Those of you who see me often in person probably think the request to see pictures of me is laughable at best.
I know, right!?
Yeah, some crazies out there keep asking for more pictures on my blog. Apparently spiders and emacs don’t cut it for you! So, uh….look at these ones, you know?
I’ve seen at least three of these in our office in the last week. Apparently their bites don’t do too much to you besides just hurt for a while. They’re still a little freaky.
My younger brother Josh is a missionary in Souther California near the fires that have been happening. These are unmodified photographs (I did actually resize them, but I haven’t run any filters on them or anything).
That’s nuts!
That’s right, I filled the entire screen with my snake and crashed into the back of myself.
Some more texting history, this time with Spencer, who is one of my best friends. Oh billy.
I kind of have a stomach ache. I’m pretty sure that means I’m supposed to run for president. Are you with me?
Well i certaintly can’t argue with the prophetic nature of the stomach ache, so i guess i’m with ya.
That is, of course, assuming that all your administrations policies are decided upon using similar “ache prophecy”. If not count me out.
Background story: I thought I was falling in love with this amazing girl who had a stomach ache and decided it was a sign from God that we should not be dating anymore. I’ve been really bummed about it and then Spencer went and made me feel so much better. Love ya man.
I just watched Devil’s Playground, a 2002 documentary about the Amish rite of passage called “Rumspringa.”
Rumspringa begins for each Amish youth at the age of 16. They are released out into the “English” world, which is the Devil’s Playground, to experience electricity, drugs, sex, parties, and “English” clothing. This goes back to the origins of the Amish religion, which are based on the doctrine of original sin and infant baptisms. The Amish believe in accountability, but for adults, not infants. And so, when Amish children become mature and accountable (when they turn 16), they are free to fully educate themselves about their options. It might take months or years for them to decide whether to join the church or not. Apparently, a staggering 90% do decide to join the church in the end.
I was not aware of Rumspringa, but I really quite like it. I like a lot of things about the Amish people. They are industrious and peaceful. They have quirky traditions, like wearing a beard to show you are married. What I like about Rumspringa is that it at least gives the more adventurous children a chance to find out what they really want to do before they go joining a church. Obviously, the pressure to return to the Amish religion is very strong, from both a cultural and a social standpoint, and I imagine it takes a certain courage to leave.
Rumspringa is a perfect word to describe what I’m up to. My family and friends just don’t understand why I am not going to church. It’s because I can’t live my life based on a decision I made when I was eight years old! And what I’m doing is trying to figure out just what I really believe. I’m having my own personal rumspringa! And the pull of the LDS church I grew up in is incredibly powerful, but for all the wrong reasons. I don’t want to go back to church based on pressure from my family, or based on the fact that most girls around here want a Mormon Man. I have to really decide for myself, by myself.
I sat down to watch TV for the first time in about a year, and one of the first things I saw was a melodramatic moment with a woman who whispered, “do you believe in destiny?” I thought it was hilarious, so I texted it to a friend, and the following conversation ensued.
Do you believe in destiny?
Depends.. What is your definition of destiny
the predetermined, usually inevitable or irresistible, course of events.
I believe that there are things you are better suited to, but i don’t think anything is predetermined. It’s your agency
Good answer. I didn’t mean to start a deep philosophical discussion, but I’m not opposed to it. It was on tv, made me laugh, so I sent it to u
And Allison, we were definitely destined to be friends. 
You guys tell me i’m not the best to have that kind of discussion with. Do you believe in destiny?
What!? I love discussions like this with you.
And no, I think the idea of fate or destiny is a total contradiction of reality and logic. But, maybe I’m destined to think that way
You’re such a nerd but i love it. Lol. I do think there is more to life then pure chance and determination though
So here’s a conundrum. If God is omniscient and has all time before him, can we through some decision act contrary to his knowledge?
It’s my understanding that God doesn’t see time as a line… He can see all time at once… So he knows the end and the beginning even if you change it midway
“Can omniscient God who knows the future find the omnipotence to change his future mind?” -Karen Owens
If God sees all time at once, doesn’t that mean he already knows the end? That he already knows what we will do? Otherwise he would have to see it as a line as we do
Another theory I like is that God sees trillions of branches of time, and every time someone makes a decision more branched are discarded
Why discarded and not created? Wouldn’t it have to go both ways
I see another contradiction in the branch idea, namely that it takes away God’s omniscience and makes him uncertain of which path is the future
Because if the branch is created, there is no need for a branch because it means he did not know it in the first place and has forfeited omniscience
The reason for the branches is to try to maintain the concept of omniscience
Just got your other texts. There is no end for god, having an end would put time on a line. i still mulling over the branches… It seems like a lot of waste
The question is, how can I make a decision contrary to God’s omniscience? And if he doesn’t know what I will do, isn’t his omniscience lacking?
You don’t, you can make a decision he wishes he wouldn’t but he already knows what path You’ve chosen
So you believe in destiny after all!
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