Mem Day

Here's what I've learned over Memorial Day weekend:

PF Changs is the best darn Chinese food you'll ever have the pleasure of inserting into your digestive track.

Moving sucks. I hate it. But thanks to Melissa, Mom, Garrison, Brian, PJ Angela and Andi, it went quickly and smoothly. And I mean smooth like butta. I think I'm really going to dig G-vegas too. I went running up and down Main Street today and joined Pivotal Fitness. Pivotal: Because I won't have to pay for a bunch of crap I'm never going to use (I.E. raquetball, pool, basketball court).

The movie Cold Mountain is most definitely a chick flick. Unfortunately for me, I was unaware of this fact and was duped into watching it. At no point whatsoever did I find the plot even mildly plausible. While they attempted to parlay the overwhelming estrogen level with short, unrealistic battle scenes, the end result was...well...bad. But, I guess if you're a chick, you can look past all that and simply fantasize that Jude Law is trudging across hundreds of miles on foot after escaping death numerous times simply because you spoke two sentences and kissed him for 5 seconds.

I miss the lake, terribly. I got out on Hartwell for about 2 hours...but then the boat broke. So I had to hotwire the battery to the starter while I'm standing in the lake. I admit, it wasn't smart, but it was necessary. Not long after the engine started running again, the steering cables broke. Ok God, I get it. No lake for today. Then straight to a Memorial Day cookout. Pics here (via Candice) and here (via Paul).

On a more personal note, I'm starting to learn and deal with the idea of "freedom in Christ." While I had heard that phrase so many times, I haven't given much thought to what it really means. What am I free from? Well, the first thing is freedom from the penalty of sin, but Jesus and Paul (in Galatians) talks about being free from sin in a current state. As Christians, we aren't bound by it anymore, even if we feel like it. On the same token, being a Christian isn't a license to sin either. So it sets up two opposing ends: the first being that we don't weigh ourselves down with guilt and legalism; the second being we don't just go do whatever we feel like doing. I'm trying to feel out this "happy medium" and what exactly it means. I can forgive myself for sinning because God has forgiven me, yet how do I stop myself from taking advantage of that? As to be expected, the ultimate answer lies in my relationship with God and doing my best to "live by the Spirit" as Paul states in Galatians 5:16-18:

16So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.

I suppose what I'm seeking out is the details on how exactly to go about doing this. What exactly does it mean to be "led by the Spirit?" How does one make sure you are being led by the Spirit? How can you tell the difference between your own sinful nature and those of the Holy Spirit? Sometimes it seems very obvious, others the waters get murky. Man, I think too much...