Here's the Story
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Monday, August 25, 2008
The Mark
This is a snippet of something I recently read. It made me think of a few certain people who have found this call to be less trying than for the rest of us. Definitely a good thing for me to hear.
"At the close of his ministry, Jesus looks forward to his death on the cross, the open tomb and the ascension. Knowing that he is about to leave, Jesus prepares his disciples for what is to come. It is here that he makes clear what will be the distinguishing mark of the Christian:
Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me; and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you. A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall me know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another (John 13)
This passage reveals the mark that Jesus gives to label a Christian not just in one era or in one locality but at all times and all places until Jesus returns.
Notice that what he says here is not a description of a fact. It is a command which includes a condition: 'A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, so ye love one another that all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.' An if is involved. If you obey, you will wear the badge Christ gave. But since this is a command, it cannot be violated.
The point is that it is possible to be a Christian without showing the mark, but if we expect non-Christians to know that we are Christians, we must show the mark."
- Francis Schaeffer
"At the close of his ministry, Jesus looks forward to his death on the cross, the open tomb and the ascension. Knowing that he is about to leave, Jesus prepares his disciples for what is to come. It is here that he makes clear what will be the distinguishing mark of the Christian:
Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me; and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you. A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall me know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another (John 13)
This passage reveals the mark that Jesus gives to label a Christian not just in one era or in one locality but at all times and all places until Jesus returns.
Notice that what he says here is not a description of a fact. It is a command which includes a condition: 'A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, so ye love one another that all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.' An if is involved. If you obey, you will wear the badge Christ gave. But since this is a command, it cannot be violated.
The point is that it is possible to be a Christian without showing the mark, but if we expect non-Christians to know that we are Christians, we must show the mark."
- Francis Schaeffer
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Dang now I don't know who to vote for
From the months of November 2007 to February 2008, I, Carter Blanton, was an Obama fan. If you don't believe me I can upload a picture of me wearing the shirt. The change of heart came about when I realized that Barack was a feel good candidate: that his speeches and persona were well-said and honestly moving to a certain extent. There was no real substance to my affection for him. So I got off the Obama train a couple of months ago and I am now walking home.
Until recently I took the stance of apathy thinking, "What does it even matter anyway?" But what I am now realizing is that who sits in the oval office can potentially affect my everyday life....this is making me straighten up a little bit in my chair. I am trying to familiarize myself with the candidates even more but I don't like either of the guys. Guess it is up to me to find the lesser of the two evils...
But wait....there's a third candidate?
It's a woman?
It's NOT HILROD?
This just made my decision a lot harder...
Until recently I took the stance of apathy thinking, "What does it even matter anyway?" But what I am now realizing is that who sits in the oval office can potentially affect my everyday life....this is making me straighten up a little bit in my chair. I am trying to familiarize myself with the candidates even more but I don't like either of the guys. Guess it is up to me to find the lesser of the two evils...
But wait....there's a third candidate?
It's a woman?
It's NOT HILROD?
This just made my decision a lot harder...
See more Paris Hilton videos at Funny or Die
Friday, August 1, 2008
It's all fun and games until someone gets fat
Just so those who read this know, I am not referring to anyone in particular in writing this post (except possibly myself). Living the past three months in the South have taken me back to plates and plates of memories and nostalgia after being in California for so long.
My first reaction was initally, "Wow, people are actually noticeably larger here - I'm sure glad I've been eating Californian for a while. I can't wait to continue eating chalk-like breakfast bars and smaller portioned everything here in Tennessee." Well that lasted about a week before I was face first in french fries covered in cheese and bacon, gravy spilled over chicken fried chicken, and a small herd of sonic #2's with tots. You may cringe at that list but I have seriously eaten all of those things in the past month.
Couple this with another one of Southerners favorite activities, not moving, and we start to have a problem here. Personally, I like to blame the extreme humidity, that invisible shroud of insta-sweat waiting for you in the outdoors. It sucks to go from door to car to door and have realized that you've worked up a little sweat doing so. Others may disagree but it's a lot easier to go take a run or play outside when you live in San Diego or Colorado where there are more fun things to play and less heat slash humidity.
The reason I'm writing this is not to dog on the South, I love it here - there are definitely some issues that are clearer to me now than before I spent time in Cali. Forgotten jewels would include the existence of forests, empty freeways, lightning bugs, and genuinely friendly strangers. Subtract earthquakes and add tornadoes. Although obesity doesn't discriminate, my people have decided to show it a little too much southern hospitatlity:
The latest Calorielab United States of Obesity Test Results:
State: Obese/Overweight
1. Mississippi 68.1%
2. West Virginia 68%
3. Alabama 66.6%
4. Louisiana 65.2%
5. South Carolina 65.3%
....are you seeing the trend here?
6. Tennessee 67.4%
7. Kentucky 69.1%
8. Oklahoma 65.1%
9. Arkansas 65.6%
10. Michigan 64.3%
Pathetic right? I guess my initial reaction was correct, people are actually larger than on the west coast.
Honorable Mentions:
41. California 59% - 5 spots closer to being the thinnest state as of last years numbers
51. Colorado 55.7% - Thinnest. 51st because evidently someone called the District of Columbia a state
After reading this article, feeling quite disheartened at the state of the union, and devouring some comfort food, I found another article. This time, obesity was broken down county-by-county across America. I rejoiced at the discovery:
County: Towns: BMI
1. Marin County, CA: Novato San Rafael: 24.48
2. San Francisco County, CA: San Francisco: 24.86
3. Williamson County, TN: Brentwood, Franklin: 24.90
4. Maury County, TN: Spring Hill: 24.90
5. Boulder County, CO: Boulder: 24.94
6. Douglas County, CO: Castle Rock, Parker, Highlands Ranch: 25.34
Are you kidding me? Williamson County? The county I am from?? I couldn't and still can't believe that my county is truly the third thinnest in the nation. If so, it does not bode well for the rest of the nation. I mean I expect to see California and Colorado on the list but it is pretty random to see anything from Tennessee ranking in the top anything in terms of fitness. I was pretty pumped and my day got better.
So I've written a lot now, and I would write more...but I have to go work out...that's what people in Williamson County do...work out all the time.
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