The Paradox of Our Age

Fun Fact #2: I am a huge fan of quotes.

Really though, each and every one of my journals are FILLED with little tidbits from someone else's thoughts. 

Some short, and some long, but all seeming to have summed up my feelings at the moment. 

 

At first I thought I really just enjoyed quotes because of my ridiculously impressionable teenage mind.

But I have come to realize it isn't so much about stealing someone else's ideas, or simply not knowing my thoughts on something to the point that I find it easier just to take the thoughts of some random person out in cyber space. 

But more like I know my thoughts, beliefs, and ideas yet could never possibly express them in writing as eloquently as some of my fellow Internet beings. I feel like it's really more about reading something so well put and completely relatable and knowing that if I even tried to attempt at putting it into my own words I would just end up butchering the whole idea.

(Kind of like I am doing right now!)

So I will leave it at that.

...But how could I possibly write a post about quotes and not leave you with one of my favorites to ponder on??

So Enjoy this "tidbit"

 

 

 

The Paradox of Our Age

 

"We have bigger houses, but smaller families;
More conveniences, but less time.
We have more degrees, but less sense;
More knowledge, but less judgement;
More experts, but more problems;
More medicines, but less healthiness.
We have been all the way to the moon and back,
but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor.
We built more computers, to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever,
but have less communication.
We have become long on quantity,
but short on quality.
These are times of fast foods,
but slow digestion.
Tall man, yet short character.
Steep profits, but shallow relationships.
It's a time when there is much in the window,
but nothing in the room."

-The 14th Dalai Lama

Rebel Status

I have recently been pondering my love for living on the edge,
I feel like I tend to take on rather outrageous and shocking behavior patterns most often when I sense that the people around me might judge me.

Seriously, it's not that I don't believe in following the rules, or that I don't respect authority. I think it is really just about pushing the envelope, simply because I resent the presence of the envelope.

So it's not so much that I just want to break all the rules, It's just sometimes I resent their presence.
I despise being controlled.
I can't stand having my independence threatened.
It makes me bitter when people think they know me, or think they can read me.
Sometimes I take pride in spontaneous behavior. Just to testify against the predictability of my actions.

I have been known to do crazy stuff out of the blue JUST to prove a point.
Or JUST to prove someone wrong!

So basically what I am telling you is not to judge me, because it will only push me further toward the edge.

Don't tell me not to do something, or that I am not capable of doing something.
Don't tell me I'm too young or unintelligent, or immature.
Don't tell me I'm not talented enough, or efficient enough, or experienced enough.
Basically don't tell me what to do!
It will only drive my urge to do that exact thing THAT much more.

So I guess there is a possibility that I am a bit of a rebel... A Rebel without a cause!

Rahab

Rahab was a prostitute in the Bible, most known for her appearance in Joshua 2 where she hid two spies on top of her Inn who were sent out by Joshua to look over the town of Jericho which the Israelites were about to attack. In return for hiding the spies her and her house were untouched during the Battle of Jericho.

God protected her, but why?

It's almost as though God wanted to teach us that he can use anyone to do his work. She wasn't an Israelite, she didn't worship God or even try to keep his laws, in fact she was a pretty bad sinner in the eyes of most people.  It just shows that you start out fresh each time you trust in his word and act on his promises.

One of the things I oh so love about Jesus is that he picked some of the most common, sin stained, and sorrow blackened people to do do his extraordinary tasks.

Here's the amazing part though.

It turns out that later on Rahab married a man named Salmon, whose son was Boaz, the husband of Ruth, whose son was Obed, who was the son of Jesse, who was the son of David, who was the King of Israel, which also follows to Joseph, the husband of Mary, mother of Jesus!

Who would have ever guessed that God would chose Rahab, a prostitute, to be Jesus' grandmother many times removed?!