He calls.

It's a battle of our minds and our actions
Not mindful of foregone reactions
The third law applies to science and defiance
Reliance on ourselves, compliance with the smells, the looks, the feels, the appeals that steal our love.
Lowercase "L" because it less applies to Heaven than it does to Hell.
The pastors who preach and the fathers who teach fall back on a common speech:
Moderation in everything.
But, of course, this falls on deaf ears and these words tend to turn to fears to the millions of prodigals who drink tainted water that isn't even close to potable
it's poison - filled with sin
and delicious, a dish of burned out wishes for a people with torn out stitches
which once closed their wounded pride but now gush streams of rebelliousness and selfishness.
And I'm done going with that flow.
It's an undertow.
A current of so-called fun that leaves me feeling less alive and more like my feet have kicked the box I've stood on, leaving my body hung on the tree of iniquity.
He cuts that cord.
He fills that void with Love.
Capital "L" - the kind that drives you up to a mountain to yell of His graces and mercies
Flowing around and through, blowing in a hurricane of utter silence and peace - the kind only achieved when a blinded soul has been released.
Freedom is one thing. But I gladly shackle myself to this Love.
A bond servant of Christ, it won't always be sugar, spice, and everything nice.
It's much, much better.
Like when you open up that long overdue letter.
He turns "better" to "best" and lest you think that's all
He's already taken the fall.
He's destroyed every wall.
And from every corner of every long-lost soul,
He calls.

First Week of Classes, Junior Year

This post may be somewhat dry - I just need to process some things I think. It may come out as simply a listing of events and such. So, you've been warned.

It's so crazy for me to think that I'm already a Junior, or Cow in West Point lingo. This semester I'm taking International Relations, Intermediate Arabic, Advanced Survival Swimming, IT305, Political Analysis, and Fundamentals of Nuclear Engineering. It's not a super heavy course load (17 credits) but I'm already not too excited for Arabic and Nuke. I'll have to put in extra time in both of those courses, that's for sure.

I started my morning routine that I outlined in my last post, and it worked really well! I'm actually really enjoying getting up a bit earlier. It's like I've wanted an excuse to get up earlier, and now I have it. The next step is to get to bed on time - I've not been doing so well at that all week.

When I take a step back and look at my life right now, it's relatively simple. I need to go to school, and actively engage in what West Point has to offer. That's it. And yet when I'm in the moment it seems loads harder to accomplish those things. The difficulty of West Point is in the details for sure. The 10 minute walks across campus that add up, the errands that need to get ran, the assignment that I need to sign up for online. All of the little things compile, and the snowball effect takes over. Last semester, I got crushed by the snowball. This semester, I am better prepared (I hope!).

My sister had her gall bladder removed yesterday, and the surgery went well. I'm sooooo glad. This has been something that has haunted her since getting pregnant with Amelia, and I really hope that this surgery is the end of it all. I want to be able to eat cookie dough with my sis again!

My friend Kona is getting ready to leave for Africa this semester along with my other friend Kelsey. It's really weird for me because when I come home for Thanksgiving and Christmas I won't be able to go and visit her at all. That seems fairly selfish I guess, but my point is that I am going to miss her. I know that his is a part of her journey and her adventure, and for that I am so excited.

I was the photographer for the Plebe Retreat this semester. Basically, the Plebe Retreat is a Bible camp for the new freshmen at West Point. It gives them a chance to meet other Christians at West Point and to get plugged in at one of the many Christian groups that meets on Tuesday nights. Somebody heard that I was half-decent at taking pictures through the grapevine, and so that's what I did all weekend (along with some ping-pong and volleyball of course!) It was up at Camp Buckner, and I really had a great time. It was nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of West Point and to just relax in the pseudo-wilderness for a while. Taking the time to worship and really spend quality time with Papa is something that has been noticeably absent from my life, and I hope to improve that moving forward.

Week 2 of classes started yesterday, and I'm actually really pumped. Here's to another week of getting my body sore through workouts and my mind sore through school!

Colin