Modern Phileo

30th post! Cool.

Anyways... it sure has been an interesting first seven days of school. Pomona Crusade has gotten off to a good start, and there are many freshmen and transfers interested in involvement here.

However, some of my friends at other schools have been under spiritual attack or in ugly situations, and it grieves me that they suffer these things... especially when those who are in trouble are my sisters in Christ. Now, in my experience, since I consider my relationship with my own sister to be pretty good, I treat my sisters in Christ like I treat her: with love, respect, sensitivity and more importantly, help. Help in listening to their problem and letting God work through me to advise them on it, whether that means finding them other sisters to help them out or working through them with it, if the situation is within my understanding. Of course, this happens with my brothers too, but more often lately it has been happening with my sisters. And... it just wounds my heart, to see them in pain like that; and because of Christ's love for the lost, even those temporarily lost, even for me... it wells up in me a response of:
1. Shock that it is happening
2. Sorrow at the pain
3. Compassion
4. Slight anger at the enemy (a big brother's classic response)
5. A showing of love, a pouring out of myself because of Him and because of the warmth and lovingkindness that they have shown me in my times of trouble.

It's an odd mix, I know, but I just can't break it down for you in any other way. It has gotten me to wondering lately, "I don't understand... why do they have to be in pain? And why did God give me all this love to pour out?" I don't feel worthy for it often, and sometimes I'm very tired when I first hear of a given situation. But for some reason, God gives me the strength and wisdom to respond, and to try and help them out of harm's way.

I don't mean to sound like the hero here, and I don't mean to boast either. I'm just telling it like it is. And I also know the answers to those wonderings: it's because God intends for me to be the brother to them at those times, and to show them His grace and love. But not just at these times, either. Being a brother is a full time job.

If that doesn't make it clear to you out of the sheer fact of redundancy, then perhaps this poem will.

"My Rose"
by Neil Mullins

You, my rose, are beautiful;
You, my rose, are deep.
And you, my rose, have petals
Soft, through which the Light seeps.
You, my rose, smell lovely;
You, my rose, are a flirt.
But you, my rose, have thorns
Sharp, which make my hands hurt.
You, my rose, are colorful;
You, my rose, are young.
For you, my rose, capture my
Gaze, and my heart is flung.
A rose is as love, both pretty and stinging
Yet I will let my hands drip blood whilst I am singing.
----------------
Now playing: Jars of Clay - Something Beautiful
via FoxyTunes

POST-RACE REPORT: FONTANA

Wow. What a race!

Yesterday’s Sharp Aquos 500 was my first-ever live NASCAR race. I went with my dad and my uncle to the California Speedway in Fontana, CA. It was such an invigorating experience and one I’ll never forget. I had a lot of fun and I learned a lot too; not just about NASCAR (which I am still only a first-year fan of), but also life as well. I read in a book lately (Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul) that one of the main reasons that people watch and enjoy the sport (or, as we fans say, “our sport”) is that it can draw many parallels to life’s experiences. And while some non-fans will say it’s just a Southern sport, you can’t deny that its influence and spectacle have moved across the whole country. (Logic follows: if you’ve heard of it, and haven’t traveled to those states, then its influence covers more than just that region.) While I did take notes on the race to help me keep my thoughts down for this report, however, I just can’t write a bland story out of this experience onto paper. No, for my words to have more effect, more impact, they must take the form of a poem. Perhaps if you read this, and you don’t understand why so many people watch NASCAR, you might change your mind after reading it. Or so I hope.

“Ode to the Stock-Car Race”
by Neil Mullins

It’s not every day you get to see stealth fighters
It’s not every day you come so far
Along with thousands of people to watch forty-three drivers
Cram themselves inside their respective cars.

The startup of the motors and the whirring of air wrenches
Immediately becomes symphonic to your ears
And the smell of burnt tires and gas beyond the fences
Is alluring both to your nostrils and those of your peers.

To see the field move with such efficiency
And yet also to see some be so brash
Makes you wonder, in life, if that’s why some are bold and crazy
Enough, so it seems, to even dare to crash.

You root for your driver and I’ll root for mine,
And we’ll both boo and laugh about it and be just fine;
But when the race is over at Victory Lane
Its not just the drivers, but also the fans, who get the fame.

In leaving the stands, this vision becomes true:
You don’t just become part of the race...
It becomes part of you.

(End Poem)

PS: I found out after i got home from last night's race that I have the opportunity to go to another one before the season is out! This time, it'll be in Phoenix. I'll be meeting friends there, and it won't cost too much to go. Plus, you get my knowledge personally to help you during the race in order to understand it better. Who could ask for more? Let me know if you want to go; planning is currently only in early stages.