Day 10 The Heart of Worship

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Whatever you do, do it with all your heart.

That is what I got from today's chapter and really can't find much words to say it better.

Day 9 What Makes God Smile?

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When I first learned about the story of Noah's Ark, I was really excited. The basic interpretation to me, as a little kid that went to Sunday School and conferred with my peers - we were all related! We were all brothers and sisters! This made me really excited because I am an only child and I just loved the fact that my best friends were related to me.

Now I realize what the true point of the story is and how devastating and chilling it really is. It is a story of horror.

There are two sides to each story. How can you evaluate without knowing all the sides and so, how can you judge a person?

It bugs me about today's society about our classification of what the Bible says sinning is.

Lying is a sin and I can assure you that we have all done it and yet none of us are condemned like those who happen to be gay are.

Things like that get me.

Only God can weigh the price of a sin be it adultery or a white lie.

We have no right to say one is worse than another.

That being said, the best religions seem to be the ones that lead by example.

Christianity is appealing because it shares the message of love. What is religion without it's people. Can you judge all of Christianity for a bigoted few? How can you tell what's what when you've got 20 interpretations flying at you? How can you just feel it?

Day 8 Planned for God's Pleasure

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What makes me keep reading and wanting to understand is the mere fact that every human has a need to worship - has a need to connect with some sort of believe system.

It's like an instinct.

But who... or what? Gave us this.

But then I know the other side of the argument.

It's an instinct to protect us - to question what we don't know because what we don't know has a potential to be dangerous.

I am not sure if I can say the curiosity is supposed to be quenched in the case of mortality and ruling and creation. Maybe we filled up these mysteries with something as a way to adapt to say okay, I don't know the answer but here is my next guess and now I can worry about other things that need attention.

I couldn't tell you if a snake is laying beneath a rock but I would pick it up anyway to know for sure with the risk of getting stung, but at least I could prepare for the sting. So, that's what religion is, picking up rocks until you die I suppose.

In this journey I believe I am okay with the risk of the snake beneath the rock. It's okay by me and if I never find a snake, I will always have my heart beat a little faster in anticipation when I try the next rock, just in case.

Day 7 The Reason for Everything

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When I pray to God, it is usually quite awkward. In Elizabeth Gilbert's words, I almost wanted to start off any prayer with, 'I'm a big fan of your work.' I just never know what to say. I think it's important to understand that who you are is vital. Without you, things would be different and vapid. I couldn't tell you if it would be better or worse because I don't think either of those words would be appropriate. I think it would just be different. Think of the life you lead now and those you affected. You've made someone laugh or picked up someone from an airport. Simple things but... they happened. Perhaps, it is just living until today that is super amazing because right now is the oldest you've ever been.

I don't know if I could offer any advice besides simply talking to him more - not just through a secretarial way of doing things but an actual face to face conversation as often as you think of God. You don't have to call him your home skillet because I for one, am uncomfortable with such and idea, but why not at least look him in the eye and say, how do you do?

Every once in a while.

Day 6 Life is a Temporary Assignment

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Live everyday like it is your last.

Everyone has heard that bit of advice that I think sometimes are desensitized and don't really take it to heart.

But here's the thing, you're never going to get a day back so why not feel like your worked hard, fell in love, or became better friends with someone?

This is all you've really got.

And there might be an afterlife but that afterlife is guaranteed not to be the same as today. So, do something only you can do.

Day 5 Seeing Life from God's View

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"Show class, have pride, and display character. If you do, winning takes care of itself."

Those are the words I live by.

I think it is necessary to define the word winning.

On Saturday, I performed with my indoor percussion group. We performed twice. I had the best adrenaline rush and performed with all my heart and had an incredible amount of fun. I couldn't wait to hear our score! We begged our director to tell us and he refused to let us know but all of our staff - visual staff, music staff, drill staff - honestly told us it was the best show we had ever done.

We were all so excited.

Then, we learned at this competition we had went down 10 points or so. Something incredibly dramatic.

Our hearts dropped. We contemplated how such a thing could happen we played our hearts out! We had another performance in front of the same judges in only a couple hours. What could we fix that could raise our score in such a short amount of time.

We worked really hard. We added in visuals and played with all our might.

I had not had the kind of laughs I had that night in such a long time! I was near tears.

We went up 2 points - not enough to compete with any of the other groups, but guess what? We won in my book.





Inspirational Video Featuring Ali and the following words:


Ima show you, how great I am.

Last night I cut the light off in my bedroom, hit the switch, and was in the bed before the room was dark.

Ima show you, how great I am.

Only last week, I murdered a rock, injured a stone, hospitalized a brick, Im so mean I make medicine sick.

Ima show you, how great I am.

This kids gonna be the best kid in the world.
This kids gonna be somebody better than anybody I ever knew.

Ima show you, how great I am.

I have wrastled with an alligator, I done tussled with a whale, I done handcuffed lightnin, thrown thunder in jail.

Ima show you, how great I am.

All you chumps are gonna bow when I whoop him, all of you, I know you got him, I know youve got him picked, but the mans in trouble, Ima show you how great I am.

But somewhere along the line you changed, you stopped being you.
You let people stick a finger in your face and tell you youre no good, and when things got hard, you started looking for something to blame, like a big shadow.
Let me tell you something you already know, the world aint all sunshine and rainbows, its a very mean and nasty place and I dont care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it.
You, me, or nobody, is gonna hit as hard as life; but it aint about how hard you hit, its about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward, how much you can take and keep moving forward.
Thats how winning is done.

Cause if youre willin to go through all the battling you gotta go through to get to where you wanna get, whos got the right to stop you.
I mean maybe some of you guys got something you never finished, something you really want to do, something you never said to somebody, something.
And youre told no even after you pay your dues, whos got the right to tell you that, who? Nobody.
Its your right to listen to your gut, it aint nobodys right to say no, after you earn the right to be where you want to be and do what you want to do.

Now if you know what youre worth, then go out and get what youre worth.
But youve gotta be willing to take the hits.
And not pointing fingers saying you aint where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody.
Cowards do that and that aint you!
Youre better than that!

Day 4 Made to Last Forever

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Here is the biggest rift between God and I: The afterlife.

To me, Heaven and perfection would be no longer living. It would be an honor to simply expire. Christianity keeps telling me that this life is only the entry way into another life that is much brighter and thus, Earth friendships and passions will mean less as a relationship is developed with God.

Am I so wrapped up in this life, so full of sin, that the idea of heaven makes me absolutely sad! Why would I want my life to mean nothing?

The Dalai Lama said that Christianity and Buddhism could be practiced at the same time.
The Pope said that they couldn't.

This is where they diverge but lets say we don't know what is heaven.

Which in reality, we don't.

Both ideal sets attempt to perfect a human being during this lifetime in order to prepare of the next. One says you will be forever in eternity and glory while the other one says you just stop. Having another life means you still need to learn things.

I will go through this life learning things. Perhaps, I am meant to learn that an earthly life shouldn't be as important as I make it out to be.