Some Neccessary Changes...

To those of you that actually check to see if I've written anything...sorry. Life has been busy. As all 3 of my "faithful readers" know; I get up to work at 7:00am, and by the time I get home at 4:00pm I'm exhausted. I've been going to bed at 9:30 every night which really limits my time for anything other than sleep. However, one thing I am making time for is drastically changing who I am spiritually. I started reading "Passion & Purity" by Elisabeth Elliot this week, and after reading the first 10 chapters I'm realizing that just believing and trusting God with my life isn't enough. I always say that I want God to be first in my life, and I believe that He is, but if you followed me with a video camera you'd notice that I often skip reading my Bible, or that the time that I spend reading it is a little short. I've learned many other things from this book, but I am not a good enough writer to fully express how what I've learned is affecting my life. I just want to make a point of not just thinking about God, and saying an occasional prayer during the day. I want God to be the center of my life, and I want to be sure to spend time with Him before I do other things. I want to get to the point where I can't function if I haven't spent time with Jesus...I want my life to be more than what it is.

-Matt-

I must be 12...my family treats me like I am...

To tell the truth, life at home is really frustrating. I do my best to interact with my family, and have a good time hanging out with them, but the problem is that my parents still treat me like I'm 12 years old. There are only a few things in life that really frustrate me, and having my intelligence questioned is one of those things. Especially when it's my own father that treats me as though I'm a complete idiot in need of his help with everything I do. He seriously thought that I was cooking my frozen dinner wrong tonight, and when I told him that I was fine and didn't need any help using our microwave (which we've had for a couple years now), he continued to try to show me how it works...I mean cmon! I'm not a complete moron. There are retarded kids that know how to use the microwave. Why does my dad act like I don't know anything? Why can't he ever assume that I might actually know what I'm doing? I can't take much more of it. I'm just glad I work every day, and that I don't have to have a whole lot of interaction with him because, I'd probably flip out before it's time to leave...

-Matt-

New job, old stress, and a little rant...

So I'm sitting in my room; bored out of my mind, watching family guy on my computer, and wishing I had some money to do something fun. Even though I can't seem to fix my boredom problem. I have found a solution to my money problem. Thanks to a friend of mine's dad, I have a job. This summer I will be working for a general contractor doing form labor. It's going to be tough work, but I feel like it will be very rewarding. Not only will I be doing a lot of physical activity, but the pay won't be half bad either. I'll be working somewhere around 40 hours a week which is less than I'm used to, but I think it'll be enough. I'm just hoping that I'll be able to find some energy because, to be completely honest, I'm exhausted. I'm really glad I have the job, but at the same time I wish I didn't have to work. I need a few weeks to just relax, and let my body recover from the stress.

Speaking of stress. Life since I got home has been hectic, and sadly, no different from when I left last August. I expected there to be at least a little change, but I'm finding out the hard way that my family is still very disengaged, interogative, and argumentative...It's a miserable atmospher to live in. However, home is home, and I'm thankful for a place to live. After all is said and done they are still my family, and I still love them despite our differences...

In other news, I would like to rant about something for just a moment. I'm trying to figure out why gas prices continue to rise when the oil/gas companies are already making 300% profit. Why can't our government shut them down, or at least force these huge corporations to lower their prices because, this is becoming a monopoly in which all the gas companies are working together to keep prices through the roof. In a country where more than 50% of couples get divorced, and 50% of those divorces are caused because of financial issues; this makes me sick. Gas prices are ruining America in more ways than just financially.

-Matt-

The end of a Season, and the Anticipation of a New One...

The end of every season of life brings much anticipation of the next season. It causes us to ask questions like "what does the future hold?" "Was I productive in my last season?" and, "What do I do about it now?" When I look back at my first year of college I am amazed at how much I've changed. When I first stepped foot on campus I was just an overconfident high school boy who didn't have a clue about what it means to be a college student, or a man for that matter. This past year has taught me discipline, both academically and spiritually. I've realized that to be a man is to "reject passivity, accept responsibility, lead courageously, and accept the greater reward...God's reward" (Robert Lewis). This is something I learned in my senior of high school, but I didn't realize the importance of applying it to my life until my second semester of college. I have to admit; I was pretty stagnant during my first semester of college. I played along with all the Bible students, and pretended to be a good person because I wanted to fit in, but what I realized was that I was wasting a ton of time pretending to be someone that I wanted to be. It didn't make a whole lot of sense, and the only logical solution was to change. So I did. I'm not the guy that I used to be, and I have all the great people at my school for that. I have been blessed to have such great men and women of God surrounding me at my school, and I can't thank them enough for the encouragement that they've given me. I am going to continue my education at the same school for as long as I can in hopes that I can continue to grow in my relationship with God, and possibly be a good example to someone that might be where I was last September. Right now I'm just trying to get through the summer. I already miss everyone at school (some more than others), and I've always found it to be difficult to focus at home. So, if you do happen to read this; please be praying for me. It is going to be very difficult to have a regular quiet time with my busy schedule, and having that quiet time is something that I need desperately. In conclusion to this mess of a post I'll say this. I've just finished possibly one of the most productive seasons of my life, and I can't wait for the next one. I just need to survive the down time.

-Matt-