WOW! I want one! =) maybe i can buy myself a late birthday present. 11 July is when it’s on sale in NZ…my birthday is 21st June…thats only 20days difference. apple iPhone 3G TV Ad
I got a job =) cleaning at the University (Science Library that is) – the Uni still has to do their part and do a check on me so I can have access to be able to get in there and clean but I don’t have a police record and I’m trustworthy so it should be fine =)
I’m one of those people who doesn’t just like one type of music (altho I do have one type of music that I don’t like very much and that’s hiphop). I like rock, metal, pop rock, pop, jazz, swing, country, industrial, emo, punk… I love Dean Martin (one of the most well known musical artists of the 1950s and 1960s), Frank Sinatra (my favourite singer/actor from the 1940s to 1960s era, and winner of an Academy Award), and Michael Buble (a man of our time with a voice from the 50s, and winner of many awards). These guys had (have, in Bubles case) amazing voices. Michael Buble named one of his albums (2004) after Frank Sinatras song Come Fly With Me (1958).
I’m not well…again! funny that. So anyway, this time its different. yesterday I wasn’t feeling 100% but today I’m feeling worse. So i txt someone and said that I have a cold. Then after sending it I thought, “but how do I know that it’s a cold?” So i thought I’d google it and find what some random internet site had to say…and I found out…I do have a cold…
http://www.grownups.co.nz/read/health/health_wellbeing/cold-or-flu
Colds and flu are often confused for one another, especially when it comes to treatment. They are, in fact, two different illnesses. The common cold is an inflammation of the mucous membranes caused by a number of viruses. Influenza is an acute viral infection of the respiratory tract.
Colds tend to begin slowly, with a sore throat, sneezing and runny nose. Temperature may be normal or slightly elevated. The flu comes on quickly. Headache, dry cough, chills; muscle aches and high temperature are common. Flu symptoms are more severe than those of a cold.
Cold viruses may cause:
When flu takes hold, symptoms are accompanied by:
I asked the question yesterday, “whats the difference between ‘us’ (Pentecostals) to ‘them’ (Anglicans, Presbyterians, etc)?” already pretty much knowing what the answer was going to be from these particular people… “we believe in the moving of the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit, etc etc…” and that we have an “experience with God” and “feel Him in ways that other people at other churches don’t…” etc.
These answers annoyed me! before the “we have a real experience with God” answer they were talking about movement of the Holy Spirit etc and I said “so is it right to say that we just interpret the Bible differently?” and he said “well yes that is a big part of it but its not just that…and then the “we experience God” and “feel His presence” remarks came up and to be honest it really ticked me off. Who are we to say that they don’t have an experience God? Who are we to say that they aren’t Christians because they don’t “feel” God’s presence? Why do we put it all down to feelings? is that why when people are living crappy lives they walk away from God thinking that He doesn’t care anymore? What are we trying to teach people when we tell them that it’s all about feelings? Is that also why people go around sleeping with random people, because it feels good? and why people drink so much?
I know so many people who put things down to hype, who can’t believe that anything we do is right because it’s crazy and weird, yet i know a whole lot of people who love going to Pentecostal churches and are better people because of it. Why do we see our religion as being better than other peoples because we do things differently. Even tho the person answering my questions said “I’m not saying who is right or wrong…” but it was so obvious who he thought was right…us, Pentecostals. I’m not trying to rip off Pentecostals because I am one, but if we’re gonna shove people in boxes because of what church they belong to then I’m also Presbyterian and Anglican. When I’m not in Dunedin I go to a Presbyterian/Anglican Church. Some people love traditional churches and that’s their business, it’s not our place to judge them and say they aren’t Christians because of what church they follow.
I started reading Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis and i love it! I’ve only really read the preface and I’ve already fallen in love with it. Whats so good about it? You’ll have to read it to find out! hehe. but seriously, he starts off by explaining where he stands. He says that the reason he writes is to not convert people to a denomination, but to Jesus. There is no point in talking to non-believers about the differences between denominations, that will only confuse and repel unbelievers. My take on it is we need to tell people the truth, Jesus lived, died and rose again. Something i learnt earlier this year from my lifegroup was that you can not just tell people about Jesus dying and being resurrected – we need to be telling them about how he lived too – what he taught. He didn’t JUST live to die!
Then there is the matter of being “religious”. This always frustrated and confused me (and still does). The amount of times I’ve heard people say “it’s not a religion, it’s a relationship” or “we’re not religious”.
re·li·gion –noun
The reason it confuses me is because it is a religion – Christianity. Why do we try to convince people it isn’t? Why do we try and convince them that it’s just like having a best friend when it’s more than that? It’s a relationship? We’re religious. We abide by a set of rules and beliefs. We say “other churches have rituals but not ours”. What? We have rituals. We just don’t call it that.
I know I could get in trouble for writing all this but I gotta get it out there. I’m not saying that we are wrong and everyone else is right. I’m saying, why can’t we all be right? or why can’t we at least accept that we all could be wrong or right? We point fingers at each other and say “that denomination isn’t Christian because they do/don’t do …. ” but who are we to say who is and isn’t Christian? It bugs me when people say Catholics aren’t Christian. I don’t know anything about Catholicism (I don’t really know anything about any denomination to be honest) but it still doesn’t seem right when people say they are wrong.
I’m reading up on how to interpret the Bible and what it’s making me realise is how I have been taught to use a process which I now like to call “pick and choose”. It’s where you pick the way you want to interpret certain verses/chapters so it doesn’t go against what you believe. Take for example, woman preaching in church…there are many verses which say that woman shouldn’t even be able to speak…but when we bring history into the equation the meaning of the scripture changes and for this day we are allowed to have woman speaking and preaching in church. Then we look at other verses and interpret them in a different way. I don’t know if this is wrong or right, but it does seem suspicious. Especially when we are telling people who interpret the whole Bible in this way (comparing it to history and what it was like in ‘those times’) that they are wrong and heretics.
I’m reading up about a lot more than that actually. A friend has inspired me in a way that no other has. He has inspired me to want to read and learn, and not just to soak in and believe what people tell me I should. To expand my thinking and use the intelligence that was given to me by God. I’ve known this person for about 3months and he has made one of the biggest impacts in my life and way of thinking. However, even this has a frustrating component to it but that still doesn’t stop me from wanting to learn more. Every year is different and God has brought different people into my life for different reasons.
