Great, thanks for asking!
It's been a very God-oriented day. I checked Xanga as usual and saw that
Eadie (a relatively popular blogger) had recommended a post by
JesusOfWatford. I read the post and it turned out to be a criticism of Christianity. It raised some very good points, and I was faced with the decision of whether I should respond to the questions raised and risk being wrong or simply pass on by. I chose to respond, and it turned out to be a pretty good response in my opinion. I was happy with it, and the poster responded and seemed to agree for the most part. Though it was a criticism of Christianity, it seemed to be more of a criticism of the body of Christ rather than God's Word. I think we deserve the criticism as a whole.
The second experience came when I was visiting my friend Brittany at University of Indianapolis. We were eating supper in the cafeteria area and a couple of guys walked up to us and asked if we'd like to take part in a survey. They sat down and were very friendly to us and we talked about our backgrounds as they asked questions about our faith. It was really interesting. The most puzzling question was "On a scale of 1 to 10, how much do you desire to know God?" For some, this would be easy. For me, it took some thought. I decided on 9 or 10 which was an acceptable answer. I explained that I always
want to desire to know God, but the actual desire fluctuates. I know of no one who can say that they desire with all their heart to know God 100% of the time. However, it was convicting. It made me acknowledge the fluctuation, and now I'm conscientious of it.
Ok, well the third part of my day will probably come as a surprise to most, if not all of you. I asked a girl out. No, it wasn't Brittany as the previous paragraph would seem to indicate. Here's my new girlfriend:
She'd probably hate me for putting this picture up, but I like it. Her name's Shani.
I'll have to be on my guard for this though. Many of my closest friends know that a contributing reason as to why my last relationship failed miserably was the lack of God. I had never been so far away from Him as I was during those months. It's interesting though because she was raised Hindu, but also claims to be Christian. I think we'll be able to help each other grow.
And so far, that's been my day. Back to work!
Troy
Comments (12)
That sounds like a pretty good day. I've never asked a girl out (at least that I count, which means when I knew what I was doing). I did go through a gal's father though. I have gotten a girl's email though...that is an interesting story. Anyway, your *new* girlfriend is really cute, good luck. Remember, draw close to God, and you should draw close together. Reading the Bible and praying together is a good way to grow...but if you're uncomfortable, it may just be too early.
Your new girlfriend is so beautiful. Does she laugh a lot? I can see her smiling so happily. =]
1) The piano man who didn't start the fire totally goes to extremes but it's still rock and roll to me.
2) I'm glad that you found interesting discussion points in that post, I didn't recommend it becuase I nescessarly agreed with it, but instead becuase I wanted it to spark a good discussion.
3) Congrats on the girlfriend.
Aw, she's really pretty!
@eadie -
1. Lol, yup.
2. Yeah, from what I've read on your blog, I didn't think it was the kind of thing you'd agree with, but I do thank you for recommending it. It brought up good discussion and made me think.
3. Thanks!
Congratulations! She's cute.
Hmmm....well, laddie, she seems a fine lass, she does.
BUT YOU'D BETTER BE PREPARED TO LEAD HER SPIRITUALLY!!!
No pressure, but, well, pressure. You're the dude, here, so you've got to be the one to get uncomfortable enough to offer to study the Word together, pray together (though too much of this can be risky), and generally talk about God.
I know relationship advice seems a little strange coming from me, but the very reason I'm single is that I've learned alot about this over the years, and I'm taking it really seriously in my own life.
So, build your friendship before you get close romantically, find out where she really stands spiritually, and LEAD her.
How'd you meet her?
@TitusRainer - You've read my mind. It would be easy for me to just say that I'll definitely lead her and stick my neck out in the name of the Lord, but I'm no fool. I know this is hard. And that's why I'm glad that after I asked her out, I still had several days to plan before I'd actually be back in Plymouth. We met in high school, and then got reacquainted through Peter when I was hanging out with him.
Surprisingly, relationship advice from you isn't strange at all. I think it takes more to remain single for so long rather than jumping at every relationship opportunity.
It's going to be interesting. I'm not sure which religion she actually identifies with or if she's generally apathetic. Unfortunately, I haven't had much of an opportunity to talk about this with her yet. Maybe this weekend when I go home.
I'm seeking Him, and now that I'm at the start of a relationship, I feel an urgent need to be close to Him.
@The_Palantiri -
You may even want to try fasting for a day. That generally helps clear things up.
Dear Troy,
I decided to read the entry to which you linked and your reply. As I was reading the entry, which did make good if somewhat limited use of scripture, I figured this would make a great entry for a number of witness comments. Yours is very well constructed in your response. Right away you caught the mostly Old Testament wrath and mentioned Jesus. You also point out the historical/scientific "discrepencies" in a straightforward and methodical manner.
Most interesting to me was the title of the entry was about Catholicism and Catholic dogma was never even addressed. There is a world of difference between what Catholics believe and what, say Pentecostals or Seventh Day Adventists believe, to pick two wildly divergent Protestant religions.
Hindu and Christian should be a good mix, I would think.
Michael F. Nyiri, poet, philosopher, fool
@baldmike2004 - Thanks! Your input is always good to hear. I think somewhere on his blog, he made it apparent that he mistitled the blog post; that he meant Christianity instead of Catholicism. It's something that confuses me today, that people don't quite understand that all Catholics are Christians but not all Christians are Catholics. Oh well... I think my comment was a little more abrasive than I really intended though, but it did get the point across.
She's puuuuurrrrtttyy.