Watch This Space

I'm feeling fiesty... mmm. So, watch out for some new posts coming up here.

Bryce

The Best Song Ever

It'll change your life.

"Help me out here" by the Cobalt Season
(you can listen to it here - help me out here

Rain falling down on my face
Wash me clean, wash my sins away
Take me back where I used to run
Fast and free like the kingdom come

Like the kingdom come

Still we go marching on blood on our hands
Dirt on our skin, heads in the sand
In some other town or in the here and now
How far where we go all that we allow

Help me out here, I'm getting tired
Help me out here, I'm getting tired

And pardon me, if I say too muhc
I could never ignore that which i ought not touch
Curiosity might be all I got and some cynicsym from experienced rut
Cause my experience brought me here

They say we must go on, never looking back
Lest we ever learn the wisdom that we lack
Curiosity, it might be my death
Though I may stop from time to time to catch my breath

Would you help me out here? I'm getting tired.
Help me out here, I'm getting tired.

And all that we need to see, and all those we need to hear
We tie their hands behind their backs and look away

Yes we tear the shirts right off their backs
And then donate cash for all they lack
Fancy ourselves philanthropists
Save justice for another day

And we wonder how we got so far
Making money off each others scars
"Still it's never my fault, I mean what other options did I have?"

Buying someone else's tyrannic dream Of force and greed and foolish schemes When there is light to help illuminate the way? Still we choose to tell each other lies That this kingdom could never be realized The master never could of meant the words he said...

I'm getting tired.

Where do we go from here? God only knows.
Perhaps that's just some bullshit spiritual prose.
Perhaps we're the ones, we've been waiting for.

Perhaps God has just been waiting at our door.
He's waiting at the door.

I'll try to be the first to tell you when I'm wrong
Write a book about it right here in my song.

Here is where I start to try and start again
Learning to become father and a friend.

Would you help me out here? I'm getting tired.

Zenhabits.net

If you're like me, life comes at you fast with different obstacles. Tests, lab reports, projects, meetings... But, this website here has some great tips on staying on top of it all. There are posts ranging from simplicity to motivation. It's a site I check regularly and have gotten a lot out of. For instance, I just read a post about anti-multitasking - focusing on one thing until it's done. Good stuff.

Maturity?

I'm not entirely convinced the world likes 'mature' people. People who can wake up early and get things done right. The guys who save their money instead of getting that new TV. Even in my head, I am pushed away by these people. They're not the life of a party and won't be seen in any funny YouTube videos. In today's culture, it seems like maturity is something we're all expected to grow into, but we have no one to model it.

Now, I am far from an expert in maturity. But, I know the Bible calls us to maturity. While I don't even have a nice, clean definition of the word, I think I have some ideas it's based around.

The first thing is being content. You can't be mature without some level of contentedness. It usually happens one day when you realize you're spreading yourself too thin. I wanted (and still do...) to be a great artist, photographer, doctor, friend, movie-maker, writer, and have a kickin' girlfriend. Oh, and get all A's at Rolla so I can go to Med School. But, when I went through and did some prioritizing, Med School trumped all these things. If I wanted to grow into who I wanted to be, Med School had to be the main focus. I had to realize that all the other things I do are great and fun, but some of it had to be cut out so I could grow into schoolwork. I had to be content with getting A's in classes, and not becoming the next Speilberg, Van Gogh, writer for the Office, or Ansel Adams.

From my experiences, the second part of maturity comes from discipline. Oooh... what a terrible word! How about we call it a routine, or a direction. Over the past week, I've been realizing the value of having a routine. I specifically set aside some time to get through some lab reports (instead of doing them the night before at 11 pm), and I realized just how much time I have! The worst part of the routine isn't making a schedule, but following through. This can't happen with any cheap advice or words, but has to come from a greater motivation (at least for me). Some days it happens, and some days it doesn't. This whole process grows you into maturity.

Now, this isn't the complete story for maturity, but at least I got my few cents of experience out there.

Also, I have a challenge. But, it's not to you, my great mass of readers, but to myself. I am going to try to post something once a day! Not only will this help my writing, force me to have a routine, but posting everyday means that I can see if this dumb thing really matters to me. Cause if it doesn't, it's gotta go!

Bryce

My Favorite Anberlin Song

(...maybe even my theme song)

Burn Out Brighter

Live, I wanna live inspired
Die, I wanna die for something

Facing towards the heavens
I fell into a pitch black
I'm moments from landing and I'm shaking like a heart attack

Is the time, can I turn back
I've made mistakes in the past
Need a chance, can't take it back
Wish I could set things right tonight

Live, I wanna live inspired
Die, I wanna die for something higher than myself
Live and die for anyone else
The more I live I see this life's not about me

All I know spins out of control
Wonder what's next for heart and soul
Nothing I earned can save me now
Hearing one day be my final hour

Is the time, can I turn back
I've made mistakes in the past
Need a chance, can't take it back
Wish I could set things right tonight

Live, I wanna live inspired
Die, I wanna die for something higher than myself
Live and die for anyone else
The more I live I see this life's not about me

Don't wanna leave this world knowing I preach in vain
Looked out for myself, so sorry so ashamed
Don't wanna leave this life knowing I barely tried
Chased all my dreams that I can't weigh on the inside

Live, I wanna live on fire
Die, I wanna burn out brighter
Brighter than the Northern lights
Wanna live to feel the daylight
The more I live I see that this life's not about me

More posts coming soon...!

B

The best days are the ones where you're missing your pants at some point... unless you live somewhere cold, or you're homeless.

Something was different about today. But, before I start the story, I have to let you know how the day started. I began reading Romans today and I couldn't get the first line out of my head. Please, before you put me off as an awesome christian, understand that I haven't read my bible regularly in almost a month. I haven't opened it in a few weeks. I'm not a 'good' christian.

Anyways, Paul calls himself 'a bond servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God...' The part that struck me the hardest was the last part - set apart for the gospel of God. When I read this, I ask myself what would happen if that was my purpose - I am set apart for the gospel of God. What if sharing and living out the gospel was my only intention in life? Wow. Anyways, so I was chewing on that bit for the rest of the day...

Physical Chemistry II, Intermediate Quantitative Analysis, and Molecular Genetics slipped by. I was so tired. I almost fell asleep once for every letter in those class names. (I did stay up late and get up early).

But, I wasn't worried about these classes, I was worried about what lied ahead at 1:00.

I had a lab for P-Chem. But, out of five groups, me and my partner were the lucky group to start out with zero information and design an experiment to figure out a reaction rate. If you don't understand where to begin from this, then you're in my shoes.

We gave a presentation the week before about how we were going to perform the experiment (we had no idea what to do), and the teacher ripped us apart with a few specific questions. I wasn't looking forward to this lab at all.

We ended up finding a part of an experiment online that we hoped to get working. So, we went into the lab, hoping to work something out. Now, I could go into some chemistry methods and such, but I won't do that. Very simply, we got the experiment to work, but it was running too fast. So, me and Brian worked out some math, and figured out how to make it run slower. And it did! Then, we tried to speed it up, and again we succeeded! I guess I've always had my doubts in chemistry, never thinking I was 'good enough.' But, this lab today somehow proved to my doubting inner ego that yes, I can do chemistry (which is good, since I've been studying it for four years).

As I'm walking back from lab, on top of the world, I hear music coming from our neighboring house. I thought they were having a dance party or something, but no one was outside, or on the porch... then I saw five people on the roof including a violinist and a guitartist...

About three minutes later, I was up there too. Their roof is actually very comfortable if you lie down. And, something about being on a roof changes things. Maybe it's just because it's a whole new perception experience, or maybe it's because you feel superior to the peons below... I'm not sure.

I came back from across the street pretty content. I was so happy, I loaded up an episode of the Office that I downloaded for free. It was just about as close to perfection as I could get. I had a quesadilla on one plate, a cherry coke by my side, and my pants were missing. And, I watched the office to my heart's content. Amazing.

Then, our first gel group came along. I'm co-leading a group going through John 13-17 (the upper room discourse). Now, you may not know this, but I hate public speaking. I'm fine if I don't know I'll be in front of people, but once I'm there, knowing what's coming... I freak out. I've been trying to improve, trying to throw myself out there, but it's still hard.

So, I guess I was sort of dreading tonight. I was basing how this night would go off of how my last worry-wrought one was. Anyways, it ended up going really well. We didn't run out of stuff to say, no awkward moments happened, and I got to know all the people in our group. I know I'm not Larry King now or anything, but it's a nice step forward.

So, that's been my day. But, it's important not to forget where it all started. I know I won't.

Bryce

“If you read history you will find that the Christians who did the most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this.” ~C.S. Lewis

[Maybe one of these days I'll put up a post that isn't as serious. I've realized lately though that I really like things that have some sort of meaning in all parts of them, especially movies. So, I guess I put a lot of thought into the things I do.]

Check this:

The Irresistible Revolution

"Too often we just do what makes sense to us and ask God to bless it. In the Beatitudes, God tells us what God blesses - the poor, the peacemakers, the hungry, those who mourn, those who show mercy - so we should not ask God's blessing on a declaration that we will have no mercy on evildoers (war). We know all too well that we have a God who shows mercy on evildoers, for if he didn't, we'd all be in big trouble, and for that, this evildoer is very glad. Rather than do what makes sense to us and ask God's blessing, we'd do better to surround ourselves with those whom God promises to bless, and then we need not ask God's blessing. It's just what God does."

~Shane Clairborne, the Irresistible Revolution

This book teaches me about living a way of life following the Prince of Peace. It's teaching me about compassion, and not to sit around and wait for things to change. It's a book about love without human boundaries. And, I'm only halfway through!