semi-super fan

Guess what I'll be watching come March 2012?

life on purpose

I was listening to a sermon and as I usually do (but try to avoid), I zoned out from time to time. But his words were so compelling and passionate.

I was particularly struck by his message that we have been "delivered from meaninglessness". Whoa. I mean, wow. Do I live my life like that? Or am I chest deep and absorbing the meaninglessness all around me?

I read the latest books and magazines. Watch the movies. Buy a new shirt. Have a conversation. Eat out. There's nothing inherently wrong with these things at all. But is that all that my life is about?

What am I building, brick-by-brick and stone-by-stone, my life into? Is it a crumbly facade of meaninglessness and no purpose aside from doing what seems "good" or evens feels like the "right thing"? Or is it firmly soldered into the rock of Jesus that is meaning, that is purpose?

We have been delivered from meaninglessness. The gate is wide opened, the chains are off. I want to live my life like it's on purpose. That's my prayer.

vive

As I walked to class this morning, the beginning of damp humidity seeping into my skin, I saw a man sitting on his front porch. I've seen him before, watering his brightly-colored plants, reading his paper, and sipping his coffee. He's very friendly, always saying 'hello' as I or anyone else passes.

I think that's bliss. Sitting on your porch, sipping coffee, watching the day begin. Good music usually augments these moments.

As I've noted before and will again, I'm a dork. I love instrumental compilations and this is one that I've been enjoying lately. (And yes, it is indeed a musical adventure).

on friends

The older I get, the more I realize how important it is to have as many different kinds of friends as possible.

Friends that you laugh with (hopefully this should be most of them), friends to process with, friends to bond over common hobbies, friends that challenge you, friends that encourage you.

It's amazing how different I am around different friends. Friend A sees me in one light and Friend B sees me in another. I don't think this is a bad thing. I'm still all those sides, just some more prominent than others at times.

My favorite is the times with friends in which I think all those sides are synthesized. I can be funny, goofy, serious, embarrassed, vulnerable. I leave feeling lighter and more like myself.

the changing and unchangeable

I'm not very good at keeping up with my journal. I go through stages in which I'm very attentive and/or introspective and/or reflective. At the same time, I'm also disciplined enough to relay the thoughts onto paper. It's a great marriage (introspection + recording abilities = immortalized thoughts . . or something like that). Yet, those stages are far too infrequent.

I picked up my journal and read an entry from last July. It's always fascinating to look back on what I was doing at this exact time last year. The past several summers have been very eventful. Last summer: moved to a new city. Two summers before: moved and started my first "grown-up" job. Summer before that: moved and started the Trinity Fellows Program.

What I usually find from my walks down memory lane is God's enduring and steadfast faithfulness. My life changes. My relationships, housing, job status, health, etc. can all change. He does not.

The lesson that was such a "eureka!" moment is still a eureka moment. Truth is truth. And God still loves me just the same.