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Tuesday, April 15, 2008

T Bones and Yellow Roses

This is a touching story and reminders from diva_g:

I walked into the grocery store not particularly interested in buying groceries. I wasn't hungry. The pain of losing my husband of 7 years was still too raw. And this grocery store held so many sweet memories.
He often came with me and almost every time would pretend to go off and look for something special. I knew what he was up to -- I'd always spot him walking down the aisle with the three yellow roses in his hands.
He knew I loved yellow roses. With a heart filled with grief, I only wanted to buy my few items and leave. But somehow, even grocery shopping has been different since he had passed on.
Shopping for one took time ... slightly more thought than it had for two.
Standing by the meat, I searched for the perfect small steak and remembered how he had loved his steak.
Suddenly, a woman came beside me. She was blonde, slim and lovely in a soft green pantsuit. I watched as she picked up a large package of T-bones, dropped them in her basket, hesitated, and the put them back. She turned to go, but then once again reached for the pack of steaks.
She saw me watching her and she smiled. "My husband loves T-bones, but honestly, at these prices, I don't know."
I swallowed the emotion down my throat and met her pale blue eyes.
"My husband passed away eight days ago," I told her. Glancing at the package in her hands, I fought to control the tremble in my voice. "Buy him the steaks. And cherish every moment you have together."
She shook her head and I saw the emotion in her eyes as she placed the package in her basket and wheeled away.
I turned and pushed my cart across the length of the store to the dairy products. There I stood, trying to decide which size milk I should buy. A quart, I finally decided and moved on to the ice cream. I nothing else, I could always fix myself an ice cream cone.
I placed the ice cream in my cart and looked down the aisle toward the front. I saw first the green suit, then recognized the pretty lady coming towards me. I her arms she carried a package. On her face was the brightest smile I had ever seen. I would swear a soft halo encircled her blonde hair as she kept walking toward me, her eyes holding mine.
As she came closer, I saw what she held and tears began misting in my eyes. "These are for you," she said and place three beautiful long stemmed yellow roses in my arms. "When you go through the line, they will know these are paid for." She leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on my cheek, then smiled again. I wanted to tell her what she'd done, what the roses meant, but still unable to speak, I merely watched as she walked away, tears clouding my vision.
I looked down at the beautiful roses nestled in the green tissue wrapping and found it almost unreal. How'd she know? Suddenly, the answer seemed so clear: I wasn't alone.
"Oh, you haven't forgotten me, have you?" I whispered, with tears in my eyes. He was still with me, and she was his angel.
Every day be thankful for what you have and who you are:
Even though I clutch my blanket and growl when the alarm rings, thank you, Lord, that I can hear. There are many who are deaf.
Even though I keep my eyes closed against the morning light as long as possible, thank you, Lord, that I can see. Many are blind.
Even though I huddle in my bed and put off rising, thank you, Lord, that I have the strength to rise. There are many who are bedridden.
Even though the first hour of my day is hectic, when socks are lost, toast is burned, tempers are short, and my children are so loud, thank you, Lord, for my family. There are so many who are lonely.
Even though our breakfast table never looks like the pictures in magazines and the menu is at times unbalanced, thank you, Lord, for the food we have. There are many who are hungry.
Eeven though the routine of my job is often monotonous, thank you, Lord, for the opportunity to work. So many have no job.
Even I grumble and bemoan my fate from day to day and wish for less modest circumstances, thank you, Lord, for life.
God bless you, yours, and your day.
Christianity, by Brutus

Well for Bible class, we had to give a short introduction to Christianity (to an imaginary non-Christian audience) without the use of "Christianese", be succinct, etc ... then I thought of Brutus' famous speech from William Shakespeare's "The Tragedy of Julius Caesar", so haha. Go google the real one and then read mine:
Friends, students, and teachers. Hear me for my speech, and be silent, that you may hear. Believe in Jesus for his love, and have acknowledgement toward His love, that you may believe. Open up your heart, and awake your reason, that you may fully understand. If there be any in this gathering, any who truly wishes to know, to him I say that he has to look no further. If then that earnest seeker of Jesus demands exactly what Christianity is about, this is my answer: while we groped about in imperfection, Jesus came down in the form of a human to die for us, as the only holy person who can intercede for us in the prescence of God. Would you rather ignore this message, and live life full of sin and vice, or accept Jesus' love and live a life of meaning? As we lived in imperfection, we were ashamed; as Jesus died for us, we are eternally grateful; as God loved us so dearly as to send his own son, we love Him back. There is shame, for our imperfection; gratefulness, for Jesus' mercy; and love, for the love that was first shown to us. Who is here so pitiful, that he would not attach meaning to his life? If any, speak, for him have I offended. Who is here so stone-hearted, as to be unable to love the person who has given him so much? If any, speak, for him have I offended. Who is here so emo, that he would prefer to spend eternity in hell? If any, speak, for him have I offended. I pause for a reply.
Schedulings are Done!

Well, God fixed my scheduling problem. Next school year, I'm taking Pre-Calculus (FY), Microeconomics (SM1), Macroeconomics (SM2), Technology Arts (FY), Middle East Studies (SM1), US Foreign Policy (SM2), Bible (FY), Honors American Literature (SM1), Honors British Literature (SM2), AP Physics (FY), AP World History (FY), Band (FY), and an after school sports team, for an extra P.E. credit. I'm pushing AP Psychology back to 12th grade, because it clashes with AP Physics, which I feel I have an obligation to take, since I'm taking a university project course credit on Physics. My schedule got finalized and accepted today, and I'm slightly happy. However, looking at this, I can tell that it's gonna be a busy year, since I killed all my study halls and completely packed my whole schedule. Aha, I'll worry about that when it's midnight and I still have 3 papers due tomorrow to do. Hehe, for now, praise God for taking this trial outta my hair.
Analysis of the Nicene Creed

Well Anthony, Howard and I did this as Bible class homework. But since it took us so much effort and stuff, it made me feel like it might be worthwhile posting. If not, ignore me But for those who are interested, here's the full version of it; compare while reading my post: http://weblog.xanga.com/the_truth_seeker/652272000/the-nicene-creed.html
- we "believe": states that this is a religion based on faith, not what we can see
- "one God": monotheism
- the "Father": believers are directly related to this god; implies love
- the "Almighty": all-powerful, omniscient, omnipresent, etc
- "maker": powerful enough to have made everything; this is his creation, and therefore belongs to him
- "heaven" and "earth": earth is not the only place that God made; however, did not say "in seven days" or not
- of "all" that is, "seen" and "unseen": everything was made by God, even the things we can't prove/see/touch
- "Lord": a ruler with direct powers on earth, as opposed to God taking care of everything from heaven
- Jesus "Christ": he is the promised savior of mankind; THE Messiah that OT talked about
- the "only" Son of God: he is a one and only; there is no other
- "eternally begotten": there is no time before Jesus; God is not before Jesus; God did not MAKE Jesus
- God from God ... true God from true God: Jesus IS God; one and the same
- begotten, "not made": he isn't just an entity made by God that can be made again; this gives him equal status with God
- of one being with the Father: they are together, they are one
- for us ... he "came down from heaven": he willingly lowered his status and forsook his powers; implies mercy from love
- "Virgin" Mary: she wasn't defiled to let him into this world; he is special and completely holy
- and was made "man": from GOD to MAN; willing official demotion
- he was "crucified": he chose to endure the most dishonorable death, the one with most suffering
- under "Pontius Pilate": he put himself under the power of a man, one of his own creations
- he "suffered death" and was "buried": he really really did die, this is not symbolic or metaphoric
- on the "third day": places importance on fulfilling his own words and OT prophecies
- he "rose" again: from death he came back up; states that he really did resurrect
- "ascended into heaven": Jesus gained new power that allowed him to return to heaven; mission accomplished
- seated at the "right hand": shows that God accepts him; he is the action of God's heart
- he will "come again": he hasn't forsook or forgotten us; he has plans
- his kingdom "will have no end": after returning, changes are gonna be physical; this isn't only metaphoric
- "Holy" Spirit: the only thing holy is God, so this states that the Spirit is from God alone
- "With" the Father and ... Son He is worshipped: supports the Trinity; saying that all three of them are one
- he has "spoken": Hebrew "ruah" as in breath, like as in how God spoke/breathed creation into existence; shows that the Spirit has power, or IS God's power
- "one" ... Church: all Christian denominations have same basic faith; same church/body
- "forgiveness" of sins: sins can be forgiven! in this religion, you can go back to being pure
- look for the "resurrection of the dead": there will definitely be a time when even death loses its hold
- "life" of the world to come: the new world isn't just some snobby, holy place; there is gonna be real life, real happiness, real joy, it's all gonna be very real
* although the exact nature of aforementioned resurrection is not included, like how will it happen?
- AMEN: the very definition of "amen" means that "what we're saying/praying/stating, we believe from the bottom of our heart" ... places emphasis on the fact that this Creed is to fully state/cover all of a Christian's beliefs
The Nicene Creed

This is the full version of the official Nicene Creed:
We believe in one God,
      the Father, the Almighty,
      maker of heaven and earth,
      of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
      the only Son of God,
      eternally begotten of the Father,
      God from God, Light from Light,
      true God from true God,
      begotten, not made,
      of one Being with the Father.
      Through Him all things were made.
      For us and for our salvation
          He came down from heaven:
      by the power of the Holy Spirit
          He became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,
          and was made man.
      For our sake He was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
      He suffered death and was buried.
      On the third day He rose again
          in accordance with the Scriptures;
      He ascended into heaven
          and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
      He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead
          and His kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
      who proceeds from the Father.*
      With the Father and the Son He is worshipped and glorified.
      He has spoken through the Prophets.
      We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
      We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
      We look for the resurrection of the dead,
          and the life of the world to come. AMEN.
* Roman Catholics and Protestants add "and the Son" at this point; this phrase is called the filioque Clause