How 'bout this...something Sam Storms said tonight at EBC:

     Some might have trouble with the fact that God desires to bring glory to himself.  They might find it egotistical or selfish.  Look at it this way though.  Look at it as God's extreme love for you.  How, you say. 

     Agree with me that God is the ultimate good. He is the best.  Nothing is better.  Okay, so God loves us so much that he wants us to have the ultimate good.  He wants us to have the best.  He wants us to have that of which there is nothing better.  Therefore, God gives us himself, and then works in us worship.  What I mean by that is that he cultivates his children to glorify him, praise him, honor him because that is what is best.  God wants what is best for his children.

    So yes, He is working to bring glory to himself, but he is also loving us ultimately by giving us the best.  The two are one in the same.

    I thought that was pretty good, no, great.

Lyrics I really like...

"I have to find you, tell you I need you, tell you I set you apart."

"I know a girl.  She puts the color inside of my world."

"...but it's time to face the truth.  I will never be with you."

"Love is the answer, at least for most of the questions in my heart."

"It's not always easy, and sometimes life can be deceving.  I'll tell you one thing, it's always better when we're together."

"If you say it's time for moving on, I'll stop holding on."

That's all that come to mind off the top of my head...

We want What we Cannot have...

Why are we this way? 

I face this paradox time and time again in my life.  I'm so prone to take things, take people, for granted.  It's a damnable irony; one that I can't avoid.  Take anything that is constant in my life or anything that is consistent or regular.  Perhaps I give it a slight consideration.  Sparingly, I note it and appreciate.  More often that not I expect it, and never do I cherish it. 

Then that "anything" becomes not quite so much of a given.  Then, and only then, do I realize...that regularity by no means equates to unexceptional.  Normalcy is not indicative of unimportance.  Let's say this: REDUNDANCY HAS A WAY OF DEADENING DESIRE, or at least an awareness thereof, which is APPRECIATION. 

Case in point:  I had a classmate once whom, to this day, I believe is one of the most physically beautiful people I have ever met.  I didn't see her every day, and when I did see her it wasn't for very long.  I was always struck by her beauty though.  In those instances, I truly appreciated how pretty she was.  One day I asked her boyfriend, "what's it like to be dating her?  She's so pretty, and you get to see her so often."  He said, "I don't notice it so much anymore.  We've been together so long, it's just normal."  I remember thinking that was insane, but then again, I couldn't be in the same situation her boyfriend was.  I wanted what I couldn't have, and he didn't want so much what he did have. 

Case in point:  I had a girl tell me one time, "I'll like a guy a whole lot for a while, but then when I find out he's interested in me I lose interest."  At the time, I thought that was asinine and hated hearing it (mainly because I was the guy whom she had lost interest in, but that's another story).  I've come to realize that I'm wired the same way.  Is it because I like a challenge?  I don't know. 

And there are other examples; maybe a little more trivial but just as credible.  I enjoy a video game until I've beaten it.  Then I lose all interest.  I'm just now starting to enjoy playing Luke in one-on-one because before now, I would win every single time. 

So we couldn't enjoy winning unless there was a chance of losing.  We wouldn't savor The Great Wall of Chocalate quite so much if we'd never forced down asparagus.  And you can't miss something you've never lost (but I think I really wish I could).   

Okay

    Five days of pilot training down.  I like it.  I studied about 10 hours this week.  There was a test on Thursday.  I was able to avoid missing any questions.  That made me happy.  I like my class.  They are good people. 

    So anyway, pilot training starts out with academics, and this past week, along with next week, we are learning aerospace physiology.  It's a pretty interesting course.  We learn all about hypoxia and hyperventilation and pulling Gs.  We also got do do the altitude chamber, and then take off our O2 masks at 35,000 ft.  This leads to hypoxia, which evidences itself in much the same way as drunkenness, so it was quite humorous.  There are some good stories there.  We were supposed to parasail, but the winds were too high.  Hopefully there will be a calmer day next week sometime.  We are doing survival (just classroom curriculum) next week, and will have a test Thursday or Friday.  We will average a test a week all through academics which is 6 weeks long.  We hit the flightline on April 6.  That's when it will all hit the fan. 

    In other news, oba guys are in the state!  They won their area tonight.  The girls have to win one more game tomorrow night to make it to state.  They are trying to go the hard way, through the loser's bracket, winning three games in three days.  It's pretty cool.  I've really enjoyed following the teams these last two months. 

    Anyway, I appreciate ya'll and your prayers as I'm doing this whole pilot training thing. 

In Christ....jmv