Bummed Out

I got up late this morning. I was tired from a long weekend and had to fly like Jehu's brother to leave for school on time. Here's the scoop.

I enjoyed my weekend, to a certain extent. We arrived at HBS Friday evening, and I played some volleyball and chatted with my former teachers, as well as some of the kids there at HBS. Some of my other friends from VA that were visiting, namely Darin Y. and Lee M. invited me to stay with them at the motel for the night instead of sleeping on the couch. So I stayed on the floor! It was great though, hanging out with them. I had Internet access from our room...
Saturday, it was freezing rain and sleet, the roads weren't terrible but neither did the faculty want the students to be running off with the weather like it was. Very understandable. So they decided to have the volleyball tournaments (students only) on Saturday. That left us visitors sitting around on the stage, waiting for them to get done. During one of the breaks between games in a set of 3 games, Darin, Lee, myself, and a few other guys got out on the court to hit the v-ball some. Two of us jumped to get a ball that was right above the net, and I came down on the other guy's foot, landed funny, and sprained my right ankle. It wasn't a bad sprain, but they carried me off the court and I had ice on it for the next 2 hours probably. The tournaments finished, and they played volleyball after supper. Your informant made the "wise"(?) decision to put on his ankle brace and try to play. He claimed that it didn't hurt too bad, and he tried to be careful, but various other participants deemed him an idiot for playing. Poor fella!!

Sunday was a little warmer, and we had church with the students and faculty there. We ame home Sunday afternoon, just in time to get ready for church. It was a song service, and I had devotions. Fun singing, but there were so few tenors (as seems to be the case always). So I sang tenor a fair amount. Our first tenor, Titus B., was sitting beside me, and we "arranged" a few songs as we went. Quite interesting!

Quartet practice tonight. But first, I gotta study (or cram, whatever) for my calculus test in an hour.

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Our quartet practiced together this past Sunday. It was fun to sing and see the progress that we can/are making. We've found some songs that we haven't heard any other groups sing, so that's exciting too. We meet again this coming Monday evening.

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Weekends

Ah, The Weekend. It's what we all look forward to. A time to sit back, relax, visit friends (like I'm about to do), study (like I should do), go to church, and just de-frag from the week, preparing for the next week's assaults on our bodies and minds(?). But I'm not gonna enjoy this weekend as much as I was planning to.

I'm headed to Hartwell, GA, after I get done here at ASU. Gonna go visit some friends at Bible School, hang out, chat with my former teachers, play volleyball... But one aspect is gonna be missing. With all that's going on,I'll be feeling lonely.

Lez won't be there.

See, she was planning to come down to HBS after work today, and we were gonna visit the place together, Hang out together, chat with our former teachers together, play volleyball together... Yeah, you get the picture. Now, it'll be 2 more weeks until I see her.

I'm feeling lonely already.

Oh yeah, I'll have fun. It won't be boring. It just won't be the same.

Not the same without my fiancee.

The weather is supposed to be bad on Sunday, when she would be traveling home. Since she would be coming down by herself, she decided not to risk any potential problems and stay home. I'm proud of her for doing what is best for her and not just what she wants.

But it sure is HARD.

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The Limit of Continuity

I love calculus. It's easier than pre-calculus.

My Calc prof is Oriental (Japanese, I think.) Although I was advised by friends who had her last semester to not take her, she was the only one that fit my schedule. My pre-cal prof told me that she was the best mathmatician, and that if I needed any help, he would be glad to help me. So I sit in class Monday-Thursday, feeling like a zombie because it is a 1:00-1:50 class and right after I eat lunch...

But Dr. Wang is good. She takes everything really slow because she tries to make sure we can understand her with her thick accent. But Thursday, I was really struggling with a problem in limits. So today, I took a deep breath and stopped by her office to see if she could help me.

It seemed so easy. If I would have only factored an "x" out of the numerator instead of rying to rationalize it, I would have been done in no time. But I tried to rationalize.

How irrational. . .

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Faith and Science

I finally got into a conversation with my Biology prof (who is also the staff evolution biologist) yesterday. We're studying meiosis and mitosis, and she made the comment that, during replication, no new information is introduced to the cell. It is all information from previous generations. After class, I got into a conversation with her about different things mentioned in class. (Let me mention here that I had her for Biology last semester, and feel as if she and I have a good relationship.)

I asked her,"If no new information is introduced to the cell during replication, then how do evolutionists explain the change from monkeys to humans, or from one species to the next?" Mutations, she said. We then proceeded into a 45-min discussion of various topics on evolution. She asked me how we have different races (I told her it is only one race of different levels of pigment) and how the earth was populated (I explained the perfect world where there were originally no mutations and therefore it was no problem for Adam and Eve's children to marry). She encouraged me to take her evolution biology class next time that it is offered. Said it would help me clear a few things in my beliefs. She then proceeded to tell me that science has nothing to do with your faith. She quoted Hebrews 11:1 and said that your faith cannot be proven because it is belief in the unseen. Science is based on proven experiments. I asked her if she believed the science she was teaching. . . In the course of the conversation, she told me that the course would be good for me, that I didn't need to tell my parents, etc. She said that she did not allow faith-based arguments in the class. I asked if she would allow a Creationist viewpoint to be presented. No, she said, that would be faith-based. I told her that I could not, in good conscience, take the class if it presents views contrary to my belief and my view could not be presented. She understood, but said it was sad that it had to be that way.

Although I cannot prove Creation by any experiment, neither can I prove it did not happen. Contrarily, I cannot prove that evolution happened, but I can prove that it did not happen.

If science can prove that my faith is wrong, then either it is a faulty experiment, or my faith is in vain.

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Ingredients For Victory (from the character of Daniel)

I. Introduction
-Psalm 34
-God-consciousness v. 1
-proclaiming the Good News v. 2
-worshipping God with others v. 3
-prayer v. 6
-fear God v. 9
-watch our tongue v. 13
-depart from evil, do good, seek and pursue peace v. 14
-trust in God v. 22

DANIEL

We tend to say "it's the little, insignificant things in Daniel's life. But they are not little. That is what Satan wants us to think. These things add up. They are builking blocks for life.
-Our daily walk is SO important to victory.
-We cannot be ready for battle on short notice.
--Daniel 1:8
-Daniel purposed in his heart
-Daniel honoured those in charge
--"he requested of the prince of the eunuchs" v. 8
-Daniel practiced obedience to God v. 8
--let God work out the details
-"God had brought Daniel into favour and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs."
v. 9
-"among them all was found none like Daniel" and his 3 friends v. 18, 19

"Our right priorities and God's will will never conflict."

-Prayer vv. 2:17-18
-Praise v. 2:18
-Openness with God
We must not try to hide anything from God because we cannot. God knows all things.
-Credit to God
--acknowledge God v. 28
--keeping ourselves out of the picture. v. 29
--humble attitude vv. 30, 45
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego also gave credit to God in Chapter 3.
--Steadfastness v. 3:18
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego were willing to sacrifice their own bodies for God. What are we willing to give up for God?
Chapter 4
--Humility
--Even when Nebuchadnezzar bragged on and flattered Daniel, we have no account of Daniel becoming proud.
Chapter 6
Daniel was faultless, according to his peers and critics, because he was tuned into God intimately. v. 4
-fearlessness of others
Daniel maintained his public relationship with God. v. 10
V. 16 The king could say this because he know Daniel's life and that Danied was true to God.

God will do His part. It is our responsibility to do our part.
--I Corinthians 15:57, 58--

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Victorious Christian Living

I've wondered about this subject at times. I mean, I would never admit that I'm not living in victory. As I look back over my Christian life, I prefer to use a neon highlighter on my good points and a black marker on the bad parts. In other words, I want to hide the bad and magnify the good.
That's not totally bad.

I'm not promoting pride here, don't get me wrong; however, I realize that if we focus on the bad, we will quickly become depressed and lose out.

But if we focus on the good, we become proud and unbalanced because we forget (or at least try to) that we have our negative points that need worked on.

Hence the deep appreciation for the sermon this morning.

I'm in South Boston, VA, (or SoBoVa) by the way, visiting my fiancee. (Such a wonderful activity to engage oneself in!!!) Her bishop, Bro. Nathan Good, delivered the message this morning. And it was just what I needed. So in case someone else needs it, I'll give my notes on it.

God bless the Word and the Bearer of it.

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Laud the Valleys in Life

As I was walking through the valley
I thought I had to find a way
To get back up on top the mountain,
I knew not how to pray.
I thought that living in the valley
Was a weakness and a sin,
So I cried,"Lord, why must it be this way,
When will my real life begin?"
And He said

Child, I hear your crying,
I have been with you all the way.
You're here for a reason,
But you're not here to stay.
Accept this life down in the valley
Where you experience pain.
Then the mountaintop will be so much
More meaningful again.


I've had this song running around in my head for about a year now. It's one that I wrote on the Heritage Bible School Chorale in February 2004. I haven't been able to sit down and write a second verse to it yet. I have the melody on paper and the harmony in my head. Any ideas how to resolve the dilemma?

This song came to me as I was pondering the mindset of many Christians. Check that, at least our terminology. We tend to view valleys as bad things in life, the hard times. When we are struggling in our spiritual life, we call it a valley.

But is that so? The valleys are where we find the green meadows and still waters, shade trees, warm sun, and pleasant moments of rest. The mountaintops are snow-covered and cold, the air is thin, and the wind vicious. The descent from top to bottom is difficult at times, the pathway narrow, the mountain lions prevalent. Ditto the ascent, except harder because we are going up. But if we are following God's path for our lives, sometimes we are in the valley, sometimes the mountain, and the rest of the time--you got it!--we are in between. Doesn't Psalm 23 say,"Yea, though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I will fear no evil"?

But we complain because we like the view from up high. We like to feel "close to God," and "close to the stars." And then, as we take our eyes off God, we stumble, we fall, and we wonder why! As we look up from our fallen state, we feel lower than ever, we call it a valley, and we plead for the mountain.

All the farther to fall.

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Of Singing and Music and Such

Ah, how I love to sing! (Pardon me if you think I am being boastful, I'll try to veer away from the monster any time I see it starting to come into view.) I've loved singing all of my life, yet have never gotten enough of it. Unless you count the time when our youth chorus was singing in the subways of the Big Apple for about 5 hours (no lie!), the the voice is pretty much worn out. But since I've taken on my college career, I have been forced to give up my chorus activities. My evenings were just too full. Not necessarily my evenings, but when you count in studying and talking to my girlfriend (YES!!!) and all.....

But back in November I was asked to sing in a men's quartet at a group of church meetings in Hartwell, GA. I had always wanted to sing in a quartet, but had never been able to motivate 3 other people enough to get it going. But since that date, we decided to give the quartet a run for it. Now, I realize that 2 months may not be enough time to decide whether one likes something or not, but I've enjoyed it so far. Honestly. And I'm looking forward to many happy years (I hope) of singing together.

One problem. We are looking for music. Oh yes, we have some, but we could never have too much. Because we need to weed out the songs we don't like, etc., etc.

So if any of you have any songs that you would like to suggest, feel free to do so.

Seriously.

Serious suggestions only, by the way.

p.s. In case you are wondering, I'm still working on my profile. Just gotta find time for it. Probably this weekend.

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My College Experiences and Exasperations

I just started my second semester at Augusta State University, hereby referred to as ASU. I didn't want to confuse you into thinking I meant Arizona State U. I really do appreciate my classes and teachers. I've even made a few friends there. I'm attempting 16 credit hours, 2 more than I had last semester.

One statement that I have heard several times that I find quite amusing comes from my Biology professor: "Now when all organisms went to the evolution store..."

I wonder, who was running the counter at the E. S. anyway?

One more thing: have you ever looked up the original meaning of "amusing" as the prefix and suffix would define it?

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