From Watercress to Dinosaurs to....

As any college student will tell you, the subject of dinosaurs is most definitely a commonly discussed topic. Well, here's a general synopsis of a real conversation that happened to be on this subject my sophomore year.

As a group of us were gathered in the hall around the time we would normally gather around 11pm (early in the evening), the subject of cancer was brought up. We were talking about how everything nowadays is said to cause cancer in some way, shape or form. Then one of my friends asked if there was anything that actually didn't cause cancer. Funnily enough, one of my friends suggested that watercress not only does not cause cancer, but could prevent cancer. *Side Note* I believe that the speculation on whether or not this is true is still in debate *End Side Note*. I asked what exactly watercress tasted like, because I have experienced my share of sunburn in my lifetime and would most assuredly NOT like to get skin cancer. The reply was simple: grass. Everyone started joking about how nasty that is, but I interjected that it didn't taste that bad. Laughing ensued, and then came the comment that changed the subject randomly:

Next thing we'll know, we'll see Daryn (that's me) crouched out in the Thunderdome (the grassy area outside our dorm) eating grass in the middle of the night, and he'll scamper away like an animal when he's spotted.

Again, laughing ensued as well as my greatest impression of an animal eating grass. Well, that soon turned into my velociraptor impression which then immediately turned the topic of conversation to: Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park. As any of my friends will gladly tell you, one of my greatest fears is that the premise of this story will actually come true and we'll all get killed by velociraptors (we all know T-Rexes... T-Rexen... T-Rexi... whatever! We all know that they are the least of our problems, cause all we have to do is freeze! But seriously if someone starts clapping their hands like the cha-cha slide, you're going down). ANYWAY, terrifying as it is, I have done quite the great deal of research pertaining said subject, such as: Will tall grass become more prominent? Do raptors spawn tall grass, like Zerg spawn creep? Are raptors afraid of fire? Can deadbolts be unlocked by these "clevah gals"? Does tall grass follow raptors?

Yes, all serious questions that I needed answered. The point is, this conversation was going great places in our preparedness against the eventual dinosaur invasion that would surely come if we attempted to recreate this dreadfully realistic portrayal of dinosaurs under control. We decided that no matter where someone was, tall grass could strike at ANY TIME! Running in the street: RAPTOR ATTACK! Walking in the woods: DEFINITE RAPTOR ATTACK! Snowboarding: RAPTOR ATTACK! You ALWAYS have to be on the look out for flying tall-grass. This ain't no Pokémon that you can just run away from or make faint. No, this is not an opportunity to use a Masterball (let's be honest, the only Pokémon worth catching with a Masterball was Electebuzz... *shakes head back an forth*). When you see tall grass creeping towards you, you RUN! Not like it would matter much anyway, unless you're in a kitchen that is chromed out, you're done for!

Then the conversation took a turn for the worst possible topic ever. That's right, I'm not just talking about a dinosaur invasion and the likelihood of survival with all our advanced weaponry anymore... We moved into the realm of zombie dinosaurs. Just imagine that... not only have they been remade from frog DNA and whatnot, but we somehow spliced the genes perfectly WRONG to make them a horde of zombies! Terrible TERRIBLE consequences. This is quite literally the point where we all just agreed on one possible outcome: Nuke 'em. That's it and that's all. We left the conversation there, stomachs hurting from the terrible laughter that continued on and on throughout. Though, I will say, I remained quite serious throughout due to my absolute dread that this could actually all happen one day...

I mean, look at the news. That NC State professor just found living DNA within a dinosaur fossil. It's just one or two simple steps until the eventual zombie dinosaur apocalypse. I'll be darned if I'm not prepared! They're afraid of fire, that much I can be sure of!

Sharpening Tools

Proverbs 27:17 NASB

Iron sharpens iron, 

So one man sharpens another.

I woke up with this verse on my mind today. This is a great verse for multiple reasons: 


1) It tells us that we are to build each other into the person God wants us to be by honing each other's skills (sharpening them, if I may). A great example of this can be found in 1 Samuel 25 specifically in verses 18-33 where Abigail rebukes David in probably the gentlest way I've ever seen. Her heart behind it was to sharpen David to become the man of God that he is meant to be, not just to save her own skin from David and all his men. 

2) This verse also tells us sparks are going to fly. When iron sharpens iron, there are going to be sparks. It's not going to always be the greatest feeling in the world when a brother or sister comes up and says that they have noticed something that we can improve upon (no matter how gently it comes). Yes, we have the opportunities to be humble before both our peers and God; however, we may not always see it as an opportunity to do so. I can tell you from personal experience that getting sharpened isn't always the most fun thing in the world, but I never have regretted it in the long run. And yes, maybe it has taken me a couple weeks to accept rebuke or reproof, but the Lord has always given me a great way to look at it in the end.


3) It tells us HOW we need to sharpen each other. This one literally just came to me. When a good blacksmith sharpens some metal, he doesn't take chips out, he smooths a piece to the desired sharpness. If he takes a chip out, it would take more effort to correct his mistake and smooth out everything else to the proper sharpness.


With this last part said, I have to work on things. I understand that I'm here to sharpen others and lay down my life to make them the person God wants them to be. I also understand that there are going to be some sparks when we hit "burrs" if you will; however, I am very bad at sharpening properly. Too often do I take chips out of people looking to refine them immediately rather than taking my time and humbly submitting my thoughts and observations; and more than that, trusting that the Lord will work in their hearts to change them. I need to be more like Abigail and reprove someone so graciously that it would not seen like reproof at all from an outsider instead of looking to do things my way.


So, in closing, I'd just like to apologize if you have experienced my critical heart come out and try to chip at you instead of the loving sharpening the way that God intended. I'd also like to challenge you to be a proper brother or sister and sharpen your brothers and sisters in a humble way that shows that you want them to become the man or woman that God intends them to be.