Self-Religion

The religion that is built on self is worthless; for God makes no compromise with selfishness. . . .
The religion of Christ is a firm fabric, composed of innumerable threads, woven together with tact and skill. Only by the wisdom that God gives can we weave this fabric. Trusting to ourselves, we draw into it threads of selfishness, and the pattern is spoiled.
There are many kinds of cloth which at first have a fine appearance, but they do not endure test. The colors are not fast. They wash out. Under the heat of summer they fade, and are lost. Such a fabric cannot endure rough handling, and is worth very little.
So it is with religion. When the warp and woof of religion will not stand the test of trial, the material of which it is composed is worthless. And an effort to patch the old cloth with a new piece does not better the condition of things; for the worn-out, flimsy material breaks away from the new, leaving the rent much larger than before. Patching will not do. The only way is to discard the old garment and procure a new one. The religion of self, composed of threads that fade and give way under the stress of temptation, must be cast aside, to be replaced by the religion woven by Him in whose life no selfishness found place.
Christ’s plan is the only safe one. He declares, “Behold, I make all things new.” Rev. 21:5. “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.” 2 Cor. 5:17. The Saviour gives no encouragement to any to think that He will accept a patchwork religion. Such a religion is of no value in His sight. There may at first seem to be some of self and some of Christ; but it soon seen that there is none of Christ. The patches of selfishness increase till the entire garment is covered with them. . . .
A religion formed after the divine pattern is the only one that will endure. Only by striving to live the life of Christ here can we prepare ourselves to live with Him through the eternal ages.

Our Father Cares, page 113

This illustration amazed me. It's not often that you find illustrations in Ellen White's writings that are her own, and if you do, most of them are short one-liners. But this one struck me with its simple truth. Selfishness is worth nothing, it'll get us nowhere, yet we use it as much as we can. It's a lot easier to think about what you want, not what others want, or even what God's plan is. But we're just going to end up as torn, gaping garments. Our religion is worthless; it can't hold us together, and when the true storms of life come crashing in, we will fall. If there is any bit of self, there will be seen none of Christ.

Jenni

When I was at the orphanage, I met this girl named Jenni. At first, she turned away her face from me as I was snapping pictures, and I though it was probably because she was sort of ashamed that she was in a wheelchair. The first thing that struck me about her was that she had a sling on her arm, and that I had just had a sling on my arm a couple of months ago. I wanted to tell her that I understood, that I knew how she felt, but I couldn't speak enough Spanish. During lunch, Loralee told me that Jenni spoke some English, so after lunch, I decided to try and talk with her. I told her about my sling, and streched out my arm to show her the scar. "Ouch!" she gasped, seeing the bump on my arm from the scar tissue. After that, I was able to talk to her some more, and slowly become her friend. Not more than five minutes after, she came up to me and said, "Photo! Photo!" and gave me a beautiful smile. This is the picture I got:

Genesis

Genesis was probably about six or seven. She sat next to me during most of the song service at the music camp, and she was so sweet! Whenever we did a song that required standing up, she would always want to be held :) She was so cute, and she really loved running around and just playing outside. Sometimes she would just follow me around, even when I was doing something boring, like getting my camera. She was quiet, but I could see that the music camp really made a huge impression on her, and I hope that as she grows older, she won't forget about her decision to follow Jesus. I really miss her, and I hope that I will see her again someday in heaven!

Laundry Day

While we were staying at the dorms in Honduras, we all had the privilege of using washboards to wash our clothes! It was actually a lot of fun, it just takes a LOT longer! :) I realized just how much I appreciate our washers and dryers that we have here at school!

Sam