Thursday, June 20, 2013

Moved by faith:

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1

Having recently tied that verse to memory, I've been reflecting on it a lot lately and it's made quite a difference in my walk. I was driving home from school on Tuesday and I was thinking about how faith isn't hoping about that God can -- it's knowing that He will. Now I've come to the conclusion before that faith is very much a living, breathing, and active thing and the intimate moment with the Holy Spirit I had the other day while driving home reaffirmed that. The moment lasted most of the drive home and the way I felt His touch was a result of my reflection. His touch choked me up inside and I'm not sure what it meant other than the fact that the Holy Spirit was reaffirming the fact that faith is very much a living, breathing, and active thing. I have been trusting in Him that this girl and I that I've talking to off this Christian dating site will meet in August, so maybe that moment I had had something to do with that. She did say she wanted to meet about a month or two ago, so I can see how God has been working in it so far, which I continue to acknowledge. Regardless of when we do meet, though, I don't think it's a coincidence that we crossed paths and I do think He wants us to meet. Also, with regards to faith, one can never really know for sure, but that doesn't mean that one should give up on trusting in God for something because it's in His timing and because He knows what's best for His people. It's best to let Him worry about the details anyway. Since one can really know for sure, that aspect is kind of paradoxical because as I said, faith isn't hoping about that God can -- it's knowing that He will. Christianity at it's heart is paradoxical, though, but that's not gonna discourage me from following Christ.

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Goodreads review: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Ultimate Collection, Vol. 1

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Ultimate Collection, Vol. 1Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Ultimate Collection, Vol. 1 by Kevin Eastman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Having read some of the early Mirage Turtle comics, I knew what I was getting into, but it was nice to not have to dig through my comics again just to read the first issue. I have a collected edition of issues 4-6, I believe, in color format, but I liked having everything all in one place and seeing it all in black and white. To me, it was like reading Turtle comics for the first time all over again. It was also good to go back and read what got me into indie comics in the first place. A lot of material is covered in this volume and it really helped to me see how Eastman and Laird matured not only in terms of storytelling, but also in terms of improving their artwork. Even though they their stuck to their roots -- mostly Jack Kirby and Frank Miller -- I liked seeing how Eastman and Laird's art styles maintained consistency not only because they were both doing the art, but also because they improved so much in so little time. That aspect was pointed out the annotations from what I remember, so I guess you could say it was reinforced. I truly enjoyed reading this volume and I will say that since it's practically the size of a DC absolute edition, I didn't mind the art being enlarged because I felt that it brought out a lot of detail and, as a result, the art popped off the pages. It's teams like Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird that will forever have left their mark in comics history and this graphic novel is proof of that. And even though the Turtles started out as a parody of Daredevil, Eastman and Laird have certainly impacted the way stories are told. Perhaps I'll read some of the other volumes if I get the chance.

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