This, that, and other

A Year in Retrospect
I warned you all at one point that I am a poet. This is where the warning comes to pass. Why? Because I reflected on 2006.

It was quite the year. A bit rough at places, not so fun, but good.

The weeks leading up to high school graduation were... stressful, irritating... we'll leave it at that.

Last year had its fair share of highlights. FOJG, my graduation party's, takin' a trip with Dad to Chicago, Going to the bus Independence Day weekend and watching fireworks over the lake in Cadillac, going to Tori's birthday party, college and all that happened there... yes, there were a few highlights! Lots of firsts last year... tons of blessings.

I should sit down and write them all out. Along with all the first time things. I had quite a few!

Someone once said to me that for every stage in life there is a song. Now, I'm a musically inclined soul, so I tend to think in music. I like to fit songs with what's going on around me. (Just ask my sister or my mother.) It took me some hunting, but I think I found the songs for last year.

If I were to make a mix CD about last year, it would be called "Grace" and look something like this:
-Let Me Fall (Josh Groban)
-Never Let Go (Josh Groban, Closer)
-Machine (Josh Groban, Awake)
-Burning the Past (Kingdom of Heaven soundtrack)
-Ready to Fly (Ronan Tynan, Ronan)
-Only the Beginning of the Adventure (the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe soundtrack)
-Carry Me Home (Ronan Tynan, Ronan)
-Both Sides Now (Hayley Westenra, Odyssey)
-Never Saw Blue (Hayley Westenra, Odyssey)
-I Say Grace (Hayley Westenra, Odyssey)

And just as mixed as the CD would be, such would be my emotions if I were to write them out. Though, the underlying ones would be frustration, sadness, and grief. Last year was, like I said, rough in places. And it will only get worse before it gets better. Things have been coming to a head for a while now, and they must get worse before they get better.

Even up at school and far away from it all, I've been hearing about it, and it has been affecting me. 500 miles away and I still can't get away from it. I suppose that's the price you pay to be deeply involved in church. It all makes me sad. It shouldn't be like this! It was never meant to be like this! Such is living in a fallen world. Nothing is as it was meant to be.

That fact has remained one of my main consolations. Above whatever anyone has said, I have taken great comfort, somehow, in knowing that's not how it was meant to be. It helps me keep from being too hurt or bitter.

Keeping My Sanity
Since I've been home, I've finally found time to sort out everything I heard over last semester. Christian college is a marvelous place for spiritual growth. However, it is also an amazing place to get confused in standards, doctrine, etc. Any place with a few hundred "independent fundamental Baptists" is bound to have as many ideas as people. As a result, I started to get a little disoriented when it came to a few ideas and standards I've held.

A few preconceived notions, ludicrous ideas, and IFB programmings were changed or discarded, which was good, but a few ideas that are perfectly fine I started to doubt.

Now, I'm not one to change any principle, standard, or conviction without being dead certain that the change is for the best. Which is why I thought through a few things at home, talked with Rotu, and re-oriented myself.

It was during this time that I realized a few things. I'm not a very good Baptist, Fundamentalist, Neo-fundamentalist, or five point Calvinist. In a way, I'm a number of them, but none of them at the same time. The older I get, the more I see that there are two sides to every acronym. The strictly scriptural side and the side that most people practice. Well, something like that.

So I've not found the proper title yet. And quite frankly, I'm sick of titles. Overly sick and tired of titles. Unfortunately, we are all bound to them and by them. *sigh* Whatever happened to just believing the Bible and what God said? I am thoroughly convinced that Christianity is simple. The Law was what was so complicated and crazy. Salvation and grace is simplistic. I think, however, that most Christians secretly wish that we still had all the works of the law. That way they'd feel like they were doing something to gain God's favor or get into Heaven. However, the practices of the law aren't really an option anymore.

Enough of that.

Life, Death, and other Inevitables
This break has had it all. Births in our church and God's family, death in the extended family, couples (finally) getting engaged... Such is life. It never ceases to amaze and intrigue me just how life works. Think about it. Everything works together in God's perfect way to create the most intricate and marvelous story! Things thousands of miles apart can happen and lead to something that affects you in your own backyard, and in turn impact someone on the other side of the world. Life, death, marriage, break ups... it all works together to create something wonderful beyond ourselves.

I just love how everything always works out. God is wonderful!

Hehe! Y'all are going to think I'm insane with the way I jump topics. But please realize that I write my posts over a couple of hours, a day or two, etc., so that makes it easier for me to bounce around how I do.

And if you're wondering why I have suddenly had this burst of joy about God working everything out (In light of my rather pessimistic post prior), I'll tell you. Life. The good, the bad, and the normal. All the negative of last year, and all the positive. Everything good and bad that was, is, and shall come.

No, I'm not happy about the gathering storms, but I'm not upset either. The way I figure it, the darker the night, the brighter the day.

Well, it is very late here, so I'm off to bed! Sleep well my friends!
-Frank