December 2009
59 posts
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“My hand is the extension of the thinking process- the creative process.”
– Tadao Ando
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“Almighty God, give us such a vision of your purpose such an assurance of your...”
– Bosco Peters
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“As your faith is strengthened you will find that there is no longer the need to...”
– Emmanuel Teney
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“It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for something you are...”
– Andre Gide
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“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world...”
– John 16:33
“A man who does not think for himself does not think at all.”
– Oscar Wilde
Eloquence?
A: Karissa, you are exceptionally articulate. I'm very very impressed.
Karissa: what do you mean?
A: your blog. You're very articulate.
Karissa: oh. well thank you! I'm flattered.
A: I just thought you should know.
Karissa: well thanks, you are very nice.
A: normally those are an absolute pain to read but yours was organized, well spoken and thought provoking. haha im not seeking to suck up. ok friend, enjoy your night!
Karissa: I tend to be more eloquent when I write than when I speak haha! You enjoy your night as well!!
A: haha eloquent
Karissa: What?!
A: Man, get her writing and its like a river!
Karissa: hahaha oooh goshh, it just comes! I didnt even notice that!
A: lol goofball, well my dear acquaintance, pray thee hath a most arousing evening!
Karissa: Shut up! Eloquence does not equate to Old English!
A: ok then let me try again. Karissa, I hope you come across many events in the duration of the night that not only pique your interest but leave you flabbergasted by the level of exuberance they leave you with! Sleep well and awake refreshed as if having dove into a cold mountain lake immersed in the cool water unable to deter the cold from leaving you anything but awake!
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“Art is a collaboration between God and the artist, and the less the artist does...”
– Andre Gide
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My Fascination with Etymologies
I’ve always been fascinated by language and etymology.
I’m also fascinated by the meanings of names.
These two interests led to me do a study. So, just using my name, Karissa, as a basis of study, I delved into this endeavor.
Karissa comes from the Greek word Χάρις, transliterated charis, and pronounced khar’-is. This word means (as defined by the New Testament Greek...
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“If it’s always easy all the time, it’s not worthwhile.”
– Unattributed
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“All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on.”
– Henry Ellis
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I Like To Know The Answers...
…But it takes the questions to get there.
(And sometimes, the answers don’t exist.)
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“When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not...”
– Erma Bombeck
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“I’m a part of the fellowship of the unashamed. The die has been cast. I...”
– Dr. Bob Moorehead
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Live Life Loving
That phrase has been a motto for me throughout the past few years.
I came up with the following “quote” as almost advice for myself and how to live my life.
It wasn’t until more recently that I’ve finally learned how to truly live my life in this way:
“The only way to live life is to love. Live life loving the small things and the moments that take your breath...
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Tomorrow Is Not Guaranteed
Recently I’ve been so struck by the gift of life itself.
We live today, taking for granted the very fact that we can breathe, we can think, we exist.
I watched Christmas Shoes tonight which was the final straw that convinced me to blog about this idea. We don’t know how long we’re on this earth. All we do know is that there are certain things in this life that have eternal...
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“The next moment is as much beyond our grasp, and as much in God’s care, as...”
– C.S. Lewis
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“It is a great consolation for me to remember that the Lord, to whom I had drawn...”
– Wolfgang Mozart
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“I do not at all understand the mystery of Grace - only that it meets us where we...”
– Anne Lamott
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Why All This Frivolous Materialism?
It’s Christmas eve, and I’ve been caught up and emotional about something for the last hour…
Christmas has unfortunately been misconstrued by our culture. It’s become a time of busyness, spending, getting something “bigger and better”, trying to bring happiness to people through the objects- tangible, materialistic objects- that they receive. Why is it that our...
“As I grow to understand life less and less, I learn to love it more and more.”
– Jules Renard
“As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will...”
– Thoreau
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Plan vs. Purpose
“God has a perfect and great plan for your life.”
False.
I don’t believe that God has some perfect plan all written out and set in stone. No, I believe that God has a perfect and great purpose for our lives.
Some people think that God has a single set plan for our lives. I disagree. Further, since there is no plan, we should not seek to figure out a plan or derive a plan for...
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“If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the...”
– C.S. Lewis
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“I know that the Lord is always on the side of the right. But it is my constant...”
– Abraham Lincoln
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“It was when I was happiest that I longed most…The sweetest thing in all my...”
– C.S. Lewis
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Even the Dentist Noticed
I know I tend to stress more than most people.
I don’t really know why, I only know that I’ve been getting better at controlling it and finding healthy outlets for myself… or so I thought.
I had a dentist appointment today. “Karissa, you have healthy beautiful teeth and a great smile… but, have you noticed yourself grinding or clenching your teeth?”
...
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“Be sure that the ins and outs of your individuality are no mystery to Him; and...”
– C.S. Lewis
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That Which Lasts
Fact- relationships formed with anyone anywhere that are built solely upon the superficial, shallow, and trivial, are fleeting. They will last for a moment and then soon become nothing but a past memory.
I have recognized recently that so many of my friendships from high school really were empty ones. Though they were fun, they are not going to last. Do I even bother to further invest in them? I...
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Mexico Outreach
September 25, 2009, I left Azusa Pacific for Cuernavaca, Mexico, just outside of Mexicali. I arrived around 7pm and pitched tents for the next 3 hours or so, waiting for th other teams from APU to show up and settle in for the night. First day- not too eventful. But, there always is the calm before the storm.
Woke up at a horribly early hour in the morning to the shouts of the enthusiastic wake...
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Stress Less
I worry way too much.
It’s an issue that I’d very much like to get rid of.
The smallest things cause me way too much anxiety. So, you can imagine how I react to the bigger things.
Not Pretty.
New slogan for myself. Pray more, Stress Less.
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Oh, How He Loves Us!
There are no words to describe it. There is no humanly possible way to express it. It is completely inconceivable for the human mind. It is unable to be defined, only experienced.
God’s love.
It truly is “vast beyond all measure”, to quote some honest lyrics. It wasn’t until about 3 weeks ago that God revealed to me his love in a way so much more evident than I ever have experienced in my life.
...
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“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.”
– Helen Keller
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“I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that...”
– Abraham Lincoln
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“Miracles are a retelling in small letters of the very same story which is...”
– C.S. Lewis
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“We have no right to ask when something bad happens,”why did this happen to...”
– Unattributed
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“God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our...”
– C.S. Lewis
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Defining My Comfort Zone
I so often pray to live uncomfortably. I feel so blessed to have all that God has given to me that I desire to share it in some form. I think that God has called us to live lives out of the comfort zone.
I used to ask God to rip me out of the comfort zone- send me to Africa, send me to work with AIDS orphans, send me to live on little food and scarce shelter… but these are things that I’ve...
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“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins....”
– 1 Peter 4:8-11
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“All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Pride In Humility?
Humility is a quality that I’ve always thought to have. Yet, taking pride in the fact that I’m humble?- what?! How does that even work?
I’ve found that in the times when I am most humbled are the times when God reaches into my life, rips me out of my comfort zone, and sets me loose (in his unexpected way of course) to do his work. It is through repeated instances such as this that I’ve come to...
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“Jesus did not come to be served, but to serve.”
– Mark 10:40