And they're at the Turn...

Hello friends and family,

You know, coming back to a blog is almost as hard as starting to work out again after having not done so for a long time. I use that illustration because I worked out earlier this morning. Really though, I remember saying on Facebook that I would update this blog during the first week of school, and here we are in the fourth week, and I am FINALLY getting around to it. I also have letters to write to friends back home, gosh I am just behind like crazy.

The start of classes brings new stresses, new opportunities, and more chances to forget that I am supposed to do things for different classes. Last year, I learned that I can do well in school as long as I stay ahead, go into every class with an attitude that I am trying to learn, and ask questions at any point that I am not sure of things. This year, things change slightly, because my classes this semester provide me with a different sort of problems. This year, I have my capstone class, Historiography, which requires extensive amounts of time per week, and the homework is never really finished until the final paper (appx 30 pages +/-) is turned in come April. I notice that it is difficult to figure out how much time to spend on that class and when to spend it. Along with this, I have reading-intensive classes that require lots of time as well. I have worksheets to do every week, so there is no shortcutting or skimming that I can do with that. I have Spanish, which is mostly difficult because my brain keeps trying to spit out Turkish that I learned over the last six months. I also have a practicum class, which requires me to get involved somewhere, get a mentor, and write journals for the entirety of the school year. I have not started that yet, and the clock is ticking. Needless to say, the first four weeks have gone by very, very quickly, and it is safe to assume the rest of the semester and year will as well. On top of the schooling, I am also a Teacher Assistant (and am teaching his class this Friday while he is away at a conference) and the President of our History honors society, so I have had additional work on my plate. This semester will be a good test run to see how I handle this sort of load. Before, I always ended up prioritizing one thing while letting everything else go by the wayside. Hopefully, I can maintain a better balance this time around. Pray that I will be able to handle the workload, that I will be diligent and responsible with my time, and that I will be effective in each of these areas.

The world of sports has been fun the last few months for me. The Oakland A's are about to make the playoffs, though it isn't in the fashion I would have hoped. I won't go into complaints or details, but I will say that when they lose, I often have to remind myself that it is only baseball, and it isn't life. But sometimes it can be quite exciting. Now, college football, that is something I am quite passionate about. My Nebraska Cornhuskers are 4-0 right now, and I am very happy about that. I was able to attend a game in Fresno, since Nebraska happened to be playing a game on the west coast this season. It was awesome! My whole family got to go as well, but unfortunately, Kendra was not able to make the trip because she had soccer. I had hoped to be able to take her, I think she would have loved it. Hopefully, there will be a chance in the future. As for the rest of the season, I am hoping the Huskers do well.

Speaking of sports, I have been back and forth on this news first about Ray Rice, and second about Adrian Peterson. They are public figures because they are part of a multi-billion dollar business, and so everything about them is scrutinized anyway. Now, we have these reports that have surfaced about domestic abuse happening with these men, and everyone is losing their minds over it. Some are calling for them to never play again, some are calling for the NFL commissioner to resign, and some are saying the NFL needs to revamp its rules. I'm just going to throw some thoughts out here. First of all, I do not condone domestic abuse. I think that people who commit these atrocities have a special place in hell reserved for them. Having said that, I think people are a little misconstrued here. Does anyone out there believe that those two are the first men in the world to abuse someone? No? Okay, I didn't think so. Yet, all of America is treating this like they were. How many people out there do you think abuse their spouse/kids? How many of them do you think have jobs? Let's remember, the NFL is a business, the Baltimore Ravens and Minnesota Vikings are employers, and Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson are employees of their respective franchises. I do not have a problem with the NFL taking action against them, but consider this: at what point do we allow businesses to control our employment based on our conduct outside of the workplace? Again, I believe what they did was wrong. But what if a business doesn't like the fact that I go to church, or that I spend certain days of the week going to Bible studies, or that I went to a Christian college? Obviously, the examples given are vastly different, but the point remains the same. Now the NFL is looking into personal conduct policies, which is well within their right as a business, but at what point does it stop? Where does the slippery slope end?  Rather than worrying about what the NFL will do, we need to pray for the hearts of these men so that they may be changed on account of love. And that's my rant for the day.

One of the other things I am doing at school is being a prayer leader. Now, that's kind of a weird title, but the point is that I am somebody who is appointed to be available to pray with people, perhaps if someone needs prayer but doesn't quite know who to go to. I am in a position where I take on the privilege and responsibility of going before God on behalf of my fellow students from my residence hall. I am planning on doing a bi-weekly study, as well as making it a habit to get people together on nights of the week to pray with each other. I am looking forward to seeing the fruit of that. Already, there have been some really cool encounters that I and others have had. Please pray that God really controls it and uses it for His glory.

Wow, how the time passes. I hope to update you again soon. Please pray that I am listening for God's call and that I am walking in step with Him on different paths that are in front of me.

I love you all.

-J