Question: What is a purity ring? What does it mean? Why a ring?
The purity ring is simply something that symbolizes your commitment to staying pure in your relationships with others (meaning courtship and so on) and staying pure in your relationship with God. Rings in particular have been for centuries ways of showing uniqueness and/or wealth, but most of all they have been used as a final binding act in a covenant. The biggest example of that: the wedding ring. Wedding rings in particular are always a simple band, but that simple band signifies one of the greatest covenants a person can make to another person. A lifetime commitment all put into a metal circle small enough to fit on your finger. I recently got my purity ring from my parents for my 16th birthday. So with this small band of sterling silver I have committed myself to God first above all things.
This is about the extent my photography will probably get :)
Notice the inscription here of "Justice - Mercy - Humility"... remind you of anything? Yes, it is derived from Micah 6:8 which is my life's verse.
Yes! Purity rings are cool. But before your parents get you one think of this: Are you willing to make this commitment? Think on it long and hard before making a decision, because there is nothing worse than making a covenant unto God that you do not keep.
"He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" Micah 6:8
Hello and welcome to my blog. As far as blogging goes I am not one that has been faithful to write up long posts, but I hope getting one of these will change that. This blog will have photography shown here and there and a lot of it probably not mine. The goal of this is not to show off any of my particular skills and God knows (and a lot of hometown folk) that I am not known for my *ahem* public speaking abilities. However, a blog is quite different from a speech so I pray that I can write more adequately.
First and foremost for everyone visiting this blog is I am a prince of the Kingdom of God, and therefore my posts will strive to be a reflection of Him while at the same time being unique to me. Such is the balance we must walk in everyday life, the line between being an individual and being part of the great body of believers. I live in such a place where these are the thoughts of everyone, and I am lucky to be in such a place.
I LOVE making slide shows on my computer. Each slide show that I make (normally made along side my partner in crime, Gabe Cazenavette) have personality inserted in them. Each one has its own music that portrays exactly the scene unfolding, the music that best fits a person(s) in the picture, and the music is always made to be acceptable to show in public.
In August last year (which was not that long ago) our Boy Scout troop went on a 2 week trip to the inland passage of Alaska. We had the time of our lives and we made what I hope to be lasting relationships with the people who so generously accommodated us. Did I not mention I am a Scout? Well, yes as a matter of fact I am. I am the Senior Patrol Leader of Troop 912 which is the highest troop rank a Scout can get. I am also closing in on my Eagle Scout award which is the most coveted rank in all of Scouting. Our troop is so small that we only have enough members to make up one patrol so our troop is the Ranger patrol. Our troop although small prides itself on a winning tradition which is to say every summer-camp, every Klondike Derby, or any other competition between multiple troops we have gotten first place. We pride ourselves on our ability to work together to get the job done. I say all this because Scouting has proved to be a good training ground for real life situations. The skills we put on in Scouting give us closer relationships to the ones we work beside and/or could one day save lives. I am proud to be a Boy Scout of America, but more than that, I am proud to be a Ranger. RANGERS LEAD THE WAY!!!!!! HUAH!!!!!!!!!!
I know what you are thinking right now: "Wow this is a lot of reading." But rest assured I am getting to the real purpose here. This blog highlights my day or week as well as being seasoned with not just humor or my own personality but with intellect.
"But Brian, why did you name your blog the yellow-brick road?" you might ask. Simply the yellow-brick road is something from the story "The Wizard of Oz." A wise man by the name of Dennis Peacock used the example of the yellow-brick road to say that every presupposition ends up somewhere eventually, because in "The Wizard of Oz" the yellow-brick road was not straight. Although "The Wizard of Oz" is not my favorite movie (far from it), the yellow-brick road in my case is a symbol of my daily walk with God as well as with the people here on earth. It is this walk on this road that defines us as who we are and what we act like. The yellow-brick road of our lives can either be one for our children and the ones that come behind us to follow with ease or it can be a stumbling block and a curse to them. I talk of these thing as if I am older and wiser but in reality I am not. This is just a documentation of my coming-into-maturity process. Maturity: the word is used so often around here and among parent-child relationships. But what does it mean? Why is it so important? Maturity according to the world just means that you get wiser as you get older and you stop doing certain actions at a certain age. But maturity in the Christian book is so much more than that. In addition, maturity for a Christian is knowing when to be serious, when to laugh, when to cry, when and what to get angry. In short maturity is a wise use of knowledge that furthers God's kingdom. Maturity is important to Christians because it is what makes you enjoyable to be around as well as being a fulfillment of Christian life. Jesus said in Matthew 5:48 "Be perfect, therefore, even as your heavenly father is perfect." It is impossible to be perfect like God so what He really commanded was to be mature. This is what I intend to do, this is what I intend to document, and this is what I hope you all have resolved to do in your Christian life. The question for you will be: will you join me on this the glorious yellow-brick road?
I hoped you all liked my first post, please leave your comments, stand-by for more posts (they will be more interesting, I promise!), and may God bless you and your family.
