Howdy! This post has to be short because it’s 11:42 and I have to be at work in eight hours.  But I just wanted to write about how great my 4th of July was this year.  I hung out with a bunch of my friends at IPFW, threw the frisbee around, played mafia, worshiped Jesus, and just goofed off.  It was such a fun night.  This was in large part because of how much of a nostalgic night it was.

Something as glorious and beautiful as a fireworks show always makes me reminisce.  Exactly one year ago tonight, I was coming back home from a two-week trip to the Dominican Republic.  I remember watching fireworks shows across Florida as I flew over them in an airplane.  It was awesome.  And just thinking about where I was this time last year, and where I am today, I was very encouraged to look back on the past year and see how much things have changed.

It’s amazing what changes in a year.  If you would have told me what kind of year I was going to have as I was riding on that plane a year ago today, I would have told you you were crazy.  Only by the grace of God am I where I am today.  It is incredible how he works things out.  The joy of last summer, the discouraging grind of last fall, the bitterness of winter, and the uncertainty of spring all worked together to produce a Chris that loves God and appreciates his grace much more than I did this time last year.

I no longer take people or circumstances for granted like I did a year ago.  I am working so hard to love my neighbor as myself and preach the gospel not only through words but through actions.

I dunno, I just wanted to write shortly about how much has changed in the past year.  It has been a very heartbreaking year, yet a very joyful year.  Through the past year I have learned that sometimes, God has to break you in order to recreate you, when you have more than a little tweaking to do.  But know, that I have learned, he works out all things for the good of those who love him.  Persevere through the tough times, love when you think you can’t.  Show gratitude for grace and praise for peace.

Pursue Christ always.  Never take anyone or anything for granted, no matter how difficult the person or circumstance.

G’nite.

-Chris

Hey guys.  This is a blog post I wrote for another blog I write for called, “What the Blind See.”  I know, I’m cheating on Fall Write in Love…  forgive me.  I tried to fix the formatting, it won’t let me….  sorry bout that.

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Howdy.  It’s good to be back posting on What the Blind See.  My name is Chris Martin and I am a sophomore Bible major at Taylor University in Upland, IN.  I am looking to pursue further education in BIblical Counseling or some other seminary field.  When Cookie emailed the writers about needing someone to write about John 10, I thought I would take him up on the offer.  I have been struggling to write on one specific topic lately because of the wide variety of things I am learning in my life recently.  I figured writing on one specific passage would be easier than trying to articulate exactly what I’ve been learning (I need to tackle that one for my first general blog post… oh boy).
Before we even start reading John 10, we need to understand what the purpose of the book of John is.  It is a gospel, so we would be correct in assuming that the book is about Jesus.  However, what part about Jesus does the book of John cover?  The header, in the ESV at least, preceding John 20:30 helps.  It reads, “The Purpose of this Book.”  If that isn’t straightforward enough for you, I don’t know what would be.
Here is what John says is the purpose of his book:
“Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. “(John 20:30-31 ESV)
I kinda see John as the first apologetic.  Unlike our modern day apologetics, he doesn’t present historical proof or the like because this gospel is more like CNN than the History Channel.  John presents the gospel in such a way that says, “Here is the God-man Jesus.  He is the Christ, and here is why.”  That’s kinda the vibe I get from it.  And know, you need to take my interpretations with a grain of salt.  I am not a Biblical scholar.  Cookie encourages the writers to think for themselves about a passage before they consult commentaries.  So all of this that I write is personal interpretation, not scholarly by any means.
In this post I want to analyze John 10:1-21, but I am going to focus on one verse more than the entire passage itself.  The passage is primarily Jesus painting the illustration of him being the good shepherd.  Here is a passage we are going to break down today:
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” (John 10:1-5 ESV)
I was a bit troubled when I read this passage.  I thought this illustration was going to be somewhat difficult to break down.  But then, as I read on, I realized Jesus broke it down for me!  (to a point…)  Here is a brief overview of what each image in the illustration represents:
Heaven/eternal life with God = sheepfoldJesus = gateFalse prophets = thieves and robbersJesus (spiritual leaders?) = good shepherd??? = hired handGentiles? = other sheepUnited church = one flock
Some parts of the illustration that I listed above (hired hand, other sheep, etc.) are not mentioned in the passage I copied above, but later in the chapter when Jesus breaks down the illustration.  Let’s begin to digest what’s going on here exactly.
Jesus doesn’t explicitly say this, but I think it’s pretty safe to assume that the sheepfold he speaks of, to which he is the gate, is heaven, or eternal life with God.  Jesus is the gate to heaven, the only way to become part of the sheepfold.  False prophets, or false teachers of God’s word are the thieves and robbers that try to enter the sheepfold (heaven) by means other than the one gate (Jesus).  These would be people who preach gospels of works-based salvation, prosperity gospel goons, etc.
Next is a point that is somewhat puzzling, but one I think I may have somewhat of a clue on.  Jesus calls himself the good shepherd, the shepherd who leads the sheep through the gate, to the sheepfold.  Initially, I thought to myself, how on earth is Jesus the gate and the shepherd?  I mean I know he is God, and he can do anything, but logically, in the illustration, it didn’t make sense.  Then, it hit me, and I was rather surprised that I didn’t figure it out earlier.  Jesus is simply explaining his spiritual leadership.  I think, again, my personal interpretation, that the “good shepherd” is a Biblically-centered spiritual leader leading people to Christ.  I think another stipulation for this “good shepherd” is that he must be willing to “lay his life down for his sheep.”  Aside from Jesus, Moses and David are also called good shepherds in the Scriptures.  I may not be correct in thinking that a self-sacrificing spiritual leader can be the shepherd, but it just kinda makes sense.
Besides that, I think that in this illustration, Jesus is simply showing that not only is he the gate by which we enter into eternal life with God, but also that he leads us to himself.  Above, I put “???” next to the hired hand.  I am somewhat confused as to what a hired hand would look like in the deciphering of this illustration.  I think that it may be someone who considers himself a leader but bails when times get tough?  I am not sure, maybe a friendly commenter could help me out on this one.
Next, Jesus starts talking about “other sheep” and how his sheep and these other sheep will form “one flock.”  I think this should be an easy one to break down.
The other sheep Jesus speaks of are obviously the Gentiles.  This makes the most sense, as he is addressing Jews.  The one flock is the mix of Jews and Gentiles to form one church.  if you want to know more about this topic, read Ephesians, there, Paul writes about the unity of the Church in Christ, not ethnicities.
Well, that part of my post turned out to be a lot longer than I planned on it being, so I’ll make my rant on this one verse shorter than I thought it would be initially.  Here is the verse I want to write about:
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”(John 10:10 ESV)
This is one of the most-taken-out-of-context verse EVERRR!!!  Particularly by one, Joel Osteen.  Jesus did not come so that you may have a Ferrari and an in-ground pool.  Rather, Jesus came so that you may find abundance in him.  Abundant joy.  I could write on this for days, so I won’t go into much depth.  But please, I beg of you, don’t take this verse out of context.  Jesus did not come so that we may be worldly rich, but that we may be abundantly joyful in him.
Thanks, post any questions you may have.
-Chris

Howdy!  It is currently 11:47 PM on Sunday, May 29, 2010.  It has been a really boring, yet somewhat relaxing day.  I went to church this morning and learned from Neil Klodzen, as he was filling in for Phill, who, along with all of the other youth leaders, were at the wedding of Joel and Molly Bertles.  Neil had some great things to share this morning regarding missions and evangelism.  I was able to have some great time of conversation with Tyler Eix and Scotty Kunkel.  I love hanging out and talking to those guys about Jesus.  It always makes for a fruitful conversation.  Then, this afternoon I just kinda hung out and watched the Cubs game.  Then I went and played some tennis.  My night ended with a game of Settlers of Catan with my parents, and here I am now, writing on here.  Like usual, I am not exactly sure what I’m going to be writing about, so I’m just kinda hoping things flow through my stream-of-consciousness like they have in the past.

I have been reading, though rather slowly, Vintage Jesus, by Mark Driscoll.  It’s a pretty good read.  It is an apologetic of sorts, but mainly just a great, in-depth description of every facet of our Savior.  Below are some great quotes I have come across so far:

“No matter how many verses are used, the Bible has not been rightly understood or proclaimed unless Jesus is the central focus and hero.”

“…Jesus’ mission on the earth was not to diminish, disregard, or disavow the Old Testament.  Rather, he came to fulfill all that was anticipated of him in the Scriptures.”

“As a prophet, Jesus is to be understood as the truth-telling boldly confrontational preacher who attacks our sin, folly, and rebellion by rebuking us and commanding us to repent.”

“As our king, Jesus demands and deserves obedient loyalty to his commands over every aspect of our life.  Subsequently, there is no such thing as a personal life for the Christian.”

This last quote kinda contains a revelation I had recently and have been walking in recently.  I have never been a really greedy person, I have sin issues, but that’s not one of the areas I struggle with.  But I have recently encountered, deeper than I have before, the concept of everything in this world belonging to God, not those who physically possess it.  I have always known, ya know, in the deep recesses of my mind, that none of my money is mine, yadda yadda yadda.  But I have only really thought about it deeply the past month or so.  It kind of plays into the concept of, “everything happens for a reason (the glory of God).”  I just know that if I lose something, or if something gets stolen, or if I feel the need to give something away that I am attached to, it is not mine, it is God’s, he merely lent it to me.  This makes it much easier to let go of things when God calls you to give things up.  In possessing all of your stuff, keep your hands open.  Allow your things to pass freely to those who may need them more than you.  Don’t grip onto your things so tightly you begin to think you actually did something to earn them.  It is only by God’s grace you have life, let alone your flat screen TV or paycheck.

I’m getting kinda tired, and I don’t think I’ll be able to come up with much more that is very profound.  I’ll post again soon.

-Chris

Hey there.  I know it’s unlike me to post twice in two weeks, let alone twice in one week, but I just had a thought I wanted to share.  I have written on this before (that super long post about “Oh the Places You’ll Go”) but I just had this feeling again.

I just finished my third of five finals of this semester.  Tomorrow, in about 30 hours, I will be done with my freshman year of college.  That sounds so unnatural, but what I want to write briefly about today is, that while it sounds unnatural, it doesn’t feel unnatural.

I’m sure people who have watched me grow up think it’s uncanny that I’m finishing my freshman year of college (these are generally the same people that comment on how much you’ve grown and pinch your cheeks).  But while it may seem unnatural to them, it doesn’t phase me at all.  There is a blessing in not being overwhelmed with how quickly your life is moving.  College people used to seem so old, so weathered, so mature.  And now that I’m here, I see that while we may be older, and probably smarter, than those younger than us, we do not face any different problems than we used to, just new experiences.  There is still the drama of high school, the awkwardness of middle school (though not in astronomical quantities), and even a little bit of the naiveté of elementary school.  People still stab people in the back, people still cheat, people still have problems sharing; we aren’t unprepared for the problems of college.  College allows us to encounter new experiences, some of which may be unnerving, but in reality, we don’t deal with any new issues.  We just deal with the same ones in different packaging.  And this may all be because I am only done with my freshman year; by senior year, I may encounter new problems I have not yet encountered.

While this is whole college thing is nothing new, and while it is good to consider it just another step towards Christ and his glory, we need not let it pass without notice.  There is a fine line between taking the college transition in stride and taking it for granted.  It is so important in these four(ish) years our lives, as we continue to discover who God made us to be, that we do not wish it away and live through it like any other period of life.  The work is difficult, the relationships rewarding and stressful, the growth straining, and the memories many.  But do the work, build the relationships, persevere the growth, and make the memories to glorify Christ.  I have only gone through my first year, and I can already see myself and others wishing away these college days.  To get to what?  To get to life after college, which, like we once saw college, we see as amazing, rewarding, freeing.  But, if we attempt to get through college as fast as we can, we will arrive at adult life only to realize that is another step in the road, like college, like high school, like middle school.

Don’t treat this college experience as a stepping stone, live for the now.  Let your degree and future aspirations take a back seat to living for Christ and glorifying him in the present day.  You can glorify Christ no less in how you write your papers, how you take your finals, than you can in your future job, with your future spouse, at your future job, in your future home.  Those are going to be just as much of a chore as college is if you continue to treat these parts of life as arbitrary means to an unforeseen end.

This has been a much longer rant than I had planned on it being, and I got off track a bit, but it didn’t turn out too bad.  Bottom line is:

To college students – Stop wishing away college.  You have no less work now than you will in the “real world.”  If we keep looking at college as a chore as we are, we will see our jobs as chores as well, and, before you know it, we will be living for retirement.  And when we get to retirement, we will see how much we wasted in pursuit of…boredom.

To pre-college students – Enjoy every minute of high school.  Find every way to inject Christ into your high school experience, public or private.  Please use this time to begin to discover what God has made you to do, and who God has made you to be.  And remember, this discovery is best done through prayer and meditation on God’s word.

Ok, I think I’m done writing.  I could probably write a bunch more, but I would undoubtedly start repeating myself.  I have a couple of finals to study for, and I am going to do my best to enjoy them.

Have a great day.  Pursue Christ and his kingdom.

-Chris

Howdy!  I am sitting here at my desk in my dorm room at Taylor University this gray Sunday night.  This was a great weekend.  I came home Saturday morning and went to my brother’s basketball game and watched him put up 14 points, it was awesome, he did really well.  Then, I went to the wedding of John Wassell and (formerly) Whitney Ashtary.  It was a great time dancing and hanging out with friends in celebration of a marriage that was a long time coming.

Then, today, I got to go to church and see my little elementary school buddies.  The most interesting part of the day, so far, was definitely the car ride back to Taylor with miss Susan Roth.  She and I were making our way back to TU when we passed two dead deer on the side of the road (I have never seen deer roadkill before, Susie was surprised.).  Then, we saw a hawk swoop down in an attempt to hunt for some food or something.  And then, we passed some RV parked on the side of the highway, and to our surprise, a family got out.  We passed before we could see what they were up to.  Needless to say, it was the oddest, most random car ride I have ever been a part of.

Currently, I am listening to an Owl City/The Ready Set playlist I made for myself last week.  It is the ULTIMATE summer playlist.  Love it.  In four days I will be going back home to Fort Wayne for the summer.  I cannot wait to have a bit more free time on my hands so I can read more than I am able to right now.  I can’t wait for a summer of reading, frisbee, lemonade, Owl City, and spiritual growth.  It is going to be a great summer, and I can’t wait for it to finally start.

I decided to write today because I said  I would write soon, and because I am currently bored out of my mind.  Finals week starts tomorrow, but I don’t have any study-worthy tests until Thursday, so I kinda have a lot of time on my hands.  After I write here, I plan on reading some of Mark Driscoll’s Vintage Jesus.  Which reminds me!  I have to update whoever still reads this thing on my newest life change!

After much consideration and prayer, last week, I changed my major to Biblical Literature, with a minor in Creative Writing.  Why the change?  Well, I have been fighting it for a while, my closest friends can attest to that, and I encountered an interesting passage while reading John Piper’s book, Don’t Waste Your Life.  While Pastor John was talking about being discontent with a profession, I related it to being discontent with my study.  It reads:

After reading this passage, it just really hit me that I have a passion for studying God’s word more than anything else.  And though, while still an English Education major, I had dreams of going to seminary to study the Bible, I figured that I want to know as much as possible, so I decided to devote my undergrad to it as well.  I am beyond excited to be enrolled in my first semester of Greek next fall, studying poetic and wisdom literature of the Old Testament, and taking a class about discipleship in youth ministry as an elective.

In regards to what I plan on doing with this, I have no set plans.  I am willing to do anything as long as I am immersed in God’s word while doing it.  I will write, I will teach, I will preach, I will counsel, I will do anything as long as studying God’s word has to do with it.  I will have to focus myself on one or two of those things, namely when I get to seminary, but as for now, I’m open to whatever.  I am beyond excited to devote my life to the study of God’s word and the proclamation of Jesus Christ’s Gospel.

I have been reading a lot of books in addition to my Bible lately.  First, I read More Than a Carpenter by Josh and Sean McDowell, which a basic Christian apologetic.  Then, I read Don’t Waste Your Life as I mentioned above.  Then, I read The Radical Reformission by Mark Driscoll, which is a great book regarding churches and their part in culture, how to reach out without selling out.  Now, I am reading Vintage Jesus, another Driscoll book, that breaks down everything about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  It is a great apologetic.  After I get done with Vintage Jesus I will be reading my final Driscoll book called, Doctrine, which is Pastor Mark’s book outlining his theology on a variety of topics.  Finally, after all of that, I want to take some time to study Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology book.  But by that time, school may have started again, so I will have to play that by ear.

Well, I hope you have enjoyed reading up on my life, as if you care.  I will be reading a lot this summer and I hope to be writing a lot about what I am reading.  Please contact me if you wanna go to coffee or go on a walk or play tennis or ANYTHING sometime this summer.  :)  Finals week begins tomorrow.  Pray for wisdom and perseverance.

Love you all.  Pursue Christ daily.

-Chris

Hey guys.  I hope you all are doing well.  Those of you who are done with school, I hope you are enjoying the start to your summer.  And those of you like myself who are still studying, persevere ’til the end.  It’s not too far.

I decided that I wanted to post the poetry I was assigned to write in my Intro to Creative Writing class.  We were assigned to write 3-5 poems of any kind.  Here are mine.  Enjoy!

Skorts

Janie worked as a manager-clerk

In a clothing store with a customer-quirk.

This store clothed not just humans,

But animals too,

Talk about Christmastime being a zoo.

One day, Janie,

A girl of only 14,

Saw a sight she had surely never seen.

In came a tigress, on its hind legs,

Wearing a perfume smelling of eggs.

“I’m Betty,” she announced, “Betty the Blue.”

Janie, amazed at the feline’s hair-doo,

Said, “Excuse me.  But why are you blue?”

“You see,” Betty began, “I got it dyed at the hair salon

Down on the corner of 1^st and Vaughn.”

“But I was wondering,” she continued to say,

“Do you have any skorts on sale today?”

“Skorts!?” Janie exclaimed. “Well I’ve never heard of such things!”

“Well, they’re popular in spring:  half skirt and half short,

I’m surprised you’ve never heard of the sort!

They come in all colors:  purple, white, red and green,

And my personal favorite, dark-denim-blue-jean.”

“Wow!” Janie said, “Those are unique!

I think I’ll order some later this week!

I’ll order grass skorts and jean skorts

Long skorts and short skorts,

Oh how I’ll order skorts of all sorts!”

Betty chimed in, “Order right now!  Or tomorrow the latest!

Then, in this town, your store’ll be greatest!”

So Janie did as Betty commanded.

She called the skort makers and firmly demanded,

“I want green skorts, white skorts, and skorts of all sizes!

I want skorts for any event that arises!

And so, a few days later,

Waltzing out of the elevator,

Came the deliveryman.

Janie’s skorts had finally arrived!

And ever since then, her store has thrived.

If it weren’t for that blue cat,

Who knows where Janie’s store would be at?

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To Be a Disciple

Rugged was the cross on which He died,

So that we may live this glorious day

To proclaim that he’s the only way.

Loud the pleas on the cross he cried,

Many the things at his feet we lay,

“Holy, holy holy” we humbly say.

Christ leads us, in him we abide.

We follow as sheep; we do not stray,

For he paid a price we cannot pay.

—————————————————————-

Goodbye

He waves goodbye as he walks backward toward the plane.

His boots squeak, his rifle clanks.

“It’s hot over there, stay hydrated!”

“I will. I love you mom!”

“I’ll miss you baby!”

The sniper didn’t.

—————————————————————-

I’m a Writer

I write prose.

I’m not an artist.

I’m a writer.

Poetry is a painting.

I’m colorblind.

Poetry is a beautiful sketch.

I can’t draw.

My left hand smears ink or lead.

I’m a writer,

Not an artist,

Not a poet.

—————————————————————-

No Match for Death

A car passes.

There goes another.

I wonder if anyone is going to stop and help.

I am dizzy because of the heat, or maybe it’s the blood loss.

I can’t be sure.

The blood flowing out of my head cools me.
My sweat burns.

I try to pry the door open,

But I am too weak.

“I’m coming!” I scream.

She turns her head to look at me,

She is calm.

Death has arrived in this heap of metal

That was once my car.

I am no match for death.

She is no longer mine.

She is His.

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I hope you guys enjoyed my poems!  I will be posting a more insightful post in the next week or so, I promise.

-Chris

Howdy!  I hope everyone is doing well. It’s springtime and everything is awesome.  I write to you tonight, on Sunday, April 18th.  School is winding up so that it can wind down in about two weeks.  I am having a couple of my busiest weeks these next two weeks, but I’m ready, BRING ‘EM ON!  Five weeks until finals week.  I’m ready to duke it out with the last month of my freshman year of college.  It’s so funny how fast it’s gone.  I remember thinking last year about how I was going to think it was weird to be in college, but it has felt just as natural as any other transition in my life.  It’s another one of those things that you psych yourself up for, only to forget how big of a deal it is when you get caught up in all that goes on.  You never really have time to stop and think, “Wow, I’m in college.”  That is, you don’t really have time unless you write about it like I am currently.  I love just being able to write without really having a topic to write about.  I love conversing with WordPress as if it’s a friend I haven’t talked to in months.  I am just writing without anything in particular in mind.  I have found that whenever I actually try to think about something to write, I don’t write.  So tonight, I just decided to sit down and start typing.  I have some free time and figured, “Hey, what the heck, let’s just sit down, and write.”  I say “let’s” subconsciously because I probably have some kind of split-personality thing going on, or I may just not know how to write correctly.  Or maybe it’s a stylistic thing… I dunno.

I am excited for summer.  Yet, I am apprehensive about it all the same.  Last summer was a summer that will take a while to top, so, while this one may be bittersweet, I still want to enjoy it as much as possible.  I just wanna lay under the stars, and praise God for his creation that is so fearfully and wonderfully made, then go lay under the glow-in-the-dark stars in my room as I fall asleep.  I wanna drive through Fort Wayne with my window down blaring Hot Air Balloon as if nothing matters.  I wanna play frisbee until my feet fall off.  I wanna read books in the hot sun until I fall asleep.  I wanna sit on the front porch, eat strawberries and watermelon and enjoy the summer air, all while not caring that mosquitoes are using me as the local watering hole.  I wanna go on walks while just thinking about Christ and the love he has for me, regardless of my faults.  I am excited for summer.  Yeah, I’m excited.  Just listening to Strawberry Avalanche right now by Owl City is making me remember warm air, the smell of pizza that was constantly on my clothing, and awesome summer nights.  I want it all back… and it’s all only five-ish weeks away.  So close.

This summer, I will be working at B. Antonio’s pizza like I have the past couple of years.  In addition to that, I will be a teacher’s assistant in a summer school for about a month.  I can’t wait to work with kids all day, it’s gunna be awesome, yet extremely tiring all the same.

I have plenty of summer reading ahead of me.  I have recently completed Forgotten God by Francis Chan, and am currently working More than a Carpenter by Josh and Sean McDowell and Don’t Waste Your Life by John Piper.  For this summer, I have a number of books by Pastor Mark Driscoll to read:  The Radical Reformission, Vintage Jesus, and Doctrine.  I can’t wait to get them started, sooo ready.

(Ah, Bird and the Worm… such a good one, a very summery song… For all my pals who live in the oceans and the seas… with friends like these, well, who needs enemies!?)

I think I want to show you guys an excerpt from my newest assignment in my Intro to Creative Writing class.  Here is the first page-ish.  If you wanna read the rest of it, feel free to message me on Facebook, and we can talk.

Loss

I am the most selfish, proud person I know, and you can’t take that away from me.  It’s my natural, sinful nature.  I would like to say I cannot help it, but that would be a cop-out, true as it may be.  I cannot help it, but my pursuit of Christ can.  Never can I use my inability to change my life as a legitimate reason for not changing.  Thinking I could change my life on my own would be proud, but using my depravity as an excuse is selfish.

Escaping the life-sucking tsunami of selfishness and pride that devours even the most devout is difficult.  It is nearly a Catch-22.  One who is selfish and proud does not recognize his selfishness, primarily due to his pride.  He would never recognize the problem on his own, and he is often too proud to seek wise counsel.  Not to mention that, even after being counseled by the wise, he would be too proud and selfish to acknowledge his mistake and change his ways for the sake of others.

“What is the point of worrying about something that is possibly impossible to solve?”  one may ask.  To him I would reply, “The problems that often seem the most difficult to solve are the ones that have the deepest roots in our lives, and cause the most trouble in our pursuit of Christ.”  I spend so much time trying to prevent myself from acting sinfully.  I keep cursing to a minimum, I try not to worship anyone or thing instead of God, I try to love my neighbor as myself.  But the more I keep trying, the more I keep failing.  And the more I keep failing, the more I keep shaking my fist at God for making me rely on him for my sanctification, as if I think I have the authority to make myself more holy.  I am a bad person, and my Savior is the only good thing about me.

———–

That’s the beginning of my creative non-fiction piece for my Creative Writing class.  I like it, it was good to write.  I am currently working on our next assignment, a poetry project.  We have to write about five pages of poems.  I am making progress.  It’s due in about two weeks.

DUDE!  GUESS WHAT!!! I’m playing TENNIS now!  I LOVE IT!  I used to play a super long time ago, but I just kinda stopped.  I started playing about a week ago and I realized I’m not horrible at it.  I think playing ping pong helps me out some.  I bought my own racquet and I am looking for someone to play in the summer!  Contact me on FB to play!  I really wanna play a lot this summer!  :)

I should probably bring this post to a close, as it is getting rather long.  A couple of prayer requests:  please pray that I continually look for ways to love others better.  I am not awesome at loving everyone.  So please pray that I see people as Christ sees them and that I love them accordingly.  Secondly, please pray that despite the busyness of the next two weeks, I continue to pursue Christ more than I pursue my school work.  Please let me know if there is any way I can pray for any of you.  Thanks guys.  I love you all.  And for those of you at home, see you in a few weeks.  I miss you guys.

-Chris

Hey guys.  This is a fictional story I wrote for my Intro. to Creative Writing class.  It is titled, “Peanut Butter Sandwiches.”  I hope everyone is well.  Enjoy the story!

-Chris

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Week 1- Monday, April 5

“Did your mom finally tell you?”  Josh asked.

“Yeah, she did,” Timmy answered.

“Mine too, she said it’s some kind of,” he paused, sighing, “growth on his brain.” Josh’s mouth dried up as he uttered the diagnosis.  They found it about five weeks ago when he went to the doctor for a really bad headache.”

“Yep…” replied Timmy.  “It’s some kinda thing that ended in –oma.”

Josh continued talking in a hushed tone.  “Do ya think…” he began, “he’ll get to miss school?”

“Probably.  It’s not like the sniffles or a tummy ache, it doesn’t just go away.”

“I know,” whispered Josh, “but he was supposed to win the science fair this year.”

“I’m not sure he’s gonna have much time to do all of the work for it,” Timmy sighed, “unless the doctors in the hospital can help him out.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.”

“People would probably call him a cheater if he did that though.”

“Probably, but he never cheats.  He’s too smart to have to cheat off of anybody.”

“Yeah, he’s never cheated on his homework.”

“Ya know, I never thought about it, but maybe that growth on his brain is what makes him so smart,” Josh said.

“Probably not,” Timmy said.  “I dunno how something could make you smart and make you sick at the same time.”

“That’s true, but ya never know.”

“Ya, I dunno, you might be right.”

“You don’t think he’ll get held back, do ya?  He has missed five weeks of school already.”

“I sure hope not, I can’t imagine going to middle school without him.”

“Me neither.”

“Yeah, I don’t think he’ll get held back though, he’s smart enough to make up his work.”

“Yeah…  Ew, my peanut butter sandwich is kinda soggy today, the rain got my bag all wet,” Josh said.

“Mine too.  Too bad he’s sick, I’m sure he would let us share with him.”

“Yeah, and his mom makes the best peanut butter sandwiches!  Ya think he can eat peanut butter sandwiches in the hospital?”

“Maybe, I dunno.”

“I really miss him already, Timmy. I hope he gets better soon.”

“Me too.”

“That’s the bell.  Time to go.  I’ll see ya later.”

“See ya Josh.”

Week 2- Monday, April 12

“Last night was the first time I have ever been to a hospital,” Josh said.

“I went once because my grandpa was in the hospital because he got in a car accident.”

“It was kinda neat.”

“Yeah.  The doctors and nurses were really nice.”

“He didn’t look too bad!”

“Yeah, he’s kinda starting to get bald though,” Timmy pointed out.

“You’re right, but he’s still not as bald as my dad, and my dad feels fine!”

“He is getting bald because of the medicine, not because he’s getting old…”

“Right, well if the medicine makes him bald, it must be working!  …Right?”

“Hopefully.  He seemed pretty healthy last night, except for being really tired and all.”

“Yeah, they said the medicine makes him really tired too.  How can a medicine do so many bad things to you, Timmy?”

“I’m not sure, but the doctors probably know what they’re doing.”

“You’re right.  I’m sure they do.  They’re even smarter than he is.”

“I heard some of the girls in our class are going to make him a card and have the whole class sign it,” Timmy said.

“Really?  Who?”

“Abby, Meghan, and Kristen.”

“I think Kristen likes him,” Josh giggled.

“I think so too.”

“She would always share her lunch with him if he forgot his peanut butter sandwich.”
“Yeah, she would give him whatever he wanted.”

“Well, time for recess.  I will meet ya out there.”

“Okay, see ya in a few.”

Week 3- Monday, April 19

“Baseball season is starting soon!” Josh exclaimed.

“I know it is!  I’m super excited!”

“Your dad is coaching again this year, right?”

“Oh yeah, he is coaching again.  He has some good ideas for our team, too.”

“Awesome, I’m so excited!”

“Yeah, we should have a great team this year.  Well, we will if our shortstop feels better soon.”

“I can’t believe he’s still out of school,” Josh said.

“Yeah, well what he’s got doesn’t heal very quickly.  It takes a lot of time.”

“I know, I just hope he feels better soon so he can play ball this year.  He is our best hitter and our starting shortstop!”

“I know, I know.  We can figure it out without him, though.”

“I hope so.  Man I miss him.”

“Me too.  My mom said the hospital costs are starting to become a problem for his family.  She has been making them dinner every night the past week.”

“I wonder,” Josh began, “I wonder if we could go around and collect change to give to his family.”

“We won’t get enough money to cover the costs.”

“We don’t have to pay it all, Timmy!  Every little bit would help them out!”

“Okay, I guess you’re right.  I don’t even know how we would do it, though.  Do you think anyone would give us any money?”

“Oh yeah they would!  Everyone loves him.  He’s so nice and he always helps people when they need it.”  Josh sniffed as tears began to run down his cheeks.  “He helps people with homework, shares his lunch with people when they forget theirs,” he wiped his nose and continued, “compliments people when they look nice, helps them with…” He began to sob.

“Shh…shh…  It’ll be okay”

“I know…I just…I miss him…so much.”

“Me too, he’ll be fine.  Don’t worry about it.  It’ll be fine, I promise.”

“Ugh, I can’t even finish my sandwich,” Josh said.

“That’s all right.  Just calm down and don’t worry about him.  He will be fine.  Let’s start thinking of ways we can raise money for him.”

“Okay.  Whatever you say.”

Week 4- Monday, April 26

“It was so good to go to the hospital again last night,” Josh whispered as a teacher stared at him sternly for talking of the sickness.

“I know,” Timmy replied.  “His family was so happy to see how much money we collected!”

“I can’t believe we collected forty-two dollars and twenty-three cents!  I wasn’t expecting to get that much!”

“Me neither.  I’m really glad you decided to do the fundraiser.”

“I never knew how much money kids carried around in their pockets during the school day.  No wonder that bully Bucky Fanton gets new Nerf guns all the time!”

“I have a feeling, after seeing him last night, that we may have our shortstop back in time for baseball season,” Timmy said.

“I think so too!  He looked really good.  His mom said that his medicine was working and that he would be home within the next few days.  She said he should be back to school next week!”

“I hope so.  That would be awesome!  He would be back in time for baseball season.  And he wouldn’t get held back!”

“We will be able to go to middle school together!”

“Next week, we’ll all be eating our peanut butter sandwiches together!”  Josh exclaimed.

“You boys need to quiet down,” barked Mrs. Chang, the boys’ teacher.

“Sorry,” the boys whispered in unison.

“I can’t wait for him to be back next week,” Josh whispered.

“It’s gunna be awesome, we can be the Three Musketeers again!”

“All for one, one for all!”

“Shhhhh,” hissed Mrs. Chang.

“Sorry!”  they said.

Week 5- Monday, May 3

“I’ve never seen my dad cry before,” Josh said as he wiped his own tears away.

“My mom never wears black.”

“I can’t believe this, we were all supposed to be at school today.”

“I know, Josh.”

“I mean he got better!  He wasn’t sick anymore!  How could this have happened?”

“I dunno.”

“Everyone else survived!  Why couldn’t he?”

“Sometimes things just happen that way.”

“All of the airbags went off except his.  I just don’t understand.”

“They got hit on his side of the car.  I’m not sure an airbag would have even helped.  I mean the car was smashed.”

“All of these people, they really loved him.”

“We all did.”

“I think I’m gonna have to play shortstop this year.  I don’t think I can replace him, though.”

“No one could ever replace him.”

“Nope, no one.”

“Being here at his house just makes me miss him even more.”

“Me too.”

“It’s weird eating his mom’s peanut butter sandwiches without him around.”

“He’s really gonna miss those I bet.”

“I bet.”