1. In the beginning of chapter 4, Jesus goes into the wilderness where he is tempted by the devil. In fact the exact phrase is, "Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil."(Mat 4:1). The question that popped into my mind while reading this was, why would the Spirit purposefully lead Jesus into temptation? Why go running towards trouble? Lucky for me I have a sweet study Bible that enlightened me on this topic. By confronting and prevailing against Satan in the desert, Jesus showed us that temptation does NOT need to end in failure. This is SO encouraging. Jesus was face to face with the devil and able to resist temptation. Whatever the devil throws at us, it does not need to completely unravel us. Just like Jesus, our Savior, we are completely capable of resisting any temptation with the Lord's help. Pretty cool, huh?
2. Jesus is a pretty poetic guy. I know this may sound superficial, but I couldn't help but think about it while I was reading. Every word he spoke had purpose and thought behind it. Some of his phrases and metaphors are absolutely beautiful. The phrase that really stuck with me while reading was when Jesus was speaking to Peter and Andrew(two fishermen) and he said, "come follow me and I will make you the fishers of men"(Mat 4:19). I just absolutely love that sentence. I mean, how much better can you get?
3. Moderately related to #1, but while in the desert how Jesus fight off the devil and his temptation? The answer is scripture. Scripture, scripture, scripture. Knowing verses is scripture is so so important. Unfortunately, memorizing Bible verses is something I'm absolutely terrible at and I really need to make a conscious effort to get better at it.
The first couple pages of Matthew gives us a brief overview of some of the events and circumstances surrounding the birth of Jesus. While the story focuses Jesus' virgin birth and King Herod's power-hungry massacre that follows, what stood out most to me in the passage was Joseph and his complete obedience and trust in the Lord. Joseph's life was completely turned around, yet he remained so steadfast in his faith. Think of the shock, sadness, and even anger he must have felt when he initially discovered Mary's pregnancy, but when an angel of the Lord told him the truth of her pregnancy Joseph "did what the angel of the Lord commanded him"(Mtw 1:24) without questioning. Joseph would go on to move his family not once but twice on the Lord's command, leaving his home, business, and friends all behind. He never doubted the Lord's guidance. He trusted in God's plan for him, for his family so completely that he was willing to do whatever the Lord commanded of him.
We've all been through adversity and trials like Joseph, but can we say that we never let our challenges create cracks in our faith? That we wholly and completely trusted in the Lord, His plan, and His timing. I know for myself, the answer is a resounding no. If I were in Joseph's shoes, there would have been quite a few times where I would want to take the reigns and ignore God's command. But here's the thing: God's plan is always the best plan. If Joseph had done what his instincts were telling him, what he wanted to do, there is a very real possibility we would all be without our SAVIOR, which is kind of a big deal. Keeping our trust and faith in God's plan is something we have to consciously remember and choose to do every day. Every morning we need to turn our lives and to him and always remember that God works for our good(Rom 8:28)!
Reading and knowing God's word is important and I try to pull my Bible out everyday and read through a passage or two. Its something that's become a ritual every morning, which can be a bad thing. Too often reading my Bible, spending my 15 minutes alone with God becomes simply something to check off my to-do list. I'm reading His word, but not taking it in, not reflecting on it, not applying it to my life. I'm not reading with meaning.
So here's the plan.
I'm going to use this blog as a quiet time, accountability journal. I will be going through Matthew with YOU guys, posting passages everyday or two along with my reflections and thoughts about them. The hope is that the act of writing and sharing after reading will push me to delve deeper into the Word and gain more understanding.
Here we go!
Va Spurs Va seems to be all I have been hearing the last month since returning home to San Antonio. And with good reason. I mean, the spurs are kind of awesome. And I'm not just saying this because two of the players used to live in my neighborhood or because I saw Tony Parker in an elevator once(though I'm sure theses close encounters had a huge impact on their success). I'm saying this because they are A W E S O M E. Let me elaborate on that for you.
Why You Should Love the Spurs
Coach Pop. He gives monosyllable responses during most interviews, which has the opposite effect that one may initially think. Its actually pretty entertaining watching reporters try to phrase their questions in order coax a response that will last more than two seconds and then see Pop completely shut it down.
The Spurs do wonderfully cheesy commercials for HEB.
They are al absolutely great. Watch more here, here, and here.
Spurs players have the best names. On what other team can you cheer for Manu, Tiago, Boris, Dejuan, Nando, or Kawhi?
A humble yet effective big three. Tim, Tony, Manu, Y'all the best.
Matt Bonner. I guess you could say I saved the best for last. I know some of you right now are questioning who Matt Bonner is, but trust me he's great. He had a sandwich blog in which he deems himself " The Sandwich Hunter in Quest for the Hoagie Grail". He's super smart( he graduated college with the likes of a 3.9). He can drain 3-pointers, leading to Kobe Bryant nicknaming him the Red Mamba(which has come to replace his prior nickname of the red rocket). On top of all of this, he's a red head(shout out the roomie) which is an extremely endangered species in the NBA. So to sum things up he's funny, smart, athletic, and a ginger, what more could you want on your team??
I realized that it’s been quite a long time since my last
blog post, and I asked myself: what I have been doing all of these days that
have kept me from writing? I found that the majority of the answers that came
to mind I would be mildly embarrassed to share with other people because they
fall into the category of guilty pleasures. Yes, yes, we all have them and I
have decided to come clean and share a few of mine with you guys(refraining
from too harsh of judgment would be appreciated)
1.Toddlers
and Tiaras
Why do I like watching 4 year olds running
around screaming while wearing more makeup than I even own? I don’t know. But I
LOVE it. It’s all just so entertaining. I love it when parents use euphemisms
like “full of personality” and “a firecracker” to describe their spoiled and/or
obnoxious children. I think it’s hilarious when overly competitive parents
plaster their child’s face on the side of their RV, which they bought specially
for traveling to pageants. And the kids. Don’t even get me started. Who knew 4
year olds could come up with such great one-liners?(Mackenzie anyone?)
Unfortunately thinking about the kids is where the guilt comes in. While
watching Toddlers and Tiaras, deep down I know these kids are going to turn out
warped and misguided. Little girls( and sometimes boys) have terrible values
and the wrong meaning of beauty stuffed down their throat by their parents and
peers*sigh*. I console myself by saying whether I watch the show or not these
things are still going to happen, sooooooo might as well watch it!
Note that I do not watch Honey Boo Boo's show (you have to draw the line somewhere) but her episode on Toddlers and Tiaras was PRIME.
2.One Direction
I introduce to you the 5 boys from across
the pond that have stolen millions of tween girl’s hearts across the world. And
mine*. One Direction hit me hard and fast. I didn’t even know their names before
I went to college. Now I can tell you exactly who is singing at a part in a
song. Now if you showed me five outfits I could tell you which one each of the
boys would wear and how it fit their personality. Now my secret pinterest board
that was meant for attractive people in general is being taken over by Niall,
Harry, Zayn, Louis, and Liam(…but mostly Liam, let’s be real.). I know, its
kinda bad. But it is just so much fun liking One Direction, I find that I’m ok with
having the musical taste of a 12 year old.
I like one direction so much that even though this is the most random music video I have ever seen that is completely unrelated to the song I still approve of it and have watched it many times(I mean these things don't take away from the fact that they are absolutely adorable) I highly recommend full screening this one.
*Now before you go making assumptions, I
want to clarify that I am NOT a crazy, obsessive fan, but simply a fan. I like
them. I like their music. I like looking at them. I do NOT know where they
live. I do NOT know where they are at this exact moment in time. I do NOT know
what Harry Styles latest tattoo was (a note to Harry: I think it’s time to take
a little break from getting tattoos, you’re starting to look a little
grungy(sorry Courtney)).
3.All Things Royal Family
Ugh. The Royals. Can they just stop? No,
they can’t because they are perfect. Young William and Harry- two of the most
adorable children you will lay your eyes on. Kate Middleton-A women with the
perfect combination of class, poise, style, personality, AND NOW SHES HAVING A BABY
(but that is for another post). And then there’s Prince Harry. Oh Harry. Harry,
Harry, Harry, Harry, Harry. He is what brings in the guilt to this guilty
pleasure. He’s a party boy; He’s promiscuous; usually these things turn me off
and make me not like people. But I still like Harry. A lot. He’s just such a
cutie pie ginger, yet a super attractive man at the same time. For those of you
that require some examples of what I mean by this, there are some excellent,
and I mean polo-uniform-wearing-playing-with-small-children-could-be-male-model
excellent, pictures of him in this glorious article (shout out to Katie B-R for
showing it to me).
I honestly wouldn't be surprised if they really were wizards
4.Ryan Gosling
Ryan Gosling. The only reason I mildly
consider him a guilty pleasure is because he is such a mainstream celebrity
crush. But as y’all have probably noticed, I’m not shy about sharing my love of
him with others so maybe this isn’t the best category for him. Oh well, good
excuse for a picture.
cutie.
5.Grey’s Anatomy/ One Tree Hill/ Netflix in
general
Netflix is why I get nothing done. If I
didn’t have Netflix I would probably be in the middle of one of my most
accomplished summers yet. Buy I do have it and thus I’ve done NOTHING this
summer. I get on my computer planning on researching internships or writing a
blog post or figuring out what to do with my life. But where do I end up?
Watching Meredith Grey and McDreamy break up and get back together for the 10th
time. Watching extremely improbable things happen to Lucas and Nathen Scott.
Watching Jim Halpert being adorable and making me want to marry him. Basically I
end up invested in fictional characters, watching their lives unfold while mine
remains stagnant. Oh the joys of Netflix.
So here ya have ‘em. My guilty pleasures that have been
consuming my life for the past three weeks( and I’m sure I will think of more
later). But I have decided that the time has come for me to do something this
summer. The time has come for me to be productive. Productiveness here I
come(…maybe).
