I Ponder Thusly

I was actually thinking about what the difference is between jealousy and envy in recent days, as I found out that there was, in fact, a difference. Envy is a sin - it is covetousness, a form of discontentment. But jealousy is a little different - God can be jealous. God describes himself as a "jealous God" in the Bible. He would hate to have His children seek after another.

My friend Brooke actually wrote a whole report on the difference between jealousy and envy! Her description of the difference between the two is helping me to better understand how they contrast:

The word envy refers to feelings of dissatisfaction and resent brought on by one’s own desire for another’s possessions or qualities. Jealousy means feelings of dislike, which can conceive hatred and the want for competition to keep what he or she has.

Cool, huh?

Well, gotta go - me and Brooke are off to a CC meeting. Sweet.

Today I have mostly a free day after I'm done in my web authoring class (which is SWEET!!). Actually I'm going to have to stay here at the college for an hour and develop my slide film of a bunch of landscape shots I took yesterday first.

But after that,

1. I want to get the entryway and the bathroom ready to paint in my house.
2. I want to clean the junk out of my old bedroom and ship most of it off to the Goodwill,
3. I want to do my laundry but I might not be able to because my dad wants to do his laundry today, and
4. I want to pull all carpet staples off the stairwell (where I pulled out the nasty 30-yr-old dogsmell shag carpet like 2 weeks ago). After I get all that done, there's a chance I could actually
5. paint the entryway and bathroom, but only if I hurry.

I better quit typing, develop my film, and get moving!

Ah, such a non-philosophical post I have bestowed on my readers today. I hope it has encouraged you all to be motivated in your To-Do list of the day.

Most Excellent.

I never would have thought that cuticles could be trimmed, but apparently they can be. I read it in a book.

Then I discovered that I actually have a cuticle trimmer, and so I decided to use it. I cut into my skin four or five times by accident, and now my fingers really hurt, even though I did that more than 24 hours ago. The devine one insists that cuticles should not be trimmed, and all I can say is, it can be dangerous. My fingers look much more trim, however. Guess I gotta develop some skills in this area.

Do you ever find yourself getting anxious about something in your life that you don't fully understand? A person, a situation, a confused plan, a problem? Something worse?

When God allowed our spirits to be generated from His amazing Mind at our time of creation, was He hoping that we would fumble with our days in fear or worry, or listlessness? Nothingness? Without purpose?

As easily as He created your spirit, body, and soul - He will create a blessed future for those who trust in Him.

These verses are from Matthew 10 - I copied them from Biblegateway.com.

27What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. 28Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29Are not two sparrows sold for a penny[d]? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. 30And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

God will watch over His children. And His children will trust in Him and do His will - and when they fail, they will repent and turn from their ways because they will be focused on living for His glory! That's what I want to be!

I got this off of a magnet on my refrigerator:	Today, I will be too calm for worry, too noble for anger, and too strong for defeat. Today, I will believe anything is possible, I will walk through fear without hesitation. Today, I will stand for something. Today, I will make a difference.