Elwing's Flight

Thoughts from a girl as she flies over the sea.

Thursday, May 05, 2005

A thought.

I think it's so sad when teenagers and adults get all caught up in their "grownupness." It's a wonderful thing when people take off the pretenses of what the world envisions as an adult. I know as I graduate and move towards adulthood, I need to remember that more than ever. I can still imagine, I can still dream. Jesus praised the heart of a child. We do not have to give up that heart for maturity—part of maturity is holding onto it.

posted by Rachel @ 10:01 PM  

45 Comments:

  • At 5/05/2005 10:34 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Rachel, maybe you could clarify for me "what the world envisions as an adult"?

    But yes, you can still imaging and dream. Ain't it great?! :^)

     

  • At 5/06/2005 8:16 AM, Blogger £l §tévó said…

    Don't worry Rache we'll always be around to make sure you act immature!

     

  • At 5/06/2005 10:44 PM, Blogger Rachel said…

    Kitty: I meant that there seems to be a common view that I've seen about what being an adult means. It's hard to put into words, but it's pretty much saying, "I've grown up... I'm too old for this or that, I've been out in the world, I have experience, I'm grounded in reality." That is not a child's heart. A child would imagine truth beyond an adult's "reality." A child would be the one to have faith in Jesus, while one of these "adults" would have an awfully hard time accepting something so crazy and unlikely, because their being "grounded in reality" has blinded them from what is truly real.

    I hope that made sense.

     

  • At 5/07/2005 2:29 AM, Blogger Herohtar said…

    Hannah: Are you going to define that word for us? (Or do we want to know the meaning? :-\)

     

  • At 5/07/2005 2:03 PM, Blogger frisbeegurl said…

    Rache lol.. Don't worry, I'll make SURE you never get that way... Cause it makes me sad when other people do that... but if YOU did that... I'D PUNCH YOU BACK TO REALITY (Childhood) Cause I don't think I'll be leaving for awhile... if yo know what I mean.

     

  • At 5/08/2005 8:59 AM, Blogger Herohtar said…

    Hannah: Nice... where can I get one? Oh, by the way, your dictionary left out pronunciation...

     

  • At 5/08/2005 9:44 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Miss Banana, you should post that deffinition for all to see. Follow my link. I'll take you to a place where all your odd word dreams come true. That one will be appreciated.

    Rachel, you're very wise. I'll remember what you said. Thanks for throwing that out there. We need more people like you.

     

  • At 5/08/2005 11:11 PM, Blogger Rachel said…

    Thank you, our dictionarial guide. So... who are you? I swear, I think everyone's teaming up against me to try and stump me! :-D

    Rache

     

  • At 5/08/2005 11:12 PM, Blogger Rachel said…

    By the way, thank you for your really kind comment... that made my day.

     

  • At 5/09/2005 1:29 AM, Blogger Herohtar said…

    Hmm... I have a guess as to who that could be, but I don't want to spoil all the fun for you, Rachel. ;-)

    UrbanDictionary, eh? I don't really like that site; too many inappropriate words/definitions.

     

  • At 5/09/2005 9:47 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Curses, Caleb... You beat me to it.

    What he said.

     

  • At 5/10/2005 12:50 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Yes, it contains some less than tastefull entries, but you only see them when you look them up. Much of it can be very entertaining. Also, I don't belive that anything should really be cast out because it has some questionable content. Some very intriguing things can be missed. Then again, I think most of you are home schooled. I grew up in a very different enviroment, and I'm used to dirty things being funny. Perhaps I should be a little more discretionary. Anyway, look up the right words and it can be pretty good sometimes.

    Go ahead and say your guess. I don't think it'll be right. (Heh heh. A challenge.)

     

  • At 5/10/2005 1:18 AM, Blogger Herohtar said…

    David: You'll just have to be faster next time, eh? ;-D

    Okay, "Your Dictionarial guide", if you take offense at someone debating with you then don't read this. Otherwise...

    "some" questionable content? It's more like 90% of the words; just chose a word at random and most of the time it'll be something bad. True, if you can find the "right words" then it is pretty entertaining. However, since it is a dictionary of words that are generally unknown to most people, there is no way of knowing if a word is good until you have read the definition, and because of the large amount of words that have indecent definitions it is not worth searching for the ones that are somewhat funny. Is reading the few "intriguing" entries worth learning all the vulgar definitions you will find in the process?
    "I don't believe that anything should really be cast out because it has some questionable content." Dare I bring up the story of the brownies?

    Nah, I'll leave the guessing up to Rachel; I have a feeling you are correct about my guess being wrong anyway, lol.

     

  • At 5/10/2005 11:12 AM, Blogger frisbeegurl said…

    Hehhe.... I know who the walking dictionary is.... But I'm not telling!! SO THERE!!

     

  • At 5/10/2005 4:35 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Heh. You better not tell. I'll bet you know too, Sara.

    Well, yes. 90% is bad. But I think the fun ones are worth the gross/obscene ones. I'm just not as affected by that sort of thing. So it's really problaby a personal thing, and therefore not really a good debate topic. You have a valid point, though. BTW, what is the story of the brownies? I'm not sure I got that memo.

    Of topic: There is something somewhere on this blog linking my irl name to this alias.

     

  • At 5/10/2005 9:13 PM, Blogger frisbeegurl said…

    Man I can't believe NO ONE besides me knows... Just think... ONE WORD.. THAT ONLY ONE PERSON WE KNOW USES!!! "intriguing" HEHE! I know who it is!!

     

  • At 5/11/2005 8:45 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Well, I must say I find this whole guessing game rather intriguing, and am waiting to find out who "Your dictionarial guide" is. Here's another wacky word (and this one is real): wobbulator!

    (Yes, yes, yes, finals are done!!!)

     

  • At 5/11/2005 10:32 PM, Blogger £l §tévó said…

    Estel: I think you just proved herohtar's point. Nothing good can come out of that word.

    Dictionary guy: way to dodge a potentially self-conficting argument. I'm with herohtar on this one. And I'm not homeschooled, I hang out with the scum of society and I still don't find perverted things funny, regardless of what my friends think. Sorry if I'm being a little harsh, it's been a long week.

     

  • At 5/11/2005 11:19 PM, Blogger Rachel said…

    Haha, yep, I know who you are! Hey Brad! I do have to say I totally agree with Caleb and Stevo, though... but that doesn't mean I'm judging you. I do think it would be awfully hard to see something with a lot of questionable content and come away totally unphased. But again, I can't judge you because only God knows the heart and there's so much that I don't know anyway!

    Here's a passage that comes to mind:

    Ephesians 5:1-20
    "Be imitators of God.... But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.... Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them.
    "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.... Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most out of every opportunity, because the days are evil...."

    I know I skipped some, but I didn't have time to write out everything. I don't believe I took anything out of context, but feel free to look at the whole passage if you like and think it through yourself.

    Also:
    Philippians 4:8
    Colossians 3
    2 Corinthians 6:17-7:1

    And 1 Cor. 10:23-11:1 is why I will not judge you on this, but verse 31 is also why I myself cannot wade through that much mud without get it on myself.

     

  • At 5/12/2005 1:12 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Good job. That is me. Am I the only one who uses the word "intriguing?" I'll bet I'm also the only one who uses the word "decalciate." It means to take off one's shoes.

    What does wobbulator mean? It's a cool word!

    Yeah, I'm not saying I make dirty jokes like that. Actualy, there is one dirty joke I tell, but none of you will ever hear it from me. Anyway, I also am not saying it's the scummy stuff I find entertaining. Now consider this. It's true, we are not to use course language, have sexual impurity etc, but Jesus befriended prostitutes. They had some sexual impurity issues, but but it didn't phase Jesus enough to shy away from them. Now I admit, I'm not using UrbanDictionary as a ministry, but I don't think that it's neccessary to condemn everything with bad content. It really is a personal thing. I have my limits, too. Ever see The Betterfly Effect? Great movie, but really tasteless. It's over my line. But UrbanDictionary isn't. Anyway, my point is, I think this is one of those things God has left to our discretion. Whatever we can do without letting it affect us. Then again, I'm a clueless goof, and feel free to call me on it.

     

  • At 5/12/2005 1:37 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I wasn't able to get a definition for wobbulator, unfortunately. The only way I can get one online is to pay Merriam-Webster. Maybe I can look in a giant dictionary at Bizzell. Anyway, it used to be a spelling bee word, and it had something to do with radios. Or radioactivity. Or electricity. Obviously I don't remember very well. If I find a definition, I will let you all know.

     

  • At 5/13/2005 1:12 AM, Blogger Herohtar said…

    Estel: A wobbulator is some kind of signal generator... you can read a bit about one here: http://www.g1jbg.co.uk/test13.htm

    Brad: Befriending people who do bad things is entirely different than reading a website or watching a movie that contains bad things. And Jesus wasn't hanging out with the prostitutes and other people just for fun; He had something to offer them, a new life. He wasn't going there to join them, He was going there so they could one day join Him. I don't quite agree with the issue being a personal thing. Also, UrbanDictionary isn't "everything". Oh, here is the brownie story for those of you who haven't heard it: http://www.christianscience.org/stories/brownies.html
    It's not the best of illustrations, but I think it almost fits the topic...

    Rachel and £l §tévó: Thanks for the supporting arguments and the verses; you beat me to them Rachel.

     

  • At 5/14/2005 11:29 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Thanks for the wobbulator info! It even has pictures....

     

  • At 5/14/2005 2:07 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I love a good arguement. If you don't, please ignore this. If you do, please don't take anything personaly. That's not what I intend at all.

    Ok, Herohtar. What's your favorite movie? What's your favorite book? What do you watch on TV? (If at all. A lot of people don't watch TV.) If you play computer games, which do you play? I'll bet I can find just a little bit of evil in every single one of them. You can't seriously be suggesting that we don't do anything for entertainment that contains even the smallest bit of filth. If we did that, we'd be monks! Now I'm not entirely oppsosed to that, but I think God never wanted us all to be monks. (The human race would have been gone long ago.) Not that that has very much to do with entertainment, but no one can say they condemn all questionable content in everything. Now the brownie story is not that hard to refute, despite what the site says. Dog poop is not a good representation of bad language, violence, etc. It tastes bad. It makes things repulsive and unattractive. Now all those other things do too, but obviously not as much, as people watch these movies all the time. Now, I think sugar would be a better representation. It tastes bad and is nutritionaly badin excess, but tastes good in small amounts and doesn't do any harm. You can't really argue with that. You have an LotR avatar. That movie is full to the brim with violence. Of course that doesn't disprove the vailidity of the brownie arguement. My point was that the dog poop is not in any way like rating juice in movies.

    So, the question is, if it isn't based on the person, where is the line? Now if you give me an answer, I hope you can back it up. And if the line is nothing, then I'll stop doing anything that involves seeing or being in proximity to anything even a little bit bad if you will.

     

  • At 5/14/2005 4:18 PM, Blogger Herohtar said…

    Lol... don't worry, I bet I love good arguments just as well as you.

    Favorite movie/book: LotR
    I don't watch TV and the only computer games I play are Myst (I, II, III, and IV, lol) and Halo. I'm sure you can find some "evil" in those (especially Halo... as a matter of fact, I don't really like Halo that much because of some of the stuff it contains) I am not saying that we don't do things that have evil in them; it's pretty obvious that we do. Like I said, the brownie story is not the best of examples. However, I think it works fairly well; I do not agree that sugar would be better. To say that, you would be saying that bad things do not "taste" bad to you. Dog poop, however, is a perfect example because it does taste bad, and to a Christian bad language and obscene things should "taste" bad. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the case with a lot of people because they have become desensitized. Yes, LotR has quite a bit of violence, but I think we are getting off topic here... my whole point was about the obscene things on UD, not violence in movies. (It's a great debate topic, but I don't think it goes here) I think you took what I said the wrong way though; despite the brownie story, I did not say that everything with even just a little bit of bad in it should be thrown out. It seems you have taken what I said about one thing and applied it to everything.

    Actually, I am not quite sure about the whole "personal" thing...

     

  • At 5/14/2005 6:16 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Yeah, you're right. The movie thing doesn't really fit. And I really meant mostly violence in movies with the replace with sugar thing. And of course, LotR wouldn't be as good without the violence. I also think it was done more tastefully in that movie than in others...

    Now, I'll admit, I've been desensitized. But I still ask that people use good language when speaking to me. I just don't care as much when I have no control.

     

  • At 5/16/2005 12:22 AM, Blogger Herohtar said…

    As long as we're still off topic in this part... (or maybe our topic just mutated?) yes, the LotR people did a very good job with the violence; it could have had a LOT of blood and gore... I think the most flowing blood you see is where Boromir cuts his finger on Narsil, lol.

    Rachel: Just a heads up on the link to my site... I changed the address to http://herohtar.myvnc.com/

     

  • At 5/17/2005 1:00 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    No, it is when Gollum bites Frodo's finger off, you can see some splurts from behind his hand.

     

  • At 5/17/2005 8:17 AM, Blogger £l §tévó said…

    Ok, I can understand the detriment of watching senseless violence, but this is getting ridiculous.

     

  • At 5/17/2005 12:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I was wondering if the Gollum scene might not have a lot of blood. I might add a huge congratulations to the LOTR people for their clean language! Correct me if I'm wrong, but nobody ever swore, right? That is amazing, considering most movies.

    No offense to those who want to stay on this subject, but does anyone know what Rachel's favorite Bible verse is? I would prefer to know before Thursday evening, if possible.

     

  • At 5/17/2005 3:51 PM, Blogger Herohtar said…

    Ah... that is true David, I forgot about that. But I don't think it's a close up as the shot of Boromir's finger is.

    Estel: Right, there was no swearing in the actual movies. It just wouldn't have worked though; there's no way they could have had them swearing without it seeming weird. I mean, LotR characters using swear words?? However, you probably wouldn't be congratulating them on their clean language if you watched the extras, easter eggs, and the commentary... O.o

     

  • At 5/17/2005 6:17 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Yeah, I know the actors aren't always clean. What does "O.o" mean? Oh wait, is it one eye bigger than the other?

     

  • At 5/17/2005 6:28 PM, Blogger £l §tévó said…

    Estel: I'm pretty sure Zephaniah 3:17 is her favorite, but there was somethin in Jeremiah maybe...
    Am I at least partly right Rachel?

     

  • At 5/17/2005 11:53 PM, Blogger Rachel said…

    Stephen said this: "Ok, I can understand the detriment of watching senseless violence, but this is getting ridiculous."

    I have to agree with him. I think it's pointless to go over every single act of violence or language (or whatever else!) in this setting. Every person has their own limits that God has placed in us with what we can handle and what we can't. We can't just say that because one thing effects someone in a bad way that it is therefore totally bad and that EVERYONE should shun it. I'm not talking about stuff like murder and adultery and stealing—those are specific sins that God has most definitely given us specific commandments about. I'm talking about the grey areas like, for instance, playing poker, drinking things with alchohol, or watching movies with violence and language. You might feel a conviction to stay away from one of these things. Another perfectly normal and God-following Christian might not.

    For instance: I know that for me, I feel a conviction that I shouldn't play poker. I disagree with betting the money. But I know many Christians who play it (friends... some of you, actually!) and I'm not about to judge them for it because it may not be a sin for them. I NEVER KNOW. I am not God, and God as far as I know did not say in the Bible that POKER (or gambling) IS A SIN and that NO ONE should play it. No person can judge a man's heart but God. Only one thing I do know: it would be a sin for me myself to play it.

    On the other hand, I'm perfectly fine with having a little bit of wine at a banquet, Passover, etc. WHEN I'm of age. As long as it is not an addiction, I'm fine with that. If I ever got to the point where it was something I craved though, that would be either an addiction or dangerously close, and the Bible tells us not to be addicted to alcohol (in Proverbs, I believe, and probably elsewhere, too). So of course if it came to that it's a sin! But as long as my conscience is clear on the matter (where it's grey, I mean), I would be doing no wrong.

    Again, one thing that we absolutely can NOT do in these grey areas is to make everyone else accept and shun things according to one person's convictions (lol, unless, of course, that person is Christ!). That would be legalistic and would, in fact, go against Biblical teaching.

    You wanna know where I'm getting all of this, what this "Biblical teaching" is that I'm talking about? Read 1 Cor. 10:23-11:1, and think about it for awhile. Our youth pastor did an AWESOME talk on this passage a few months ago... remember, my fellow Wildwoodians? That one rocked, n'est-ce pas?

    Just to ward off a question that might come up, I do think though that this does not apply the parents' direction of their family. They are supposed to set godly rules for what their family is and is not allowed to do, and the children need to obey 1. because it is commanded and 2. because God has placed them under the authority of their parents. Of course this changes when the children grow up and become adults themselves, and are no longer under the jurisdiction of their parents.

    I think it is important to note that in the 1 Cor. passage it also makes it clear that we ARE to honor the convictions of those who are with us. In other words, we can't cause someone else to stumble. Something that is okay for us might not be for them, and we have to realize and respect that, and not try and make them do something that they can't and we can.

    Hmm... that made me realize: I really like this passage, because it's an argument against both legalism and liberalism all at once! How cool is that!

     

  • At 5/17/2005 11:59 PM, Blogger Rachel said…

    How the heck did you know that, Stephen? You're very observant! Yeah, Zephaniah 3:16-17 is definitely one of my many favorite verses. I like this translation:

    "My daughter, have no fear, do not let your hands fall limp. Yahweh your God is with you, a victorious warrior. He will take great delight in you, he will renew you by his love; he will dance over you with shouts of joy as on a day of festival."

    These verses were actually the some of a few that my parents picked out for me as my "life verses" when I was baptized (sort of like the Wildwood baby dedication).

     

  • At 5/18/2005 12:40 AM, Blogger Herohtar said…

    Estel: Yes, you got it. O.o is a "weirded out" face or something like that, I don't know exactly... you'll figure it out from the context I use it in, if you see me talking online enough.

    Stephen: How was it getting ridiculous? No one was even arguing about that, we were just discussing the amount of violence in LotR. As far as I know the whole debated had ended a few posts before that...

    Rachel: Very good points, I think I mostly agree with it... if not I'll come back and argue about it later. ;-)

     

  • At 5/18/2005 9:49 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Thanks, Stephen and Rachel; those are nice verses. And excellent points, Rachel.

    Herohtar: That face is clever! It's amazing what we can do with the keyboard.

     

  • At 5/18/2005 3:36 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Something else I might add to all that awesomeness that Rache just said.. Is it really a good thing that we are even arguing over these things?? Ok Rache had it right, we should respect everyone elses convictions. But one thing.. we as christians are brother's and sister's in Christ. I don't think any of you guys were being mean towards each other in your debating.. but.. shouldn't we just remember that in the end.. we are all one.. a body of brother's and sister's.. should the left arm of the body hate the right arm because they do two different things?? Plus.. how are we going to be a wittness to other people when we are sitting here arguing about this stuff?? What if a non christian.. who was king of already thinking that Christian's was a group of buttheads who sit around and argue with each other all the time came and read how we were arguing over.. a dictionary... and who is right??

     

  • At 5/18/2005 4:33 PM, Blogger £l §tévó said…

    Me : There's a time and place for everything... I don't believe that those of us involved in the conversation consider this an arguement. The fact that there are no non-Christians present makes this a perfect place to debate. I do understand and agree with your point, but I sincerely do not believe that we are creating divisiveness but rather using each other to arrive at the truth. It is good to step back every now and then and ask yourself why, and I appreciate your plea in that way. I think that the good majority (you included) are mature enough to handle a debate-style conversation with another person without resenting them for it, regardless of the outcome. You may disagree with me, but as you said, we are all brothers and sisters in Christ and should out do each other in showing the other love.

     

  • At 5/18/2005 4:53 PM, Blogger Rachel said…

    Is "me" Sara? LOL, I'm probably wrong, I'm always wrong. :D Well, whoever you are, great question, and very good points to bring up. And great answer, Stephen. I agree with it totally.

     

  • At 5/18/2005 5:23 PM, Blogger Herohtar said…

    Rachel: What do you mean you're always wrong?? That is not true. And you were right this time; it was Sara.

    Stephen: Yes, I agree, we should be mature enough to do it without getting upset and hating each other.

    Me/Sara: I don't think any of us were disliking anyone because of the conversation (at least I wasn't). I think Christians can be very good witnesses even while arguing/debating by showing that they can do it with love and without bashing each other and getting angry. Even though we are one body of brothers and sisters we are obviously going to have our differences, so I don't think it is possible to go without debating things. Plus, by debating our different beliefs we can, as Stephen said, sharpen each other and get a better understanding of the truth. And if we happen to be wrong, we can be corrected.

     

  • At 5/18/2005 5:41 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Lol if you didn't notice I did say that I didn't think you guys were arguing.. I just was trying to point out.. that we should be careful.. how we talk to each other if we are going to debate.

     

  • At 5/18/2005 9:47 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I agree with the whole "iron sharpening iron" deal (my thought is, it takes repeated contact). Yes, we should be careful to do it in love. And as long as we do that, and are seeking to glorify God as our goal, we can converse/debate (or just listen to one) searching for the truth.

    Rachel, thanks for bringing us back to God's Word, quoting book, chapter and verse.

     

  • At 5/19/2005 3:36 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I always thought of it as a thumb working against the fingers in order to maintain a tighter grip and working toward the same goal. I would be really lost if I were never challenged.

    I just saw Star Wars. For anyone going in the near future, I have a little advice. First, don't read the text at the beggining. It's embarrasing and doesn't really reflect the movie. I'll summarize, and this doesn't ruin anything, because it's right at the beggining. There's a general guy named Grievous,and he has taken Palpatine captive. Obi-Wan and Anakin are going in to rescue him. That's all it said.
    Next, during the "love" scenes with Anakin and what's-her-name Natale Portman's char, just stare at her hair. and don't listen to anything you think you might hear. It's not what really happened. Imagine something like the Han/Leia scenes in Empire Strikes Back.
    Lastly, don't pass judgement on the movie at the beggining. It has a couple ify moments, but it comes through. Go in expecting a wild ride and some cool bits and you won't be disappointed.

    That was WAY off topic, but it needed to be said.

    BTW, you guys are all brilliant. Keep it up. It's fun to watch you keep each other on your toes.

     

  • At 5/19/2005 12:09 PM, Blogger frisbeegurl said…

    Heh heh.. I saw it last night too... Yeah listen to what Brad said though.. Seriously lol.

     

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