Perhaps most of my posts tagged "truth" should've been renamed Marantha. (EDIT: Actually, not that many. I've already added that category.)
Maranatha - come quickly. Most often used in reference to the Second Coming of Christ.
Although I doubt the modern prophets and their interpretations of current events...I find great hope in our blessed hope. The hope of the resurrection of the dead. The hope of the return of Christ. The hope of the Creator restoring all things. The hope God has given to us about a future with Him.
As I read my Bible, my blessed hope isn't exactly "go to heaven when we die." It's better.
How do you reconcile 2 Peter 3:10 Revelation 21 with the parable of the vineyard? And is the moaning creation of Romans 8 - is it a wounded creature waiting for a merciful killshot, or waiting for God's hand to restore, to hear God say "it is good"?
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Monday Melody
Kristian Stanfill
Even So Come
All of creation
All of the earth
Make straight a highway
A path for the Lord
Jesus is coming soon
Call back the sinner
Wake up the saint
Let every nation shout of your fame
Jesus is coming soon
Chorus: Like a bride waiting for her groom
We'll be a Church ready for you
Every heart longing for our King
We sing
Even so come
Lord Jesus, come
Even so come
Lord Jesus, come
There will be justice
All will be new
Your name forever
Faithful and true
Jesus is coming soon
Repeat Chorus
So we wait
We wait for You
God we wait
You're coming soon
So we wait
We wait for You
God we wait
You're coming soon
Repeat Chorus 2x
Even so come
Lord Jesus, come
(Repeat 4x)
Saturday, February 27, 2016
Saturday, February 20, 2016
Best. Sports. Year. Ever?
So...was 2015 the best year for Kansas City sports ever?
**Each playoff year restarts March 1, so NFL and NBA season counts for the year that most of the regular season was played in.
Years that every pro Kansas City team either had a winning record or made the playoffs: 1971, 1973, 1981, 1989, 1991, 1993, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2015
Years that a Kansas City team won the title 1969, 1985, 2000, 2013, 2015
Years that a Kansas City team at least won the pennant, made the MLS title match, or won a US Open Cup
1969, 1980, 1985, 2000, 2004, 2012, 2014, 2015
The five best years for KC pro sports since founding of Royals in 1969.
#5: 2003. Royals have a winning season, but miss playoffs. KC Wizards make playoffs, lose conference finals. Chiefs make playoffs, but lose at home to Indianapolis.
#4: 1980. Royals win pennant, lose WS to Philadelphia in 6. Chiefs finish with a .500 record, miss playoffs. Kings have a 40-42 season, make playoffs, reach conference finals before losing to Houston in 5 games.
#3. 2014. Royals win pennant, lose WS to San Francisco in 7. Chiefs have winning season, miss playoffs. Sporting KC makes playoffs, loses to Red Bull New York.
#2. 2013. Royals have a winning season, but miss playoffs. Sporting KC has a winning season and wins MLS Cup. Chiefs make playoffs, lose on road to Indianapolis.
#1. 2015. Royals win World Series. Sporting KC has a winning season, but loses in playoffs. Sporting KC wins US Open Cup (minor trophy) Chiefs make playoffs, win first playoff game in 22 years, lose on road to New England.
The other good years for KC titles (1969, Super Bowl IV; 1985, World Series; 2000, MLS Cup; 2004, MLS Cup runner-up & US Open Cup win) were years in which the team that got the trophy was the only winning team that Kansas City would see that year, making those years not make the cut for best ever.
Kansas City has had a great run recently...pretty cool, actually.
**Each playoff year restarts March 1, so NFL and NBA season counts for the year that most of the regular season was played in.
Years that every pro Kansas City team either had a winning record or made the playoffs: 1971, 1973, 1981, 1989, 1991, 1993, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2015
Years that a Kansas City team won the title 1969, 1985, 2000, 2013, 2015
Years that a Kansas City team at least won the pennant, made the MLS title match, or won a US Open Cup
1969, 1980, 1985, 2000, 2004, 2012, 2014, 2015
The five best years for KC pro sports since founding of Royals in 1969.
#5: 2003. Royals have a winning season, but miss playoffs. KC Wizards make playoffs, lose conference finals. Chiefs make playoffs, but lose at home to Indianapolis.
#4: 1980. Royals win pennant, lose WS to Philadelphia in 6. Chiefs finish with a .500 record, miss playoffs. Kings have a 40-42 season, make playoffs, reach conference finals before losing to Houston in 5 games.
#3. 2014. Royals win pennant, lose WS to San Francisco in 7. Chiefs have winning season, miss playoffs. Sporting KC makes playoffs, loses to Red Bull New York.
#2. 2013. Royals have a winning season, but miss playoffs. Sporting KC has a winning season and wins MLS Cup. Chiefs make playoffs, lose on road to Indianapolis.
#1. 2015. Royals win World Series. Sporting KC has a winning season, but loses in playoffs. Sporting KC wins US Open Cup (minor trophy) Chiefs make playoffs, win first playoff game in 22 years, lose on road to New England.
The other good years for KC titles (1969, Super Bowl IV; 1985, World Series; 2000, MLS Cup; 2004, MLS Cup runner-up & US Open Cup win) were years in which the team that got the trophy was the only winning team that Kansas City would see that year, making those years not make the cut for best ever.
Kansas City has had a great run recently...pretty cool, actually.
Saturday, February 13, 2016
Repent!
As Christians around the world celebrate Lent, the season before Easter, in which we remember the sufferings of Christ...I feel it appropriate to bring up a pertinent topic.
Repentance.
Real pentinence; sorrow or deep contrition for sin, as an offense and dishonor to God, a violation of His holy law, and the basest ingratitude towards a Being of infinite benevolence. ..and is accompanied by amendment of life. Repentance is a change of mind, or a conversion from sin to God... [NW 1828]
It means changing our ways.
It means humility in knowing that the ways of God are above our ways, and that He is wiser than us.
It means seeking God to know His ways and to know what we need to change (with His help, and by His grace.)
So much of the Christian life can be defined by different interlocking principles found in the Word of God. Repentance requires humility and obedience. Repentance is lived out by Romans 12:1-3, surrendering our bodies as a living sacrifice, being transformed by the renewing of our minds, and by not thinking too highly of ourselves.
And, as we enter this Lenten season, when some of our Christian family re-enter the traditions of fasting, prayer, rediscovering the sorrows of Christ... I keep getting brought back to this. To repentance.
Repentance.
Real pentinence; sorrow or deep contrition for sin, as an offense and dishonor to God, a violation of His holy law, and the basest ingratitude towards a Being of infinite benevolence. ..and is accompanied by amendment of life. Repentance is a change of mind, or a conversion from sin to God... [NW 1828]
It means changing our ways.
It means humility in knowing that the ways of God are above our ways, and that He is wiser than us.
It means seeking God to know His ways and to know what we need to change (with His help, and by His grace.)
So much of the Christian life can be defined by different interlocking principles found in the Word of God. Repentance requires humility and obedience. Repentance is lived out by Romans 12:1-3, surrendering our bodies as a living sacrifice, being transformed by the renewing of our minds, and by not thinking too highly of ourselves.
And, as we enter this Lenten season, when some of our Christian family re-enter the traditions of fasting, prayer, rediscovering the sorrows of Christ... I keep getting brought back to this. To repentance.
Saturday, February 6, 2016
Irrational exuberance
This year our church is talking about Joy. And our Church needs Joy, like the body of Christ. But sometimes I wonder if we overemphasize joy and happiness. For example, I felt the ending to "Inside Out" was reasonable, emphasizing a place for each of the emotions. But sometimes I feel that we are pushed to mask our sadness and just slap on that stupid smiley face.
Mourn with those who mourn, rejoice with those who rejoice. There are some people who lean towards instructing the ones who survived them to "throw a party, because I won't be there", emphasizing that, in Christ, we have the blessed hope of resurrection. But the other side, realizing or believing that grief is a experience to be lived through, and a sorrow shared is a sorrow divided... That makes more sense to me.
I absolutely concede, however that I have very little experience in dealing with grief, and the experience I have from my losses, the closest one being my father 2 years ago, left me realizing that I am no expert in grief and sorrow.
Mourn with those who mourn, rejoice with those who rejoice. There are some people who lean towards instructing the ones who survived them to "throw a party, because I won't be there", emphasizing that, in Christ, we have the blessed hope of resurrection. But the other side, realizing or believing that grief is a experience to be lived through, and a sorrow shared is a sorrow divided... That makes more sense to me.
I absolutely concede, however that I have very little experience in dealing with grief, and the experience I have from my losses, the closest one being my father 2 years ago, left me realizing that I am no expert in grief and sorrow.
Saturday, January 30, 2016
After the hurricane
DISCLAIMER: I'm not a psychiatrist. I'm not a mental health expert. I'm just one blogger with experiences and opinions. YMMV. And honestly, this is just a ramble.
How do you tell the difference between clinically depressed and just stressed to one's breaking point?
I don't know.
I think that a lot of what I thought was my depression could more accurately be called poor handling of very stressful situations.
I don't handle failure well. And a lot of the problems of my personal "great tribulation" were self-inflicted. A wiser man would've avoided them.
Not only have I made it through hell (or the closest I've ever been to it), but the hell in my mind has decreased to a mostly-manageable regret and self-loathing about the poor choices made in my 20s. I finally have hope about the future (a combination of trust in a good God who has been there for me, and a reasonable measurement of where I am right now)
So although I've peeked into the abyss...there are people with a different set of problems, whether chemical, biological, financial, relational...God only knows.
I thought that things couldn't get better, only worse. And from my worst moment...things did get worse before they got better.
But they did get better.
How do you tell the difference between clinically depressed and just stressed to one's breaking point?
I don't know.
I think that a lot of what I thought was my depression could more accurately be called poor handling of very stressful situations.
I don't handle failure well. And a lot of the problems of my personal "great tribulation" were self-inflicted. A wiser man would've avoided them.
Not only have I made it through hell (or the closest I've ever been to it), but the hell in my mind has decreased to a mostly-manageable regret and self-loathing about the poor choices made in my 20s. I finally have hope about the future (a combination of trust in a good God who has been there for me, and a reasonable measurement of where I am right now)
So although I've peeked into the abyss...there are people with a different set of problems, whether chemical, biological, financial, relational...God only knows.
I thought that things couldn't get better, only worse. And from my worst moment...things did get worse before they got better.
But they did get better.
Saturday, January 23, 2016
MMXVI
Welcome to 2016.
(scratch cliches)
(scratch snark)
New year, new chance to make the same changes I've known I've needed to make for a while.
New year, starting mostly better than where I was on 1-1-15. But...there's so much I could be doing better.
Ah, the resolutions...
"Blog every weekday" - HA!
"Keep up on house & lawn maintenance" - slight improvement
"Work on my character" - sigh. No improvement. Surviving hell does not make a man a better man. Neither do near-death experiences.
"Do something especially nice for my wife every week." A nice idea, and I did one thing nice so far...long way to go on that.
"Get down to 200#" HA!
"Walk a mile a day" HA! Except for when I was working last year 1.5 miles from home, and sometimes it was just easier to let my wife take the car and have me foot it to work.
"Reconnect with my faith." Well, a little. Not where I should be.
"Decide political goals by end of year."...what?
Yeah. These were my goals as posted on my xanga on 1/3/2012. And, if anyone cares, I'm up to 240# now.
Some things don't change, and it really sucks. I want to be a better man, but I've shown myself unwilling to put in the disciplines necessary to become that better man.
Sigh.
(scratch cliches)
(scratch snark)
New year, new chance to make the same changes I've known I've needed to make for a while.
New year, starting mostly better than where I was on 1-1-15. But...there's so much I could be doing better.
Ah, the resolutions...
"Blog every weekday" - HA!
"Keep up on house & lawn maintenance" - slight improvement
"Work on my character" - sigh. No improvement. Surviving hell does not make a man a better man. Neither do near-death experiences.
"Do something especially nice for my wife every week." A nice idea, and I did one thing nice so far...long way to go on that.
"Get down to 200#" HA!
"Walk a mile a day" HA! Except for when I was working last year 1.5 miles from home, and sometimes it was just easier to let my wife take the car and have me foot it to work.
"Reconnect with my faith." Well, a little. Not where I should be.
"Decide political goals by end of year."...what?
Yeah. These were my goals as posted on my xanga on 1/3/2012. And, if anyone cares, I'm up to 240# now.
Some things don't change, and it really sucks. I want to be a better man, but I've shown myself unwilling to put in the disciplines necessary to become that better man.
Sigh.
Saturday, January 16, 2016
Steven 100
So this marks my 100th blog on this board. No idea how many hundred blogs are left on xanga. Looking over the categories I founded this blog on, I've said a lot. Sometimes just the same thing over and over again.
In regards to depression, which I thought I might be blogging more about when I started, or maybe I knew I wouldn't because such a subject is so sensitive, I was depressed, stressed, lonely, and isolated both geographically and in other ways. Now I'm just, as I've been for years, lonely.
My family posts have been mostly about my father and grandfather. Two of the great influences on my life, both deceased, both missed. I don't blog much about my family at home, or my mom's family, or my in-laws, for various reasons, the same reasons I didn't blog about them much when I was blogging more often.
Genius? (Insert painful half-laugh here ) I said to myself, "I have reached greatness, and am smarter than all before me in Leavenworth. I have understood great wisdom and knowledge." And I set to now wisdom, madness, and folly. What a waste of time. For in much wisdom is grief, and the know-it-all ends up lonely.
Ecclesiastes 1:16-18, paraphrased. And even now, I suppose I am most aware of what I don't know, the flaws in my own argument and point of view. Between that and the niche nature of what I know what I mean expert in, to say. And it hurts so bad.
I once was more into politics. Heck, I once was an elected official. But that was then and this is now. And yes, for reasons other than most of my friends, I feel the media is failing us. As stated before, I feel our 24 hour news cycle and ratings hunt lead us to an unhealthy overemphasis of a few cases rather than the larger problems that affect us.
It's quite different blogging about KC sports when they're all winning. Sporting won the cup in '13, a different cup in '15. Royals won two pennants and a world series in the last two years. And, finally, the Chiefs won a playoff game! So the woe-is-us is rather over.
Haven't blogged about technology much, mainly because modern technology (defined as WiFi and modern tablets) is - at this point - a luxury that I've had to cut. And sometimes I miss it, and sometimes I don't.
Truth. Quid est veritas. Most of the posts were me trying to sort out various prophetic claims, religious points of view, and other Christian drama. And, when a genius tries to look at both sides of an interpretation argument...I just get headaches.
More blogs coming. There's a lot of Saturdays left in 2016.
In regards to depression, which I thought I might be blogging more about when I started, or maybe I knew I wouldn't because such a subject is so sensitive, I was depressed, stressed, lonely, and isolated both geographically and in other ways. Now I'm just, as I've been for years, lonely.
My family posts have been mostly about my father and grandfather. Two of the great influences on my life, both deceased, both missed. I don't blog much about my family at home, or my mom's family, or my in-laws, for various reasons, the same reasons I didn't blog about them much when I was blogging more often.
Genius? (Insert painful half-laugh here ) I said to myself, "I have reached greatness, and am smarter than all before me in Leavenworth. I have understood great wisdom and knowledge." And I set to now wisdom, madness, and folly. What a waste of time. For in much wisdom is grief, and the know-it-all ends up lonely.
Ecclesiastes 1:16-18, paraphrased. And even now, I suppose I am most aware of what I don't know, the flaws in my own argument and point of view. Between that and the niche nature of what I know what I mean expert in, to say. And it hurts so bad.
I once was more into politics. Heck, I once was an elected official. But that was then and this is now. And yes, for reasons other than most of my friends, I feel the media is failing us. As stated before, I feel our 24 hour news cycle and ratings hunt lead us to an unhealthy overemphasis of a few cases rather than the larger problems that affect us.
It's quite different blogging about KC sports when they're all winning. Sporting won the cup in '13, a different cup in '15. Royals won two pennants and a world series in the last two years. And, finally, the Chiefs won a playoff game! So the woe-is-us is rather over.
Haven't blogged about technology much, mainly because modern technology (defined as WiFi and modern tablets) is - at this point - a luxury that I've had to cut. And sometimes I miss it, and sometimes I don't.
Truth. Quid est veritas. Most of the posts were me trying to sort out various prophetic claims, religious points of view, and other Christian drama. And, when a genius tries to look at both sides of an interpretation argument...I just get headaches.
More blogs coming. There's a lot of Saturdays left in 2016.
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