So, I've got this crazy idea
And it's to get myself in some form of shape. I'm sick of being out of shape, or what I consider out of shape. Here's the plan. I have people that I'll lift upper body with on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Tuesday and Thursday I'll go running, more than likely up at the SDC until it finally gets nice out. And everyday, I'll start out with some situps and pushups. It's not that I'm incredibly out of shape, but I'd like to be in better shape, as in the shape that I was in when I was playing sports regularly.
And while I'm at it I should start eating better... problem is dorm food isn't very condusive to that, and I would have no idea what to eat. I don't like any salad dressings that they have and I guess I could have salad without dressing, it just doesn't sound very appetising. What I can do is cut all of the excess sugar in my current diet, i.e. all the energy drinks and candy.
I think that the main drive behind this is to become more disciplined. I'm not very disciplined as of now and I'd really like to see that change. That's one of the most discusting traits that I think that I have. That and the laziness... but they tend to go hand in hand. If I'm spending more than 15 minutes doing nothing at my desk, I shouldn't be in my room. So, I'll try to get out when that situation arises, the only problem with that is that I can't exactly go to another room in my house so to speak.
I finished up Searching for God Knows What. I enjoyed it. I didn't agree with everything that he had to say, but I did agree with his assessment that we need to pay more attention to the poetic aspects of the bible. In other words, we need to stop condensing the bible in to a 4 step plan to getting better, or here is the main points that arise in this passage. Like poetry, much of the bible must simply be taken in and dwelt upon and felt, rather than condensed voiding it of it's meaning. The other point that really struck me from it was when he mentioned who felt the most at home around Jesus. The answer? Prosititutes, adulterors, those of ill-repute, in other words the sinners. Who didn't feel comfortable around Jesus? Hypocrites, mainly spiritual hypocrites. Okay now two more questions. Who feels comfortable around you, if in fact you are a representitive of Christ through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit inside of you? If Christ was ministering today as he was when he lived would you feel comfortable around him? I know that people who are sinners are in fact comfortable around me, does this mean that I'm following the path that Jesus blazed back in the day? I don't think so. Too many times do I still put my faith on hold to "have fun". And in that respect, I wouldn't feel comfortable around Christ were I to run across him on the street tomorrow. Would I truely be able to drop everything and follow him? Leave my planned out life behind me, leave my possessions, leave all that hinders me behind turn and follow him. I don't know. I want to say that I would, but if that were the case why can't I do it now. I know that I could if met him on the street and he asked me to. Why can't I say the same thing in regards to my life right now. I need to refocus and reprioritize myself. I think it needs to be something like this... 1. - 478. God, 479. Everything else.
So I found a new favorite song, and it's a cover of a not altogether well known song. The song is Heartbeats and the man is Mr. Jose Gonzalez. Here's a clip of him performing the song on Conan. I'll also give you the lyrics...
One night to be confused
One night to speed up truth
We had a promise made
Four hands and then away
Both under influence
We had divine scent
To know what to say
Mind is a razor blade
To call for hands from above to lean on
Would that be good enough for me?
One night of magic rush
The start: a simple touch
One night to push and scream
And then relief
Ten days of perfect tunes
The colors red and blue
We had a promise made
We were in love
To call for hands from above to lean on
Would that be good enough for me?
To call for hands from above to lean on
Would that be good enough?
And you
You knew the hand of the devil
And you
Kept us awake with wolves teeth
Sharing different heartbeats in one night
To call for hands from above to lean on
Would that be good enough for me now?
To call for hands from above to lean on
Would that be good enough?
I guess this means that I'm on a mellow song kick. I just love this song. The original is pretty good as well just nowhere near Jose doing it as far as I'm concerned. It's by a band called The Knife. Either way, I love the way sings... very subdued, almost haunting. It makes me think that he is singing about a love that cheated on him. Especially during the bridge where "you knew the hands of the devil" would refer to knowing the devil, another person, in the biblical sense of the word. Then moving to "Kept us awake with wolves teeth" referring to being kept awake because your lover has not yet returned and you're suspicious and ready to bear your teeth. And the chorus calling for help from above because you cannot handle what just happened and wondering if it will do any good to heal the wounds. But that's just my interpretation. Regardless, the song is amazing and I'm going to do my darndest to try and learn to play it.
Currently Reading... Chuck Norris - Against All Odds (Thanks, Kurt!)
Currently Listening to... Jose Gonzalez - Heartbeats
And while I'm at it I should start eating better... problem is dorm food isn't very condusive to that, and I would have no idea what to eat. I don't like any salad dressings that they have and I guess I could have salad without dressing, it just doesn't sound very appetising. What I can do is cut all of the excess sugar in my current diet, i.e. all the energy drinks and candy.
I think that the main drive behind this is to become more disciplined. I'm not very disciplined as of now and I'd really like to see that change. That's one of the most discusting traits that I think that I have. That and the laziness... but they tend to go hand in hand. If I'm spending more than 15 minutes doing nothing at my desk, I shouldn't be in my room. So, I'll try to get out when that situation arises, the only problem with that is that I can't exactly go to another room in my house so to speak.
I finished up Searching for God Knows What. I enjoyed it. I didn't agree with everything that he had to say, but I did agree with his assessment that we need to pay more attention to the poetic aspects of the bible. In other words, we need to stop condensing the bible in to a 4 step plan to getting better, or here is the main points that arise in this passage. Like poetry, much of the bible must simply be taken in and dwelt upon and felt, rather than condensed voiding it of it's meaning. The other point that really struck me from it was when he mentioned who felt the most at home around Jesus. The answer? Prosititutes, adulterors, those of ill-repute, in other words the sinners. Who didn't feel comfortable around Jesus? Hypocrites, mainly spiritual hypocrites. Okay now two more questions. Who feels comfortable around you, if in fact you are a representitive of Christ through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit inside of you? If Christ was ministering today as he was when he lived would you feel comfortable around him? I know that people who are sinners are in fact comfortable around me, does this mean that I'm following the path that Jesus blazed back in the day? I don't think so. Too many times do I still put my faith on hold to "have fun". And in that respect, I wouldn't feel comfortable around Christ were I to run across him on the street tomorrow. Would I truely be able to drop everything and follow him? Leave my planned out life behind me, leave my possessions, leave all that hinders me behind turn and follow him. I don't know. I want to say that I would, but if that were the case why can't I do it now. I know that I could if met him on the street and he asked me to. Why can't I say the same thing in regards to my life right now. I need to refocus and reprioritize myself. I think it needs to be something like this... 1. - 478. God, 479. Everything else.
So I found a new favorite song, and it's a cover of a not altogether well known song. The song is Heartbeats and the man is Mr. Jose Gonzalez. Here's a clip of him performing the song on Conan. I'll also give you the lyrics...
One night to be confused
One night to speed up truth
We had a promise made
Four hands and then away
Both under influence
We had divine scent
To know what to say
Mind is a razor blade
To call for hands from above to lean on
Would that be good enough for me?
One night of magic rush
The start: a simple touch
One night to push and scream
And then relief
Ten days of perfect tunes
The colors red and blue
We had a promise made
We were in love
To call for hands from above to lean on
Would that be good enough for me?
To call for hands from above to lean on
Would that be good enough?
And you
You knew the hand of the devil
And you
Kept us awake with wolves teeth
Sharing different heartbeats in one night
To call for hands from above to lean on
Would that be good enough for me now?
To call for hands from above to lean on
Would that be good enough?
I guess this means that I'm on a mellow song kick. I just love this song. The original is pretty good as well just nowhere near Jose doing it as far as I'm concerned. It's by a band called The Knife. Either way, I love the way sings... very subdued, almost haunting. It makes me think that he is singing about a love that cheated on him. Especially during the bridge where "you knew the hands of the devil" would refer to knowing the devil, another person, in the biblical sense of the word. Then moving to "Kept us awake with wolves teeth" referring to being kept awake because your lover has not yet returned and you're suspicious and ready to bear your teeth. And the chorus calling for help from above because you cannot handle what just happened and wondering if it will do any good to heal the wounds. But that's just my interpretation. Regardless, the song is amazing and I'm going to do my darndest to try and learn to play it.
Currently Reading... Chuck Norris - Against All Odds (Thanks, Kurt!)
Currently Listening to... Jose Gonzalez - Heartbeats
posted by Dan at 1:02 AM
4 Comments:
in reading "blue like jazz" and "through painted deserts" i picked up on the same and/or similar thoughts as you did from "searching". i agree in some parts, and disagree in others... but something i realized on my re-read of "blue" is that things aren't so either-or as I interpret miller as saying. there are more ways people read the bible than only poetic or self-help. the poetic aspect is important, but not sufficient, and the self-help aspect, i think, is a distortion and far insufficient perversion of some aspects of our role in sanctification. all said, interesting writer, i suppose.
i kinda get the false dichotomy sense from other writers of our day. they bring up some good points, but then kind of sour me when they lump anything that doesn't fit their idea into some big evil opposing view. bah. sorry, frustrations. i feel like if i'm not exactly how they say i need to be, then i'm one of THEM.
it's like donnie darko's stupid teacher. there's more than just fear and love! things are complicated.
i think the difference in the way people felt around Christ was in their attitude toward Him. the people mentioned that felt comfort around Him were the ones that came to Him repentant and/or searching. the hypocrites were not repentent and Jesus was therefore a threat to them.
i think there's a lot to be said for digging into the bible and gaining an intellectual understanding of the word of God. it's not to be mistaken for holiness, or relation to God, but i doubt you can have much of either without understanding in our heads what the bible says. the charge to know and understand the scriptures is given over and over clearly throughout the Old and New Testament.
again, this is where i see it much less of an either-or and much more as a both-and... with a few more things mixed in.
i don't want to come off as argumentative or anything, dan, and i hope you already knew that, but i'm not quite sure where you're coming from and i hear a lot of people saying things lately like disregarding teaching of the bible, theology, etc etc etc. and it makes me nervous.
oh, don't worry... I still think that theology is incredibly important, if not more. It's more that I never really read the bible for the poetry before. I don't know why, I just didn't ever meditate on it and just try to take it in. I'm in no way trying to say that that would be the correct way to go about things. It's more just an avenue that has been left unexplored for me.
ahhhh, ok, gotcha. whew. i was remembering you printing up the piper sermons (i've been listening to some of those), so i thought it would be a weird shift for you.
i've been feeling the same lately. i didn't realize it was the poetic aspect i was overlooking, but definitely realizing that knowing about God is not the same as knowing God. actually felt like i related to a lot of your post. the discipline and laziness thing especially. like... creepy almost.
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