Ok, so I decided to create a new blog because of some convenience issues. The new URL is:
http://www.mattroop.blogspot.com
Unfortunately it will not allow me to manage this blog under the new email address. So, I will post a link on here to the new blog, and a link on the new blog to here. That way, if I make a reference to an old blog post you'll still be able to read them. I have a lot of copying and pasting to do...I want all these to be in word documents...ugh.
Friday, February 06, 2009
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Recent Revelations...
Ok, since the Sunday before last, God has been showing me things about my life that I never thought possible, and that I still don't completely understand. My is not to make predictions about my future; but rather, my goal is to explain what God has been showing me, and to let you know how I feel about it.
I went to a new church two Sudays ago and I don't think I'll ever go back, but the experience was definitly a good one. The pastor talked that Sunday about the walls we build in our lives that keep us from from doing God's will. I went home that afternoon feeling very challenged, and that night I spent a long time on my knees talking to God about the walls that I had built. The highest wall in my life is the fear of failing. My fear of failure has kept me from doing God's will for quite some time, and I am positive that it is the reason why God has waited until now to show me the things that He has shown me this week.
The following Monday morning I felt lead to start praying about marriage. I thought it was odd that God would ask me to pray about marriage right now since I've committed myself to singleness for this next year, but I started praying anyways. I started by praying first that God would prepare me and my future wife both spiritually and mentally for marriage (something I used to do every day and wish I had never stopped), and then I prayed for God's timing as well. That was the tricky one for me because, in my mind I already had an idea of when I thought I would be prepared to get married. I've had this idea that I needed to have a degree and a steady job indoctrinated into my mind by so many people, and I bought into that idea. I mean, it seems like the practical and intelligent thing to do, but God told me no this week. God told me last wednesday, and then confirmed it in my mind again on Monday night, through an article I read, that I do not need to have a degree or a full time job to be married (even though both would be nice). Going back to what I said before, my fear of failure has kept me from trusting God with every area of my life. And my fear of failing financially within the confines of marriage is something that absolutely terrifies me. God reminded me this week that as long as I trust Him and honor Him with my life He will provide everything that I need. I guess it's kind of sad that I forgot how much God provides since I get to see how much He provides for my family every day. God has made it very clear to me that I need this year to prepare myself for marriage, and beyond that I don't think I should say much more right now. God is good and I am so thankful for all that He is revealing to me right now, and I am so excited about what the future holds. I'll be writing more on this later because there is so much more to this, but right now I don't think it would be wise for me to share too many details.
It's just exciting to me too know that God is moving inside of me and has amazing plans for me.
~Matt
I went to a new church two Sudays ago and I don't think I'll ever go back, but the experience was definitly a good one. The pastor talked that Sunday about the walls we build in our lives that keep us from from doing God's will. I went home that afternoon feeling very challenged, and that night I spent a long time on my knees talking to God about the walls that I had built. The highest wall in my life is the fear of failing. My fear of failure has kept me from doing God's will for quite some time, and I am positive that it is the reason why God has waited until now to show me the things that He has shown me this week.
The following Monday morning I felt lead to start praying about marriage. I thought it was odd that God would ask me to pray about marriage right now since I've committed myself to singleness for this next year, but I started praying anyways. I started by praying first that God would prepare me and my future wife both spiritually and mentally for marriage (something I used to do every day and wish I had never stopped), and then I prayed for God's timing as well. That was the tricky one for me because, in my mind I already had an idea of when I thought I would be prepared to get married. I've had this idea that I needed to have a degree and a steady job indoctrinated into my mind by so many people, and I bought into that idea. I mean, it seems like the practical and intelligent thing to do, but God told me no this week. God told me last wednesday, and then confirmed it in my mind again on Monday night, through an article I read, that I do not need to have a degree or a full time job to be married (even though both would be nice). Going back to what I said before, my fear of failure has kept me from trusting God with every area of my life. And my fear of failing financially within the confines of marriage is something that absolutely terrifies me. God reminded me this week that as long as I trust Him and honor Him with my life He will provide everything that I need. I guess it's kind of sad that I forgot how much God provides since I get to see how much He provides for my family every day. God has made it very clear to me that I need this year to prepare myself for marriage, and beyond that I don't think I should say much more right now. God is good and I am so thankful for all that He is revealing to me right now, and I am so excited about what the future holds. I'll be writing more on this later because there is so much more to this, but right now I don't think it would be wise for me to share too many details.
It's just exciting to me too know that God is moving inside of me and has amazing plans for me.
~Matt
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
My Motion Picture Problem...
This post is for the sole purpose of telling you that I have decided not to make my list of movies; however, I will be watching a lot of older movies. The reason I have decided to do this is that I am going on a sort of "movie fast"(an idea I drew from "The Bravehearted Gospel). I'm not cutting movies completely out the picture, but I am going to be cutting a lot of my favorites out of my life because of the thoughts and feelings they cause within me. If I am going to honor God with every aspect of my life I must guard my thoughts, and reviewing movies does not build me up in my spiritual life so I am giving them up for now.
~Matt
P.S. This isn't really what I wanted to write today, but the topic I would like to talk about is something I need to think about and pray about more before I think I'll be ready to share my opinion on it. So, stay tuned, and sorry for the "cop-out" post.
P.P.S. If you can make it through the 4 hours...Ben-Hur is an amazing movie. Really cool movie with an absolutely wonderful ending. =)
~Matt
P.S. This isn't really what I wanted to write today, but the topic I would like to talk about is something I need to think about and pray about more before I think I'll be ready to share my opinion on it. So, stay tuned, and sorry for the "cop-out" post.
P.P.S. If you can make it through the 4 hours...Ben-Hur is an amazing movie. Really cool movie with an absolutely wonderful ending. =)
Saturday, January 31, 2009
My New Favorite Class, and Something That Got Me Fired Up!
I know I said in my last post that my Small Business management class was my favorite, but after class today I think I've changed my mind. My Legal Environment of Business class is really good! It's far and away my most difficult class, but the professor really cares about his students learning, and does everything he can to challenge us. Today in class he taught us all of the basics of court jurisdiction, and after that he taught us every step of a courtroom trial. It is all very fascinating to me, and if I didn't want to start my own business so badly (along with a few moral issues I have with our judicial system) I would consider going to law school instead of getting an MBA. Speaking of getting an MBA, I was talking to my LEB professor during the break that he gave us during class today, and he told me that I might be better off getting my masters in organizational management since I want to start my own business. I've always assumed that getting an MBA was just the logical next step for a business man fresh out of college, but I don't see anything wrong with this idea, and I think it is definitly worth looking into. So, I am going to start praying about whether or not this is the direction that God wants me to go in.
I am learning so much right now that I can barely take it all in, but I absolutely love it! Learning is a passion of mine that drives me and inspires me to obtain the maximum amount of knowledge that my brain can retain (both Biblical and Academic). I am tired of Christians being labled as unintellegent and bias individuals.
I recently had an encouter at work with my boss who asked me what sort of Christian I am. Dumbfounded, I responded by saying, "I'm the sort of Christian who believes that Jesus died on the cross to save me, and I'm the type of Christian who would rather skip church and live a life that honors my God than go to church and pretend to love Jesus so that everyone around me thinks I'm a good person." She just looked at me for awhile and said, "Matt, you're the first Christian that I've ever met that I actually believed." She continued saying, "Matt, you know where I stand as far as religion goes (agnostic) because you were willing to ask me. . .which, now that I think about it, most people wouldn't ask their bosses that." She said, "The problem I have with Christianity is that most Christians believe the Bible without knowing anything about it. They try to shove an idea down my throat, and they can't even answer simple questions about it." The thing she said to me next is the one that fired me up, and hurt me deep inside. She said, "Matt, why would I want to believe in something when the people who believe in it don't seem to know what they're talking about?. . .Why would I want to be part of a religion/faith that is backed by people that seem so UNINTELLIGENT."
"But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence."
-I Peter 3:15
HOW ARE WE DOING?
~Matt
I am learning so much right now that I can barely take it all in, but I absolutely love it! Learning is a passion of mine that drives me and inspires me to obtain the maximum amount of knowledge that my brain can retain (both Biblical and Academic). I am tired of Christians being labled as unintellegent and bias individuals.
I recently had an encouter at work with my boss who asked me what sort of Christian I am. Dumbfounded, I responded by saying, "I'm the sort of Christian who believes that Jesus died on the cross to save me, and I'm the type of Christian who would rather skip church and live a life that honors my God than go to church and pretend to love Jesus so that everyone around me thinks I'm a good person." She just looked at me for awhile and said, "Matt, you're the first Christian that I've ever met that I actually believed." She continued saying, "Matt, you know where I stand as far as religion goes (agnostic) because you were willing to ask me. . .which, now that I think about it, most people wouldn't ask their bosses that." She said, "The problem I have with Christianity is that most Christians believe the Bible without knowing anything about it. They try to shove an idea down my throat, and they can't even answer simple questions about it." The thing she said to me next is the one that fired me up, and hurt me deep inside. She said, "Matt, why would I want to believe in something when the people who believe in it don't seem to know what they're talking about?. . .Why would I want to be part of a religion/faith that is backed by people that seem so UNINTELLIGENT."
"But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence."
-I Peter 3:15
HOW ARE WE DOING?
~Matt
Thursday, January 29, 2009
School is Back in Session...
The big list aside for now, I'd like to post something that is actually going on in my life for once instead of writing something vague that only kind of applies to my life (like I tend to do so often). As my only reader knows, I just recently started taking classes at Pulaski Technical College (a community college in Little Rock, AR). I am enrolled in 5 classes:
Microeconomics, (MWF)
Human Resources Management,(MWF)
Small Business management,(MWF)
Accounting 2,(T,TH)
and
Legal Environment of Business.(S)
School has only just begun; however, I have already encounter some very interesting people. I have three classes on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and for the most part they are all simple. The problem is that nobody else in the classroom thinks that these classes are simple.
Lets begin with Microeconomics, or as I like to call it, "Obama is going to save the world-conomics. Just for the record, every single one of my professors is very outspoken about how much they dislike President Barrack Obama. That being said, the entirety of this 9am class consists of students shamelessly raising their hands and reassuring my economics professor that our new President has everything under control, and there's no need to worry about what she is trying to teach. I rather enjoy sitting back in my chair listening to ignorance get owned by intellect...It just makes getting out of bed on Monday worth it.
My next class starts promptly at 10am, and heaven forbid I'm ever late to this abomination of a class (-5 point just for being tardy). Let's just put it this way, Human Resources Management is the most pointless, boring, and unintelligent class that I have ever had the displeasure of attending on a regular basis. Ironically it is the only one taught by a professor with her doctorate. I'm not going to even begin to talk about her ridiculous standards for such a lame class. Instead, I want to talk about an encounter I had with a guy whose name I forgot, but for the sake of having a name we'll call him "Goldy" because, Goldy has the largest two front teeth (and the worst breath) that I've ever encountered, and one of them happens to be gold. I'm convinced that Goldy doesn't know how to speak English because I haven't understood a word that he has spoken to me yet, and he sits next to me every day Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. More on Goldy later...
My third and final class on MWF is also my favorite class. Small Business Management is probably the easiest and most entertaining class that I have ever taken. My professor is a tightly wound 30-something woman who hates taxes more than anything on the planet. She owns a couple of businesses, lots of rental property, has 4 kids, and her husband is apparently a lot smarter than she is (that's all she said about him). This class is awesome! We don't have tests, and it's basically just a free-for-all. 80% of the class doesn't understand that the purpose of the class is to learn how to start a business, so instead of asking relevant questions, they treat the class like it's some sort of Q & A on how to get rich quick. Let me tell you, these people are dumb, and it's so sad to hear some of their questions...I'll take notes on the stupid questions asked tomorrow so I can have an example, but trust me when I say it is very hard to keep from laughing out loud every class period; in fact, the professor laughs at them for me...It's just sad.
So there's my Monday, Wednesday, Friday in a nutshell...more to come soon...
~Matt
Microeconomics, (MWF)
Human Resources Management,(MWF)
Small Business management,(MWF)
Accounting 2,(T,TH)
and
Legal Environment of Business.(S)
School has only just begun; however, I have already encounter some very interesting people. I have three classes on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and for the most part they are all simple. The problem is that nobody else in the classroom thinks that these classes are simple.
Lets begin with Microeconomics, or as I like to call it, "Obama is going to save the world-conomics. Just for the record, every single one of my professors is very outspoken about how much they dislike President Barrack Obama. That being said, the entirety of this 9am class consists of students shamelessly raising their hands and reassuring my economics professor that our new President has everything under control, and there's no need to worry about what she is trying to teach. I rather enjoy sitting back in my chair listening to ignorance get owned by intellect...It just makes getting out of bed on Monday worth it.
My next class starts promptly at 10am, and heaven forbid I'm ever late to this abomination of a class (-5 point just for being tardy). Let's just put it this way, Human Resources Management is the most pointless, boring, and unintelligent class that I have ever had the displeasure of attending on a regular basis. Ironically it is the only one taught by a professor with her doctorate. I'm not going to even begin to talk about her ridiculous standards for such a lame class. Instead, I want to talk about an encounter I had with a guy whose name I forgot, but for the sake of having a name we'll call him "Goldy" because, Goldy has the largest two front teeth (and the worst breath) that I've ever encountered, and one of them happens to be gold. I'm convinced that Goldy doesn't know how to speak English because I haven't understood a word that he has spoken to me yet, and he sits next to me every day Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. More on Goldy later...
My third and final class on MWF is also my favorite class. Small Business Management is probably the easiest and most entertaining class that I have ever taken. My professor is a tightly wound 30-something woman who hates taxes more than anything on the planet. She owns a couple of businesses, lots of rental property, has 4 kids, and her husband is apparently a lot smarter than she is (that's all she said about him). This class is awesome! We don't have tests, and it's basically just a free-for-all. 80% of the class doesn't understand that the purpose of the class is to learn how to start a business, so instead of asking relevant questions, they treat the class like it's some sort of Q & A on how to get rich quick. Let me tell you, these people are dumb, and it's so sad to hear some of their questions...I'll take notes on the stupid questions asked tomorrow so I can have an example, but trust me when I say it is very hard to keep from laughing out loud every class period; in fact, the professor laughs at them for me...It's just sad.
So there's my Monday, Wednesday, Friday in a nutshell...more to come soon...
~Matt
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Upcoming list...
After creating a short list of movies for my best friend this afternoon I started to think about which movies are my favorites. I would consider myself a quasi movie-buff/nerd, and I definitly appreciate movies that are not only well made, but have good storyline and acting as well. So, with all that said, I've decided to put together a list of my favorite movies. I will attempt to put them in order, and I am not going to set a limit on how many movies I will choose. I have never chosen a favorite movie before so this is going to be difficult for me to do, but I'll try not to have a tie for first (it may happen anyways). I'll compile the list over the next few days, and it probably wont be my next post.
~Matt
~Matt
Friday, January 23, 2009
This is where I'm at right now...
"Whatever You're doing (something heavenly)"
by Sanctus Real
It's time for healing time to move on
It's time to fix what's been broken too long
Time make right what has been wrong
It's time to find my way to where I belong
There's a wave that's crashing over me
All I can do is surrender
[Chorus]
Whatever you're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos somehow there's peace
It's hard to surrender to what I can't see
But I'm giving in to something heavenly
Time for a milestoneTime to begin again
Revaluate who I really am
Am I doing everything to follow your will
Or just climbing aimlessly over these hills
So show me what it is you want from me
I give everything I surrender...To...
[Chorus]
Time to face up
Clean this old house
Time to breathe in and let everything out
That I've wanted to say for so many years
Time to to release all my held back tears
Whatever you're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but I believe
You're up to something bigger than me
Larger than life something heavenly
Whatever you're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but now I can see
This something bigger than me
Larger than life something heavenly
Something heavenly
It's time to face up
Clean this old house
Time breathe in and let everything out
I love this song! I've been listening to nothing but christian radio lately (and I usually never listen to the radio) and everytime this song comes on it reminds me that God is working inside of me. The line that says, "It feels like chaos but somehow there's peace" describes exactly how I've felt these past few weeks. I've felt absolutely torn apart for the last two weeks, but through it all I've had a peace about me that can only be from the Lord. This song has great lyrics, and reminds me every day just how important it is for me to allow God to break me down and mold me like clay in His hands.
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