A Woman's Heart Hidden in His

So there is the saying, “a woman's heart must be so hidden in God that a man has to seek Him in order to find her.” As I was riding in the car with my brother and his friend to church the other night, I decided to think through this statement. Though these thoughts probably are not original to me, I came up with several.

1. He must find her while pursuing God, not her affections.

This is the most obvious implication from the saying, yet I believe it probably is one of the hardest for men. Though I have never seriously romantically pursued a women, I know just how the feeling liking a girl is intoxicating. It can quickly become the thought that consumes your every waking moment. Yet when this happens, if not careful, we can forget pursuing God in the process and start trying to pursue her. By doing this we subjugate God’s will to our own. God says, “Focus on me and I will take care of you”. But we want to say, “God, if I don’t go after her now, I’m going to miss my opportunity.” Guys, if we cannot trust God to get her to us, we will never be able to trust God when it comes to taking care of her for a lifetime.

2. Our desire should be to please God, not her.

It is easy to start to conform to some we like, doing what we think will make her happy, yet this is not good. We should be concerned with pleasing God in all our actions and through that we will please her. A woman wants to know that a man will tell her no to follow after God. I believe this is because she knows that the moment a man is willing to put her before God, that he will be capable of putting God second to anything else.

3. Side by side, not face to face.

I know this analogy is not original to me, but it works so well. The image most of us have of romance is of a man and women face to face staring into each other’s eyes. It seems to indicate to men that she is our focus, our passion, and our desire. As much as women want to be desired and passionately loved, I do not believe they want to be our focus. This may sound odd, but I believe it is true. More than this image, I believe the godly woman wants to be at the side of a man who is passionately focused towards God. I believe this is because a man who is passionately following God will be able to love her passionately through an entire lifetime.

4. Parallel, not intersecting.

There is the constant notion that we will eventually “cross” paths with our future husband or wife. This seems to indicate that each of us as we are going on our own path will bump into the one meant for us. Rather than the image of a roadside accident, I believe it should be an image of discovery. In our pursuit of God, we should wake up one day to realize that some has been walking beside us towards the same goal.

Because of this, I believe that when we find the one, she or he will be heading the same direction we are. Our dreams for the future and what we each feel God has called us to should be the same. If either you need to give up your calling to be together, then I can say with almost complete confidence I do not believe it is God’s will for you to be together. I have a calling on my life to be involved in the political life this nation, yet if I were to give that vision up to be with a women who felt a calling to be a missionary in Africa, I would be placing her before God. And for her to give up her vision for me would be just as wrong.

Ultimately, this and everything else I have mentioned goes back to Matthew 6:33 (NIV), “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well”. Or as the Amplified puts it, “But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides.”

Land of Tomorrow

I wish I could adequately express my feeling and passion for my Country. When public and important individuals tear her down as being to prideful and a disgrace on the world stage, I long to set the record straight. America has been a beacon of hope and liberty to a hurting world. She has her faults, but her goodness and generosity far outshines them. Time and time again, history has shone that Americans have been willing at every turn to lay down their lives for not only their fellow American’s freedom, but for their fellow man’s freedom across the world

God created something unique when He formed this great Nation. I truly believe that God created us so that through us He could bless the peoples of the world. Through our material wealth, we have been able to feed the hunger. Through our physical strength, we have freed entire people groups from tyranny and oppression. And through our spiritual heritage, we have sent forth the gospel message of true freedom to every corner of the globe.

Ronald Reagan once said, “America represents something universal in the human spirit. I received a letter not long ago from a man who said, ‘You can go to Japan to live, but you cannot become Japanese. You can go to France and not become a Frenchman. You can go to live in Germany or Turkey, and you won’t become a German or a Turk.” But then he added, ‘Anybody from any corner of the world can come to America to live and become an American.’”

Almost every time I hear these words, I get choked up. We are unique among the nations of the earth. America is a land where everyone who longs for liberty and freedom is welcome. I believe Reagan most succinctly described America’s role in the world when he called us a “Shinning City on a Hill”. My heart’s deep desire is for us to never step back from that role. We are the guardians of liberty and freedom for the peoples of the earth that for too long have known only fear and evil. As long as America is, I will fight to remind her peoples that we hold the key to a world’s better tomorrow.

“Some may try to tell us that this is the end of an era. But what they overlook is that in America, everyday is a new beginning, and every sunset is merely the latest milestone on a voyage that never ends. For this is the land that has never become but is always in the act of becoming. Emerson was right: America is the Land of Tomorrow.” – Ronald Reagan

The Other Fellow

This is something I recently read in John Maxwell’s book, Be a People Person, which I thought was worth sharing.


When the other fellow takes a long time, he’s slow
When I take a long time, I’m thorough.
When the other fellow doesn’t do it, he’s lazy.
When I don’t do it, I’m busy.
When the other fellow does something without being told, he’s overstepping his bounds.
But when I do it, that’s initiative.
When the other fellow overlooks a rule of etiquette, he’s rude.
When I skip a few rules, I’m original.
When the other fellow pleases the boss, he’s an apple polisher.
But when I please the boss, that’s cooperation.
When the other fellow gets ahead, he’s getting the breaks.
But when I manage to get ahead, that’s just the reward of hard work.

Why?

It is amazing to me how many times throughout the day a thought comes to me that I think would be great to expand upon in a post only to not remember it when I go to post. I am going to change that.

We for today, here are some of my random thoughts:

I wonder if we really know the deep passions that drive our friend and inspire them to reach beyond themselves? More specifically, do people know what drives me? I believe that people generally know that I am about. First, I believe people generally know that I want to be a Christian influence in government. As a result, they know I hope to one day serve my fellow American as a public servant. But why? Do they know why I want to do this?

So they know that I have very specific beliefs about what has gone wrong concerning government and things I want to see accomplished to correct these things? Do they know what these beliefs or principles are? Do they know why I believe in specific principles concerning government?

In all reality, I am somewhat at fault here because up to this point, I have not been specifically vocal about these beliefs and why. Typically this is because I know that political matters are particularly controversial and can divide people faster than most disagreements. This does not mean that in conversations about politics I reframe from expressing my views (it’s much the opposition many times), but I do not bring it up in typical conversations. I know not everyone is called into government, so any talk about it can be tiring and de-motivating. Yet that is exactly the opposite for me! I thrive on discussing principles of government and liberty!! For me, it is a source of strength and invigoration, yet so much of the time it feels like it lays dormant in my social life.

Maybe the answer is to write more about it. In that way, people can read it, and maybe even ask me questions concerning my views. What I know for sure is, I must begin incorporating it more and more into my life. And it is not because I thrive per se on political matter, but because I value people whom are effected everyday by those political matters.

To get back to the original question…do I truly know the passion like this that drive each of you? Beyond our normal interactions and school activities, what is it that lies still within. That thing within you which if pinpoint, would unleash a flood of energy and emotion. That thing that keeps you up at night thinking. The thing that you could talk about for hours on end without losing interest in. That thing for which you feel you were specifically created to for. I wonder if I do. I believe I know generally, but do I know why? Why is your heart connected to this passion? Why do you stay up at night thinking about it? Why?

I think like myself, we all hope for that moment when someone will ask us the one question that will allow us to unlock and reveal who we truly are. And more than that, we hope that when that moment comes, the person will be truly interested in listening.

With that, and considering the fast and hectic lives we all live, I hope that the opportunities present themselves that will allow me to answer, “Yes, I know why.” And if I do no know you, I hope that you begin to ask yourself these questions concerning those around you.

Sorry, instead of thoughts, that turned out to be a singular though ☺.

Alrighty, since I have been doing so many other special stuff these past posts, here is a photo of the post:

This is of my brother who is a nationally rank BMX racer (Bycyclemaniac.com). His racing has been a big part of my photographer development and also has contributed to my familiarity to shooting sports photography.

So what do you think?

I took this personality test and this is what it said:

You Are An ENTJ

The Executive You are a natural leader - with confidence and strength that inspires others. Driven to succeed, you are always looking for ways to gain, power, knowledge, and expertise. Sometimes you aren't the most considerate person, especially to those who are a bit slow. You are not easily intimidated - and you have a commanding, awe-inspiring presence. In love, you hold high standards... for yourself, for your relationship, and for your significant other. While it's easy for you to impress others, it's hard for you to find someone who impresses you. At work, you are organized and good at delegating. You understand how to achieve goals. You would make a great CEO, entrepreneur, or consultant. How you see yourself: Rational, calm, and objective When other people don't get you, they see you as: Inflexible, controlling, and overbearing

What's Your Personality Type?

Karaoke Night!

So RUC help the semester start off right with a bit of Karaoke! For those of you who were not there, here is a piece of what you missed out on!!

Direct Video link - Click Here

Iowa Primary Eve and the GOP

So we are on the eve of the Iowa Primary and for me personally it is very exciting! With all the campaigning that has already been going on, we should start to begin to see some results tomorrow as to who the voters as leaning towards. Up to this point, I have yet to officially decided whom I am supporting. I figured that with the way things have been going, the political landscape would change from one day to the next and I have not been disappointed. From what looked like a Fred Thompson movement to a rising Huckabee campaign, it has been one interesting ride, and we haven’t even left the garage yet.

Despite all this, I have been recently been coming to some conclusions about the presidential candidates. First, as much as I honor John McCain as a war veteran, I have not seen him as my conservative candidate. This may just be my perception because recently I read that he has a 83% rating from the American Conservative Union. We will see how does tomorrow.

Second, if the only thing that the President was responsible for was national security, my candidate would be Giuliani in a millisecond. This is not the case, so I have had a hard time seeing myself supporting him during the primaries. His social stances are so far removed from conservatism that, I would feel as if I were sacrificing them for national security.

Third, the charming man from the south Huckabee has been gathering a lot of attention recently. I definitely have taken a hard look at him to see if I could find the conservative torchbearer this country needs. What I found was another “compassionate conservative” in the mold of Bush. As time goes on, I see more and more of his big government “conservatism” philosophy coming out. If the no child left behind act and soft immigration policies is your thing, I believe Huckabee is your man.

That leaves Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson. From everything that I can see, Fred Thompson is the closes thing to a conservative as I can find in this race. If he can overcome the image the media has created as a passive candidate and do well in the coming primaries, he could very well become my candidate. On the face of it, media is painting that as unlikely. And this leaves Mr. Romney. As many conservatives do, we wonder whether his current positions are birthed of a conversion to conservatism or pragmatism. Everyday he becomes more and more an appealing candidate considering the current field.

The saddest thing is that my choice candidate probably has less of a chance of winning than Ron Paul and that is Duncan Hunter.

All in all, this election year I do not see anyone resembling the conservative ideas torchbearer that Reagan was. I see many candidates trying to convince people they are conservatives, yet a true conservative torchbearer would be more concerned about promoting the ideas rather than convincing people they are for the ideas. I am optimistic that one day, maybe not this election, that torchbearer will arise. At the least, I plan to do everything in my power to be that torchbearer in the spheres of influence that God gives me.

P.S. As a conservative who holds to the idea of Reagan, I appreciate Ron Paul’s campaign in the election. Though I believe the libertarian philosophy overlooks the restrains of biblical morality, I believe his devotion to liberty and the Constitution has challenge people to reconsider what a conservative is.