"My Mortality"

Lately, I have been thinking alot about my own mortality. There have been many events in the past couple of weeks which have lead me to this. First, I was watching Six Feet Under which was a very popular show on HBO which I don't condone but it did make me think more deeply about this issue. Second, I found out yesterday that my grandparents had one of their friends die on their couch. Third, I just found out that one of my close relatives has lung cancer. So as you can see there have been many things that made me think about end of life issues. I guess the main thing I have been thinking of is lifespan. The average lifespan of a person is about 72 years old.....the key term is average. That friend of my grandparents was blessed with a rich, full life and made it to 83. The point is that even though the lifespan is what it is its not granted or guarenteed to any of us. There are just so many extraneous variables that can aid in our sudden demise. I could be walking down the steps where I live and have my ankle give out and fall down 20 of them which are made of concrete, something could go wrong in my body, I could be driving and be blindsided by a driver who is either not paying attention or is under the influence. So I guess the fraility of life is what God has really been getting through to me lately. Of course I am not thinking about this to an extent where I no longer leave the house but it is defenitely something that I am more aware of than I was before. I suppose that when you think of this subject and are a Christian you begin to think of eternal signifigance (at least I know I have). The fact is that lately I have not been doing the things I need to be doing and in light of eternity many of these things are utterly worthless. I think this is why God has caused many of these events to take place in my life recently which I am thankful for. All I am trying to say is that we are all flowers quickly fading (as the song goes) so be sure to involve yourself in things that further His kingdom and not your own. You simply never know when death will pay you your one and only visit.

Nathaniel Edward Ackerson
1983 - ????

"A Simple Truth"

God never closes a door without opening a window......how true it is.

End of Transmission

"created in My image"

One thing I can say is that I am glad this week is almost over. It has been long and filled with stress. Also I have still not been sleeping despite the fact that I am on drugs to improve it. I am thinking that I will probably not be sleeping at all tonight. It's already going on 2 and I'm not feeling very tired and my Lunesta wore off some time ago. But ya know what, I may be in a bad spot right now but you know what is constant? You know what I can always rely on and Who will never leave nor forsake me? That’s right, the One who sits on the throne in heaven. He is the only reason I am still able to get out of bed in the morning. He is the source of my peace and strength. I trust Him, love Him more every day, desire to become more like Him, to tell others about Him, and above all else to give Him glory through every single word that passes through my lips, every action my body performs, and every thought my mind comes up with. Ya see folks, what I have learned this week is that our life situations don't have to define us. Sure they may bring added stress and we may worry about them from time to time. However, that is when we have to rely on God to take care of our burdens and count on Him to give us the abundant life He promises. I would say that a non-believer in my current situation would be in a private hell right now. But based on the simple fact that I have a personal relationship with Christ I am able (by His unmerited favor and love) to live in freedom of these things that try so hard to get me down. Now sure I slip up from time to time. I am a fallen creature and sin is a by product of that. However, I refuse to let satan use that to his advantage anymore. he loved to tell me how I was never good enough, how this "Christian thing" just wasn't going to work out, how I was just too weak. Now I look at it from a 2 Corinthians kind of perspective:
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.
2 Corinthians 12:8-10
That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Corinthians 12:9-11

Now, for the reason of this entry. A certain issue I have been thinking of lately is being created in God's image.
Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."
Genesis 1:25-27
Genesis 1:27
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
I know that this expression is taught and talked about a lot. My question is have you ever really sat down and contemplated the implications of this. It would have been enough if our loving God would have only created us but He loved us so much that He wanted us to bear His own personal likeness. Do you realize the depths of which He treasures and loves us based on that fact alone? I watched people today and yesterday in the student center. People drinking coffee, sharing a story with a friend, reading newspapers, sitting in front of the fireplace, working on their computers. As I looked at every face do you know what I saw? I saw God's stamp of approval on every one of them. He loves every single one of them equally for the pleasure and glory they bring Him and the fellowship they provide Him with. I think a man much smarter than I said it best......"Wanna see God? Do you have a mirror?
God Bless,
~N

"Sleep.....Where Art Thou??"

Hey there,
Figured it was more than time for an update. As I have stated before the mood has to hit me right to write and as you can see it hasn't for almost a month. Anyways, things have been going well. Just trying to keep up with everything this last year in Nursing school throws at me. I was able to score pretty well on my first two nursing tests so it’s nice to begin with some breathing room (that’s not to say I'm gonna slack off for the next two). My relationship with God has really improved lately as well which is always a good thing. I got pretty far astray the last time and I never want to return to that desolate place ever again. It's amazing how many times simple distractions that hold no eternal value and mean absolutely nothing can throw us off course. It really makes you wonder....where on earth would we be without His eternal grace and love. I've often said that if I were God I would put me beneath hell. Thankfully I'm not and He possesses a love that I will never fully comprehend. The one thing in life right now that is kinda sucky is the fact that I CANNOT SLEEP!!! It really has been over a month that I have had a decent night's rest. I'm beginning to think that insomnia is hereditary. Reason being is that my dad has one of the worst sleeping patterns I have seen and I have noticed that I am following in his footsteps. I'm gonna give it till next week and then I'm going to go and see the nurse practitioner. I really cannot continue on in this state and it is really beginning to affect my relationships and schoolwork. I believe that God can provide me with the rest I need but if the answer to my repeated prayers lies in a pill then so be it.
Till Next Time,
~N

"Caffiene and Sleep.....Oil and Water"

Ever had those moments were you are about to do a certain action and feels like a good idea at the time but you always pay for it and regret it later? Yeah well I'm in the paying for it and regretting it stage now. I decided to meet someone for coffee at like 1030 tonight and had a 16oz White Mocha. It was splendid as usual but as soon as I hit the pillow I knew that sleep would be eluding me for some time. And in that assumption I was correct. So I decided just to take a couple sleeping pills and am probably gonna skip chapel tomorrow and just sleep in instead. All I'm waiting for is for them to take effect which will hopefully happen within the next 20 minutes.
Well I have to say that things are going really well as of late. I actually wake up every morning excited about what God is going to do in my life and how He is going to use me for His glory. I was really going through a rough patch not too long. The details of which I won't bore you with. Anyways, He is faithful as always and has really changed my perspective on things.
It has been really cool in the past 2 weeks in the fact that God has helped me to develop 2 friendships in ways I didn't think possible. These are people that I have known for a while but never really got to know them in a deeper way until recently so its been really good. Well I can feel those pills beginning to work so I'm gonna go pass out hard.
Till Next Time,
~N

"Since I Met You"

Was at the end of my rope, had nowhere to go
Was at the end of my rope, I had nothing to show
Until the day I turned to You, was at the end of my rope

You call me crazy, man you make my day
My state of residence was disarray
At every party and as far as anybody knew - everything was cool, but
The truth was bottled up inside of me
I was as lonely as a man could be
And my 200 friends couldn't fill the void in my soul
It was a giant hole

Nothing made any sense
I thought there would never be an end
Then love came knocking at my door

Since I met You I've been alright
You turn all my darkness into light
Since I met You I've been okay, I've been alright
Ya know I've been alright
Since I met You I've been okay
You're rolling my winter into may
And since I met You I've been alright
I've been okay since I met you
I've been okay since I met you

"Back In The Saddle"

Well today I am made the trek back to school and am pumped to get another year under my belt. This will be my final 8 months at IWU and real life is about ready to start. I am excited and yet a little hesitant and frightened but that’s normal. It has been a good 6 years overall. Great friends have been made, much knowledge has been absorbed, lessons have been learned, and my relationship with the One who sits on the throne has improved and matured greatly.
Today we left the house at around 1430. I was planning on getting back a lot earlier because I was going to register but just decided to do it on Monday. I like to keep it interesting with the registration business.....last year I registered 15 minutes before my first class :-) But as long as you get registered what does it really matter? Of course there is the whole deal of not getting into a class but I waved bye bye to gen-eds and such 2 years ago and I have to get into all my Nursing classes so it takes the pressure off. Anyways, we got here at around 6 o'clock and unloaded all of my cerap. I met my housemate...his name is Jeremy and he seems like a really cool guy. I think it will work out well. After unloading we came to the hotel and checked dad in. He decided to come with me since mom is out of town this weekend so he will just be hanging with me until Monday. I called Wes after we checked in and we all went to the Icehouse. If you have not yet visited this establishment and reside in the Marion area I highly recommend it. I had a pork chop that was the side of a small child and it was quite delightful. So yeah....it has been a really good day. I was planning on writing a lot more but I just realized how tired I am so I'm packin it in.
Till Next Time,
~N