Welcome to my online journal, Ramblings of Grace!
Here's some info about me:
My Name: Charis is both a Greek and a Biblical name. It means Grace, thus I am a rambling Grace!
Religion: I am living and walking in the footsteps of Jesus Christ!
Occupation: Teacher at a Christian School
Marital Status: Married and loving my hubby!
Hobbies: Writing, Reading, Cross-stitching, and Bicycling
Likes: Bettas, Fantasy novels, Lord of the Rings, Myst Series of Video Games and Books, Groovy Girls Dolls
Favorite Books: The Neverending Story and The Chronicles of Narnia
Favorite Movie: It's a Wonderful Life
My Website: www.geocities.com/cnetsch
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Thursday, March 06, 2008
Thought I'd post some pics of what it looks like right now in Texas! This is crazy! We have ice every few years, but not inches of snow. Wow! I went walking and took some pics (and also slipped, landed on my rear and got my jeans all muddy). Now, I'm going to just lazy around with some hot tea :-D
Posted at 04:28 pm by Charis77
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Sunday, December 16, 2007
Well, I'm thirty! Time for a new decade and some more maturity :-D Actually, I don't feel much different than I was when I was twenty-nine. Though, I have discovered I'm starting to be frumpy. I went out last week and bought two pairs of new good shoes. They aren't very fashionable at all. So, why buy them, you ask? The truth is, now I'm more concerned with being comfortable than being fashionable. My old shoes were pretty but killed my feet. As Larry the cucumber said, "Fashion has its price" and I'm no longer willing to pay the price :-)
We celebrated my birthday this weekend by going to see The Vocal Majority in concert. They're a men's singing group and they are great! They sang Christmas music and it was beautiful. We then went out to eat at Olive Garden and then back to my parents' home for cake and gifts. It was a wonderful and fun evening!
And my hubby got me tickets for my birthday to see the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in their Christmas concert! I'm stoked! I love the DSO and can't wait to see JOY!
Posted at 05:19 pm by Charis77
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Friday, December 07, 2007
Well, things are now winding down at the end of the term. In one week, I give my students finals and then I get to break for Christmas. I love Christmas and I am so looking forward to taking the time to come close to my Savior in a special way.
Thought this little thing I saw on a friend's site (Thanks, Lindsay!) was fun. So here's some interesting stuff about me in fours:
4 movies you can always watch: It's a Wonderful Life, Anne of Green Gables, Signs, Joy Luck Club
4 shows you like to watch: LOST, Perry Mason, CSI, People's Court
4 websites you visit daily: Uru Obsession, Crosswalk, Yahoo Mail, Gmail4 favorite foods: Crab legs, Clam chowder, Chicken Tikka Masala, Pumpkin Pie
4 songs that really move you: Lamb of God, In Christ Alone, He's Alive (Don Francisco), I am the Prophet (Michael Card) 4 books you will always love: The Neverending Story, Lord of the Rings, Chronicles of Narnia, The Evidential Power of Beauty
4 authors you'll always love: C.S.Lewis, A.W. Tozer, Madeleine L'Engle, Lemony Snicket
4 favorite actors/actresses whose talent you honestly respect:
Jimmy Stewart, Cary Grant, Johnny Depp (though I won't see most things he's in, this guy can act), Ioan Gruffudd
4 languages you'd love to be fluent in: Spanish, French, Chinese, Elvish :-D
4 skills you would like to improve: Hebrew/Greek Analysis of the Bible, writing, sewing, knitting 4 items that are "a few of your favorite things": Spending time meditating on God, a good, hearty rest, hiking out of doors, Texas State Song :-D
Posted at 11:45 pm by Charis77
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Saturday, November 24, 2007
"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the
world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the
world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world
hates you. Remember the words I
spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they
persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my
teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me." John 15:18-21
Okay, so you've probably guessed this isn't going to be a quaint little post. I've been a little down lately about the fact that just because I am Christian, non-Christians feel they have to, at the best, put up with me, and at the worst, hate me. The reason I am frustrated is that I live in a society that says everyone has a right to their beliefs, but then turns around and says, "But not you, crazy Christian!" The hypocritical stance of most of the non-Christians I meet makes me sad and mad at the same time. I have tried as best I can to treat all other people who are not Christians with love and respect. Whatever they believe, I don't go up to them and ridicule them. I may discuss issues with them (if they are willing to approach everything in a calm manner), but I never tell them they're idiots.
I guess I feel frustrated also that I know what Jesus has said in John (quote above), but I still get down. I feel like I should grin and bear it, but that is sometimes hard. I guess Jesus must have been saddened and frustrated to, as people like the Pharisees refused to see the truth: "'O unbelieving and perverse generation,' Jesus replied, 'how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you?'" (Matt. 17:17). And yet, he still loved them: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have
longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing" (Matt. 23:37). That's what I am determined to do. I can be frustrated at the way people act and yet, still love them. It's hard, but it's what the love of Christ compels us to do.
Posted at 10:44 pm by Charis77
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Thursday, November 22, 2007
What does it mean to be Thankful?
I was thinking about this last night. I've been reading a lot on Thanksgiving about what the Founding Fathers intended it to be. In fact, I've included George Washington's Thanksgiving Proclamation down below (with relevant parts underlined). They make it clear that Thanksgiving was intended to be a time to pray and thank God. It dawned on me as I thought about what it meant to be thankful, that when we usually say the words "Thank You" we say them to someone for something. Dictionary.com defines "thanks" as "to express gratitude, appreciation, or acknowledgment to." So the definiton itself includes this idea of to someone. So, that said, it is clear that when people ask, "What are you thanksful for?" and we give an answer, we should also provide a to. You can't be thankful to yourself (at least, not for most of the things we are thankful for, because we didn't create them). We can be thankful to people whom we love, etc. But, the point is, most people don't say to whom they are thankful, just that they are ambiguously thankful. The truth is, it is to God we are to be thankful. He is author of all we have and are and the Founding Fathers knew it.
So, what am I thankful to God for? I am thankful for my family, that God saw fit to give me honorable and godly parents and a brother that I am so close to, who has been my best friend since childhood. I'm thankful to God for a church family that is supportive and has an elder board that truly desires His will. I'm thankful to God for giving me a job I love and students that I so care about and desire to minister to. I'm thankful to God for creating beautiful Bettas that I can take care of and wonder in their beauty. I am thankful to God for giving me a soul mate in my husband, a husband committed to me and I to him, a husband that serves selflessly and loves me no matter what. And above all, I am thankful to God for the gift of His son, who has made my life all it could and without whom I would be nothing.
George Washington's Thanksgiving Proclamation
WHEREAS it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favour; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me "to recommend to the people of the United States a DAY OF PUBLICK THANSGIVING and PRAYER, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:" NOW THEREFORE, I do recommend and assign THURSDAY, the TWENTY-SIXTH DAY of NOVEMBER next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed;-- for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish Constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted;-- for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge;-- and, in general, for all the great and various favours which He has been pleased to confer upon us. And also, that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions;-- to enable us all, whether in publick or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us); and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.
Posted at 08:02 am by Charis77
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Friday, November 16, 2007
The last few weeks have been awfully weird for me, so I'm glad I'm here and done with them healthwise. Three weeks ago I got a sinus infection which put me on some medication that made me woosy. I actually did go ahead and teach, but I warned my students that if I did anything odd, it's because I was a little disoriented. Then, about half a week after I got rid of the sinus infection, I got food poisoning! That was awful! I threw up for 17 hours! God is good, though, because the last time I threw up I told Him, "I can't do it anymore. I'm so tired. Please let this be the last time," and it was. So, God is good, even in the midst of horrible sickness.
Then, last week, we had a lockdown at the school where I teach because a convict from a work detail had escaped in our area. I ended up sitting with the theater students in a locked room for an hour. It was neat to get to talk to them, though. It was actually a pretty relaxed hour as we weren't doing anything. The guy was caught three days later in another city, so that's good, too.
So, anywho, it's been an interesting few weeks. My class is still doing well and I am still enjoying teaching them immensely. We are coming up on Thanksgiving break and I think that will be fun because my brother is hosting our family this year. It will be neat to be with him and see how he puts it togehter.
Finally, I've had this gorgeous song in my head the last few days. It's from the Children of Dune soundtrack. I found a link to it on youtube. The song is called "Inama Nushif." It's written in Fremen, the language Frank Herbert made up for Dune. If you've never seen Dune, don't worry about the movie, just listen to the music. It's beautiful! Song: Inama Nushif
Posted at 08:40 am by Charis77
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Friday, August 31, 2007
I am loving the class that I'm teaching! They have such depth of spirituality and a hunger for knowledge. The questions they come up with are wonderful. These students make me want to get up in the morning and go teach the Truth of God! It's really funny, but I often dream about what I am going to teach the next day or when I wake up at night it's all I can think about. I love using the gift God has given me to His glory!
Speaking of God's glory... We've been discussing creation in class and I saw this pic of a little tern chick on the internet and thought it was so cute and funny looking:
God is so awesome in His creation and I can't help but see both His humor and His love for what is fragile in this chick. When I look at the chick, I want to both laugh and take it in my arms to protect it. Wow! What a reflection of God's love for us! We must look silly at times, but God has all the desire to hold us in His arms. It was in grief that Jesus said of Jerusalem, "how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!" God's desire is to express His love to us, but we need to be willing to humbly crawl into His arms!
Posted at 07:45 am by Charis77
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Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Things are going well at school. The first week went really well and I'm looking forward to the rest of the term.
I saw this great video on Blue Fish TV. It makes a wonderful statement about the "chance" that creation just happened... Take a look here.
Posted at 08:21 am by Charis77
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Thursday, August 16, 2007
Working on class stuff today. I had a great first day back at teaching. It looks like it's going to be a great year. I already love my class. I also already subbed, ON THE FIRST DAY! They needed a sub because one of the teacher's had an emergency situation. So I taught my class and then a 7th and 8th grade speech class. It was fun, though I was flying a little by the seat of my pants!
Thought I'd provide a couple cool links:
If you have never seen Baby Got Book, it's a must! Click here.And this is a great example of having the faith of a child here.(Thanks Rita for the link!)
Posted at 03:22 pm by Charis77
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Wednesday, August 15, 2007
A comment on the last line of the poem just posted. I think it is saying tht we do not judge if others will go to heaven or hell because only God has the authority to do that: "Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord" (Ro. 12:19).
However, there is another verse: "The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment" (1 Co. 2:15). It is obvious that we can make judgments. But what are these? These are judgments concerning if someone is walking with God or not. Jesus says that we know people by their fruit (Matt. 7:20). We can determine if someone is walking in the truth.
But remember, "Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters" (Ro. 14:1). We have to be careful not to pummel people with disputalbe mattters. What is a disputable matter? A matter that is not specifically pointed out by God to be right or wrong.
In conclusion, the term "judge" is used in three different ways in these Scriptures: 1) Judging the ultimate end of a person's life, 2) Judging if someone is indeed walking in the way of truth or 3) Judging on matters in which we do not have God's direct declaration. We have to know which way the term is being used to determine what it means for us.
Posted at 08:56 am by Charis77
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