Strength, Expectation, and Honesty

Are you miserable? Do people and things leave you unsatiated? Are your interests always dictated by what others think? You have already accepted Christ as your Savior?
Then maybe the problem is that you need an attitude adjustment.
That's what it seems to be for me. As of recent, I'm strengthening my grip on spiritual things like priorities and purity, lowering my expectations of others, and learning to be completely honest with myself about what I enjoy (view quote below V).

Of course, nothing beats good ol' fashioned prayin' to God. But some other things I've done to start are as follows (maybe you can try them, too)...

Strengthening my grip

After reading the first chapter of that book by Swindoll, the chapter on priorities, I realized how much the urgent can blind you to the important. For a simple example: It feels urgent to eat what you crave, but it's more important to eat what is good for you. So I made a list of basic things I do every day, catagorizing them as The Urgent vs. The Important. These things I've tried to keep on my mind, and when I remember to in certain situations, I ask myself, "Is this really important? Is it the best road to follow in the long run?" & I ask God for wisdom to help me make the best choices.

Lowering my expectations

Well, Shaun described this better than I can, but I'll give it a go. Basically, the theory is that if you lower the standard of what you expect from people, things, and situations --not merely accepting that it'll never be good enough, but actually lowering you're expectations-- you'll be a happier you. So that's what I've been doing. It has seriously made accepting disappointments a lot easier, b'cos I'm not so disappointed after all! Read all about Becky's theory.

Being honest

Lowering my expectations has also helped me to be honest with myself with what actually interests me, without using a standard set by others. For example, when I go somewhere (such as a certain concert) or enjoy something (such as certain music), I can just enjoy it b'cos it's what I like. I'm just starting, but I hope that someday I will be able to just be myself around other people, being thankful and content with how God made me. Of course, this isn't an excuse to do whatever I feel like; there's still the "be considerate of others" factor. So I need to care about others' interests more than my own, but I don't need to let them dictate what I personally enjoy. Is that clear?
A quote by C.S. Lewis says it all: “Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it.”

So, glad to share it with you, if anyone is out there! lol

M/V's

These are my favorite new music videos of the moment:
BRAND NEW:

Needtobreathe: "Washed By The Water"

Leeland: "Count Me In"

Anyone out there got some (good) music videos you're really diggin' right now?

EXPELLED: NO INTELLIGENCE ALLOWED

EXCELLED: GO AND SEE THAT MOVIE NOW!!!!

Visit the website

Watch the trailer

True Fellowship in Jesus

Something I'm really wishing to do is spend more time with other believers. I go to church twice a week, and I come from a Christian family, but I want more. I'm still feeling like Christians need to spend more quality casual time together in the Word, in prayer, in sharing each others worries and burdens, and randomly praising God. Last week I got to spend some quality time talking with my sister and a couple times with my mom. I never feel closer to them than when we have such talks, when God is the main concern.
God has blessed me with two friends that I email with a lot, and we pray for each other and talk about spiritual things. But how can I be more constantly involved with other Christians? More appropriately, how can we be more unified in Christ our Savior?

Some verses:

James 5:16 "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed."

Acts 4:32a,33 "And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul;...
And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all."

Col. 3:14-15 "Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful."

Are there...? did they...? don't quote me on this...

So I know this is my third post and no one's ever been to my blog that I know of, but I want to continue.

My question:
Are there time signatures in heaven?

Now, before you answer, I want you to realize what a ridiculous question that is. And now I want you to think of the myriad of ridiculous questions people ask:

Did king Saul go to heaven? Will the Rapture be pre-trib, mid-trib, or post-trib? What kind of music should Christians listen to?

Are there time signatures in heaven?

While at a glance these almost seem reasonable, I have found that they tend to lead to long discussions and speculations that end up leading nowhere but to a person's personal beliefs; no real conclusions.
[Note: This is MY PERSONAL OPINION. I could probably find Scripture for it, but for now, don't quote me.]

Now I'm not saying every big question is a bad thing. Sometimes it leads us to finding a valuable treasure, the truth. I just think we should be careful about the time we spend going in circles for unnecessary arguments.

Some of us, myself included, tend to get so distracted by accumulating more and more knowledge to the point we neglect the basic things we need to practice. We listen to the Word, but often we forget to be doers of the Word. We need balance!

Alright, back to my question....Are there time signatures in heaven?

What do you think?

A nut, a gift, and something fuzzy

I'm health nut. Sometimes.

I dislike anything with artery-clogging partially and/or fully hydrogenated fats, MSG or other brain killin' spices, or cancer-causing artificial sweeteners.

I do like peanut butter though. Especially in oatmeal. And many other things, like chili.
To stop this, either I need an allergy or God-given self-control.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Next subject: My sister just got a new phone that has picture-taking qualities. Here's how our conversation just went:

Liz: "Hey let me take a picture of you."
Me: "Not now. My face is fuzzy."
Liz: "Aww come on..." [click] "...that turned out alright."
Me: "I can't see it well." [I head to fridge]
Liz: "Let me take another one. Hold still..."
[series of "hold still"s and me dodging camera phone]
[I now have a piece of homemade bread in hand, about to eat]
Liz: "Come on one more...I swear it's the last.
Me: "You swear? You swears by what?"
Liz: "By the Precious! I swears by the Precious!" [Click]
[picture is close up of me eating. Not flattering.]
ROTFLOL

Say hello to the new blogger!

Hello, I'm here, I'm finally here! So now I must spread the word and think of something interesting to say. In the meantime, should old acquaintance be forgot, say hello to the new gal! And I will try to say hello to thee as well.