Ciao for Now...
Well, the day that I have dreaded has at last arrived. I suspect it is actually a little overdue. At any rate, I'm sorry to say that this post marks the end of the frogg files, at least for the closely foreseeable future (whatever that means).
I've enjoyed writing this blog more than I can tell you, and that is largely thanks to you, my readers. I love reading your comments, and I love knowing that you enjoy checking in now and then (some of you every day) to see what sort of antics the frogg is up to.
Well, we've had some fun over all that time, haven't we? But to everything there is a season, and the seasons, they are a'changin'. The new year brings with it new endeavors. In my case, that means (hopefully) going back to school. Over the next couple of months I will be applying to various creative writing programs, in hopes of pursuing my master's degree in the field of fiction writing.
Not quite sure how that will go, but I have to give it a shot.
I hate saying goodbye. But it's time to go.
The following is an edited version of something I posted awhile back. It is my blessing to you. May you know all the ways that God is good to you, all your life. I wish I had told you about Him, more often.
In all my work, in all that I do and have done, my earnest desire is you will find the One who longs for you you so persistently, who draws you ever onward and upward, into his waiting embrace. Do not think you can escape him, if you love him! Seek and you shall find. Remember that it is good to be a prisoner of hope.
God save and keep you, friend. He loves you and has forgiven you for everything. He doesn't even think of it. As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. His grace is sufficient for you, and oh how he wants you to know it!
Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. Let all who are thirsty, come and drink. The water of life is for you. Take, and then give it away.
I pray you find rest in the midst of all your strivings. I have great hopes for you.
Now may the Light of the world guide you, the Lover of your soul keep you, and the Prince of Peace protect you...always.
Miss me, my darlings. I will miss you.
Kisses from the frogg princess.
I've enjoyed writing this blog more than I can tell you, and that is largely thanks to you, my readers. I love reading your comments, and I love knowing that you enjoy checking in now and then (some of you every day) to see what sort of antics the frogg is up to.
Well, we've had some fun over all that time, haven't we? But to everything there is a season, and the seasons, they are a'changin'. The new year brings with it new endeavors. In my case, that means (hopefully) going back to school. Over the next couple of months I will be applying to various creative writing programs, in hopes of pursuing my master's degree in the field of fiction writing.
Not quite sure how that will go, but I have to give it a shot.
I hate saying goodbye. But it's time to go.
The following is an edited version of something I posted awhile back. It is my blessing to you. May you know all the ways that God is good to you, all your life. I wish I had told you about Him, more often.
In all my work, in all that I do and have done, my earnest desire is you will find the One who longs for you you so persistently, who draws you ever onward and upward, into his waiting embrace. Do not think you can escape him, if you love him! Seek and you shall find. Remember that it is good to be a prisoner of hope.
God save and keep you, friend. He loves you and has forgiven you for everything. He doesn't even think of it. As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. His grace is sufficient for you, and oh how he wants you to know it!
Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. Let all who are thirsty, come and drink. The water of life is for you. Take, and then give it away.
I pray you find rest in the midst of all your strivings. I have great hopes for you.
Now may the Light of the world guide you, the Lover of your soul keep you, and the Prince of Peace protect you...always.
Miss me, my darlings. I will miss you.
Kisses from the frogg princess.
posted by grackyfrogg @ 3:20 PM
8 Comments:
At 3:24 AM ,
Anonymous said...
Wah! I am sad, but I understand. Reading your blog has often been a highlight of my day; you have made me giggle and you have made me think. I'm sure I will still be able to do both, but it won't be the same. I feel like I have come to know some of the other post-ers in a way! I'll miss you all too. Best wishes in your writing program...you are awesome and you know I am behind you all the way!
Love,
Aunt Barb
At 8:47 AM ,
usarottweiler said...
Princess,
God bless and keep you always.
You are already missed, except for the making me weep part.
doggie
At 12:22 PM ,
Anonymous said...
Mate, ganna miss the frogg files for sure. I was pretty much a daily checker of it. I'm sure you'll kick butt in getting your masters, you've had ample practice now. See ya round on da net.
P.S Beep, Beep. (Sorry had to)
Bees. :-)
At 10:53 AM ,
BeautiPhil said...
wait, what?!
you can't do this! no warning, just dropping off the face of the blogosphere! but...but!
are you telling me I just wrote my longest comment on this site, which by the way, I thought was very witty and funny, only to have you - the very next post - say goodbye, presumably for real this time?
bull.
what are you going to do now? where will you write whatever you want and get away with it? i ask you...
my blogroll just lost a lot of lustre.... :-(
At 10:30 PM ,
grackyfrogg said...
oh dear! you guys are all so sweet, you are making this even harder for me than it is, and believe me, it is!
well, who knows, maybe i'll be back! every other time i've tried to call it quits, it sort of didn't happen! but i need a good long break. i need to do some other things for awhile. but i promise, if i start up the frogg files again, you'll know!
thanks again for enjoying my blog. i'm so glad.
At 8:04 PM ,
The Little Kappa said...
Oh dear, I am going to miss you.
IRTYC (whatever that acrostic is): My main point is mostly found in the conclusion, but note that I did not say that knowledge was inconsequential ... just that it is inconsequential next to love. To that I hold.
Correct theology is hardly necessary for someone to minister ... but love is.
Now obviously "How can they love God unless they know him ..." I don't debate it. But personal knowledge and technical (theological) knowledge are two very different things. Relationship above all things.
And through that relationship, I am convinced, God will guide people to perhaps not correct knowledge, but at least appropriate knowledge. What I mean by that is that they'll know about God the things that will cause them to grow closer to him. To catch the vision of the knigdom of God.
What I mean is ... preacher A and artist B know God in very different ways. They believe different things. They hold different views. They "know" opposing facts which they both support with logic and scripture. They disdain each other's beliefs (but hopefully never each other), because of the conflict between their positions.
The californian christian and the georgian christian (or better yet ... the chinese christian) can't see eye to eye on any issue. They argue about the smallest and the biggest things ... from the "sin of conversionism" to "the sin of cussing" (aka holiness living. They live in different paradigms. They debate at length the errancy of scripture, the value of tradition, the nature of authority, original sin, the existance of satan, the end of the world. Both use scripture to support themselves. Both believe themselves to be right. Both believe the other to be wrong. Both claim to know God.
The Georgian has to believe in inerrancy or his system will fall apart. He sees no basis for his faith without it. How can he trust anything in scripture if its not all correct. The californian can't because he sees it as willful ignorance and the concept of willfully accepting something to be true that he "knows" is false is an act that is not only morally and mentally repugnant, but destructive to his faith ... which has been built upon a foundation other than inerrant scripture.
Conclusion: Correct theology isn't a necessity. Both correct theology and incorrect theology are tules that God uses to bring people closer to him.
Perhaps being right doesn't matter. Perhaps being righteous does.
Love, relationship, faith, hope, joy, self control, strength, patience, selflessness, kindness, discernment, wisdom, contrition, loyalty, honesty, goodness, peace, a heart of worship, meekness, faitfulness, care, hunger, passion, the desire for holy things, gentleness, humility, justice, generosity, peacemaking, sound judgement, encouragement, comforting words, steadfast spirit, and even creativity ... I would rather have my life be characterized by any of these qualities than that of "correct knowledge" than.
I'd like to clarify again, by "knowing" here I mean analytical rather than personal knowledge. In fact, that is exactly the distinction that I'm tryig to make. Good theology has its value, but its hardly a necessity.
Think about when you first met God. You may have known nthing about him. You may have been a pastor's kid. Either way, it hardly made a difference.
God, like every personality he created, can be understood analytically (theologically) only at the expense of relationship.
Too much maybe. Too much type. Whatever. I had 2 hours of class to kill and no paper to doodle on.
Anyways. Peace.
I'll hopefully be on AIM soon.
Love and prayers.
At 10:13 AM ,
grackyfrogg said...
This post has been removed by a blog administrator.
At 10:25 AM ,
grackyfrogg said...
i see your point, kappa; however, in my mind, theology does not mean "technical knowledge." it means the study of God, the contemplation of the highest and best that we can give our hearts and minds to. and i do think that good theology is necessary, even vital, to having a good relationship with God.
now, it seems that what prevails in Christendom as a whole is a growing Beatle-osophy, the "all you need is love" mantra. and with that belief i disagree. certainly it is true that without love, as paul wrote, spiritual efforts avail little indeed. but if correct theology and understanding were unnecessary, or not particularly important, he definitely wasted an awful lot of time writing his letters to the churches, which were clear outlines of theology and doctrine.
doctrine, i will grant, is the thing that causes tangles and disagreements, because different people believe different things about doctrine. i think, however, that doctrine is different than theology.
i also grant that it is possible to give oneself to study without love, this is what Jesus criticized the pharisees for, when he said that they studied the scriptures diligently because they thought that was the way to eternal life; but they refused to come to the One of whom all the scriptures spoke, and who had that life in his hand.
my conclusion: i firmly believe that God wants us to think rightly about him, and have right knowledge about him, in order that we may love him better, as well as understand his love for us and grace to us. i think what is needed is that the study of him should spring from a love for him, and so we seek to know him better. think about the first time you fell in love with, or even had a crush on, someone. you may have begun with limited knowledge of them, of who they were, but then didn't you want to know them better, to see who they really were, so that you could love them even more?
i think the loss of theology, the loss of the teaching of it in our churches, is truly a travesty and one of the reasons for the apathy that pervades the kingdom of God on earth at the moment. because, you see, theology is hard work, it takes effort, and concentration, and determination, and perseverance, to break through the "clouds and thick darkness" that surround the holy God who calls us to pass through the veil to his throne of grace. and we don't want hard work, we have forgotten how to concentrate, we have lost the ability to persevere.
in short, theology teaches us to turn our minds to God. instead we have turned our study to ourselves, and our churches are full of "application" sermons, or "topical" teachings. people are hungry for the bread of life, and they are given nothing but crumbs! theology is put on the shelf of antiquity and out-datedness at our peril, i absolutely believe that.
may God teach us all how to think of him, how to seek him, how to know him, and how to love him.
(PS for those who are wondering what the heck we are talking about, feel free to visit littlekappa's site to find out, and then get in on the discussion if you like!)
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