I read about a man who vanished. People “received a scare when Barger’s roommate announced Barger had been missing physically for about two months, and had abandoned most of his possessions.”
This guy is a blogger. He got mad at his roommate for some reason. He took off and moved to New Mexico without even telling anyone he was leaving. I find this to be inspirational.
See ya later!
I’ve been journaling more lately. I’ve quite enjoyed it do to the fact that I can write freely and openly without the restrictions that writing here can provide. Yes, you heard me, I write about all the things that matter most to me in my journal. If I ever catch you reading it, I will take you behind the toolshed and brandish a PVC pipe much to your worry.
One of the nicest elements of writing in my journal has been the time I spend with God in the mornings. As part of my quiet time of reading the Bible and praying to God, I’ve been doing what’s called “Active Listening”. Basically, I take a verse out of a passage of the Bible I’m reading or read recently OR a verse on some topic I’m studying in my life. After that, I analyze it and pick out some key ideas, instructions, and meanings from the verse. Then I pray about what the verse is saying and journal a prayer to God or write things God is saying to me through the verse.
Yesterday, for example, I looked at Philippians 1:27 ’cause I’d read it and wanted to spend some time thinking about it. It says:
“Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel,”
Observations:
- manner of life should be worthy of the gospel
- stand in one spirit w/ one mind
- strive together for faith of the gospel
Then I proceed to write myself some questions such as “Do I live my life this way?” and a few ways my present life could use some improving.
This has been helpful for me recently. One of the huge topics in my life in the past few weeks has been trust in God and doing this “active listening” has helped.
“Trust” is always a huge issue. It’s an ever present element of the Christian life. It’s always possible to trust God more.
Verses Relating To Trust
• Proverbs 3:5-6
• Hebrews 11:1
• I Thessalonians 5:16-18
• Psalm 139:23-24
Yeah for finishing homework. Boo for finishing homework at 5:17AM.
Yeah for finishing homework. Boo for not working on homework sooner.
And, technically, I’m not done. I still have to figure out what I’m saying for the presentation of what I did for my interview in Japanese. I’m not so sure about that, but I think I’ll stick along the lines of what I’ve got written done in my paper about the interview.
By a strange fluke, I got a 99% on my last UN(United Nations) and World Politics test. I was supposed to have an A anyway, but somehow my teacher miscalculated when adding. I mentioned it to him and he didn’t care. w00t! I (temporarily, at least) have an A in the class.
Now I will divest wakefulness in order to obtain a few precious hours of sleep tonight.
A more complete version of this review and discussion is available here
I saw The Last Samurai Saturday night at a preview showing at the AMC Promenade in Westminster, CO. About 450 of us packed into the theater to watch the show.
Three word summary: I was impressed.
Visually, the movie did well. Mt. Fuji was included in some beautiful scenic shots, during the spring sakura trees are captured blooming, and the fight scenes show what’s important (the action).
The movie represented Japanese culture well. It hit on prevalent themes such as sakura blossoms, duty, honor, and shame. These things are demonstrated in the entirety of the plot and in one-scene chunks.
The characters are believable. Having studied Japanese history and the time of Japan’s opening to the West and the Meiji Restoration this semester, I would believe these characters could have been around back then. (Note: This movie is not drawn from history, but fits the time-period and has elements of history reflected in it.) Tom Cruise did a great job. At first, I was worried about him being in this film, but it’s one of the best acting jobs I’ve seen him do. He does a good job portraying a character who’s out of place and learning about a culture he’s had no prior interaction with.
The plot was good. (No spoilers here, don’t worry.) It starts off with Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise), an Army captain, getting a job invitation to come to Japan and train new conscript armies with western technology. Throw in a couple twists, and he winds up learning about the samurai way of life.
Conclusion
It’s good stuff and I’d gladly watch it again. Heck, it’s so good it’ll probably be the next DVD to join my small movie collection (I own about three American movies).
It’s the part of the semester where I stare back through the archives of time’s passing and say, “Gosh, I didn’t realize it was almost over.” As usual, it ends up being a painful realization when gazing ahead at the hill I’ve been sent to conquer. I’ve got three enemies on the hill and all I have to fight them with is a keyboard and a sharp wit. * sigh *
Due Wednesday: 4-6 page critical analysis on a book about the history of Christianity in Japan. *and* a 20-minute recorded interview of a Japanese person in Japanese accompanied by a two page summary *and* economics quiz.
Due Sometime: Revised eight page poetry book review. (It’s easy to procrastinate on rewrites when there’s no deadline.)
Other stuff this week: same old. A few scattered Bible studies, Nav Nite (on Tuesday at the Lutheran Chapel, in case you didn’t know). I met with Wiggins today and that was good.
Other News
From now on if I announce engagements or people dating on here which don’t work out, I’ll simply modify the original post instead of posting the sad information for all to see. Ok? Ok.