Pascal Paper

Musings from a Curly-Haired College Kid

Perspective. Despite all that we think, do, and experience, look up at the night sky. Every light represents its own star, each one at least the size of our planet, continuously burning and roaring about its business, emitting light, sound, and energy millions of light years away as if we didn't exist. The same goes for quiet mountain streams on the other side of the world, blind cave fish gliding in the unknown deeps of the earth, and wind tousling grass and everything else it touches as it ceaselessly sweeps over the world. It all continues about its business, unaware that we are conscious beings thinking about it.

Observe the intricate details in the lines of a single fingerprint. How carefully carved out every curve is.

Beautiful people. Why do people find it easier to like and have sympathy for people that they find attractive? If someone we consider beautiful approaches us and asks for help, we have a natural inclination to help them and we are concerned with what they think of us. If a person we consider physically unattractive approaches us and asks for help, why do we not feel the same desire to assist and concern for their opinion that we do if we consider them physically beautiful?

Some of the most agreeable personalities are those that mix an understanding of their nobility with a practice of humility.

Have you ever considered that no two pieces of bread look exactly alike? They each bake differently.

There are many things that are sparkly if you take the time to look closely at them.

Eyes. Some cultures in the past believed that the eyes of people were where their souls were located. The soul is not confined to any one part of the body, but even so, how much merit does this idea have?

Time, it seems, never comes in just the right amount. Things are always said to be too long or too short, too far or too soon. Is anything ever the right length of time away?
"I never have enough time."
"Well, you have the same amount as everyone else. What would you do with more? Spend it wisely? What would that look like?"

Enough. It seems like most things never come in just the right amounts. We have too much or too little to eat, do we ever eat just the right amount? What would this right amount look like?

A husband and wife are united in one flesh in the form of their offspring, genetically speaking.

All learning is emotional.

Sometimes one of the best things you can do is nothing. Sometimes, it is good to empty your mind and think of nothing at all, but to simply breathe and look.

Not everything that looks good on paper looks good in real life.

Every car you pass has at least one other person in it. Each of them will live their own lives with their own destinies. They drive by going wherever they are going, doing whatever they are doing, thinking their own thoughts, most probably completely unaware that they have left an impression in your mind. How often do you see this? How often are you this person to someone else?

The light from stars appears to be twinkling to us. In actuality, up close, it's exploding.

Mankind is an interesting creature.
What it doesn't understand, it fears; what it fears, it lashes out against; what it lashes out against, it hates.

The Parable of the Prodigal Son.

(Luke 15):

The father's grace isn't just for the son who left, it's for the one who stayed too.

Sometimes we focus too much and put too much emphasis on the worship service in church and we forget that the Christian life actually takes place outside of the walls of a church building. How much of the book of Acts is written about a worship service? It's written about the "Acts" of the church. Were those “Acts” a church service? No, they were the lives of the members of the body and the things they did. How much of the New Testament itself is written about a church service? We base our order of worship off of a few verses. What are the rest of those verses about? Aren't they about the life that we need to live as Christians? Worship is obviously important, of course, but the Christian life is about glorifying God in all of our lives, not just while we're in a church building. It's about really living. Living real life.

Creation vs. Evolution.

God is not afraid of science. We should not be either.

Abundant life is better than life.

The only time someone can show mercy is when they have the power to deal out punishment.

Knowledge of God does not always equal faith in God.

How often do we jump at the alarm of our clock, yet sleep through the call of God?

Faith. Three levels of commitment to Christianity that I observe: complacency/compassion, conviction, and condemnation.

Many people are complacent and do not care enough about their faith to change things in their lives and make certain sacrifices that should be necessary. Or, they focus so much on compassion and acceptance that they defend choices and lifestyles that should not be defended.

Condemnation is on the polar opposite end of the spectrum. People here look condescendingly on those around them that they think are in the wrong and often live in a faith that is dry and lacking in empathy.

Conviction is the middle ground of sorts and it entails a sometimes difficult balancing act between a strong stirring in us to take actual action and make change and the compassionate desire to bring others on the journey with us who often resist being brought. There are so few people here, it's so frustrating.

Sometimes I feel alone in the way I think and in my conviction.

As a child, I often thought there was barrier between kids and adults. I'm discovering more and more now that, often, adults are just tall kids. This can be a good thing or a bad thing.

Have you ever felt the ground shake under your feet when you walk? Your life impacts the world. We are all earth-movers and difference-makers.

No matter how much you see, there's always more to see. No matter how much you hear, there's always more to hear. No matter how much you think, there's always more to think.

Selah.