindly. To not seek revenge by bringing their sins to the attention of your friends. I dare you to keep their sins a secret. To hide them from your friends' gaze. To love them that much. To pray compassionately for them, to see that the reason they hate is because they've been hated, to humbly ask God that He would forgive them their sins against you and forgive you your sins against them.

I dare you to love people with all. Your. Mind. To start closing your mind to malicious, hurtful, or judgmental thoughts. To shun thoughts about how silly someone looks, how stupid someone is being, how arrogant someone is acting. I dare you to not even think about a person's flaws. I dare you to start regulating what goes into your mind. I dare you to start treating others how you yourself wish others would treat you. To stop picking people apart in your head, to stop forming secret opinions about others, to stop assuming that you're on the good side and your enemy is on the bad side. Know that God loves both of you, knows the flaws in both of you, and sees the good in both of you, and He's no more "for you" than He is "for" your enemy. God doesn't take sides, neither should you. I dare you to start stepping into your Father's perspective.

I dare you to love strangers. To love the people you'll never see again in your life. To treat even these as the beloved of God. I dare you to hold your biting tongue when you start to poke fun at a ridiculous-looking jogger, when you come across an angry driver, when the cashier at the checkout is having a bad day. I dare you to start treating all men with compassion.

Friend. I dare you to love. Love as hard as you can, and when you're at the end of your rope, step out onto God's. Make your love shine brighter than the sun. Love without limit. Love more than is necessary. Never stop. Never be satisfied with the state of your love; always seek to increase it. Always seek to love others with the relentless, unconditional, beautiful, powerful, amazing love that God loves you with. At first you'll fall flat on your face and find that your heart is full of hatred and can only cough out an occasional, weak, sickly, reluctant love. But know that this is a necessary first step: until you realize just how deplorable your love is, you'll never get far in the journey towards God's type of love. So be persistent. When you fall on your face, ask your Father for forgiveness and new strength... and get. On. Your. Feet. Keep your love moving, growing, increasing, conquering. If you till the ground, plant, water, weed, prune, protect, sweat, work, weep, and cry out... God will provide the increase. So stop waiting. Start the journey now.

Never let your thoughts about someone settle in a negative light. That's key. Let God who alone knows all things do the analyzing, searching, and judging. Stop holding secret opinions about people; if you had your way, you wouldn't want people picking you apart in their mind and secretly thinking of you as "annoying" or "naive" or "immature" or "awkward." So start a new work today. Begin loving others as hard as you wish they loved you. Dedicate your life to that. Seek it. Always.

Like I said, I'm not making up this whole dare thing. This isn't poetry. This isn't "nice sounding fluff," it's not motivational hype. I've just sat still, kept silent, and shut up long enough to begin hearing the sound all around me. It's there—in the silence of night, in the warmth of the wind, in my own every breath. I can guarantee you, if you do the same, you'll find the same. It's a secret, but a secret that was meant to be accessed by every man alive. Go slow your schedule down, make as much time for God as you can, bring Him into every odd moment, seek Him away from distractions, start trying to do everything His way... and you too will begin to see this dare hidden deep inside every cross. With every new day this particular whispered word from God will become clearer and clearer:

I. Dare. You. To. Love."

[quotes]

Jake: "I'd like to keep my jugular in one piece....the same goes for my carotid artery!

 John: "What's this stuff? It looks like cabbage...only it's purple."

Me: "Umm...It's purple cabbage."

John: ".....oh." 

Sylvia, pointing to my pimples: "Why are these...elbows all over your face?"

 Me: "Don't be a pooty parper!"

Me: "Sam, you wanna start a load of laundry?"

Sam: "um...."

Me: "Cause you're the best sister in the world?"

Sam: "WeeEeeelll...."

 Sam: "Yeah, you're not the....best in the mornings."

Me: "Yay, understatement of the year."

John, groaning: "Take my advice and never play poker for push-ups."

"He's kind of creepy looking...but in a sweet way."

Sam: "I ran over here so I could brush my hair."

Me: "You ran a mile to brush your hair?"

Sam: "......yeah...."

Me: "Is there any coffee left?"

Papa John: "No. Do you want me to make some more?"

Me: *grin* "Yes"

Papa John, with a sigh: "You'd better flutter your eyelashes at me."

Hahaha. *flutters eyelashes*

Sam: "It's the Narth Store, guys!"

Josh, John, me: "Bahahahahahahaha"

Sam: "That wasp is...brushing his eyebrows!!!"

Me: o.O "First of all, wasps don't have eyebrows..."

Sam: "Well, whatever they are."

Me: "Antennae? And secondly, I'm pretty sure they don't brush them..."

Sam: "Yeah, those!"

"I don't try to kill myself, it just...happens!" 

Mom: "That wasn't a nupe! What was it?"

Levi: "It was a skice!"

Mom: "What's your name?"

Levi: "Um...Levi and Weides."

Me: "Bye, Levi and Weides!"

Levi: "Bye, Shaina Shaina Shaina!!"

“There’s a picture on the internet somewhere; I’ve lost the link, it went all 404 on me.” 

“Monica’s in the house making pancakes, she's a the stove, kinda whistling, listening to the Christian radio station, and Augustine and his friend come in and go, “Mom....Mom.... Oh, Moooom.” And she keeps on flipping pancakes, and she’s like, "boys, come get your pancakes." *no answer* "Come on, boys, they're gettin cold." *no answer*  And she turns around and looks at their beaming faces, and Augustine goes, "Mom. Guess. What." and she goes. “No. NO? REALLY?” And then she's bouncing off the ceiling and they have to scrape her off with a spatula. She's disappearing bouncing around in the street going "whoohooowhoohoo!" and everyone says, 'buz off, it's siesta time."

Augustine's status: "Just got converted, lol! This is teh bomb!" -George

“I’ll admit, I have a romantic streak that’s a mile deep and wide in me.” 

“Study question no 1: Hahahahaha, I love saying that *after* break. Stuuudy question no. 1.”

"Here we are, 15 minutes from the end of  class. OK, study question #2!" (note: we actually managed somehow to make it through all the questions! Unbelievable, I know.)

“You guys are a real problem class, you ask all the right questions, the ones that I really have to think about. It’s impossible to stay on track!” 

“It’s a mystery! Quit arguing about it, take and eat some!” 

"Some modern scholars say it started in 412 and ended in 427, but you know modern scholars. Always trying to justify their paycheck." 

“Modern Protestant fundamentalist eschatology is deviant from 2000 years of church history. That doesn’t prove it’s wrong. But I’m a little nervous about a theology that departs from 2000 years of church history.”

“Augustine laughs and laughs, he LOLs, he ROTLs, and then picks himself up off the floor and says, “I’d better write a book to refute that.” ”

"I got my copy of City of God signed at one of Augustine's rock concerts, it had laser lights."  

"I'll have a special class just for this year's GB2B class's students....kids."

"yeah, I know I'm creepy...cool."

"So, as I was saying before I sidetracked myself, it's a regular problem of mine, (the first step to getting rid of it is acknowledging...) see, there I go again!" 

"Yeah, yeah, I am pretty awesome, aren't I? Go ahead, worship me. Bring it." -Daemones.

"As Daniel is praying...wherever. Probably the Potlatch river."

"Aquinas was a throughgoing Augustinian. But so were Luther and Calvin! wut."

"Probably shouldn't, hahahaha, probably shouldn't laugh, hehe."

"Science is lame." -Zachary

"In Schola, all the girls are beautiful, all the guys are handsome, and everyone's above average. .....and smart, too!"

[quote!]

"For no sooner do we begin to live in this dying body, than we begin to move ceaselessly towards death." 
-Augustine, City of God
I think that I've had my fill of morbidity for today. Or maybe not ;) His paradoxical look at death and life is extremely interesting.  Augustine must have had a passion for heaven.

"Science is changing its fatheaded mind all the time!"

 -Mr. C

Great Books Paper III

Great Books Paper 3-Eusebius

The story of the Christian Martyrs, as related by Eusebius in 'The Church History'.

The Christian Martyrs played an enormous role in the history of the early church. As Christianity spread in the early years, the persecutions became more or less prevalent, largely depending on the emperor at the time. Eusebius focused on recording persecutions that took place during the second and third centuries A.D.


The Christians that were martyred were brave and triumphant during torture and their own deaths. They had a tremendous peace that was given to them by God. Blandina is a tremendous example of steadfastness and bravery, withstanding the gravest tortures. "Through Blandina, Christ proved that what men think lowly God deems worthy of great glory. When we were all afraid...Blandina was filled with such power that those who tortured her from morning to night grew exhausted and admitted that they were beaten, for they had nothing left to do to her. They were astounded that she was still alive, since her whole body was smashed and lacerated, and they claimed that any one of the tortures was enough to end life...But [Blandina] gained in strength while confessing the faith and found comfort for her sufferings by saying, 'I am a Christian, and nothing wicked happens among us.'" When Blandina was later killed in the stadium, after being whipped, exposed to wild beasts, burnt with a gridiron, and placed in a net to be thrown to a bull, "the heathens admitted that never before had a woman suffered so much so long."


Polycarp also provides a wonderful example of strength during martyrdom. At the old age of at least 86, he was arrested and put into the stadium to be forced to denounce Christ. As he entered, he and some other Christians heard a voice from heaven saying, "Be strong and play the man, Polycarp!" When Polycarp had come into the stadium, the proconsul "tried to dissuade him, saying, 'Respect your age! Swear by Caesars fortune! Recant and say, 'Away with the atheists!'' But Polycarp swept his hand across the crowd, sighed, and cried, 'Away with the atheists!' But the governor pressed him, saying, 'Take the oath and I will set you free. Curse Christ!' but Polycarp replied, 'For eighty-six years I have been his servant, and He has never done me wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?' "


We can also see in these two examples that the martyrs were focusing on Christ in their last moments, drawing on Him for strength and making sure that He never left their minds, allowing them to fall into denying Him. But just as importantly, they were fixing their minds on the resurrection to come. As Polycarp was placed on the pyre to be burnt, he prayed this prayer: "Oh Father of your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, through whom we know you, I bless you for this day and hour, that I may, with the martyrs, share in the cup of Christ for the resurrection to eternal life of both soul and body in the immortality of the Holy Spirit... I praise you for everything, I bless and glorify You through the eternal high priest, Jesus Christ, Your beloved Son, through whom be glory to You and the Holy Spirit, both now and in the ages to come. Amen." The Christian martyrs were so focused on the bodily resurrection that during the persecution in Gaul around 177, the persecutors exposed and insulted the dead martyrs' bodies, then burning them until they became nothing but ash and finally swept into the Rhone, so as to defeat the Christian's hope in the resurrection.


Eusebius quite naturally thought highly of the martyrs. He often wrote about the martyrs finding their 'glorious fulfillment,' in their martyrdom, or 'his glorious death,' indicating that this is something that every Christian can be proud to endure for Christ. He also looked favorably upon them because they were the representatives of the church, the Billy Grahams of their own era. Because of the Christians' everlasting hope in the resurrection and their devotion to a man who had been crucified two hundred years ago, they were instrumental in spreading the gospel through their examples of courage and steadfastness. Even today, their influence remains to those who read Eusebius's work, inspiring us to be like them if the need would ever arise.

[quote]

See, the springs of living waters,

Springing from eternal love,

Well supply thy sons and daughters, 

And all fear of want remove:

Who can faint while such a river

Ever flows their thirst to assuage? 

Grace, which, like the Lord, the Giver, 

Never fails from age to age. 

John Newton.

Brokenhearted I come,
My cup is empty;
My mouth is dry.
Burdened with darkness,
Heavy it lies.
I wanna cry but I can't
I try to stand but I fall down again,
I need You to carry me,
I need You to carry me,
I need You to carry me,
When I am weak.

Jenny & Tyler, Carry Me

[quotes]

"Half unconsciously, perhaps, I had been saying, 'Thou and x are enough for me'- one so soon clings to the gift instead of the Giver."
Amy Carmichael

"Take my love, my Lord, I pour
At Thy feet it's treasure store.
Take myself and I will be
Ever, only, all for Thee."

"None of them that trust in Me shall be desolate." Psalm 34:22

"Be endlessly patient. There is nothing more impertinent than our crass infidelity in God. If He does not make us plowers and sowers and reapers all at once we lose faith in Him. Modern evangelism makes the mistake of thinking that a worker must plow his field, sow the seed, and reap the harvest in half an hour.....We are never the same after listening to the truth; we may forget it, but we will meet it again."

-Owsald Chambers

I love this. And it can be applied just as well to other areas of our lives than evangelism. We are always waiting on God. We cannot see how what we are doing now is paving the way to our future, but God holds it in His gentle hands, taking care of every detail.

"Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! 

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; 

And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. 

When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, 

Nor will the flame burn you."

Baby I was naive, got lost in your eyes
And never really had a chance
I had so many dreams about you and me
Happy endings, now I know

I'm not a princess, this ain't a fairy tale
I'm not the one you'll sweep off her feet
Lead her up the stairwell

This ain't Hollywood, this is a small town
I was a dreamer before you went and let me down
Now it's too late for you and your white horse, to come around.

[quote!]

“The real things haven't changed. It is still best to be honest and truthful; to make the most of what we have; to be happy with simple pleasures; and have courage when things go wrong.”
Laura Ingalls Wilder

[quote!]

"What day is it?" 

"It's today," squeaked Piglet.
"My favorite day," said Pooh.
- A.A Milne

"The worst thing you can do for a student is to answer a question for them before they've asked it." 

This is a quote from an interview my teacher did on a radio show the other day. Feel free to take a listen; he's speaking specifically on astronomy. It was quite interesting! 

-Shanaynay

[quote]

"Be taught, ye abandoned creatures, and ascertain the causes of things; what we are, and for what end we are born; what is the law of our success in life, and by what art we may turn the goal without making shipwreck; what limit we should put to our wealth, what we may lawfully desire, and what uses filthy lucre serves; how much we should bestow upon our country and our family; learn, in short, what God meant thee to be, and what place He has ordered you to fill." -Persius

May I just say that I'm so happy with the education I'm receiving from Mr. C right now? Like, beyond happy.  When and if you have kids, make sure they get a classical education. I don't even know Latin or Greek, but what I've done has been so amazing.

[quote!]

"Everyone asks me how to find the man or woman of their dreams. The best way I heard on how to pick a mate was this. You run as fast as you can for Jesus Christ, commit your life to Him, love Him, sell out to Him, and stay devoted to Him. Then you start looking to your right and left and see who is running at the same speed. And you wave at them. And if they stay up with you, after a while, say, 'Come on over!' And you're running together. That's how you find your mate."

-Unknown

[come morning sun]

Last night, frustrated with myself and broken, I finally called out to God. I wrote in my journal, "He makes all things new." This morning, after three straight days of rain, I woke up to the most glorious sun streaming in my window, washing over the pear tree and backyard. I wiped the sleep out of my eyes and grabbed my camera, of course :) Less than five minutes later it was gone. It was such a wonderful confirmation of the words I wrote last night. 

"Let us begin from this moment to acknowledge Him in all our ways, and do everything, whatsoever we do, as service to Him and His glory, depending upon Him along for wisdom, and strength, and sweetness, and patience." -Hannah Whitall Smith

He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power. -Isaiah 40:29

"The sun...in its full glory,
Either at rising or setting-this
And many other like blessings
 we enjoy daily;
And for the most of them,
Because they are so common,
Most men forget to
  pay their praises.
But let not us."
 -Izaak Walton