New Year

First post of the new year - woohoo!

BAD JOKE
So something funny last night - Some friends and I had a party for another friend who has lived in Japan and took time to visit and it was sweet. At one point, I commented that I'd try to make sure we turned on the tv in time for the dropping of the ball but insisted that we "wouldn't miss it" because the our "tivo-like" DVR box was recording the event. If we'd miss it, we could just watch it over again. Needless to say, people stared at me and then laughed. I expected nothing less.

NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS
On this first day of the year, I visited Dustin's family and had a sweet dinner with them. Of their new year's traditions, I made goals for the new year. Those were:

1. Do well in school
2. Be less busy
3. Better manage my time
4. Spend more time reading and with God
5. Try to eat healthier and be more active
6. Try to find a new small group near campus - perhaps starting one if I can't seem to find something that works for me.

We'll see how many of these I keep, however one has to shoot for something realistic in making goals so this is what I thought of off the top of my head. I've got 364 days to make these things happen so hopefully I'll take that seriously sooner rather than later.

Tomorrow I turn 24 years old. One more year until the quarter-century mark and, well, one more year that I have to my name. It's sweet that now I don't have to pay more for renting a car and I think I just might think of doing some traveling this year. Where I'll go, nobody knows - unless you ask. I like the idea of going to California, Colorado, Arizona, and perhaps some points in-between. Also, I'd like to visit the Pacific Northwest and perhaps Boston and New York. I want to see cities - I am fascinated by cities!

ON A SERIOUS NOTE
I asked for someone to pray for me on Sunday and that was sweet. Essentially, I've felt recently like I have a spiritual depression of sorts. A sadness that seems to darken my life, especially my spiritual life. Someone noted Sunday night that I used to have this perk and spring in my step, that I was a fun guy who was alive and more recently I seem depressed and dark. Why this seems to be true is up for grabs. Could it be that my addictions are killing my soul? Could it be that this whole winter thing is depressing? Could it be that I'm lonely? Yeah, probably all of that. There are probably other things going on too but as I stood their, after being prayed for, I felt waves of sadness rush over me and I knew that it had been a while since I cried and that it's okay to cry. Jesus showed emotion and so can I. Lament I should in the wake of things to lament over. All of these things belong to God so unto God I should give them - this is my prayer.

Beyond the above discussion, I think the most important thing we can do in this world is recognize that we are merely men and that God is God and that we need to give God what is God's - essentially our lives, our worship, our thankfulness. I know this may seem like gibberish to some but once you believe in God and realize that you are not God, one will start to develop a desire for Truth. I urge you to seek out Truth - read the Bible, pray to God, and talk to Christians. If God is real, he will meet you there!