I came looking for a place to practice my typing skills. I love the clattering sound as my fingers dance over the keyboard turning motion into communication. Clatter, clatter, clatter. I remember in primary school I had to learn the letters of the lines of the Qwerty keyboards off by heart. I still remember the top two but am not so quick with the bottom row. If I peek, I can cheat and just hunt and peck to find those letters though There's even a correct position that you're supposed to hold your hands and fingers at over the keys to be the most efficient and fast at typing. If anyone is still reading this and wondering why I'm telling this story, it's because I'm enjoying the clattering sound that the keys make. So... you'll just have to bear with me and keep reading if are curious if I may write something profound here in the middle of this block of text, which right now I am considering making really long. I'm also considering including something that actually IS profound just so you'll have to keep reading all the way through to satisfy your curiosity Mean of me, I know, but this is my post and I get to write whatever I want. I should probably mention that while my reason for coming to Christian Chat was initially for finding a place to practice my typing skills, I have stayed because of the people I have met and made friends with. Some have since left, but new people are always arriving. There have also been some really great conversations that I've enjoyed being part of. Christian Chat is the first chat site I've really ever been a part of and it made me curious to look for others. I've looked around a little to find other places, but so far, CC has been far ahead in terms of quality and service. So yup, I approve. Christian Chat gets my vote. By now, you may have noticed that I'm not really including paragraphs. More than anything other reason, that's just to add to the mystery of this post. Lots of people look at long and unparagraphed posts and simple pass them by. Not bothering to read them because it looks at first glance like simply far too much work for far too little reward. But guess what, you can consider yourself rewarded already. Right here you are someone who has gotten past that initial obstacle for whatever reason. So well done. Good on you. Please, give yourself a pat on the back or a round of applause. Do both if you feel up to it. It's important in life to keep your moral up. Acknowledge the little victories from day to day and feel good about them. It's a good christian ministry to yourself. Encouragement. What a great word it is too. Encouragement. A word literally filled with courage. Of course, we know we are meant to be courageous people as Christians. The bible instructs us not to be like those who shrink back and are destroyed. It also says that the righteous are as bold as lions. And seeing as how we are the righteousness of Christ, we have a pretty good reason to be bold and courageous. On another thought, I read a quote the other day by a french fellow named André Paul Guillaume Gide. And while I don't agree to some of his political views and I flat out object to some of his lifestyle choices, I did appreciate one of his quotes. The quote is "Believe those who are seeking the truth. Doubt those who find it". And while there are obvious flaws to this when taken and held in the light of things like the truth of God's love for us or the saving power of Jesus, I do respect the power and insight it carries in other areas of life. Challenging the status quo for one example. When we look at some of the most wonderful advances throughout human history, they have come out of a challenge against the norm, against what is accepted and taken for granted as being right, true or fact. Like when Christopher Columbus challenged the long held belief that the world was flat. Looking back on it now, we can see who the winner of that little contest was. We can see that success lay in that instance with backing someone who was seeking the truth, not with those who claimed to know it. It's a quote that encourages us to explore, push limits, grow, and expand our boarders. I think this is the kind of pioneering attitude that we all need to embrace. Truth isn't fragile. Truth isn't afraid of being questioned. Truth is, by it's very nature, unbreakable, unchanging and constant. That's how we know it's truth. Because we assault it and test it and batter it with all we can and it stays there, unchanged and unphased. There's a passage in the bible that says, 'Once again, God will shake all that can be shaken so that that which can not be shaken will remain'. Trust those who know this personally. Those who have tried and tested life, demanded their own experience and have made it back with genuine knowledge and a faith refined by fire. Doubt those who give only intellectual assent from afar without personal experience. Because living something, owning an experience... that will beat an opinion any day of the week. That's the power of personal testimony. People can argue all day with you, but if you've experienced something personally, they can not win. You know and have something stronger than any argument has power over. That's why we overcome by these three things, The blood of the The Lamb, the word of our testimonies and loving not our own lives even unto death. Well anyway, that's about me I think. This'll be somewhere around about 1000 words or so. Clatter clatter clatter. I don't know if I got anything super interesting mixed into that little ramble. But it was a fun wee exercise. Thanks again for anyone who bothered reading. You obviously have great patience. And to anyone else, enjoy to following post, as I'm sure skipping this will take you right there. Oh, and as one last little thought before I post this, it's my 30th birthday coming up and I have no idea what I want to do for it. It's on June 1st, so there's still a bit of time to plan and think of something to do. But if you have any thoughts, feel free to let me know. Thanks. God bless. See ya.