Dec 12 2007

AHHHH!!!

A tradition at UCLA during finals week is the Midnight Yell. At the strike of midnight, distressed students agonized by the weight of final exams let out terrifying screams of torment to cover the entire Westwood area with an ocean of horror unparalleled by anything experienced by the average college student, particularly those in whose short two-decade-lifetime have never encountered tribulations of such magnitude in which cries of anguish prevail upon even the most stout-hearted veterans on an unimaginably competitive university campus. The time of trials lasts five days, with the cries of the victims growing dimmer and dimmer each passing day, illustrating the joyous departure of those who have overcome the insurmountable adversity, scathed and wounded yet surviving, tossing aside the memories of the past week as a mere nightmare not to be remembered, as well as the failing endurance of those who descend into the depths of despair, able to summon up neither the strength nor intelligence to escape the scourging and forced to contemplate the unthinkable consequences that await them.

On a lighter note, our paster is almost done with the passage from Luke 21, where Christ presents a graphic description of the horror and persecution during the end times, the seven-year period called the Tribulation, prior to which the Rapture of the Church occurs. The terrible things that happen and the extreme loss of life serve as a serious warning for unrepentant sinners, whose continued unbelief will lead them to inevitable destruction. The way of escape is simple, and commitment to it will change one’s life and reveal amazing promises that God himself has made to those who trust in him, the believing saints he adopts as sons. Those interested in the promise of eternal life should become familiar with the Gospel, presented here. Stop and think about it. I shall return to my studies in preparation for tomorrow.


Dec 8 2007

Done with classes!

Finally, this quarter is coming to an end. With the classes ended today, all that is left are the finals, of which I only have one! I turned in my quarter project 10 minutes before midnight, and now I am free to get to bed earlier than the 5am in the past two nights. Such is the life of a programmer.

GOC tonight was really great. Justin talked about discipline, especially over break. Godliness is produced through discipline and a God-centered focus. Although discipline alone does not produce godliness, godliness never comes without discipline. That’s also the lesson I’ve been learning over the past few weeks. Discipline is definitely something that I’m lacking, and Winter break will be a challenge to not regress into laziness, complacency, and idleness. Must continue to run hard!


Dec 2 2007

UCLA Lost!

So I just finished watching this UCLA vs. Texas basketball game, and UCLA lost by 2 points. So disappointing… =/ Oh well, now I’ll have to get back to doing this humongous project that’s due at the end of the week. With 10th week starting and finals poking it’s ugly head in the door, the chaos of busyness will soon ensue. But life is still good, because I still have a solid church to go to, great friends to share the pains of late-night studying with, and loving family waiting at home when I return over Winter break. It’s so easy during difficult or busy times to forget the multitude of blessings from our loving God. Even though the Thanksgiving holiday has passed, I still can’t stop thanking him for giving me things that I do not deserve, especially salvation. I’m still learning how to do everything to the glory of God, but I know that thankfulness is an essential component to that end.