Phylicia's Messy Desk

Another G.K. Chesterton Quote

2009-08-02T12:58:00.003-06:00

“We make our friends; we make our enemies; but God makes our next-door neighbour. Hence he comes to us clad in all the careless terrors of nature; he is as strange as the stars, as reckless and indifferent as the rain. He is Man, the most terrible of the beasts. That is why the old religions and the old scriptural language showed so sharp a wisdom when they spoke not of one’s duty towards humanity, but one’s duty towards one’s neighbour. The duty towards humanity may often take the form of some choice which is personal or even pleasurable. That duty may be a hobby; it may even be dissipation. We may work in the East End because we are peculiarly fitted to work in the East End, or because we think we are; we may fight for the cause of international peace because we are very fond of fighting. The most monstrous martyrdom’ the most repulsive experience, may be the result of choice or a kind of taste. We may be so made as to be particularly fond of lunatics or specially interested in leprosy. We may love negroes [sic] because they are black or German Socialists because they are pedantic. But we have to love our neighbour because he is there – a much more alarming reason for a much more serious operation. He is the sample of humanity which is actually given us. Precisely because he may be anybody he is everybody. He is a symbol because he is an accident.”

Taken from the book 'Heretics' written by G.K.Chesterton, Chapter XIV - On Certain Modern Writers and the Institution of the Family

G.K. Chesterton

2009-07-31T22:15:00.002-06:00

"As long as matters are really hopeful, hope is a mere flattery or platitude; it is only when everything is hopeless that hope begins to be a strength at all. Like all the Christian Virtues, it is as unreasonable as it is indispensable." ~Quote taken from the book Heretics by G.K. Chesterton.

A Warning

2008-08-22T09:32:00.004-06:00

The other day I was reading Hosea and came accross this verse amoung the warnings that God is giving his people.

My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.
"Because you have rejected knowledge,
I also reject you as my priests;
because you have ignored the law of your God,
I also will ignore your children.

Hosea 4:6

And after thinking about it I realized this is something that we should take seriously too. We as God's people have to be knowledgable in the cultures we live in as well as the historical context of our times. But most of all we need to be well versed in Scripture and able to be a guide for the people and nations around us. If not God will reject us as his priests, this is a scary thought. This does not mean he will reject us as his covenant children but we will end up under ungodly rulers and rules. And when you look at the result of some christian brothers and sisters denying that the public schools are secular and in many ways ungodly, due to the lack of knowledge they themselves have, (or just plain laziness in searching out the facts) you see the result of the second part of this verse. They send their children there and wonder why they end up in all kinds of trouble and problems. Searching for knowledge is not easy to do. So lets help one another and listen when people try to warn us about areas of life they actually know something about, and not be too shy to open our mouths and try to warn people we see heading for disaster. But then We always need to remember the most important part of all of this, do it in LOVE.

Hear the word of the LORD, you Israelites,
because the LORD has a charge to bring
against you who live in the land:
"There is no faithfulness, no love,
no acknowledgment of God in the land.

Hosea 4:1

Psalm 34

2008-06-24T23:11:00.002-06:00

Of David. When he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he left.

I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

My soul makes its boast in the LORD;
let the humble hear and be glad.

Oh, magnify the LORD with me,
and let us exalt his name together!

I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.

Those who look to him are radiant,
and their faces shall never be ashamed.

This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him
and saved him out of all his troubles.

The angel of the LORD encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.

Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints,
for those who fear him have no lack!

The young lions suffer want and hunger;
but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

Come, O children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

What man is there who desires life
and loves many days, that he may see good?

Keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from speaking deceit.

Turn away from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.

The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous
and his ears toward their cry.

The face of the LORD is against those who do evil,
to cut off the memory of them from the earth.

When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears
and delivers them out of all their troubles.

The LORD is near to the brokenhearted
and saves the crushed in spirit.

Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
but the LORD delivers him out of them all.

He keeps all his bones;
not one of them is broken.

Affliction will slay the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.

The LORD redeems the life of his servants;
none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.

Just Musing

2008-04-08T09:02:00.003-06:00

Life may not be fair,
but God is just.

Joyful and Sophisticated

2008-03-12T16:50:00.002-06:00

When I went to Tim Horton's for coffee this morning I saw something remarkable, actually it was someone remarkable.

I have no idea who he was but I could see that he had a job involving close contact with mud. He was grinning from ear to ear and humming a happy tune.

But the most remakable thing was that he smelled like David Beckham cologne under all that mud.

Whatever job he had it was a dirty one, but he was obviously treating it like the most joyful and sophisticated thing in the world to do, I really had to smile and think how much more enjoyable life would be if we took what we were handed and treated it with the same sort of enthusiasim.

On the other hand maybe he was just laid off which was why he was so happy :-).

I will lift my eyes - by Bebo Norman

2008-01-24T18:51:00.000-07:00

God, my God, I cry out
Your beloved needs You now
God, be near, calm my fear
And take my doubt

Your kindness is what pulls me up
Your love is all that draws me in

I will lift my eyes to the Maker
Of the mountains I can't climb
I will lift my eyes to the Calmer
Of the oceans raging wild
I will lift my eyes to the Healer
Of the hurt I hold inside
I will lift my eyes, lift my eyes to You

God, my God, let Mercy sing
Her melody over me
God, right here all I bring
Is all of me

Cause You are and You were and You will be forever
The Lover I need to save me
Cause You fashioned the earth and You hold it together, God
So hold me now

This is one of my very favorite songs.

A laugh for all those who love to invest...

2008-01-24T09:04:00.000-07:00

Dan was a single guy living at home with his father and working in
the family business.

When he found out he was going to inherit a fortune when his sickly
father died, he decided he needed a wife with which to share his
fortune.

One evening at an investment meeting he spotted the most beautiful
woman he had ever seen.

Her natural beauty took his breath away. "I may look like just an
ordinary man," he said to her, "but in just a few years, my father
will die, and I'll inherit 20 million dollars."

Impressed, the woman obtained his business card and three days later,
she became his stepmother.

Women are so much better at estate planning than men. :)

Social Morality

2007-11-11T13:44:00.000-07:00

The following is an excerpt from 'Mere Christianity' by C.S. Lewis. It is from the chapter, 'Social Morality'. If you have not read this book I would strongly suggest you should.

'People say, 'The Church ought to give us a lead.' That is true if they mean it in the right way, but false if they mean it in the wrong way. By the Church they ought to mean the whole body of practising Christians. And when they say that the Church should give us a lead, they ought to mean that some Christians - those who happen to have the right talents - should be economists and statesmen, and that all economists and statesmen should be Christians, and that their whole efforts in politics and economics should be directed to putting 'Do as you would be done by' into action. If that happened, and if we others were really ready to take it, then we should find the Christian solution to our own social problems pretty quickly. But, of course, when they ask for a lead from the Church most people mean they want the clergy to put out a political programme. That is silly. The clergy are those particular people within the whole Church who have been specially trained and set aside to look after what concerns us as creatures who are going to live for ever: and we are asking them to do a quite different job for which they have not been trained. The job is really on us, on the laymen. The application of Christian principles, say, to trade unionism or education, must come from Christian trade unionists and Christian schoolmasters: just as Christian literature comes from Christian novelists and dramatists - not from the bench of bishops getting together and trying to write plays and novels in their spare time.'

Just a little rant!

2007-10-28T17:45:00.000-06:00

Have you ever noticed how sometimes songs that are joyful are sung like a dirge, we slow them down and pause long between the lines. If someone were to hear it they would probably say ‘Wow, those people are really sad about something’ not ‘Wow, that song has really encouraging and joyful words’.
Just take the song ‘I love to tell the story’. This song is an oxymoron. First it is centered on ‘I’ and not actually telling the story at all. If it were true that you liked to tell the story of salvation, you would actually be telling it, not singing about how you like to tell it. Why are we singing songs like this in the worship service?
When I say ‘Britney Spears’ you don’t think of a mother, a wealthy lady, a good singer, you think of a bald, foolish, indecent women. Do you see how people judge you by what you do, not who you are or what you say.
If you sing slowly they think you are sad. If you tell them all about how holy you are(and they know what you do isn't in line with what you say), they think you are piously stupid and proud. On the other hand if you help them when they need it, encourage them, always have a joyful attitude, even when things aren’t going well, they might actually pay attention to what you are doing and ask you why you live such a way.

We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers. We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labour prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Thessalonians 1:1-3

An odd story.

2007-10-23T21:46:00.000-06:00

One evening My brother and I decided to go and have Chinese food. We found what looked like a nice Chinese buffet. The food was good, but not great, it virtually dripped with excess fat. After we had eaten Jeremy sat back and exclaimed "Wow that was fatty and heavy, I feel like I ate Buddha" The End.

Theory vs. Practice

2007-10-10T17:48:00.000-06:00

Have you ever noticed that most people generally have all the right answers when you bring a problem to them? They explain in detail exactly how you can fix it and what you should do. I generally think I have all the answers too when we are talking about certain situations or management ideas or how to execute a job well. But then comes the time when I actually am in a situation, or need to execute a job, and suddenly I realize that all the theories I had were nice, but were just words thrown around at coffee time. Actually doing things takes work, and dicipline. I find at times we forget to see all the details when we are making theories, but act like we know it all. Sometimes I think it would be better to just get to work, pay attention, and get it done. Okay so I'm theorizing :-)
Also we might want to stop listening to the people who have so much to say, and pay attention to the the ones who have practice. They usually are quieter cause they know they don't have all the answers. And sometimes they are hard to find cause they are busy doing the things we only theorize about.

Colorado

2007-02-20T11:02:00.000-07:00

I am in colorado. Man it's fun being in a warm place! I love it. There is a great church family here as well. Jeremy and I worshiped with them on sunday and were truly edified. I have been driving a Nissan Armada this week and I don't mind the inside but it really has no power. Truly, it can't even hop the curb. Grrr . . . . I don't think I would ever buy one. Also I have been watching Smallville. Great show but I am not so sure that Clark is Superman, cause he always gets nuetralized by the meteor rocks. But if I had to chose between Clark and Lex I would definetly chose Lex. He has such strength of charter. Plus he can quote poetry and he has a great library. Why is it that Mr. Kent can borrow Lex's helicopter, and that is not asking too much, but when Lex asks to stay over at the Kents, well okay I guess. Just because you give from what you have, doesn't mean less when you have more. Now even I am confused so I better stop. :-)

Tyrants have no use for sheep.

2007-02-10T13:54:00.000-07:00

A strong man has no need of power. A weak man is destroyed by it.

Virtual Model

2007-02-01T18:20:00.000-07:00

Our Refuge . . .

2007-01-13T16:18:00.000-07:00

Psalm 64

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

1 Hear me, O God, as I voice my complaint;
protect my life from the threat of the enemy.
2 Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked,
from that noisy crowd of evildoers.
3 They sharpen their tongues like swords
and aim their words like deadly arrows.
4 They shoot from ambush at the innocent man;
they shoot at him suddenly, without fear.
5 They encourage each other in evil plans,
they talk about hiding their snares;
they say, "Who will see us?"
6 They plot injustice and say,
"We have devised a perfect plan!"
Surely the mind and heart of man are cunning.
7 But God will shoot them with arrows;
suddenly they will be struck down.
8 He will turn their own tongues against them
and bring them to ruin;
all who see them will shake their heads in scorn.
9 All mankind will fear;
they will proclaim the works of God
and ponder what he has done.
10 Let the righteous rejoice in the LORD
and take refuge in him;
let all the upright in heart praise him!

I told you it was true.

2006-10-21T14:52:00.000-06:00

You Are a White Christmas Tree

You like to fill your holidays with beautiful designs and classy decorations.
When it comes to Christmas, you always expect (and provide) the best.

What Christmas Tree Are You?

Yeah, so I want a white Christmas tree and guess what I did this test once and I even gave the correct answers. Wow that is so cool. Only I want to have fiberoptic lights throughout with a thousand different bright colours at the same time. Kinda like a disco ball in the shape of a Christmas tree. Oh well I haven't been able to find one yet. If know where I could get one let me know.

Ohhh dear . . . . . .

2006-10-14T19:51:00.000-06:00

Hi everyone !!
How are you?? I am Fine. There I posted. hehehehehe So I love thanksgiving it's soooooo fun. But I have a question for you, if you care. What do you like better, jello or turkey. Which would you prefer to eat till you felt sick. Me? Jello. And whipping cream. Especially the kind Bethany makes. Yuuuummmmm, I love thanksgiving dinner.

Ha . . I love it!!

2006-09-17T13:02:00.000-06:00

Traffic

2006-09-17T12:28:00.000-06:00

So, I was driving home from church this morning and I noticed as we were passing by the Holiday Inn that there were alot of cops there. Interesting.

About half way home I decided to pull into the left lane and pass the truck in front of me. I checked my mirrors and shoulder checked. There was a White Chevy in the left lane but he was quite a ways behind so I pulled over. I checked my rear view mirror as soon as I was in the left lane and noticed that the driver of the Chevy had considerably sped up and was continuing to speed up. I thought "Wow he must not be paying attention" so I sped up to pass quicker and get out of his road before he smashed into the back of me. Well he sped up even faster pulled onto the shoulder and ditch and passed me going well over 140 (I was going 120kms/h.). Well that scared me pretty bad so I just slowed down pulled into the right lane and continued driving.

What I didn't realize was that, Dad had been following right behind the Chevy and saw the whole thing. So Dad decided to get the White Chevy's license plate number and report this. The white Chevy notices that he is being followed and speeds up even more. He merges to the right lane and when he gets to the turn around between the divided highway he makes a left hand turn across all the lanes and heads in the exact opposite direction that we are driving. Well, we decided he was pretty dangerous so we drove home and had a coffee.

I wonder if the cops at the Holiday Inn are looking for a White Chevy?

Well now it's more than messy . .

2006-09-15T19:30:00.000-06:00

. . . it's broken in half. Yeah that's right someone sat on my desk today and it broke in half. Yup well at least its friday and I can wait till monday to get it fixed.

Crooked roads, Straight Lives

2006-09-14T19:29:00.000-06:00

I have found that there are two ditches on every road whether the road be straight or crooked. Sometimes if the sun shines just right across the land the one side of the road is dark and depressing and the other is bright and colorful depending where the sun is.

This is the way life is sometimes.

You are on the bright side and are having fun, playing with the sunrays, dancing to imaginary music, and so on. You want to share the joy with the people you see lying in the mud on the dark side of the road, but they don’t want to hear of the fun you are having, they want to wallow in that mud because right now they feel like it, and besides who do you think you are just because the sun is shining on your side right now. Maybe it isn’t even the sun at all, just some lightning that won’t last ‘cause a storm is coming.

But then as the sun moves you might find yourself on the dark side of the ditch and often the people on the light side don’t want to know that you are there or if they do they don’t feel like doing anything about it because, they are having fun and they don’t want to know about your troubles. They don’t want to take time from their dancing to find out what led you there or help you get out because, well, you probably did something wrong so you belong there.

This is a very sad problem that we have. We can’t seem to see the light in someone else’s eye because of the darkness in our own, or we can’t see the darkness in someone else’s eye because of the light in our own.

I believe we need to work with those around us and share our light and shed our darkness in spite of where we might be at any given time. For it will be our responsibility to account for our own reaction to light or darkness.

“What profit has the worker from that in which he labors? I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.

I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.

I know that whatever God does,
It shall be forever.
Nothing can be added to it,
And nothing taken from it.
God does it, that men should fear before Him.
That which is has already been,
And what is to be has already been;
And God requires an account of what is past.”

Ecclesiastes 3: 9 - 15