Week 3: Learning how to balance

First Day of School ::

It's almost hard to believe that this semester is somewhat coming to a close. College goes by way too fast PEOPLE! I came across these pictures the other day and thought I would share them with you. They were taken on the first day school this semester during and after chapel.

Our new chaplain Mark Carter

Carter

The sea of students flooding onto Caf Lane

Free coffee and bagels!

Balance ::

These next few weeks are the going to be the most stressful chunk of the semester where projects, papers, and exams begin to pile up... yet the things I have been doing the whole semester (playing music, working, hanging with friends and loved ones, going to concerts and getting sushi) do not cease to slow down either. So this leaves me faced with some sort of a moral dilemma. Every college students' battle: learning how to balance.

If feel like I need to acknowledge the fact that I strive to take on the role of a student above all things. This paints a clear picture of how my time should be spent yet my passions in life that allow me to create space for self expression and a well rounded perspective on this world are what fuel me to live happier and pursue what is good. I could now tap into the fact that responsibility plays quite a large role in the midst of all this. Even to the point where this sacrificial lifestyle of cracking the whip on the books prepares us for the things in life that are to come. This sacrifice might mean skipping out on work early to see your son throw the first pitch in his baseball game. Or perhaps more of a nagging obligation, working on the weed infested backyard even though you want nothing more than simply to sip lemonade while lounging in a floating pool chair because it's the middle of a hot summer's day. 

A verse that I've been challenging myself to wrestle with lately within the context of learning how to comprehend the relevance to my life for months now comes from the words of Paul when he says to the Romans, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.” 

Obviously this passage unfolds endless hours of blog posts and thoughts but the simplicity of this verse in the idea of our bodies being offered as living sacrifices as a call to worship teaches me that my worship to God is, in its most basic form, the way I live my life every single day. In my waking. In my sleeping. In my hurting. In my healing. In my resting. In my working. In my thinking. In my speaking. The sacrifices I make to put God at the head of the throne is how we are invited to worship. It's not just through a song or an art form. Worship was designed to come from the inner core of how we are radically living our lives. 

Urban Rescue ::

On Friday night, my friends in Urban Rescue played here at Loma. Here are some shots of them. Enjoy!

Urb :: Rec Room

Jordan

Tucker

-gr

ps: I went to an Episcopal church this morning. Super interesting experience. I encourage you to check out a denomination you're not familiar with. It'll rack your mind and make you think outside of your shell.