life is NOT a routine

perhaps the most terrible mistake a person can make is to start viewing life as one boring, never-ending routine. with each new day comes new opportunities, people, and experiences. life is boring only if you choose to see it that way. no two days are ever the same. each new day is a blessing from God -- it should never be seen as "just another day in the routine known as life."

..ok my mind just went blank. either i just lost my entire train of thought, or im getting more and more concise with these blog entries. either way, im pretty tired and im gonna go watch a movie or take a nap or something. enjoy your saturday =)

“Drop dem Rockz”
by Sam Mar

Life is like a jar that’s made of tin and round
I toss a rock inside, and it makes clanky sound

The more rocks I throw in, the louder it becomes
From the clanking of a stone, to the beating of a drum

Our lives are like a jar, with a noise of such cacophony
And eventually it’s a racket that can’t be ignored by any

Our lives are like a jar, with rocks hitting one another
Just like you and me, my sisters and my brothers

Our impact on one another, is real and creates a sound
That eventually can be heard, by everyone around.

That sound can be real quiet, if it’s just one or two
But keep tossin in those rocks, and the noise soon surrounds you

The sound is known as love, and the louder that it gets
The more rocks get thrown in, until they barely fit

Except in the can of life, the can is never full
There’s always room for more, I guess that’s just a rule

And the can is not a can, it’s a kingdom in which we sing
And the clanks are not annoying, they’re in perfect harmony

Our lives are like some rocks, that sound off God’s great love
By changing one another, we spread it far and above

So drop dem rocks together and we will try to be
The body of Christ to those around in our community

Our lives create a sound, no matter what you do
How loud you will be, is completely up to you

What I Learned

society is quite interesting. especially this thing called "school," also known as the "education system."

having 12 full years of schooling experience under my belt, i find it pretty funny the information that i truly learned at each year of my schooling career.

let's take it from the beginning..

pre-k and kindergarten: i learned that going to school was exciting, and that being "good" in class was the best way to not get sent into a corner for timeout.

elementary school: i learned that i excelled in 2 areas of school: spelling and basketball. i learned the basic facts and concepts for math and science and english.

middle school: i learned that getting to know a whole new group of friends can be scary, but in the end, it's all worth it. i learned that i don't have to study hard to get an A.

high school: i learned that middle school was a joke. i learned that i had to work a little bit harder for an A. i learned that sleep was a commodity. i learned the value of genuine friendship.

college: i learned that all of my hard work in high school was used for one purpose: to get into college. i learned that from here on out, all my hard work will be spent in an attempt to someday land a good job. i learned that self-control and self-discipline are the most important traits in college. i learned that i miss people more than i thought i would. i learned to let God take control of my emotions, my decisions, and my life.

*sigh* this post reminds me of mrs. stephenson's class last year. you know that poster she has on the left side of her room, the one that says "Things I've Learned"? or, well, something to that effect. heh..i must have read through that poster at least twice every day last year.

i heard from someone that in college, every class that i take will be filled with COMPLETELY USELESS INFORMATION. man, and i thought the stuff i learned in high school was completely pointless..great.

wow this entire post was completely random. im trying to think of what my point of writing this was, but i really don't know anymore. well, hope i didn't waste your time. have a splendid day =)

either wake up or just go back to sleep

you ever feel like the biggest challenge of every day is just waking up in the morning? for me, this has been a pretty huge problem for years. ever since i started going to school 12 years ago, my parents have basically had to wake me up every single day. and if you know me well, you know that this process of "waking me up" does not simply consist of shaking my shoulders a bit or gently calling my name. most of the time, it entails several trips to my bed, constant yells from downstairs, taking away my blanket, etc etc. honestly speaking, i dont know how they did it.

here at UT, i guess for the most part ive been getting up on my own pretty well. with a few slips here and there, most everyday i wake up between 10:00-10:30, in time to take a morning shower, brush my teeth, grab a quick bite to eat, and hurry off to class. the problem is, most of the time, for the first half of the day or so, im still not entirely "awake." i mean, of course, im "not asleep," but at the same time, i can't really say im..eh...what word am i looking for..ok here's some words that kind of fit from thesaurus.com: active, bright, cagey, careful, circumspect, clever, good hands, heads up, heedful, hip, hopped up, intelligent, jazzed, lively, looking, observant, on guard, perceptive, psyched up, quick, ready, sharp, spirited, switched on, vigilant, wary, watchful, wide-awake, wired, wise, with it.

a couple days ago, i was walking to class kinda half-awake, and i see phil and angela on the way. i stop to chat for a bit, and i remember phil telling me these exact words as i was leaving: "dude, either wake up or just go back to sleep."

i know phil was just kidding around and everything, but, well, knowing me, it made me think. when you walk around half-asleep, you might as well be sleeping. am i right? of course i am. hehe but seriously, being half-asleep doesn't do you or anyone else any good. you can't really pay attention to what people are saying, you don't really learn anything in class, etc.

(ok so you're probably thinking, "what is mok blabbering about today"? well, believe it or not, i do have a point to all this. i think..)

somehow, all this reminded me of the fbcc high school fellowship t-shirt from a few years back that read: are you living, or just breathing?

to me, "just breathing" is sort of like walking around half-asleep. sure, you're breathing, but that's about it. it's when you truly "wake up" and start "living" that you truly get the most out of life. when you truly start living for God, that's when He can mold you into the person He wants you to be and use you to do His will.

man, im talking in analogies now. what's going on...

ok so congratulations if you made it through this entire post. you either completely followed my train of thought, or you're just really really bored =P

pop that bubble

yesterday from 1-5, i volunteered at the salvation army with my group from my business class.

i helped make ice tea. i assisted in sorting out the good oranges from the bad ones -- the "bad ones" being the oranges that were so covered in mold that at first glance, you could have no possible idea that the object was even a fruit. i had the privilege of scrubbing and washing the huge oven/stove thing after all the food had been cooked. i had tons of fun sliding around in the pool of grease that was on the floor. i welcomed many people and helped to serve dinner.

overall, volunteering yesterday was an awesome experience. the only possible negative result was that helping out at the salvation army brought about some major "atlanta nostalgia." ever since the start of this school year, i've been trying to get into contact with darren king, a good friend i met while i was staying at blood 'n fire. it's frustrating not being able to get into contact with him, but hey, im sure i'll reach him sooner or later, right?

hm, well, back to my point. i was just talking with my classmates after we volunteered, and i realized that for some of them, it was the first time that they had ever come into such close contact with this kind of situation. just hearing some of their remarks after the experience made me realize the importance of things like volunteering, community service, and mission trips.

without any of these experiences, you never get a chance to really see life outside of your nice "suburban life" bubble. you never see how things are on the other side of the picture.

well, that's just my two cents for today. it's time for small group!

special thanks to peter, mark, michelle, and ophelia for their part in waking me up.

i am now going to start writing my essay, even though i basically have no idea what the heck this philosophy stuff is talking about.

oh, and those of you who came to this site expecting a real post, im sorry =P

better luck tomorrow.

..which wasn't that good of a movie, btw.