Seananigans

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK: "True love is the process of extending oneself for the development and nourishment of yourself or anothers personal growth (spiritual growth)." ~M. Scott Peck - The Road Less Traveled

This means love isn't a feeling, and the opposite of love is laziness

This blog is going through some changes. Amoung the background and template change, hopefully I'll be able to utilize this page to upload pictures and movies, and really utilize it to the fullest. So, whatever that means... :)

Stay tuned and stay classy.

Forever,
Sean

"Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what YOU can do for your country!" -JFK


Matthew 20:28
"just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

This is the idea of proactivity (rather than reactivity). Focusing on how you can contribute, and never based on what others are doing (your choice not based on enviroment).

Jesus lived it best... think about what he said (in that verse above). Life isn't about what others can do for you, it is about what you can do for others.. and you can do SO much. Maybe someone just really irritates you.. Maybe even worse, they try to or actually cause you physical harm (hopefully not severe). Well, it is very easy to get angry with that person and decide to dislike them, avoid them, or eye-for-an-eye (get back at them).

But Jesus calls us a different way. Right after he starts his sermon on the Mount, Jesus changes the whole way things were generally looked at. He explains with "You have heard that...", "But I say...". One such saying is Matthew 5:38 - "You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.'[g] 39But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

If your interested in this idea read all of Matthew 5. It is Sa-weet! But anyways, Moriah Scheidler (sp?) brought this idea upto attention the other day during a CRU meeting, and I couldn't more whole-heartedly agree. "How can I bless you?" is so counter cultural. It is a difficult thing to do. But what a rich life we all would lead if we asked ourselves these questions, and took to habit what Jesus spoke of.


Last thing - 43"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor[h] and hate your enemy.' 44But I tell you: Love your enemies[i] and pray for those who persecute you, 45that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?

How can you bless the "annoying/obnoxious/mean/slanderious" people around you?

…Here I am. Slow-down, breathe. Can you hear it? That’s the noise of my mind with its wheels in full motion. Who will take you where you want to be?

I think we have so much more potential than we ever give credit to ourselves. For me, my potential was being desecrated in school. Doing things I did not have any real interest in doing--pursuing things that I didn’t want to pursue. But that was life, right? We chug along to get that good old college degree which is supposed to open up the big door of opportunity and success. Fair enough.

But what does school get you? Does it teach you the life skills you will need to be a happy and successful person? Do you need school to give you that?

Your mind is a powerful tool. You have the ability to think, to create, to question, to initiate, to make decisions, to learn, to share, to reason, to doubt.

Slow-down, breathe. Think! No one is forcing you to do anything. You do not have to move an inch. But think! Will staying motionless bring you happiness? Will friendships bring you happiness? Will the opposite sex bring you happiness? Will God bring you happiness? Maybe, but think about it. Slow down your busy actions and think for life’s sake. Ask yourself questions, you may find that you can learn more and be challenged more simply by asking yourself questions and thinking for yourself than you ever could by just listening to what somebody else says to you.

Slow down from your busy scheduled life and think. You do not have to have everything figured out. You never will. But spend time in prayer and in thinking. Do you think the adage is true: “the unexamined life is not worth living”?