applies to our lives today.
God has a lot to say,
in His book.
And so we know that God's word
is for everyone
now that the song is done
we'll take a look.
No particular reason for that besides my inherent insanity. It's kinda catchy if you hear it enough times...
So here's my first late post. Not that I guaranteed they happen every Sunday, but that's what I'm aiming for. It appears I have the option to change the time displayed for the post, but that would be downright dishonest. As far as excuses go, I've got a halfway decent one. Being the procrastinatory prodigy that I am, I managed to put off studying for my 8am Monday final until 10pm Sunday night. I had this three night plan all worked up and ended up just completely disregarding it. It was a math course, so there were a fair amount of things to study too. It ended up fine, I hope. The exam seemed to go well enough anyway.
As for the sermon yesterday morning, it was a fairly mellow deal. I was back in my hometown this weekend. I'm not saying it's better or worse, but the services there have a lower energy level than those I've been attending at college. In any case, I'll be getting back used to them as classes end this week.
The message I would rather talk about today was one I listened to in the evening. There was a youth get-together thing going on, and I tagged along for it. My verse for the week (Ecclesiastes 9:10 for late-comers) ties into what the speaker spoke on. He talked about being where you are. It sounds a little strange just like that, but it's a pretty serious topic. A lot of the time when we're at work or class or even just with friends, we aren't there mentally. We could be day dreaming, planning out the rest of the day, worrying about upcoming projects or any number of other things. The important part is that whatever they are, they're keeping us from being where we should be.
This topic strikes pretty close to home right here in college life. Way, way too often, I find myself distracted in class. With a laptop and more or less campus-wide wi-fi, it's pretty hard to stay grounded. Even though I have this absurd (and frankly annoying) tendency to score well despite the numerous reasons I don't deserve to, it's starting to catch up. Classes are fast placed and info packed, and a habit like that could prove to be my academic undoing. Heaven knows it should already have by now, but it hasn't yet. This summer, I'm going to try to steer away from the laptop a little more often. Even if it means playing more video games (oh the agony) or something, my hope is that it will help wean me off.
Out for now. I'll probably send the link to here out soon, hopefully with next chapter of my infamous story. ;)
Woah, woah, woah. I almost forgot my interesting thing for the week (not that this will probably end up being a trend). I saw a couple of old dudes at my campus this week. I saw them twice on the same day. The first time, they were walking down a sidewalk with a couple shopping carts filled with medium-sized boxes. At this point, anything I (or likely you at this point) thought was terribly flattering or anything close to the truth. As I passed them, I saw a stamp on one of the boxes that read "Gideons International". Quite a different situation all of a sudden. The next time I saw them, they were outside the library (where I work) and would ask passing students "can I give you a copy of the Bible?" When I went past, I smiled and told them thanks, but I had my own back in my dorm room. It was really nice to see them out there.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Zero Post
Well, here goes a lot of nothing. I don't really know what I'm going to use this for yet, but I figure I've got a good idea to start out at least. Maybe I'll make a habit of it, it's been known to happen.
Brief intro here: I'm JP (and I'd like to keep that way if you're commenting, try not to laugh too much), a fairly antisocial Christian college freshman. This year has had a lot of ups and downs. To be honest, it's been heavy on the downs, but that's another matter. My current goals in life are to graduate with a double major in Computer Science and Mathematics, learn to play the piano to at least some mediocre level, restart a certain story and find a decent summer job (if it's Wal-Mart again, so be it, but please no Dairy coolers in mid-summer). I'm toying around with having a mustache, but as a little secret between me and whoever bothers to read this, it's more out of me being too lazy to shave on a regular basis than anything else. I have an inflamed liver for some obscure reason that will hopefully be cured soon as it gives me a good deal of pain on random days (lets just say I have a deeper understanding of what the term 'gut-wrenching' means than I ever wanted to).
Anyway, on to the real post. I've decided to start out on a good Christian note and reflect on church today. I waited until tonight about equally out of procrastination and with the intention of making me think harder about it.
H2O Cafe: This is the college level class at my church. It's a cafe because we get free breakfast with the deal. If that's not awesome, I don't know what is. Today, our leader talked about some pretty happy topics. We hit original sin and the curse, on through to the crucifiction and isolation of Jesus. I am hereby resolving to take notes on future days because I'm sad to say that's really all I have.
Main Service: We sang one of my favorite songs today prior to the service: It Is Well With My Soul.
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
It fit right in with the message today too, at least in my mind. The pastor is doing a sort of theme on self-conduct, and today was devoted to the workplace. He tied this in further with 1 Corinthians 10:31 and Colossians 3:22-23. I'll give you the first verse here, but you can look the second up either in my verse of the week, or if you're too late for that, you might just have to grab a Bible of your own. :)
1 Corinthians 10:31: So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
Ok, so the reason it ties into the song for me is that it directly relates to the concept of joy. Christians have the joy of salvation within us, and in gratitude for that, we should give Him our all in whatever we do. This means doing your job and all that is required of you, but it doesn't stop there. We are to go above and beyond. Not only doing our job, but helping and talking and doing what we can even beyond our job description. Not just when we're being watched to suck up to the boss types, but even with God as our only witness, and isn't that more than enough? I think I'll wrap up be relaying the story the pastor closed with today.
A new doctor in a hospital was going over his last appointment with a senior doctor, for criticisms and advice. After going over that much, the senior doctor says to the younger "One last thing. Did you notice the man who came to clean after you were finished?"
The younger replies "No, I was busy with the files and seeing the patient out."
The senior nods and goes on "His name is Carlos. He's worked here for three years now. He's a wonderful man and can get an examination room back in order in no time at all. His wife's name is Maria. They immigrated here from Mexico 5 years ago. They had a little trouble adjusting, but once Carlos got the job here, it really helped things fall into place. Carlos and Maria have 4 children." The doctor goes on to list the names and ages of all the children. "Now, when I come back to speak with you next week, I want you to tell me something about Carlos that I don't know yet."
Brief intro here: I'm JP (and I'd like to keep that way if you're commenting, try not to laugh too much), a fairly antisocial Christian college freshman. This year has had a lot of ups and downs. To be honest, it's been heavy on the downs, but that's another matter. My current goals in life are to graduate with a double major in Computer Science and Mathematics, learn to play the piano to at least some mediocre level, restart a certain story and find a decent summer job (if it's Wal-Mart again, so be it, but please no Dairy coolers in mid-summer). I'm toying around with having a mustache, but as a little secret between me and whoever bothers to read this, it's more out of me being too lazy to shave on a regular basis than anything else. I have an inflamed liver for some obscure reason that will hopefully be cured soon as it gives me a good deal of pain on random days (lets just say I have a deeper understanding of what the term 'gut-wrenching' means than I ever wanted to).
Anyway, on to the real post. I've decided to start out on a good Christian note and reflect on church today. I waited until tonight about equally out of procrastination and with the intention of making me think harder about it.
H2O Cafe: This is the college level class at my church. It's a cafe because we get free breakfast with the deal. If that's not awesome, I don't know what is. Today, our leader talked about some pretty happy topics. We hit original sin and the curse, on through to the crucifiction and isolation of Jesus. I am hereby resolving to take notes on future days because I'm sad to say that's really all I have.
Main Service: We sang one of my favorite songs today prior to the service: It Is Well With My Soul.
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
It fit right in with the message today too, at least in my mind. The pastor is doing a sort of theme on self-conduct, and today was devoted to the workplace. He tied this in further with 1 Corinthians 10:31 and Colossians 3:22-23. I'll give you the first verse here, but you can look the second up either in my verse of the week, or if you're too late for that, you might just have to grab a Bible of your own. :)
1 Corinthians 10:31: So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
Ok, so the reason it ties into the song for me is that it directly relates to the concept of joy. Christians have the joy of salvation within us, and in gratitude for that, we should give Him our all in whatever we do. This means doing your job and all that is required of you, but it doesn't stop there. We are to go above and beyond. Not only doing our job, but helping and talking and doing what we can even beyond our job description. Not just when we're being watched to suck up to the boss types, but even with God as our only witness, and isn't that more than enough? I think I'll wrap up be relaying the story the pastor closed with today.
A new doctor in a hospital was going over his last appointment with a senior doctor, for criticisms and advice. After going over that much, the senior doctor says to the younger "One last thing. Did you notice the man who came to clean after you were finished?"
The younger replies "No, I was busy with the files and seeing the patient out."
The senior nods and goes on "His name is Carlos. He's worked here for three years now. He's a wonderful man and can get an examination room back in order in no time at all. His wife's name is Maria. They immigrated here from Mexico 5 years ago. They had a little trouble adjusting, but once Carlos got the job here, it really helped things fall into place. Carlos and Maria have 4 children." The doctor goes on to list the names and ages of all the children. "Now, when I come back to speak with you next week, I want you to tell me something about Carlos that I don't know yet."
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