Time...

Well, the days are getting boring, now that the joys of doing nothing are wearing thin. Evenings are a different matter, but still. I'm thinking of going shopping tomorrow to make the day go by. Guitars, and maybe some new music. It's times like these that make me wish for a more permanent distraction.

A significant other would be nice, but that'll happen on it's own time.

A band would be great, although once I get back to school time will evaporate again.

A job would bring in some cash, but there just isn't anywhere, and the scheduling sucks on breaks.

Whatever.

A lesson from Paul...

If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died. Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.

Romans 14:15-18

What really struck me, on rereading this verse, was the New KJV version of verse 16.

Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil.

I tend to get caught up in doing what I know is right, but sometimes I get carried away. It's these times when we Christians end up causing more harm than good.

What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. "Expel the wicked man from among you.” If any of you has a dispute with another, dare he take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the saints? ...The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers.

1 Corinthians 5:12-6:1,7-8

We tend to get caught up in "fixing" society to the litmus test of our Christian morals, but we're supposed to have a different set of rules from the world; that's what sets us apart. In our rush to make sure everyone else follow the Law, we forget what our true purpose is.

For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.

Romans 14:7-9 (emphasis added)

The Law was an old guide, all we need now is to live by the Holy Spirit and we can do no wrong. It seems so simple, yet it seems we all fail at this simple solution; I'm no exception.

With Christmas tomorrow, remember what it's truly about: God's gift to us of Jesus. He is our teacher, our friend, and the bringer of the Holy Spirit. Have a blessed Christmas everyone.

Hooray!

Haircuts are awesome! Especially when your old hair resembled a hippy/Ringo Star at 4am.

Grades are awesome too. I had an "easy" semester (no h/w), so that was nice as a GPA booster.

Thousand Foot Krutch was the most requested song on Z93 last night. I always smile when a christian band gets "mainstream" popularity, doubly so when it beats a song with the lyrics:

Go home and get stoned
Because the sex is always better when you're mad at me

It's good to know at least some of the music on the radio isn't terrible. The DJ was so confused ("That's the first time they've topped the countdown, and I wanted the other guys to win").

Hooray!

Back in Midland

Things have been good so far. Went bowling with the guys friday and got to meet Mark's girlfriend (I approve).

Tonight I went to the LS party and did some square dancing. It was nice to have some female contact.

Early sleep tonight for driving tomorrow. I'm not a light packer at all. I have:
Computer
Monitor
Bass
Backpack
Duffle
Buttoned shirts (hanging in the car)

Yeah, it's a little bit.

All done

Yup, I'm finished with exams, and I'm heading back home Friday early.

New game, this one is a political simulator. Come visit the somewhat socialist nation of Bakkestein.

Yup.

That's pretty much it.

New cartoon...

So, we've found a great new cartoon called Questionable Content. It's like High Fidelity in webcomic form with more ironic and situational humor.

A good pre-exam stress reliever, and just right for satisfying the music-geek and interpersonal relationship philosopher in all of us.

The Final Countdown...

First of all, let me get this off my chest:
I HATE PEOPLE ON THE INTERNET AND THERE IS NO WORD, EXPRESSION, OR PHRASE THAT CAN DESCRIBE MY VAST LOATHING FOR THE STUPIDITY AND ARROGANCE I WITNESS BECAUSE OF THE VAST AND ANNONYMOUS INTERTRON.

Ok, that felt good.

What brought that on was people's thoughts on Narnia and the new movie, including:
Christians thinking Narnia is Satanic because Aslan is like Jesus, or because little kids wander around in the woods.
Secular humanists thinking Narnia couldn't possibly have been written as a Christian allegory, since all media and culture can only be based on secular humanism.
People not reading the books and then acting like they know the movie.
People not having a clue who C.S. Lewis was.

Anyways, I found a letter where C.S. Lewis explicitely states that Aslan is Jesus, and the whole series is about Jesus. Take that, stupid secular humanists.

We defended our residence hall cup (a semester-long competition) after another hall challenged us to Halo 2.

That was a huge mistake on their part.

We won the first game 250-89. We then won capture the flag 4-0. They said they didn't feel like continuing after we got the first cap. We almost felt bad about the whole thing. It was like a crippled kid picked a fight with us and we just stomped his face on the curb.

There was also a big snowball fight between the residence halls. Pretty fun. There are plans to break the world records for largest snowball and snowball fight this year at winter carnival. I think we can do it, as long as we can get enough people to care.

Less than a week until break, and it will feel good to be back home. I have no idea what my work situation will be, since I need to renew my lifeguard certification, which expires friday.Then I need to seriously think about a summer job. I really want a thinking job, but I'm not sure if it's going to happen. More importantly, I need a job that makes money. I'm just afraid of being TOO qualified for jobs. It's more of a concern after graduation, but I can guarantee I'd get turned down at McDonalds. Why? Because I doubt McDonalds would feel right about giving a minimum wage job that any high-school dropout can do to a engineering sophomore with co-op experience who is on the dean's list and is also and eagle scout.

Ok, sleep sounds like a viable option, since last night was pretty restless and I haven't been thinking right (forgetting things, using the wrong words, etc) since thursday.

Short

I beat Guitar Hero.

I'm going to Narnia tomorrow.

People don't think Narnia is an allegory.

We started negative reinforcement today.

I have 3 classes tomorrow, then finals, then I'm done.

Jesus-mas and Jesus-day

If any of you listen to the hot topics in news, the typical December gripe is back:
Pagans don't want anything to do with Christmas and christians don't like to see their holiday taken over.

So let's solve the problem right now: call it Jesus-mas, and don't let the pagans celebrate. They'll get their wish, but they don't get the day off , presents, or anything else. Sure the pagans will tell you most Christmas traditions come from Yule, a Norse holiday. Fine, you celebrate Yule, and we'll take our Christmas. But who do you think will get days off from work? If you don't like it, deal with it.

Even more important to me, though, is Easter.

It's not about a bunny.

I propose we rename it Jesus-day, and only Chrsitians can get candy and eat hard-boiled eggs. What's the point in celebrating Easter if Jesus isn't your Lord and Savior? What's the point in Celebrating Independence Day if you're British? Any non-christian caught performing these religious rituals should be chastised for being insensitive and offensive; just like it's offensive to wear a rasta cap during Kwanza if you're white, it should be offensive to hard-boil eggs around Easter if you are a pagan. If all goes according to plan, I will make a shirt with an easter bunny being crucified, and the caption "It's not about a bunny". Maybe that will get the point accross, but enough is really enough.

I don't appreciate my Lord's death being ignored by those whom he came to save, and I hate his resurrection being celebrated by those who deny his existence.

On to current events:
My hall got challenged for our hall cup (a yearly competition) in Halo 2 for this weekend. This is ironic, because it was our safety competition: if anyone beat us, we'd beat them in Halo 2. We have 4 of the best players on campus, and another 4 to make a good 8-man team.

Next week I have a sparese 3 exams, all of which should be pretty simple. Just like that, I'm done.

Also starting next week Solo, KWay, and I will be using negative reinforcement to stop swearing. Any time one of us swears, we hit them. KWay's a big guy, I think I'll become master of my tounge real quick.

More, more, more...

If you would like a close approximation of the weather here, look at a white sheet of paper. That is the view from my window.

I saw two movies this weekend, Logan's Run, and 40 Year-old Virgin. Logan's Run has been our list of movies to watch for a while and we finally got around to it. Seventies sci-fi, PG, and a LOT of exposed breasts. It's a heidonistic society, so in everyone's free-time they just have sex and do drugs. Can you tell it's the 70s?

40 Year-old Virgin was on my list too, so when I had the option to see it for $2 (hooray MTU film board) I went twice. Imagine Wedding Crashers, just with Steve Carell, funnier, and more sexually explicit. Basically, I wouldn't recommend either movie for those of you who object to objectionable content. For everyone who appreciates a little dirty humor, this movie is for you.

One more week of class. That's sooooooo nice.

Jukebox Hero...

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