"God's grace does not come to people who morally outperform others, but to those who admit their failure to perform and who acknowledge their need for a Savior. Christians, then, should expect to find nonbelievers who are much nicer, kinder, wiser and better than they are. Why? Christian believers are not accepted by God because of their moral performance, wisdom, or virtue, but because of Christ's work on their behalf. Most religions and philosophies of life assume that one's spiritual status depends on your religious attainments. This naturally leads adherents to feel superior to those who don't believe and behave as they do. The Christian gospel, in any case, should not have that effect."
The Reason for God, by Timothy Keller
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Friday, August 14, 2009
The Reason for God...an excerpt
My dad recommended I read "The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism" by Timothy Keller. It is awesome and something I'd strongly suggest to every believer and those who are searching or "checking out" Christianity. I got this excerpt from The LPM Blog.
"The doctrine of the Trinity overloads our mental circuits. Despite its cognitive difficulty, however, this astonishing, dynamic conception of the triune God is bristling with profound, wonderful, life-shaping, world-changing implications... Ultimate reality is a community of persons who know and love one another. That is what the universe, God, history, and life is all about. If you favor money, power, and accomplishment over human relationships, you will dash yourself on the rocks of reality. When Jesus said you must lose yourself in service to find yourself (Mark 8:35), he was recounting what the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have been doing throughout eternity. You will, then, never get a sense of self by standing still, as it were, and making everything revolve around your needs and interests. Unless you are willing to experience the loss of options and the individual limitations that comes from being in committed relationships, you will remain out of touch with your own nature and the nature of things. In many other places in this volume, I've traced out how impossible it is to stay fully human if you refuse the cost of forgiveness, the substitutional exchange of love, and the confinements of community... this world was not created by a God who is only an individual, nor is it the emanation of an impersonal force... We believe the world was made by a God who is a community of persons who have loved each other for all eternity. You were made for mutually self-giving, other-directed love. Self-centeredness destroys the fabric of what God has made... The universe is understood as a dance of beings united by energies binding yet distinct, like planets orbiting stars, like tides and seasons, "like atoms in a molecule, like the tones in a chord, like the living organisms on this earth, like the mother with the baby stirring in her body." The love of the inner life of the Trinity is written all through it. Creation is a dance!" (selected from pages 215-217, 219 of "The Reason for God").
Another book I'll suggest if I haven't already on this blog..."Searching for God Knows What" by Donald Miller! It's amazing! (For those of you who have read "Blue Like Jazz," this is 10 times better!
"The doctrine of the Trinity overloads our mental circuits. Despite its cognitive difficulty, however, this astonishing, dynamic conception of the triune God is bristling with profound, wonderful, life-shaping, world-changing implications... Ultimate reality is a community of persons who know and love one another. That is what the universe, God, history, and life is all about. If you favor money, power, and accomplishment over human relationships, you will dash yourself on the rocks of reality. When Jesus said you must lose yourself in service to find yourself (Mark 8:35), he was recounting what the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have been doing throughout eternity. You will, then, never get a sense of self by standing still, as it were, and making everything revolve around your needs and interests. Unless you are willing to experience the loss of options and the individual limitations that comes from being in committed relationships, you will remain out of touch with your own nature and the nature of things. In many other places in this volume, I've traced out how impossible it is to stay fully human if you refuse the cost of forgiveness, the substitutional exchange of love, and the confinements of community... this world was not created by a God who is only an individual, nor is it the emanation of an impersonal force... We believe the world was made by a God who is a community of persons who have loved each other for all eternity. You were made for mutually self-giving, other-directed love. Self-centeredness destroys the fabric of what God has made... The universe is understood as a dance of beings united by energies binding yet distinct, like planets orbiting stars, like tides and seasons, "like atoms in a molecule, like the tones in a chord, like the living organisms on this earth, like the mother with the baby stirring in her body." The love of the inner life of the Trinity is written all through it. Creation is a dance!" (selected from pages 215-217, 219 of "The Reason for God").
Another book I'll suggest if I haven't already on this blog..."Searching for God Knows What" by Donald Miller! It's amazing! (For those of you who have read "Blue Like Jazz," this is 10 times better!
Monday, June 15, 2009
Photo Assisting, NC Visit, Church, and other thoughts
So, I've been out here in Los Angeles for almost 4 months now. So far, I've worked with Jim Wright (www.jimwrightphotography.com), Jerry Avenaim (www.avenaim.com), and Michel Comte (www.michelcomte.org). I have worked on a shoot for Cigar Aficionado, Ok! Magazine, German Vogue, and GQ. I have met the guys from Entourage, the cast of Glee, Lo Bosworth and Amanda Seyfried. It's been so much fun! I love photo assisting...everything about it...even the heavy lifting! (Hey, I need to tone up these arms anyway!)
I haven't gotten any photo jobs for almost 3 weeks now and was starting to get worried. But today, out of the blue, I got a call from a photographer that I've emailed a couple times and booked a job with him this week! It's another paying gig too, and I'm so excited about it!
The first week of June I went back to NC to visit family, see my high school small group girls for their graduation celebrations, and the Byers while they were back in the US. It was so awesome. :-) I love you guys! I was so busy but it was good to see everyone I could. Thanks for fitting me into your schedule while I was home!
Sunday I visited a new church and really liked it! I'm hoping to get plugged in there. It's called Mosaic, and I've visited the night service in Downtown LA before. I liked it, but it was a little too loud and felt more like a concert or a conference than church. This past Sunday morning I went to Mosaic's West LA church in Beverly Hills. It meets at Beverly Hills High School and is a smaller crowd. I've really grown to like smaller churches since I left Grace and started going to 514 and Spring Garden. West LA's Mosaic also has a lot of diversity and people around my age and in my walk of life.
I'm currently hunting for a new place to live. I want to find a place with cool female roommates and my own room! I've looked at a couple places, and sent out emails to a couple more. I really liked the first place I looked at...the girls were awesome and the place was too! I'm waiting to hear back from them...I'm supposed to hear back sometime this week.
I'm so excited about going to the Bahamas with my family and the Tinsley's in a month! It's going to be amazing! Also, NC people mark your calendars because I just booked my flight and my next visit will be Sept. 2nd - 8th (Wednesday night to Tuesday afternoon).
Love you all!
Steph
I haven't gotten any photo jobs for almost 3 weeks now and was starting to get worried. But today, out of the blue, I got a call from a photographer that I've emailed a couple times and booked a job with him this week! It's another paying gig too, and I'm so excited about it!
The first week of June I went back to NC to visit family, see my high school small group girls for their graduation celebrations, and the Byers while they were back in the US. It was so awesome. :-) I love you guys! I was so busy but it was good to see everyone I could. Thanks for fitting me into your schedule while I was home!
Sunday I visited a new church and really liked it! I'm hoping to get plugged in there. It's called Mosaic, and I've visited the night service in Downtown LA before. I liked it, but it was a little too loud and felt more like a concert or a conference than church. This past Sunday morning I went to Mosaic's West LA church in Beverly Hills. It meets at Beverly Hills High School and is a smaller crowd. I've really grown to like smaller churches since I left Grace and started going to 514 and Spring Garden. West LA's Mosaic also has a lot of diversity and people around my age and in my walk of life.
I'm currently hunting for a new place to live. I want to find a place with cool female roommates and my own room! I've looked at a couple places, and sent out emails to a couple more. I really liked the first place I looked at...the girls were awesome and the place was too! I'm waiting to hear back from them...I'm supposed to hear back sometime this week.
I'm so excited about going to the Bahamas with my family and the Tinsley's in a month! It's going to be amazing! Also, NC people mark your calendars because I just booked my flight and my next visit will be Sept. 2nd - 8th (Wednesday night to Tuesday afternoon).
Love you all!
Steph
Wow
Regarding what Tom Brady says at 2:30...
I really find this heartbreaking. I hope and pray that the Lord will bring someone into his life that will show him there is more. It breaks my heart knowing there are so many people who don't know what real life is...or where it is found.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Ta-dah!
Been living out in Los Angeles for two months now, working and trying to get photo assisting jobs. Finally a break!
My friend Seth, who has been photo assisting out here for two years, hooked me up with several photographers he's worked with and I now have 3 jobs lined up as an intern. Two with Jim Wright this weekend, and one with Jerry Avenaim next weekend! The two this weekend are of the cast of Entourage (!!!) and the cast of Glee (a new show on Fox). The one with Jerry next weekend is for German vogue! So awesome! I'm trying not to freak out and hoping that I will make a good impression on set and they will all call me back for more jobs.
I'm so excited to watch the process, be involved, and learn! I can't wait to be working in a studio again. Seth has been a huge help in getting me this far, it really is all about who you know out here. Now it's up to me!
My friend Seth, who has been photo assisting out here for two years, hooked me up with several photographers he's worked with and I now have 3 jobs lined up as an intern. Two with Jim Wright this weekend, and one with Jerry Avenaim next weekend! The two this weekend are of the cast of Entourage (!!!) and the cast of Glee (a new show on Fox). The one with Jerry next weekend is for German vogue! So awesome! I'm trying not to freak out and hoping that I will make a good impression on set and they will all call me back for more jobs.
I'm so excited to watch the process, be involved, and learn! I can't wait to be working in a studio again. Seth has been a huge help in getting me this far, it really is all about who you know out here. Now it's up to me!
Friday, June 13, 2008
Fun California Things
Another update because I need to fill you all in on what has been going on around here the past couple weeks! Two weekends ago my friend Jon Hooker (Tim Hooker's bro) invited me out to dinner with him and his friend, Ajay, and then he said he'd take me to some cool places in the city! So, Friday I met him at his apartment after work, and we tried to decide where to eat. He thought of 3 options - standard American food, sushi, or a kind of Mexican place. I told him I didn't care, but that the last time I tried sushi I didn't like it, even though I wanted to. Jon and Ajay said they didn't like sushi until they came out here, and Ajay said he wanted to go bold with sushi or Mexican. Jon said, "Which would you be more comfortable with?" And I said, "Well...I'd be more comfortable with Mexican." And then he said, "Do you want to go with comfortable tonight or do you want to be bold?" I said, "Alright, I'll go out on a limb and let's do sushi."
So, we walked a few blocks to a sushi place. I actually liked it! I was excited about that too. And I tried everything they ordered...even actual raw fish (It wasn't bad either...not my favorite thing, but I wasn't grossed out.) After sushi, we went back to Jon's apartment and then drove up to Hollywood. They took the long route, we went through Westwood and Rodeo Drive...I saw on the nice stores, like Dolce and Gabana, etc. It was so cool! Then we parked in Hollywood and walked to a Mexican place. Ajay wanted me to try Taquitos, so we ordered those. We also got a pitcher of margaritas to split. :-) It was really fun! We probably sat there and talked for a couple hours, and then we walked to Grauman's Chinese Theater, the place where all the stars hand and footprints are. I saw Bing Crosby, Julie Andrews, Shirley Temple, and everyone! We looked at every single one...it was so fun!!
I didn't really do much the rest of that weekend. My roommates were all out of town, and Alexa's schedule was packed with weddings. That was the first time I got pretty lonely out here, and kind of bummed about not having a guy in my life (I was watching some family and romantic movies...bad idea) but of course that's a constant off and on struggle, and I'm sure it will continue to be until the Lord brings someone into my life. I just continue to trust Him with that.
This past weekend was SO much fun! Friday night Alexa and I had a "date." :-) After work I drove up to Westlake Village, changed at her house really fast (we wanted to dress up), and then we drove to this place called Suki 7. It's a really nice sushi and robata bar. We ate dinner there...spicy tuna rolls (sushi), and skewers of salmon, shrimp, and the most amazing asparagus wrapped in beef I've ever had! It was all delicious! Then we left there and headed straight to the movie theater to see Kung Fu Panda! Yes, it's a kids movie, but we love that stuff! It was so cute! We laughed a lot. Then on the way home we stopped at a gas station to buy some chocolate milk, because she had been craving it, and I pretty much drink chocolate milk every day of my life so of course I wanted some too! Here are some pictures from that night...all of these are taken with Alexa's camera and I stole them from her facebook so you guys can see what's been going on:
She makes me laugh harder than anyone else on the planet. She also brings out the craziest side of me...hardly anyone besides my sisters have seen me as crazy as I get when I'm around her. I love it! :-)
So I spent the night with her Friday night, and Saturday I came back to Venice because I am house sitting and dog sitting for Julia Dean right now while she's in Peru doing a travel workshop, so I needed to feed her dogs and stuff. Then I went back to my place in Redondo Beach to get all my stuff together...clothes, food, etc. and brought it back to Julia's house so I'd have it for the week I'm here. Then I just did laundry the rest of the day, and played with the dogs.
Sunday Alexa came down here and we went out to the boardwalk and the beach for a few hours in the afternoon. Then we came back to the house and took showers and headed up to Simi Valley to visit Francis Chan's church, Cornerstone Community. It was awesome! I loved it so much, and I think we're going to try to keep going there while we're out here. After church, we went to In-N-Out Burger, which was delicious! It was a great weekend! Here are a few of Alexa's pictures from Sunday:
I know I look naked, but I'm definitely not! I just have a bathing suit that is a tube thing and it has a loop that goes around my neck which is down while I'm tanning. Don't worry!
Monday night when I got off work Alexa sent me a text message asking me if I wanted to see Wicked with her and her aunt and uncle Tuesday night. I called her right away and said of course! Lucy and I tried to see it when we were in New York a couple years ago, but it was sold out for the next three months! So I got off work a little early Tuesday so I could change and head up to Hollywood to meet them at the theater. Let me tell you guys, Wicked was incredible! I have never been so impressed with a play. I didn't know anything about it, all I knew was that it had a great reputation and was very popular. I went in with high expectations already, but it FAR surpassed them! It was hilarious! And a lot of the reason why was because of the girl who played Glenda, Erin Mackey. She was so quirky and fun! Alexa's uncle, Gary, saw Wicked in April and he said a different girl played Glenda, and she wasn't as silly as Erin Mackey. He said it was even better the second time around, and I think she really had a lot to do with it. I was so impressed with the casting...the girl who played Elphaba (the witch) had an amazing voice. Alexa and I exchanged looks during a lot of her songs because of how incredible she sounded and the notes she was hitting. I'm ready to see it again! :-) Here are some of Alexa's pictures of our time at the theater after it was over:
That's all for now! It's late. Love you guys! Don't forget to leave me comments!
So, we walked a few blocks to a sushi place. I actually liked it! I was excited about that too. And I tried everything they ordered...even actual raw fish (It wasn't bad either...not my favorite thing, but I wasn't grossed out.) After sushi, we went back to Jon's apartment and then drove up to Hollywood. They took the long route, we went through Westwood and Rodeo Drive...I saw on the nice stores, like Dolce and Gabana, etc. It was so cool! Then we parked in Hollywood and walked to a Mexican place. Ajay wanted me to try Taquitos, so we ordered those. We also got a pitcher of margaritas to split. :-) It was really fun! We probably sat there and talked for a couple hours, and then we walked to Grauman's Chinese Theater, the place where all the stars hand and footprints are. I saw Bing Crosby, Julie Andrews, Shirley Temple, and everyone! We looked at every single one...it was so fun!!
I didn't really do much the rest of that weekend. My roommates were all out of town, and Alexa's schedule was packed with weddings. That was the first time I got pretty lonely out here, and kind of bummed about not having a guy in my life (I was watching some family and romantic movies...bad idea) but of course that's a constant off and on struggle, and I'm sure it will continue to be until the Lord brings someone into my life. I just continue to trust Him with that.
This past weekend was SO much fun! Friday night Alexa and I had a "date." :-) After work I drove up to Westlake Village, changed at her house really fast (we wanted to dress up), and then we drove to this place called Suki 7. It's a really nice sushi and robata bar. We ate dinner there...spicy tuna rolls (sushi), and skewers of salmon, shrimp, and the most amazing asparagus wrapped in beef I've ever had! It was all delicious! Then we left there and headed straight to the movie theater to see Kung Fu Panda! Yes, it's a kids movie, but we love that stuff! It was so cute! We laughed a lot. Then on the way home we stopped at a gas station to buy some chocolate milk, because she had been craving it, and I pretty much drink chocolate milk every day of my life so of course I wanted some too! Here are some pictures from that night...all of these are taken with Alexa's camera and I stole them from her facebook so you guys can see what's been going on:
She makes me laugh harder than anyone else on the planet. She also brings out the craziest side of me...hardly anyone besides my sisters have seen me as crazy as I get when I'm around her. I love it! :-)
So I spent the night with her Friday night, and Saturday I came back to Venice because I am house sitting and dog sitting for Julia Dean right now while she's in Peru doing a travel workshop, so I needed to feed her dogs and stuff. Then I went back to my place in Redondo Beach to get all my stuff together...clothes, food, etc. and brought it back to Julia's house so I'd have it for the week I'm here. Then I just did laundry the rest of the day, and played with the dogs.
Sunday Alexa came down here and we went out to the boardwalk and the beach for a few hours in the afternoon. Then we came back to the house and took showers and headed up to Simi Valley to visit Francis Chan's church, Cornerstone Community. It was awesome! I loved it so much, and I think we're going to try to keep going there while we're out here. After church, we went to In-N-Out Burger, which was delicious! It was a great weekend! Here are a few of Alexa's pictures from Sunday:
I know I look naked, but I'm definitely not! I just have a bathing suit that is a tube thing and it has a loop that goes around my neck which is down while I'm tanning. Don't worry!
Monday night when I got off work Alexa sent me a text message asking me if I wanted to see Wicked with her and her aunt and uncle Tuesday night. I called her right away and said of course! Lucy and I tried to see it when we were in New York a couple years ago, but it was sold out for the next three months! So I got off work a little early Tuesday so I could change and head up to Hollywood to meet them at the theater. Let me tell you guys, Wicked was incredible! I have never been so impressed with a play. I didn't know anything about it, all I knew was that it had a great reputation and was very popular. I went in with high expectations already, but it FAR surpassed them! It was hilarious! And a lot of the reason why was because of the girl who played Glenda, Erin Mackey. She was so quirky and fun! Alexa's uncle, Gary, saw Wicked in April and he said a different girl played Glenda, and she wasn't as silly as Erin Mackey. He said it was even better the second time around, and I think she really had a lot to do with it. I was so impressed with the casting...the girl who played Elphaba (the witch) had an amazing voice. Alexa and I exchanged looks during a lot of her songs because of how incredible she sounded and the notes she was hitting. I'm ready to see it again! :-) Here are some of Alexa's pictures of our time at the theater after it was over:
That's all for now! It's late. Love you guys! Don't forget to leave me comments!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Finishing up the road trip
So, I need to finish writing about my road trip experience! So, now we're at Friday...Friday we woke up and headed to the Grand Canyon. Did you know it's $25 per car to get into the park? Ridiculous. Anyways, I was a bit nervous that I wouldn't be impressed with it. For some reason I was worried that since I'd seen pictures it would just be one of those things where I feel like I'd already seen it and so I was afraid I'd be disappointed because people talk the Grand Canyon up a lot. Well, I was definitely impressed. No picture could ever do the Grand Canyon justice! I could have stared at it forever...the first time I saw it I almost got dizzy from how huge it was and how far back it went! We stopped at two different overlooks on the south rim, and walked around quite a bit. It was cool hearing all the tourists too, with their different accents and languages. There was one old woman who had grey hair and had dyed the tips of some of the strands of her short hair red! She looked like some kind of bird...it was hilarious! So, here are some of my pictures from the Grand Canyon and a few shots of the scenery changing on the drive before we got there:
Haha, that last one is Jonathan asleep in the car on our way out of the park headed towards Las Vegas.
So, after the Grand Canyon we were on our way to Vegas! We passed the Hoover Dam along the way, and stopped to take pictures. Here are some of mine:
After the Hoover Dam, we were still driving through mountains and just like our friend Kenny, from Viewpoint, told us...it was worth driving into Vegas at night...because it's so dark and then all of the sudden you turn a corner and BOOM! Lights. Everywhere! It was awesome!
Jonathan was driving from the Hoover Dam into Vegas (which was a big accomplishment for him...he crossed the Hoover Dam even though he's afraid of heights!), but once we got into Vegas he got stressed from all the traffic on the strip when we were trying to get to the Bellagio Fountains and so we traded seats and I drove. So I don't have many pictures from Vegas...but here are a couple:
We didn't get to see the water show at the Bellagio, because we were too late driving into Vegas...we didn't have enough time to park somewhere (besides, parking is ridiculous there!) and walk to see it before the last showing at 11:45pm. So, we went to our hotel and took showers. The plan was to freshen up and then go out on the strip...but once we had all taken showers and gotten ready, I had to practically drag the boys out there! Of course, it was almost 2am, but still! We were in Vegas! Surprisingly enough, people actually don't stay out that late in Vegas on a Friday night...because from the time we drove through at around midnight to the time we got back out there around 2am, things looked dramatically different. Of course, we were staying at the Howard Johnson Inn on the wrong end of the strip...where nothing happens and things get sketchy. So, we walked a bit...actually a while...and then went into a casino. The guys wanted to at least be able to say they gambled, so we walked around the casino looking for something they wanted to try out. I had no idea what to do, so I wasn't about to put my money in...but they did. Jonathan lost $1 and David lost $5, I think. :-) Then we left...we walked around a bit more and then headed back to the hotel because we were all really tired.
I don't really have any more pictures from the rest of our journey, because Saturday morning we just drove the 4 hours from Vegas to Redondo Beach, where I'm staying. And once we arrived, we walked out to the beach where I took the pictures I've already posted on here. So, that's the end of the road trip here! Hope you enjoyed reading about it and seeing all the pictures! Sorry it took me so long to get the second half posted.
Haha, that last one is Jonathan asleep in the car on our way out of the park headed towards Las Vegas.
So, after the Grand Canyon we were on our way to Vegas! We passed the Hoover Dam along the way, and stopped to take pictures. Here are some of mine:
After the Hoover Dam, we were still driving through mountains and just like our friend Kenny, from Viewpoint, told us...it was worth driving into Vegas at night...because it's so dark and then all of the sudden you turn a corner and BOOM! Lights. Everywhere! It was awesome!
Jonathan was driving from the Hoover Dam into Vegas (which was a big accomplishment for him...he crossed the Hoover Dam even though he's afraid of heights!), but once we got into Vegas he got stressed from all the traffic on the strip when we were trying to get to the Bellagio Fountains and so we traded seats and I drove. So I don't have many pictures from Vegas...but here are a couple:
We didn't get to see the water show at the Bellagio, because we were too late driving into Vegas...we didn't have enough time to park somewhere (besides, parking is ridiculous there!) and walk to see it before the last showing at 11:45pm. So, we went to our hotel and took showers. The plan was to freshen up and then go out on the strip...but once we had all taken showers and gotten ready, I had to practically drag the boys out there! Of course, it was almost 2am, but still! We were in Vegas! Surprisingly enough, people actually don't stay out that late in Vegas on a Friday night...because from the time we drove through at around midnight to the time we got back out there around 2am, things looked dramatically different. Of course, we were staying at the Howard Johnson Inn on the wrong end of the strip...where nothing happens and things get sketchy. So, we walked a bit...actually a while...and then went into a casino. The guys wanted to at least be able to say they gambled, so we walked around the casino looking for something they wanted to try out. I had no idea what to do, so I wasn't about to put my money in...but they did. Jonathan lost $1 and David lost $5, I think. :-) Then we left...we walked around a bit more and then headed back to the hotel because we were all really tired.
I don't really have any more pictures from the rest of our journey, because Saturday morning we just drove the 4 hours from Vegas to Redondo Beach, where I'm staying. And once we arrived, we walked out to the beach where I took the pictures I've already posted on here. So, that's the end of the road trip here! Hope you enjoyed reading about it and seeing all the pictures! Sorry it took me so long to get the second half posted.
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