Bible Study

In a previous post about what I wanted to do in 2008 I stated that I wanted to read the Bible more. While I was at Lifeway the other day I found this book, and I decided that maybe this would help me with my goal.



I've decided that maybe if I blog about some of the thoughts I have as I read through it, it might help keep me accountable. Otherwise, I will probably do this for a few days and then slip back into my slackishness (is that even a word?). If you notice I haven't blogged about it in a while, please ask me about it.

So... with all of that said. Here is what I read about today.

Genesis 1-3. My first thought comes from my book. It had a really neat quote about temptation. According to Veerman, "Temptation is Satan's invitation to live his kind of life and give up on God's." Have you ever thought about it that way? When you give in to temptation you are giving up on God's way of life. No part of that sounds like a good idea to me.

My other thought was what childbirth would have been like had Adam and Eve not sinned. God told Eve that with pain she would give birth to children. I actually had never thought about this before, so I decided to ask my husband what he thought about it. What he said made perfect sense, but at the same time it blew my mind. He said, "I just don't think there would have been any pain at all." Just think about that for a second. No pain. No papercuts, no bruises, no headaches, no pain in childbirth, the list could go on and on. I can't even imagine that.

Can you imagine what life was like for Adam and Eve as soon as they sinned? Do you think they realized that they had it made and in one second everything had changed? They are the only people on Earth that had experienced a perfect world. We think it's a big deal if we have a bad day in the mix of a bunch of good days. Imagine going from perfect to imperfect. Wow.

In the Hallway

So, with Lee's advice I am going to write about something interesting that happened to me today.

I was sitting at work in my office at ETSU. Our door was open, and there were some students in the hallway waiting for their next class. My boss and I noticed these two girls laughing really loudly and making weird noises. It didn't take long to figure out that one of them was completely wasted. She was lying in the hallway on her side right next to the wall facing it. The other girl was sitting beside her head. I can't even describe some of the sounds she was making. They were also talking about how wasted she was. I don't know how she made it through that class, or how the teacher survived. She was so loud while sitting out in the hallway that all of the teachers started closing their doors. It was quite entertaining.

Now, on a serious note. Why do people do that? What makes someone want to drink so much alcohol that they can't control their body or mind? (Not to mention the other side effects such as a terrible headache and throwing up). No part of that sounds like fun to me.

In a Rut!!!

So, I am officially in a rut. I have nothing to blog about. I have writer's block, or would it be blogger's block? Anyway, someone help me with my problem.

Selfishness???

Selfishness. That's a term we use so easily with children. "Don't be selfish, share your toys." "You are being very selfish right now." The list could probably go on and on. However, as an adult I find it much harder to determine when I am being selfish, and when I am just trying to have a little backbone to keep someone from walking all over me. Many times in my life I simply give in to decisions or don't give my opinion on certain things because I don't want to seem selfish. However, what is the line? Where does it go from giving an opinion and wanting your say to matter to being selfish? The Bible says in Proverbs 18:1, "An unfriendly man pursues selfish ends; he defies all sound judgment." It also calls selfish ambition an act of sinful nature (Galations 5:20). Phillipians 2:3 says, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves." I try to do that to the best of my ability. I try to put everyone else's feelings above my own. However, sometimes it hurts. Sometimes it causes pain that may have been avoidable. Is this what we as Christians are supposed to do? If so, how would anyone ever accomplish anything? If 2 people are both Christians and put each others opinion first, how does a decision get made? I realize I'm rambling, and probably not making any sense. I may come back to this later and try to explain myself more effectively.

Happy New Year!!!

Well, I have to admit it. I am a little sad to see 2007 go. It was definitely the best year of my life. However, I am hoping that 2008 will be just as good. Tanner's take on that is, "You get to be married to me for a full year." I guess he has a point. Maybe it will be as great as 2007.

I normally don't make New Year's Resolutions. I never stick with them. However, there are some things I would like to change about myself this year. I thought I would make a list so that I can look at next year to see if I accomplished any of them. These are in no particular order.

- Be the best wife I can possibly be
- Read the Bible more
- Be happy at work (and if I'm not - don't complain)
- Read more books for fun
- Stress less
- Develop better self-esteem
- Be a great daughter-in-law and sister-in-law
- Complain less
- Keep in touch with friends
- Cook more (and try to cook without recipes)


I probably have more, but this is all I can think of right now. Do you have any resolutions?