Monday, January 21, 2008

Hooray for weekends?

Well, it was a pretty relaxed weekend... sort of. I spent the better part of it being annoyed at everyone. I'm not usually in a very good mood when I don't feel well. I just hope my roommates didn't experience too much hostility from me (well, I don't think they experienced any hostility, but I hope I wasn't rude).

I started reading Blue Like Jazz... Donald Miller does not hold back, Ive only read two chapters, but I think it's a good book. I look forward to seeing what else he has to say.
I'm still progressing through The Pilgrims Progress. It's a good book too.
I have to start reading Letters Across the Divide by David Anderson and Brent Zuercher. It's for my Multicultural Youth Ministry Class.

I have to admit that I'm a little overwhelmed with the reading. By no means is it a lot to read yet, but I keep wanting to finish one book before I start another, so I'm having a little trouble getting started on the third book. I think I'll just sit down and read a little tonight, and since I don't have any classes tomorrow because of MLKJ Day, I'll read the rest of what I'm supposed to read tomorrow.

I'm sure these journals of me talking about my school work aren't very fascinating; are they? But maybe you would like to read about the content of some of the books I'm reading, such as Blue Like Jazz.

WARNING: May contain spoilers. If you have not read the book, do not read this:

So Chapter one pretty much consisted of Donald Miller giving us background into his life. But what is amazing is the reality in his experience. You can relate to him, you can read about his experiences and know that he's talking from a perspective that shouts honesty. In chapter two we begin to see his journey and the realizations he has about God and himself.

Short, I know. I think one of the things that hit me the most in chapter two is when he was talking about going to a protest with a friend of his wanting to change the world, but realizing that the world wasn't the problem, he was. It resonated with me because I see what he was talking about very much in my own life. You know... I want to change the world, it's so messed up, there's so much wrong, nobody cares... This is what he said in the book that I thought was so profound:

"When we were done, I started wondering if we had accomplished anything. I started wondering whether we could actually change the world. I mean, of course we could-we could change our buying haabits, elect socially conscious representatives and that sort of things, but I honestly don't believe we will be solving the greater human conflict with our efforts. the problem is not a certain type of legislation or even a certain politician. The problem is the same problem that is has always been. I am the problem. ... The thing I realized onthe day we protested... was that it did me no good to protest America's responsiblity in global poverty when I wasn't even giving money to my church, which has a terrific homelss ministry. I started feeling very much like a hypocrite. " (pgs 19-20)

To go with the old saying: To change the world, you must first change yourself.

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