Reflections on the Sabbath

I've been working hard lately. Really hard. I've been pushing my physical and mental capacities to the limit at school. Right now I'm sitting downstairs wide awake because my body refuses to sleep past 7:00. It's used to waking up earlier so I guess 7:00 could be considered sleeping in.

With the work I've been doing lately, it's hard to keep myself recharged spiritually and in tune with God. I do have some time to do so during the week, but there are times that the problems I'm working on literally invade my thoughts and even my sleep. It makes it nearly impossible to focus on other things I woke up yesterday after I dreamed about the solution to a computer modeling error. The solution turned out to be correct. That brings to mind another story about my father working on a wiring harness in his pajamas because of a similar situation. Maybe it's a weird chromosome that lets us keep working on a problem even when we are asleep.

I know I'm studying the right stuff because I wouldn't be excited to go back to the labs at 7:00 am when I left at midnight the previous night. Yes I am excited. I truly enjoy what I'm doing even though it is the hardest thing I've ever had to do from an academic standpoint.

That being said, Sunday is a day I do my absolute best to keep as a day of rest. I'll spend time in prayer, go to church, probably take a nap, spend time with Lauren, and enjoy whatever the day may bring. I'll let Lauren sleep in, we'll go to 11:00 service at church, and proceed from there at a leisurely pace.

We are blessed enough that we don't have to work on Sunday to feed ourselves and keep a roof over our heads. It is fitting then that I take the day to praise Jesus and worship him.

All throttle, no brake

I've spent 40+ hours in the last three days at school. I've been trying to figure out a problem with some of my homework. Something in me has a really hard time with sitting back and accepting a job less than well done.

In the mean time, I'm going to go grab a burger and a beer. It's time to relax spend a little time at home.

Well, it's another early Saturday morning in the Warren household. I was up by six and Lauren was out the door before 8. Up until this point, today has been hardly distinguishable from Monday through Friday.

What on earth are two people in their mid twenties doing up so early on a Saturday morning? The answer is simply that neither Lauren or I are very good at being lazy. I'm just about to leave to help a friend install a new furnace. Lauren is headed to volunteer at a "girls in engineering" event. In all honesty, I like not breaking the rhythm of the rest of the week. I feel like much of the day is wasted if I'm not out of bed before 7:00. It's amazing the things that carry over from your parents, even in cases where you might resist them as a child.

Well, I suppose I ought to get going. If there is something I like less than wasting time it's being late. So, enjoy your weekend. I know I will.

Music

I realized today why I have found Christian rap and hard rock to be the mainstay of my music collection. Much of it has to do with the lyrics. Most of the music classified under the Contemporary Christian Music (CCM for short) is full of vapid repetition and fails to recognize the real difficulties of living a Christian life in this world and also fails to provide release for some of the pent up frustrations people have growing up.

Don't get me wrong, there is absolutely a place for adoration and praise of Jesus. However, when music and lyrics become one dimensional, like "Jesus, Jesus, my Jesus" repeated ad-nauseum, it makes complete sense as to why many people view the whole CCM genre as junk. I can hardly blame them.