Thursday, April 05, 2007

Short and Sweet: The Important Things in Life// Fasting



Friend and I scampering over to a tall door to take a picture at Columbia U. A philosophy major was sitting with his thick book a few feet away from us wondering the heck we were doing.

Things haven't been right the past few days hence no post. Some changes will have to be made either I accomodate or I'll have to make this blog shallower.
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Shifting Paradigms: The Important Things in Life

Today has been a day full of ups and downs- mainly I found out my roomie doesn't have to take Body Garment- the class I have been dragged into taking kicking and screaming. Now that she doesn't have to take it, I'm seething. The funniest thing about this is is that my roomie made her advisor talk to my advisor- the very same person who made me take the class, and basically told her colleague that my roomie does not have to take the course! WHAT THE HECK?!?! To make matters worse, my advisor is also one of my teachers for next semester and she likes to hold grudges hence I will probably not be getting a good grade unless I kiss her feet. I cannot believe I'm dealing with such a person right now. Right now I'm organizing a 'coup d'etat'... LOL. At least I plan to overthrow that stupid course out of the way so I can take 'Intro to Psych'. $4000 not including materials I am not willing to spend on a really stupid course. 11:30am tomorrow morn at the office.

As this was unfolding, I simultaneously received an email which was strangely three hours late. By this time I was feeling very bitter (towards my advisor), scared (for my future) and hopeless (about my career). I can say at first when I read the beginning, I thought it would be some excerpt or quote. However I think this is one email that I can say is not pure mind but a balance of both heart and mind. The funny thing about grace is that both people in a friendship/relationship do not feel like they 'deserve' one another yet being one of them- I have a list of reasons why you have been such a good friend though you may not see it in such clarity because you are not me and I don't understand what caused you to write such an email because I am not you. But either way, it reminds me of Kirk Franklin and Co's 'Lean On Me'.
The whole thing just put things into perspective for me- that in the end it really does not matter if I have to take this screwy class (although I really really do not want to take it), that it's my friends that will be my joy (of course assuming God is already in the picture. :P)
I'm going to listen to that song now. The last time I listened to it was exactly three days shy of a year. Weird.

Life is tumultuous.
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Fasting
Ask me two years ago about why people still fast and I would have told you either 1) I have no idea why. 2) It's outdated. 3) It's optional usually for hardcore spiritual people.
And then last year I read an article in the Brio, the Christian magazine for girls/women, that discussed about the reasons why we still fast. I've been trying to find the article because it was pretty good except when I plug it into their search engine, I get reviews on 'Fast and the Furious'. -_-
The writer basically said the primary reason why we still fast- be it food or other material goods/entertainment, is because fasting shows God that we do not rely on 'worldy' things to satisfy us and to show that we have completely surrendered our lives to Him.
Tomorrow is Good Friday (and our school does not get any Easter holiday- lame!) and they asked us all to fast for a day. Some NYU students have been doing the Daniel fast for two weeks where you slowly wean yourself off of certain food groups and then the last week, you eat nothing. That's hardcore especially with school to handle at the same time.
I also decided to semi 'join' Robyn in her own year long fast from certain material goods- except I'm only doing thirty days- I figured I did 30 Hour Famine several years back, I'd just change it into days. I think I need this sooner or later- to fully understand what it means to place God first, Him as provider, giver and taker of life and to assure myself that I have not placed other things before Him.

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