The Seattle Tattle

In May, Tony and I took a getaway trip to Seattle and loved it! We stayed for about a week and did a lot of exploring and relaxing. We would set a sightseeing goal for the day and then be free with our schedule for the rest of the day. It was very restful and fun. 

I wanted to put up some pictures form the trip and give some tips and advice if you ever vacation to Seattle. I will say that expectations can destroy enjoying a trip sometimes so I had to let go of any vision or idea I had of the trip. Not everything goes perfectly all the time. For example, you may go to a restaurant and not like the food as much as you had hoped or try an activity and find you are disappointed in how it turned out. And that's okay. Because vacation is about spending time with the people you love. And this we did very well. :)

We stayed at the Cedarbrook Lodge in Seattle. It is right near the airport. It was AMAZING. We were able to get a military discount which helped with our cost for the week. It has a hot tub, a restaurant that focuses on farm to table specialities, an incredible complimentary breakfast with fresh fruit and new pastries every day, and a spa where we were able to get massages. I highly recommend the Cedarbrook. We throughly loved our stay.

http://www.cedarbrooklodge.com

This was the relaxation room in the spa. 

Of course we had to go to the Pike Place Market. Such a fun spot to walk around and see the fresh fish and flowers and vendors. 

Exploring the City

Pike Place Market

There is a place called the "Gum Wall" where an entire alleyway wall is covered with gum of those who have visited there. Of course I had to give it a try...

We tried the Pike Seattle Brewing Company Restaurant right above the market. We enjoyed the sampler tastings and also ordered dinner. The food was mediocre but we enjoyed the beer.

One of our favorite finds was the Italian Family Pizza restaurant just down the road from the Pike Place Market. The address is 1206 1st Ave, Seattle, WA, 98101. 

We have tried a lot of pizza and like it a specific way... this place was awesome. The crust was thin and just right, very flavorful pizza. If you sit outside, you can people watch and hear the busyness of the city. We enjoyed this place and the food!

Top Pot Doughnuts... if you haven't tried this place in Seattle you have to give it a go! The doughnuts and coffee were stellar.

I loved the atmosphere of this place too. 

We had to visit the famous landmark: Seattle Space Needle. The view did not disappoint. Very expensive entrance fee though even with a discount and it gets even pricier if you want to try it at sunrise or sunset. There are some packages you can get if you want to try the Space Needle, Pacific Science Center, or Chihuly Glass Museum. You can save money by buying the tickets together (we did not do this but it seemed like a good idea if you had a family with you). 

We did go to the Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum that is located right next to the Space Needle. We chose to try it because we looked at places to visit and it was one of the most top rated and most visited sites. Looking back, I wish we would have spent our money on something else. It was very beautiful, but the tickets were very expensive, the exhibits were pretty small in number, and the activity as a whole was not very engaging and enjoyable for us. I think I would have rather tried the Museum of Flight or Seattle Aquarium. But there is always next time! (We enjoyed it so much we definitely want to visit Seattle again)

Just being honest here: they allow pictures in this museum so if you really want to, you could see pictures of every exhibit. Why pay $26.00 per ticket when you can see all the exhibits by not paying that much? Just keeping it real here.

But this flower exhibit was pretty amazing. There is an entire garden of glass flowers that is pretty breathtaking.

Pictures from the top of the Space Needle

We also explored Seattle Chinatown and International District. We enjoyed walking around in the area.

King Street Station

This is Pioneer Square.. an area with Renaissance architecture. Beautiful. We didn't get to try this but the area features First Thursday art walks, night life, and lunch spots. 

http://www.pioneersquare.org

Hot Tub at the Cedarbrook... we loved exploring and then coming back to relax. We loved Seattle because it was full of life and action and lots to do. 

We had to go to a Mariners game. One of our favorite nights! It turned out to be 90s night and there were also fireworks at the end. We loved it!

The sunset was amazing.

Fireworks Night

The Cedarbrook 

One of our favorite things we tried was a food and drink tour that started at the Pike Place Market called the Booze N Bites Tour. It was a walking tour where we went to four or five restaurants or bars and tried a drink and an appetizer or part of an entree. We loved this so much! We had a lot of fun getting to know others who were touring the city and we got to experience a wide variety of foods. It also helped us get to know the area better and the restaurants we really enjoyed we got to go back and try again. I highly recommend it! There are other tours you can try as well including Chocolate Only, a walking tour of Pike Place Market, and Gourmet Food only. We wished we would have known about this tour earlier because we tried it on one of our last nights but you receive a card that allows you to get 10-15% certain vendors. I also recommend a water bottle and don't feel like you need to eat and drink every tasting... just enjoy the tastes!

The picture above was from our first stop which was a wine tasting at The Lost River Winery.

http://www.savorseattletours.com/tours/

The next stop of our tour was at Cantina de San Patricio, a Mexican place we loved. We tried the tacos and margaritas... we loved it so much we went back later!

This was another stop at a Vietnamese Restaurant called the Long Provincial. We enjoyed this one too! It was fun to try different kinds of foods.

We enjoyed the food and drinks at the Can Can also. This was probably my favorite cocktail I tried.

The Can Can

The Cupcake Royale in Seattle... honest thoughts for ya: cupcakes were a little dry but the buttercream frosting was very well done and there a lot of flavors to choose from. 

When on vacation, go all out. Enjoy vacation!!

Tony wanted to try The Whiskey Bar in Seattle which features a huge variety of whiskeys. A good stop!

http://thewhiskybar.com

Back at the Cantina de San Patricio

Seattle, we love you!

"A vacation is having nothing to do and all day to do it in." Robert Orben

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Renewing Reason: Calling All Skeptics

If there is one thing I wish I could tell the world about Jesus, it would be this: you don't have to better yourself up to come to Him. You can come just as you are, with any and all of your mess ups, failures, shortcomings, doubts, worries, fears, sins of the very worst kind. Somehow, we feel we must take care of all the knots in our lives. But Jesus simply says: leave it to me. Let me take care of it. Let me smooth out the knots. Let down your heavy, heavy burden and rest in me. Find life, hope, joy, and peace in me. Find your identity no longer in your mess ups, rather take hold victoriously of a new one: find your identity in Christ. An identity that through God's eyes sees you as holy, perfect, righteous, and blameless because of Christ's work on the cross. And that really is all there is to it.

As I end this blog series on renewing reason, I find that I must share that I definitely don't have all the answers. There are many others that are much better at explaining all we can find in this world that points to clear evidence of a great and mighty God and Christ. But I will say that if you what you really desire is to find the truth, you will find it when you seek it wholeheartedly. The truth is undeniable. God is written in the sunsets, the mountains, the lakes, and in the many chapters of stories of how He has changed the hearts of men and women that I know. He has changed my life.

I love that all can come to Him. Welcome skeptics, welcome murderers, welcome prostitutes, welcome the prideful and arrogant, welcome haters, welcome gossipers, welcome all.

Today, specifically, I want to welcome skeptics. Those that love the question why. Man, we have all been there. But I know God saves us for His glory, even the skeptic. Come to Him, with your questions and your doubts. Find someone to walk you through the questions. Fall at the feet of Jesus, and find answers in Him.

In my own walk with Christ, I have found that unbelief is a huge struggle. God is never changing. But my heart in believing God is who He says He is continues to be an up and down journey. If you look at stories in the bible, you can see that we as a people have a history of dealing with unbelief. Unbelief kept the Israelites wandering in the wilderness when the promised land was right at their fingertips. God always has our best in mind. He was not there to punish the Israelites. The wandering was a consequence of choosing to not believe God and His promises. Belief is right at our fingertips and yet we struggle.

The amazing thing about God though is that He continues to use us and change us and inspire belief in us even when we doubt. He uses the skeptic all the time. Even when we doubt who He is, He will work in our lives.

I love what Beth Moore says about belief in Praying God's Word: "You may be thinking, 'I want to believe! I just don't have enough faith!' God's Word records an encounter in Mark 9:14-24 to encourage every person who wants to believe. Christ met a man with a son who had been possessed by the enemy since childhood. No telling how many physicians, witch doctors, religious fanatics, wise men, and foolish men the father had sought to find freedom for his son. Imagine the glimmer of hope that kindled his soul when rumors circulated about the disciples of Jesus who were reputed to perform miracles. Then imagine his devastation when they too were added to the list of the failed. Jesus asked for the boy to be brought to Him. The father's desperate plea would bring an empathetic lump to the throat to any parent: 'If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.' I love Jesus' powerful retort: 'If you can...?' Everything is possible for him who believes.' The father's reply comprises one of the most honest, priceless moments in the record of Christ's human encounters. 'Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, 'I do believe.' Then, as if Christ had caught his gaze eye to eye, reading his questioning mind, the father quickly restated, 'Help me overcome my unbelief!'"

Jesus goes on to cast out the demon for the crowd to see. I love this example in scripture. And there are so many other examples of God continuing to use us even when we struggle with doubt for His glory.

J.P. Moreland has an awesome article entitled "Answering the Skeptic" that discusses questions about human knowledge and why the logic of skepticism cannot stand. It can be found here: http://www.jpmoreland.com/articles/answering-the-skeptic/

My heart is that others may see that true knowledge and truth can be found in God and in Christ. Furthermore, true life and freedom may be found in Christ. If you seek logic and evidence and reason for God, you will find it. God says knock and the door will be open, seek and you will find.

Christ welcomed the doubter and the skeptic, as seen through His response to Thomas, a disciple who would not believe in Christ and the resurrection until he saw it with his own eyes.

"Then he said to Thomas, 'Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.'" John 20:27-29

May all of us fall at the feet of Jesus, in whom all our answers can be found.

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Malted Musing

As I scroll through my newsfeeds I am bombarded with arguments, opinions, and general bluster over last Friday’s SCOTUS decision with regards to gay marriage in America. Being fairly emotionally and intellectually attached to this event myself I too feel the need for an outlet to express and outline my own ruminations. What is contained herein is just that…mere thoughts of a fairly malted, sometimes hoppy, very unstylish bald guy.

So far, neither side of the argument is very appealing to me: on the one hand you have very smug, morally superior bandwagoners who are ecstatic to see their castle of tolerance built; while on the other hand you have depressing, morally superior hardliners who are afraid of seeing their bastion of principle toppled. Both parties retaining an equal (irony) self-righteous hatred for the other as the evil ones. It is obvious that there is an outrageous battle to define love, marriage, and freedom. As usual it’s firmly rooted in the ever-volatile foundation of human emotion, viciously armed with the dogma of the day. I’m afraid there are no winners in this war, as the combatants will continue to be driven to and fro by their fickle master, constantly wounded and never satisfied.

Full disclosure, I actually am not morally repulsed by the concept of gay marriage, as enforced by a state institution. I could go into a long rant about the structure of our glorious American democracy and the functions of constitutional freedom, but I believe that Robert Laurie has sufficiently described my perspective in his article found here: http://www.caintv.com/gays-win-gay-marriage-battle-i. However, although I am writing mainly for myself, I still feel the need to state I personally believe that biblical marriage is between a man and a woman. It’s important to make the distinction between state and biblical marriage, because I believe it is often overlooked by both sides of the argument (maybe intentionally, maybe not), but I refer back to Mr. Laurie to explain further on that topic.

What I really want to discuss is how believers in biblical marriage should respond to this cultural and now governmental movement. I must say that I am quite disappointed with the responses of the majority of Christian/Church organizations, rushing to tell the world that they firmly support traditional marriage between a man and a woman as if that is some sort of new information in the light of this case. What a waste of time; I guess I should be more understanding, since there are many Churches that no longer support this basic tenant of the faith. But still, I have little patience for the religious American church (little “c”) and their hyper-moralistic sensitivities; and I don’t see that changing any time soon…

 I just can’t help but wonder if there isn’t something that is more important to communicate to the world, and fellow believers, in the midst of this turmoil. Spoiler Alert, there is…and it’s the Gospel. Yes, of course that comes across as simplistic, and slightly abstract. Often, no matter how muddied and complex we try to make it, the Truth is very simple. But do not fear, I have no time mere heady concepts or worn out clichés; this is going somewhere practical for real life. When encountered with something possibly disturbing I like to go through and list out the facts as I see them. Thus, from here forward all I have is bullet points; I think better in bullets…5.56 to be exact…  

  

• America is not a Theocracy: Just because we have enjoyed a "cultural moralism" in America somewhat associated with Biblical principles (which is debatable anyway), does not mean that it will last, or that it was genuinely “Godly” in the first place.
• Like it or not, the state is an institution of man, thus it will not submit to God's will.
•  State defined marriage does not change the truth of biblical marriage. The Word of the Lord Stands forever.
• Newsflash: homosexuality has been around for quite some time; and guess what, so have state recognized, unbiblical marriages. Think about it, non-christian heterosexuals who are married are not living in biblical marriages either, nor do they have to.
•  God’s commands are meant for His people (always have been) within context of relationship with Jesus Christ. There shouldn’t be anything shocking about people who don’t believe in Christ not submitting to God…it’s been happening for a while now. Non-Christians have no incentive or claim to live righteous lifestyles, so why should we utilize worldly institutions to make them do so?
•  This isn’t saying of that humanity hasn’t fallen short of the overall standard of righteousness of God…so, take it easy.
• God commands us to eradicate/abhor/oppose sin in the Church and our own lives, not the world, that’s His job, remember? Yes we should be sad about sin in the world; but that has always existed, and will continue to exist until Christ’s return.
•   If biblical marriage is Truth, then we should be confident that it will continue to thrive, no matter what the competing distortions or falsehoods are.
• Just heterosexual marriage is not the Truth by itself; it is only Truth when centered in the Gospel.
• If men of God care about biblical marriage, they should put more energy into standing against their own sexual sin than that of others. Seriously guys.
• If we truly believe in Gospel-centered marriage, we should show the world with Godly marriages that it is the best way to live, not demand or legislate it. If we want people to choose a better life, they need to see that it is, in fact, better.
• When seen, pure Grace driven Truth is irresistible. We need to believe that is true.
• The truth is that the world is desperate for love in any way they can get it, and they will continue to open dry well after dry well. Today we should be more committed than ever to living the Gospel in our marriages, so that cool crisp living water of Christ flows freely into dry hearts.

If anything we should be excited as the nation distances itself from empty moralism, the true Church of the Gospel of Grace can step away from the church of religious practice and show the joy of grace filled relationships. I see the SCOTUS decision as a challenge, to love my wife through my daily death as Christ has loved us; to live with her in understanding, caring for her tender heart, gently pushing her toward the Gospel. I hope that other Men of God see the same. And to our wives, we are not worthy of your submission, but through our Lord's grace we ask it. Your strength in love and grace should empower us to live as we've been created. 

  So I guess what I’m trying to say is that for me nothing has changed. I will continue to go home and take hold of the Truth, pull her in close, and give her soft sweet kisses…never forgetting that the Gospel is within arms reach. Then I will take her hand and together we will show the world how True Love really does win.

"Set me as a seal upon your hear, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, desire as fierce as the grave. Its flashes are of fire, the very flame of the Lord. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, he would be utterly despised." SS 8:6-7

{Written by Tony Luiken}

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Renewing Reason: What Science and God Have in Common

"To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks real advance in science." Albert Einstein

"Everything is theoretically impossible, until it is done." Robert A. Heinlen

"Equipped with his five senses, man explores the universe around him and calls the adventure Science." Edwin Powell Hubble

I love teaching science. As I said in my last post, I love the pursuit of truth. And that's what science is all about. Exploring, designing, experimenting, theorizing, pushing the limits of what we think we know and can do. Science is beautiful, dangerous, and amazing.

But there is a problem that has come about with science. The more humanity discovers, the more awesome we think we are.  We begin to worship ourselves for our accomplishments and we worship the science that we think got us to where we are. But that is so far from the truth. The ultimate scientist and designer is God. What God and science have in common is that God created everything on this Earth, including every single atom and molecule and tree and plant and bacteria and virus and animal and human and cloud and mountain. God is not surprised or alarmed by our science- He created all of it and it is all part of His plan. Every scientific discovery by a human is ultimately because God allowed that human to discover that knowledge, truth that ultimately came from God.

Job 12:7, "But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you; or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this?"

I am not here to toot my own horn- that for some reason, I have all the answers. No. I was once dead in my sin and made alive again ONLY by the power of God and by no merit of my own. God is my source of truth. In God we have breath, we have life. God gives us science. He gives us discovery. He gives us answers. I am not here to knock down science. I love science, I am a science teacher! Go, explore, discover, experiment, test, hypothesize, create, design! But, know that God is the ultimate source of truth, not science. God reveals Himself to us through all of His creation and through science. To Him belongs the glory.

Many people believe that science is the ultimate and only source of truth. In other words, if it can be experimented and tested, then it is proved to be true and I will believe it. This is called scientism- the view that empirical science constitutes the most authoritative worldview or the most valuable part of human learning to the exclusion of other viewpoints.

I want to look at how we as believers in Jesus Christ can reasonably, logically, gently, lovingly, and intelligently show that scientism doesn't work. There are actually two different forms of scientism one can land on- weak and strong scientism. I am not going to get into each of those, but just make some general objections to scientism.

1) Scientism itself is self refuting.
Other self refuting statements could include:
"There are no English sentences." or "There are no truths."
Scientism itself is a statement of philosophy, not science. You cannot prove scientifically that science is the only source of truth. In fact, no amount of scientific discovery or progress will ever make scientism more acceptable. It is not possible for scientism to be true, simply by nature of the viewpoint. There is no scientific test that will prove the existence of truth or that we have it.

2) Science itself rests on a number of presuppositions. Science cannot be practiced in nothingness. In other words, there are a lot of "pre-truths" that must be true in order that science can work effectively. These "pre-truths" have to be challenged, which is a task of philosophy and not of science. Some of these "pre-truths" or presuppositions of science include:
- the existence of truth
- the laws of logic
- the existence of values used in science (for example, testing theories fairly and reporting honestly)
- the belief that language is adequate to describe the world
- the belief that we can rely on our cognitive and sensory faculties to serve in gathering truth

3) Finally, read this excerpt from Love the Lord Your God With Your Mind by J.P. Moreland:

"Some propositions believed outside science ("red is a color," "torturing babies is wrong," "I am now thinking about science") are better justified than some believed within science ("evolution takes place through a series of very small steps"). It is not hard to believe that many of our currently held scientific beliefs will and should be revised or abandoned in one hundred years, but it would be hard to see how the same could be said of the extrascientific propositions just cited."

Certainly, if we still believed the world was flat, we would be in a lot of trouble. A good scientist knows that results aren't an end in themselves. We keep discovering, keep exploring, and keep scratching out old theories with new ones. And that's the beauty of science.

Psalm 19: 1-7:

The heavens declare the glory of God,
    and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. 
Day to day pours out speech,
    and night to night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words,
    whose voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out through all the earth,
    and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun,
     which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
    and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy. 
Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
    and its circuit to the end of them,
    and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

The law of the Lord is perfect,

reviving the soul;

the testimony of the Lord is sure,

 making wise the simple.

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Renewing Reason: The Problem With "To Each His Own"

I have always been a seeker of truth. I like to figure out motives, intentions, and desires of myself and others. The truth can be a tricky thing, hidden behind expectations and emotions and years of lies. The truth can be scary. We may not be ready for it. But I firmly believe one thing about truth: it will set you free if you let it. There is relief and peace in truth. There is hope.

It seems more and more that "truth" is getting skewed. We are living in a culture and time where individualism reigns and "truth" is defined by each individual person. Right and wrong, even, it seems are defined by each person.

"That may be true for you, but not for me."
At the end of an argument, "Well, to each his own."
Let's "coexist". Let's "tolerate" and embrace everyone's viewpoint because... there is no truth anyways and we each get to decide our own right and wrong?

I will defend until the day I die that there is one truth and that one truth is God alone. The one God with a capital G.

One of my fears is that this post would come across as... judgmental. The good little Christian girl who has it all together sharing how much better she is and how she's got it all figured out. I am sick thinking about it because of all people, Jesus disliked the Pharisees the most. Pharisees followed the law and believed they were good men... but they missed it: Jesus wants us in our mess. He doesn't want us to come to him fixed up and good. He wants us to come to him broken and recognizing we never have it together. I know I'm sinful and messed up and need Jesus. And because of my need, I feel I must share what has set me free: truth. And truth that is found in Jesus Christ. Not in defining my own messed up sense of right and wrong.

Only God can bring the dead to life. Not me and not my silly little blog. But maybe, just maybe, someone out there reading can see the truth of my Jesus and my God. And that would be worth it to me. Because the truth is beautiful and life giving.

Moral Relativism is the view that moral judgments are true and false only relative to some particular standpoint (for instance, that of a culture or historical period) and that no standpoint is uniquely privileged over all others. (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: http://www.iep.utm.edu/moral-re/)

Basically: To each his own, define your own right and wrong because there is no ultimate right and wrong (this is determined differently for different cultures, throughout time, and essentially for each different person).

To define it further, an example is murder. A moral relativist might say that this is not plain and simple, but rather, society A believes this is true but society B does not. Cultural diversity causes differences in ways in which the moral rule is applied.

There are some definite objections to make with this very prevalent and currently popular view on morality.

1. It is difficult to define culture and society. If a man from society A murders a man from society B in a house from society C, how do we determine if the act was right or wrong?

2. How do we determine which society is right if we are part of several at the same time? Between our family, extended family, school, church, work, state, country, world- which is the relevant society? What if two societies I am a part of allow a certain action but one doesn't?

3. Read J.P. Moreland's words from Love the Lord Your God With Your Mind:
"Moral relativism suffers from a problem known as the reformer's dilemma. If normative relativism is true, then it is logically impossible for a society to have a virtuous, moral reformer like Jesus Christ, Gandhi, or Martin Luther King, Jr. Why? Moral reformers are members of a society who stand outside that society's code and pronounce a need for reform and change in that code. However, if an act is right and only if it is in keeping with a given society's code, then the moral reformer himself is by definition an immoral person, for his views are at odds with those of his society. Moral reformers must always be wrong because they go against the code of their society. But any view that implies that moral reformers are impossible is defective because we all know that moral reformers have actually existed!"

4. If moral relativism is true, how can one society be justified in morally blaming another society? If someone believes in moral relativism, you might try stealing something from them. If they get upset, you might remind them that morality is relative to them and stealing is fine through your moral code... I suspect they may think twice about their viewpoint.

It seems that right now a popular viewpoint is that morality (defining right and wrong) is relative for individuals in areas that are convenient, say for sexual morality, but absolute for areas that are not so convenient, say in whether someone should steal your iPhone or not. In other words... morality when it's convenient.

5. Finally, there is an absolute truth. God is truth. We can't know true right or wrong outside of knowing God. God's Word guides and leads our life and leads us in truth. See post here on why scripture is the most backed up piece of literature in the world: http://lifewiththeluikens.blogspot.com/2015/05/renewing-reason-most-important-literary.html

An act can be right or wrong (as defined by God) whether or not a society or culture says anything about that act.

At the end of the day, God saved me a sinner. I rejoice in that fact because I didn't deserve it!! He saves us when we are dead in sin and we become alive in Christ. Alive in two ways: 1) Life on earth is brighter, fuller, richer, and made more whole. 2) When we accept Christ, we are given (out of no act of our own) eternal life with Christ after we die on Earth.

In no way I am (a sinner) better than you. But I do believe that there is one truth. That one truth is God alone. In God alone, we are set free by truth.

Have you ever kept a secret for a long time? Remember how it felt to finally tell someone that secret?
Relief. Peace. Rest. No more hiding. No more guilt. No more shame.

That's what truth does. It sets us free. And I pray it may do the same for you.

"There is a way that seems right to a  man, but its end is the way to death." Proverbs 14:12

"The their comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life and have it to the full." John 10:10

"Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free." John 8:32 Pin It

Personalities, Pride, and Perfection

Alrighty, so I am going to jazz things up a bit around here and change the pace to a different topic that I love: personalities and what drives people.

Over the years, I have taken several different kinds of personality tests. Most I have found to be pretty helpful. I think questions about how you think, make decisions, and respond to people and situations help you to self analyze and see your strengths and weaknesses which is important. It is also hilarious at times, especially in marriage, to see how two people can be created so differently and think in opposite ways.

Personalities

Some of the personality tests I have taken include:
1. Meyers Briggs- This is based on psychological theories proposed by Carl Jung and by the end of the assessment you will fit into one of four categories:

- Introverted (I) or Extroverted (E)
Introverts tend to be more reserved and shy, think things through in their head, like slow paced intentional conversations and like to observe. Extroverts tend to be more talkative and outgoing, like to think out loud, like a fast pace and big groups and don't mind being the center of attention.

- Sensing (S) or Intuition (N)
If you tend to have strengths in sensing, you will be great at paying attention to small details, you prefer ideas that have practical applications, and you like things described specifically and literally. If you tend to be more intuition focused, you are more of a dreamer. You see the big picture and you enjoy exploring ideas and concepts.

- Thinking (T) or Feeling (F)
Thinkers vs. Feelers pretty much is self explanatory. Thinkers are very logical and factual, reasonable and level headed. Feelers are more in tune with and value emotion. They may make decisions based on emotion rather than logic. They like to find the best in others and tend to be people pleasers.

- Judging (J) or Perceiving (P)
Those that tend towards "judging" is not simply being judgmental, as the name might imply, but prefers detailed step-by-step instructions, likes decisions to be made, and prefers for plans to be made. Those that tend towards "perceiving" like to have all options open, sees rules and deadlines as flexible, enjoy being spontaneous, and making plans up as you go.

At the end of my assessment, I came out an ENFJ. My hubby is an INTP... we think very differently. A lot. :) It's good for us though and helps us to love each other the way Christ calls us to.

If you are interested in trying out the test, try this link: http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/jtypes2.asp

Something to keep in mind is that you probably have a natural tendency, but different situations call for you to get out of your comfort zones and act in areas you might not be strong in. My point is that we may lean one way or another in different seasons, situations, or with different teams or groups of people.

2. Another good test is by Gary Smalley and is based around four different personality types: Otter, Beaver, Retriever, and Lion.

- Otters are very people oriented and like to have fun. They are the jokers of the group. They enjoy motivating and influencing others and tend to have a lot of friendships, but not necessarily deep relationships.
- Beavers like to take their time and do things right. They are detail oriented, logical, and practical. They like things exactly and precisely.
- Retrievers are loyal, sensitive, and caring. They are steady, good listeners, and have deep relationships.
- Lions are natural leaders. They are competitive, goal oriented, and enjoy challenges. They don't mind conflict and like to take charge.

Like Meyers Briggs, you can be a mix of these types or tend towards one most of the time. I am an otter-beaver and Tony is a retriever-lion (you can see the opposites attract making its theme here).

I was introduced to this personality test while working at a Christian camp throughout college called Pine Cove. Every summer, there would be a night dedicated to all of the staff and counselors taking the test. It was meant to help us see that each of us have strengths to bring to the table and to realize that no one personality was better than another, and if we were going to work as a team and work well together, we had to realize that. It was hilarious because there were hundreds of people working at camp and when our director talked about certain personality types, everyone sort of cheered on what they knew was their personality type (and clearly because we all think we have the best personality type!). The introverts felt they knew best how to take on and silently observe the world, and the extroverts were busy already talking with everyone around them about how awesome they thought they were. I still remember him saying that if there was a party being thrown, otters would be the first ones there ready to have fun but there would be no party without the beavers. Beavers would be the ones thinking ahead, bringing the food and drink and plates and decorations. We definitely all need each other. This I know for sure!

If you want to give the test a go, try this link: http://www.sagestrategies.biz/documents/FiveMinutePersonalityTestforclass.pdf

3. Another good personality test is called StrengthsQuest. This one I know is good for works based strength identification and how you work in groups. At the end of the test, you receive your top five strengths.

The website link is here: http://www.strengthsquest.com/content/cms.aspx?space=SQ&ci=141728&title=index
Or you can try a free similar test here: http://freestrengthstest.workuno.com/free-strengths-test.html

Pride and Perfection
I love learning and seeing how people tick. I'm an otter, so I love people and I love stories. I definitely think that learning about your personality is important. In arguments I've had with my husband, I can see areas where I know I lean more based on my personality. But I also know that it is our personalities that make us who we are and that brought us together.

However, I do think that sometimes there can be excuses made for our personalities. Introverts might rely on the new person they are meeting to ask all the questions in the conversation and never ask questions to get to know the other person (this is selfish). Extroverts might make the conversation all about them and how awesome they are (also very selfish). We may fall back on our personalities for reasons why we do things and use it as an excuse to not make needed changes in areas of sin, saying "It's just the way I am." Sure, it's the way you are but that doesn't mean you don't need to learn to act out of your natural tendency in order to serve and love someone the way you need to. Sometimes, I need to spend a night in as opposed to a night out with a big group to show my husband the one on one time his introvert self loves. He often times chooses to act against his natural tendency and go to a big group event with me because he knows I love meeting new people. We both can overcome our pride and love those around us well.

I recently had an enlightening conversation about personalities and failure with some good friends. A "retriever" friend that I love realized that when she was rejected from something, she immediately blamed herself, thinking about all the ways she was lacking and all the reasons why it was justified that was rejected or had "failed" in some way. For me, I realized my confidence is blaring and, I know, a bit annoying at times. For my "otter" self, when I am rejected from something, I immediately begin thinking of all the reasons why it was unjustified that I was rejected and all the reasons I am awesome and they are missing out. What a different perspective, both self focused and prideful!

In either situation, I realized the problem is we were both aiming for.... perfection. No one is perfect and all of us will fail and mess up and be rejected at times. Seriously. I guarantee you the people in your life that you think are perfect have been rejected and have failed at some point in their lives.

Social media doesn't help us out. "Perfection" or what we think is perfection fills our Facebook and Instagram and Pinterest screens. We continue to compare ourselves and we feel defeated.

The truth is that the only "perfect" is Jesus. We can trust the God we serve that when things don't go our way, He has a perfect plan. He is sovereign over mistakes, mess ups, and missteps. He takes our defeats and deficiencies and turns them into something beautiful. He continues to do this and He always, always will. He had done it in my past and He will do it in my future.

"Come, everyone who thirst,

come to the waters;

and he who has no money,

come, buy, and eat!

Come, buy wine and milk 

without money and without price.

Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,

and your labor for that which does not satisfy?

Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,

and delight yourselves in rich good.

Incline your ear, and come to me;

hear, that your soul may live;

and I will make with you an everlasting covenant,

my steadfast, sure love for David." 

Isaiah 55: 1-3

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Renewing Reason: The Most Important Literary Work Of All Time

There is nothing I am more passionate about than sharing the real message of Christ. Willing to hear me out? I'd love that. And since you've arrived here at my blog, I hope you'll give me a chance.

Many people think that to become a Christian, they must better themselves up somehow before they can come to God. They must be a good man or woman. The crazy thing is that the opposite is true. Christ came to help us realize that we don't have to keep trying to be good enough. We simply have to understand that we are in fact, not good at all, and need a savior.

The wrong message of "be a good person to be a Christian" scares me. Parents teach their children to "be good little boys and girls because that is what God wants". This creates a sense of duty and obligation. We then begin going to church, choosing to do nice and kind and right things because we think we must, rather than because we want to because of what our God has done for us through Christ. We miss the whole point. God doesn't need us to make Him feel better. Required love is not genuine love. 

1 Samuel 16:7, "For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart."

This wrong message of "be a good person" can multiply. Reading the bible becomes an action to check off on our list of good things we can offer God (when in fact we simply need to come to God just as we are, broken and sinful and NOT good). When I was little, I used to attend Sunday School and hear my teachers share bible stories. To me, that is all they were: stories. In some ways, if I am being completely honest, I thought they were all made up to help us get to what I thought was the point: be a good little girl. Some of them seemed so ridiculous! Global floods and miracles and healings and talking donkeys. There is no way it could be REAL. 

Of course, it all changed for me when my dad passed away in the spring of 2003. I went through an emotional journey of confusion and anger and finally a friend shared the gospel with me: God loved me and sent Jesus to give me eternal life. I believed that. Soon, I began reading the bible because I knew it was how I would learn more about God. I was still skeptical, but I understood God's love for me and I wanted to believe what He had to say. 

It has been 12 years since I became a believer. And I can truly say today that I believe that the Word of God is the only source of real truth, a guide for my life, and an incredible resource of history. It is 100% accurate and authentic. My new passion is that I share with others some practical ways we can see that the bible is the most important literary work of all time. How can we show that it is TRUE and not just a bunch of made up stories? The amazing truth is that it is foolish NOT to believe that the bible is true. If you are willing to genuinely look at evidence and facts, you will see that the scriptures are THE most backed up literary source. If you look at the truth, you cannot deny it. 

Here are some main points to get you started (but I encourage you to seek out and learn more about each of these):

1. Copies of the Manuscript

Ancient texts, like those of Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, and Homer and also Old Testament Scripture, were copied by hand before the printing press was invented. The Scriptures are THE most copied manuscript and have the least amount of errors in copying as compared to other ancient texts. For example, Homer, who wrote the Iliad, has 643 copied ancient manuscripts. There are 24,633 copies of Scripture. The Iliad is presented in English classes across the world, the legitimacy of which no one would dare to question. And yet, many people question the legitimacy of Scripture. 

Check out this article link for more information if you're interested: http://www.icr.org/bible-manuscripts/

Or check out this powerpoint: wordalone.org/ppoint/Bibletrue.ppt

2. Archeological Evidence

There has never been any archeological artifact found that has disproved the Scriptures. In fact, the more we dig, the more scripture is seen to be true and historically accurate. 

Check out this article link for more information if you're interested: http://www.equip.org/article/biblical-archaeology-factual-evidence-to-support-the-historicity-of-the-bible/

3. Eyewitness Accounts

When you consider the New Testament gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, they all share the same story. It is extremely difficult to get people to share and see the same story. Of course, each tells from a different perspective but all confirm the person of Jesus Christ and His resurrection. Others shared about Christ and were tortured or killed for it but never changed their story. It would be hard to imagine being willing to die for something that wasn't true. 

Try this link: http://www.tektonics.org/guest/truthfulness.htm

4. There is also evidence for the historical credibility of the Bible, and the life and resurrection of Christ outside of scripture that supports what scripture has to say. 

Consider this article: https://www.probe.org/ancient-evidence-for-jesus-from-non-christian-sources-2/

Another link I like that sums up some main points on the historical and logical evidence to back up scripture is here: http://www.essentialbibleblog.com/2013/03/top-10-reasons-bible-is-true.html

My hope is that you might begin to see that we have reason to believe that scripture is authentic and an incredible resource for our lives. We don't believe this "just because we are good little boys and girls and read the bible because we should". We can believe it intelligently and with confidence. There is evidence to support scripture. It is certainly not a bunch of made up stories. 

I do want to go back to a point I made in my first post in this series, which is this: there is still an aspect of faith to Christianity. Not because scripture can't be backed up, but because until our hearts have changed to be open to God and His truth, we are skeptical and our hearts are hard. Really, until we accept Christ, we are dead in our own sin and love being our own god, our own decider of what is right and wrong. But God is so good and saves us despite our sin. And the evidence is out there to help us along the way. 

My final point is this: the scriptures will change your life. When I first truly understood who Christ was and what He did for my life, I was hungry and desperate for scripture. The more you read, the more amazing it is, the more it fills your heart and your life. The scripture is full and rich. It is "living and active", continuing to be used for thousands of years by believers as a source of truth and a guide. 

Psalm 119 says it all:

Psalm 119: 72, "The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold."

Psalm 119: 102, "How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!"

And finally:

Psalm 119: 151-152, "Yet you are near, Lord, and all your commands are true. Long ago I learned from your statutes that you established them to last forever."

Thank you, Lord, for your everlasting Word. 

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