Random Thoughts and Other Stuff

My Other Blog Will Begin Soon…

Jason — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 09:18:48 +0000

I will have a new version of another blog up shortly, and it is dedicated to writing on my musings of becoming a true man. I’ll write about my failures, my experiences growing up, my observations, and my own thoughts.

Thanks for welcoming my new blog. Hopefully the launch will happen soon.

From Boy To Man

My Brief Thoughts on The Kingdom

Jason — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 06:22:27 +0000

On November 5th, 2009, I gave a brief talk at the WSU CRU weekly meeting about God’s Kingdom. Here is a brief outline of my thoughts:

God’s Kingdom is a theme that runs throughout the entire bible. It’s the central idea in God’s ultimate plan, with Jesus Christ as the central person and catalyst for how His Kingdom will be established.

Where is the Kingdom?

Many people would say that the ultimate destination (at least after we pass here on earth) is heaven. Although we will one day be in heaven (those that trust in Christ as their Savior), God is concerned about the earth as well – the earth is our ultimate destination. Read Matthew 6:9-10. Jesus shows us through the Lord’s prayer that we are to pray that the Kingdom would come on earth as it is in Heaven!

God’s overall plan has been for His Kingdom to exist on earth. I defend that through the original plan God gave to Adam and Eve (Gen. 1:27-28), his promise given to Abraham to be a blessing, and through his plan for Israel (Isaiah 49:6b).

Who is in the Kingdom?

In short, people that are ‘in’ Christ are in God’s Kingdom. A good working definition for the Kingdom of God is: God’s people, in God’s place under God’s rule and blessing.

Jesus Christ made it possible for those, who were once far away to be brought near. Because all are separated from God through either active rebellion or passive indifference (what the Bible calls ‘sin’), we experience distance from God and are not considered as part of his kingdom – as His Kingdom requires righteousness. Jesus Christ lived the life that we should have lived (a perfect one), and died the death that we should have died (even though he was perfect). Because of his undeserved sacrifice, when we acknowledge to God that his sacrifice was sufficient (by faith, or trust), we enter into His Kingdom.

How does the Kingdom spread?

God chooses to use his image – us – to spread his Kingdom. That was His plan from the beginning – he chose to use Adam and Eve to spread his kingdom (He commanded them [us] to be fruitful & multiply – to fill the earth and subdue it). He also chose Israel to spread his Kingdom.

In the end, Jesus made is possible (which fulfilled God’s ultimate plan – for his kingdom to be brought to earth and spread through His people) for us to enter into the Kingdom, and for the kingdom to be spread and increase on earth as it is in heaven.

So What?

I believe that God is goodness, joy, love, and all other great things personified. He wants you to be in His Kingdom. If you have yet to make a decision to enter into His Kingdom, He wants you to enter it. I would ask that you would consider entering into the great Kingdom of the one, true God. Being under His rule means being under His great blessing. It also means that if we chose to not be under his rule, we will experience hardship and judgment. We experience both blessing and curse on earth, but in much less intensity than we will in the end. To be under God’s rule means great blessing, and otherwise means great curse.

If you have entered into the great kingdom, have you considered how you are called to be a part of bringing His Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven? Have you considered how you can further his Kingdom? I would encourage you to pray about who you could share the truth about God’s Kingdom with – including the live-giving message of Jesus Christ and what he offers us – an invitation into the Kingdom of God.

Questions?

If you have questions, then please leave them in the comments section below! I’ll be answering some questions that were asked via text through the WSU CRU blog.

Cowboy up…

Jason — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 21:57:21 +0000

My Father-in-law has some of the greatest stories. Sometimes I think he makes them up, but some of the best stories can’t be made up.

As my father-in-law was administering some kind of test (he’s a family doctor) to a young boy, the young boy was wincing a little. His Native-American mother was sitting beside him, and told him to, “cowboy up.”

Isn’t that ironic…

Unnecessary Evils

Jason — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:08:59 +0000

1. Heart Disease
2. Obesity (at least that it can happen)
3. Ketchup packets
4. Gas
5. Houses without dishwashers
6. Dishwashers that don’t work

Anything else? Chime in…

My Favorite Keyboard Shortcuts for Mac

Jason — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 03:19:18 +0000

I bet that the average person spends way too much time moving their hand to their mouse or track-pad to increase font size or move between applications. I’m a mac user, so most of these shortcuts are specific to my mac keyboard, but most will work on a PC by substituting CTRL or ALT for COMMAND.

Here’s a list of my most-used keyboard shortcuts (aside from the obvious “save,” “select all,” etc.) that have saved me hours of time over the past few years.

Most Software Programs (Word, Excel, Text Edit, etc.)

Increase Font Size (highlighted text or before typing): COMMAND+SHIFT+>
Decrease Font Size: COMMAND+SHIFT+<
Copy: COMMAND+C
Paste: COMMAND+V
Cut (when I want to move something to a different location): COMMAND+X
Indent (when using bullets): TAB
Un-indent (move bullet left): SHIFT+TAB

General Computer Shortcuts

Switch between Applications: COMMAND+TAB (I use this all the time – press TAB multiple times to scroll through applications that come up on the computer screen, or press ‘ while holding COMMAND to scroll backwards through applications)

Switch between windows of same application: COMMAND+`

Internet Browsing Programs (Firefox, Safari, IE, etc.)

Highlight address bar (to type in new address): COMMAND+L

Back: COMMAND+[

Forward: COMMAND+]

Increase text size: COMMAND+=

Decrease text size: COMMAND+-

Open new tab: COMMAND+T

Find Text (when I’m doing research): COMMAND+F, then type in word you’re looking for

Comment with some of your favorite shortcuts, or just ways to save time on your computer!

Personal Development

Jason — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 06:32:31 +0000

I’ve come to realize that in order to enjoy what you do and who you are, you must take time to learn more about yourself.

By not taking the time to really learn how you have been made unique (yes, you have been uniquely made), you are bringing on a mid-life crisis (or quarter-life, or whatever). If you are like me, it’s easy to say ‘yes’ to any request that is made of you because you want to please people. You may also not want to take the time because you view taking time to learn about yourself as ‘selfish’. That’s what I thought for so long…

By not taking time to develop yourself personally (which includes learning about who you are, what makes you tick and why, plus much, much more), you may end up not caring for other people the way you really want to (like family), or you may end up not being happy with the job you have (or at least the tasks and/or responsibilities you have within your job).

More of my thoughts on this topic will likely show up in the future. For now, here are some great resources that have helped me in the past few months.

‘One-Life Solution’ by Henry Cloud
The Enneagram personality system. A quick test to see what your ‘Enneagram type’ might be.
Strengths Finder - I found this to be very insightful regarding my work responsibilities / tasks. If you’d like to take this test, buy the book, Strengths Finder 2.0 – it includes a password for you to take the test (you would pay $15 for the test anyway, so you might as well have the book). Also, if you work with a team and you all take the test, the strengths domains are extremely helpful. They help put your strengths in categories and may help your team function better as you understand your role (and others’) on the team.
Talks: Work and Rest and Work by Pastor Tim Keller. If anything, at least listen to the first little bit of Work and Rest - the guys voice reading the bible is awesome.