Disconnected Thoughts...

• The holiday season significantly increases my desire for a girl, who would be something more than a friend, a girl-friend, if you will. I really think some of it has to do with the change in wardrobe. Of course the tan skin and more revealing clothes of summer are appealing to the raging hormones within me. But that appeal is one that I can easily brush off. Sure, the "hot" girl is alluring. But when I envision the perfect girl it's never the type that would universally be esteemed as "hot"--she is beyond "hot" she is "cute." You see "hot" is fleeting...it's makeup, it's clothes, it's 'eye-catching.' But "cute" is pure, it's unique, it's confident, it's refreshing. A "hot" girl demands to be treated well...but a "cute" girl compels you to give more than you have and to be more than you are. Ahh...the Christmas sweatered, mitten and scarf wearing girl of the winter months. You are a pleasant sight to my eyes. You reinvigorate that God-given longing that I try so hard to supress. You torture me and yet you inspire me.
• To Pill or not to Pill. Ok, so most of you know that I have ADD, I would assume. Well I also take this medecine called Adderall (like the highest dosage of it, 30 miligrams). It has increased my productivity immensely...and my ability to maintain the day to day work load in each of my classes. I have been taking it for two years now. But I'm almost a different person when I take. Without it I'm Jimi. With it...well I'm not sure who I am. The pill does several things to me: (1) it cuts my appetite in half, (2) it cuts my desire to be around people in half, (3) it sorta messes up my circulation, my hands get and feet get really cold, (4) I'm more likely to journey into the world of introspection. It's just so wierd. When it wears off at night I feel like I've spent the day as Dr. Jekyll and that I'm suddenly turning into Mr. Hyde.
• The World is going to end in the next 70 years. For me at least. You see I believe that God exists beyond time. You know how the Bible says that like for God a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years a day? Well I believe that what this statement is getting at is that God is BEYOND time. What I mean is that for God, existence is never past or future tense. He inhabits all of Eternity. So for God, the year 1371 is just as much "now" as 2004 is "now" for Him. And if God is this way, then I think we will inherit this state of timelessness when we die. At our death we will go to a completely realized heaven. We won't be waiting for our children or grandchildren to finally make it. They will be there with us. The world will have already ended. In short, I believe that when we die we move beyond all of "history." Of course people may disagree. But I think it is a logical assumption. What do you think?
• I delivered my big Homiletics sermon on Monday. I don't understand why, but I get so nervous about preaching. When it comes to things I really care about I'm like a hyper-perfectionist. It's all or nothing for me. Like papers that I really enjoy writing and get excited about, I often turn in late. Because I don't want to turn it in unless I've put my entire effort behind it. It's really a blessing and a curse. I spent so much time on my sermon and I still felt ill-prepared. It was far from flawless. It was a great improvement from my last message. I have really learned a lot from my Homiletics (Preaching) class. I had way to much information in it though. I went a minute over-time and I was rushing through the last half of the sermon. I spoke on Romans 10:1-4. The crux of my message came from the second verse of chapter 10. "...they (the Unbelieving Jews) are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge." My thesis: The only proper response to God is zealous devotion to Him as the Ultimate END to which the universe and everything in it attests. The conclusion: The unbelieving Jews are a sad reminder to that primal sin of mankind. Mistaking the MEANS for the END. Throughout time man has continually traded the Artist for the painting—the Architect for the building—the Almighty Creator for His creation. The Jews came so close and yet in the end traded their Redeemer for their rules. Paul makes clear that the only proper response to God is zealous devotion to Him as the Ultimate END to which the universe and everything in it attests. "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple.” Christ’s words here in Luke 14:26 illustrate the universal paradox of this world: we must hate it, to love it—we must let it go, to get it back—we must die to live. In closing I pose this question to you: Are you spending the precious moments of each and every day in devotion to the Creator…or his creation? I got a B+. I am already psyced about preaching again so I can refine and build on what I learned from the experience.

Here is the ENTIRE sermon manuscript if you're wild and crazy enough (or simply just bored) http://www.geocities.com/og91ff/Sermon--Romans10--1-4.doc

My name is Jimi.

P.S. I enabled POSTING on this little blog thing. So feel free to respond, disagree, encourage, or spout off. Or perhaps you like to remain anonymous? Either way.