http://babylonbee.com/news/mans-impressive-book-collection-entirely-ornamental/

Story of my life right now. Will read more, and live it out more. Also to start my book review blog.

I believe, to a certain good extent, that you can interpret the kind of heart someone has by looking at their Facebook profile pictures and see whether they have pictures of them with friends and family (or pets), or have glamour or setup shots of themselves. Hearts of caring and no need of self-validation from others, or hearts of vanity or insecurity, can be revealed. Go see for yourself on Facebook, and you can also examine your own pictures and own heart and see if there is a correlation.

Candid shots of joy and laughter are also wonderful to see.

(And honestly, deep down, we all kind of already knew this...without social psychology to point it out for us, we just pretend we don't know because we all do it)

It is Finished (Good Friday)

I'm going to pretend this is about God

Devo Post #13

3/23/16

1 Peter 3:3-4

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. 4 Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.

I know this is addressed to Godly women, but there is enough scripture and evidence in other parts of the Bible that I believe this can be extrapolated to all modern Christians. Gentleness and a quiet spirit in both men and women of God is something pleasing to God.

Our outer appearances should not matter. That is that. Anyone who says differently either isn’t a Christian or is a Christian with his/her head stuck in the butthole of the world. I don’t need to elaborate any more than that.

How about myself? I tend to not care how I dress, usually adorning a T-shirt, jeans, and my ugly but comfy Nike Monarchs. But I know deep down I do judge people by appearances, and am still subjected to treating people better if they look or sound more attractive. I know when I was young I was under that influence, given who I crushed on in elementary school. As I grew older and became friends with more and more outcasts within the American public education, I learned to care more and take more things into consideration of a person’s behavior and inherent worth. I became someone who could see past a lot of surface traits of people and look deeper into who they truly are. Even at WashU, with its plethora of well-dressed and rich students, I was able to maintain this ability of mine to not be subjected by physical appearances and truly care for those who need my care, and be friends with those who have character, not charisma and looks. I even took this as far as treating people who look attractive poorly and giving them less chances to befriend me. I immediately judged people who looked good or dressed well as arrogant and self-absorbed, as this was the case at first when I met Kelvin at CMU. I basically told myself “look at all those ACF girls fawning over him, he doesn’t need my friendship.” God showed me I was dead wrong, and look at us two now.

I have noticed changes in myself since I went to CMU, and even now in Chicago, that I am now more prone to stare and prettier women and pander to attractive people, at least to a much larger degree than in the past. I mean, any increase is already a lot compared to how I was in the past, especially towards females. Before, I cared not about looks, and my KC friends all know I used to never notice boobs or butts. Now though I find myself actually perceiving they exist, and in the slightest ways I am feeling some physical attraction towards them than I ever had. One may say puberty hit me a decade and a half late. I may now be closer to a normal boy or man than I used to be, but I cannot help but feel ashamed, especially towards my sisters in Christ. I never used to lust in manners that my brothers in Christ struggle so hard, but now I think I am struggling more and more with this. Oh how I stalk more pictures on Facebook now than I ever used to. Need to call out myself and repent. My sisters in Christ deserve much better from me.

I need to learn, or re-learn, that a man’s/woman’s worth is not found in how attractive they are, how much they earn, how prestigious they are in their field, how they dress or carry themselves, but in their character, humility, and love of God. That is how Jesus treated those who came to Him, whether it was repentant beggars or tax collectors, or even repentant pharisees. But those who use their outer appearances and outer behavior, Jesus calls out their true nature on the inside, “bones and filth” and “greed and self-indulgence.”

I must not be self-focused. I also must not enable my brothers and sisters to be the self-focused either. I will never date or marry someone who focuses on the outside, whether towards me or in general, but I will look for someone who is humble, has character, and is a woman after God’s own heart.

Luna had decorated her bedroom ceiling with five beautifully
painted faces: Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Neville. They
were not moving as the portraits at Hogwarts moved, but there
was a certain magic about them all the same: Harry thought they
breathed. What appeared to be fine golden chains wove around the
pictures, linking them together, but after examining them for a
minute or so, Harry realized that the chains were actually one word,
repeated a thousand times in golden ink: friends . . . friends . . .
friends . . .

- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows

As much as I dislike Trump and want to support the protests right at UIC against the rally, I know that one day the same protests against free speech will be used against Christianity. The same thinking that Trump supporters are outdated, racist, and ignorant will one day be used against Christianity. The day is probably already upon is when free speech and religious freedom can no longer protect Christians from worshiping God and doing His will in peace. God may we be able to persevere through persecution that He promised the Church.

Me: I have always wondered, and continue to wonder, if growing up and being an adult and living a more personal life after college, to try to move past the tightness that we define as "college behavior," if we are actually becoming more unbiblical.

J.M: mmm as for people trying to move past the community feel during college to live a more personal life, I actually find that quite tragic to some degree

Me: it is
Me: and i dont like it how people try to cover it up
Me: "its in the past now"
Me: "im an adult now"
Me: "this is just how life works"

J.M: not even sure what that's supposed to mean

Me: it reeks of laziness

J.M: selfish passivity

Membership

It is almost March now, and membership classes are starting soon. Within the last few months, various prominent preachers have emphasized the importance of being a member of a local church, and that it is basically heresy to “ride solo”. I wouldn’t call my behavior in Chicago that, given I’ve been very active in two churches (Beloved and Cornerstone), but I have yet to give my allegiance to either. The church I go to for service (on Saturday afternoons) is Beloved, but I have to wonder if this is the church for me, especially after last Saturday. Do I enjoy spending my time with these brothers and sisters listening to them talk about Fuller House and Suits? Or watch them agonize whether Steph Curry will clutch it out in overtime? I don’t, and without a doubt I can give a full theological analysis on how terrible is this behavior when the church body comes together. But this begets the question, if I go to a church where they have LAN parties or FOF (fellowship over food) for afterhours, is this just catering to my own tastes as a gamer and social foodie? This is about the time I reminisce the prayer and worship times after church back at Pittsburgh, and the extensive spiritual refinement Vision School gave during those semesters. Is it too terrible to mention that we ought to pray more together, share more together, encourage each other more, and be holy together after church? Sigh, maybe I just sat at the wrong table. Maybe God is telling me to stay and encourage them and point them to the Cross. It is not about me, it is all about Jesus.