"Hosanna" by Psalters

Oh is it true that songs can do what bombs have always missed? To strike the lips of power that all men have longed to kiss?
That all may know if You don't save then everything is lost, Your roadmap to freedom is from infancy to Cross. 
No rock will bear my load I'll cry out within my time, a battle cry against this world "God help me" is the line.
And as I rush upon the field I know I may fall slain, but I would rather fight and die than live my life in vain.

As of today...

Life sure gets hectic during the holidays! But it's been a great Christmas over all. I've had a chance to spend a lot of time with family, friends, and with the church. God has been good, and I've been learning a lot in recent weeks. Here are a few things that have been going on:

1) I've been reading through The Gospel According to Matthew to get a better understanding of Christ, His life here on earth, and why Christmas is so important. It's been a huge blessing and I'm humbled again and again by what our God has done for us.

2) I've developed a new addiction: Instagram. Find me on there @spicysammich.

3) There's an awesome album I've recently discovered and have been thoroughly enjoying. It's the Black Milk and Danny Brown album called 'Black & Brown Instrumentals.' It's a great instrumental hip-hop album with a lot of awesome mellow beats.

4) God has immensely blessed me with so many things and I'm very happy with my life. Thank you to all of you who are a part of it in so many ways. Thank you for your care, your love, your prayers, and your lives. Life is good because God is good.

Merry (belated) Christmas and a Happy (upcoming) New Year!

matthewdavid

Hair & Beard

A few of the guys in my fellowship group told me to post some pictures when I had longer hair and a beard, so here they are:

 Getting longer...

A couple of weeks before I hacked the beard off. With a guy named Happy in Dalian.

 Back in America, right before the hair came off too.

Logo

One quick tip for the gentlemen; don't wear huge logos on your shirt unless the company is paying you to do so. Being a walking billboard for any clothing company is generally a faux pas. Create your own style, don't wear massive logos or plug exact looks from catalogs. It really isn't a good look and any sense of individual style almost automatically diminishes. Simple clothing without big logos always looks cleaner and better.

Don't do this unless Gucci (or any company, for that matter) is throwing out money to you. If that's the case, however, then stack yo' paper playa.

Who do you love most of all?

I had an interesting day last week. I wasn't feeling like the greatest Christian and I didn't feel that God was "blessing" me as much as some other days. So I got to thinking; why do I have these types of days? They don't happen very often, but it sure is a downer when they do. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that the days that I don't feel like a "good Christian" are those that I love myself more than I love Christ. As a child of God, my main goal in life isn't my own satisfaction or the fulfillment of my desires, it's to glorify God with my life, share the gospel with the unsaved, build up His church, and make sure that at all times; God is my all. I get distracted quite easily with the vast amount of tasks I need to accomplish at any given time and lose sight of my goal and this always results in a lack of joy and satisfaction. True joy comes from living out your purpose, and despite what the world may say; that purpose isn't self satisfaction.

Just wanted to share this thought because it really helped me put things into perspective. Enjoy the Christmas season dear friends, keep your thoughts focused on Christ and the amazing thing that happened over 2000 years ago when God Himself came down to earth and took the form of man so that He could die for sinners like me and you. Also, remember to use this time to serve others instead of expecting to be served by them.

Artem Popov

My dear friend Artem did the awesome design you see on my blog. He's pretty darn good at what he does and for those of you who know him, I'm preaching to the choir. He just put his portfolio up on his new website, so check it out. And if you haven't already done so, take a look at his blog, it's super dope.

A photo to add to his credibility as a professional:





Teebs

Chivalry

Yesterday I had the great displeasure of seeing quite a few displays of men who lacked courteousness, thoughtfulness, and just plain common sense. I don't know why I paid more attention to this yesterday than I usually do, but it really stuck out to me. I saw one scenario where a woman was walking up to a store with a baby on her hip and a big bag tucked under the other arm. Three men walk past her, fling the door open, and all walk in ahead of her; not thinking to hold the door. I'm not sure when it became okay for men to stop being chivalrous, but it is unacceptable. It's not okay to be so arrogant that you're completely oblivious to the people around you. Hold doors open for women, walk them to their cars/front doors, pay for them when you're able to, offer a jacket if it's cold outside. Show some class guys, act like gentleman! And don't forget to stay proper.

Blessings & Prayer

Lately I've been trying to make sure that I notice the many blessings in my life. The Lord really is good to me and all too often I pay too much attention to my trials, the difficulties in my life, shortcomings in my character and/or personality and not nearly enough to all the great things God does in my every day life. While it is, however, very important to pay attention to the not-so-pleasant things and learn from them; to dwell on the negative or difficult things is detrimental to our spiritual health and just downright unnecessary. I've been thinking more and more about how amazing it is that God saved me. This is something that's kind of become "normal" or even kind of old for me because I'm so focused on moving ahead in life, growing spiritually, and maturing as a man. What a shame that this isn't always something that makes me want to shout with joy! God saved me; a sinner, someone who hated Him. He saved me and made me His child. That's something to constantly be thankful for. God also gave me a family who loves me and is patient with me, He gave me friends who accept me and help me grow, He gave me a church where I can work to build up His kingdom and am surrounded by people who encourage me and whose lives are an example to me. There's just so much in my life to be thankful for, and so many things that aren't even on my radar that the Lord does for me every second of my life. Be thankful to God for your life. Praise Him for His goodness, His love, His care, and His patience. Don't grumble, don't dwell on the difficulties; but instead rejoice in the fact that God has given you what He's given you and use it to glorify Him with every breath He graciously grants you.

Another thing that's becoming more commonplace in my life (unfortunately quite late) is regular prayer; a deeper communion with God. I'm starting to see the importance of bringing everything to God and truly trusting Him with it. I'll be honest, my prayer life is pretty weak. I'm working on fixing that, but for a long time this wasn't something that I saw as being all that important and therefore I didn't actively work on it. I've been seeing the horrible flaw with this kind of thinking and just how much it has stunted my spiritual growth. What I've been doing recently is making prayer lists for different days of the week and actually making myself stick to them. It's such a simple thing to do, but it has very unfortunately taken me a long time to figure that out. I've experienced a HUGE blessing in seeing God actually answering prayers and seeing that He does actively work in our lives. I urge all of you to be intentional about your prayer lives if you aren't already doing so. Don't be like me, be proactive in prayer!

Texts with Artem

My good buddy Artem and I text quite a bit and we end up having some interesting conversations from time to time, to say the least. Earlier today we were talking about which was better; coffee or tea. Artem was rooting strongly for tea, and I was the in the opposite corner defending my dear black friend coffee. I asked Artem to write me up a thesis and present his argument and I must say, he did a mighty fine job and all in under ten minutes. Check it out:

"Tea is a wonderful beverage. It has been scientifically proven to have many health benefits to the human race. Throughout the years, it has been used both for medicinal purposes or simply enjoyed in a recreational setting. It contains no harmful substances, aside from a minute amount of caffeine, and does not cause physiological addiction.

Coffee, on the other hand, is largely responsible for the largest drug addiction in the world. Many caffeine junkies absolutely need their morning jolt and can't function regularly without it. Demand for coffee also fuels harsh labor practices and unfair working conditions for third world countries. Moreover, coffee snobs tend to be pretentious elitists, while connoiseurs of tea tend to be refined and polite individuals. Coffee also tastes like boiled sewage without the addition of cream or sugar."

Well done sir, (slow clap) well done...

Cellular Telephone Photography

So my friend Kae inspired me to browse through all of the pictures I've been taking on my phone by doing an awesome post on her blog. I've selected a handful of the ones I found to post on here to give a brief glimpse of the last eights months or so of my life (a very brief glimpse). These are in no particular order because... I didn't feel like taking the extra time to organize them.

My friends Katya, Alesya, and Diana when we were hiking the Old Salmon River Trail.

The view from the spot where we camped for Mary's birthday.

My good friend Artem being a boss, chowing down on some sunflower seeds.

 One of the waterfalls along the Eagle Creek Trail.

 Some cool street art in SE Portland.

Artem and Joey being cheesy when we hiked the Angel's Rest Trail.

My buddies Nik and Mark when we hiked the Saddle Mountain Trail.

Old Salmon River.

Sitting on a rooftop in SE Portland, checking out the awesome sunset.

Artem and George being tough guys on the Saddle Mountain Trail.

 Awesome beard on some street art in SE Portland.

Beautiful day while hiking the Saddle Mountain Trail with my fellowship group.

Really cool old school Porsche I saw when I was in Los Angeles for the Shepherd's Conference.

 My sweet little niece, Versavia.

Hanging out by the Willamette River on the East side of Portland.

Poem

I wish I could take credit for this awesome poem, but I cannot. See if you can pronounce everything correctly!

Dearest creature in creation,
Study English pronunciation.
I will teach you in my verse
Sounds like corpse, corps, horse, and worse.
I will keep you, Suzy, busy,
Make your head with heat grow dizzy.
Tear in eye, your dress will tear.
So shall I! Oh hear my prayer.
Just compare heart, beard, and heard,
Dies and diet, lord and word,
Sword and sward, retain and Britain.
(Mind the latter, how it’s written.)
Now I surely will not plague you
With such words as plaque and ague.
But be careful how you speak:
Say break and steak, but bleak and streak;
Cloven, oven, how and low,
Script, receipt, show, poem, and toe.
Hear me say, devoid of trickery,
Daughter, laughter, and Terpsichore,
Typhoid, measles, topsails, aisles,
Exiles, similes, and reviles;
Scholar, vicar, and cigar,
Solar, mica, war and far;
One, anemone, Balmoral,
Kitchen, lichen, laundry, laurel;
Gertrude, German, wind and mind,
Scene, Melpomene, mankind.
Billet does not rhyme with ballet,
Bouquet, wallet, mallet, chalet.
Blood and flood are not like food,
Nor is mould like should and would.
Viscous, viscount, load and broad,
Toward, to forward, to reward.
And your pronunciation’s OK
When you correctly say croquet,
Rounded, wounded, grieve and sieve,
Friend and fiend, alive and live.
Ivy, privy, famous; clamour
And enamour rhyme with hammer.
River, rival, tomb, bomb, comb,
Doll and roll and some and home.
Stranger does not rhyme with anger,
Neither does devour with clangour.
Souls but foul, haunt but aunt,
Font, front, wont, want, grand, and grant,
Shoes, goes, does. Now first say finger,
And then singer, ginger, linger,
Real, zeal, mauve, gauze, gouge and gauge,
Marriage, foliage, mirage, and age.
Query does not rhyme with very,
Nor does fury sound like bury.
Dost, lost, post and doth, cloth, loth.
Job, nob, bosom, transom, oath.
Though the differences seem little,
We say actual but victual.
Refer does not rhyme with deafer.
Foeffer does, and zephyr, heifer.
Mint, pint, senate and sedate;
Dull, bull, and George ate late.
Scenic, Arabic, Pacific,
Science, conscience, scientific.
Liberty, library, heave and heaven,
Rachel, ache, moustache, eleven.
We say hallowed, but allowed,
People, leopard, towed, but vowed.
Mark the differences, moreover,
Between mover, cover, clover;
Leeches, breeches, wise, precise,
Chalice, but police and lice;
Camel, constable, unstable,
Principle, disciple, label.
Petal, panel, and canal,
Wait, surprise, plait, promise, pal.
Worm and storm, chaise, chaos, chair,
Senator, spectator, mayor.
Tour, but our and succour, four.
Gas, alas, and Arkansas.
Sea, idea, Korea, area,
Psalm, Maria, but malaria.
Youth, south, southern, cleanse and clean.
Doctrine, turpentine, marine.
Compare alien with Italian,
Dandelion and battalion.
Sally with ally, yea, ye,
Eye, I, ay, aye, whey, and key.
Say aver, but ever, fever,
Neither, leisure, skein, deceiver.
Heron, granary, canary.
Crevice and device and aerie.
Face, but preface, not efface.
Phlegm, phlegmatic, ass, glass, bass.
Large, but target, gin, give, verging,
Ought, out, joust and scour, scourging.
Ear, but earn and wear and tear
Do not rhyme with here but ere.
Seven is right, but so is even,
Hyphen, roughen, nephew Stephen,
Monkey, donkey, Turk and jerk,
Ask, grasp, wasp, and cork and work.
Pronunciation (think of Psyche!)
Is a paling stout and spikey?
Won’t it make you lose your wits,
Writing groats and saying grits?
It’s a dark abyss or tunnel:
Strewn with stones, stowed, solace, gunwale,
Islington and Isle of Wight,
Housewife, verdict and indict.
Finally, which rhymes with enough,
Though, through, plough, or dough, or cough?
Hiccough has the sound of cup.
My advice is to give up!!!

Peace

I've recently had the privelege of being able to see that I lack peace in my heart. Through different trials, circumstances, and occurrences in my every day life I saw that when the pressure is on me, I start to crack. It starts very slow; first I usually just become kind of quiet, more irritable, then it progresses to me worrying, stressing, getting upset, and eventually just shutting down. It was very upsetting to see these things happening in my life, and it was much more upsetting to see that this was a cycle that had been repeated every so often for quite some time. I realized that I don't find peace in God, I don't see him as one who is in control of my life. I often see myself as a victim of my circumstances and become so engulfed in this pathetic state that I lose sight of God. 

The more important lesson that I recently learned though is that God is good. He is VERY good. Despite the fact that I was so spiritually down and out, God used people in my life and His word to show me how wrong it is to despair over things that are trivial, earthly, and some that are just downright ridiculous and not at all within my control. It's interesting that I've heard that statement so many times but didn't ever dwell on it for too long. God really is good though, He's as good as good can be. That's a crazy thought, because I am not good. I sin, I hit low points, I lack trust, assurance, peace, patience, and joy. God's goodness is so good though, that it covers all of that. It's easy to think that it's unfair that we have to suffer or experience discomfort, and I unfortunately do think like this on occasion. What's really unfair though is that God forgave me, knowing that this is how I am. He loves me despite the fact that I don't always love Him. He chose me when I chose everything but Him. And he gives me peace and patiently shows me that I can't find it anywhere else.

This passage was very helpful in leading me to understand these things and I've been very blessed by the Apostle Paul's words to the Church of Philippi:

^"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 4:6-7

Danner Boots

The Danner Shoe Manufacturing Company started making boots in 1932 and they've made progressively better boots every year since. They have a new line out right now called the 'Stumptown Collection.' I noticed these boots out at the Lizard Lounge in NW Portland and was instantly infatuated. These are great looking boots and they're built VERY tough. Check out some of the styles:

Tycho

I have been stuck on this album for the last couple of weeks. It's awesome to listen to when you're driving at night or pop it on in your headphones when you're biking around. If you haven't heard of Tycho, check him out! The album 'Past is Prologue' is a great introduction to this awesome musician. Click on the picture to download. Enjoy!



Some Thinkings

It's been a while... I've missed you.

So the last few weeks have been quite busy and I'm only now getting to slow down and rest a little bit. Last night was the first good night's sleep I've had in about a month; it was magical. Our youth group's camp and retreat were wonderful! I had a great time working at the camp, getting to be around some very serving people from our church, and spending time with our high schoolers. I was very blessed by the sermons, the worship, and the overall atmosphere.

As for retreat, what an amazing time that was! The worship at retreat was unbelievable and the fellowship truly blessed my soul. I had a chance to spend some time with some very close friends and get to know some great people (from our church as well as some visitors). I also realized something during these last few weeks: I really love our church. I've said it before, but I mean it much more now. After learning more about the church and how God is fully in control of it and is constantly working on it, I see how blessed I am to be where I am. I am now thrilled when I get to be around members from our church. It gives my heart great joy to see growth in people's lives and I thoroughly enjoy worshipping with different kinds of people. Thank you to all the people whose unique lives, personalities, and testimonies make up our beautiful church body. Thank you for your prayers, your service, your presence, and your love for God.

Having said that, there's a hymn that's been on my mind the last few days. It's been reminding me that I truly need God every moment of my life. I need His guidance, His mercy, His grace, His love, and every other characteristic that makes up our great God. Where would I be if God hadn't saved me from my life of sin and despair? I don't really want to know. The hymn is called 'I Need Thee Every Hour.' If you haven't heard this hymn yet, do give it a listen. It sounds better when sung by a choir or a good quartet, although a good quartet recording is hard to find. Here are the lyrics though, I hope you are blessed by this hymn as much as I am:

I need Thee every hour, most gracious Lord;
No tender voice like Thine can peace afford.

Refrain

I need Thee, O I need Thee;
Every hour I need Thee;
O bless me now, my Savior, I come to Thee.

I need Thee every hour, stay Thou nearby;
Temptations lose their power when Thou art nigh.

Refrain

I need Thee every hour, in joy or pain;
Come quickly and abide, or life is in vain.

Refrain

I need Thee every hour; teach me Thy will;
And Thy rich promises in me fulfill.

Refrain

I need Thee every hour, most Holy One;
O make me Thine indeed, Thou blessed Son.

Refrain

J Dilla

Awesome tribute to J Dilla, filmed in Brazil on May 3, 2006.

A Few Tips for the Gentleman

While chivalry may be dying, do what you can to keep it alive.
-Be courteous to women! Hold doors open, say hello, walk them to their car, pay for their coffee/food (if you are able to do so). It's okay to be a gentleman and it doesn't always mean you're interested.

It's always better to be over dressed than under dressed.
-Don't be afraid to wear a nice outfit while going out. It's better to go to a casual dinner wearing a shirt and tie only to realize everyone else is in a t-shirt rather than showing up to a semi-formal or formal event in flip-flops and jeans.

Mind your hygiene!
-When leaving the house, make sure you have bathed recently, are wearing deodorant, your teeth are brushed, your clothes are clean, your nails trimmed, and your hair is cleaned up. Cologne is optional, but a little bit of a nice scent is always nice. Don't leave your house looking/smelling like you you're taking a stance against the societal norm for what it means to be presentable, you'll always be on the losing end of this protest.

Learn to speak proper English.
-Try to cut down on the amount of "likes," "dudes," "ums," and anything else that makes you sound like a middle school child with a minor speech impediment when speaking with others. Speak with eloquence, confidence, and in a way that shows you actually have something to say.

Don't be afraid to get your hands dirty.
-While being clean and smelling good is important, being a man who isn't afraid to do some hard work is much more so. Don't shy away from work that will put some sweat on your brow, on the contrary, seek it out! But do make sure to clean yourself up afterwards.

ALWAYS respect your elders.
-Never speak to an older person disrespectfully. While you may not agree with everything they say, being rude or crass makes you appear like a mild-mannered fool. Be courteous, respectful, and polite. You can learn a lot from people who have lived longer than you, and you should always seize the opportunity to spend time with your grandparents if this opportunity is available to you.

More to come in the near future!

Just a thought...

How often is my faith and trust in God tested? How often do I come out feeling somewhat beaten up and more than just a little bit humbled? It is unfortunately all too often that my faith is more vocal than actual and I had a chance to be reminded of that in a very real way recently. As some of you may know, I had somewhat of a fiasco with my car and the whole thing didn't quite pan out like I would have preferred. But... something good did happen. God showed me how faithful He is when times are tough and He also showed me just how little I really trust Him.

Thank you all for your prayers in the past couple of weeks, they mean a lot and had it not been for them, I may have still been wallowing in my puddle of self pity and discontentment.

I urge all of you to not get hung up on financial difficulties and every day trials. Learn from them and become stronger as a result of the experience. Spend more time worshiping the Lord for His never ceasing goodness as opposed to questioning His actions and the directions He takes us in. Spend more time with those you love and cherish as opposed to time on your own during times of hardship, dwelling on the things that are out of your control. And most importantly, wholeheartedly praise God for the trials in your life; without them you would be weak, confused, and utterly helpless.

The Future

It seems like everyone I talk to lately is very focused on five, 10, or even 20 years from today. People seem to be planning out their careers, their family life, and most of the big decisions they will inevitably have to make at some point in the future. There's a big focus on having all the parts of your education and future professional life all plotted out and every step along the path carved out for you to gently and readily step in to. This seems to be the case with people even as young as 15 or 16 years old, which blows my mind. I definitely have a lot of respect for people who think ahead and plan as opposed to just living a day to day lifestyle. I certainly wish I planned a little more when I was younger, I wish I looked ahead to more than just the given day's evening, and I definitely wish I took school more seriously.

Having said that, I must remind people that we live in an amazing, beautiful, and incredibly interesting world! We aren't drones that are meant to work, work, work and forget about everything else. I am definitely not saying we need to make having fun the primary focus of our lives and forget about getting an education and a career, but people... I'm meeting WAY too many people who are 20 years old going on 40. It's okay to slow down and go out into the forest to read and enjoy creation. It's not a sin to go take a walk through the city and do some people watching, or maybe even strike up a conversation with an intriguing stranger. It becomes more and more difficult (if not nearly impossible) to do these things when you have a family and children to take care of, so enjoy these years. There is a fine balance that needs to be found in order to be productive in accomplishing your goals while still being able to enjoy your life, but I implore all of you; FIND THAT BALANCE. Go visit your grandparents, have an evening with them. Go for a bike ride, feel the wind in your face (or for the NW people, the rain). Go on an adventure with a friend, explore a new place and have some deep, meaningful conversation. Enjoy your life, and carpe diem!

Now go find this place!

The End of the World?

So May 21st was supposed to be the end of the world (or the beginning of the end of the world)? As far as I know, not too much happened. From what I've read, Harold Camping's prediction was for the rapture to occur two days ago. Are the believers still here? Did I get left behind? The complete end of the world, however, is supposed to happen on October 21st of this year. This is all quite humorous but the fact is, many people are being seriously misled by this man and his false teachings, and that is no laughing matter. I was driving back from California yesterday and I saw one of these signs:

As I understand it, the only thing the Bible guarantees is this: "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of the heaven, nor the son, but the Father alone." - Matthew 24:36.

It's very sad that the picture a lot of people have of Christianity is paranoia, worry, "conspiracy theory," and all of that other junk. At times like this we need to grow in our knowledge of God and His word because although the end of the world may not happen on October 21st, it will happen soon and there are still many people who are unsaved in the world. We should also be finding comfort in the fact that we'll be meeting our Lord very soon. It's important that we are able to answer people's questions about why these earthquakes, tornadoes, floods, wars, etc. are all piling up. I'm getting very excited though! The end of the world means I get to meet my God soon, and that's a fantastic truth that gives me peace.

Whenever I hear about all of this, I can't help but sing "it's the end of the world as we know, and I feel fine..." in my head.

Siblings

Not too many of you know that I have two beautiful sisters, but I do. I am very blessed to have these awesome women in my life. They have always been there for me and have shown me unconditional love despite the fact that I was far from deserving it. Their names are Liliya and Inna and it's wonderful to see what God does in their lives and in the lives of their families (they are both mothers to two beautiful children, and are married to two very lucky gentlemen). These people are VERY important to me and we've quite recently resolved to spend more time with one another. This last Saturday we got to hang out at our house, spend some time talking, then go do some grocery shopping (and had a little dance party in the car on the drive). I love my sisters very much and I hope if you have siblings you jump on every opportunity to spend time with them and be as close to them as possible. It's a beautiful thing to have a friendship with your siblings.

Bowties & Ties

I wonder, how many of you gentlemen can tie a tie? Or, how about a bowtie? Although knowing how to tie a bowtie isn't a necessity; I think a bowtie provides a great classic look, especially with the right bowtie. But, knowing how to tie a tie is a must for a man (your mom or dad can only do it for you up until a certain point). A proper gentleman should be able to tie a tie and help a comrade out who doesn't know how to do it. Below I've attached instructions on how to tie a half windsor knot (my personal favorite tie knot), as well as how to tie a bowtie. Put this information to good use!

Jade Teahouse & Patisserie

I just enjoyed a wonderful lunch at this place called Jade Teahouse & Patisserie. They have great food, good tea, and pastries. Everything was fresh, delicious, and well-priced. I've had co-workers telling me about this place for quite some time now and I am glad I finally checked it out for myself. I would HIGHLY suggest grabbing some lunch there (or some loose leaf tea to enjoy at home like I did), you won't regret it. And if you do, I'll reimburse you for your lunch*. Take a gander at their menu on their website here.

*This offer only valid until 12:50 PM, May 12, 2011.

Madlib

Great song by Madlib, enjoy!

Interesting Encounter

I had a chance to talk with a man at my college today, and it was quite an interesting  conversation. We got into a deep talk and I had the opportunity to share the Gospel with him. His response was one that's not all that common... He blatantly said, "You're brainwashed man! I am shocked that you believe this crap." I had to respond to him without letting my emotions get in the way and all I said was, "Yeah, my brain has been washed, and all the junk has been filtered out." He was quite surprised by my response and just said he wanted to drop the conversation. We're all 'brainwashed' to a certain extent, it's just a matter of what your brain is washed with.

It's interesting to think that God "washes" our brain when He saves us. There's such a strong stigma attached to brainwashing, and there should definitely be some concern that tags along with the word. But, I (as well as other believers) should feel extremely privileged to have had the filth of sin and selfish desire washed out of our brains. It is unfortunately all too easy to picture the loss of our selfish inner longings or aspirations as a negative thing, but when our heart and brain are "washed" by the Lord, it becomes quite clear how detrimental and realistically dark these things truly are.

I'm glad God has washed my brain :)

#1

The first post is the first impression of blogging, so much pressure! I had to dress up and shave* for the occasion.

This blog is called 'A Proper Gentleman' but I hope that ladies will also indulge and have a read, enjoy the pictures, listen to the music, watch the videos, etc. One thing I'll attempt to accomplish with this blog will, however, be to (hopefully) reinstill those qualities of a gentleman that would bring chivalry back to our generation. It's a big goal but I intend to take on the challenge with force. More importantly than that though, I'd like the main focus to be sharing what God does in my life through His word, through people, and through daily lessons/trials.

So I ask you to join me on this wild blogging adventure, give feedback, and help keep conversations flowing. Much love and God's blessings.

*Obviously I would never shave.