that deception

Carried away by the immature emotional reaction,
Mind confused and strong-willed to attain satisfaction,

And, every time it's happened,
before,
I've known
That it would never given me anything,
and now it has promised me more.
Of the same,
to delight,
to give me what I want,
And I won't fall for it,
again.
I've wised up to that stunt.
Now,
I'm seeking lasting fullness,
I'm pursuing peace completely,
Breaking forth, from foolish prisons
To enjoy my life freely.

And, I'll make it on my own.




blah blah...that's reminiscent of the "rock songs" to which our youngest generations listen. How ridiculous and wrong.

Date up

• I finished the first paper, and I took the midterm.

• The second paper is on its way to completion as I type.

I read another book this week prior to writing and studying...it was a Spirit-led thing.

Spring Break begins late this evening, after my paper has been submitted and my class ends. Reading will be heavy this break, but reading will not be my only activity. I have a bit of work I would like to get ahead in before I come back and it piles up. I will also spend time working on applications, preparing for a global trip at the beginning of the summer, and planning several schedules for myself. It's going to be another great week. I'm excited.

Until later,



When I hid, He sought after my life and
Wouldn't let me go astray to the eternal day of strife.
But that is what I sought when my sins hid His face from me;
I was gluttonous for the fruit of the Idol-tree.
Now I'm new, and I war against that hunger,
Which an inner law of sin employs to take back the Spirit's plunder.
But it won't succeed, for the sword of God is sharper,
His way is perfect in perfecting, shining brighter where its darker.

Update (wow)

An update, so soon, is quite a feat for me.

I finished Crazy Love, and the final portion (Part IV of audio set) was great. Chan highlights some saints who have walked fairly radically in the way of Christ; that is, though all walking in the way of Christ should look like Christ and therefore bear semblance to one another, all have not been given the same gifts of service and people to serve. These testimonies of God's faithfulness through the lives of these brothers and sisters is both encouraging (that God can do such with us) and cautionary (if God desires us to be obedient and submitted to His Spirit's guidance, which is best and wisest for us, then we ought to stop sinning and our walk should be like that of Christ Jesus). I would recommend the book; the book's second half was the better half.

One midterm Wednesday night
One paper due Wednesday night
One paper due Thursday night

=

Spring Break: relaxation, reading, and research

Listening

I'm now 4/5ths through with listening to Francis Chan's Crazy Love.


Some books I'm reading through or am planning to read through soon are:

1. The E-Myth Revisited (finishing today)
   
2. The Meaning of the Pentateuch (reading)
   
3. The Mission of God (reading)
   
4. It's Mom-and-Pop, Stupid (Spring Break)
   
5. Rich Dad, Poor Dad (old read, but revisiting some ideas) (Spring Break)
   
6. In Search of Excellence (Spring Break)
   
7. Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco (Spring Break)

Deciding upon a strict reading and listening plan is becoming more important as I grow more conscious of the time I can easily waste if I'm not careful. My hope is that greater knowledge will increase my understanding as well as ability to serve others more effectively (and with greater frequency).

Until later

Less than a month

Hey all,

Well my Saturday class is finished. Now, I'm at work on everything that I couldn't quite complete while that was going on...including work for other classes. I have one mid-term and two papers due this week, along with an application or two. I'm on track to be finished with all but the midterm by the end of the weekend (though I will have studied for it).

I've started listening to an audio series on Bibliology (study of the Bible...how it came to be, inspiration and authority, etc...). It's great.

I've also been listening to Crazy Love by Francis Chan (received free from Christian audio last year). There are some really good, challenging parts to it that force thinking biblically.

I'm reading a business-mindset book for a course in entrepreneurship (one of my papers pertains to the book's subject), and I have a slew of others on the docket. With my Spring Break coming up the week following this coming week, I believe I will attempt to finish three of them.

In regards to Scripture, I'm reading through Proverbs and memorizing Psalm 119.



I'll write more soon.

Whew....a month

Wow, it's been a month since my last post. Like I mentioned last time, I am writing my poems by hand at the moment, keeping them in a journal, and hoping to keep pace writing one each day for the year. I'm around 35 or so at the moment, and a few of them are in parts (one part each day for consecutive days). Time is a hard fact, and creating bubbles of time for dedicated writing in accord with prayerful thoughtfulness has been a struggle. My class schedule is for 12 credits this semester - one of those courses being a compressed course (and so more like 7 credits by itself, meaning the graduate academic load of 16 credits). The material is interesting, and class discussions are quite insightful. The course names are:

1. Research Methodology and Statistics,
2. International Marketing,
3. Seminar in Entrepreneurship, and
   
4. Leading Change

The first is the accelerated course, and I will complete it on February 20 (next Saturday) at which point my workload will decrease tremendously. I hope to take the time I gain from that completion and supply other productive outlets (theological reading and writing, poetry, summer and fall planning, teaching curriculum, etc.).

For those who didn't know, I began teaching Sunday school last weekend. Last week's session in our exploration of "Theology Proper" pertained to the "Oneness" of God. This week's lesson will focus on God being Spirit. Keep my preparation in prayer.


God bless,

New Addition

I have committed to write a poem a day for the year. I started a few days into the new year, but that's okay. The poem is usually written at night, and though a couple of time I have written in haste, I have always written with spiritual intent for my content. That all said, I will not be posting most of these poems online. Nevertheless, I am sure that other poems will be posted from time to time, as the Spirit leads me to write. Maybe you will join me in this year-long venture?