Lovin' it!

What fun would it be to have something that has no character?  No marks to make it unique?  Why strive to be unblemished?  Why not have your imperfections and just roll with it?  Well, here's my latest investment.  I've wanted one of these since I was a small child.  I've always thought they were sooo cool.  

Here's the short story.  I've always checked newspapers randomly and now of days the internet for people selling these cool things.  My nice car just rolled over 80,000 miles and I need it to last much longer than my current rate of travel is going to allow it.  So to take off some of my around town miles I decided to invest in that exact thing.  An around town car.  I watched this particular one on craigslist and finally had time yesterday to take two knowledgeable male friends with me to look at it.  

Now, keep in mind it took us 2 hours and 45 minutes to make it to Atlanta from Benton, TN.  But my friends were great.  We went...  they test drove b/c well...  I can't actually drive a standard.  Anyways, that's beside the point.  I actually haggled the price w/ the owner.  It was pretty fun.  One of my friends with me said "I've only met your dad once but I'm pretty sure that was him who just haggled with that guy, that was awesome!"  I had a set price and we actually came in under that price so I was pleased.  

My friends decided they didn't really want to drive it back with Atlanta traffic being as crazy as it was.  So, they were gracious enough this morning to take me back.  One of them went at 6am to go get a trailer to haul it on and we hit the rode around 8ish and got home around 5ish.  It was a full day.  We also were able to stop by a VW junkyard.  Literally, there were VW's as far as you could see.  It was like a scavenger hunt.  There were a few things my car didn't have such as seat belts, smoothly working windows, part of the back seat, etc.  Thus we went shopping.  Rather fun experience in and of itself.  Even with the extra parts I had to purchase I still came in under my set price.  

THEN!  They get it off the trailer once we get home and tell me I have to drive it now.  Believe it or not I did it and wasn't completely awful at it.  Drove around and showed some friends then drove it to church tonight!  I'm beginning to understand the phrase if you can't find it grind it!  When I got home tonight I asked one of my friends to ride around with me for a bit so he could explain a little better this whole shifting, clutching, braking, but still having to give it gas so it doesn't die and making sure you don't roll backwards down the hill (since I live in the mountains and all) thing.  My greatest issue in the car is normally if I'm drinking a coke while changing the radio have to stop one of those to answer the phone.  

Anyways...  There's my story of my new car.  It's not perfect.  The pictures don't lie.  But I want something around camp where I don't care if it gets dinged up.  Mechanically it's in decent shape with is my greatest concern.  

Hope you enjoy the pics!!

atleast this side is nice looking! :)

My favorite parts are that it's a 1969 VW bug!  

The wheels look cool!

The colors not too bad...

and it has a CD player in it!

God's Love part 4

Sorry, I've been a little distracted but this post should finish up the God's love series!

6.  God's Love through Growth:  Green

John 8:31-32 says, "If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."  God's love continues to grow our lives, making us more and more like Jesus, who is the author and finisher of our faith.  Just as grass grows greener, we grow in faith through learning God's truth, and the Bible says that God's Word is truth.  We must not look to what men say, to what we think or to what we feel as our final authority:  no, God has spoken to us through the Bible, and we must base our whole lives on what He has said.  Then, as Jude says, we can keep ourselves in the love of God, "Looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life."  

7.  God's Love Lasts Forever:  Yellow/Gold

I John 5:11-13 says, "God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.  He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.  These things have I written unto that believe on the name of the Song of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life."

God's love lasts forever, and the yellow bead stands for heaven, where we can spend eternity in the love of God.  Jesus told us that He has gone to prepare a place for his followers.  We do not have to wonder about what will happen when we die, because if we believe on the name of the Son of God, we can KNOW that we have eternal life.  God's love does not leave room for doubt:  it is perfect, complete, and trustworthy.

How can we ever hear the word 'love' again, without thinking of what the word truly stands for, God's unique AGAPE love?  "Herein, is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his SOn to be the propitiation for our sins."  God does not just 'feel' love: no, love is so much who God is that the Bible says "God is love."  So if anyone ever asks you what your bracelet means you can now respond, "God is love, would you like to hear how much He loves you?"

Every time I read this I still love it!  God is love!!  I hope this finds you excited to start your Monday!

God's Love part 3

4.  God's Love cleanses sin:  White

1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  Now we can be clean, we can be whiter than snow, just like the white bead.  And, through confession, we can be clean - without a doubt of ALL our sin!  Praise God!  This is why we say God's love is complete:  he doesn't leave any loopholes or exceptions.  First, he makes us all in His image, then all of us sin.  God makes a way and desires that all men be saved, and now all our sins are forgiven!  There is no need to dwell in darkness, back there with the dark bead.  No, there is a pure white light shining:  "If we walk in teh light as he is in the light...  the blood of Jesus Christ has Son cleanses us from all sins."  Have you been washed by the blood of Jesus Christ to become spotlessly white?

5.  God's Love through confession:  Blue

Romans 6:4 says, "Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death:  that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the FAther, even so we also should walk in newness of life."  AFter God has taken a hopeless sinner and restored his broken life, making him a new creature in Christ, than man must make a public confession of this change through baptism.  Baptism symbolically buries our sins in a grave of water that washes them away as far as east is from west, and then we emerge, clean and pure through God's love, for all to see.  Luke 9:26 says that "Whosoever shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels."  We cannot be ashamed of God's love:  we must make a confession before others, and the blue bead represents the ceremony of water baptism where God allows us to publicly accept His love."