Things I've learned

So I am now one exam away from completing my first year of university, but as a result of having my hardest exam first I have be reflecting on the year being over for almost a week now.

This year had been amazing so much has happened, and I've learned a lot so I've decided to make a list:

This year I have learned...

• what it is like to be in love (romantically)
• a number of things about love ...
• relationships...
• and purity.
• how many time I can pray the rosary on one day
• what it like to deal with the death of a friend
• that going to mass every day of the week (except Monday) isn't all that hard
• how cool the liturgy of the hours is
• the content of my classes
• that I like labs I just don't like lab reports
• the difference between a good and bad calculus professor
• a lot about managing my time in university
• the joy of finishing an assignment the day it was assigned
• that I've probably never done 40 hours of work in a week in my life
• that as interesting as philosophy is I don't find it academically stimulating
• that I complain about philosophy too much
• that the above doesn't matter because it over : )
• how fun the Wii is
• that the original Mairo Bros. is still fun in 2007
• that watching TV isn't worth my time
• how much more stuff I can do when I don't play W.o.W.
• that I'm not too holy for the discovery bible study
• that bible studies make me hungry
• what it's like to go to Rise up
• how to be a better DM
• that I was doing the moon walk wrong
• what it's like to be a CORE member
• that house painting isn't the summer job for me
• what it's like to own a decorative axe
• that bicycle sit ups are a lot harder that normal ones
• to teach people the basics of Motion and Live Type
• that I may not be doomed to suck at FPS games
• how well gummi bears, sour gummi worms, swedish berries and fuzzy peaches go together.
• how to makes salad dressing
• what beer tastes like
• what it's like to finish reading the whole bible
• what it's like to finish reading the whole catechism

I've also learned that we don't improve our lives by sitting around saying they will be better next year but things do improve when we can sit down and recall what we've learned because even if nothing else is different we are better off because of the knowledge we've gained. there are many things that I've learned that I'm regrettably unable to recall at this time, but hopefully those lessons will live on in some way in my mind, and maybe even resurface at some point in which case I might add them to the list.

God bless,

Jordan

Yes, the Catholic church does want your money

Not too long ago I heard that some politician got in trouble for not firing someone who had blogged something offensive along the lines of "the Catholic church disagrees with birth control because they want to have more tithing Catholics" while this is incorrect, there is some truth in it. The Church does in fact want more tithing Catholics.

For some reason people find this idea repulsive, I don't see why that should be so. A well funded church can provide so much for a community of believers, there are many ways that the church can use people's money to serve them. Actually I think that if enough people did so investing money (among other things) in your parish, can have much better returns than many investments that we do make.

God bless,
Jordan

Four words

Isn't it strange how the littlest things, like a short four word statement, can have such a profound impact on someone, or even multiple people. How often is it that there is that one little thing that happens to be so critical for things to have played out the way that they did. Sometimes that one little thing seems not to be in our favor, but I find that most of the time in my life the little things work in my favor. Often not in a particularly profound way.

But there are times when the impact is huge such a massive impact can be had on a life because of the smallest little thing. I really want to thank God for that. His providence can use the smallest little thing, like a four word statement, to guide a life closer to where he wants them to be in such a significant way.

How truly amazing.

God bless,
Jordan

Motives

There are a lot of things in life that can be done for the right reasons or for the wrong reasons. That is something that I've been thinking about in the last little bit. I often feel like I start to do something for the right reasons, but when I realize what else I stand to gain from the action I start to question my motives even back until the beginning of the act. My spiritual director pointed out to me that our motives will always be mixed and we always need to pray for God to further purify them.

I just realized in the last couple days that that whole concept is important to something else I hadn't connected it with; relationships. There are two main reasons to be in a romantic relationship (that is if we disregard reasons that are straight out wrong ie money status ect.) these are intimacy (both emotional and physical) and discernment for marriage. Some might say that it is also fun but what is our reason for wanting this particular fun? It is the intimacy. Now these days the secular world will tell us that it is ok for our romantic relationships to just be a way of seeking intimacy, but from a Christian perspective that can't be the point.

Now I'm not saying romantic relationships can't have intimacy that just wouldn't work. What I'm saying is that intimacy is the wrong reason for seeking or being in a romantic relationship. So how do we know when our motives are so impure that they could be destructive in a romantic relationship, well I think if one can pause and detach their mind from the promise or reality of intimacy as a reason for the relationship in question and there is still enough promise in the discernment for marriage to make it viable. I see that as the minimum but it is better to strive to go beyond that always longing and praying to have purer motives just like in the other situations.

God bless,
Jordan

Time and such

Time is a funny thing, it can fly when your having fun, it can seem to slow almost to a halt, a week can zoom by but when you look back it seems like Monday was ages ago, and sometimes you just want time to give you a break so you can skip to the next fun, exciting, or particularly purposeful thing you expect to happen to you.

In the past while I've been doing a lot of looking forward to many things, often it is harmless anticipation but sometimes when I forward too much to something that's too far off I start to trap myself in a bad mind set, because it is always easy to paint a picture of the future that looks better than the present, but if you anticipate that more then you appreciate the present then you're missing the point because the one thing about time that's always the same is, once you've spent it, it's gone.

I'm going to try something and invite everyone to join me. Ask yourself, what are you looking forward to most right now? How far off is it? Too far?

What is the next thing you're looking forward to even if you are just looking forward to it just a little? How far of it that? That's a little better isn't it? What are you doing between now and then? Is everything you are going to do in that time going to be un-enjoyable?

If so why are you doing it all? If not what about it are you going to enjoy most? Why aren't you looking forward to that? Can you look forward to it if you try? Now take a closer look between now and then, find what you will enjoy most about that time, can you look forward to that?

I think you get where this is going, if you can repeat this until you are thinking about whatever it is you are going to do when you stop reading this blog then you are off to a good start (if not you may just be about to do one of those thing that we all have to that we just won't like no matter how we think about it).

I need to learn to take joy from where I am in life right now regardless of where that is. I think that is a lesson lots of people need to learn. I've made a few steps in the right direction in the last couple months but I've got a long way to go.

I come to think that it is an important part of being mature. When we mature we take on responsibilities and while we often won't take stuff on till well after we could do it, but just taking on responsibility a quick as we can isn't want it means to be mature. We need to learn to take joy from the responsibilities we take on, that's the only way growing up won't suck. As we grow we lose the carefree play time of childhood and while we will always have and need some time to relax our lives will be bleak unless we learn to see the good in the responsibilities that fill our lives. If we learn to appreciate the responsibilities in our lives faster then we take them on then we're in for some fun times.

May you all see the beauty of what God has given you...Right now! :P,
Jordan

sept '06...OF DOOM

I'd like to welcome you to The word hole. I know a lot of people who favor blogger.com for their blogging purposes so I figured I'd do the same.

Summer is coming to an end and that's quite unfortunate because I didn't get a chance to enjoy it due to my job (house painting) which I hate with a passion, on the bright side I've proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that repetitive manual task is not a valid career option for me. I look forward to work actually involving the use of my brain.

On the other hand I don't look forward to having to pay for it. I realize I have it easier than most people but it just creates so much unwanted pressure. It doesn't help that none of my scholarships seem to have shown up in my account yet with school starting in 4 days.

My ironically named year off dating (Can I really be off dating if I never started) is starting to mess with my head.

Dang, why can't I ever blog about good stuff.

God bless,
Jordan