Whatever Takes Us Away

At some point in an educational career there comes a wall.  This immovable object you press against does not budge, and only feels worse each time you press harder.  I have reached that point I think.  I know, I haven’t been at it for even two years yet, but each semester I am taking 18 credit hours, burning through college faster than most; nearly double the pace.  I think this has brought me to the point of near burn out with my want/desire to finish and continue on towards a graduate degree.  Maybe it is the thought of finishing and then having to put the degree into real-world application (i.e. finding a job that will help pay for the degrees I’ve earned). 

At any rate, I have amassed a large collection of books, DVD’s and knowledge that will hopefully come in handy for the rest of my life.  Until I get to put all this into practice I suppose I will continue burning myself until the flame has been extinguished.

Just a quick note of thanks for my first receipt from my Amazon wish list.

Two books have been removed from my wish list this past week, and in the coming weeks I hope to at least begin reading these two. They both came from the same source and I am glad to have scratched them off the wish list. Thanks to my mom I got Ravi Zacharias' "The End of Reason" and St. Augustine's "Confessions" and look forward to getting into these two works.

Thanks Mom!

We are a nation, rather, a world in chaos. Things have seemed to have been ideal for most of us living in developed nations, but suddenly a change has swarmed like a plague over the entirety of the planet. Economies are not just faltering a bit, they are failing in many places. How did this happen? Many would say that here in the U.S., the fault belongs to the banking industry, Wall Street, or other industries with large financial interests, but is this really why we are so beleaguered? We love our things. We love ourselves. We detest anyone that tells us we cannot do what we want to do. We abhor what is truly right and honest, yet we wonder why we have gotten into the mess we now find ourselves in.

For nearly two millennia the Bible has seen and foretold what would happen when we look to ourselves for answers. A book that has been scrutinized for giving good, decent, life saving information has been thrown to the wayside – in order that we might live life in a way that it was not meant to be lived. We used dishonest means to gain a foothold over those less fortunate. The book of Proverbs is packed full of wisdom, wisdom that most neglect to read or take to heart. It tells of how children are to listen to and obey their parents (something that has gone by the wayside). It tells how laziness leads to nowhere (something that has become very common). Proverbs tells how wicked men bring disaster upon themselves (look at our own nation right now). This book is packed full of knowledge that gives insight to how and why we have gotten to the place we are currently.

Proverbs isn’t the only book in the Bible that talks in this manner. Much of the Bible explains human nature and its desire to be detestable in most respects. In the New Testament, Romans is a good example of this. Romans 1:18-32 is a prime example and tells us why we are the way we are today. We have been given over to a depraved mind (a statement that applies to the whole of mankind). “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.” (Rom 1:21) We have exchanged the truth of God, His Word, and His commands for our own enjoyment – a fleeting span of lusts and desires that will perish with us. Fact: 1 out of every 1 person on the planet will die. 100% participation. What can we take with us? Not one thing.

Truth is, the problems we face are not caused by some financial problems, but it is our own desire to “advance” ourselves and our agendas that have led to the current crisis. We advance unnatural behaviors as if they will make things better. We advance the desire for more (more of everything) as if they will brings us more happiness. We feed our lusts and our perversions as if they will keep us around longer. This has proved to be a fatal blow to us all.

I’m not pointing the finger outward only. I myself have fallen in the trap, and been led astray by my own desires. Call this a confession if you want, but I too want things. I too desire more and better and faster. While many in our country don’t have a computer or have one that is nearly a decade old, I have three – the oldest of which I am using right now at three years of age; and yet, I wish I had a new one. I have a job right now, yet wish I could have a job that paid better. I have a house and am able to make the payments on that house, but I wish I had a bigger house with more land. I, my wife, and our pseudo-adopted daughter all have a vehicle that run quite well, but you bet I wish I had a newer car that got better gas mileage. I too, am to blame for our current situation. It has been this think that has led to our demise.

We don’t stop, at any point in our day, to thank God for allowing us to have what we now have. We don’t thank God for our lives. We don’t thank God for our families. We don’t thank God, frankly, for anything.

Stop. Listen. Be Thankful. Take that dusty Bible off the shelf and read what has been passed down to us. You might find some true insight, something that might just save your life - or someone else’s.

I'm not one to look for handouts, but sometimes you've got to do something that will help. Over on the left side of the blog are a few links to various websites you may find to be of interest to you. I have recently added another link . . .

I do not expect everyone that reads this to hurry up and start buying the items found in my Amazon.com wish list, but anytime you feel so led to do so would be more than appreciated. This list is for me, as a way of keeping track of what I would like to read, and I intend to use it frequently to remind myself of what I still need to read up on. This also helps me from having to search through the miriad of book cases through the house to check a book. You will notice that nearly all of the listed items are related to the Christian faith, its history, important figures, and apologetics. From time to time I may include some CD's or DVD's as well.

Again, don't think I am sticking my hand out for the sake of saving a buck (though it is nice to do so), but as I have a house full of kids and am a college student, sometimes the budget just isn't there to acquire the books I would like to include in my personal library. I know there aren't many that read this and therefore I am not expecting a truckload of books to arrive at my door anytime soon. However, if you do feel so led to help out I will appeciate it and will note here on the blog anytime someone does send me something.

Thanks in advance. God bless.

I start yet another semester at Liberty University online next week. After this spring semester I will have completed my associates degree in religion, the first of quite possibly a few. One thing I have noticed with my schooling, as well as with my wife's, is that text books cost so much more than the paper they are printed on. Not to mention the fact that last semester I had over a dozen books for 6 classes. Now, some I was able to find through a used online bookseller and save much coinage! However, the majority of the books were new and the average cost was over $80 (a few were well above the $100 mark).

I find it funny, amusing and frustrating all at the same time that in order to obtain a better paying job you have to pay out the nose, not merely for the schooling, but for the books that are used during the schooling. For this coming semester I have already spent over $425 and still have two more books to buy within the next week. The two I am still waiting on, if I buy them new, will cost $190 - so needless to say I am trying to find used or a place that rents these two required books.

All of this to say, that although I find schooling worth the costs, it feels like I'm being drained of any extra resources I thought I had. I really don't like money, but it seems a necessity in our world.