Hmmm

I Shunned their message,
for their choice of words was lacking.
Meaning of their message,
Lost on the hard ears of criticism.
They praised with their heart,
And I judged with my soul;
But who judges me,
And who judges my goals?

Humble my heart Lord,
fill my with your holy spirit;
Let me tear down no more,
And give me the strength to surrender.
For in surrender to you lord,
is man's only surity,
and leading form you,
only comes through humility.

A humble heart loves,
and builds others up.
Pride destroys beutiful things,
and pushes out of it's way
all things it sees as in it's way.
Loves sees all the healing it can do,
and nothing it cannot forgive.
Pride cuts love up and labels it:
"Weirdo who can't understand the way we should live".

By me.

I feel that this one is a little higgledy-piggledy, First stanza I'm talking about me, Next I'm talking to God (always a good thing to do), and then I launch into figure and proverb-like observation. Must be all the Christmas dinner, and the Rum Balls.


Slàn!

Jazzy

Hum

I've been thinking about a lot of things recently. In my real diary, which I've kept for about three years, I've been able to see how there has been so much of a change in my heart since I decided to follow Jesus. It really is unimaginable that I was the Jared that I used to be, yet the things done by the Jared I used to be, still affect the Jared writing now. Consequences are variable creatures; sometimes I can hear them rumble like thunder in the distance, knowing that the time will come when the storm will come crashing onto me, and yet I know that even when weathering that storm that God is with me in the middle of a storm that a younger me created. On the other hand, some consequences are much to be looked forward to, even if it is the reconcilliation of the merest worry of a friend.

Proverbs 10:12 says this:
"Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers all sins."
This is my favorite proverb, espescially the last half. God's Love covers all my sins. That's just so awesome.

Psalm 25:7 says this:
"Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions; According to Your mercy remember me, for your Goodness sake, O Lord."

I think that a rather important part of a Christians' life is Humility (something that I sometimes overlook). I think humility is a right understanding of our relationship to God multiplied by Love ( R x L = H). It took David a right understanding of the relationship between Himself and God to confess, or even understand that the sins of his youth were a problem, and in other parts of the psalm he prays "Show me Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your Paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For you are the God of my salvation; On you I wait all the day." (Vs's 4 and 5)

But my main Case for humility in our lives is from Vs. 9:
"The humble he guides in justice, And the humble he teaches his way"
Also in James 4:6 it says this:
"God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble"

Proverbs 13:1
"A Wise son heeds his father's instruction, but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke"

And Proverbs 13:13
"He who despises the word will be destroyed, But he who fears the commandment will be rewarded"

The humble are given grace, Given guidance and God teaches them his way.
I think that to fear God's commandments we must be humble, and that it is with worldly pride that the word is despised, and to those being proud, God resists them.

Bit of a humbling thought, I thought.

I Wonder........

I wonder,

when I see the picture of your creation,
that I'm in that picture too.
That when I cry my deepest sorrows,
you catch my every tear.

And when I chose to come to you,
the angels where rejoicing.
That you saw me here on earth,
and made me your temple.

You take my brokeness in hand,

and for the first time I remember,
you knit my heart together.

And I wonder,

How you love me,

more than I can ever understand.


Well,
That one was spontaneous.

Jazzy

The Shopping centre

Ages ago, when I was little, I loved going to the shopping centre. Absolutly loved it. We'd go into Coles, Big W, Grace Brothers and all the other ones. Dad would show, and tell me cool stuff; like why the cakes would rise in the oven (I wasn't interested in the bread, just the cakes), and how to ride the trolly in the car park and stuff like that.
One time, we were in Big W, and though I absolutly loved being with mum and dad and my sibllings, I was distracted by a large screen that was displaying the latest computer games, and I was absolutly entralled. After a while, I got bored, and went looking for mum and/or dad.
I couldn't find them anywhere.
The thought hit me; here was I, alone, in a big scary shopping centre (isn't it funny how so many places are okay when there's people to look after you, but are suddenly alien, cold and terrifying when there isn't?) and I was absolutly distressed because I was not just facing the prospect, but being in the middle of being alone and apart from my family.
So after what seemed like my whole life, I went and told the wonderful checkout clark (I was bawling my eyes out by this time) and told her that I had lost Mummy, and she (I don't remember what she looked like, but I was wearing a red jumper and blue jeans) got onto the P.A. and announced that A young Boy had lost his mummy, about five, with dark hair and Brown eyes, wearing a red jumper and blue jeans (that's why I remember!, I think she said somthing about checkout numbers and somthing else as well, but I was five).

Anyway, what I learned from that experiance at the time was that sometimes getting distracted by computer games in the shops is much more trouble than it's worth. But what I learned today from that experiance, is that once we are enthralled by somthing that isn't God, we'll stay that way until it falls through, and be left with a sinking feeling in our heart at the thought of being alone. There is a contrast. Somtimes God will take us over to the (insert thing here) and say "here are your choices, pick one"; or he'll take us to (insert other thing, or possibly same thing as before here) and say "you're having that one and that's that" and the only way to get out if it is to run away from God. And that when we are holding Gods hand and trusting him to take us through the right shops, although I might see the newest game and really want it, but just have to pass it by; or when I make a choice and it was not such a good one, that I can just hold on to God's hand and it is well with my soul (I love that Hymn, by the way).

The Answer is not Changed

Do I?
Do I not?

The answer writhes in my hand,
knowing it full well
I try to crush it in my hands.
But it will not be crushed.

I hide it in my hands,
but it screams out it's truth,
It's part of me, the answer,
I am partly the answer.

I try to stifle it's yells,
I am afraid of anyone else knowing it.
Afraid of having that tender and vulnerable part of me
known by the object of the question.

I try to stifle the answer,
I try to stifle myself,
To crush a part of myself,
And I bleed.

Wrapped in the obcession
of my battle against myself
I had not heard God,
Calling me to stop hurting myself!
How had I forgotten that I am his temple?
How had I tried to crush that part of myself?

The answer cannot be changed by me,
not divided, not forgotten, nor it's value lessend.
The answer is,

I do.

By Jared

I've been thinking a real lot lately, and among all the waffle that went through my brain there was some actual thinking, and I've come to a conclusion.

The answer needs to be turned over to God,
I reckon I've done that.
Trusting God is somtimes a bit like offering my arm for an tetnus injection, you know that there will be a jab of pain and a local reaction that swells to the size of a tennis ball (well, it does for me), but I know that result of my trusting God to do with my answer (or is it his?) is like the benefits of the vaccination. Tetnus does some terrible things to the body when it gets a hold. I know some of the(really cool) people reading this would call the description a "fast forwardy" bit. So I won't.

Anyway,
Slàn!

J

Funny thing....

The funny thing about writing my thoughts down and posting them on the internet is that I can never really take into account the things which I havn't thought yet. At the back of my head I know that these things, which I havn't thought, are going to be wild, diverse, shocking, happy and sad. The end of that last statment is a mediocre description of the thoughts I've had today and yesterday. I've had my firm resolve flipped around, the focus of my perspective is on another aspect, and I let my feelings get deeper into the tangle of my reason. What seemingly MUST happen doesn't seem like doom anymore, what should happen is covered now in the ambiguity of the future, it seems the scars are avoidable (well, the ones I envisaged) and hope is back in the picture, filling and spreading from the hole of where I tried to cut it out.
It was rather wet and cold today, but I saw the new blossoms on the trees, heard the birds making a racket and realised something; people who don't look on the bright side need to get a life.

Sky

Barely two minutes ago, I noticed something which I had never noticed before. When looking from the west-facing second storey windows of my house, the lights of Bathurst can be seen as a faint glow in the air when it is raining lightly. It looks pretty cool.

Today I came to a conclusion that I should have came to weeks ago. This conclusion requires action. Sooner or later. It's one which makes me sad. I can stay how I am, knowing what MUST happen, I could try to change what should happen, or, I could say what needs to be said. None of these will make anyone happy in the short term. But If I say what need be, then the scars mightn't hurt so much.

Sometimes it takes a bit of rain to show that the cities' lights are on, and sometimes it takes a bit of trouble for Jared to see the position of another person's life. Go figure.

Growing up

The realisation that every day, I will have to decide which direction to go for the rest of my life.
That holding hands is scary, exciting, terrifying, happy, unsure and secure at the same time.
That every day for the rest of my life, God has taken away my reason to fear the "Old tin Hat".
That the peace of God comes with having the humility to ask him to heal the deepest wounds, that hate is a wound that festers and that love heals a crippled heart more surely than any quack. That physical pain and discomfort could always be worse. That my problems aren't unique. That taking the opportunities you have is like making new freinds, it's never smooth at first, sometimes it hurts, sometimes you make a lasting freindship, there's always scope for mutual disapointment, you might end up married to one and you'll never know them if you don't introduce yourself. That sometimes my analogies just don't work. That God's grace is always enough, and that coffee addiction is a real problem if all the motel has is instant.

And that there is always something I havn't realised or noticed right under my nose.

For instance, I missed a tiny bit just near my right nostril when I was Shaving yesterday.
I used to be impatient to have facial hair, now I think its a bit of a nuisence.

Slàn!

Maybe one day I'll feel inspired when writing.

Found this thingy

1. Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, and find line 4.
"retain the central ideological values and core concerns as we can"

2. Stretch your left arm out as far as you can. What can you touch?
The southern wall.

3. What is the last thing you watched on TV?
Doctor Who!

4. Without looking, guess what time it is.
9:15

5. Now look at the clock. What is the actual time?
9:13

6. With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?
Coughing!

7. When did you last step outside? What were you doing?
I got some water from the tank a few hours ago.

8. Before you started this survey, what did you look at?
A Homeschooler's forum.

9. What are you wearing?
Jeans, Black tee and a jumper.

10. Did you dream last night?
I don't remember.

11. When did you last laugh?
Too long ago!

12. What is on the walls of the room you are in?
Stuff, some testamurs, bookshelves, much bookshelf.

13. Seen anything weird lately?
Well, I walked past a mirror not too long ago.....

14. What do you think of this quiz?
Nothing really, I could start thinking, but that might be hard.

15. What is the last film or video you saw?
Chicago.

16. If you became a multi-millionaire overnight, what would you buy?
I have never put much thought into that. probably a whole lot of Bibles.

17. Tell me something about you that I don’t know.
I'm a bloke!

18. If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics,
what would you do?
Get rid of the hatred.

19. Do you like to dance?
I sure do!

20. Comment to George Bush:
Ummm, "it's not the critic that counts!"

21. Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her?
Well, I'd have to discuss that with my other half. Who I'm not sure if I've met yet.

22. Imagine your first child is a boy, what do you call him?
I would suggest, to my hypothetical other half, the name Enoch. very Biblical.

23. Would you ever consider living abroad?
There's no doubt about that.

24. What do you want God to say to you when you reach the pearly gate?
"Well done good and faithful servant"

Well,

That was pretty random.

I should have spent the time on something more constructive.

Oh well, maybe I can think of something worthwhile to say later.

Slàn!

And so....

I gave it some thinking,
and I gave it some thought,
and I finally decided,
to keep this poem short.

I came up with that one when I should have been studying.

Anyway, down to business! About the question I posed in my first post...... I have decided not to detail an answer here. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but I now think that the question I raised in my first post doesn't actually address the issue I thought it did, also, I just don't feel like turning my blog into a series of essays about things that pop into my head while waiting to go somewhere. However, if someone asks me to, I can relate my leangthy opinion on the issue.

Whenever I write a poem, It's because the inspiration for it is Just there, right in my recent experiance. This sometimes means I write about burnt dinner, people who make me feel really angry or a satisfying Cup of Coffee. But the one thing in common that can be found in any poem I write that took me longer than two minutes to write, is my faith. It's the one thing I have as a constant. My self-esteem, happiness, health, comfort and everything else are unreliable, but Jesus is reliable, and he's always in my recent experiance.

Here's another likkle poem That I wrote, It doesn't have a name, but the name doesn't define the poem, just the content.

Today was a bit grueling,
with hard bits here and there,
Hurts and bumps and careless words,
and things that just weren't fair.

Grinding pain was with me too,
Blaring through my being,
and at times the best I managed,
was just to keep from crying.

But in all of that, the worst of my day,
when my tasks seemed too big for me,
I felt you there, Lord, Holding me up,
Helping me stand and be free.

Anyway, I should go and clean up the Kitchen now.
But before I do, I am going to try to write "hello world" with yellow rubber gloves on.
Here goes for a Jared's first............. (drumroll).............

hello worlkd.

Well, that was pretty unspectaculoar., I'll just have to live with it.

Slàn!

Jazza.

Things that crossed mind while I was typing

Well, my sunday has run away
and monday has now come,
I've still got many things to do,
A gauntlet yet to run.
But even though I doubt sometimes,
and shy away from fear,
God is always standing by me,
That point is always clear.
And when my rhyme and metre fail,
and my equations don't equate,
God still loves me anyway,
Which is a blessed fate.

Written impulsivly at about 12:45 AM Monday, by me.

Well, At the moment I am formulating a more complete answer to the question posed In my first post. It'll take some time, the draft is already about three paragraphs long.
It occurred to me in the middle of the night to explain what Slàn means and why I used SombasaUmpartiate as my Url. Slàn is a Gaelic word meaning "go safely", And Sombasa Umpartiate is totally misspelt Zulu that sort of means grabbing Apartide against it's will. It's from a south African Song that often gets called 'Sibamba' (the song's about grabbing apartheid and throwing it into the sea). Apartheid has already crashed and burned, but I like the song muchly.

As I was reading psalm 51 today, which is perhaps one of my favorite passages of scripture, The following bit Jumped out at me like it hadn't before: "Make me hear joy and gladness, That bones you have broken may rejoice." (vs. 8, NKJV). How often do I pray that? That God will change me on the inside so that I can always rejoice, even when the bones go crunch? Not enough. But then again, the point is not whether I pray enough, laugh enough or sing enough. The point, is that God desires our inward parts. Our heart. Praying is works. Faith is Faith. Faith without works is dead, Works without faith get you nowhere. Faith in our heart that is alive spawns works. Throw a Good helping of love over everything, along with the Live Faith in our hearts and we have the following from Ephesians chapter 3: "That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height- to know the love of christ which passess knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." (vs 17-19, NKJV).

I'm not sure if this really qualifies as ranting.

Oh well.



Cait, Al and David,
this one's for you;

Streetvulopho

Trusting is a scary thing,
to close your eyes and make a leap,
trusting in a promise made,
and hoping that a promise Keeps

Hoping is a wonderous thing,
It stirs the heart, and spurs the soul,
on towards that lovely thing,
that has become our highest goal

But what is trust without great hope,
placed in a promise against our fall?
And trustless hope spurs no-one's soul,
and isn't really hope at all.

Love is better than both of these,
it stays throughout, over long years.
love stays love through faltered trust,
through shameful, bloody, hopeless tears

And Jesus loved us while still rebels,
and gave us love in hopeless days,
so we can have great hope in trusting him,
and him being near us, the length of lifes' Maze.

I came up with the name when I was into making up anagrams.
It's made up of three words used in the poem.

I actually wrote it a while ago and posted it on www.talkjesus.com

Alrighty,
I just remembered some other things which I must get done (about four).

Slàn!

P.S.

Just in case anyone wonders how a poem can be for someone/s without being written Specifically for them, then my answer is Jubbley Wubbly. It's like singing a song for someone/s. so as the cheat says, Meh!

First Post.

Unimaginativly named, but franlkly true.

I have never in my life had a blog before, so with next to no prompting by anyone else, I've decided to start one. Unfortunatly, this post cannot be very long, seeing as I have committed to being On time-ish to sunday school teaching, so even if I make the clock nervous by the way I keep on looking at it, I'll keep track of time (says Jared, absent-mindedly). Which brings to mind the question; If a committment is made, is it more important that the committment is kept, or that damage is avoided in the keeping of that committment? Well, to be considered is whether the factors in the question (keeping a committment, and not causing harm by the means of keeping that committment) can be quantified, or should be qualified? By quantified, I mean that one might be considered right, and the other more right, one as wrong, the other as right or some other description.

well, The clock (and my dad) is telling me that I should leave this for now and go teach sunday school because time is of the essence (what exactly does that mean, anyway?).

Slàn!

Jared