Christmas Break

The semester is finally over and I'm sure most of us agree; we're glad for Christmas break. It's a time of get-to-gethers and running around. Many of us will be going on vacation to visit family, others spending time shopping. However this is the time of year that many Christians are constantly reminded about making sure we don't forget what this season is really about. Jesus Christ and his birth. We will hear this message from our pastors on Sunday morning, we will hear it from Christmas Eve services. We'll hear it from Christmas musicals/plays. Being told time after time seems to make the message redundant. Why is it that everytime we sit and are told this message we hear, but don't listen? Do any of us purposefully dictate our time in any way to praise and thank our God? Do we prioritize our schedule so that we make sure to turn our eyes to our heavenly Father? How many of us actually listen to what's being said and make a concious decision to dedicate some of our "precious" Christmas break? This Christmas I'm going to make changes. I can only hope and pray that you will as well make this time about Christ. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Sooner Saturday

So this past Saturday I went to the OU sponsored "Sooner Saturday." This is where a prospective highschool senior goes to find out what OU offers. Throughout the entire day he get to tour everything from the rooms to the cafeteria and everything in between. I went around and visited the Army ROTC (reserve officer training core) I talked with a Captain there, and that was slightly helpful. He invited me to come out and see and maybe partake in the drilling they go through. Just to see if I like it. He also said I could try out some of their other stuff. I.e. Paintball. Honestly I think that'd be great. Get to play paintball with Army officers.

Besides that I visited the Health and Science building. During that time I went down to a certain field, I don't remember the name of it right now, but I had my body fat percentage measured. Somehow at the end of that test the guy in charge asked if I wanted to do this semi-regularly. I asked what I'd be doing, and he said basically I'd have my bone density measured and bfp (body fat percentage) measured, because during htis time most guys testorone levels rise and they're able to put on mass and muscle more easily. I'd would also be running basically until my legs gave out. The purpose of that would be seeing how good my endurance and lung capacity is. Also how good of shape I'm in. In other words people, I have reached my life's goal. I am offically a lab rat! W00T!!!

I still don't really know where I'm going to college. I've been told by some people that I better not go out of state, but honestly if that's where God wants me to go then I figure I'd better.

Hasta

bleh

So my thoughts are jumbled and I don't really feel like blogging but I'll put a few quotes that have provoked some thought.

Esse quam videri
(To be, rather than to appear)

No man, for any considerable period of time, can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the truth.
-Nathaniel Hawthorne

These two quotes remind of the song by Switchfoot, "Are you who you wanna be?"
Better yet are you who God wants you to be?
As Frederick Buechner says,

"The place where God calls you is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet."

Have you found what God wants you to be? What you enjoy doing? What you're good at? Those questions remind me of a story I heard about a body builder. He was standing before a judge and flexed. To which the judge replied non-chalantly, "what do you use all those muscles for?" The body builder looked confused, but decided the judge must not have realized, so he flexed a magnifient pose again, and the crowd roared. But again the judge spoke, "I see all the muscle and it's alot, but what do you use it for? Three times he asked this question, the body builder had no idea what he used it for.
I find that this story is trying to get people to realize what their talents are, what skills they have, and then find how they can best utilize it. After all God has made each and everyone of us special, and do we not have a specific purpose that God made us for? Aren't we each a part of the body of Christ?
So in ending, Are you who you want to be? Are you the person God means for you to be? I know it's a struggle to find out, but isn't it worth it to find your place? Bruce Cockburn said it perfectly.

"Nothing, nothing, worth having comes without some kind of fight.

Deepest Fear

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, "Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous" Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

Be uplifted and make a change in your life.

Reviving

ahh finally it's good to be back. For those of you who thought my site was an DNRO then you didn't really know me. Anywho I'm back now I believe. (we'll see if it's true in the next couple of weeks)

Update time.

Choir tour was awesome, though I heard giggling and the word "cute" too many times thanks to all the freshman and second year freshman. We went to L.A. and San Diego, which included Disney Land and Universal Studios. We also went to the USMC (United States Marine Core) that was awesome!
Got back from tour and had a couple of weeks of relaxation and then went and paged at the capitol for Sen. Cal Hobson. I enjoyed that entire experience and I think everyone should do it at least once. Since I didn't want to commute I stayed up at the capitol at Amerisuites with Dustin M. I came home on Friday afternoon, packed and played games with Dustin.
First thing the next morning we headed out to Boys State, which is located at NEO in Miami, Oklahoma. That is another experience everyone should try. As long as you participate you'll have fun. At boys state there is something that everyone does. and that is....Marching! Whether we're going to class, chow hall,(meals) or flag raising we march. While marching we sing cadences or aka "jodies." Jodies are rhymes that everyone sings/shouts at the same time to help keep in time. I'll list a couple right now. Schulenberg so you know is the city I was a part of.

Stay in step now stay in time
Walk with purpose march with pride
We know it's hot we know it's dry
But always hold our head up high
Schulenberg has got the stuff
We won't back down we will not bluff


God bless all the men who died
As we march we hold their pride
We are here to honor you
Will keep old Glory flying true

(Last but not least, one of my personal favorites.)
I wish I was back on the block
But now I'm out here stompin rock
Good ole' seargent made us march
Til' our moves are crisp with starch
Schulenberg's the place to be
We do it right so follow me
You know that we will be on top
Schulenberg pride won't let us stop.

The third rhyme was originally "Haven't seen a girl in days
Cept the one washing trays"
But we changed because another city accused us of basing it off one of theirs.

The deal with that verse is that on the second day you realize something. There is not a single girl there. There was one that worked there at lunch. That was it. Ergo that rhyme was created.

Anyway that's over now, and it's back to life at home. This Summer is still filled with many things some of which I'll go over.
1. my mom's has checked out the SWCA football team. That's right football, for me to play on. Insane huh?
2. There are multiple volleyball camps I'm considering
3. I'm almost positive that I'm going to start another job, and depending if I like it, I'll turn in my 2 weeks notice at my other job.
4. My brother is going to teach me Trig over the summer on Monday and Thursday nights
5. I'm checking into colleges like everyone else, except one key thing is what ROTC branches they have. It's almost entirely certain that I'm going to join some form of Military. I'm leaning towards Air Force, and Marines. Both of them are good.

If all of you could keep me in your prayers, that God give me wisdom, discernment, and ears to hear His plans for me I'd appreciate it. I'll try and keep you all uptodate. Thank you much, and I'll write more later.

Offerings

First off this is not someothing that I have written. I actually found this online and thought it to be insightful and possibly helpful to many people. I was wanting to post something with meaning, but am failing to come up with something myself. So enjoy and please take heed.

So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life--your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life--and place it before God as an offering.(Romans 12:1)

When you think about an offering, what do you think about? I know that I tend to think about finding some money that I don't have or some sacrifice, again of something that I really don't have.

But that is one of the cool things about this verse. God is saying take your ordinary life - yeh - the one that you live. And then Eugene Peterson paints a picture of what this could mean for us. The thing that I think is great is that so often we go through the routines of these things and forget to place these parts of our lives before God. These parts are just as important as the others.

Another thing that I think is interesting is the phrase "with God's help." The reason I think this is interesting is that most of us don't need any help to go through our day to day grind. Ah yes, but we surely do. Isn't it in the daily grind that every aspect of our lives take place. The times of rest and relaxation come few and far between. And when they do come, for most of us it is "our" time - not time to offer a sacrifice to God.

I am challenged by this verse to look for ways in my daily grind to offer my life to God, every part as an offering to God. What do you think this could look like in real life?