CAA: Christian Anime Alliance

Hey guys. I just got a huge wakeup call from school and how bad I think I did on my US History test/quiz/whatever. I think this is because I spend so much time on CAA and on the phone in general, but the problems are:

1. CAA has helped me grow in my faith and if there's one time I need you guys the most it's now.
2. I actually made a pie chart with my allotted hours of time, but since I've assigned 2 hours God-time and taken a lot off the agenda, I'm afraid it'll be turned into legalism. What should I do? I'll post my top 10 priorities if that helps.

Seriously? You put CAA above sleep? I am having trouble believing you are for real.

I think you need to put down the phone/computer/other internet-enabled device.

2 hours a day for "God time" might be too much. Even reading one psalm can help us grow. If you're in a bind with time because of a test, cut it down to a half hour and choose a less legnthy passage to concentrate on. Remember- it's not just reading the Bible, it's also stepping back and thinking about what's being said in relation to the rest of the Bible, or the context of what's around it.

Or just cut it in half. I read few chapters slowly, and it takes about 20-30 minutes. Quality, Mew. Not quantity .

ShiroiHikari (post: 1505774) wrote:Seriously? You put CAA above sleep? I am having trouble believing you are for real.

I think you need to put down the phone/computer/other internet-enabled device.

I think so too, ShiroiHikari. But it's a SELF-CONTROL issue, and so far I don't have much of it.

Plus I wouldn't be able to learn much until I (hopefully) get a decent study Bible. If you wanna know why PM me.

And thanks guys. I thought cutting Bible study would be putting school before God and His Word/Son.

It seems to me that you are taking everything said on CAA as absolute truth. It's not. It's advice. You're in high school, from what I can gather. You really, really need to chill. High school, being a teenager, then college; all of that is stressful enough without flipping out about little things. If you live your life by a set of rules, you will get bored. Will it be structured and productive? Probably. Will you enjoy it? Not likely. You need to find a way to merge things together.

Allow yourself time to have fun. That's an order.

No joke. Someone told me that when I was 17, 'cause I was so serious even after finishing high school. I thought he was crazy, but soon I saw he had a point.

Put homework before CAA. I ditto Destroyer. Relax, chill and you'll be amazed what will happen. Worrying about every little solitary thing will really turn into legalism. Organize your time where God's first, then school, then free time. Don't try and organize your workload around how much free time you get.

I agree. Homework should be a bit further down the list, or you could break it up. Couple hours of studying, etc., break time, then come back. It'll help keep your brain from shutting down. Trust me on that one .

Good idea guys. <3 I take CAA advice as good advice because I've been praying for God to speak through you guys since for reasons you'd have to PM me about I don't trust voices.

^ The vast majority of the time, people don't hear God as an actual voice. It's more of an understanding, realization, or a feeling. So if you can't trust the voices, don't.

Good. I've been known to have voices that say that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh (1 John 4:2) and cuss me out/offer way unBiblical advice in the same few sentences. So I probably have some form of mental illness (is this stuff related to Aspergers which I know I have?) so since God is Love and God sympathizes with us (Hebrews 4:15), God likely won't speak to me in a voice but through His Word and commentaries and won't Lea me down the wrong road.

And this is off topic but thank you guys for being there for me in my faith crisis. It's because if you that I still believe in the Judeo-Christian God. Don't mean to turn this into a theological discussion.

This thread made me think of this for some reason.

Bill Lumbergh wrote:Hello Peter, whats happening? Ummm, I'm gonna need you to go ahead come in tomorrow. So if you could be here around 9 that would be great, mmmk... oh oh! and I almost forgot ahh, I'm also gonna need you to go ahead and come in on Sunday too, kay. We ahh lost some people this week and ah, we sorta need to play catch up.

I don't believe that you are trying to practice self-control. What you're trying to do is claim total control. This isn't discipline at all! This is you being a control freak.

Mew, for your own health and sanity, you just need to let go. Live a little. Stop trying to box and control you life and instead just live life.

Technically speaking, all day should be "God time". Not "God time" in the way you're thinking though. You can spend time and get to know God without reading the Bible for two hours every day. In fact, if you spend more time actually talking to Him throughout your daily life, you'll have a lot less stress. (reading the Bible is good, but not to the point of being obsessive over the idea of reading it)

Facebook should never be above thinking. XD;; And I agree with others, sleeping and eating should be WAAAAAAY above CAA. You will not die without an internet forum (even one like CAA) if you have to allot some time elsewhere for a while to other more essential things like sleeping (which helps you think and therefore be able to actually do homework and just about everything else) and eating (which, oddly enough, keeps you alive).

Mewster, tell me, are you thinking about pink elephants? If you weren't before, you are now. The same applies to legalism. You keep thinking about it and thinking about it and thinking about it. And you expect to avoid it do that? XD;
You're becoming legalistic over legalism at this rate.

My advice? Go eat something, sleep some, study hard for school and take a chill pill and relax every once in a while.

If I'm being honest, my time management is really all about ambition to remain lazy.

Basically, instead of cramming for 8 hours the day before an exam, I spend 15 minutes going over my class notes each day. The end result is that I have more time to do what I want, I don't worry or stress out about exams, and my grades are higher.

It may be helpful to identify the primary reasons as to why you do your top 10 priorities, and distinguish between what is necessary, and what is desirable.

goldenspines (post: 1505837) wrote:Mewster, tell me, are you thinking about pink elephants? If you weren't before, you are now. The same applies to legalism. You keep thinking about it and thinking about it and thinking about it. And you expect to avoid it do that? XD]

Great, now you've got me thinking of pink elephants. XD I didn't realize I was legalistic over legalism. I've got a question: Is legalism more common in people who have mental disorders? If so, what?

Sammy Boy (post: 1505891) wrote:It may be helpful to identify the primary reasons as to why you do your top 10 priorities, and distinguish between what is necessary, and what is desirable.

Good idea but at the time of posting this (9:43) it's too early in the morning to do that. XD

Legalism is a program, Mew. At first you think it's just common sense, since it seems to work with the people around you. There are tons of programs we allow to determine how we think, act, basically how to go through life. I would venture to say 9 times out of 10 we aren't aware we're letting it take control.

Legalism sneaks up on anyone, Mew, mental disorders or not.

Ok, thanks. What about assuming every bad thing that happens (i. e. UTAU installer not working) means that God doesn't want you to have it? Is that right?

No, I think you're right about God not wanting you to install an application. He just looooves to micromanage our lives, doesn't He?

Well everything IS in His control. (You're being sarcastic right? You usually are but... it came off like you mean it until the last sentence.)

TheMewster (post: 1505924) wrote:Well everything IS in His control. (You're being sarcastic right? You usually are but... it came off like you mean it until the last sentence.)

She was being sarcastic. While God can interact in our daily lives anyway He wants, I doubt He's giving you computer problems.

OK, so should I try again so I can make Christian music in UTAU?

Why don't you just go ahead and try it and not worry about the results? Be spontaneous a bit, Mew. Never gonna truly enjoy something if you're always worried about possible outcome before you even start, right?

I'm going to post something long-winded again.

Right now, it looks like you need to take some time off CAA and 'God time' to put more into schoolwork. School, family, eating, sleeping are things that cannot be put aside. While 'God time' needs to happen too, there is no set amount of time you must spend on it. Twenty minutes of Bible reading every day is an acceptable amount, depending on how busy you are with school, family, etc. Shortening 'God time' doesn't mean you're failing God. You're just becoming more aware of how many hours are in a day, and that you just can't do as much of everything you want to. That's part of growing up. However, CAA--and the rest of the internet--is an entirely optional occupation of your time, and since it eats up so much of it, should be one of the first things you take hours from.

My dad once told me, "Stop worrying about doing it 'right', and just do it." It was good advice. He was talking about some [advanced] skiing at the time, but it can apply to a lot of other things as well--writing, drawing, putting aside 'God time', and prayer, to name a few. For those things, there is no single, universal way of doing it 'right'. With writing, some people outline; some just plunge in head-first. With 'God time', some will take fifteen minutes for Bible reading plus another ten for meditation on what they've read; others will read exactly two chapters, then ponder them throughout the day. Both can work, depending on the person.

I guess I'm agreeing with what others have said: stop worrying so much about whether what you're doing is what God wants, the 'right' thing to be doing. God doesn't tell everyone to do the same things, and He doesn't show everyone the same way to do things, either. That's because we're all unique, and even when we're all trying for the same thing (example: pleasing God), we do it in different ways. That's why there's no 'one size fits all' rule for how Christians should live their lives. Some will doubt their faith, and come back years later all the stronger. Some will have strong faith throughout their lives, and study to get a deeper understanding of God. Some will go through cycles of spiritual strength, alternating months of regular Bible study and prayer with months of doing neither and feeling cut-off. Some will be completely different. I believe God accepts them all.

So figure out what works for you, how your head works. Not the imaginary, perfect "good Christian girl". She's made-up, she's not important. Don't worry about how you measure up to her, because she doesn't exist. Focus on what's reasonable for you.

TheMewster (post: 1505927) wrote:OK, so should I try again so I can make Christian music in UTAU?

Far as I can tell, you're not going to get into any trouble for doing it, so try again if that's what you want.

But isn't loving the Lord your God with all your mind heart strength and soul, as well as loving your neighbor as yourself, a set Christian rule Fu?!

This is not the TD section. If you want to talk about TD stuff talk about it there, otherwise, this thread will be locked.

TheMewster (post: 1505973) wrote:as well as loving your neighbor as yourself

If you spend so much time damaging your body like that and not giving yourself enough time to complete homework/study, you're not giving yourself much "love" to begin with.

EDIT: Got slightly ninja'd (actually it took a long time to post because I kept getting distracted). Didn't mean to make it theological, if it comes across as that.

Oh yeah. I was going to make a TD thread about that but a mod warned me not to make much more threads in TD lest I be spamming the forum so I've tried to bury that question.