I have had a lot of thoughts I should have liked to blog about over the past few weeks. However a combination of time constraints, not knowing how much and what to say, and having flesh-and-blood friends to work things out with has hindered this. I do want to get back into the swing of blogging though (I also plan on making some changes to the site and so forth… perhaps over Christmas break). There are many things that may be changing in the near future, including my rooming situation (long discussion on that one). I find though that I am very bored with school: to be honest, I’d rather be meeting with the people I’ve gotten to know here at school and elsewhere, counseling and (mostly) listening and sympathizing with them. This seems much more immediate and useful than understanding and manipulating automated boolean logic systems – though that has its allures too. And I want to be writing, of course, a nervous tick I cannot remove – if only I could find the folder I lost with all my poems and half my short stories in it (argh)! … Hopefully my Plato course next semester will be enough of a pick-me-up to keep me engaged with my studies.

But on another note altogether, we’ve already entered into the season of Advent. This is the first year which I have strongly desired to do something to mark the season. I am not so much into the materialism of the secular Christmas celebration: in fact, though I do not yet know what, I want to do something markedly against the consumer-oriented cultural concept of Christmas. (More on that if and when it develops.)

But as far as marking the advent of Christ’s coming, I have decided to follow a reading plan for the time leading up to Christmas. I found this reading plan online, made a few changes and additions, and have been following it for the past few days. The focus of Advent is twofold: on the coming of Christ into the world to save it, and on his second coming into the world to redeem it finally. In looking at the Old Testament as it points to the person of God, his desires for humanity, and his full revelation in Jesus in the New Testament, I may be able to better see him as he is through the Holy Spirit who is with his people now and worship him ‘in grace and in truth’. And of course, all knowledge should lead to action: thus the desires which I hope to materialize to serve and give in a particular and special way as part of Advent (as God serves and gives – a mystery beyond fathoming!). If you are interested in taking a look at the reading plan I cobbled together, following it or even using it as a launch-pad for constructing your own celebration of Christ’s coming, I have put up a pdf file here.

Peace and blessings to you as we celebrate the intrusion of God into the world of men!