Next Step

My next step is to stop the lies. I have something to tell you.


"Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor: for we are members of one another." Eph 4:25

Reflection Period

For the past couple of weeks, I have been worrying about money. I don't have money for just about anything. I don't have money for a possible parking ticket (Because I live on a college campus and those are always a threat), I don't have money to buy Jake something for Valentines Day, and I don't have money just to waste on random fun junk. But, I've tried to put it into the back of my ind, saying,"God knows what i want, and God knows what I need. If he really wants me to have something, I'll get it. If he doesn't, I'll just have to get over it." But that doesn't always stop the worrying.
I woke up at around noon today, signed onto MySpace and Facebook, and then just sat in my room and spaced for about two hours. I have made it into a habit to let more natural light into my room by opening the shades recently, so there was some sunlight shining on me. Eventually I realized what a nice day it was outside. It was warm and bright with just a tiny bit of wind. I walked outside my dorm for a second and stood in the sunlight and instantly felt calm and relaxed. So I decided that I would spend some time outside today, just relaxing and doing nothing in particular. I also thought that maybe I would bring my Bible along with me and start breaking into it.
I walked outside, without my shoes on, and sat in the grassy area in between Sigma and Rho and just started reading. And it was great! I can not think of any way to better appreciate Gods works than to sit out, basking in the sunlight enjoying everything nature has to offer and read about how God created all of it! After reading through a couple chapters of Genesis, I put the Bible down next to me and just lied there for several minutes, resting. I listened to the birds chirping around me and felt the grass underneath me and felt really happy with everything that God has given me. And then I came to realize that I was enjoying Gods greatest gift, which is the simplest thing. I was just laying outside in the sunshine and I was happy. We think that having a car, and a house, and a million dollars will make us really happy. Now, I'm not saying that I wouldn't mind having any of those things, but God has given us much greater things that we take for granted,

AND THEY ARE ALL FREE.

So, just remember that, and start taking advantage of the things you take for granted.

Oh, and Jake:
You will be getting a present. I always have enough money for you.

"Stand still and consider the wondrous works of God." Job 37:14

First Goal

My first initiative for this Lent is to reduce, if not try to stop entirely, the amount of gossip I spread. It really is unhealthy. It ruins my relationships with others and makes me into a two-faced jerk. It also can promote insecurity with some of my close friends because they can't trust whether or not I am talking behind their back. Plus, God wants us to love others, not tell others of their faults. It should be up to us to either help them with these things or just try to forget. So now I am going to cut down by keeping track of every time I gossip. I have small journal that you may see me take out every once in a while so I can write down who I am gossiping about and when. If I happen to do this and not take any notice, feel free to point it out.

"A perverse man stirs up dissension, and a gossip separates close friends." (Prov. 16:28)

For the Next 40 Days

I have decided that I'm not giving anything up for Lent. Rather, I'm going to be looking for more for Lent. I have decided to renew my relationship with God. I have been living off the same amount of God since I was confirmed in 2003. Now, here I am, 5 years later and in college and God and I still at the same point, if not maybe a little back-tracked. So, now I'm standing at the threshold of the same door I was looking at as a high school freshman and now I've got to go through the same process again. I'm not saying that it's a bad thing, but it's not exactly the easiest thing. So, here I go!