Of the Story

When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" And he said, "Here am I." He said, "Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me."

Genesis 22:9-12

I have been reading The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins lately. 

Today I am reading a chapter called "The 'Good' Book and The Changing Moral Zeitgeist". 

In this chapter, Dawkins is basically attempting to tear apart the bible, saying that all the stories in it are irrelevant to our lives, that they are a bunch of irrelevant, irrational stories that should have no place in our lives.

One of the stories that he attempted to tear apart is the one above. 

He tries to make this sequence in Abraham's life seem stupid.

He tries to convince us that we shouldn't follow after a God who would command a man to sacrifice his only son and then turn out to be "only joking after all".

I think Dawkins is missing the point.

I feel as though most of the bible is a beautiful narrative of God romancing the human race. 

I read sections of the bible, such as this, and see the wonderful foreshadowing that God set up hundreds, even thousands of years before the miraculous event of my Saviour's death and resurrection. 

I see a constant thread running through the bible always pointing towards the life of Christ and the redemption that comes through loving Him. 

It's beautiful.

So, Dawkins, I hope one day you can see what I see. 

Beauty and love. 

Abraham's Sacrifice

Rembrant

Stupid Question

About three weeks I got my hairs cut.
And by that, I mean there was about 8 inches more of my hair on my head three weeks ago than there is now.
So, what amazes me is one simple question that I have been asked so many times since that day.
Did you get your hair cut?
So often I just want to turn the question around and ask them, "I don't know, did I get my hair cut???"
But I respond with a cordial, "Yes I did!" and a smile.
It's all I can do from pointing out the stupidity of the previous question...

How Bad Do You Want It?

It is March.
It is March of my Junior year of undergraduate studies.
My undergraduate work is coming to a close.
Much faster than I thought it would.
It seems crazy that in just a little over a year I will be leaving this place.
I have been looking more into graduate programs and thinking more about what I really want to make out of my life, and a question keeps coming up in my head.
How badly do you want it?
You may be thinking, "Paige, what do you mean by "it"?"
It is my future.
It is my doctorate in psychology.
It is what I want to do.
It is everything that I am working and striving towards.
It is my desire to go to the University of Rochester.
How badly do you want it?
Are you willing to give up time with friends to get it?
Are you willing to do extra work to get it?
Are you willing to push yourself that much harder to get it?
How badly do you want it?
This question resonated in me recently when I received an email from the head of the psychology department here asking a couple different psychology majors if we would like to help out with some of the leg work for a professor who is in the process of getting published right now.
The question of, "Are you willing to sacrifice up to 40 hours of the next few weeks to help with this project?" was raised in the email.
No credit is being offered for my time.
No grade will be given.
So, what is the purpose of it?
In psychology, everything is in being published.
If you can write on a resume that you have helped out with research, that you have been published, that you have even done the leg work for a publication, you place yourself that much higher.
You look that much more appealing to graduate schools.
You have that much better of a chance to get into the competitive program that you desire to get into.
How badly do you want it?
My answer was that I want it bad.
I want to go to UofR.
I want to get that PhD in Clinical Psychology.
I want to succeed.
I want to shine brightly in an area that does not have many Christians.
And I am going to do it.
Get ready to watch me fly.

People Who Have Influenced my Life; Part I

I was thinking about my life and how there are certain people who have impacted my life, certain people who, whether directly or indirectly, have shaped me.
Some people are nothing more than someone that I have read about, followed on twitter, and read their blogs.
Other people have had a direct hand in my life, sharing insight, wisdom, and directed me.
So, I thought it might be fun to write a series talking about the people who have impacted me the most.

Today, I want to talk about Renee Yohe.
I have never met Renee, but this woman is an amazing inspiration to me.
If you have ever heard of the charity To Write Love On Her Arms, Renee is the girl who started it all.
Abused, on drugs, depressed, and ready to take her own life, a couple friends lifted her up and supported her as she came to know Christ and walk through the healing process.
If you want her full story, check it out on TWLOHA's website.
I see what this woman has gone through, and who she has become, and all the good that has come out of her life, all the people who have been saved, all of the hope that has been spread, and I can only hope that I can influence people in the same way one day.
Maybe I won't found a widely popular nonprofit organization, maybe I won't have a movie made out of my life, maybe I won't get to tour the world sharing hope through my trials, but I can touch the people around me, I can share hope and love with those around me.
I'm thankful that she was willing to share her story.