The Purpose Driven Life Chapter 15

I was under the impression that baptism was for Catholics and not Christians.As for treating other members of the spiritual family like members of my own family, I find this difficult to do since many so-called Christians have not even read the whole Bible or worship or even do anything other than label themselves as Christians. However, I already do my best to treat everyone nicely, so there' s nothing really that I would change.

The Purpose Driven Life Chapter 14

How can I stay focused on God when he stays so distant? I suppose by paying attention to the little blessings in life even though Warren says that we should be focused on God regardless of how terrible our lives are going.

The Purpose Driven Life Chapter 13

I am a cross between a naturalist and an activist.

I am curious as to what kind of "new,improved,upgraded body" that we receive in eternity. Here I am with images of androids in my mind! :-P

I found it funny that Warren states that there is no such thing as not being there with your body and being there in "spirit" since that is impossible on Earth. There are so many people that say the aforementioned when they can't make it to an event.

Well, I have not started publicly worshiping so I can't answer the question to consider. I suppose both are equally as meaningful if done in the right manner.

The Purpose Driven Life Chapter 12

I'm going to grow closer to God through thinking about Him more often. I'm still not sure about where God = Jesus ? I wonder if they have a Christianity for Dummies book :).

The Purpose Driven Life Chapter 11

I already do think about God very often during the day as I am a very perceptive person. So, pretty much, everytime I see something beautiful or special. When I look at nature, I don't see accidental creation of life than evolution to that stage. When I see nature, it seems to me to be a work of art, living breathing things created by an artist with attention to detail.

As for the question to consider, about talking to God more often, I have often wondered why some people are considered crazy for talking to unknown unseen entities when talking to God is considered sane when we don't really have any proof to base our faith on.

Which brings me to ask: If you believe in something or someone enough, can you will it into existence?

The Purpose Driven Life Chapter 10

Favourite quote of the chapter: "You know you've surrendered to God when you rely on God to work things out instead of trying to manipulate others, force your agenda, and control the situation."

I feel that I am holding back my relationship with others from God and that I should stop trying to control situations and bend them to my will and just "let go". I just don't like being taken advantage of and having things go my partner's way though since I feel I would become a door mat if I actually "let go" in that case.

The Purpose Driven Life Chapter 9

I have to admit I have had Jesus on the mind a lot lately. Even a site that I randomly found via StumbleUpon had many poems about Him, which kept Him in the forefront of my mind for the last 24 hours.

The part about God not requiring animal sacrifices anymore after the sacrifice of Jesus was very enlightening as I had wondered about that while reading the Old Testament.

As for the question to consider, since God knows what is best, I need to trust him most when it comes to life's problems. I'm going to try to treat difficulties as tests of faith rather than reasons to be bitter.

The Purpose Driven Life Chapter 8

I could start saying grace before meals but I suppose I am afraid of feeling hypocritical like I did a bit when I went with my friend to a Friday night worship session. Also, I would rather think of thanking God than Jesus. I am a little confused about whether God and Jesus are synonymous for Christians.

The Purpose Driven Life Chapter 7

Maybe my problem with receiving Jesus is that it's hard for me to connect a Jewish man being the son of God when I am from an entirely different culture.
As for the question to consider, I can become more aware of God's glory through recognizing the wonder of all living creations.

The Purpose Driven Life Chapter 6

Once again, getting the propoganda feeling from this book. I feel like it is written for readers that are already Christian rather than those who are curious about Christianity. I suppose the most important point I get from this chapter is that since life on earth is not our actual home, death is not to be feared. However, I am finding this all very pedantic and bullheaded. It is getting more difficult to read through this book but since my uncle gifted it to me, I'm going to do my best to give it a chance. I even have to say that the Bible is FAR me interesting than this.

The Purpose Driven Life Chapter 5

I am beginning to think boredom is God's test for me. Writing more analytically, being sick for a month was a test of my perseverance and I feel that I did not do so well with how I reacted to the situation. As for the greatest matters that God has entrusted to me, I believe taking care of the planet, doing my part to not support cruelty to other living beings, and respecting my parents hit the top of the list. I really like where Warren explains that everything on Earth belongs to God, so we as individuals do not really own anything and are just borrowing during the short time that we are here, which is why we need to diligently take care of everything around us.

Food Safety in Restaurants

Wow I randomly found this site while looking for a good restaurant to eat at tonight and it has thoroughly disturbed me. I didn't really realize the uncleanliness levels of so many restaurants. It's too bad there is only information for Port Moody restaurants available but I think it's safe to say restaurants elsewhere are prone to the same failures.

The Purpose Driven Life Chapter 4

The part about our time spent in the womb in preparation of life on earth being substitutable for our time spent on earth being in preparation of eternal life makes a lot of sense to me. I suppose that just like being in the womb we have no knowledge of what is to come even though it is going to happen regardless of our opinions. However, the difference for me is that life on earth is scientifically proven when a baby comes out of a womb where as life after death lacks proof. Yes it would only be smart to prepare for life in eternity if it was proven to be a sure thing yet since it's not, if we spend our lives devoted to a faith in the beyond that may not even exist, it would be a massive waste of our time on Earth.

If I am made to last forever, I suppose I should stop worrying about not succeeding on earth and should start devoting more of my life to "preparing for eternity". Yet, I find it hard to believe that Jewish carpenter born 2000 years ago is the son of God...

I will be reading the Koran after I finish the Bible so as to get more than one piece of the puzzle.

How to Antagonize a House Guest

Top 10 Ways to Antagonize a House Guest

1. force your guest off the toilet by yelling at them while they are not done going to the bathroom so that your dog can be washed
   
2. scream at your guest for using the wrong utensil on a saucepan that supposedly costs $500
3. when having conversations, be as negative as you can and put down every one of your guest's future plans and aspirations
4. try to get your guest to walk your dogs FOR you and pick up their shit while staying home & chatting on the phone/watching television
5. threaten that you won't go anywhere until your guest fully blow dries and brushes your hair for you
6. tell your guest to lie to their father about trumped up credit card charges since you are too cheap to pony up the cost and too pretentious to take a retail job while not being able to find a job that "properly befits you"
7. treat your guest's touching story about your father's past in a callous and disregarding manner
8. repeatedly talk shit about your cousins and friends and neighbors so that your guest is clear on how much of a two faced backstabber you are
9. freak out at your guest for spending a dollar talking to their significant other, while, in the true fashion of a hypocrite, you go about spending thousands of dollars that aren't even yours to spend
10. tell your guest you just "want to punch them in the face" when she is being indecisive over something trivial like when to get a milk shake
    

The Purpose Driven Life Chapter 3

I have read up to Joshua 16 of the Old Testament and don't remember Moses being a murderer prior to God making him great as stated in chapter 3 of TPDL (The Purpose Driven Life). Where in the Bible is this?

I am halfway through this chapter and I have to say that this book is written in a quite pushy overbearing manner and is definitely hard to get through even for someone who is set on getting through it. However, I am going to read it to the end, especially since after chapter 1 asks the reader to think about more ways to bring God into her life. Interestingly enough, a couple days later, I bought tickets to the Trans Siberian Orchestra without really researching what that the show was about. Turns out a good half or even the main portion of the show revolved around Christmas, Jesus, and God himself. This seems to be more than a coincidence.

Since I hit 20, I believe my family and friends would say that doing something to change the world for the better is what drives my life. Despite what Warren says about creating an eternal legacy rather than an earthly legacy that is transient, I think that improving the world for future generations is more than a passing fancy since the aftershocks of positive actions on Earth are far more than transient. For example, if I manage to save some species of animal by finding a law that prevents a corporate development from going through, I think that achievement will last far into the future. Obviously not an eternal impact, but as Buddha says (and as I believe), "all of life is transient".

Volunteer Park conservatory is haunted?

In the room located furthest left (the fern room?), we heard strange "haunted house" type noises at around 4 pm after hissing sounds went off. The hissing can likely be attributed to the many hoses found in the greenhouse type building. However the eery tinkling sounds were unexplainable since there is no music played in there. These strange sounds went from quiet to louder and went on for a couple minutes before we decided to high tail it out of the conservatory. I'm curious as to whether or not others have experienced this or what explanation there is for such strange noises. Keep in mind this place is located right next to the Lakeview Cemetary.

The Purpose Driven Life Chapter 2

After reading this chapter, I can understand why abortion is a horrible act to some Christians. If we are to believe that God plans for each child to be born, then aborting a child is a selfish act and interferes with God's designs. However, my question is, who is to say that God did not plan for the child to not be born?

I don't like how Warren states that "God designed this planet's environment just so we could live in it" (p.14). That is exactly the type of thought based on 'human's dominion over all things on earth and earth itself' that allows many people to continue living in an unsustainable manner since it's there 'God given right'. There's an essay written by a geographer that examines this issue but the name escapes me at this moment. If I find the paper in my old course work, I will come back and quote it on here.

However, if one is to believe that God meant for each of us to be exactly the way we are, that would take a lot of pressure off everyone. People would stop unnecessarily striving for personal "achievements" through such acts as plastic surgery and each one of us would be content with our own strengths and our own weaknesses.

Hard Time Volunteering

I have officially been trying to help the community out through volunteering for a NGO or ENGO for the last 2 months and have yet to find a position. This is frustrating because I diligently search daily and send out an email at least once a day as well. It's sad that there is such a lack of connection between organizations that need people and people that are willing to donate their time. The volunteer sites which have positions in Coquitlam are also few and far between and ones such as govolunteer.ca rarely have new postings.

The Purpose Driven Life Chapter 1

So my uncle gifted me The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. I started reading it today and will be following the suggested plan of a chapter a day for fourty days. I will thus be posting my thoughts and comments here.

My general impression of the book so far is that it's pushing for the reader to trust in Jesus without really delving into the "whys". As for the question to consider: "...how can I remind myself that life is really about living for God, not myself" (p.21), I suppose if I wanted to do that I would devote my time and money to the church as a constant reminder of giving myself to God. I guess my problem with the Bible is that is is written by humans, and humans are fallible and self-maximizing, which leads me to doubt that God's commands could have been recorded without corruption. Too bad we didn't have visual or audio recording devices back then.

Lack of Proper Law Enforcement in Coquitlam

What are the point of the small laws that better our society if they are not even enforced? For a long time I have seen people commit selfish acts due to the ease of getting away with doing so. I have seen everything from Waste Managment company drivers throwing garbage out their windows while driving (How ironic!) to a man dumping pumpkins into a stream that is protected salmon habitat. Not to mention the dozens of residents that think it is "okay" to park their cars on the sidewalk where pedestrians are supposed to be able to safely walk! When will law enforcement finally step in? Or are citizens that care simply doomed to trying to catch a picture of such wrongdoers in the hopes that such proof will be enough to penalize once so that they think twice before acting in an unsustainable manner. Officers concentrate too much on giving tickets for minimal speeding and animal control instead of concentrating on more important matters.

-Angry Resident