Wind

So once in a while at work, a rousing God and/or political discussion will erupt (generally around Angela's desk). So when I go in this morning, this is happening again. Honestly I like that the people in the office are willing to talk about it openly, but no one is there to be converted it's mostly a talk/debate-fest. So I didn't attend this mornings discussion, but I did think of an analogy that i wanted to write about a little further while i was eavesdropping whilst having a discussion with another fellow.

Wind.

I'm sure i'm not the only person to use the Wind analogy for God-stuff, but I just thought of some things a little differently today, so i figured i'd get them onto paper/html so that it's more orderly in my mind.

So the standard wind analogy generally has something like "you can't see the wind, but you can feel it, and you can see it's effects". I think this relates well to God, but it's been used a lot in church circles so it might be a little bland. What i started to think about, was how a lot of non-christian (and christian alike) people will attribute characteristics to God by what they see in people that are professing to be His followers. Now i think this is as valid an argument as any - i think Christians should hold a very high standard for their lives (personal and spiritual) - i fail the standard test often, but i strive to do better (we all should). But what came to me today is that the character of the wind doesn't necessarily change just because it's carrying (or is associated with) something that's not so nice as a summer breeze. Sometimes wind can be lovely (summer breeze example) but it can also carry swarms of locust or sand or sleet and snow and hail (as we here in newfoundland know a little too well). But none of that changes what the wind is. It's just moving around the globe, through different weather systems, gaining strength, and losing it (i'm not well read in wind or any related field, but i hope the point is coming accross a bit). Just because people who are associated with God (either by being followers of Christ, or just by their own admission - there is a difference!) fail, miserably sometimes, that doesn't mean that that is who God is. God is the amazing one who continues to loves and care for those stupid people who keep failing.

I'm not sure how much more i have to say about the wind thing, but this is the interweb, i can come back and update it some time. I'd like to direct anyone reading this to a cool website from Canada's most listened to Christian call in show (we've got 1000's i know) - The Drew Marshall Show. A friend pointed me to this page to watch this guy on 100 Huntley St. and while some people may not like the way he came off on tv, if you listen to his shows there's a real genuine spirit to the guy, and he's got great guests (comedians, writers, actors, singers ..etc). Give some of his stuff a listen. If nothing else he's provoking some discussion which is usually a good idea (speaking of which i need to back Angela up in the next Consilient office debate!).

By the way, i work for the above mentioned company and if you're in need of some free push email on your mobile phone, check us out! www.consilient.com

Also, i've just taken ownership of my new bike. You can check it out on my flickr account. It's a specialized rockhopper pro disc (all mountain). I'm pretty excited, but i will be more excited when we get some decent weather and temperatures above 2 degrees celcius!! Speaking of wind... Anyways, good-nite and God Bless (if you're into that kind of thing)

Fearfully and Wonderfully

Preface
I'm starting to do a little study that I've entitled 'Who does God say I am'. All my posts might not centre around this one topic forever, but at least for a while i'm going to give myself a little homework to do, and see what God is saying to me in this area. And it's a good opportunity to write and express myself, so why not. Here goes...

So I go back to my memories about youth camps back in Ontario, and one thing that really sticks out in my mind is something one of the speakers said one time. He said when you go home, stand in front of a mirror, naked, and say ‘I am fearfully and wonderfully made’. I’ve done this once or twice since then and it’s an interesting thing, standing there with no clothes on, exposed to the world (and perhaps some stuffed animals, depending on your gender… maybe). Now it is obviously true for moi that I am fearfully and wonderfully made, but it’s a very poignant thought considering the way much of North America views itself today. So, I think back to this memory some times and last night I did as well. So I decided to do a little reading in the word (read:bible) and actual research a bit about what God says about me. Hopefully I find enough to write about but either way my main goal is to gain some revelation in this area so I begin to see myself as God sees me and not so much as I see me, or others see me (although both of those views will still affect me somewhat).

So that line or verse I mentioned above is actually in Psalm 139:14

I praise you because I am fearfully

and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

So I guess one thing I notice is that David (he wrote most of the psalms) isn’t really surprised by how amazing we are. The greatness of God’s creation causes David to praise Him, but it’s not a surprise because – ‘I know that full well’. All God’s works are wonderful. That’s a sobering thought. How does that apply to people that aren’t so wonderful? (I don’t have the answer, I’m asking you). There have been lots of not so nice people all throughout history and today still. What makes us wonderfully made doesn’t necessarily equate to being wonderful I guess. Maybe it takes some understanding of who made us wonderful to be ‘all we can be’ (not too sound cliché).

So what about that ‘fearfully’ part, how does that fit in there? Well apparently the Hebrew word is yare' {yaw-ray'} which can mean a number of things (see complete reference here) but in general it seems to mean to fear, be afraid or to stand in awe of, be awed. So one could translate it as ‘I am astonishingly and wonderfully made’. I think if you spend any time looking at or reading about the human body you’ll quickly find out that it’s a pretty impressive thing. We’re still barely tapping the capabilities of the brain, and we’ve been around these things on our necks for quite some time now (anywhere from 6,000 to a couple hundred thousand years now – depending on your theology or lack thereof).

But to get back to my original discussion. How I see myself can greatly impede how I perceive God and how I interact with Him and/or how much I allow him to ‘interfere’ with ‘my’ life. If you take time to read the whole Psalm (I’ll add it below) you can tell that David is very in tune with God’s view of him/us. It’s a great prayer, but it’s also a great piece of writing. The Psalms are so full of wonderful imagery and the essence of life – the highs and lows.

Psalm 139 (The Message Bible)

A David Psalm

1-6 God, investigate my life; get all the facts firsthand.
I'm an open book to you;
even from a distance, you know what I'm thinking.
You know when I leave and when I get back;
I'm never out of your sight.
You know everything I'm going to say
before I start the first sentence.
I look behind me and you're there,
then up ahead and you're there, too—
your reassuring presence, coming and going.
This is too much, too wonderful—
I can't take it all in!

7-12 Is there anyplace I can go to avoid your Spirit?
to be out of your sight?
If I climb to the sky, you're there!
If I go underground, you're there!
If I flew on morning's wings
to the far western horizon,
You'd find me in a minute—
you're already there waiting!
Then I said to myself, "Oh, he even sees me in the dark!
At night I'm immersed in the light!"
It's a fact: darkness isn't dark to you;
night and day, darkness and light, they're all the same to you.

13-16 Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
you formed me in my mother's womb.
I thank you, High God—you're breathtaking!
Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
I worship in adoration—what a creation!
You know me inside and out,
you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared
before I'd even lived one day.

17-22 Your thoughts—how rare, how beautiful!
God, I'll never comprehend them!
I couldn't even begin to count them—
any more than I could count the sand of the sea.
Oh, let me rise in the morning and live always with you!
And please, God, do away with wickedness for good!
And you murderers—out of here!—
all the men and women who belittle you, God,
infatuated with cheap god-imitations.
See how I hate those who hate you, God,
see how I loathe all this godless arrogance;
I hate it with pure, unadulterated hatred.
Your enemies are my enemies!

23-24 Investigate my life, O God,
find out everything about me;
Cross-examine and test me,
get a clear picture of what I'm about;
See for yourself whether I've done anything wrong—
then guide me on the road to eternal life.

Post #4

Not sure what to put here now, just want to update my blog a bit. I'm not sure if anyone reads (or has read) anything i've put up here, but it lets me write a bit. My week of life as a newly-single man ends tomorrow when my wife returns from Florida (mickey mouse and all that fun stuff) - which i'm rather happy about actually. Single life is not all it's cracked up to be. I'll admit that i miss my wife considerably, but i should seeing as she's now 50% of me (not literally but you get the idea).

I just updated my Facebook account with some new pictures and stuff. It's pretty cool running into old friends. I used to live in ontario and i've found my first girlfriend (grades 1 and 2 - long term, it was serious) and my best friend from Borden... pretty bizarre, but cool.

Had church today. Went really well. We had a 15min jam session where everyone was just flowing together, very cool. I really love my church (Victory Christian Centre - no website, but FYI). Also, tonight we had our small groups with the teen guys. Went pretty well i think, talked about some relevent (i think) issues and got some feedback and interaction. Then we played ping pong, PS2 and nintendo 64 (it's a bunch of geeky guys, what can you do). It's tough to try and be real with a bunch of 16 -18 year old church-ee type guys and try to teach them about life and God and stuff. Hopefully it's getting through, i'd loved to have had something like this when i was their age.

Other than that there's not much else to say. Time for Sam to hit the sack, enjoy the last night of full bed sleep and get up tomorrow to start the week!

Peace out

Thoughts of summer

So i started to get into mountain biking last summer and i'm really jonesing for the 3 months of good newfoundland weather. I went cheap on my first bike (it's a bit small for me as well) so i'm
hoping to pick up something a little nicer this time. But of course i have to choose between so many brands and styles (full-suspension or hardtail). Of course, the bikes that i really like are way out of my price range. I'll show a few of my favorites below. This is a picture from the cove website - and i really like it. Black with maxxis tires looks super good. Of course cove bikes are not the cheapest on the block, so this might have to remain on the 'wish list' for a while. The same is true of the next bike - the santa cruz chameleon - it's light. I held the frame at Canary Cycles (one of the local bike shops in
town) and it's ridiculous. Again this bike is really expensive so i can't really make it happen (yet!). Realistically i'll probably be getting a kona or cannondale, unless mike hasn't sold his Gary Fisher GED by then (fingers crossed).

One good thing about my house is that it's in Paradise (yes that's the name of the town - check it out) and there are tons of trails, and there are actually trails like 100 feet from my backyard and dirt jumps and everything (got a full face helmet now so my wife doesn't have to worry so much). So here i am on a sunny winters afternoon typing about mountain bikes... not the most deep or philisophical topic but i can work my way up to that. I have been reading some creation magazine articles today so i'm all amped up for small groups tonight - always fun times when creation and evolution butt heads. I'm off for now.

Explorations of Corel Painter

I'm just going to post some of my digital art that i did with my Graphire pad, which a good friend gave me as a house warming gift...

This one on the left is the second one i did and i think it came out pretty good. I love colourful skies so that's what i did. I'm not sure how to do a lot of things with Painter IX but i think for what i know i did pretty fine.






This one is a mountain obvously, not overly detailed (did it in under an hour) but it's pretty bright and vibrant, just like me!








My most recent work (it's been a while). I wish i had done a higher resolution version but i made it small to begin with. Oh well...

First post, so exciting

This is my first post ever. Yep it's a big day. The internet be warned, Sam Russell is on the prowl (meow). What's next, will your mom and dad show up here posting pictures of their latest trip to the dominican telling everyone how amazing it is and being all techy? Maybe that's more common these days, i dunno. Anyways, this will be short, gotta add a link from my website to my new blog so other peeps can keep tuned to my frequency.