chelseykarns's Xanga

The Contents of my Fridge

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 17:31:32 GMT

It's been a crazy week so far, and I don't know that it will slow down any time soon. I don't really have time to go to the grocery store, and I definitely don't have the motivation, which was made abundantly clear to me today when I opened the refrigerator to find something to eat for lunch. I did have some leftover macaroni and cheese, but aside from that, all I have on my allotted portion of the top shelf is Gatorade, salsa, butter, two wheat tortillas, a few pieces of turkey pastrami, a huge block of cheddar cheese and some chopped up chicken in a Tupperware container. I guess if you count the shelves on the door, I also have some varieties of salad dressing and sour cream. Sounds like dinner. Yum.

Thankfully, for the next couple of days, I don't have to worry about feeding myself from my fridge. Tonight is girls' night out at Moe's. Tomorrow my mom and I are going out to lunch, and then tomorrow night SCEmily, et. al. are having a party from which I've been promised to get fried chicken and green bean casserole, among other things.

Well, I suppose that's it. Off to go do more copy-editing. Sigh.

Sunday Prayer

Sun, 09 Sep 2007 20:27:50 GMT

Thou incomprehensible but prayer-hearing God,
       Known, but beyond knowledge,
          revealed, but unrevealed,
       my wants and welfare draw me to thee,
    for thou has never said, 'Seek ye me in vain'.
To thee I come in my difficulties, necessities, distresses;
       possess me with thyself,
             with a spirit of grace and supplication,
             with a prayerful attitude of mind,
             with access into warm of fellowship,
       so that in the ordinary concerns of life
          my thoughts and desires may rise to thee,
       and in habitual devotion I may find a resource
          that will soothe my sorrows,
          sanctify my successes,
          and qualify me in all ways for dealings
          with my fellow men.
I bless thee that thou hast made me capable
       of knowing thee, the author of all being,
       of resembling thee, the perfection of all excellency,
       of enjoying thee, the source of all happiness.
O God, attend me in every part of my arduous
          and trying pilgrimage;
    I need the same counsel, defence, comfort
       I found at my beginning.
Let my religion be more obvious to my conscience,
       more perceptible to those around.
While Jesus is representing me in heaven,
       may I reflect him on earth,
While he pleads my cause, may I show forth his praise.

Continue the gentleness of thy goodness towards me,
And whether I wake or sleep, let thy presence go with me,
    the blessing attend me.
Thou hast led me on and I have found thy promises true,
I have been sorrowful, but thou hast been my help,
    fearful, but thou hast delivered me,
    despairing, but thou hast lifted me up.
Thy vows are ever upon me,
    And I praise thee, O God.

                    --Valley of Vision, "God Enjoyed"

Routine

Tue, 04 Sep 2007 22:54:46 GMT

Now that I’ve been back in school for about two weeks, I think I’ve pretty much got a schedule down. It varies a little bit day to day, but overall I like what I’ve done. I’ll give you a look at Monday and Tuesday, as those are the most typical days.

MONDAY

6:00 am - Wake up, have quiet time, eat breakfast

6:30 am - head to the gym to work out and shower

8:00-8:50 am - class

9:05-9:55 am - class

10-11 am - break (normally I check my email in the computer lab)

11:15-12:05 - class

After my last class, I head home and eat some lunch. I’ve also started taking an early afternoon nap for 20-30 minutes. It keeps me alert, which is good, because I spend most of the afternoon doing homework. I normally eat dinner around 6 or so, finish up any last minute homework, read some blogs, talk to Christian, and head to bed at 10:30 pm at the latest.

TUESDAY

6:30 am - wake up, have quiet time, eat breakfast

7:00 am - shower, get ready for class

8:00-12:15 pm - three classes

Then the same old routine. Come home, eat lunch, take a nap, do homework. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I am taking a group fitness class at the gym with my roommates. It lasts an hour and it’s really intense. After that I come back, eat dinner, finish up homework, talk to Christian, and go to bed.

It’s working out well. I am working out every day except for Sunday, and having a consistent quiet time, which has been so good for my heart, soul, mind and strength. I’m currently working through the book of Isaiah on my own and reading a chapter of Proverbs every day “with” Christian (which means we read them on our own and talk about it at some point). I’m going to a Bible study beginning this Thursday where we’ll be studying 1 and 2 Peter, and Friday mornings I meet with some girls from church — this Friday we’re starting to look at Colossians.

Anyway — there’s my life for now. Not much more to write right now. Hard to believe, but at 8 pm I actually have gotten all my homework done, so I’m actually going to engage in some pleasure reading - a novel concept. Grace and peace.

P.S. Don't forget to look at the link in my last post. Click on the banner to enter for the chance to win free books!

Want to Win Books?

Tue, 04 Sep 2007 18:37:52 GMT

Tim Challies is giving away books. Click on the banner to enter!

What is this terror?

Mon, 03 Sep 2007 23:20:45 GMT

"It may be the cry of fire or the noise of thieves or the shriek of sudden sickness or death. We live in the world of death and sorrow. This should not alarm us, for be the terror what it may, the promise is that the believer shall not be afraid. Why should he? God our Father is here and will be here all through the lonely hours; He is an almighty Watcher, a sleepless Guardian, a faithful Friend. Nothing can happen without His direction, for even hell itself is under His control. Darkness is not dark to Him. He has promised to be a wall of fire around His people--and who can break through such a barrier? Worldlings might be afraid, for they have an angry God above them, a guilty conscience within them, and a yawning hell beneath them; but we who rest in Jesus are saved from all these through rich mercy. If we give way to foolish fear, we lead others to doubt the reality of godliness. We ought to be afraid of being afraid, lest we should displease the Holy Spirit by foolish distrust. God has not forgotten to be gracious nor shut up His tender mercies; it may be night in the soul, but there need be no terror, for the God of love changes not. Children of light may walk in darkness, but they are not therefore cast away; no, they are now enabled to prove their adoption by trusting in their heavenly Father as hypocrites cannot do." -- Charles Spurgeon

So, It's Been a While...

Fri, 31 Aug 2007 20:30:36 GMT

I haven't written on here since July 12th. Pretty sad. It's not that I don't think about my blog - I do - all the time, actually. I have had a plethora of topics about which to write for the past month and a half. However, the return of a certain someone to this side of the Atlantic took about five weeks out of my life, and then school started. This is the first time since August 23rd that I've actually sat at my computer for an extended amount of time and not had all that much to do.

I've been in class for about a week now. This semester I'm taking 18 hours, and it's probably the hardest 18 hours I've ever taken. All of my classes are 300-level journalism classes, which means they're not for the faint of heart, especially the class that has become the bane of my existence - copy-editing.

I carry the 2007 AP Stylebook with me everywhere I go, in the hopes that if I get a few minutes, I can start learning when it is appropriate to capitalize ranks and titles. Every day I look over the other style guide our professor put together, memorizing the names of local hospitals. Yesterday I started teaching myself the general knowledge information our professor wants us to know, which includes the names of people from arts/entertainment, U.S. politics, international politics and sports. I've also taken innumerable "usage" tests online to see how I'm doing. Basically, I'm eating, sleeping, and breathing copy-editing. This wouldn't be the worst problem in the world if I didn't have five other classes in which I also have to earn passing grades. Sigh.

That said, the semester has started off extremely well. Christian went back to Sewanee last Sunday and started classes yesterday. I'm living with three of my friends, including Katie, with whom I didn't live last year. Our rooms are adjacent to each other and it's been really great to just yell around the corner and ask her how her day was. I've also been doing some fitness classes at the school gym twice a week with four or five friends. It's a combination class that includes step, kickboxing and also some abs. In addition to that I've been working out/running on the days when I don't do that, and I'm starting to feel somewhat healthy. I'm still going to Christ Church, and am forming some really great relationships with some of the people there.

I really miss Christian. I won't lie. But the Lord is teaching me to be content in this season, that it is His will for us to be apart for this last year of school. While my heart longs to be close to my best and dearest friend, we are doing the best we can with daily phone calls (which was more than we ever did when he was in Germany) and have even resurrected our Skype accounts in order to utilize our webcams (which still sound creepy, even though we've been dating for almost a year and a half). Last night we talked for a long time on the phone while we had our webcams pointed at our faces, and it was about as close as we could ever be to talking in the same room. If I had a choice, I would ask for more, but as it is, I'm thankful for what I have, and look forward to trips up to Sewanee this fall to spend time with him.

Well, that's about it for now. Expect to see more frequent writing - if nothing else, I'll be posting my weekly stories for my reporting class, which should be absolutely thrilling.

Conviction, or Being Genuine

Fri, 13 Jul 2007 01:54:04 GMT

I was going to write about God’s sovereignty tonight, but as I don’t really have the time to cover that topic like I want to, I thought instead I’d write about something I saw online today that got me thinking.

I mentioned that I’ve been reading this book called Total Truth. It’s really good. You should read it. Anyway, it makes the point in the first chapter that so many Christians live very compartmentalized lives; that is, they would say they are people ‘of faith,’ but it doesn’t really affect how they live, nor does it change their practices in their professions. I was reminded of this again today while watching a video at a site created by Ray Comfort, the well-known evangelist from New Zealand.

Watch the video; it’s about 8 minutes long. I was really convicted by it. For those of you who don’t have the time or willingness to watch it, basically he interviews professing Christians (coming out of the movie theater, no less) and asks them first if they watch R-rated movies. Most of them respond in the affirmative. He then goes on to ask them if they watch movies with blasphemy in them (i.e. using Jesus or God’s name in vain). Most of them say yes, but uncomfortably, as though they don’t really mind the blasphemy, but feel embarrassed that he actually calls it for what it is. I won’t ruin the video for those of you planning to watch it, but needless to say, I was convicted by the end of it. He makes some really good points about blasphemy and sex in films: Would you go to a movie where they used your mother’s name in vain? Would you let someone watch you be intimate with your spouse?

I guess some might argue that movies portray real life, and so there’s no problem with seeing stuff like this. However, I would argue back that while it may simply be a portrayal of real life, you’re not required to pay money to go and see it. I can’t avoid hearing Jesus’ name taken in vain when I walk to class; I can avoid using the money God has entrusted to me to pay to hear Jesus’ name taken in vain and watch people having sex, most likely not even within marriage.

Finally, I would go ahead and encourage you to ask this question - next time you watch a movie and enjoy it, think, “Would I ever say, ‘Jesus, I just saw this great movie!’” If the answer is ‘no,’ perhaps you should re-evaluate your choices.

I just think that today, Christians fail to be consistent and genuine. I’m not going to go off about how Christians talk the talk but don’t walk the walk. Christians don’t even talk the talk anymore! There are so many videos I’ve watched or scenarios I’ve heard about where Christians say things like “I believe that Jesus is the way to heaven” but then when pressed if that means that some people will go to hell, don’t answer as they should.

That said, it IS important that our actions match up with our words. If we say that we should be zealous for the name and glory of God, then we should be just as zealous not to see movies where His name is taken in vain. If we say that God is holy and desires for us to be pure, we should not put immoral images in front of our eyes.

I hope and pray that as Christians, we will all strive to be holier tomorrow than we were today, and to be passionate about glorifying God in every aspect of our lives.

Total Truth

Wed, 11 Jul 2007 02:35:23 GMT

Tonight I spent 2.5 hours at Starbucks reading Total Truth by Nancy Pearcey. I like to read, but this book has sucked me in like no other. You could say I’m devouring it. Here are a few of the points she makes in the book so far that really stuck out to me.

- “The orthodox Christian holds a unified field of truth, because the God who acts in our hearts is also the God who acts in history.”

- “We can offer the world a unified truth that is intellectually satisfying, while at the same time meets our deepest hunger for beauty and meaning.”

- Humanity is always defined by its relationship to whatever is regarded as ultimate reality.

- Morality is derivative - it stems from one’s worldview; we must engage the underlying worldview.

- Having a Christian worldview is obedience to the Great Commission.

- Evolution itself functions as religion.

- Christians need to reintroduce the concept that religion can be genuine knowledge.

- Everything hangs on your view of origins.

And finally,

“Taking a leap of faith is a sure sign that a person’s philosophy fails to explain human nature as he himself experiences it.”

I really am being captured by this book. It engages the mind as well as the heart, and is God-glorifying. I highly recommend it.

Related to that, someone recently asked me how I find all the good blogs I read. At the moment I have 67 subscriptions on Google Reader. Some of them are RSS feeds from news sites like the New York Times or CNN.com, but the majority of them are personal or group blogs that I’ve found by spending the majority of my free time on the Internet. Tonight I added several subscriptions to my list in order to have a more comprehensive view of what’s going on in the world. I’m hoping that reading more liberal, secular sites/blogs will enable me to practice analyzing biblically oppositional worldviews. In the next couple of days, I’m going to start linking to some of the blogs/RSS feeds that I read daily.

Sticks in the Fire

Tue, 10 Jul 2007 01:54:10 GMT

Having grown up in Baptist churches until high school, I went to my share of retreats, revivals and camps. While I will make no judgment on the extent to which the gospel was presented (because I don’t really remember), I do remember one thing that they had in common. In almost every situation, at some point during the last session of the day, week, weekend, there would be some time of commitment. It had different forms, different methods, but the ultimate goal was twofold - 1) If you’re not a Christian, believe in Jesus and 2) If you are a Christian, what area of your life needs to be recommitted to the Lord?

At some retreats, those wanting to make a decision of some sort went up to the front to pray, or to the back to talk with someone. At others, we were sent off on our own to pray by ourselves. I remember at one place we were given notecards and told to write something down that we needed to give up, and then we each went up, ripped up the card, and threw it in a big trashcan.

The one I remember best, though, was at a week-long camp in North Carolina. At the end of the last session, we all filed out of our rows, one by one, and picked up a small twig. At the back of the building was a huge fire, and we each had a chance to throw our stick in the fire, symbolizing the burning of our own desires or the personal commitment of our lives to Christ (for the first, second, third, eight, fiftieth time).

I mention these experiences not to mock them. I was personally saved at a revival when I was six years old. And I believe many of the tears I saw shed at these functions were sincere, and I’m sure God used them to draw many closer to Himself.

However, I think there is great danger in relying on circumstances like these to commemorate some kind of big decision we made for Christ, or in thinking that it takes a dramatic act in order to make that decision more “real.”

This past Sunday, my Sunday School class was studying the end of Acts 18, where Apollos’ ministry is discussed. The teacher was discussing how Apollos was a man mighty in the Scriptures, who had all the resources of secular knowledge at his fingertips. But, he said, Apollos only studied the world’s books in order to advance the gospel better, and the great majority of his time was spent in the Scriptures. From that he issued a challenge regarding our free time and how we use it. He encouraged us to compare our lives to that of Apollos. How much time do we spend in the Scripture? What do we spend our times doing that won’t profit us eternally?

And there, in the fifth row of the Sunday School classroom, I was convicted about something I spent my time doing that has taken up days upon days of my time over the past six months or so. It is something I have felt small amounts of conviction about before, but yesterday morning, it was as though I heard a voice plain as day in my head saying, “Chelsey, you need to stop doing that.” And almost as clearly, my heart of hearts replied, “Yes, Lord.” When I got home from church, I took the steps necessary to remove that thing from my life indefinitely.

And that was that.

I relate this story not to boast in the depth of my obedience. As I said, I have ignored conviction in the past about this particular use of my time. I mention it in order to encourage those of you who have made commitments to the Lord and have failed in them. Those of you who are waiting for the fire to be lit in your heart about what God would require of you. By all means, take advantage of God-centered events that want you to make a personal commitment and verbalize what’s in your heart, but realize that God can use a Sunday School lesson from Acts 18 to change your life as well.

You don’t always have to throw a stick in the fire.

Eeyore Evolves

Sun, 08 Jul 2007 01:17:53 GMT

When I was in high school, I distinctly remember a conversation with some friends regarding personality similarities between each of us and Winnie-the-Pooh characters. Without any hesitation, I was unanimously voted as ‘Eeyore.’

“You’re so serious all the time,” they would say.

I was, in fact, voted “Most Serious” as a freshman in high school during our Honors program superlatives.

Now, at the ripe old age of twenty-one, with only a year of school in between me and the real world, I’m beginning to suffer from the implications of those accusations.

Last year I worked with a little boy named Winston who had autism. While I think his mother was happy with the job I did as a therapist, the one recurring criticism was that I wasn’t enthusiastic enough, and that I should try to be more excited about things, because Winston responded well to that. It wasn’t really that I wasn’t excited. It thrilled me when he mastered a concept. Rather, I just wasn’t expressive enough.

This summer I’m the official babysitter for a family with four little girls, five and under. They embody enthusiasm. It exudes from every one of their pores. I just got back today from four days with them up in the mountains, spending basically every waking hour with them (and some hours when we should have all been sleeping). I’ve gotten frustrated with myself over the course of working for their family because I just haven’t felt like I’m expressive or creative enough when I play with them. However, I think that these last couple of days taught me a lot about winning points with preschool-aged children.

Apparently, any word ending in “-ooty” is automatically hilarious. For example, “booty,” “tooty,” “hooty,” “doody.” It also helps if the word is in any way related to any kind of bathroom function or bathroom-related body part. Bonus points if you use multiple words, stringing them together.

I realized after the first day or so that most of my time was spent telling them what not to do and trying to avert any and all potential disasters, including but not limited to: Margaret getting her head stuck in the railings of the balcony; Mary Thomas falling into the fish pond; Frances getting stuck between her bed and wall in the middle of the night. I thought maybe I should try better to be more fun, to be more “enthusiastic.” So I implemented the above rule regarding word endings. What follows is my best remembrance of an actual conversation with Frances.

Frances: Goodnight, booty-pooty-hooty head.

Chelsey: Goodnight, tooty-hiney-bottom.

Frances: See ya, doody-hairy-bald-headed.

Chelsey: Sleep well, silly-willy-tooty bottom.

And so Frances and I became, as she declared over ice cream last night, “best buddies.”

Maybe Eeyore can evolve.