In the movie The Hiding Place, the ten Boom family hid Jews in Holland during WWII. When their actions were questioned by people in regards to why they were doing this, one of the daughters responded by saying, "The need is great. We must do what we can!"

How often is it that we ourselves resort to "hiding" when troubling times come even though we might not be the ones needing to be cared for? Too often. It is human nature to resort to self-preservation. However, this goes beyond something science tries to define as a natural instinct. Let's just face it, we are prideful and want others to fall (guilty or innocent) before we ourselves fall. I am not excluding myself from this group either.

Many times I find myself hiding my true thoughts about situations as a means to keep people happy or pleasant with me. After realizing I have done so I just want to kick myself for not being bold or courageous to actually speak up. This is a weakness that I have taken to praying about, that God might use me in some way and to seek Him out for the boldness to do so because I know that I don't have it. I want to see God work through me in such a way that I cannot rely on my own strength.

So are you hiding or are you "hiding" others?

The other night I found my self thinking about the word 'dating' and how society defines that word. For me, dating is not some magical threshold that once crossed opens the door to new ways of showing love. Instead, the whole process of forming a relationship with someone of the opposite gender is just that, a process. In thinking about the words used to define where we are in that relationship process, I have come to realize that people often misconstrue those words to mean something physical.

Take 'dating' for example. That word should define the portion of the timeframe of the relationship in which both persons have first become open and honest about how they think of the other person and where they want to head with this relationship with the understanding that this period of time is for getting to know the other person better and to the point of being able to decide if marriage is the right course of action or if ending the relationship is what needs to happen. Continuing with another example, the word 'marriage' should mean that two people have committed to loving one another through both the smooth and the rough times of life and is meant to be a lifelong commitment.

However, upcoming generations do not view 'dating' or 'marriage' as specific timeframes of a relationship but rather as physical descriptions of the status held by two individuals in relation to one another. This can be seen in the expressions that society uses to convey the physical relationship between two people with examples being as follows: 'seeing each other', 'going out', 'hooking up', 'tie the knot', etc. What has been lost is the deeper meanings behind dating and marriage. All that is left in society is the shallow meanings of the physical side which interestingly correlate to self-gratification rather than love for the other person.

The glory of God is man fully alive

- Saint Irenaeus

There are times when in the course of life I hope for the unexpected to happen, and sometimes it happens but most often it does not. But then there are times where I am not even hoping for the unexpected and I get a great surprise I could not have imagined. Just like the snow-covered mountains in this photo taken two years ago, could I be on the verge of yet another great surprise?

I hope so...

At Arizona State University (ASU) this semester, I am taking a course entitled Religion, Magick, and Science (REL 382). Its an interesting course in that the professor's focus is on the history behind how religion, magick, and science have been connected throughout the ages. There has been two ideas that he seems to keep touching back on and have come to intrigue me and on which I have and continue to dwell upon.

The first idea being people who become defensive and start snapping at another person when their faith is being questioned, even if it is only a discussion and not an attack. The professor would say that this happens because people are insecure in regards to their faith. Alright, I can agree with that. When a person is questioned in regards to what they believe to be true, I would expect them to hold strong to that belief, even if they cannot adequately explain why they believe what they believe. I would like to think that I would be able to handle questions that I cannot answer about my beliefs and still hold on to my faith without succumbing to defensive fighting. Faith is a crucial aspect as God did not call us to understand Him as much was we possibly can because that is impossible. What God called us to was to love Him and love others as much as you would love yourself. Love should be our prime focus through which God will teach us out of our desire to know Him more what we need to know in order to serve Him better!

The second idea that the professor brought up was about people, Christ-followers specifically, who avoid certain items (by touch, sight, or hearing) because such items have an association with a belief that is not biblically based. To me this seems ridiculous. If I were to look at figurines, statues, or drawings associated with another person's belief system, I would not be overcome by it to the point of withdrawing from it. Such items have no power over me or nature. They are powerless. Thus, I have no need to fear such things because I know God. I will even say that the Bible has no power as it is an inatimate object. There is only one Being that needs to be feared and that is God, not Satan.