Virtual Crops or Historical Figures?

I feel almost guilty (almost) for not keeping up with my blog as often as I would like to.

But is it really that important? (This is where the almost part comes in...)

I stop and I think about how I waste my time whether it be writing blogs (small percentage of my guilt, obviously), playing games on facebook (Oh! I have to check my crops!), or staring blankly out into the deep abyss of The Internet. Time consuming? Yes. Valuable? Perhaps in the world of no oppression, worries, or obligations, but in a world where people are daily persecuted for their faith, taking risks for the One who alone can bring them true freedom, its value is blasted far beyond where even The Nothing can reach. After all, we all live in a Never-Ending Story. Get my drift?

Well now that I've wasted my time already, and no doubt yours, to actually take a step in writing I might as well tell you what sparked my sudden desire to do so. Better yet, I'll show you, but don't be surprised by my predictability.

I told you not to be surprised! You should have expected that I'd be inspired by a book. After all, if books weren't so important and inspirational, Story never would have had to leave the blue world and make sure that The Cookbook got finished! (If you thought one movie reference about books wasn't enough...)

But! I do have a reason for all this (except for the movie references). This book in particular inspired me because of its main theme: the persecuted church in China. We've always heard about persecuted Christians around the world, and not to say that we don't believe its true, but it is separate and distant from us (by a few million miles). Books and other forms of literature open up venues for us to live vicariously what others are experiencing daily. For example, after Mr. Keating returns to collect his possessions after he's fired from being an English professor at Welton Academy, his students all stand on the tops of their desks, triumphantly, and in a heart-moving moment repeat the title of Walt Witman's poem "Oh Captain! My Captain!" What emotion! I could stand on the desk myself if I had one nearby (can you guess this movie?).

Anyway... I digress. Safely Home is a fiction novel based on historical events and (more than likely) true lifestyles of those who live in China and experience political and religious imprisonment because of their faith in Yesu (Chinese for... oh, I'm sure you can figure out whose name that is).Often times, Alcorn makes references through one of the characters who is a Chinese Christian History major names Quan about Mao Zedong. It was Mao who introduced Communism to the Eastern Country of China, and I have a very SPECIFIC reason for going this far to talk about Mao: I am going to write a dissertation on his life. Not because I'm a history major nor because I'm all that fond of reading history books (the content may be great, but you got to admit that the formatting is BORING) but because I love to write and I just have an inkling to do so!

Lost: A,B,C,D and E

The Magic Flute was a BLAST! It was a lot of work, but such a pleasant experience.

Last night was closing night (the show ran for two days) and afterward we spent the night striking the set (some of us stayed until about 2:00 in the morning, YIKES!).

Here are some pictures from the week:

Catching Hannah in the process.love you Hannah!
Chelsea enjoying a good read.
Having a picture battle with Josephine.
Hannah and Me.
My complete Colonial(ish) Period ensemble!
Backstage with Papageno (Luis).
Like I said... it was loads upon LOADS of fun.
But I seem to have lost something....

Last night... er... this morning, when I got home from striking the set, which involved moving A LOT of set pieces, I realized, according to my label, that I had lost some friends of mine!


We must have locked idiots A, B, C, D and E up in the storage sheds at the college (not to mention the possible G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y and Z!), but not to worry! I will find you!

Midnight Munchies....

Every once in a while, I'll get the munchies around midnight after everyone else has gone to bed. The weird thing about these cravings is that usually, the whole day I'm not really hungry or in a munchy mood, but then the late hours get around and I am HUNGRY!

Check out this pantry:

This is one amazing pantry. The dream home of a midnight snacker like me. I could spend hours just snacking (probably being quite gluttonous).

Now... if you know anything about me, you'll know that this blog isn't about snacking in the middle of the night or the perfectly stocked pantry. Perhaps symbolically, but its what they stand for that has got me blogging.

My life has been in the night for quite some time. Shrouded in darkness, I've been struggling to find the way.

Its like after taking a long nap during the day only to find out that its already night out and trying to walk down the dark hallway without running into anything. Well now its midnight and although I ate my dinner it didn't satisfy; I wasn't hungry when I ate it. Suddenly I have this craving. This hunger to eat. I feel fully awake, fully ready to eat again and be satisfied by what I put into my mouth and digest. By now, I'm ready to open up the pantry and divulge myself.

In a completely non-gluttonous way though. I am hungry. In my life, it is midnight. This means two things.

One: I want to snack.

Two: Morning will be here soon and it will be a beautiful day no matter what.

I haven't hungered for God's word in such a long time and suddenly its like I'm just craving to read His word and to learn from the past. I want to know what God did and I want to know how I can apply what He taught others to my life.

However, the most amazing thing about this is that I know, no matter how long it takes for me to keep "snacking" on God's word, morning will be here soon and it will be a new day.

Yet, why am I sitting here blogging about being hungry??
Forget this! I need some FOOD!

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."

- Matthew 11:28-29

At War.... With God?!

Sounds stupid doesn't it? The outcome is completely predictable: I lose. Anytime I try to fight against God I will lose in one way or another. It seems ridiculous to think that I'd even TRY to fight God. Yet I do it all the time. How? Pride.

"War against God because of pride? Isn't that a bit overdramatic?" You ask.

"... God opposes the proud..."
- James 4:6

Opposition in its simplest terms implies war. Any time you are in opposition with someone, you are their enemy. Being an enemy with someone implies division.

Jesus said, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand?" (Matthew 12:25-26)

If something singular is divided, it is unstable and unsustainable. A single chair cannot stand if it is sawed in half. Without God, we are incomplete and unsustainable for a perfect life. Even more so, if we are at war with the only sustaining power in the universe, how can we ever expect peace, completion, or stability in our lives?

When I am prideful, and I often am, I am at war with God. I am fighting against peace. I am fighting against completion of this wretched soul. I am fighting against God, very God, who created the universe and continually, perfectly, and incomprehensibly sustains all life, and once and for all defeated DEATH.

"... Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for 'God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.' Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you."
- 1 Peter 5:4-7

Excitement in June!

I know what you're saying, "Two blogs in one month?! NO WAY!" It's definitely pushing my limit but I've come to accept that not everything I write will be a beautifully composed sermonette (sounds like a song title...?).

This next month I've got some crazy amazing things going on!!

The Magic Flute is coming to the LPAC June 6th and 7th with an AMAZING cast of professional and amateur performers who all do a FANTASTIC job! You'd never guess that some of these kids are still in high school! But don't forget the chorus. Ending both acts, the chorus is simply riveting. (Am I going too far with this?) EITHER way, you WON'T be disappointed!
I am so excited to be involved in this production. I quarreled with myself of whether or not to join the chorus, but after a lot of prayer, and wise counsel (love you mommy), I decided to do it. How often does someone get the chance to be in an opera on such a spur of the moment?! Ok, so it wasn't such a "spur" and I've been involved for several weeks now. (Can you tell I'm excited?)

With all of that, the end of the semester is nearing..... Praise The Lord. This semester has been one of the most difficult, and its only my second semester of college!

But what I'm most of all excited about is the Resolved conference starting the second week of June. I cannot wait to hear such amazing speakers, such as John Piper and John Macarthur (and CJ Mahaney, Rick Holland, and Steve Lawson, all of whom I've never heard but I'm sure are amazing if they're up there with John Piper!). I know I can't rely on anything to get me anywhere, but this may be the spiritual refreshment that I need so bitterly. Needless to say, although I already said it, I am SO excited.

In Christ,
Courtney

My Mind is an Open Book... With No Words!

What would you do if you bought a highly renowned novel, expecting something world-shattering to cross your eyes when all you see are empty pages?

That is my mind. Full of pages (thousands of pages!) with nothing on them. Not even a picture!

Even now I'm struggling to get the words out to explain that I have no words. As you can imagine its quite the challenge.

Three drafts sit in my posts, waiting to be finished with enough wit, clarity, spice, and perhaps satire to blow the world away. After all, "all the world's a stage," isn't it? Oh, to the sad state my mind has turned! Even now I'm considering saving this post as a draft and "coming back to it later." (With my fingers crossed behind my back.)

Obviously, this is one of the greatest lessons I've learned yet. If only I could learn it in WORDS!

"Do not be rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few."

-Ecclesiastes 5:2

...And Boldness Was Given, In ABUNDANCE!!

"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline."
2 Timothy 1:7

How could I have doubted so bitterly the power of God? I considered myself someone who was naturally timid but had to MAKE myself bold. I cannot make myself anything! Only the Lord can-- and did He ever!

He has worked in my life in a way that made those first two statements TRUE!

To say that I am a naturally bold person is a TRUE statement.

To say that I can easily share my faith with others is also a TRUE statement.

He has given be the will power and the motivation to share my faith with those that don't know Him. I put it this way to one of my classmates: How can I claim to believe something is true if I'm not even willing to share it with others?

I can't!

If I'm going to claim the name of Christ and then claim that I am too shy and lack the boldness to share with others than I am useless!

"And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness."
Acts 4:31

"This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in Him."
Ephesians 3:11

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing."
1 Corinthians 13:1-3

But, If I have boldness, but don't have love, understand love, breathe love, live love, I am nothing.

May my boldness for the sake of Christ always be an outpouring of the love I have for Christ.