Now that I’ve been back in school for about two weeks, I think I’ve pretty much got a schedule down. It varies a little bit day to day, but overall I like what I’ve done. I’ll give you a look at Monday and Tuesday, as those are the most typical days.

MONDAY

6:00 am – Wake up, have quiet time, eat breakfast

6:30 am – head to the gym to work out and shower

8:00-8:50 am – class

9:05-9:55 am – class

10-11 am – break (normally I check my email in the computer lab)

11:15-12:05 – class

After my last class, I head home and eat some lunch. I’ve also started taking an early afternoon nap for 20-30 minutes. It keeps me alert, which is good, because I spend most of the afternoon doing homework. I normally eat dinner around 6 or so, finish up any last minute homework, read some blogs, talk to Christian, and head to bed at 10:30 pm at the latest.

TUESDAY

6:30 am – wake up, have quiet time, eat breakfast

7:00 am – shower, get ready for class

8:00-12:15 pm – three classes

Then the same old routine. Come home, eat lunch, take a nap, do homework. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I am taking a group fitness class at the gym with my roommates. It lasts an hour and it’s really intense. After that I come back, eat dinner, finish up homework, talk to Christian, and go to bed.

It’s working out well. I am working out every day except for Sunday, and having a consistent quiet time, which has been so good for my heart, soul, mind and strength. I’m currently working through the book of Isaiah on my own and reading a chapter of Proverbs every day “with” Christian (which means we read them on our own and talk about it at some point). I’m going to a Bible study beginning this Thursday where we’ll be studying 1 and 2 Peter, and Friday mornings I meet with some girls from church — this Friday we’re starting to look at Colossians.

Anyway — there’s my life for now. Not much more to write right now. Hard to believe, but at 8 pm I actually have gotten all my homework done, so I’m actually going to engage in some pleasure reading – a novel concept. Grace and peace.

I was going to write about God’s sovereignty tonight, but as I don’t really have the time to cover that topic like I want to, I thought instead I’d write about something I saw online today that got me thinking.

I mentioned that I’ve been reading this book called Total Truth. It’s really good. You should read it. Anyway, it makes the point in the first chapter that so many Christians live very compartmentalized lives; that is, they would say they are people ‘of faith,’ but it doesn’t really affect how they live, nor does it change their practices in their professions. I was reminded of this again today while watching a video at a site created by Ray Comfort, the well-known evangelist from New Zealand.

Watch the video; it’s about 8 minutes long. I was really convicted by it. For those of you who don’t have the time or willingness to watch it, basically he interviews professing Christians (coming out of the movie theater, no less) and asks them first if they watch R-rated movies. Most of them respond in the affirmative. He then goes on to ask them if they watch movies with blasphemy in them (i.e. using Jesus or God’s name in vain). Most of them say yes, but uncomfortably, as though they don’t really mind the blasphemy, but feel embarrassed that he actually calls it for what it is. I won’t ruin the video for those of you planning to watch it, but needless to say, I was convicted by the end of it. He makes some really good points about blasphemy and sex in films: Would you go to a movie where they used your mother’s name in vain? Would you let someone watch you be intimate with your spouse?

I guess some might argue that movies portray real life, and so there’s no problem with seeing stuff like this. However, I would argue back that while it may simply be a portrayal of real life, you’re not required to pay money to go and see it. I can’t avoid hearing Jesus’ name taken in vain when I walk to class; I can avoid using the money God has entrusted to me to pay to hear Jesus’ name taken in vain and watch people having sex, most likely not even within marriage.

Finally, I would go ahead and encourage you to ask this question – next time you watch a movie and enjoy it, think, “Would I ever say, ‘Jesus, I just saw this great movie!’” If the answer is ‘no,’ perhaps you should re-evaluate your choices.

I just think that today, Christians fail to be consistent and genuine. I’m not going to go off about how Christians talk the talk but don’t walk the walk. Christians don’t even talk the talk anymore! There are so many videos I’ve watched or scenarios I’ve heard about where Christians say things like “I believe that Jesus is the way to heaven” but then when pressed if that means that some people will go to hell, don’t answer as they should.

That said, it IS important that our actions match up with our words. If we say that we should be zealous for the name and glory of God, then we should be just as zealous not to see movies where His name is taken in vain. If we say that God is holy and desires for us to be pure, we should not put immoral images in front of our eyes.

I hope and pray that as Christians, we will all strive to be holier tomorrow than we were today, and to be passionate about glorifying God in every aspect of our lives.

Tonight I spent 2.5 hours at Starbucks reading Total Truth by Nancy Pearcey. I like to read, but this book has sucked me in like no other. You could say I’m devouring it. Here are a few of the points she makes in the book so far that really stuck out to me.

- “The orthodox Christian holds a unified field of truth, because the God who acts in our hearts is also the God who acts in history.”

- “We can offer the world a unified truth that is intellectually satisfying, while at the same time meets our deepest hunger for beauty and meaning.”

- Humanity is always defined by its relationship to whatever is regarded as ultimate reality.

-  Morality is derivative – it stems from one’s worldview; we must engage the underlying worldview.

- Having a Christian worldview is obedience to the Great Commission.

- Evolution itself functions as religion.

- Christians need to reintroduce the concept that religion can be genuine knowledge.

- Everything hangs on your view of origins.

And finally,

“Taking a leap of faith is a sure sign that a person’s philosophy fails to explain human nature as he himself experiences it.”

I really am being captured by this book. It engages the mind as well as the heart, and is God-glorifying. I highly recommend it.

Related to that, someone recently asked me how I find all the good blogs I read. At the moment I have 67 subscriptions on Google Reader. Some of them are RSS feeds from news sites like the New York Times or CNN.com, but the majority of them are personal or group blogs that I’ve found by spending the majority of my free time on the Internet. Tonight I added several subscriptions to my list in order to have a more comprehensive view of what’s going on in the world. I’m hoping that reading more liberal, secular sites/blogs will enable me to practice analyzing biblically oppositional worldviews. In the next couple of days, I’m going to start linking to some of the blogs/RSS feeds that I read daily.

There are tears that fall that seem to form in the depths of your soul, and by the time the emerge from your eyes they are big as bowling balls, and make it all the way down the collar of your shirt before they dissolve, carrying little pieces of your heart with them.

I find myself constantly let down because of the expectations I put on other people. As the hymnwriter says, “Human hearts and looks deceive me,” and he goes on to say, “Thou art not like them untrue.”

Sometimes it feels like I’ve been given a cross that is far too heavy for me to bear, but then I wonder if maybe that means I’m either carrying the wrong cross, or that I’m not really expected to carry it alone in the first place.

Jesus.

He is the Name above all names, and it is the sweetest Name I know. And right now I want to grab onto Him as tightly as I can and never let go.

I previously had a blog on Xanga, but have decided to move off of there in an attempt to become more of an adult and establish myself in the blogosphere. Not sure yet where this will go, but I’m looking forward to finding out.