Manly Indeed :)

Here are some photos I took 2 Sundays ago. We went shooting at the Phillips with Nathanael. It was super fun!

Thoughts on Proverbs 3:5-6

⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;

⁶ in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.

For some reason this verse has been in my head for the past few weeks or so. I've heard it many times before and it has always been one of those 'nice' verses that I just listen to without thinking about what it says. But I wanted to really consider what it means. Here are some thoughts I had on the verse.

It says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart." .....with ALL your heart....

I was recently reading in "The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life" that when scripture refers to 'heart' it rarely means your emotions or feelings. It's referring to your will, to your decisions.

With that in mind, trusting in the Lord with all your heart is a conscious decision to trust God. "I will trust you God." It means to trust Him in EVERY decision and choice you make.

Someone who truly trusts in the Lord with ALL their heart is a very confident person.

Why? Because they know that God is sovereign over the decisions they make and if they make a bad decision they trust that God's infinite grace and mercy will cover for their mistake. Am I a confident person? .....Are you a confident person?

Trusting in the Lord with all your heart is NOT an overwhelming feeling or emotion like butterflies in your stomach.

The reason I say this is because all too often we wait for the 'feeling' or 'emotion' to come before we decide to trust in God. And then when it's gone we wonder if we really trusted.

Trusting in God is a DECISION. The emotions are only the frosting on the cake. They may or may not be there when you trust God. But it shouldn't matter what you're feeling, God commands you to trust in Him.


It's similar to the love of a Godly man for his wife. The man may not always be overwhelmed with those butterflies and feelings toward his wife but he still loves her. As in he's decided to love her; to be her man; to be faithful to his vows to her; to love her for life.

And he shouldn't be dependent on his emotions to love her. That means he loves her even when he doesn't feel giddy about her; even when they've had an argument; and even when they're both droopy-eyed and grumpy in the morning.

The culture doesn't understand this. So many marriages are broken because couples think that love is a feeling or emotion. It's not! It's a decision of the heart! Yes, there are butterflies and feelings but they aren't the cake. They're just the frosting.

Similarly, so many Christians DON'T trust in God because they think it's a feeling. It's not! It's a decision of the heart!

Does that make sense? I hope the marriage analogy hasn't confused you.

Trusting in the Lord is a decision that you make regardless of your emotions.

If you're like me, you know that your emotions are all over the place. Some days you feel really happy, other days you feel really depressed. I think it's something that's part of our fallen nature... we can't control our own emotions.

But what we can do is make the right decisions for God and be patient for our emotions to fall into place. And they will.

Trusting in God may be hard at first but if you keep making the right decision to not worry about anything, the peace and happiness will come. It will.



Well, I'm going to have to cut this post in half and finish it another time.

I encourage everyone to read the whole chapter of Proverbs 3. You can read it here.

If you have any comments don't hesitate to post them.

God bless!
-Aaron

The Treasure Of Jesus

What can I do
How can I live
To show my world
The treasure of Jesus

What will it take
What could I give
So they can know
The treasure He is

If I can sing
Let my songs be full of His Glory
If I can speak
Let my words be full of His Grace
If I should live or die
Let me be found pursuing this prize
The One that alone satisfies
The Treasure of Jesus

And if I can sing
Let my songs be full of His Glory
If I can speak
Let all my words be full of His Grace
And if I should live or die
Let me be found pursuing this prize
The One that alone satisfies
The Treasure of Jesus

-Steven Curtis Chapman (from his song- "Treasure of Jesus")

The Joy of a Christian

No thoughtful person can question the fact that, for the most part, the Christian life, as it is generally lived is not entirely a happy life. A keen observer once said to me,

"You Christians seem to have a religion that makes you miserable. You are like a man with a headache. He does not want to get rid of his head, but it hurts him to keep it. You cannot expect outsiders to seek very earnestly for anything so uncomfortable."

Then for the first time I saw, as in a flash, that the religion of Christ ought to be and was meant to be, to its possessors, not something to make them miserable but something to make them happy; and I began then there to ask the Lord to show me the secret of a happy Christian life.

- Hannah Whitall Smith
(1832-1911), author of 'The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life'

An Excellent Quote

No unwelcome tasks become any the less unwelcome by putting them off till tomorrow. It is only when they are behind us and done, that we begin to find that there is a sweetness to be tasted afterwards, and that the remembrance of unwelcome duties unhesitatingly done is welcome and pleasant.

Accomplished, they are full of blessing, and there is a smile on their faces as they leave us. Undone, they stand threatening and disturbing our tranquility, and hindering our communion with God.

If there be lying before you any bit of work from which you shrink, go straight up to it, and do it at once. The only way to get rid of it is to do it.

‐Alexander MacLaren (1826‐1910), Scottish preacher

Hmm.... :D

Well, I'm one of those kinds of people who can be in the darkest depths of depression one minute and then be as hyper as Tigger flying off the walls the next. And right now I'm feeling like Tigger. :)

And that explains why I'm posting for no reason whatsoever. :D

Life is good, music is good, rain is good, siblings are good, work is good, Saturdays are good, and above all, God is good!

See ya all later!


-Aaronski -or- Ronnie (You decide :D )

Left-handed and Loving Life!

I am a cripple. My fickle shoulder decided it wanted to pop out of it's socket during an awesome ultimate frisbee game on Saturday. I was not happy. It apologized but it's still feeling sad and sorry. I have to cradle it and treat it gently all the time. It has very sensitive feelings. But it is getting better. :D

My left hand has proudly stepped up to the responsibility of primary duty doer, though it is having trouble in several areas. It has a difficult time tying shoes and holding silverware for eating. However, it is improving handsomely. My left and right arms have served me well. I try to take good care of both of them. :D

As you can see I have to take especially good care of my arm. :)

This picture was taken today as I waited to take the physics exam. We took it at Grants Pass High School. It was pretty intense. I'm glad it's over. :D


Beautiful Shoes!
(at Baskin Robbins. The Emmons are jealous, I know. :D )

Good-lookin' Jeb.

My dream come true; to set up and play my drums out on a field. Very cool. :D

My very own rock band. "The Benevolent Irish Band of St. Patrick's Classy Clan."

Having trouble with our touring van.

Rocking out some more.

Me with my faithful body guard. :D
You know how it is when you're a celebrity and everyone likes you; you have to hire a body guard to fight off all the screaming fans! ....haha! Juuuust kidding.... :D

Photo Credit Goes to Alexa, Destiny, and Mrs. Kruse!