Poor Ms. Leah

So it's been a while since I updated. I haven't completely stopped reading these past few weeks but I did have to put it on halt while I studied for all six of my exams. At least I'm done with them for a while...until next week ugh.

So since the last blog I haven't read mch, but I have read: Genesis 21:8-Genesis 30:24

So I believe the last blog ended up with Abram rescuing Lot from Sodom and Gomorrah and the birth of Issac, his son. So here are the key points since then since I can't elaborate on all of them: Hagar and Ishmael, Abram's true firstborn were sent off which totally sucks. Poor Ishmael, I feel like he got the short stick. Anyways then Abraham's faith is tested when God tells him to sacrifice Issac; and when he's just about to bring down the knife God stops him, and blesses him for his faith. Looking back we can all be like 'Oh it was just a test, God wasn't really going to kill Issac off', but SERIOUSLY. I guess that is the ultimate test of obedience but I just feel incredibly sad for him that he had to go through that. Sarah, Abraham's wife dies and Issac's servant finds Rebekah at a well for him. Rebekah gives birth to twins, Jacob and Esau. Esau was born first but as they age Jacob tricks him out of all his birthrights (that trickster). No blessings were left for Esau and he wants to kill Jacob, so Jacob runs away off to his relative Laban's house. Jacob marries Leah and Rachel after seven years of working for Rachel. Then Jacob has tons of kids as Leah and Rachel compete to be the better child-bearer.

Ugh. Genesis is so long. I am officially 3/5 the way done with it. Okay I'm done grumbling.

So I have a problem with the whole Leah/Rachel thing. My biggest issue: What does God think of Polygamy? I mean it doesn't seem like he has a problem with it with all these guys God blessed with many generations having wives and concubines and maidservants. I guess I'm just wondering when God's gonna cut that off, or if He does. I can definitely see why Christians can justify it if Abraham slept with multiple women. Anyways, maybe later on God will clarify :)

My next problem: Poor, Poor, Poor Leah. Yeah she was covered up for the wedding night with Jacob to trick him into thinking he had Rachel, but why the heck did she go along with it. Maybe she thought Jacob would love her and forget about Rachel? But really she probably got one miserable honeymoon week and was ignored the rest of her life. This poor woman. I came to the conclusion that Jacob was a jerk. He tricked his brother out of his birthright, then this. Really, Jacob? You made awful choices. Anyways in Leah's desperate attempt for Jacob's attention at least maybe she had some sons to keep her company.

I'm still curious about this polygamy thing. Why was it completely fine back then? Oh well, That's caught up to where I'm at :) Looks like I'll go get my laundry and go to bed early!! <3

Someone Call Child Protective Services

Tonight I caught up on a LOT of homework and studying that I have been getting behind on. It was a good night; full of pasta, pharmacology, and the grammy's. Taylor Swift rocks, seeing her in concert would be a fairytale. She won a few grammy's so hopefully this means another tour next year. I also watched the Miss America pageant this week; honestly between watching the grammy's and miss america I am feeling awfully unimportant these days. Despite that though I am very much looking forward to this week: extra credit for going out to the sheep barns, last week of work, free fazolis, and a determined workout plan, I feel like this is gonna to be a great week!

I've gotten a little behind on the Bible reading, but I'm not discouraged. Here are the verses I read today and last night: Genesis 15-21:1-7

I can't comment on everything about these verses, however I feel like the biggest thing I took away was how screwed up Lot's family was. In these verses he suprisingly isn't portrayed as any kind of villain, God even saves him from Sodom and Gomorrah. Two angels went down to check things out for God and see if things were still as bad and sinful as they had been. The scene opens as Lot welcomes them into his home to spend the night and even makes a feast for them. I guess it's easy to focus on the fact that all the men in town come a knockin wanting to have sex with these guys, and I'm totally against that... but isn't it just as bad that Lot offers to throw both his virgin daughters into the group for them to 'do with them as you wish'?!?! Is this a lack of respect for women, or is it really supposed to be a righteous thing putting strangers ahead of your own family? I feel like Lot made some bad choices that night. Maybe that's why his daughters didn't mind using him for their own sick means later on...

...that brings me to my next point, where Lot's bright daughters decide there are no men left and want to have kids, so they seduce their father into a drunken stupor and sleep with him to get pregnant. This is one dysfunctional family, I wonder if it resulted from them living in Sodom and Gomorrah. It kind of gives you a small peek into what life must have been like there, if that is so it is no wonder God wanted to destroy it completely.

Later on Abraham does some traveling and eventually Sarah gets pregnant at the ripe old age of old. Abraham was 100, but he lives to be 175 so I guess this was kind of a middle age surprise for him. That's about as far as I got for tonight. I'm gonna finish up the grammy's, listening to bon jovi right now rockin it out.

oh ohhh were living on a prayer.... oh ohhh halfway there!

Ham got Cursed, Shem got Abraham.

So today was almost a 12 hour day for me! 7:30 class-getting home at 7:30 from work. I got to do a lot of interesting things today, including but not limited to: using a very expensive electron microscope (which was taller than my head), performing my very first fecal flotation (vomit), and walk home in the freezing icerain while deciding that going through McDonalds sounded warm and fast and awesome so I drove there. Yeah anyways, life summary over.

Today's reading was: Genesis 11:1-26, 1 Chronicles 1:24-27, Genesis 11:27-31, Genesis 12:1-30, Genesis 13: 1-18, Genesis 14: 1-24

These were some actually pretty intense verses. In yesterday's reading Noah was found all naked and drunk in his tent, and Ham decided to go show his brothers instead of just covering him up. So Noah cursed Ham and his son Canaan and all his decendents. Well Shem got the glory then so out of his line comes Abram. Abram marries Sarai, they go to Egypt, quickly get encouraged to leave Egypt, then Abram lets Lot(his nephew) pick his choice of areas to inhabit. Well Lot chooses the grassy green one which ends up being the WRONG choice because all these Kings happen to be fighting there and well, Lot gets kidnapped. So then Abram comes along with only 318 people and attacked and beat the army that 4 other King's couldn't beat together? I think, that's what I got from it anyways but I could be wrong. Then Abraham gets Lot back and everyone's cool.

11:45 has become sooo late for me......zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....

Freestylin and the Flood

Whew, after getting back from trying to do proper freestyle laps and look like I know what I'm doing in the school's pool for an hour I just now realized this semester is going to be looong. My days are full of class from 7:30-4:30, work or swimming, and homework. That's about all I do these days, but I'm okay with that :)

Oh ready for my other quick bit of advice? Don't walk right in front of moving cars for the fun of it. It makes driving rather stressful.

Anyways, Today's reading was: Genesis 7:1-24, Genesis 8:1-22, and (the following were just a few paragraphs that repeated some verses in Genesis 7 and 8 at a later time, remember this is from a Chronological Bible: 1 Chronicles 1:8-16, Genesis 10:21-30, 1 Chronicles 1:17-23, and Genesis 10:31-32) Phew.

So I probably shouldn't blog directly after swimming laps, due to the fact that I want to quick summarize what I read and go to bed. The following amazingly insightful views may not be that amazing or insightful. That was the disclaimer.

So Rain, Rain, Go Away was probably all Noah's family sang those 40 days and 40 nights they were stuck together on a boat. I can't quite imagine what it would be like to walk off a boat and have no one else there but your immediate family. All your friends, personal belongings, pets, would be gone. I would definitely try and sneak my cats butter and laurie on as the two cats, however since they are neutered and spayed God might be kind of mad at me... X_X

So for forty days it rained, the waters remained for 150 days, then another 2 1/2 months they waited, then 40 more days, then 2 more weeks until they could finally come out. What the heck did they eat for that long? For real, I want to know what they ate.

Then comes my favorite part: God makes a covenant with Noah and puts a rainbow in the sky as a promise that 'Never again will floodwaters kill all living creatures; never again will a flood destroy the earth. Then God said, "I am giving you a sign of my covenant with you and with all living creatures, for all generations to come. I have placed my rainbow in the clouds. It is the sign of my covenant with you and all the earth."

I really love rainbows. I really actually hate that they have become a sign of homosexuality. A rainbow is just so pure I guess? I don't know. I love them though okay STOP JUDGING. <3

Anyways, then there is a long long list of all the decendents of all Noah's sons. Tomorrow is the Tower of Babel, I'm pretty excited about that. Anyways, night all!

Nephilites?

Today is January 18, 2010. I just wrote 2009 and had to backspace and redo, isn't that annoying? It's going to take until March to get that year right. Anyways what I was going to say before I was so rudely interrupted by the New Year, is that today is Martin Luther King Day, a day that I usually celebrate by sleeping in and eating potato chips. I don't know why there are potato chips but why not.

Not to compare King to Christ or anything but both men had remarkable influences on society today, merely by devoting their life to what they believed in. Christ's three-year ministry brought about 2000 years of change that is still influencing people today. King's twelve year journey brought our country to the place of equality where it is today, where both a black man and a woman can run to lead our country. I wonder if someday I could be as devoted to a cause that it could actually change the world. I guess this blog is a start, its better than not trying at all.

Today's reading is Genesis 4:1-26, 5:1-32, Chronicles 1:1-4, and Genesis 6:1-22 Once again I encourage anyone out there glancing at this thing to read along with me through this year.

So today Eve had two sons: Cain and Abel. When it came time to give God a sacrifice Abel brought the best of his lambs to God, while Cain brought a few crops from his field. God wasn't that pleased with Cain's half-hearted gift and rejected it, Cain got mad and killed his brother and was banished away. Then comes the long list of names who had awkwardly long lives until we get to Noah.

At this point I was a bit confused when it read "In those days, and for some time after, giant Nephilites lived on the earth, for whenever the sons of God had intercourse with women, they gave birth to children who became the heroes and famous warriors of ancient times". I didn't know what Nephilites were off-hand, so I googled it! Oh I do love Google. I found a lot of different answers, but the main thought seemed to be that fallen angels would have relations with human females, and produce giant super-children. This was then one of the reasons for the flood. I don't know if this is true, just one of the main thoughts I found to be interesting. I also found it interesting that with all these super-humans out there, God was more interested in Noah, who was no more than a humble husband that saved all of humanity by his faith in God.

God told Noah to build an ark, and that "I am about to cover the earth with a flood that will destroy every living thing that breathes. Everything on earth will die. But I will confirm my covenant with you." I wonder what Noah must have been thinking at that moment, If God told me that, what would I even do? Quit school to handmake a large boat while fighting off the people in the white suits who would try to take me away? Noah must have had an incredible amount of courage and trust in God to do such a thing. I wonder if even his family believed in him.

This is me, peacin out. I have been incredibly productive on this day off, cleaning my apartment, scour-padding (verb?) my entire stove lifting up the top and everything, and I intend to go swimming and get all my school things together before starting another long week of school. 1 week down.... *sigh*

#1=God, Not Me.

I know it is the same day, but I had to get a head start on my endeavor to read the entire Bible in one year if I ever hope to finish. I have decided to pull out a Chronological Bible that I received from my parents. It puts the Bible into, you guess it, chronological order for easier understanding of when events were actually taking place. The Bible is an NLT, New Living Translation, and I will post the verses as I go as well, in case you would like to read along with me. Feel free to post your thoughts on these verses, and maybe we can learn from each other :)

Today's Reading: Genesis 1:1-3:24

Today's reading highlighted the day the world was born, the day humanity came into existence. According to every textbook I have received from my public education the Earth was created billions of years ago by some kind of explosion, causing life to form one cellular development at a time. To be honest I'm not that open-minded when it comes to my textbook's very original description of how the Earth came to be on complete accident. My bad.

According to this passage that I have read many a time, God created the Earth and everything in it in six days, and took the seventh day to rest. Here is a brief summary of what each day entailed:

Day One: Light and Dark/Day Two: Sky/Day Three: Land and Vegetation/Day Four: The Sun, Moon, and Stars/ Day Five: Fish and Birds/ Day Six: Land Animals and Humans/ Day Seven: Nap Time!

What a rough week that must have been. I was doing my share of complaining after the first week of my roughest semester yet, including the following classes: Large Animal Nursing, Microbiology, Parasitology, Pharmacology, Small Animal Health Management, and Lab Animal Nursing. While balancing 18 credit hours, a small part time job, and a New Year's resolution of losing more than a few pounds for my cousin's wedding in April would be enough to give anyone a headache after their first wekk, God created a whole Universe and took only one day to rest. Then again He is God, and I am not. Maybe that's more of a lesson that I need to learn than I realize. I am not God, my life should not center around me. There are what? 7 Billion people on the Earth and I like to entertain the idea that I am more important than the next person? I think I need to take a Humble pill and start putting other's ahead of myself. In a way, that is the only way I may start to stand out in such a large crowd of people living their lives as #1, myself included.

Back to the part where God makes Woman :) "Then the Lord God said, "It is not good for man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him."...So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the Lord God took out one of the man's ribs....Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib."

I read an interesting quote from one of my friend's Facebook statuses that read: "God made woman from man's side, not from his feet to be trampled upon, not from his head to be superior, but from his side to be equal, under the arm to be protected and close to the heart to be loved". In a society of women trying to be equivalent to men, I find it more refreshing when a woman learns that she is just as strong as a man....in different areas. I would think that a woman going out to chop up firewood with a big axe would look just as silly to a man as a man sitting in a rocking chair watching his favorite Musical while knitting a sweater would look to a woman. I guess I feel like our country's divorce rate is up to 50% for a reason, Man and Woman both trying to be the lead, both wanting to lead the steps and missing out on a beautiful dance if they would only follow eachother, learning from eachother's mistakes, and being strong where the other is weak.

The last part of today's reading was when Satan slithered his little snaky self over to Eve and twisted his words just right to make it seem okay to eat that fruit. I wonder what kind of things I get pulled into just by others putting such a spin on it that it seems okay. I also wonder what kind of things I pull others into by convincing them its okay, maybe without even realizing it.

Thanks for reading! I wonder if all of my entries will be so long, I may have to pick one topic per reading to comment on so these don't go on forever. I guess I'll learn as I go...which is what this blog is all about really.

Until tomorrow, Alissa.

The Beginning

I'm not quite sure what this blog is about yet, whether it be a summary of my life until now, the day to day absurdities that summarize who I am today, or a way to keep track of my goals and who I want to be in the future.

I guess I can start out by describing a little bit about myself. I am a Veterinary Technology student. If you don't know what that is, well I'm not surprised. It is a relatively new field that I have to describe to everyone around me, including some of my closest family members. Basically it is a nursing degree for animals. If doctors have nurses then Veterinarians have Vet Techs. Once graduated, I'll be able to do anything from placing an IV catheter to delivering a baby lamb.

As for the future and what I want to do with my degree, to be honest I have no idea. I came into the program wanting to work in a zoo; working with the lions, tigers, and bears. Once I was accepted into this program though, opportunities I've never thought about pursuing have suddenly started appealing to me. Whatever I end up doing, I guess I'll leave it up to God. This is the biggest part of who I am.

I am a Christian, that is who I am. There is a verse in the bible that says "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me." Galatians 2:20. I try to live this out, but to be honest I can't sit at this computer and boast about some great Christian habits that describe everything about my personality. If I was honest, I would say that God has brought me through some of the most difficult moments in my life, whether it was the loss of my brother to a faulty heart, or helping me deal with a mean group of girls in middle school. I know in my heart that God is real, and I talk to Him all the time through prayer, constantly thanking him for all He has blessed me with.

My bible reading, not the greatest. If I get around to it, it is usually at the end of the night when I am too tired to read more than a paragraph before calling it a night. Maybe this blog should be about my walk with God. I wonder who would read such a blog, as sad as it is. Maybe in the end it isn't about having readers, but a way to keep myself accountable. So that's it then, I will set a goal for myself of one year starting tomorrow, in which I will read the entire bible, and blog my thoughts on what I read and how I apply it to my life as a Veterinary Technology student.

First thoughts: Scared. I am incredibly busy, how am I possibly going to finish the entire bible in 365 days? I guess I can't just say I will give it a try, I have to commit. I WILL read the bible in 365 days and you all will be on a journey with me. I hope to look back on this first post and feel like I have truly grown as a person. Through this blog I hope to read, absorb, memorize, question, and grow in my relationship with God. And the 365 Day Adventure begins. Ready, Go.