I have made three posts in seven months; that's just lame. Here’s the reason why. Every time I would start to writing, I would freeze up. My mind would stop and all I could think about was if my writing was thought provoking and insightful enough. So, in order to remedy this pervasive writers block that has been stifling my creativity, I am going to expand the parameters of my blog. No longer worry about if my thoughts are insightful or not; from now on, I will write what is on my heart. This means I will be writing about things that are going on in my life. At the same time, I pledge not to turning this blog in to a sad sap journal about my life because that would be lame.
To begin this new era in the short lived history of this blog, I will start by sharing with various thoughts and experiences from my summer.
One time this summer, I said a few simple words without giving them much thought before hand, they just sorta slipped out. Those words were a mistake, but luckily for me I had a great friend there to set me straight. While in the midst of a rather cantankerous mood I was hanging out with some friends. When I made a comment that was offense and course. (Lets just say, it’s a good thing to remember NOT to joke about prostitutes under any circumstances.) I did not realize the severity of my error right away but I was quickly made aware of my mistake when my friend asked me to leave. She let me know in no uncertain terms that what I had said was wrong. At first I was defensive and tried to brush it off, thinking that what I had said was not that big of a deal. It took me a few hours to realize that what I had said was wrong and afterward, I felt terrible about what I had said and relieved that I had a friend who would tell me I was wrong. I wrote everyone who was there an apology and, thankfully, I have forgiving friends who don’t hold what I said against me permanently.
“Intentionality” is a word I have been thinking about a lot lately. I think of intentionality in the context of being conscious about how I interact with and treat others. Being intentional is important because you can accomplish so much more in each day if you take the time to think about what and why you’re doing things. I am planning to apply this principal of intentionality in my own life by striving to have meaningful conversations with people that go beyond small talk. I also want to focus on little things that I can do to shine Jesus’ love on the people around me, like asking to pray with people or to pray for them.
Another thing that has been on my mind recently is one of the major reasons I love the Christian faith. I like to call it the “flexibility within practice and nonessential belief”. This is what that phrase means: there are somethings that all Christians must believe about God and Jesus to be considered part of orthodox (right belief) or commonly accepted Christianity. Then there are many other issues that are non-essentials. There are tons of people who love God with all their hearts but just have different theological beliefs or worship practices. But these differences do not mean that we shouldn’t get along and accept our differences and work towards loving God more. It's sad that different worship styles/methods and minor theological issues cause so much division in the church.
My heart often aches for those close to me who don't love Jesus. I think to myself, "If they could only expand their view of Jesus, then they would love him like I do.”. I know people who I feel are so similar to me and what I believe and I see the potential good that they could do if they became Christians too and it makes my heart hurt. If only they could see Jesus in a different light, from a new perspective then they would understand. But it is not my job to make them understand. My job is to be a light, to do my best to be like Jesus to everyone around me.
Things will never be the same. I left for college on August 12th and I said good bye to my best friend. In days, he will be on a plane to Camp Pendleton for Marine boot camp. I will miss him dearly. Earlier this summer we spent a week in Eastern Washington together. We talked about all the good times we've had and how things are going to be different now. The gravity of our separation still has not hit me yet and when it does, I know that I will be sad. He is the guy who has always been there for me, a constant reliable factor in my life helping keep me on a even keel. Putting up with me when I thought he was not cool enough for me four summers ago, the one guy who will always tell me the truth and put me back in my place when I am being an arrogant bastard. A guy who I respect more then anyone else his age for his honesty, respect of authority and drive to follow God’s will for his life. The value of this friendship has been incalculable. May God protect you and bless you where ever He may take you in life.
New beginnings. Southern California is a vary different place than Tacoma, Washington. These are a few of the things I have noticed. It's sunny. Yep, every day so far the sun has been shining. Guys play volleyball. (Who knew?!) The language is about the same as Washington. I thought it might be different but I have not noticed any strange words or phrases as of yet. I have thought this for some time but after moving here I swear that at least 30% of people going to college are physiology majors. Why is that?
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