Getting Acquainted

Shortly after school starts each year, my school has what they call "Get Acquainted Days". The previous times we've had them, I didn't really care for them at all; they were no more than some kind crappy and poorly explained games none of us could figure out how to play properly, and you never got to know anyone new at all, since you'd just quit attempting to play something you didn't understand and would go hang out with your normal group of friends. This past year, they were much better, since they were all pretty much games that we'd all played before ((volleyball, kickball, etc.)) or something very easy to figure out; however, they were still lacking that thing that would encourage you to get to know more people. They got closer to it this time be separating the student body into several teams, and thus over the course of the two days you always played with the same people, but it still didn't result in much getting to know anyone new. I'm really not sure what they can do to further encourage you getting to know more people aside from breaking us up into random groups and sticking us in various rooms with each other, and not having us bother to play all these lame games that normally result in more yelling than teamwork anyways, but one thing I do know is how I recently got to know some people much better in only a few hours.

Not too long ago, my youth group had an activity in which we went out to a church member's land in the country and had a "Harvest Party". Pretty much, we all got to hang out for the evening and just chat and stuff. Me and two of my friends took the time to wander out down a path in the woods, and follow it all the way out to the road, and then back around to the house and eventually the field we were supposed to be in. During this walk, we got to talking, starting off with the normal topics, music, school, etc. but one of these ((I don't recall which for sure, but I believe is was discussing school and teachers)) evolved into a much deeper conversation which, even though I was left out of a lot of it for lack of input, I enjoyed very much. In addition to this, we had a few other conversations that just allowed us to get to know one another better than we had before, which I again greatly enjoyed. In this way, I got to know a friend of mine that I didn't know very well much better in a short period of time, solely because we put ourselves in a place with very little distractions where we could talk, but also, due to us being in the woods, a place that raised enough caution in us to give us more of that banded together feel, a kind of dependence on one another in case something went wrong. Either way, it was a great time and I sincerely hope the school's Get Acquainted Days can soon come to reflect this type of even more so than they do know. They maybe they will finally do what they were originally intended to do, get us better acquainted with one another and with those that we may not have known previously.

True Berean

A couple Sundays ago, I had a man approach me while I was in the sound booth after service, since I was the only A/V person left. He was asking to see a slide that that pastor had used in the service, because he had looked up the verse in his Bible and thought they didn't match up. Thankfully, I've used the computer on the video side enough to be able to get to the slides, even though I had them kinda small, since I couldn't figure out how to fix that, but what I could do sufficed for the time being. Either way, I was impressed that this guy did it, and thought it quite fitting in a church that calls itself "Berean", for that's what the Bereans were known for--searching the scriptures. He didn't take the slide or the pastor at his word, he made sure to check it with the Bible to make sure the pastor wasn't changing anything around. Very interesting, and quite encouraging that afternoon, figured I should dedicate a post to it, especially since I haven't posted here in a while.

And even more textbooked

Today at school something happened that I feel makes the way the Bible's used even more textbook like and even less like God's Word and the guide for our lives it's supposed to be. I've had enough problems with the way our Bible classes are run, which I've discussed in previous posts, but now they've taken it even farther.

I've been told that our Bible classes are "academic" rather than "devotional" which ends up resulting in more of that Bible-is-a-textbook feel, which is understandable, I just think a heavier emphasis on the devotional part integrated into the academic part would be much better than what our Bible class is accomplishing now. But now, even our devotional Bible lessons, which we have in chapel every Tuesday, are being turned into academic things. Today, we received a quiz on yesterday's chapel message. WTHeck? If they don't do this every week and it doesn't affect our grades, then I understand completely, as it would be primarily to see if kids were paying attention in chapel, but if they choose to continue it and cause it to affect our grades, they're just forcign us to try and memorize what we believe are the key points of a message or whatever we think they might put on that quiz instead of focusing on what God has for us in the message. Now, I realize that there are probably very few kids who do actually caer about what God has to say to them, but still, that's where the focus should be. No one's going to want something that's shoved down their throat for them, and I feel that where this is heading.

On a sidenote: I find it utterly pathetic that I can honestly say that I don't believe there are many kids in my highschool ((which is a Chrsitian high school)) that are even very interested in God at all. I can think of 3 people that I consider to be good Christians and someone I would want to resembe in my spiritual walk, and a few more that might be more into God and closer to Him but just not as open and salient about it, which could just be how their personality portrays them, because I feel that's where I am. I love God with everything I am ((or at least I try to)), but I wouldn't think that it shows so much that everyone would mention it as something prominent about me. I'm not trying to hide it or anything, it's just that my personality leaves me either taciturn or acting completely weird and just having a great time being unusual.

Back to my main topic. I don't think we should be quizzed on our chapel messages, and I don't like how our Bible curriculum seems to turn the Bible into more of a textbook than anything else, but it's what I'm leaving with, so I'm gonna force myself to deal with it.

--SF

Textbook Beliefs

I recently got back form a Men and Boy's retreat our church had at the camp I normally go to in the summer. During one of the messages that was preached, the pastor kept bringing up the point about how saying some words you don't even remember when you were 5 or 6 doesn't mean you're saved and that being raised in a Christian home and acting Christian doesn't either. This really connected with me because for 8 years I went around saying I was saved until I finally realized that I'd just kinda been following the crowd and saying some preset words when I 'got saved', so that night no July 13th, 2005 I got things set right and was truly saved, thank God.

However, I honestly feel sorry for those of us who have had to grwo up in Christian homes, exposed pretty much exclusively to Christian views and opinions the majority of our younger lives. While it's a very blessed position to be in, it gives us the danger of living out textbook Christianity and acting like Christians--not because we're saved and truly love God for being all that He is, but because it's what's expected out of us and anything less gets us labeled as some horrible sinful person in the eyes of our Christian-raised peers or other churchmembers. There have been times when I, when in a reverie about my future and what may or may not be in store there, have thought that I wouldn't want my children to grow up like I have. I'd want them to have a great life, yes, but having Christianity ingrained into your mind for so long can make you belive that you're saved when you're not, and should the worst happen before you do get things right, then you end up in Hell, and I wouldn't be able to bear the thought of that happening to my child. Even though I'm nowhere near being a parent at this point, it's still hard to even consider. But, on the other hand, I know it's be wrong to keep my children isolated from Christianity and God, and so I'd want to keep them exposed to it so that they would come to see God and love Him and accept him as their Savior. There was a point brought up in a discussion at the retreat by someone who was saved later in their life; they said that those of us who were saved at an earlier age or rasied in Christian homesare often guilty of being less thankful to God for what He's done for us because we haven't seen how bad things can get, and so we don't realize just what we were spared from. I find this to be very true, and it's been evident in my life since when life's all good and normal I feel like I don't need God, but during times when things are going bad I get closer to Him and am so much more thankful for Him being there.

It seems to me like being raised in a Christian home and school, while it does do good in teaching a child about God from an early age, promotes a textbook type of Christianity, where Bible reading and devotions and Christlike behavior are done out of obligation or requirement, and not for the right reasons. This has been most evident to me in my Bible class, where it seems that, due to the way the class works, the Bible is being turned into little more than just anohter one of our textbooks, and thus we're missing the benefits of being able to learn from God's Word in Christian school to trying to make sure we can fill in the correct answer on our tests. Because, no matter how much we've learned spiritually, in the end our grades are what our parents look at to see what we've learned, and the grades are qhat can get us in more trouble in the short run.

It Falls Apart

Recently on a message board that I frequent, a friend of mind metioned that is seems every time she tries to get closer to God, thigns begin to go wrong and everything gets worse. I can quite easily relate, as I've had similar experiences in my life, all too many times in fact. It actually started right after I got saved back in July of 'o5. Before that, everything was ok, not spectacular or anything, but not really on the low side either, afterwards it seems things started to fall apart. Later on in life, when I tried to get back into reading my Bible and praying and diong my devotions and all that, it'll go good for a little while, but then, again, it all seems to coem crashing down. When it rains it pours, and my word can it pour. It's just one things after another with no break in between sometimes. I finally get over this or work through that just to be smacked in the face with yet another depressing problem. I wish I could say I felt like Thousand Foot Krutch's song "Falls Apart" with the lines "It falls apart, from the very start, it falls apart, seems like everything I touch, falls apart, everything around me falls apart, when I walk away from You" but I seem to be just the opposite. It all falls apart when I get close to God, and life works out fine away from Him, or so it seems. I feel like I'm living what we've been going over the past coouple weeks un Sunday school in Psalm 73, where Asaph saw the wicked and how much they prospered while those who feared God dealt with so many problems, because not only am I feelign those problems, I'm feeling that easiness and simplicity away from Him.

But, when I considered all of this more in depth, I came upon an idea that I think very much to be the truth. It's not that everything goes wrong because I'm trying to get closer to God, it's that He was waiting for me to get closer to Him and become stronger before I was faced with those trials. It's not Him forsaking me when I run to Him, it's Him protecting me until I do make it into the Strong Tower that is His love. I can't help but feel that if I had gone through some of those trials when I hadn't been closer to Him, I might not have been able to make it through them.

--SF

Bible Class

Whoot for pretyped entires! Since I can't really access this site very well from home, pretyping these entries is the best way I can find to get my ideas down when they come to me and to prevent me from having to waste time that should be spent working typing out my entries. So, I'll probably be doing that from now on, no that anyone cares since no one reads this, but w/e, I feel the need to explain myself to you nonexistent people nevertheless.
Now, what to talk about...there were so many good subjects in my head yesterday, but now I can't seem to recal any of them. There was one I really wanted to discuss with as many people as I could, but I'm really not sure what in the world it was. Seems like it would have had something to do with schoolwork or something like that, but idk. Well, I just remembered one topic I could discuss, so I'll go there. It doesn't apply to as broad a range at the topics I forgot, but it's still worth discussing with the none of you that probably read this.
Okay, so yesterday in Bible class we got to discussing the book that we use ((again)). For the most part, the students in the class don't like the book, and alot of them don't do the work that they're supposed to do in it. The general concensus is that we ditch the book and teach directly form the Bible, but our teacher won't do that. I personnally don't like the book we use that much, and it hasn't seemed to help me spiritually in the least, but I do the work nevertheless because it's just like any other schoolwork to me. When I thought this and heard our teacher complaining about how it seems none of us are actually interested in the Bible, it made me realize something. Because of the way the curriculum works, we get the answers for the questions in our books directly out of the Bible, and because so much time is spent on us filling in those answers, and little time spent talking about it, I feel that the Bible is becoming little more than just another textbook to us. I know that's what it's felt like to me in that class sometimes. I think that because we're using it just like an answer book and focusing entirely on getting the answers we have to have to make a decent grade on the quizzes we're neglecting to actually think about it and we don't get alot of time to discuss what it really means, whereas if we did thigns like we did in our junior high Bible class, in which the teacher would tell us exactly what we needed to know for the text and our grade was pretty much determined by our willingness to memorize what he told us to, we would have much more time to spend actually discussing the lessons and possibly getting something useful out of them. That way, while the answers would be coming from the Bible, it would seem much less like just another textbook to throw in our lockers and more like God's Word.

Inevitably...

Of course, since I failed to make any note of the topics that were already in my mind that I wanted to discuss here, alot of them have slipped my mind. However, I can still recall one or two that I fully intend on discussing when I get time to type up my post about them. Part of the reason I'm waiting is because I don't see much use in posting an entry that will not be read, and since I have not had this blog very long and because of the difficulties in accessing it at times, I have yet to get around to finding the people I know on this site to read it.

--SF

Lol

Well, this is interesting. The filter on our computer apparently blocks all blogspot blogs. I tried to view my pastor's blog, and it was blocked, as is mine. According to the filter, they're both blocked due to "nudity or sexual content" which neither of the blogs contains in any way shape or form that I am aware of. So, I can only view this from time to time on other people's computers, so my template updates will be pretty slow and sporadic for now until I get everything set how I want it.

...

Well, seeing as how this is my first blog post here, I don't have too much to say. I've had a few other blogs in the past, but I end up neglecting most of them after a little while, so we'll see how this one turns out. I made this blog for the purpose of talking about some of the deeper things I'd think about, rather than just the mundane events I normally discussed in previous blogs on other sites. I will, however, consider makign a second blog here for such topics, but I still need to messa round with this one and see if I like it or not first.

I've already got a few ideas of things I want to post about, and eventualy I'll probably end up discussing all the numdane stuff I never planned on talking about, but we'll see how that all goes.

--SF