Crazy Love by Francis Chan
The last night before the end of thanksgiving break I was spending time in prayer and I realized that I had done an awful job of actively seeking after the Lord throughout my days. Unable to fall asleep I began to read my book and thus is the first and only passage that I read.
“O God, I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need for further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, I want to want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, so that I may know Thee indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to my soul, ‘Rise up my love, my fair one, and come away.’ Then give me grace to rise and follow Thee up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long.”
A.W.Tozer
This passage is the perfect description of the constant internal battle of my heart. I understand my inadequacy and inability to focus on Him, yet I don't burn with an equal desire. I spent so long trying to understand why it was so difficult for me to pursue him fully and I finally realized my problem. Even in all of my insufficiency, I thought that I was capable of producing my own desire and my own satisfaction in my relationship with God. My desire for God is only given to me by God. It is a beautiful gift in return for having a life that reflects a intentional relationship with Him. This one passage was all that I needed to have an unbelievable reflection on where my heart was.
It was also just kind of awesome to see him respond immediately to my prayer. He knew I felt lost and He showered me with love and security.
Monday, December 22, 2014
Book Post 3
Crazy Love by Francis Chan
Francis Chan begins his book with the undeniable truth of the enormity of God. He gives an extensive description of what God is by comparing the immense universe and smallest cellular composition to God's size and ability. Ultimately, his point was that God is bigger and smaller than anything our minds can comprehend. By being the creator of the universe he attains the ability to make galaxies appear and disappear in a flash that is not bound by the constraints of time. He is also the author of every unfathomable detail of life. For example, after having read this portion of the book Mrs. Bolton shared with me an interesting fact about the giraffe that fully supported Chan's idea. She told me about the placement of a sponge necessary to collect blood that giraffes have at the top of their neck, without them they would die while bending down to drink water. This is one of the millions of aspects of nature that have no underlying reason besides he fact that God is an author of beautiful masterpieces.
Francis Chan begins his book with the undeniable truth of the enormity of God. He gives an extensive description of what God is by comparing the immense universe and smallest cellular composition to God's size and ability. Ultimately, his point was that God is bigger and smaller than anything our minds can comprehend. By being the creator of the universe he attains the ability to make galaxies appear and disappear in a flash that is not bound by the constraints of time. He is also the author of every unfathomable detail of life. For example, after having read this portion of the book Mrs. Bolton shared with me an interesting fact about the giraffe that fully supported Chan's idea. She told me about the placement of a sponge necessary to collect blood that giraffes have at the top of their neck, without them they would die while bending down to drink water. This is one of the millions of aspects of nature that have no underlying reason besides he fact that God is an author of beautiful masterpieces.
Saturday, December 20, 2014
Book Post 2
Born To Run by Christopher McDougall
My favorite aspect of this book is the authors expansive amount of stories about extremely talented runners that overcome unbelievable physical feats. It excites me that their are others who share in my passion and take it to a completely other level. The book begins by McDougall visiting the doctor due to intolerable pain in the arch of his foot, a common impediment faced by runners. Being a journalist for men's health, he heard about a "mythical" tribe of people in Copper Canyons of Mexico who have seemed to break physical norms/limitations such as injury, recovery, and endurance. This discovery opens an entirely new world of running that goes beyond your average Saturday morning 5k and even your annual Boston Marathon. He stumbles upon the world of ultra-running, a select breed of enthusiastic and motivated runners tackling distances as long as 150 miles in under 48 hours. McDougall goes on too tell the tales of running legends such as Ann Trason, Neil Zatopek, and Steve Prefontaine.
This book was my chance to immerse myself in the dedication, inspiration, and victory of incredible runners. It gave me the desire to achieve beyond what I am capable of. To the athletes in this book, running truly is a way by which one lives their life, and not just an activity that consumes their time. My take away is that I wasn't born to merely walk and shuffle along in the activities I do, instead I was born to run into the freedom and unrestrained progress of whatever I wish to achieve.
My favorite aspect of this book is the authors expansive amount of stories about extremely talented runners that overcome unbelievable physical feats. It excites me that their are others who share in my passion and take it to a completely other level. The book begins by McDougall visiting the doctor due to intolerable pain in the arch of his foot, a common impediment faced by runners. Being a journalist for men's health, he heard about a "mythical" tribe of people in Copper Canyons of Mexico who have seemed to break physical norms/limitations such as injury, recovery, and endurance. This discovery opens an entirely new world of running that goes beyond your average Saturday morning 5k and even your annual Boston Marathon. He stumbles upon the world of ultra-running, a select breed of enthusiastic and motivated runners tackling distances as long as 150 miles in under 48 hours. McDougall goes on too tell the tales of running legends such as Ann Trason, Neil Zatopek, and Steve Prefontaine.
This book was my chance to immerse myself in the dedication, inspiration, and victory of incredible runners. It gave me the desire to achieve beyond what I am capable of. To the athletes in this book, running truly is a way by which one lives their life, and not just an activity that consumes their time. My take away is that I wasn't born to merely walk and shuffle along in the activities I do, instead I was born to run into the freedom and unrestrained progress of whatever I wish to achieve.
Friday, December 19, 2014
Book Post 1
Born To Run by Christopher McDougall
This book was the perfect inspiration to achieve my goals in running. I believe it is relatable to all people no matter how much they enjoy exercise, because it encourages you to live up to what you are capable of achieving. The premise of the book is that the author, Christopher McDougall, sets out on a hunt for the mysterious "Caballo Blanco", a running legend said to reside amongst a native Mexican tribe called the Tarahumara. On his journey he discovers that the Tarahumara have exceeded what many doctors say athletes (more specifically runners) can handle. This fact is why this book interested me so much. Although the idea of the Tarahumara tribe and their incredible physical ability was difficult to believe it made me ponder about the conditions I face in my life. I am beyond spoiled in comparison to the children in this book, yet the life they seem to live is much more free, much more enjoyable. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy every bit of what I have, but I don't believe I cherish my possessions and blessings as much as these people. In contrast to the people in this book, I believe that in our society children, students, and young adults are raised thinking mainly about themselves and how the world around them will benefit them. This is nothing like the customs of these people. The way the author depicts these people makes it seem like the were raised quite the opposite with their focus always towards others.
The culture of these people was not a big portion of the book, but I really stopped and thought about it.
This book was the perfect inspiration to achieve my goals in running. I believe it is relatable to all people no matter how much they enjoy exercise, because it encourages you to live up to what you are capable of achieving. The premise of the book is that the author, Christopher McDougall, sets out on a hunt for the mysterious "Caballo Blanco", a running legend said to reside amongst a native Mexican tribe called the Tarahumara. On his journey he discovers that the Tarahumara have exceeded what many doctors say athletes (more specifically runners) can handle. This fact is why this book interested me so much. Although the idea of the Tarahumara tribe and their incredible physical ability was difficult to believe it made me ponder about the conditions I face in my life. I am beyond spoiled in comparison to the children in this book, yet the life they seem to live is much more free, much more enjoyable. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy every bit of what I have, but I don't believe I cherish my possessions and blessings as much as these people. In contrast to the people in this book, I believe that in our society children, students, and young adults are raised thinking mainly about themselves and how the world around them will benefit them. This is nothing like the customs of these people. The way the author depicts these people makes it seem like the were raised quite the opposite with their focus always towards others.
The culture of these people was not a big portion of the book, but I really stopped and thought about it.
Kevin's Book Post
Chess Openings: Traps and Zaps
This book taught me that the opening is one of the most important parts of a chess game. It went over some of the basic rules for what to do in the opening so that I could know what opportunities to look for and what I need to accomplish. It mentioned many things that should have happened on the chess board by move 10. Some examples would be castling the king and connecting the rooks on the back ranks. It also explained why it was important to develop the pieces and where each piece was best suited. Interesting past games from grandmasters were shown and their strategies were analyzed in order to see why what they did was effective. It's fun reading about their games and strategies and I get inspired to try and do what they do when I play but unfortunately it doesn't always seem to work out. Nonetheless, I learned a lot from watching how they play, especially during the opening. Because of that and many other lessons in the book, I feel like my gameplay has improved significantly from reading it.
Kevin's Book Post
Catching Fire
By: Suzanne Collins
After constant harassment from my sister to continue reading the series I finally read book two of The Hunger Games series that I started way back in middle school. Perhaps it was the time difference since reading the first one but I did not enjoy the second book nearly as much as the first. The book started off a lot more boring to me and it seemed rather slow paced. Towards the middle when the rules to the 75th Hunger Games were announced is when it got interesting again to me. Perhaps I just like all the action in these books which is why when they aren't fighting it seems slightly boring.
I also watched the movie this semester as they added it onto Netflix. I don't like watching movies after I've already read the book. All the suspense is gone so it's not nearly as exciting as the first time. It's nice to see the director's image of what happened in the book but often times it's not different enough from my own to keep things interesting. I also experienced this after watching the Maze Runner movie this semester. I had already read the book back in middle school so watching the movie wasn't as great for me as it was for my friends because I already knew the big twist at the end.
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