Worth crying over

There was a rainbow around the moon tonight.

It was quite possibly the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

All the colors were there, perfectly visible, and perfectly shaped.

The width of each band of color was close to the approximate radius of the full moon at the center of the rainbow.

The moon itself was incredibly bright.

The clouds seemed to bend around the rainbow, almost forming a perimeter around it.

I say again, it was beautiful.

When Courtney pointed it out tonight, I wasn't sure whether I wanted to burst into tears or start singing praises to God.

My first thought was that it was "like jasper and carnelian", and I felt insignificant, and convicted, and blessed all at the same time.

I tried to get a picture of it on my phone, but I don't think it turned out so well.

God blessed me so much in showing me that sky.

Such an amazing rainbow, really.

This is how stalkers are made...

Let me say that while I am thrilled for each of my friends who are married or soon to be, I cannot help but feel discouraged when yet another friend makes the commitment (to marry their significant other--not necessarily the actual commitment of marriage).

To put things in perspective, I have 123 friends total on Facebook. I make it a point not to be friends with anyone on Facebook whom I don't know or talk to, or whom does not talk to me. I must have some interaction with them in the real world for them to make it onto my friend list. Of those, there are twenty-two women who are married, engaged, or might as well be married for one reason or another. Most likely, I'm friends with their other half too, so that's a third of my entire friend list out of the running.

Alright, so, the other 79 friends are probably equally divided between dudes and dudettes but hardly any of them are datable material. Most of them have potential, I guess, or they would if it were possible to actually spend more time with them. Sadly, the women with whom I am capable of spending the most time seldom fit what I'm looking for in a partner.

My requirements aren't much. A prospective date has to be comfortable smiling, a fellow believer, and single but hopeful. Oh, and si elle parlerait français à n'importe quel niveau, je serai le sien.

I'm not worried.  I just have to wait and trust in God. He'll work things out in due time. Heck, for all I know, my future wife is reading this blog right now.

Crisis of Faith

An expression I've heard thrown around a lot among my Christian friends is the crisis of faith, that so-and-so is going through one, or whatever. While I agree we should look out for and be concerned about fellow believers, I don't know that we can officially declare any one person to be in a crisis of faith based upon what they say or do. Bear in mind, I say this having said or thought it of many people before. Regardless, it is not our place to judge where someone stands with God because of what we deem acceptable or righteous. If anything, we as Christians should pray for one another, encourage one another, support one another, and most of all love one another.

I believe if Christians can do that properly, there is no such thing as a crisis of faith in any one's life. There can't be. Low spots, sure. Moments of weakness, absolutely. Crises of faith, no.

I don't know any Christian going through a crisis of faith right now but I know Christians the world over are going through a crisis of the faith.

For the most part, our faith is fine. It's the faith we preach that's slipping. We're talking the talk, but we're not all walking the walk.

I'm not condemning anyone, nor am I condemning anyone else's way of living the Christian life. It is totally biblical to practice one's faith however one sees fit, provided certain fundamental beliefs remain the same.

What disgusts me is when people living an otherwise Christian life, do not love everyone they meet like they love themselves. Every time a Christian neglects a nonbeliever, or flakes out on somebody, or snubs some dude wearing pink nail polish, all the other Christians out there have to pick up the slack.

Literally.

I never know what to say when someone tells me what douchebags "christians" are, like when a gay friend of mine told me he stopped believing in God altogether when his Christian role models were homophobic, inconsiderate, unreliable, or any other negative attribute that should not define what nonbelievers see as Christianity.

I think I want a t-shirt that says something like "Quick! What are the two most important things Jesus ever said?"

As Christians, we need to be servants first and foremost. That's pretty much what love is. Serving others however you know how in whatever way you can.

If you hear what I'm saying, get out there and love somebody, anybody, everybody.

Praise God in all Situations

The film festival is going well, as I said last night.  However, I'm having a rough day.

Because I was up so late last night, my body is suffering.  I've had trouble walking all day, I'm struggling in two of my classes because the teachers seem to have changed their routine, and I barely have the energy to finish the easiest of my homework assignments because I'm falling asleep mid sentence.  I'm frustrated because of my own impatience looking for companionship, and school doesn't quit stacking stuff on.

But, I know better than to stop praising God.

I'm so thankful Jesus is in my life.  I've found two people to host tonight's movie, tomorrow's, and Friday's too.  My feet don't hurt in my new shoes anymore, and despite what might be a pulled muscle in my right thigh, I'm still able to walk.  I know my worries are not as much as they appear to be, and I'm only freaking out because I'm tired.  Regardless of how much I'm looking for a girlfriend, I appreciate that God /is/ in control, and he won't let my own impatience and blind judgment marry me to a psycho.  I also appreciate each new hopeful crush because they open my eyes more to how I can love everyone equally.

Most of all, I am so grateful for my salvation.  I cannot express how encouraged I am that none of the struggles I'm dealing with matter.  I know that whatever happens while I'm still alive is for God's glory, and also for my benefit, and even if those two facts weren't true, I'm going to see the face of God one sweet day.  I feel blessed to have the chance to live for God, and I pray I continue in my walk, following only in Jesus' footsteps.

God, the Provider

The attendance at the seventh night of the French Film Festival was a whopping 14 people! This is at an event where we've been struggling to get 4 people to every movie!

Because of this, I'd be willing to bet the French Club gets a massive budget next school year!

All day, I prayed attendance would be high at tonight's movie because it was the only night I officially had a guest speaker lined up.

God provided.