Tuesday, June 29, 2010

The 365 Project - Day 168



The mango tree outside of Chosen People Ministries office has yielded so much fruit over the years, I can't even count the times we have had a perfect mango salsa, or would just slice the mangoes up to eat them. I officially took the camera out today, I was so proud of myself.

Days await...

GRACE AND PEACE!

FLASHDEVO - 2nd Samuel 12-14

I never even noticed that I had reached 200 Posts on this blog, that's pretty cool. I started this in May 2008. I had blogs before, but this was one that I really decided to stick to, and I probably will keep going with this for the rest of my life.

FLASHDEVO - 2nd Samuel 12-14

Chapter 12

Nathan comes before David to give him a taste of his own medicine, immediately after he had sinned against God by commiting adultery, Nathan presents David with a story about sheep. A rich man having a ton of sheep, and a poor man with only one sheep. The rich man isn't satisfied with all of his sheep so he steals and kills the poor man's only sheep, a little lamb that he treats as though it were his own child. David became furious with this story and told Nathan that the rich man should pay back the poor man 4 sheep for what he had done. Nathan then basically goes on to say to David that "HELLO!?!?!??! YOU DID THE SAME THING!!!!!" You killed Urriah in order to have his wife. David's family was going to have problems as a result of this disobedience, as you will see in the later chapters. However, still in this chapter, David and Bathsheeba's first son dies shortly after he is born, and David was granted forgiveness from God still, and later on the 2 have another child, Solomon.

Chapter 13

There are instances of horrible acts of sexual immorality in this chapter. Absolom, one of David's sons discovers that his sister Tamar had been raped by her half brother. Besides being in the super-mega creepy category, this is a serious offense. God told David that his children would suffer as a result of his shameful act, and Absolom in his anger murders Amnon, the brother who rapes Tamar. Despite the fact that David's son has been killed, he still wants to see Absolom. People in the biblical times know that God offers forgiveness to people and people know that. David wept over the issue with Amnon being killed, and raping Tamar, but he still wanted to see Absolom again.

Chapter 14

Absolom returns to Jerusalem after having been away from the city. His father has wanted him to come back, but it is so sketchy to me, because in the same instance he says that the son is banished. Joab plans a "deception" to help David understand how much he needs to talk to and forgive his son. He brings a widow before David's throne to plead her case, to ask for his help. She said her sons had a fight out in the field and one killed another. She told David, and then the widow turns and explains what Joab had instructed her to do. Absolom finally does come before his father, who kisses him when he sees him...

More on 2nd Samuel to come...

Spurgeon

Today I read the EVENING page for June 29th, and Spurgeon was pleading with God to not take his Holy Spirit away from his people, because it would ruin people, because God's presence refreshes and restores...

GRACE AND PEACE!

Monday, June 28, 2010

The 365 Project - Days 166-167




I am just too gosh-darn lazy AGAIN. I have to keep my camera out. I don't know why it is that every time I am on a social-networking site :::cough:::FACEBOOK:::cough::: I always put that my interest is photography, and then I don't fulfill that interest. Oh well, I need to get a better hold on some finances when I get a REAL job to start saving money to get a camera. I need a Peter Parker kind of camera, a big black one, with big gigantic lens and lots and lots of megapixels.

Anyway the 2 pictures, I wanted to take a picture of the incredible curry my sister made on Sunday. I was there before I went out to the movies to see the A-Team. My sister's husband is from the Bahamas, and the culture of the carribean uses a great deal of spices, and made a variation on the Indian versions. I miss Indian food a great deal. I went to this amazing buffet not too far from my school, where they served different kinds of curry and fresh Naan bread. Naan reminds me so much of pancake it isn't funny. Anyway, since I didn't have a picture to take of my sister's curry, I found one on the internet.

The next picture is going to become the highlight of my whole year. This is the headline picture for the trailer debut of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the final piece of the Harry Potter series. There were so many dark scenes in the trailers, I could just tell that this would be an epic movie. The scene in the picture is so incredible. Voldemort looks at Harry, and asks him "Why do you live?", and Harry responds "Because I have something to live for"

Hope you enjoy the pictures.

GRACE AND PEACE!

FLASHDEVO - 2nd Samuel 8-11

This is an important part of scripture, because you see how God works. He chooses people who are in sin, and who have made mistakes to be the greatest of all people. David has messed up SEVERELY. In chapter 11 of 2nd Samuel, you see his actions in which he has an affair with Bathsheeba, and arranges to have her husband Uriah killed. David is an example of what sin is like, at the time, we feel that it is a good idea to go through with our actions because it is good for us, and it gives us "pleasure" in some sense to commit a sin, but we don't think about the consequences until after the deed is done. This is why God is a mighty, powerful, and completely un-understandable God. Bathsheeba gave birth to a son, his name was Solomon. Solomon built a temple for worshiping God, and it is through him, that the line of David traces it way all the way down to Jesus, the Messiah. Mary married a man named Joseph, who was from the line of David. The complete line can be found in the Gospel of Matthew, 1:1-16.

David wasn;t always the person who sinned, he had done great things. Despite everything that Saul had done to him in 1st Samuel, he chooses to be good to Saul's family. Saul's grandson, Mephibosheth (ME-FIB-O-SHEETH), It's like Lord of the Rings, the people have names that are like impossible to pronounce, anyway, this man is lame, and he feels he doesn't even deserve what David does for him. He arranges for his family to have servants and invites him to live in the palae in Jerusalem. David did all of this, and sinned against God.

I have problems sometimes where I spend a great deal of time dwelling on sins because in a way, I have displeased God and feel like i haven't done enough to earn his love or his respect, and I think of how foolishly I am trying to do this because, as I ahve been told by people in the past, "There is nothing I can do to make God love me any more or any less" God is love, he sustains all things because of love, and our sins, as horrible and shameful they are to God, he chose to love us anyway. God's goodness is shown throughout scripture, because he uses people who aren't the greatest and turns them into people who make the greatest difference in history...It is absolutely astonishing to me that this is the God we worship.

Pictures to come later...
GRACE AND PEACE

The 80s and their great Movies...




I only lived through 5 years of the 80s and I barely remember any of those years. In the years that followed, I was exposed to the media that was the 80s. Especially Ghostbusters, that was one of my most favorite movies. I remember watching the Oscars this one year, I believe it was right after 9/11, and the theme for this one clip was movies filmed in New York, and the opening scene was the picture. The Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man, stomping around New York City after one of the Ghostbusters summoned their "destructor" from the weird temple on top of a Central Park West apartment building. In the 80s Special effects weren't the greatest, but I'm sure you could imagine what it had to look like to people. It was something never seen before.

Now for the other picture...

The A-Team! I only know of the show because of a parody that was done on Family Guy, but last night, I went to see the movie with one of my close friends and brother-in-law. My older brother Brian told me that he watched the show when he was a kid. I don't remember watching A-Team, I mean I watched Power Rangers, Ducktales, and ER...

Here is just a picture of the original cast, since I couldn't find a picture of the newer one.

The movie was great, the action in it, the storyline, the comedic scenes, there was just so much to it. I enjoyed myself when I saw it...

I know this isn't what I normally do for my pictures and blog posts, but I thought it would be nice to change things up a little bit. I am home on certain days of the week, so I want to make good use of my time to talk about how my life is going, and what I will do in the future, so I want to talk about how I am doing...

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Important aspect within Flashdevos

You all know that I am in the middle of reading 1st and 2nd Samuel...Which tells the story of David, Israel's greatest King, and i came across his most important Psalm, 51.

We all know this Psalm, because when you read it, you are reminded of your sins, and reminds us how we DON'T have to dwell on our sins, how we DON'T have to carry it. God washes us to a clean slate, and he is the one who carries our sin. Even when we try to do something that would make us seem better to God, we can't do it because we are sinful, we are fallen, and we are in need of a sustaining, grace-filled Savior, Jesus, who can carry these things for us.

Spend time in the word today, dwell on Psalm 51...

GRACE AND PEACE!

(More from 2nd Samuel soon)

Saturday, June 26, 2010

The 365 Project - 200 Days to the Finish Line...




Today is June 26th, and on the map of pictures and blog posts, this makes day 165. It seems surreal to me that I have gone this far with somehting, but nonetheless, it is moving forward, and I am proud of myself for having stuck with this for so long. The summer is this drawn out time for me, because it seems like I am running this gigantic race and I am not getting anywhere, it's just how it's been feeling to me these days. It's almost the end of June, and I will have another month here in Florida before making the move to Texas.

The pictures are too simple for their own good these days, I feel like I am just running out of ideas. I haven't done any traveling, and most of my time, I am either home or at Chosen People Ministries office working, so my life isn't anything out of the ordinary, for the time being.

Enjoy!

GRACE AND PEACE!

Thursday, June 24, 2010

2nd Samuel 7 - flashdevo

In this chapter, you begin to see why it is that Jesus comes from the line of David. David wanted to bring the ark of God into his palace, and Nathan the prophet said that it wouldn't be wrong if he did this, because the Lord showed David favor wherever he went. Nathan receives a vision from the Lord in which David's house would be blessed for generations to come.

Listen to what David says in response to how God would bless his rule:

And now, Sovereign Lord, in addition to everything else, you speak of giving your servant a lasting dynasty! Do you deal with everyone this way, O Sovereign Lord?
“What more can I say to you? You know what your servant is really like, Sovereign Lord. Because of your promise and according to your will, you have done all these great things and have made them known to your servant. (v. 19-21)

You can see why God chose to use David as the line from which the Messiah would come.

GRACE AND PEACE!

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

The 365 Project - Day 162



Besides from being more tired than I have ever been in my life, today was a really good day. June 23rd is my mom and dad's anniversary, they are celebrating 37 years of marriage. We all went out to celebrate. We went to Ruth Chris Steakhouse (I ate fish, for those of you who are concerned), had a wonderful server who was very polite and helpful and then proceeded to walk next door to the theater, Kravis Center to see CATS! About a week before I started the 365 Project, I was at that theater with my mom to see SOUTH PACIFIC for my birthday present. The theater is going to have some great plays coming up, which I hope to be able to see.

I think it was CATS that sparked my interest in theater, because I can remember growing up, watching ads for this play on TV, thinking it was the coolest thing ever, which it was by the way. The music is what makes this play what it is. Unfortunately, the dialog was really confusing so I was forced to buy the book by T.S. Elliot, "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats", which contains all the poems that the play is based off of. I got it for free, FYI, because of some video games I no longer play, and Amazon.com's willingness to take it off my hands :P

Anyway, it is very late, and I am very tired.

GRACE AND PEACE (2nd Samuel 7 reviewed tomorrow, and more from Spurgeon, so stick around)

FLASHDEVO 2nd Samuel 6

I have always wondered where some of these Christian artists get their inspiration for their music. David Crowder writes a song with a verse "And I'll become even more undignified than this", that is take from verse 22. David is rejoicing with all of Israel, after he had been obedient to God and brought the ark into Bethlehem (the City of David). His first wife Michal (Saul's daughter) sees David basically dancing in his underwear, and exclaims that he is no different from a vulgar man who would want slave girls (since they were there watching David), because of what she had said to David, she didn't have any children for the rest of her life...

Pray for God's peace in your life today as your day may not go as you plan it...

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

The 365 Project - Day 161



Today I had the chance to be with family. I feel in a better stae of mind spiritually, as I have been reading my bible and spending time just dwelling on the things of God. I was able to watch my nephews today, and enjoy a day where I could read and get things done, so here is just a picture of what I was doing with my nephews. He made a lego version of starship Enterprise while we were watching Star Trek.

GRACE AND PEACE!

FLASHDEVO 2nd Samuel 5

David has officially been anointed as the king over Israel, at this point, he has been in power some 70+ years, and he is starting to gain power in the kingdom. His family is growing, he is now up to 6 wives, and lord only knows how many concubines he has, but he is also starting to build up his palace. In the future chapters, you start to see how David will make mistakes but still manage to please God for his obedience.

GRACE AND PEACE!

Monday, June 21, 2010

The 365 Project - Day 160



Here is the place where I am exercising most of the time since I've been home, the Wellington Green mall. This is the main square in the middle of the mall. It's really nice during the day, it's air-conditioned, and there are plenty of great shops. I'm sorry that the picture is so small, but for some reason, the phone doesn't always make the pictures bigger, so they will work either way...

More to come in the days ahead...Blessings...

GRACE AND PEACE!

FLASHDEVO - 2nd Samuel (part 2 of Samuel's finale), Chapters 1-4

Okay, remember, from the last time what had happened? The Amalekites had captured Ziklag and burned it to the ground, and David and his troops went after them. So now the people are celebrating that they have been reunited with their women, children, but suddenly learning that their king, Saul and his sons were butchered in battle, so naturally, they lament and weep over this, while the sons of Saul begin to plot to reclaim the throne. David and Saul's family have a big feud over who would rule, and David's family finally does conquer the land and he will be crowned king in chapter 5...

Now, I have bgun to also read Proverbs, so today I did chapter 21. Today is also the longest day of the year...aside from that:

Proverbs 21

In this chapter, Solomon is giving a strict warning to his sons saying that laziness is not to be tolerated, for it doesn't yield any sort of a reward.

Verse 25 gives the clearest of all statements when you read it:

THE LAZY WILL COME TO RUIN (from the New Living Translation)

Needless to say, when you are given opportunities to succeed, take them, do what you have to do to make sure that you are making a difference, that you are doing all that you can to please God.

Sprugeon's Advice

This is unheard of for me, that I actually remember to get all of this done, but what can I say, I want to get things accomplished today, and this is one of the biggest things of the day for me.

MORNING FROM JUNE 21ST OF MORNING AND EVENING:

Taking what I learned from Discover Church last night, this devotion for the morning was the part of prayer known as Adoration, because Spurgeon spends the entire page just declaring how great a God Jesus is. We must take moments like this in our lives where we worship the Lord for who he is and how wonderful he is to us.

The finale of the devotional was so perfect, just listen:

Oh sacred symmetry! Oh rare connection
Of many perfects, to make one perfection!
Oh heavenly music, where all parts do meet
In one sweet strain, to make one perfect sweet!

I pray that you rejoice in your Jesus today!

GRACE AND PEACE! The picture to come later today.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

The 365 Project - Day 159



Tonight I was at Discover church, visiting where my old friend and former youth pastor is now the preacher. It reminds me in so many ways of lifesong, I enjoyed every minute of it, so that's why there's a logo page today. I will be doing my massive devotional catch up day tomorrow so please be patient, I am starting to fall behind.

GRACE AND PEACE!

365 Project Pictures for days 156-158





It is getting too late in the night for me to post any blog stuff, I am getting super tired. Today I actually started a new Poet's Notebook, and quite honestly I am at my best mentally speaking when I have something that hasn't been poisoned by facebook comments or blog feeds, so I hate to burst the bubbles of anyone who are thinking they will read some of my poetry, but there are only a select few who will ever get to read what is in these journals.

Okay, I know most of my pictures are revolving around food, but that's okay, food is entitled to make good pictures. I was at a mexican restaurant this past thursday, and had to show one of the key ingredients of the meal. The candle on the other hand, is an example of how extreme Yankee Candle can get. One of my favorite candle fragerances is now off the market (blueberry muffin), so there was a sale for this one, and i had to get it for my bathroom. It smells just like a rootbeer float it is insane. I have to learn about what gets the candles to smell like what they are supposed to smell like, because I would eat the candle if I could. Today I was with my dad getting some buffalo meat for hamburgers, and we were at whole foods again. The last picture I took of a tomato was from the same place, but I just love the uniqueness of the tomato, it's shape is just too cool. Plus we will have a ton of good seeds for growing, from like 2 different varieties.

Tomorrow, I'll be with my dad at a church meeting, and I will be checking out Discover Church in Palm Beach Gardens, where my old friend Chip Stallings is pastor. Blog post on the day, and the first 3 chapters of 2nd Samuel in a flashdevo, so stick around...


Until tomorrow...or Monday.

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there...

GRACE AND PEACE

Thursday, June 17, 2010

FLASHDEVO - The Finale to 1st Samuel (Chapters 29-30-31)

It is really great to be back on the air from Chosen People Ministries (my volunteer summer job), so I will be easily accesible from now until August 10th, when I leave for Austin. Plus I have officially figured out how to merge my computer to the office printer, so now I can be mroe productive at work, designing graphics and printing this. It was an accomplishment for me because I didn't think I could have done it...

Anyway, here FINALLY!!!! is the conclusion to 1st Samuel...
I have also just now figured out that there are 31 chapters in 1st Samuel, instead of 30...

Chapter 29

After Saul had made his blunder of consulting a witch to summon Samuel, you can tell that God is going to do something to get back at him for what he has done. David had been spending time with the Philistines for just about 2 years, and rather than go with them to the battlefield, their Spokesperson Acish decides to let him get away, and he does, without upsetting any of the Philistine Commanders

Chapter 30

The Amalekites make a campagin to the Negev (desert to the south near the dead sea) and conquer the Judah-territory city Ziklag, burning it to the ground. The people take everything, the possessions, the cattle, even the women. When David and his men return, they weep bitterly, and some even plan to stone David to death, thinking that he poor judgment may have been the reason these people were taken. He prays to the Lord that he would give him back all that had been taken, and with the help of 400 brave men, they conquer all the Amalekites and take back the people and possessions.

Chapter 31

Saul dies in this chapter, after a massive defeat by the Philistines at Mount Gilboa. Rather than being made example of, Saul decides to fall on his sword, but still, his body is carried into the camp of the Philistines and butchered, so it can be carried around like a trophy. The men of Judah return to this city and take his body to be buried in their own land, where they fast for 7 days.

It's interesting to me that these books bear the name Samuel, since he dies midway through the first book, but obviously, you see what David does to become known as the "Man after God's own heart" I am anxious to see what happens in the 2nd Half of Samuel, so stay tuned.

I will also begin reading through a Proverb a day to add to my quiet time, so next post tonight, look for a look at Proverbs 17, and also, a word from Charles Spurgeon as I will cover the Evening devotional for June 17th...

GRACE AND PEACE! - be back later...

The 365 Project - Day 155



As I get ready for bed, I have this picture to discuss. I had to spend most of my day away from the house, since it was being cleaned. Plus this morning I had to wait 2 hours to get blood drawn. :P

Anyway, I still am trying to keep up with my reading and right now I'm in the middle of 2 books: Rick Riordan's RED PYRAMID and Francis Chan's CRAZY LOVE...

So today since I had to be out of the house, I went to Starbucks and took the book with me. I managed to get through 3 chapters. Hopefully soon I will finish that book, and be further along with Crazy Love, I have a jumbo sized stack of books I will try to read this summer.

GRACE AND PEACE!

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

FLASHDEVOS over 1st Samuel 25-28

FLASHDEVO
1st Samuel 25-28

Chapter 25
Samuel finally dies after serving is country as the prophet who anointed 2 kings, and faithfully trusted in the will of God. It is because of Samuel that David is the “man after God’s own heart” and the King that Israel truly needs, rather than the one that they wanted. Samuel’s body is taken to his birth place of Ramah to be buried.
This chapter also makes mention of another familiar place to me, Carmel. In modern-day Israel, Haifa (a major port city in the North) lies to the west, and the mountains to the east, Carmel is in those mountains.
David is asking for help from a man and his wife in Carmel, and the wife defends David’s cause, while the husband claims that these men were after their possessions. It wasn’t until the husband realized that he wasn’t seeing the whole truth that he changed his mind. At that point, it was also too late for him, because God had taken Namal’s life, and then Abigail, his wife, was given to David as his wife…

Chapter 26
Saul yet again tries to hunt down David thinking that his downfall will play a part in taking the anointing God had granted him away…This is another chance for David to kill Saul again, but he is still overcome by guilt and cannot make himself go through with it. He finds Saul later on and begs for his forgiveness at the thought of trying to once again take his life, saying how he would not do it…Saul calls David his son, blessing him and sending him on his way.

Chapter 27

This chapter deals with David in the land of the Philistines, beginning his various conquests of the nation, staying there for a year and 4 months…

Chapter 28

Does anyone else see a problem with Saul contacting a witch to summon Samuel. Okay, apart from the fact that he had already on several occasions tried to murder David, he is getting to a point of lunacy. He is consulting the advice of demonic people rather than that of someone who trusts in the Lord and relies on him for all fo their needs.

More is to come later, the conclusion of 1st Samuel, Chapters 29-30

GRACE AND PEACE!


Saul yet again tries to hunt down David thinking that his downfall will play a part in taking the anointing God had granted him away…This is another chance for David to kill Saul again, but he is still overcome by guilt and cannot make himself go through with it. He finds Saul later on and begs for his forgiveness at the thought of trying to once again take his life, saying how he would not do it…Saul calls David his son, blessing him and sending him on his way.

Chapter 27

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

365 Project Pictures for days 151-154







These pictures aren't much, but I thought it would be cool to show people what my trip to New York was like. First of all, when I went to go visit my aunt lynn, I could swear that the Bumblebee Camaro was following me. We were going all over Warwick, New York (the town in the picture) and this car was parked around the area...Wherever we went, this car would be close by us...

When I got home from New York, I layed out all of the playbills I got, and made it look like one of the ads on ebay for the sale. Luckily today I bought the binder to put the playbills in so I can display them. I got the universal binder on playbillstore.com, and I will be buying enough playbills to fill it up and display to people.

I never got the chance to show people the lanterns that I bought at Morikami. I always wanted to have lanterns, and I think it would be wonderful to put them on display in a garden in the back of my house...

More to come...

GRACE AND PEACE!

Intermission

I don't want to keep getting too off from my posts, so I will catch up as best as I can...
Here is something I had worked on previously...
I put this on Facebook last February...

25 Random Things about Me…

1) I am half Italian, and I’ve never seen The Godfather from start to finish.
2) I share a birthday with Ben Stiller, Billy Idol (an 80s Rock Star, he had a cameo in The Wedding Singer), and the guy who played the original Black Power Ranger – Nov. 30th.
3) I attempted to climb Mt. Fuji, making it to the 8th station (10,000+ ft)
4) My 2 absolute favorite ethic foods are Japanese and Indian.
5) I have a calling from God to be working among Japanese people.
6) I wrote a book –The Chronicles of Judah; but I haven’t finished editing it yet (that title won’t be the same when the book is finished)
7) I am a theater nerd. I love performing arts, and I have seen several musicals; my favorites are WICKED and THE LION KING.
8) I collect Playbills.
9) I submitted a resume to Warner Brothers to be cast as an extra on Smallville.
10) I will always wear glasses when I have to travel on an airplane.
11) They are one of my favorite bands, and yet I’ve never seen Third Day live.
12) When I finally get married, my honeymoon will be to Santorini, Greece.
13) My idea of a perfect day is as follows: Going and sitting on a blanket on the beach reading a good book and taking pictures, a great ITALIAN dinner (defined as some form of pasta in Bolognese served with good, hot crusty bread and a salad that has arugela in it) followed by a good movie with popcorn and candy…
14) Writing is my way of dealing with stress.
15) You will always find “Running Just to Catch Myself” by Mark Schultz on my iPod.
16) I am half Jewish, and I chose not to have a Bar Mitzvah.
17) If I had the money to do so, I would go to Paris to take cooking classes at Le Cordon Bleu.
18) I am a Mac, not a PC.
19) Tim Burton is my favorite movie director.
20) I want a Persian cat as a pet!
21) I have mastered the video game “Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time” to the point where I know the songs played on the ocarina by memory, and I can beat the entire game in 1 week or less…
22) I was in a choir that sang the National Anthem at a major league baseball game; it was at Minute-Maid Park in Houston, TX; Astros vs. Pirates. (July 2003)
23) My future house will have a brick fireplace and a vegetable garden with lots of tomatoes!
24) I have never been to a pro football game.
25) I prefer to use the NIV Bible to any other version of Scripture.

The pictures, posts, and flashdevos are next, stay tuned...

Friday, June 11, 2010

Milestone Day #3 (The 365 Project - Day 150)



I have to cry out to God today because I feel as though all of my joy has been taken away from, but I know that God is still there saying to me that it is okay to cry, it is okay to be sad, and you can still choose to rejoice and be happy about the things that go wrong and go right in our lives.

Today's picture was actually taken yesterday, in Austin, TX. My older brother sent this to me through an e-mail, and I couldn't really get it at first until he explained it. My grandfather caught this caterpiller in his garden, and decided he was going to hang it like a criminal. I thought it was pretty funny...

My childhood keeps pouring back into my front view everywhere I turn. Today for lunch I went out with my aunt to the Yorktown Diner, a place I have been to so many times over. I didn't even get something that exciting, but the simple fact that I was there for lunch was memory enough for me...

FLASHDEVO

1st Samuel 24

I got to my favorite chapter of 1st Samuel a few days ago, and really, I should have been done with 1st Samuel ages ago, but now I am moving at my own pace, and I think that the pace should be faster. I am trying to force myself to get blogging, reading, quiet time, lots of stuff done. My health may have made me slow down, but I still want to have that nature that allows me to accomplish goals the way that i should...

Anyway, concerning the chapter...
The last time I got to this chapter I was in Israel. I did this whole story of David in En Gedi as a devotional with the tour I was on. The Bible takes on a whole new perspective when you have the ability to see the places where Jesus walked and taught people, and where battles were fought, and people lived and died. I actually could point to parts of the area and say, imagine this place 3000 years ago.

En Gedi is a rocky mountaneous region in southern Israel, west of the Dead Sea. In the Bible it's called "The Crags of the Wild Goats" because a species of goat called Ibex live in the mountains. Their horns are used to make shofars.

Anyway, David gets to Saul in this chapter by removing a corner from his robe, while he was hiding from him in the cave. It says that Saul went in to releive himself, meaning he was probably going #2 or something. David had the opportunity to kill Saul and he still did not do it. He had every chance to end his life. He had been trying time after time to kill David, and the Lord had protected David at every possible opportunity.

Be encouraged and know that God has you in his hands, and his eyes are always upon us. Always!

GRACE AND PEACE!

Thursday, June 10, 2010

New York Pictures...(and a forgotten picture from Orlando)









These are all of the pictures I have taken since being here in New York, and if I already posted it, I will discuss it again, but here's the last one from the trip to Orlando (it's of an A&W Rootbeer float), most of these pictures are of the places in the city, and especially the giant prop on display in the theater where I saw the Lion King on Tuesday. More pictures, blog posts, and FLASHDEVOs are coming soon...

New York...365 Project: Days 144-149

I am here at my birthplace, and now I am trying to keep up with my blog. My normal routines are all off, but I will sty attempt to get these blog posts updated. Anyway, I moved straight from one extreme to the other. Me and my parents were in Orlando for a week, and then that Saturday morning when we left Orlando we flew up to New York to be with my extended family. So now, I am in Yorktown Heights, New York, sitting in the Kitchen typing up this blog. I practically grew up in this house. My aunt, uncle and cousin have lived here since before I was born. It has been wonderful being up here again.

On Tuesday June 8th, I went into New York City to visit my parents, and I finally FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY got to see the Lion King! Last year while i was in Japan, I made an attempt to go see the play but I just couldn't, it was always sold out, and I wasn't the wisest of people when it came to spending money, so it didn't always work out according to plan. So now this was my graduation present (as you will see from the pictures in the next post). The play was an absolutely mind-bending, emotional experience, plus seeing it from the front row added an extra amount of excitement. After the play, me and my dad went right next door to this famous cheesecake place called Juniors. It was the perfect way to end that day.

The second day I spent in New York City, I was reunited with old friends from our congregation Light of Israel. We went around, going to Chinatown, Greenwich Village, and other places... see the pictures for yourself...

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Vacation Pictures











Here's my pictures from the vacation, I hope that you guys like them. Once my Photo album gets up to 200 pictures, they will all be posted on Facebook. The 365 Project is gaining pictures, and I am excited what lies beyond Picture 142 (the one of me in front of the Tree of Life at Animal Kingdom)

A BLOG ON VACATION…

The 365 Project: Day 137 - Saturday May 29, 2010


Okay, after about 3 weeks, I was traveling yet again. The last time I traveled was to leave Louisville to head home from school for the last time. It won’t be long before I make the trip over again, and go to a new place, Fort Worth, Texas. My health may hamper my chances at getting appointed as a missionary, but I am convinced that God has a bigger plan for me than just returning to Japan. I will be looking at what Seattle would offer me, and go from there. I am convinced that there is something in Seattle that God has me doing that will be of the greatest significance. I will be praying about this, and hopefully, I will get an internship position next summer working for a church plant that works with Japanese people.

We got to Orlando early in the afternoon, and now are at the Sheraton Vistana resort, just outside of Disney. It never ceases to amaze me; Orlando is not a place where you find many permanent residents. There are more tourists here than anywhere else in the world, and quite literally, those people come here from every corner of the world. Not just the U.S, but also all forms of people are here from every corner of the globe. Orlando truly is the vacation capitol of the world, and naturally, this resort was packed when we checked in today. The hotel has obviously been renovated, because there is everything from dark wood furnishings to a gigantic LG HDTV (which we watched AVATAR on when we got here).

FLASHDEVO – 1st Samuel 18
I feel really stupid for forgetting my Charles Spurgeon devotional, but at least we have the Internet and I can get on BibleGateway.com. I am still in 1st Samuel, (today I did chapter 18). By this time, David has already been anointed by Samuel as Israel’s king and is serving the Lord. Saul had disobeyed God so severely that David had replaced him as the king. Saul was jealous of how much David was pleasing the Lord that on several occasions he had tried to have him killed. He even convinced David to marry his daughter Michal so that he could be so close to get into their room at night and may even try to slit his throat. (Imagine him for a father-in-law). All through this time though, David has been leading successful campaigns in battle against the Philistines.


The 365 Project: Day 138 – Sunday May 30, 2010

Today, among the most obvious things, was the first FULL day of vacationing. It was highlighted by an A&W root beet float, spending most of the afternoon at the pool, and getting more than halfway through the book “GREEN” by Ted Dekker (Part 4 of the Circle Series). I am happy that this week we will be going to Disney. The last time I was at Disney was 2 years ago, and now we will be spending 2 days at the parks this week…Epcot and Animal Kingdom, which I am so excited for.

So, in addition to the time I spent at the pool today, we also went out to Boston Lobster Feast. Much like the counterpart, Angel’s Buffet on SR 192 in Orlando, the restaurant offers an all-you-can-eat seafood and prime rib buffet with lobsters for $25 a person. Such a deal. So after spending time on the computer researching restaurants in Epcot and watching Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, we left our hotel to meet my sister, brother-in-law and 2 nephews. If you look at the picture for this day, you’d see the sight that makes this restaurant famous. There is a red VW Beetle parked outside, only there is a gigantic plastic lobster glued to the top of it. It truly is something to see.

FLASHDEVO – 1st Samuel 19
More and more times throughout the book of Samuel (1st book more specifically) you see that David is being pursued by Saul, seeing as how he wanted him dead. Even after the time David had spent running away from Saul, God still kept his eye on David guarding him from every possible attack. An evil spirit enters into Saul causing him to commit evil. He is determined to make the people like him again so he will kill David hoping that people will notice him again AND approve of what he does as a political leader. Because he is being tormented by an evil spirit, his ability to see the truth has been clouded.

This reminds me a great deal of a character in Ted Dekker’s Circle series named Qurong. Qurong used to be a man named Tanis. In the earlier parts of the series, Tanis was a curious soul who wanted to know what lied on the other side of the colored forest where a hoard of black bats dwelled. He was deceived and crossed the river, and ended up becoming the servant of Teeleh, the Satan character in this story.

The 365 Project: Day 140 – Tuesday June 1, 2010

The day that I was waiting for, the trip to Disney began. I haven’t been to Epcot in 7 years. I know it sounds so stupid to sort of “complain” about it, but that was such a great experience…I walked through Future World, a little angry that I couldn’t go on the cool ride MISSION SPACE, but quickly got over that when I realized I would be waiting in line for probably 3 hours…So we went on all of the slower rides, and the a/c ones…and went to the world showcase after that. That place is so much fun because all of the workers in Epcot are checked to see what country they are from, and will end up working there. My favorite experience came when I went into the Japan pavilion and spoke with some of the workers there in Japanese. I had my IMB tee shirt on from last year’s internship, and spoke with them a little bit about the fact that I lived there. I could tell that it was encouraging to them. I even bought a pin at Epcot with the Japanese flag shaped like Mickey Mouse ears. We went to lunch in Germany to have bratwursts and had lamb and hummus in Morocco. Also we had a dessert in Japan, shaved ice. I forgot the name for it. After we exhausted ourselves, trying to make it to see the fireworks show at 9:00, we left the park early and then went home to watch the audition segments of America’s Got Talent, and it will be going on for the whole summer. Some of the things that have been on the show are just spectacular.

FLASHDEVOs – 1st Samuel 20-22

Through these chapters, the reader is seeing how God’s hand is upon David. David truly is the man after God’s Own Heart, because every time something good happens to him that pleases God, Saul, is convinced that he can upstage David and earn God’s approval somehow for a second time, and maintain the throne of Israel. Jonathan was convinced that David was making up the story that Saul was trying to kill him, but when Jonathan sees his father’s anger, it was made clear to him that he really was trying to kill him.

Day 141 Wednesday June 2, 2010

Today was a break day, away from the parks for the day, but somehow, I still manage to end up at Disney. Today, me and my dad went to Downtown Disney and saw Prince of Persia at the movie theater there. It’s like a glorified Disney-themed mall which happens to have a Cirque Du Solei theater attached to it. (Who knew?)
Prince of Persia was the first experience I had with a video game themed movie in which I was not disappointed. I personally have never played the video game series (which will soon change) but the movie had overwhelming special effects and an actual enjoyable story. I recommend it to you this summer.

Well also, we went to the pool today, and I finally finished reading GREEN. I am going to start reading another book, “The Red Pyramid”. I may have mentioned it a few times before, but I did go see the other book series 1st movie: PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS…Rick Riordan is the author who was inspired to write his series based off of the stories he would tell his son about Greek Mythology to go to sleep at night. When the author couldn’t come up with any more stories, he started writing his own about Percy, a demigod son of Poseidon. His real life son has ADHD and Dyslexia and the main character Percy has the same issues which he uses to his advantage. These new books are called the Kane Chronicles, and it is about 2 kids who are the children of a famous Egyptologist Dr. Julius Kane. I haven’t gotten to far into the story yet, but I will let you know it goes. I cannot wait to go to Animal Kingdom tomorrow since this is my first visit there.

The 365 Project: Day 142 – Thursday June 3, 2010

So today I changed some personal history and have now officially been to all four of the Disney Parks here in Florida. Today me and my dad went to Animal Kingdom Park. I have never been there, despite the fact that the park has been open since 1999. We moved down to Florida and just never had the chance to go there. It was fun, but I wasn’t able to go on all of the rides. There wasn’t as much to do as I would like, but what were able to do was fine just the same. We went on the river rapids ride first, I watched my dad get soaking wet, and had to laugh at that. Also, we went to a stage show, Finding Nemo: the Musical. Much like the Lion King musical, the actors utilize puppets and acted out the entire movie. I enjoyed that. We ended the day with a wet journey across the Kilimanjaro Safari ride, which mimicked a real safari car, and went across Disney’s own savannah with all sorts of native African animals. It was a very rainy experience but it was worth it.

A lot of time during our trip we watched the show GOLDEN GIRLS. Let me very clear when is ay there are few shows that make me laugh like that show does. Tonight I learned through a friend that one of the stars of the show Rue McClanahan died today at 76 of a stroke. It makes you wonder when people who are famous die, do they know the Lord. I especially thought that when Christopher Reeve died back in 2004. I was a big fan of Smallville back then and when I found out he died, it was heartbreaking to me.
I will still watch the Golden Girls as a tribute to all of the stars that are now dead.

I hope you have enjoyed reading my vacation blog posts, I will be leaving for New York on Saturday afternoon; look for some more posts of that. Last time I was there was in 2006, right before I left for Boyce.

GRACE AND PEACE!