Relient K August 31, 2007
Posted by Anya in : spontaneous degeneration, I won't keep things purposely vague , 3commentsGive
No one told me
The right way
The right way to go about this
So I’ll figure it out for myself
Cuz how much
Is too much
To give You
Well I may never know
So I’ll just give until there’s nothing elseYeah I’ll give give give (until there’s nothing else)
Give my life (until it all runs out)
Give give (and I’ll have no regrets)
I’ll give until there’s nothing left
I’ll give
No one told me
How bad I need You (need You)
But I somehow arrived
To that conclusion all by myself (all by myself)
And I want
All You have to offer (to offer)
So I offer myself and I’ll just give until there’s nothing else
And I’ll give give give (until there’s nothing else)
Give my life (until it all runs out)
Give give (and I’ll have no regrets)
I’ll give until there’s nothing left to
Give give give (until there’s nothing else)
Give my life (until it all runs out)
Give give (and I’ll have no regrets)
I’ll give until there’s nothing left
Sometimes I think
Like all I ever do
Is ask for things
Until I ask too much of You
But that’s not the way (that’s not the way)
I wanna live (I wanna live)
I need to change (I need to change)
But something’s got to give
Yeah something’s got to
Give give give (until there’s nothing left)
Give my life (until it all runs out)
Give give (and I’ll have no regrets)
I’ll give until there’s nothing left to give
Give give give (until there’s nothing left)
Give my life (until it all runs out)
Give give
Give until there’s nothing left
I’ll give
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. (Romans 12:1)
Relient K. Ah, yes. A band which many people ever-so-strongly dislike. I can see why, too. Their songs are a bit… odd. But I think they’re getting better. And they say things that I need to remember.
I’m sweeping up the seconds
That tick off the clock
Save them all for later
When I’m too ticked to talk
And I need some time
To search my mind
To locate the words
That seem so hard to findAnd sometimes I say things that
I wish that I could take back
The most crucial thing in life is
The thing called tact
And if your hour’s so intently listening
Then the smartest thing to say
Is to tell myself not to say a thingYeah I gotta keep quiet quiet
Don’t let it all come undone
Cuz if I dare open my mouth
It’ll just be to bite my tongue
To bite my tongue (Bite My Tongue)
I would disagree on tact being the most crucial thing in life, though. 
Why don’t you
Come right out and say it
Even if the words are probably gonna hurt
I’d rather have the truth
Than something insincere
Why don’t you
Come right out and say it (come right out and say it)
What it is you’re thinking
Though I’m thinking it’s not what I wanna hear (Come Right Out and Say It)
That song reminds me of Derek Webb’s Medication and various things Antion’s said. The one time I was putting too much thought into what I was trying to say to him and finally admitted, “I’m trying to think of how in the world I can say what i’m thinking”
Helpful as ever, Antion sent back, “well… it usually starts with one word”.
Incredibly enough, that advice did help… he had a point…
And finally…
Cause we’re all guilty of the same things
We think the thoughts whether or not we see them through
And I know that I have been forgiven… (Forgiven)
When all’s said and done (and sung) I do not recommend all of their… songs… but some of it is good stuff. ^_^ And growing increasingly thoughtful. (Thank goodness. Had they grown less thoughtful… um… the CDs wouldn’t have existed. 
… yes, I know, I need to go to charm school. Or learn some tact.)
Speaking of charm school… August 30, 2007
Posted by Anya in : spontaneous degeneration, smiling is good for you , 2commentsTonight we were having snack, and Hyarion was kindly sharing his candy cigarettes with Atara and Chrissie. He launched one across the table at them. It hit the table and broke. Atara and Chrissie looked at each other in dismay, and then at Hyarion, wanting to know who had to take the broken one. He looked at their long faces and made a quick decision.
It was not, as I thought, the noble gesture of taking the broken one for himself.
No.
Rather, he broke another one and tossed the pieces to Chrissie. “Here,” he said. “That way they’ll both be broken. I think it’s better that way.”
*dropping of jaws*
Cyber-space is random, too August 28, 2007
Posted by Anya in : spontaneous degeneration , 2commentsThe “too” part refers, of course, to the way that much of my life is a bit… random. It’s a good thing. Just ask my friends. *clears throat* Right, friends???
Anyway, my blog stats are looking a bit random, too.
Some randomness:
Visitors to this blog have been from:
| UNITED STATES (US) | 3348 |
| (Unknown Country?) (XX) | 1743 |
| TURKEY (TR) | 105 |
| SWEDEN (SE) | 64 |
| SOUTH AFRICA (ZA) | 37 |
| COLOMBIA (CO) | 18 |
| CANADA (CA) | 18 |
| CHINA (CN) | 14 |
| RUSSIAN FEDERATION (RU) | 5 |
| AUSTRALIA (AU) | 4 |
| BELGIUM (BE) | 3 |
| UNITED KINGDOM (UK) | 3 |
| NETHERLANDS (NL) | 2 |
| GERMANY (DE) | 2 |
| JAPAN (JP) | 2 |
| CZECH REPUBLIC (CZ) | 1 |
So what is this “Unknown Country”? And why don’t all these people leave comments? Yes, I know, I have received comments from the US, South Africa, and Turkey. But what about all these other countries?
Keyword searches done:
| shine” and “let them glorify the lord” | 1 |
| “stoking my heart still stirring my head” | 1 |
| “max mclean” | 1 |
| newsboys “something beautiful” analysis | 1 |
| “monday, tuesday, wednesday, thursday, friday, saturday night” lyrics | 1 |
| “rikki tikki bear” | 1 |
| if you give a bird coke | 1 |
| calvinist riverdance | 1 |
| catherine aimirgin | 1 |
My apologies to whoever was looking for Catherine Aimirgin. Hope that you found her. Newsboys seem to be the hot topic on this blog… and I like the “calvinist riverdance” combo! :)
*evil laughter* I’m currently trying to drive Sam (L, not -wise) crazy by IMing him in Indonesian…
Here it was:
me: bagaimana? [what’s up?]
Sam: you know
me: tidak [no]
Sam: yep
me: kau tidak bisa Bahasa Indonesian? [you don’t speak Indonesian?]
Sam: ohh yea
me: apa kabar? [how are you?]
Sam: ok know (sic) idea what your saying
me: ya
But then I relented and switched to English. I LOVE INDONESIAN thus far. It looks like the easiest language on the planet.
Randomness is concluded for now. ^_^
Bible Questions August 26, 2007
Posted by Anya in : spontaneous degeneration, I won't keep things purposely vague , 2commentsof a random nature…
Why does the quote in James 2:18 just “You have faith and I have works”? I think that it might make sense if it was “You have faith and I have works. Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works”, or even the whole way through verse 26! Silly Greeks. They were so brilliant — why couldn’t they have come up with quotation marks??
Other question. Why is the high priest in Zechariah called Joshua? Is that perhaps related to another Yeshua, who we know better by His transliterated Greek name of Jesus?
Twin Tagged August 23, 2007
Posted by Anya in : spontaneous degeneration , 9commentsOkay. Well. Now that both Mom and AgentBond (thanks a lot, Jamie! :P) tagged me, I guess I HAVE to do it.
Here are the rules
1. You have to post the rules before you give the facts.
2. Players, you must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of your middle name. If you don’t have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had.
3. When you are tagged you need to write your own blog post containing your own middle name game facts.
4. At the end of your blog post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag.
5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.
My middle name is Rebecca. It took me until I was in…um… probably 3rd or 4th grade before I knew how to spell it. *coughs*
Red is not my favorite color, but I have a lot of friends with red cars.
Ebenezer is the tune of the song which Jesse and I got into a small fight about. 
Beating Zach up :P used to be one of my favorite things to do at camp. Now he’s too big.
Elves rock… or tree my non-existant socks off… *has been brainwarped by Abby*
Calvinist, and I will go down swinging on that.
Casting Crowns is AWESOME.
Anytime is the proper time for a philosophical discussion.
and now for the dreaded tags…
I am not doing these in accordance with each letter, no, I have yet another tag to do…
so.
Madeline
Atanvarne
hmm… that’s it… ^_^
Now for the other tag from my twin the Samwise-person:
>>1. What time did you get up this morning? Haha… um… late… I don’t remember… sometime after 9, I think. I was up late reading Sphere, but that is an entry unto itself. Also thanks to Samwise.
>>2. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds. Definitely.
>>3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? The cinema… i.e. movie theater? Spiderman3.
>>4. What is your favorite TV show? Max Headroom. ^_^ Or Star Trek. (Any guesses what we’ve been watching season two of?)
>>5. What did you have for breakfast this morning? Maple Miniwheats. They were good. They always are.
>>6. What is your middle name? See above tag… Rebecca.
>>7. What is your favorite cuisine? Um. Whatever I can read while I’m eating.
>>8. What foods do you dislike? Eggplant. European dishes containing cabbage and meat. Mushrooms. I guess things that vegetables get mushy in.
>>9. Favorite chips? Sour cream and onion.
>>10. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Very much depends what mood I’m in. The main one I’ve been listening to is Who’s Next by The Who (which I do NOT indescriminately recommend!) but also a good deal of Singing Back to You (The Swift), Go (Newsboys), and Good Monsters (Jars of Clay). But the absolute favorite is… *drumroll* SHE MUST AND SHALL GO FREE by Derek Webb.
>>11. What kind of car do you drive? Car? Drive? Me? Only in nightmares.
>>12. What is your favorite sandwich? Chloe’s. They are awesome. (Chloe’s, for you poor, um, uneducated folk, are grilled basil-mozzerella-tomato sandwiches on sourdough bread.)
>>13. What characteristics do you despise? Inconsistancy. Bullying. Not thinking.
>>14. What are your favorite clothes? Depends on the occasion. Jeans and a t-shirt for life in general.
>>15. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation where would
it be? Hmm… the general Celtic tour, please. Footsteps of Merlin. (*is in love with Myrddin Emrys*)
>>16. Favorite brand of clothing? Bible Quizzing shirts — I’m wearing one right now (that was Sam’s answer. But I like it.)
>>17. Where would you want to retire? I want to retire? That’s news to me.
>>18. Favorite time of day? In general, when school is done for the day and I have free time!
>>19. Where were you born? In a hospital. :-P
>>20. What is your favorite sport to watch? Sport… watch… um… quizzing?
>>21. Who do you think will not send this back? No one, since I’m not sending it back.
>>22. Person you expect to send it back first? See above
>>23.Pepsi or Coke? Neither. It all makes me sick. >_<
>>24. Beavers or ducks? It depends. Beavers in Narnia. Baby ducks in the spring.
>>25. Are you a morning person or a night person? Night, except for at camp, when I reverse personalities. *shrug*
>>26. Pedicure or manicure? I will clip my own nails, thank you very
much. *agrees with Sam*
>>27. Any new and exciting news you’d like to share? Not… really.
>>28. What did you want to be when you were little? An astronaut. Other than that, I don’t remember.
>>29. What is your best childhood memory? Haha… no clue!
>>30. Piercing? No… but for your benefit, here’s Sam’s answer…
“I stapled myself in the thumb once”
>>31. Ever been to Africa? Er, no.
>>32. Ever been toilet papering? No
>>33. Been in a car accident? Not much of one. Several bump type thingies.
>>34. Favorite Day of the week? Wednesday (probably. But Sunday is very good. It depends!)
>>35. Favorite restaurants? Hmm… no clue!
>>36. Favorite Flower? Bird of Paradise.
>>37. Favorite ice cream? Teaberry.
>>38. Favorite fast food restaurant? Wendys… maybe…
>>39. How many times did you fail your drivers test? Can’t fail what you haven’t taken!
>>40. From whom did you get your last email? Hmm… BethJoy
>>41. In which stores would you choose to max out your credit card? Psh. I wouldn’t max it out. But Borders, I suppose. *evil grin*
>>42. Bedtime? When I go to bed? 11ish… When I fall asleep… some time later… when I set down the book!
>>43. Who are you most curious about their responses to this? I’M NOT SENDING IT ON…
>>44. Last person you went to dinner with? My family. ^_^
> >>45. What are you listening to right now? The wee buggy-beasties outside.
>>46. What is your favorite color? Orange. BRIGHT orange.
>>47. How many tattoos do you have? NONE.
>>48. Favorite person right now? irrelevant (Thank you, Sam!)
I am so tired of things not mattering. August 21, 2007
Posted by Anya in : I won't keep things purposely vague , 3commentsTonight our sign language group did the song God Bless the USA. It was directly followed by Imagine by John Lennon and that song made me want to DIE. And then the evening was wrapped up with God Bless America.
Imagine
Imagine there’s no heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today…
Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace…
You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world…
You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will live as one
Mom, knowing what my thought process would be, looked over at me. First I made a nice, subtle little “gag me” sign. Then I thought the better of it, picked up my spoon, and repeated the gesture. Mom says that I’m too well versed in 80’s slang. ^_^
Anyway. Obviously that was just one thing, but I am so sick of the idea that nothing matters. It doesn’t matter to sing songs with completely contradictory meanings. It doesn’t matter if you sing God Bless the USA (”…and I won’t forget the men who died, who gave that right to me…”) and then immediately start critizing Bush for the war in Iraq.
It doesn’t?
And it’s not just political things. Everything around us screams that what you believe doesn’t matter, that it doesn’t affect how you live.
If what you believe doesn’t affect how you live, why do you believe it?
If there is nothing worth dying for, why do we live?
Birthday, birthday… ^_^ August 18, 2007
Posted by Anya in : spontaneous degeneration , 4commentsSo. Let’s see. I did my traditional thing (haha… a tradition since last year!) of reading Ecclesiastes the night before. Then, when I went down this morning, Hyarion threw “confetti” at me. And… um… my siblings sang to me at random and various moments. And there was great rejoicing in the land.
Then Mom and Dad went downtown to the Farmer’s Market and I got on AIM and talked to Andrew W, mostly in French. As I don’t know French, it was rather amusing. (Um… instant online translation sites are awesome. *evil grin*) He wished me a “bon anniversaire” after I humbly pointed out to him that it was, in fact, my birthday. Then I celebrated by hanging laundry, and going to the store with Mom. ^_^
After lunch I opened my presents!!! Okay. Let’s see. From Hyarion, I got numorous colored pictures, a toy (which seems to have belonged to me a long time ago… but yeah… that was then…), and a very funky rock with a sea shell fossil in it. Chrissie gave me a hair clip and she and Hyarion bought me Episode IV of Star Wars! :) Atara got me a purse. (her: “Was that the right one?” me: “Um….” We exchanged it. The second one is very nice.) Mom got me The Who’s CD Who’s next. Dad rolled his eyes. I saw that Bargain was on it and was happy. Dad got me a digital camera. O_O So maybe tomorrow I’ll figure out how to upload pictures.
And the other news… we called Samwise (aka my twin) to sing Happy Birthday to him, and then I got on the phone to say hi. Guess what he did?
His family sang Happy Birthday to me!!!!
And then a few minutes ago he got on AIM to say happy birthday again before he went to bed. ^_^ Twins are nice. So are birthdays.
What are sacraments? August 15, 2007
Posted by Anya in : I won't keep things purposely vague , 2comments… that was my question in Omnibus today… here’s the lovely, lengthy *cough* answer…
While some see the sacraments as mere rituals, and other see them as the means of salvation, they are wrong. The sacraments have true meaning, if they are used rightly, and are a means of grace to true Christians.
There are only two sacraments: baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Baptism involves the pouring of water onto the person being baptized [1] and is to be administered to those professing faith in Christ and to the infants of a Christian. However, it should not be applied to a person twice, once as a baby and once as an adult! Baptism serves several purposes to believers; it is a sign and a seal.
First of all, baptism is an outward symbol to the entire world that this person is a part of the church. It binds the church to nurture and disciple this person in the faith. Pastor Woody Lauer pointed out that while we take baptism for granted in the
U.S., it is a huge struggle for Japanese Christians to be baptized, because it is dangerous! It shows that you are not part of the world, but of the
church of
Christ. However, to claim that you are a Christian and to refuse to be baptized is to be living in sin, since Jesus commanded baptism when He commanded His disciples to “make disciples of all nations and baptize them”[2]. In this sense, baptism is a sign to the world, very much as circumcision was a sign to world under the old covenant.
Baptism is also called a seal. This means that it is a confirmation of God’s grace to the one being baptized. It does not make one saved, rather, it functions much as the seal of a king. A king’s seal could be stolen and stamped onto documents which he has not written, and this would not mean that they are from him. In the same way, a person could claimed to be saved and be baptized. However, anyone who was caught forging the king’s authority in this way would be surely punished, and likewise, anyone who experiences the grace of God and spurns it will be severely punished. But, when used properly, baptism signifies that this person is one of God’s chosen people and seals the outpouring of His grace upon them. To baptize an infant means that they will be brought up in the church, among the people of God, as a child of God.
Apart from all these things, baptism also signifies the washing away of our sins through the death of Christ, and that we have been made clean and righteous before God.
The Lord’s Supper is the second sacrament. Jesus gave it to His followers the night before He was crucified, to be a remembrance of Him. It was not the sort of memorial as we commonly use the term, gloomily croaking, “Nevermore!” but it was a remembrance which pointed forward as He spoke of the next time He would drink of the fruit of the vine – in the kingdom of God with His apostles.
It is extremely important to understand that Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper to be this sort of foreshadowing memorial. He did not make it a perpetual offering up of Himself. If this were the case, it would have made no sense for Him to say on the cross, “It is finished!” This was the reason for the deaths of many martyrs in the Middle Ages; they refused to reverence the mass as the body and blood of Jesus, correctly preferring to reverence the One Who was remembered in the sacrament.
The Lord’s Supper, in reminding us of Christ’s death, reminds us of the privileges which His death conferred on us and what we owe to Him because of this grace, which is, in fact, our very lives.[3] Also, it serves as a mark to the world of the communion which we have with the risen Christ and with other believers who also partake of the Lord’s Supper. It is not called communion for no reason – in it, we commune both with God and with our fellow Christians.
The Holy Spirit works through the Lord’s Supper to cause us to grow in faith and in our relationship with God. It is one of the means which God has appointed for our growth, and for us to refuse from partaking in it is a decision to live in sin.
Obviously, these benefits are not conveyed to those who are not truly repentant of their sins when they take the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. On the contrary, it works to their damnation, because they are making light of the death of Christ. Therefore, it is the responsibility of pastors to solemnly warn people before they eat the Lord’s Supper, so that they can be sure that they are doing so rightly. People who are “ignorant and ungodly” should not be permitted to take and defile the Lord’s Supper, bringing condemnation upon themselves.
The sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper have been ordained by God as a means of grace to believers when they are used rightly.
Anya
August 15, 2007
[1]G.I. Williamson explains in detail why the Greek word absolutely does not always mean “immersion”, even in the New Testament on page 210 of his book The Westminster Confession of Faith: For Study Classes, published 1980.
[2] Matthew 28:30
[3] Romans 12:1-2
The challenge… ^_^ August 14, 2007
Posted by Anya in : I won't keep things purposely vague , 2commentsCome, my soul, thy suit prepare:
Jesus loves to answer prayer;
He Himself has bid thee pray,
Therefore will not say thee nay.
Thou art coming to a King,
Large petitions with thee bring;
For His grace and power are such,
None can ever ask too much.
This hymn (which we sang last night) coupled I suppose with the book which I’m currently reading, Far Pavilions, struck me. The rulers of India, at least in this book, are a bit breathtaking to an American. They think someone’s trying to poison them? Fine, they have them killed. They think someone could become a threat to the throne? They’re dead. Someone looks at them wrong? The fate is the same.
Hmm… I guess that this is also tied up with our study of Exodus and the whole concept of the holiness of God…
Anyway, somewhere in that muddle, I started thinking about the hymn in the context of God being a King like that. And thought, Whoa. Obviously, that’s a rather insignificant comparison (God is far more powerful than any petty king in India) and a rather insignificant reaction (not on par with Isaiah’s Woe is me, kill me now Lord!).
But. The point remains. God is far… greater… than we can imagine.
Are we praying that way? Am I?
So take on a challenge. And don’t just take on something that is obviously going to work out well. That isn’t a challenge. Find something that is a “Hard Thing” (my Rebelution side coming out there) which is something which God commands and DO IT.
For His grace and power are such,
None can ever ask too much.
Hebrews 10:36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. 37 For,
“Yet a little while,
and the coming one will come and will not delay;
38 but my righteous one shall live by faith,
and if he shrinks back,
my soul has no pleasure in him.”
39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.
(ESV from www.esv.org)
Survived: August 10, 2007
Posted by Anya in : spontaneous degeneration, smiling is good for you , 8commentsone week of school.
So far it looks like Spanish and I continued to be amicos buenos, Chinese and I like each other a bit better this year (thus far), Stats isn’t planning to kill me (YAY! First time in years my math has not been determined to assassinate me), Human Bio is cool, and Greek is going alright. Omnibus is also going pretty well. Those are my main subjects, and it looks like a good year.
That’s what I’ve been up to this week. And watching Les Miserables. And talking to Sam (not Samwise) on AIM. He is probably the most talkative person I’ve ever talked to.
Which is saying something.
Also, (this post is getting totally random) last night in Bible study we had the verse where Jesus goes to wash Peter’s feet and Peter says “Oh no no!” and then a second later he’s going, “Not just my feet, but also my hands and my head!”
That part sounds to me like Jesus would have been rolling His eyes. “Peter, I’m not giving you a bath. I’m making a point.”
…kinda makes me wonder what stuff I do that is equally dumb…
Oh dear. This story is principally for Madeline, because I meant to tell her earlier, but hopefully everyone will enjoy it…
Last night at snacktime/devotions, Hyarion was kicking a granola bar wrapper around underneath his chair. Dad thought he was holding something and messing with it, and said sternly, “Whatever you’re holding, put it on the table.”
Hyarion followed the instructions to a T.
Unfortunately, what he was holding proved to be a pair of socks.
Seldom have I had as much trouble not utterly dissolving in laughter at random moments thereafter during devotions.
Something about him calmly sticking a pair of socks on the dinner table…
At least they were clean socks.
