The Author On The Mount

Authors live on the mountains. They see everything. I know this because I push the rock up the mountain every day and I see it; I see the view.

Perspective.

But it does not last and I cannot take it with me. As the rock rolls downhill I have no choice but to descend into the vanity and confusion of everyday life. Tomorrow, I will do this again. I have to because I saw.

At the top of the mountain, as I behold the setting Sun, it is unclear to me if I am the author or if I am experiencing the author- the finisher of my faith. This is hidden to me and it eats away at my soul. Nevertheless, what I see inks me.

I will forget the image even as I become the image.

In becoming do I repent? Do I become the view from above where I see myself through the eyes of the author? Is this the ultimate judge? The true ideal?

I think we have tried for centuries to climb up the highest mountains in the world because we know this. Or maybe we feel it. We experience the confirmation of the author in us/or the author when we experience the bigger picture. It elevates us and changes us. It is just in its judgement.

I think it’s powerful that after a day of hard work, Jesus went up the mountain to pray/talk to God all night; that he was crucified on a hill; and that he ascended from the Mount of Olives. The Mount of Transfiguration, where Jesus’s “face changed and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning” and where He was visited by Moses and Elijah who talked to him, is perhaps the most powerful image for me (Luke 9). If we go to the Old Testament, there are so many instances where mountains become places where God meets man. The Ten Commandments being given to Moses atop a mountain is just one of many examples. For me, the fact that mountains appear the way they do in the Bible is one more reason to believe that the view from the top stands for so many things that have the power to change us.

I chose to paint the pencil in the colour of skin because I think that’s what happens when you experience life from a higher vantage point, be it through art, prayer, or love- you are rewritten. You become the image you see. You experience authorship; what it feels like to know more, to see more. It is a powerful ideal and it judges you and motivates you to align yourself to something that is evidently powerful and timeless. I also like how the edges of hills and mountains create Vs. You could reduce ‘view’ to ‘VU’. That’s just me drawing an interesting connection. What is important is that you get the idea behind all of this.

This piece is part of a series of artwork I am creating where I take images of things that move me and I superimpose over them what I consider to be the meaning that is relevant to me personally and to all of us universally. Meaning before the object. That’s the idea.

A Word On Why Your Words Matter

Dear……..……….

It’s me again. Today I had a really long class. I was so tired after that, that I just walked back to my room and dropped on my bed. After food today, I felt like going out. The night was so young and beautiful. I decided to sit down for some cold lemon tea. I took the longer road this time to get to the tea stall. It’s always nice to take the longer road. You get to say hi to some people and make some small talk. Leaves a smile on your face by the time you reach your destination. I decided to go through some great posts. And I was sitting there reading, sipping my tea, I thought of how much the WordPress community meant to me. It’s such a joy to come here and be encouraged. Over the past two years, I’ve made friends like you who are so good at building people up. And that’s what keeps me hooked. I am still growing.

As human beings, we are constantly looking for affirmation from the other. Every single moment of our lives, we are looking for a smile, a wave, a nod, anything that makes us people worth something. What’s behind our hunger for attention and affirmation?

I looked around. I was halfway down my tea. I tend to do that a lot. I eat and drink faster when I am thinking. I could see the football ground from where I was sitting. Some students were kicking a ball around, getting ready for a match. I turned back to my tea. I’ve heard some people say that our thirst for approval has a lot to do with our need to survive. We want proof that we are relevant. That we are still in the game, still part of the society. I guess that’s one way of looking at it.

But then there is also the possible connection of external affirmation with the approval you give yourself. In this sense, everyone you see, is a mirror. A mirror you look into to evaluate yourself. You see someone and you immediately compare them with yourself. The standards here are usually set by society. They are in a way, universal. You see a bad character in someone and you immediately search for that character in yourself. The disgust you feel towards that character is something you do not want to be associated with. So you scrummage through your past, you comb through your present and you make laws for the future. You see a good quality and you do the same. In this evaluation, you create multiple pictures of yourself that are different. It’s a process that goes on. You are in effect, constantly updating yourself on who you are.

I know I’m boring you. But here’s the point- affirmation does matter.

It is connected with something that is so sensitive- a person’s idea of who he is.

We as human beings, should be aware of this fact. A hurtful word that you can avoid, must be avoided. A smile and a wave never hurt anyone. Of course. there are times when you will have to correct a friend. Correction when done with care, brings about respect and trust.

Teasing and making fun of somebody can seem very harmless, especially when among friends. But essentially when you go down to it, the person at the receiving end feels irrelevant, insignificant and lonely. The Bible has a verse that talks about how with the same tongue you praise God, you curse men, who were made in His likeness. We both need to work on our words, me and you.

So let’s lift people up rather than bring them down. Let’s smile and wave whenever we can and let us be the someone who always has a spare shoulder for others to cry on.

Here at WordPress, I’ve always felt love and encouragement from everyone. That’s what makes it special for me. You keep coming back here, taking your precious time and using it to read what I write. And for that I adore you. So thank you.

I would love to hear from you.

What makes WordPress special for you? Please comment. And thank you once again for reading!

God bless!

Yours,

Stefan

Random ramblings…

Dear…………………

It’s been so long since I wrote something. It’s just that after entering university, I thought that I would end up just writing more, but that didn’t happen. Anyway, today I thought I would write just for fun. In the end of the next few posts, I hope I get something across.

What is imagination? What is true? What is reality?These are questions I’ve been thinking about for some time now.

It’s amazing how deep the contrast is between how small we are and how big our minds are. Just look at those photos of us from space. We’re so small, so limited in our perspective. If it were not for our God-given power of absorbing knowledge and empowering imagination with that data, who knows where we would be today?

Today, I look at science magazines and I see proof of not just what we’ve achieved as human beings, but also what we have yet to achieve. Every invention or discovery opens a new door and a huge question mark smiles at us. I guess that’s how development works. The imagination and power of thought that has brought us this far works by framing questions.

It’s amazing how imagination unfolds itself in us. There is that part of imagination that just brings pictures in front of you. You don’t now how they come about. Like a dream in your sleep, they come uninvited and leave at their own time. It seems as if you have no voluntary power over their formation. It is a combination, a strange mixture of many things that pass your mind. A little from here, a little from there. It’s like a creole language of emotions. They can get the idea across, though they have been derived from many sources.

Then there’s the other kind of imagination. The one where you are asked to imagine within certain boundaries, usually within the boundaries of science. Every block of that final picture is evaluated. A question is asked at every step of the way. Should this piece exist in the final picture? And there are truly only two answers possible: a yes, or a no.

It is through such a simple system, that we’ve expanded our perspective, our picture of what life really is, of what truth really is. Yes, we are indeed very complicated while being utterly simple.

Isn’t that a something that incites a great epiphany?

Maybe, Maybe not…..

Yours,

Stefan

 

 

 

 

Mystery Blogger Award

To my dear blogging family,

Let me just start this post by apologizing for being away for so long. I’ve been taking a lot of classes and I’ve not had time to come here and just type away. But this post I knew I had to write because I owed it to my dear friend, Stu. He has been a constant source of pure inspiration and encouragement and I really admire what he’s doing over at his amazing blog, https://stubaby777.wordpress.com/

His blog is about how he overcame his porn addiction and how porn is destroying lives today. Thank you, brother for this nomination and for being such a great friend. Guys, do me a favor and go check out his amazing blog.

So, for those of you guys who don’t know about the Mystery Blogger Award, here’s some info from the creator Okoto herself.

“This is an award for amazing bloggers with indigenous posts. Their blog not only captivates; it inspires and motivates. They are one of the best out there, and they deserve every recognition they get. This award is also for bloggers who find fun and inspiration in blogging and they do it with so much love and passion.” – Award Creator, Okoto Enigma

Here are the rules:
1) Thank whoever nominated you and include link to their blog
2) Mention the creator of the award and provide a link as well
3) Tell your readers 3 things about yourself
4) Answer the questions from the person who nominated you
5) Nominate 5 -10 bloggers you feel deserve the award
6) Ask your nominees 5 questions of your choice with one weird or funny one
7) Notify your nominees by commenting on their blog.

Okay here goes three things you might not know about me:

1. I don’t like horror movies
2. I absolutely love travel
3. I want to do a concert by the Niagara Falls ( Yeah, I’m a bit crazy that way) 🙂

Here are the answers to Stu’s questions:

1. What topic would you like me to address here on my blog?

There’s no topic that comes to my mind on first thoughts but I do think it would make a great post if you shared the quotes and Bible verses that helped you on your way out of your porn addiction.

2. Would you accept the challenge to step out of your comfort zone and write a post about pornography and how it is affecting our youth and/or marriages? And if so, would you share the link in the comment section so my readers can see it?

Yes, Stu! I’d love to.

3. What is your favorite book in the Bible to read?

I love reading the first books of the old testament. 🙂

4. How do you study when reading said book?

I try to link it with what I read in the New Testament and I’ve come across some really fantastic stuff doing this. The amazing thing about the Bible is that it talks about Jesus from the first verse to the last verse.

5. Now for the funny/goofy question. This one I have been asked in the past because I grew up reading comic books and even now I watch The Arrow and The Flash. If you could have any super power in the world what would it be and how would you use it?

Humility and Forgiveness. One of the things I am working on right now in my life is to not get offended easily. I am trusting God to give me the strength to love everyone whatever they say or do to me.

My nominees:

1. Teen, Meet God:- A place for teens to learn about living for God. https://teenmeetgod.wordpress.com/
2. Jessy over at https://faithandbooks.com/
3. Brad over at https://totalbradnessblog.wordpress.com/
4. Joni over at https://grieftolife.com/
5. Warren over at https://wcr281.com/

Here are my questions to you guys:

1. What do you think we need most in our world today?
2. What is the most recent new thing you learnt?
3. What character of God do you like most?
4. What is your favorite book/ movie?
5. Now for my funny question. What do you think would be a great name for a perfume?

Accepting this award is completely up to you and it’s all about just having fun.

Thank you guys, once again, for being a part of my life. It’s been a great experience so far and I am sure we have a bright and beautiful road ahead of us.

God bless you all!!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂

 

 

 

Blogger Recognition Award

 

Hi, guys!

It’s another reason for celebration. I just got nominated for the Blogger Recognition Award. 🙂

Now when I say, I, you guys know I also mean ‘you’. Because whatever this blog has achieved, it’s because of you guys who choose to take the time to read this blog, share your ideas and encourage me. So, guys, thank you.

I would like to thank an absolutely amazing person for making this post a possibility. Warren, over at https://wcr281.com/ nominated me for this Award. Thank you so much, Warren! I am honoured! 🙂

Let’s get into it then, shall we?

Here are the rules:

1.Write a post to show your award.
2.Thank the blogger who nominated you and provide a link to their blog.
3.Give a brief story of how your blog started.
4.Give two pieces of advice for new bloggers.
5.Select other bloggers you want to give this award to.
6.Nominate 2-3 bloggers who you believe deserve to be recognized. Comment on their blogs, to let the nominees know they have been nominated.

The Story of how my blog started……..

Long, long ago, in a land where all teenagers cared about was writing blogs, there lived a boy…….. nah, this won’t work. I am going to stick with the normal way of doing this. 😊

As most of you guys know, I’m Stefan, a 17 year old, who loves to write. There are a lot of things that made me open my laptop, and open up who I am to the world. I am a dreamer. I live in a story of my own, a story in which I believe that the future’s going to be great for me. I believe God has my back. I am just a person like you, imperfect. But I like to think of my life as something great and amazing because I believe God made all of us to soar.

When I started this blog, I never thought it would grow this fast, but I must confess, I did believe that one day, I will reach millions. It might not happen, it may happen. I don’t worry myself about that. What I care about, is whether I dare to dream big. I don’t think there’s anything wrong in believing what you do will reach the greatest level you can imagine. And that dream, as impossible as it may seem, I believe, is what drives this blog.

I decided to blog because of a lot of reasons. I’ve always loved to write. I was always excited about the beauty around me. And language helped me share that excitement with other people. I don’t do a lot of social media. So, instead of starting a new facebook account, I decided to google ‘how to become a blogger’.

Owning your own website sounded special and I wanted to feel it. Also, there was the perk of introducing yourself as a blogger. Of course you can’t just walk around giving shake hands with a placard hanging from you neck that says: ‘hi, I’m a blogger’. But it does sound cool sometimes.

Of course, there was the fear of whether I would always have the right material. But there was an excitement I felt when I considered facing that challenge. And that I believe is the sign of passion. So, I jumped right in.

Over time, I learned about blogging by reading other people’s blogs. I loved the blogging community and it loved me back. And I absolutely loved all this love. And so, I was hooked!

It’s been over a year now since I googled ‘how to become a blogger’. Through my posts, I’ve tried to share with my reader’s, the world I see. I try to go beyond what I see, I try to knock them about in my mind, adding a little flavor of art and meaning to it. Perspective is a very beautiful thing. It’s like a Rubik’s cube for which every combination means ‘solved’. And this blog shares with you my perspective.

It’s been a great journey, but I am believing for more. 😊

My two pieces of advice:

1. Connect with people: Yes, this is a known way of increasing your traffic. But that must never be why you connect. You should connect to learn. You can just drop a like on every post you see or you can read every post you see and then drop a like on them. Connecting with the right people is also important. Find people who share your interests and enjoy what you do. Learn from them and connect with them. Connect with the people on their blogs. This not just connects you to people, it connects you to people who will enjoy what you do. This is why reading is important. Building your own community brings life to your blog.

2. The first part I think wraps it up. But tagging your posts, adding a picture, asking questions, all help. 🙂

My nominees:

 

 

1.Teen Meet God :- https://teenmeetgod.wordpress.com/

2.Something To Stu Over :- https://stubaby777.wordpress.com/

3.Grief to Life :- https://grieftolife.com/

 

I hope you guys have a great week. Keep smiling and remember to look around you and reach out and touch life, once in a while. 🙂

God bless you all! 🙂