bayern stube

i'm glad we're not all the same. i think that people who say "we're all the same, and therefore should be treated the same" have good intentions, but are missing one of the greatest beauties God has blessed us with: culture (and with that... food!)

i had a rahmschnitzel with spaetzle and potato pancakes. i also got to try german potato salad, some noodle-y dish, and real sauerkraut (as opposed to dining hall "sauerkraut"). it was my first time having real german food, and it was wonderful.

last semester, some of us went to chinatown on a spur-of-the-moment decision. christine and i made our friends try real chinese food (including jellyfish). it was the first time some people ever had mushrooms and tofu too.

life would be soooo boring if all we ever ate were hambugers, hot dogs, and pizza...

think much?

The mind is incredible. Thinking about thinking makes me ever more believe that there must be a Creator. How can this all just be an accident?

Language, community, technology... all of the above exist because we have this one complicated, mysterious organ in our head that grants us the ability to think.. to feel.. and to love. Isn't it weird how protons, neutrons, and electrons (and quarks?) form atoms, which make up neurons, which send electrochemical signals and neurotransmitters to other neurons, and after a large magnitude of other processes... we can love?

I will never fully understand love, nor will I ever fully understand how it's possible for us to love and be loved. I will, however, enjoy this thing called the mind, and worship the fully-loving and intelligent Creator of it.

signs

In high school literature classes, we're taught to look for symbolism in the works we read. I really enjoyed that. I thus started looking for symbolism (and foreshadowing) in my own life. In other words, I wondered if certain things that happened in my days were signs from God. 

Example? Getting a fortune cookie that says "Now is the time to pursue that love interest!" soon after having dinner with a girl.

What have I learned since then? While I truly believe that our God is alive and intimitely involved with this world, it's probably not healthy to read too much into things that happen.

DO WALK

Sometimes, you just want to sit. And sometimes sitting is good, although I'm not going to talk about those times. Things get in the way of progress... and you just want to sit. So what do we do? Do we let our obstacles scare us into submission? Do we let the demons of the past and present control our lives? Has the world tricked us into enjoying the act of sitting when really, we should be standing, crawling, or running? Sometimes, sitting isn't good enough.

Jesus faced a lot of obstacles. People were mean and tried everything in their "power" to stop him. What would Jesus do in your situation? I don't know. What did he do in his? He walked quite a bit.

So, please, do walk. If you stop walking, you'll never get to the place you were meant to be.