because my camera is full of pictures like this :)
Tim and I have been home the past two weekends in a row! Crazy, & I think I like it.
Two Fridays ago was date night. We saw The Adjustment Bureau @ Studio Movie Grill. I really liked the way it made you think. I also really like that Studio Movie Grill combines dinner & a movie. If you know me, you know I can't stay up late enough to watch a movie after dinner.
Tim and I had a very productive Saturday. For the first time, in longer than I am willing to admit on this blog, we cleaned the house. During the process we cleaned out the closet. For the first time in a VERY long time, you can see the floor.
We topped off the day with our first visit to Saturday night Church (I'm a huge fan) and Laura's Birthday Party! Unfortunately I did not take pictures in Church, but worship was really cool with the windows dark. It was a much more intimate setting. Matt is still going through Habakkuk, but jumped over 2 Corinthians 12:7, which really spoke to some things that have been on my heart. If you don't believe in spiritual warfare, what do you thing Satan's Angel is? Read the verse. It is very eye opening.
Laura's birthday party was fun. Her roommate, with the help of several friends, put together an awesome video of how she has poured into their lives & what she meant to them. It was really cool to see how Loved she is, and what a good job she does loving others. What an awesome present. Unfortunately the pic with Laura in it did not turn out well :( so here is a clear picture, and a picture with the birthday girl.
With Monday came the work week and a lot of the same ole same ole. I was very excited to find out Monday night that Bachelor Brad chose Emily. I know it's a long shot, but I hope it works out for them.
On Thursday Jeff, Jenny and Cam came in town. Cam got her first golf lesson at Top Golf. Here she is golfing with her daddy.
She is getting so big & talks so much! We can't wait for this coming weekend when we get to keep her over night for the first time. YAY. Here are a few more pictures from last weekend.
When Jeff told Cam to 'hook' her hands, she immediately turned to Tim and yelled
"Hook' Em Horns"!
With her dad & uncles, she will definitely know her sports at an early age :)
On Friday Cam went to the Aquarium and the Arboretum. Here is the only pic I have of the Princess Castles:
After a fun filled day, the 'other' Davis crew headed to Keller & we headed to RA for Sushi with some new friends. I did not take pictures, but it was delicious!
On Saturday we introduced Lanie to the dog park... our new favorite place.
We were so proud of Lex for hangin in the Big Dog park. She did so good!
After the dog park (and a Lanie bath) we headed to Fuzzy's for some lunch & my new favorite drink :)
And came home to this:
I think she fits in pretty well. Saturday night it was somewhat difficult for me to find somewhere to sleep between Tim, Lexi and Lanie. I was definitely lowest on the totem pole.
Sunday was filled with Church, a ton of Basketball for Tim, and some shopping for me. I have a feeling Basketball is going to be dominating my TV for the next month. Boo.
Monday brought back the hustle and bustle. It's now time to get to bed so I can make Bootcamp in the morning. If only I was so dedicated to eating well :)
Hi Christina,
ReplyDeleteSo of course I'm going to bite on the religious discussion ;)
I'm not exactly sure what you mean by spiritual warfare, but from the few verses following 2 Corinthians 12:7, it sounds like God appreciates the work of Satan's angel/messenger - trying to help keep Paul from getting a big head.
The biggest message for me here is God saying, "My power is made perfect in weakness," which I take to mean challenges build character and force people to help each other out - in that respect, "Satan"/weakness is good for you.
What is God's power? Love. And, as I understand it, love requires vulnerability and humility. Two things which are hard to acquire without a little outside assistance ;)
Satan's angel could just be some really annoying guy that follows Paul around and reminds him how conceited he is. That would be pretty tormenting. If that were the case the only reason Paul would be so annoyed would be because he is embarrassed by his conceit and doesn't want anyone drawing attention to it. So, he says he'll boast about his weaknesses, to try to avoid being perceived as conceited. When, in fact, the boasting about his weakness is really just another form of conceit, saying how great he is. opps.
This is the real spiritual "warfare" that we carry on within ourselves, trying to do good and trying not to let that turn into something disingenuous. A tricky balance for sure, but I'm not so sure that warfare is the most helpful metaphor to use. Since it takes embracing the "enemy", the shadow, our own conceit, in order to not let it rule you. The harder you fight against it, the stronger it gets.
That was fun. Thanks for the reflection prompt! What is it saying to you?
Love,
:)Kerri
For reference:
2 Corinthians 12:7
"or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
Whadya know... my wife is a lil blogger.
ReplyDeleteGod's continuous victory over Satan is shown by God being able to use Satan for God's own plan. How awesome is that!?!
I agree with Kerri in that part of our spiritual battle is with ourself. But our spiritual battles are fought in three areas: our flesh, the world, and supernatural evils.
We should stand in faith and resist the temptations the devil offers that tempt our fleshly desires, our pride, our selfishness or ungodly worldly influences.
Peace
This could become a very long essay :)
ReplyDeleteFirst, by spiritual warfare I meant the spiritual battle between Angels and Demons (Satan's Angles). My point being that angels and demons do exist and people have encounters with them.
By God allowing the thorn in Paul's side, I do not see it as God appreciating Satan's services, rather as God using Satan's bad act for his greater glory. I believe the scripture shows that God acts as the 'puppet master'. He has the ability to stop anything and everything at any time, although (in this life) we may not understand why, he does not stop all things that appear bad to us. ex: earthquakes, cancer, deaths, etc.
My understanding of this scripture is that God chose not to take the thorn from Paul's side to keep him from becoming prideful. We often question why God does not take away cancer etc. To me, this scripture shows that God has a greater plan in every situation and he will use even Satan's works for his greater glory. In this case God took what Satan meant as a device to drive Paul away from God, and used it to pull Paul closer to him. Paul had to lean on God's strength where he did not have his own. In this verse Paul is not saying that he is so great because he has the thorn in his side. He is saying God is great because he is getting him through and keeping his mind focused on God, not his own strengths. God's power is made perfect in weakness because only then do we see that we can not make it on our own, we have to lean on him.
God's power is so much more than the Love humans understand. He is the all powerful, almighty creator of the the universe. He has more power than any human can imagine. He can part the red sea, heal the blind, and bring people back from the dead... just to name a few.
Satan will continue to send demons in many forms and fashions. An annoying person you have trouble treating in a Christian manner can definitely be one of them. I believe Christians are called to act as Christ would in these situations. Because we are human, at times we will fail. In our moments of failure we are reminded of our weakness and are called to repent to the lord. I believe God's plan is to use our moments of weakness to draw us closer to him.
So many people speak of the prosperity gospel which is so far from what is being taught in the bible. Just because you are a Christian, God does not guarantee an easy peaceful life. Some of God's greatest servants went through the most trying times. The bible is not full of fairytales. It is full of people struggling, dying to self, and learning to submit to God.
Here is a link to the sermon I was referencing in my original blog:
http://northway.thevillagechurch.net/resource_files/audio/201103131115FMWC21ASAAA_MattChandler_HabakkukPt7-DisciplineorWrath.mp3
Thanks for sharing ya'll's perspectives! There are so many different ways to interpret it, that's for sure :)
ReplyDeleteChristina, I think you make an important point here, "Satan will continue to send demons in many forms and fashions. An annoying person you have trouble treating in a Christian manner can definitely be one of them. I believe Christians are called to act as Christ would in these situations." My concern is that the term demon might contribute to demonization, such that we treat people as the demon we are struggling with, rather than as a struggling human that needs our Christ-like love. So I guess my question is how do you know when you're dealing with a demon rather than just your own shadow projected onto someone that seems to be a good fit? I don't expect you to have an answer. No easy answers here, certainly not in dealing with people ;)
Here's a video you might find interesting about how a shaman "tricks" a demon into leaving a person's body. Or does he trick the person into releasing the "demon?" The speaker is David Abram, a fantastic philosopher of perception and slight of hand magician, who traveled the world looking at how shamans manipulate perception in order to bring about healing. http://vimeo.com/14311111