"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly... who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end of the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who have never known neither victory nor defeat." - Teddy Rosevelt
I decided to make a start on one of my long-overdue holiday aims: to read 10 Christian books. I realised that, recently, i've been wasting a lot of time on trivial (and i dare say rather meaningless) time-consuming stuff like watching TV, facebook and MSN. Every monday, i find that my first conversations with my friends at uni revolve around the fact that we've all sort of wasted our weekends aways and how we wish we could been so much more productive.
I had a very important mid-sem exam to study for on Friday (yesterday). I don't know what came over me, but instead of hitting the books after a long Thursday, i picked up a book on my shelf and started to read. Page followed page. Flip, flip, flip. I couldn't stop reading! The book was so captivating! haha!
Many people view reading as a "boring" and "uncool" pastime for nerds ( i know, i used to think that too! x.x") but i've come to realise how immature that really is. It takes a lot of discipline to actually sit down and do something that might potentially be inspiring and life-changing instead of doing some brainless activity that might bring about temporary elation and satisfaction.
I found "Wild At Heart" by John Eldredge and recommended by Stuart Robinson a very insightful read. It explores the true nature of a man's heart; how God initially intended it to be when he created us "in his own image", and how much we have deviated from that benchmark in today's society.
John states that through extensive research, he has found that "they may be misplaced, forgotten, or misdirected", but in the heart of every man lies these 3 basic desires:
I had a very important mid-sem exam to study for on Friday (yesterday). I don't know what came over me, but instead of hitting the books after a long Thursday, i picked up a book on my shelf and started to read. Page followed page. Flip, flip, flip. I couldn't stop reading! The book was so captivating! haha!
Many people view reading as a "boring" and "uncool" pastime for nerds ( i know, i used to think that too! x.x") but i've come to realise how immature that really is. It takes a lot of discipline to actually sit down and do something that might potentially be inspiring and life-changing instead of doing some brainless activity that might bring about temporary elation and satisfaction.
I found "Wild At Heart" by John Eldredge and recommended by Stuart Robinson a very insightful read. It explores the true nature of a man's heart; how God initially intended it to be when he created us "in his own image", and how much we have deviated from that benchmark in today's society.
John states that through extensive research, he has found that "they may be misplaced, forgotten, or misdirected", but in the heart of every man lies these 3 basic desires:
- A Battle to Fight
- An Adventure to Live
- A Beauty to Rescue
It is around these three basic principles that our heart is formed around. They drive us to feel the way we feel about life, and the suppression of any one, or combination, of them will lead to dissatisfaction or boredom (isn't that what we all complain about?) Isn't that what we all fear? We're afraid that we'll live boring lives... lives with no meaning or significance. Yes, we are dissatisfied. We are discontent. We want more. That's why i'd recommend this read: "Wild At Heart" will open your eyes to a whole new dimension to life that you'd never even have dreamt about! This dude is RADICAL! He reckons God is WILD! That men are born to fight! And that women are made more perfect than men?! haha!
Oh! Eldredge likens God to William Wallace (The hero from Braveheart). He's inspired me to watch that movie again. He writes: "Without a leader to follow, the Scots begin to lose heart. one by one, then in larger numbers, they start to flee. At that moment Wallace rides in with his band of warriors, blue warpaint on their faces, ready for battle. Ignoring the nobles - who have gone to parley with the English captains to get another deal - Wallace goes straight for the hearts of the fearful Scots.
(I love this part)
'Sons of Scotland... you have come to fight as free men, and free men you are.'
He gives them identity and a reason to fight. He reminds them that a life lived in fear is no life at all, that every last one fo them will die some day."And dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days from this day to that to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they'll never take our freedom!"
he tells them they have what is takes. At the end of his stirring speech, the men are cheering. They are ready. Then Wallace's friend asks,"Fine speech. Now what do we do?"
"Just be yourselves."
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to pick a fight."
"Just be yourselves."
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to pick a fight."
Eldredge asks: "What is your image of Jesus as a man?" I've always thought of Jesus as a mild and meek friend of men. An all-round gentle nice guy who's always depicted around little children. He's opened up my mind to see Jesus as a courageous warrior, very much like William Wallace.
Boy! That book really fires up my adrenal glands! Off that note, this week was a pretty decent week. We had our last Med vs Physio soccer game yesterday; which we lost 6-5. It was a very entertaining game, especially with Nooren's display of Ronaldo-like classiness with won him a well-deserved hat-trick.
There was a Fungus leader's meeting on Thursday night and Chris came to speak to us about having a Vision. He really inspired me and got me thinking. When i first started as a youth leader, it thought it'll be cool and fun and that we would all have a great time discussing God's word in depth and sharing our thoughts and emotions. However, it's been a totally different experience. I've been put in charge of a group of 12-14 (very large!! x.x") kids ranging from Years 6-9 (pretty young). I find it hard to explain bible verses to them because they don't show very much interest in God's Word, and it's just too hard to get a deep discussion going!
Well, that's really dampened my passion and my vision for the group. But Chris has somewhat reignited that passion. He was adamant that having a clear VISION is the striking difference between a leader and a LEADER. I don't wanna be a mediocre leader for Christ. While Chris was speaking, ideas started to fill my mind on how to improve the welcoming aspect of Fungus and even for the prayer meeting that i lead before Fungus. I pray that God will give me the strength to persevere and that my passion will not die out! :)
I better get some study done before my soccer game against Hoko. My exams are coming up in 2 weeks and i'm shockingly under-prepared. Ah.. i love these challenges.. They are my Battle to Fight! My Adventures to Live! (It's a pity that there's nothing beautiful about them!)
Boy! That book really fires up my adrenal glands! Off that note, this week was a pretty decent week. We had our last Med vs Physio soccer game yesterday; which we lost 6-5. It was a very entertaining game, especially with Nooren's display of Ronaldo-like classiness with won him a well-deserved hat-trick.
There was a Fungus leader's meeting on Thursday night and Chris came to speak to us about having a Vision. He really inspired me and got me thinking. When i first started as a youth leader, it thought it'll be cool and fun and that we would all have a great time discussing God's word in depth and sharing our thoughts and emotions. However, it's been a totally different experience. I've been put in charge of a group of 12-14 (very large!! x.x") kids ranging from Years 6-9 (pretty young). I find it hard to explain bible verses to them because they don't show very much interest in God's Word, and it's just too hard to get a deep discussion going!
Well, that's really dampened my passion and my vision for the group. But Chris has somewhat reignited that passion. He was adamant that having a clear VISION is the striking difference between a leader and a LEADER. I don't wanna be a mediocre leader for Christ. While Chris was speaking, ideas started to fill my mind on how to improve the welcoming aspect of Fungus and even for the prayer meeting that i lead before Fungus. I pray that God will give me the strength to persevere and that my passion will not die out! :)
I better get some study done before my soccer game against Hoko. My exams are coming up in 2 weeks and i'm shockingly under-prepared. Ah.. i love these challenges.. They are my Battle to Fight! My Adventures to Live! (It's a pity that there's nothing beautiful about them!)
1 comment:
so colourful
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