Again?!?

Ken and I went over to Wal-Mart today, and once again got denied when trying to pick up some pictures... What in the world?! Fortunately there was a manager there that had some sense this time. =) Last time, I was told that no matter what I did, I wouldn't be getting those pictures (consequentially they accidentally gave them to me this week with another order I had.) LOL. This time though, I was told that as long as I brought my camera in, and it didn't look like I had just scanned them in, that I could get them. So we went back and did just that, and surprise surprise, they gave them to us. Yay!!! Go Wal-Mart!!

So, in either case, not a whole lot out of the norm happening recently, just very busy. We did recently find out that Ede will be heading to Taiwan in very early July. This was a bit surprising to all of us as you can imagine, as the original plan was for mid to late August or September. So, things have only gotten busier. In fact, tonight, in special preparation for the trip, we will be playing cards. =)

My last few posts have been pictureless, and just maybe by next post, I will have some pictures to put up, unfortunately none for tonight though, just my rambling thoughts. This Saturday will be the family fun day at Yamaha, it lasts until about 3 o'clock, and afterwards we will be heading back to my house for Ede to have her first experience at blogging, so be looking for posts to be arriving there shortly. Through_Ede's_Eyes

I guess the one big thing I've been doing is working on my latest paintball gun. It's an A.G.D. Automag. I don't care what anybody says, it may be older, but it's still the best marker out there. It is absolutely unbeatable in accuracy. Newer guns may be accurate, but all of you electro gunners, don't know a thing about accuracy till you've shot a good Automag. So, part of my work on it is done, I have some of it coated in it's new color, and will be coating some other parts very soon. Before finishing all of the coatings though, I will be milling out parts of the trigger frame, as well as the rail. This is so I can put in a new trigger. It will be a long, yet fun job.

To another area, I've recently finished several books. "Christy" I finished on Saturday, and that same Saturday I got another book named "Passion and Purity," and read it all on Sunday. It was an excellent book by Elizabeth Elliott. Mainly it follows her story with her husband Jim Elliott. Throughout the book she describes, and gives advice on certain situations that those considering a future involving marriage can run across. She talks about ways to go about a proper courtship, and in her story shows some of the ways that can be very detrimental if the correct timing is not followed. One of the most important points she talks about is giving our all to God, even our very feelings. Since she went through 5 years of waiting for Jim Elliott, she knew a good deal about this. She talked about some of the letters she had received where people would say that they have prayed that either God would take their feelings away, or give them an answer about the other person. When written about this, her response was, that might not be how God works. He allows things to come into our lives for a reason, anything really, money, things, and feelings too. As with everything else, we need to give it right back to God, and say, God you allowed this to be in my life, I may not know the purpose you have for it right now, but Lord, I realize that whatever happens, it is for my best, and to glorify you. She talks about how daily she had to put her thoughts of Jim on God's altar, how no matter what, her feeling were going to be there, but if God chose for them not to be together, that she would still glorify Him. I can only imagine how she would have felt had Jim's answer been different, but, fortunately it worked out for her, and after 5 years of waiting, they were finally married.

One thing she talked about was very good advice for any guy out there, and really girls too. It's natural for us to have "feelings" for others, that was the first institute God made, a marriage between Adam and Eve. But, we need to deal with them in a God honoring way. She told of how Jim told her of his great love for her, and that if he got married, it would be to her, but God might be calling him to a life of celibacy. This was a very bad idea. As she she says later on, and she quotes someone else one this, "A man should never tell a woman that he loves her, unless he's ready to marry her, and he should never ask her to marry him without telling her he loves her." She points out, that if all guys actually did this, it would save so much heartache and trouble. So what really happened is that he expressed how he felt before both of them were in a place where they could consider marriage, and because of that, it created a distraction from God, for which he later apologized.

So, you may say, "if he never said anything, he may have lost her." I say, if it was God's will, and those were the two people he chose to be together, though he would have suffered through having to hold his feelings in until God showed him clearly that they were both ready to pursue a marriage, they both would have been able to serve God more effectively, and God still would have worked so that they would be together. You see... I don't believe there there just a pool of fellow Christians out there that it's just O.K. if we choose one of them, I believe that if God has marriage in your future, He knows, and has picked out that one person, just for you. I have to say too, for those that are married already, remember that, the person that you are with, how special they are, because God chose them just for you!!! There may be rough times, but that's just God's way of working to draw you closer to Him, and if you are both getting closer to Him, you will also be getting closer to each other. It's also His way of helping you grow, remember, if you love the Lord, everything in your life will be working out for your good!

Maybe after all of that you might tell me, "you dream, the real world doesn't work like that, either go get, or you won't get anything." Well... so be it, call me a dreamer!! I think I'll trust God on this one, He knows a lot more than me, and He already knows from the beginning to the end of my story, and I'll let Him be in control of it. And I'm not saying that a guy should never "go after" a girl, cause sitting around being lazy, yeah, someone's not just going to drop into your lap, and say OK lets get married, I'm just more of an advocate of waiting on God's timing for both people involved. I also believe that when done the right way, and in the right time, God will honor and bless no matter what the outcome, who knows God may have a blessed life of singleness for some of us, and an equally blessed life of marriage for others, we just need to trust that in every situation life can present, God is in control, and He has a masterpiece of a story worked out for each of us.

So in either case... I'd recomend this book without hesitation.

Isaiah 55:8, 9 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."