He's not a spring that the thirsty finds, but a spring that finds the thirsty.
i don't do bad sauce passes
NASA
almost home
art blog(derogatory)
we're not kids anymore.
todays bird
Monterey Bay Aquarium

Kiana Khansmith
Sweet Seals For You, Always

@theartofmadeline
$LAYYYTER
"I'm Dorothy Gale from Kansas"
Claire Keane

ellievsbear
Aqua Utopiaď˝ćľˇăŽĺşă§č¨ćśăç´Ąă
RMH

Origami Around

blake kathryn
occasionally subtle

seen from Belgium
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@sungyak
He's not a spring that the thirsty finds, but a spring that finds the thirsty.

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Everything Everywhere All at Once (Except for One)
Everything Everywhere All at Once is comedy, horror, action, romance, moral philosophy, existentialism, immigrant family dynamics⌠yes, quite literally everything all at once. Itâs what I hoped Doctor Strange 2 would be - a meaningful, metaphysical, and philosophical journey with action, humor, and lines that make you go, âHmmâŚâ (Like the first Strange movie). I laughed, I cried, I clapped. (Last movie I got this emotional was Magnolia I think?) The best movie I've seen this year so far. I loved it. (It does have a ton of R-rated language and images, so Iâm not recommending it for everyone.) Here's what was missing for me (just as food for thought): Consistent with every multi-verse movie/storyline thatâs out there, Everything Everywhere presents a multiverse that is interestingly (and inexplicably) beholden to one, universal Moral Law. It doesn't matter if you have hot dogs for fingers in your universe, kindness is still a virtue there (and by virtue I mean what is held up as a principle even if people fail in practice). A united family is preferred over a divided one, forgiveness is praised, giving people second chances is lauded, embracing âthe otherâ is seen as heroic⌠These are all true for everyone everywhere in every universe, all at once. But on what basis? Why is the multi-verse not multi-moral? Why does the multiverse operate with such unity within diversity? Whoever and wherever we may be (the presupposition goes) we are beholden to one, universal Moral Law. We're all figuring it out in a sense, but that there is something meaningful to figure out is undeniable. This Law isn't written anywhere, nor is it taught. It just seems to be etched on to our hearts. No one seems to be able to âverse jumpâ out of this meaningful, moral reality (and according to this movie, not even the rocks are exempt). The One Thing to which everyone everywhere must turn to for meaning, or beauty, or truth, is present throughout the movie while unseen (kind of like the hole in a bagel). The One Thing is there, but its acknowledgement has been strangely suppressed. Nevertheless, everything everywhere is pointing to it. All of us, all at once.Â
Gift of singleness
One of the more surprising things Iâve learned through the process is how the gift of singleness becomes all the more tangible (and even desirable) in light of whatâs ahead.Â
It surfaces as we discuss the challenges of placing the other person above our own career paths, academic pursuits, preference of location, etc., and the difficulty and anxiety involved with re-orienting oneâs life around another person. This comes alongside the struggle to make oneâs private dreams now subordinate to the communal one, surrendering the right to make individualistic decisions, and giving up oneâs entitlement to dictating how time, money, and even social relationships are managed...Â
This is, of course, a very beneficial process for couples, as it encourages them to count the true cost of becoming one, not just emotionally and physically, but holistically â directionally, geographically, financially, spiritually, etc. But many come to realize that this is a difficult and at times painful process. Itâs a lot to give up. (Thereâs a lot to gain.) Point is, if youâre headed towards marriage though, you must count the cost. (Or youâre not taking it seriously enough.)Â
I donât ever want to minimize the unique struggles that come with singleness, but for now I am highlighting something the Apostle Paul did in his letter to the Corinthians â that singles do have a freer, more visionary, less restrained, more aspirational, resourceful, liberated, and uniquely Christ-like life. So, singles, may you realize and maximize this gift to your heartâs content.Â
But, most importantly, may we all acknowledge something that virtually all religious and secular thinkers have agreed upon â that much of the struggles of a single person (hungering for companionship, longing to be seen and known, wanting to feel loved), these struggles in fact persist even after the âI do.âÂ
Marriage is not the answer to our heartâs deepest longings. The search for âthe right person who will meet my deepest needsâ have led many to ruin. (See Alain de Bottonâs NY Times article âWhy You Will Marry the Wrong Personâ.)Â
The secret is not in finding someone who can meet our needs, but in becoming someone who can meet the needs of others. âThen who will meet my heart's deepest longings?â There is good news for those who ponder on this. (See Gospel of John chapter 4.) It canât be your spouse. Itâs got to be someone better.Â
Paranoia shuts down into a desperate focus. It doesn't spread its wings and fly.
Roger Ebert, from his review of Bug
Given that the Christian faith today is majority African, Asian, and South American, an overly opinionated stance on Christianity based on oneâs observations of North American evangelicalism (a partial slice of it at that) seems to be misguided. At its worst it becomes an intellectual form of Western imperialism in its own right, i.e., âI will tell you what this global religion really means based on my narrow, North American experience of it.â One might as well form a strong opinion about Asian food based on oneâs experience at Panda Express. Biggest problem with this â itâs missing out on way too much goodness. My hope for my non-Christians friends â donât miss out, venture out, you might taste and see something really good.

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It is not, strictly speaking, even faith in Christ that saves, but Christ that saves through faith. The saving power resides exclusively, not in the act of faith or the attitude of faith or the nature of faith, but in the object of faith; and in this the whole biblical representation centers, so that we could not more radically misconceive it than by transferring to faith even the smallest fraction of that saving energy which is attributed in the Scriptures solely to Christ Himself.
- B.B. WarfieldÂ
âWe can do all that the apostles did in the book of acts and in the New Testament.âÂ
When something like this is said it is often referring to the miraculous healings performed by the apostles, massive conversions and baptisms, and charismatic, prophetic utterance is about the present or the future.
Whatâs interestingly (and conveniently) left out are the many afflictions of the apostles which arguably outnumber their triumphs. When people say âI can do with the apostles didâ do they mean âI can also be gladly imprisoned, stoned, flogged, burned, eaten by lions, crucified... Let us go and die!â I think not.
Such statements therefore are not the proper exegesis of Scripture but of the human heart â one that is set on comfort and convenience, one that denounces all suffering (for evil or for good), and as a result forgoes the true blessedness and assurance that the Christian can (and ought to) find in Christ.Â
Does Scripture not elevate and appraise more highly the Christianâs suffering with Christ over the Christianâs display of mighty deeds and miraculous works? Are we reassured of our inheritance in the kingdom of God provided that we do mighty things in his name or provided that we suffer with him?
âOn that day many will say to me, âLord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?â And then will I declare to them, âI never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.ââ (Matthew 7:22-23)
âand if children, then heirsâheirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.â (Romans 8:17)
Nietzscheâs Parable of the Madman
The madman jumped into their midst and pierced them with his eyes. "Whither is God?" he cried; "I will tell you. We have killed him---you and I. All of us are his murderers. But how did we do this? How could we drink up the sea? Who gave us the sponge to wipe away the entire horizon? What were we doing when we unchained this earth from its sun? Whither is it moving now? Whither are we moving? Away from all suns? Are we not plunging continually? Backward, sideward, forward, in all directions? Is there still any up or down? Are we not straying, as through an infinite nothing? Do we not feel the breath of empty space? Has it not become colder? Is not night continually closing in on us? Do we not need to light lanterns in the morning? Do we hear nothing as yet of the noise of the gravediggers who are burying God? Do we smell nothing as yet of the divine decomposition? Gods, too, decompose. God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him.
"How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? What was holiest and mightiest of all that the world has yet owned has bled to death under our knives: who will wipe this blood off us? What water is there for us to clean ourselves? What festivals of atonement, what sacred games shall we have to invent? Is not the greatness of this deed too great for us? Must we ourselves not become gods simply to appear worthy of it? There has never been a greater deed; and whoever is born after us---for the sake of this deed he will belong to a higher history than all history hitherto."
Here the madman fell silent and looked again at his listeners; and they, too, were silent and stared at him in astonishment. At last he threw his lantern on the ground, and it broke into pieces and went out. "I have come too early," he said then; "my time is not yet. This tremendous event is still on its way, still wandering; it has not yet reached the ears of men. Lightning and thunder require time; the light of the stars requires time; deeds, though done, still require time to be seen and heard. This deed is still more distant from them than most distant stars---and yet they have done it themselves.
It has been related further that on the same day the madman forced his way into several churches and there struck up his requiem aeternam deo. Led out and called to account, he is said always to have replied nothing but: "What after all are these churches now if they are not the tombs and sepulchers of God?â
He will restore all things that were made for our good, all but the curtain.
[Smyrna] churchâs affliction was instigated by slanderous accusations brought by 'those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan' (2:9; 3:9). Though ethnically descended from Israelâs patriarchs, the opponentsâ actions show that they are not Godâs people but Satanâs synagogue. God shows covenant faithfulness to families through the generations, but in the last analysis the people of God are defined Christocentrically, not genealogically. The issue is not birth from the flesh but birth from the Spirit (John 3:6), just as the circumcision that marks Godâs people is not a fleshly surgery but a cleansing of the heart by the Spirit (Rom. 2:28â29; cf. Phil. 3:2â3). Gentiles, once not a people, have been called to become 'a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for Godâs own possession' (1 Peter 2:9â10; 1:18). Titles that once set Israel apart (Exod. 19:5â6) now belong to all who belong to Jesus, who abide in him as branches in the true vine, bearing fruit pleasing to the Father (John 15:1â8; Isa. 5:1â7).
Johnson, D. E. (2001). Triumph of the Lamb: A Commentary on Revelation (p. 74). Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing.

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Things Christians Shouldnât Say
âI canât remember the last time I overlooked an offense.âÂ
Self-Esteem
We can think too highly of ourselves or too little. Both are riding the unpredictable roller coaster of self-esteem. The key is not to go from thinking little of ourselves to thinking highly, but thinking of ourselves less.
The curtain torn from
top to bottom shouldnât be
stitched back bottom up.
Why offer thoughts and prayers?
Hearing about tragic events usually evoke fearful and anxious thoughts. This is a problem societally. For one, our natural cognitive defense mechanism kicks into "fight or flight" mode, against what appears to have triggered our fear and anxiety - which in this case are the suffering victims. It blinds us from the humanity of the victims and paints them (in our personal narrative) as mere âtriggers.âÂ
This naturally creates a distance between me and those in my society who need my heartfelt empathy and practical engagement. âBut how am I to draw near to the sufferer when everything inside me cries, âRun!'?â We can start with prayer. Thoughts are stubborn, but in prayer thoughts become more malleable. We can take out thoughts "captive" and "renew" them through prayer and submit them to an even more powerful (stubborn?) agent, i.e., the love of God. When "thoughts and prayers" are offered to a suffering friend, therefore, we are saying, "I'm not looking away in the interest of my cognitive well-being. I'm choosing to draw near in love." Or, âI pray for you because I long for you.â (ref. 2 Cor. 9:14)Â
The benefits go beyond the relational to the psychological. According to Dr. Herbert Benson, director emeritus of the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, one of the best relaxation responses to stress is prayer. And given that Dr. Benson lists âsocial supportâ of friends and family as yet another empirically verified technique, there might not be anything better than praying with others for others.Â
We are not strong creatures who mistakenly think that we're weak but weak creatures who mistakenly think that we're strong.

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The irony of intense anger towards God is the overwhelming sense of his nearness.Â
Genesis 3
In Genesis 3, the serpent had two basic means of tempting our first parents into sin: a false prophecy ("you will not surely die") and a conspiracy theory ("for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God"). From the very beginning, the world was troubled by God's word being taken out of context and human's selective hearing.Â
Good news: the true Word became flesh and dwelt among us.Â