My couch may be extremely comfy, but it is also faulty. If you lay too long on it, you begin to develop back pain

I've learned a lot of things about life during my time in college.
I have learned what it means to make your money work for you, what it looks like to glorify God through mundane things like doing homework for a class, I have learned that it actually isn't possible to stay awake until 4am every night and still function properly.

I have learned a lot of things.

And of all these lessons, the one I have not quite learned yet but am constantly improving on is this:
Don't get comfortable.

It is when we get comfy that we miss out on so many opportunities to grow more in the understanding that God is the supporter of all, that Christ is at the center of all.

So, when we begin to settle into a satisfying posture, whether that be a situation, a relationship, a place, a state of mind, one of two things happen:

1. We become complacent. We slowly ween off of our trust in God and begin trusting in ourselves and relying on our own humanly understanding and ability to get by, ignoring the movement of God in our lives.
or
2. Something happens to disturb the cushion; a lump forms in the couch cover or you realize you left the book you needed on the other side of the room and you have to get up. In other words, God provides an event or occurrence to help upset the comfort that we have managed to achieve and settle for through our own meek abilities.

I know people who are fine placing themselves in the first category, maybe not admitting totally to the terms, but still accepting the comfort and desiring to stay there.
I'd like to think that I'm a person who desires the second category, one who can notice the moving of God as a sign that something about my life or actions or faith needs to change. Of course it is hard in that moment of upset to say, "yes! I want this!" but if we can be prepared for those moments to come, maybe it will be more possible to be open to the Spirit in that.

Currently, I am experiencing a time of discomfort. I had come up with a plan, a wonderful amazing humanly plan, for how the next few years of my life would look, exactly how certain events would work out. However, at the beginning of last semester, I began to feel the tiniest hint of discomfort.

You know like when you have a tag on your shirt that just starts rubbing you the wrong way, but not enough to do something about it.. it was kinda like that.

Anyways, to make a really long and drawn out story short, I have come up against a difficult financial situation that affects my last semester of college, which will be this coming Fall.
In the past, I would have freaked out at this and immediately begin to worry myself crazy about how it would all work out.
But because of the great glory of God that I have experienced thus far in my academic career, I feel much more at ease in the present situation. While I'm not slacking in figuring things out, I am no where near as devastated as I would have been in the past. I know that God is good and that He works all things out for the good of those who trust in Him, whether or not that means my idea of good or His.

I would definitely appreciate prayer for this time, that things will be sorted out and that I will, of course, by the grace of God be able to complete my final semester here at Biola.

On Christ the solid rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand.

Well Isn't That Just Iconic..?

The Hallmark Channel is currently filming a movie called "The Class" on Biola's campus. They are literally everywhere; in the library, on Metzger, IN Metzger, the mailboxes, commons... all over the place. It's a pretty exciting and interesting atmosphere.

Today I was sitting outside of the library, just taking a breather and observing some of the filming, maybe secretly trying to get into a shot with my bright red sweatshirt... and I noticed something peculiar. I've noticed this specific thing in movies before and it has always seemed weird but to see it within the context of Biola being the set, was really intriguing.

Now, I don't know what this movie is about, but it takes place on a college campus ("Morgan State College") so naturally, many of their background actors are supposed to be everyday, regular college students. Yet, like in most movies involving high school or college age subjects, the actual actors are not even close. They look like they are about 28 years old and the backpacks they are carrying, casually slung over one shoulder, are pitifully empty, have they ever even been to college?

this is what average college students typically look like during finals..

I just love the fact that this company is filming on a college campus, yet their actors look nothing like the reality they are trying to portray. While this is a small and minute detail of movie making, and, sure maybe in the big picture of things, who cares if they look a little older? This becomes a more serious issue when the images being portrayed are negatively influencing young minds. Or even middle age and old minds! Our media is constantly trying to portray people as older, more beautiful, smarter, more confident and much more put together than the majority of real human beings actually are!

For example, the most recent Miley Cyrus music video for Party in the U.S.A. features her, a fresh 17 year old young girl, flaunting her long skinny legs and flashing her black bra which happens to be sticking out of her shirt the whole time. The backup dancers are all probably in their mid- late 20's, women who are dressed pretty high fashion and acceptably for their age, but definitely not what young teenage girls should be epitomizing.

All of that to say, it's just about finals week, and what kind of student would I be if I didn't have something to rant about and procrastinate with!?