Do you ever wonder what life would be like without the internet?

It has become such a huge part of my daily life that it's hard for me to even think far back enough to a time when I didn't use the internet. Of course, you can't forget the dial-up days. Anyone who has ever used dial-up will have the familiar sound ingrained in his mind throughout all eternity. Even now I'm trying to think of how to type out or even make the sound with my mouth. I can't do it. Imagine trying to describe it to your grandchildren . . . without sounding like a dying rooster. Impossible.

My point is: I'm aghast (I love that word) at how much I waste--yes, waste--on the internet, and more specifically, social media. 

This begs the question, why?

Why Do We Waste Time On Social Media?

Pride. Pride says 'I am so great that I want the whole world wide web to know it.' So whether it's my clever statuses, pictures I feel are attractive, or things that make my life look awesome, I'm striving toward one goal: self-worship. We want to put our best foot, face, and whatever else forward, whether we have to lie about our lives or photoshop our faces to do so.

Before you post, ask yourself why. And more importantly, Does this glorify my Heavenly Father? Is my life truly consumed by Him--even my social media?

What If There Was No Internet?

 It just makes me wonder how much I could actually accomplish if it were never invented.

I'm tempted to glorify the past. I envision the Good Old Days: those sweet, simple times long ago when everyone was well-behaved, worked hard, completed all that they intended to do, and even had enough time leftover to leisurely rock back-and-forth on the front porch rocking chair with a good book in hand while they gingerly sipped on their sweet tea. Oh, and as they lived and moved, there was an ethereal golden glow over everything and everyone.

But life wasn't like that. Men, women, and children still found ways to waste time. They still found ways to feed the monster Pride that dwells in every heart.

I'm writing this for you, dear reader, so that you would not excuse yourself from sin simply because you live in highly-technolgically advanced world, as if your generation were an exception. 

We have no excuse. Although sin may look outwardly a bit different than it did 50, 100, 200+ years ago, it is still at its very core sin. And yes, even time-wasting is a sin.

Does This Mean That I Have To Delete My Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, etc.?

I am not commanding you to delete every social media account you have right this very minute. 

I am asking you to consider how much time you spend on each and every social media account you have.

I am asking you to be careful that you, as a Christian, are putting off the aroma of Christ both on and off the internet.

I am asking that you would beg God to be captivated--wholly and completely caught up with Himself. 

Christian, strive to be true to the character of Him whose name you claim -- Christ's.

"Look to Jesus, believers, and that will keep you true to Him!" - Horatius Bonar

'You are My people'

I woke up to a dark, cloudy sky that made me want to stay in bed forever, which is how I feel basically every morning a feeling I never, ever experience, I assure you. Mornings like these remind us how lucky we were to have a day like yesterday. . .

The sun was shining, the birds were whistling, and I was driving home with the sun roof open and the Punch Brothers singing. I couldn't resist a run in this blissful spring, slightly sweltering warm weather. Still huffing, puffing, and gasping for breath breathing hard, I crawled walked onto the back porch to see Jer shooting his bow, Jonathan slowly, rhythmically swaying in the hammock, and Macy close behind, her tail wagging violently.
I had to pause and thank the Lord - for the chance for my boys to just be boys (something so many boys completely miss out on these days); for the good old south in April; for days like today; for God's overwhelming love in every little thing, even when I am ungrateful and presumptive. His blessings are all around me and continue, whether I have thanked Him or not.
Can you imagine such selfless love in a human? Just think of it: a man or a woman who continues to pour out love even when that love is not the slightest bit reciprocated? That is surely a rare thing, if not an entirely impossible thing. Picture the greatest, kindest, most selfless human being ever to walk the earth. Observe as he not only cares for the dirtiest, scummiest, most self-absorbed human being that ever lived, but he takes him into his home, adopts him, and loves him as his own son - even when that son goes about his business and forgets this man's unspeakable kindness. Now multiply that x 100 and you'll get some faint idea of God's love for us.

In Hosea 2:23, the Lord says to a rebellious, stiff-necked Israel:

"And I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy;
Then I will say to those who were not My people,
‘You are My people!’
And they shall say, ‘You are my God!’”

It was too perfect not to soak in every last bit of sunlight. I pulled out my paints and the boys rotated to the trampoline. 

Today, in spite of the clouds, there is so much to be thankful for. Have you thanked Him for His many kindnesses? Look around you and be thankful. The true child of God ought to be the happiest being in all the world.

Little happenings

Today my alarm went off. Silently. And when my eyes finally popped open, I jumped out of bed. 10 minutes before I was supposed to leave my house.
Once I scrambled out of the door, I scraped the ice off of my car and opened the door. Only it didn't open.
As I shivered in the cold, I realized: I locked my keys in the car (again).

Today I walked across West Main Street to eat at Subway. Crossing a "busy" street in a small town may seem like a small feat to you, but to me it was quite the adventure.

Today a man in his eighties tried to convince me to get a Big Mac from McDonald's with him.

Today I learned a new word. In Spurgeon's Morning + Evening, he says, "Let your conversation be redolent of heaven."

red·o·lent  

/ˈredl-ənt/

Adjective Strongly reminiscent or suggestive of (something): "names redolent of history and tradition". Strongly smelling of something: "the church was old, dark, and redolent of incense".

Synonyms fragrant - odoriferous - odorous - aromatic - scented

Today the whole family gathered in the living room for lovely music, laughter, and conversation.

Today I learned once again that Romans 8:28 is absolutely and completely and wonderfully true.

Today I realized . . .

. . . How much I really believe I will miss my job at the old hearing center, especially the sweet people I meet and grow to know and love.

. . . How happy little things like new knobs for my drawer can make me.

. . . And how much one new lamp can brighten up my bedside -- and in turn, my entire bedroom. I picked up this new lamp when I went to Hobby Lobby intending to come home with only lace. But when I saw this lonely little blue lamp with a shade covered in French poetry, it called my name and I simply couldn't resist.

And on another note: I was flipping through an old journal tonight (and yes, it was embarrassing) and found this entry from June of 2009:

O God, how many times have I said unto Thee, 'Take my life and let it be, consecrated, Lord, to Thee!' and not meant it? How many times have I sung it or said it unto You to take my life and let it be for Thee, but said in my own heart, 'Don't take my life, for I want to live it for myself'? Have I ever said this and truly meant it?
"Having already said,'Take my life, for I cannot give it to Thee,' let us now say, with deepened conviction, that without Christ we really can do nothing -- 'Keep my life, for I cannot keep it for Thee." (Frances Havergal, Kept For the Master's Use)
 What a freeing thing it is to learn that it does not depend on me! It is Christ, Christ -- all of Him! 

They shall sing in the ways of the Lord

I know to many of you this blog has long been dead. But I'd like to think he's only been sleeping, gone on an extended vacation; hibernating; but still very much alive.
And in the hope of awakening this old Blog o'Mine, I'd like to share a page out of Spurgeon's Morning + Evening from February 1st that I've found to be such a help to me and, I hope, to you as well.

"They shall sing in the ways of the Lord."

Psalm 138:5

The time when Christians begin to sing in the ways of the Lord is when they first lose their burden at the foot of the Cross. Not even the songs of the angels seem so sweet as the first song of rapture which gushes from the inmost soul of the forgiven child of God. You know how John Bunyan describes it. He says when poor Pilgrim lost his burden at the Cross, he gave three great leaps, and went on his way singing—

“Blest Cross! blest Sepulchre! blest rather be The Man that there was put to shame for me!”

Believer, do you recollect the day when your fetters fell off? Do you remember the place when Jesus met you, and said, “I have loved thee with an everlasting love; I have blotted out as a cloud thy transgressions, and as a thick cloud thy sins; they shall not be mentioned against thee any more forever.” Oh! what a sweet season is that when Jesus takes away the pain of sin. When the Lord first pardoned my sin, I was so joyous that I could scarce refrain from dancing. I thought on my road home from the house where I had been set at liberty, that I must tell the stones in the street the story of my deliverance. So full was my soul of joy, that I wanted to tell every snow-flake that was falling from heaven of the wondrous love of Jesus, who had blotted out the sins of one of the chief of rebels. But it is not only at the commencement of the Christian life that believers have reason for song; as long as they live they discover cause to sing in the ways of the Lord, and their experience of his constant lovingkindness leads them to say, “I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.” See to it, brother, that thou magnifiest the Lord this day.

“Long as we tread this desert land,

New mercies shall new songs demand.”

thankful

We live in an abundant, prosperous, free, yet greedy and discontent nation. But despite knowing nothing but poverty, these Ugandan's children's voices resound with thanksgiving.

of a cold November eve

As the chilling air grows fiercer and fiercer out-of-doors, inside, protected from the harsh November winds, the fire dances, glistening before her eyes. The light is mesmerizing, the warmth, delightful.

She is curled up in a chair, which has been edged, little by little, closer to the brick fireplace. In her lap lay the worn pages of a precious book, a book so precious it cannot possibly be read too many times.

Now, let us take a step back. There is a brood of children, grasping plastic swords, running in circles around her, shouting excitedly and rather haphazardly in gay (but awfully loud) voices.

Now zoom back in. The fire is still crackling. Idyllic.

Pan out again: reality.

Zoom: picture perfect.

Pan: life.

Life is not like the movies. It's not even always like the pretty pictures we post on Instagram. There's so much more to it than that. There is depth to life that cannot be portrayed in a picture. Life...is real. Yet even the most real thing we know, is not real. Life is but a picture of eternity, a shadow of true reality.

So, yes, life is so much more than a picture. But eternity -- true life with a living God -- is far more real and better than anything we could ever know here in this life.

I am so thankful for evenings like this one, rowdy siblings and all. But I am also thankful that this is not our home.

Heaven is our home.

Nota Bene: Happy 200th post, Flow Gently Sweet Afton!

Sunday afternoon musings

One of the most steadfast Crampton traditions is the Sunday afternoon nap. Almost every Sunday without fail, if you're a Crampton, you're either asleep or bound to be as quiet as a mouse by 3 PM.
Today happens to be one of those rare Sunday afternoons when I can't actually fall asleep. So I decided to be productive and pick up my room, listen to a sermon Conrad Mbewe preached a couple of weeks ago at Christ Church, and write on this sadly neglected blog of mine. (I'd give you the link to his sermon, but sadly, our website is being renovated at the moment.)
Lately, life has been consumed by thesis research and writing, moot court prep (the court was a whole lot of fun to this lawyerly-inclined girl, by the way), reading the Aeneid, preparation for graduation, etc. Graduating actually involves more than I thought - pictures for yearbook, pictures for the slideshow, general information for yearbook, making/sending invitations, and more. And all of this requires a bit more time and effort than I had imagined.
But I don't care as long as I graduate. And I plan to.

I know the general senior mindset is: I'm a senior. I'm so cool. Look at those freshmen. Ha, ha. They're freshmen. I can't wait to graduate and get out of this town. I'm so cool.
Yes, I'll admit that I've experienced some of those feelings. Yes, I'm excited about graduating.
As happy as I am to finally finish not only these four years of high school, but twelve years of education. Twelve years. When I actually write it out, it's mind boggling.
We seniors want to get out of here and move on with our lives. It's in the script.

But honestly, I'm gonna miss this.

I'm so thankful for my education. Yes, I've been homsechooled all my life. No, I haven't just sat in my pj's, watched TV, and gotten all A's from my mom. Granted, there have been many pj days. And I loved every one of them. But my education has not been a walk in the park, by any means. And I'm thankful for that. I'm thankful for the challenges, the struggles, and the learning experiences. I'm thankful for Dr. Grant, for Gileskirk, for Aristotle's rhetoric, for Dr. Hill's logic, for Doc Mo's biology, for Mrs. Tate's lit, for Mrs. Rachel's art/music, for Mrs. Culp's speech, and so, so much more!
Dr. Grant has reminded us many times - and rightly so - that education does not end when we graduate high school or college. If we ever think we're truly educated, it's a good indication that our education has never begun.

I plan on taking the next year off; a "gap year," of sorts. Although, this "off" year will not be "off." I don't plan on this being a lazy year while I sit at home on the couch and watch my friends move out and attend various colleges across the country. I plan on working and saving money for next year (of course, finding a job comes first), making a dent in and perhaps completing my fast growing reading list, painting, crafting so many things I've pinned on Pinterest, practicing piano and learning daunting pieces I never would have even glanced at two years ago, soaking in the Word at Christ Church, and doing so many other things I probably won't have the chance to do at any other point in my life.
This hasn't been an easy decision and it certainly was not my first choice. However, I believe this is where God would have me for now and I have no idea what doors may be opened this coming year.

Thy will, not mine, be done.

Joy unspeakable

I do most of my thinking at the piano. Decisions, ideas, thoughts, and prayers are made as my fingers trace the black and white keys of my old, faded piano. Music is itself a relief, happiness, and sheer joy. I can't tell you how many times I have heard musician after musician say, "Music helps me best express my emotions." But, as cheesy as it sounds, it rings clear and true. The feeling is unspeakable, inexpressible when I make music sing from my rickety, wooden piano and the sound permeates from room to room. The notes dancing on the page come alive and fill the house with vibrant life.
I'm no piano prodigy, I'm not even particularly gifted. But I revel in the utter bliss and unsurpassable joy that always goes hand-in-hand with the God-given gift of music.
My joys in life? To put it simply: serving my Lord, loving those around me, reading good books, and music - listening, making, learning - any form.

Laugh all you want, but seventeen sounds dreadfully old to me.

Some random and completely unrelated thoughts.

I live next door to a U.S. Congressman. This makes me famous.

Toy Story 3. Watch and weep. For real.

Synecdohes are my favorite figures of speech.

I'm listenin' to my Christmas music. Thank you, Caroline, for the lovely vintage Christmas playlist. Who cares about the after Thanksgiving rule? Besides, they're already decorating with lights and trees all throughout the mall and outlet stores. . .and basically everywhere else. So, I know we haven't even had Thanksgiving but 1) who wants to decorate with turkeys and pioneer people? That doesn't make me want to buy anything. Sorry. 2) Christmas decor transforms ordinary shops into magical places. Makes you feel happy. And buy more - which is a brilliant marketing strategy, just not so great for us consumers. Well, the heck with the After Thanksgiving Rule. It's a free country.

As you may have already figured out, I kind of love messing around with this blog and changing little things a lot. Well, I just went through one of those phases today. Check out the pages! (Which would mean the 'home,' 'de moi,' etc. buttons, for you "technologically challenged" readers. ;) I also added links to some awesome blogs - check them out!

Why is it so cold? What happened to Fall?

I have to wear make up every day this week. Way too much effort.

You may have already, unlike me, jumped on the Pioneer Bandwagon, but if not, check out Confessions of a Pioneer Woman. She never fails to crack me up. The woman is hilarious. Now I'm gonna lose hours of my life flipping through page after page.

Phones see me and die.

My last one crashed on me. "Crashed", as in, the screen went black never to return or show its face. I miss its lovely face. Well, life goes on. So I ordered its replacement. But it will never replace Lovely Face or be better than LF, it can only take her place and be useful in her absence.

Actually, it won't.

My new one just died, too. My new one. Brand new, as in, just got the package today, just opened it. Brand-spankin' new! It doesn't get newer than that.

.

.

.

I give up.

Thank goodness for old-Motorola-20-pounders. It's Dad's old phone, since he moved up in the cellular device world this month. He upgraded to an iPhone. Hmm, I bet if I had just ordered an iPhone it would still be very much alive. Anyone got $200 lying around?

A Person's a Person, No Matter How Small.

Well the Personhood deadline is fast approaching; the dark cloud is beginning to overshadow us, or the dawn is gloriously nearing the horizon, depending on who you talk to. Please keep Personhood Mississippi in your prayers!

Well, I've been thinking (uh-oh, that can't be good). It's easy to look at abortion passively, while stile agreeing that it's bad. As if there's just nothing we can do about it, it's just not in our power, I'm not a difference-maker, etc. You can make a difference! (Please excuse for sounding like some wacko green tree-hugger.) Back to the point. Think about this: at this very second, innocent babies, who have no say in their own life, are being cruelly and brutally slaughtered because their own mothers don't want them or 'can't deal' with them right now or just 'don't have the money' (um, hello ladies, do you think abortions cost llamas or something? No, they do indeed cost money). But we can do something about this! We can help join this movement, petition, and we can pray.

Unfortunately, even many churches are afraid to get involved (or just joined up when it's gotten a bit more popular and the deadline is nearly up). I suppose this is because they're concerned for their reputation or they think it's a bit risky or they don't want to lose any of their pro-abortionist members, I don't know exactly. But, let me ask you this; as Christians are we not called to live in this and world not of it? Countless churches think they can spread the gospel and change the world by looking just like it, but the world ends up changing them.

Abortionists say these babies in the womb are not babies at all. In fact, abortion clinics ban employees from calling the fetus a "baby", lest the mother makes that connection, lest they realize that this is, in fact, a baby inside of them! The clinics are afraid they might recognize this and thus might not go through with the abortion (which would also mean the clinic might not make some money). To the abortionist that baby is just "a clump of cells". This baby becomes a baby or a person at fertilization, not at birth. This is what Personhood is trying to do, "to define personhood as beginning at fertilization...to protect all life, regardless of age, health, function, physical or mental dependency, or method of reproduction."

Amendment XIV, section I of the Constitution states, "No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities if citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive a person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." The fetus is, indeed, a person. It's a person just as much as you or I. If these unalienable rights do not cohere for a child in the womb, why should they cohere for us? Noah Webster said a person is "an individual human being consisting of body and soul." A fetus (beginning at fertilization) is an individual human being consisting of body and soul, is it not? A fetus is a person.

Just a few random thoughts:

1. Singing in the Rain never gets old; Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds - pretty great stuff right there. We watched it tonight and afterwords Kelley, Catherine, and Jonathan were putting on hats, creating their own tap shoes, and inventing choreography.

2. My parents left for Sante Fe, New Mexico Thursday morning, so it's been an interesting couple of days. We've managed fine so far. Jamie, Katie, and I have taken turns at being mom/dad. We turned it into a fun weekend with snacks, movies, and a trip to Smoothie King. None of which are regular occurrences at the Crampton household. This has been a treat. The kids have really enjoyed it...mainly because of the junk food, though. You can tell they don't get much of that around here. I'm still definitely ready for my parents to get home. We all are. But everyone needs some time away...even parents. Especially parents. So we'll just have to put up with it for the time being, at least.

3. I'm loving this weather. Fall is incredible. This is the beginning of my favorite month of my favorite season. Everything about Fall makes me happy; the colors on the leaves changing, the smells, the air, the temperature, the cool nights, hats, scarves, coats, hot cocoa, reading by the fire, hot cider. Ah. :)

4. AND, we're not allowed to run in the Myrtle cross country meet tomorrow. I know I should be sad, but I'm not gonna lie - I'm not. Jamie told me this this afternoon and I was literally jumping up and down when I heard the news. Yes, for the first Saturday in FOREVER I can sleep in, no pressure about chugging water, going to the bathroom a ridiculous amount of times, or pushing myself to my death in the morning!! I can stay up as long as I want (but I should be getting to bed now) and sleep in!! You have no idea how happy this makes me! (Sorry Mrs. Heather - I hope you're not reading this.)

Like I said, random. No, I'm not going to attempt to tie these thoughts together. I leave that skill to Dr. Grant. Goodbye and goodnight.