So my sixth week of college is underway. (Goodness, has it really been that long...?!)
For some odd reason I am feeling a lower amount of pressure this week. Our Rhetoric professor is going a little easier on us since we turned in our first major assignment last week - which counts for 20% of the grade - and while the Calculus homework continues to pile in, I am starting to get into a rhythm for completing it. While it's never completely accurate and often partially incomplete, I am trying my best to figure things out even when atleast a third of the material looks like gibberish to me...
My grandma made a care package for me this weekend that was basically filled with every type of junk food imaginable: frosted cookies, goldfish crackers, powdered donuts, Chex Mix, etc. THANK YOU GRANDMA. My mom also went out of her way to buy me chicken patties, pizza rolls, chocolate milk, orange juice, and more breakfast biscuits.
Have I ever mentioned that I have been blessed with the best family? It is something I take for granted, but I need to remember it and thank God every day for it.
You know what's really odd? I started counting down the days this morning til when I could come home again, and it's only 11 days. Just eleven! That seems so crazy to me. It's also odd of me to be counting them down. I had a great weekend at home, but I didn't get a chance to talk with everyone that I wanted to. Three days isn't enough to pack everything in, unfortunately... while October 3rd feels like months away, I know that this weekend is going to fly by because of the Purdue trip, and before I know it I'll be jumping in my truck and making the trip down I-80 again...
I'm enjoying college as a whole, but I still am admittedly not enjoying the world of having to share a room with someone else. There's no "private space" here. And that's something I dearly miss. And that's ultimately why I look forward to those weekends when I can come back, even if it's for just a few days.
:-)
Monday, September 22, 2014
Monday, September 15, 2014
The Gospel
I was walking to my 1:30 Rhetoric class today when, in the middle of the walkway, there was a man.
He was holding up a large, neon sign that said, "Don't Waste 4 Years in College, Come to Jesus and He Will Set You Free!" (Or something along those lines, I don't really remember.) And he was going on and on about how we would all waste our money for four years, get jobs that we didn't want, and never find Jesus. But if we ditched all of that now and followed Jesus (he never really emphasized what "follow Jesus" meant), we would be better off!
(Newsflash... I'm following Jesus AND attending college, so his logic seemed a bit flawed. Lol. But that's beside the point.)
That's not what made me sad. It was the reaction to this event in my Rhetoric class.
Everyone was so offended that some man had been telling them how to live their lives. I heard one person say, "I don't need that guy's Jesus!!!" while others were just complaining about how annoying Christians are.
This hurts me.
Not in the sense that I'm offended, but in the sense that this is exactly what we're not supposed to be doing as Christians. And I experienced it firsthand today.
The gospel is not someone standing in the street and telling us that we're going to have crummy lives if we continue on our paths.
The gospel is not what I witnessed from my peers in Rhetoric.
The gospel isn't even telling someone to follow Jesus. You can tell that to anyone, and they won't understand what that means.
The gospel is showing Jesus' love.
It's inviting complete strangers into your home, just to talk.
It's selflessly going down to Mexico to help build houses.
It's inviting a lonely friend to fellowship or youth group.
It's letting someone cry on your shoulder, even if you don't understand their situation.
It's praying for your best friend for years and years.
It's being able to confess your love for Jesus in front of unbelievers.
It's everything that I didn't see today on campus...
And that makes me want to shine God's light even more.
He was holding up a large, neon sign that said, "Don't Waste 4 Years in College, Come to Jesus and He Will Set You Free!" (Or something along those lines, I don't really remember.) And he was going on and on about how we would all waste our money for four years, get jobs that we didn't want, and never find Jesus. But if we ditched all of that now and followed Jesus (he never really emphasized what "follow Jesus" meant), we would be better off!
(Newsflash... I'm following Jesus AND attending college, so his logic seemed a bit flawed. Lol. But that's beside the point.)
That's not what made me sad. It was the reaction to this event in my Rhetoric class.
Everyone was so offended that some man had been telling them how to live their lives. I heard one person say, "I don't need that guy's Jesus!!!" while others were just complaining about how annoying Christians are.
This hurts me.
Not in the sense that I'm offended, but in the sense that this is exactly what we're not supposed to be doing as Christians. And I experienced it firsthand today.
The gospel is not someone standing in the street and telling us that we're going to have crummy lives if we continue on our paths.
The gospel is not what I witnessed from my peers in Rhetoric.
The gospel isn't even telling someone to follow Jesus. You can tell that to anyone, and they won't understand what that means.
The gospel is showing Jesus' love.
It's inviting complete strangers into your home, just to talk.
It's selflessly going down to Mexico to help build houses.
It's inviting a lonely friend to fellowship or youth group.
It's letting someone cry on your shoulder, even if you don't understand their situation.
It's praying for your best friend for years and years.
It's being able to confess your love for Jesus in front of unbelievers.
It's everything that I didn't see today on campus...
And that makes me want to shine God's light even more.
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Putting it all together
Tonight has been the first night in a long time that I've had a chance to take a break from the stress of homework. And that's a great thing considering I basically bombed my Calculus quiz this morning. :-/
While I was mostly just planning on being lazy and surfing the internet, I instead got the chance to contact a lot of different people.
I had a long conversation with a few good friends back home.
I talked with my roommate about Christianity, Islam, and politics. And it was a pleasant discussion.
Another friend back home texted me, and we had a nice conversation about faith, trust, and not overworking yourself.
I had a nice dinner talk with a few of my sousie friends.
I talked to my mom on Facebook and was really open about the struggles I've been having this week. I miss her so much...
A high school friend who I haven't seen in a long time texted me too, and it was nice to catch up.
I even chatted with a few people on my floor about "What superpower you would have if you could have one." (Yes, we're nerds.)
Today has opened my eyes to how many people God is constantly placing in my life. Even when I doubt him, don't place my trust in him, or underestimate his ability in general, he loves me anyway. This morning started off really bad (I was even in tears after taking my quiz), but as I sit here now, I'm feeling more content than ever. Is it a temporary feeling? Likely. I can't seem to go more than a few hours in college without getting stressed out... but it's a great feeling.
And these relationships and discussions are the things that I really need to hold on to.
While I was mostly just planning on being lazy and surfing the internet, I instead got the chance to contact a lot of different people.
I had a long conversation with a few good friends back home.
I talked with my roommate about Christianity, Islam, and politics. And it was a pleasant discussion.
Another friend back home texted me, and we had a nice conversation about faith, trust, and not overworking yourself.
I had a nice dinner talk with a few of my sousie friends.
I talked to my mom on Facebook and was really open about the struggles I've been having this week. I miss her so much...
A high school friend who I haven't seen in a long time texted me too, and it was nice to catch up.
I even chatted with a few people on my floor about "What superpower you would have if you could have one." (Yes, we're nerds.)
Today has opened my eyes to how many people God is constantly placing in my life. Even when I doubt him, don't place my trust in him, or underestimate his ability in general, he loves me anyway. This morning started off really bad (I was even in tears after taking my quiz), but as I sit here now, I'm feeling more content than ever. Is it a temporary feeling? Likely. I can't seem to go more than a few hours in college without getting stressed out... but it's a great feeling.
And these relationships and discussions are the things that I really need to hold on to.
Friday, September 5, 2014
Week update thingy
All of my friends have such great titles for all of their blog posts... so here's my completely unoriginal one.
I'm in a state of flux right now. Just when one problem gets diminished, it feels like another one rises up in its place. My worries about Calculus were allayed this week when I took a quiz that turned out to be much easier than I anticipated; I also am starting to make friends with a few other kids in the class. However, now Rhetoric is starting to overwhelm me with the sheer amount of stuff we have to get done. None of it's really hard stuff, but it's enough to bog me down. I spent three hours alone today working on a regular homework assignment... I sincerely hope that it's not always like this.
Marching band is going well, but I'm not very excited for tomorrow since I just developed a cold today, and it's bound to be even worse during gameday. Not even DayQuil and a surplus of cough drops is going to be enough to help me survive that. :-/
On top of that, I have friends who want to go out to parties and go to church on Sunday morning and go hang out during the weekend... and honestly? All I feel like doing is sleeping. Sleeping and completing some of the homework that I need to get done by Monday. I love Jesus and I'm eager to go out and explore for churches in Iowa City, but not with this darned stuffiness and coughing and whatnot. Sleeping in til 11:00 for the first time in ages sounds amazing.
I wish I had a remote that could just put life on hold for 24 hours.
Someone should invent that.
I should create an algorithm to do that for Computer Science...
But I think my bed is calling me.
Yeah, it is.
...
Good night everyone! Or good morning. Whenever you read this.
I'm in a state of flux right now. Just when one problem gets diminished, it feels like another one rises up in its place. My worries about Calculus were allayed this week when I took a quiz that turned out to be much easier than I anticipated; I also am starting to make friends with a few other kids in the class. However, now Rhetoric is starting to overwhelm me with the sheer amount of stuff we have to get done. None of it's really hard stuff, but it's enough to bog me down. I spent three hours alone today working on a regular homework assignment... I sincerely hope that it's not always like this.
Marching band is going well, but I'm not very excited for tomorrow since I just developed a cold today, and it's bound to be even worse during gameday. Not even DayQuil and a surplus of cough drops is going to be enough to help me survive that. :-/
On top of that, I have friends who want to go out to parties and go to church on Sunday morning and go hang out during the weekend... and honestly? All I feel like doing is sleeping. Sleeping and completing some of the homework that I need to get done by Monday. I love Jesus and I'm eager to go out and explore for churches in Iowa City, but not with this darned stuffiness and coughing and whatnot. Sleeping in til 11:00 for the first time in ages sounds amazing.
I wish I had a remote that could just put life on hold for 24 hours.
Someone should invent that.
I should create an algorithm to do that for Computer Science...
But I think my bed is calling me.
Yeah, it is.
...
Good night everyone! Or good morning. Whenever you read this.
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